I must then tell you in so farre as it concerneth man it is of two sorts or rather considered by man in two divers manners First as it is hidde and couched up in Gods owne bosome And secondly as it is revealed to us either by his Vivâ voce or by his written word In the first sense it is called Gods secret will In the second it is called his manifest and revealed will Of the first to wit Gods hidden and secret will it is that which Paul saith O deepnesse c. Rom. 11. How unsearchable are his judgements and his wayes past finding out Of the second it is said Not he who cryeth Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdome of God but hee who knoweth the will of my Father and doth it And of both conjunctly it is said by Moses that secret things belong to the Lord Things revealed to us and to our children that we may do them First then of the first point It may bee enquired if in this Petition we do or should pray for his secret will I answeare No for his secret will shall come to passe For hee dwells in heaven and according to the secret pleasure and counsell of his will all things in time and after time shall be moderated Is it not lawfull then in any condition to meddle with the hidden and secret counsell of God Yea surely providing it bee with modesty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. For first wee may enquire why it is so called 2. What is our duty in respect of it 3. And how farre it can have any fellowship with the evill that is in the world and with the sinfull actions of men Why is it so called I answere for two causes First because it is hidden from man who cannot reach to it untill God reveale it For no man knoweth the Father but the Sonne and hee to whom the Sonne revealeth him Secondly because when it is revealed man cannot comprehend it except hee be enabled from above For the reasons of Gods secret wayes exceeds humane capacity And the more that humane reason looketh on it the lesse it understandeth Why God loved Iacob and hated Esau Why he rejected Saul for one fault and forgave David many and why he condemned Iudas for selling of him and spared Peter that did forsweare him Enquire the reason hereof at man hee cannot give it you yea God hath revealed it I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and whom I will I harden And now as man could not give this reason untill God revealed it So now when God hath revealed it man cannot comprehend it For nature would say that it was injustice in God of two men equally evill by nature to choose the one and forsake the other Thus Gods will is called secret first because man knoweth it not and secondly because hee cannot comprehend it 2. What is our duty in respect of this will I answere it is our duty not to search into it too deeply Nam nonest curiose investiganda sed religiose adoranda whether God in his secret counsell hath ordained thee to be poore or rich high or low whether thou shalt die of a lent or a fervid Ague Since it is Gods secret counsell it is not fit thou shouldest enquire it Stoope under the abstruse and hidden secrecy thereof But to enquire of it ere God reveale it is but a torment before the time and sure I am it shall never be laid to thy charge in the day of Judgement how farre thou hast searched into the secret counsell of God But how farre thou hast obeyed the revealed will of God Thirdly concerning the secret will of God it may bee enquired since there is so much evill in the world how farre and in what sort God by his secret will concurreth and hath cooperation with the same for men looking on the evills that are in the world and finding them so frequent and fearefull and withall comparing them with the omnipotence of God against whose will nothing can bee done and not being able to solve this riddle have either with the Libertine cast over the cause of their iniquities upon God and made God the Author of sinne Or else fearing to speake blasphemously of God they have with the Manicheans invented two chiefe and prime causes of all things one of good another of evil both equally supreme and absolute in their kinde which is altogether false for God is only the supreme and absolute good but Sathan is not an absolute evill But for cleering of this question a little understand and know The evill is two-fold An evill of sinne and an evill of punishment and this is Tertullians distinction writing against Marcian lib. 2. cap. 180. Concerning the evill which we call the evill of punishment there is no question for it is not a true evill in it selfe it is but thought so of us for the punishment of sinne though it seemes evill to the offender yet it is no evill in it selfe for it is a good of justice The question is only concerning the evill of sin and how farre God communicates with it not being the author thereof nor tainted himselfe therewith This question is so much the more remarkable by how much Scripture seems to give way to it For it was a sinne in Pharaoh to harden his heart Yet Scripture saith that God willed it and that hee did it It was a sinne in Sathan to be a lying spirit in the mouthes of Achabs Prophets Yet Scripture shewes us that God willed it It was a sinne in Sathan to vexe Iob unjustly and yet Scripture sheweth that God willed it And it is a sinne in man to stoppe his eare against the truth and to beleeve a lie and yet Scripture sheweth that God willeth it For solving of this doubt there is a very good answere given by our Divines to this question whilest they say that wee must distinguish the action of the sinner from the sinne that is in the action And they make God the author of the action but not of the viciosity and evill that is in the action And this they cleere by the examples of the Sunne the Earth and the word of God This I grant is good but not sufficient But wouldest thou know O man how God willeth sinne and over-ruleth sinne and yet is free from sinne Then thou must know that sinne and the way of sinne hath a beginning a progresse and also an end God hath a will working on sinne and over-ruling sinne in all these three respects For shall we looke to sinne in the beginning thereof Gods will hath beene two wayes exercised First by way of inhibition in giving a law against it forbidding sinne in the thoughts of the heart in the words of the mouth and in the actions of the conversation By way of permission leaving a lawlesse man to a lawlesse way For it is a righteous thing with God when man knowing him to be God will not glorifie him as
and that which is infinite eternall and incorruptible Woe bee unto that man that shall be thus audaciously blasphemous as to say hee hath merited any thing but condemnation For that man appearing before God and wanting his wedding garment the righteousnesse of Jesus shall surely be stripped naked and his nakednesse shall be seene of men and Angels But thou wilt enquire If man bee not able to obey the Law how can God in his justice give him a Law or correct him for the breach thereof To the first I answer thee out of naturall reason Although thou hast rendered thy selfe unable to obey what injustice is it with God to exact thy obediēce for he created thee able to obey whatsoever hee required of thee Is it not so amongst the sonnes of men in civill actions but what is more God giveth thee although thou be unable a law to square thy life by for three causes Vt scias quid acceperis ut videas quid amiseris ut intelligas unde repetendum sit quod amiseris and as he requireth the obedience of his law of thee for these 3 causes so doth he also correct the breach therof for 3 causes 1. Ad ostētationē debitae miseriae 2 ad emendationem labilis vitae And 3. ad exercitationē necessariae patientiae Vse Since in the tenour of the Law and the Gospell the revealed will of God is shut up as in a treasury or store-house Why is it that man delights in ignorance for from the knowledge of the will of God in these there ariseth light to the understanding and sanctification to the affections If it bee so why then doth the Church of Rome inhibit her followers the reading of the Scriptures and injoyne to them an implicite faith Is this any thing else but to make the blinde lead the