inordinate Desire of Reputation and Respect with Men. Now when we are plucking out our right Eye and cutting off our right Hand Mat. 5. 29. When we are mortifying and subduing our Lusts when we can deny our selves in those things to which the Heart is most wedded that 's a Sign of Compliance with the Will of God The second Point Doct. 2. That it is the Lord which giveth to will and to do those Things which are pleasing in his sight Therefore we ask it of him Thy Will be done that is as I explain'd it we ask of him a Heart Skill and Strength to do his holy Will Here I shall tell you 1. What I mean by the Point 2. Give you the Proof of it I. What I mean by the Point 1. I mean thus That in the Work of Conversion God doth all Ezek. 11. 19. I will give them one Heart and I will put a new Spirit within you and I will take the stony Heart out of their Flesh and I will give them an Heart of Flesh. The Benefit of a tender sanctified Heart is God's Gift Ezek. 36. 26 27. A new Heart also will I give you and a new Spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony Heart out of your Flesh and I will give you an Heart of Flesh and I will cause you to walk in my Statutes Mark a new Heart that is another Heart a Heart to understand a Heart to love a Heart to do the Will of God he gives it He doth not only remove it or prepare it make way for it but I will give you a Heart of Flesh. 2. This is that I mean That after Conversion God still concurreth He doth not only give Grace but actual Help in the Work of Obedience He worketh all our Works in us Isa. 26. 12. His actual Help is necessary to direct quicken strengthen protect and defend us To direct us Psal. 73. 24. Thou shalt guide me by thy Counsel and bring me to thy Glory In our way to Heaven we need not only a Rule and Path but a Guide The Rule is the Law of God but the Guide is the Spirit of God To quicken and excite us by effectual Motions A Drousiness and a Deadness is apt to creep upon our Hearts and we see in the same Duty it is a hard matter to keep up the same Frame of Spirit the same Vigor of Affection Life and Warmth and therefore vve had need go to God often as David Psal. 119. 37. Quicken thou me in thy Way It is God vvhich doth renew the Vigor of the Life of Grace upon all occasions when it begins to languish and droop To corroborate and strengthen vvhat vve have received Ephes. 3. 16. the Apostle prays there that he would strengthen with might by his Spirit in the inner Man and 1 Pet. 5. 10. Make you perfect stablish strengthen settle you There are many Words heaped up there to shew how God is interested in maintaining and keeping afoot that which he hath planted in the Soul In protecting and defending them against the Incursions and Assaults of the Devil who always lieth in wait to surprize the Soul to withdraw us from God The Regenerate are not only escaped out of his Clutches but are advanced and appointed to be Satan's Judges which an envious and proud Spirit cannot endure therefore he maligns assaults and besiegeth them with Temptations daily Now it is God that defends Iohn 17. 11. Keep through thine own Name those whom thou hast given me By thy Name that is by thy Power 3. God must not only help us in the general and upon weighty occasions but in every Act from the beginning of the Spiritual Life to the end It is not enough to say that the first Principles and Motions are of God but the flowing forth of all Motions and Actions according to those Principles Phil. 2. 13. It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure God not only gives the Desire and Purpose but he gives Grace to do the Good which we will and purpose to do These two are distinct and we may have Assistance in one kind and not in another Willing and Doing I mean are different Paul saith Rom. 7. 18. To will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I find not To will is more than to think and to exert and put forth our Will into Action it is more than both and in all we need God's help We cannot think a good Thought nor conceive a holy Purpose much less perform a good Action without God so that every moment we need renewed Strength As long as the Work of Grace is powerful and renewed in us so long we are kept in a warm and healthful Frame but we grow vain loose earthly carnal again and off from God when this Heat and Warmth of Grace is withdrawn And therefore God still concurreth in the whole Business of our Obedience to him II. Having shewed what I mean and how far God is interested in this Work what need we have to desire we may do his Will let us prove it And because it is a weighty Point I shall prove it by parts 1. As to the first Grace that it is God alone which frames our Hearts to the Obedience of his Will 2. That vvhen vve are thus framed by Grace after Conversion it is God still concurs and must help us to do his Will First As to the first-Grace I shall prove that it is God alone by the Power of his own Spirit vvhich frames our Hearts to the Obedience of his Will This vvill appear by considering 1. What Man is by Nature 2. The Words by which our Cure is expressed and the Way God takes to put us into a Course of Obedience 3. What the Scripture speaks as to the utter Impotency of Man to the framing of his â—eart to the Obedience of God's Will First This will appear by those Motions or emphatical Terms by which the Scripture doth set forth Man's Condition before God works upon him He is one that is born in Sin Psal. 51. 