Contemplations moral and divine The second part. Contemplations moral and divine. Part 2 Hale, Matthew, Sir, 1609-1676. This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription A86437 of text R229708 in the English Short Title Catalog (Wing H232). Textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. The text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with MorphAdorner. The annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). Textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. This text has not been fully proofread Approx. 609 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 241 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. EarlyPrint Project Evanston,IL, Notre Dame, IN, St. Louis, MO 2018 A86437 Wing H232 ESTC R229708 99895502 99895502 152948 2240908869

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 Early English books online text creation partnership. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 2, no. A86437) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 152948) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 2335:11) Contemplations moral and divine The second part. Contemplations moral and divine. Part 2 Hale, Matthew, Sir, 1609-1676. [10], 243, [3], 222 p. printed for William Shrowsbury at the Bible in Duke-lane, and John Leigh at the Blew-Bell in Fleet-street, London : 1676. Attributed by Wing to Matthew Hale. "Meditations upon the Lord's Prayer" begins new pagination and register. Reproduction of original in the Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois. eng Lord's prayer -- Commentaries -- Early works to 1800. Devotional literature -- Early works to 1800. Meditations -- Early works to 1800. eebo Contemplations moral and divine. The second part. Hale, Matthew, Sir, 1676 481 116329 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.26 B The rate of 0.26 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the B category of texts with fewer than 10 defects per 10,000 words. 2013-12 Assigned for keying and markup 2013-12 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2014-02 Sampled and proofread 2014-02 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2014-03 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

CONTEMPLATIONS MORAL AND DIVINE .

The Second Part.

LONDON : Printed for William Shrowsbury at the Bible in Duke-lane , and John Leigh at the Blew-Bell in Fleet-street , 1676.

THE PREFACE .

PArt of these things now published were intended to have been Printed and Published in the former Volume ; but not being so well Transcribed as I thought was necessary for the Press , being not in place to see it corrected my self , and the Term being so near that they could not be made ready and Printed before that time , at the request of the Book-sellers , who were loth to lose the opportunity of that Term for the publication of that Volume , I was content to let them publish that alone as it is without any more : but notwithstanding afterward intended this other Volume , adding thereunto some other small things , more than at first were intended , to make it a just Volume near the proportion of the former , provided it could be so timely finished , as that it might appear to be but a part of the former Trespass , though with a continuando , and not a new presumption against the worthy Authour : But when part of it had been so long detained in the hands of the Licencers , that by reason thereof , and of some other interventions , that could not be , I was unwilling to appear to the World to be guilty of a second Trespass against so excellent a person , especially , having both craved and obtained his pardon for the former , and therefore wrote to the Book-sellers to desist from proceeding any farther therein , till some fair occasion might offer it self to do it either with the Authours express consent , or at least without offence to him .

But it was not long before I was much importuned by some special friends of the Authors to let them proceed , and among the rest by a Person of Quality , who hath a very high respect and esteem both for Him and his Writings , and to whom I am very much obliged ; and besides , I perceived that the Authour himself was very much importuned by some friends and persons of Quality for more of his Writings of this nature ; that which I did before foresee would be one consequence of the publication of the former Volume ; for although he hath written much of this nature , it having been long the imployment of his Horae Sacrae , yet hath scarce any , even of his most intimate friends or acquaintance , except my self , and some of his own Family , known so much . But by the advantage of these importunities of other friends , I did the more easily prevail with him to give leave that the Book-sellers might go on with what they were about . And thus the Reader comes to enjoy the benefit of this second Volume .

For the Treatises contained in it , there is one upon the same Subject with one of those in the former Volume , that is , Of Afflictions , but such ( to say no more ) as doubtless will not seem tedious to any Pious person , who hath already read the former . For his Meditations upon the Lords Prayer , they are so excellent , and so far beyond what I am able to say in commendation of them , that I shall leave it to the sense of the Reader , who if he have any relish of sincere Religion , Piety , and Devotion , cannot but be highly affected with them . For those shorter Meditations I must acquaint the Reader that they were written when the Author was not only in his Journeyes , but in such Journeyes , wherein he had less freedom by reason of the Company , which was then with him , than he did ordinarily take , when he had none but his own Attendants about him ; for I find in divers of them noted when and where they were written . And these I was the more willing should be published in this Volume with the others , because if the Importunities of friends , which have not , nor will be wanting , can possibly prevail with the Author to publish any more of this kind himself , I supposed he would rather make choice of some of his larger and more compleat writings , than of these ( whereof some were never finished ) which yet I doubt not but will be very acceptable and profitable to the Pious Reader , but possibly otherwise might not have been published at all . And even from these shorter Meditations the Reader may receive a double benefit : The matter of them may be such to him of it self ; but besides they exhibit an excellent Example in their Author , as of the constant Pious and virtuous dispositions of his mind in general so in particular of his constant care to imploy those pretious portions of time , as he calls them , his Horae Sacrae , in suitable and profitable Meditations , from which he would not suffer himself to be wholly diverted , either by his Company , or any other of those occurrences , by which we are often too apt to excuse our selves from the Duties and Exercises of Religion and Piety .

Let the pious Reader pray for the Prolongation of his Life , and the Restitution of a competent measure of Health and Strength unto him ; which if it please God to grant , doubtless his Studies in Private will be no less beneficial to Posterity , than his Actions in Publick have been to the present age , though the Consequence of these will reach to Posterity also .

Being far distant from the Press , I must again crave the Readers favour to pardon and correct the mistakes of the Printer .

The several Treatises comprised in this Second Volume are : AN Inquiry touching Happiness , page . 1. Of the chief End of Man , p. 19. Upon Eccles. XII . 1. Remember thy Creator , &c. p. 43. Upon Psalm . LI. 10. Cor mundum crea , &c. p , 55. A Poem , p. 73. The Folly and Mischief of Sin , p. 75. Of Self-Denial ( not finished ) p. 82. Motives to Watchfulness in reference to the Good and Evil Angels , p. 97. Of Moderation of the Affections , p. 101. Of Worldly Hope and Expectation , p. 116. Upon Heb. XIII . 14. We have here no continuing City , p. 125. Of Contentedness and Patience , p. 136. Of Moderation of Anger , p. 141. A Preparative against Afflictions , p. 146. Of Submission , Prayer , and Thanksgiving , p. 220. Of Prayer and Thanksgiving , on Psal. CXVI . 12. p. 229. Meditations upon the Lords Prayer . A Paraphrase upon the Lords Prayer .
AN INQUIRY TOUCHING HAPPINESS .

1. ANy man that compares the Perfection of the Humane Nature with that of the Animal Nature , will easily find a far greater Excellence in the former than in the latter : For 1. The Faculties of the former are more Sublime and Noble : 2. The very External Fabrick of the former much more Beautiful and fuller of Majesty than the latter : 3. The latter seems to be in a very great measure ordained in a Subserviency to the former : Some for his Food , some for Cloathing , some for Use and Service , some for Delight : 4. All the inferiour Animals seem to be placed under the Discipline , Regiment , and Order of Mankind ; so that he brings them all , or the most of them , under his Order and Subjection :

2. It is therefore Just and Reasonable for us to think , that if the Inferiour Animals have a kind of Felicity or Happiness attending their being , and suitable to it , that much more Man , the nobler being , should not be destitute of any Happiness attending his being , and suitable to it .

3. But rather consequently , that Man , being the nobler Creature , should not only have an Happiness as well as Inferiour Animals , but he should have it placed in some more Noble and Excellent rank and kind than that wherein the Brutes have their Happiness placed .

4. It is plain that the Inferiour Animals have a Happiness or Felicity proportionate to their Nature and Fabrick ; which as they exceedingly desire , so they do in a great measure Enjoy : namely , a sensible Good , answering their sensible Appetite . Every thing hath Organs and Instruments answerring to the Use and Convenience of their Faculties ; Organs for their Sense and Local motion , and for their Feeding , for their Generation of their kind : Every thing hath its peculiar Instincts and Connatural Artifices and Energies for the Exercises of their Organs and Faculties for their Preservation and Nourishment : Every thing hath a supply of External Objects answering those Faculties , Desires and Instincts ; Meats proper for their Nourishment ; Places proper for their Repose ; difference of Sexes in their several kinds answering their Procreative Appetite : And most commonly such a proportion of Health and Integrity of Nature , as goes a long to that period of time allotted for their duration ; and in default thereof they are for the most part furnished with Medicines naturally provided for them , which they naturally know and use , so that they seem to want nothing that is necessary to the complement of a Sensible Felicity .

It is true , they are in a great measure Subjected to the Dominion of Mankind , which is sometimes over severely exercised , but then they have the Benefit of Supplies from them , Protection under them , and , if they meet not with Masters more unreasonable than themselves , they find Moderation from them . They are also exposed to the Rapine one of another , the weaker Beasts , Birds and Fishes , being commonly the prey of the greater : but yet they are commonly endued with Nimbleness , v. Lactant. de Opific . Dei . c. 2. Artifices or Shifts to avoid their Adversaries . But be these what Abatements of their Sensible Happiness may be , yet they have certain Negative Advantages that conduce very much to their Happiness , or at least remove very much of what might abate it , and thereby render their fruition more free and perfect and uninterrupted , for instance , they seem to have no Anticipations or Fear of Death as a common Evil incident to their nature : They have no Anticipations of Dangers till they immediately present themselves unto them : They have no great sense or apprehensions of any thing better than what at present they enjoy : They are not under the Obligation of any Law , or under the Sense of any such thing , and consequently the Sincereness of what they enjoy , not interrupted by the strokes of Conscience under a sense of deviation from Duty , or Guilt .

5. It is therefore plain , that if the Humane Nature have no greater or better Happiness than what is accommodate only to a Sensible Nature , they have no greater Happiness than the Beasts have , which is not reasonable to be supposed for a Nature so far exceeding them .

6. Farther yet , if the Humane Nature were not under a capacity of a greater Happiness than what is terminated in Sense , mankind were much more Vnhappy than the basest Animal ; and the more Excellent the Humane Nature is above the Beasts , nay , the more excellent any one individual of the Humane kind were above another , the more miserable he were , and the more uncapable of being in any measure happy : for the more Wise and Sagacious any man were , the more he must needs be sensible of Death , which sense would sower all the Happiness of a sensible Good : the more sensible he must needs be , not only of the shortness and uncertainty of sensible Enjoyments , but also of their Poorness , Emptiness , Insufficiency , Dissatisfactoriness . It is evident , that a Fool sets a greater rate upon a Sensible Good than a Man truly Wise , and consequently the Fool could be the only man capable of Happiness : for it is most certain , that according to the measure of the Esteem that any man hath of any good he enjoys , such is the measure of his Happiness in that Enjoyment , Since the Happiness is somewhat that is intrinsecal to the Sense or Mind that enjoys it . A thing really Good can never make that man Happy , who is under a Sense of Evil or Inconvenience by that enjoyment , so long as he is under that sense . Since therefore it is preposterous and unreasonable to suppose that Man , the best of terrestrial Creatures , and Wise men , the best of men , should be Excluded from at least an equal degree of Happiness with the Beasts that perish ; and since it must needs be that a bare Sensible Good can never communicate to a man an Equal degree of Happiness with a Beast , nor to a Wise man an Equal degree of Happines with a Fool , it remains , there must needs in common reason be some other subject wherein the Happiness of a Man , of a Wise Man , must consist , that is not barely Sensible Good .

7. All the good things of this Life they are but Sensible Goods , and therefore they cannot be the true matter of that Happiness , which we may reasonably think belongs to the reasonable Nature as such , the former will appear by an induction of particulars , which I shall pursue in order , with the particular instances of their Insufficiencies to make up a true Happiness to the Reasonable Nature , as well as that general that they are but Sensible Goods , and meerly accommodated to a Sensible Life and Nature .

1. Life it self is not as such a sufficient constituent of Happiness : and the Instance is Evident , because it is possible that Life it self may be Miserable : there may be Life where there is Sickness , Pain , Disgrace , Poverty , and all those External Occurrences that may render life Grievous and Burthensome . Life may indeed be the Subject of Happiness , when it hath all those contributions that concur to make it such ; but Life alone , and as such , cannot be Happiness , because there may be a Miserable Life .

2. Those Bona Corporis or Compositi , the Goods of the Body , are not sufficient to make up a suitable Happiness to the Reasonable Nature ; as Health , Strength ; for the Beasts themselves enjoy this , and for the most part , the Brutes enjoy a greater measure of these than Mankind : and besides still , there is that which is like the Worm at the root of the Gourd , that spoils the Happiness that must arise from it ; viz. Mortality and Death , which will certainly pull down this Tabernacle , and Man hath an unintermitted Pre-apprehension of it , which sowers the very enjoyment it self . And in this as hath been said , the Beasts that perish have a pre-eminence over Mankind ; for though both are Mortal , yet the Beast is not under that Pre-apprehension of it that Man incessantly hath , whereby his Fruition of that Happiness of Health is the more Sincere , and this consideration must run through all those other contributions of Sensible Goods , that hereafter follow . And as for Beauty , the Happiness thereof as it is but fading and empty , so the Felicity that it gives , is not to the party that hath it , but to others , unto whom perchance it may be a delightful and amiable spectacle , but not to him that hath it .

3. There are a secondary sort of Bodily Goods , namely , Pleasures of the Senses , as delightful Meats , Drinks , Sights , Musick , pleasant Odors , and other Gratifications of the Sensitive Appetite ; or Lust , as the Lust of the Flesh , the Lust of Revenge , the Lust of Desire , &c. These cannot make up a competent Happiness to the Humane Nature : 1. They are but Sensible Goods , common to the Beasts as well as Men. 2. Though they may be competent to make up the Happiness of the Sensible Nature , yet they are not such to the Reasonable Nature ; because they are still accompanied with a present concurring Sense of Mortality , which Embitters their very Enjoyment , and renders them insipid , if not bitter . 3. The wiser the Man is , the less he values them , and consequently are at best a Happiness to Fools , and such as degenerate from the Nobleness of the Humane Nature into the degree of Beasts by setting an Over-value upon them . Again . 4. They are transient , and the Happiness of them is only before their Enjoyment ; when they are Enjoyed to Satiety , they lose their Use and Value . 5. These placenta sensus , especially of the Sensual Appetite , are not for their own sakes , but in order to something else , viz. To invite and excite the Appetite in order to the Preservation of the individual , or the species ; and therefore cannot be in themselves in relation to a Reasonable Nature any Happiness , since they terminate in something else .

4. Those Bona Fortunae , as Wealth , Honour , Power , cannot at all pretend to make up a Happiness for the Reasonable Nature ; for though in truth we do not find so eminently , in the animal Nature , any such thing as Wealth or Honour , but only somewhat analogal to it , as in Ants and Bees ; yet these are of a far inferiour nature to the Bona Corporis , whether Health or Pleasure ; for they are in their true Use only in order to them . The primary Corporeal Good is Health , and Conservation of the individual in his being : next to that , and indeed in order to it , are the Refreshments and Supports by Eating and Drinking . Wealth again is Subservient and in order to that , viz. To have a convenient Store and Provision for the supply of the exigencies of Nature and preserving the individual : what is more then Necessary for that , is Superfluous , Vain , and Unnecessary . Power again is only desirable to secure those Provisions from Rapine and Invasion : so that in truth these are so far from making up a Happiness , that they are only Provisional and in Order to those Goods of the Body , which are before shewn incompetent to that End ; and without that respect they are vain and impertinent things . But besides this , there are certain Specifical Defects that accompany these Goods , that render them utterly uncapable of making up a Happiness to Mankind : 1 It is impossible they can be as large as the Humane Nature ; because unless there were some Poor , none could be Rich ; unless some were Under , there could be none in Power ; if all were equal in Wealth and Power , there could be no such thing as Wealth or Power : and consequently the supposition of Happiness in those who are Rich or Powerful , would exclude the greatest part of Mankind from any share in that which must make up their common Happiness . 2. In the fruition of all Wealth , Honour and Power , besides the common fate of Mortality , which imbitters their very Enjoyment , there is annexed a certain peculiar Infelicity that renders them uncapable of making up a Happiness : For , 1. They are the common mark of Covetousness , Envy , Ambition , and Necessity , which most ordinarily render Rich and Powerful , and Great Men less safe than others , and ordinarily they stand tottering dangerously , and subject to fall . 2. There is always Care and Anxiety attending the possessors of Great Honour , Wealth , or Power , which imbitters the very injoyment , and puts it out of the capacity of being a Happiness ; for it is impossible that great Cares and great Fears can consist with true Happiness . And thus far of Sensible Goods .

8. Besides these Sensible Goods there seem to be two sorts of Goods that Mankind is peculiarly capable of , which are not common to the Beasts ; viz. First , The Good of Esteem , Glory and Reputation , wherewith perchance the Beasts are not affected , though some seem to have somewhat analogal to it , but this cannot at all make up a Happiness to the Humane Nature : 1. Because it is not accommodate to all Uses and Exigents : Laudatur & alget . 2. Because it resides not in the party , but in those who give it ; a man may have a great esteem with others and a low esteem of himself . 3. It is of all others the most brittle and unstable possession : those that perchance deservedly give it , may undeservedly resume it : a Word or Action mistaken by others , a false Report , Envy , Emulation , want of success in any one Action : the mis-interpretation of the Superior or the Vulgar , may quite overturn the greatest , and perchance most deserved Reputation , and render a man more despised and contemptible than he was before eminent or esteemed : he that bottoms his Happiness upon such an unstable blast , inherits the wind .

9. But yet there ( are ) certain Bona Animae which are competible to Man , but not to Beasts , which are of two kinds , according to the two great Faculties in Man , his Understanding and Will : viz. Knowledg , and Moral Virtues , and although these are excellent Goods , yet ( exclusively of true and sound Religion ) they cannot make up that Happiness which we may reasonably Judg to be proper and specifical to the Humane Nature : First , Therefore for Knowledg there are these Incompetences in it , in reference to our Happiness : 1. Our Knowledg is very little and narrow in respect of the Object of it : What we know is the least part of what we know not : Though we daily converse with things natural , even with the frame of our own bodies , we scarce know the nature or cause or motion of any one Nerve or Muscle . 2. Even in those things we think we know , our knowledg is very Dark and Uncertain ; and from these ariseth : 3. That our increase in Knowledg is our increase of Sorrow and Trouble : Trouble to attain that little Knowledg we have , and Sorrow in that we can acquire no more : 4. The whole Scheme of Knowledg we attain , for the most part serves only the meridian of our short , unstable , uncertain life : And what kind of Happiness can that be , which while we are attaining , we cannot secure to be of any long or certain continuance , and vanisheth , or proves utterly unuseful when we die ? Of what use will then the knowledg of Municipal Laws , of History , of Natural Philosophy , of Politicks , of Mathematicks , be in the next World , although our Souls Survive us ?

As to the 2. Namely , Moral Virtues : It is true , Aristotle , 1. Ethicor. Cap. 7. Tells us that Happiness or Blessedness is the Exercise or Operation of the Reasonable Soul , according to the best and most perfect Virtue , in vita perfecta , in a perfect Life : But he tells us not what that vita perfecta is , nor where to be found , and yet without it there is no Happiness .

But even this exercise of Virtue ( though much more noble than the bare habit of Virtue , which is but in order to Action or Exercise ) if considered singly and apart , and abstractively from the reward of it , is not enough to constitute a Happiness suitable to the Humane Nature : 1. The Actions of Virtue for the most part respect the good and benefit of others more than of the party that exerciseth them , as Justice , Righteousness , Charity , Liberality , Fortitude ; and principally ( if not only ) Religion , Temperance , Patience , and Contentation , are those Virtues that advantage the party himself ; the rest most respect the good of others . 2. We find it too often true , that most good men have the least share of the comforts and conveniencies of this Life , but are exposed ( many times even upon the account of their very Virtues ) to Poverty , Want , Reproach , Neglect , so that their very Virtues are occasions oftentimes of such Calamities , which must needs abate the perfection of Life , which is a necessary ingredient into Happiness . 3. But if their life be not rendred grievous upon the account of their Virtues , yet they are not thereby priviledged from many Calamities , which render their lives unhappy , and oftentimes renders them uncapable of the exercise of those Virtues , which must make up their Happiness : Poverty disables them from acts of Liberality ; Neglect and Scorn by great Men and Governors renders them uncapable of acts of distributive Justice ; Sickness and tormenting bodily Diseases many times attack them , and render their lives miserable , and many times disables even their very intellectuals ; and to these disasters they are at least equally lyable with others ; and if all these Calamities were absent , yet there are two states of life , which they must necessarily go through if they live , that in a great measure renders them necessarily uncapable of these actions of Virtue , namely , the Passions and Perturbations of Youth , and the decays and infirmities of Old Age. 4. The highest Good attainable by the exercise of Virtue in the party himself is Tranquillity of Mind ; and indeed it is a noble and excellent portion ; but as the case stands with us in this life , ( without a farther prospect to a life to come , ) even such a Tranquillity of mind is not perfectly attainable by us , and hath certain appendances to it , that abate that sincereness of Happiness , that is requirable in it , to compleat the Happiness of the Humane Nature : and these are principally these two : 1. The necessity that we are under ( considering the weakness of our nature ) by our daily failings , Errors , and Sins , to turn aside from the perfect rule of Virtue ; whereby we are under a kind of moral necessity of violating or abating that Tranquillity of mind ; so that it seems in it self morally impossible either fully to attain , or constantly and uniformly to hold that Tranquillity of mind : 2. Still Mortality , Mortality , Death , and the Grave terminates this Felicity , if it only respect this life ; and the fear and pre-apprehension of such a termination sowers and allays even that Felicity , which Tranquillity of mind otherwise offers : This fear and anticipation of death ( as the Apostle says , Heb. 2. ) detains men Captive all the days of their life , and in a great measure breaks that Tranquillity of mind , which is the constituent of this Happiness . Again , though Virtue , and Virtuous actions have had their Elogia by excellent Philosophers , Orators , Poets , and we are told by them , that Si Virtus oculis cerneretur , it would appear the most beautiful thing in the World ; yet it hath had but few followers in respect of the rest of the World ; and possibly would find a much colder entertainment , if the recompence of Reward were not also propounded with it and believed : Therefore there is and must be somewhat else besides bare Platonick Notions of Virtue and naked proposals of it , that must give it a conquest over the satisfaction of our Lusts and Pleasures , especially in the time of our Youth and Strength , and before old age overtake us .

And hence it is , that in all ages wise Rulers and Governors have annexed sensible Rewards and Honours , and such things as have a lively and quick relish with them unto the exercise of Virtue .

And hence it is that the most wise God himself hath not propounded Virtue and Goodness to the children of men singly as its own and only Reward , but hath also promised and really and effectually provided a Recompence of Reward for it , that Happiness which I have been all this while in quest after , and hath made Virtue and Goodness the way , the method to attain that happiness , which is in truth the end of it .

Upon the whole matter I therefore conclude that the Happiness of Mankind is not to be found in this life , but it is a flower that grows in the Garden of Eternity , and to be expected only in its full complement and fruition in that life which is to succeed after our bodily dissolution : that although Peace of Conscience , Tranquillity of mind , and the sense of the favour of God , that we enjoy in this Life , like the bunches of Grapes brought by the Spies from Canaan , are the prelibations and anticipations of our Happiness , yet the complement of our Happiness consists in the Beatifical Vision of the ever blessed God to all Eternity ; where there is a vita perfecta , a perfect life free from Pain , from Sorrow , from Cares , from Fears , vita perfecta , a perfect life of Glory and Immortality , out of the reach or danger of Death , or the loss of that Happiness , which we shall then enjoy in the presence of the ever Glorious God , in whose presence is fulness of Joy , and at whose right hand are Pleasures for evermore , Amen .

OF THE Chief End of Man , what it is , AND The Means to attain it .
Thesis I. The Chief End of Man , is to Glorifie God , and everlastingly to enjoy him .

WHen we come to any reasonable measure of understanding , the first question we propound concerning the actions of our selves or others , is to enquire concerning the End , why this or that is done : and the propounding of an End to what we do , is one thing that gives us Reasonable Creatures a priviledg above the Beasts : And the wiser we grow , the more we enquire after , and propound to our selves more excellent Ends , and of the more concernment .

The End which most concerns us to enquire after , is the end of our Being , why or for what end we were made : for as that is the thing of the greatest moment to us , so the ignorance or mistake therein is of the greatest danger .

Now touching this End of Man , we must know ,

1. That in all wise workers that act by deliberation and choice , the appointment of the end of any work belongs to him that makes it .

2. In as much therefore as Mankind is in its Original the workmanship of God , therefore it belongs to him to appoint the end of his own workmanship ; and of him it must be inquired .

3. That in as much as God is the wisest worker , and in as much as Mankind is a piece of excellent workmanship , it becomes the Wisdom of God , as to appoint man to an end of his own designing , so to appoint him to an end answerable to the excellency of the work , an end as much above other creatures , as man exceeds them in worth and excellency .

So that certainly Man is ordained by God to an End , and to an excellent End , beyond the condition of other inferior Creatures ; for we see them all appointed for the use and service of Man , to feed and cloath and heal and delight him .

What therefore is common to the Beasts as well as Man , cannot be the End of Man . The Beasts Eat , and Drink , and Live , and Propagate their kind with as much delight , and much more contentment than Man ; they are free from Cares and from Fears , which Man is not , and though they die , so doth Man also ; therefore to live , and eat , and drink , and perpetuate their kind is too low an End for Man . And if so , then much more is it below him to make Wealth , and Honor , and Power his End : For they are but in order to his temporal life here , either to provide for it , or to secure it : And besides that , they cannot answer the desires and continuance of an Immortal Soul , which Man bears with him : And hence grows the Weariness , and Vexation , and Unquietness , and Restlesness of Man , in the midst of all Wealth , and Honors , and Pleasures , therefore there is some other End , to which Man was appointed . Which is , 1. In reference to God , to glorifie him . 2. In reference to Man ; an everlasting injoyment of God .

1. To glorifie God , two things are considerable .

1. What it is for Man to glorifie God .

1. There is a Glorifying of God , common to all the Works of God , in as much as they all bear in them the visible footsteps of the Power , Wisdom , and Goodness of God . Thus the Sun and Heavens glorifie God , Psa. 19.2 . There is a glorifying of God properly belonging to Intellectual Creatures , Angels , and Men.

1. In his Understanding , whereby he learns to know God in his Word , and in his Works , his Power , Goodness , Wisdom , and Truth ; and with his heart admires , and with his tongue praiseth him .

2. In his Will ; whereby he submits to him , Worships , Fears him , and in the course of his life Obeys him ; whereby he acknowledgeth his Soveraignty , and submits to it , Psal. 50.23 . He that offereth Praise , glorifieth him , and to him that orders his conversation aright , will I shew the Salvation of God . Both these are imperfectly done here , but shall be perfectly done in the life to come .

2. Why the Glorifying of God is made the Chief End of Man .

1. It is the Chief End that God proposed in all his Works of Creation . Prov. 16.4 . He made all things for himself ; that is , his own Glory : In his Works of Preservation and Providence , Psal. 50.15 . Call upon me in the day of trouble , I will deliver thee , and thou shalt glorifie me . In his Work of Redemption , Ephes. 1.6 . To the praise of the glory of his Grace , whereby he hath made us accepted in the beloved . In his Work of Sanctification , Matth. 5.16 . That Men seeing your good Works , may glorifie your Father who is in Heaven .

2. It is but just it should be the Chief End of Man to glorifie God ; because it is a most Reasonable Tribute to pay to him , for all his Mercies and Goodness : From him we receive our Being , and all the Blessings of it , and it is but just for God to require , and for Man to perform , the due acknowledgment of the Goodness of that God , from whom he receives them , which is his Glorifying of God .

2. To injoy God for ever .

1. Two things are to be explained . 1. What it is to injoy God . 2. Why this is part of the Chief End of Man ?

1. To injoy God , is either , 1. In this Life , which is to have Peace with God , Assurance of Reconciliation with him ; for then we have Peace with our selves , Contentment and Quietness of Soul , Access to him as to our Father for all we want , and Hope and Assurance of Everlasting Life , which will make the Comforts of our Life safe , and the Afflictions thereof easie , and the End and Dissolution thereof Comfortable . 2. In the life to come , the fulness of fruition of the Knowledge , Goodness , Glory , and Presence of God , according to the uttermost measure and capacity of our faculties , which in the Resurrection shall be great and capacious ; and this is called the Beatifical Vision .

2. Why this is part of the Chief End of Man ? Because this is the Happiness and Blessedness of Man to injoy God ; and nothing besides can make him Happy , which appears , 1. in all other injoyments , without the injoyment of God , there is a great deal of Vanity and emptiness , whether in Pleasures , or Profits , or worldly Advantages : Men expect great matters from them , but after a little injoyment of them , they are weary and find themselves disappointed , and that there is not that comfort in them that they expected ; and then they travel to some other worldly injoyment , and there they find the like . This therefore cannot afford Man his Happiness .

2. In all other injoyments without God , there is a great deal of Vexation and Trouble ; The Cares , and Fears , and Sorrows , and Disappointments , that we meet with in the injoyment of them , doth out weigh all the Contentment and Benefit that we receive in them ; and therefore this cannot be our Happiness .

3. All other injoyments without God have their End and Term : Sometimes we over live them ; the Pleasures and Contentments of youth leave us when we are old : And sometimes we see our Riches , our Health , our Earthly Comforts taken from us ; but , if not , yet when we die , we leave them ; and yet our Souls continue after death ; and our Bodies and Souls continue after our Resurrection for ever . The injoyments therefore of this Life , cannot be our Happiness ; but that Happiness which continues as long as we continue ; which is the injoyment of the Favor , Love , and Presence of God for ever .

Now put both together . The Glorifying of God , and the injoyment of him for ever , is the Happiness and Blessedness of Man , the Chief End for which he was made . Such is the Goodness and Bounty of God , that he doth not only injoyn Man his Duty to Glorifie him , but also joyns with it Mans Happiness to injoy him for ever : He that observes the former , shall be sure not to miss of the latter : In the same path and tract which leads us to Glorifie God , which is our Duty , we are sure to meet with our injoyment of him , which is our everlasting Happiness and Blessedness : And the business of the true Religion revealed in the Scriptures , is to lead us to that Duty , and to that Happiness which is the Chief End of Man : He that wants this , will be miserable in the midst of all worldly Enjoyments ; and he that attains this , his Comforts here shall be blessed , his Crosses Sanctified , and his Death a gate to let him into a most Blessed and Glorious and Everlasting Life .

Thesis II. The Scriptures of both Testaments are the only perfect Rule for Mans attaining his Chief End .

This is the End , why Man was made , and which he ought principally to attend and look after ; but because to the attaining of the End , it is necessary that the due means of attaining thereof , be known and used : And because , as Almighty God , the Maker of Man , is he that alone must design the End of his own Work , so likewise it belongs to him alone to chuse and appoint and order the means belonging to that end ; therefore , as he is not wanting to us in appointing a Fit and Blessed End to Mankind , so neither is he wanting in designing and discovering unto Mankind the Means for attaining to that End .

This means is called a Rule , a fixed and setled direction , teaching and shewing us what is to be known , and what to be done and avoided , in order to that end , Beasts follow instincts of Nature in their actions : But Man , that is indued with higher faculties , and ordered to a better End , is to be directed to that End by a Rule given by that God , who hath appointed his End . This Rule therefore that must guide Man to his great End of his Creation , requires

1. That it be a Rule given by God himself : For as he appoints the End of Mankind , so he alone must appoint the Means of attaining it ; and therefore the discovery thereof must come from him .

2. That it be a certain Rule , in respect of the great consequence that depends upon it , Mans everlasting Happiness .

3. That it be a fixed and setled Rule ; for Mankind is apt to straggle and wander , full of vain imaginations , which , were not the Rule fixed and stable , would corrupt and disorder it .

4. A plain and easie Rule ; because it concerns all Men , as well the unlearned and weak , as the wise and learned ; their concernment is equal , and therefore the Rule , that tends to that common concernment , is fit to be plain and familiar .

Since it is necessary therefore that there should be a Rule , and such a Rule , we are to consider whether God hath afforded such a Rule , and what it is , which is set down in these three particulars .

1. That God hath given his own Word to be this Rule .

2. That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament , are that Word of God .

3. That those Scriptures are the Rule , and the only Rule , whereby Man may attain his Chief End .

1. That God hath given us his own Word to be this Rule . And this , as before appears , was necessary that the Direction to our Chief End should come from God .

2. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Word of God .

Herein is to be observed . 1. What those Scriptures are They are the Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament , excluding the Books commonly called Apocrypha . These were written in several Ages by holy Men inspired with the Spirit of God . 2 Tim. 3.16 . Some parts thereof , as the Five Books of Moses above Three thousand five hundred years since ; and that of the New Testament above One thousand six hundred years since . And Almighty God , who hath had a most special care of the Everlasting Good of Mankind , hath by a wonderful Providence hitherto preserved them uncorrupted , and hath dispersed them over all Nations in their several Languages , that as the common Salvation concerned all Men , so the means of attaining it , might be likewise common to all Men.

2. Why the Divine Providence hath ordered it to be put into Writing ? It is true , in the first Ages of the World , till the time of Moses , which was near Three thousand five hundred years , the Will of God was not put into writing , but was delivered over by word of mouth , from Father to Son . And this was the direction that Men had to know and to obey God . 1. Because in those ancient Ages of the World , Men lived long : For Adam , the first Man , lived above Twenty years after Methusalem , the eighth from Adam , was born ; and Methusalem lived almost an hundred years after Sem was born ; and Sem lived above sixty years after Isaac was born . So that in these three Men , Adam , Methusalem , and Sem , all the Truths of God for above Two thousand years were preserved and delivered over . 2. Because the select Churhes of God were preserved in Families , and were not National ; and so the knowledge of the true God kept in a smaller compass .

But when after the Ages of Men were shorter , and when the Church of God grew to be National , as it was after the Jews came out of Egypt , then God himself wrote his Law in Tables of Stone , and Moses wrote his Five Books : And then , and from that time forward , the Sacred Histories and Prophesies under the Old Testament , and the Gospel , and other parts of the New Testament was committed to Writing , for these Reasons principally .

1. That they might be the better preserved from being lost or forgotten .

2. That they might be the better preserved from being corrupted : For that which is delivered only by word of Mouth , is many times varied and changed in the second or third hand .

3. That it might be the better dispersed and communicated to all Mankind . And this was done in the Old Testament , by Translations of it into Greek , about two hundred years before Christ , and dispersing it into a great part of the World : And after Christs time , both the Old and New Testament Translated into several Languages , and since dispersed over the World ; which could not have been so well done , had it not been at first in Writing .

Thus the Wisdom and Providence of God provides for the exigence of all times most wisely and excellently : And having preserved part of this precious Jewel , the Old Testament , for the most part , within the Commonwealth of the Jews , till it was broken , about the time of Christ , by the Romans , hath now delivered both to all Mankind .

3. It is to be inquired , Which the Author hath elswhere more largely considered . What evidence we have to prove those Writings to be the Word of God . And omiting many others , we insist upon these principally .

1. In the Writings of Men , especially when written by several Men at several times , their Writings do seldom or never agree , but differ and cross one another . And the reason is , because they are written by several Men , who are all guided by several Minds and Judgments . But the Scriptures , though written by several Men in several Ages , many unacquainted with one anothers Writings , yet they all consent and speak the same Truth ; which is an evidence that it was One and the same Spirit that did dictate them .

2. It is not possible for any Man , without Revelation from God , to foretel things to come . Now these holy Writings foretold things that most certainly came to pass in their several seasons , though many Generations after the Prophesie written ; therefore they were written by Inspiration from God . As for instance , the Babylonian Captivity , and the Deliverance from it , by Jeremy ; the Persian and Grecian Monarchy , by Daniel ; the Birth and Death of Christ ; the final destruction of Jerusalem , and Dispersion of the Jews ; the Conversion of the Gentiles , by Isaiah , and the rest of the Prophets .

3. The Matter contained in these holy Writings is that of the greatest importance ; the Will of God concerning Man , the discovery of the Creation of the World by God ; of assurance of the Life to come ; of the means of Peace between God and Man . These are things of the highest concernment in the World , yet things which could never be discovered but by God himself ; and such as never any writings of Men only , ever could discover , or durst pretend unto : The height , and rarity , and excellence , and weight of the matter of these Books do evidence , that they were the Revelations of God to Man , and by his Providence committed to writing and delivered over to Mankind , as the Rule to attain their Chief End .

3. As the Rule to attain our Chief End must come from God ; and as the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Word of God ; so we say , That these Scriptures are the Rule , and the only Rule to attain our Chief End . Good Books of other Men , good Education , good Sermons , the determinations of the Church are good helps ; but there is no other Rule but this . It is by this Rule we must try other Mens Books and Sermons , yea , the very Church it self . Thus the Bereans tried the Doctrine of the Apostles themselves , by the Scriptures which they then had , and are commended for it . Acts 17.11 . And Peter prefers the evidence of the Scriptures before a voice from Heaven . 2 Pet. 1.18 , 19. And Christ himself appeals to the Scriptures to justifie himself and his Doctrine . Joh. 6.39 . And if the Scriptures be the only Rule ,

1. Then not a Natural Conscience , especially as the case now stands with Mankind ; for that is many times corrupted and false principled , puts good for evil , and evil for good : It is , and may be a great help , guide , and direction , not a perfect Rule .

2. Then not the Writings and Traditions of Men : God that appoints the End , and Means must be the discoverer of the Means of our Salvation .

3. Then not pretended Revelations ; those may be Mens imaginations , or the Devils delusions ; to prevent and discover which , God hath set up this great and standing Revelation of his Scriptures .

4. Then not the Church , for that may err , and it hath no way to evidence it self but by the Scriptures , which are its Foundation .

The business of Mans Salvation is of that importance , and the Wisdom of God so great , that he will not commit so weighty a matter to such uncertain Rules as these , but hath provided one of his own making , the Holy Scriptures .

Thesis III. The Principal Subject of the Scriptures is what Man is to believe concerning God , and what duty God requires of Man .

