a heart to crave and this is got by prayer As water put into a Pumpe will bring forth much waters so pray that you may pray If your earthly father knowes what to give to you how much more can your heavenly Father give you a heart nothing shall be wanting to them that go to God as a father God bowes his care to the prayer of his people he condescends to our weaknesse buckles himselfe to heare us Thirdly we are here to take notice of Gods fatherly providence to provide what may be sutable to our occasions God hath all in store All the beasts of the field are mine he is the God of all comfort herefore he is provident He that provides for the Ravens and causeth the Lillies of the field to grow if God care for these how much more for you Matth. 6. hath the Lord a care for Oxen He that feedeth the Ravens Matth. 6. and clotheth the Lillies he will much more provide for him that calls on him Who then would not have God to his Father As the Father provides for the sonne so God is a provident Father let us walk in his wayes and commit our selves to his providence and care Fourthly this must teach us an awfulnesse to come before him What awe should be in our hearts to come before an heavenly Father Our Father FIrst observe that it is the tearme of relation and it is in two things 1. Consider the sense of the words 2. The Motives For the sense of the words three things are implyed First a proprietie an interest we have to challenge in speciall not as one friend to another or one neighbour to another or the like but he is our Father as we say it is our Land so when we say Our Eather we imply a speciall claime to God all that compassion and mercy in God is mine as Nabal said It is my meat Deut. 32. The word my implyes a possession Deut. 32. Our God is not like the gods of the Heathens and as Job saith My Redeemer liveth Secondly this laying claime to God implyes a communitie to all the houshold of God as the Sun is every mans so God is every mans that is faithfull Thirdly it notes a bond of society between the faithfull children of the same Father This is the meaning of the word Our as the members agtee with the head so they are helpfull so God is helpfull to all his faithfull ones Now the Motives whereby the soule may be furnished to call on God are three First a cheerfull readines to repair unto the Lord 1. Motive why we have an interest in him he is our Father The interest a childe hath in his father stirs him to come readily to his Father he craves not of a stranger as when the childe cryed they did carry him to his mother If any thing befalls the childe he saith I will tell my father and complaine to my mother and the like So aske the childe who will provide for him he saith My father So it is here with our God There is a fresh and living way that is marvellous easie and open Whosoever seeks shall finde whosoever knocks it shall be opened unto him therefore whatever our injuries be we should not complain to the world No poure forth your prayers to your Father and he will be sure to hear you Secondly as there should be a chearie readinesse to come to the Lord 2. Motive so there should be a spirituall boldnes to challenge what may be needfull Among strangers we are strange but amongst friends we are bold we have a right and title to these things and we may be bold with our own Thus David challengeth God As thou art faithful deliver me I am thy servant c. If a servant wants food or raiment he goes to his master So saith David I am thy servant therefore give me understanding that I may live When they bragged of Paul and Apollo saith he All is yours This should comfort our hearts let us claime our portions God is our Father and he will give it therefore be humbled in regard of your weaknesse and unworthinesse and confident in regard of his mercy and walk comfortably in regard of the Lord. If I should see the childe doubt in regard of my readinesse I should wonder Care not saith he it is your owne and he is our Father Marth 6. 32. 3 Motive and all that is in him is ours Matth. 6.32 Thirdly this stirs up our hearts to have a fellow-feeling of our brethrens misery in our prayers therefore God cuts off all in-seekings of our own Our as if he should say Is there never a Joseph in prison never a Daniel in the Lions den remember and pray for them If one suffer all suffers we are all members of one body we should mourne with those that mourne and weep with them that weep Isa Isai 58. 