5. Behold I was shapen in Iniquity and in Sin did my Mother conceive me and things natural are not easily altered And as he is born in Sin so he is greedy of Sin Iob 15. 16. He drinketh in Iniquity like Water it noteth a vehement Propension as greedy to Sin as a thirsty Man to Drink Thirst is the most implacable Appetite Hunger is far better born It is the constant frame of his Heart Gen. 6. 5. Every Imagination of the thoughts of his Heart is only evil continually O how many aggravating and increasing Circumstances are there named c. There is a Mint that is always at work the Mind is coining evil Thoughts and the Heart evil Desires and carnal Motions and the Memory is the Closet and Store-house where they are lodged and kept This is the case of Man
Lord to whom I have entirely given up my self in a way of Subjection This is a Sign you are brought under his Government 8. None can obey his Laws but by the virtue and power of his Spirit The new Covenant it is not only a Law but the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ so it is called by the Apostle Rom. 8. 2. It is not a bare literal Command that shall urge us to Duty but it giveth strength and efficacy to the Heart Other Kings they give Laws that Men may keep them by their own Strength But now Christ he would be owned as a King not only in a way of Subjection but establish a constant Dependance He is a King not only to require but to give Repentance Acts 5. 31. not only to make a Law but to write and work a sense of this new Govenant-Gift upon the Heart Heb. 8. 10. He doth not only set up his Ordinances Laws Constitutions but there is Power goeth along with the Dispensation of this Kingdom and thereby we are fitted and enabled to love serve and please God and then are we under the Kingdom of God when we are under the spiritual Power of it It is not only necessary to obey his Laws but that we do it by virtue of his Power and Spirit The Kingdom of God stands not in Word but in Power 1 Cor. 4. 20. That we may both acknowledg his Authority and wait for his Strength This is a true Submission when we look for all from him and serve him in the strength of his own Grace 9. All those that act through the virtue and power of his Spirit they do unfeignedly seek his Glory and make Christ to be not only their Principle but their End for having a new Principle they have a new Tendency acting in the Power of the Spirit their Hearts are carried out to seek Christ's Interest and Christ's Glory when they can say with the Apostle Phil. 1. 21. To me to live is Christ when their whole Business is to set up Christ. We set up our selves in the room of Christ if he be not at the end of all 2 Thess. 1. 11 12. That God might fulfill all the good Pleasure of his Goodness and the Work of Faith with Power and that Christ may be glorified in you If you have the Power of Christ's Kingdom this will be the immediate Result and Issue of it that Christ may be honoured and set up not only as a Law-giver and Fountain of Grace but as the last End If to us to live is Christ then is the Kingdom of God come into our Heart For this we pray that the Lord would so break the Yoke and Government of Satan that we may receive the Lord Iesus into our Heart that we may come under the Awe of his Laws and in the Power of his Grace may seek his Kingdom and Glory To conclude All this Grace is offered to you if you refuse the Offer your Condition is worse than if it had never been tendred to you The Lord hath sent his Son to help you out of the Power of the Devil and bring you in Heart and Life again to himself if you refuse this then This is the Condemnation that Light is come into the World and Men love Darkness rather than Light John 3. 19. The Lord Jesus when he comes in flaming Fire to render Vengeance it shall be upon them that do not obey his Government 2 Thess. 1. 8. that did not acknowledg God to be their Sovereign There will be a sore Vengeance on them which had the Gospel tendred and this wonderful Provision brought home to them and left to their Choice and yet have turned their Backs upon it Secondly We beg the Continuance of it that he would maintain this Kingdom in our Heart and preserve us in this State for those which can call God Father are still to say Thy Kingdom come It is not enough to go to Christ to begin it but to carry it on and to keep and preserve us unto his heavenly Kingdom 2 Tim. 4. 18. That we may not revolt to the Devil's Side after we have chosen God for our God and so our latter End be worse than our Beginning Thirdly We pray for the Increase of it that it may get ground more and more There are some Reliques of the Kingdom of Darkness yet left and there is something wanting to the Kingdom of Grace we are troubled and molested still Tho Sin doth not get the Throne tho the Regency of it is cast down yet it is not cast out in regard of Inherence Sin shall not have Dominion over you that is all we can hope for Rom. 6. 14. We cannot hope for an Extinction of Sin but only that it shall not have Dominion As the Beasts in Dan. 7. 