Kings to forgive Offenders Hence our Saviour describing the Process of the General Judgment when he comes to speak of pronouncing the Sentence of Absolution upon Believers styles himself King so we read Matth. 25.34 Then shall the King say to them on his Right Hand Come ye Blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom So that here our Faith hath a very strong Plea to urge with God for the Pardon of our Sins Forgive us our Trespasses For thine is the Kingdom and it belongs to the Royalty of thy Kingdom to forgive humble and penitent Suppliants Sixthly The Kingdom is God's therefore we may well pray in Faith that he would Deliver us from Evil For this is one great end of Government to protect their Subjects from the Assaults of their Enemies And God who is our King will not neglect this care when we do with an humble Faith urge him to it by representing to him that the Kingdom is his for his interest is involved in the safety and welfare of his People And thus I have briefly shown you in general that all our Prayers ought to be enforced with strong and cogent Reasons which although they are not properly motives unto God yet are they good grounds for our Faith to build upon and therefore a good Evidence when we use them that our Petitions shall be heard and granted And I have likewise particularly accommodated this first Motive and Argument taught us by our Saviour Thine is the Kingdom to each of the Six Petitions which he hath instructed us to present to God The Second Attribute that we are to consider as a Reason and Motive urged in this Prayer is the Power of God Thine is the Power Now Power according to the usual acceptation of the Word is nothing else but an ability to work those Changes and Mutations upon created Beings which were not in them before I speak only of Active Power and the Two Terms of it are either the effecting of somewhat that was not or the annulling and destroying of that which was This is the Notion of Power whether it be ascribed to God or Man and in both it is either Absolute or Ordinate Absolute Power respects the simple ability of acting Ordinate Power respects also the will and determination to act And therefore in God whose Power we are now treating of his Absolute Power is of a much larger extent than his Ordinate for the one relates to all things possible that is to all things whose existence doth not imply a contradiction the other relates only to things future and this likewise such as shall exist according to the common course and method of God's Ordinary Providence for Miraculous effects although they are produced according to the Will and Ordination of God yet they appertain not to his Ordinate but to his Absolute Power So then the Objects of God's Absolute Power are things merely possible or things future which are without the Compass and Sphere of second causes to produce But the Objects of God's Ordinate Power are things future produced according to the Laws of Natural Agents and the Virtue of second Causes Yet both these Powers in God are infinite the one Objectively the other Formally First God's Absolute Power is Objectively infinite that is the Object of it is infinite for all things possible are the Object of this Power and all things are in themselves possible which do not imply a contradiction And Oh how vast and incomprehensible is the sum of these God might have Created more Worlds more Angels and Men than he hath done more sorts of Creatures and more of every sort if he had so pleased Yea and he might have been Creating and Acting from all Eternity to all Eternity and in his infinite duration be still producing new and therefore infinite effects for with God nothing is impossible Luke 1.37 And the only Reason why God hath produced such effects and no other so many and not more is not from want of Power but merely from the free determination of his own Will and Counsel He might have hindred the Fall of Man restored the fallen Angels raised the Stones to be Children unto Abraham brought more Deluges and general Plagues upon the World if he had so pleased Yea and though our fancy and imagination hath a large Empire and seems boundless in these Fictions and Pourtraictures of things which we Paint and Limn there yet God can really Create more than we can only imaginarily Create for we can only patch together those things which we have seen or have otherwise been the Objects of our Senses and by putting together several pieces of things really existing make an Idea of that which never was But God can actually cause those Species and kinds of beings in the World which never were nor ever was there a former resemblance of them and so can infinitely exceed the largest scope of what in us seems most unlimitted even our Thoughts and Fancies for he is able to do above what we are able to think Secondly God's Ordinate Power is infinite formally that is those things which he works according to the Counsel of his own Will they are all effected by infinite Power for tho' the Objects themselves are finite both for nature and number yet the Power that produceth them is infinite for since the Essence of God is infinite and each of his Attributes is his Essence it follows likewise that his Power is infinite even in the production of things that are finite Now it appears that the Power of God is infinite First By the Works of Creation for though the things that are Created are finite and but a few in comparison with those that are possible yet it is no less than the infinite Power of God that can impregnate the vast Womb of nothing and make it bring forth a Being It must needs be an Almighty Word that can call forth a Creature out of non-existence and make it start up into the rank of things that are And therefore