blinde that both may fall or is it any thing else but to shut up the key of knowledge and neither enter themselves into the kingdome of God nor suffer others to enter And finally is this any thing else but to keep captive in chaines of darknesse the poore people making them by the tradition of men to account the will of God of no effect The Lord open their eyes to see the vanity of the way wherein they walke and the Lord establish our hearts in the obedience of the light revealed to us lest this be our condemnation that light hath shined but wee have continued contemners of the light because our workes were evill The second thing offered to our consideration is what are the points of his revealed will and what are the duties which hee requireth to bee done of us To this I answer It were a tedious worke to runne over all the duties of a Christian required of him in this word yet for an instance the word of God requireth of us 1. The knowledge of Gods will 2. Faith in his word 3. Obedience to the word beleeved 4. Suffering for the testimony thereof when wee shall be called to it 5. And finally an hungring after our dissolution because we cannot get these things done I say first God requireth of us to know him for thus it is written This is life everlasting to know thee to bee the onely true God And againe I have decreed to know nothing but Iesus Christ and him crucified But thou wilt say how shall I know God I answer God is knowne by nature for the naturall man although hee know not the true God yet by naturall knowledge hee propoundeth something to himselfe for a God And this shall serve for a witnesse against him for whilst by nature hee doth the things of the Law he becommeth a law to himselfe By his workes God also is knowne For the invisible things of him that is his eternall power and Godhead are knowne in the workes of his hands Yet this is not sufficient to salvation For the more a man knoweth of the works except hee bee sanctified the more hee evanisheth in the vanity of his owne imaginations and his foolish heart is the more replenished with darknesse By his word hee is knowne for in the Law hee sheweth what wee ought to doe And in the gospell what we should beleeve For the Law was but a pedagogue to Jesus Christ and all the ceremonies figures and types thereof were but shadowes of things to come the body was Jesus Christ and whosoever in his difficulty hath not recourse to the Law and to the testimony it is because there is neither light nor life in him By grace God is knowne for all the knowledge that man can have of God either from the Law or from the Gospell is in vaine unlesse our hearts bee inclined by the spirit of grace to obey or beleeve for it is written As many as are lead by the Spirit of God are the Sonnes of God and heires of glory By glory wee shall know him fully for here wee know but in part but there we shall see as wee are seene and know as wee are knowne being exchanged to his image from glory to glory by the spirit of the Lord. The second thing that God in his word willeth us to do is to beleeve in him for there is a faith that beleeveth God to be there is a faith that beleeveth God to bee true and there is a faith that beleeveth in God Every faith is not a saving faith this onely saveth when we beleeve in God and rest upon him for the life of our bodies saying Give us this day our daily bread And for the life of our soules saying Forgive us our sinnes So that in faith there must bee three things Sensus assensus appropriatio sense assent and appropriation Now it is the applying faith that saves for it is written Thy faith hath made thee whole The third thing God requireth of us in his word is a sanctified obedience of that which we know and beleeve For it is written This is the will of God even your sanctification Againe Be ye holy as I am holy who hath called you And againe Let your light so shine before men c. For it is not hee who cryeth Lord Lord that shall enter into the Kingdome of heaven but hee that knoweth the will of my Father and doth it It is the will of God that wee suffer for him for it is written Let him that would follow me deny himselfe and take up his crosse and follow mee Brethren this is a lesson the hardest of all for man to learn concerning God for man would learne to know God out of curiosity that he might dispute and reason concerning him Man would beleeve both Gods word and Gods worke out of necessity when they cannot better do Like Pharaoh and his Magicians confessing the finger of God Man also out of custome for civill shame will some time obey God for feare of punishment more then for filiall affectiō but let these all be knit together they shall not so evidently demonstrate the
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
shall bee received the other refused two shall be walking by the way the one shall bee received the other refused although they aske they shall not receive although they seeke they shall not finde although they knocke it shall not be opened for this shall bee their answer depart from mee yee workers of iniquity verily I know yee not Vse Well then is the provision of the kingdome of God appointed but for some few is the dispensation thereof effectuall but in few is the donation and fruition thereof bestowed but upon few why should wee not then serve the Lord in feare and rejoyce before him in trembling redeeming the time because the dayes are evill If the Lord should deale with us as he did in the daies of Gedeon poure out raine on the world and let our fleece be dry If he should deale with us as hee dealt with Pharaoh make light to shine in Goshean and leave our Egypt to a palpable darknesse or as hee dealt with Achab make raine to fall upon all the territories about when Isarell was burnt up with heat would we not take it as a token of his anger against us O foole and hypocrite thou canst descerne the face of the skie and the estate of the weather but the estate of thine owne soule thou canst not descerne thou canst mourn if thy field bee not as fruitfull as thy neighbours if thy ship returne not as prosperous as thy neighbours if thy shop have not as many customers as thy neighbours thou canst droope all the day long and hang downe thy head as they that mourne with out hope and as Rachael weeping for her children and refusing comfort But alas there is a soule within thee and it is more gracelesse then thy neighbours thou hast an eye and it is blinder then thy neighbours an eare and it is deafer then thy neighbours an heart and it is harder then thy neighbours and yet thou canst not mourne for this What shall I say to thee to cut thee altogether off from hope of mercy I will not but this I will say unlesse thou redeem the time and sorrow in time thou shalt sorrow desperately because thou didst not sorrow sooner and like Israel led captive because thou didst not mourne in Jerusalem thou shalt mourne in Babel and shalt not be comforted The third question concerning the comming of Gods Kingdome is how and in what manner it commeth And surely amongst all the rest this is the chiefest question and of greatest difficulty Yet that I may speake to your capacities I will tell you Gods Kingdome commeth to you when his grace commeth to you But you will say how shall I descerne or know the comming of his grace to mee To this I answer the Kingdome of God commeth not by humane observation so as any man can positively say Lo here is Christ or loe there he is not Yet whensoever it commeth and wheresoever it commeth it is observable and that by these three things that are different 1 The time 2 The manner 3. The measure The time of the comming of Gods kingdom is not alike to all but different for it came to some men before the Law as to Adam Enock Noah Abraham Isaack and Iacob It came to some men under the Law as to Moses Ioshua Caleb David Samuel and the Prophets It came to some men in the infancie of the Gospell as to Matthew Andrew Peter Iames Iohn Nichodemus and the woman that came to the well of Samaria It comes to some men now in the strength of the Gospell for many are called and few are chosen And if our gospell bee hid it is hid to them that perish