some men into temptation and out again and others he leadeth not onely in Temptation but also leaveth them in it To this I answer Tu homo à me petis causam ego quoque homo sum sed audiamus ambo Apostolum dicentem O home tu quis es melior est fidelis ignorantia quam temeraria scientia Quaere merito non invenies nisi poenam O altitudo Petrus negat latro credit O altitudo tu disputa ego credam tu ratiocinare ego mirabor sed cave ne dum doctores quaeras presumptores invenias August de verb. Apost Serm. 20. So then the answer is full Even so O Father because it hath so pleased thee For hee hath mercy on whom hee will have mercy and whom hee will he hardeneth LECTIO 21. But deliver us from evill VVEe have already spoken of the first part of this Petition which was deprecatory wee come now to speake of the second part which is supplicatory and contained in these words But deliver c. For explication whereof there are foure things considerable 1. Our captivity 2. Who and how are they captives 3. The deliverance or release 4. The deliverer or redeemer Our captivity is evill The captives are imported in the word us the release in the word deliver the deliverer must bee understood God the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost Before wee enter into the delineation of the first to wit our captivity it is requisite that wee looke a little on the tye by which these words are knit to the former And for clearing hereof wee must know that as it is in the matter of physick or military art so it is in the spirituall diseafes or conflicts of the soule True physicke hath two parts the one is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the other 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first preserveth our health by good dyet and so preventeth our diseases before they come the other by medicine expelleth and purgeth away diseases after they be come It is so in the diseases of the soule The preventing grace of God leadeth us not into temptation The fellow-working or second grace delivereth us from evill Againe as it is in the discipline of warre here on earth so it must bee with the soule In a battell and conflict on earth our Generall and Leader must first be carefull that wee fall not before our enemy And secondly if we fall and be taken captive it is his part to bee carefull to pay our ransome and deliver us from the captivity and tyranny of our enemie It is so with us also in the spirituall fight and conflicts of the soule Our leader should not onely be carefull that wee get not the foile but also if wee bee put to the rowte and taken captives of our enemies it becommeth him to be carefull to redeeme and ransome us out of the hands of all those to whom wee were prisoners and captives I hope now by these two similitudes you understand the conjunction and tye that is betwixt this part of the Petition and the former For if we shall looke upon our selves as being sick and diseased in soule two things are requisite for our health and cure First our physician should prescribe us a dyet whereby our disease may bee prevented This is done and prescribed in the words Lead us not into temptation The other thing which the Doctor of our soules oweth us is medicine potions plaisters and purgations to cure us of the sicknesse we are falne in and this he promiseth to do unto us whilst he delivereth us from all evill Againe wilt thou looke on thy selfe as a souldier in the field of Jesus fighting against the spirituill enemies of thy soule thy leader Christ Jesus promiseth thee two things First that though thou stumble before the enemy yet thou shalt not fall This hee promiseth in these words Leadus not c. Secondly he promiseth that if at any time thou fall and get the foile and be taken captive and prisoner yet he will not let thee dye in prison no hee will redeeme thee and ere any of thine enemies sinne death or condemnation tryumph over thee he will lay his owne life downe for thee and his heart blood as a ransome for thy deliverance and this hee promiseth in these words But deliver us from evill Vse Now from this in a word it is evident that man by nature is a wofull and dolorous creature sicke and diseased dead in sinnes and trespasses and so much the more heavily sicke and desperately diseased that hee militateth against his physician yet the reason is hee feeleth not the soare and like one transported in the fury of his passion hee cannot tell where his paine holds him But here is the riches of the mercy of our God and physician hee preventeth us with his cure and not onely that but also prescribeth helpes against our recidivations and relapses This the woman of Samaria felt when shee knew not the grace of God nor who it was spake to her by seeking a drinke of pure water he prevented her and gave her a drinke of the well of the water of life Thus he prevented the man at the poole of Bethesda Thus hee prevented us all in the loines of our first parent Adam where art thou And againe when our father was an Amorite and out mother an Hetyte when our haire was not cut nor our nailes pared when wee were wallowing in our blood and were neither washed with water nor softened with oyle hee came by and preventing us with his love said to us live and made us live and only because of his word commanding us to live and therefore wee lived Seeing then whilst wee are sicke and diseased in soule hee preventeth us with his unexpected cure seeing also whilst wee are taken prisoners hee preventeth us with our undeserved ransome what are wee that wee should either proudly reject or faithlesly distrust the Ocean of his goodnesse There bee some I know that hearing of this preventing grace will proudly lay this conclusion that they will continue still in sin that grace may abound But knowest not thou O vaine man that the long suffering patience of God should lead thee to repentance and that if thou tread the blood of the covenant under thy feet that blood which speaketh better things then the blood of Abel to the righteous shall speak judgemēt to thee even a judgement intolerable incurable Know again thou that art weake in faith that that sicknesse and disease cannot befall thy soule that should make thee distrust the Physician whose love hath prevented thee with an unexpected cure Whilst hee was in our flesh hee quickned three sorts of dead the Centurians daughter the widows sonne and Lazarus three dayes dead and all to make thee strong in faith Why wrongest thou him first in his justice by sinning against him and next in his mercy by distrusting his goodnesse No no beleeve him under hope and aganst