It is the Principal Subject of the Scriptures . 1. Because it is of the greatest importance and concernment . Eccles. 12.13 . Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter , Fear God and keep his Commandments , for this is the whole duty of Man . Fear God , which cannot be without the knowledge of him , and keep his Commandments , which contains his duty of Obedience to him . 2. Because all the other Matters of the Scriptures have a kind of dependance upon , and connexion with this Principal Matter or Subject .

But though this be the Principal Matter or Subject of the Scriptures , yet they also contain very many other matters , that do very much concern us to know and believe ; as namely , What we are to understand concerning our selves , the State of our Creation , the Fall of Man , the State wherein that Fall hath put all Mankind , the means of our recovery , the Immortality of the Soul , the Resurrection , the different estate of the good and bad after death , the History of the Church and Houshold of God , from the Creation of Man , till some thirty years after the Resurrection of Christ , and divers other and necessary Matters to be known both for our direction , instruction , and comfort .

And as the Scriptures do principally teach the Knowledge of Good , and our duty , as the principal Subject , so they do principally teach it above other teachings or means . It is true , that the very Light of Nature doth teach us much of what is to be known concerning God and our duty to him : As namely , that there is a God , and that there is but one God ; that this God is the first Cause , and also the preserver of all things , That he is Eternal , without beginning or end , Infinite , Spiritual without mixture , most Perfect ; and therefore most free , most Powerful , most Holy , most Wise , most Just , most Bountiful and Merciful . And upon all these Grounds , the Light of Nature teacheth that he is to be Honored , to be Feared , to be Worshipped , to be Obeyed . This the Apostle shews us , Rom. 1.20 . For the Invisible things of him from the Creation of the World are clearly seen , being understood by the things that are made , even his eternal Power and Godhead , so that they are without excuse . And this light of Nature gives this Manifestation of God , 1. By the Works of Creation and Providence . 2. By the Workings of the Conscience . 3. By a Traditional delivery over of some truths from man to man , which by the study and pains of some wise men and Law-givers , raised up by the Providence of God , have been perfected and delivered over to others .

But the Preheminence of the Scriptures in their instruction of Mankind in the Knowledge of God , and his duty to God , appears partly in these considerations .

1. The knowledge the Scriptures give in these things , is more easie to be attained ; because it sets down these truths plainly , that the most ordinary capacity may understand : Whereas the knowledge of these things by the Light of Nature , is more difficult , requires much observation and industry , and attention , deducing and drawing down one thing from another , and so arriving at their knowledge by much pains and study .

2. The knowledge of these things delivered by the Scripture is much more full and perfect , than that knowledge which can be attained by the Light of Nature ; as appears in these two respects . 1. Those things concerning God , that the Light of Nature doth in some measure discover , are more fully , compleatly and clearly discovered by the Light of the Scriptures . 2. The Scriptures do discover those things concerning God , and his Works , and our selves , that were never discovered , nor indeed discoverable , by the Light of Nature , which as they are of greatest importance to be known ; so being discovered by the Scriptures , they do wonderfully clear and satisfie the defects of the Light of Nature . As for instance in both kinds ; the Light of Nature discovers that there is a God ; but the manner of his subsistence in Three Persons , yet in Unity of Essence , is only learned by the Scriptures . The Light of Nature discovers , that he is the first Cause and Preserver of all things ; but the manner how all things were produced , and when , is only learned by the Scriptures . The Light of Nature tells us , that this God is to be worshipped and obeyed ; but in what manner he is to be worshipped , and the particulars of his commands wherein he is to be obeyed , it discoves not , or , at least , very darkly : The Scriptures only shew us clearly the manner of his worship , and the certain Rule of our Obedience . The Light of Nature shews us , that there is a great defection and disorder in our Natures ; but whence it did arise , or how it is to be helped , the Scripture only teacheth . The Light of Nature shews us , that all Sin is an offence against the Purity , Justice , and Will of God , and therefore deserves his anger and displeasure ; but how the guilt of Sin may be done away , and the favor of God again procured , is not within the reach of the Light of Nature to discover , but is only learned from the Scriptures . The Light of Nature teacheth , that surely there is a Reward for the Righteous , and a punishment of the obstinate sinner ; but how it shall be inflicted , and when , and how Mankind should be put into a capacity of receiving Rewards or Punishments by Resurrection from the Dead , the Light of Nature discovers not , or , at least , but darkly and diffidently and confusedly ; the Light of the Scriptures only discovers all plainly , clearly , and evidently . These and divers other Truths are discovered in the Scriptures , which the Light of Nature , either not at all , or if at all , yet but darkly pointeth at .

3. The Light of Nature is very uncertain and easily corrupted , either by lusts , or weakness , or variety of Imaginations . And from hence grew all the false gods , false worships , idolatries , and supersititions , among the Heathen that were only led by the Light of Nature , changing the Truth of God into a lie , and changing the Glory of the Incorruptible God into an Image made like to a corruptible man . Rom. 1.23 , 25. But the Light of the Scriptures is an unchangeable , stable , fixed Light , not adulterated , nor to be corrupted , but though Mens imaginations and fancies , be as unstable as the Waters , and thereby corrupt and pervert themselves , yet the Light of the Scriptures continue firm and stable , unchangeable in the successions of thousands of generations .

Now the things that the Scriptures thus principally teach , are two , in order to the two great Powers , or Faculties of Man . 1. In order to his Understanding , what is to be believed , and to be believed principally touching God . 2. In order to his Will , or practical faculty , What God requires to be done .

As touching the former , What is to be believed ? Believing , and knowledge , and opinion , differ in this .

1. Knowledge is that whereby we certainly know any thing to be , or nor to be by our Senses , or Reason , or Experience .

2. Opinion is a doubtful uncertain Perswasion of mind that any thing is , or is not ; yet not without a mixture of doubting or distrust .

3. Belief is a certain perswasion of the truth of any thing upon the Credit and Authority of another . Now if we be assured , that whatsoever God saith , is most certainly true , ( as needs it must be , because Truth is an essential Attribute of God , ) and if we be perswaded surely , that these Scriptures are the Word of God , then of necessity we must believe whatsoever Almighty God in the Scriptures reveals : And this is Belief . So that the very same Truth that may be known by Reason or Observation , may likewise be believed as revealed in the Word of God . Though many things are to be believed , because revealed in the Scriptures , which cannot be fully demonstrated by Reason . Thus though it be partly evident to Reason that God made the World , and so is the object of our knowledge ; yet the same Truth , as revealed in the Scriptures , is to be believed , and so is the object of our Faith . Heb. 11.3 . Through Faith we understand that the Worlds were framed by the Word of God ; that is , We do acknowledge and subscribe unto it as true , because God in the Scriptures , which are his Word , hath revealed and discovered it unto us .

And as touching things to be done , the duty God requires of us , here is the difference between the performance of duties , by a Man believing the Scriptures , and another Man . A Believer doth a good work , ( for example , a Work of Mercy ) and a Heathen , or another Moral Man , doth the same work ; and yet though the work be , for the matter , the same , they very much differ in the value : The Believer understands by the Word of God , that it is a duty injoyned him of God , to be merciful , as our Father who is in Heaven is merciful ; he believes it to be the command of God , and he doth it in obedience to that command , and so it is accepted of God ; but another Man many times doth it , or may do it not upon the same account , but it may be meerly upon the inclination of his natural temper , or for vain-glory ; and so it is not so much an act of obedience to God , as love to himself . And therefore in the former , it is the Obedience of Faith , in the latter , an Action of Nature .

ECCLES. XII . 1. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth , while the evil days come not , nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say , I have no pleasure in them .

TWo things are principally commended to us in this Text. 1. A Duty injoyned , to remember our Creator . 2. The principal Season of that Duty , The days of our Youth . Which Season is recommended for this duty by way of preference above the evil days ; not as if the Remembring our Creator were unseasonable at any time , but because the time of our Youth is more seasonable than that Evil time , or those Evil days , wherein we shall say , We have no pleasure in them .

1. The Duty injoyned , is to Remember our Creator , which imports two things . 1. To know our Creator ; for we cannot remember what we have not some knowledge of . 2. To Remember him , often to call him to mind .

1. The former part of this Duty is to Know our Creator . This is that which aged David commended to his young Son Solomon . 1 Chron. 28.9 . And thou Solomon , my Son , Know thou the God of thy Father . And we have Two excellent Books , wherein the Knowledge of God is discovered to us ; the Book of his Works , the Works of his Creation and Providence ; and the Book of his Word , contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament , wherein he is more fully , and explicitly , and plainly discovered unto us : These Books we are often to read and consider . And this is the chief reason , why Understanding and Reason is given unto Mankind , and not unto the Beasts that perish , namely , that we might improve it to the attaining of the Knowledge of Almighty God , in the due consideration of the Works and Word of God ; and hereby we learn his Eternity , his Infiniteness , his Wisdom , his Power , his Goodness , his Justice , his Mercy , his Alsufficiency , his Soveraignty , his Providence , his Will , his Purpose concerning Mankind , his Care of them , his Beneficence towards them . And the Nature of this Knowledge is not barely Speculative , but it is a knowledge that is Operative ; that perfects our Nature ; that conforms it to the Image of that God we thus know ; that sets Mankind in its due state and station ; keeps it in its just subordination unto the God we thus know , which is our greatest Perfection . This Knowledge must necessarily make us love him , because he is Good , Merciful , Bountiful , Beneficent ; and therefore the Wise man chuseth to express him by that Title of Creator , from whom we receive our very Being , and all the good that can accompany it . This Knowledge teacheth us to be thankful unto him , as our Greatest Benefactor ; to depend upon him , because of his Power and Goodness ; to fear him , because of his Power and Justice ; to obey him , because of his Power , Justice and Soveraignty ; to walk before him in Sincerity , because of his Power , Justice , and Wisdom . In sum , the several Attributes of Almighty God do strike upon the choicest parts , and faculties , and affections , and tendencies of our Hearts and Souls , and do tune them into that order and harmony that is best suitable to the perfecting of our Nature , and the placing of them in a right and just posture , both in relation to Almighty God , our selves , and others .

2. The second part of our Duty is , To Remember our Creator thus known ; which is to have the Sense and Exercise of this Knowledge always about us ; to set Almighty God always before our eyes , frequently to think of him , to make our application to him : For many there are that may have a knowledge of God , but yet the exercise of that knowledge is suspended ; sometimes by Inadvertence and Inconsiderateness ; sometimes by a wilful Abdication of the exercise of that Knowledge . And these are such as forget God , that have not God in all their thoughts , that say to the Almighty , Depart from us , we desire not the knowledge of thy ways .

The Benefits of this Remembring our Creator , are very great : 1. It keeps the Soul and Life in a constant , and true , and regular frame . As the want of the Knowledge , so the want of the Remembrance of God , is the cause of that disorder and irregularity of our minds and lives . 2. And consequently the best Preventive of Sin , and Apostacy , and Backsliding from God and our Duty to him . 3. It keeps the Mind and Soul full of constant Peace and Tranquillity ; because it maintains a constant , humble , and comfortable converse of the Soul , with the Presence and Favor of God . 4. It renders all conditions of life comfortable , and full of contentment ; because it keeps the Soul in the presence of God , and communicates unto it continual Influxes of Contentment and Comfort ; for what can disturb him , who , by the continual Remembrance of his Creator , hath the constant acquaintance with his Power , Goodness , and Alsufficiency ? 5. Though no Man hath ground enough to promise to himself an Immunity from Temporal Calamities , yet certainly there is no better expedient in the World to secure a Man against them , and preserve him from them than this : For , the most part of those sharp Afflictions that befal Men , are but to make them Remember their Creator when they have forgotten him , that he may open their ears to Discipline , and awake them to Remember their Creator , Read Job 33. A Man that keeps about him the Remembrance of his Creator , prevents in a great measure the necessity of that severe Discipline . 6. In short this Remembrance of our Creator is an Antidote against the Allurements of the World ; the Temptations of Satan ; the deceitfulness of Sin . It renders the best things the World can afford inconsiderable , in comparison of him , whom we remember ; it renders the worst the World can do , but little and contemptible ; so long as we Remember our Creator , it makes our lives happy , our deaths easie , and carries us to an everlasting Injoyment of that Creator , whom we have here remembred .

The Injunction of the Duty of Remembring our Creator , is the more importantly necessary . 1. In regard of the great consequence of the benefit we receive from it , as before . 2. In regard of the great danger of omitting it . The truth is , the greatest part of the miscarriages of our lives , are occasioned by the want of the remembrance of our Creator ; then it is that we fail in our Duty , when we forget him . 3. In regard of the many Temptations this World affords to make us forget our Creator ; the Pleasures , and Profits , and Recreations , and Preferments , and Noise , and Business of this Life ; yea , many of them , which are in themselves , and in their Nature lawful , are apt to ingross our Thoughts , our Time , our Cares , and to leave too little room in our memory for this great Duty that most deserves it , namely , The Remembrance of our Creator . Our memory is a noble Cabinet , and there cannot be a more excellent Jewel to lodge in ( it ) than our Great and Bountiful Creator ; yet for the most part we fill this noble Cabinet with pebles and straws , if not with dung and filth ; with either sinful , or , at least , with Unprofitable , Impertinent , Trifling Furniture .

2. The Season for this Duty , that is here principally commended , is , The days of our Youth . And the Reasons that commend that Season for this Duty are principally these :

1. Because this is the most Accepted Time . God Almighty was pleased under the Old Law to intimate this , in ( the ) reservation to himself of the first fruits , and the first born . And surely , the first fruits of our Lives , when dedicated to his remembrance , are best accepted to him .

2. Because this Season is commonly our Turning Season to Good or Evil. And if in Youth we forget our Creator , it is very great difficulty to resume our Duty : Commonly it requires either very extraordinary Grace , or very strong Affliction , to reclaim a Man to his Duty , whose Youth hath been seasoned with ill Principles , and the Forgetfulness of God .

3. Because the time of Youth is most Obnoxious to forget God ; there is great Inadvertency and Inconsiderateness , Incogitancy , Unstableness , Vanity , Love of Pleasures , Easiness to be corrupted in Youth ; and therefore necessary in this season to lodge the Remembrance of our Creator in our Youth , to be an Antidote against these defects , to establish and fix the entrance of our lives with this great Preservative , the Remembrance of our Creator .

4. When Almighty God lays hold of our Youth , by a timely Remembrance of himself , and thereby takes the first possession of our Souls , commonly it keeps its ground , and seasons the whole course of our ensuing Lives ; it prevents and anticipates the Devil and the World . It is true , it may possibly be , that Natural Corruption and Worldly Temptations may suspend the actings of this Principle , but it is rarely extinguished : It is like that abiding seed remaining in him : spoken of by John . 1 Joh. 3.9 . Which will recover him again .

5. The last reason is because there are Evil Days that will certainly come , which will render this work of Remembring our Creator difficult to be first begun : and therefore it is the greatest Prudence imaginable to lay in this stock , before they come , for it will certainly stand us in great stead when they come . It is the greatest Imprudence in the World to defer that business , which is necessary to be done , unto such a time , wherein it is very difficult to be done : and it is the greatest Prudence in the World to do that work , which must be done , in such a season wherein it may be easily and safely done . He that lays in this store of Remembrance of his Creator before the Evil Day come , will find it of the greatest use and service to him in that Evil Day .

Now those Evil Days are many , and all of them befall some , but some of them will certainly befall all Mankind .

1. An Evil Day of Publick or Private Calamities . He that beforehand hath laid in this stock of Remembring his Creator , will be easily able to bear any Calamity when it comes ; but a man , that hath not done this before hand , will find it a very unseanable time to begin to set about it , when Fear , and Anguish , and Perplexity , and Storms , and Confusion are round about him , and take up all his thoughts .

2. The Evil Day of Sickness is an unseasonable time , or at least a very difficult time , to begin such a business . When Sickness , and Pain , and Disorder , and uneasiness shall render a man Impatient and full of Trouble , and his Thoughts full of Disorder , and Discomposure , and Waywardness , then it will be found a difficult business to begin the Remembrance of our Creator . It is true , no time is utterly unacceptable of God for this work , but surely it is best to begin before this Evil day come , for then it will be a comfort and mitigate the Pains and Discomposure of Sickness , when a man can thus reflect upon his life past , as Hezekiah did in his Sickness ; Remember , O Lord , that I have not failed to remember my Creator in the days of my Health .

3. The evil Day of Old and Infirm Age , which is a Disease and burthen of it self , and yet is ever accompanied with other Sicknesses , Pains and Diseases , and a Natural frowardness , and Morosity , and Discontentedness of mind , and therefore not so seasonable to begin the undertaking of this work as the flourishing Youth . And indeed , a man cannot reasonably expect that the Great God , who invites the Remembring our Creator in the Days of our Youth , and hath been ungratefully denied , should accept the Dreggs of our Age for a Sacrifice , when we have neglected the thoughts of him in our strong and flourishing age . But on the other side , that man , that hath spent the time of his Youth and Strength in the remembrance of his Creator , may with comfort and contentment , in his old and feeble age , reflect upon his past life with Hezekiah , Remember , O Lord , I pray thee , that I have not failed to remember thee in the days of my Youth and Strength , and I pray thee accept of the endeavours of my Old Decayed Age to preserve that Remembrance of thee , which I so early began , and have constantly continued , and pardon the defects , that the natural decays of my strength and age have occasioned in that duty .

4. The evil day of Death : when my Soul fits hovering upon my lips and is ready to take its flight , when all the World cannot give my Life any certain truce for a day , or for an hour , and I am under the cold embraces of Death , then to begin to remember my Creator is a difficult and unseasonable time : But when I have began that business early , and held on the Remembrance of my Creator , it will be a Cordial even against Death it self , and will carry my Soul unto the Presence of that God , which I have thus remembred in and from the days of my Youth , with Triumph and Rejoycing .

Briefly therefore :

1. Remember thy Creator in the days of thy Youth ; because thou knowest not whether thou shalt have any other Season to Remember him : Death may overtake thee , and lay thee in the Land of Forgetfulness : thy Spring may be thy Autumn , and thy early bud may be the only fruit that Mortality may afford thee .

2. Remember thy Creator in the days of thy Youth ; because it is a time of Invitation : neglect not this Season , because thou knowest not whether ever thou shalt be again invited to it .

Remember thy Creator in the days of thy Youth , that thy Creator may remember thee , in the days of thy Sickness , and Old Age , and in the Evil Day .

4. Remember thy Creator in the days of thy Youth , lest thy Creator neglect thee in the Evil Day . Neglected Favours , especially from thy God , may justly provoke him never to lend thee more ; Because I called , and ye refused , I also will laugh at your Calamity , and mock when your Fear cometh . Prov. 1.24 , 26.

5. Remember thy Creator in the days of thy Youth , because it will heal the Evil of Evil days , when they come ; it will turn those days , that are in themselves Evil , to become days of Ease and Comfort ; it will heal the Evil of the day of Affliction , of Sickness , of Old Age , and of Death it self , and make it a passage into a better , a more abiding Life .

OF THE Vncleanness of the Heart , and how it is Cleansed . Psal. 51.10 . Cor mundum crea in me Deus .

THis Prayer imports , or leads us into the Consideration of these things : 1. What the condition of every mans Heart is by Nature : It is a foul and unclean Heart . 2. Wherein consists this uncleanness of the Heart . 3. What is the ground or cause of this uncleanness of the Heart . 4. Whence it is that the condition of the Heart is changed : It is an act of Divine Omnipotence . 5. What is the condition of a Heart thus cleansed , or wherein the cleanness of the Heart consists .

I. If the Heart must be created a new , before it can be a clean Heart ; Certainly , before it is thus new formed , is is an Impure and unclean Heart . And this , that is here implyed , is frequently in the Scriptures directly affirmed : Gen. 7.5 . The imagination of the thoughts of the Heart of Man is only Evil continually : Jer. 17.9 . The Heart is deceitful above all things , and desperately wicked , who can know it ? Mark 7.21 . Out of the Heart proceed evil Thoughts , Adulteries , &c. And indeed all the Evils that are in the World , are but evidences of the Impurity of the Heart , that unclean Fountain and Original of them .

II. Concerning the second ; wherein the Vncleanness of the Heart consists . The Heart is indeed the Crasis , or Collection of all the Powers of the Soul in the full extent of it ; and therefore takes in not only the Will and Affections , but the Understanding and Conscience , and accordingly hath its Denomination proper to those several faculties , as a Wise Heart , a Foolish Heart , a Believing Heart , an Unbelieving Heart , an Hard Heart , a Soft Heart , and the like . But answerable to the propriety of the Epithete , Clean or Unclean , it principally concerns the Heart under the notion of Will or Desire , and the Consequents that are thereupon ; and consequently according to the propriety of Application ; a Clean Heart is such a Heart as hath Clean Desires and Affections ; an unclean Heart is that which hath unclean and impure Desires , a Heart full of evil Concupiscence . And because the Cleanness or Uncleanness of the Desires are denominated from their Objects , and not from the Affections or Desires themselves , which are diversified according to their Objects ; Hence it is that a Heart , that fixeth her Desires upon pure and clean Objects , is said in that act to be a Clean Heart , and that which fixeth its Desires upon Unclean or Impure Objects is an Unclean Heart in that Act : Therefore , before we can determine what an Unclean Heart is , it is necessary to know what are Vnclean Objects , the tendency of the Desires of the Heart whereunto doth denominate an Unclean Heart . Generally whatsoever is a thing prohibited by the Command of GOd , carries in it an Immundities , an Impurity and Uncleanness in it : But that is not the Uncleanness principally intended ; it is more Large and Spacious than the intent of the Text bears : But there are certain Lusts and Impure or Immoderate Propensions in our Natures after certain Objects , which come under the name of Vnclean Lusts ; and those are of two kinds : the Lusts of the Mind , and the Lusts of the Flesh : for so they are called and distinguished by the Apostle . The Lusts of the Mind are such as have their Activity principally in the Mind , though they may have their Improvements by the Crasis and Constitution of the Body : as the Lusts of Envy , Revenge , Hatred , Pride , Vain-glory. These are more Spiritual Lusts ; and therefore though they are more Devillish , yet they are not properly so Unclean , as those we after mention . The Lusts of the Flesh are such Lusts , as arise from our sensual Appetites after sensual Objects ; as the Lusts after Meats , Drink , and Carnal Pleasures . And though these Objects are not in themselves sinful , nor consequently the Appetites of them unlawful , ( for they are planted in our Natures , by the Wise and Pure God of Nature , to most necessary and excellent Ends ; for the Preservation of our selves and our Kind ; ) yet they do accidently become Impurities and Uncleanness to us , when inordinately Affected or Acted . And these are those Vnclean Objects , the Desires whereof do denominate an Vnclean Heart ; but principally the Latter , the Lust of Carnal Concupiscence , called by the Scriptures in an eminent manner the Lust of the Flesh , 1 John 2.16 . Fleshly Lusts , that fight against the Soul , 1 Pet. 2.11 . Walking after the Flesh in the Lusts of Vncleanness , 2 Pet. 2.10 . Perchance bearing some Analogy to those Legal Uncleannesses in the Levitical Law , especially to those of Levit. 15. Even the very natural Infirmities ; nay , those that are not only tolerated , but allowed , carry in them a kind of Impurity and Uncleanness . And hence grow those many Legal Impurities which disabled the Jews from coming into the Camp or Tabernacle till they were Purified , as that of Leprosie , touching of dead bodies , unclean issues , uncleanness after Child-birth , uncleanness of natural Commixtions , Lev. 15.18 . Exodus 19.15 . The uncleanness of natural Secessions , Deut. 23.13 , 14. The washings of Aaron and his Sons , Exod. 30.20 . All which are but Emblems of the Impurity of the Heart , and of the great Care that is to be used in the keeping of it Clean : and the Reason is Morally and Excellently given , Deut. 23.14 . For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of the Camp , to deliver thee , and to give up thine Enemies before thee : therefore shall thy Camp be Holy , that he see no Vnclean thing in thee , and turn away from thee . The Conclusion therefore is , that this Carnal Concupiscence , the Lust of the Flesh , predominate in the Heart , is that which principally and by way of Eminence , in respect of the subject matter of it , denominates an Unclean Heart . But in as much as this Concupiscence hath somewhat in it , that is natural , and consequently is not simply of it self Sin or Uncleanness ; therefore it is requisite to give a denomination of Uncleanness and Impurity to those desires , that there be some Formalities requisite to the denomination of this to be Unclean and Sinful , which is , when those Desires are not in subjection to right Reason ; for it being a proceed of the inferior Faculties , the sensual Appetite , when the same is not in subordination to that Empire which God hath given the more Heavenly and Noble Powers of the Soul ; it becomes Confusion and inverting of the order of Nature ; and this is principally Discovered when these Desires are . 1. Immoderate . 2. Unseasonable . 3. Without their proper end . 4. Irregular . 5. Unruly , and without the Bridle of Reason .

III. The Causes of this Uncleanness of the Heart , are principally these two : 1. The Impetuousness , and continual solicitations of the sensual Appetite , which continually sends up its foul Exhalations and Steems into the Heart , and thereby taints and infects it . The Soul of Man is like a kind of Fire , which if it be fed with clean and sweet materials , it yields sweet and comfortable Fumes ; but if it be fed with impure and unclean , and stinking oyl and exhalations , it is tainted with them , and makes unsavory thoughts , which are a kind of Fume that rise from this Fire ; and therefore if the distemper of the Body , or sensual Appetite send up cholerick Steems into this sacred Fire , it yields nothing but thoughts of Anger and Indignation : If it sends up Melancholy and Earthy fumes , it fills the Soul with black , and dismal , and discontented thoughts : If it send up , as most ordinarily it doth , sensual and fleshly Steems , it fills the Heart with sensual and wanton thoughts . 2. The Weakness and Defect of the imperial part of the Soul , the Reason , and Understanding , and this Defect is commonly upon these two occasions . 1. The Soul wants a clear Sense and Judgment , that these Desires are not fit to be gratified , but to be denied , at least , when they become Immoderate or Unseasonable . It is ordinarily our Infirmity to judge of things as they are at present ; and therefore if the Present presents it self pleasing or displeasing , we accordingly entertain it , or refuse it , without any due prospect to the event or state of things at a distance ; either because we Know it not , or Believe it not , or Regard it not . If a Man , being solicited to unwarrantable or unseasonable carnal Pleasures , hath not a prospect that the end thereof will be bitterness ; or , if he have such a Prospect , yet he believes it not ; or if he do , yet if his Judgment prefer the satisfaction of a present Lust , before the avoiding of an endless pain , it is no wonder if he submit to the solicitation of his sensual Appetite . 2. But if the Judgment be right , yet if the Superiour and more noble part of the Soul have not Courage and Resolution enough to give the Law to the Inferiour , but yields , and submits , and becomes base , the sensual Appetite gets the throne and Captivates Reason , and rules as it pleaseth ; and this is commonly the condition of the Soul after a fall : for the sensual Appetite once a Victor , becomes Imperious , and Emasculates and Captivates the superior Faculty to a continued Subjection . And this is the Reason why , when Lusts of any kind , especially that of the Flesh , having gotten the Mastery , makes a Man indued with Reason and Understanding , yet infinitely more Intemperate and Impure than the very Beasts themselves , which have no such Check or Advantage of Reason : for those noble Faculties of Phantasie and Imagination , and Memory , and Reason it self , being prostituted to Lust , doth bring in all the Advantages of its own perfection to that service , and thereby sins beyond the extent of a bare sensual Creature ; the very Reason it self invents new and prodigious Lusts , and Provisions for them , and fulfillings of them ; the Phantasie improves them ; the Heart and Thoughts feed upon them ; and so by that very Perfection of his Nature , which was placed in him to Command and Regulate these Lusts or Desires of the sensual Appetite , becomes the most exquisite and industrious Advancer of them , and makes a man infinitely worse than a Beast : for a Beast hath no antecedent speculations of his Lust , no provisions for them , but when the opportunity and his own natural propensions encline him to them ; when he hath fulfilled his Lust , thinks no more of it : but Man , by the advantage of his Reason , his Phantasie , his Memory , makes Provisions for his Lusts ; yields up his thoughts to speculations of them ; studies stratagems and contrivances to satisfie them , So that by how much his nature is the more perfect , his sensual Lusts are the more exquisite and unsatiable : and by this means his Heart becomes Unclean , a very Stewes of Wantonness and Impurity , a box full of nothing , but stinking and unsavory Vapors and Steems , the very sink & receptacle of all the Impure desires of the Flesh , where they are cherished , and entertained , and sublimated into Impurities , more exquisite , and yet more filthy , than ever the sensual Appetite could arrive unto , and this is an Vnclean Heart .

And upon these Considerations a man may easily see how little ground there is for to think there should be a Communion between Almighty God , or his most Holy Spirit , with a man thus qualified ; 1. The Heart , as it is the seat of the Desires , is the only fit Sacrifice to be offered up to God ; as it is the Chamber of our thoughts , it is the only fit Room to entertain him in ; as it is the fountain of our Actions , the fittest part to be assisted with the Spirit of God ; it is the only fit thing that we can give to God ; and indeed the only thing in effect that he requires of us . 2. Again , that God is a most Pure God , his Spirit a most Pure and delicate Spirit ; and let any man then judge , whether such a nasty , impure , unclean Heart is a fit Sacrifice to be offered to such a God ; or a fit receptacle for such a Spirit . It therefore imports such a man , that hopes to have Communion with God , to have his Heart in a better Temper . Again , it seems more than probable to me , that as a Body fed with poysonous and unwholsome Food , must needs by such a Diet contract foulness and putrefaction : So the very Soul of Man , which hath so strict a Conjunction with , and union to the Body , by continual Conversation with , and Subjection to such unclean and fleshly thoughts , receives a Tincture and an imbasement by them ; which , if there were no other Hell , must needs make it Miserable in its Separation upon these two Respects : 1. Upon the Consideration of that Ugliness , which it hath contracted by those impure Conversations , and which it might have avoided , if it had in the Body exercised its proper Empire over them . 2. By that Disappointment , which it finds in the State of separation from the fulfilling and satisfying those sensual Inclinations , which it effected here , and now carrieth with it , but stands utterly disappointed of any satisfaction of them .

IV. We consider How it comes to pass , that a Heart , thus naturally unclean , is Cleansed , which in general is by a Restitution of the Soul to its proper and native Soveraignty and Dominion over the sensual Appetite , and those Lusts that arise from the Constitution of the Body , and the Connexion of the Soul to it . And this Restitution is answerable to the Depravation or Impotence , whereby the Soul is Subjected and Captivated under those Lusts , which are principally these following :

1. The first ground of the Impotency of the Soul , in subduing of the sensual Appetite is in the Understanding , which is so far weakned or darkned by natural Corruption , that it is ready in point of Judgment to prefer the present fruition of Corporal Pleasures , and the satisfaction of the sensual Appetite , before the denying of it ; for it sees and finds a present contentment in the former , but sees not the danger and inconvenience that will insue upon it , nor the benefit and advantage that will insue upon a due Restraint and Moderation of them ; It finds a present Contentment and Satisfaction in the one , but it hath not the Prospect of the other , or if it have , yet the Conviction thereof is so Weak and Imperfect , that the Pleasures of Sin for a season do overcome and subdue it . For the Cure therefore of this Error and Impotency in the Judgment , there ought to be : 1. A Conviction that there is a Danger and Inconvenience , that will certainly attend the Dominion of Lust over the Soul ; and a Benefit and Advantage that will attend the Victory of the Soul over these Lusts .

2. And because there may be an Inconvenience in the former , and a benefit in the latter , but yet not such as may with Considerable Advantage preponderate the Contentment of Lust , [ which is present and sensible , ] there ought to be a Conviction of such an Inconvenience in the former , and such a Benefit in the latter , as may most evidently and clearly preponderate the Contentment and Advantage of the satisfying of a Lust .

3. And because , though these Inconveniences and Benefits be never so great , yet if there be but a faint , and weak , and imperfect Conviction of it , it will work but a weak resistance against the Invasions or Rebellions of Lust , and a sensible present enjoyment of what delights , will easily preponderate the weak and faint , and imperfect Convictions , or Suspicions rather , of what is Future . It is necessary that such Convictions , should be Sound , Deep , and Strong ; or otherwise they will be but Sluggish and Languishing opponents against the Rhetorick of Lusts , that yield a present Delight or Advantage .

4. And because , though the Convictions are never so strong , yet if they be not Accompanied with Constancy , Vigilancy , and supplemental Excitations , as the opportunity requires , the Constant and perpetual Importunity of Lust may happen upon a time of Intermission , and gain an Advantage against a Soul habitually thus Convinced , it is further necessary that there be a Frequent Constant Acting of that Conviction upon the Soul , or otherwise it may be Intangled by the Assiduous Importunities of his Lusts .

These things being thus premised , it is necessary to see what kind of Means it must be that must work such a Conviction of such weight and evidence , that may rectifie the Judgment in reference to this Contest with the sensual Appetite , and actuate such a Conviction to attain its due effect . Moral Philosophy contains in it excellent Precepts and Reasonings to the subjecting of the sensual Appetite to the dictate of Reason , and to a Moral Cleansing of the Heart : But it cannot attain its end ; for though it propounds Inconveniences on the one side , and Conveniences on the other , yet they have great defects that make it Ineffectual : The things which it proposeth are in themselves of unequal weight to the Pleasure and Content of satisfying the sensual Appetite , viz. On the one side Fame and Glory , and Reputation and Serenity of mind ; on the other side , the Baseness of Lust in Comparison of the excellency of Reason , that it is a thing common to us with the Beast ; and such like : and therefore , though these be fine Notions , and such as may be weighty with old Men , whose Lusts have left them , yet with young Men , they Import nothing : And therefore the Philosopher well provides for it by determining that Juvenis non est idoneus auditor Moralis Philosophiae , and Consequently it is a kind of Physick , that may be good for them that need it not , but of no use for them that want it : for the truth is , the Fame and the Infamy are not of weight equivalent to Counterpoise the satisfaction of a Lust in those that are Inclinable to them . 2. Another great defect in the things propounded is this , that is also common to Humane Laws , that though they may be of some efficacy to prevent the External Act , when it meets with Infamy in the Action , or Reputation in the forbearing , yet it doth inevitably give a dispensation to Sin , if committed with Secrecy ; much less doth it at all Cleanse the Heart from the love of Lust , the delight in it , the Contemplation of it . We are therefore to search for a higher , or more effectual Conviction than this ; and therefore , 1. We must see whether there be any thing that propounds some thing that may over ballance the Advantage of Lust , or the love of it in the Heart ; 2. A means of Conviction of the truth and reality of the thing so propounded .

For the former , it is apparent that the Sacred Scriptures , and they alone , do furnish us with such materials ; prohibiting not only the Acts of Lust , but also the very Motions and Inclinations to it ; the Desires of the Heart , of it ; the Love of the Heart to it ; and this under pain of the displeasure of God , everlasting Death , Hell fire , on the one side ; on the other side , in case of Obedience to this Command , the Favor of God , Everlasting Life , and Happiness : and in order to the discovering whether our Hearts walk in Sincerity , according to the Command of God , assures us that God beholds and observes the Motions , Desires , Inclinations , Thoughts , and Purposes of our Hearts , and will one day lay them open , When the secrets of all Hearts shall be Revealed . And these are things that are of such a Nature as preponderates all the good , that can be in Lust ; furnisheth the Soul with such Arguments against it , as carries thunder in them . 2. And that these may be effectually assented to by the Soul , without which they Import nothing to the end we speak of , there are these effectual Means , which Almighty God affords us : First , The word of God , which doth not only contain Materials and Perswasions for the Cleansing of the Heart ; but also a high evidence of the Truth and Reality and Benefit of those Materials and Perswasions : it is a Convincing and a Cleansing word : Jo. 15.3 . Ye are clean through the word , which I have spoken unto you . Secondly , A high Congruity of the word of God , in relation to a future life of Rewards and Punishments , unto the very Sentiments of Reason and the light of Nature it self ; the Sense of which life of future Rewards and Punishments carries with it , not only a Conviction of the great Advantage of a Clean Heart above an Unclean Heart , but also a very effectual motive to the Cleansing of the Heart , greater and more vigorous than all the Arguments of the best Philosophers . Thirdly , The Powerful Spirit of God works up in the Soul an assent unto them ; and that of such a strength as is no less Convincing than Science it self , which is Faith : and therefore Faith thus wrought , purifies the Heart , as well as the life . 3. And for a Constant and un-intermitted Application and re-minding us of these Truths , God is pleased to assist us with the continual assisting Grace of his Spirit acting in and by the Conscience , which is in a great measure cleansed , quickned , and actuated , which watcheth us and our very Thoughts , and Chides them , re-minding us of these great Truths , which we have received ; and thereby actuating and acting our Faith of these Truths , as often as the occasion offers it self .

5. And by this means , 1. The Intellectual Power of the Soul is restored in a great measure to its primitive Dominion , or at least is qualified aright in order to the exercising of it .

2. The Will , wherein indeed the Empire of the Soul is principally seated , is likewise restored to its Domination and Rule .

1. Partly by these Impressions , which are as before received by the Understanding and the practical Determination thereof : for it is clearly presented now to her , that it is the Greater Good to deny Lust both in the Practice and Love of it , than to Entertain it ; And Consequently the Will moves towards the Greater Good , according to its proper and natural Inclination . 2. There is yet a further Effect wrought upon the Will : viz. The sense of the Love of Christ , the end of his Death , to redeem us from these Lusts , whereby , even by an obligation of Gratitude , it takes up Resolutions of Obeying him . This Truth , though it be first received in the Understanding , and entertained by Faith , yet it doth immediatly work upon the Will and Affections : viz. An Aversion to that Lust , that Crucified her Saviour , and which the same Saviour , upon the Indearment of his own Blood , begs us to Crucifie . 3. There is yet a further work upon the Will by the secret and powerful working of the Spirit of God , strengthning , and perswading , and restoring it to its Liberty and Just Soveraignty over the sensual Appetite .

