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
and winnow us sometimes to his own defeat but too often to ours And in this fence there is no Temptation that befalls us but God leads us into it And therefore it is very observable that whereas in 1 Chron. 21.1 It is said that Satan provoked David to Number Israel yet in 2 Sam. 24.1 it is said the Lord moved David against Israel to say Go number Israel and Judah here one and the same Temptation is attributed both to God and to the Devil but it must be understood under a diverse habitude and respect Satan Tempted him effectively God only permissively And thus God may be said to lead every Man into Temptation whom he suffers to be Tempted When therefore we pray that God would not lead us into Temptation we pray that he would not permit the Devil to approach near unto us nor to cast his Fiery Darts at us but that he would put a hook into the nose of that great Leviathan and so bridle and restrain his Fury that he may not be able to assault us These now are all the ways that I know of how God may be said to lead Men into Temptation Either by offering them objects and opportunities by his Providence which may correspond with their inward Lusts and Corruptions and as it were entice and call them forth Or else by permitting Satan and wicked Men to Tempt us Or lastly by withdrawing from us the influences of his Grace and Holy Spirit and leaving us under the power of Temptations when they do assault us But for any proper effective or persuasive Tempting of Men to sin this is infinitely abhorrent to his Pure and Holy Nature in which sence St. James tells us James 1.13 Let no Man say when he is tempted that he is tempted of God for God cannot he tempted to evil neither tempteth he any Man But though God cannot thus Tempt any Man without a stain to his Infinite Purity and Holiness yet he may lead Men into Temptation either Providentially or Permissively or by substracting his Grace whereby they should stand And yet at last justly punisheth them for sinning And this is no unrighteous thing with God for he lays no constraint upon the freedom of our Wills but we sin freely and of our own accord Now although God can easily keep us from all assaults and attempts of our Spiritual Enemies yet he permits us to be Tempted by them for most Wise and Holy ends As First He leaves these Canaanites to molest us to teach us the Wars of the Lord to make us continually Watchful to breath and exercise our Graces to administer matter for our Conquest and occasion for our Crown and Triumph Secondly To convince us of our own utter inability to stand of our selves without his help and assistance thereby engaging us to depend upon his Arm and to call for Divine Supplies and Succours Thirdly To Glorifie both his Justice and Mercy His Justice in giving up wicked Men to the rage of Temptaons to be hurried by them from sin to sin till at last they put an end to the Succession of their sins in Eternal Damnation And his Mercy in succouring of and supporting and delivering his Children out of all their Temptations And therefore when St. Paul prayed to be freed from the buffettings of the Messenger of Satan God answers him My Grace is sufficient for thee my strength is made perfect in weakness 2 Cor. 12.9 When the Devil presumes he hath so well laid his Temptations that it is impossible for the People of God to escape his Snares yet God finds a way for their deliverance out of them all For God holds the great Tempter under a powerful restraint so that he cannot touch us beyond permission and commission And therefore that place in Revelat. 2.10 is very remarkable to this purpose Fear none of those things that thou shalt suffer behold the Devil shall cast some of you into Prison that you may be tried and you shall have Tribulation ten days How many restraints are here mentioned to be put upon that malicious Spirit He shall cast into Prison whereas he would willingly cast into Hell or at least into the Grave It shall be but some of you whereas his spight and rage is against all the Children of God And it shall be but for ten days but for a short time neither the Place the Number the Time all limitted and that with such a restraint that all the Pride and Rage of the Devil shall not be able to exceed it Fourthly God permits his own Children to be Tempted that by their Victory over Temptations he may confound the Malice of Satan and commend the Excellency of his own Ways and Service This highly honours God and shames the Malice of the Devil when we are neither terrified by Sufferings nor induced by the Pleasures of sin from the course of our Obedience for this evidently declares That we are True and Loyal to our Great Sovereign That we more fear his Eternal Wrath and Displeasure than those light Afflictions that are but for a moment and that we find more true Joy and solid Delight in his Service than in the ways of