livest now and what reason had God to bring them from afarre and take their life from them and to give thee liberty to use them but his mercy and not thy merit his favour not thy deserving that the sense hereof may teach thee that his grace is every way his grace though thy sin be out of measure sinfull Adde hereunto that as prepremeditation is requisite before their use so sobriety in their use for it becomes us not to sit downe and glut with them as if wee had nothing to do but to fill our bellies and satisfie our desires No no meat is ordained for the belly and the belly for meat but God will destroy them both And he that hungers but for the food that perisheth may satisfie himselfe for a while but in the end hee shall both hunger and thirst and shall not bee satisfied at all This was the advertisement that our Master Christ Jesus gave to his Disciples Take not care for your belly what you shall eate or for your back what you shall put on for your heavenly Father knoweth whereof ye stand in need before you aske and he will not suffer you to want the thing without the which you cannot serve him Use then the things of this life soberly for thou hast more thē thou broughtest into the world with thee thou hast more then thou usest well and thou hast more then thou canst take out of the world If thou get therefore food and raiment learne therewith to be content Thirdly before thou rise from the table examine thy selfe and see wherein thou hast made thy selfe unworthy of the succeeding use of his creatures by the abuse of those which thou hast received For I will assure thee when man is full hee waxeth wanton and the plenty of his table maketh him oftentimes fall into those sinnes which the hungry heart falleth not into Is was not in the time of Noahs sobriety that his nakednesse was discovered but in the time of his excesse It was not in the time of Lots sobriety that hee fell into incest but in his excesse It was not in the time of Ammons fasting that hee fell before Absolon but in the time of his feasting When God therefore hath filled our bellies with good things let us not rise without due examination of our owne hearts to see wherein wee have sinned Let us with Iob sacrifice every morning after our festivities for it may bee that the fulnesse of our cups hath made us blaspheme our God as it was with Israel they sate downe to eate and to drinke and rose up to play and they felt the wrath of God upō thē in the fatnes of their bodies in the leannesse of their soules Since therefore God hath coupled these things together let no man put them asunder but let all flesh in trembling examine himselfe and when hee hath said Give us this day our daily bread let him withall adde And forgive us our trespasses Now I feare I spend too much time in the description of the dependance and coherence of this petition with the former and of the uses arising therefrom It resteth now that wee come to the Petition it selfe In which two things are remarkable a supplication and a covenant or condition by which the supplication is sealed first the supplication is Forgive us our trespasses the condition sealing the covenant is As wee forgive them that trespasse against us We must return to the supplication it selfe in which five things do subordinately offer themselves to our consideration First what wee are by nature sinners Gods debters Secondly what wee aske concerning our naturall estate in sinne and that is pardon and forgivenesse Thirdly from whom it is that wee aske this pardon and it is neither from Angels in heaven nor man on earth but from God our Father in Jesus Christ whose habitation is in heaven and who hath given us in his Sonne the hope of the same inheritance Fourthly wee have to consider the interest wee have unto this sinne that wee crave to be pardoned and it is Ours Fiftly and lastly wee must consider the extent of this our supplication and it reacheth not onely to our selves alone but also to all our brethren and fellow-members of the mysticall body of Jesus Christ and therefore wee say not Forgive mee but forgive us and this I thinke is the true and lively anatomy and opening up of the first part of the Petition the other wee shall weigh and examine when we come to it The first thing considerable here is our estate condition by nature which is two waies expressed first in the essence thereof next in the denominatiō the one privatly couched in the bosome of the other the other publique manifesting the death of mans misery the essēce of his misery is that hee is a sinner The true title indigitatiō of that his estate in sin is that it maketh him to be Gods debter But to return our estate by nature is not essentially set downe here but by way of denomination for here Matthew saith Forgive us our debts while St Luke saith in his 11. Chap. Forgive us our sinnes Now to returne to the consideration of this our naturall estate it is here set downe two wayes first by denomination and then by confession It is denominated a debt it is confessed whilst wee begge pardon for it The denomination is a debt many titles and names of signification are given to sinne in Scripture Sometimes it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and here it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All of these words important enough to signifie and expresse the depth of that misery into the which man by sinne hath fallen Yet none doth more truly expresse his misery then this that by sinne hee is become Gods debtor but thou wilt say O man How comes it to passe that by sinne man is made Gods debter seeing God neither requireth sinne of man nor is sinne a debt due to God But to answer this I would have thee to know that there are divers sorts of debts which man oweth there is a naturall debt which man oweth there is a spirituall debt and there is a civill debt which hee oweth The naturall debt is that which hee oweth to death and shall pay it will hee nill hee for wee came all of us into the world but upon this condition that wee shall goe out of it againe for dust wee are and to dust wee must returne for it is appointed for all men once to dye and after death judgement shall come Our earth must returne to earth and our spirit to God that gave it Finally this earthly house of our tabernacle must bee dissolved c. And this is called the first death which is nothing else but a separation of
promulgated wee shall finde it that it is onely to the elect vessels of mercy and to the children of Gods free love whereas to the reprobate men and Angels there is neither promise nor hope of pardon left For their judgement is sealed and their condemnation sleepes not Againe as to Jesus Christ the mediator of the new covenant a free pardon hee obtained not he paid the utmost farthing that was requisite for the satisfaction of the justice of God onely to man and the elect amongst the sonnes of men hath God voluntarily and freely forgiven the burthen and the debt of sinne And I call this a voluntary and free forgivenesse for three respects In respect of God the Father in respect of God the Sonne and in respect of God the Holy Ghost For I say first in respect of God the Father for hee who said In the day that thou shalt eate thou shalt surely die said also the seed of the woman shall tread downe the head of the serpent And againe God so loved the world that hee sent his owne Sonne to the death of the Crosse that whosoever beleeveth in him should not perish but have eternall life It is free also in respect of God the Sonne for hee as willingly and freely assented to the great worke of mans redemption howsoever the way was sharpe and thorny as the Father was willing in his eternall wisedome to propose it And therefore it is written of him that he laid his life down and tooke it up againe hee laid it downe for none could take it from him and hee tooke it up againe for it was impossible that hee could bee holden of the sorrows of the grave Lastly the pardon and remission of our sinnes is free