Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n
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A66289
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The principles of the Christian religion explained in a brief commentary upon the church catechism. By William Wake, D.D. rector of St. James Westminster, and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty.
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Wake, William, 1657-1737.
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1699
(1699)
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Wing W258; ESTC R217651
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113,834
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200
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not Each of Us truly and properly say My Father But to enlarge our Affections and correct our Pride and increase our Charity and to teach us that there is no Man so mean but what has as Good a Right to call God his Father as the Greatest among Us nor any therefore who ought not to be look'd upon as a Brother by Us and to be treated and loved and pray'd for by Us accordingly SECT XXXV Q. HOW many Petitions are there in this Prayer A. Six Three with respect to the Honour and Glory of God and which may be accounted pious Wishes rather than formal Petitions And Three with Relation to our Own Needs Q. What is the First of These A. Hallowed be thy Name Q. Wherefore did Christ begin his Prayer with this Petition or Desire A. To shew us that we ought to make God's Glory the First Thing in our Prayers as well as the Chief End of all our Actions 1 Cor. x. 31 Whether ye Eat or Drink or whatsoever ye Do do all to the Glory of God Q. What is here meant by the Name of God A. The same as in the Third Commandment viz. God himself and whatsoever does in any wise Relate to Him Exod. vi 3 xxxiv 5 6. Psal. cxxxviii 2 Q. What is meant by Hallowing A. It denotes the Separation of any Thing to a Holy Vse and the Treating and Respecting of it accordingly Q. What then do you look upon to be the full Import of this Petition A. That it would please God to make himself Known to and to be Adored and Glorified by the whole World That he would so dispose Ours and all Other Mens Hearts that we might never mention his Name but with a Religious Reverence That whatsoever has any Relation to him his Word his Sacraments his Ministers his Houses of Prayer may all be treated by Us with a Regard suitable to the Majesty of Him to whom they belong And that neither we our Selves nor any Others may ever entertain any Opinions or commit any Sins whereby either God the Father or his Son Jesus the Glory of the One or the Gospel of the Other may be vilified or profaned SECT XXXVI Q. WHAT is the Second Petition of this Prayer A. Thy Kingdom Come Q. In how many Respects is God a King A. Chiefly in these Three First As he is the King of all the World which he Created by his Power and Rules and Governs as well as Supports by his Providence Secondly With Relation to his Church and People which he Governs and Conducts by his Word and Holy Spirit And Thirdly With Respect to his Heavenly Kingdom where he Reigns with Glory and Majesty over his Angels Now and will Rule over all his Saints hereafter to all Eternity Q. How is it that we here either Wish or Pray that God's Kingdom may Come A. As we desire First That all Men may both more clearly Know and more worthily Obey the true and only God the Lord of Heaven and Earth Secondly That to this End it would please God to enlarge the Borders of his Church and bring all Nations within the Pale of it And that where it is already establish'd he would Go on more and more by his Grace to destroy the Power of Sin and the Dominion of Satan and to implant the Fear and Love of his Name in the Hearts of all his Servants That so Thirdly His Eternal Kingdom may also be enlarged the Fulness of his Saints be accomplish'd and the blessed Time come when we shall All be translated into his Heavenly Kingdom and all Other Powers and Dominions being done away God alone shall be Exalted and Rule over his Saints for Ever and Ever SECT XXXVII Q. WHAT is the Third Petition of this Prayer A. Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Q. How does God declare his Will to Us A. Chiefly Two Ways By the Dispensations of his Providence and by the Rules he has set us to Live by whether They be by Nature implanted in Us or be Revealed to Us in the Gospel of Christ. Q. Does this Petition respect both these A. It does and so teaches us to Pray that with Respect to the former of Them we may always seriously consider the Ways of his Providence and discern what it is that He would have Us either Do or Suffer in Obedience thereunto That whatsoever it be that he shall thereby call us to whether to a Prosperous or Unprosperous State to Receive Good from him or to Suffer Evil we may in the One improve his Blessings to the Glory of his Name and the Benefit of those about Us In the Other may patiently submit to whatsoever he shall call us to Suffer for his Sake With Relation to the Latter the Rules he has Given Us to walk by that we may faithfully Obey all his Commandments how contrary soever they may chance to be to our Own corrupt Desires and Affections and continue his Obedient and Constant Servants all the Days of our Life Q. Why is this Circumstance added As it is in Heaven A. To shew us what kind of Obedience we ought to pay to God's Will That as the Angels in Heaven not only Do the Will of God but do it with all Readiness Chearfulness Constancy and Delight so may We if it shall please God in some measure fulfil it too Q. Is it possible for us ever to attain to such a Perfection of Obedience in this present Life A. It is hardly to be Expected yet we must Pray for it and endeavour to Come up as near as is possible to it And in the mean time must Learn from hence not only how we ought to Serve God but how we shall hereafter do his Will when we come to the blessed State as well as Place of those Holy Spirits in Heaven SECT XXXVIII Q. WHAT is the First of those Petitions which you said Related to our Own Needs A. Give us this Day our daily Bread Q. What do you Observe from the General Composure of this Part of the present Prayer A. That as Man consists of Two different Parts A Soul and Body and has need of several Things to be given him for the Good of Both So are we here directed to beg of God First What is necessary to our Present Life and Secondly What may conduce to the Everlasting Happiness of our Souls in the Life that is to Come Q. How does our Saviour express what is necessary to be asked by Us for the Sustenance of our present Life A. He calls it Our daily Bread Q. What does the Word Bread denote A. It is Commonly used in Scripture for all sort of Provision as it is indeed the chiefest and most necessary and such as may Supply the Defect of all Other And it is here made Use of to signify All that is Necessary for our Support excluding at the same time whatsoever
