be every way perfect perfect in the full Number of its Subjects and every Subject perfect in his entire and compleat Reward his Soul made for ever Blessed in the Beatifical Vision of God and his Body made unconceivably Glorious by the redundancy of that Glory that fills his Soul and both shall remain for ever with the Lord. And thus you see what the Kingdom of God is both universal and peculiar the Kingdom of his Power and the Kingdom of his Grace and that as it is Militant here on Earth both Visible and Invisible and as it is Triumphant in Heaven The next thing in order is to shew how this Kingdom of God is said to come This Word come implies that we pray for a Kingdom that is yet in its Progress and hath not yet attained the highest pitch of that perfection which is expected and desired for that which is yet to come is not as yet arrived to that State in which it is to be And therefore we do not so properly pray that the Vniversal Kingdom of God should come for his Dominion over the Creatures is actually the same and shall be so for ever But more especially we pray that the peculiar Kingdom of God should come and that as to both parts of it Militant and Triumphant Now this peculiar Kingdom is said to come in Three respects First In respect of the means of Grace and Salvation for where these are rightly dispensed I mean the Holy Word and Sacraments there is the Kingdom of God begun and erected and therefore we find it called the Word of the Kingdom Matth. 13.19 Secondly In respect of the Efficacy of those means when all ready and cordial Obedience is yielded to the Laws of God then doth this Kingdom come and the Glory of it is advanced and increased Thirdly In respect of Perfection and so it comes when the Graces of the Saints are strengthned and increased when the Souls of the Godly departing this Life are received into Heaven and when the whole Number of them shall have their perfect Consummation and Bliss in the Glorification both of Soul and Body after the General Re-surrection And thus we have seen how the Kingdom of God may come In the next place we must enquire what it is we pray for when we say Thy Kingdom come I Answer There are various Things lie couch'd under this Petition as First We pray that God would be pleased to Plant his Church where it is not according to his Promise giving all the Nations of the World to his Son for his Inheritance and the utmost parts of the Earth for his Possession That the dark Places and Corners of the Earth that are yet the Habitations of Cruelty may be illustrated with the Glorious Light of the Gospel shining into them That God would reveal his Son to those poor wretched People that sit in Darkness and in the Region of the Shadow of Death and would rescue them from their Blind Superstitions and Idolatries and from the Power of the Devil who strongly works in the Children of Disobedience and would translate them into the Kingdom of his dear Son especially that he would remove the Veil from the Heart of the Jew upon whom a sad Judicial Hardness hath long lain that they at length may be brought into the Unity and Fulness of Christ's Body We pray that all the World both Jews and Gentiles may be gathered into one Sheep-fold under Christ Jesus the great Pastor and Shepherd of Souls so that as God is one so his Name and Service may be one throughout all the Earth And thus we pray that Christ's Kingdom may come in respect of the means of Grace and Salvation Secondly This Petition Thy Kingdom come intimates our earnest desire that the Church of Christ where they are planted may be increased in the Members of the Faithful That those who are as yet Enemies to the Name and Profession of Christ may be brought into the Visible Church and that those in it who are yet Strangers to a powerful Work of Grace may by the effectual Operation of the Holy Ghost be brought in to be Members of the Invisible Church And thus we pray that God's Kingdom may come in respect of the Efficacy of the means of Grace Thirdly We pray that all the Church of Christ throughout the World may be kept from ruine that they may not be over-run with Superstition or Idolatry That God would not in his Wrath remove his Candlestick from them as he hath in his Righteous Judgment done from other Churches which were once Glorious and Splendid We pray likewise that God would make up all Breaches and compose all Differences and silence all Controversies and cut off all those who trouble the Peace and rend the Unity of the Church breaking it into Factions and Schisms which are the most fatal Symptoms and Portenders of God's withdrawing himself and carrying away his Gospel and giving of it to another People who will better bring forth the Fruits of it which are Peace Meekness and Love And if in any thing Christians be diversly minded that God would be pleased to reveal it unto them and that whereunto they have attained they may walk by the same Rule and mind the same Things And thus we pray that Christ's Kingdom may come in respect of its perfection and entireness Fourthly It intimates our humble Requests to God that his Ordinances may be purely and powerfully dispensed Hence as I noted before the Word is called the Word of the Kingdom Matth. 13.19 that is the Word whereby we are brought into the Kingdom of Christ here on Earth and fitted for his Triumphant Kingdom in Heaven It is the means of our New Birth the Seed of our Spiritual Life And as a Kingdom cannot be well established or governed without good Laws so for the Government of his Kingdom Christ hath established Laws which are contained in the Records of the Holy Scriptures And as his Word is the Law so his Sacraments are the Seals of his Kingdom for so every believing Partaker God doth under his Seal confirm the grant of Heaven and Eternal Salvation And therefore in this Petition we pray also that God would give his Church able Ministers of the New Testament that may know how rightly to divide the Word of Truth and to give every one his Portion in due season And that he would be pleased to accompany the outward Administration of his Ordinances with the inward Operations of his Spirit which alone can make them effectual to turn Men from Darkness to Light and to bring them from the Power of Satan unto God That the whole Number of God's Elect may in his due time be brought in by the means which he hath appointed and sanctified for their Conversion and Salvation These are the chief and principal things that we beg of God for the Church Militant when we say Thy Kingdom come viz. that it may attain a perfection of Extent
What is the Vniversal Kingdom or Church of God A. It is a Company of true Believers who have Eternal and Invisible Communion with God by his Spirit and their Faith Q. What observe you of both A. Its Mixture and Imperfection for in the Visible Church there is a great Mixture of Persons the Bad with the Good in the Invisible there is a great Mixture in Persons of Evil with Good and Sin with Grace Q. You have formerly told us that the Church of Christ in its Progress is the Church Militant either Visible or Invisible and that the Church of Christ in its Consummation is the Church Triumphant What is this Church Triumphant A. The general Assembly of such glorious Angels as never fell and such glorified Saints as are raised from their Fall Q. What is that Kingdom which in this Petition we pray may come A. Not the Universal Kingdom of God which is the VVorld for his Dominion therein is always the same but onely the peculiar Kingdom which is his Church and more especially that part of it which is Militant on Earth Q. In what Respects may God's Kingdom be said to come A. In Three 1. First In respect of the Means of Grace and Salvation which are the VVord and Sacraments for where these are dispersed there God's Kingdom is erected 2. Secondly In respect of the Efficacy of this Means in the Conversion of Sinners whereby they are brought into the Invisible Kingdom of Christ 3. Thirdly In respect of the Perfection of this Kingdom for then God's Kingdom comes when the Saint's Graves are increased when their Souls are received into Heaven and when both Souls and Bodies are consummated in Glory Q. What do we pray for when we say Thy Kingdom come A. 1. First That God should plant his Church where it is not That all the Kingdoms of the Earth may become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ 2. Secondly That his Ordinances may be purely and powerfully administred his word truly preached which is the Law of his Kingdom and his Sacraments duely dispens'd which are the Seals of it 3. Thirdly That God would send into his Church able and faithfull Ministers to be faithfull Stewards of the Mysteries of the Gospel 4. Fourthly That the Ministery of the Word may be successfull to the Conversion of those that hear it 5. Fifthly That all the Churches of Christ may be kept from Errour Schism Superstition and Idolatry and that true Doctrine and due Discipline may be continued in them to the End of the World Q. But may we not pray also for the Church Triumphant in Heaven A. We may for the fulfilling of what is promised 1. First That the Number of them may be compleated 2. Secondly That their Persons may be compleated That the Bodies of those Saints which now sleep in the Dust may be raised united to their Souls and both made Eternally glorious in the Kingdom of Heaven Q. Is not this praying for the Dead so justly condemned of Popish Superstition A. No for we pray not for another State as the Papists do when they pray for Souls to be delivered out of Purgatory but we pray for the Perfection of the same State in which the Souls of the Faithful already are we pray not for their Release out of Torments but for a joyfull Resurrection which both they and we expect and whatsoever may be the Object of our Faith and Hope may well be the Subject of our Prayers Q. Which is the third Petition A. Thy VVill be done on Earth as it is in Heaven Q. How is the Will of God distinguisht A. Into the Will of his Purpose or the Will of his Precept or into his secret and revealed Will. Q. What is the Will of God's Purpose A. His Eternal Counsels and Decrees whereby he hath fore-ordained whatsoever comes to pass Q. What is the Will of Gods Precept A. His holy Laws contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament wherein he hath revealed to us the Duties we ought to perform for the obtaining of Eternal Life Q. How do these two Wills differ A. 1. First In that there are many things which God wills by his VVill of Purpose that he hath not willed by his VVill of Precept For God commands nothing but what is Holy yet he purposeth to permit many things that are Evil. 2. Secondly In that we may effectually resist his Will of Precept so as to hinder the Accomplishment of it as we do whensoever we sin but we cannot resist the Will of God's Purpose though many times to endeavour it is our indispensible Duty Q. Ought not the Will of the Creature to be conformed to the Will of God in all things A. Yes to the Will of his Precept for that alone is the Rule of our Obedience But in all things to conform to the Will of his Purpose may involve us in the greatest Guilt Acts 2.23 Being delivered by the determinate Counsel and foreknowledge of God ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain Q. Is there not then a manifest repugnance between God's Will of Purpose and of Precept A. No for the Object of God's VVill of Purpose is Event but of his VVill of Precept Duty and it is no contradiction for God to will or permit that to be which he hath willed or commanded us not to do Q. Which of these do we pray may be done A. VVe especially and absolutely pray that the VVill of God's Precept may be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Q. What considerations may excite us to be earnest in this Request A. First because there is a great reluctancy in our corrupt Nature against the holy VVill of God therefore we ought earnestly to pray that he by his Grace would subdue it Secondly because the Glory of God is deeply concern'd in doing his Will for by this we own his Sovereignty and our Subjection to his Laws and Kingdom Thirdly because our own Interest is deeply concern'd in it for it is onely by doing his Will we can inherit the Promises Rev. 22.14 Blessed are they that do his Commandments Q. Ought we not absolutely to pray that God's Will of Purpose may be done A. No And that because many things are brought to pass by this Will which we ought to pray against as Temporal Evils and the Permission of Sin Q. How then do the Saints in Scripture pray for the Accomplishment of this Will of God as in 1 Sam. 3.18 And Samuel told him every whit and hid nothing from him and he said It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good 2 Sam. 15.26 But if he thus say I have no delight in thee behold here am I let him do to me as seemeth good unto him Acts 21.14 And when he would not be perswaded we ceased saying The Will of the Lord be done And our Saviour Luke 22.42 Saying Father if thou be willing remove this Cup from me nevertheless