12 tho their Dominion was taken away yet their Lives were prolonged for a season and time The Reign Power and Dominion of Sin is taken down yet it continues for our Exercise and Molestation Now we desire he might rule in us by his Grace and that of the Increase of his Government there may be no End II. For the Kingdom of Glory which in this private Consideration as it concerns each Person is to begin at Death And when we desire the coming of the Kingdom of Glory we do two things we express our Readiness for it or our Desire after it 1. Our Readiness for it at least the Kingdom of God is ready for us if we were ready for it as the Apostle saith 1 Pet. 4. 5. God is ready to judg but we are not ready to be judged And therefore we read of the Kingdom of Heaven prepared for us and of Men prepared for the Kingdom of Heaven It is prepared for the Saints Mat. 25. 34. A Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World And the Saints prepared for it Rom. 9. 23. Vessels of Mercy which he had afore prepared unto Glory And this is that which the Apostle gives thanks for unto the Father which hath made us meet to be Partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light Col. 1. 12. Before we come to Heaven there is a Right to Heaven we are made meet more mortified and weaned from present Things often in Communion with God here and so for ever with the Lord hereafter We are still to have our Eyes to our Rest and happy State that we may be made ready for it We express our Readiness or we beg it 2. That we may express our Desires after the Enjoyment of it A Christian is to desire the Company of Christ. Phil. 1. 23. I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ And he is to hasten the coming of the Day of God 2 Pet. 3. 12. Now because this cannot be but by our Death therefore here we may examine a Case or two Case 1. First about longing for Death Is it lawful to desire Death The Law doth not
for that time when Christ shall be seen in all his Glory that he may be dishonoured no more that Sin and Opposition may have an end Here God haâ—h not his perfect Glory neither from us nor from the Wicked neither from Angels nor Devils Not his perfect Glory from us and therefore the Saints long for that time when Christ may be more admired in them it is the Comfort of their Souls that God is glorified in their Glory that there will a Time come when he shall be admired and glorified in their Glory and when they they shall praise him for evermore without weakness and distraction And then the Wicked that they may oppose and dishonour him no more that the whole Course of Justice may be seen in the History of the World which shall be produced at the Day of Judgment that his Power may be seen when Devils and all ungodly Men are trodden under foot and all Offences taken away and all opposite Powers are abolished First Christ would zealously affect us to the Glory of God Hallowed be thy Name then he would have us pray Thy Kingdom come That our Zeal for God's Glory might make us earnest and instant for his Kingdom Then 3. There are certain Experiences that we have here which set us a longing and groaning for this time Rom. 8. 23. We which have the First-fruits of the Spirit groan within our selves waiting for the Adoption to wit the Redemption of our Body When they have tasted of the Clusters of Canaan O they long to see the Land they long that Jesus the Captain of their Salvation the spiritual Ioshua may lead them into the good Land The Church hath here enjoyed Christ in her House I brought him into my Mother's House Cant. 3. 4. Now they would enjoy him in his own House have a more plentiful enjoyment of him Wherefore have we a taste but to long for a fuller Banquet Why doth God give out such a Pittance but to awaken our Desires to look for more Indeed these Beginnings are sweet and are a wonderful Mercy to hear Christ say in a Promise Come to me that you may have Life But when once they have embraced this they will be longing for another Call for the great Voice to say Come ye blessed of my Father c. When Christ biddeth them welcome into the Kingdom of Heaven to the Crown of Glory When we can get any Joy in the Holy-Ghost a little Peace of Conscience any sweet Experience of our being cleansed from Sin this is reviving and comfortable But why is this given but to set us a longing for the whole Harvest for this is but the First-fruits It is sweet now to find Pardon of Sin and any comfortable feeling of God's Love in the Conscience to have any Doubt resolved any Fear silenced and supprest to have a glimpse of the Light of God's Countenance a little Elevation of the Heart in Duty Now this draws on the Soul to long for more for we begin then to think what a sweet reviving will it be when we enjoy the Full of all these things If there be but one Promise now set home upon our Hearts tho here we haâ—e only the Right not Enjoiment if we have but our Right cleared up to a Promise it is very reviving God gives us this Experience that we may long to enjoy the thing promised the full Possession of it When you have gone away feasted with Loves at the Lord's Table thou hast said One Hours Communion with God is better than all the World If thy Heart was melted a little in Duty if it was affected with godly Sorrow for Sin it hath yielded thee more Comfort than all the Mirth and Musick which fond Worldlings chear themselves withal than all their Jollity Now this is but given as a Foretaste as a Prelibation and to awaken our Desires after more In the Lord's Supper many times we come and drink of that Cup which God hath tempered for us this is but a dark Presignification of the new Wine we shall drink in our Father's Kingdom Mat. 26. 