A Poem . THe Great Creator gave to Brutes the light Of Sense and Natural Instinct , that might Conduct them in a Sensual Life ; by this They steer their course , and very rarely miss Their instituted Rule , nor yet reject Its Guidance , or its Influence neglect : But the Creators great Beneficence Gave unto Man , besides the Light of Sense , The Nobler Light of Reason , Intellect , And Conscience , to Govern and Direct His Life and Actions , and to keep at rights The Motions of his sensual Appetite : But wretched Man unhappily deserts His Makers Institution , and perverts The End of all his Bounty , prostitutes His Reason unto Lust , and so pollutes His Noble Soul , his Reason , and his Wit ; And Intellect , that in the Throne should sit , Must lacky after Lust , and so fulfil The base commands and pleasure of her will : And thus the Humane Nature's great Advance Becomes its greater ruine , doth inhance Its Guilt , while Judgment , Reason , Wit Improve those very sins it doth Commit . Dear Lord , Thy Mercy sure must overflow , That pardons Sins , which from thy Bounty grow .
THE FOLLY , AND Mischief of SIN .

1. IT is a most Vnprofitable and Foolish thing ; The Content that is in it , is but Imaginary , and dyes in the compass of a Thought ; The Expectation of it is nothing but Disappointment , and the Fruition of it perisheth in a moment .

2. It is the infallible Seed of Shame and Mischief , which , without it be intercepted by Repentance and the Mercy of God , doth as naturally , and infallibly grow from it , as Hemlock and Henbane do from their proper Seeds : and though the nature of some Sins is more speedy , and visible in producing that Fruit ; yet most certainly , sooner or later , every Sin yields his Crop even in this life . The best Fruit it yields is Sorrow and Repentance , which though it be good in comparison of their Fruit ensuing , if omitted ; yet certainly , it is not without much Trouble and Discomposure of Mind ; and the Bitterness even of Repentance it self infinitely over-ballanceth the Contentment that the Sin did yield .

3. Sin doth not only produce an Ungrateful Fruit , but there is also a certain Spight and Malignity in the Fruit it yields , carrying in it the very Picture , Resemblance and Memorial of the Sin for the most part , which doggs a Man in the punishment of it , with the very Repetition of the Guilt , a●lex talionis .

4. It Poysons and Invenomes all Conditions : If a Man be in Prosperity , it either makes it an occasion of new Sins to cover or secure them that are past ; or it sowers and infests the very State it self , with sad Pre-apprehensions of the Fruit due to his Sin ; Or hants him in his Jollity , like as I have seen an Importunate Creditor , a young Gallant , which blasts all his Comfort and Contentment . If a Man be in Adversity , it adds Affliction to Affliction ; The best Companion of Affliction , is a clear Conscience , but when a Man hath outward Troubles , and a Mis-giving Guilty Soul , it makes his Affliction black and Desperate .

5. It Discomposeth and disorders , and unqualifies a Man for any Good Duty , either to God or Man : I pray , but I bring along with me a sense of Sin , that makes me Ungrateful to my self , and how can I expect to be Acceptable to God , the Pure and Holy God , who hates nothing but Sin ? I beg Blessings , but how can I expect to receive a Blessing from him , whom I but lately presumptuously offended ? If my Son or Servant hath offended me , and comes to ask a benefit of me , I look upon it as a sawcy Presumption , and can I expect to have better Entertainment from my Maker , than I think fit to allow my fellow Creature ? The truth is , there is no Petition comes seasonably from a Man under the Guilt of Sin , but Pardon , Forgiveness , and Mercy .

If I do a Good Work , the Sin , that I stand guilty of , makes the Comfort I take in it , or in other commendations of it , Insipid and Empty : my Heart tells me there is a Sin in my Conscience , that makes me ashamed to own the Good that is in the Action .

If I see a fault in another , that my Place or Condition requires me to Reprove , the sense of my own Guilt makes me either backward to Reprove , or Condemn my self , while I am Reproving another , with such thoughts as these : I am Reproving a Sin in another , where I stand as Guilty in the sight of God as the person reprehended : if he knew my Sin , how justly might he throw my Reprehension into my own face , and if he know it not , yet the God of Heaven , before whom I stand and the Conscience which I bear within me , makes my Reprehension of another , a Condemnation of my self . If I go about any action of my life , though never so Honest , Just and Lawful , yet my mis-giving thoughts make me either un-active in it , or fill me with pre-apprehensions of mischief or disappointment in it ; how can I expect a blessing from God , whom I have offended , in any business I undertake ? I carry along with me in all I do , the Curse that the Lord threatned , Deut. 28.20 . The Lord shall send upon thee Cursing , Vexation , and Rebuke in all that thou settest thy hands unto , and verse 29. Thou shalt not prosper in thy ways , and verse 34. So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see , and verse 67. In the morning thou shalt say , Would God it were Evening ; and at Evening thou shalt say , Would God it were Morning , for the fear of thine Heart wherein thou shalt fear , and for the sight of thine Eyes which thou shalt see .

And Certainly all this grows from the Inconguity and Dissonancy , that is between sin and the true right constitution of the Nature of Man , that is thereby made unuseful for his proper Operations ; just as a sore , or a bone out of joynt disables the proper serviceableness of a Limb ; or , as a noxious humour disorders the Stomach , Liver , or Spleen , in its proper Office ; or , as a Disease , or ill disposition of the Body makes it unserviceable to its proper Actions ; so doth the Sins , and Defilements , and Guilt , the result of it upon the Soul , disable it in its Works and Offices ; and this is the evidence of it , Every thing is then in its right Constitution when it is in that state , that the Wise God of Nature ordered it ; and so far as it declines from that position or state , so far forth it looseth its Usefulness and proper Happiness ; and therefore it is consequently evident , that every thing , that loseth its Usefulness and Happiness , is out of that Constitution that God Almighty meant for it ; and therefore , in as much as apparently all Sin doth introduce this Disorder and Irregularity , it is plain that Mankind thereby is in another condition than God at first made him , and intended he should be in .

Hence therefore , It is apparent , That all Sin is against Nature , and a Violation and Breach even of the Law and Order of Nature ; which is nothing else but the Station , Course , and Frame , that God with most Admirable Wisdom and Goodness framed for Man . Man stands in a double subordination : 1. A Subordination within himself , viz. Of the Faculties inferiour to the Superiour ; And 2. A Subordination to something without himself , viz. To the Will of his Creator , which though it seems extrinsecal , yet in truth it is essential and necessary .

The Internal Subordination is of the inferiour parts and faculties to the Superiour , viz. The Sensual Appetite and Passions to Reason and to Judgment . God hath committed the Body of Man , and those Faculties , that are subservient to it , unto the Government of the Light of Judgment and Understanding , that he hath put into the Soul : and because , as it is most just that the Soul and its Superiour Faculties should be subordinate to the Will and Direction of God , so the Soul stands in need of that Direction in order to the Government of his little Province committed to him ; and therefore , as it happens in Government , when the People break the subordination to the Intermediate Magistrate , or the Intermediate Magistrates break the subordination to the Supream , presently there insues Disorder and Mischief and Confusion , so when the Body , or those Faculties , that are exercised in order to it , as the natural Lusts and inclinations of the Body , or those that result much from it , as the Passions , prevail upon the Judgment or Reason , either by their Violence , or want of due Vigilance and Severity in the Soul in its Administration , or if the Reason and Judgment do neglect or cross the Commands of God , or make not use of the Divine Directions to assist and guide her in her Administration , this is Sin , and presently brings Confusion , and Disorder , and Discomposure in the whole man , and makes it Unserviceable for the Ends to which it was ordained .

Of Self-Denial .

1. GOd Almighty hath substituted the Soul of Man , as his Deputy or Vieegerent in that Province which is committed to him , and expects an Account from the Soul at his return , or sooner , how he hath managed that Province or petty Dominion committed to him .

2. The Province , or Territory committed to the management of the Soul , are his Body , and those Affections , and Inclinations incident to it ; and the Place , Condition , Relation , Abilities , and opportunities put into his hand by Providence and Divine dispensation , together with that Body in this World .

3. The end of this Substitution of the Soul in this Province is , first the Improvement of the Revenue of this Principle , viz. The Glory of his Name , Secondly , The improvement of the perfection and advantage of the Soul , the perfecting of the Soul thereby in a Conformity to his Masters will , and fitting of it self and the Body with it for a more noble and divine condition and imployment .

4. The Breach of that Trust committed to the Soul , consists either in the want of that due Improvement of the Province committed to the Souls Vicegerency , according to the Advantages that it hath ; ( which is the Case of the unprofitable Servant , that did not mis-imploy his Talent , but did not Improve it to his Masters Advantage ; ) or , which is worse , Mis-government and Misimployment of the Province committed to its Charge to the disadvantage of the Soveraign and it self .

5. The Mis-government of our Province consists principally in one of these particulars : viz. Either in the original and primary Defection of the Soul it self in its Commands and Proceedings , whereby it Studieth , Practiseth , and Commands Originally and Primarily against its Principal ; and this is Devilish : or , Secondly , in the want of Exercise of a due Superintendency over its Province , whereby the Subjects , which should be under its Rule and Superintendency , are not kept in their due Subjection , neither to the Vicegerent , nor to the Soveraign ; but rebell , and by their Rebellion , either wholly cast off their Vicegerent and Soveraign together , or by degrees draw over the Vicegerent or Deputy to their Defection .

6. The great Engins of this Defection are the Corrupt Inclinations of the sensual Appetite , Lusts , and Passions of the Body , and especially those , which are the great Favorites , and most powerful in respect of their Congruity to the Natural Inclinations , and temper , or rather distemper of the Body ; or those Temptations which the World offers , especially such as are most incident to the Place , Station , Relation , or Condition , wherein we stand in the World . The former come under the name of the Lust of the Flesh , the latter under the name of the Lusts of the Eye , and Pride of Life .

7. Those Lusts and Temptations are the Instruments in the hand of Satan , either by Solicitation to Corrupt , or by Power to oppose the Vicegerency of the Soul under God , and to bring it over by Allurements or Force , to a Defection from him , and in both ways fight against the Soveraignty of God , and consequently his Glory ; and against the Perfection of the Soul , and consequently its Happiness .

8. Those Lusts are of greatest Power , that have the greatest dearness to the Body , either in respect of Age , Complexion , Inclination , Condition , or Station ; and therefore of greatest Danger to the Soul , and fight against it with greatest Advantage : In a young Man , or a strong sanguine Complexion , Luxury , Wantonness , and Uncleanness are most ordinarily most prevalent ; In an old , or Melancholy Man , Covetousness ; In a middle Aged , or Cholerick Man , Anger , Ambition , Violence ; In a Rich or Powerful Man , Oppression , Disdain , Pride : In a Poor Man , Discontent , Rapin. And there is scarce any Man , but hath some Beloved Lust or Sin , that he will be content to sell all the rest of his Lusts for the enjoyment of that : tempt him to a Lust not suitable to his Complexion , Age or Condition , he will easily reject it ; but if it be a Lust suitable to his Age , Complexion , or Condition , he will hardly , or with difficulty enough refuse it .

9. As every Lust suitable to our Age ; Complexion , or Condition , is of greatest power , and consequently of greatest Danger , so every such Lust once entertained in Practice , becomes of greater Strength , and Consequently of greater Danger than before , and this upon a double reason : First , Because the Soul is made the weaker , and more emasculated by the reception and entertainment of a Lust : then it is like amisa pudicitia , which is the likelier to make a Prostitute : Sense of Reputation is a great matter to keep Innocence , but a lost Reputation makes way for a further degree of Guilt . Again , the Soul , by admittance and entertainment of Lust , gains a kind of intimacy and dearness with the Lust , and admits it with less difficulty a second time ; because it is become now an acquaintance . And lastly , every sin causeth a withdrawing of Divine assistance from the Soul , and an estranging of the Soul from it , a kind of shameful absenting of the Soul from God ; and so as it loseth its strength , it loseth its confidence of address for it ; which every Mans experience will teach him . Secondly , On the part of Lust , it is made more bold , and confident , and adventuring , than it was before it was entertained : It was then more modest and bashful , because it knew not how-it should be entertained ; but now it grows Confident and Imperious .

10. When Lust hath gotten the Victory in the Soul , it either makes the Soul , which is Gods Vicegerent , his Vassal , or his Prisoner ; either the Soul becomes servant and vassal to Sin , or at best it is led away Captive by it : And in both cases , God is dethroned , the Soul imbased , and Lust gets the Empire and Dominion ; and the Soul hath either broken his trust with God , or not performed it as it should : The Province committed to his management lost , the Government abused , the Soveraign injured , and the Vicegerent is either become a Rebel , or at best a Prisoner , by his own default .

11. The Means of Prevention of this inversion of the Order settled by the great Soveraign is . First , That the Deputy take due notice of his Instructions ; for he is not placed in that Province without his Rules of Government , which his Soveraign hath delivered him . Secondly , That he be very Vigilant over the secret Confederacies , motions , and risings of Lust against those Instructions ; for Lust is busie , troublesome , and active , and studies and watcheth all opportunities of Defection . Thirdly , That he keep his Authority with Resolution and Courage ; for Lust , if it be worthy the name of a Subject , it is a petulant and sawcy , but yet a slavish base-minded Subject ; a little countenance will make it insolent , and a severe hand over it will make it servile ; and especially , that this severity be held over those Lusts , that have or pretend to the greatest interest in the Age , Complexion , Disposition , Quality , Station , or Condition of the Province ; for as they have the greatest opportunities to do mischief , so they will soonest grow Insolent .

12. Though a slight and gentle superintendency over Lust will teach it to command , yet under a severe and rigid government the most it will adventure upon , will be to ask admission : and upon such addresses the Duty of this Deputy is to be so far from giving admission to it , that it ought not to Complement , or Treat , or hold Conference or Debate with it , but flatly deny it ; As a severe Deportment of the Soul must keep Lust from commanding , so it must check and discountenance it in asking : the holding of conference , and debate , and reasoning with any Lust , is but a preparatory to its admission , and gives but the more Confidence , Boldness , Importunity and hope of success to it . Eves reasoning with the Serpent was the first breach of her Innocence : Lust must not be mannerly treated withall , but flatly denyed . This is that great Doctrine of Self-Denial which the New Testament so solemnly enjoyns : for though in truth , our Lusts are not our selves , yet those that grow out of our natural Constitution or Condition , are next to our selves , and by mistake we are apt to esteem them , our Eyes , our Hands , our Selves .

13. This kind of dealing with Lusts and Temptations will in a little time dis-acquaint the Soul with them , and make the Soul and them strangers one to another . It is easily seen , that those things which a Man useth himself unto , so that they seem to become another nature , yet some desuetude from them do evidence to him , Asperam nobis , & insuavem virtutum viam nimia facit vitiorum Consuetudo , quae si in partem alteram transferatur , invenietur ( sicut Scriptura dicit ) Semita Justitiae linis . S. Hier. Ep. 14. that they are not so necessary and unseparable as he once thought them : A man that hath accustomed himself to vain Swearing , so that he can scarce speak a sentence without an Oath , and when he is told of it , professeth he cannot help it , yet let him resolvedly break the custom of it , he will not find that he misseth that unhappy Rhetorick in his Discourse ; the like is easily seen in Drinking , Gaming , Wantonness , and those other Sins that are precious and dear to a man in his custom and use of them ; by a little resolute dis-user of them , he will soon find he doth not miss them ; he can easily spare them , and be without them : nay , he finds as great an inconvenience and burdensomness to re-assume them , as before to leave them . And besides the Reasons before given , there is this more in it , that the Value and Contentment that is taken in them , is by the great Expectation and Contentment that the mind seeks in the pre-apprehensions & Image that the mind makes to it self of them : for the Contentment of the things themselves barely considered , and in themselves , is but flat and empty ; but the Imagination dresseth them up beyond themselves , both in their pre-apprehension and fruition : and so the Value and Contentment of them is due more to the Fancy and false Idea of the mind , than to the things themselves : and therefore , if once the mind can be estranged from Conversing with the thought and Imagination of them , they will soon lose their Estimate and Delight ; because they are separated and kept asunder from that which gilds and dresseth them into that delightful and amiable shape , which cousens and deceives men into their actings of them . Now this severe hand against them , denying their access , refusing Converse with them , doth prevent the mind from fashioning of Imaginations of them , and dressing up those Imaginations of them in pleasing and delightful representations , and then in a little while they are quite laid aside , and not missed , nor thought of ; and their own natural worth , without that secret brooding of the mind upon them , doth not with any strength , solicit or subdue the mind to the actings of them . We are in this kind like Children , who have gotten some toy into their hands , that , it may be , may be hurtful , and they mightily prize them and set a great rate upon them : but let them be taken away , in a little while they will not miss them , but be as merry and contented , as when they had them .

14. The Success of this Uncourteous dealing with our Lusts and Temptations , will much countervail the unpleasingness of the Duty . A man is tempted to a Sin , he holds conference with it , and is inticed to treat with it , and to think of it , and it pleaseth him ; but it is a Thousand to one if it stay there ; but unless some great diversion by the Grace of God , or some External restraint by Shame or Punishment , prevent him , he commits the Sin ; and so Lust , when it hath Conceived , will bring forth Sin , and Sin , when finished , will bring forth Shame and Death , or at the best Shame and Sorrow . How will a Man reckon with himself ; What am I the better for that Contentment that I took in this Sin ? the Contentment is past , and that which it hath left me , is nothing else but a mis-giving Conscience , a sense of a displeased God , ashamed to bring my mind in his presence , a pre-apprehension of some mischief or inconvenience to follow me , a despondency of mind to draw near to God under it , and either a great deal of Sorrow and Vexation , or Affliction under it , or , which is the usual gratification of Satan after Sin committed , to put away the remembrance of a Sin past , with the committing of another , till at last the Guilt grows to such a moles , that a Man is desperately given over to all kind of Villany ; and as his Sins increase , his Guilt and Shame increaseth . On the other side , I have denyed my Lust , or my Temptation , and it is gone : First , I am as well without it , as if I had committed it ; for it may be the Sin had been past , and the contentment that I took in it , and I had been as well without it ; but , besides all this , I have no Guilt cleaving to my Soul , no sting in my Conscience , no dispondent nor mis-giving Mind , no Interruption of my Peace with God or my self ; I enjoy my Innocence , my Peace , my Access to God with Comfort : nay , more than all this , I have a secret Attestation of the Spirit of God in my Conscience , that I have obeyed him , and have pleased him , and have rejected the Enemy of his Glory and my Happiness : I have a secret advance of my Interest and Confidence in him and Dependance upon him , and Favour with him , and Liberty and Access to him , which doth Infinitely more than counter vail the satisfaction of an impure , and unprofitable , and vexing Lust , which leaves no footsteps behind it but shame , and Sorrow , and Guilt .

15. As Resolution and Severity to a mans self is one of the best remedies against the flatttery and deceit of Lust , so there are certain Expedients that are subservient to that Resolution : as namely , First , Avoiding of Idleness ; for the Soul in the Body is like a flame , that , as it were , feeds upon that oily substance of the Body , which according to the various qualifications or temper of the Body , gives it a tincture somewhat like it self ; and unless the Soul be kept in action it will dwell too much upon that tincture that it receives from it , and be too intent and pleased , or at least too much tainted , and transported , and delighted with those fuliginous foul Vapors that arise from the Flesh and natural Constitution . Keep it therefore busied about somewhat that is fitter for it , that may divert that Intention and Complacency in those fumes , that the inferiour part of the Soul is apt to take in them , and so be tempted , transported , or abused by them . Secondly , A frequent and constant Consideration of the Presence of God and his Holy Angels , Luke 15.7 , 10. 1 Cor. 4.9 . who are Spectators of thy Constancy to God and his party , and delighted in it ; or of thy Apostasie , Bruitishness , and Baseness of mind , and grieved at it . If a good Man were but acquainted with all my Actions , and Motions of my mind upon the Advance of Lusts and Temptations , it would make me ashamed to offend in his sight : but much more , if a pure and glorious Angel did in my view attend , observe , and behold me : but when the Eternal God doth behold me , who hath given me this Command to deny my Lusts , and hath told me the danger of yielding to them , that they bring forth Sin and Death , and Hell , offers his Grace to assist me , promiseth Reward to my Obedience and Constancy , how shall I then dare to offend with so much presumption ? Thirdly , A frequent Consideration of Christ's Satisfaction , Sufferings , and Intercession . These Lusts that now solicit me to their observance , were those that Crucified my Saviour ; it was the end of his Passion to Redeem me , not only from the Guilt , but from the subjection to them ; It is he that beholds me ; how shall I trample his Blood under foot ? If I prostitute my self to them , how shall I despise , and as much as in me lies , disappoint him in the very end of his Incarnation ? How shall I shame his Gospel before men , and as much as in me lies , put him to shame in the presence of the Father , and all the Holy Angels , when they shall be witnesses of my preferring a base Lust before him ? How can I expect the Intercession of my Saviour for me at the right hand of God , who beholds me thus unworthily to serve a Lust , though to my Damnation , rather than obey my Redeemer to my Salvation . 4. Frequent Consideration of Death and Judgment . A base Lust solicites me to obey it : Shall I accept or deny it ? It may be this may be the last action of my Life , and possibly Death , that might have been respited , if I shall deny my Lust ; may be my next event , if I obey it ; and as Death finds me so will Judgment find me : Would I be content that such an act as this should be the Amen of my Life , and it may be , seal me up to eternal rejection ? Would I be content that my Soul should be presently carried into the presence of God , under the last act of my Life to his dishonor ? Or , on the other side , if I deny this base importunate Messenger of Hell , and it should please God to strike me presently after with Sickness or Death , would it not be a more comfortable entrance into that black Valley with a clear Conscience , and an Innocent Heart , that could with Comfort say , as once Hezekiah did upon the like occasion . Isai . 38.3 . Remember , O Lord , I beseech thee , how I have walked before thee in truth , and with a perfect heart ? Fifthly , A due Consideration of the Issue of those solicitations of Lust ; if assented unto , the end of it is Death ; it will be bitterness in the end ; it cannot with all its pleasures countervail that bitterness that will most certainly attend it ; nor can it give any security against it . Suppose thou art solicited to a thought or act of Injustice , Impurity , or Intemperance ; if thou wilt needs be talking with the Temptation , ask it ; whether it be not a Sin against that God , in whose hands thy Soul is ? and if it be , whether his Anger and Displeasure be not a necessary consequence of that Sin ? and if it be , may not he inflict the issues of that wrath of his , when , and in what measure he pleaseth ? and if he may , what security can this Temptation give against it ? hath it an Arm of Omnipotence to secure me against the power of him , that is Omnipotent ? and if it cannot , what Compensation or amends can it make me , to countervail the Damage of his Wrath , or the very Danger of it ? Can the Pleasure or Contentment of the Sin do it ? alas ! the Pleasure will pass away , in , it may be , a Life , a Day , a moment ; but the Guilt and Torment continues to Eternity .

Motives to Watchfulness , In reference to the Good and Evil ANGELS .

AS we see Plants in a Nursery , when they come to a due growth , are Transplanted into Orchards ; and those that are unuseful are pulled up and cast into the Fire ; or as we see Boys in a Free-School , such as are undisciplineable , are after some years of probation sent away to Mechanical Imployments ; and those that are Ingenious and Diligent are Transplanted to the Universities : So among the Children of Men in this Life , those that are Vitious and Incorrigible are by Death rooted out and cast into a suitable Condition , and those that are Vessels fit for their Masters use , Towardly Plants , are by Death Transplanted into another Region , a Garden of Happiness and Comfort . And possibly , as by continuance of time , they received Improvement and Perfection here : So in that other Region they add to their Degrees of Perfection , and are promoted to further Accessions , and Degrees , and Stations of Happiness and Glory , till they come to the state of Spirits of just Men made perfect .

Could we see the Invisible Regiment of the World , by the subordinate Government of Good and Evil Angels , as once Elisha's servant saw the Fiery Chariots and Horsmen in the Mount , it would give us another kind of representation of things , than now they appear to us . We have just reason to believe that there are infinite numbers of Spirits of both kinds , that have their passings to and fro , and Negotiations , as well among themselves , as among the Children of Men , and as Ravens , Kites , and other unclean Birds haunt Carrion ; and as Vermine haunt after Putrefaction , and are busie about it ; or as disorderly , debauched Companions and Ruffians , ever haunt out , and hang upon a dissolute and foolish Heir , till they have sucked out all his Substance and Wealth : So the Impure and corrupted Angels haunt and flock about a Man given over to Vice , till they have wholly corrupted and putrified his Soul ; and those Good Men , whom they cannot win over to them , they pursue with as much Malice and Envy as is possible ; and though they cannot come within them , yet as far as they can , they raise up External Mischiefs against them , watch opportunities to insnare or blemish them , though the Vigilancy of a better Guard , and their own Prudence and Circumspection do for the most part disappoint and prevent them . Besides the displeasure of the great God , there be some Considerations , even in reference to these Good and Evil Angels , to make Good Men very Watchful , that they fall not into presumptuous or foul Sins .

1. It cannot chuse but be a Grief to the Good Angels , Luk. 15.10 . to be present and Spectators of the Enormities of those , Matth. 18.10 . for whose Preservation they are imployed .

2. It must in all probability work in them a nauseousness and retiring themselves from such Offenders , at least , till they have renewed and washed themselves by Repentance , and made their Peace with God in Christ : For there is no greater Antipathy than between these Pure and Chast Spirits , and any Sin or Foulness .

3. It cannot chuse but be a most grateful Spectacle to these Envious and Malignant Evil Spirits , who upon the discovery of such a fall of a Good Man , call their impure Company together , and make pastime about such an object , as Boys do about a Drunken Man , and upbraid the Sacred and Pure Angels . Look here is your Pious Man , your Professor : Come see in what a condition he is , and what he is about .

4. It lays open such a Man to the Power and Malice of those envious Spirits ; they have gotten him within their Territories and Dominions ; and unless God in great Mercy restrain them , renders a Good Man obnoxious to their Mischief : And as the contagion and noysomness of Sin , drives away the Pure and Holy Spirits ; so it attracts and draws together those Impure and Malignant Spirits , as the smell of Carrion doth Birds and Beasts of prey . It concerns us therefore , to be very vigilant against all Sin , and if through Inadvertence , Infirmity , or Temptation , we fall into it , to be diligent to make our Peace , and wash our selves as soon as we can , in the Blood of Christ , and Water of Repentance .

OF THE MODERATION OF THE AFFECTIONS . Phil. 4.5 . Let your Moderation be known unto all Men.

MOderation , is that Grace or Vertue whereby a Man governs his sensual Appetite , his Passions and Affections , his Words and Actions , from all Excess and Exorbitancy .

It refers , 1. To the sensual Appetite : 2. To the Passions of the Mind : 3. To Speech and Words : 4. To the Actions of our Life .

1. Moderation in the sensual Appetite : and this is properly Temperance , which is a Prudent Restraint of our Appetite from all Excess in Eating , Drinking , and those other inclinations that gratifie our senses .

And certainly this becomes us not only as Christians , but as Reasonable Creatures ; for the sensual Appetite , and those inclinations that tend to the gratification of our External senses , are in a great measure the same in Men and in Brutes , and they are in the due order and use Good and Convenient for both : we cannot live without them But Almighty God hath given to Mankind a Higher and a Nobler Nature ; namely , Understanding and Reason , which in the right posture and constitution of the Humane Nature is to Govern , Guide , Moderate , and Order that inferiour Faculty , that is common to the Brutes , as well as to Man . And that Man that keeps not this Regiment and Superintendency of his Nobler Faculty , degrades himself into the condition of a Brute , and indeed into somewhat worse ; for even the Instincts of Brutes do for the most part regulate their sensual Appetite from Excess and Immoderation . But because this belongs to that distinct vertue of Temperance , I forbear further Instances herein .

2. Moderation of our Passions and Affections ; and these are here principally intended ; namely , Love , Hatred , or Anger , Joy , Grief , Hope , Fear , and those other mixt or derivative Passions , that arise in Man upon the presentment of their several Objects .

And although the Passions of the Mind considered simply in themselves are a part of our Nature and not Evil : but when duely regulated and ordered , are of excellent Use to us ; yet if they once become unruly , mis-placed , or over-acted , they occasion the greatest troubles in the World , both to the persons themselves in whom they are , and to others . Jam. 4.1 . We may easily trace almost all the Sins and Enormities , and Distempers , and Troubles , and Disorders , that we observe in our selves or others , to the Immoderation , and Disorder of the Passions .

And therefore the due Moderation of them is of great consequence , both for the attaining of true Tranquillity of Mind , of great Regularity in all we do or say , and to the common Peace , Order and Benefit of Mankind .

The Moderation therefore of all our Passions consists principally in these two things : 1. That they be not mis-placed or set upon wrong Objects ; as to Love that which we should not Love , but possibly Hate ; or to Hate that which we should Love ; and so for the rest ; 2. That being rightly placed in respect of their Objects , yet that they be not intended or acted beyond that degree that may be justly allowed to those Objects : And this is properly Immoderation , the former is merely Misprision , Errour , Enormity , Folly .

And therefore when we speak of Moderation of our Passions , it is intended in relation to those things , about or upon which our Passions may be lawfully used or exercised , so that they be kept within their just bounds and measures .

And since all the Objects of our Passions are either something that is Good or so thought , as the Objects of our Love , Joy , Hope , or something that is Evil , or so esteemed , as the Objects of our Hatred , or Anger , Sorrow , Fear , the true measure of these Affections or Passions is to be made according to the true measure of that Good , or that Evil that is the present Object of my Passion . If the Good or Evil be Great , it deserves a greater intention of that Passion , or Affection that is imployed about them ; if it be but little , the measure of my Passion or Affection ought not to exceed it , if it doth , it becomes Immoderate .

And hence it is , that the same Passion or Affection may be , and indeed ought to be variously acted or intended about Objects of the same Nature ; yet under different degrees of Good or Evil : I may at the same time have different objects of my Love , different sorts or kinds of Good , and of different allayes , some more , some less Good , and my Love may be extended to them all at the same time ; but the degrees of my Love are diversified according to the diversity of the degrees of Good , that each Object hath , all circumstances , adjuncts and consequences being considered . The like may be said , touching Evils that are the Objects of my Hatred , Anger , Sorrow , or Fear .

The Moderation therefore of Affections requires these things principally : 1. A Right Judgment or Estimate of things Good or Evil , according to their true natures or degrees ; for without this we shall not only mistake in the degrees of Good or Evil , but even in their very natures : we shall not only take the Lesser Good or Evil for the Greater , or the Greater for the Less ; but we shall be apt to mistake the things themselves , and call Evil Good , and Good Evil. Now it is certain that according to the Judgment that we have touching things Good or Evil , and their Values and Degrees , accordingly are our Passions , and their Extents and Transports measured out . If I Judg or Esteem that to be truly Good , which indeed is not , I deliver over to it my Affection of Love , Joy , or Hope : and if I Judg that to be a Great and Important Good , which is but Small or Inconsiderable ; yet according to the measure or proportion of such Estimate , I measure out the degree of my Love , Joy or Delight in such Good . A Child will set as great a Rate , and consequently allow as great a measure of his Love or Delight to a Rattle , as a Boy doth to his Top and Scourg , or as a Man doth to a Diamond , all arising from the variety of their Judgment , or Estimate of the Value of the thing . And the like may be said of Evils , and their several Degrees , with relation to the Passions of Hatred , Sorrow , or Fear : 2. The second thing required to Moderation , is a Prudent staied Deliberation before the Passion be put into motion , that so the Judgment be consulted , touching the nature of the Object ; first , whether it be Good or Evil ; and then what Degree of Good or Evil it hath : for be the judgment never so Good , yet if Passion run before it , and be precipitate upon the first and sudden apprehension of the thing proposed , or objected , and so antivert the use of Deliberation , and the ripening of the Judgment , there must necessarily , or at least ordinarily follow either Mistake or Disorder , or Immoderation in the Passion of what kind soever ; and then the Mind is disturbed , and put into disorder suddenly , 't is difficult then to make a right Judgment , or at least , it comes too late , and many times after the mischief is done by the hasty and precipitate Passion , either without or at least within the Mind ; thus transported with Passion of any kind .

And therefore the General Rule for Moderation of all kind of Passions , is , resolutely to prescribe to a Mans self this Law : That before he any way gives leave to his Passion , he will pause and consider a while , touching the Object presented , what it is , whether Good or Evil , and if either , then what Degree or Value it bears . And when once a Man hath thus peremptorily resolved to give himself this Law , and hath a little while inured himself to the practice of it , he will find it easie and familiar .

This will better appear in the several instances of the several Affections or Passions of the mind , principally in these of Love and Hatred , or Anger , Joy and Sorrow , Hope and Fear .

1. The Affection of Love , is the Principal and Governing Affection of the Mind , and the Root of all other Passions : For whatsoever I love , renders that hateful and displeasing , which either prevents me from it , or deprives me of it , and so occasions the Passion of Hatred or Anger : whatsoever I love , makes me joyful , or delighted in the Enjoyment of it , or Sorrowful in the loss or deprivation of it , and so produceth Joy and Sorrow : whatsoever I love , I hope for , if absent , or I fear the loss or deprivation of it , and so produceth Hope and Fear .

The Object of this Affection is something that is Good , or so apprehended : The greater that Good is , the greater is the Love of it : Therefore the chiefest Good drawes out the chiefest Love ; and an Infinite Good an Unmeasurable and Boundless Love : and since Almighty God is the chiefest and an Infinite Good , there cannot be any Immoderation or Excess of Love to him : and therefore this Moderation of our Affection of Love , hath no place in relation to my Love of God ; for I cannot love him too much . But this Moderation of this Affection principally respects the good things of this World ; as Wealth , Honour , Power , Reputation , Relations , Friends , Health of Body , Pleasures , and External Contentments , Recreations , Good Cloaths , Equipage , and State , and such like .

These good things of this life , have in themselves a just measure of Good ; and therefore according to that measure of Good that is in them , they deserve a proportionable measure of our Love ; for External Blessings are really Blessings .

And among the several good things of this World , there are several Ranks and Degrees of Good ; some are Good , some are Better ; and accordingly the proportion or measure of love , that I lend to them , is to be moderated and distributed and expressed , according to these different Degrees and Ranks of Good that we find in them , or the relation they bear to me ; for instance , I may love my Wealth , but since Wealth is but a useful Instrument directed to other ends , as to support my Life , my Health , my Relations , I am to love it less than these , because these are more valuable , and my Wealth is only Desirable or Good to these Ends , and subordinate to these Uses .

Moderation of the Affection of Love in relation to Externals , consists therefore principally in these things ;

1. That we have a just Estimate of the Good that is in the things we set our Love upon , and that we do not over-value them , or Expect that Good to be in them , that really is not , we must look upon them as they are ; it may be they are such as have not a perfect sincere Good in them , but mixture of Evil , or such as have not a stable or permanent Good in them , but are mutable or mortal ; or such as have a Good in them , proportionate only to our present condition , and when our condition is altered , the Good that is in them vanisheth : And if they be such , we must esteem them as such , and love them as such ; and such for the most part are all Worldly things , Health , Wealth , Friends , Relations , nay our very Lives .

2. That we look upon all the Good that is in the World , as derived from the Goodness of God , and infinitely below that Good that is in him : and therefore all our Love to them must be subordinate to that Love that we owe to God , and must be controlled by it , and in all competitions must give place unto it . Suppose I have great Wealth , or many Relations , I may , nay in reason I ought to bear some Love to them ; but I must remember it is but a derivative and a subordinate Good , and therefore I must Love them with this reserve and qualification , that if God please to call for them , I must quietly part with them ; for as I have them under that condition , so the Love I owe to God , the supreme Good , engageth me to submit to his Will , and to obey it ; for if I Love him best , I must be pleased with what his Will is pleased , for I judg him the best Good , and therefore his Will the best Will ; and the Good Pleasure of his Will must be the rule of my subjection , otherwise his Love hath not the preheminence .

3. That we make aright a due Comparison between Good things of several kinds , and give that the preference in our Love , which upon a due Judgment ought to be preferred , and this concerns and principally discovers it self in the Competition of several good things , and of our Affections to them . The Merchant loves his Goods well , but in a Storm to save his Life , is content to throw his Goods over-board . And the exercise of Wisdom in this kind , principally consists in the due weighing the several values of Good things of several natures , and ranging of them in their several Ranks ; and also in the diligent consideration of the several Circumstances , that accompany several things , for many times some good things that are in themselves preferrable before others , receive an abatement and allay by circumstances , and others less preferrable receive an advance by the circumstances that attend them . 1. Therefore touching the Different Ranks of things themselves , in matters of my own private concernment , I am to prefer my Soul and the Good thereof , before all my External advantages , for what shall a Man give in Exchange for his Soul ; I am to prefer the Good of my Health , before the Good of my Wealth . Again , in things relating to my self and others ; I am to prefer the safety of the State wherein I live before my Wealth , yea , and before my own safety , because I am sure when the whole is in danger , I must needs be in danger , and many more ; I am to prefer a Great Good that may accrue to many , before a Smaller Good ; nay , possibly an Equal Good that may accrue to my self ; nay , I am to prefer an apparent greater good to any person , than a small and inconsiderable good to my self . But above all I am to prefer the Honour and Glory of God , before my own Honour , Reputation , Estate , Contentment , or Life it self ; Because he is the Greatest Good , and most to be Loved , and the Love to his Honour is but the result of my Love to him . Again in things relating to others ; I am to prefer a Greater Good , that may accrue to one , before a smaller Good to another ; The good of one Neighbours Soul before the good of anothers Estate , where , the one , but not both are justly in my power ; I may prefer an Equal Good to a Relation , before an Equal Good to a Stranger , where the concernment or condition of both are equal , because I have just reason to love a Relation before a Stranger . Again , 2. As there are different Ranks of Good , so differing Circumstances make one Good preferrable before another ; If I see two Men in danger , and I can relieve but one of them , both being equal to me , I am to prefer the relief of him whose danger is greater , or more imminent , before the relief of him whose danger is less or more remote ; and herein Prudence and Integrity of Heart must be the director of my Love , and of the Emanations of it , always provided that nothing unjust or dishonest , be mingled with what I do .

4. That as among Goods of different Sizes or Degrees I am to prefer the Best , so among Good things , that at least seem equal , I do prefer the most Lasting and Durable ; for Lastingness and Durableness is a special part of the Goodness of any thing ; nay , oftentimes a Good , that in its present degree or extent is greater ; yet if it be less Durable , is not so Valuable as a less , but more lasting Good ; as the greater Wealth , that must be spent in a year , is truly less Valuable , than a smaller portion that lasts two years .