are giving Alms to others or whilst we are praying to the great God of Heaven and Earth to make frail mortal Men like our selves our Idols which we do whensoever we pray rather that we may be heard and admired by Men than that God should hear us and accept us In the next words our Saviour proceeds in laying down some other Directions concerning the Duty of Prayer and therein he forbids his Hearers to use vain Repetitions in Prayer verse 7. When you Pray use not vain Repetitions as the Heathens do Not that all Repetitions in Prayer are vain bablings in the sight of God for our Lord himself Prayed thrice using the same words for so we read Matth. 26. and 44. For doubtless as Copiousness and Variety of fluent Expressions in any usually flow from raised Affections so when those Affections are heightned and raised to an Ecstasy and Agony of Soul in our wrestlings with God in Prayer Ingeminations are then the most Proper and most Elegant way of expressing them doubling and redoubling the same Petitions again and again not allowing God if I may so speak with Holy Reverence so much time nor our selves so much leasure as to form in our minds much more with our Lips to offer up any new requests till by a Holy Violence in wrestling with God we have extorted out of his hands those Mercies and Blessings our Hearts are set upon the suing to him for Vain Repetitions therefore are such as are made use of by any without new and lively Stirrings and Motions of the Heart and Affections at the same time And that which makes a Prayer vain makes a Repetition in Prayer to be vain also Now that is a vain Prayer and we shall certainly find it so when the requests we offer up to God therein are heartless and lifeless For we must know God hath Commanded us to Pray not that he might be excited and moved by hearing the Voice of our Cries in Prayer to give unto us those Mercies and Blessings which he himself was not resolved before hand to bestow upon us but that we our selves might be fitted and prepared to receive from him what he is always ready and willing to confer upon us He requires Prayer from us not that he might be affected therewith for as the Apostle St. James tells us With him there is no variableness nor shadow of turning James 1.17 but that we our selves might have our Hearts raised and affected therewith And therefore the chiefest effect of Prayer being to affect our selves if Prayer it self be not vain neither are Repetitions in Prayer vain if whilst we are spreading the same requests before God we do it with new Affections and Desires No Prayer therefore ought to be accused of idle Babling and vain Repetitions but those that Pray may I fear too often be charged with it And here by the way I desire all those who are offended at or refuse to joyn with the Stated Forms of Prayer that the Church hath appointed to be made use of either in publick or private because the same requests do many times occur therein to keep a strict Eye upon their Hearts and Affections and then the Scruples and Objections that they make will presently be removed for it is much in their own Power to make them to be either vain Repetitions or the most fervent Ingeminations of their most affectionate Desires unto God and the most Spiritual and Forcible part of all their Prayers and Supplications they offer up unto him But then further as our Saviour forbids vain Repetitions in Prayer so he likewise forbids much speaking for they think says our Saviour St. Matth. 6.7 That they shall be heard for their much speaking Now as the former Prohibition doth not exclude all Repetitions in Prayer so neither doth this latter exclude as some Ignorant Persons perhaps who are soon wearied out with the Service of God may be apt to think long Prayers for this would be a flat contradiction to his own practice for it is said in St. Luke 6.12 That he went out into a Mountain to Pray and continued all night in Prayer unto God Some indeed take the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prayer to signifie the House of Prayer as if our Saviour continued only in such a Dedicated House or Chappel all night according as Juvenal useth the word in quâ te quaero prosencha Yet as it will be hard to prove that the Jews had any such Houses for Prayer besides their Synagogues which were not seated in Desolate whither our Saviour went then to Pray but in Populous Cities and frequented Places So it will be more hard to imagine that our Saviour would continue all night in the House of Prayer if he had not been taken up in the performance of the Duty of Prayer There is therefore a great deal of difference between much speaking in Prayer and speaking much in Prayer for certainly a Man may speak much to God in prayer when yet he may not be guilty of much speaking for there is a compendious way of speaking to speak much in a little and there is a babling way of speaking when by many tedious Ambages and long Impertinencies men pour out a Sea of Words and scarce one drop of Sence or Matter Now it is this last way of speaking unto God which our Saviour here condemns and condemns it justly for it shews either Folly or Irreverence Folly in that it is a sign we do not sufficiently consider what we ask Irreverence in that it is a sign we do not consider of whom we ask and such men are rather to be esteemed talkative than devout But when a man's Soul is full fraught with matter of which if he duly weighs either his Spiritual wants or his Temporal Sorrows and Afflictions he can never be unfurnished to pour out his Soul and with a torrent of Holy Rhetorick lay open his Case before God begging seasonable supplies in suitable expressions certainly he cannot fall under the reproof of much speaking although he may speak much and long for such an one hath much to say and whilst Matter and Affections last let his prayer be an hour long yea a day long yea an eternity long as our Praises shall be in Heaven he is not to be censured for a Babler but hath still spoken much in a little It is true the Wise Man hath Commanded That our words be few in our Addresses to God Eccles 5.2 and he gives a most forcible Reason For God is in Heaven and thou upon Earth His Infinite Majesty should therefore over-awe thee from using any rash and vain loquacity But yet this makes not against long prayers for many words may be but a few to express the sentiments of our Souls and none can be too many while the Heart keeps Pace with the Tongue and every Petition is filled with Matter and winged with Affections And whereas our Saviour condemns the Pharisees who devoured Widows Houses
him And therefore howsoever thou mayest be advanced in Wealth or Honour or parts above others yet still remember that they are thy Brethren as they partake of the same common Nature and much more if they partake of the same special Grace Yea Christ himself who is the Lord of all is not ashamed to call them Brethren Heb. 2.11 And shalt thou who art but an Adopted Son no otherwise than the meanest Saint be ashamed of the Relation especially considering there is no Eldership nor right of First-born in the Family for they are all First-born all Kings and Heirs with Christ Jesus himself Secondly If thou art mean and low in the World this should teach thee to be well content with thy present State and Condition for God is thy Father and a Father to thee equally with the greatest There is not the highest person upon Earth but if he belong to God prefers that Relation above all his other Titles If he can write Prince King or Emperour and can afterwards subjoin a Child of God all his other Titles stand but for a Cypher with him This O Christian how mean how despised soever thou art this is thy Priviledge and a Priviledge it is that equals thee with David with Solomon and with all the great ones of the Earth that ever laid down their Diadems and Scepters at the feet of God What says the Apostle Gal. 3.28 There is neither bond nor free but all are one in Christ Jesus Thirdly Since when we Pray we must say Our Father this teacheth us to interest one another in our Prayers Our Father would not have us selfish so much as in our Prayers but in the very entrance into them we are put in mind of the Communion of Saints to beg those Blessings for all that belong to God which we ask for our selves for as Christ hath made us all Kings so he hath made all Priests to God and his Father Now the Office of a Priest is Intercession And therefore when we go to God we should bear upon our Breasts the Name of our Brethren and present them before God through the Intercession and Mediation of Jesus Christ our Great High-Priest that both we and they may be accepted of God And this we ought to do both in publick and private It is true in our secret Prayers we may pray particularly for our selves and we have frequent instances for it in Scripture yet ought we in every Prayer that we make to God to be mindful of the State and Condition of our Brethren Yea and it is very Lawful and Commendable even in secret between God and our own Souls in those cases that are common to us with the rest of God's Saints and People to joyn them in our Prayers and although we are all alone yet to say Our Father For we find Daniel praying Dan. 9.17 O Our God when yet he was in secret O Our God hear the Prayer of thy Servant And this is to shew that near and entire Communion which ought to be between all the Saints praying with and praying for all the Members of the Body of Jesus Christ and esteeming their Interest as our own Fourthly This shews us likewise the high Priviledge of the Children of God that they have a Stock of Prayers going to Heaven for them from all their fellow Saints throughout the World yea from those whom they never knew whom they never heard of yet are they continually appearing before the Throne of Grace on their behalf And thou who wouldst think it a great Favour if thou wert interested in the Prayers of some who are mighty in Prayer and whom thou hast begged to recommend thy Condition