in respect of God the Holy Ghost for willingly and freely without any merit on our part he commeth downe and dwelleth in our soules illuminates our understanding rectifieth our will sanctifieth our affections makes intercession for us with sighs and groanes that cannot be expressed and keepes us by the power of his grace through faith to eternall salvation for it is written Because wee are sonnes God hath sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts whereby we cry Abba Father And againe because wee of our selves know neither how to pray nor what to pray the spirit helpeth our infirmities and maketh intercession for us with sighs that cannot bee expressed And also it is written That as hee hath begotten us to a lively hope by the resurrection of Iesus Christ from the death to an inheritance which is immortall and undefiled that withers not away but is reserved for us in the heavens So also he keeps us by the power of the Spirit through faith to eternall salvation Vse Now having thus cleared the meaning of the word it rests that wee make use of it for our instructions and the uses that arise from it are two the one serveth for rebuke the other for comfort the rebuke falleth on the Church of Rome the comfort shall returne to us and to every soule in whom the grace of God dwelleth The rebuke that ariseth to the Church of Rome is this in these words wee are commanded to crave pardon for our debts in the plurall number and indefinitely now wee know this to bee true that those Propositions which are indefinite are universall in correspondence Whilst then wee crave pardon and forgivenesse of our debts wee universally begge mercy and pardon for all our sinnes for both originall and actuall sins For our sinnes of infirmity and our sins of presumption for sinfull omissions and commissions for the sinfull thoughts of our heart and words of our mouth and actions of our conversation Now in respect of all these wee have need to draw neere unto God and to say Forgive What meane those Doctors of the Romish Church to teach that there is a sort of sinne which in it selfe and of it selfe is veniall and that some onely are mortall but it is cleare out of the word of God that there is not any sin which is not mortall for every sinne is a breach of the law and every sinne and transgression shall receive a just recompence of reward Hee that sinneth without the law shall perish without the law and hee that sinneth under the law shall bee judged by the law and againe The wages of sinne is death I graunt indeed if wee looke to that excellent price that was given for our sinnes no sinnes are mortall for such is the worth and excellencie of that blood of Jesus which speaketh better things then the blood of Abell that whosoever shall have part in it shall stand without spot or blemish before the presence of the glory of God with joy and whosoever shall have but a drop of it to sprinkle on the posts of the doore of his soule the destroying Angell shall not come neere him but though his sinnes were as red as scarlet yet by vertue of his blood they shall bee as white as snow But on the other part if thou shalt looke upon thy sinne in its owne nature and because of thy esteeme and account of it it seeme veniall to thee wilt thou therefore say that it is veniall in it selfe O foole that thou art thou deceives thy owne soule The smallest coyne and the basest bullion that beareth the Kings stampe on it is as currant as the richest and purest gold that is seaven times tryed in the fire and to counterfeit that coyne is as reall treason as hee that either adulterates or falsifies the purest coyne It is so with us in our debts to God the meanest offence wee can commit is as culpable of judgement as those that are of greater nature for wee must not judge of our sinnes according to the quantity number or quality but chiefly according to the person and Majestie against whom they are committed Is not hee as great a theefe that robs the cottage of the poore as hee that robs the Palace of the Prince yes surely and greater for the Prinâ—e hath wherewithall to repaire his losse but the poore hath not Tell mee I pray you is there any sinne in the world smaller then the point of a thorne no surely yet the meanest thorne that was in the crowne of Christ drew blood of him The thornes that were in that crown were thy sinnes it was thy sinnes that drew blood of him and peirced his heart while there came blood and water out of it gushing and yet vaine man that thou art thou wilt say they are veniall how canst thou call that veniall and of no weight which was rated at so great a value as the sufferings of the Sonne of God the least drop of whose blood was of more worth then all the worme-eaten children of men on the earth Looke never therefore O man upon â—hy sinne in the judgement and with the eyes of nature that is but a false prospective and deceiving glasse looke on it as it lay on the backe
giveth the increase And as we must deny our selves so we must also follow him because of his sufficiency for hee is all-sufficient in his mercy in his wisedome in his power and in his truth In mercy for where our sinne abounded his mercy hath superabounded In wisedome for hee hath so wisely reconciled his mercy to his Justice that hee is satisfied and wee saved In his power for he dwelleth in the heavens and doth on the earth whatsoever hee willeth In his truth for heaven and earth shall passe away but one jot of his word falleth not to the ground If we seeke him he will bee found of us but if we forsake him he wil forsake us too LECT 4. Hallowed bee thy name AFter the Preface wee come in order to looke to the Petitions which are six whereof three have a reference to God and three unto man and his humane weakenesse In handling of these Petitions this shall God willing be the path wherein wee shall walke Wee will first looke to the order of the Petition and see in what distance it standeth with the rest And then wee will look upon the matter conteined in the Petition and see wherin it doth concerne us The order of this Petition is cleere and easie for if these three Petitions which concerne God bee justly preferred to those which concerne man then of necessity that Petition which doth most truly point out Gods honor unto us should first have place and that is this For it doth most lively represent unto us the care of Gods glory To it therefore precedency is duly given Now that this may be a little more cleere I shall labour to give you the evidence thereof both from the commandement of God and the practise of his Saints Shall we looke to the commandement of God it is more then manifest for amongst those ten Commandements which hee gave to Israel the first foure which concerne himselfe are prefixed to those other sixe which concerne but us And amongst these foure that which doth most eminently and evidently set forth his Glory hath both preheminency and precedency of place Answerable unto this is that direction of Christs Matthew 6.33 Seeke first the Kingdome of God and the righteousnesse thereof and the things of this life shall be cast unto you As God by the authoritie of his word doth require this of us So also at all times it hath beene the practise of his Saints in whom the Spirit of God hath dwelt powerfully ever