whole creation is wrought by a word; “God said, Let there be light;”
and “God said, Let there be a firmament.”[852] Not that we should
understand it of a sensible word, but understand it of a powerful order
of his own will, which is expressed by the Psalmist in the nature of
a command (Ps. xxxiii. 9): “He spake, and it was done; he commanded,
and it stood fast;” and (Ps. cxlviii. 5), “He commanded, and they
were created.” At the same instant that he willed them to stand forth,
they did stand forth. The efficacious command of the Creator was the
original of all things: the insensibility of nothing obeyed the act
of his will. Creation is therefore entitled a calling (Rom. iv. 17):
“He calls those things which are not, as if they were.” To create is
no more with God, than to call; and what he calls, presents itself
before him in the same posture that he calls it. He did with more ease
make a world, than we can form a thought. It is the same ease to him to
create worlds, as to decree them; there needs no more than a resolve to
have things wrought at such a time, and they will be, according to his
pleasure. This will is his power; “Let there be light,” is the precept
of his will; {b43} and “there was light,” is the effect of his precept.
By a word, was the matter of the heavens and the earth framed; by a
word, things separate themselves from the rude mass into their proper
forms; by a word, light associates itself into one body, and forms a
sun; by a word, are the heavens, as it were, bespangled with stars,
and the earth dressed with flowers; by a word, is the world both ceiled
and floored: one act of his will, formed the world, and perfected its
beauty. All the variety and several exploits of his power were not
caused by distinct words or acts of power. God uttered not distinct
words for distinct species; as, let there be an elephant, and let there
be a lion; but as he produced those various creatures out of one matter,
so by one word. By one single command, those varieties of creatures,
with their clothing, ornaments, distinct notes, qualities, functions,
were brought forth (Gen. i. 11): by one word, all the seeds of the
earth, with their various virtues: by one word, all the fish of the sea,
and fowls of the air, in their distinct natures, instincts, colors (Gen.
i. 20): by one word, all the beasts of the field, with their varieties
(Gen. i. 24). Heaven and earth, spiritual and corporeal creatures,
mortal and immortal, the greater and the less, visible and invisible,
were formed with the same ease:[853] a word made the least, and a word
made the greatest. It is as little difficulty to him to produce the
highest angel, as the lightest atom. It is enough for the existence
of the stateliest cherubim, for God only to will his being. It was
enough for the forming and fixing the sun, to will the compacting
of light into one body. The creation of the soul of man is expressed
by inspiration (Gen. ii. 7); to show, that it is as easy with God
to create a rational soul, as for man to breathe.[854] Breathing is
natural to man, by a communication of God’s goodness; and the creation
of the soul is as easy to God, by virtue of his Almighty word. As there
was no proportion between nothing and being, so there was as little
proportion between a word and such glorious effects. A mere voice,
coming from an Omnipotent will, was capable to produce such varieties,
which angels and men have seen in all ages of the world, and this
without weariness. What labor is there in willing? what pain could
there be in speaking a word? (Isa. xl. 28), “The Creator of the
ends of the earth is not weary.” And though he be said to rest after
the creation, it is to be meant a rest from work, not a repose from
weariness. So great is the power of God, that without any matter,
without any instruments, he could create many worlds, and with the
same ease as he made this.
4th. I might add also, the appearance of this power in the
instantaneous production of things. The ending of his word was not only
the beginning, but the perfection of every thing he spake into being;
not several words to several parts and members, but one word, one
breath of his mouth, one act of his will, to the whole species of the
creatures, and to every member in each individual. Heaven and earth
were created in a moment; six days went to their disposal; and that
comely order we observe in the world was the work of a week: the matter
was formed as soon as God had spoken the word; and in every part of
the creation, as soon as God spake the word, {b44} “Let it be so” (Gen.
i.), the answer immediately is, “It was so;” which notes the present
standing up of the creature according to the act of his will: and,
therefore,[855] one observes, that “Let there be light, and there was
light;” in the Hebrew are the same words, without any alteration of
letter or point, only the conjunctive particle added, יהי אור ויהי אור, “Let
there be light, and let there be light,” to show, that the same instant
of the speaking the Divine word, was the appearance of the creature: so
great was the authority of his will.
