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
makes to God ought to be ratified with an Amen sent from our very hearts which if we sincerely and affectionately perform we have abundant assurance that what is confirmed by so many suffrages on Earth shall likewise be confirmed by our Father which is in Heaven And how beautiful how becoming would this be when the whole Church shall thus conspire together in their Requests St. Jerome tells us It was the custom in his days to close up every Prayer with such an unanimous consent that their Amens rung and echoed in the Church and sounded like the fall of Waters or the noise of Thunder This would be a Testimony of our hearty consent to the things we Pray for And if any two that shall agree upon Earth touching any thing that they shall ask they shall have it granted them as our Saviour hath promised Matth. 18.19 then certainly the joynt Prayers of a whole multitude of Christians must needs have a kind of Omnipotency in them and be able to do any thing with God And thus I have with God's Assistance given you a brief Exposition of this most excellent Prayer of our Saviour The Lord Sanctifie it unto you and make it a means to help you to Pray with more understanding with stronger Faith and with greater Fervency The End of the Larger Exposition A Catechistical EXPOSITION OF THE Lord's Prayer By way of QUESTION and ANSWER By the Right Reverend Father in God EZEKIEL Lord Bishop of Derry by which he examined the Youth each Lord's-Day during the whole Time he preached upon the Lord's Prayer Quest IS the Lords Prayer a Form of Prayer or onely a Pattern for Prayer Answ It is both That it is to be used as a Form appears Luke 11.2 When ye pray say Our Father which art in Heaven c. That it is a Pattern Matt. 6.9 After this Manner therefore pray ye Our Father which art in Heaven c. Q. What are the Parts of this Prayer A. They are Four 1. The Preface or Introduction 2. The Petitions and Requests 3. The Doxology or Praise-giving 4. The Conclusion and Ratification Q. What is the Preface to this Prayer A. Our Father which art in Heaven Q. What observe you from it A. That in the Beginning of our Prayers we ought seriously to consider and reverently to express the glorious Attributes of God as an excellent Means to compose us into an Holy Fear of his Divine Majesty Q. How many are the Petitions contained in this Prayer A. Six Whereof the three first respect God's Glory and the three last our own Good Q. What learn you from this Order and Method A. That we ought first to seek God's Glory before any Interests and Concerns of our own Q. How are those Petitions divided which immediately concern the Glory of God A. In the first of them we pray that God may be glorified in the other two for the Means whereby he is glorified Q. How divide you those Petitions which concern our own good A. One relates to our Temporal the other two to our Spiritual good Q. What observe you from placing the Petition for our Temporal good in the Midst of this Prayer A. That we are onely to bait at the World in our Passage to Heaven and onely refresh our selves with our daily Bread in our Way and Journey thither Q. What are the Petitions which relate to our Spiritual good A. They are two One whereby we beg the Pardon of our Sins the other whereby we beg Deliverance from them Q. What ascribe you to God in the Doxology A. Four of his most glorious Attributes 1. First His Sovereignty Thine is the Kingdom 2. Secondly His Omnipotence And the Power 3. Thirdly His Excellency And the Glory 4. Fourthly The Eternity and Unchangeableness of all these They are Thine for ever Q. What signifies that Particle Amen at the End of this Prayer A. It signifies two Things So be it Which notes our Desire for the obtaining of what we ask So it shall be Which notes our Assurance of being heard Q. What is the Preface to the Lord's Prayer A. Our Father which art in Heaven Q. What doth this teach us A. That in our Entrance into Prayer we should seriously consider both the Mercy of God as he is our Father and likewise his Majesty as he is in Heaven That the one may beget in us Filial Boldness and the other awfull Reverence and by the mixture of both we may be kept from Despair and Presumption Q. In what Respects may God be stiled Father A. In three especially 1. First in respect of the Eternal Generation of his Son And so this Title is proper onely to the first Person of the Trinity 2. In respect of Creation and Providence and so he is the Father of all Mal. 2.10 Have we not all one Father Hath not one God created us 3. In respect of Regeneration and Adoption And so he is the onely Father of the Faithfull John 1.12.13 But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God even to them that believed on his Name Which were born not of Blood nor of the VVill of Flesh nor of the VVill of Man but of God Rom. 8.15 16. For ye have not received the Spirit of Bondage again to Fear But ye have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father The Spirit it self beareth witness with our Spirit that we are the Children of God Q. In what Respects do we call God Father in this Prayer A. In the two last As he hath created us and doth preserve us and as he hath regenerated and adopted us Q. When ye stile God the Father do ye mean onely God the Father the first Person of the Trinity A. No. For God the first Person is eminently called the Father not in respect of us but in respect of Christ In respect of us the whole Trinity both Father Son and Holy Ghost is our Father which is in Heaven Isaiah 9.6 For unto us a Child is born unto us a Son is given and the Government shall be upon his Shoulder and his Name shall be called Wonderfull Counsellour The Mighty God The Everlasting Father The Prince of Peace John 3.5 Jesus answered Verily verily I say unto thee Except a Man be born of Water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God Q. What is implied in this Particle Our Our Father A. That God is the Father of all Men He is the Father of the VVicked by Creation and Providence but especially of the Godly by Regeneration and Adoption Q. Is it proper in our secret Prayers to say Our Father A. It is For so we find Dan. 9.17 Now therefore O our God hear the Prayer of thy Servant and his Supplications and cause thy Face to shine upon thy Sanctuary that is desolate for the Lord's Sake Q. What learn we by stiling God our Father A. First to esteem one another as Brethren