The Image of the invisible God Col. i. 15 2 Cor. iv 4 to be from God Jo vii 29 to have Life from the Father Jo. v. 26 and the like And upon this Account it is that our Saviour himself says that the Father is greater than he Jo. xiv 28 That he can do Nothing of Himself but what he seeth the Father do Jo. v. 18 19. Or if this be not yet plain enough they tell us farther in express terms that he is the Begotten and the Only begotten Son of the Father Jo. i. 14 18. iii. 16 18. Heb xi 17 1 Jo. iv 9 v. 1 Q. But will not this make the Holy Ghost as much God's Son as Christ And how then is Christ his Only Son A. In Matters of this kind which are so far above our Capacities and of which we know Nothing but what God has been pleased to Reveal to Us we must speak as God in his Word has taught us to speak Now the Scriptures no where call the Holy Ghost the Son of God nor God the Father of the Holy Ghost And therefore though we know not what the precise Difference is yet because the proper Act of a Father is to beget we say that Christ Received his Divine Nature from God by Generation but of the Holy Ghost we say as the Scriptures do that He Proceedeth from the Father Jo. xv 26 and is the Spirit not of the Father only but of the Son also Gal. iv 6 Rom. viii 9 Phil. i 19. 1 Pet. i. 11 Q. What is the last Respect in which our Saviour is here Represented to Us A. His Relation to Vs OVR LORD Eph. iv 5 1 Cor. viii 5 Rev. x. 6 Q. How is Christ OVR Lord A. As he is God together with the Father and as by Him God Created the World so has he the same Original Right of Dominion with him and is Lord of All his Creatures Q. Is there not some Other ground for this Title and which Restrains it in a particular Manner to Mankind A. Yes there is Inasmuch as by his Coming into the World and Dying for Us he Redeemed Us from Death and so became Our Lord by virtue of that Purchase which thereby he made of Us. Q. When did Christ begin in this Respect to be Our Lord A. He entred in part upon this Authority before his Death though not without Respect to his dying for Us As is Evident from his publishing his Gospel abrogating the Law and setting out the Conditions of Life and Death to Mankind Hence before his Death he asserted to himself the Power to forgive Sins Mat. ix 2 6. But the full exercise of his Dominion he entred not upon till after his Resurrection when as himself declared to his Apostles Mat. xxviii 18 All Power in Heaven and Earth was given unto Him See Eph. i. 20 21. Q. How long will Christ continue in this Respect to be Our Lord A. Christ will continue to be Our Lord for Ever and of his Kingdom there shall be no End Luk. i 32 33. But then as the subject Matter of a great part of that Authority which he now exercises over his Church is proper only to the present State of it and will determine at the Day of Judgment so will all the farther exercise of such Authority cease together with it Christ as Mediator must Reign till he has put all his Enemies under his Feet till Sin Death the Devil and all Wicked Men shall be destroy'd and all his Faithful Servants be delivered from the Power of them Psal. cx 1 1 Cor. xv 25 But that being done Christ will deliver up this Authority to God even the Father 1 Cor. xv 24 Nevertheless still as God-Man he will continue to Reign with and over his Saints to all Eternity in Heaven And so make good what Daniel foretold concerning him Dan. vii 14 That his Dominion is an Everlasting Dominion which shall not pass away and his Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed SECT X. Q. WHAT does your Creed teach you farther to Believe concerning our Lord Jesus Christ in the following Articles which Relate to Him A. All such Matters as are necessary to be Known and Believed by Us with Relation to the great Work of our Redemption which was accomplish'd by Him Q. By what means did Christ accomplish the Redemption of Mankind A. By giving up Himself to the Death upon the Cross for Us. 1 Pet. i. 18 19. Q. How could Christ whom you believe to be God die A. He took upon him our Nature He became Man like unto one of Us and being found in fashion as a Man he yielded up himself to Death even the Death of the Cross for Us Phil. ii 7 8. Act. xx 28 Q. After what manner was Christ made Man A. Not by the Conversion of his Divine Nature into the Humane nor by any Confounding of the Two Natures together But by Vniting our Humane Nature to His Divine after a Singular manner and such as cannot be perfectly Express'd by Us. Q. Were then Two distinct Natures the Divine and Humane Vnited together in Christ A. Yes there were And that in such wise as to make the same Jesus Christ by the distinction of the Two Natures in the Vnity of the same Person become truly and really at Once both God and Man Q. How was Christ made Man A. He was Conceived by the Holy Ghost and Born of the Uirgin Mary Q. How could Christ be conceived by the Holy Ghost A. Not by the communication of any part of his Own Substance to Him but as that Blessed Spirit set Nature on Work and took away the need of any Human Concurrence to his Production And as having thus prepared a Body for him of the Substance of the Virgin he breathed into it a most Perfect Reasonable Soul Q. Wherefore was it needful for the Holy Ghost to do this A. Both for the Honour and Purity of our Blessed Saviour That so he might come into the World free from all tincture of Sin And also that by the extraordinariness of His Birth He might fulfil the Prophecies which God had before deliver'd concerning it Q. How was Christ born of the Virgin Mary A. The Substance of his Body was derived from that of the Blessed Virgin He grew in her Womb and at the full time of her Delivery she brought him into the World And upon all these Accounts she was as much his Mother as any Other Woman is Mother of the Child that is born by Her Q. Had our Saviour then a Real Body like unto One of Us A. He had both a Real Humane Body Luke xxiv 39 1 Jo. iv 2 3 and Rational Soul Mat. xxvi 28 Luk. xxiii 46 And was in all things like unto Us only without Sin Heb. ii 17 iv 15 Q. Wherefore do you give the Title of Virgin to the Mother of our Lord A. To testify our belief that