29. and of those eternal Comforts we shall have there and those unmixed Joys in the presence of Christ. Therefore because of the Tastes they have had and those Beginnings of Glory their Hearts will be more enlarged and drawn out to look for more and long for that happy time when all this shall be accomplished III. There may be Arguments taken and drawn from the Coming it self that they long for his Coming Wherefore doth Christ come what are the Ends of it It is to manifest his Love to the Saints mainly as to punish his Enemies and glorify his Justice 1. I 'll mention the first to gather the Saints together to draw all his scattered People into one holy Body and Communion Psal. 50. 5. Gather my Saints together unto me those that have made a Covenant with me by Sacrifice Now they are scattered up and down as God hath Service for them to do one here another there they are spread in several Places where they are like two or three Berries in the uppermost top of the Bough That Psalm is generally acknowledged to be spoken of the Day of Judgment then they are gathered to meet in one great Assembly the Psalmist speaks of the great Congregation of the Righteous where the Sinners shall not stand Psal. 1. 5. At that great Day when Christ comes all the Saints shall make but one Assembly and one Congregation As the Wicked shall be bundled together and the Tares cast into unquenchable Fire so all the Saints shall be gathered together into one great Assembly and this glads their Hearts Therefore we are not feasted to the full because we have not all our Company all the Guests do not meet together until the Day the Son of God comes to bless the Elect. 2. He comes to proclaim our Pardon and to pronounce the Sentence of our Acquittance juridically in Court as Judg upon the Throne Our Pardon is past and seal'd as to Conscience then he will blot out all our Sins therefore it is said Acts 3. 19. That your Iniquities may be blotted out when the Times of refreshing shall come from the Presence of the Lord. He comes then to comfort and refresh the Souls of the Saints by proclaiming their Pardon in the Ears of all the World To whomsoever the Throne of Christ is terrible it should not be terrible to the Saints If he comes as a Judg to them he comes to acquit them upon the Throne he means no trouble to them 3. He comes to crown us Certainly there is a longing for this Day and Coming for what is his Work He comes to crown the Saints 2 Tim. 4. 8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the righteous Iudg shall give me at that Day Then he comes to put the Crown of Righteousness upon our Heads and invest us with all the Fruits of
the other We are not only to obey actively but to love the Commandments of God and to have our Hearts carried out in a greater esteem and to prefer them before Liberty it self but I doubt whether we are so concerning our Afflictions to prefer them before Freedom and Exempâ—â—â—â—â—nd the Welfare of our Nature Well then you see what is meant by the Will of God which is the Matter about which this is conversant Then here 's the Note of Appropriation Thy Will in opposition to our own Will the Will of Satan the Wills of Men. 1. To our own Will which is the proudest Enemy Christ hath on this side Hell and the cause of all the Mischief which doth befall us The great Contest between us and God is whose Will shall stand God's Will or ours In every Sin we slight the Will of God and set up our own We despise the Commandment 2 Sam. 12. 9. Not grosly and formally David did not slight the Commandment and say Tush it is a foolish Law but by necessary Interpretation we slight the Law of God and set up our own Will Therefore when we pray that God's Will may be done we do in effect renounce our own Will those Wills of the Flesh and Mind Eph. 2. 3. which the Apostle speaks of so it is in the Greek The Soul is never renewed until the Will be renewed till the Will be broken And therefore Self-denial is made one of the first Principles of Christianity the denying of our own Will The Will is the leading part of the Soul Tho the New Creature begins with the Mind yet it comes not to any Perfection it is not formed until the Will be subdued to God until Grace be seated in the Heart When a Man treadeth on a dry Hide one part or other will be apt to rebound and leap up against him till he stands in the middle and Center So until Grace be seated in the Heart Corruption will recoil When a Bird's Wings are broken it can flie no longer so when the Will is subdued then the work of Grace begins The Mind is the Counsellor but the Will is the Monarch and Prince which sways and rules all in the Soul Again the Will is more corrupted than the Mind the Understanding is much blinded but the Will is more depraved The Mind hath a little Light and is apt to take God's part sometimes by suggesting good Motions but the VVill doth more abhorr and refuse Good than the Understanding is ignorant of it VVe are convinced often when not converted Therefore this is the main thing that our corrupt VVillâ— may be subdued to God Let thy VVill be done not our own 2. Thy VVill in opposition to Satan's VVill. Our Lusts are called his Lusts Iohn 8. 