Sin and Vanity And therefore God calls us forth as his Champions puts his Cause in our hands and bids us resist manfully for the Credit and Honour of Piety and then le ts loose Satan upon us whom if we can but Conquer which certainly we shall do if we but seriously resolve it God and Angels who from the Theatre of Heaven are Spectators of the Combat give us their Applause and will hereafter give us our Crown See how God Glories over this baffled Devil and upbraids him with the Victorious Constancy of his Servant Job God had before commended the Integrity of Job Chap. 1.8 Hast thou considered my Servant Job that there is none like him upon the Earth a perfect and upright Man one that feareth God and escheweth Evil. To this that Malicious Spirit fullenly replies Doth Job fear God for nought thou needest not Glory in his ready Service and Obedience when he is so well paid for it no wonder he is so Pious and Devout when he gets so well by it but leave him a while to me to take from him those enducements that make him so Pious and Holy and I will undertake that even this perfect and upright Man shall curse thee even to thy Face God accepts the Challenge on his Servants behalf Satan and Job enter the List the Devil buffets him sore destroys all his Cattel ruins his House kills his Children yet Job shrinks not for all this but wrestles naked with his Adversary and foils him See now how God rejoyces at his Champion's Victory and upbraids the Devil with his shameful overthrow Chap. 2. 3. Hast thou considered my Servant Job that there is none like him in the Earth a perfect and an upright Man one that feareth God and escheweth Evil. God repeats the same Character and
We may and ought but our Care must be onely prudent and provident not perplexing and desponding Q. Why is that Expression this Day added A. To shew us that every Day we stand in need of Supplies from God and therefore should daily pray to receive them Q. Since we pray for daily Bread why is it called our Bread A. To note that we ought to use lawfull Means to acquire what we pray for Q. What pray you for in this Petition A. 1. That God would give us the good Things of this Life as the Acquisitions of our lawfull Endeavours 2. That he would bless the Increase of what is lawfully ours 3. That he would bestow upon us a spiritual Right in whatsoever we injoy through Jesus the Heir of all Things 4. We pray that we may not desire nor covet what is anothers 5. We pray for Life it self that it may be prolonged whilst God hath any Service for us to do in this World 6. For all the Means that may lawfully preserve our Life and Health 7. That he would strengthen our Faith and Dependence on his Providence who is the giver of all good 8. That he would give us Contentment in that Portion of Earthly Blessings which he allots us Q. What is the fifth Petition of the Lord's Prayer A. Forgive us our Debts as we forgive our Debtors Q. What things are observable in this Petition A. The Order and the Matter of it Q. What observe you from the Order of it A. That after we have prayed for our daily Bread we are taught to pray for Pardon of Sin Which Method is most rational 1. Because the Guilt of Sin many times with-holds from us those Temporal Comforts which we stand in need of Isaiah 59.2 But your Iniquities have separated between you and your God and your Sins have hid his Face from you that he will not hear 2. Because without Pardon of Sin our Temporal Injoyments are but Snares and Curses Q. What observe you in the Matter of this Petition A. Two things The Petition it self Forgive us our Debts And the Condition or Proportion or Plea and Argument for obtaining this Forgiveness As we forgive our Debtors Q. What mean you here by Debts A. The same which St. Luke 11.4 Calls Sins And forgive us our Sins for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us Q. How stand we indebted to God A. We stand indebted to God both as we are his Creatures and as we are Offenders on the former Account we owe God the Debt of Obedience on the latter the Debt of suffering Punishment Q. Which Debt do we pray God to forgive A. The latter onely for the former is irremissibly due to our great Creator Q. How come we to be thus indebted unto God A. By the Sentence of the Law which condemneth every Transgressour of it to undergo the Penalty it threatens which Penalty is all manner of Woes and Curses and Everlasting Death Gal. 3.10 Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them Rom. 6.23 For the wages of Sin is Death Ezek. 18.4 The Soul that sinneth it shall die Q. Since the Suffering of these is the Debt we owe to Divine Justice why say you that Sin is that Debt A. Because Sin alone is the meritorious Cause of these and we owe the Suffering of them onely as we are Sinners Q. Are there no Sins venial in their own Nature so as not to deserve Eternal Damnation A. No not the least for the wages of every