to preferre the Glory of God to all things in this life yea to their owne life it selfe Looke to the practise of Moses Exodus 32. And of Paul that elect vessell of Mercy Rom. 9.3 Both of them in a burning zeale to the honor of God did wish themselves to bee thrust out from God that in their overthrow his honor might bee the more manifested Let me yet adde to this another consideration of the order and we shall see that it is not without reason that this Petition hath the precedency For in it I finde a wonderfull strain of the wisedom of our Redeemer Christ Jesus In the preface and entry of this prayer he hath led us to direct our Petitions in the termes of affection in the termes of faith and in the termes of feare In the termes of affection whilst we call God a Father In the termes of faith whilst we call him our Father and by faith make him to be ours in Christ Jesus And in the termes of feare whilst we acknowledge his power in heaven and in earth And then being to order our Petitions either according to the riches of Gods mercy or to the depth of our misery The first thing that we are desired to crave of God is a heart that can be desirous of his Glory For it is impossible that wee should at any time walke in the obedience of the succeeding Petitions unlesse that our hearts be first inflamed with the zeale of Gods glory For if wee consider aright who is hee that can ingeniously say let thy Kingdome come or thy will be done on earth unlesse he bee first enamored with the love of Gods glory Or who is hee that can content himselfe with his Daily bread or hunger and thirst for the Pardon of his sinnes or strive and wrestle against Temptation who hath not his heart inflamed with the sparkes of the Glory of God surely amongst the sons of men there shall not bee found one no not one For we are here In via non in patria Viatores non cōprehensores And therefore it is impossible for us to desire the reparation of the lost image of God in us or to make a right use of the things of this naturall life unlesse God illuminate our eyes and inflame us with the love of his glory who dwells in glory and hath cloathed himselfe with glory inaccessable which no flesh can conceive and live That the Jewes should have had a chiefe care of this glory it was well demonstrated unto them in the motto of their High Priests that was on their frontlets Sanctitas Iehovae The High-priest was glorious every way in the lower hemne of his garment hee had a fringe interlaced with bells and pomegranats of gold in his brestplate he had the Vrim and the Thummim on his shoulders hee had two Onix stones but on his forehead as one consecrated to the service of God hee had engraven Holinesse to the Lord. Wherein hee did both confesse and petition confesse that God was holy and holinesse it selfe and petition him that he would make him holy as he was who had called him and as the Jewe was thus instructed so also are we who are Gentiles not left without instruction For I must say here of this petition what Paul spoke of faith hope and charity in preferring of charity to the other two hee giveth a reason Those two shall evanish but charity shall convey us to the Kingdome of heaven So fareth it with this petition the rest shall all so evanish Thy kingdome come shall cease whē it cōmeth to us by death Thy will be done in earth shall cease when wee shall rest from our labours and our workes shall follow us Give us this day our daily bread shall cease when wee shall eate of the bread of life Forgive us our sinnes shall cease when wee shall enter into our Masters joy Lead us not into temptation shall cease when God shall tread death sinne and sathan under our feete Thus an end of all these petitions shall come only this one shall have no end at all but shall be like to him to whom it is here ascribed for hee in himselfe is A and Ω the first and the last so shall his honour and glory bee also like unto him a new song hee shall put into our mouth and a deepe Hallelujah in the secret of our hearts wherein the heavens and the earth and the hoasts thereof shall onely resound the praise the
secondly for instruction It serves for rebuke to the Church of Rome who by the imposition of their extraordinary and unnecessary fastings hope to enter into the kingdome of God But to those I say yet not I but Jesus Christ for me Fooles and hypocrites you make cleane the outer side of the cup and the platter but within all is foule and full of ravening Foole dost thou thinke that the kingdome of God standeth in meate and drinke or in apparell No no it standeth in righteousnesse peace and joy in the holy Ghost What careth God I pray thee for a bit of meat that goeth into thy belly or for that rag of clothes that covereth thy nakednesse When he is hungry will he tell thee or when hee is thirsty will hee that thou shouldest give him drinke or if he were cold or naked would hee begge the use of thy garment No surely those things are not for him but for us and for our use Hee made our bodies of the earth earthly hee hath breathed the breath of life in our nostrils that by it wee may live in the body he hath given us also the use of his creatures for the preservation of that sparke till hee recall it What is it then should make man so bold to inhibit the use of that thing which God hath licenced or what art thou O man that darest pollute that which God hath sanctified to thee Well hath the Apostle Paul fore-prophesied of thee that in so doing thou hast a shew of godlinesse but in effect thou hast denyed the power thereof for these things may have a shew of wisdome in a will-worship and neglect of the body but in effect they are but the rudiments of the world and the ordinances and traditions of men for they hold not of our head which is Christ Jesus I graunt indeed it fareth not with the soule and the body as it fareth betwixt an evill matched man and his wife the thing that the one willeth the other willeth not and if any neighbour shall pacifie the strife with reason hee hath gained a soule It is even so with the matter of fasting if whilst the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit fighteth against the flesh wee can beate downe our bodies and bring them in subjection it is more then requisite But if wee shall think hypocritically by so doing to merit or procure to our selves the Kingdome of heaven wee deceive our soules and our labour is in vaine for the kingdome of God standeth neither in meat drinke or apparell but in righteousnesse peace and joy in the Holy Ghost Vse 2. And as it serves for rebuke of the Church of Rome so doth it also for instruction to our reformed Church and that in a twofold manner for it teacheth a lesson to the rich man and another also to the poore man It teacheth the rich man to eschew covetousnesse for if God give him bread hee giveth him all that hee oweth him wee cannot bee content till our table be richly decked and our cup overflow but alas these things ought not to be so for we came naked into the world and naked we shall returne againe If wee get therefore food and rayment it becomes us therewith to be contented Nature is not curious in herd yet nor chargeable in her fare shee can say with the Poët Vivitur parvo bene all that she craveth is but bread and water a clout to cover her nakednesse and a hole to hide her head in when God sendeth more she can use it with sobriety when God denyeth it shee can bee thankfull and say with Iob The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken c. And when she seeth the best chear in the world set before her she accounteth it all but bread The crummes of the rich mans table was bread although refused to Lazarus and the rich mans sumptuous fare was but bread Daniels pulse and water was bread and the Kings royall fare was but bread the huskes of the swine was bread to the prodigall child and his fathers feast was but bread Thus the true christian in all things is content hee canne bee abased and hee can abound he can bee hungry and he can bee full he can want and he can have Philip. 