to God mayest here have abundant Comfort in that thou art nearly concerned and interested in all the Prayers that are put up to God throughout the whole World by all those that are most prevalent at the Throne of Grace yea which is more thou hast an interest in all the Prayers that have ever been preferred to Heaven by all the Saints from the beginning of the World unto this very day for not only this present Church but the Church in all Ages is the Body of Christ and every Member of it imitates the Pattern of Christ's Intercession John 17.20 Neither Pray I for these alone but for all those that shall believe in me The difference is that Christ's Intercession was Authoritative theirs only Charitative And thus much shall suffice to be spoken concerning God's Goodness and Mercy expressed in those Words Our Father The next expression sets forth his Glory and Greatness Which art in Heaven But is not God every where present Doth he not fill Heaven and Earth and all things Yea is it not said that the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him How then are our Prayers to be directed to God in Heaven only since he is as well on Earth as in Heaven And were he only in Heaven and not every where present on Earth it would be in vain for us to pray because our Prayers could never reach his Ears nor arrive to his notice I Answer It is true God is every where present and all that we think we think in him and all that we speak we speak unto him he understands the silent motion of our Lips when we whisper a Prayer to him in our Closets yea the secret motions of our Hearts when we only think a Prayer Therefore when our Saviour bids us direct our Prayers to our Father in Heaven this doth not imply that God is no where present or that he no where hears Prayer but only in Heaven But this expression is used First Because Heaven is the most Glorious Place of God's residence where he hath more especially established his Throne of Grace and there sits upon it Now because it is a most Glorious and Majestical thing to hear the Suits and receive the Petitions that are tendred to him therefore the Scripture ascribes it to the most Glorious and Majestical Place and that is to Heaven And therefore we are commanded to pray to our Father which is in Heaven to keep alive a due sense of his Majesty upon our Hearts He would not have us think it a mean and trivial thing to have our Prayers heard and therefore he represents himself to us arayed in all his Glory and sitting upon his Throne in the highest Heavens willing to be thought a God never more Glorious than when he is a God hearing Prayer Secondly Our Prayers are directed to our Father in Heaven because though he hears them wheresoever they are uttered yet he no where hears them with acceptance but only in Heaven and the Reason is because our Prayers are acceptable only as they are presented before God through the Intercession of Christ Now Christ performs his Mediatory Office only in Heaven for he performs it in both Natures as he is God and Man and so he is only in Heaven And therefore we are still concerned to pray
and be planted where it is not to a perfection of Number and may gain more Proselytes and Converts where it is planted to a perfection of Establishment that they may not be rooted out by the Violence of Men nor abandoned through the Judgment of God And to a perfection of Purity and Holiness by the powerful Dispensation of Gospel-Ordinances attended by the Efficacious Concurrence of the Holy Spirit But Secondly This Petition likewise respects the Church Triumphant in Heaven Nor is this praying for the Dead a thing justly condemned of Superstition and Folly for we pray not for them to alter their State which is impious and ridiculous and a Foppish Consequent upon the Figment of Purgatory But we pray for the Church Triumphant only in general that those things which are as yet defective in it may be supplied for certainly wheresoever there is any kind of imperfection we have ground to pray for the removal of it especially when God hath encouraged us to it by promise that he will remove it And therefore First We may well pray that the whole Body Mystical of Jesus Christ and every Member of it may be brought to the full Fruition of Heaven and Happiness that daily more may be admitted into the Heavenly Fellowship till their Numbers as well as their Joys be Consummate And Secondly We may pray that the Bodies of all the Saints that have slept in their Beds of Earth from the beginning of the World may be raised again out of the Dust and united to their Souls and for ever made Glorious in the Kingdom of Heaven for both these things are absolutely promised the one Rom. 8.29 30. that those whom God hath Called and Justified he will likewise Glorifie And the other is 1 Thessal 4.16 The Dead in Christ shall arise And certainly whatsoever may be the Object of our Faith Hope may be the Subject of our Prayers And this every true Christian longs and breaths after that these Days of Sin and Misery may be shortned that Christ would come in his Glory that his Mediatory Kingdom being fulfilled it might be delivered up unto the Father and that we all might be one as the Father is in him and he in the Father Even so come Lord Jesus come quickly And thus I have finished the Second Petition The Kingdom come The Third follows Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven This now follows upon the former in a most rational and admirable method for as before we pray that the Kingdom of God might come as the best adapted means to Hallow his Name so now we pray that his Will may be done by us as the clearest Declaration that we are the Subjects of his Kingdom Now here are considerable First The Petition it self Thy Will be done in Earth Secondly The Measure and Proportion of it as it is in Heaven I shall begin with the Petition in which every Word carries great Weight and Moment and therefore in the explication of it I shall shew you First What this Will of God is Secondly How his Will may be said to be done Thirdly What force this Particle thy thy Will carries in it and what it denotes Fourthly What is meant by God's Will being done in Earth And all these with all perspicuity and brevity First What this Will of God is Now the Will of God is commonly and very well distinguished into the Will of his Purpose and into the Will of his Precept his Decrees or his Commands The former respects what shall be done by him the latter what ought to be done by us Both these in Scripture are frequently called the Will of God First God's Purpose is his Will yea it is more properly his Will than his Precepts are for by this God doth absolutely determine what shall be and what shall not be and all things in the World take their Place and are ranged in their several Stations and the whole series of Causes and Effects are governed by the Ordination and Appointment of this his Sovereign Will And therefore it is said Eph. 1.11 that God worketh all things according to the Counsel of his own Will And Psal 135.6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased that did he in Heaven in Earth in the Sea and in all deep Places This is God's Will of Purpose whereby he guides and governs all Events whatsoever so that there is not the most inconsiderable Occurrence that happens not the least flight of a Sparrow nor the falling off of an Hair nor the motion of an Atome in the Air or a dust or a sand on the Earth but as it is effected by his Power and Providence so it was determined by his Will and Counsel Secondly The Precepts and Commands are likewise the Will of God but they are improperly so called because these concern not neither do they determine the Event of things but only our Duty not what shall be but what ought to be and it is called Rom. 12.2 The good and acceptable and perfect Will of God This is all contained in the Holy Scriptures which are a perfect Systeme of Precepts given us for the Government of our Lives here and for the attaining of Eternal Life hereafter and therefore it is likewise called his Revealed Will whereas the other namely the Will of Purpose is God's Secret Will until it be manifested unto us by the Events and Effects of it Now concerning this distinction of God's Will of Purpose and Precept we may note that though there be a great deal of difference yet there is no contrariety or opposition between them First They differ the one from the other not in respect of God for his Will is one infinitely pure and uncompounded Act but only in respect of the Object for there are many things which God wills by his Will of Purpose which he hath not willed by his Will of Precept His Precepts are all holy and command nothing but what is holy and acceptable This is the Will of God saith the Apostle even your Sanctification 1 Thessal 4.3 It is the highest degree of Blasphemy to impute unto God that he hath commanded us any thing but what is Holy Just and Good This were to make him the Author of Sin who hath declared himself the Punisher of it But his Will of Purpose is not restrained within bounds and Limits but extendeth it self to all Events whatsoever whether Good or Evil. And as Evils are of two sorts either the Evil of Punishment or the Evil of Sin so is God's Will of Purpose two-fold effective of the one and permissive of the other but in both most certain and infallible 1. God's Will of Purpose doth effect and bring to pass the Evil of Punishment Amos 3.6 Shall there be any Evil in the City and the Lord hath not done it For he doth both in Heaven and in Earth whatsoever pleaseth him Were it not the Will of God the World had never groaned under so many Miseries and Calamities
Operation nor Device in the Grave whither we are going And certainly if ever we would do the Will of God in Heaven we must accustom our selves to do it here on Earth Here we are as Apprentices that must learn the Trade of Holiness that when our time is out we may be fit to be made free Denizons of the New Jerusalem Here we are to tune our Voices to the Praises of God before we come to joyn with the Heavenly Choire Here we are to learn what we must there for ever practise And thus I have done with the Petition it self Thy Will be done in Earth The next thing observable is the proportion of it As it is in Heaven But you will say Is it not utterly impossible while we are here on Earth and clogg'd with Earthly Bodies and encompassed about with manifold Infirmities Is it not impossible ever to attain unto a Celestial and Heavenly Perfection in our Obedience I Answer True it is so but yet this Prayer is not in vain for it teacheth and engageth us to aim at and endeavour after the perfect Holiness of Angels and the Spirits of Just Men made Perfect We are commanded to be Holy as God is Holy and to be Perfect as our Heavenly Father is Perfect whose Perfection is impossible for us to equalize Yet these excessive commands have their use to raise up our endeavours to a higher strain and pitch than if we were commanded somewhat within our own power As he that aims at a Star is likely to shoot much higher than he that aims at a Turf Thus though it be a thing altogether impossible for us in this Life to attain to an Angelical perfection in our Obedience yet the command that obligeth us to it and our Prayers for it are not in vain because by our utmost endeavours after further measures and degrees of Holiness we may very much assimilate our Obedience to that Obedience that is yielded to God's Will in Heaven it self and therefore this Particle As is rather