we find God often ascribing it to himself as a Glorious demonstration of his Almighty Power that he spreads forth the Curtains of the Heavens that he laid the Beams of the Earth that he hung out those Glorious Lights of the Sun Moon and Stars that he breathed forth all the various sorts of the Creatures which People the Universe and by the commanding Word of his Mouth they were made His Power and his Hand formed all those Beautiful Creatures we behold out of a rude and confused Chaos and that Chaos it self out of the greater confusion of Nothing And although second Causes by their Power and Natural Energy introduce various forms into things yet all the matter they have to work upon was first God's Workmanship and there is nothing made by Man but it is the Creature of God at least as to the matter and first principle of it Now it is only infinite Power that can bring something out of nothing yea
for ever The Kingdom is thine for ever The Power is thine for ever The Glory is thine for ever For so this Particle for ever is to be distributed unto each of the foregoing Attributes Now in ascribing unto God these Attributes we may consider the Eminency and the Propriety of them The Eminency of them in the Particle The The Kingdom The Power The Glory denoting to us the highest and the chiefest of all these For his Kingdom is that which ruleth over all His Power that which no Created Power can controul His Glory such as stains all other Excellencies and makes all their Light and Lustre to be only the Shadow of God The propriety of this Attribute in this Particle Thine though others may have Kingdoms and Power and Glory yet these in their Eminency belong only unto God they are thine and thine only Originally Infinitely and Unchangeably Now all these Attributes of God are annexed to the Petitions of this Prayer by the illative Particle For For thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory And this carries in it the strength and force of a Reason both why we pray unto God and likewise why God should grant us those things that we pray for First We pray unto God for his is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever and therefore he alone is able to relieve and supply us Secondly We plead for the obtaining of those good things which we ask of him therefore grant them unto us For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever This adds strong Consolation and Assurance to our Faith that we shall be heard in these requests that we present to God For First His is the Kingdom and we are his Subjects and therefore we may depend upon him as our King for help and protection Secondly His is the Power and therefore he is able to supply and help us and to do abundantly for us above what we can ask or think Thirdly His is the Glory and therefore since what we ask is for his Honour and Praise we may firmly believe our requests shall be granted unto us And Fourthly All these are his for ever and therefore we may rest assured that at no time our Prayers shall be in vain But as it is the same unchangable God who in former Ages hath done great things for and given great things unto his Servants who have called upon him so he still retains the same Power and the same Compassion his Ear is not heavy nor his Arm shortned nor his Bowels withered and therefore we may with assurance expect that he will supply our wants and grant our desires since the Treasures of his Mercy are for ever unexhausted Thus every word is a forcible Reason both to oblige us to Address our selves unto God and likewise to move him to bestow upon us those good things which we thus ask at his hands And from hence by the way we may observe two things First That in our Prayers we ought to plead with God by weighty and enforcing Reasons Secondly That the most forcible Reasons in Prayer are to be taken from the Attributes of God First That in our Prayers we ought to plead with God by weighty and enforcing Reasons Thus God bids us to Take unto our selves words and to turn unto him Hosea 14.2 And thus if we look into Scripture those Prayers of the Saints which are there Recorded we shall find them Disputes if I may so call them as well as Requests and so many Reasons urged in them as if by dint of Arguments they would constrain God to yield to their desires So in Moses's Prayer Exod. 32.11 Wherefore doth thy Wrath wax hot against thy People which thou hast brought forth out of the Land of Aegypt with great Power wherefore should the Aegyptians say for mischief did he bring them out to slay them in the Mountains and to consume them from the Face of the Earth Turn thee from thy fierce Wrath and repent of this Evil against thy People Remember Abraham Isaac and Jacob thy Servants to whom thou swarest by thine own self and saidst unto them I will multiply your Seed as the Stars of Heaven and all this Land that I have spoken of will I give unto your Seed and they shall inherit it for ever And so Joshua pleads with God Josh 7.8 O Lord what shall I say when Israel turneth their backs before their Enemies for the Canaanites and all the Inhabitants of the Land shall hear of it and shall environ us round and cut off our Name from the Earth and what wilt thou do unto thy great Name And so Jehoshaphat 2 Chron. 