44. The Lusts of your Father the Devil ye will do They are of his inspiring of his cherishing the grand Incubus of Hell is the Father of these Brats and sinful Productions So 2 Tim. 2. 26. the Holy-Ghost speaks of carnal Men that they are taken captive by Satan at his will and pleasure VVicked Men are at Satan's beck and they do his will The Devil sets such a Lust at work the Man obeys presently The Devil stirs such Lusts by his Arts and Engines and observes such a Lust will be most prevalent at such a time the Man is taken by Satan's Will Now Thy Will c. we desire the Lord's Grace that we may not comply with the Devil's Motions 3. Thy Will in opposition to the Wills of Men. 1 Pet. 4. 2. That he no longer should live to the Lusts of Men but to the VVill of God not according to the Wills of Men but according to the Will of God In our natural State we are apt to be swayed by the Lusts and Humors of others according as the Posture of our interest is determined and therefore it is a good piece of Self-denial to cease from the Lusts of Men from the Humors and Customs of those whom we fear and from whom we hope And until we cease from Men in vain do we expect to serve God Thus for the Matter about which this Request is conversant Thy Will Secondly Here is the Request it self Be done what doth this imply when we say Let thy Will be done 1. We beg a Heart to do it Deut. 5. 29. O that there were such an Heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my Commandments always It is not enough to set our selves to do what God hath commanded but we must get a renewed sanctified Heart 2. We beg Skill to do it Psal. 143. 10. Teach me to do thy will for thou art my God We beg that God would teach us and lead us forth in the Obedience of his Will 3. We beg Strength to do it It is said Heb. 13. 21. The God of Peace through the Blood of the everlasting Covenant make you perfect in every good Work to do his Will We beg Strength that we may do what is pleasing in his Sight In our Will there is a double Mischief it is opposite to and averse from God Rom. 8. 7. The carnal Mind is Enmity against God for it is not subject to the Law of God nor indeed can be And it is strongly inclined to other things and this both by Nature and by evil Custom There is an Aversation from God which is natural and which is increased by Custom therefore it is God must give us a Heart to do his Will and Skill and Strength Thus God he must draw us off from other things which is called the Circumcising of the Heart Deut. 30. 6. He must draw us off and he must draw us on too As he pares away the Foreskin the Fleshiness which cleaves to our Hearts and inclineth us to seek our own Will in hunting after Pleasures Honours Profits So doth the Lord draw us to himself Cant. 1. 4. Draw me and we will run after thee II. Let 's come to the Circumstances of the Petition In Earth as it is in Heaven First The Place wherein also the Persons are noted in Earth that is by the Men which live upon Earth Why is this mentioned on Earth 1. The Earth is a place of our Exercise and Trial and now is the time to shew our Self-denial and our Obedience to God to deny our own Will and do the Will of God Iohn 17. 4. I have glorified thee upon Earth This is a Work that must not be suspended until we come to Heaven it will not be thank-worthy then when there is no Interruption no Trouble no Molestation there but here I have glorified thee on Earth where so few mind the Work and where there are so many Distractions and Temptations to divert us 2. The Earth is the only place where this Work is begun or else it shall never be done hereafter Instance in any thing that is the Will of God Here we must believe or there we shall never enjoy Luke 2.
Ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and took it out of the way naâ—lâ—ng it to his Cross. He hath disannull'd the Law which binds to suffer the Wrath of God The Law was the Bond by which our Death was ratified 3. There is requir'd an unfeigned purpose to forsake Sin He that hath been released of his Debt must not still run into new Arrears Christ never blotted out our Debts that we might renew them and go on upon a new Score of offending God again this is to dally with God to run into the Snare when he hath broken it for us and given us an escape to plunge our selves into new Debts again In this Prayer Forgive us our Debts then presently Lead us not into Temptation Therefore we must purpose to forsake Sin otherwise we do not draw nigh to God with a true Heart Heb. 10. 