Neither is the generall period of these times onely remarkable But will you looke to the winde when it blowes Sometimes before the morning as on Iacob and Iohn the Baptist before they were born Sometimes in the dawning of the day as on Samuel and the Evangelist Timothie Sometimes at the noontide of the day as on Elisha the Prophet and Paul the Apostle And sometimes at the evening and setting of our Sun as upon the theefe on the Crosse Secondly shall wee looke on the manner of his comming It is also wonderfull For sometimes hee commeth and establisheth his Kingdome in us by meanes sometimes without meanes By meanes although weake to Elisha by Eliahs mantle to Peter by a looke of Christs eye to the Apostles by prayer and to Mary by a salutation Without meanes when by his inward operation beyond all that wee do either thinke or expect hee as one having the keyes of the house of David doth open and none can shut Thirdly in respect of the measure for to some hee giveth a weake faith as the graine of a mustardseed to another he giveth so strong a faith that the gates of hell cannot prevaile against it To one hee giveth grace to beleeve to another grace to confesse to a third grace to suffer for his name sake And all these things workes the selfe same spirit distributing to every man severally as hee willeth 1. Cor. 12.11 Now this diversity of the manner of the comming of Gods Kingdome should teach us a spirituall industry You know the common proverbe take tide in time for tide and time will stay for no man looke the mariner who hath a shippe going to sea as he is earnest to lanch out to the deepe yet cannot when hee would but must stay till the tide make and when it is made it wil not wait an houre upon his leasure for if hee take it not in time it will ebbe and he shall not get out Even so in our spirituall navigation to the Kingdome of God when grace offers it self it hath a certain time a certain measure a certain meane the which if we imbrace we make a good voyage if wedespise we lose our journey Then would you be a good merchant when you see the winde of the spirit blow and the tide of grace make for Gods sake delay not hoyse your sailes make straight your tackle get you to reading prayer meditation and spirituall conference It is hard to know if thou blowest in time upon that poore coale which God by his grace hath kindled in thee what a fire it shall bring forth to the glory of his name and the peace of thy owne conscience But if thou blow not in time Oh how dead a coale shall thy heart prove to blow at out of time thou mayst blow whilst the bellows rent but life thou shalt not get in it for by thy negligence thou hast lost the tyde and quenched the operation of the spirit which offered it selfe to thee for thy salvation Fourthly the last thing remarkable in the comming of Gods Kingdome is to what end it commeth I answer it commeth to worke in thee a seavenfold worke First a worke of illumination that in his light thou mayest see thine owne darknesse Secondly a worke of accusation saying as to Adam Adam where
art thou hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I did forbid thee Thirdly a worke of conviction Cursed bee thou for thou hast not continued to obey the things written in the Law Fourthly a worke of contrition making thee to water thy couch with teares and to goe out weepe bitterly Fifthly a worke of consolation Goe thy way home thy sins are forgiven thee Sixthly a worke of adoption whilst by his spirit hee cryes in thee Abba father Seaventhly and lastly a worke of confirmation and perseverance whilst hee keepes thee by the power of his spirit through faith to eternall salvation What do we here pray for this that Gods Kingdome may come and why so because wee can never goe to it except it do first come to us for such as is his eternall knowledge his eternall love his eternall election such is the dispensation of those his graces in time and their remuneration in glory after all time what is then thy duty Oh man herken and I will tell thee Since God hath made his Kingdome ready for thee make thou thy selfe ready for it I say hee hath made his kingdome ready Omnia enim sunt parata All things are ready Matt. 22. Paratae sunt nuptiae the marriage is ready Parata est coena his supper is ready Paratum est cubiculum his marriage chamber is ready Paratum est cubile his bed is ready Paratum est regnum and his Kingdome is ready Now are all things on his part ready and thou art not ready Then woe bee unto thee that ever thou wast borne for Gods sake then dresse and trimme thy selfe in time and say Paratum est cormeum My heart is ready Psalm 57.7 and learn with the spirit in the Revelation to say The day of the Lambes marriage is come and his bride hath made herselfe ready Blessed is the man who in that expectation can so say surely hee shall not want his reward and it shall be said to him Come ye blessed of my Father possesse the Kingdome prepared for yon And when you are come in it shall be cheerfully said to you eate and drinke my friends make merry my well beloved And now having spoken concerning the matter and manner of the Petition it resteth that wee speake concerning the copulation of the one with the other Thy This word is very well inserted here for as none can truly say Our Father but hee who is borne of God and is a fellow member of Christs body so none can desire Gods Kingdome to come but hee who is a member thereof and a fellow heire annexed thereto by Christ Jesus yet the words would be well remarked for Meum and Tuum hath made all the world adoe Man whilst hee keeped the Image of God might have justly said of all the world it is meum but when he fell he could say nothing but turning over the right to God say it is tuum man being begotten againe to the hope of glory in Christ Jesus may justly say to and of all the world it is meum jure adrem but not jure in re for hee oweth all things yet possesseth nothing Looke to Christ to his Apostles and to all his Saints Hebr. 11. What shall wee doe then but since by mastery our Kingdome is taken from us looke for one to come and sigh in our selves saying to God Adveniat regnum tuum Meum tuum cost Abel and Naboth their lives But God would not have it so in Christs Kingdome for there is no Kingdome but his and to him alone wee must justly say Thy Kingdome come Vse What right then hath the Pope to enthrone or dethrone Kings since hee is no universall King himselfe Neither in the matter of power for his breath is not his owne nor in the matter of Grace For hee cannot renew nor redeeme his brothers soule it is a price too great for him to pay nor in the matter of glory for he is the child of perdition hee is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and hee goes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Secondly why strugle men for soveraignty and can never be contented since the earth is the Lords and all Kingdomes are his Let us seeke the Kingdome of God and our necessities shall bee cast to us Thirdly and last of all let us beware how wee utter this prayer for it appertaineth not unto the wicked but to the godly not to the wicked for if God should take him at his word his condemnation should come upon him at unawares Perversum est enim optare ut veniat quem times ne veniat Augustine Psalm 97. dicere veniat regnum tuum cum times ne exaudiaris Aug. Psalm 147. It is onely the child of God who as the Hart brayeth for the well-springs of water can truly thirst after God and say I desire to be dissolved And again Come Lord Iesus come quickly Revel 22. LECT 7. Thy will AS in the former Petitions so in this also wee will first looke to the reason why it is so placed and next to the matter of the Petition The placing of it is remarkable both in respect of the Preface as also of the preceding Petitions When wee looke to the Preface this followeth exceeding well upon it For there is propounded to us that Summum bonum and chiefe good which the Sonnes of men doe aime at God himselfe knowen by faith communicated by love and expected by hope of consummation to the which wee can never attaine but by doing his will For the Kingdome and inheritance of God is