20.6 O Lord God of our Fathers art not thou God in Heaven and rulest thou not over all the Kingdoms of the Heathens and in thy Hand is there not Power and Might so that none is able to withstand thee And so in the following verses he pleads with God by such powerful Arguments as if he would extort Mercy and Deliverance from him Now although it be true that all the Arguments we can urge and all the Reasons that we can alledge cannot alter the purposes and determinations of God as to any Event that he hath ordained yet there is this two-fold use and necessity of pleading them First Because by considering the Reasons we have to pray for such Mercies our desires will be the more earnest and fervent for the obtaining of them It will put Spirits and Life into our Petitions when we can represent to God the necessity of our asking which to his Mercy will prove a strong motive for his granting Secondly Because Reasons in Prayer do mightily conduce to the strengthning of our Faith and gives us great encouragement to believe that we shall certainly obtain what we have so much reason to ask Now Faith and Assurance of obtaining our Request is a great Condition to the Acceptation of our Prayers And therefore the Apostle commands us to lift up Holy Hands as without Wrath so also without doubting 1 Tim. 2.8 and again Jam. 1.7 Let him ask in Faith nothing wavering for let not that Man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. Now when we can humbly represent unto God both the great necessity that we stand in of those Mercies that we beg and likewise the equity which ariseth either from his Promises past or his Name and Attributes proclaimed that we should receive them What abundant Strength and Confidence may this add to our Faith and make us come to God with an humble expectation that he would either Answer our Prayers or our Reasons And therefore if thou wouldst be sure to have thy Prayers answered pray chiefly for such things for which thou canst produce such Reasons as cannot be answered And therefore Secondly The most forcible Reasons and Arguments in Prayer are to be taken from the Attributes of God These must needs be powerful when they are himself And if
thou canst but get an Attribute to take thy part when thou comest to the Throne of Grace and if thou canst but rightly use and fit it to thy requests thou may'st be sure of speeding for God will not nay he cannot deny himself In us there can be nothing found to move him nor any where out of himself and where we find as very often we do in Scripture that the Miseries and Afflictions of God's People are made use of as a Plea for Mercy yet this Plea it self which is usually most winning and most affecting can no otherwise prevail with God than as his Pity and Compassions engage him to relieve those that are in Misery And to speak properly they are not our Afflictions but the Glory of his Power and Mercy in delivering us from them that is a motive unto God Only it is the art of a Praying Christian aptly to represent himself as an Object for God's Attributes to be exercised about And if he can but interest any Name or Attribute of God in his behalf he may be confident of the success of his Prayer and that he shall not return ashamed These two Observations I gather from the illative Particle for For thine is the Kingdom c. Concerning the Kingdom of God I shall speak but very little now having already treated of it in explaining the Second Petition of this most excellent Prayer Thy Kingdom come Certain it is that God's Vniversal Kingdom is here understood as he is the High Creator and Supreme Lord of all things both in Heaven and in Earth yet not so as to exclude his peculiar Kingdom of the Church And this is an excellent Argument to confirm our Faith for the obtaining of those things which we pray for because the Kingdom is Gods and he is the absolute Sovereign over all and therefore all things are at his dispose As for Spiritual Blessings which we seek he hath the Power of bestowing of them for he is King of his Church and bestows the Gifts and Graces of his Spirit upon the Faithful Subjects of that his Kingdom And as for Temporal Blessings that we beg he likewise can readily bestow them upon us for he is the Universal Monarch of all the World a King to whom all other Kings are subject and all other Thrones are but the Footstool of his And therefore in the general whatsoever we want be it Protection or Provision our Faith in the Sovereignty of God may encourage us to ask it with an humble boldness and confidence for it is the Office of a King to give both unto his Subjects But let us more particularly consider how God's Kingdom may be accommodated to all the Petitions of this Prayer of our Lord as a strong Argument and Reason to prevail with God for the obtaining what we request in each of them First The Kingdom is God's therefore he will see that his Name be hallowed and glorified in it Kings are jealous of their Honour and it is a great Offence either to speak or do any thing that may redound to their discredit It is fit and decent for a King to have the highest Name and the greatest repute among his Subjects And therefore we may be sure God will maintain this in the World yea so jealous is God of having dishonour reflected upon him that he hath forbidden not only the profanation and trivial mention of his own Name but the profanation of that which doth but belong unto him Matth. 