58. Pus up a Prayer for the remnant Oh that our hearts would have a fellow-feeling of their trouble Ephes 6. Paul begs for prayers as for a peny Eph. 6. for me also nay he intreats the Romans to wrastle for him in prayer Which art in Heaven c. FIrst we are to open the sence of the word Heaven secondly the motives to move the heart thereto Whether is God more in Heaven then in any other place Quest No Resp God in regard of his essence is in all places alike he is wholly every where The Godhead is altogether indivisible things of quantity fill a roome but God is indivisible as he is unchangeable so he is a simple being therefore all of God is in the whole compasse of Heaven and Earth Psal 139. If I goe to hell thou art there c. God is in the same manner every where Psal 139. you must conceive no parts in God if God be immense then all of him is every where and altogether in every place All creatures have their being from God he is in them and beyond them he is excluded out of no place included in no place If all of God be in every place Quest why then is he said to be in Heaven onely First Resp because God would manifest the glory of his power more in Heaven then in Earth because we see him not here Acts 17. we grope after him Acts 17. but we know the royalty of a King appears more in Court or Parliament so the excellency of God appears most in Heaven Secondly there are three Heavens the Heaven where the birds are the Heaven where the starres are and the highest Heaven now the third Heaven is meant here for God hath reserved this place as his chair of state the Heavens saith David are the Lords no uncleane thing can come there The Angels sinned and all the visible Heavens are defiled by man the sunne is abased the aire polluted all these creatures that serve man are by man defiled but the
highest Heaven was never defiled because it is the chamber of God God leaseth out these things to man but he reserves this Heaven for his own habitation This is the speciall reason why God is said to be in Heaven What motives have we to prepare our hearts to prayer Quest which is the scope of the Preface They are specially three First Resp it teacheth us to take notice of the purity of God what ought to be the frame of our spirits when we appeare before him he cannot abide sluggish prayers from an impure heart heavenly dispositions best suits with Gods holinesse the sanctity of our affections ought to answer Gods purity Kings we know as they will be entertained so their entertainment must be that which suits to their greatnesse God is in Heaven beyond all corruption therefore if we approach neere to God we should answer to his purity with hearts purged that our hearts may be in Heaven because he is in Heaven to whom we pray Mal. 1. 14. Cursed be the deceiven that hath a male in his flock and offers a female c. our sacrifice is our service and prayer is one of the chiefe The God of Heaven is a pure God then cursed be the man that hath strong love desires and other affections and offers the wealtest to God and serveth God with rubbish cursed be that man the pure God of Heaven will not looke on such service and impure prayers God is pure therefore the service ought to be so When men are to sit before Princes they are to fit themselves accordingly so it is here Let us then think it an indignity to God to appeare with rubbish dispositions before him He that will performe a solemne duty to a Prince will lay aside all other occasions so as hee said in another case well lay by all world let me now have heavenly joy for I come before a heavenly Father Secondly it is a ground of comfort that our spirits may be cheared since God is in Heaven he is able to effect whatever our hearts desire To be in Heaven it argueth Majestie now we doe nor prays to an earthly parent who is liable to corruption but to an heavenly Father we pray who can doe what we will He that is in a high place hath the advantage so our heavenly Father hath the advantage of all other things therefore what we crave is done alreadie he can doe it and our God is in Heaven he will doe what he will A vilenesse ever accompanies earthly things but our Father is in Heaven therefore Nehemiah made his prayer to the God of Heaven There are dunghill duties in the world but our Father is in Heaven The King could not help the woman but our Father is not an earthly father but we pray to the God of Heaven We have but earthly opposition here but our Father is in Heaven who can over-power all wrongs done to his children and rewards them Thirdly this shews we should with trembling approach his presence The God of Heaven is powerfull we are creeping worms and dare we come carelesly to such a Father A father implies a readinesse and Heaven an awfulnesse when the mountains move and the devills shake at the presence of God and the blessed Angels tremble before him how dare we approach his presence unseemly lest we have no answer or to turn the eye one way and the head another We are not able to beare it in a childe Doe not suffer your mindes to wander dare we presse in headily into the presence of God when as the Angels cover themselves before him Let the feare of the Almighty fall on us since God is in Heaven let our hearts be reverently affected Acts 17. 