5. That we observe that General Rule before given ; namely , That we never give our Affection of Love leave to run out alone without Judgment , and Consideration , going before it , and going along with it : That we suffer not our Passions to deal out their own measure , but our Judgment & Deliberation : That we always keep this Affection especially under Discipline , & Government , and suffer it not to run away from us , as an unruly Beast without a Chain ; for it is certain , the due Government of this Affection governs all the rest .

And now if we look abroad into the World , or indeed but strictly and impartially observe our selves , we shall easily observe a marvellous want of Moderation of this Affection . For , not to mention the misplacing of this Affection , upon what we should really hate , we may see a great Irregularity , in the Measure and Order of Exerting this Affection about things , that we may in their measure and kind love : we talk indeed of loving of God above all , and of the great value we set upon our Souls and Everlasting life , and of Self-Denial , and against loving of the World , and how vain and contemptible a thing the World is : But for the most part they are but Words and Speculations ; when we come to Practice and Life , there appears nothing , or very little that answers these Notions , and Speculations ; little of that Moderation that those Notions import . We love the World , the Wealth , the Honour , the Pleasures , the Profits of it , with all our Souls ; we make it our principal business to attain and enjoy it ; we account it our greatest Calamity when we are crossed or disappointed in it . One Man sets his whole heart upon his Greatness , another upon his Wealth , another upon his Pleasures and Recreations , another upon his Preferment , another upon the Favour of Great Men , another upon Applause of his Learning or Eloquence , another upon the Beauty of a Mistress or Servant : nay , so Childish we many times are , that we are inamoured on very Toyes , as fine Cloaths , handsome Furniture , a fine House , splendid Entertainments , a fine Head of Hair , or Mad Antick Postures , or Complements , Affected Words , Gestures or Phrases , Apish Imitations , Plays , and Gaming , new Fashions ; that many there are , that make such Feathers as these , the Principal Objects of their Love , the Business and Study of their Lives , and are as much concerned in their disappointment herein , as if they were undone . These are preposterous , and want Moderation in their Affection , because they have no true Judgment or Estimate of things , according to their true Values .

THE VANITY AND VEXATION THAT Ariseth from Worldly Hope and Expectation .

IT is very evident to every Mans experience , that Hope and Expectation of Good , is the great Wheel , or rather Weight that moves Man to all Actions and Undertakings . The Plough-man ploughs in Hope , and the Merchant-Adventures in Hope ; and the Scholar Studies in Hope ; and the Soldier Fights in Hope ; and so for all Humane Actions . And thus it must needs be , for in Hope or Expectation there are these Ingredients .

1. Some End that a Man hath in prospect , which carries a Complacency and Suitableness to the mind ; as to be Rich , or Powerful , or Learned , or Applauded . These are the ordinary ends of ordinary Men ; but there are ends of a nobler Condition , as to be everlastingly happy , &c. But of these nobler and higher Ends , I do not now speak .

2. That end is also represented as an End Possible and Attainable .

3. That there be also a Means proposed probably conducing to the attaining of that End ; and the Hope or Expectation of that End , is the Spirit or Life that puts a Man upon the use and exercise of that Means , thus conducible to it : For the most part the Complacency that is taken in the Exercise of the Means to the attaining of the End proposed , is at all times equal , and most times exceeds the Complacency , that is taken in the injoyment of the End when attained ; for the reason hereafter given : For the End is present in Expectation in the most ample and Comprehensive Image or Idea thereof that can be : And this is that which quickens and drives on Action with intensiveness proportionable to that measure of Worth and Value , that the Soul puts upon the End thus prospected . And therefore he that hath a great and high Expectation and Value of the End propounded , acts with Vigor and Industry ; he that sets but a low Price or Valuation upon the End , as a business but little preponderating the Trouble and Industry to attain it , is cold in his Prosecution of it : But if the Labor and Industry , that is required in the use of that means , appear to equal the Good that is attained in the End , the whole action is for the most deserted ; as he that sets a great Value upon Wealth or Honor , spares no pains to attain it : So he that sets but a low value upon it , is flat and lazy in his prosecution of it ; and he that looks upon it as not countervailing the pains in acquiring it , sits still and is idle in it .

For the most part the Good Things of this World , are presented to Men in expectation , not only in their best dress , but in an Elevated Value above what is in truth in them ; and this is therefore so upon a double Reason .

1. The Wise Providence of God permitting it , and that for this excellent End , to keep Men in Action and in Motion ; which is of singular use for Mankind : For if the things exciting the ordinary Actions of Life did appear with no greater an Elevation than possibly they do really and intrinsically bear , the most part of Mankind would sit still and do nothing . This very fallacy , that Men put upon themselves in over expecting , is a Spur to Action and Motion ; which in most Men would be wholly intermitted , unless the very Worldly concerns did set them in Action , as the end stands thus represented to their Expectation .

2. Mankind being indued with a Fancy or Imagination , that hath not only a power of separating the Good of every thing from the Evil that may possibly accompany what it expects , but also of stuffing and filling the Good with great Imaginary Advances , it doth ( to please and gratifie it self ) exercise both these Delightful Deceits . If it finds any good in what it expects , it doth upon choice thrust away and remove all that Evil that is really annexed to it ; that so it may not be vexed with the pre-apprehensions of it ; and it multiplies , and augments , and advanceth and magnifieth that Good that it hath left , that so he may with the greater delight expect what he , by this phantasie , hath wrought himself up to a belief that he shall injoy .

The misery and unhappiness that falls upon Mankind , from this advance of the Hope and Expectation of Worldly Ends , is observable in one of these Events thereof .

1. It may be there is an utter Frustration of the whole thing designed and aimed at , and so his Expectation is like the dream of the Hungry Man in the Prophet , Isai. 29.8 . that dreamed he had Eaten , and he wakes and behold he is hungry .

2. If he attain the End he expected , be it Wealth , or Honor , or Pleasure , or the like , yet many times there doth attend it some signal Mischief or Evil , that he had not before the patience to think of , that doth render the whole injoyment to be utterly a thing mischievous , and worse than a disappointment . And indeed the things of the World are generally of such a Consistency , that a very little evil joyned to it , will sowr and make it unsavory . A want of a little spot of Ground for a Garden , will make the fruitions of a Kingdom but insipid to Ahab ; and a want of a Mordecai's Knee , will disrelish all the Honor of the great Courtier Haman . The truth is , the Mind is that which makes any thing uneasie ; and it falls out , that a small cross or trouble to a Mind , especially filled with expectation of a full and intire Happiness , will be as troublesome as a small Thorn in a great Mans Foot .

3. But yet further , suppose we that the thing projected , is attained without any mixture of mischief attending it ; yet here is an inseparable unhappiness that doth attend the most perfect injoyment of the best Worldly advantage projected and expected ; it is always less than it was expected . The Expectation flattered it self with much more than what it finds ; and a Man doth infallibly find that his Mind and Phantasie had dressed up and adorned the Image and Phantasm of what was projected , much finer and goodlier than he finds it when he attains it . A Man projecting Happiness in Honor , Wealth , Friends , Applause , Pleasure , or any other Earthly thing , is much like a Builder , that hath much more content in his contrivance and expectation of the Beauty , Comliness , Usefulness , Contentment , and other Complacency of his Building , than when it is finished ; and when he hath done all , nay , though exquisitly suitable to his Mind , yet his Contentment vanisheth in the fruition ; and the Contentment as it falls short of the Expectation , so for the most part it dies and vanisheth with the injoyment .

Take therefore this Counsel : First , In all thy Designs of Temporal Advantages , keep thy Expectations and Hopes low , clog them with Suspicions , and Abatements , and Allays ; otherwise thy Expectations will cheat thee ; and not only so , but render that good that thou shalt attain ( even upon honest designs ) insipid and flat , because less than what thou expectest ; whereas a low Expectation gives a relish to a low injoyment . Secondly , Set not thy heart upon an earnest prosecution of Temporal Advantages : For , if they do not vex thee by Disappointment , or some Thorn or Gall that doth adhere to them , yet it is Ten to One they will cheat thee , appear more glorious at a distance and in Expectation , than nearer hand , and in Fruition . They are trimmed up with Report and Expectation ; but in reality , and in themselves are like the Apples of Sodom , Beautiful to the Eye , but vanish into dust when touched . Solomon , was certainly the Wisest and Externally Happiest King that ever the World knew : He had the greatest opportunity that ever any Man had , to take a full Estimate of the World in its choicest Enjoyments , by reason of his Wealth , and Peace , and Power , and Interest , almost with all the Princes and Potentates that then Reigned . He had a vast Judgment and Understanding of all things in Nature , and could with exquisite Skill and Relish , search into , and attain all that was Externally Good and Desireable in this World . And besides all this , he made it his chief business to search out what was that Good for the Sons of Men , under the Sun ; and this he did neither bruitishly , as led thereunto by sensuality , nor superficially , or barely by speculation ; but he made it his business not only strictly to inquire into it by his Reason and Judgment , but also really to experiment and try the matter he thus sought after : And having with much industry and observation climbed , as it were , to the top of all Worldly Felicity and Enjoyment , and beholding the rest of Mankind , as well as they were able , Reaching and Clambering , as it were , towards this precipice of Worldly Felicity : — Dum monte potitus Spectat anhelantem dura ad fastigia turbam .

From this high Mountain he bespeaks Mankind in his critical Book of Ecclesiastes , as it were in this manner : Ye Children of Men , I see ye are full of great Expectations of and by Worldly Contentments ; and you take much pains for the acquest of them : Listen a while what I shall say to you ; I have had those Opportunities of a full discovery of the best that this World can afford , Wealth , Honor , Pleasures of all sorts and kinds , and such Opportunities as none of you ever had or can expect to make the like discovery ; and I have denied my self nothing that this World can afford to give me Content , and the most exquisite Taste and Relish of them ; and I have now arrived to the very Fastigium , the very highest point of this Mountain of Pleasure and Worldly Fruition ; and I find my self wholly deceived in what I expected : I expected indeed as great Contentation as you do , but now I have tasted of every dish , I find them all to be but Vanity and Vexation of Spirit . I have not been only disappointed in what I expected from them , but instead thereof I have reaped nothing but Sorrow , Anxiety , Vexation , you do therefore deceive your selves in all the pains ye take , while ye think from these Worldly Enjoyments , ye shall acquire Happiness , yea , or Contentation in them . Be wise therefore , and take warning by me , the greatest example that ever the World knew of this kind . Give over these laborious busie and vain pursuits of yours ; and take out but this concluding Lesson of mine , which I have learned by infallible Experience . Fear God , and keep his Commandments , for this is the whole Duty of Man .

Heb. XIII . 14. For here have we no continuing City but we seek one to come .

I Have in my course of life , had as many Stations and places of Habitation as most Men. I have been in almost continual Motion ; and although of all Earthly things I have the most desired Rest , Retiredness , and a Fixed Private Station , yet the various changes that I have seen and found , the Publick Imployments , that without my seeking , and against my Inclination have been put upon me , and many other Interventions , as well Private as Publick , have made the former part of this Text true to me in the Letter , that I have had no continuing City , or place of Habitation . When I had designed unto my self a setled Mansion in one place , and had fitted it to my convenience and repose , I have been presently constrained by my necessary imployments to leave it and repair to another : And when again I had thoughts to find repose there , and had again fitted it to my convenience ; yet some other necessary occurrences have diverted me from it ; and thus by several vicissitudes my dwellings have been like so many Inns to a Traveller , though of some longer continuance , yet almost of equal instability and vicissitudes . This unsettledness of Station , though troublesome , yet hath given me a good and practical Moral ; namely , that I must not expect my Rest in this lower World , but must make it as the place of my Journey and Pilgrimage , not of my Repose and Rest , but must look further for that Happiness . And truly when I consider that it hath been the Wisdom of God Almighty to exercise those Worthies , which he left as Patterns to the rest of Mankind , with this kind of Discipline in this World , I have reason not to complain of it , as a Difficulty , or an Inconvenience , but to be thankful to him for it as an Instruction and Document , to put me in remembrance of a better Home , and to incite me to make a due provision for it ; even that Everlasting Rest which he hath provided for them that love him ; and by pouring me thus from Vessel to Vessel , to keep me from fixing my self too much upon this World below . But the truth is , did we consider this World as becomes us , even as Wise Men , we may easily find , without the help of any such particular Discipline of this Nature , that this World below , neither was intended , nor indeed can be a place of Rest , but only a kind of Laboratory to fit and prepare the Souls of the Children of Men for a better and more abiding State , a School to exercise and train us up into habits of Patience and Obedience , till we are fitted to another Station , a little narrow Nursery , wherein we may be dressed and pruned , till transplanted into a better Paradise . The continual Troubles and Discomposures , and Sicknesses , and Weaknesses , and Calamities that attend our lives , the shortness and continued Vexations occurring in them ; and finally , the common examples of Death and Mortality of all Ages , Sexes , Conditions of Mankind , are a sufficient instruction to convince reasonable Men , that have the Seriousness and Patience to consider and observe , That we have no abiding City here . And on the other side , if we will give our selves but the leasure to consider the Great Wisdom of Almighty God , that orders every thing in the World to ends suitable and proportionable ; the excellence of the Soul and Mind of Man ; the great Advances and Improvements his Nature is capable of ; the admirable means , the Merciful and Wise God hath afforded unto Mankind , by his Works of Nature and Providence , by his Word and Instructions , to inable him for a Nobler Life , than this World below can yield , will easily confess that there is another State , another City to come , which becomes every Good , and Wise , and Considerate Man to look after and fit himself for . And yet let a Man look upon the generality of Mankind with a due and severe consideration , they will appear to be like a company of mad or distempered People . The generality of the World make it their whole business to provide for a Rest and Happiness in this World , to make these vain acquests of Wealth and Honor , and Preferments , and Pleasures of this World their great , if not only Business and Happiness ; and , which is yet a higher degree of frensie , to esteem this the only Wisdom , and to esteem the careful Provision for Eternity , the Folly of a few weak , melancholy , fanciful Men : Whereas it is in truth , and in due time it will most evidently appear , that those Men that are most sedulous and solicitous touching the attaining of their Everlasting Rest , are the only true Wise Men , and so shall be acknowledged by those that now despise them . Wisd. 5.4 . We Fools accounted his life Madness , and his end to be without Honor . How is he numbred among the Children of God , and his Lot is among the Saints ?

When I come to my Inn I have this consideration presently occurs to me . If my Lodging be good and fair , the Furniture splendid , the Attendance great , the Provisions good and well ordered ; yet I streight consider this is not the place of my Rest , I must leave it to morrow , and therefore I set not my Heart upon it . And again , if my Inn be but poor , my Entertainment mean , my Lodging decayed , I do not presently send for Painters , Carpenters , and Masons to Repair , or Beautifie it ; but I content my self with it , and will bear with the inconveniencies , because I consider it will be but for a night , and to morrow I shall be gone , and possibly come to my home , where I shall be better convenienced . And although the truth is , that this World is little other than our Inn to entertain us in our Journey to another Life ; and our stay in it is many times very short , yea , our longest stay here in comparison of Eternity , is infinitely more short than a nights lodging at an Inn in comparison to the longest life here ; yet it is a wonderful thing to observe how much we are taken up with the concerns of this our Inn , what a stir we keep about it ? what pains and cost we imploy in it ? how much of our time is laid out upon it ? as if it were our only home . If our Lot cast us upon a handsome Lodging ( as it were ) and in it furnished with Wealth , or Glory , or Honor , How we pride our selves in it ? how goodly we look upon our selves ? how happy we think our selves ? what care we have to make it more Rich , Glorious , and Splendid : And on the other side , if our Lot cast us upon a lower , meaner Station ; if we are Poor , or Sickly , or Neglected , or under Hatches , what a deal of Impatience , and Discontent , and Unquietness appears ? Nay , though our Lodging and Entertainment in this Inn of the World be pretty well , and will serve till we take our Journey ; yet if it be not so Fine , and Splendid , and Rich , and Comely as anothers ; if our Meat be enough to suffice nature , if our Cloaths enough to protect us from cold , if our House good enough to keep off the Storms , and defend us from Injuries , yet if these be not so good as such a Mans , or such a Neighbors , not so good as my Ancestors or Relations , Lord ! What a deal of Unquietness , and Complaining , and Envy , and Impatience , and Turbulency of mind there is in Men ? What Designs , and Frauds , and Plots , and Underminings , and Undue Means Men take to advance their own condition , and to depress others ? and all this while never consider that which would easily cure the extravagance , as well of one hand , as of the other : Namely , This is not my home , it is but my Inn ; if it be Beautiful , Splendid , Convenient ; if my condition in it be Wealthy , Honorable , Prosperous , I will not set my heart upon it , nor think any better of my self for it , nor set up my Rest in it : It is but my Inn , I must leave it , it may be to morrow . On the other side , if it be but Poor , Weak . Infirm , Ignoble , Low , I will content my self , it is but my Inn , it may serve for my passage , I shall , it may be , leave it to morrow , and then if I have taken that due care that becomes me in my provision for my Eternal State , I am certain the case will be mended with me ; however my Inn be Poor , Mean , Inconvenient , Troublesome , it is but for a night , my home will be better ; I have learned , that I have here no abiding City , but I seek one to come . The benefits of the consideration of this Text are many .

1. It will teach a Man a very low esteem of this present World , and never to set the heart upon it . Wilt thou set thy heart upon that which is not ? It is not an abiding City : Either like the old feigned inchanted Castles , it will vanish and come to little , while we think we have fast hold of it ; or else we must leave it , we know not how soon : It is full of trouble and vexation when we injoy it ; and very unstable and uncertain is our stay in it . 2. But let it be as good as it will , or can be , yet this Text tells of a City that is better worth our thoughts , an abiding City , a City that cannot be shaken , where there are no Troubles , no Thorns , no Cares , no Fears , but Righteousness and Everlasting Peace and Rest .

2. Consequently it will teach us to seek that which is most of value first and most , and make that our greatest Endeavor , which is our greatest Concernment ; namely , to seek that City that is to come , Peace with God in Christ Jesus , and the Hope of Eternal Life . It is true , while we are in this City that continues not ( this Inferior World ) God Almighty requires a due care for Externals , and Industry in our Imployments , and Diligence in our Callings : It is part of that service we ow to God , to our Families , to our Relations , to our Selves ; and being done in Contemplation of his Command , it is an act of Obedience and Religious Duty to him : But this Consideration will add this Benefit even to our Ordinary Imployments in our Calling , it will be sure to bring a Blessing upon it . Seek first the Kingdom of God , and the Righteousness thereof , and all these things shall be added unto you . It shall be given in , as an advantage and over-measure . 2. It will add great Chearfulness to the Imployments of your Calling , and to those Worldly Imployments that are requisite for your support and subsistence , when you shall resign up your endeavors therein to the Good Pleasure of Almighty God . 3. It will remove all Vexatious Solicitousness and Anxiety from you , when you shall have such Considerations as these . Almighty God ( it is true ) hath placed me in this World , as in a passage to another , and requires of me an Honest Imployment for my support and subsistence ; or else hath lent me a reasonable liberal portion , whereby I may comfortably subsist without much pains or labor ; I will use it Soberly , Chearfully , Thankfully : If he bless me with Increase or greater Plenty , I will increase my Humility , Sobriety , and Thankfulness ; but if it be not his pleasure to bless me with Plenty and Increase , his Will be done , I have enough in that I have , there is another more abiding City , wherein I shall have supplies without Want , or Fears , or Cares .

3. This Consideration will give abundance of Quietness , Patience , Tranquillity of Mind in all conditions . Am I in this World Poor , or Despised , or Disgraced , or in Sickness , or Pain ; yet this Text gives me two great Supports under it . 1. It will be but short , this lower World , the Region of these Troubles and Storms , is no continuing , no abiding City , and consequently the Troubles and Storms of this inferior City are not abiding or long . 2. After this flitting , perishing City , that thus passeth away , this sower life which is but the Region of Death , there succeeds another City that indureth for ever , a City not made with hands , Eternal in the Heavens , a State of Everlasting Blessedness , where are neither Cares , nor Tears , nor Fears , nor Poverty , nor Sorrow , nor Want , nor Reproach : I will therefore with all Patience , Chearfulness , and Contentedness bear whatsoever God pleaseth to exercise me withal in this life ; for I well know that my light Afflictions , which are but for a moment , shall be attended with a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory .

These Considerations will seem but dry and empty , to Men that do not deeply and considerately weigh matters : Ordinarily young heads think them , at least , unseasonable for their youth ; but they must know that Sickness and Death will overtake the youngest in time , and that will undeceive People , and render the best appearances of this World , either Bitter , or at least Insipid , and without any pleasant relish ; and then the Hopes and Expectations of this City to come , will be more of value to us than the best Conveniencies and Delights this lower World can afford . Let us therefore in our health make it our business to secure our Interest in it , and it will be our Comfort and Benefit both in Life and Death .

OF CONTENTEDNESS AND PATIENCE .

COntentedness and Patience differ in this ; that the Object of the former is any condition , whether it be Good , Bad , or Indifferent ; the Object of the latter is any present or incumbent Evil. But though they differ in the Latitude or Extent of their Object , yet they both arise from the same Principle , which , if rightly qualified , gives both .

The Measure and Original of all Passions is Love ; and the Object of Love , is , That which is really or apparently Good . If our Love be right , it regulates all our Passions : For Discontent or Impatience ariseth from the absence of somewhat that we love and value , and according to the measure of our love to the thing we want , such is the measure of our Discontent or Impatience under the want of it .

He that sets his love upon that , which the more he loves , the more he injoys , is sure to avoid the danger of Discontent or Impatience ; because he cannot want that which he loves : and though he love something else , that may be lost , yet under that loss he is not obnoxious to much Impatience or Discontent , because he is sure to retain that which he most values and affects , which will answer and supply lesser wants with a great advantage : The greatest bent and portion of his love is laid out in what he is sure to injoy , and it is but a small portion of love that is left for the thing he is deprived of , and consequently his discontent but little , and cured with the fruition of a more valuable Good .

He that sets his love upon the Creature , or any result from it , as Honor , Wealth , Reputation , Power , Wife , Children , Friends , cannot possibly avoid Discontent or Impatience ; for they are mutable , uncertain , unsatisfactory Goods , subject to Casualties ; and according to the measure of his love to them , is the measure of his Discontent and Impatience in the loss of them , or disappointment in them .

He that sets his love upon God , the more he loves him , the more he injoys of him , and the surer hold he hath of him . In other things the greatest danger of disappointment , and consequently of impatience , is when he loves them best ; but the more love we bear to God , the more love he returns to us , and Communicates his Goodness the more freely to us . Therefore we are certain that we cannot be disappointed , nor consequently have any ground of impatience or discontent in that which is our unum magnum , the thing we chiefly value .

He that sets his intirest love on God , yet hath a liberty to issue a subordinate portion of love to other good things ; as Health , Peace , Opportunities to do Good , Wife , Children , Friends : And in these he may be crossed and disappointed . But the predominant love of God delivers the Soul from Discontent and Impatience , even under these losses .

1. Because the Soul is still assured of what it most values , the love of God returned to the Soul , which compensates and drowns the other loss , and the discontent that may arise upon it .

2. Because the Heart is satisfied , that these losses come from the hand of him , whom he loves , of whose Truth , Wisdom , Love , and Goodness he hath assurance , and therefore will be delivered out in measure , upon most just Grounds , and for most excellent ends . He sends an Instruction along with his Rod ; and the Soul reads love as well in the Rod of God , as his Staff .

3. Because the Love of God , taking up the principal bent and strength of the Soul , leaves but a gentle and moderate Affection to the things it loseth , and consequently a gentle and easie parting with them , or being without them . The great tumult and disorder that is made in the mind upon Losses , Crosses , or Discontents , is not so much from the Intrinsical Value of the things themselves , but from the Estimation that is put upon them ; were the love to them no more than they deserve , the Discontent and Impatience in the loss would be very little . Our chiefest love , when it is placed upon God , it is placed where it should be ; and the mind is then in its right frame and temper , and dispenseth his love to other things regularly , and orderly , and proportionably to their worth ; and thereby the Discontent or Trouble , that ariseth upon their Loss or Disappointment is weighed out according to their true value , agreeable to the just measure of Reason and Prudence : But when our love is out of his place , it becomes Immoderate and Disorderly ; and consequently the Discontents that arise upon Disappointments in the things we immoderately love , become Immoderate , Exorbitant Discontents , Impatience , and Perturbation of Mind .

4. Our love to God brings us to a free Resignation of our will to His : For we therefore love him , because we conclude him most Wise , most Bountiful , most Merciful , most Just , most Perfect ; and therefore must of necessity conclude , that his Will is the best Will , and fit to be the measure and rule of ours , and not ours of his : And in as much as we conclude that no Loss or Cross befals us without his Will , we do likewise conclude that it is most fit to be born : And because he never Wills any thing , but upon most Wise and Just Reasons , we conclude that surely there are such Reasons in this Dispensation ; and we study , and search , and try whether we can spell out those Reasons of his .

OF MODERATION OF ANGER .

THe Helps against Immoderate Anger are of two kinds . 1. Previous Considerations before the occasion is offered , to habituate the Mind to gentleness and quietness . 2. Expedients that serve to allay or divert Anger , when the occasion is offered .

Of the first sort are these :

1. The consideration of our own Failings , especially , in reference to Almighty God , and our duty to him ; which are much greater than any demerits of others toward us . I provoke my Creator daily , and yet I desire his Patience towards me , and find it . With what face can I expect gentleness from my Creator , if every small provocation from my fellow Creature puts me into passion ?

2. The consideration of the Vnreasonableness of that Distemper in respect of my self : It puts me into a Perturbation , and makes me unuseful for my self or others , while the distemper is upon me : It breaks and discomposeth my thoughts , and makes me unfit for business : It disorders my Constitution of Body till the storm be over : It discovers to others my Impotency of Mind , and is more perceived and observed by others , than it can be by my self : It gratifies my Adversary , when by my Passion I improve his Injury beyond the value of it , and injure and torment and damnifie my self more by my own Perturbation , than he can by the injury he doth : It evidenceth a Prevalence of my more inferior and sensual part , common to me with the Beasts , above my Reasonable and more Noble part . Sometimes indeed a Personated Anger , managed with Judgment , is of singular use , especially in persons in Authority ; but such an Anger is but a painted fire , and without perturbation : But a Passionate Anger upon Injuries received , or upon sudden Conceptions of them , is always without any end at all of Good , either intended or effected : Nay , It is an impediment to the attaining of any Good end ; because it blinds the Judgment , and transports Men into inconsiderate Gestures , Words , and Actions .

3. Consideration in respect of others , even of the very persons provoking . It may be they are Instruments , permitted by God as his Instruments , either to correct , or try me . Peradventure God hath bidden Shimei curse David ; be not too violent against the Instrument , lest peradventure thou oppose therein the principal Agent . Again , many Men are of such a pitiful constitution , that their injuries arise from very Impotence of Mind in them : Shall I be angry with them , because they want that understanding they should have ? And yet it is very strange to see the weakness and folly of our nature in this Passion , that it will break into a Perturbation even with Children , Drunken Men , Mad-men , Beasts ; yea , very dumb things : Witness our anger with the Cards and Dice , when their chances please us not ; which shews the Unreasonableness and Frenzy of this Passion .

2. There be some Expedients against it , even when the occasion is offered .

1. Carry always a Jealousie over thy Passion , and a strict Watch upon it . Take up this peremptory Resolution and Practice . I will not be angry , though an occasion be administred . And let the return upon that Resolution be the first act after the Provocation given : For if a Man can but bring himself to this pass , that he take not fire upon the first offer , the Passion will cool : A Man calls then his Reason about him , and debates with himself : Is there cause I should be angry ? Or , is there any Good end attainable by it ? Or if it be , what is the just medium , or size , or measure of Anger proportionable to that end ? And these Considerations will break the first on-set of Passion , and then it seldom prevails : For , it is the first Wave that carries on the Perturbation to the end , which if it be broken at the first , Serenity of Mind is preserved with much Contentation , and sense of advantage .

2. Take up this Resolution , never to give thy self leave to be angry , till thou seest the just Dimensions of the Provocation . First , Learn whether there be any such thing done or no : For many times we shall find that a false report , or a mis-conception in the Mind , sets up the Image of an Injury , and presently the Passion swells upon it ; when , it may be , upon a due examination , there is no such thing at all . Secondly , Admit there be an injury , yet learn what the Circumstances of it are : For till that be known , though thou hast a mind to be angry , thou knowest not what Proportion or Measure of Anger to allow , till thou knowest the Measure of the injury done . It may be it is not so great ; or it may be it was done by mistake ; it may be it was done upon some provocation given by thee , or at least so understood ; and then it is not so malicious : and it may be the Man is coming to make thee amends , or to ask thee pardon . This will give leasure to thy Reason , to thy Grace , to come in ; and will break the first shock , which the cholerick blood gives to the Heart , which raiseth the combustion ; and then a Thousand to one it comes to nothing , and either dies presently , or languisheth below the name of a Passion .

3. In case of Provocation to Anger by Words , consider this , that there is nothing so much gratifies an ill Tongue , as when it finds an angry hearer : nor nothing so much disappoints and vexeth it as Calmness and Unperturbedness . It is the most exquisite and innocent Revenge in the World to return gentle words , or none at all to ill language . But on the other side , Anger and Perturbation doth not only produce what thy adversary desires , but also puts a Discomposedness and Impotence upon thee , that thou becomest unable to keep silence , or to speak with that reason and advantage thou shouldest .

A PREPARATIVE A GAINST AFFLICTIONS ; WITH Directions for our Deportment under them , and upon our Delivery out of them .

1. IT is the great folly that ordinarily possesseth Men , especially in a prosperous condition , that they cannot suppose a change of their Estates : a living Man can hardly think of dying ; a healthy Man can hardly think of sickness ; a Wealthy Man can hardly think of Poverty ; a Man in the Applause and Glory of the World , can hardly think of being under Disgrace end Reproach .

2. The Reasons of this Difficulty seem to be these : 1. The present condition is a thing that falls under our present sense , and takes up our whole consideration : things that yet are not , are made present only by Contemplation : and that , as it doth not so strongly affect the mind , so there is a long operation that must precede before it can be brought home : a Man must consider whether the State wherein he is , be changeable , and what may change it ; and whether it may change for the worse ; or unto what degree of badness ; and the probabilities or possibilities of it ; and so it requires a long process of the mind , before a Man can bring himself under a supposition that his condition may change , and change extreamly for the worse . 2. When that supposition is received or admitted , yet it being but notional and imaginary , hath not the like strength of impression upon the mind , as that which is present and sensible ; and so it soon passeth away , and hath not strength enough to hold out for any time upon the mind , to work a due preparation and temper in the mind for a change . 3. The present condition , when it is grateful to the sense , we are for the most part willing to embrace and make the most of it : we have not patience to give an allay or abatement to our present fruition , by mingling any such sad considerations with it , as that it may change , when the mind begins to put it self upon thoughts of a change of a beloved condition , such replies as these do often meet with it : What ? shall I be dying while I live ? be Sick when I am Well ? be Poor when I am Rich ? be in Disgrace when I am in Glory ? make my self Miserable while I am Happy ? it will be time enough to take and bear that Lot when it comes , and not to dye , or be in Sickness , Poverty and Disgrace by anticipation : I will take the benefit and sweetness of my present happiness , and not sowre or abate it by the pre-apprehension of a change , if it happens , it will come before it's welcome . I will therefore think as little of it as I may before hand , and not make that present by a needless Contemplation , which I would willingly be freed from , if it should at all attack me . These and such like considerations do make Men rather procrastinate the evil day , than put themselves under the supposition of it .

3. The Inconveniences that arise to the Children of Men , by this aversness from thinking of a change of a prosperous condition for a worse , are very great : 1. A mind , that oftentimes in a prosperous condition casteth it self in worse by supposition and contemplation , doth ordinarily use his present condition Warily , Moderately , Watchfully ; but on the other side , this incogitancy of a change makes Men Presumptuous and Confident in their Estate , Voluptuous , Imperious , Proud , Immoderate , Vain-glorious ; for they want that Correction that should allay and discipline it into Moderation . If I am Rich , or in any other prosperous condition , and begin to pride up my self , and to take upon me ; presently a mind accustomed to assume upon it self , by pre-apprehension , a contrary condition will presently check that Pride and Vanity with such a kind of expostulation as this : How unseemly , Imprudent , and Vain is this ? what if to morrow I should be cast down from my Greatness , or cast upon my Bed of sickness , or under the cloud of Disgrace , or , it may be , taken away by Death ? what will then become of this Immoderation ? carry it along with me I cannot ; for the change of my condition will not bear it ; and if , with the change of my condition , I do , as I must , put off these Follies that attend me in this , that which is now my Excess , my Sin , will then be my Shame , my Sorrow and Vexation . 2. As a frequent pre-apprehension of disadvantageous changes tutors the mind to a right use of the present condition ; so it admirably fits a Man with such a temper of Spirit , as becomes his changed condition : doth his change require Patience to bear it , Contentedness under it , Preparedness for it ? He hath learned this in the Theory , and hath them laid up ready to be put in ure if the occasion call for them : if there be no occasion to practise them , they are no burthen ; but if there be , he hath put himself to School to Affliction by Premeditation before it comes , and is ready to exercise those Vertues when it comes . But on the other side , a Man , that being in a condition of Prosperity , never puts himself under the sad thoughts of a change of his present Happiness , if such a change befalls him , he is at his wits end ; he is surprized , and overwhelmed with it ; he knowes not how to bear it , but falls into Impatience , or his very Soul dies within him ; he is taken before he is prepared , and none of those dispositions , or rather distempers of mind , that were bred up upon his former condition , will at all serve the present , but do distract , and disquiet , and perplex him ; as his former Pride , Haughtiness of mind , Greatness of Spirit , Intemperateness , Luxury , they are so far from being at all serviceable and useful to him , that they are as so many Haggs and Furies to torment him ; and the things called Patience , and Contentedness , and Humility , and Calmness of Spirit , which are of absolute necessity for his present change , he knowes not how to attain or use . 'T is a miserable , or , at least , a very great Improvidence for a Man then to be learning those Virtues , when the present necessity calls for the use of them : it is like a Thief , who is to learn to read , when he is to pray his Clergy .

4. It is therefore a most useful and necessary course for Men in Prosperity to take up the frequent Contemplation of their Change . Bilney , when the true profession of the Gospel in this Kingdom was under Persecution , was used to put his finger into the Candle to inure himself the better to undergo Martyrdom ; which he at length suffered , possibly with more Resolution and Patience , than if he had omitted that experiment . And surely this practice of Patience would be with more ease , and no less advantage , if in the time of our external Happiness , we did sometimes , and oftentimes , take up such serious Contemplations as these , both in reference to Death , and other external Afflictions : I am now alive and well , but I cannot but know that I am mortal and must dye , and my own reason , and every days experience tells me that my time is very uncertain and casual : a small distemper or disorder in any little Vein or Artery , a little cold , a little meat undigested , may cast me into a mortal Disease ; a Crum going aside , a contagious Air , the fall of a Stone on me , or of me upon a Stone , may suddenly take away my life . There are such infinite Casualties that may be mortal to me , that it is no wonder that I should die , but it is that I live . What if it should please God by any Disease or accident suddenly to call me to account for my Stewardship ? are my Accounts ready ? is my Peace made ? are my Sins pardoned ? is my pardon sealed ? is all as ready as it becomes that hour ? if it be , well , if not , it becomes me speedily to set things in order , especially my great concernment : for as this Tree of mine falls , so it will lie to all Eternity . Such thoughts as these , often and seriously iterated , would not hasten a Mans death , but would much amend his life : it would put and keep the Soul in a right order and temper . Again , I am now in Health and Strength , free from Disease and Pains ; if I am not out off by an untimely end , I must expect that Disease and Pains will lay hold of me ; it may be , a burning Feavor , or a languishing Consumption , or some such Disease as may make the nights long , and the days troublesome , every place uneasie , all things I eat or drink insipid , every Limb or Vein , Bone or Sinew contributing some Pain , or Weakness , or Faintness , or Anguish to the common stock of that Disease , which I must suffer . How am I furnished with Patience to bear it ? can I amend in my self that Frowardness , Vnquietness , Peevishness , and Impatience that I behold in others in the like case ? Believe it , Sickness is not the fittest time either to learn Virtue , or to make our Peace with God : it is a time of distemper and discomposedness : those must be learned and practised before Sickness comes , or it will be too late , or very difficult , to do it after . Again , I am now abounding with Wealth ; but Riches many times make themselves Wings and fly away ; a Thief , or a Robber , a Plunder , or a Sequestration , a false Information , or a false Oath , the change of Times or Casualties of Fire or War , Oppression from those above , or Tumult from those beneath , the Chaldean or the Sabean , a Word or Action mis-understood , mis-apprehended , or mis-interpreted , and a Thousand Contingences , may take away all my Wealth , So that I may stand and see my servants deserting me , my Children utterly unprovided for , my self in Extremity and Want , So that I , that have relieved Thousands , must be fain to gain Bread for my self and my little Children , either by the sweat of my own browes in some low Imployment , or by the charity of others : This may , and may be speedily : Experience of these times have made it visibly possible , wherein Thousands , that never dreamt of a change , have unexpectedly felt it ; can I come down to so low a condition with quietness and serenity of mind , without murmuring against Providence , or Cursing , or studying Revenge upon the Instruments of it ? Nay , can I entertain this change with Patience ? nay , with Chearfulness ? nay , with Thank fulness to God , that he gives me my evil things in this life ? if he be pleased but to bless my Afflictions to me , and to reserve my portion of Happiness for the life to come ? can I still depend upon God ? live upon him ? and bless his Liberality , if he allow me and my poor Children a piece of Bread and a cup of Water ? can I look through the darkness of my present condition , and behold that Hope of Eternity that is beyond it , and gather more Comfort in that Hope , than all the present Disasters can give Discomfort ? If I can do this , my Loss will be my Gain ; if I cannot , it should be my business in the time of my Prosperity , to lay up such a stock and treasure against the evil day , which will be above the Malice , and Power , and reach of Men and Devils to deprive me of . Again , I am now in Honour and Esteem in the World , my Place makes me Eminent , and if it did not , yet my Reputation is fair and clear , and great , it may be I can without Vanity or Ostentation own as much esteem as Job doth in his 29 Chap. The young Men saw me and hid themselves , and the Aged arose and stood up ; when the Ear heard me , it blessed me ; and when the Eye saw me , it gave witness to me : but for all this my condition may be changed , as his was , and my next Complaint may be with him , Chap. 30. But now they that are younger than I , have me in derision , whose Fathers I would have disdained to have set with the Doggs of my Flock : and now I am their Song , yea I am their by-word . I may be branded with the Imputation of the highest Crimes ; nay , my very Religion and Piety to Almighty God , and my Justice , Honesty , and Fidelity to Men , may be covered with an Imputation of the basest Hypocrisie and Dishonesty under Heaven , and though this part of my Reputation hath been my darling , that I valued highest of any thing in the World , and consequently a blemish cast upon me in this behalf would wound me deeper than any worldly loss ; yet a consequent of greater Importance would follow upon it , which I value higher than my Reputation , viz. The Honour of God , the value and esteem of Religion , would be wounded through this wound ; yet if this should befall me , am I in a frame and temper of mind to bear it as I should ? can I be contented to sit under Reproach and Infamy with Patience and Quietness of mind ? can I content my self with the secret witness of my own Conscience , attesting my Innocence , though the Imputations , under which I fit , are as black as Hell ? can I chearfully make my secret appeal to the Searcher of Hearts , and please my self with the Serenity of his Countenance towards me , though I am cloathed with Calumnies and Reproaches ? can I wait his time for my Vindication , and content my self , though the World never know my Innocence , so as my God and my Conscience can attest it ? if I have not arrived at this temper and pitch of mind , it should be my labour to attain it ; for without it I sink under my Reproaches and Infamies , but if I have attained it , then under the most dark and cloudy storm of undeserved Reproach and Infamy I enjoy a Goshen within my self , I have a beam of light that follows me in the blackest night , and I Conquer my Reproaches by suffering them .