4. And in the midst of his fulnesse hee is carefull of nothing so much as that the Lord send not a leannesse upon his soule Secondly as it teacheth the richman to measure the things of this life not by the ell of his desires which have no end but by the ell of nature which is short soone contented so from this the poore man hath a lesson of content When hee looketh to his neighbour and seeth him better cloathed better fed better followed and better favored then himselfe truly nature would grudge and murmure in a naturall man But if thou bee a christian let mee exhort thee in the name of Jesus whose name is called upon by thee represse these fond imaginations Consider that God hath taken nothing from thee but what hee gave thee And that in wisdome hee holdeth thee short of those things that hee himselfe may be thy portiō Blessed art thou if he be so to thee It may be for a time thou hunger and thirst but thou shalt bee satisfied and it may be for a time that thou mourne and weepe but thou shalt be comforted The way to procure thy content it not to measure thy want with other mens wealth No no but looke to the woe that their wealth hath bred them and consider how ease and fulnesse of bread hath made their hearts fat and hath lulled them into the lethargie of a giddie minde whilst by means of thy want God hath preserved his life in thy soule Wouldst thou then change estates no doe not if thou be wise for they who possesse those things stand in slippery places they seldome or never leave their owners without a fall How many this day are in hell who would goe naked to bee partakers of the garment of righteousnesse who would be still hungry to get a poore crumme of the booke of life and dye a thousand deaths for thirst to get one drop of that water that could coole the heate of that flame which they sustaine but oh they cannot obtaine it they have lost their time and their judgement is sealed While therefore thou hast time in time redeeme the time for the daies are evill and if thou get food and raiment learne therewith to be content and if thou be greedy of any thing in the world be greedy of grace for if thou hast the grace of God thou art richer then Cresus because thou hast Christ who when hee was rich became poore that in his povertie thou mightest be made rich LECT 11. Give us this day our daily bread THe second thing considerable in these words is the person of whom wee aske this and it is of God for whilst in the preface wee say Our
the soule from the body for a time till God reunite them both in glory The Spirituall debt is that which man oweth to the God of nature and it is twofold either the debt of obedience or the debt of punishment The debt of obedience is the debt of righteousnesse Rom. 8.12 The debt of punishment is called the second death to the which man is bound for satisfaction of the justice of God in case of not performing and paying of the debt of righteousnesse The debt of righteousnesse is truly and properly called debt The debt of punishment is but figuratively and improperly so called and that for two causes first in respect of the antecedent and next in respect of the consequent In respect of the antecedent righteousnesse which we should have obeyed and in respect of the consequent punishment which is due to him that disobeies as it is written Tribulation and anguish shall bee c. There remaineth a third debt that man oweth and it is mixed for it is partly religious and partly civill Religious when according to the prescript of the word of God wee give reverence to whom wee owe reverence feare to whom we owe feare and love to whom wee owe love civill when wee render to every man that which wee have borrowed remembring that it is a blessing to owe nothing unto any man and the curse of the wicked that he borroweth and payeth not againe Psal 87. LECT 15. And forgive us our debts IN the end of our last Sermon wee looked on the words of the Petition it selfe wherein wee found foure things considerable First what wee are by nature sinners and debters to God whereof wee have spoken in our last Sermon Now it remaines that wee go forward to consider the other three parts and first of the pardon of our sinne Forgive In handling of which word I purpose not with Salmeron the Jesuite to dispute concerning the propriety of the word and to search whether it had beene better to have said remitte then as it is here dimitte I will onely according to the received approved custome of the Church speake of the word as it implyeth a pardon free remission of our sins which are our spirituall debts For never did man speake in so naturall a dialect as this is for all the other conditions displayed the condition and temper of his faith this the condition of his nature these implyed the good he hoped for this demonstrates the present misery body of death under which hee lyeth sigheth and groaneth desiring to be eased and to speake truly what can bee more acceptable unto God then the confession of sinne and the suit of pardon Did not our Redeemer in the dayes of his flesh call upon all them that were weary and ladened to come to him that hee might give them ease of their burthen rest to their soules Whilst therefore hee shall see us acknowledge our burthen confesse our debt shall we not be welcome to him O know this O man for thy cōfort the sheepheard never rejoyced more in the recovery of his lost sheepe nor the woman of her lost penny nor the father of his lost sonne then God is well pleased and glad of thy returne to him ready to forgive thee thy debt if in humility thou canst but acknowledge it for it is written Blessed is the man that confesseth his sinne and forsakes it but hee that hideth his transgression shall not prosper Well then seeing wee have in the first word confessed our burthen and debt let us now come to the second and consider our desire of pardon and release Forgive Debts are released and forgiven two manner of wayes either freely by pardoning the debtor or else legally by exacting the debt and so acquitting it Againe this legall release and acquitting of debt is two wayes first when the debt is paid by the true debtor Secondly when it is satisfied not by the true debter but by him who became suerty for him to this effect it is that Iustin telleth us Inst l. 3. tit 30. Tollitur omnis obligatio solutione ejus quod debetur non tamen interest quis solvat utrum is qui debet an vero alius pro eo Now shall we looke on mans sinne as it maketh him Gods debtor and enquire how it is forgiven I answer O man thy sinne is forgiven