not given to rebells nor disobedients but to Sonnes and obeyers For none shall enter into the Kingdome of God but they that know the will of their Master and doe it And as it hath this reference with the preface viz a reference of instruction So when you looke upon it in the reference it carieth with the preceding Petitions you shall finde the reference and relation demonstrative For as God in all things and above all things he hath care of his owne honour and the glory of his name For it is written My Glory I will not give to another Againe as he is the suprem soveraign of heaven and earth c. Having therein a Kingdome of power of grace and of glory So here wee have the evident demonstration of our confidence and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For hee subjoynes this as a touchstone to try whether ourzeale to his honor or our thirst for the righteousnesse and approach of his kingdome be true and sincere or not And by this to see whether wee doe his will or not Desiring us thereby because of the flattery wherewith we flatter our selves in the use of that common proverbe Ad Deum omnes ire volunt post Deum pauci to try and examine our selves whether wee bee truely of that number or not who can say Thy Kingdome come For it is not the hearers but the doers of the law shall bee justified Vse Now from
for there wee shall bee exchanged into his image c. Thus the truth stands cleere That the naturall man as a naturall man and before hee bee renewed by grace can and may will both naturall good and a morall good But to will a spirituall good in that measure as that it may bee acceptable to God hee neither can nor may For howsoever he may preach distribute the Sacraments give almes pray and meditate yet are these not acceptable For the naturall man knoweth not the things that are of God 1. Cor. 2. Hee is dead in his sins and trespasses Ephes 2. Hee hath not the sonne of God and therefore can have no life in him 1. Iohn 5.12 Hee hath not the spirit of God in him and therefore cannot be the child of God Rom. 8.14 And finally although his workes were finished from the foundation of the world yet is hee but a stranger from the life of God For till his person bee first acceptable in Jesus Christ his workes shall never be approved Last of all a Sathan hath a will and as man hath a will so God also hath a will And to him chiefly and above all yea most truly and most properly is the liberty of will ascribed For hee willeth that which is good and that most freely most solely most absolutely and most perfectly because continually Gods will then yea and his revealed will being holy righteous and just in it selfe and of it selfe is that only which wee crave in this Petition But thou wilt perhaps aske me may I not say my will be done No no for as God is primumens primum agens so is he also Liberrimumens Liberrimum agens Hee is the first essence and the first agent and hee is the freest essence and freest agent that ever was No creature in heaven or in earth hath either a being action or will but that which is duely and truely subordinated to his Essence action or will Wouldest thou then crave a reason why thou must not intermixe thy will with Gods will The reasons are these 1. As thou art a naturall man there is great enmity betwixt thy will and Gods will The Apostle tells us this Rom. 8. The wisedome of the naturall man is enmity with God Hee saith not only that it is an enemy to it but enmity it selfe Now we know that it is more to be enmity then to bee an enemy for an enemy may bee reconciled but enmity never 2. It is not good that wee say my will bee done For if we get our will wee would many times will the things which would tend to our destruction Thus the children of Israel willed and desired Quailes in the wildernesse and they got their will but not their well For when their meat was in their mouth it came out at their nostrels 3. If wee got all our will wee should many times sinne against God willing the things which hee willeth not and nilling the things which he willeth Thus did Israel will their returne to Aegypt against the will of God leading them to the land of their rest And thus they would have a King and got one in Gods anger Thus I may say boldly that mans will should not bee sought but Gods For mans will differeth more from the will of God then the heaven differeth from the earth For it is mans will to live in wealth and prosperity but God willeth it not knowing that want is better for us For when wealth maketh mans wit to waver and prosperitie maketh him to misknow God want maketh him wise and with the prodigall child reclaimeth him from his errour Secondly wee would alwayes live at randome and be free from the Crosse but God willeth it not for hee knoweth that without the yoake we are but wilde heifers But when the Crosse is on our backe it will teach us to keepe his law Finally wee desire to live long and see many dayes God willeth it not And therefore cutteth off the thred of our life sometimes in the morning sometimes in the noone-tide and sometimes in the evening of our dayes And by so doing preventeth the growth of sinne in us Sometimes shutteth our eyes from seeing the evil that is to come and sometimes draweth us away from the love of the world that wee may bee invested with our Masters joy Thus by all these palpable documents hee cleerely teacheth thee to submit thy will to his and both in wealth and in want to say Not my will but thy will be done And truely till this time come and till thougrow up to this measure of grace A Scholler thou may be in the Schoole of grace but a perfect man in Christ Jesus thou art not For he that would be his Disciple must deny himselfe and take up his Crosse and follow him dayly The totall summe then of this part of the Petition is this O Lord since by nature we are created to thy image and since in that estate of our integrity we were sufficiently enabled to doe thy will But now since by our fall wee are so debilitated weakned as that we can neither know thy will nor doe it Wee runne to thee in the secret and sincerity of our soules And we begge of thee that by the grace of thy spirit thou wouldest so reenable us and strengthen us againe that thy will may not only bee done by us but also upon us That is to say that we may not onely doe that which thou commandest us in thy word but also patiently beare whatsoever crosse or calamity thou shalt bee pleased to exercise us with And so having ended the first part of the Petition wee come to the second The first part was materiall the last is formall Formatur we craved that Gods will might be done in us and upon us For manner we crave that his will may be done in earth as it is in Heaven To come then to the consideration hereof Whilst our Redeemer prescribeth unto us the matter of Gods obedience he prescribeth it in two subordinate periods of consideration 1. In the place thereof 2. In the patterne thereof The place hee will have it done on earth The patterne As it is in heaven We will first looke to the place of this obedience And it is earth By earth many divers men have meant many things diversly Tertullian by earth said our body was meant and by heaven our Soule Because our bodies are of the earth and earthly and our Soules a spirituall and celestiall substance And the ordinary glosse following Tertulltan writing on this place by the earth have understood the flesh and by the Heaven the spirit So that they make the meaning of the words to bee Let the flesh and the lusts thereof be subdued to the Spirit and the good motions of the same Cyprian by earth understands the unregenerate and such as doe not know God and by Heaven just men to whom God is knowne and by whom he is obeyed And he makes the