a note of similitude than of equality But though our Obedience on Earth cannot be equal to the Obedience that is yielded to God in Heaven yet we pray that it may bear as much similitude proportion and conformity unto it as is possible for us to attain unto while we are here in the Body And therefore that we may the more fully understand what it is we pray for when we present this Petition to God Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven we shall briefly enquire how the Holy Angels and Blessed Spirits do the Will of God in Heaven And First Their Obedience is absolutely perfect and that both with a perfection of Parts and Degrees They do all that God enjoyns them not failing in the least Tittle of Observance and therefore they are said To follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes Revel 14.14 Hence it is ascribed to them as their proper and peculiar Character Psal 103.20 Bless the Lord ye his Angels that excel in strength that do his Commandments hearkning to the voice of his Word And again they do the whole Will of God with all their Might with all their Mind with the greatest Intention that is possible even to an Angelical Nature never are they remiss in their Service or slack in their Attendance but are continually Blessing and Praising of God standing ready to receive and execute his Commands and Commissions Now when we pray that we may do the Will of God on Earth as it is done in Heaven we pray for this Heavenly temper that we may bear an Universal respect unto all God's Commandments no more sticking or pausing at any thing that God requires of us than an Angel or a Glorified Saint would do But infolding all our Interest and Concerns in God's Glory might respect nor value nothing but what tends to the promotion of that This is to do God's Will as the Angels do it in Heaven Secondly Their Obedience is cheerful not extorted from them by violent constraints of Fear or of Suffering but it is their Eternal Delight and their Service is their Felicity And thus should we pray and endeavour to do the Will of God with Alacrity and Cheerfulness not being haled to it as our Task but esteeming the Commands of God to be as the Angels do our Glory and our great Reward But alas how infinitely short do we fall of our Pattern we think the Sabbath long and Ordinances long and tedious and are secretly glad when they are over And what should such as we are do in Heaven where there is a Sabbath as long as Eternity and nothing but Holiness there And therefore we had need pray earnestly that God would now sit and prepare us for the Work of Heaven while we are here on Earth for else Heaven will not be Heaven or a place of Happiness unto us Thirdly The Will of God is done in Heaven with zeal and ardency and therefore it is said Psal 104.4 That God maketh his Angels and Messengers a Flame of Fire And have not we abundance of need to pray for Conformity with them in this respect also We do the Will of God so coldly and indifferently that we our selves scarce take notice of what we are doing We often bring Sacrifices to God and either bring no Fire with us but are frozen and dull or else offer them up with strange Wild-fire and usually are heated more with Passion and irregular Affections than with Holy and pious Zeal And Fourthly The Will of God is done in Heaven with celerity and ready dispatch they are quick in executing the Commands of the great God and their Lord and therefore are said to have Wings and to fly Esai 6.2 And this expression of Wings and the flying of Cherubims and Angels is frequently mentioned in Scripture only to intimate to us the expedition they use in the Service of God But alas how dull and slow are we how long do we consult with Flesh and Blood and are disputing the Will of our Sovereign Lord when we should be obeying it When we are clearly convinced that such a Duty is necessary to be done how many delays and excuses and procrastinations do we make being willing to stay the leisure of every vile Lust and vain Impertinency thinking it then time enough to serve God when we have nothing else to do Certainly this is not to do the Will of God on Earth as it is done in Heaven where upon the first intimations of God's Will they take Wings and execute it speedily Fifthly The Will of God is done in Heaven with all possible Prostration Reverence and Humility And therefore it is said Rev. 4.10 that the four and twenty Elders fell down before him that sat upon the Throne and Worship him that liveth for ever and ever and cast their Crowns before the Throne Crowns are themselves Ensigns of Majesty but here they cast their very Crowns all their Dignity and Glory at the
much more importunate ought I to be for the Pardon of my Sins and those Spiritual Mercies and Blessings without which my precious and immortal Soul must eternally perish Since Christ hath commanded us not to labour and by consequence not to pray for that Meat which perisheth with any comparative industry and earnestness to our labouring and praying for that which endureth to Eternal Life And thus much concerning the Order of this Petition In the Petition it self we have First The matter of it or that which we pray for Give us Bread Secondly The Kind or Quality of it called here daily Bread Thirdly Our Right and Property in it Our Daily Bread Fourthly The limitation of it in respect of time Give it us this Day Of all these briefly First The matter of this Petition or that which we pray for and that is Bread Give us our Bread By Bread here is meant all Temporal and Earthly Blessings that contribute either to our being or to our well-being in this Life And because we have need of very many things for our present subsistence as Food Raiment Habitation and each of these comprehend many other necessaries in them all which would have been too long particularly to enumerate in this compendious Prayer therefore our Saviour hath summ'd them up in the word Bread figuratively denoting all kinds of Provisions necessary for this Natural Life whereof Bread is the most usual and the most useful And therefore as when God speaks of a Famine he calls it a Famine of Bread Amos 8.11 Not as if a scarcity of Bread were the only Dearth intended by it but that there should be likewise a want of all things requisite to the sustentation of Life So here when Christ teacheth us to pray for our Daily Bread this Phrase extendeth to all things conducible to maintain Health or to recover it to preserve Life or to prolong it Some indeed think this too mean and sordid a request to be preferred to God and would not have any of the low Conveniences of this present Life to have any place in a Prayer all whose other parts are so Spiritual and Heavenly and the whole so short and compendious where the Petitions are so few they will not believe any of them should be spent so trivially as to beg that which though they might not attain yet they might be eternally Blessed and Happy and therefore they interpret this Word Bread in a Spiritual sence and take it for the Food of the Soul whereby it is nourished unto Eternal Life and especially for our Lord Jesus Christ who is called the Bread of Life John 6.35 and Living Bread which came down from Heaven verse 51. But here seemeth no place for any such Mystical Interpretation the Word Bread being put without any addition or like circumstance that might refer it to Christ or to Spiritual things and therefore ought to be understood according to the Words literally and in their ordinary signification although indeed it be here used by way of Synechdoche one part of Temporal good things being put for the whole accession of them Now from this we are taught these three things First That Temporal Mercies and Blessings may lawfully be prayed for And although we ought not to be most earnest and importunate nor to enlarge and expatiate most upon these requests but more earnestly to covet the best Gifts yet neither is unworthy of a Christian whose Affections and Conversation is in Heaven to beg at God's Hands those Mercies that he knows needful for the support and comfort of this present Life yea we read of nothing more frequent than the Saints praying either for the removal of some Temporal Evil or Punishment or the receiving of some Temporal Blessing or Favour If I should quote the Scriptures I might transcribe a great part of the Bible nay so far were they from looking upon it as below them that we find Jacob putting it into his Indentures when he bound himself to God and made it as it were the Condition of his Obligation to God's Service Genes 28.20 Then Jacob vowed a Vow saying if God will be with me and keep me in this way that I go and will give me Bread to eat and Raiment to put on so that I come again to my Father's House in Peace then shall the Lord be my God And indeed there is a great deal of Reason and Ground to pray for these things for they are both needful for us and God hath promised to give them to us First They are needful for us as the means that God hath appointed for the preservation of our Temporal Life and Being in which we have so many opportunities to serve and glorifie him and so many advantages to secure Heaven and Glory to our Souls And therefore as we tender either the obtaining of Heaven or the additional degrees of Glory and Happiness there so we stand obliged to pray that God would afford us those necessaries that may conduce to the prolonging of our Natural Life till having finished our work we are made fit to receive our Wages and Reward Your Heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these things says our Saviour Matth. 6.32 And therefore though Miracles be a kind of a Non-obstante to the Law of Nature and a suspension of the ordinary course of Providence yet we often find God working a Miracle to supply these wants of his People whereas it had been alike easie by another Miracle to have caused them not to want for it had been no more difficult for God to have kept Elijah from hungring than it was to make the Ravens his Purveyors or to make a Barrel of Meal become a whole Harvest or to open a Spring and Fountain in the Cruise of Oyl but he chooseth rather to supply these Wants than to cease them to keep us in a continual dependance upon him that the sense of our necessities might engage us to have continual recourse unto God for relief Secondly As Temporal good things are needful for us so God hath promised to give them to us Psal 50.15 Call upon me in the Day of Trouble and I will deliver thee And My God says the Apostle shall supply all your wants Phil. 4.19 The Lord will give Grace and Glory and no good thing will he with-hold from them that walk uprightly Psal 84.13 Thus we see Temporal good things may be pray'd for both because they are needful for us and because God hath promised them to us Yet Secondly They must be prayed for only conditionally for they are only conditionally promised And these conditions are two-fold If they be consistent with God's pleasure and if they be conducible to our good for without the observing the one we should not so much seem to Petition as to invade and without observing the other we should but beg a Curse instead of a Blessing Thirdly We may learn likewise that God is the Giver of every Temporal Mercy and