28. for in him we live move and have our being Thus much for the Preface Hallowed be thy Name NOw we come to the Petitions which are six the Lord condescended to our weaknesse and feeblenesse and therefore contrives them into a narrow scantling three concerning Gods Name Kingdom and Will three concerning our selves things of this life things of grace and they in respect both of justification and sanctification In all observe First the meaning of the Petition Secondly the carriage of the heart in pressing of it Hallowed be thy Name In it observe two things First what is here meant by Name Secondly what it is to hallow this Name What is here meant by Name Quest or what is the Name of God I answer by Name is meant whatever God is made known to us by Resp this is his Name as a man is known by his name so the Lord reveales himselfe to us by his Name Now this consists in two things First all the glorious Atributes of God as Holy Pure Wise Infinite c. these are the Names of God Secondly all the Ordinances of God and the graces of Gods Saints and the providence of God in the creature and it is not the thing it selfe but there is a declaration of God in these that is his Name The creature is not the Name of God but God working there grace is not so much as the appearance of God in that grace What doe you meane by Hallowed Quest can you make God holier then he is or adde any thing to God No Resp we cannot adde any thing unto him that gave all to us How then doe we hallow Gods Name Quest When we make Gods Name to be discovered as a holy thing Resp the expressure of this is that we would hallow How shall we doe that Quest There was a consultation in Heaven how that the God-head might be manifested Resp might be observed else were here none to apprehend it from eternity Nay if there had beene any they could not apprehend it I will saith God have my Attributes expressed therefore God would have a Word wherein his goodnesse should be discovered Exod. 33.23 Exod. 32. 23. Thou shalt not see my face but my back-parts thou shalt see As it is with a torch carry it from one place to another and it will leave a glimpse behinde it So it is in the surpassing beauty of God he leaves some beams behinde him that we may say Justice and Mercy c. have beene heere Now we are said then to hallow his Names when as we make this appear when we deale with Gods Name as with a holy thing and that appears in three particulars First when we acknowledge the excellency of him we ought to take notice of the beauty and glory of God Men of place thinke themselves abused if we passe by them and doe not reverence them so when we come to deale with Gods Ordinances doe you know what you doe Gods Name is there therefore observe it Secondly as we should acknowledge the worth of it so we should labour to preserve it Upon things of great weight and worth what a price doe we set upon them and how tenderly doe
and inke to the paper that the soul might take the impression of every rule that God would set up in our souls thus the soul should be disposed to wish that the Lord would put this frame into us this is a heart worth gold thou hast said seek me oh saith the soul that I could seek thy face and eccho behold Lord thy face I seek to submit wholly without any contending not that the Lord should force us but that we should take up our yoke put our necks to the yoke let the Word of the Lord bear the balance When Mary wanted wine and our Saviour checked her and Martha cumbred with too much businesse was reproved thou art troubled with many things c. they submitted presently not a word more so what the Lord commands let us do without any quarrelling let the least inkling of the Word beare the balance When our Saviour sent his Disciples for the Asses Colt they might have said but haply the man will not let him go how then I tell them saith our Saviour the Master hath need of him and then they will not deny him that is enough do but speak and it is done this the soul should labour to attain unto Secondly the soul carries it self with an inward opposition to whatever is opposite to the government of the Lord Jesus Christ to the utmost of our power it is in vain to say it were wel if it were so I would it were so and yet to stand still and not to set to our hands but we must join sides with the Lord as he spake of Merosh Cursed art thou because thou wilt not help the Lord against the mighty So truly the Lord Jesus is comming to our Towns to our families therefore we should step out and help the Lord against those mighty mountaines of pride and stubbornesse of heart when a proud heart stirs do you joine sides with it or cry out and say good Lord help down with that proud heart and stubborn spirit and the like the Lord saith it and doth your heart yeeld But if you say come pride and you and I will joine sides together and if the Word can remove us let it but we will joine sides Is this calling for the Kingdome of Christ to come No no you are traytors and conspirators and no subjects therefore stop your mouths this is not submitting but conspiring when Jezabel looked out of the window with her painted face saith Jehu Who is on my side fling her out so the Lord saith will you have pride or me if you be on my side fling down that proud heart which hinders the Lord Jesus