SECONDLY, We are to show God’s power in the GOVERNMENT of the world. As
God decreed from eternity the creation of things in time, so he decreed
from eternity the particular ends of creatures, and their operation
respecting those ends. Now, as there was need of his power to execute
his decree of creation, there is also need of his power to execute his
decree about the manner of government.[856] All government is an act of
the understanding, will, and power. Prudence to design belongs to the
understanding; the election of the means belongs to the will; and the
accomplishment of the whole is an act of power. It is a hard matter
to determine which is most necessary: wisdom stands in as much need
of power to perfect, as power doth of wisdom, to model and draw out
a scheme; though wisdom directs, power must effect. Wisdom and power
are distinct things among men: a poor man in a cottage may have more
prudence to advise, than a privy counsellor; and a prince more power
to act, than wisdom to conduct. A pilot may direct though he be lame,
and cannot climb the masts, and spread the sails: but God is wanting in
nothing; neither in wisdom to design, nor in will to determine, nor in
power to accomplish. His wisdom is not feeble, nor his power foolish:
a feeble wisdom could not act what it would, and a foolish power would
act more than it should. The power expressed in his government is
shadowed forth in the living creatures, which are God’s instruments in
it. It is said, “Every one of them had four faces” (Ezek. i. 10); that
of a man to signify wisdom; of a lion, eagle, the strongest among birds,
to signify their courage and strength to perform their offices. This
power is evident in the _natural_, _moral_, _gracious_ government.
There is a natural providence, which consists in the preservation of
all things, propagation of them by corruptions and generations, and in
a co‑operation with them in their motions to attain their ends. Moral
government is of the hearts and actions of men. Gracious government, as
respecting the Church.
_First_, His power is evident in _natural_ government.
1. In preservation. God is the great Father of the world, to nourish
it as well as create it.[857] Man and beast would perish if there were
not herbs for their food; and herbs would wither and perish, if the
earth were not watered with fruitful showers. This some of the heathens
acknowledged, in their worshipping God under the image of an ox, a
useful creature, by reason of its strength, to which we owe so much of
our food in corn. Hence, God is styled the “Preserver of man and beast”
(Ps. xxxvi. 6). Hence, the Jews called God,[858] _Place_; because he is
the subsistence of all things. By {b45} the same word whereby he gave
being to things, he gives to them continuance and duration in being
so much a term of time. As they were “created by his word,” they are
supported by his word (Heb. i. 3). The same powerful fiat, “Let the
earth bring forth grass” (Gen. i. 11), when the plants peeped upon man
out of nothing, is expressed every spring, when they begin to lift up
their heads from their naked roots and winter graves. The resurrection
of light every morning, the reviving the pleasure of all things to the
eye; the watering the valleys from the mountain springs; the curbing
the natural appetite of the waters from covering the earth; every
draught that the beasts drink, every lodging the fowls have, every
bit of food for the sustenance of man and beast, is ascribed to the
“opening of his hand,” the diffusing of his power (Ps. civ. 27, &c.),
as much as the first creation of things, and endowing them with their
particular nature: whence the plants, which are so serviceable, are
called “the trees of the Lord” (ver. 16), of Jehovah, that hath only
being and power in himself. The whole Psalm is but the description of
his preserving, as the first of Genesis is of his creating power. It is
by this power angels have so many thousand years remained in the power
of understanding and willing. By this power things distant in their
natures have been joined together; a spiritual soul and a dusty body
knit in a marriage knot. By this power the heavenly bodies have for
so many ages rolled in their spheres, and the tumultuous elements have
persisted in their order: by this hath the matter of the world been to
this day continued, and as capable of entertaining forms as it was at
the first creation. What an amazing sight would it be to see a man hold
a pillar of the Exchange upon one of his fingers? What is this to the
power of God, “who holds the waters in the hollow of his hand, metes
out the heaven with a span, and weighs the mountains in scales, and the
hills in a balance” (Isa. xl. 12)? The preserving the earth from the
violence of the sea is a plain instance of this power.[859] How is that
raging element kept pent within those lists where he first lodged it;
continues its course in its channel without overflowing the earth, and
dashing in pieces the lower part of the creation? The natural situation
of the water is to be above the earth, because it is lighter; and to
be immediately under the air, because it is heavier than that thinner
element. Who restrains this natural quality of it, but that God that
first formed it? The word of command at first, “Hitherto shalt thou go,
and no further,” keeps those waters linked together in their den, that
they may not ravage the earth, but be useful to the inhabitants of it.