comes from the Grace of God therefore much less can we do any thing to merit it Far be it from us to affirm as the Papists do that Good Works proceeding from Grace are Meritorious of Pardon and Salvation Alas what are our Prayers our Sighs our Tears yea our very Blood should we spend it for Christ They are but poor imperfect things and are so far from having in them any infinite worth and value to counterbalance our sins that the defects of them add to the number of our other Transgressions They cannot all of them make one blot in the Book of God's Remembrance but may well make more Items there against us Had it been possible for Men to have quitted scores with Divine Justice by what they could do or suffer Heaven would not have been so needlessly lavish as to send Christ into the World to lead an afflicted Life and to die an accursed Death only for our Redemption and Salvation Secondly The Pardoning Grace of God is not free in respect of Christ but it cost him the price of Blood It is the Blood of the Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World that crosseth the Debt-Book Without shedding of Blood there is no remission says the Apostle Heb. 9.22 And this is my Blood which was shed for the Remission of sins Matth. 26.28 And although possibly God might according to his absolute Sovereignty have freely remitted all the sins of all the World without any kind of Satisfaction only by a Free and Gracious Act of Mercy Yet considering that he had otherwise declared in his unalterable Word of Truth that there must be a recompence made him for all our offences it had been a wrong to his Veracity if not to his Justice to have granted the Pardon of any one sin without the intervention of a full price and satisfaction No satisfaction could be made correspondent to the wrong done to an infinite God but by an infinite Person who was God himself for had the Person been finite the Sufferings must have been Eternal otherwise they could not have been proportionable to the offence which requires an infinite Satisfaction But if the Sufferings had been Eternal Satisfaction could never have been made but would for ever have bene making unto the Justice of God and consequently our sins could never have been Pardoned And therefore God appointed to this Work of reconciling himself to fallen Man his only begotten Son God Co-equal and Co-eternal with himself and every way infinite as himself that he might be able to bear the whole Wrath of God at once and at one bitter draught drink off the whole Cup of Fury which we should have been draining by little drops to all Eternity So that Justice being satisfied in the Sufferings of Christ for the sins of those whose Persons and whose guilt he sustained upon the Cross Mercy hath now a way opened to Glorifie its Riches in their Pardon and Salvation Thus in these two Positions it appears that though the remitting of our sins be an Act of God's Free Grace and Mercy in respect of us yet it is the effect of Purchace in respect of Christ God Pardons sins to them who committed them upon their Faith and Repentance but he Pardon 's not those very sins to Christ to whom they were imputed but exacted Satisfaction from him to the very utmost rigour of Justice Hence it follows Thirdly That the Pardon of sin is not only an Act of meer free Grace and Mercy but according to the Terms of the Covenant of Grace it is also an Act of Justice in God Indeed both Mercy and Justice are concurrent in it for since by the Union of Faith we are made one Mystical Body with Christ it could not consist with the Equity of God to punish the sins of Believers in their own Persons for this would be no other than to punish them twice for the same Offence once in their surety and again in themselves Now what abundant cause of Comfort may this be to all true Believers that God's Justice as well as his Mercy shall acquit them That that Attribute of God at the Apprehension of which they were wont to tremble should interpose on their behalf and plead for them Yet through the All-sufficient Expiation and Atonement that Christ hath made for our sins this Mystery is effected and Justice it self brought over from being a formidable Adversary to be of our Party and to Plead for us Therefore the Apostle tells us 1 John 1.9 That God is Faithful and Just to forgive us our sins And St. Paul 2 Thessal 1.6 7. It is a Righteous thing with God to recompence Tribulation to them that trouble you And to you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus Christ shall be revealed from Heaven with his Mighty Angels Fourthly When God pardons he doth no longer account of us as sinners Indeed after Pardon we still retain sinful and corrupt Natures and there is that Original Pollution in us that can never be totally dislodged in this Life But yet when God pardons he looks not upon us as Sinners but as Just The Malefactor that is legally discharged either by satisfying the Law or by his Princes Grace and Favour towards him is no more reputed a Malefactor but as Just and Righteous as if he had never offended So is it with us we are both ways discharged of our guilt both by satisfying the penalty of the Law in Christ our Surety and by the Free Grace and Mercy of God who hath Sealed to us a Gracious Act of Pardon and therefore we are Just in the sight of God as if we had never sinned Fifthly Pardon of sin is one great part of our Justification Justification consists of these two parts Remission and Acceptance We have them both joyned together Ephes 1.6 7. He hath made us accepted in the Beloved in whom we have Redemption through his Blood even the forgiveness of sins Remission of sins takes away our liableness to Death Acceptation of our persons gives us a Title unto Life Now to be free from our obnoxiousness to Death and instated in a Right to Eternal Life these two Constitute a perfect Justification For to be accepted of God in Christ is no other than for God through the Righteousness and Obedience of Christ imputed to us to own and acknowledge us to have a Right to Heaven And therefore we have mention of Pardon and an Inheritance together in St. Paul's Commission to his Ministery Acts 26.18 That they may receive forgiveness of sins and an Inheritance among them that are Sanctified It is not therefore O Soul a bare negative Righteousness that God intends thee in the Pardon of thy sins it is not meerly to remove the Curse and Wrath thy sins have deserved though that alone can never sufficiently be admired but the same hand that plucks thee out of Hell by Pardon lifts thee up to Heaven by what he gives thee together with
are Tempted so most of them are not only Temptations but Sins also Indeed there is a Temptation to Sin which is a Temptation only and no Sin for so Christ himself was Tempted Matth. 4.1 He was led into the Wilderness to be Tempted of the Devil And we read there with what horrid Temptations he was assaulted even to Worship the Devil to distrust God and to destroy himself And yet as black as these Temptations were they were only Temptations and no Sins for so the Apostle tells us Heb. 4.15 He was Tempted in all things like unto us Sin only excepted And such sometimes are the Temptations wherewith the Devil assaults the Children of God horrid and hellish Temptations even to deny the very Being of God the Truth of the Scriptures the Immortality of the Soul Heaven and Hell and such bublings of Blasphemies against the very Fundamentals and Ground-works of Religion and yet if we be watchful presently to abhor and reject these injections of Satan and to cast back into his Face these his fiery Darts which he shoots into our Souls they are not our Sins though they are our Troubles but they shall be charged upon Satan to whom of right they do belong we being but only Passive and Sufferers in them But truly the most of our Temptations are Sins themselves and therefore we have great Reason and need to pray against them for they are Sins unto Sins Sins as they are irregular and inordinate Motions of our Passions and Affections and unto Sin as they tend to the bringing forth of farther Evil. And such are all the Temptations of our inbred Lusts and Corruptions when our Desires and Affections strongly encline us to those Objects which God by his express Law hath forbidden us Were it not for these sinful Temptations the others which are immediately injected by the Devil would not have any great advantage to prevail over us for by reason of our Lusts and Corruptions our Hearts always stand open to let in the Devil and were it not that these have seized on the Soul the Devil must have stood without and though he had knock'd yet would he have knock'd in vain And therefore we see in his first Temptation he deals all without doors there was no Natural Lust in our First Parents to befriend him or to betray the Soul unto him He shuts up himself therefore in the Body of a Serpent questioning with Eve about God's Commands perswades her of the desirableness of the forbidden Fruit tells her that God's Threatning was rather to fright them than to hurt them But in all these Methods of Tempting Satan had no admission into the Soul because Lust as yet had taken no possession of it but ever since the Corruption of our Natures contracted by the commission of the first Offence the Devil doth not stand to Tempt us without doors but he enters boldly as into the House of his old Friend Concupiscence nay as into his own House for the Souls of wicked Men are so called Matth. 12.29 He is by Lust let into the very inmost recesses and retirements of the Heart and can now propound Objects immediately to our Fancies and by our Fancies darken our Understandings and Affections and incline our Wills Again our Natural Corruption as it admits so it entertains and cherisheth the Temptations of the Devil A spark of Fire if there were no fewel prepared for it to seize on would presently die and vanish And so truly would Satan's Temptations that are like so many sparks of Hell Fire struck by the Devil into our Souls were it not for the prepared fuel the catching Tinder of our Lusts and Corruptions these Temptations would soon go out and expire and be like a flash of Lightning that might possibly startle us but could not burn us And thus though our Saviour Christ was grievously tempted yet it is said Joh. 14.30 The Prince of this World cometh and hath nothing in me that is the Devil could find no Sin or Corruption in him and therefore could fasten none of his Temptations upon him Thus we see what abundant reason there is for us to pray earnestly against Temptations whether they proceed from Satan or from our own Corruptions the one sort being always Sins of themselves and both sorts inclining and enducing us unto Sin But since Satan and our own Hearts prove Tempters unto us some may possibly ask how shall we know when it is Satan that Tempts us and when the Temptation ariseth from our own Corruptions The Question is nice and difficult yet because it may tend to the satisfaction of some who are curious in observing the Workings of their own Souls I Answer First There is but one kind of Temptations to Sin which have not their rise and original usually from Lust and those are Temptations to sin against the Light and Law of Nature as to the denying those Truths that are clear and evident by Natural Reason and strong Impressions on the Minds of Men as the being of a God the Immortality of the Soul future Rewards and Punishments and the like or else the doing of those things which are repugnant to the Dictates of the Law of Nature as for a Man to be Tempted to offer Violence to himself and to destroy himself It is very probable that such Temptations have not their first rise and original from our Natural Corruptions but are immediately darted into the Soul by the Devil though indeed our Corruptions too often catch at them and brood upon them till they have from such horrid Temptations as these conceived some horrid and monstrous Sin in the Soul Such injections as these are Balls of Wild-Fire kindled in Hell and cast into the Soul by the Devil and are not our Sins any farther than they are entertained by us and consented unto Secondly As for those Temptations which have a greater compliance to the corrupt tendency and inclinations of our sinful Natures which are not to such unnatural Sins as the other it is very hard if not impossible to Judge whether they originally proceed from Satan or from our own inbred Corruptions usually they both joyn together if Satan first inject them usually our Lusts nurse and foster them or if our wicked Hearts be the first Parents of them usually Satan inforceth them and by additional recruits of Temptations makes them more prevalent and permanent and by fair and specious colours makes them more plausible and taking And certainly there being such an innumerable Company of Evil Spirits that notwithstanding the great Work and Employment they have to do in the World yet Hell could spare a whole Legion of them to Garrison in one possessed Man we may not doubt but that they are continually busie prying into every one of our Tempers And as long experience hath made them very sagacious in guessing at the first motions of our Hearts by the alterations they find in our Fancies or the Humours of our Bodies of which