thee both ingenuously and legally Ingenuously because freely and voluntarily Legally because thy debt is paid though not by thy selfe yet by thy suerty Jesus Christ who hath done all suffered all and paid all that it be hooved thee to doe to suffer and to pay for the satisfaction of the justice of God hee did it for thee and thou hast done it in him But that this may be the more cleare and the termes of our pardon may bee the more distinctly known let us consider the debt of sinne as it is severally imposed upon three severall sorts of persons to wit the reprobate Angels and men on the elect amongst the sonnes of men and on the Sonne of God for the lost sons of men Now according to the diversity of the imputation of this debt so is the release and pardon thereof diversly and severally graunted the reprobate Angels and Sonnes of men have the debt and burthen of sinne imputed to them but the pardon and release of sinne neither doth nor ever shall appertaine unto them for with them the Lord doth and shall deale in the severity of his justice for ever for they shall bee cast in prison where they cannot come out till they have paid the uttermost farthing And because they cannot pay they shall not be forgiven The elect sonnes of men who are chosen vessels of mercy and appertaine to the covenant of grace by vertue of their election had the debt of their sins imputed to them when as they were borne dead in their sinnes and trespasses and were strangers by nature from the life of God as well as the children of wrath but now blessed bee God through Jesus Christ our Lord the release and pardon of our sinnes for that which was impossible to the law in so far as it was weak because of the flesh God sending his owne Sonne in the similitude of sinfull man and that for sinne condemned sinne in the flesh that the righteousnesse of the law might bee fulfilled in us who walke not after the law but after the spirit Lastly the Sonne of God had the debt and burthen of of sinne imposed upon him not of his owne sinne for hee that knew not sinne was made sinne for us And with him God hath dealt with such rigour of his justice that hee came from Bosra with red garments hee hath trodden the wine-presse of the Father alone and in the anguish and bitternesse of his sorrow cryed out My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee If wee shall looke to the persons to whom this release and pardon of sinne is promised and
of Jesus and as the weight thereof pressed the Sonne of God downe to the grave and then if thou dare come and call sinne veniall I hope thou wilt not when it turned the moisture of Davids body to the drought of summer when it made Ezechiah chatter like a swallow and mourne like a dove when it made Iob that hee could not swallow his spitle was there any word of a veniall nature in sinne no no no such thing The Saints of God have not known this dialect nor spoken in this Idiom it is but the voice of him that is dead in sinne and trespasses The Lord learne us to see our sinnes aright and then surely wee shall confesse that our sinnes are not veniall but mortall Secondly as this serveth for the rebuke of our neighbour Church in Rome so it serves also for our comfort and consolation whom God hath delivered from the yoke of that bondage and the night of that darknesse for tell mee O man what greater consolation can come to the soule of the Christian burthened with the weight of sinne then to say thy sinnes are forgiven thee but such is the force of these words Forgive us our debts for as in the word of debt he sheweth the weight of our misery so here in the words of forgivenesse hee sheweth us the riches of his mercy Was it not I pray you a great worke a work passing the capacity of man when God created the world he made all things of nothing whē nature telleth us that of nothing nothing can bee was it not a great worke to call for light out of the midst of darknesse and by the power of a naked word to make a glorious splendor of light shine out of the midnight of darknes Finally was it not a great worke to animate a peece of clay and by blowing on the dust of the earth to make it a living soule All of these were great indeed as workes of creation but as it was said behold a greater then Salomon is here so is there here in the matter of our redēption a worke greater then all these for loe he made not all things of nothing but of that which is worse then nothing sinne for sinne is nothing but a privation Hee brought light out of darknes but here a greater light out of a greater darknesse for when wee sate in darknesse and in the shadow of death hee made a great light to arise unto us for in his light hee made us to see light hee animated our clay and breathed the breath of life in our nostrels being dead in sinnes and trespasses hee quickned and begot us to the hope of immortality finally here is that worke passing in excellence and eminent above all humane admiration that wee being his debtors for tenne thousand talents not having one farthing to pay him hee hath freely forgiven us all our debt to the admiration both of man and Angels when the Angels who fell have not obtained a way of reconciliation hee hath found out for poore man a way of peace insomuch that what man could not pay hee hath freely fully and finally released requiring nothing of man but that hee should in sincerity say Forgive and it shall bee forgiven him Now what more could hee doe to thee O man or what lesse could he require of thee What more could hee do to thee then lay downe his life for thee and what lesse could hee require of thee then that in true sorrow forthy sinne and in full assurance of his mercy thou shouldst come unto him and say Forgive mee that so thou maist be forgiven The word in it selfe is so full of comfort I cannot as yet passe by it There is another place in Scripture that lookes so like to this place like Hippocrates two twinnes they are borne together they live together and dye together The place is the 12. of Matthew Come to mee all yee that are weary and laden and I will ease you There as the Saviour and Redeemer of the world and the true Physitian of soules that are sicke hee desires him that is spiritually sicke to come to him and he promiseth to ease him and give him rest but upon a condition that hee feele his sore and acknowledge his burthen Now it is remarkable that hee first promiseth ease and then rest first ease from the cōmanding power of sin next rest frō the condemning power of sin It is even so here that the spirituall Physition of our sick wearied soules leadeth us to bee sensible of our soule that by sinne wee are made Gods debtors and lyable to his judgements In the next place the cure of this our disease is given for wee shall no sooner confesse and acknowledge our sinnes to him but hee shall forgive it But you will say to mee what is this that hee forgives mee I answer looke to the place of Scripture immediately before cited see there what he promiseth to ease thee of as also all these things he here promiseth to forgive thee hee promiseth there to ease thee of all thy burthen of sinne of the law of affliction Of sinne for the burthen of it is as a talent of lead Zach. 5.6 And David saith it is a burthen too heavy for him to beare Of the law for it is a yoake which