5.34 35. Swear not by Heaven for it is God's Throne neither by the Earth for it is his Foot-stool neither by Jerusalem for it is the City of the Great King Heaven is the Throne of his Majesty the Theatre of his Power Jerusalem and the Temple the Seat of his Worship And therefore as Kings and Princes have respect shown to their presence Chamber So God because he is the Great King of Kings and Lord of Lords requires to be reverenced in all that doth appertain unto him and he will be sanctified in all that draw near unto him Those who will not actually hallow him by their Obedience on them God will be hallowed passively by their Punishment And because he is a King he will maintain the Honour of his Majesty and Royalty And therefore we may with Faith pray Hallowed be thy Name For thine is the Kingdom c. Secondly The Kingdom is God's and therefore this Kingdom shall come it shall be maintained it shall be established it shall be enlarged and increased Is it not the highest concern of a King to look that his Kingdom be not overthrown and himself deposed and outed of it So is it God's interest and concernment to preserve his Kingdom from the incursion of Enemies and the sad consequences of the Rents and Divisions of his Subjects He hath promised that the Gates of Hell shall never prevail against it that he will enlarge the Borders of it and give all Nations unto Jesus Christ for his Inheritance and Possession And therefore when we pray Thy Kingdom come we may very well expect that our Requests should be granted for the Kingdom is God's and we do but pray that he would regard his own Interest and Concerns that he would look down from Heaven and visit this Vine which his own Right Hand hath planted that neither the Wild Boar out of the Forest may root it up nor the cunning Foxes pluck off its tender Grapes Thirdly The Kingdom is God's and therefore we may well pray That his Will may be done on Earth as it is in Heaven For what is Sovereignty without Obedience to it but a mere Pageantry a mock-shew of idle Royalty It is but fit and rational to pray that his Will should be done whose the Kingdom is And whilst we thus pray we may be confident of being heard and accepted since the Reason we urge is so natural and pressing Fourthly The Kingdom is God's and therefore we may with great encouragement to our Faith pray for Our daily Bread and all those Temporal Accommodations that are needful and expedient for us For it is a Kingly Office to provide things necessary for their Subjects to protect and defend them to supply and relieve them and therefore Psal 72. where we have a perfect Character of a good King it is said verse 6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass and as showers that Water the Earth That is he shall be to his People as soft Showers to the sprouting Grass kindly nourishing it and making it grow and flourish And certainly God who is the greatest and best of Kings will be so much more to his People and Subjects and since he hath assumed to himself the Style and Name of King he will provide abundantly for their Peace and Prosperity Fifthly The Kingdom is God's and therefore we may well make our applications to him for Pardon and beg of him the Forgiveness of our Offences since it is the Prerogative Royal of
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
and for a pretence made long Prayers Matth. 23.14 yet certain it is that it was not their long Prayers that he condemns but their Pretence and Hypocrisie Thus much I thought fit to observe from the Context Our Saviour having thus cautioned his Disciples against the Sins of the Pharisees and Heathens in their Prayers comes in the Words I have read to instruct them how to pray After this manner therefore pray ye Our Father c. Some taking advantage from these Words deny this to be used as a Prayer it self but only as a Model and Platform to direct us how to pray But if we consult not only the practice of the Church of Christ in all Ages but the Scripture it self we shall find it to be both the one and the other for it is our Saviour's express Injunction Luke 11.2 When ye pray say and what should they say but the Words immediately following Our Father which art in Heaven c One Evangelist says Pray after this manner the other saith When ye pray say from both which compared together it is easie to collect that it is both a Pattern for us to form our Prayers by and that it is a Prayer it self which our Saviour in condescention to our Infirmities hath framed for us putting Words into our Mouths to beg of God those Blessings which through his most prevalent Intercession shall not be denied us And indeed of all Prayers this is the most absolute and comprehensive containing in it not so many Words as Petitions for there is not any one thing that we can pray for according to the Will of God but it is summarily couch'd in this And yet this Comprehensiveness which is the admirable Excellency of this Prayer hath been the only Reason why some of late have scrupled and refused to use it because they cannot pierce through all that is signified by these substantial Expressions they think they should take God's Name in vain in uttering that before him which they do not understand the utmost extent of But if they did but consider their own Prayers the same doubts would still remain When they pray that God's Name may be glorified can they comprehend in that short time while they are uttering those Words the infinite Latitude of that Request Is it unlawful at the close of our Prayers to desire that God would give us all good things which we have not mentioned before him And yet who of us can conceive how large an extent that Request may have May we not say Amen and Seal up our Prayers with a So be it though while we are speaking it we cannot presently recollect all that hath been mentioned before God in Prayer And for any to say that the Lord's Prayer is a Morsel too big for their Mouths as some have done I have always accounted it a most unworthy and unsavory Speech Certainly Christ thought it not too big for his Disciples whose Capacities at that time were possibly none of the largest as appears in many instances particularly in the Nature of Christ's Kingdom which he taught them to pray that it might come which they thought to be Temporal and Earthly And those who refuse the use of the Lord's Prayer as too big for them would yet think themselves much wronged if we should but suspect them as ignorant in that and in many other points of Christian Doctrine as the Disciples were when our Saviour instructed them thus to