meaning of the words to bee Let them that are not yet called bee brought within the compasse of thy covenant and the bosome of thy Church that as wee beleeve so they may beleeve also and as thy will is done by us so it may bee done by them Both of these opinions are not only tolerable but also laudable For we are bound by religion not only to subdue the lusts of our flesh and to live after the Spirit but also wee are bound in charity to begge of God that all such as appertaine to his election may be in due time called justified and glorified That so there may be but one shepheard and one sheepfold and God may bee over all and in all blessed for ever But if I may speak it without the prejudice of so great lights Howsoever both these Petitions be requisite for the Christian yet doe not I thinke that either of them be here meant But with Chrysostome I doe thinke that this Petition differs nothing from that precept of the Apostles Collos 3.1 If yee bee risen with Iesus Christ seeke those things that are above By earth then I understand men that are on earth and by heaven the Angels of God and the Spirits of good and just men departed So that the meaning of the petition is Since it hath pleased thee O Father who dwellest in Heaven to make thy name knowne to us and be called upon of us And seeing thou hast honored us by the making us members of thy true Church and thy Kingdome of grace here on earth O let thy Spirit of Grace dwel so powerfully and plentifully in us that as thy holy Angells and glorified Saints doe thy will in heaven So we that are but weake and sinfull men may captivate our wils to thy obedience here on earth Well then by Earth wee must understand not only earthly men but also the place where Even on earth and while we live in it But let us remarke the word for it is generall Our Saviour teaching us the person the time and the place of Gods obedience saith not Thy will be done in the field in the city in the sea or in the dry land but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 per universum terrarum orbem Through all the whole world And as David sayes in his 97. Psalme Make thy way knowne on earth and thy saving health to all Nations The persons then by whom he will have Gods will done are men who are of the earth and to the earth returne again And the place where in the earth and whilst wee live in it For unlesse wee doe the will of God here wee shall not enter into our Masters joy hereafter In the second roome wee must looke to the patterne and it is called heaven by the which as I told you already Augustine and Chrysostome do understand the holy Angells of God and the glorified Spirits of men These are said to bee in heaven But by these alone the word is not only understood For as there are more heavens then one so are they more that do the will of God in heaven then those blessed Spirits alone I say there are more heavens then one and it is cleere For it is said in the preface of this prayer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the plurall number and it is knowne and manifest in nature For this expansum or void wherein are the fowles is called a heaven and they the fowles of the heaven Againe these seaven subordinate spheares in the which the seaven Planets doe raigne are called heaven also Againe that place wherein are the fixed Starres is called a heaven also And finally that place of felicity which is above all of these is called heaven and the third heaven and the heaven of heavens and the Paradise of God Now as all of these are furnished with their severall host and inhabitants So is the will of God done in all of these by their severall host and inhabitants For in the lower heavens which we call our firmament the will of God is done by the fowles of the ayre and by the treasures of windes raine snow haile and the thunder In the second heaven the will of God is done by the Sunne the Moone and the Starres In the third heaven also the will of God is done by the holy Angells who have kept their originall integrity and by the congregation of the first born who rest from their labours and have entred into their Masters joy The words then are cleere By earth is meant man made of earth returning to the earth and living on the earth By heaven is meant all the host and inhabitants of the whole heavens of God whether they be the first second or third heaven But chiefly the third Now the resemblance and parallel of the obedience is remarkable As it is in Heaven For it may be enquired how doe the Angells and Saints departed obey the will of God in heaven I answere they obey it five manner of wayes Speedily Cheerfully Fully sincerely constantly and perfectly Speedily and without delay cheerfully and without murmuring fully and without omission sincerely without dissimulation constātly without wearying and perfectly without halting Now is it possible for man so to doe Gods will No certainly wee cannot doe it speedily for like Lot we linger to goe out of Sodome We cannot doe it cheerfully for like Israel wee grudge and murmur in the way to our rest We cannot doe it fully for the good that wee would doe we doe not c. We doe it not sincerely and without dissimulation for although wee honour him with our mouthes our hearts are farre from him We doe it not constantly and without wearying for to day we are fervent and to morrow wee are lukewarme neither hot nor cold Neither doe we it perfectly for we know but in a part and see but in a part and our perfection is laid up for us in the life to come But why doe we then pray for it since wee cannot attaine to it I answere though we cannot attaine to it yet wee should strive after it For there is a time comming wherein we shall obtaine and attaine to that perfection wee aime at And that is our last moment and day of our dissolution Like Israel compassing Jericho And Sampson groaning under his blindnesse Vse Now the use of all this When God made man he made him conforme to his patterne for he made him like to himselfe and to his owne Image When God commanded to build him a Tabernacle he gave a patterne to it in the mount and never a pinne was in the Tabernacle but what was commanded So it is here when Christ Jesus desireth us to doe Gods will he writeth to us a copy doe it in earth as it is done in heaven Not that we are able to attaine to it but that we must strive after it Let us looke but to a naturall Parent Hee calleth upon
foundation can a tree grow without the root or can the body live that is cut off from the head no surely Now if it bee so in nature in these naturall unions how much more must it bee in the spirituall Hee is our head our husband our foundation our root having him wee have all things without him wee have nothing For as there is no condemnation to them that are in Jesus Christ so there is neither hope of grace in this nor glory in the life to come to any that are not incorporated into him Secondly as no man can call the creatures of God his except hee who is in Christ Jesus so in the second place none can call the things of this life his except hee acquire them in a lawfull calling and this should teach the sons of men to take heed how they acquire their goods One wanteth and lyeth by the way and robbeth the poore Another wanteth and seeketh it of the devill by an ill meane like Saul A third wanteth and with words of deceit hee stealeth into the house of the widdow and fatherlesse and devoureth them under pretence of protectiō like Absolon A fourth wanteth and because hee is ashamed to begge hee must bee a sparke of contention and like a Salamander live on that fire of division But enquire of these men I pray you if they eate their owne bread I answer their throats are wide and their stomacks ample but to say they eate their owne bread I dare not for their conscience teacheth them that they grinde the faces of the poore and eate up the people as if they were bread And for this cause it is that judgement commeth upon the land because such men are not taken heed unto If the belly god if the wizards and consulter with sathan if the Salamander and contentious man should be forced to eate their owne bread then peace should bee within our walls and prosperity within our palaces But because these and such as these are tolerated therefore it is that this land shall tremble and every one mourne that dwelleth therein Sackcloth shall be on all loynes and baldnesse on every head and the end of our visitation shall be a bitter day One thing onely resteth That we may eate our owne bread wee must be carefull to have the same sanctified to our use by the meanes of the