a Discerner of the Thoughts and intents of the Heart doth strictly prohibit and condemn these callow unfledg'd motions of our Hearts to be Concupiscence the sad effects of Original sin and the fruitful cause of all actual And therefore if we would be delivered from evil we have very great cause first to pray that we be not led into Temptation For some Temptations do almost so inseparably follow one upon another that this will be our best security against those secret desires and wouldings and first smatterings and rudiments of wickedness which else the compliance of our corrupt hearts with Satan's Temptations will certainly betray us unto Hence it is that when God in Scripture frequently dehorts us from sin he extends the prohibition to all Temptations and Occasions of sinning Yea those things which in themselves considered may be lawfully and innocently done by us yet because they may prove Snares and Temptations to us we must as carefully refrain from them as we earnestly desire to keep our selves far from sin And therefore it sufficeth not the Wise Man to command If sinners entice consent thou not Prov. 1.10 but that thou mayest be sure not to consent thou must order thy Actions and Converse so as that thou mayest not be enticed by them in the 15. verse says he Walk not thou in the way with them refrain thy feet from their path And so we have the same Counsel given us by him in another Chapter that we may not be inveagled by the allurements of a strange Woman be sure to avoid all occasions thereof Prov. 5.8 Remove thy way far from her come not near the door of her House And again Prov. 4.14 15. Enter not into the path of the wicked and go not in the way of evil Men avoid it pass not by it turn from it pass away Here is earnestness even to a tautology as some may prophanely think but Sacred Writ can admit of no such thing But there are so many expressions heaped up signifying the same thing only to denote how great the necessity of avoiding Temptations and Occasions to evil is to those who desire to avoid the sin We have treacherous and deceitful hearts within us that have often betrayed us when we have trusted them And I beseech you call to mind when you have emboldned your selves to venture upon Temptations and sinful Occasions being confident and fully resolved not to yield to them Have you not often been surprized and led away Captive contrary to your Hopes contrary to your Intentions contrary to your Resolutions contrary to the vain Confidences with which you were before possess'd Methinks former experience should make you cautious never again to trust those hearts with such opportunities and advantages for wickedness since they have been so often already treacherous and deceitful to us Venture them not therefore upon Temptations for what security have you that a sinful heart will not sin yea and betray you to commit those great abominations which possibly you cannot now think of without horrour and shivering And thus much I thought fit to note to you from the connexion of this part of the Petition with the former Lead us not into Temptation but deliver us from Evil. In the words themselves we have two things chiefly considerable The thing that we pray against and the Person to whom we pray That which we pray against is Evil that we may be delivered from it The Person to whom we pray is God our Heavenly Father That which we pray against is Evil. Some limit this word Evil only unto Satan making the sence to be deliver us from the Evil one founding this Interpretation upon that Article that is joyned with the Original Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but this is not always descretive but sometimes indefinite as for instance Matth. 12.35 and many other places And therefore considering the Comprehensiveness of this Prayer we ought to allow the Word a large extent and to comprehend under it First Satan whose proper Style and Epithete it is to be called the Evil one and so we find this black Title given him in Scripture Matth. 13.19 The wicked one cometh and snatcheth away that which was sown And 1 John 2.13 19. You have overcome the wicked one He is the wicked one eminently and singularly He is the chief Author of Evil his Temptations are all unto Evil his delight is only in Evil he is the Father of all those that do Evil. And therefore this is the most proper and significant Character of the Devil But yet it is also ascribed unto Men according to their resemblance of him Secondly All other Evils are here meant whether they be of sin or sorrow whether they be Transgressions or Punishments and that either Temporal punishments in those Judgments which God inflicts upon sinners here or Eternal Judgments such as he hath threatned to inflict upon them hereafter From all these we pray to be delivered but the greatest of all these is Sin For First It is greatest in the Nature of it as being the only thing that is contrary to the greatest Good even God for in all other things else in the World there is something of Good even as much as derived and participated of God And so the very Devils themselves have a Metaphysical Goodness in them as they are Creatures and have received their Beings and Powers from God who is the Author of nothing that is Evil. But Sin hath not the least ray or footsteps of Goodness in it but is only defect and irregularity And that alone which as his Soul always hates so his Hands never made Secondly It is the greatest Evil in the Effects and Consequences of it It once turn'd Glorious Angels into hideous Devils and tumbled them down from Heaven to Hell filled the World with Woes and Plagues brought Death and Diseases and a vast and endless sum of Miseries into it it torments and terrifies the Conscience kindles Hell-flames exposes the Soul to the eternal and direful revenges of the great God and is so perfectly and only Evil that the worst of things here were they free from the Contagion of Sin would be excellent and amiable To pray therefore against the Evil of Sin is to pray against all other Evils whatsoever for the Devil the Evil One cannot hurt us but by Sin And no other Evil can befall us but for Sin God inflicting them as the due Guerdon and Reward of our Transgressions Sin therefore being the chief and Principal Evil and all others but retainers to it I shall at present speak only of God's delivering us from Sin Now as there are Two things in Sin which make it so exceeding Evil the Guilt of it whereby it Damns and the Filth of it whereby it Pollutes the Soul so God hath Two ways to deliver us from it First By removing the Guilt already contracted which he doth in justifying and pardoning the Sinner Secondly By preventing us from falling
united force of Nature should they make head against God would but dash themselves in pieces by dashing against the Rock of ages whose Counsels and Purposes shall stand firm though all the World dissent from them and endeavour to oppose them yea the Power of God is so absolute and sovereign that the greatest Created Powers are but Instruments for God to make use of to bring about his own designs and therefore they are compared to Axes and Saws and Staves Esai 10.15 Shall the Ax boast it self against him that heweth therewith or shall the Saw magnifie it self against him that shaketh it Yea in verse 5. God is said to take up a great King and a great Nation only as a Rod to Chastise his People with O Assyrian the Rod of mine anger and the Staff in their hand is mine indignation And as a Staff a Rod or an Ax cannot move themselves without the hand and guidance of him that makes use of them So neither can the Mightiest Princes nor the most Powerful People move themselves but by the Power and Direction of God who applies them as so many Tools or Instruments to whatsoever work he pleaseth Now upon all these Accounts Power may be thus eminently ascribed unto God Thine is the Power Yet when we affirm God's Power to be thus Sovereign and Infinite it doth not therefore follow that it must take all things whatsoever within its reach and extent for there are several things which as St. Austin speaks lib. 5. de Civitate Dei cap. 10. God cannot do because he is Omnipotent Quaedam Deus non potest quia est Omnipotens First God cannot do the things that are contradictory He cannot Will the same thing to be and not be at the same time That there should be a Body without quantity or any other Corporeal property belonging to it as the Papists absurdly dream in their Monstrous Doctrine of Transubstantiation for when they have recourse to the Almighty Power of God by which they say That those things which are naturally impossible may be effected As for the same Body to be in ten thousand places at once For the same Body to have quantity as it hath in Heaven and no quantity as in the Sacrament We truly Answer that the Power of God never reacheth to verifie contradictions and that it is as great a contradiction to affirm a Body to be in more places than one at once or to be and not to have quantity especially to have it and not to have it as it is to affirm that it is a Body and no Body Secondly God cannot do any thing which may justly bring upon him the imputation of sin for sin is not from Power but from Weakness since all Impiety consists of defect and all defect is from impotence And therefore the Apostle tells us James 1.13 God cannot be tempted with evil Holiness and Purity is an essential Attribute of the Divine Essence and therefore God can as soon not be as be the Author of sin for all sin must arise either from weakness in the understanding or perverseness in the Will but the Divine Vnderstanding is infinitely clear and therefore cannot be dazled with the false shews and appearances of evil and the Divine Will is infinitely Holy and conformed to the Sovereign Rule of his Sapience and Wisdom And therefore where there is no possibility of ignorance in the one nor of irregularity in the other there can be no obliquity in those Actions which proceed from both but they must all needs be most Holy Just and Righteous Thirdly