pray It being therefore as I hope clear and evident that we may often pray in these Words and that we must always pray after this manner let us now proceed to consider the Prayer it self in which there are these Four parts First The Preface or Introduction to it Secondly The Petitions or Requests we present to God in which the greatest part of it consists Thirdly the Doxology or Praise-giving for Praise is a necessary part of Prayer Fourthly The Conclusion or Ratification of all in the Sealing Particle Amen I shall speak somewhat of these briefly in the general and then more particularly of each as my Text directs me First For the Introduction or Preface unto the Prayer and that is contained in these Words Our Father which art in Heaven This is used as a preparative to Prayer And what greater inducement can there be to dispose us into a holy awe and reverence of God than to set before us the Greatness and Glory of that Majesty before whom we prostrate our selves And therefore we find that the Saints in Scripture in all their approaches to the Throne of Grace were wont in the beginning of their Prayers to affect and over-awe their Hearts with the humble mention of God's Glorious Attributes Thus Solomon 1 Kings 8.23 O Lord God of Israel there is no God like unto thee in Heaven above or in the Earth beneath who keepest Covenant and Mercy with thy Servants Thus Jehosaphat 2 Chron. 20.6 O Lord God of our Fathers art not thou God in Heaven and rulest not thou over all the Kingdoms of the Heathens and in thy Hand is there not Power and Might So Hezekiah 2 King 19.15 O Lord God of Israel who dwellest between the Cherubims thou art God even thou alone who hast made Heaven and Earth And so the Prophet Jerem. 32.17 Ah Lord God behold thou hast made the Heaven and the Earth by thy great Power and stretched-out Arm and there is nothing too hard for thee The great the mighty God the Lord of Hosts is his Name great in Counsel and mighty in Working And thus our Saviour himself Matth. 11.25 I thank thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth And so the Apostle Acts 4.24 Lord thou art God that hast made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that in them is And thus to consider seriously of and reverently to express the infinitely Glorious Attributes of God is an excellent means to compose us into a holy fear and awe of God such as becomes vile Dust and Ashes to be affected with when it stands in the presence of its great Lord and Creator Only here let us remember that we dwell not so long upon the Titles and Attributes of God nor run so much out into Preface as to forget our errand unto him Secondly Next after the Preface we have the Petitions following in their order Of these some reckon six others seven but which soever we take the matter is not great They may all be reduced under two General Heads First Such as respect God's Glory Secondly Such as respect our selves and others The Three first respect God's Glory and the Three or Four last our own Good and that either Temporal or Spiritual Temporal in begging at God's Hands our daily Bread Spiritual in desiring both the Pardon of and Deliverance from Sin And here again we may observe the admirable Order and Method of this Prayer in that our Saviour hath placed the Petition which refers to our Temporal Good as it were in the very midst
and centre of it it being encompassed round about with Petitions for Heavenly and Spiritual Blessings And this may intimate to us that we are only to bait at the World in our Passage and Journey to Heaven that we ought to begin with Spirituals and end with Spirituals but only to take up and refresh our selves a little with our daily Bread in our way Thirdly In the Doxology or Praise there are Four things contained First God's Sovereignty Thine is the Kingdom Secondly God's Omnipotency And the Power Thirdly God's Excellency And the Glory Fourthly The Eternity and Unchangableness of them and of all God's other Attributes noted to us in that Expression For ever Fourthly and Lastly Here is the ratifying Particle Amen added as a Seal to the whole Prayer and it importeth a desire to have that confirmed or granted which we have prayed for And thus Benaiah when he had received Instructions from David concerning the establishing of Solomon in the Kingdom answereth thereto Amen and explains it 1 Kings 1.36 The Lord God of my Lord the King say so too So that when we add this Word Amen at the end and close of our Prayers it is as much as if we had said the Lord God say so too or the Lord grant these Requests For the proper signification of Amen is so be it or so it is or so it shall be the former notes our Desires the latter our confidence and assurance of being heard Now of all these Four parts of which this Prayer is composed I shall speak in their order First therefore Let us consider the Preface in these Words Our Father which art in Heaven And here God is described by two of his most eminent Attributes his Grace and Glory his Goodness and his Greatness by the one in that he is stiled Our Father by the other in that he is said to be in Heaven And both these are most sweetly tempered together to beget in us a Holy Mixture of Filial Boldness and aweful Reverence which are so necessary to the sanctifying of God's Name in all our Addresses to him We are commanded to come to the Throne of Grace with boldness Heb. 4.16 and yet to serve God acceptably with reverence and with fear Heb. 12.28 Yea and indeed the very calling of it a Throne of Grace intimates both these Affections at once It is a Throne and therefore requires Awe and Reverence but it is a Throne of Grace too and therefore permits holy Freedom and Confidence And so we find all along in the Prayers of the Saints