Sin is Death All therefore are Mortal in their own Nature and all are Venial through the Mercy of God in the Merits of Christ excepting onely the Sin against the Holy Ghost Q. Can we no way pay off these Debts so as to satisfie the Justice of God A. No for neither can we do it by Obedience nor yet by Sufferings Not by the Duties of Obedience for these are a Debt we owe to God's Holiness and Soveraignty and therefore cannot pay the Debts we owe to his Justice and we cannot pay Debts by Debts Not by suffering for Sin being an infinite Evil must be punish'd with an infinite Punishment but we cannot suffer a Punishment infinite in Degrees therefore it must be infinite in Duration so that the Damned in Hell shall never be able to say It 's finish'd Q. How then may we hope to be acquitted of our Numberless Debts A. Onely through the free Mercy and Grace of God pardoning them in Jesus Christ and therefore we pray Forgive us our Debts Q. What is Pardon or Forgiveness of Sin A. It is the removal of the Guilt of Sin Q. What is the Guilt of Sin A. The Guilt of Sin is either the intrinsecal Desert of Punishment or else an Obnoxiousness and Liableness to it through God's Designation of the Sinner to undergo it Q. Doth pardon of Sin remove both these Guilts A. No it removes not the former for still the Sins of those who are pardoned do in themselves deserve Eternal Death But it removes the latter viz. it takes away our Appointment unto Death 2 Sam. 12.13 And David said unto Nathan I have sinned against the Lord and Nathan said unto David the Lord also hath put away thy Sin thou shalt not die Q. How is it consistent with the Justice of God to pardon Offenders without Punishment A. Though Believers are not personally appointed to Punishment yet Mystically they are which Punishment they have already suffered in Christ their Surety with whom they are made one by Faith Q. To whom is this Prayer for Pardon of Sin directed A. To God onely whose Royal Prerogative is to forgive Sins Isa 43.25 I even I am he that blotteth out thy Transgressions for mine own sake and will not remember thy sins Mark 2.7 Who can forgive sins but God only Q. Have not the Ministers of the Gospel power to forgive sins according to that of St. John 20.23 Whosesoever sins ye remit they are remitted A. They have a ministerial and declarative Power as Officers not an authoritative and judicial Power as Soveraigns As the Prince onely pardons the Herauld proclaims it So God alone by the Prerogative of his Grace grants pardon the Minister by his Office publisheth it to all that repent and believe Q. What then must we judge of that absolute and plenary Power which the Pope assumes of pardoning Sins A. That it proves him to be Antichrist in exalting himself above God 2 Thess 2.4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God shewing himself that he is God For whosoever can forgive wrongs done against another must be superiour to him and have Authority to cause the Person offended to surcease the Prosecution and sit down by the wrong done him Q. If God onely can forgive Sins how then are we bound to forgive those who
spoil the flourishing verdure and gayety of the Grass and Flowers Why that very Dung which covers them makes them afterwards sprout up more fair and fresh So God permits wicked Men to Dung the Earth with their filth that those Attributes of his which seem to be buried under them may afterwards spring up with the greater lustre and Glory From hence he will reap the richer crop of praise to himself Sometimes he glorifies the severity of his Justice by hardening them in their Sins to their own destruction sometimes the riches of his mercy by calling the greatest and most flagitious Sinners to Repentance and granting them Pardon and always his infinite patience and forbearance in not executing present Vengeance upon those who so daringly provoke him But although we cannot now so clearly comprehend the advantages that God makes out of the Sins of Men yet when we come to stand in the general Assembly at the day of Judgment God will then comment upon and explain the mysteries of his Providence and make us understand how those Sins for which he will then condemn the World put a gloss and shine upon his Attributes Secondly God by permitting sin exerciseth the Graces of his People The sins of others give us matter for the exercise of an Holy zeal for God who is daily affronted by them of an Holy Pity and Commiseration over those who like Mad-men wound and gash and destroy themselves for the exercise of an Holy caution over our selves least we be induced to sin after their Example Our own Sins give us daily occasion to renew our Repentance to humble our Souls before God to fortifie our resolutions to double the guards we set upon our own hearts and ways to watch over our selves more circumspectly that we relapse not into the Commission of them again Thus a true