22. We do but deal falsely with God in all the Confessions we make and in all the Pleas of Faith unless there be an unfeigned purpose to renounce all Sin and cast it off as a thing that will undo our Souls Thus Christians must you sue out your Release and Discharge in your Surety's Name Vse 1. The Use is first to shew us the Misery of an impenitent unpardoned Sinner he hath a vast Debt upon him that will surely undo him unless he doth in time get a Discharge He is bound over to suffer the Wrath of God for evermore and no Hand can loose him but God's Many times they think of no such matter and cry Peace Peace to themselves but it is not the Debtor which must cancel the Book but the Creditor Have you a discharge from God where 's your legal Qualification poor Creatures what will you do Many take care that they may owe nothing to any Man Oh! but what do you owe to God To live in doubt and in fear of an Arrest O what Misery is that But when Sin lieth at the Door ready to attach you every moment and hale you to the Prison of Hell that 's most dreadful Therefore think of it seriously how do Accounts stand between God and you Sinners are loth to think of it When the Lord came to reckon with his Servants Mat. 18. 24. it is said One was brought to him which ow'd him ten thousand Talents He was loth to come to an account he would fain keep out of the way but he was brought to him So we are unwilling to be call'd to account we shift and delay and will not think of our Misery but the putting off Sin will not put it away our not thinking of our Misery will not help us out and will not be a Release and Discharge 2. If Sins be Debts and an increasing Debt so that Man is ever treasuring up Wrath against the day of Wrath it presseth us to be more careful to get out of this Condition Saith Solomon Prov. 6. 3 4 5. If thou beest in debt flee as a swift Roe from the hand of the Hunter and as a Bird from the hand of the Fowler O it 's a sad thing to lie in our Sins If you be under this Debt Give not Sleep to thine Eyes nor Slumber to thine Eye-lids get away like the swift Roe from the hand of the Hunter c. And what I say concerning a State of Sin I say concerning daily Failings make your Peace with God betimes if you have contracted a new Debt make all even between God and your Souls that you may not sleep in your Sins 3. This should make us more cautious that we do not commit Sin Why it is a Debt that will render you obnoxious to the Wrath of God in it self it merits eternal Death O therefore sin no more do not run again into the Snare When you give way to Sin you hazard the Comfort of your Acquittance by Christ Psal. 85. 8. The Lord will speak Peace unto his People and to his Saints but let them not turn again to Folly If the Lord hath given you your Peace and some hope of your being discharged of this heavy Debt take heed of medling with forbidden Fruit and running into debt again 2. From the Subject or Persons which make this Prayer Forgive us Observe Doct. Even those that call God Father ought to beg daily and humbly Pardon of their Sins Forgive Vs who is that Vs that can say in Faith Our Father daily For this is a Patern for daily Prayer as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the former Petition noteth We need beg for Christ hath taught us here to sue out our Discharge In which begging there is an Exercise of Faith eying Christ Rom. 3. 25. God hath set forth him to be a Propitiation through Faith in his Blood And there is an Exercise also of Repentance as to mourning for Sin 1 Iohn 1. 9. and Prov. 28. 13. He that confesseth and forsaketh his Sin shall have Mercy and as to loathing of Sin Acts 3. 19. Repent ye therefore and be converted that your Sins may be blotted out And certainly it must be humbly begged for if we seek Pardon we must seek it in God's way We do not beg God to rescind and make void his Laws and those wise Constitutions he hath appointed whereby the Creature shall receive this Grace and the manner wherein he will deal and transact this business with the offending Creature But we seek it as exercising our renewed Repentance that is mourning for Sin and loathing of Sin But of this more hereafter Now that the best of God's Children should be dealing with God about a Pardon of their Sins I shall argue it 1. From the Necessity 2. The Utility and Profit of such a Course First The Necessity of this will appear two ways 1. From the Condition of God's Children here in the World 2. From the way wherein God will give out a Pardon 1. From the Condition of God's Children here in this World The best are not so fully sanctified in this Life but there is some Sin found in them Not only they who walk with no Care but even they that set the most narrow watch over their Ways they are not so sanctified but they need daily to go to God 1. They have Original Sin which remaineth with them to the last they have the sinning Sin which the Apostle speaks of Paul complains of the body of Death Rom. 7. 23 24. Who shall deliver me from it The Hebrews were wont to propound their Wishes by way of Question as O that Salvation were come out of Sion It is in the Hebrew Who shall bring Salvation out of Zion So Who will lead me into Edom That is O that I were led into Edom that I might display the Banner there because of God's Truth So who shall deliver me from the body of this Death that is O that I were delivered Where the Reign of Sin is broken yet there it remains though it be cast down in regard of