neither wee nor our fathers nor our forefathers were able to beare Act. 15. Of affliction for it is a weighty crosse and hee that follows Jesus Christ must take it up and follow him daily Of sinne while he not knowing sinne was made sin for us Of the Law whilst hee was made of a woman and made under the law Of affliction not by taking all afflictions from us but by sanctifying them unto us both in their nature and their end Their nature whilst hee maketh them testimonies of our adoption their end whilst he by them keepes us to eternall life for as the lyon that killed the Prophet kept still his dead body so afflictions may well kill the naturall man yet they do keepe the life of God in our soules Now know then for your comfort that what there hee promised to ease us of here hee promiseth to forgive and to forgive is more then to ease for a Physitian will ease his patient for a while of a hard binding which afterward he will binde againe And a master will ease his servant of the taske of captivity and slavery but afterwards hee will imprison him And finally a beast will be eased of his burthen for a while but afterwards it will be imposed and laid upon him but such is the great and rich depth of the mercy of our God what hee easeth us of that hee forgiveth us for while hee giveth pardon to man and speakes peace to his soule he pardoneth not as man pardoneth neither giveth he peace as man giveth peace My peace I give you my peace I leave with you not as the world giveth peace give I
will not suffer mee to paint them out to the life yea I know how many large volumes have beene published already on this subject by worthy and learned men only by the by as it were and in so farre as the vvords here shall offer us occasion I will point at them and from their weake considerations speake some words of comfort and instruction to your soules It is certaine that the chiefe and arch enemy of mans salvation is Sathan the devill who hath beene a lyer to man and a murtherer of man from the beginning But because he is a spirit therefore invisible that man cannot know him whilst hee fights with him he suborneth two souldiers against man the world from without man the flesh the lusts thereof within man that man having fightings within terrors without may fall and never rise againe But that I may make you senfible of these his assaults and temptations know that whilst I speak of the world I do not understand this great and majesticke frame of the world composed of these foure elements fire aire earth and water for by these man is not tempted all and every one of these Sathan hath imployed to punish man for sin but by none of these hath hee at any time tempted man for sinne But by the world I understand the children of disobedience and wicked ones that are in the vvorld and that not simply or absolutely as they are flesh of our flesh and bone of our bones but conditionally and as they are either cloathed with prosperity and wealth or else as they are stripped naked in the day of their want and misery And that the wicked of the world are called of God the world it is cleare out of that prayer of our Saviour Christ whilst hee saith I pray not for the world but for those whom thou hast given mee out of the world Now these as they stand either invested or cloathed with prosperity or stripped naked with calamity and want do prove a stumbling blocke and snare or temptation to the children of God For in the day of their prosperity by their carnall joy wherewith they are overjoyed in their pleasures by their carnall security whereby they cry peace to themselves when God mindeth them no peace and by their proud trampling upon the weake and despising of them that want what do they but invite us to runne with them in the excesse of their riot and by their temporall felicities labour to draw away if it were possible the very elect of God from the search and purchase of that felicity which is immortall and undefiled Againe in the day of their adversity what do they but cry to us with Iobs wife Curse God and die With Iehoram I will wait no longer on the Lords leisure And with Israel in the wildernesse Would God wee had dyed by the flesh pots of Egypt But brethren vvith these things let us not be moved let neither the prosperity of the vvicked draw thee to a carnall rejoycing or love of the vvorld for the prosperity of the vvicked is but like cracking of thornes under a pot nor let the calamity of the godly vvho suffer justly for their sinnes dravv thee to apostacie and back-sliding from the faith for it is better to suffer affliction with the children of God then to enjoy the perishing pleasures of sinne for a season Heb. 11. And it is more honourable for us to imbrace the Crosse of Jesus Christ then all the treasures of a corrupt and perishing Egypt Againe Sathan in the second place hireth our flesh to fight against us and here by the word flesh I do not understand this body of ours alone which is composed of flesh blood but also that naturall corruption which we have drawne from the loynes of our first parents who have infected us both soule and body and dwelling in us fighteth desperately and maliciously against us This corruption the Scripture expresseth by many names and titles as The old man The old Adam The naturall man The law of our members and The lusts of the flesh which fight against the soule Thus wee see that the flesh is also our enemy and so much the more odious by how much it is traiterous For of it wee may say what David said in Psalm 41. My familiar friend whom I trusted and hee that lay in my bosome and did eate bread with mee hath lifted up his heele against mee To this Iudas who betrayeth us wee may justly say It were good for thee thou hadst never bin borne To this Dalilah wee may say If thou hadst not plowed with my heyfer thou couldst not have read my riddle To this wife of Iob wee may say Thou speakest like a foolish woman And lastly to this unadvised counseller wee may justly say Get thee behinde mee Sathan for thou knowest not the things that are of God but the things that are of man Now wouldst thou know O man why thou shouldst so encounter thy flesh I answer because it is thy deadly enemy and that in three respects In respect of malice of power and policy In respect of malice for it is written In mee that is in my flesh there dwelieth no good Rom. 7.18 Now that wherein there is no good must of necessity bee exceedingly malicious and fully replenished with evill Tucaro saith a Father cunctis virtutibus denudata es ideo diceris caro a carendo quia cares omni bono And would you have a true anatomy of the flesh looke to St Paul Rom. 3. Her eyes are full of adultery her throat an open sepulcher her mouth the mouth of deceit the poyson of aspes is under her lips her feet are swift to shed blood destruction and calamity are in her wayes and the way of the Lord shee hath not knowne Secondly the flesh is a powerfull enemy both in respect of the unregenerate and also in respect of the regenerate In the unregenerate it is a mighty King in the regenerate it is a cruell tyrant In the unregenerate I say it is a mighty king for as a King in his kingdome swayes the scepter enacteth lawes forceth obedience and subdueth rebells So is it in the unregenerate man sinne beareth dominion giveth a law to the members and leadeth all the affections captive to disobedience And from this it is that the Apostle exhorteth us not to suffer sinne to raigne in our mortall bodies And as the flesh is a King in the unregenerate so in the regenerate it is a cruell tyrant for howsoever by the grace of God in Jesus Christ wee are set free from the law of Sinne and of death yet so long as wee dwell in the body it dwelleth in us and both tormenteth us with the torture of a wounded conscience for sinne past with continuall molestation to sinne in time to come So that the best of Gods Saints have deeply sighed and groaned under the yoke and bondage thereof David could say I dwell too long in
