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A12554 A paterne of true prayer A learned and comfortable exposition or commentarie vpon the Lords prayer: wherein the doctrine of the substance and circumstances of true inuocation is euidently and fully declared out of the holie Scriptures. By Iohn Smith, minister and preacher of the Word of God. Smyth, John, d. 1612. 1605 (1605) STC 22877.1; ESTC S117609 137,387 190

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some Magistrates and Ministers yet they are generall sinnes that indifferently possesse the hearts of all men of all estates and callings 1. Infidelitie hindereth Gods Kingdome Infidelitie is one leafe of the yron gate that barreth the Lord Iesus Christ out of the soule who being kept out it is impossible that his Kingdome and scepter should there be erected So long as the diuell who is the strong man keepeth possession all things are safe but when saith entereth into the soule Psal 24. then one leafe or head of the euerlasting gate is lifted vp and the K●ng of glory commeth in Matth. 12. then that man Iesus Christ which is stronger than the diuell spoileth him of his castle and furniture and taketh possession of the spirituall fort and aduanceth his scepter and Kingdome proclaiming himselfe the King and Lord of that subiect 2 Impenitencie hindereth Gods Kingdome Luk. 3. Impenitencie is another leafe of that yron gate which excludeth Christ Iesus and causeth the owner to rebell against his soueraigne Lord and King which must be opened and lifted vp before Christ will enter Repentance may be termed the Haruenger of the King as Iohn the Baptist was of Christ who taught the baptisme of repentance for the remission of sinnes whereby the Lords way was prepared and his paths made straight This is the doctrine which Christ himselfe taught Repent for the Kingdome of God is at hand for Gods Kingdome being at hand is admitted into the soule by repentance and excluded by impenitencie 3 Raigning sins hinder Gods Kingdome Raigning sinnes also may be termed the locke vpon the gate or the barre or the port-culles whereby the yron gate is further fortified and strengthned against an entery For so long as any one sinne raigneth in the soule the Lord Iesus cannot nor will not raigne there who will haue all the place of the soule or none for Christ can indure no consort or copartner in his Kingdome especially his enemie and no man can serue two contrary masters or be a good subiect to two Kings 4 False doctrine and superstition hinder Gods Kingdome inioyning contrary lawes Secondly we pray against al the Kingdome of darkenes as against Gentilisme Mahometisme Iudaisme Papisme and against the proceeding of all those or any other false doctrines and superstitions for by all these false meanes the Kingdome of Antichrist and of Mahomet the two eldest sonnes of the diuell is aduanced and the Kingdome of Iesus Christ is deiected and cast downe Lastly we pray against wicked men and Angels that God would hasten their iust destruction and damnation and in the meane space represse and bridle their malice and rage that they doe not preuaile against the truth of God and professors thereof Rom. 11 9. Psal 69.22 and if wee doe discerne any man to be a reprobate as namely one that committeth the sinne against the holy Ghost directly and particularly to pray for his speedy damnation and all the meanes effecting the same Finally Rom. 16.20 that God would shortly tread downe Sathan vnder our foote This is the deprecation The thanksgiuing followeth 5 Thankesgiuing of the second petition which how it is to be made may be gathered by the particulars of the supplication and deprecation This is the first of these two petitions which concerne the meanes of Gods glory from whence this may be obserued that one and the selfe same vertue and vice may be referred to diuers petitions in diuers respects which is agreeable to the rules of reason which teacheth that the respect being chaunged the argument is also chaunged To this petition the fourth commaundement is to be referred Now followeth the second of these petitions which respecteth the meanes of Gods glory which is the obedience of his will Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heauen This petition followeth consequently vpon the former 1 Order of the third petition for when men are subiects of Christs Kingdome then they begin to obey his will whereas before they were rebels and traytors and the slaues of sinne and Sathan whence this instruction ariseth That obedience to Gods will are the fruites of Gods Kingdome Or that good workes are the