Honour thy Glory lies bleeding and suffers through the Sins of Men Why commit thy care to God He will certainly so weild their Lusts as that they shall bring about and effect his own ends God is glorifying himself even by these things and why then should we be troubled This thought kept alive on our hearts would cause us to rest satisfied amidst all the tumults we observe and hear of in the World For though we know not how to unwind these ravelled dispensations to the bottom of his Glory yet he can and will There is an invisible and wise hand that moulds and fashions all and though the parts by themselves may appear rude and unpolish'd yet put the whole frame and series of Providence together and that will appear most admirable and glorious Now to the King Eternal Immortal Invisible the only wise God Father Son and Holy Ghost be honour and glory for ever and ever Amen The End of the first Sermon A Discourse concerning the use of the Holy Scriptures Colossians III. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all Wisdom THis Epistle if any other is a rich mine of Heavenly Treasure and abounds both in the discovery of Gospel Mysteries and the injunction of Christian Duties It is furnisht throughout with that which may either instruct us in Knowledge or direct us in Practice And the Apostle having already laid down many Excellent things in order to both these and seeing it would be an endless task to discourse unto them all the Truths or exhort them to all the Duties of Religion in particular he therefore speaks compendiously in the words of my Text and referrs them to the perfect Systeme in which is contained an account of what a Christian ought to know or do and that is the Holy Scriptures Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly The words of this Exhortation are very full and laden with weighty Sence We may resolve them into two parts First Here is the Nature and Substance of the Exhortation which is to a diligent Study and plentifull knowledge of the Holy Scriptures Secondly The manner how we ought to be Conversant in them So that it may dwell in us richly in all Wisdom In the former we may take notice that the Scripture is called the word of Christ and that upon a double account both because he is the Author that composed it and likewise he is the subject matter of which it principally treats Now though in both these respects the Scriptures of the New Testament be more especially the word of Christ yet also may the Scriptures of the Old Testament as truly and properly go under his Name For First He is the Author of them all He may well write this Title upon our Bibles The Works of Jesus Christ All the Prophets before his Incarnation were but his Amanuenses and wrote only what he by his Spirit dictated to them 2 Pet. 1.21 Prophecy came not in old time by the will of Man but holy Men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost and certainly the Holy Ghost inspired them by Christ's Authority and Commission and what he declared he took from him and shewed it unto them John 16.14 15. He shall receive of mine and shall shew it unto you Secondly Christ also is the principal subject and matter of the whole Scripture The sending Christ a Saviour into the World is that great Business which hath employed the Counsel of the Father the Admiration and Ministration of Angels the Tongues and Pens of Prophets Apostles and holy Men of all Ages before the Scriptures were Written when Revelation or Tradition were yet the only positive Rules for Faith and Practice The Patriarchs saw him by these Abraham saw my day and was glad Joh. 8.56 Afterwards the People of the Jews saw him by Types Promises and Prophecies recorded in the Scriptures He was that Excellent Theme that hath filled up many Chapters of the Old Testament as the first draught of a Picture represents the features and proportion of the Person but afterwards is added the complexion and life to it So is it here the Pens of the Prophets drew the first Lineaments and Proportion of Christ in the Old Testament and the Pens of the Apostles and Evangelists have added the Life and Sweetness to it in the New Yea Christ is so truly described in the Old Testament by his Life by his Death by all the greater Remarks of either that in his Contest with the Jews he appeals thither for a Testimony John 5.39 Search the Scriptures for they are they which testifie of me And St. Peter Acts 3.24 Affirms That all the Prophets as many as have spoken have foretold of these days And Acts 10.43 To him give all the Prophets Witness Christ who is the true Expositor being himself the true Author makes them all speak his Sence Luke 24.27 Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets he expounded to them in all the Scriptures the sayings concerning himself So that St. Chrysostom's Observation holds true that the Gospel was in the World before Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It took root in the writings of the Prophets but flowed forth in the preaching of the Apostles so that in both these respects the Holy Scripture may well be called the Word of Christ of Christ as the Author and as the Subject of it And in both these lies coucht a very cogent Argument that may inforce this exhortation of the Apostle and excite them to a diligent study of the Scriptures For First Is Christ the Author of them and shall we not with all care and diligence peruse these Books which he hath Composed The writings of Men are valued according to the Abilities of their Authors If they be of approved Integrity profound Knowledge solid Judgment their works are Esteemed and Studied And shall we not be much more Conversant in these which are set forth by the Author who is truth it self and the essential wisdom of the Father These that were dictated by the imediate inspiration of the Holy Ghost and writ as it were with a Quill of the Heavenly Dove Secondly Christ is the subject of the Scriptures And what is all other Learning and Knowledge but beggarly Elements if compared with this Here we have the Cabinet of God's Counsels unlockt the Eternal purposes of his Grace in sending his Son into the World publickly declared Here we have the Stupendous History of God's becoming Man of all the Miracles this God-man did upon Earth of all the Cruelties he Suffered Here we have the Description of his Victory in his Resurrection of his Triumph in his Ascention of his Glory in his Session at the right hand of the Majesty on High Surely great is the Mystery of Godliness God manifested in the Flesh justified in the Spirit seen of Angels preached unto the Gentiles believed on in the World received up into Glory as the Apostle with admiration recounts it