And when once it finds a gap to enter, what power of earth can hinder
its passage? How fruitless sometimes is all the art of man to send it
to its proper channel, when once it hath spread its mighty waves over
some countries, and trampled part of the inhabited earth under its
feet? It hath triumphed in its victory, and withstood all the power of
man to conquer its force. It is only the power of God that doth bridle
it from spreading itself over the whole earth. And that his power might
be more manifest, he hath set but a weak and small bank against it.
Though he hath bounded it in some places by {b46} mighty rocks, which
lift up their heads above it, yet in most places by feeble sand. How
often is it seen in every stormy motion, when the waves boil high and
roll furiously, as if they would swallow up all the neighboring houses
upon the shore; when they come to touch those sandy limits, they bow
their heads, fall flat, and sink into the lap whence they were raised,
and seem to foam with anger that they can march no further, but must
split themselves at so weak an obstacle! Can the sand be thought to
be the cause of this? The weakness of it gives no footing to such a
thought. Who can apprehend, that an enraged army should retire upon
the opposition of a straw in an infant’s hand? Is it the nature of the
water? Its retirement is against the natural quality of it; pour but a
little upon the ground, and you always see it spread itself. No cause
can be rendered in nature; it is a standing monument of the power of
God in the preservation of the world, and ought to be more taken notice
of by us in this island, surrounded with it, than by some other
countries in the world.
(1.) We find nothing hath power to preserve itself. Doth not every
creature upon earth require the assistance of some other for its
maintenance? “Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow up
without water” (Job viii. 11)? Can man or beast maintain itself without
grain from the bowels of the earth? Would not every man tumble into
the grave, without the aid of other creatures to nourish him? Whence
do these creatures receive that virtue of supplying him nourishment,
but from the sun and earth? and whence do they derive that virtue, but
from the Creator of all things? And should he but slack his hand, how
soon would they and all their qualities perish, and the links of the
world fall in pieces, and dash one another into their first chaos and
confusion! All creatures indeed have an appetite to preserve themselves;
they have some knowledge of the outward means for their preservation;
so have irrational animals a natural instinct, as well as men have
some skill to avoid things that are hurtful, and apply things that are
helpful. But what thing in the world can preserve itself by an inward
influx into its own being? All things want such a power without God’s
_fiat_, “Let it be so:” nothing but is destitute of such a power for
its own preservation, as much as it is of a power for its own creation.
Were there any true power for such a work, what need of so many
external helps from things of an inferior nature to that which is
preserved by them? No created thing hath a power to preserve any
decayed being. Who can lay claim to such a virtue, as to recall a
withering flower to its former beauty, to raise the head of a drooping
plant, or put life into a gasping worm when it is expiring; or put
impaired vitals into their former posture? Not a man upon earth, nor an
angel in heaven, can pretend to such a virtue; they may be spectators,
but not assisters, and are, in this case, physicians of no value.