effects and signes of grace and the Kingdome of God in vs or that good workes iustifie ●hat is declare that we are iustified and that they argue faith and grace in the heart The tree is knowne by the fruite saith Christ and Iohn Baptist willeth those that came to bee baptised Mat. 12.33 Mat. 3.8 to bring forth fruites worthie amendement of life or worthie conuersion as if it had been said by Christ and Iohn Baptist Euill fruite argueth an euill tree and good fruite commendeth a good tree so euill workes shew an euill heart and good workes shew a gratious heart Repentance or conuersion appeareth in godlines and righteousnes and not in prophanenes and wickednes And therefore if you will approue that you haue repentance which is the inward baptisme whereof the outward baptisme of water is a signe bring forth such fruites of a holy and righteous life which may euidently declare the same for the inward disposition of the heart is outwardly ingrauen in the life Iam. 2.18 Shew me thy faith by thy workes and I will shew thee my faith by my workes for we cannot otherwise iudge one of another but by the outward practise for God onely is the searcher of the heart This doctrine will minister vnto vs a touchstone whereby we may try a sound and substantiall Christian from a foggie and bumbasted hypocrite the life of the one is religious and righteous full of good workes Psal 45.2 Ephes 4.29 his lips are full of grace and rotten communication proceedeth not out of his mouth whereas the life of the other is either grosely vitious or meerely ciuill who though perhaps he doe no harme yet he doth no good especially he will be dissolute in religious exercises and worldlines tainteth his life and though happily himselfe will not talke corruptly yet he can either with patience or delight 1. Cor. 4.5 heare others Againe although wee may not clime vp into Gods iudgement seate to giue the definitiue sentence of his election or reprobation vpon other men for that were to rob God of his honor yet without breach of charitie we may censure the present estate of other men leauing the issue to the Lord neither ought men thereat to be offended considering that Christ hath left vs a most certaine rule of direction ye shall know them by their fruites Mat. 7.16 and howsoeuer a godly man may sometime be censured for a wicked man he being in some grosse sinne a long time as Dauid in adultery without repentance yet though the censure bee false it is charitable because it is according to the rule By their fruites yee shall know them And contrariwise though sometime a wicked man may play the hypocrite so kindly as that he may
was in Dauid who continued in his murder and adulterie three quarters of a yeere in which time there was a spirituall mist of carnall securitie which couered his minde and heart which afterward was dispersed and thus the Lord is said actually to blinde and harden men as we see in the kingdome of Antichrist and in the old Iewes and in Pharaoh the King of Egypt 2. Thes 2.11 Esay 6.10 Exod. 4.21 whose eyes the Lord blinded and whose heart the Lord hardened Here a scruple may arise viz. that seeing God blindeth men and hardeneth their hearts he therefore may be said both to be the author of sinne and to tempt to sinne both which neuerthelesse the Scripture peremptorily denieth to be in God as being contrarie to his infinite goodnes Psal 5.4 Iam. 1.13 For answere whereof wee must remember that God may bee said to harden and blinde and tempt God is not the author of sin and yet neither is the author of sinne nor a tempter to sinne First God tempteth man especially foure waies 1 By afflictions which are therfore called temptations Iam. 1. 2 By a commandement speciall as that of Abraham Genes 22.1 3 By prosperitie and abundance of outward things Prou. 30.9 4 By occasioning obiects as Genes 3. God obiected the apple to Adams and Eues eye and 2. Thess 2. God sent vpon them strong delusions which is to be vnderstood in regard of the obiect entising and deluding True it is therefore that God doth tempt but he doth not tempt to sinne the Lords temptation may more properly be called a probation than temptation hee rather doth trie what euill is in vs than moue vs to euill rather he proueth what we wil doe than stirreth vs vp to doe any thing wherefore wee are to distinguish betwixt these two words Dokimazein Peirazein temptation and probation howsoeuer they may perhaps sometime admit one and the same signification Secondly and more fully to the purpose God hardeneth Man hardeneth and Satan hardeneth in diuers considerations 1 Man hardeneth his owne heart by refusing