word of God and of prayer And this serveth wonderfully to rebuke the beastly ingratitude of men women in this time For in stead of begging a blessing when wee sit downe or being thankfull when we rise wee swallow up the blessings of God in forgetfulnesse Yea wee sit downe to eate and to drinke and rise up to play and turne the grace of God to wantonnesse like beasts drinking of the streame without remembrance of the fountain Neither is this the private and domesticke errour of this land no this is that publique canker and gangren that hath fully and fowly overspread the face of this nation Let us lift up our eyes and behold the regions about us where is there peace or plenty to Church or Commonwealth but amongst us Enquire of the higher or lower Germany enquire of Cilicia enquire of the Palatinate of France and of Spaine it selfe All of them have beene smitten as a reed in the water famine the sword and the plague have destroyed their inheritance depopulated their riches overturned their glory and laid their strength on heapes in the streetes onely wee have beene left as a signe and wonder to the world both of peace and plenty for our table hath beene prepared in the sight of our enemies and our cup hath runne over but have wee beene thankfull no surely wee have neither rightly acknowledged the day of our visitation nor wisely considered the things that concerne our peace but rather have continued in sinne that grace may abound Well this Halcion time will not alwayes rest remember Tirus and Sidon Chorazin and Bethsada and by them learne in time to redeeme the time else out of time we shall sorrow desperately because wee would not sorrow sooner LECT 13. Give us this day c. AFter the explanation of these foure words which have already preceded in this petition to wit first a word of faith leading us to God Give Secondly a word of charity Vs Thirdly a word of necessity Bread Fowerthly a word of good conscience Our Wee must now come to consider the last two words viz a word of content and a word of limitation A word of content Dayly the word of limitation For this day The first thing considerable is the word of content daily bread There is not one word in this Prayer that hath undergone more variety of translations then this word Tertullian reads it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quotidianum But as he tooke not the word Bread literally but spiritually for Jesus Christ who is the true bread of life so hereby the word quotidianum or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hee understands not the daily and frequent releefe of our corporall necessities but of our spirituall needs For so he writes petendo panem quotidianum perpetuitatem petimus in Christo individuitatem a corpore ejus St. Augustine looking on Tertullians opinion giveth way to it but not simpliciter For hee not only allowes his spirituall signification but withall hee addeth the temporall Panis quotidianus ideo dicitur quia nobis necessarius est sive spiritualiter sive carnaliter sive utroque intelligatur modo Athanasius saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hoc est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 futurum Give us our bread that is to come Cujus primitias habemus dum in communionem Corporis Christi admissi sumus Hierome himselfe looking on both the Evangelists Matthew and Luke findeth the originall word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to bee one But if he bee the author of the vulgar translation I see no reason why he should have interpreted Matthew one way and Luke another For hee interprets Matthew in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to signifie Supersubstantialem in the word of Luke he interprets it quotidianum But to leave the altercation wherein these great lights of the Church have engaged themselves I would labour simply to embrace the truth and withthe Syriack translation to call it panem indigentiae the bread of our necessity and want So that howsoever all of these interpretations bee tolerable Tertullians taking it for Christ Athanasius takeing it for the first fruits of the Spirit and Augustine taking it for the Bread of the Sacrament and St. Hierome for the supersubstantiall Bread yet this I finde safest in the middest of such a storme of interpretations to follow the Syriack translation and by the word of Daily Bread to understand the bread of our daily necessity To this interpretation subscribes both Calvin and Beza Calvin taking the word for the bread of Gods providēce of the which we stand daily in need and is called the word that
commeth out of the mouth of God And Beza taking the word litterally out of the Greeke for that Bread which is able to adde to our substance So that the true and native signification and sense of this petition is this Lord give us the supplement of our necessities both for matter and for manner For matter our bodies are earthly and drawing neere to the earth stand in need of daily support support us therefore daily with Bread And for manner because little will content nature suppose our desires bee extravagant give us that which may refresh nature and maintaine this our natural life For if wee get food and rayment we ought therewith to bee content Now this being the interpretation of the word the uses arising therefrom are worthy of our remarke also Vse The uses that are drawne from the consideration of the words are two-fold viz. For rebuke and for instruction It serveth for rebuke to the Church of Rome whose schollers I meane the Rhemists following St. Hierome in his interpretation have interpreted the word and hold fast for it that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth onely signifie supersubstantialis or supersubstantiall bread But I would enquire of them to what use this obsolete and obscure word should be used amongst them Are not the words of greatest familiarity of greatest force also Yes surely For God who had sundry times and in divers manners made himselfe knowne unto the world of old by his Prophets and Patriarkes under types shadowes figures and tropes he hath now in the end of time made himselfe manifest to the world in Jesus Christ his Son who was the image of the invisible God and the ingraven forme and character of his person and that in such a plenty and purity of revelation that none can bee excused by reason of ignorance for If our Gospell bee hidde it is hidde to them that perish in whom the God of this world hath blinded the eyes of their mindes So seeing then even there where people sate in darknesse and in the shadow of death if God have made a true light to our eyes why should they bee termes of ambiguity and phrases of darknesse to obscure and eclipse the light and sun-shine of Gods truth by keeping up from the people the word of God and giving them the service of God in a strange tongue I know wherefore this can serve but for one or two causes either that they may shew themselves heires to the Scribes and Pharisees whose chaires they claime For they locked up the key of knowledge they neither entered into the Kingdome of God themselves neither would they suffer others to enter Even such are the followers of the Church of Rome at this day they sit as they alledge in the chaire of Moses and Peter but with any of Moses traditions or of Peter his sanctions they will not trouble so much as their little finger and fearing least any should enter into the Kingdome of God to their greater crimination too like blinde guides they keepe their people in blindnesse and by the obscurity of words so eclipse and obscure the truth that unawares Millions of soules are by them ledde captive unto distruction Vse Neither doe they in this alone expresse themselves to build the sepulchers of their fathers the Scribes and Pharisees But what is more they really doe expresse themselves to be the sonnes of their Father the divell who knowing assuredly that nothing in the world can bee so forcible to extract a blessing from the hands of God as Prayer Nor any thing so strong and powerfull to binde up the hands of God from correcting and judging us as is the frequent and familiar confabulation and Prayers