5. But though this exercise , of putting our selves under Notional Afflictions , is of singular use to habituate and fit us for such a temper as becomes such a change ; yet this is not all ; Afflictions are not only Notional and Possible , but there is something more in it ; there is a greater Probability of them , than to be freed and exempt from them : they are not only under that degree of things that may be , but they come near to that degree of things that must be , and that in these respects .

1. In respect of our Sin and Demerits . Although Afflictions many times are not principally intended as Punishments , but are sent for higher ends ; yet it is most certain , that they are deserved to be inflicted as Punishments , and are in their own nature a most necessary consequent of Sin . They are not expiatory or satisfactory Punishments , but they are most certainly Fruits and Effects of Sin : and worldly Crosses and Calamities do as naturally flow from precedent Sins , as the Crop doth from the Seed that is Sown . Now in as much as every day I commit some Sin or other , it is no wonder if I reap the Fruits of it in Affliction : It is a wonder rather that I meet with no more Calamities and Crosses in this World ; and it is a Mercy if I meet with them only in this World , and not both in this and that which is to come . Wherefore doth a living Man complain , a Man for the Punishment of his Sin ? Certainly , though they were no Devil or Wicked Men to inflict Punishment upon me , as long as I carry Guilt and Sin about me , it s no wonder if it raise storms upon me : and therefore I have no cause to hope for an Immunity from Trouble , so long as I have no Immunity from Sin .

2. In respect of our Corruption , we have seen Troubles and Afflictions under the former Consideration , Sub ratione poenae , under the nature of a Punishment ; in this Consideration sub ratione medicinae , in the nature of a medicine . The former shews somewhat of the Divine Justice to inflict them , the latter much of the Divine Mercy to apply them . The truth is , our Natural Corruptions are very Many , and very Great ; and for the most part they are most disorderly and dangerous when our condition is Prosperous ; it is indeed the Fewel of our Corruptions . Pride , and Vain-glory , and Carnal Confidence , and Security , and Luxury , and Intemperance , and Insolence , and Arrogance , and Forgetfulness of God , and of our selves , and of our Mortality , and of our Duty , and a Thousand such kind of Vermin do grow and thrive upon Prosperity . God Almighty therefore sends Crosses , and Afflictions , and Troubles , and those to cure , and chase away , and starve these evil Beasts . And let any Man observe it either in himself or others , we are generally the worse for Prosperity , and generally the better under Adversity , what ever Sects or Professions we are of : and it is a far greater difficulty to manage a Prosperous Glorious condition , than a low or Afflicted condition . Many times when I have read in the Scriptures , that Affliction is the Lot of the Righteous , and in the World ye shall have Tribulation , I have looked upon it not only as the Issue of the Devil and wicked Mens hatred , but also as the Wise Dispensation of Almighty God to suffer it ; for it is for their Safety and Benefit . Affliction doth in no sort so much endanger a good Man to lose his Innocence , Worth , and Virtue , as Prosperity , Wealth , and Honour do : and therefore I have alwayes thought that Man the securest from Afflictions upon this account , that useth his Prosperity with the greatest Piety , Watchfulness , Moderation and Equality of mind ; because such a Man keeps a check upon his Corruptions , and so stands in less need of this Physick : he is like a Man , that in his health keeps a good and orderly Diet , whereby in probability he stands in less need of a Corrective for Peccant Humours .

3. As God , out of his Mercy to Good Men , sends many times Afflictions to cure or allay their Corruptions ; So the Devil or evil Men will be sure to inflict them out of Hatred and Envy at their Graces , Marvel not if the World hate You , it hated Me before it hated You. And it is a great marvel , if any Good Man escape Afflictions upon this account : for if he be such a one , as being in Prosperity sets his Heart too much upon it , then the Devil and the World endeavours to deprive him of his Comfort , to draw him to Murmuring , and Discontent , and using of unlawful Means , or unworthy Compliances , to preserve that which he so much loves : or if he be a Man that in his Prosperity keeps his Heart in a right frame and temper , then the World or the Devil , being disappointed in that condition , endeavours to shake him with the other extream : and though in reference to both , there is Envy , and Malice in the Devil inflicting , yet there is Mercy and Wisdom in God permitting it : in reference to the former , for the checking and curing of this growth of Lust , and Corruption ; in reference to the latter , for the Tryal of the Sincerity of his Graces , as in the case of Job .

4. Another reason of the Necessity of Afflictions to Good Men , is to carry their Hearts upwards , and to make them reach after their Everlasting Hope , and set a price upon it . The Good things of this World , though in our judgment we set not the like esteem upon them as upon Heavenly , yet they have this advantage that they are present , and therefore affect the Sense and the Mind more than things that are better , at a distance : and therefore we are apt to set up our rest here , And this is the reason that even Good Men , though they value and prize Grace and the inwa●d favour of God , yet they commonly love the World a little too much ; and divide their Affections too equally between God and the World ; and therefore study and indeavour such a Contemperation that they may hold both . And hence it is , that God , who requires intirely the Heart , doth many times make the world bitter to us , to make us weary of his Rival , that so we may with more Intireness and Integrity set our Hearts upon Him and upon that Everlasting Hope , and long after and Integrity set our Hearts upon Him and it , and satisfie our selves with the Expectation of it , and make it our Treasure , and set up our rest upon it , and in it . And these are some of those many reasons that evidence the Necessity of Afflictions .

6. And now we will come to consider these Three matters , 1. What Preparations we should use before Afflictions overtake us . 2. What should be our Exercise under it . 3. What should be our frame of mind in case of Deliverance from it .

I. And in the first place of the first of these ; We have seen that it is a Lot to be expected in this World : we cannot upon any terms promise our selves an exemption from it ; nay , if we should escape all other Temporal Calamities ; yet sickness , and infirmities of Body will most infallibly overtake us : they are part of that black guard , that commonly attends death , which is the inevitable Lot of the living . It concerns us all therefore to be prepared for that , which must necessarily , sooner or latter , be our condition , in some kind or other , it may be in many , it may be in all kinds .

1. Therefore the first Expedient Preparatory to Afflictions is this : In the time of our Prosperity it must be our care to walk with as much Innocence , Watchfulness , and Circumspection as can be : for it is a most certain truth that the Malignity , and Sting , and Venome of Affliction is not so much in the things I suffer , as in the sense of my former Guilt and Sin . No Man is in a better condition to bear Afflictions , than he that hath the cleanest Conscience : for , as any distemper in any part of the Body draws all the mischievous and hurtful humours of the Body to that part , so it is a most sure consequent of any manner of Affliction , it brings all former Sins to remembrance , and calls the thoughts of them together upon such an occasion . When Joseph's Brethren were under a strait in Egypt , under the threatnings and seeming jealousies of their unknown Brother , then comes in the remembrance of their injury to their Brother , and it is represented to them with all the aggravations that can be , Gen. 42.21 . We are verily guilty concerning our Brother , in that we saw the anguish of his Soul when he besought us , and we would not hear : therefore is this distress come upon us . Conscience , that they had before stifled and injured , now takes her time to be even with them , and flies upon them when they are in a strait , and then she will be heard , though in their Prosperity she could not . And this Return of the Remembrance of former Sins is the very Gall of Afflictions ; and that principally upon these two reasons : 1. It is that which weakens and impares the strength that should bear them , for , for the most part all ternal Afflictions they concern the Body , or the outward Man , whether it be Poverty , or Reproach , or Sickness , or Pain ; and if for all this the Mind be but free , she will be able to bear them pretty well , will suggest Reasons for Patience , Hopes for Deliverance , and Twenty allayes , at least to mitigate the present sufferings : but when that Mind , and Reason , and Judgment , that should support , is likewise wounded , and vexed , and tormented , with the sense of past Sins , and the Storms that are within be as violent and turbulent as those without , there is nothing to bear up against the Afflictions ; the Soul it self , that should support the outward Man , wants support for it self . 2. In all external Troubles , as it is the Duty , so it is the Nature of Man to fly to God , and that application possibly gains Relief from it , but howsoever it bears up the Man with a convenient strength against them : the very liberty of recourse to God gains a Dependance , a Hope , a Confidence , which supports in a very great measure under the Greatest Troubles : but this Return of Sins past upon the Conscience and Memory , if it doth not wholly deprive , yet it doth wonderfully interrupt , discourage , and divert the Soul from this most admirable expedient . When a Man shall have such thoughts as these : I am under a very great Affliction either in my Estate , Friends , Name , Body , and I know no way to extricate my self but one , and that is by application to the Almighty and Merciful God ; and if I could but do so , I were safe : but alass ! the Memory of my former Sins , my breach of Covenant with him , my frequent Relapses into Sin , my Ingratitude to him , they fall in upon me , and I dare not , I know not how , I have not the face , the confidence to come unto him ; and so I must lie and sink under as well my Guilt , as my Affliction . And although this is a very false way of Argumentation and such as is most displeasing to God , and derogatory to his high Prerogative of Mercy , as well in forgiving as in delivering , who hath given to the most hainous Sinner , and under the greatest Afflictions a Commission to ask his mercy both to Pardon and to Deliver , and that with a Promise of Mercy ; yet it is most certain , that , what by our own weakness , and what by the Devils subtilty , the Remembrance of our past Sins doth most ordinarily make our addresses to God under our Afflictions very difficult . Little therefore do people consider in the time of their Prosperity , what a stock of Venom and malignity they lay up against an evil day by a dissolute and sinful life . Affliction without this most accursed contribution were much more tolerable . If thou meanest therefore to make thy Affliction easie , keep thy Conscience clean before it comes : thou hast then the Strength of thine own Soul to support thee , and the liberty of Access to the most Mighty and Gracious God to deliver thee , when thou canst in the sincerity of thy Heart with Hezek . Isa. 38.3 . appeal unto God : Remember now , O Lord , I beseech thee , how I have walked before thee in Truth , and with a perfect Heart , and have done that which is good in thy sight . I say with reverence , keep God thy Friend in thy Prosperity , and thou mayest with confidence resort to him , and relie upon him in Adversity .

2. But alass ! when we have used all the Care and Industry , and Watchfulness we can , who can say he hath made his wayes clean before God ? our Prosperity , and the Temptations that await us from without , and the Corruptions that are within us , give us often falls that we know of , and many more that we know not of : if therefore the necessity of our condition subject us to Afflictions , and the prevalence of our Corruptions subject us to Temptations , what hope can I have to have a comfortable Affliction , when I cannot hope to have an Innocent Conversation ? yet there is another expedient to ease and lighten Afflictions : If thou canst not be Innocent , yet be sincere and upright Hearted , an Honest and Plain Heart , that holds no confederacy with any known Sin , keeps a quiet Conscience even under Affliction it self . If thou hast not a perfect Life , yet be careful in thy Prosperity thou keep a perfect Heart .

3. But yet if thy Heart hath proved deceitful to thee , and thou hadst fallen into any Sin , yet there remains one expedient to stop and anticipate the malignity of it from mingling with thy Affliction : Before Afflictions come , be sure thou break of thy Sin by Repentance . Every Sin leaves a kind of Poyson in the Soul , and there it many times lies raked up till an evil day comes , and then it begins to work to some purpose : Sound and Serious Repentance fetcheth out this Core , this nest of malignity ; cleanseth this Ulcer that Sin hath gathered . And lest the malignity of Sin should remain in thy Soul , when Affliction overtakes thee , be careful . 1. That thy Repentance be frequent and iterated ; and to that end let thy Examinations of thy heart and life be strict and daily . Possibly thou mayst find a Sin upon the review that thou didst not before espie , that may deserve a special Repentance : but if thou dost not , yet thy Sins of daily Incursion require a daily Repentance . 2. That thy Repentance , upon any known Sin committed , be Speedy while thou art in thy Prosperity ; let it not lie upon thee till to morrow . Who can tell whether some bitter Affliction may not overtake thee before thou hast repented ? and then that Sin will reach out its Venome and Malignity into thy Affliction , and make it worse . Therefore intercept that accursed influence of Sin by a speedy Repentance . Thy Repentance will be the easier , and thy Affliction the lighter ; thy Heart the stronger to bear it , thy Access unto Heaven for Deliverance the readier . When a Man lies under a Sin till Affliction come , he hath two great Suits to dispatch in the Court of Heaven : First , To gain his Pardon . Secondly , To gain Deliverance from , or strength under Affliction . Be careful therefore to get the former dispatched in thy Prosperity : thou hast the less to do under thy Affliction . When Guilt and Affliction come upon a Man together , they add to each others weight and difficulty of removal : but Affliction meeting with a Conscience cleansed by Faith and Repentance is always tolerable , and for the most part Comfortable ; it loseth its nature , and becomes another thing ; It is a prevention of Sin , a Corrective of Corruptions , an Exercise of Grace , a Conformity to Christ , an Assurance of Gods love , a Preparative for Heaven , rather than an Affliction .

4. Above all things be very careful that thy Affliction be not the just production of thy Sin or Folly : for in the one case thou sufferest as an Evil Doer ; in the other thou sufferest as a Fool ; and in neither thou canst take any Comfort . If thou sufferest without thy fault , or for thy Vertue , Piety , and Goodness , thou needest not be troubled for the one , and thou mayst most justly rejoyce in the other : but to suffer as an Evil Doer , or as a Busie-body in other mens matters , or for ill Language or Passionate Words , or Disturbance of the civil Power ; these take away both the Comfort and the Glory of these Sufferings . Nay , though the end intended in these Extravagances , may possibly be good , and though the Punishment inflicted excede the due proportion , and so hath somewhat of injustice or extremity in the infliction , yet such a kind of suffering brings little Honour to God , little Peace to a Mans self , and little Advantage to others ; but rather the contrary . A Man that hath Sins about him hath ill Companions , and such as abate the Comfort , even of an Innocent Suffering : but when a Man suffers for a Sin , or any unjustifiable Action , his sufferings lose the name of Afflictions , and become formally , and in their own nature Punishments : and in such a kind of suffering , though sometimes the Goodness and Wisdom of God brings Good out of it to the party that suffers , yet in such , a Man doth not only undergo temporal Loss , Pain and Inconvenience , but hath the inevitable prospect of his Fault and Offence in them , which makes the suffering the more bitter and distastful .

5. Be careful to bring thy self to a right Estimate of the World , and the Good or Evil of it . Our over valuation of the World is that which makes us excede either in the Comfort we take in the enjoyments , or in the Perturbation that we suffer in the Losses or Crosses of it : and commonly according to the measure of our Love unto , or valuation of the things of this life , such is the measure of our Grief or Sorrow , or Dispondency , or Anger , or Vexation that we entertain in our loss or disappointment in them : for indeed all other Passions and Perturbations of the Mind are but the Handmaids of the Passions of Love , or Love acted in a different shape or method , if I set too high a value upon my Wealth , or my Health , or my Honour , or my Relations , or my Credit , then my loss or disappointment of any of them will produce an Excess of Sorrow , or Vexation , or Despondency , or Anger , or Revenge . Therefore let it be thy business in the time of thy quiet and prosperity , in the first place to settle thy Judgment aright , and consequently thy Affections aright , in reference to Externals . Consider , first they are but Externals : they have no ingredient at all into the Man ; a Man may be a Fool , or a Vitious and wicked Man , and yet injoy these things in a great measure : and a Man may be a Wise , a Just , a Vertuous , a Pious , a Man , a Man in the favor of God , and yet be without them . 2. They are in their own nature very uncertain things : they are subject to a Thousand contingencies : nay , if they stand secured unto me with the greatest stability that may be , yet my Body is subject to many weaknesses and Distempers , and a Disease in my Body will render all these things insipid and vain to me . What good or content will all my Wealth , my Honour , my fine Houses , my great Retinue , my great Power , do me when I am in a burning Feaver , in a painful Consumption , nay , under a fit of the Head-ach , or Stone ? for so small a Distemper will make me take no contentment or satisfaction at all , in all or any of these enjoyments , the truth is , they are but Provisions for the Flesh , and in order to the Body , and when the Body is under a distemper , they become but insignificant useless things . He that is under a strong Pain or Disease finds as little contentment , though he lie on a soft Bed richly furnished , in a Chamber richly hanged , in it a Cupboard furnished with massie Plate , as if he lay in a Cottage . 3. They are but for a time , Death will at last overtake me , and as all my Riches , and Pleasures , and Honours , and Worldly Accommodations , cannot prevent or buy it off , so neither will they be of any comfort or value to me in that hour . Indeed they may make death more troublesom and unwelcome to me , but they cannot at all secure me against it . The plain truth is , Death doth undeceive and open the eyes of the Children of Men ; it teacheth us to put the true value upon every thing as it deserves . My Riches and my Honour , my Pleasures and my Profits , my Gallantry and my Policy , which I made much reckoning of in my life time , when Death comes , I shall perceive them to be but Vanity at the best , and set no Esteem upon them : but Piety , and Prayers , and Charity , and Interest in God , and in the Merits of Christ and the Promises of the Gospel , that perchance in my life time I esteemed as dry and useless things , I shall then see to be of greatest value , and accordingly prize them : These I shall carry with me into the succeeding World ; but all my Worldly Comforts , when I pass through this strait Gate of Death , I shall leave behind me , as a Snake leaves behind his antiquated Skin when he passeth through a brake , and never make use of them , or take comfort in them more . And when I come unto the other side of this dead Lake , the Fruitions of all my life past will be forgotten , or at least remembred as a Man remembers a Dream when he awakes ; only the Good or Evil of my past life will stick upon me unto all Eternity . Why then should I set my Heart upon that which is of so small a value , so little use , so short and so uncertain a continuance ? they are things which I may lose while I live , but I am sure I cannot keep them when I die ; and if they take their farewel sooner , they do but their kind , and at best , do but a little anticipate their last and necessary valediction . I resolve therefore I will not set my Heart upon them , but carry a loose and flaccid Affection towards them : And if I lose them , I will not over-much afflict my Soul for the loss of that , which I had not much reason to value while I had it .

And as thus a Man should tutor himself to a just Estimate of the Good things of the World ; so a Man should bring himself to a just and due Esteem of the Evil things of the World , such as Sickness , and Pain , and Imprisonments , and Reproach , and Want , and the like . There are these two things that do much allay the severity of those Evils . 1. They are but Corporal , they reach no farther than the Body , the Husk , the outward Man , the Cottage , they cannot at all get so deep as the Soul . 2. They are but Temporal : It is most certain that Death will cure and heal these Evils ; and possibly these Distempers and Sufferings , the less severe they are , the more tolerable ; the more severe , the more in probability they will hasten and advance the cure : As nothing that hath an end can make a Man truly Happy ; so nothing that hath an end can make a Man truly Miserable ; because he hath under his greatest Misery the Lenitive of Hope , and Expectation of a Deliverance .

6. But yet farther , Gain Assurance of thy Peace with God in Christ , and consequently of thy future Happiness ; and be frequent in the Contemplation and Improvement of it . This is the great Engine of a Christian , a Magistery , that was never attained by the most exquisite Philosopher , nor is attainable but in , and by the knowledge of Christ , who brought Life and Immortality to Light : It is the great expedient whereby a Man attains Victory over the World ; whereby he is able to injoy Prosperity with Moderation , and undergo Affliction with Patience . 1 Joh. 5.4 . This is the Victory which overcometh the World , even your Faith . When a Man , under the severest Afflictions , shall have this Assurance , and these Contemplations . It is true , I am in as low a condition as the World can cast me ; my Estate torn from me by the basest of Men , and I and my Children exposed to extream Want and Necessity , so that I am become little better than a Vagabond upon the Earth , for the very attaining of Bread ; or at best am driven to the hardest and most sordid imployment that can be consistent with honesty for my supplies of Necessaries , and if by chance my own sweat or others charity supply me to day , I cannot imagine what shift to make for to morrow ; and if this were a condition to which I had been born , or in which I had been bred , use might have made it easie and familiar ; but it is not so , I am fallen into this low condition from a plentiful and liberal condition , wherein I had my Table crowned with plenty ; and as I wanted not Charity to imploy my Plenty , so I wanted not Plenty to supply my Charity . Again I was in the greatest Reputation and Esteem among Men that may be , but now I am fallen under the saddest , the basest , Scorn , and Obloquy , and Reproach , and Imputation that can be , and all this without any cause : my Enemies Triumph over me with Scorns , Derisions , and Exprobrations : my former Friends bestow upon me a kind of Scornful Pity , that is more bitter than the upbraidings of my Enemies : the abjects and dregs of the people make me their by-word ; and the Calumnies under which I suffer , are of such a nature , that none dares be my Advocate , but the silent Testimony of my own Conscience and Innocence . Again , under all these pressures it had been some allay , if I were but a Citizen of the World , that I had but the liberty to forsake the place of my suffering , and go to some more auspicious or tolerable corner of the World ; but in that I am also prevented , my liberty is taken from me , and I am penned up in the narrow , dark , loathsome , stinking confines of a most odious Prison , without the benefit of Light , or Friends , or indeed of any other Company than such as make my Imprisonment the more intolerable , Chains , and Vermine , and the most accursed Malefactors . Again , I suffer not only under restraint of a loathsome Goal , but I am exposed to lingring Torments , Racks , and Whips , and Famine , and Nakedness , and Cold , and continual Threats , and sad Expectations of worse to follow , if worse there may be . Again , dismal and painful and tormenting Diseases seise upon my Body , no part of my Body free from pain , no place affords me ease , no Cordial gives me comfort , my Breath short and painful , and even loathsome unto my self , my eyes consumed and weary with expectation of Deliverance , my Heart faint , and not able to support its weak and languishing motion , my Stomach gone and not able to receive or digest the most pleasant meat , my exhausted consumed Body standing in need of supply ; and yet unable to receive it ; my Intrails parcht and scorcht with burning heat , which is nevertheless the more increased by that which should allay it ; my Limbs , and Joynts , and Arteries , torn and racked with tormenting Convulsions ; my Sleep gone , or more troublesome , than if I were awaked , no posture , no place affording me ease or relaxation ; in the Morning I wish it were Night , and in the Night I long for the Morning ; my easie Bed assords me no ease , and I desire to rise , and when I am risen , I cannot bear it , I must presently lie down , importunately longing for this or that meat , and when I have it , loathing the very sight of it : In sum , the whole mass of my Blood corrupted , and my whole Body a bag full of putrefaction , stink , and corruption , loathsome to my self and others , a very Carcass bound to a living Soul , tired with her burthen , exquisitly sensible of it , unable either to bear it or deliver her self of it . These be some of those sad attendants that accompany this condition , and it may be all those Calamities befal a Man at once , together with the loss of Friends , or near Relations , as in the case of Job , and then what remains to denominate a Man perfectly miserable , if the calamities of this World can do it ? But , if under any or all of those Pressures I can , upon sound grounds and assurance , rest upon my Hope of Immortality , these and a thousand more External miseries will not only be tolerable , but easie : When I can upon sound Convictions and Experiences , practically entertain my self with such thoughts as these . It is true , I am as miserable in Externals as the World can make me , but in the midst of all my External Losses and Poverty , I have in my prospect a Kingdom prepared for me , that cannot be shaken , a Treasure in Heaven above the malice and reach of Men and Devils , and after a few days spent in my poor Pilgrimage through this World , I shall as surely possess it , as if I were already actually invested in it ; and as this Hope doth allay the sharpness of my passage , so in my arrival to my Happiness , my present suffering will make my future rest more welcome . That Beam of Light and Comfort , that this Hope darts into my Soul , will inlighten my darkest Night here , and walk along with me to my Canaan , when my Hope shall be swallowed up in Vision and Fruition ; in the midst of all the Storms and Reproaches and Vilifyings that the World heaps upon me , I injoy the Comfortable Presence and Favor of my God in my Soul , and his Suffrage , and Attestation , and Acceptance of my Innocence , which doth infinitely more over-ballance the Frowns and Contempts of the World , than the favor of the greatest Prince doth over-weigh the Reproaches of the basest Peasant . In the midst of my closest and darkest Restraints , I have that converse , which the strictest guard , the strongest Bars cannot exclude : I have the Presence and Conversation of my Saviour Christ , and his Blessed and Sacred Spirit , which doth cure and heal the noysomness , and supply the retiredness of my closest Restraints ; and this company makes my Prison a Temple , wherein I can with his Blessed Apostle , with a chearful Heart , magnifie my God ; my Soul and Mind is at liberty and free in despight of Gates of Brass , and Bars of Iron . In the midst of all my Pains and Sickness , and the tedious declination of my Body to its final corruption and dissolution , I can satisfie my self with an expectation of a happy Resurrection , when this weak , and frail , and dying Body of mine shall be made like unto the glorious Body of my glorified Saviour , and translated into the Company of Saints and Angels , where there shall be no Sickness , nor Sorrow , nor Pain , nor Sin , nor Death , and I shall meet with those Friends and Relations of mine , which died before me in the same hope . I look upon these my present Pains , and Sickness , and Weakness , as the Harbingers of that dissolution , which shall put an end to them , and begin my Happiness ; and hereupon I bear them not only with-Patience , but Comfort ( the greater their Violence is , the sooner they will finish their business , and rend away this mortal corrupted Carcass from my Immortal Soul , ) and even in the instant of my dissolution can , by the eye of my Faith , discern the Blessed Angels ready to transport my Soul , cleansed by the Blood of Christ , into the joys of Heaven , and my Blessed Redeemer standing on the other side , as it were , of this dead Lake , ready to receive me , and lead me into those Heavenly Mansions of Rest and Happiness , which he went before to prepare for me . This Hope and Assurance , as it makes the best things of this World , in their best appearance and dress , but light and vain , and empty and nothing : So it makes the worst things that the World and Mortality can inflict or suffer , light and easie . For these light Afflictions , which are but for a moment , work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory , while we look not at the things which are seen , but at the things which are not seen : For the things which are seen are Temporal , but the things which are not seen are Eternal . 2 Cor. 4.17 , 18.

These be some of those Preparations that will admirably fit and prepare us to meet with Afflictions , and in them these two things are to be remembred .

First , That we do not only content our selves with Notions and bare Speculations of these things , but that we may practically digest them into our Hearts and Resolutions , for if they be but notional only Afflictions , when they come , will easily rend and defeat these Notions . I have known many Men , that have had very excellent Notions of this kind , and could discourse excellently of them ; nay , could urge them very effectually upon others , but when any little Cross hath overtaken them , they have been quite out of all Patience and Comfort , and as much to seek how to entertain it , as those that had never known any such matter ; nay , a poor experienced Christian , that could not talk half so much , hath received the shock of Affliction with much more Christian Resolution than the other ; and the reason is , The former had digested these Matters barely into Notion , and the latter he made it Practical and Cordial . When I read Plutarch , and Seneca , and Tully , I find excellent Instances and Reasonings to support the Mind in Afflictions ; and many times upon the soundest Grounds that can be . Plutarch de Animae Tranquillitate , tells us , That he that hath learned the Nature of the Soul , and thinks that by death it shall attain a better , or at least not a worse condition , hath a great freedom from fear of Death , and no small viaticum to attain Tranquillity of mind in his life . And many such instances are given by the Stoicks , especially Seneca , and by Tully . But when the latter came to an exquisite apprehension of his danger from Anthony , his Philosophical Notions and Contemplations were too weak to bear up his mind against those fears ; and therefore in his Sixteenth Epistle , Lib. 10. to Atticus he writes to him to this effect : If thou hast any thing to comfort me , gather it up , and write it not out of Learning or Books ; ( for I have these here with me . ) Sed nescio quomodo imbecillior est medicina quam morbus : But , I know not how it comes to pass , the Physick is too weak for the Disease . And Job , though a Wise and Experienced Man , and bore up pretty well in his Afflictions , yet his friend Eliphaz tells him , and that truly . Job 4.3 , 5. Behold thou hast instructed many , and thou hast strengthned the weak hands ; but now it is come upon thee , thou faintest , &c. Men may have excellent Theories to support in Affliction , and can apply them to others in that condition with singular dexterity and advantage ; yet when the case comes to be their own , their Spirits sink under them , because these Theories many times flote in the Understanding , but are not digested deeply , and practically in the Heart .

Secondly , What ever you do , gain this Habit and Temper of Mind . Actuate and Exercise your Faith , make even your Reckonings , get your Peace and Assurance setled before Sickness comes : For a Man in any kind of suffering besides , possibly may learn them , because his mind is , or may be in his intire strength ; but most certainly Sickness is an ill time to begin to learn these Contemplations , unless they are learned before the Distempers of the Body discompose the Mind , and make it unfit to begin to learn . It is a time when that , which hath been before fitted and laid up in store in the Soul , must be drawn out and exercised ; but it will be a most difficult business , then to begin that Lesson , which should be learned in Health , though practised in Sickness .

II. Thus much for our Preparation , to meet Afflictions . Now concerning our carriage under them .

First , In the beginning , and first Onset of any Affliction , be very careful to keep the Mind in a due temper : Call in all your Aids of Reason , Religion , and Duty , to keep you in a right frame and temper of Moderation ; for Affliction of any kind , when it hath lain a while upon a Man , will probably bring him into order ; but at the first Onset the Passions begin to flie out , and play reaks , and disorder the Soul , and fill it with Perturbation . Then immoderate Anger , or Murmuring , or immoderate Sorrow , or Fear flie out , and Men thereby become less able to bear for the future , and many times flie out into that Immoderation and Distemper at first , either in Thoughts , or Words , or Actions , that they are sorry for after , and so draw upon themselves a double trouble : First to Repent of their folly and immoderation ; and then to fit themselves for sufferings ; it throws more grains of Sin into the Scale of Afflictions , and makes it heavier , and many times longer than otherwise it would be : And after such Perturbation and Exorbitancy of Passion upon the first inroads of Affliction , a Man hath much ado to bring himself into a right and due temper . This was Jobs case , in the beginning of his Affliction he flies out into more Impatience and Disorder , than all the rest of the time ; therefore beware and see thou keep thy mind in temper , and check Perturbation at the first Onset , call together all thy Grace , and Resolutions , and Reason , to keep thy mind in due temper at first .

Secondly , On the first Onset of any Affliction , Lift up thy heart to God , desire his Assistance and Grace to inable thee to carry a due temper and frame of Heart . This is not only thy Duty , and expected from thee by God ; but it is a singular help to inable thee to avoid any present Distemper : For first it is a means to supply thee with more strength from Heaven to order thy self aright . 2. It brings thy Soul into the Presence of God , before whom it were a shame to bring any Perturbation ; the Passions and Distempers of our Minds are under an aw in his Presence . 3. It is a diversion of the present bustle and stir that Passions are apt to make , and being diverted at first , they do not so suddenly , nor so easily fall into a disorder . Commonly Passions are most disorderly and impetuous upon the first occasion : And if they be then interrupted or diverted , the succors even of common Reason , much more of Grace , have opportunity to rally themselves , and prevent Immoderate Perturbation .

Thirdly , Make as speedy an Inquisition , as thou canst , into thy own state , and what the cause of this Affliction may be : Let us search and try our ways , is the voice of every Affliction ; and commonly every Affliction upon any person , that lies under any Sin unrepented of , and not forsaken , soon leads the Conscience to point out that Sin ; and indeed most Afflictions in such a case carry upon them the very Inscription of the Sin , and bear some Analogy or Proportion with it . Adonibezeks Cruelty , and Davids Adultery , were , as it were , written in the Punishments they suffered , and might easily bring them to their remembrance . If thou sufferest in thy Estate , consider whether either Immoderate Worldliness , and Covetousness , or Confidence and Glory in thy Wealth went not before : If thou sufferest in thy Name , consider whether thy Reputation hath not been thy Idol , or whether thou hast not born thy self too high upon thy Reputation ; and so of other Crosses .

Fourthly , If upon this inquiry , thou findest Sin written upon thy Sufferings , or in the bottom of them , speedily Repent of that sin ; Humble thy self in the sight of God for it , take up Resolution against it . This is the voice , the injunction that this Rod gives thee , and here thy special duty is Humiliation .

Fifthly , If upon search , thou findest thy Heart and Conscience clear , look upon this Affliction as a Dispensation sent from God , and with all Humility submit to his hand ; and know that the most Wise God sends it , for most wise ends , though thou seest not any Enormity in thy self that might deserve it . It may be it is to exercise thy Patience , thy Faith , thy Dependance upon him : It may be he discerns that some Temptation is like to meet with thee , or some Corruption is growing in thee , that thou dost not perceive ; and he sends this Messenger to divert the one , and to prevent the other : study to improve this Affliction to that end , and here thy special duty is Patience and Vigilance .

Sixthly , But it may be , upon this search , thou dost find the true cause of thy suffering is for Righteousness sake , for keeping a good Conscience , for the honour of thy Redeemer , for adhering to the Truth , and that this is the cause that stirs up evil Angels and evil Men against thee : and then indeed thy suffering loseth the name and nature of an Affliction , and becomes an Honour , a filling up of the measure of thy Saviours sufferings , a suffering that hath not only a Blessing in it , but it is a very Blessing it self ; for Blessed are ye , Mat. 5.10 . if Men persecute you for Righteousness sake . Suffering for or under a Sin committed , requires thy Repentance and Humiliation , for it is a Judgment : Suffering without any Sin before hand signally requiring it , requires thy Patience and Vigilance , it is an Affliction : but suffering for the Testimony of a Good Conscience requires thy Rejoycing it is a Persecution : But beware thy Heart deceive the not , and make thee believe thou sufferest for a Good Conscience , when , it may be it is for thy Folly , or Frowardness : in this case , though they that inflict Punishment may want somewhat of that Charity and Moderation that is fit , yet thou hast reason to repent for thy Folly , and not to Glory in thy Suffering ; we are wonderful apt to believe well of our selves , and flatter our selves many times , into the title of Persecution , when it is but the fruit of our Folly and Inconsiderate Rashness .

Seventhly , Receive and bear all thy Afflictions with Humility and lowliness of mind : for it is a Message sent to thee from the most Wise and Soveraign Lord of the World , though it may be by the hands of a most vile and unworthy Man . It was an excellent temper in David , that , when his disloyal Subject cursed him , restrained the just indignation of his followers : Let him alone , it may be the Lord hath commanded him to Curse . It may be the Instrument executes his own Malice and Spight , and it may be thou canst not find any Signal cause of this Affliction even from the hand of God , yet be not Vindictive against the Instrument ; he doth Gods Errand , though he vent his own Malice : receive Gods Message , and leave the Revenge to him that hath reserved it to himself as his own Prerogative ; and it may be he will burn the Rod , when he hath done with it . Neither storm at Gods dispensation , it may be thou hast deserved it , though thou dost not see it ; or If thou hast not , give leave to thy great Soveraign to deal with his Creature , as he pleaseth , and put thy mouth in the dust .

Eighthly , Receive it Thankfully , as well as Humbly . Know that it is sent from the most Wise and Merciful God ; what he doth , he doth upon most excellent Grounds and Reasons . It may be it is Preventing Physick against a greater mischief : It may be it is for an Improvement of thy Grace ; it may be it is intended , as an evidence , that thou art a Son , and not a Bastard ; it may be it is to wean thee from the World ; it may be it is to fit and qualifie thee for a greater Blessing , and to give thee a capacity to receive and bear such a Benefit , which without the Preparation of an Affliction would make thee Proud ; it may be it is to make thee an Example , a strengthning to others ; it may be it is because thy Good things are reserved for the better World , and therefore thy Evil things are dispensed to thee here . If God be thy Father , trust his Wisdom , because he is God , and trust his Love , because he is thy Father ; and then thou canst not doubt that any thing that he sends deserves thy Thanks though thou seest not wherein the Benefit of it lies : Be contented herein with an Implicite Faith , and be Thankful to him at all adventures . A Cup of Wormwood would not be reached to thee from so Wise , and so Good a Father , but that his Love and thy Benefit is mingled with the bitter Cup , though thou canst not at present taste the one or the other .