Christ from taking place in your souls you paint your selves in a sturdy humour but if you be on Gods side fling down those painted strumpets you must not only oppose great sins but every sin we must not fodder and side with any secret sin although it be but with the appearance of evill you must abstaine from it you know what Moses said of losing not a hoof another said he would not start a hairs breadth from Gods Commandements in any particular so let us subdue all not leave an inch not a stamp not so much as two nails of the Dagon of our cursed lusts to rule in us thus it should be with the soul Thirdly though the soul cannot be as it should yet it doth desire the Lord that neither sin nor self-will may rule in us lay all flat down under the government of Christ When the heart finds a great deale of outwardnesse and power of sin then it saith Lord thy Kingdome should prevaile but the Sons of Zeruiah are too strong in me therefore take power to thy self and pluck away whatever doth oppose thee It was a good speech of a good Christian that he desired the Lord to rule whether he would or no. Thus the soul should be disposed to intreat the Lord that he would break open the doore when the Lord comes and we will not open we desire the Lord would come in by violence The white horse in conquering conquered so the soul desires the Lord to conquer to break in and make way into the soul and to take possession wholly in the soul now when the soul is loath this should be it is a wretched spirit that when the Lord will take sin whether we will or no we are loath it should be Do we then pray Christs Kingdome should come when we are not able to bear a commandement No no the soul will labour to oppose sin and pray the Lord for power against corruption Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven THis is the third Petition and in it are three things observable First the order it is in the third place Secondly the sense and meaning of the words Thirdly the frame of the heart in putting up this Petition First for the order the reason of it is because the two former make way for this third he that glorifies God in all things and hath his power set up in him he only doth what he commands for naturally there is no ability in man to do the will of God but when the Spirit works within then we are able to frame our hearts to Gods will David was a man after Gods own heart and then he did his will this is the reason of the order of the Petition From the ground observe two grounds of directions First he that thinks out of his own power to do Gods will it is impossible he should do it no he will never do it Secondly we must first submit to the Kingdome of Christ before we can do his will be under the government of Gods grace and then go on cheerfully We faile before we have submitted we would be doing but first Christ must do terrible things to the heart before it yeeld obedience Now for the words What is the will of God Quest It is the purpose of the Almighty touching the accomplishment of any thing Answ there is nothing done but the LORD doth it Whatsoever is brought to passe that GOD wills in generall Ephes 1. How many kinds of will are there Quest or how manifold is the will of God It is two-fold not in regard of it selfe Answ but in regard of us First the revealed will of God Secondly the secret will of God What is the secret will of God Quest It is that secret purpose he hath in himselfe before all worlds Answ and hath not discovered it to the creature Ephes 1.9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will according to his own good pleasure which he hath purposed to himselfe The Gospel was hid in the bosome of the Almighty not observable by man or any creature under heaven but now it is revealed this is the secret will of God which was hid in himselfe before all words 1. Cor. 2.16 Who hath known the mind of God The deep things of God
none knowes but the Spirit of God and as it is not made known so we have nothing to doe with it in this place What is the revealed will of God Quest It is the purpose of God that hee hath made known to us by his Word Answ and revealed to us in his workes whatever is done in heaven or earth is the will of God I did not know God would destroy Bohemia and the Palatinate before I saw it this is the will here meant I did not know of such a friends death before he dyed and then we must say Thy will be done What ever God hath made known either by workes or words that we pray to have done What is this doing of the will of God Quest It consists in Answ and implyes two things First that whatever God makes known to be his will to bring upon us we should willingly submit and yeeld unto it If God would have me poore when it is done we should approve of the accomplishment of Gods will It is the breach of many commandements that when God thwarts our desire we are unwilling it should be done The wife is unwilling her husband should dye and the husband that the wife should dye never lost a man such