how they mix the consideration of God's Mercy and his Majesty together in the very Prefaces and Preparations to their Prayers So Neh. 1.5 Lord God of Heaven the great and terrible God that keepeth Covenant and Mercy for them that love him So Dan. 9.4 O Lord the great and dreadful God keeping Covenant and Mercy for them that love him Now this excellent mixture of aweful and encouraging Attributes will keep us from both the Extreams of Despair on the one Hand and of Presumption on the other He is our Father and this may correct the despairing Fear which might otherwise seize us upon the consideration of his Majesty and Glory And he is likewise infinitely Glorious a God whose Throne is in the highest Heavens and the Earth his Foot-stool And this may correct the presumptuous irreverence which else the consideration of God as our Father might perhaps embolden us unto Now here I shall first speak of the Relation of God unto us as a Father and then of the Place of his Glory and Residence in Heaven and of both but briefly for I must not dwell upon every particular First To begin with the Relation of God to us as a Father Now God is a Father Three ways First God is a Father by Eternal Generation Secondly By Temporal Creation and Providence Thirdly By Spiritual Regeneration and Adoption First God is a Father by Eternal Generation having by an inconceivable and ineffable way begotten his Son God Co-equal Co-eternal with himself and therefore called The only begotten Son of God Joh. 3.16 Thus God is a Father only to our Lord Jesus Christ according to his Divine Nature And whensoever this Title Father is given to God with relation to the Eternal Sonship of our Lord Jesus Christ it denotes only the First Person in the ever Blessed Trinity who is therefore chiefly and especially called the Father Secondly God is a Father by Temporal Creation as he gives a Being and Existence to his Creatures creating those whom he made Rational after his own Image and Similitude And therefore God is said to be a Father of Spirits Heb. 12.9 And the Angels are called the Sons of God Job 1.6 There was a day when the Sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord. And so Adam upon the account of his Creation is called the Son of God Luke 3.38 where the Evangelist runs up the Genealogy of Mankind till it terminates in God Who was the Son of Adam who was the Son of God Thirdly God is said to be a Father by Spiritual Regeneration and Adoption and so all true Believers are said to be the Sons of God and to be born of God John 1.12 13. To as many as received him to them gave he Power to become the Sons of God even to as many as believed on his Name which were born not of the will of Man but of God So Rom. 8.17 we are said to receive the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father For the Spirit it self witnesseth with our Spirits that we are the Children of God Now in these two last Significations this Expression Our Father which art in Heaven is to be understood and so they denote not any one particular Person of the Blessed Trinity but it is a relative Attribute belonging equally to all the Three Persons God is the Father of all Men by Creation and Providence and he is especially the Father of the Faithful by Regeneration and Adoption Now as these Actions of Creation Regeneration and Adoption are common to the whole Trinity so likewise is the Title of Father God the first Person in the Blessed Trinity is indeed Eminently called the Father but not in respect of us but in respect of Christ his only begotten Son from all Eternity In respect of us the whole Trinity is our Father which is in Heaven both Father Son and Holy Ghost and in praying to our Father we pray to them all joyntly for Christ the Second Person in the Trinity is expresly called the Father Isa 9.6 Vnto us a Child is born unto us a Son is given and his Name shall be called Wonderful Councellor the Mighty God the Everlasting Father And we are said to be born of the Spirit John 3.5 Except a Man be born of Water and of the Spirit Now that God should be pleased to take this into his Glorious Style even to be called Our Father it may
former yet is it far more excellent and the Royalty of it is God's singular Delight Now this Kingdom of Grace is his Church and may be considered Two ways First In its Growth and Progress Secondly In its Perfection and Consummation In the former respect it is the Church Militant here upon Earth and in the latter it is the Church Triumphant in Heaven for both make up but one Kingdom under divers respects First Let us a little consider God's Kingdom here upon Earth or the Church Militant and that is Two-fold Visible and Invisible The Visible Kingdom of God upon Earth are a company of People openly professing the Fundamentals of Religion and those Truths necessary to Salvation which God hath made known unto the World and joyning together in the External Communion of Ordinances The Invisible Kingdom are a company of true Believers who have Internal and Invisible Communion with God by his Spirit and their Faith The Visible Church is of a much larger extent than the Invisible for it comprehends Hypocrites and Formalists and all those who have given up their Names to Christ and listed themselves under his Banner and make an outward profession of the Truth although by their Lives and Practices they contradict and deny what they own and profess with their Lips These belong to the Kingdom of God's Grace as to the External Dispensation and Regiment of it because they profess obedience to his Laws and live under the means of Grace by which many of them through the efficacious concurrence of the Spirit of God are translated into the Invisible Kingdom of his dear Son Now this Visible Kingdom of God upon Earth is but an imperfect State and Condition for though all that are Members of it are selected and taken out of the World yet there is a great deal of Mixture and Dross and many things that do offend For First There is in it a mixture of Wicked Persons with those that are really Holy Many are of this Kingdom only because their Consciences are convinced of the Truth of the Christian Religion although their Lives are not subject to the Power of it and these are taken out of the World only as they are brought into the Pale of the Church and profess the Name of Christ and his Religion as distinct from all other Religions in the World And therefore we find the Church or the Kingdom of Heaven in Scripture frequently compared to a Net cast into the Sea gathering every kind of Fish both good and bad Matth. 