the grace offered in the meanes of saluation How man hardeneth his owne hart and thus Christ complaineth that when hee would haue gathered the Iewes together they would not And thus in the Psalme the Prophet exhorteth the people not to harden their hearts Psal 95.7.8 as their fathers did at Massah and Meribah but to heare the voyce of the Lord to day How Satan hardeneth mans hart Heb. ● 13 2 Againe Satan hardeneth mans heart by perswading and tempting to refuse grace to continue in the practise of sinne in impenitencie and so by consequent there is such a callion or hardnes brought vpon a man through the daily custome of sinne by the subtiltie of Satan that all the meanes of grace rebound backe againe as a ball cast against a stone wall How God hardeneth mans heart Mat. 20.15 3 Lastly when a man is come to this passe God hath his worke also for he withholdeth his grace which he is not bound to giue except it please him he being the absolute Lord of his owne and hauing left vs to the swinge of our owne corruption hee notwithstanding euery day or very often smiteth our hard harts with his word with his iudgments with his blessings with the motions of the spirit or of our owne conscience the which not breaking our stony hearts to contrition as the stone is broken by the hammer of the workman which is the proper effect of Gods word Ierem. 23.29 by accident the heart is hardened as the stiddie the more strokes lighteth vpon it the more it is beaten together the faster is the substance and so the harder and so in his iustice and iudgement punisheth one sinne with another casting occasions and obiects whereupon the corruption that is in man worketh to the committing of most vile abominations Rom. 1. 2. Thes 2. as the Gentiles fell from idolatrie to sins against nature they in the seate of Antichrist neglecting the loue of the truth were strongly deluded by the occasion of entising obiects to beleeue lies as namely all those lying signes and fables mentioned in their Legends And thus God hardeneth and in the same sense he blindeth Summarily therefore God doth thus harden the heart and blinde the minde and tempt the creature and so leade into temptation but is not the author of sinne or tempter to sinne Thus much for temptation which is the first enemie of grace and impediment of perseuerance now followeth the second which is euill But deliuer vs from euill Here also we are to consider two things VVhat is good and euill 1 What is euill 2 What is to deliuer from euill or how God deliuereth from euill First therfore to know what euill is we must know what good is that by the opposition of contraries the matter may be more euident Good is of three sorts for there is a naturall good a morall good and a good instrument and so by contrarietie there is a naturall euill a morall euill and an euill instrument A natural good is whatsoeuer God hath at the first creared so the Lord saith that all his works were good A naturall good Genes 1.21 which must needes be vnderstood of that naturall goodnes that is of the good essence and qualities wherewith God indued his creatures for the beasts and the plants the foules and fishes the heauens and meteors the earth and metals are onely good in respect of their essence and qualities for they are not capable of vertue or vice seeing that God neuer gaue the law morall vnto them A morall good is whatsoeuer qualitie is in the reasonabe creature agreeable to the law morall A morall good Genes 1.21 Micah 6.8 commonly called the tenne commandements as also whatsoeuer qualitie is in man agreeable to the Gospell the summe whereof is repentance and faith which are qualities supernaturall infused into man A good instrument is whatsoeuer God in his mercie and loue to his children vseth as a meanes to procure the good of his Church though it be the diuell A good instrument though it bee sinne than which there is not a greater euill yet it is not summum malum Rom. 8.28 for that God vseth sinne as an instrument of good and therefore sinne is not absolutely euill for it hath a respect of good It is euery way euill in it selfe but God which is infinitely good turneth euill to good 2. Cor. 4.6 and bringeth light out of darknes yea further whatsoeuer God vseth as an instrument of his glorie in his mercie and iustice is instrumentally good and so there is no summum malum though there be summum bonum We see the kindes of good let vs see also the kindes of euill A naturall euill A naturall euill is whatsoeuer is opposed to a naturall good and that is commonly called malum poenae the euill of punishment namely whatsoeuer serueth for the