God cannot do any thing that argues him mutable and unconstant He cannot change his purposes nor break his Promises nor alter the thing that is gone out of his Lips And tho' the Scripture makes frequent mention of God's Repenting himself of what he hath done So we read Gen. 6.6 It repented the Lord that he made Man Exod. 32.19 The Lord repented of the Evil that he thought to do unto his People 2 Sam. 24.16 And the Lord repented him of the evil Yet these and such like expressions are spoken only by way of Accommodation to our Capacities and spoken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 compassionately and after the manner of Men but must be understood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after such a manner as is befitting God For as Men when they repent of what they have made do again destroy it and act contrary to their former actings So because God doth sometimes act contrary to his former actings he is said to Repent of what he had done although in strict propriety of Speech the immutability of his Essence is such that all his purposes and Counsels stand firm and fixed for ever Mal. 3.6 I am the Lord I change not James 1.17 With him is no variableness nor shadow of turning And therefore because of this Eternal fixedness of God's purpose it is said That he cannot deny himself 2 Tim. 2.13 That he cannot lye Tit. 1.2 and that it is impossible that God should lye Heb. 6.18 because these things imply inconstancy and fickleness which is always an effect of weakness for whensoever we alter our Counsels and Resolutions it is because we see some inconvenience would follow upon them which we did not before consider which to impute to God were the highest Blasphemy Now these three things only excepted all other things in the World fall within the compass of God's Power He is able to do all things as Origen speaks excellently the doing whereof would not deny him to be God or to be Holy or to be Wise And therefore he cannot bring to pass contradictions nor can he alter his Eternal Purposes for this would derogate from his infinite Wisdom He cannot be the Author of sin for this would be a stain and blot upon his infinite Purity and Holiness and both would be impotency rather than Power and were he weak enough to do those things he would not be God for it is Essential to God to be infinitely Wise and infinitely Holy Let us now briefly shew how this consideration of the Power of God may be made use of as a prevalent Argument for the strengthening of our Faith in Prayer and the assuring of us that we shall obtain what we ask for our Saviour hath taught us to subjoyn it to all our Petitions as a Reason why we should ask and as a motive why we should speed For thine is the Power Now the great strength of this lies here in that it must needs be a mighty encouragement to our Faith to reflect and consider that whatsoever we ask we ask it of a God that is able to give it us he is not a weak impotent Deity but a God who hath all Power in his hands and therefore can effect whatsoever we desire of him Behold what care God hath taken to strengthen our Faith when we pray unto him There are but two things that can make us doubt of speeding in our Requests
Power in it self infinite A. It is for his Power is his Essence Q. How doth it appear that God's Power is infinite A. 1. By the Works of Creation for it requires an infinite Power to bring something out of nothing 2. By the many Miracles which have been wrought in the World above and contrary to the Course of Nature Q. How then have many Men wrought Miracles as Moses Elijah and the Apostles A. They wrought them not by any proper Vertue of their own but onely as the Moral Instruments at whose Presence or Intercession God was pleased to manifest his Power as a Seal to that Commission they had received from him Q. Is God's Power infinite likewise in the common Effects of Nature A. It is for it is no less Power that preserves and moves the Creatures than did at first Create them Q. Is there nothing impossible with God A. Yes there are several things which God cannot do because he is Omnipotent Q. What are they A. Such as in the General the doing of them would deny him to be God or to be holy or to be wise Q. What are they more particularly A. God cannot do things that are contradictory or rather such things cannot be done as to make the same thing to be and not to be at the same time or that the same Body should at once have quantity and extension in Heaven and no quantity nor extension in the Host as the Papists affirm of their breaden God for this were contrary to his Wisdom 2. God cannot do any thing that may justly bring upon him the Imputation of Sin for this were contrary to his Holiness 3. God cannot do any thing that may argue him mutable and inconstant for this were contrary to his Being 2 Tim. 2.13 If we believe not yet he abideth faithfull he cannot deny himself Heb. 6.18 That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye Q. Is it not a Diminution of the Power of God that he cannot do those things A. No for these things argue Weakness and Defect not Power Q. Why hath our Saviour taught us to subjoin this Acknowledgment of the Power of God to our Petitions A. To encourage our Faith by considering that whatsoever we ask we ask it of a God who is able to give it us yea and to do for us abundantly above whatsoever we are able to ask or think Q. What is the third Attribute ascribed to God in the Doxology A. Glory in these words And the Glory Q. What is Glory A. Glory is any Perfection or Excellency that either is or deserves to be accompanied with Fame and Renown Q. How is God's Glory distinguished A. Into his Essential and Declarative Glory Q. What is the Essential Glory of God A. All those Attributes which Eternally and Immutably belong unto the Divine Nature So Holiness is his Glory Exod. 15.11 Glorious in Holiness His Power is his Glory 2 Thes 1.9 They shall be punished from i. e. by the Glory of his Power His Majesty is his Glory Psal 145.11 I will speak of the glorious Honour of thy Majesty His Grace and Mercy is his Glory Ephes 1.6 To the Praise of the Glory of his Grace And from all these united results the Glory of his Name Deut. 28.58 That thou mayest fear this Glorious and Fearfull Name the Lord thy God Q. What is the Declarative Glory of God A. The Manifestation of his Attributes so that they are observed to his Praise and Honour Q. What is it to glorify God A. To glorifie God is to admire and celebrate the Divine Attributes shining forth in those ways and works wherein he is pleased to express them Q. Do we by glorifying God add any thing to his Glory A. We can neither add unto nor diminish from the Essential Glory of God for his infinite Perfections are the same for ever But we may add to his Declarative Glory by setting forth his Attributes and we detract from it by hindering the Manifestation of them Q. By what Means doth God declare his Glory A. By three especially 1. By his Works Psal 19.1 The Heavens declare the Glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his handy Work 2. By his Word which discovers to us those Attributes which we could never have known by the Works of Creation and Providence and therefore both Law and Gospel are said to be glorious 2 Cor. 3.9 For if the Ministration of Condemnation be Glory much more doth the Ministration of Righteousness exceed in Glory 3. By his Son who is the Brightness of his Glory Heb. 13. Who being the Brightness of his Glory and the express Image of his Person And in whom the Perfections of the God-head are most visibly displayed Q. Why doth our Saviour in the Doxology peculiarly appropriate Glory unto God Thine is the Glory A. For three Reasons 1. Because all that is excellent and glorious in the Creatures is in God infinitely more perfect than in them being neither limited by his Nature nor allayed with Contraries 1 John 1.5 That God is Light and in him is no Darkness at all 2. Because all Glory in respect of God is but Darkness and Obscurity Job 25.5 Behold even to the Moon and it shineth not yea the Stars are not pure in his Sight 3. Because all the Excellencies and Glories of Creatures serve onely to set forth and declare the Glory of God Q Why hath our Saviour added the Acknowledgment of God s Glory at the End of the Petitions he hath taught us to present A. That the Consideration thereof may be a Means to strengthen our Faith for the obtaining those good things which we pray for Q. How is the Consideration of the Glory of God an Argument to strengthen our Faith in Prayer A. Many ways according to the Petitions we prefer 1. The Glory is God's therefore his Name shall be hallowed for to sanctifie the Name of God is to glorifie him Lev. 10.3 I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me and before all the People I will be glorified 2. The Glory is God's and therefore his Kingdom shall come for where should a King be honoured but in his Kingdom 3. The Glory is God's therefore his Will shall be done for our Obedience is the greatest Glory we can give John 15.8 Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much Fruit so shall ye be my Disciples 4. The Glory is God's and therefore he will provide for us daily Bread for it is not God's Honour that any of his Family should want things convenient for them Exod. 16.7 And in the Morning then shall ye see the Glory of the Lord. 5. The Glory is God's and therefore he will forgive our Trespasses for it is his Honour and Royalty to pardon penitent Offenders Prov. 19 11. And it is his Glory to pass over a Transgression Ephes 1.6 7. To the Praise of the Glory of his Grace Vers 7. In whom we have Redemption through his
may persuade you to a diligent search and perusal of the Scriptures The Jews indeed were so exact or rather Superstitious in this that he was judged a despiser of those Sacred Oracles who did not readily know how often every Letter of the Alphabet occurred in them This preciseness God hath made use of to deliver down his word to us unvaried and uncorrupted It is not such a scrupulous search of the Scripture I now exhort you to but as God hath left it to us a rich Depositum a dear pledge of his Love and care so we should diligently attend to a rational and profitable study of it There are but two things in the general that commend any writing to us either that it discovers knowledge or directs practice that it informs the Judgment or reforms the Life Both of these are eminently the Characters of this Book of God And therefore David tells us Psal 19.7 The Law of God converts the Soul and makes wise the simple It is a light not only to our heads but it is a Lamp unto our Feet and a light unto our paths Psal 119.105 Let us consider it as to both First In point of knowledge as it perfects the understanding and so it will appear in sundry particulars how excellent a study it is For First The Scripture discovers unto us the knowledge of those truths that the most improved natural Reason could never sift out and are intelligible only by Divine Revelation God hath Composed two Books by the diligent study of which we may come to the knowledge of himself The Book of the Creatures and the Book of the Scriptures The Book of the Creatures is written in those great Letters of Heaven and Earth the Air and Sea and by these we may spell out somewhat of God He made them for our instruction as well as our service There is not a Creature that God hath breathed abroad upon the face of the Earth but it Reads us Lectures of his infinite Power and