it for us hath set us free and this hee did in the fulnesse of time for when that fulnesse came God sent his owne Sonne made of woman and made under the law that delivered us that were under the law that wee might receive the adoption of sonnes For Gods sake therefore seeing whilst we were Captives hee hath done so much for our deliverance forget not the captivity of thy soule thy selfe and first when thou hearest it told thee in the word of God pittie it Secondly at all occasions offered not snatched knock at thy dore and goe in and visite it Thirdly when thou hast seene it cry with Israel to Rehoboam to make thy yoke lighter and in the end though thou cannot procure by thy selfe an absolute deliverance yet come to him that poured out his heart blood for thee runne and cry for thy deliverance and dissolution sigh and groane for it and in due time if thou faint not thou shalt bee heard in that which thou fearest These things being thus cleared to you the third thing that wee are to remarke in the words is our deliverance or release in this word Deliver now that wee may know this deliverance the better it shall not bee amisse to distinguish deliverance into three severall sorts First there is a deliverance à toto Secondly à tanto Thirdly à tali Our deliverance à toto is a perfect deliverance both from temptation to sinne practice of sinne and punishment for sinne A tante is not perfect but partiall from so much of temptation practise or punishment as God thinketh meete and expedient A tali is that whereby wee crave exemption and protection from sinnes of grievous qualities Such as we call presumptuous enormious heinous and crying sinnes And from such kinde of punishments as are not the testimonies of Gods love but rather the effects of his wrath and indignation Now seeing deliverance in effect and properly is an actuall release from evill what sort of deliverance do wee crave here is it that wee call â toto No no wee cannot expect a totall and perfect deliverance in this life for so long as this life lasteth wee can neither be totally free froÌ„ sinne nor from punishment notwithstanding because of this same possibility wee are bound to cry for our perfect deliverance by death Secondly as for that deliverance which is â tanto that is to say from so much as will make us slaves to sinne or punishment for this wee cry in these words and this deliverance we are commanded to desire and by this desire wee are distinguished froÌ„ the reprobate for whilst we are led captive to Sathan at his will sinne ruleth not though dwelleth in our mortall bodies And for the punishment the Lord hath promised not to tempt us above our power but so farre onely as wee may bee able to beare it Thirdly as for the deliverance à tali that is to say from blasphemous presumptuous and crying sinnes which are the effects of the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience from these and such as these we cry and must cry coutinually Lord deliver us from evill Vse Know further that whilst wee begge of God a deliverance from evill wee do not pray against all evill of sin and punishment but so much of punishment as wil or may overwhelme us and such sins as are raigning and crying in us shall one day cry against us to our perpetuall confusion One thing remaineth to wit who is our deliverer and that is neither man nor Angell but hee who is both God and man by nature and the great Arch-angell of the Covenant by office In whom three things are considerable His right and title to do it His wonderfull power in doing of it And lastly the exceeding benefit arising from it LECT 22. For thine is the kingdome c. VVHen I did first undertake the explication of this prayer I told you they did resemble a house or edifice For as in the Courts and Palaces of Princes there are first Courts and Porches serving for entrance into the royall presence Secondly there are roomes and places of rest Lastly posternes and passages of retiring serving both for pleasure necessity so is it in this building spirituall edifice of prayer For in it there are three distinct and severall stations A preface serving for the porch Sixe severall Petitions serving for roomes of court And finally a conclusion serving for a posterne or tarras from whence wee may in a view behold the glory and beauty of the whole palace Of the Preface and of the Petitions wee have spoken already according to the measure of grace given us from above It resteth now onely that in this Sermon we take a view of the conclusion and from it draw up the full and finall seale of all the prayer And from both their edification When I looke on the words I finde in them three things remarkable First their inference Secondly their tenor and scope and thirdly their seale The inference is in the word for the tenor is Thine is the kingdome power and glory for ever The seale in the word Amen Let us returne then to their inference in the word For. Here it is evident that this conclusion or last part of the prayer is knit and tyed to the former Petitions with a causall particle for For the better understanding whereof let us know that against the necessity and use of this prayer prescribed unto us an objection might bee moved by the weaknesse and infirmity of man For let us looke on the best of the children of God when hee censureth and examineth his owne soule and paralleleth his practise with the desire of these petitions and wee shall finde that hee shall come farre short of that which is required of him For when wee looke on the three first Petitions which concerne God the honour of his name the advancement of his kingdome and the obedience of his will who is able to give that due obedience thereunto which is required of him Not one for God himselfe hath thus complained against man The Lord looked downe from heaven and beheld the actions of men to see if there were any that would seeke after him and do good and hee could finde none no not one Against this it is that the Prophets complained in the name of God and for his sake Who hath beleeved our report and to whom is the arme of God revedled Finally it is against disobedience and rebellion that the Saints of God have so deeoply sighed and groaned for their deliverance David could say Alas I have dwelt toe long in the valley of Mesech and tents of Kedar And the Apostle Paul could say Miserable man that I am who shall dâ—…ver mee from this body of death Againe if from these wee shall withdraw our eyes to consider that Petition wherein wee crave for our selves the release of our temporall casamities How many have called upon the Lord and have not