of his Saints Hee therefore labours to withdraw men altogether from prayer or else if he cannot get their mouthes stopped but that they must pray then hee will have them praying in an unknowne tongue that their table may be turned to a snare and their prayers to sinne It is a wonder to see what folly is amongst them they will not go out of doores without a crosse about their neckes as if it were an Antidote against whatsoever danger either spirituall or temporall And yet there is none sheweth himselfe a greater enemy of the Crosse of Christ For howsoever in word they confesse him yet in their idolatrous practise they deny him and having a name that they are living in effect they are dead Yet this is not all such an overruling power and soveraignty hath the Prince of darknesse got on them that when their conscience is opened to see their sin and their affections lead them to God to deprecate the remission of their sinne hee tongue-tyeth them that they cannot speake to God And if they speak at all it is but a rapsody of idle words numbred out upon their Beades as if God delighted in much babling or Sathan could bee conjured with tale and number only of Pater nosters But foole that thou maist know that God is a Spirit and will bee worshipped in spirit and truth If thy service be spirituall and sincere though weake yet it is welcome For the bruised reed hee will not breake and the smoaking flaxe bee will not quench But if thou dally with him in a Tautalogie of unknowne words all is in vaine because hee will cast backe the dust of thy sacrifice in thy face for praying to him with thy tongue when thy understanding is without fruit Againe as it serveth for rebuke of the Church of Rome so it serveth also for instruction to us of the true and pure Church and that in these three respects First in the matter of our true understanding Secondly in the matter of our true content And thirdly in the matter of our true desire I say first that in this word we have a lesson given us to enforme our understanding For whilst wee goe to God and seeke of him Daily Bread wee cannot but instruct our selves in the sense of our daily want Who is hee that hath a house and a daily raine drop in it but will goe to the Slater and make him repaire it Who is hee which hath a ship which is leaking but will goe to the carpenter and have it repaired both with timber and calfatting Or hee that hath a wounded body who will not goe to the Physitian and daily dresse his wound and binde it up againe till it bee cured It is even so with us in the matter of our spirituall wants Wee dwell here in Tabernacles and houses of clay This day there is a droppe in the roofe to morrow a balke of our timber is cracked and the third day there is a crevis in the wall To whom shall wee goe but to the Master of the worke and that daily that by our daily necessities wee may daily have our recourse to him and in our daily approaches confesse and acknowledge his daily providence Wee are also Mariners and wee are wounded men Who shall make
last thing remarkable in the words is the person at whose hands wee sue for this release and pardon of sinne which is neither man nor angell nor Saint departed but God alone for all these with the wise virgins haue adoe with their owne lamps except this onely to wit God for it is against him onely that wee sinne and it is hee onely who can forgive sinne and if pardon of sinne bee in the Church it is onely a conditionall declaration no absolute condonation LECT 17. As wee for give our debtors NExt to the consideration of that part of this Petition which is supplicatory wee come to that which is restipulatory The first part was supplicatory in begging pardon of our sinnes against God this carries the restipulation of the covenant and promiseth in our names the pardon and forgivenesse of our brethren whensoever they sinne against us The covenant of it selfe in it selfe is hard so much the harder by how much it hath both the fairer provocations for obedience and the fouler stumblings in disobedience It hath the fairer provocations to obedience for in all the covenāts that God hath made with man there is none like to this God hath made three covenants with man a naturall a Legall and an Evangelicall The naturall covenant was made with man in the day of creation The legall in the day of his temporall redemption and the Evangelicall in the fulnesse of time when the Sonne of God being made man and not knowing sinne was made sinne for our sakes and expiated our sinnes by his sufferings The tenor of the first covenant was naturall and just Naturall because he made man in nature perfect and just because hee required nothing of man but that to the obedience whereof hee had given him naturall ability The second covenant was in some condition preternaturall and just preternaturall in so farre that nature could not obey it yet just because he once strengthened nature to obey it The third covenant was supernaturall and gracious Supernaturall in requiring things that nature could not give yet supernaturally gracious in finding out a remedie for the defect of nature making the Sonne of God to become man and him that knew not sinne to bee made sinne for us that wee in him might bee made partakers of the riches of the mercy of God Now remember I pray you what I have said I said that this covenant was so much the harder by how much the provocations were gracious and the disobediences foule To have sinned against the covenant of nature was foule indeed because nature was made perfect and able to doe what was required of the naturall man To sinne against the covenant of workes which I called preternaturall was foule also for howsoever nature was then corrupt and weake yet their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt prefigurating to them the hope of a better deliverance and therefore rendred the smell of their disobedience the more odious and abominable by how much in it they had not onely the pardon of their naturall uncleannesse but also the hope of a better inheritance sealed up unto them But above all the breach of this covenant made with us in the blood of Jesus under the Gospell is so much the more foule and abominable by how much the seale of the covenant was gracious and easie For the condition of the first covenant was strict because naturall The condition of the second was fearfull because supernaturall for the time But the condition of the last covenant was easie be cause gracious and our rebellion so much the more foule because it was easie and to the corrupt nature of man so much the more hard by how much it was facilitated by the obedience of another for it is written the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth after envie And againe I do not the good that I would but the evill that I would not yet the Law in it selfe is pure holy righteous and just Well then it hath pleased God in his wisedome to adjoyn these words As we for give c. To the former to be a seale of his righteousnesse and withall to be a testimony of our uncleannesse and prevarication A seale of his righteousnesse in that hee hath freely forgiven us our sinnes A seale of our uncleannesse and prevarication in that wee cannot forgive one another Now the words being thus taken up in their dependence it is requisite that wee looke upon them in their severall stations and from thence gather their severall uses for our instruction If wee shall narrowly look upon them foure things offer themselves to our consideration First a condition imposed to man serving for the seale of the covenant As. Secondly to whom this condition is both proposed and imposed wee Thirdly the duty annexed to the condition Forgive Fourthly the persons to whom wee are obliged in this duty to our debters or them that finne against us To returne to the first of these the condition As the words are diversly read in divers Evangelists Matthew saith Forgive us our debts as wee forgive our debtors Luke in his 11. Chapter saith Forgive us our sinnes for wee even forgive them that sinne against us And according to the diversitie of the readings so hath there also diversitie of interpretations of the words