Wisdom So that it is no absurdity to say that they are all the Works of his mouth so they are all the works of his Hands The whole World is a speaking workmanship Rom. 1.20 The invisible things of God are clearly seen by the things that are made even his eternal Power and Godhead And indeed when we seriously consider how God hath poised the Earth in the midst of the Air and the whole World in the midst of a vast and boundless nothing how he hath hung out those glorious lights of Heaven the Sun the Moon and Stars and made paths in the Sky for their several courses how he hath laid the Sea on heaps and so girt it in that it may possibly overlook but not overflow the Land when we view the Variety Harmony and Law of the Creation our Reason must needs be very short if we cannot from these collect the infinite Wisdom Power and Goodness of the Creator So much of God as belong to these two great Attributes of Creator and Governour of the World the Book of Nature may plainly discover to us But then there are other more retired and reserved Notions of God other truths that nearly concern our selves and our eternal Salvation to know and believe which nature could never give the least glimpse to discover What Signature is there stampt upon any of the Creatures of a Trinity in Unity of the eternal Generation or temporal Carnation of the Son of God What Creature could inform us of our first fall and guilt contracted by it Where can we find the Copy of the Covenant of Works or of grace printed upon any of the Creatures All the great Sages of the World though they were Nature's Secretaries and ransack'd its abstrusest mysteries yet all their Learning and Knowledge could not discover the Sacred Mystery of a Crucified Saviour These are truths which Nature is so far from searching out that it can scarce receive them when revealed 1. Corinth 2.14 The natural Man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God neither can he know them because they are Spiritually discerned The light that can reveal these must break immediately from Heaven it self And so it did upon the Prophets Evangelists and Apostles the Pen-men of the Holy Scriptures And if it were their singular Privilege that the Holy Ghost should descend into their breasts and so possess them with Divine inspirations that what they spake or wrote became Oracular how little less is ours since the Scriptures reveal to us the very same truths which the Spirit revealed to them God heretofore spake in them and now he speaks by them unto us Their Revelations are become ours the only difference is that what God taught them by extraordinary inspiration the very same truths he teacheth us in the Scripture by the ordinary illumination of his Spirit Here therefore whilest we diligently converse in the Book of God we enjoy the privilege of Prophets The same word of God which came unto them comes also unto us and that without those severe preparations and strong agonies which sometimes they underwent before God would inspire them with the knowledge of his Heavenly truth That is the first Motive and Argument Secondly The knowledge which the Scripture teacheth is for the matter of it the most sublime and losty in the World All other sciences are but poor and beggarly Elements if compared with this What doth the Naturalist but only busie himself in digging a little drossie knowledge out of the Entrails of the Earth The Astronomer who ascends highest mounts no higher than the Coelestial Bodies the Stars and Planets which are but the out-works of Heaven But the Scripture pierceth much farther and lets us into Heaven it self There it discovers the Majesty and Glory of God upon his Throne the Eternal Son of God sitting at his right hand making a prevailing and Authoritative intercession for us The glittering train of Cherubims and Seraphims an innumerable company of Angels and the Spirits of Just Men made perfect So that indeed when you have this Book laid open before you you have Heaven it self and all the inconceivable glories of it laid open to your view What can be more sublime than the nature of God And yet here we have it so plainly described by all its most glorious Attributes and Perfections that the Scripture doth but beam forth light to an Eye of Faith whereby it may be inabled to see him who is invisible But if we consider those Gospel Mysteries the Scripture relates the Hypostatical Union of the Divine and Humane Nature in Christ's incarnation the Mystical Union of our persons to his by our believing that the Son of God should be Substituted in the stead of guilty Sinners that he who knew no sin should be made a Sacrifice for sin and the Justice of God become reconciled to Man through the blood of God these are Mysteries so infinitely profound as are enough to puzzle a whole College of
of our Selves Man that busies himself in knowing all things else is of nothing more ignorant than of himself the Eye that beholds other things cannot see its own shape and so the Soul of Man whereby he understands other objects is usually ignorant of its own Concernments Now as the Eye that cannot see it self directly may see it self reflexively in a Glass so God hath given us his Scripture which St. James compares to a Glass James 1.23 and holds this before the Soul wherein is represented our true State and Idea There is a four-fold state of Man that we could never have attained to know but by the Scriptures His state of Integrity His state of Apostacy His state of Restitution His state of Glory The Scripture alone can reveal to us what we were in our Primitive Constitution Naturally Holy bearing the Image and Similitude of God and enjoying his Love free from all inward perturbations or outward Miseries having all the Creatures subject to us and what is much more our selves What we were in our state of Apostacy or Destitution despoiled of all our Primitive Excellencies dispossess'd of all the Happiness we enjoy'd and of all hopes of any for the future lyable every Moment to the revenge of Justice and certain once to feel it What we are in our state of Restitution through Grace begotten again to a lively hope Adopted into the Family of Heaven Redeem'd by the Blood of Christ Sanctified and Sealed by the Holy Spirit restored to the Favour and Friendship of God recovering the initials of his Image upon our Souls here on Earth and expecting the perfection of it in Heaven What we shall be in our final State of Glory cloathed with Light Crowned with Stars inebriated with pure spiritual Joys We shall see God as he is know him as we are known by him love him ardently converse with him eternally yea a state it will be so infinitely happy that 't will leave us nothing to hope for This Four-fold state of Man the Scripture doth evidently express Now these are such things as could never have entred into our Hearts to have imagined had not the word of God described them to us and thereby instructed us in the knowledge of our selves as well as of God and Christ Now let us put these six particulars together The Scripture instructs us in the knowledge of such things as are intelligible only by divine Revelation it teacheth us the most sublime and lofty Truths 't is a most inexhaustible Fountain of Knowledge the more we draw the more still springs up it teaches that Knowledge that is necessary to Salvation It is of undoubted certainty and perpetual Truth And Lastly it informs us in the knowledge of our Selves and certainly if there be any thirst in you after Knowledge there needs no more be spoken to perswade you to the diligent study of the Scripture which is a rich Store and Treasury of all Wisdom and Knowledge Thus we have seen how the Scriptures inform the Judgment Let us now briefly see how they reform the Life and what practical influence they have upon the Souls of Men. Now here the word of God hath a mighty Operation and that in sundry particulars First This is that word that convinceth and humbles the stoutest and proudest Sinners There are two sorts of secure Sinners Those who vaunt it in the Confidence of their own Righteousness and those who are secure through an insensibility of their own Wickedness Both these the word when it is set home with Power convinceth humbles and brings to the Dust It despoils the Self-Justitiary of all that false Righteousness he once boasted of and trusted to I was alive once without the Law saith St. Paul but when the Commandment came sin revived and I dyed Rom. 7.9 It awakens and alarms the senseless seared Sinner How many have there been that have scorned God and despised Religion whom yet one curse or threat of this word hath made to tremble and fall down before the convincing Majesty and Authority of it Secondly This is that word that sweetly comforts and raiseth them after their Dejections All other Applications to a wounded Spirit are improper and impertinent 'T is only Scripture Consolation that can ease it The leaves of this Book are like the leaves of that Tree Rev. 22. which were for the healing of the Nations The same Weapon that wounds must here work the cure Thirdly This is that word that works the mighty change upon the heart in Renovation Take a Man that runs on in vile and desperate Courses that sells himself to do Iniquity and commits all manner of Wickedness with Greediness and makes use of all the Arguments that reason can suggest these seldom reclaim any from their Debaucheries Or if in some few they do reform the Life yet they can never change the heart But now that which no other means can effect the Word of God can Psal 19.7 The Law of God is perfect converting the Soul Fourthly This is that word that strengthens and arms the People of God to endure the greatest temporal Evils only in hope of that future reward which it punisheth Fifthly This is that word that contains in it such a Collection of Rules and Duties that whosoever observes and obeys shall in the end infallibly obtain everlasting life Though I can but just mention these Heads unto you yet there is enough in them to perswade you to be diligent in the Scriptures In them saith our Saviour ye think to have Eternal Life We are all of us guilty Malefactors but God hath been pleased to afford us the Mercy of the Book And what shall we not so much as read for our Lives This is that Book according to which we must either stand or fall be acquitted or condemned Eternally The unalterable Sentence of the last day will pass upon us as it is here recorded in this Scripture Here we may before-hand know our Doom and what will become of us to all Eternity He that believeth shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned 'T is said Rev. 20.12 That when the dead stood before God to be Judged the Books were opened That is the Book of Conscience and the Book of the Scripture Be perswaded to open this Book and to judge your selves out of it before the last day 'T is not a sealed Book to you you may there read what your present State is and foretell what your future will be If it be a State of Sin and Wrath search farther there are Directions how you may change this wretched State for a better If it be a State of Grace and Favour there are Rules how to preserve you in it 'T is a word suited to all Persons all Occasions all Exigencies It informs the Ignorant strengthens the Weak comforts the Disconsolate supports the Afflicted relieves the Tempted resolves the Doubtful directs all to those ways which lead to endless Happiness where as the Word of God hath dwelt richly in us so we shall dwell for ever gloriously with God FINIS