Ninthly , Bear it Patiently and Quietly . 1. If it come for thy Sins , thou hast reason to bear it patiently , for it is but the fruit of thine own Plant , the Crop of thine own Seed . Why doth the living Man complain ? a Man for the Puuishment of his Sin ? Thou hast procured it to thy self , be contented to bear the issue of thine own way . 2. Bear it patiently , for it might justly have been worse , and more severe ; thou wantest somewhat that another injoys , but hast not thou somewhat that another wants ? thou hast lost a considerable part of thy Estate , but hast thou not somewhat left ? or , if thou hast lost all , hast thou not still thy Health , and thy limbs , that may supply thy necessities by honest Labors ? thou hast lost thy Limbs or thy Health , but dost thou not injoy thy Senses , and thy Understanding and Reason ? thou hast lost thy Reputation , Honor , and Esteem in the World , but hast thou not thy Integrity and Uprightness ? the Witness and Serenity and Peace of thine own Conscience ? thou hast lost many of thy near Relations , but hast thou not some left ? thou art visited with Sickness and Pain , but hast thou not seen some that have had more acute , and less strength to bear them , and less hopes to be delivered from them , and less means to support them ? but suppose thou hast lost all thy Wealth , thy Reputation , thy Health , thy Friends , yet hast thou not Peace with God ? the Light of his Countenance ? the Assurance of his Favor ? the Hope of Eternal Life ? and wouldst thou exchange this Hope for the return of all thy Temporal Comforts and Advantages ? believe it , that Mans condition cannot be exquisitely miserable , where there is any Hope , much less where there is such a Hope , a Hope that out-weighs whatsoever the World can afford , or inflict ; a Hope that is so much the nearer to fruition , by how much the greater thy External pressures are , when thou dost deserve the loss of all , thou hast reason to be patient , if thou dost injoy any thing ; the Interrogation of the Prophet is pathetical : Why doth the living Man complain ? a Man for the Punishment of his Sin ? Where there is Life , there is Hope ; and for a sinful Man to complain while he yet is living , carries with it the conviction of the unreasonableness of his complaint ; because he injoys somewhat that yet he deserved to lose . 3. Bear it patiently , because it is but short , though it be never so sharp , it may be that the same God that inflicted or permitted it , is at this instant resolving to turn thy Captivity , to give thee Beauty for Ashes : And what an unseemly thing will thy Impatience be ? How troublesome will the remembrance of it be to thy Soul upon the change of thy condition ? How much wilt thou be ashamed at thy return of thy undecency of thy carriage under thy Affliction ? I am perswaded there was nothing more sowred Jobs returning Prosperity , than the remembrance of his former Murmuring and Impatience under the visiting hand of God . But again , Suppose thy Affliction wait upon thee till thy dissolution , yet it is but a Night , but an hour of Affliction : This Night , and this Hour will end with thy life ; and this life of thine is but a Span , and then thy day will dawn , and thy Sun will arise , and thy Affliction will vanish and never return again . 4. Bear it patiently , Because thy Patience will shorten thy Affliction . The Tryal and Improvement of thy Patience is one of the chief ends and business of thy Afflictions : It is sent to teach thee that Lesson , and the sooner thou learnest it , the sooner the business is dispatched , and the Discipline dismist : Thy Impatience doth but protract and lengthen out thy Discipline : If thou wouldst be discharged of this importunate and troublesome Messenger , speedily dispatch his business , and he is likely the speedier to leave thee . 5. Bear it patiently , Because thy Patience will make thy burthen the more easie and tolerable . When God sends Afflictions to tame a Man , and bring him to a right temper , believe it , he will not be over-matched , he will bring thee down , and if one Affliction will not do it , he will add more , and make thy bond the stronger , and can and will yet visit thee sevenfold more , till he hath reduced thee to Patience and Humility : Struggle not with him , for he will be too hard for thee : If thou bear thy Yoke patiently , thou wilt bear it easily ; but if thou fling and toss , like a Wild Bull in a Net , thou mayest hamper thy self worse , and thy Yoke will gall thee the more ; but it will neither break the Net , nor the Yoke . Be contented therefore , Resign up thy self to his Will with Humility , and receive the chastisement of thy folly with Patience , thou wilt have this double Advantage by it . First , The great God will then lay no more upon thee , for he hath attained his end and purpose , by what he hath already inflicted ; but will either remove it from thee , or put his own hand to help thee to bear it . Secondly , By the quietness and composure of thy mind , thou wilt be of greater strength to bear thy burthen , and with more ease under it ; for it is a most certain truth , That the turbulency , and storming , and strugling of the mind , is that which makes Affliction more sharp and troublesome , than the nature , or quality , or measure of Affliction it self , it is the mind that gives the value and weight of external Prosperity or Adversity . Take two Men the one of a proud and great Spirit , as they call it , the other of a mild , humble , patient Spirit , we shall easily see that a small disgrace or loss shall more afflict and torture the former , than Five times as much of either or both shall trouble the latter . And this is the true reason why Afflictions at the first are more troublesome and grievous , than after , though they continue the same . At the first , they meet with a mind unacquainted with it , and contesting against it , as a Heifer unaccustomed to the Yoke ; but when by time and continuance , the mind is accustomed to it , though the Yoke be the same , yet it finds no such severity and importableness in it . A Patient Heart gains that habit quickly , which custom , length of time , and necessity , doth with more difficulty produce in another temper . 6. Bear it patiently , because thou hast an Example of greater Patience , under a greater Cross , in a most innocent person : Thy Saviour hath left a Copy of his own Patience for thee to imitate ; and thy Affliction is sent to thee to teach thee to write after his Copy , and to conform thee to the Captain of thy Salvation , who was made perfect by suffering , consider the disparity of the persons ; He most innocent without any Sin to deserve it : Thou a person laden with Sin , that meritoriously deserves as much , if not more than thou hast a capacity to bear : He , the Son of God cloathed with Innocent Flesh , Thou a Worm cloathed with Impurity and Sin . Consider the disparity of the Sufferings ; He a Man of Sorrows , under the Persecution of those whom he came to save , subjected to all the scorns and torments that the wit of most Exquisite Malice could inflict , and above all this , under the sense even of the wrath and seeming desertion of his Father : Thou , it may be hast lost some Estate , or Reputation , or art in Prison , or Banishment , or Sickness , or Pain , but under all this dost or mayest injoy that Peace , and Pardon , and Favor of God that his sufferings purchased for thee : The ingredients of His Cup , nothing but Gall and Vinegar , but thy Cup , though never so seemingly bitter , yet sanctified and sweetned by His Sufferings : And yet under all this , As a Sheep before his Shearers is dumb , so he opened not his mouth ; though his most Innocent Humane Nature shrunk at the pre-apprehensions of this bitter portion , yet with Patience he resigned up his Will to his Father , Not my Will , but thine be done . In sum , as His Patience was meritorious and expiatory for thy Sin , so it was left as a Patern and Example for thy practice . 7. Bear it patiently , For it is reached unto thee from the hands of God , though it may be by the hands of most vile and accursed instruments , and this consideration is enough to tutor thee to an Invincible Patience . 1. It is the Dispensation of God , who is Infinite in Mercy and Goodness ; and therefore it is most certain it is a Message of Mercy ; for He doth not afflict willingly , nor grieve the Children of Men. Be sure that it coming from the Fountain of Goodness and Love , it hath a Blessing in it , though thou canst not at the present see it . 2. It comes from the Hands of the most Wise God , that doth all things for most excellent ends , and even in those Dispensations that are most obscure and rugged , that we cannot unriddle , yet there is always a complication of most Soveraign and Excellent designs , which shall not be disappointed . 3. It comes from the hands of that God , that is under the relation of a most tender Father , that hath the very same Bowels of Mercy , Goodness , and Love to us , in his corrections , as in his favors . A poor silly child , when a Father either corrects him for a fault , or takes that from him that will hurt him , or keeps him hard to his Book , or other imployment , or denies him somewhat that is noxious to him , thinks his Father deals hardly with him , when in truth the very same tender and Fatherly love , that discovers it self in more grateful dispensations , is the cause and companion of these . The same is thy case and mine , be patient therefore ; it is the hand of a Father that afflicts thee ; and that may assure thee that it is for thy good , and it shall be in measure . 4. It comes from that God , that is thy absolute Lord , that hath that unlimited right over his Creature , that his only Will is a sufficient rule of his Justice , thou owest an infinite subjection to him , from whom thou hast received thy Being : His Soveraignty over his Creature is even by the very right of Nature Infinite and Boundless . Be contented therefore to bear whatsoever he inflicts without the least disputing of the Justice or Injustice of it . This was that Excellent Contemplation of old Eli , under the most severe denuntiation of Gods judgment . It is the Lord , let him do what seemeth him good . And it was that great Lesson that Jobs Afflictions was sent to teach him , though he could not learn it , till God himself , as well for our Instruction , as His , taught him out of the Whirlwind ; but then he learned it , and abhorred himself in Dust and Ashes for his former Ignorance and Frowardness . 8. Yet further , bear it patiently , for that God , that sent thee this Messenger doth behold and observe how thou entertainest it ; wherein we may with all due Reverence , suppose the Lord of Heaven , thus resolving . Yonder is such a Man that professeth to Know , and Fear , and Love me , and I see him nevertheless fond of his Wealth or Honor , or some other Blessing ; I will give leave to Evil Men , or Evil Angels ( as once in the case of my Servant Job ) to spoil him of Wealth , and to cast him into Disgrace ; and I will observe his carriage and deportment under it ; and though I know what it will be , yet I will make it now conspicuous both to Himself , and Men , and Angels : And if his Deportment be not answerable to his Profession , if he storm against my Providence , or use unworthy Means to free himself , or grow Impatient and Disorderly under it , I will make his folly conspicuous , and send more and sharper Visitations unto him , till this fire of Afflictions hath brought him to his due temper of Patience , Humility , Submission to my Will , Dependance upon my Power , Subjection to my Soveraignty : But if on the other side , I see him humble himself under my hand , Submit to my will , Justifie me in his Sufferings , Patient under them , and Waiting my time to be delivered from them , I will exhibit him before Men and Angels as a Patern of Patience , and I will make him as Signal in his Deliverance , as he is Eminent in his Patience . Suppose thou couldst hear such a Deliberation , and see and behold such Spectators of thy Deportment , how wouldst thou indeavor to compose thy self with all Patience , and Contentedness , and Quietness , and Resignation of thy self under the most severe Affliction ? And how little wouldst thou dare in such a Presence to discover , or so much as entertain any Murmuring or Impatient thought ? Assure thy self , though thou canst not with a bodily eye behold this Great Lord of the World beholding thee , while thou art in this Scene of Affliction , yet he beholds and observes thee , and the very motion of thy Soul , and the Glorious Angels , though they cannot look into the secret retirements of thy Thoughts , yet they behold thy external Deportment , and are grieved , if it be unseemly , and unsuitable to the Honor of their and thy Lord , and are glad to behold a Deportment suitable to the Ends and Glory of their Lord : And the Evil Angels , which irritate and provoke thee to Impatience , are pleased and gratified if they effect it , and ashamed and vexed if they are disappointed in it . Believe it , in a signal and eminent degree of Prosperity or Adversity thou art like a Man upon a Stage , a spectacle exposed to the view of God , and Men , and Angels , and Devils ; let thy carriage therefore be such , as if thou didst as visibly behold thy Spectators , as they most certainly do see thee .

Tenthly , As thus thou art to bear thy Affliction patiently , so indeavor to use it profitably ; and besides these advices before mentioned , add to them these insuing . 1. Learn by them to have a just Estimate of the World . Affliction pulls of those fine gay Cloaths from the World , by which in Prosperity it deceives us , and renders it , as it is , a Vain , Empty , Vexing World . 2. From that sound and just Estimate of the World , Discipline thy Affections to a moderate and loose application to it . It is true , Afflictions do ordinarily imbitter the World to us , and so for the present our Affections may be dull towards it ; but this arising meerly from Sense , without a sound practical established Judgment , it ordinarily lasts no longer than the Afflictions last , and as they wear away , and worldly comforts begin to grow up and increase , so our love to the World comes on , and grows up again : But when a Man by the advantage of Afflictions digests this principle into his Judgment , commonly it abides and moderates the love of the World , notwithstanding the return of the Comforts and Advantages of the World . 3. Keep up thy heart in a dependance upon Gods Power and Alsufficiency to deliver thee from Affliction , or to support thee under it ; and labor by Observation and Experience to rivet this Dependance into thy Judgment and Choice . It is most certain , that almost every Man , as long as he can have any thing to lay hold of besides , will make that his Dependance : The Sick Man will depend upon his Physician ; the Impoverished Man upon his Friends , and the like ; but when there is nothing else to rest upon , then Men will to their Prayers , with the Mariners in the Storm ; but this being but an Act of Necessity , as it riseth upon Necessity , so it vanisheth with it : When the Necessity is over , and other Dependances come to hand , we are apt to throw off our Dependance upon God . Labor therefore for an Experimental and Judicious Dependance upon God : Sometimes in Afflictions we begin to attain it ; but the best way is to begin to entertain such a Dependance before we are driven to it ; and then the Necessity of our Afflictions will fasten and improve it , that it will stick with us after . 4. By thy Afflictions learn to value and improve thy Hope and Assurance of Everlasting Life : And indeed thy Necessity now doth in a special manner drive thee to it ; and it is a great End of Gods sending Afflictions , that it may drive us off from the clasping of this present World , and thereby carry us over to the valuation of our Eternal Condition : Thy Wealth is gone , and thy Honor and Reputation is sunk and blasted , and thy Friends have forsaken thee , and thy Body is mouldering to dust and rottenness , and thy Soul sits hovering upon thy Lips ready to take her flight , and all thy hold of this present life is broken and gone , so that thou hast nothing now to lodge and fasten thy Hopes upon , but the Promises of Everlasting Life , thy interest in Christ , the Hope of Everlasting Life , and now , if ever , these things will be welcome to thee . God hath scattered and broken all other Confidences ; improve this Vnum Magnum , this one thing necessary , that alone doth stand by thee , when all things else forsake thee , and will accompany thee in and through Death it self ; and fix in thy Heart such a value upon this that hath been thy only Comfort , when all others forsake thee , as not to let go thy valuation of it , though thy Temporal Prosperity should return unto thee .

Eleventhly , Wait Gods leisure for thy Deliverance out of Afflictions , and use no Vnlawful Means to be delivered from it . Use no base or unworthy Compliances with the World , either by dissimulation or flattery , or violence , or falsity , to extricate thy self ; for that will either intangle thee worse , or at least and Guilt to thy Sufferings . And above all , avoid that accursed temptation of ridding thy self from thy Troubles by putting an End to thy own life ; for thereby thou dost at once two great Evils ; an Evil of extream Folly and Madness to exchange a Temporal Inconvenience by running the hazard of an Eternal Misery ; for the very same Impatience and Perturbation and Anxiety of Soul , that puts thee upon such an accursed Resolution , goes with thee into the other World with a great improvement of it , and makes thy Soul in its Separation infinitely more vexed and tormented than it was before in the Body ; and an Evil of Rebellion against God , who hath sent thee these Afflictions , and hath made it thy Province , and thy Task , and thy Service , that he injoyns thee , to bear with Patience , and to his Honor till he deliver thee . Thou art just like an hired Servant , who art set on work by a most righteous Lord , and thy labor set out to thee , and thy Reward appointed in the end of thy day , and thou wilt run away before the day be ended , whereby thou dost not only lose thy Wages , but art justly obnoxious to be pursued and cast into Prison for thy Disobedience and Rebellion : Be contented , wait Gods time with Prayers and Patience , and thou mayest be sure to find his Mercy in moderating thy Afflictions , his Power to support thee under them , his Goodness in his time , which is always the best time , to deliver thee from them , and his Bounty to reward thee for thy Patience and Obedient bearing of them .

Twelfthly , Take this for a most certain expedient to be prevented from many Afflictions , and to be delivered from them : Meddle as little with the World , and the Honor , Places , and Advantages of them , as you can ; and extricate thy self from them as much , and as soon as thou canst . Although the Divine Wisdom and Providence governs the World in a most infallible and unerring method , yet in the External Administration of it , it seems to be full of confusion and uncertainty : When I have seen a Lottery with a goodly show of fine Plate , and a great many persons parting with certain money for an uncertain Lot , and though possibly one or two may gain a fair prize , yet a Hundred for one drawing nothing but blanks , and when they have opened their Papers vexing and tormenting themselves with their Loss and Disappointment ; or , when I have seen at Christmas time a few Apples thrown among a Room full of Boys , and one scrambling , and another catching , some getting nothing but a fall , or bruise , or a broken Shin , or a broken Limb , and another getting it may be two or three , and those that miss falling upon him that hath gotten ; so the company fall together by the Ears : Or , when I have seen a match at Footbal , one while one getting the Ball , and then another kicking up his heels and getting it from him , and then another doing the like by him . These give me a kind of Resemblance of the World , wherein , though by the help of Civil Government there are certain Rules put to the Game , yet they are not always kept , and when they are , yet it is not without a mixture of Irremediable Deceit and Violence , though it be of a finer sort .

If now my Child should run among this Company , and in the scuffle should receive a knock , or a fall , or a bruise , or be tumbled in the dirt , and then should come running to me , and complain of his usage , my answer would be to him , What made you there ? What made you in such boisterous and unruly Company ? If you mingle with such Company , you must be contented to share in the prejudice , and to take your Lot ; it is the Play , if you dislike with your success , come no more among them . And indeed , this is in a great measure the case of many of the true Children of God , they see fine gay things in the World , as Wealth , and Honor , and Place , and External Advantages scattered among the Children of Men , and gotten by scrambling for them , and sometimes are apt to flatter themselves into the pursuit of them , with a pretence that if they could come by their share of them , they would do more Good with them than those do that get them ; or , at least , they think it as lawful , and as fit for them to have them as others ; and thereupon they thrust themselves into the Crowd and Scramble for them , or are , at least , cousened into an affectation of them ; and possibly they are rolled and tumbled into the dirt in their undertakings , and it may be miss of them when they have all done : But suppose they gain them , then they think they may keep them , and yet keep their Conscience and Integrity and Religion too ; and many times in that indeavor they lose somewhat of their Integrity , and then God visits them with some Loss or Reproach ; or in case they stand to their Integrity , and will not part with it , but will make a scruple of things that others down with , then commonly they are exposed and pillaged , and lose all that they have thus gotten , and the Evil one , and Evil Men tell them , Nay , Sir , if you come into our ground , if you will hold the World , pray be contented to hold it upon our term , and as we do , or else leave it ; it is part of the game . And then the Man complains of his Affliction , and his hard Usage in the World , and that he suffers for keeping a Good Conscience , and if he would have done as the rest of the World do , it had been better with him . But Sir , what made you in that Company ? What made you to be tampering with great Places and Preferments ? Do not you know , that if you will be dealing and trafficking with these kind of matters , you must take them upon those conditions the World doth usually afford them ? Do not you know that by medling with them , you list your self in a manner under the Worlds command , put your self into that Corporation ? And therefore if you are minded to hold these Temporal Advantages , you must observe the Orders of your Commander , and so hazard your Conscience and Peace with God ? And if you will not observe the Orders of your Commander , you must be contented to be subject to the Discipline , and Frowns , and Scorns , and Rejections of the World ; for you cannot serve God and Mammon . Therefore if thou wouldst prevent or avoid very many Afflictions , mingle as little as is possible , with the concerns of the World , especially in great Places ; and if through inadvertency or importunity thou art drawn into the scuff●le and intanglements of the World , get out as soon as thou canst safely , and fairly , and honestly : For it is a Thousand to one but , first or last , thou shalt otherwise hazard thy Conscience , or receive some scratches and worldly prejudices , which are in truth rather the Issues of thy Folly , and Inconsiderate Adventure , than true Affliction .

But for medling with Places of Magistracy , Honor or Publick Imployment , I would not have it thought that it is my intention that Good Men , awfully called , and duly qualified , should morosely or frowardly wholly reject their due call unto them . The World cannot be kept in order without Magistracy : and Good Men , if otherwise fitted for it , and duly called unto it , are likely to administer it best for the Publick good of Mankind : and it were an unreasonable thing for them to expect the benefits of Magistracy and Government from others , when under such circumstances they wilfully decline the communication of the like advantage to others : and therefore the wisest Kingdoms , States and Politicians have imposed a necessity upon Men of honesty and abilities to take upon them Publick Imployments : Aristot. 2. Politicorum , although he condemns Ambition after Magistracy , [ that Men should be incouraged or permitted to stand or solicit for places ] Nemo enim Magistratum petet , nisi Honoris sit affectator : atque pleraque eorum quae homines injuste faciunt , per Ambitionem & Avaritiam committuntur : yet tells us , Oportet enim & volentem & non volentem ad Magistratum assumere , si dignus sit eo Magistratu . That therefore which I mean is , 1. That Men that love their own Peace and Tranquillity should not seek great Imployments , 2. That if they are offered , they do , as far as consists with modesty and duty to their Superiors and Country , decline and avoid them : 3. That if upon such an account they are perswaded to undertake them , yet they be sure that before they undertake them , they have sufficient abilities to perform them . 4. If by the Command of the Soveraign Power they are required to undergo them , and are able and fit for the Imployment , they do not either frowardly or ungratefully refuse them : For 1. Herein they are but passive ; it is an act of their Submission and Duty , not of their Choice . 2. Being thus called to it , if they meet with any rubs in their way , they have no reason to blame themselves , so long as they observe their duty in the exercise thereof ; The Prince that injoyned them to this Province , is to be their support in it . 5. Readily and Chearfully to entertain a dismission from it when it pleaseth the Prince to call them from it , or when by reason of disabling occurrences they may fairly attain such dismission .

III. And thus I have done with some of those principal Considerations touching our Deportment under Afflictions ; now concerning the frame and temper of a Soul under our Deliverance from them .

1. Accept of thy deliverance with all Thankfulness to God , and Humility in thy self . Attribute it wholly to his Goodness and Mercy ; Think not that thou art delivered because of thy Worth or Desert ; for any one sin that ever thou committest would detain thee Everlastingly under the severest Affliction : Think not thy Affliction hath expiated thy Demerit , and that thou owest thy Deliverance to the satisfaction that is made by thy suffering ; for most certainly the greatest Affliction under Heaven cannot satisfie for the least Transgression ; nothing but the Blood of the Son of God can countervail the weight of the least Sin against God : Think not that thy Deliverance is due to thy Wit , Friends , or Interest ; for though God be pleased to use the intervention of Means , yet he Administred that Means , and Blessed that Means , and made it effectual ; or otherwise it would have been but a flat and unprofitable Means . As God sends Afflictions to evidence his Power , and Wisdom , and Soveraignty ; so he sends Deliverance to manifest his Goodness and Bounty : and the Tribute that he most justly expects for the same , is but easie and reasonable : Call upon me in the day of trouble , and I will Deliver thee , and thou shalt Glorifie me , Psal. 50.15 .

2. Forget not the time of thy Trouble , and the promises and ingagements that thou didst then make . We observed in the beginning of this Discourse the difficulty of Pre-apprehension of Adversity before it comes ; and truly it is almost as hard to think of Adversity when it is past . We please our selves with what we enjoy , and never reflect upon what is past , unless it be to heighten and advance our present enjoyments : and if we do chance to think upon the serious resolutions we then entertained , we look upon them as the weak results of our Infirmity , useful indeed for that time , but now antiquated and grown unseasonable .

3. Not only call to mind thy Promises , but call them to mind with a Resolution to observe and perform them , in such expostulations as these : Alass ! the time was when I was under great Afflictions , it may be of a painful and a desperate sickness , and then I resolved , if God would restore my health , I would walk more strictly with him ; I would pray more frequently , and more constantly , and more fervently than formerly ; I would be more diligent to make even my Accounts with him , to make sure my Calling and Election , for which I found the time of my Sickness was very unseasonable ; I would redeem my pretious Time , and value those minutes of life , that God shall lend me at a dearer rate than formerly ; I would neglect no opportunity of doing Good to others , or improving my Everlasting Peace ; how pretious then was one hour of repose and quietness , and freedom from pain ? and how much should I then have valued it ? and how industriously should I have then improved it in the great concerns of my Everlasting Soul ? God hath now heard my Prayers , restored my Health , put that pretious Opportunity into my hands of performing my Vowes and Promises , which I then made in the sadness of my Soul , and shall I deal falsly in my Covenant , disappointing my God that hath delivered me ? No , I will up and be doing ; I will Perform all my Vowes to him : nay , the sense of the Mercy and Condescention of God to my requests shall increase my Ingagements before him ; As he hath added Mercy to me , so I will add new Obligations to my self of better Obedience , and farther Duties than the sense of my Misery could suggest unto me , or draw from me .

4. Be very Watchful over thy self , and remember thy Saviours Counsel , Go away and Sin no more , lest a worse thing befall thee : and in a special manner recollect and call to mind those Sins that did most trouble and disquiet thee in the time of thy Adversity ; renew thy Repentance for them , and take a special care to avoid Relapses into them ; Remember the mischiefs they then did thee , and let them know they shall do thee no more : be most severe and strict against them .

5. Make a frequent Vse of thy Deliverance as a singular Preservative against the Power of thy Temptations and Corruptions . Deliverance carries in the very apprehension of it these two things : 1. A supposition of a former Misery or Visitation : 2. A present injoyment of a freedom from that Misery . Therefore if any Corruption or Temptation unto Sin sollicite thee , improve this consideration to this or the like effect : I was lately under the Rack , under the Rod , under extream Want , Imprisonment , Disgrace , Losses , Sickness , Sorrows , Fears , and an imminent expectation of the worst of Evils ; and though these were sore and sharp Afflictions , yet the sense of my former Sins , and the importunate restlesness of that Guilt , that was contracted from them , were more bitter and tormenting than all the rest of my sufferings ; it was that which was the sting and venome of all my Afflictions ; and it hath pleased Almighty God to accept of my Humiliation , and to remove my Afflictions , and to give me Beauty for Ashes , and shall I be so very a fool as by committing of a new sin to run the hazard of another plunge , another scourge ? which in all probability must be much more severe than the former , because it would be the Issue not only of Sin , but of Presumption , a Sin committed against the experience that I have had of the bitterness of Sin ; and with what face or hope could I expect any possibility of Deliverance from a second Relapse into Misery occasioned by so Desperate a presumptuous relapse into Sin ? But suppose it were possible , that notwithstanding my yielding to this Temptation , I might escape the Vengeance , yet can I be so false , so ungrateful to that God , that hath delivered me from my Sufferings and from my Fears , as to recompence his Love and Mercy , and Goodness with a Presumptuous Apostacy from him ? shall I thus requite his Mercy and Goodness , that heard me in my Anguish and Sadness of Soul , in my Extremity and Misery , and so heard me that he hath delivered me out of all my Troubles and Miseries ? Certainly , if either common Prudence , or common Ingenuity be left in a Man , the sense of a former Calamity , and the sense of so great a Mercy , will make a Man abhor the least submission to that Temptation that may at once hazard the continuance of his present Comfort , and cannot be entertained without the Presumptuous rejection of him , that thus Mercifully sent Deliverance .

6. Let the remembrance of thy Misery , and thy present Mercy make thee most jealously and passionately careful to keep thy Interest , and ( if it be not too bold a word ) thy Friendship with God . Remember he was thy support in thy Affliction , and he was thy Deliverer out of thy Affliction : let Gratitude bind thee to it , as he was thy Benefactor ; and let Prudence bind thee to it , thou knowest not how soon thou mayst have the same necessity again , and where canst thou find such a friend ? The truth is , when we are in extremity and have no whither else to fly , O then we run to God , and we pray unto him , and promise him fair : but when once our turn is served , and we have gotten our ends , and think our selves out of Gun-shot , we are like Mariners after a Storm , and God hears no more of us : but this is , as extream Ingratitude , so , extream Folly . Oh keep thy God thy Friend , for most certain it is , thou wilt have occasion to use him again , and thou knowest not how soon : keep thine interest in him , and estrange not thy self from him in thy Recovery , whom thou canst not be without in thy Affliction .

7. As I would have thee recollect what were the things in thy life past that most troubled thee in thy Affliction , that so thou mayst avoid them ; so think what things or practices , or expence of time in thy life past was most Acceptable and Comfortable to thee in thy Affliction , that so thou mayst practise them after thy restitution . Consider , whether in thy Affliction thou didst remember thy past Recreations , thy Merriments , thy Feastings , thy Lusts , thy Honours , thy Greatness , with any Comfort or Contentment , or whether the remembrance of the Hours thou hast formerly spent in Prayer , Reading the Scriptures , Hearing Sermons , Relieving the Poor , Visiting the Sick , Relieving the Oppressed , Harbouring the Persecuted Members of Christ , gave thee more contentment . And I dare appeal to any Mans Experience under Heaven , that when the former sort of Transactions of our lives were either extreamly bitter , or at best very insipid , to his remembrance , yet the remembrance of these of the latter sort were most Comfortable and Contenting . Thou art now recovered , it is true , but as sure as thou shalt dye , so sure thou shalt pass through new Afflictions , though it may be not of the same kind , yet of some kind : let it be thy care , after God hath thus delivered thee from thy former Affliction , to lay up a stock of Good Works against another Evil day ; such Cordials will lie warm at thy Heart , even when the cold pangs of Death it self shall be ready to invade and seize upon it , and the Comfort of them shall pass into the other World with thee .

8. Though the portion of thy life before thy Affliction and under it , were very well spent , yet remember that the Mercy of God in thy Deliverance doth call upon thee for a farther degree of Goodness and Perfection than thou hadst before : it calls for more Humility , and more Thankfulness , and more Heavenly Mindedness , and more Charity , and more Devotion , and more Self-Denial , and more Sanctity , and more Jealousie for the Honour of God , For 1. On Gods part , thou hast more Ingagements and Obligations put upon thee than before : Every increase of Mercy calls for an increase of Duty . 2. On thy own part , thy Experiences are greater , thou hast past through the School of Afflictions , and that is a season wherein God opens the Ear to Discipline , the Rod hath a voice and a lesson to teach ; and thou hast past through the experience of Gods Goodness , Tenderness , and Faithfulness in thy Deliverance , and that tutors thee to more Dependance upon him , Thankfulness to him , and Love of him , and these affections carry out the Heart to Duty and Obedience .

9. Beware that after Deliverance from Afflictions thou be not secure : think not with Agag , surely the bitterness of death is past ; that now , thou hast escaped this brunt , all is safe , and the danger past ; still be Watchful , and stand upon thy Guard . 1. Thou hast Sins and Corruptions within thee , that if thou art not watchful , may surprize thee , and raise new storms . 2. Thou hast watchful and vigilant Enemies without thee , Evil Men , and Evil Angels , that envy thee the more , because thou hast escaped . 3. As long as thou livest in the World thy condition is uncertain and unstable in Externals , and though one Wave be past ; another may follow . And if there were nothing else to make thee Watchful , yet be sure the hour of Sickness , and the hour of Death will overtake thee , and that is an hour of Affliction , which thou must alwayes prepare for , lest it take thee unawares .

OF SUBMISSION , PRAYER & THANKSGIVING .

HF that freely Submits not to the Divine Disposition and Providence , gains nothing by his Contumacy ; for submit he must , whether he will or no.

But he gains this Loss and Disadvantage thereby , that those Providences , that are not according to his desire , gall him more by the Unquietness and Impatience of his mind under them .

He that with an entire freeness of Soul submits to the Divine Providences , gains thereby these Advantages ; namely , 1. That certainly , such a resolved willing submission , never makes the Providences the more harsh or severe . 2. That commonly they are even in themselves more gentle and easie , because the Man needs not a severity to bring him to a right temper of mind ; namely , due subjection to the Divine Will. 3. But be the Providences never so harsh and hard , they sit more easie upon a quiet , patient , resigning Soul .

A Man never loseth by Prayer , for if the thing be Granted it makes the Blessing both the sweeter and the safer , being the Humble Victory and Acquest of his Prayer : and it makes the Man the Better , the more Thankful ; for he looks upon it as a Gift , and not a Chance ; the more Dependent upon God , and the readier upon all occasions to call upon him , who hath honoured the Prayer of his Servant with a Concession .

And if it be Denied , yet he loseth not ; for it may be the thing he asked might have done him harm , and been his prejudice . Again , though he be not gratified in the thing he desired , a Thousand to one but he is gratified , with what was fitter or better ; But if not , yet the man receives infallibly this benefit by being denied , that he is made the better , the more Humble and Patient , and to be content that Almighty God should be Master of his own Bounty , and not to be commanded by our Prayers . Or at least it discovers unto him the Distemper of his Heart ; if he be not contented to be denied , his Heart was Proud , and his Prayer Hypocritical ; he seemed to Pray , but indeed meant to Command , not to pray for what he desired , which makes him thus Impatient of a denial .

Sense of Misery , Want , or Danger , when we find no other means of Remedy or prevention , doth carry us to prayer , and Invocation upon God . The Sailors did this in the Storm . But commonly , though Deliverance follows even upon our very Prayers , we rarely with that seriousness and intention of mind , return unto God the praise and Acknowledgment of his Goodness . Of the Ten Leapers that were cleansed , we read only of One that returned Thanks for the Benefit ; and commonly we either forget the Benefit , and our Benefactor , when our turn is served , and are content to attribute our Deliverance to Chance , to Means , or to any thing , rather than to the Goodness of God . And the Reasons may be these . 1. The Pride and Naughtiness of our Hearts , that are unwilling to own our Dependance upon God , when we think we stand not in need of him . 2. Necessity , and Fear , and the Incumbent sense of Evil are more pressing and urgent , and by a kind of force oftentimes drive us to Pray , when we cannot probably find help elsewhere ; But when the Necessity and Fear , and Incumbence of Evil is removed , it is only a true Judgment , and the Grateful temper of our Hearts , that do ingage us to render Thanks for the Mercy received , which is ordinarily more flat and less active than Evils felt or feared . Natural Necessity prompts a Man to Prayer oftentimes , but it is sincerity and a right temper of the Soul that prompts a Man to Gratitude and Thankfulness .

He that in his Necessity prayes for Help and orbtains it , if his prayers were the fruit barely of his Exigence , is seldom Thankful , and if he be not Thankful , it is an Evidence that his Prayers did not move from a Heart sincere , and truly principled with a Dependence upon God , and a habit of Dutifulness to him . But if he be Thankful for the Mercy received , it is an Evidence that not only his Gratitude , but his Prayers sprang from the same Principle ; namely , a Good and sincere Heart , principled with the same habit of Grace , Piety , Dependance upon God , and Obedience to him .

There is an admirable Oeconomy of the Divine Goodness and Wisdom , to bring his Creature Man both to his Duty and Happiness ; many times he invites us to come to him by Perswasions , and Monitions , and secret Motions ; and when we neglect that voice , he oftentimes sends upon us Troubles , and Afflictions , and Dangers : and this he doth by a kind of moral force to make us flie to him by prayer for help , and relief , & deliverance .

And it seldom misseth its effect , if there be but any Wisdom or the Common Instinct implanted generally in the Humane Nature . When we know not which way to turn , we then flie to God , 2 Chro. 20.12 . because all other ways are most commonly obstructed and hedged up , and this passage only left open to an escape : In their Affliction they will seek me early . Hos. 5.15 . Almighty God deals by us , as a wise Artist , that hath a purpose to turn a stream towards some designed place , stops all other egresses but that which fits his design ; or , as a Father , that is minded to bring an Extravagant Son to his Duty and Dependance , obstructs all supplies but such as may be had from himself . So oftentimes God Almighty doth so methodise his Afflictions , that all ways of relief are obstructed , but such as may lead a Man to him . It is true , many times in such cases we will be shifting and trying every avenue to get out at ; but when we find every passage hedged up with Thorns , but that only which leads to him , our Stomachs come down , and we are glad to seek relief in that way where we find only it can be had . Like Jonas his Mariners in the Storm , we try all experiments and Artifices to save our selves , throw out our Anchors , take down the Sails , ply the Pump , throw over the Goods to lighten the Vessel ; and when all will not do , then we begin to call upon God , Lord save us , we perish .

But yet the method of the Divine Goodness resteth not here , but brings us a step forward : He is often graciously pleased to grant the Deliverance we pray for , to let us see that we call not upon his Name in vain , and to incourage us to depend upon him , to draw near unto him , to make him our Confidence as well as our Fear : And though sometimes he defers our Deliverance , yet he doth it , partly to give unto our selves an Experiment of our own Sincerity and Patience , partly to Discipline and Tutor us to Constancy and Patient waiting upon him ; partly to carry us on to more Importunity and Continuance in Prayer ; and by this means our Souls are made the better by drawing nearer and nearer to him , that is the Fountain of Light and Goodness ; for the repetition of Prayers rectifies the Soul , brings it nearer to God , lays more hold upon his Strength , and Goodness , as the sinking Man draws himself nearer to the shore by the repeated laying hold upon that Cord that is from thence thrown out to save him .

Neither doth he rest here , for the Deliverance he sends , is not barely sent to deliver us from the Affliction or Danger , nor barely to gratifie our Prayers ; but to bring us yet nearer to God , and to make us active Instruments to give Glory to that God , that hath thus delivered us ; whereby at once we are drawn nearer to the Fountain of our own Happiness , and Almighty God receives and attains the great end of his Goodness , in the active Glory and Gratitude that he receives from his Creature . And this is attained ,

1. By a kind of Natural Instinct , Ingenuity , and implanted Tendency , as I may call it , of a Good Nature ; whereby , unless a Man be a fool , or hath put off the common Rudiments of Humanity , he is carried out to Thankfulness , Gratitude , and an indeavor of complacency to him that is his Benefactor ; which , as it is the most rational consequence imaginable , so it is a principle so riveted in the very Constitution of Humanity it self , that even without any antecedent ratiocination , or rational discourse , it doth presently , and at first view , and antecedently , antevert any rational discourse of the Mind . We are Grateful , and study to be complacent to him that doth us good , without any using of Topicks or Arguments , by a kind of Natural Instinct or Sympathy .

2. By a kind of Stipulation or bargain made by Almighty God with his poor Creature , to have this Tribute of Gratitude and Benevolent Affection from his Creature , as the Tribute and return of his Goodness and Beneficence , Psal. 50.15 . Call upon me in the day of trouble , and I will deliver thee , and thou shalt glorifie me . And this Retribution , as it is most admirably Con-genious and Con-natural to the right constitution of the Humane Nature , so it is the most Reasonable , and the most Noble , and the most Easie , and the most Beneficial Retribution in the World to him that makes it . For first , Whereas the Creature in his Prayer seeks , and in the returns thereof , receives something from God , in his Gratitude , and Glorification of God he performs that , which his Maker graciously accepts , as a return made to him from his Creature . Secondly , By this means he attains the two great Ends of his Being ; namely , the Glorifying of God , and the Improvement of his own Felicity ; for Gratitude and Thankfulness brings the Soul to a nearer approach to God , if it be possible , than his very Prayers doth ; because it is the greatest motion of Love and Beneficence in the Soul unto God that can be ; and the nearer the Soul is moved unto God , the nearer it is joyned to its Life , its Perfection , its Happiness : The more it participates of the Love , the Goodness , the Influence , the Communication of the Divine Goodness .