13.47 both sorts are embraced in the Bosom of this Net and no perfect Separation can be made until it be drawn to shore at the Day of Judgment and then the Good will be gathered into Vessels and the Bad cast away as it is there expressed Again it is compared to a Floor wherein is both Chaff and Wheat Luk. 3.17 and these will be mix'd together until the last discriminating Day and then shall the Wheat be gathered into the Garner and the Chaff burnt up with unquenchable Fire Again it is compared to a Field wherein there grows Tares as well as Corn Matth. 13.24 which must grow together until the Harvest and then shall the Tares be bound in Bundles to be burnt and the profitable Grain be gathered into the Barn This hath still been and will be the mix'd condition of God's Church on Earth wherein through Hypocrisie and gross Dissimilation many that are Enemies to the Cross of Christ will yet go under that Cognisance and keep up a Form of Godliness though they deny and hate the Power of it Secondly There is even in the Invisible Church here on Earth a great mixture too those who have a real and vital Union to Christ and maintain a Spiritual Communion with him yet even they have a sad mixture of Evil with all their Good of Sin with all their Grace and Holiness so that the Church is still imperfect not only from a mixture of Persons but from a mixture in Persons As we know but in part so we love but in part we fear we obey God but in part And with our Profession of Faith we had need also to prefer that humble Petition Mark 9.24 Lord I believe help thou mine unbelief Secondly The Kingdom of God may be considered in its Perfection and Consummation and so it is Triumphant in Heaven And this consists of such Glorious Angels as never Fell and of such Glorified Saints who are raised from their Fall and restored to a far better Condition than what they lost This is the most Glorious part of God's Kingdom here is his Throne especially established and here it is that he displays himself in the splendor of his Majesty being surrounded by innumerable Hosts of Holy Angels and the Spirits of Just Men made perfect who continually Worship before him with a most prostrate Veneration and give Honour and Glory and Praise to him that sits upon the Throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever Now this Kingdom is altogether free from those former Imperfections and Mixtures There is no mixture of good and bad together neither is there any mixture of bad in the good but all are Holy and all as compleatly Holy as Creatures can be for into the New Jerusalem shall no unclean thing ever enter There are neither Temptations to try us nor Sins to defile us nor Sorrows to afflict us but perfect Joy and perfect Purity Where all Tears shall be wiped from our Eyes and all Sin the Cause of those Tears rooted out of our Hearts And yet if Heaven it self may be liable to any Defects or capable of any Additions there seems at present to be wanting in it these Two things First The Kingdom of Glory is not yet Full nor shall it be till the whole Number of the Elect shall be called and the whole Number of the Called Glorified Many as yet are conflicting here below and fitting themselves for their Eternal Reward many yet lie sleeping in their Causes unborn whom God hath Foreknown and Predestinated unto Eternal Life all of whom he will in his due time bring unto the Possession of his Heavenly Kingdom to compleat the Number of his Glorious Subjects And therefore it is said concerning the Saints that are already in Heaven that white Robes were given to every one of them and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season until their Fellow-Servants also and their Brethren that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled Rev. 6.11 Secondly Those Glorified Saints that are now in Heaven though their Joys be perfect yet their Persons are not but one part of them their Bodies continue still under the arrest of Death and the Power of the Grave but yet they sleep in Hope and through that Mystical Vnion that there is between Jesus Christ and every scattered Dust of a Believer they shall obtain a Glorious and Joyful Resurrection and then shall this Heavenly Kingdom
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