(2.) It is, therefore, the same Power preserves things which at first
created them. The creature doth as much depend upon God, in the first
instant of its being, for its preservation, as it did, when it was
nothing, for its production and creation into being: as the continuance
of a thought of our mind depends upon the power of our mind, {b47}
as well as the first framing of that thought.[860] There is a little
difference between creating and preserving power, as there is between
the power of mine eye to begin an act of vision and continue that act
of vision, as to cast my eye upon an object and continue it upon that
object: as the first act is caused by the eye, so the duration of
the act is preserved by the eye; shut the eye, and the act of vision
perishes; divert the eye from that object, and that act of vision is
exchanged for another. And, therefore, the preservation of things is
commonly called a continual creation: and certainly it is no less,
if we understand it of a preservation by an inward influence into the
being of things. It is one and the same action invariably continued,
and obtaining its force every moment; the same action whereby he
created them of nothing, and which every moment hath a virtue to
produce a thing out of nothing, if it were not yet extant in the world:
it remains the same without any diminution throughout the whole time
wherein anything doth remain in the world.[861] For all things would
return to nothing, if God did not keep them up in the elevation and
state to which he at first raised them by his creative power (Acts
xvii. 28): “In him we live, and move, and have our being.” By him, or
by the same Power whence we derived our being, are our lives maintained:
as it was his Almighty Power whereby we were, after we had been nothing,
so it is the same power whereby we now are, after he hath made us
something. Certainly all things have no less a dependence on God
than light upon the sun, which vanisheth and hides its head upon the
withdrawing of the sun. And should God suspend that powerful Word,
whereby he erected the frame of the world, it would sink down to what
it was, before he commanded it to stand up. There needs no new act of
power to reduce things to nothing, but the cessation of that Omnipotent
influx. When the appointed time set them for their being comes to a
period, they faint and bend down their heads to their dissolution; they
return to their elements, and perish (Ps. civ. 29): “Thou hidest thy
face, and they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die,
and return to their dust.” That which was nothing cannot remain on
this side nothing, but by the same Power that first called it out of
nothing. As when God withdrew his concurring power from the fire, its
quality ceased to act upon the three children: so if he withdraws his
sustaining power from the creature, its nature will cease to be.
2. It appears in propagation. That powerful word (Gen. i. 22, 23),
“Increase and multiply,” pronounced at the first creation, hath spread
itself over every part of the world; every animal in the world, in
the formation of every one of them. From two of a kind, how great a
number of individuals and single creatures have been multiplied, to
cover the face of the earth in their continued successions! What a
world of plants spring up from the womb of a dry earth, moistened by
the influence of a cloud, and hatched by the beams of the sun! How
admirable an instance of his propagating power is it, that from a
little seed a massy root should strike into the bowels of the earth, a
tall body and thick branches, with leaves {b48} and flowers of various
colors, should break through the surface of the earth, and mount up
towards heaven, when in the seed you neither smell the scent, nor see
any firmness of a tree, nor behold any of those colors which you view
in the flowers that the ears produce! A power not to be imitated by any
creature. How astonishing is it, that a small seed, whereof many will
not amount to the weight of a grain, should spread itself into leaves,
bark, fruit of a vast weight, and multiply itself into millions of
seeds! What power is that, that from one man and woman hath multiplied
families, and from families, stocked the world with people! Consider
the living creatures, as formed in the womb of their several kinds;
every one is a wonder of power. The Psalmist instanceth in the
forming and propagation of man (Ps. cxxxix. 14): “I am fearfully
and wonderfully made; marvellous are thy works.” The forming of the
parts distinctly in the womb, the bringing forth into the world every
particular member, is a roll of wonders, of power. That so fine a
structure as the body of man should be polished in “the lower parts
of the earth,” as he calls the womb (ver. 15), in so short a time,
with members of a various form and usefulness, each laboring in their
several functions! Can any man give an exact account of the manner
“how the bones do grow in the womb” (Eccles. xi. 5)? It is unknown
to the father, and no less hid from the mother, and the wisest men
cannot search out the depth of it. It is one of the secret works of an
Omnipotent Power, secret in the manner, though open in the effect. So
that we must ascribe it to God, as Job doth, “Thine hands have made