OF PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING . Psal. CXVI . 12. What shall I render unto the Lord for all his Benefits towards me ?

THere are two great Duties that we ow unto God , which are never out of season : But such as we have continual occasion and necessity to use whilest we live ; namely , Prayer and Thanksgiving .

Prayer , Is always seasonable in this life , because we ever stand in need of it ; we always want something , and have always occasion to fear something ; although we could be supposed in such a state of Happiness in this World , that we could not say , we wanted any thing , yet we have cause to pray for the continuance of the Happiness we injoy , which is not so fixed and stable , but that it may leave us : I said in my prosperity , I shall never be moved : Thou hiddest thy face , and I was troubled . We are never out of the reach of the Divine Providence , either to Relieve or Afflict us ; and therefore we are under a continual Necessity of Prayer , either to Relieve and Supply us , or , at least , to preserve and uphold us .

Thanksgiving , is likewise always seasonable , because we are never without something , that we receive from the Divine Goodness , that deserves and requires our Thankfulness . It may be we want Wealth , yet have we not Health ? If we want both , yet have we not Life ? If we want Temporal Blessings , yet have we not Eternal Everlasting Blessings ? If we have any thing that is comfortable to , or convenient for us , we have it from the Goodness and Bounty of God . And though we have not all we would , yet we have what we deserve not , and what we prize and value ; and therefore while we have any thing , we have occasion of Thanksgiving to our great Benefactor .

But yet it seems , though both those Duties be highly due and necessary , yet Thanksgiving hath a kind of preference even above Prayer it self , in these considerations especially .

1. The Duty of Thanksgiving seems to be a more Permanent Duty , even than Prayer it self , and of a greater extent and durableness . The Blessed Angels , and the Saints that are and shall be settled and fixed in a state of full and unchangeable Happiness , that enjoy whatsoever they can desire , and therefore have no reason to pray for more , because they cannot enjoy more than they do ; yet have an Everlasting occasion of Thanksgiving for that Happiness they Everlastingly enjoy : And as this is their Everlasting occasion , so it is and shall be their Everlasting business unto all Eternity to Praise and Glorifie God . And as the Beams of the Divine Goodness shall Everlastingly shine upon them , so there will be an Everlasting Reflection , as it were , of the same Goodness in the necessary and uncessant returns of Praise and Thanksgiving by them .

2. The Duty of Thanksgiving seems to be a Duty of more noble Nature , than even Prayer it self , because it answers more appositly and closely the noblest End in the World ; namely , the Glory of God , which certainly is a more ultimate and noble End , than even the very Good of the Creature . It is true , Almighty God receives no accession to his Happiness and Perfection by all the Honour and Praise and Thanksgiving that all the Creatures in the World can pay him , yet the Glory of his Majesty is the chief ultimate End why he made all things , Rev. 4.11 . Thou art worthy to receive Glory , Honour , and Power ; for thou hast Created all things , and for thy pleasure they were and are Created . It is true the proximate immediate reason of the Creation of all things was , that the Redundant Goodness of Almighty God might be communicated unto Being , derived from him by Creation : But the ultimate and more universal End was , that by this Communication of the Divine Goodness unto something without himself , the Glory , and Honour , and Praise thereof might return unto himself , who only can be the adequate End of himself , of all he doth . Thanksgiving therefore and Praise answers the greatest and most noble End in the World : If I want , and pray for what I want , my immediate End therein is my own Good , and yet that End is too narrow , if I propound not to my self to Praise and Glorifie the Bounty of that God which answers my Prayer .

3. Again , whereas all the Irrational and inanimate Creatures in the World do passively praise Almighty God , in that they bear every one of them the Inscription of his Wisdom , Goodness , Power . The Reasonable and Intellectual Natures of Men and Angels have that noble Advance , that they can and may Actively and Intentionally Glorifie and Praise the Goodness of God : and it is indeed the noblest Harmony that they can make when they summon all their Understanding , Will , Affections , all that is within them , to Praise that God , to whom they owe their Being and Benefits : And the Wise and Glorious God doth therefore Communicate the sensible , Experimental , Eminent Influences of his Mercy , Goodness and Bounty unto the Reasonable and Intellectual Natures of Men and Angels , that they might touch and strike upon those noble strings of the Heart and Mind and Affections , that may thereupon return the Harmony of Thanksgiving , and Praise to the great Lord of the World : And surely the Nature of Man , in its true state and temper , is as naturally and effectually moved to the returning of Thanksgiving to God for Mercies received , as a well tuned Lute , or other Instrument doth give an Harmonious sound upon the touches of a skilful Artist . And most certainly that nature is strangely out of Tune and Order , that upon Mercies received makes not a sweet return of Thanksgiving and Praise . This therefore , as it is the noblest , so it is the most natural production of the Reasonable Nature , the fullest of Congruity to the right disposition of its Faculties .

Almighty God sends upon the Children of Men Benefits , Blessings , Deliverances , Favours ; And the fruit that he doth ( and that most justly ) expect , is a Crop of Praise , Glory , Honour and Thanksgiving , Call upon me in the day of Trouble , and I will Deliver thee , and thou shalt Glorifie me . And it is a barren , degenerate , stupid Heart , that yields not such fruit of such a Semination . So that Praise and Thanksgiving is Con-natural to our very Faculties , the tribute that the Rational Nature , naturally payes to the Divine Being as his Benefactor , the very fruit that the great Lord of the Harvest expects for all his Goodness and Mercy .

4. The truth is , Thanksgiving is the very End of Prayer : and as the End is more noble than the means conducible to the End , so therefore is the Duty , the business of Thanksgiving in its self , though equally necessary , yet more noble than Prayer it self .

I want something that I would desire Almighty God to give me , and I therefore pray ; my Merciful Lord grants me my desire , and gives me what I pray for , and therefore gives it , and gives it upon my Prayer to him , that therefore his Mercy and Goodness may be more Evident unto me , and that thereupon I may Praise , and Glorifie , and give Thanks unto him .

And if , with the Nine Lepers in the Gospel I receive the Benefit I ask , and do not with the Tenth give Glory to God for the Benefit I receive , I disappoint both the Giver , of what he designed in the Gift , and disappoint my very Prayers in that which is their just and proper End .

And hence it is , that our Blessed Lord in that absolute form of Prayer , which he hath taught us , premiseth the first and greatest Petition of the Hallowing or Glorifying of the Name of God , and the first , the great , the regnant Petition , that is to influence all the rest that follow , especially those that are for the supplies of our own wants .

5. Whereas in Prayer we ask that we may receive from God , Almighty God hath been pleased to Honour and Dignifie our Duty of Thanksgiving , with so much condescention of his Majesty , that he receives , or at least interprets it as a Receipt from his poor Creature . It is true , our Praises add nothing to his Perfection and self-sufficiency ; Nay , our very Thanksgiving and Praise is but a gift that he gives to himself ; He gives us a Being that may be Capable to Praise him , gives us Hearts and Affections that may be willing to Praise him , gives us Grace that may enable us to Praise him , gives us Benefits that may Excite us to Praise him , gives us Directions how to Praise him , gives us Laws , Commands , Promises , Encouragements to Praise him : So that in truth our very Thanksgivings and Praises to him , are but his own work , and yet such is his Goodness , that he takes and accepts and Rewards our Praises and Thanksgivings , as if they were our own Actions . And whereas in Prayer we receive from him , in Thanksgiving he is pleased so far to Honour this Duty , as if he received somewhat from us , and accordingly accepts and rewards it .

Meditations UPON THE Lord's Prayer .

MEDITATIONS UPON THE Lord's Prayer . Matth. 6.9 . After this manner therefore pray ye , Our Father , &c.

BY the Sin of Adam , and the Corruption and Obliquity that thereupon entred into the humane nature , Mankind had contracted a three-fold mischief . 1. Guilt , that needed an Expiation ; 2. Blindness , that needed an Illumination ; 3. Perverseness and Rebellion , that needed Power and Victory to subdue it . In the fulness of time God sent his Son into the World with healing for all these Diseases :

1. He sent his Son to be our Sacrifice and our Priest : and not only so in his own Person , but by derivation unto those that believe on him , he hath imprinted upon them and communicated unto them a participation of his own Office , and hath made them Kings and Priests : 1. By making an Atonement for them with his Father , whereby they are accepted ; John 16.26 , 27. I say not unto you I will pray the Father for you , for the Father himself loveth you : not to Exclude the continuance and Efficacy of his Intercession , but to intimate the fulness of our Reconciliation , that having made us of his houshold , Ephes. 2.19 . we may have access to the Master and Father of the Family ; Ephes. 2.18 . for through him we have access unto the Father . 2. By sending his own Spirit to instruct , and warm , and fit our spirits to come into the presence ; for through him we have access by one Spirit , Ephes. 2.18 . teaching what to ask , and inabling us to ask as we should , Rom. 8.26 . For we know not what we should pray for as we ought .

2. As he made him a Sacrifice for our Guilt , so he sent him to be a Light for our darkness , John 1.5 . the World was all in Darkness and Error ; the most Exact Sublimate Wits inscribed their Altar , To the Unknown God . They were ignorant of things to be known , and of things to be done . The Son of God that came out of the Bosome of his Father , and knew all his Mind , received a Commission from him to instruct Mankind in the way to Life . Joh. 17.8 . I have given unto them the Words which thou gavest me . Joh. 3.34 . He whom God hath sent speaketh the Words of God . Matth. 11.27 . No man knoweth the will of the Father save the Son , and him to whom the Son revealeth it .

3. As he came with Light to instruct us , so he came with Power to conquer in us : Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power : and to conquer for us Death and Hell .

The Business that we are to consider respecteth principally the first and second part of his Meditation , viz. in bringing the Will and Mind of God to us , to teach us what to ask , which concerns his Prophetical Office : And again , having formed desires in us according to that Will of God , to present them unto his Father , which concerns his Priestly Office .

After this manner pray : Luke 11.1 , 2. One of his Disciples said unto him , Lord , teach us to pray , and he said , When ye pray , say , &c. In general we may learn :

1. That Christ doth not exclude other Prayers : The injunction of this excludes not all other prayers . Our Saviour himself , and those that were acquainted with his Mind and Practice , used variety of prayers , according to the several occasions , differing from this form , and therefore the Apostle commands , Ephes. 6.18 . Praying always with all prayers and supplications . Prayers formed for every occasion . And that Spirit , that maketh intercession for us with groans that cannot be uttered , is not confined to any particular form , not to vary from it .

2. Though thou art not restrained to this form only , yet in all thy prayers pray after this manner . There is somewhat in this Prayer that must be ingredient to all thy prayers .

1. Be sure thou hast a Commission , a Promise , for what thou prayest ; desire those things that are warrantable by the Will of God revealed in his Word . Christ was acquainted with the Mind of God , and gives us a pattern to ask those things which are warrantable . Ask for thy good , but ask not for thy Lust , James 4.2 .

2. Though the things thou askest be warrantable and agreeable to the revealed Will of God , Yet in the particularity of thy desires refer thy self and submit unto the Will of God : because thou art not wise enough to know what is fit for thee in particular , Especially in the measure , time , and manner of the thing thou askest . The Son of God hath taught us to pray for the fulfilling of the Will of God before the supply of our own Wants ; and in his own Prayer in the Garden , Matth. 26. Nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt . Whatsoever thou desirest , yet confine not God . Thou shalt be sure thy Prayer shall not lose his fruit , though the thing desired seem not to be granted . The Cup did not pass from our Saviour , though he asked it , Matth. 26.39 . Yet he was heard in that he feared , Heb. 5.7 .

3. As much as thou canst let thy prayer be a reasonable service , a work of thy Spirit and Understanding . 1 Cor. 14.15 . not only of thy Lips and Tongue : for thou hast to do with the God of the Spirits of all flesh , that will be worshipped in spirit and in truth . Pray with thy Lips , that thou mayst by that means fix thy Mind the better to the work ; but let thy words be the production of thy Soul . Let thy Heart pray as well as thy Tongue . And this was one of the Reasons of our Saviour's inditing this Prayer in this short and pithy form , to condemn the vanity of the Gentiles , who had confidence in their vain repetitions of words , without the intention and application of the heart , Matt. 6.8 .

4. Here we see Christ , the Wisdom of the Father , delivers out a Form of Prayer , framed with a great deal of Wisdom , containing very much matter in a few words : Learn that , though thou art not to put confidence in studied Devotions , nor to make thy prayers the work of thy invention or wit , but of thy Heart and Soul , yet let the Reverence and Awe thou bearest to him , before whom thou comest in thy prayers , the seriousness of the business about which thou goest , put thee in mind to Prepare thy self and thy Soul , and to tune it by these considerations to an humble frame of spirit ; to a fore-casting of thy desires ; to an humble approach to the presence of God ; to all beseeming Reverence both in thy words and gesture . The Heart , it is true , should be in a continual frame of prayer , and almost every occurrence of our Life requires a lifting up of the Heart to God in Prayer , or in Thanksgiving ; which cannot be so ordered with preparation ; but a solemn Prayer , though in private , requires a just preparation of the Heart , and a performance of it with the whole contribution of the whole Soul , and strength , and understanding , and affection .

3. Though thou art not bound to use no other form , yet use this frequently , upon these Considerations :

1. It is the Command of thy Lord and Master . There is somewhat of Command in these words . He , that commands to pray , after this manner , meant not that this Prayer should be forgotten . That which was made a pattern to thy other prayers , was not intended to be a thing only to be looked upon , and not to be used . Thou mayest use other Prayers to give scope to thy spirit , but conclude with this .

2. It is a great means of strengthning the Heart in Prayer . When I shall consider I am now using that very Prayer which the Son of God , when he was in the flesh , at the request of his Disciples , gave unto them , not only as a rule and pattern , but as a form , When ye pray , say , &c. I call the great God my Father , and it is no presumption in me so to do ; the Eternal Son of God , that knew all his Father's mind , commanded me to call him so , and to come before him as my Father . I am begging for the conveniencies of my Life , for the pardon of my Sins , for my preservation in and from temptation . Had they not been things that I might hope to be granted , the Son of God would never have taught me to ask them . O Lord , it is true , I can see nothing in my self why I should expect that thou shouldest hear me ; my Sins are renewed every day , and I beged pardon but yesterday , and I have sinned against thee the same Sin this day : But yet thy Son , that knowes all thy Will , that would never have put me to beg that which were unfit for me to ask , or thee to grant , he it is that taught me to begg my daily bread of thee , and as often in the same Prayer to begg thy forgiveness : I will not learn hereby to presume in offending , but yet I will learn to be confident in thy Mercy .

3. It is a Comprehensive Prayer , and therefore fit to be supplemental unto thine own prayers . Thy present wants or fears or desires carry thy spirit in thy own prayers eagerly and vehemently in pursuit of those thy wants , fears , or desires ; because they are things presently incumbent upon thee , and in thy view ; and by that means thou dost many times in thy prayers overshoot many matters , that are of more concernment , it may be , for thee to ask : as the Glory of God , thy preservation from future inconveniencies , that are not yet in thy view ; and this prayer gathers up thy omissions , calls home thy spirit unto that frame and temper of heart that is fit ; viz. Submission to the Will and Glory of God in the first petition of this Prayer , furnisheth in a short Compendium to pray over that which thou hast before asked , and to pray for that which before thou hast omitted .

4. As it is a Comprehensive Prayer , and contains much , so it is a Compendious Prayer , and contains much in little . The Wise and Merciful God knowes the frailty of our Nature , and therefore hath fitted us according to our own narrowness with abridgments ; he knowes the shortness of our Memory , and therefore he gave his Will under the Old Law in Ten Words . Christ he gave us another abridgment of that abridgment : Love God and thy Neighbour . God also knowes the weakness of our spirits , and therefore he gives us a short Prayer , that in the using of it our spirits may bear up , and the fire last till the Prayer ended . It is true , when we have a continuing sense of Evil felt or feared upon us , our spirits are able to hold out a Prayer long in warmth and heat : But when the matters of our desires are not so apparent to our sense , our spirits are apt to grow cold before we come at the end of it . Here is a short Prayer , furnish'd in all things fit to be asked , and such as thy spirit may go along with to the End , without being tyred . It is true , that a Man shall usually find more intention of spirit in his own prayers , than in this . Bless God that thou hast this intention of spirit in thy own prayers , and neglect them not , but pray for pardon that thou wantest it in this , and strive to amend it .

Now the great Cause of the unprofitable use even of this Prayer , and of divers other Ordinances , grows from this , That people use them without a distinct and deep consideration of the things contained in them . The Sun in the Firmament is the greatest Wonder in the World , and of infinite more consideration than the appearance of a new Star or a Comet ; But the commonness of the Sun makes Mankind pass over that without any observation , and yet look upon the latter with much admiration and astonishment . Just thus it is with this and other Prayers : This Prayer , being taken up and learnt with our speech , we swallow by whole-sale , and never weigh it or consider it ; but other Prayers of our own or others , whilest they are new to us , we use more attentively , and it may be more profitably . It should therefore be our care to rub out the Corn out of this Ear ; to Examine and Consider this excellent Prayer distinctly , that so in the use of it a full understanding and affection may go along with it ; without which it is no Prayer : for in Prayer we have to do with the God of the Spirits of all flesh , that judgeth not , neither regardeth the bare repetition of words , the thing condemned by our Saviour when he commanded this Prayer . But by the uniting our Souls and Spirits to him , our words are not so much our prayers , as the consequents and signs of our prayers .

The known Division of this Prayer , is first , the Preamble . Secondly , the Requests . Thirdly , the Conclusion .

1. The Preamble , Our Father which art in Heaven . The general duty we learn from it is this , that we come not suddenly and unseemly in our Requests to him , but as much as may be to prepare our Souls , with fitting apprehensions and affections before we come to ask of him ; with apprehensions of his goodness , that may draw us to him in that he is our Father ; and with apprehensions of his Greatness , that may make us consider our distance , and come before him with Reverence , in that he is in Heaven . Eccles. 5.2 . Be not rash with thy Mouth , and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God ; for God is in Heaven and thou upon Earth : therefore let thy words be few . God is in Heaven , and thou upon Earth : it teacheth thee thy distance , and it is fit thou should'st throughly digest that apprehension before thou ask , that thy asking may be with Reverence . External Reverence of it self is inconsiderable , but as it is the figure of that internal Reverence that is in the Soul . Where the external Reverence is without the internal , it is base and odious Hypocrisie , a dead and a despised performance , a picture of Piety without life . But the internal Reverence of the Mind cannot be without an external expression of it . The Forms or Natures , that God hath put into every creature , are those which shape their external figure , in some proportion answerable to their internal Form . And it is as impossible for an heart sensible of the Majesty , Glory , Greatness and Power of God , to come before him either with a petulant sawcy , presumptuous or unseemly carriage , as it is for the Form of a Lamb or a Child to render it self either in the shape of a Lion , or a Wolf . Again , God is in Heaven and thou upon Earth : As thou hast a business to do to prepare thy heart with the sense of thy distance , that thy desires may be with a sutable humility when thou prayest , so thou hast need of preparation to bring up thy heart out of that Earth , wherein thou art , unto Heaven , to defecate that Earthy heart of thine , that it may be fit to come into the presence of the God of Heaven . When God beholds the highest things in nature , the Heavens , he humbles himself , he descends below his own Excellency , Psalm 113.6 . And if thou art a Sutor to this great King , it is fit thou shouldest come unto the Throne of his Majesty , and not expect that he should come to thy Cottage to be importuned , though yet he doth this also in his great Mercy and Condescention ; yet it is not fit for thee to expect it : Again , thy lifting up of thy heart to him is thy Advantage ; the nearer thou drawest to his Glory and Presence , so it be with an humble and clean heart , the more thou wilt partake of his Bounty and Goodness ; the fitter thy heart will be to have communion with him . The Holy and Glorious Angels and Souls departed partake more of his fulness and perfection than Man doth , because by the purity of their nature they have a nearer approach to the Fountain of Good , than Man hath ; and the nearer or farther off the Spirit of a man comes or keeps off from God , the more or less of his Goodness he participates . Now in this act of prayer we endeavour to lay hold of his Goodness and Promises : Necessary it is therefore we bring our hearts by preparation as near to him as we can . 1. That we may be near unto him ; and in this nearness consists an advantage of Communion with him . 2. That we may be like him ; and that likeness is every day increased by our beholding of him , whereby we are in some measure translated into the same Glory . 3. That we may be in our proper place . God hath communicated his goodness to all things according to their several degrees of perfection in those stations , wherein his own Great and Infinite Wisdom placed them , and the place of Man was nearer to God by his nature , than he can now arrive unto in this Life in his own Person , ( though we have a High-Priest that continually bears our names before our Father . ) And certainly , if it be at any time seasonable for a Man to wind up his heart in the greatest nearness to God , that he can do , it is when he comes before him in Praises for the things he hath , and Petitions for the things he wants . Learn therefore in general to bring up thy heart as near as thou canst to the great God in preparation and meditation , before thou offerest thy Prayer , that thy sacrifice may be mingled with a true fire , and thy Soul may be raised up with the due consideration of what thou art about , and who thou art to deal withal .

Touching the Particulars in this Preamble .

Our Father . Two things are herein considerable : 1. How God is said to be our Father : 2. What Frame or temper of heart and spirit this blessed relation and conception of him , as a Father , ought to raise in us , especially when we come before him in Prayer .

As to the first , God hath the appellation or relation of a Father principally in these respects :

1 By Creation . Thus he is the Father of all things . But in as much as Paternity and Filiation are relations of persons not of bare subsistency , properly , therefore in this respect he is called Father in relation to Angels and Men : to Men , Isa. 64.8 . But now , O Lord , thou art our Father , we are the clay , and thou our potter . Mal. 2.10 . have not all one Father ? hath not one God created us ? Luke 3.38 . which was the Son of Adam ; which was the Son of God . And as to Men , so in a more near relation to the Souls of Men , and the blessed Angels , who participate more immediately of his Image and perfection , Jam. 1.17 . The Father of lights . Heb. 12.9 . The Father of Spirits . Zec. 12.2 . The former of Spirits : Job 38.7 . And all the Sons of God shouted for joy .

2. By special susception , or undertaking , either without an intervenient Contract ; thus he is pleased to own a more special Paternity towards those that have most need of him , Psal. 68.5 . A Father of the Fatherless : or by an intervenient Contract ; thus he was a Father in a more near Relation to the Jewish People , who as a Child is called by the Name of his Father , so they did as it were bear his Name , Jer. 14.9 . We are called by thy Name , leave us not . Isa. 63.16 . Doubtless thou art our Father , though Abraham be ignorant of us ; and accordingly he evidenced himself towards them in all the care and tenderness of a Father , Deut. 32.11 . As an Eagle fluttereth over her Young , &c. Hos. 11.1 . When Israel was a Child , I loved him , Rom. 9.4 . and called my Son out of Egypt . But these Relations are yet too large and spacious .

3. By Adoption in Christ . Which Relation is thus wrought , by an Eternal Stipulation between the Father and the Son ; the Son was to take upon him our Nature by a supernatural Conception , and to stand as a publick Person and Mediator between the Father and lapsed Man , and appointed that as many as should by true Faith lay hold on him , there should be a kind of Union wrought between Christ and that Believer , and in that Union the Father looks upon all that which was in the Believer as imputed to Christ , and all that which was in Christ , as imputed to the Believer . Was there Sin and Guilt in the Believer ? it is laid on Christ , and he bears all Iniquities , Isa. 53.6 . Is there Righteousness in Christ ? the Believer hath that Righteousness , the Righteousness which is of God by Faith . Is Christ the First-born of God ? Psa. 89.25 , 26. Though we cannot partake of his Primogeniture , yet we partake of his Sonship . John 1.12 . As many as received him , to them he gave power to become the Sons of God . John 20.17 . I ascend unto my Father , and to your Father , to my God , and to your God . Gal. 4.5 . That we might receive the Adoption of Sons . And by vertue of this Union we partake of the inheritance of Sons , Joynt-Heirs with Christ , Gal. 4.7 . of the Spirit of Sons . Gal. 4.6 . And because ye are Sons , God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts , &c. And by vertue of this Filiation we have the Priviledges of Sons ; Access with boldness unto the Father , Ephes. 2.19 . Care and tenderness of our Father over us . Matth. 6.32 . For your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things : Audience from him , John 16.26 . At that day ye shall ask in my Name , &c. For the Father himself loveth you . Now this Appellation and Relation of a Father in the first Entrance into Prayers carries up our hearts unto these Considerations .

1. That we should by all means labour to be in this relation to God , viz. that he should be our Father ; for why do we call him so , unless he be so to us ? and that we should not be contented barely with the Relation unto him as we are Men ; for so were even the Athenians , who inscribed their Altar , To the Unknown God , His Off-spring , Acts 17.28 . nor with the Relation arising out of an external Profession and Covenant , but with that nearest Relation of Paternity , arising by our Union with Christ .

2. And consequently that all our Applications to God in Prayer must be in , and through Christ , for through him is this Relation wrought ; and it is a Relation of Nearness and Union , which is the greatest Nearness . Ephes. 2.13 . But now in Christ Jesus , ye , who sometimes were a far off , are made nigh by the blood of Christ ; and 19. of the House-hold of God : our Union unto God growes by our Union to Christ , who is one with the Father , John 17.23 . I in them , and thou in me , that they may be made perfect in one , and this is the meaning of asking in his Name , John 16.26 . through him we have an access to the Father , Ephes. 2.18 .

3. We learn with what Affections we should come to him in our Prayers . And these arise either from the consideration of our duty , as Children ; or from the consideration of that which we are to expect from him , as a Father . Those of the first part are principally these , Love , Reverence , Submission , and Thankfulness .

1. Love to God . The very name of a Father imports in it self a relation of benefit , and consequently of Love . God is the Father of thy being , as thou art a Man , and of thy continual preservation ; and if there were no more than this in this comprehensive name of Father , it is enough to take up the whole stock and compass of thy Love . The Motion from not being to being , is an infinite Motion , and an act of infinite goodness as well as of infinite Power , and deserves and challengeth the uttermost extent of thy Love , as a just debt unto it ; so that thou hast scarce a residue of love left within the compass of thy uttermost power , which thou owest not to this great Love of thy Lord in giving thee a being ; & if this common Goodness of thy Lord requireth and deserveth all thy Love to him as the Father of thy nature , what Love dost thou owe him as he is pleased to be thy Father in a nearer relation ? to be thy Father in Christ ? and that after thou haddest rejected him and wert Lost ? and if thy debt of Love , that thou owest to him as the Father of thy Nature , be more large than the Comprehension of thy Power , how , or with what wilt thou pay that further debt of Love , which thou owest to him for that undeserved , unsought for , superadded relation of thy Father by Adoption ? when he gave his own Son to dye for thee , an enemy , that thou mightest receive the Adoption of a Son ? This is a love that passeth not only thy Retribution , but also thy knowledge . Behold , what manner of Love the Father hath bestowed upon us , that we should be called the Sons of God , 1 John 3.1 . And the Love of God to us , as it is the meritorious Cause of our Love to him , so it is that which Excites and fires our Love to him , 1 John 4.19 . We love him , because he first loved us . And according to the measure we have of the apprehension of the Love of God to us , according is the measure of our Love to him again . This therefore is the first affection that the name of Father calls out , viz. The intensest affection of our Love , in that he hath given us a Commission to call him Father , and Christ is not ashamed to call us Brethren , Heb. 2.21 .

2. Reverence ; and this is but a consequent of the former . Perfect Love casts out fear , 1 John 4.18 . But it is the Mother of Reverence , Heb. 12.9 . We have had Fathers of our flesh , which corrected us , and we gave them reverence , &c. Mal. 1.6 . If I be a Father , where is my honour ? were there no other distance of nature between thy God and thee , but the distance and relation of a Father , it requires Reverence of thee , especially when thou comest before him in thy Prayers . And that inward Reverence of thy Soul will imprint a Reverence in thy Words , and in thy Carriage ; as all other Affections and Tempers of the Soul fix a sutable correspondence upon the outward Man , but especially when we consider he is our heavenly Father .

3. Submission to his Will. Consider thy approach is to thy Father , which carries with it a relation of Authority , especially considering he is a Father of Wisdom , that knoweth what is fittest for thee , and a Father of Mercies , that is oftentimes more merciful to thee in denying thee what thou askest , than he could be in granting it : it is thy duty to ask what thou wantest , because he is thy Father ; but not to limit him what he should grant .

4. Thankfulness , for all thou hast received ; because as he is the Author of thy Being , so he is the Fountain of all thy Benefit .

5. And as the Name of Father carries upward these Affections of Love , Fear , Submission and Thankfulness towards God , so it brings down those Apprehensions of God , that are suitable to the business about which we are .

1. From the consideration that God is our Father thus placed in the Entrance of this Prayer , we have Incouragement to make our access unto him with an humble boldness . When we consider the Glory , and the Majesty , and the Purity of the Great and Infinite God , in whose sight the Heavens are not clean , nor the Stars pure , Job 15.15 . & 25.5 . that chargeth his Angels with folly , and in his Presence the Cherubins cover their faces : How should dust and Ashes , Man that is a Worm , under the apprehension of his Majesty and Glory , ever think that this Glorious God should listen unto , or entertain his Person or his Prayers ? When David considered but of the Sun and Moon and Starrs , which are but the works of his hands , he found a great disproportion between us and them . What is Man that thou shouldst be mindful of him ? Psal. 8.4 . Much more between us and their and our Creator ; the Son of God therefore , that knew his Fathers Will , and the thoughts he beareth towards us , presents him to us in the brink of our Prayers under the Expression of a Father , that might invite us , before he renders him under the apprehension of his being in Heaven , that might Estrange us ; under the conception of the Love and tenderness of a Father , before conception of his Majesty and Glory . And is he thy Father ? why shouldest thou not upon all occasions resort unto him ? whither should a Child go with boldness , if not to his Father ? and to such a Father as he is pleased to render himself unto us , with more tenderness and gentleness than lyes within the bowels of a natural Father ? Isa. 49.15 . Can a woman ; whose affections are most ardent and importunate , forget her Child , a piece of her self , her sucking Child , to whom she is ingaged by an additional obligation of Love and Care , that she should not have compassion , when her natural Love is heightned by a pityfull accurance , of the Son of her Womb , the perfection of her conception ? Yea , she may forget yet I will not forget thee , saith the Lord , Hos. 11.8 . How shall I give thee up Ephraim ? how shall I deliver thee Israel ? how shall I make thee as Admah ? how shall I set thee as Zeboim ? my Heart is turned within me , my repentings are kindled together . I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger ; for I am God and not Man , Hos. 11.3 . I taught Ephraim to go , leading him by the hand ; Ephraim like a weak Child was ready to stumble & fall upon every occasion , and like a froward Child apt to snatch away his hand from him that led him ; yet the affection of a Father is not lost by the weakness or frowardness of a Child , Deut. 32.6 , 11. Do you thus requite the Lord , O foolish People and unwise ? Is not he thy Father that bought thee ? As an Eagle stirreth up her nest and fluttereth over her Young , spreadeth abroad her wings taketh them and beareth them on her wings , so the Lord alone did lead him . And all these , and a world of the like Expressions in the Book of God , to unvail the love of God to his Creatures , and thereby to draw out an aweful love to him , and an humble boldness to make an approach unto him , Heb. 4.16 . Let us therefore come boldly unto the Throne of Grace ; and to bless our Redeemer , who by the price of his Blood hath purchased this free liberty of access unto God as our Father . Ephes. 3.12 . In whom we have boldness and access with confidence . Who as he hath purchased access for us , so when , notwithstanding that we are fearful , and backward , and ashamed to come , is pleased in the virtue of his own Mediation to stand between the Glory and Brightness of the Father and us poor Creatures , and to shew us more of his Goodness and Mercy than of his Glory ; and to receive our desires , and to bring both them and us into the presence of his Father , and our Father .

2. As this Expression leads us unto God , and gives us access , so it gives us assurance of success in our Petitions . This Prayer as is said , is a comprehensive Prayer ; we thereby in an Abridgement ask whatsoever is necessary for this life or that to come , but the Name of a Father is a comprehensive Name ; the Petitions that thou art asking are large Petitions , and the Promise is yet more large , John 16.23 . Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name he will give it you . Matth. 7.7 . Ask , and it shall be given you : But here is the Foundation , thy application is to thy Father : Matth. 7.11 . If ye being evil know how to give good things to your Children , how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven , give good things to them that ask him . Whatsoever thou canst find or expect from thy Natural Father , so much , and much more , may'st thou expect from thy Heavenly Father : Patience , to bear with thy infirmities and failings , Psalm . 78.18 . Compassion , to pity thy suffering ; Psal. 103.13 . Goodness , to supply thy wants ; Justice , to avenge thy injuries ; Psal. 105.14 . Protection , to defend thee from dangers ; Vigilancy and care , to support thee against Temptations ; Mercy to pardon thy back-slidings ; Jer. 3.14 . Skill , to interpret , and Tenderness to accept thy weak and stammering Petitions ; Providence and Bounty , abundantly to reward all thy sincere performances . Luk. 12.32 . Fear not little flock , it is my Fathers good will to give you a Kingdome .

And this Consideration of God , as our Father , when we come before him in Prayer , as it teacheth us our duty , so it doth most naturally teach us the three first Petitions to desire the Glory of his Name , the Increase of the manifestation of his Kingdom and Power , the full submission unto , and desire of the fulfilling of his Will. And as that relation looks downward upon us , so it concludes the three last Petitions . From whom shouldest thou desire or expect Mercy to forgive thee , Conveniencies to supply thee , Care and Protection to preserve and deliver thee from Evil , if not from a Father ? and as from this appellation of a Father we gather Confidence in his love , so in the next qualification or description of this Father we gather Confidence in his Power .

Which art in Heaven , or Heavenly Father , Matt. 6.26 . To denote 1. The eminence of his Glory and Power . The Heavens are the most Eminent and Glorious Creatures that our Eyes behold , and speak much of the Glory and Majesty of God , Psal. 19.1 . and in this adjunct of Heavenly , we give him the acknowledgement and attribution of the Greatness of his Power and Glory , Psal. 1.5 . For our God is in the Heavens , and he hath done whatsoever he pleaseth .

2. Heaven the Throne of his Majesty , Psal. 11.4 . Isa. 66.1 . The Heaven is my Throne , and the Earth is my Foot-stool . Psal. 68.4 . Extol him that rideth upon the Heavens . Deut. 33.26 . who rideth upon the Heavens for thy help , and in his excellency upon the sky . 1 Kings 8.49 . Heaven thy dwelling place . Which though it be the Seat of his glory , yet it is not the circumscription of his Presence . 1 Kings 8.27 . The Heaven , and the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thee . Psal. 113.4 . his Glory is above the Heavens . Isa. 57.15 . The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity , an incomprehensible infinitude . Psal. 139.8 . If I ascend into Heaven , thou art there ; and if I make my bed in Hell , thou art there . Isa. 40.22 . It is he that sitteth on the Circle of the Earth . So that his Presence is in all places ; and though , in respect of his Creatures , the greatest manifestation of his Presence is above the Heaven , yet his Infinite and Essential Glory is equally in all places . Now from this attribution we learn ,

1. Our Duty in Prayer . As a Christian should always have his Conversation in Heaven , from whenee he expects his Saviour , Phil. 3.20 . so in a special manner when he comes to God in Prayer . Hence Prayer is called a drawing near to God , Heb. 10.22 . lifting up the Heart unto God . Know therefore thou do'st , or at least , shouldest , in Prayer bring thy Heart up into Heaven before the Throne of the Infinite Majesty ; which imports or inforceth these Consequents .

1. Let thy Spirit be mingled with thy Prayers , for there is no other way to draw near to God , but by bringing thy spirit into his presence . He is a Spirit , and will be worshipped in Spirit ; thy Body is here upon the Earth , and thy words vanish before they are gone far from thee . Thou canst not get before the presence of the Lord of Heaven , but with thy Spirit and Soul ; and unless thy Prayer be the drawing near of thy Spirit to him , thy Prayer is a Provocation , and not a Service ; unprofitable and useless for thee , and unaccepted and not regarded by God ; it dyes , and is rotten in the Earth , and it cannot come up to thy Father , which is in Heaven .

2. Let thy Spirit be a pure Spirit , and thy Prayers be pure Prayers ; for what hath any thing that is impure to do with Heaven , a place of Purity and Holiness ! None , but the pure in spirit can see God , Matth. 5.8 . and none but pure hands are fit to be lifted up to him , 1 Tim. 2.8 . Psal. 24.4 . And that thy Spirit may be pure , and fit to come up into this High and Holy Place , and to have Communion with the Holy and Glorious God , get thy Spirit , and Soul , and Conscience washed by the Blood of Christ , and thy Prayers mingled with the Incense of Christ , Rev. 8.3 . and labour to get an Inherent Holiness , a pure and a sanctified Heart , and from that will thy Words , and thy Conversation , and thy Services , and thy Sacrifices ( all which are but the Emanations and Fruit of thy Heart ) be Holy , and bear some , though a weak proportion to that place , and to that Person , whither thou art sending thy Prayers . And more especially and particularly labour to cleanse thy Heart when thou art about to pray ; because thy Prayers are a drawing near unto God . Psal. 73.28 . The Priests under the Law , when they were to come near unto God in their Administrations , were to be washed and clean from their natural and external Impurities ; and a Leper was not suffered to come into the Tabernacle ; but what is that to the Leprosie and Impurity of thy Spirit , that very part of thee that only can have an immediate access to God ? and what Communion can there be between an holy God and an unholy Soul ? Psal. 66.18 . If I regard Iniquity in my Heart , God will not hear me . Consider therefore that thy approach is unto Heaven , the dwelling place of his Majesty , and of his Glory , and Holiness becomes such an Habitation . Psal. 93.5 . But who then is fit for such a communion ? What is Man that he should be clean ? and he which is born of a Woman that he should be righteous ? Behold he putteth no trust in his Saints , yea the Heavens are not clean in his sight , how much more abominable and filthy is Man , which drinketh iniquity like water ? Job 15.14 , 15 , 16. But for this , thy Saviour hath given thee an Expedient ; he taketh away the iniquity of thy Holy things , and mingles thy Sacrifice with his own insense , and covers thy impurities with his own righteousness , and if for all this the cense of thy own vileness cover thy Heart with shame , and the burden of thy Sins and Corruptions keeps thy Soul under , that it cannot with that clearness and confidence look up unto Heaven , but , with the Publican in the Gospel , stand afarr off , and scarce darest ask for any thing , but what the sense of Guilt inforceth , viz. Mercy to pardon thee ; yet such is the Goodness of God in Christ to thy low and humbled Soul , that though thou hast scarce confidence enough to draw nigh unto God , yet he hath compassion enough to draw nigh unto thee . Psal. 34.18 . The Lord is nigh to them that are of a broken Heart . And though thy laden Soul can scarce get up into Heaven , into the presence of thy Creator , yet he will bring down Heaven into thy Soul . Isa. 57.15 . Thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth Eternity , whose Name is Holy , I dwell in the High and Holy place , with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit , to revive the spirit of the humble , and to revive the heart of the contrite ones .