That their Lives may be more plausible their Gifts more serviceable and their Condemnation at last the more tolerable Q. How doth God keep Men from Sin by his special Grace A. By exciting the inward Principle and Habit of Grace implanted in his Children to the actual Use and Exercise of it Q. Is not inherent Grace alone sufficient to keep the Godly from sinning A. It is not without the continual Influence of God's quickning Grace 2 Cor. 12.7 There was given to me a Thorn in the Flesh the Messenger of Satan to buffet me lest I should be exalted above Measure Q. What are those Graces that God doth especially excite to keep his Children from Sin A. They are Three Faith Fear and Love Q. How doth Faith keep them from sinning A. Many ways but more especially by Two 1. First As it lively represents unto us Eternal Rewards and Punishments and make them as real as they are certain Heb. 11.1 Now Faith is the Substance of things hoped for the Evidence of things not seen 2. Secondly As it represents unto us God to be the Observer of our Actions who must hereafter be the Judge of them For by Faith we see him who is invisible Q. How doth the Fear of God keep Men from Sin A. By possessing our Hearts with awfull Thoughts of his dread Majesty whose Power is infinite and whose Justice is strict and impartial Psal 4.4 Stand in awe and sin not Q. How doth the Love of God keep Men from Sin A. By working in them an holy Ingenuity and Sympathy of Affection with God Loving what he loves and hating what he hates and therefore those who love God will certainly hate Iniquity Psal 97.10 Ye that love the Lord hate Evil. Q. What do we pray for in this part of the Petition Deliver us from Evil A. We pray 1. That if it shall please God to lead us into Temptation yet he would not leave us under the Power of Temptation but would make a way for us to escape that we might be able to bear it 2. That if at any time Temptations should prevail over us God would not leave us under the Power of Sin but raise us again by true Repentance that so we may at last be delivered from the great Evil of Obduration and Impenitency 3. That God would not onely deliver us from gross and self condemning Sins but from every evil Way and Work 4. That he would be pleased to deliver us not onely from what is in it self sinfull but from all the Occasions and Appearances of Evil. Q. After the Petitions of the Lord's Prayer what next followeth to be considered A. The Doxology or Praise in these words For thine c. Q. Of what consisteth this Doxology A. Of four of God's most glorious Attributes His Soreignty Thine is the Kingdom His Omnipotence Thine is the Power His Excellency Thine is the Glory His Eternity All these are Thine for ever Q. What observe you in the Manner of our Saviour's ascribing these Attributes to God A. First The Eminency of them intimated in the Particle The The Kingdom the Power and the Glory signifying his the Highest and Chiefest of all these And Secondly The Propriety of them in the Particle Thine to note to us that they are God's onely Originally Independently and Unchangeably Q. What observe you from the illative Particle For when ye say For thine is the Kingdom c. A. This word carries in it the Force of a Reason both why we should pray unto God and why we may expect to be heard when we pray Q. How is it a Reason for us to pray unto God A. We pray unto God because he alone is able to relieve us For his is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever Q. How is it a Reason for us to expect that God should hear our Prayers A. Many ways 1. His is the Kingdom and we his Subjects and therefore we may depend on him as our King for Help and Protection 2. His is the Power and therefore he is able to do for us abundantly above what we are able to ask or think 3. His is the Glory and therefore what we ask for his Honour and Praise shall be granted us 4. All these are his for ever and therefore we may be assured that at no time the Prayer of Faith shall be in vain Q. What observe you from our Saviour's teaching us to use these Arguments and Pleas in our Prayers to God A. Two things 1. In our Prayers we ought to plead with God by weighty and inforcing Reasons 2. That the most prevailing Arguments in Prayer are to be taken from the Attributes of God Q. What benefit is there in using such Reasons since God cannot by them be moved to alter his Purposes A The stronger our Reasons are to sue for Mercies the more fervent will our Prayers be and the more confirmed our Faith Q. How doth the Consideration of the Kingdom 's being God s confirm our Faith that we shall obtain what we pray for A. Many ways 1. The Kingdom is God's and therefore he will see that his Name be hallowed in it for he is a King jealous of his Honour 2. The Kingdom is God's therefore he will take care for the Establishment and Enlargement of it since it is his own Interest and Concern 3. The Kingdom is God's and therefore he will look to be obeyed in it without which Royalty is but Pageantry 4. The Kingdom is God's and therefore we may expect our daily Bread and temporal Accommodations for it is a Kingly Office to provide things necessary for their Subjects 5. The Kingdom is God's and therefore we pray to him for Pardon and Forgiveness since it is a Royal Prerogative to forgive Offenders 6. The Kingdom is God's and therefore we may pray in Faith that he would deliver us from Temptations and the Evils to which we are tempted for one great End of Government is to protect the Subjects from the Assaults of their cruel Enemies Q. Which is the second Attribute ascribed unto God in the Doxology of the Lord's Prayer A. Power in these words And the Power Q. How is the Power of God distinguished A. Into his absolute and his ordinate Power Q. What call you the absolute Power of God A. The absolute Power of God is that whereby he is simply able to produce whatsoever is possible to be i. e. all things which imply not Contradiction Q. What call you God's ordinate Power A. God's ordinate Power is that whereby he is able to produce those things which according to his Will shall come to pass Q. Why is it called God's ordinate Power A. Because the Effects of it are limited by the Ordination of his Wisdom and Will Psal 115.3 But our God is in the Heavens he hath done whatsoever he pleased Psal 135.6 Whatsoever the Lord pleased that did he in Heaven and Earth in the Seas and all deep Places Q. Is God's