me and fashioned me together round about” (Job x. 8). Thy hands which
formed heaven, have formed every part, every member, and wrought me
like a mighty workman. The heavens are said to be the “work of God’s
hands,” and man is here said to be no less. The forming and propagation
of man from that earthy matter, is no less a wonder of power than the
structure of the world from a rude and indisposed matter. A heathen
philosopher descants elegantly upon it: “Dost thou understand (my son)
the forming of man in the womb; who erected that noble fabric? who
carved the eyes, the crystal windows of light, and the conductors of
the body; who bored the nostrils and ears, those loopholes of scents
and sounds; who stretched out and knit the sinews and ligaments for
the fastening of every member; who cast the hollow veins, the channels
of blood; set and strengthened the bones, the pillars and rafters of
the body; who digged the pores, the sinks to expel the filth; who made
the heart, the repository of the soul, and formed the lungs like a
pipe? What mother, what father, wrought these things? No, none but the
Almighty God, who made all things according to his pleasure; it is He
who propagates this noble piece from a pile of dust. Who is born by his
own advice; who gives stature, features, sense, wit, strength, speech,
but God?”[862] It is no less a wonder, that a little infant can live so
long in a dark sink, in the midst of filth, without breathing; and the
eduction of it out of the womb is no less a wonder than the forming,
increase, nourishment of it in that cell. A wonder, that the life of
the infant {b49} is not the death of the mother, or the life of the
mother the death of the infant. This little creature when it springs
up from such small beginnings by the power of God, grows up to be
one of the lords of the world, to have a dominion over the creatures,
and propagates its kind in the same manner: all this is unaccountable
without having recourse to the power of God in the government of the
creatures. And to add to this wonder, consider also what multitudes
of formations and births there are at one time all over the world,
in every of which the finger of God is at work; and it will speak an
unwearied power. It is admirable in one man, more in a town of men,
still more in a greater and larger kingdom, a vaster world; there is a
birth for every hour in this city, were but 168 born in a week, though
the weekly bills mention more: what is this city to three kingdoms?
what three kingdoms to a populous world? Eleven thousand and eighty
will make one for every minute in the week; what is this to the weekly
propagation in all the nations of the universe, besides the generation
of all the living creatures in that space, which are the works of God’s
fingers as well as man? What will be the result of this, but the notion
of an unconceivable, unwearied Almightiness, always active, always
operating?
3. It appears in the motions of all creatures. “All things live and
move in him” (Acts xvii. 28); by the same power that creatures have
their beings, they have their motions: they have not only a being
by his powerful command, but they have their minutely motion by his
powerful concurrence. Nothing can act without the almighty influx of
God, no more than it can exist without the creative word of God. It is
true indeed, the ordering of all motions to his holy ends, is an act
of wisdom; but the motion itself, whereby those ends are attained, is
a work of his power.
(1.) God, as the first cause, hath an influence into the motions of
all second causes. As all the wheels in a clock are moved in their
different motions by the force and strength of the principal and
primary wheel; if there be any defect in that, or if that stand still,
all the rest languish and stand idle the same moment. All creatures
are his instruments, his engines, and have no spirit, but what he
gives, and what he assists. Whatsoever nature works, God works in
nature; nature is the instrument, God is the supporter, director,
mover of nature; that which the prophet saith in another case, may be
the language of universal nature: “Lord, thou hast wrought all our work
in us” (Isa. xxvi. 12). They are works subjectively, efficiently, as
second causes; God’s works originally, concurrently. The sun moved not
in the valley of Ajalon for the space of many hours, in the time of
Joshua (Josh. x. 13); nor did the fire exercise its consuming quality
upon the three children, in Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace (Dan. iii. 25): he
withdrew not his supporting power from their being, for then they had
vanished, but his influencing power from their qualities, whereby their
motion ceased, till he returned his influential concurrence to them;
which evidenceth, that without a perpetual derivation of Divine power,
the sun could not run one stride or inch of its race, nor the fire
devour one grain of light chaff, or an inch of straw. Nothing without
his sustaining power can continue {b50} in being; nothing without
his co‑working power can exercise one mite of those qualities it
is possessed of. All creatures are wound up by him, and his hand is
constantly upon them, to keep them in perpetual motion.