arisen Some looking too strictly upon the particle of similitude here used As have been led a little to doubt of the free pardon and remission of their sinnes For if God shall forgive man no otherwise then man forgiveth his neighbour then for the most part our sinnes shall neither bee fully freely nor finally forgiven for as I have showne you in our last Sermon mans pardon is but partiall constrained and for a time and the rest laid up against the day of revenge and his more full retaliation On the other part the reading of this prayer as St Luke hath recorded it to us by way of causality in the word For hath led many to presumption thinking that if they can pardon their neighbours their sinnes then God is bound to pardon them theirs and so they would inforce by way of merit their pardon at Gods hands But that the words may be cleared and the wisedome of God in them freed from both these impostures know that the word used by Matthew is not set downe by way of parity but by way of seale And the word used by Luke is not set downe by way of causality but by way of commiseration I say that the word used by St Matthew as is not a word of parity and reciprocation but of seale so that the purpose and meaning of God in it is not to tye man to that strict and precise rigour of his conformity which either the severity of his Law or the sincerity of his nature requireth but in mercy hee leadeth man to bee confident and assured of the remission of his sinnes at Gods hands by the seale of his owne heart for by this as
teacheth them to be rich in grace their nakednesse to bee clothed with salvation and all their crosses and corrections whatsoever sealeth to them their adoption increaseth their patience and assureth them that their soules shall be safe in the day of the Lord Jesus Last of all the evill of evill is that damage and harme which the wicked sustaine by suffering the evill of this life for by the evill of sinne their hearts are hardened the custome of sinne taking away the conscience of sinne and by the evill of punishment their condemnation is sealed to them for whatsoever they suffer in this life is but an earnest penny of their after suffering and a sure fore-runner of that worme which dyeth not and of that fire which goeth not out againe So that whilst wee say Deliver ui from evill our meaning is deliver us O Lord from Sathan the author of sinne from sinne it selfe the first borne of Sathan and from condemnation the stipend and wages of sinne And as for the outward rods compose them so to us that they may not harden our hearts in sinne nor seale to us our condemnation And to this interpretation of evill antiquity giveth assent for St Chrysostome writing upon Matth. 13.19 where Christ calleth the devill The evil one saith Malum hic diabolum vocat docens nos cum eo praelium habere nullo unquam tempore dirimendum cum tamen non sit natura St Ambrose expoundeth it both of the devill and of sin Libera nos à malo dum hoc petimus petit unusquisque ut à malo hoc est à diabolo peccato liberetur Finally St August is of the same opinion whilst hee telleth us Christus non liberabit nos a barbaris sed à diabolo peccato peccati stipendio Now having spoken at length to you concerning our captivity to Sathan sinne and condemnation It is requisite that wee looke on the captives and these are wee for wee say deliver us For the better understanding whereof wee must know that captives are of two sorts either Captivi nati or else Captivi facti captives are either borne so or made so The native or borne captives were the children of such parents as being captives themselves were mancipated and sold for servants and slaves to others These by the Law of God were the possession and true inheritance of their master Levit. 25.45 The captives that were made so are of two sorts for they were either made so by others or by themselves By others whilst being taken in battell and preserved from death they were sold as servants bond-men to others Captives made by themselves were such as without any outward violence imposed on them did for reliefe of their poverty and necessity sell themselves as slaves and servants to others Now these are but bodily captives Answerable to these there are three sorts of spirituall captives and of the captivity of the soule The first are captives by birth and so borne from their mothers wombe such are all men by nature and naturall corruption for wee are all of us borne dead in our sins and trespasses c. And what David said of himselfe all of us may say of our selves In iniquity was I shapen and in sin hath my mother brought mee forth Now in the second place captivity begets captivity as one deepe calleth on another Our originall captivity under which we were born hath lead us violently captive unto actuall sin and rebellions For having brought nothing into the world with us but an uncircumcised heart from thence in all our life time springeth nothing but abominable corruptions Last of all there bee some men who to both their naturall and violent captivity have added a voluntary captivity making themselves captives to sinne and Sathan with a greedy appetite and up lifted hand and these are the children of disobedience from the first sort of captivity it hath pleased God to redeeme us in our baptisme by the lavacre of regeneration and washing of the new birth From the second captivity though wee cannot bee fully delivered so long as wee are in this life wee having received but the first fruits of the spirit yet notwithstanding Jesus Christ our Redeemer hath delivered us by his death the power of his resurrection and fellowship of his afflictions for it is written Wee have not received the Spirit of bondage to feare againe but the Spirit of adoption whereby wee cry Abba father And againe Therefore we are no more servants but sonnes From the last sort of captivity there is no redemption at all for if Sathan the devill hath right enough to a man by nature man shall adde to that captivity a greater by selling himselfe like Achab to commit iniquity There is no more sacrifice reserved for that mans sinne but a fearefull expectation of judgement and of that fire which shall devoure the wicked Now my brethren of this which hath beene said concerning our captivity I would gladly that in a word or two you should make some use Vse There are many captives in the world whom we cannot get delivered notwithstanding wee will labour to extend some of our supply to them For first wee can upon the first hearing compassionate their captivity and beare a part and have some sympathy with them in their distresse Secondly we can sometimes goe further then this for we can goe knock at the prison dore and call for them and goe in and visite them and comfort them with our best consolations We can goe somewhat further yet and besides our comfort wee can helpe them with some of our meanes wee can buy bread to their hunger and drinke to their thirst and clothes to their nakednesse And last of all we can engage our selves for their deliverance and by our engagements set them free Are not these good offices of charity and true straines of mercy Yes surely they are so Art not thou then much beholding to Christ whosoever thou art that art set free from the bondage of sin for he hath done al these to thee whilst thou wert in daaknesse and bondage under sinne and Sathan Hee did first pitty and compassionate thee when thou hadst no pitty on thy selfe and even then when thou wert a stranger and enemy to him hee spread his skirts over thee and covered thy nakednesse Secondly hee hath visited thee as he came downe to visit Israel in her affliction not in judgment as Sodome but in mercy and in a plentifull compassion and therefore Zachary blesseth him for that hee visited and then redeemed his people Thirdly hee became beneficiall to us not onely giving us wine to make the heart glad and oyle to make the face to shine but also in comforting our soules Hee hath given us his flesh for meate his blood for drinke his righteousnesse for our â—…ing his word for our instruction and his Spirit for our guide Fourthly and last of all hee hath taken our debt upon him and paying