Christian may gain some advantage by his very falls As Husbandmen make use of the very Thorns and Briars that grow in their Fields to stop the Gaps and strengthen the fences about them so should we improve our very Sins and failings to fence our Souls that we lie not open to the like temptations for the future Thus you see that God brings good out of all the Evil which he permits he glorifies his own Attributes and exerciseth his Peoples Graces And thus you see likewise God's Providence both Proved and Vindicated asserted to be particular and punctual over all Occurrences that happen in the World and cleared from all the Imputations of Injustice that the Folly or Atheism of Man can lay against it I shall conclude with two or three Inferences or Corollaries First If the accurateness of God's Providence reach unto all the little concernments of the World we may be well assured that those which are the more considerable and important Occurrences of it are all guided and governed by a special hand of Providence And thus our Saviour himself urgeth as a strong incouragement for our confidence and trust in God Not a Sparrow falls to the ground without your Father fear not ye therefore you are of more worth than many Sparrows Yea not an Hair of your head falls without a Providence and think ye that the head it self shall Certainly God doth not like Domitian busie himself about Flies and neglect the great and weighty Affairs of his Government And this is the reason of that question the Apostle Asks 1. Corinth 9.9 Doth God take care for Oxen Yes certainly he doth nor did the Apostle intend to deny it but thereby to inferr that certainly his care is much more particular towards us This then may establish our hearts under any personal Sufferings or publick Calamities when evil is upon our selves or the Nation when Uproars and Confusions seem to reduce the World back to its Ancient Chaos when Storms and Waves over-whelm the Ship and we with the Disciples think our God asleep and begin to cry out with the Psalmist Awake O Lord why sleepest thou Our God is not sleeping but even then at the Helm he Steers he Governs and Guides all these Disorders and will conduct the whole Tumult and Hurry of Affairs to his own Glory and our Good Secondly If God's Providence hath the command and sway even over the Sins of Men this then may be abundant matter of Peace and Satisfaction in the worst of times when wickedness doth most of all rage and abound let us then consider that if God permits them he also can when he pleaseth Check put a Stop and Period to their Rage and Madness Their hands are Fettered by the adamantine Chains of a most strong Decree which they can neither reverse nor exceed whatsoever they do is but by permission a limited and a limiting Permission Our Saviour tells us Pilate thou couldest have no power over me except it were given thee from above The very power that Men have to Sin against God is from God and therefore certainly he will withdraw it when it doth not work out his own ends This was it that satisfied David when Shimei pelted him with Stones and Curses 2 Sam. 16.10 Let him alone let him Curse because the Lord hath said unto him Curse David Thirdly Hence see to what we ought to abscribe it that there is no more notorious wickedness committed in the World when we hear of any prodigious Villainy we are apt to wonder that ever such abominations should be incident to the Sons of Men. Wonder not at the matter as if any strange thing were happened to them but rather wonder at the goodness of God which is the sole cause that such things as these are wonders Were his permissive Providence as large as Mens lust are outragious these things would soon cease to be wonders and become the common and ordinary practice of all Men. Why are not our Streets continually filled with Violence Rapine Murthers and Out-cries Whence is it that we enjoy our Possession and our Lives in Safety The wickedness of Men lies hard and presseth upon God's restraints and wheresoever there are any gaps in it it breaks forth naturally and violently and if this Dam and Mound of Divine Providence were but broken down it would break out till it had overflowed the whole face of the Earth and covered it with a Deluge of Impiety and Profaneness But that God who sets bounds to the raging of the Sea and saith hitherto shall thy proud Waves come and no farther doth by the same Almighty Providence set bounds to the Lusts and Corruptions of Men which are altogether as unruly and curbs in the fury of their madness which else would drown the whole World in Perdition and Destruction Fourthly Lastly This should teach us to acquiesce and rest satisfied in every Providence of God as that which will certainly in the end redound to his own Glory When we see disorders and confusions abroad in the World we are apt to despond and to cry out Lord what wilt thou do for thy great Name thy