a wife as I this is professedly against this petition We must imitate that of the good Prophet David Psal 39. I held my tongue and said nothing Will the Lord have it not a word more then his spirit yeelds presently takes the stroke doth not thwart the good will of the Lord this is the practice of David Eli Hezekiah It is the Lord let him doe what he will Nay our blessed Saviour himselfe saith Not my will but thy will be done But this is the folly of our hearts we take up Armes against Gods will God would have us to be poore and we will be rich This is not to doe the will of God Though God force us to doe it yet that is no thankes to us Thus we sinne desperately Secondly the heart is not only content with what God will have us suffer whether losse of life friends liberty and the like but there is another will must be done by us what God reveales to be a duty must be discharged by us If there be a truth to be made known to us we must acquaint our selves with the will of the Lord and then with all diligence practice it Make my heart one with thine that I may ever feare thy Name Let thy will be mine Oh saith the soule that I might ever feare thy Name this is to do the will of God We doe not say let it be spoken of and considered of by me but let it be done let it be accomplished by me Wee must not lift at it and give God good words and talke and leave it undone but labour to doe it It is not enough for the childe to say I know what my father commands but I must doe what I list Such hearts cannot pray to expect any thing at the hand of the Lord now and then to look at a duty c. and to say I would it were so will not serve the turne Away with that sluggishnesse to wish the will of God were done and yet you will have your own wills To this precept belongs that we should set on others to doe Gods pleasure In vaine doe we wish it to be done and yet doe not provoke on others to doe it Paul when Agrippa and he was grapling together saith Agrippa thou hast perswaded me almost to be a Christian not almost saith Paul but I would have thee altogether as I am except these bonds I would not have thee fettered as I am but inlarged in heart to doe Gods will So that of Joshua I and my house will serve the Lord he that not onely neglects Gods will himselfe but hinders others that man doth not pray this petition aright he that saith Thy will be done and in the mean time withdrawes others by his secret allurements and saith what should I be such a foole to be at other mens bow and beck to sit howling in a corner as thou dost No no well be it known to thee thou that wilt not do Gods will here the Lord will have his will done on thee one day to thy cost He that will not doe Gods will here God will send him packing to Hell and there he will execute his will upon him whether he will or no How must we doe the will of God we doe now and then stumble at a duty and now and then take up a service Quest and we are neither whores nor theeves but yet we are now and then peevish and wayward c. is not this enough No Answ no you must doe it in earth as it is in Heaven not now to be something and then to be nothing now a Saint and then a Devill but you must doe the will of God as it is in Heaven But can a man doe the will of God on earth as the blessed Angels doe it in Heaven Quest A man cannot doe it in that measure the Angels doe it Answ but we may doe it as they doe and performe equall obedience with them though not in quantity yet in quality A childe followes the father though it cannot run so fast as the father A Scholler may imitate the copie and write after it though not write so fast and well So the servants of the Lord cannot doe the will of God here so in that measure that the Angels doe it in Heaven but in quality like them Let their obedience be our pattern not in the measure but in the manner of it In what things must it be done Quest and how can wee expresse any action like theirs This resemblance is in foure particulars Answ First they doe it readily they are prest and ready at hand to doe the good will of the Lord upon all occasions they doe not withdraw themselves but presently upon every occasion doe what the Lord requires We read Job 1. that the sonnes of God appeared before him they are ever in his sight to give attendance upon him as the handmaid is ever at the hand of her Mistris So that of Isaiah the Text saith they cover their faces before the Mercy Seat they cover their faces in token of awfulnesse and reverence and cry Holy Holy They are ever before him as a dutifull servant is ever at his Masters beck They are at hand in this readines of theirs to doe the will of the Lord we should imitate them to be ever prepared and at hand to doe the will of God not to have our affections stragling but with Ananias we must say Here Lord with Abraham Behold thy servant is at hand Thus it should be with the soule the Lord saith you must not have this sinne and that corruption we must reply Thy will be done LORD we must not say as Moses when