3. Let thy Prayer be full of Reverence with thy whole Man : for as thou comest to a Father , and in that relation thou owest him Reverence , so thou comest to a Heavenly Father , the great Lord and Judge of all things . 1 Pet. 1.17 . And if ye call on the Father , who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's works , pass the time of your sojourning here in fear . And as a Father , and such a Father calls for thy Reverence , so especially when thou considerest that thou comest to this great King in his Throne , in the place of his Majesty and Glory . And therefore this Expression is added , to take up the whole Latitude of thy thoughts , with the highest apprehensions of the Glory and Majesty of the Lord , before whom thou comest ; and that thou maist consider the Infinite distance that is between thee and the Lord of Heaven ; Isa. 55.9 . For as the Heaven is higher than the Earth , so are my thoughts than your thoughts , and my ways than your ways . And upon this consideration to admire and magnifie the Goodness and Mercy of this great King , that is pleased to admit poor sinful Worms to come into his presence , and beg for our Lives , and for our Souls , with a Promise of Mercy and Acceptation .

4. Let thy Prayers be full of Intention : Thou dost , or shouldest , bring up thy Soul into Heaven , into the Presence of the Great and Glorious God ; and what should thy wandring thoughts , thy Earthly business do there ? leave them at the foot of the Hill , when thou ascendest into the Mount of God . Consider , the person , to whom thou comest , exactly views and observes the frame , and connexion , and workings , and motions of thy thoughts and desires , and whether they go along with thy words , or with thy External deportment : and if they do not , so much of thy Prayer is not only lost , but a mockery and abuse of thy Maker . And as the consideration of the Person to whom thou makest thy address , so the Place where thou comest doth not sute with those impertinent and vain diversions . Therefore when thou prayest do it considerately , advisedly , and with the whole Intention of thy Soul . Eccles. 5.2 . Be not rash with thy mouth , and let not thy heart utter any thing hastily before God , for God is in Heaven and thou upon Earth .

2. As this Expression teacheth us our duty towards God in Prayer , so it teacheth us what to Expect from him .

1. Hence learn the All-seeing Eye of God , that is acquainted with all thy wants , and with all thy desires . It was a mistaken use that was made of his being in Heaven , Job 22.14 . Thick Clouds are a covering to him that he seeth not , and he walketh in the circuit of Heaven . No , but Psalm 33.13 . The Lord looketh from Heaven , he beholdeth all the Sons of Men. Psal. 11.4 . The distance of the place is no disadvantage to his sight or hearing . Again , Though Heaven be the Seat of his Glory , yet all places are filled with his Presence ; but especially he is nigh to them that call upon him , to all that call upon him in truth , Psal. 145.18 . is nigh to such as be of a broken Heart , Psalm 34.18 . is round about his people , Psal. 125.2 . is nigh unto them in all they call upon him for , Deut. 4.7 . will bow down his Ear to hear , Psal. 31.2 . will bow the Heavens and come down for their good , Psal. 18.9 . So that thy Prayers have no great distance to go , for all places are Heaven where God is , and he is in all places , especially where two or three are gathered together in his Name to call upon him .

2. Hence learn the All-sufficient and Almighty Power of God , Psal. 115.3 . Our God is in Heaven , he hath done whatsoever he pleased . As the relation of a Father carrieth with it a fulness of love , to be willing to grant thy largest requests , so the Consideration that he is a Heavenly Father carrieth with it a fulness of Power to grant them . These considerations of the Love and Power of God bear up the Heart in Prayer , as once Aaron and Hur did Moses hands , Exodus 17.12 . And therefore they are both placed in the Porch of this Prayer , like the pillars of Jachin and Boaz , in Solomon's Temple , 1 Kings 7.21 . To stablish and strengthen thy Heart in thy Prayer to God .

3. As the consideration of Heavenly , or which art in Heaven , carries thy Heart to confidence in his Power and All-sufficiency to grant thy Petitions , so it improves thy Faith in his Infinite Tenderness and Goodness . When thou comest to the Father of thy flesh , thy Earthly Father , that relation imports and carries with it , much love and compassion , as hath been observed ; but though he be thy Father , yet he is an Earthly Father ; and as his Power and Sufficiencies are narrow and weak , and not adequate to the Extent of thy wants and desires , so his Affections are limited , and mingled with the passions and frowardness of his Temper or Age. A Woman may forget the Son of her Womb , Isa. 49.15 . And the hands of the pitiful Woman may seeth her own Children , Lam. 4.10 . And Fathers are apt to provoke their own Children . Ephes. 6.4 . But were there not mixtures of Distempers in the affections of Parents , yet their affections are finite , & such is our condition , that in one day we should out-sin all that stock of Patience to bear , and mercy to forgive , that the most tender earthly Father ever had or could be capable of . We stand in need every day of the infinite bowels of a Heavenly Father , to bear and pardon and receive us , as of infinite Power to supply and support us . Isay . 55.7 . Let the wicked forsake his wayes , and the unrighteous Man his thoughts , and let him return unto the Lord , and be will have Mercy , and to our God , for he will abundantly pardon , for my thoughts are not your thoughts , nor your wayes my wayes , saith the Lord ; for as the Heavens are higher than the Earth , so are my wayes higher than your ways , and my thoughts than your thoughts . Hos. 13.9 . Oh Israel , thou hast destroyed thy self , but in me is thy help . I will not return to destroy Ephraim , for I am God and not Man , Hos. 11.9 . As if he should have said , Were all the Compassions , and Bowels , and Patience , and Tenderness in the World combined in one Man , yet thy Sins are grown to that height , and thy provocation to that perfection , that all that Patience were too weak to bear , and all that compassion too small to pardon thee ; thou hast out-sinned all the Compass and extent of a created Patience , but I am God , and not Man , I have Patience enough for all this to bear with thee ; and Mercy enough abundantly to Pardon thee . Jer. 3.12 . Return thou back-sliding Israel , saith the Lord , and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you ; for I am merciful , saith the Lord , and I will not keep anger for ever ; Only acknowledge thine iniquity that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God . The Omnipotence of God runneth through all his Attributes , and is no less seen in his Mercy to pardon , than in his Power to create . Numb. 14.17 , 18. And now , I beseech thee , let the power of my Lord be great , according as thou hast spoken , saying , the Lord is long-suffering and of great Mercy .

Now I come to the Requests themselves .

1 Hallowed be thy Name . Wherein shall be considered ,

1. What we are to understand by the Name of God .

2. What we are to understand by Hallowing or Sanctifying his Name .

As to the First . The Wayes of God and his Judgments are unsearchable , and past finding out , Rom. 11.33 . and if his ways are such , how infinitely unsearchable is his Essence and Nature ? the Angels that are by God endued with an understanding more receptive of this light than ours is , do behold his face . Matt. 18.10 . V. Isa. 6.2 . But yet that light is too bright for their pure Eyes , and too wide for those perfect Intelligences to comprehend : but mortal Man cannot behold his Face . Exod. 33.20 . Thou canst not see my face : for no man can see me , and live . But yet such is his Mercy and Condescention to his creature , that he communicates so much of the knowledge of himself unto us , as is convenient for us , and sufficient to bring us to a more perfect Vision of him , when our Souls shall be endued with an Angelical capacity to see him . Matt. 5.8 . Blessed are the pure in Heart : for they shall see God . And the means whereby we know him , is the Manifestation of his Name unto us . John 17.6 . I have manifested thy Name unto the Men which thou gavest me . The Name of the Lord therefore imports these two things .

1. That which he hath been pleased to manifest unto us in his Word concerning himself , his Essence , and Attributes .

2. That Glory and Honour , which , as a beam from the Sun , doth arise from that manifestation .

1. Touching the First , God hath been pleased to reveal himself unto us by Names or Expressions , whereby we may have some conceptions concerning him ; and though every attribute given to God in the Scripture , is a part of his Name ; yet he hath chosen some expression which he hath in a special manner called his Name , as being of a more special use to us , and therefore are to have a greater impression upon us ; sometime to signifie his Absolute and Independent being , Exodus 3.13 . And Moses said unto God , when I come to the Children of Israel , and shall say unto them , the God of your Fathers hath sent me unto you , and they shall say to me , what is his Name ? what shall I say unto them ? And God said to Moses , I AM THAT I AM. Thus shalt thou say unto them , I AM hath sent me . Sometimes to signifie the greatness of his Authority , Esa. 42.8 . I am the Lord , that is my Name , and my Glory will I not give to another . Sometimes to signifie his Power . Jer. 10.16 . The Lord of Hosts is his Name . Sometimes to signifie the Immensity of his Majesty , Exod. 6.3 . I appeared unto Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob , by the Name of God Almighty , but by my Name Jehovah was I not known unto them . Psal. 83.18 . Thou whose Name is Jehovah , Deut. 28.58 . That thou maiest fear this Glorious and Fearful Name , the Lord thy God . Sometimes to signifie his Purity , Exod. 34.14 . whose name is Jealous , Psal. 93.3 . whose Name is Holy . But above all , when God himself was pleased , at the requests of his Creature , to make his Goodness to pass before him , and to proclaim his Name , consisting of all the ingredients necessary for our knowledge and use . Exod. 34.6 , 7. The Lord , the Lord God , Merciful and Gracious , Long-suffering and Abundant in Goodness and Truth , Keeping mercy for thousands , Forgiving iniquity , transgression and sin , and that will by no means clear the guilty , &c. And this was the Name that our Saviour came to comment upon , shewing his Mercy in pardoning us , and his Justice in punishing our Sins , in his Son ; his Truth in fulfilling that first Gospel preached in Paradise , The seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents head . And this Name of God he manifested to his Disciples and to us .

2. The Name of the Lord is taken for that Glory and Honour that is due unto his Essence , Attributes and Works , the reflection of his own Perfection . He hath proclaimed himself Merciful and Gracious , and his works of Mercy reflect Glory upon this part of his Name : Isa. 48.9 , 11. For my Names sake I will defer mine anger : for how should my Name be polluted ? and I will not give my Glory to another : He proclaimeth his strength and Power ; and the works of his Power reflect Glory upon that part of his Name : Jer. 10.6 . his name is great in Power . Jer. 32.20 . which hast set signs in Egypt , &c. And hast made thee a name as at this day : He hath proclaimed that he is long-suffering ; and the works of his Patience towards our back-slidings and rebellions reflect Glory upon that part of his name : Psal. 106.8 . Nevertheless he saved them for his Name sake , that he might make his mighty power known : the power of his Patience to forbear them , as well as of his strength to deliver them . And thus Psal. 48.10 . According to thy Name , so is thy praise in all the Earth : that is , all the works of God , and his dispensations carry an impression of the Glory and Truth of some Attribute of his Name . Psalm . 134.2 . I will praise thy Name for thy loving kindness and thy Truth , for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy Name : that is , thy word hath proclaimed thy name to be Merciful , Bountiful , &c. And all the course of thy Government in the World doth Justifie the truth of that word of thine , and doth attest it , every part of it bringing back to some Attribute of that Name of thine , Glory , and a just suffrage unto the truth of thy Word .

Hallowed , or Sanctified , be thy Name . This Imports these things :

1 That all the works of God , and the actions and occurrencies of the World , may bear upon them , and in them , an impression of the Glory of God , of his Power , Majesty , Wisdome , Goodness , Justice . That they may have upon them that Beauty , Comliness and Usefulness , that he originally did put upon them . God made all things for his Glory , and in conformity thereunto they were in their original full of Beauty and Order ; and the Excellence of the Work did speak the Perfection of the Workman ; but the Sin of Men and Angels brought upon some parts of his works a deformity and disorder . Gen. 3.17 . I have cursed the ground for thy sake . And though in that curse , and in all other the consequents of Sin , there is still a Glory of the Justice of God in punishing , and of his Wisdom in managing of them ; yet much of the beauty of the works themselves is taken from them by that disorder that sin hath brought upon them . When we pray therefore that the Name of God may be hallowed , we desire that , as much as may stand with his will , all things may bear in them the impression of his Glory ; that they may have a conformity , not only to his will , but to his good pleasure ; that in all things the Wisdome , and Goodness , and Power of God may be conspicuous ; that he would in Christ take out that disorder and curse , that hath by Sin defaced the Creature ; that all things may in the highest measure be restored to their primitive perfection ; that all the occurrencies of the World , and all the actions of Men and Angels , may carry in them the most eminent inscription of his Presence , Wisdome and Goodness , and may be directed with the best advantage to his Glory . Our love to God makes that , which he wills , to be our wills ; and as he wills his own Glory , so it makes us to desire his Glory ; And though we are to leave the particular manifestation thereof to his Wisdome , yet it must be our chief desire that all things may , in the highest measure , move to his Honour , and bear the inscription of it . And this is that praise that David calls for from all creatures , Psal. 148.150 .

2. In as much as God hath indued Reasonable Creatures with understanding and Capacity , to discover the Wisdom and Goodness of God in his Creatures and Works , we are to desire that the Works of God may not only carry in them a Native or secret impression of his Power Wisdom and other Attributes , but that it may be made evident , and discovered and manifested to the understandings of Men and Angels , and that they may discern it , and be convinced of it , Psal. 9.16 . that the Lord may be known by the Judgment that he Executes , Ps. 64.9 . And all Men shall fear , and declare the works of God , for they shall wisely consider his doings . Psal. 58.11 . So that a Man shall say verily he is a God that Judgeth in the Earth . Psal. 111.2 . That as his works are great , so they may be sought out ; that as all the works of God contain an objective glory of God in them , so that the same may be seen and observed by those parts of his Creation , Men and Angels , that have a capacity to receive it , and for that purpose that objective Glory of God is put into all creatures , and this capacity or receptivity is placed in Intellectual Creatures , that they may observe and discern the Glory of his Wisdom , Goodness , and Truth , and all other his Attributes , in the Creatures .

3. And in as much as he hath magnified his Word above all his Name , Psal. 138.2 . That is , he hath evinced the truth of his Word , and every part thereof in all the course of his Providence and Works , that Men and Angels may discern and understand the fulfilling and making good of his Word . The Sun shining upon a Glass doth cause a reflection of his beams , but many may not see it , either because they are blind and cannot see it , or they look another way , or stand in such a position that they do not see it ; and so it is with the Works of God . When I pray that his Name be hallowed , I pray that God would be pleased to open the Eyes of Men by his Spirit ; to put them in such a frame and position , that they may discern the Power , and Wisdom , and Goodness , and Justice , and Truth of God , that reflects from his Works , that these impressions of his may not be lost unto us , nor the Glory of them lost unto him .

3. That the observation and discovery of the Truth and Goodness , &c. of God , may not only work a conviction thereof in our Understandings and Judgments ( for thus it doth even to the devils themselves ) but that that conviction may raise up in the minds and affections those sutable consequences , that should arise from such a conviction , such as are these : 1 A subscription and setting to our seal that God is True , and Just , and Merciful . In the work of Conviction we are in a manner passive , but herein we are active , when in our hearts we do cheerfully and willingly subscribe and attest to all that Goodness and Truth , whereof we are thus convinced . 2 An Inward Admiration of the Power , Truth and Glory of God , that is thus discovered unto us . The natural effect of great discoveries is Admiration . 2 Thes. 1.10 . To be admired in all them that believe . 3 Blessing of that goodness of his , not only that is discovered unto us , but that so far condescends to his creature , as to shew us so much of his Glory , Truth and Greatness . 4 An Attribution of Infinitely more Glory , Majesty , Mercy , Goodness , and all Perfection unto him , than possibly I can discover by any of these Manifestations , considering that all his Works put together cannot speak his Fulness . If I could see all the Glory of God , that all the Works of God in the whole World do bear upon them , yet I must needs conclude in reason , that they are infinitely short of that Perfection which he hath in him : for he must needs have a residue of Power and Wisdom , infinitely more than commensurate to all his Works put together : but alas ! I see but a part of his Works , and so narrow is my capacity , that I find plainly I cannot reach to the bottom of any Work , nor search it out , nor his Power , Wisdom and Glory that lyes in a fly or worm , to the uttermost ; and yet I see so much as doth astonish me , and confound me , even in the least of all his Workings ; what measure then must his own Fulness amount unto ? and this made David , and the other Saints of God , whose Eyes he had opened , even to lose themselves in the Contemplations and Expressions of the Goodness and Greatness of God . 5. Areturn of infinite Fear and Reverence , Love , Dependance , Submission , and Obedience , and of all the choicest and sweetest motions of our Souls to him , as the just desert of his Goodness and Truth , and the just Tribute due to his Majesty and Glory . And this is the Sanctifying of the Lord of Hosts , Isa. 8.17 . And thus he will be sanctified by all them that draw near unto him , Levit. 10.3 . The Sanctifying of the Lord in the heart , 1 Pet. 3.15 .

4. And as these affections and motions are made in the heart , so by all External Expressions of the tongue , to evidence that inward conviction and affection of the Soul ; and , as much as in us lyes , to propagate and proclaim to all the World the Glory due to God , by acknowledging openly his Truth , 1 Kings 18.39 . When the people saw the miracle of the fire devouring the water , they fell on their faces , and said , The Lord he is God , the Lord he is God . By ascribing Greatness , Deut. 32. Strength , Psalm 68.34 . Glory , Psal. 96.8 . unto his Name ; by publishing his Name , Deut. 32.3 . Singing forth his Honour , Psalm 66.2 . Exalting his Name , Psalm 34.3 . causing it to be had in remembrance , Psalm . 45.27 . Magnifying his works ; Job 36.24 . by inviting and exciting all the Creatures in the World , according to their uttermost activity , to praise his Name , Psal. 148.5 . Out of the abundance of the Heart , thus possessed with the sense of the Perfection of God , the mouth will speak .

5. That from the same Principle in the heart , the lives of Men and Angels may bring Glory and Honour to God ; that is , by Conformity of their Natures and lives to the will of God concerning them . Other Creatures , by a passive Conformity unto the Will of God , bring Glory unto him , viz. by moving as they are moved by those natural Instincts that are put in them ; but to Men and Angels God hath given that Honour to have in them an active Principle , not only to be conformed , but to conform to the Will of God , and to bring Glory to his Name : and when by our sin and contracted Corruption Mankind hath disabled himself to exercise that power , which God once gave him to glorifie his Creator , Christ came to restore him again to such a condition , that he might actively bring Glory to God by an active Conformity to the Mind and Will of God , 2 Cor. 5.15 . For this Cause he died , that they which live should not live to themselves but unto him that died for them . Tit. 2.14 . ad idem . And this was a principal part of that Reconciliation that he wrought , viz. as for the things that were past , reconciling God to Man by Forgiveness and Pardon , so for the time to come reconciling Man to God by Conformity to Him and his Will. Sin made an unlikeness of Man to God , and thereby destroyed the Image of God in Man ; for an Image consists in the likeness of another thing . Christ came to restore that Image again ; Colos , 3.10 . And that not to rest meerly in the internal Dispositions of the Soul , but that , as he that hath called us is holy , we should be holy in all manner of conversation , 1 Pet. 1.13 . Which is impossible to be severed , so that the former should be without the Latter ; for , as out of the abundance of the Heart the Mouth speaks , so out of the same abundance the hand worketh ; and the sanctification of the Mind can as ill be contained within the Heart without some Expression in the Life , as any other temper or disposition of the Mind can be restrained from discovering it self . That Communion , that Moses had with God in the Mount , imprinted a Glory on his Face ; and that Image of God , the conformity of the Heart unto him , will shine through into the Life ; and that out of a double Principle : 1. As a connatural Consequence of the inward disposition . 2. Out of the Love and Obedience to God , Matth. 5.16 . That men may see your good works , and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven . So that when I pray that the Name of God may be Sanctified , I do desire that God would in Christ re-imprint his Image upon Man , that he would renew him in the Spirit of his Mind , and restore him to a Conformity unto his Divine Will , which is our Sanctification ; 1 Thes. 4.3 . And that the outward Conversation of Men may be sutable to this inward Conformity , in all Obedience to the good pleasure of God ; that as they profess his Name , so they may appear to be his Workmanship , created in Christ Jesus unto good works , Ephes. 2.10 . And walk worthy of God , 1 Thes. 2.12 . That others beholding their good works may glorifie God , 1 Pet. 2.12 .

Now the Opposites to this Petition , is , Blasphemy , and Cursing the Name of God ( for to that heighth of vill any the corruption of Nature hath risen ) That that fearful and terrible Name , Psal. 99.3 . Deut. 28.58 . hath not escaped the blasphemous Tongues of Men , despising his Majesty . Job 21.15 . What is the Almighty , that we should serve him ? Exod. 5.2 . Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice ? Taking his Name in vain , using of it lightly or irreverently ; It is a terrible Name , and not to be used without summoning up of all the awe and reverence of our hearts : or falsly , either in solemn oaths , swearing falsly by his Name ; or pretending messages from him that he never sent . Jer. 14.14 . Prophesying Lyes in his Name , whereby a dishonour is brought upon his Truth : Pride , Arrogancie and Self-admiration , these intercept the Glory due unto God , and usurp that which is only due unto him , and most dear to him . Isa. 48.11 . My Glory will not I give to another . Therefore God doth in a special manner hate , Pro. 6.17 . Pro. 9.13 . and resist it , and them , Jam. 4.6 . when Herod intercepted the Glory of the People , and entertained it , and gave not God the Glory , the Angel of the Lord smote him , Acts 12.23 . and when the great King was puffed up with the greatness of his Glory and Power , then the Message comes that the Kingdom is departed from him , Dan. 4.13 . And commonly God takes that season to punish the whole stock of Sins , that a man hath committed , when his heart is most lifted up : Pro. 16.18 . Pride goeth before destruction . Again , Presumptuous Sins , these bid defiance to the Name of God , to his Truth , his Justice , his Power , his Presence , Deut. 29.20 . The Jealousie of God will smoke against such a Man : Scandalous Sins in those that bear or profess the Name of God . 2 Sam. 12.14 . by this occasion is given to the Enemies of God to blaspheme : Inadvertence and want of Consideration of the Works of God ; Because they regard not the works of the Lord , nor the operations of his hands , therefore shall he destroy them , and not build them up , Psal. 28.5 God therefore doth dispense many of his works of Providence , that Men should wisely consider of his doings , and declare his work , Psal. 64.9 . This Inadvertence partly disappointeth God of his End , and robbeth him of his Glory : Misapplication of events either to false causes , Idols , Fate , Fortune , or only to Second causes , without the due attribution of all to the most Wise and Powerful Counsel of the Mighty Lord , Deut. 8.17 , 18. And thou say in thy Heart , my power , and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth ; but thou shalt remember the Lord thy God ; for it is hee that giveth thee power to get Wealth ; So for promotion , Psal. 75.6 . Victory , Isay . 10.5 . O Assyrian the Rod of mine anger . 13. but , he saith , by the strength of mine hand have I done this , and by my Wisdom . And as in things concerning others this Observation is to be used , so principally in the Occurrences and Providences concerning thy self to labour to know that all things that befal thee , come from the most Wise and Just hand of God ; in all thy Blessings acknowledge his Mercy , and labour to find him in them ; in all thy Afflictions acknowledge his Justice and his Wisdom ; Labour to find out the Cause , and give him the Glory .

Now concerning the Order of this Petition ; it fell not in the first place by Chance ; but he that was the Wisdom of the Father placed it there upon most just Reasons :

1. The Glory of God is that which is first to be sought for ; because it is the chief End of God in all things , and that which he principally intended . He made all things for his Glory . Vide Isa. 43.7 , 21. The first and highest Duty of Man is to Love God , and Love to God will carry the Heart to desire that first , which God first wills ; in so much as if the Glory of God must be lost , or the Soul that loves him , the perfection of Love will choose the preservation of his Glory , rather than of it self , if it were possible . Vide Exod. 32.33 . Rom. 9.3 .

2. It is the Justest , and only Tribute that all Creatures can return to God for their Being and Blessing . Such is his infinite Self-sufficiencie , that it is impossible he can receive any good from them , that receive their Being from him . Job 35.7 . If thou be righteous what givest thou him ? Psal. 16.2 . My goodness extendeth not to thee . But the return of the Honour and Glory , and acknowledgment of his Goodness is all that the Creature can give , and that he is pleased to accept . Psal. 50.15 . I will deliver thee , and thou shalt glorifie me . Psal. 116.12 . Whatshall I return unto the Lord for all his benefits to me ? I will take the cup of Salvation , and call upon the Name of the Lord . Revel. 4.11 . Thou art worthy , O Lord , to receive Glory , and Honour , and Power , for thou hast created all things , and for thy pleasure they are and were created . And according to this Debt of Duty , which the Creatures owe to God for their being , so we find them , according to their several capacities and conditions , bringing in their Tribute , Revel. 5.13 . And every Creature , which is in Heaven , in the Earth , and under the Earth , and in the Sea , heard I , saying , Blessing , Honour , Glory , and Power be unto him that sitteth on the Throne , and unto the Lamb for Ever and Ever .

3. It is the best preparative for the Heart that approacheth to God in Prayer to be first taken up withal : If in the ordinary Actions of our Nature the Glory of God should affect our heart , and be the End , at which we should aim , 1 Cor. 10.31 . Whether ye Eat or Drink , or whatsoever ye do , do all to the Glory of God : And if the Son of God in this Pattern of Prayer begins his Petitions with the sanctifying of his Name , it is certainly most necessary that the heart of him that sets upon this Duty , be taken up with the consideration of the Honour and Majesty of him , who will be sanctified by all that draw near unto him , and to carry that End through all our Prayers ; lest while we repeat the words of this Petition , we take the Name of God in vain , seemingly praying for the Glorifying of that Name , which we at the same time dishonour ; either for want of a due consideration of his Majesty , or for want of making his Glory the Rule and End of our Prayers . This first Petition therefore requires that the Heart be duly affected with the Glory of that Name which it invokes , and duly acted and directed to that Glory ; and that this Petition be drawn through all the rest of our Requests .

These ensuing Considerations therefore arise from the placing of this Petition first in this Prayer :

1. As thou prayest that his Name be hallowed , so in all thy Request labour to Sanctifie the Lord in thy Heart ; Sanctifie him in his Greatness and Majesty with honourable and reverent thoughts of him in thy Heart ; with an aweful and humble carriage both of thy inward and outward man , as in the presence of the Great and Glorious King of Heaven and Earth : Sanctifie him in his Authority and Sovereignty , by calling upon him in Obedience to his Command and Will , who hath Commanded it ; by acknowledgment of thy dependance upon him : Sanctifie him in his Power and All-sufficiencie , by casting thy self upon him , who is Mighty to Save , and to fulfil thy most Extensive and Large Requests : Sanctifie him in his Goodness and Mercy , which is infinite more large to pardon thy Sins ; to supply thy Wants , and to fill thee with all good Things , than thy Necessities or the widest compass of thy Soul can be to ask : Sanctifie him in his Truth and Faithfulness , by a recumbence and resting upon his Promises , that no one thing shall fail of all the good things that he hath spoken , that no man shall seek his Face in vain : that he that hath said , Whatsoever thou shalt ask in his Son's Name he will give it ; that hath granted us access unto him upon the purchase of his Son's Blood , will in no sort reject those Requests which he himself hath Commanded thee to make .

2. As thou prayest in the first place , that his Name may be sanctified , so let that be the End of all thy Requests . Be sure thou ask not any thing which may not be sutable to that End , much less contrary to it . And in what thou askest agreeable to that End , let it be likewise for that End . Ask not thy daily Bread for thy Lusts , but that thou mayest Glorifie him by it , and for it . Ask not Pardon for thy Sin barely for thy ease from Punishment , much less to make room for new Offences , but that thereby his Mercy and Truth may be magnified , and his Creature restored to a condition actively to serve him and glorifie him . The End is first in intention , and is it that draws out all the Actions , and orders and directs them to that End ; and every Action tasts and relisheth of that End : Since therefore the Sanctifying of the Name of God is , or should be thy chief End , and therefore is first in thy Requests , Let all thy Requests and Prayers be primarily and chiefly directed to this ; that is , or should be thy chiefest End .

3. As the Glory of God should be the chief of thy desires , so consequently must it be the Measure of them . That which is the chiefest End must control and over-rule all other subordinate Ends , if they come in competition with it . For as it is of greatest value , so it is of greatest force . Whatsoever therefore thou askest , let it be still with subordination to the Glory of God ; and be rather contented to be disappointed in thy other inferiour Ends , than that this should in the least degree be disappointed : Only know , and rest assured of this truth , that such is the great Goodness and Wisdom of God , that he hath placed all those Requests , which are of absolute necessity , to be granted thee , in such an order , and path , that the granting of them always consists with his Glory , and whil'st thou seekest them , thou canst not miss of glorifying him ; and therefore thou mayest be sure the making of his Glory the measure of thy Request , shall never disappoint thee in them : such as are the pardoning thy sins , the delivering thee from being finally overcome with spiritual Evil : but thy other requests for temporal Benefits or Deliverances , or the particular Circumstances of those other , as the manifestation or assurance of Pardon , the degrees of spiritual Blessings , or the seasons of granting them , these may not always lie in the Road-way of his Glory . Be content in these to wait upon him , and let them still be asked with subordination to this great End ; but be assured that by preferring his Glory as thy chief End , and subjecting the fulfilling of thy Request to the Glory of God , thou shalt be no loser in the end . Never any man was a loser , nor ever shall be , that principally intends the Glory of God , though to the disappointment of his own particular Ends. Thou hast done thy duty in asking , and in asking with this restriction , if it tend most for the Glory of God . And thou hast done thy Duty in being contented and rejoycing that thy very request is disappointed , if God receive Glory thereby : for thou hast that which thou diddest in the first place desire ; and had thy particular Request been granted , and the Glory of thy Maker suffered thereby , thou had'st been disappointed in this first and great Petition , Sanctified be thy Name ; which thou hast carried along with thee as the qualification of all the rest of thy Requests , and as that which thou hast as it were prayed over again in every other Petition thou hast made . Assure thy self , if thou canst take delight in the Glory of God , though to thy own particular damage , God will more abundantly recompence thy seeking of his Glory , than that very Petition which is denied could have done , if granted . Thou servest a Bountiful Master , that will surely recompence thy Love of his Glory above thy own particular advantage . And thou servest a Wise Master , that will recompence thee in such a kind , or at such a season , as shall be more sutable , and more comfortable , than if thou had'st been thy own carver . And this thou shalt clearly and sensibly find , that which thou did'st in the first place ask , is granted in kind , viz. the Honour of God ; and that which thou did'st ask for thy self , though denied in kind , is the more granted in value , thy own particular benefit . Our Saviour prayed that that bitter Cup of death might pass from him , yet with submission to the Will and Glory of God , Matth. 26.39 . yet his Soul must be made an offering for sin ; and it was so . The Glory and the Truth of God required it : yet he was heard in that he feared , Heb. 5.7 . he suffers him to dye , but raiseth him from death ; and he saw of the travail of his Soul , and was satisfied , Isa. 53.11 . Thou prayest for deliverance from any affliction , from a Disease , from Poverty , for knowledg , or Assurance in such a degree . It may be it will not be so much for the Glory of God to grant it , or to grant it yet , as for the present to deny it . First therefore pray , Thy Name be hallowed , and though I am for the present denied , it is enough ; I am abundantly answered , if God be glorified , though I be denied . Thou shalt find that none that waits upon him shall be ashamed , if he grant thee not deliverance , he will give thee sufficient Grace ? if he deny thy recovery , he will give thee patience ; if he deny thee Riches , he will give thee Contentedness : If he deny thee that measure of Grace , he will grant thee Humility : If he deny thee that degree of Assurance , he will give thee Dependance . So that though thou walk in darkness for a while , and hast no light , yet thou shalt trust in the Name of the Lord , and stay upon thy God , Isa. 50.10 . such is the Goodness of God , that while we seek his Glory in the first place , and other things with subordination to it , our other request shall be granted either in kind , or compensation .

Thy Kingdom Come .

The Kingdom of God hath several acceptations :

1. His Universal Kingdom . The Kingdom of his Providence , which extendeth to all the Actions and Events of all his Creatures , Mat. 10.39 . Luke 12.6 . even to the falling of a Sparrow . Psal. 103.19 . The Lord hath prepared his Throne in Heaven ; his Kingdom ruleth over all . Psal. 66.7 . He ruleth by his Power for ever , his Eyes behold the Nations . And this he doth by planting originally in his Creatures their several Laws or Rules , by which they move ; by a derivation of a continual Influence whereby they are supported and preserved in their several Motions , Operations , and Beings , which if he should withdraw but one Moment , all things would return unto their Nothing ; by correcting and over-ruling of all things , sometimes contrary to their Nature , to shew his freedom and Sovereignty ; but always by the mingling and interweaving of the Actions and Motions of one Creature with another ; by which conjunctures , though to us accidental , he brings about most Wise and various Events according to his own Counsel : So that while Natural Agents move necessarily according to their Natures , Voluntary Agents move freely according to their liberty . Contingent Agents move and are moved contingently ; yet every one of them apart , and all of them together , are guided and managed to the most infallible fulfilling of his most wise and free Counsel . And by this Kingdom all things in the World , though to us seemingly casual and confused , are led to Ends , and by Means , which they themselves neither see nor intend . But the same is most admirably Evinced and Discovered in the Sacred History ; wherein we see how his determinate and positive Counsels are most infallibly ; and yet most strangely brought about , through divers varieties of Actions and Events , seemingly most casual , sometimes expresly contrary , but always besides the Minds , Intentions , or Designs of the Instruments and Means , as is evident among divers others , so especially in these , viz. that Counsel of God , Gen. 15.13 . and the strange conjunctures that were used to effect it , that hapned from the dislike that grew between Joseph and his Brethren , till the going of Jacob into Egypt , and the Prophesie of Gen. 15.16 . And the strange varieties that were used to fulfil it , from the time that the Egyptian King grew jealous of them till their coming into Canaan : That ever to be admired Connsel and Promise of God of sending Christ , and his suffering for Mankind , first manifested in Paradise , Gen. 3.15 . And all the several particular Predictions of him and concerning him , and the most wonderful Connexion of Millions of Events , many of them seemingly inconsiderable , all of them seemingly casual through the whole series of 4000 years led on to the fulfilling of it , even from the sin of Adam till the death of Christ , and the Revelation of that Mercy , for the sake of which the World was created . To these may be added the Counsels and Prophesies of the Rejection of the Jews , the desolation of the Temple , the Conversion of the Gentiles , for the most certain fulfilling whereof , it is most conspicuous , that all the Conjunctures of Natural , Voluntary ; casual Agents and Events were most infallibly and certainly managed by the most powerful hand of God . And this Kingdom is not that which is principally intended in this Petition ; for this Kingdom hath been , and is come , Ever since the Creation ; only it should be our desire , that the true and wise knowledg and observation of this Kingdom may enter into the hearts of all men , that thereby we may admire and adore his Wisdom and Power in the governing and disposing of all things ; that we may depend upon his All-sufficiency , submit unto the Dispensations of this Government , attribute all the Successes , Events and Occurrences in the World to his Justice , Power and Providence .

2. His Kingdom over his Reasonable Creatures , Men and Angels , which though they are under the general Kingdom of his Providence in the consideration above mentioned , yet they are under a more especial Kingdome then other Creatures . To these he hath given Understanding and Will , and so they are capable not only of a subjection to the Will of his Counsel , as they are Creatures ; but of an Active Obedience to the Will of his Command , [ as they are reasonable Creatures ] and so are subjects of his Justice in Rewards and Punishments , as well as of his Power . And in reference to this Kingdom it is said , Psal. 89.14 . Justice and Judgment are the habitation of his Throne . And Psal. 45.6 . The Seepter of his Kingdom is a right Scepter . Now the Administration of this Kingdom consisteth especially in these things : 1. In giving the Children of Men a Law to be their Rule . 2. In dispensing Rewards and Punishments according to the obedience or disobedience of this Law . 3. In Protection .

1. As touching the Law given to Man : In the first Creation of Man he did acquaint Man with his Will and Mind , and surely by some special Manifestation of it , did reveal that Law unto him which should be a Rule of Righteousness to him and all his posterity . And as he gave to all things propensions , inclinations , and motions suitable to the several degrees of their beings , so to Man he gave a Law or Rule suitable to his Nature , and by a Manifestation convenient for the condition of his Nature . And though Man by his Fall introduced that disorder and disconformity to that Law , whereby he became unable to keep it , yet many of those Principles of Righteousness , which God had manifested unto him , he retained in his knowledge , and traduced to his posterity . And these as they grew corrupted by the corruption of our Nature , and forgotten , so he did re-imprint them upon men by the several Acts of his Providence : Sometimes by new publication of his Law unto some persons , which was by that means traduced over to divers others : thus the Law given to Noah , the Law given to the Jewes , was questionless propagated and derived over to others by tradition and relation : Sometimes by inlightning and exciting men of Eminence , as divers of the Heathen Law-givers , who were Eminent in their generations : but most ordinarily and universally sending down into the Consciences of men some discoveries of his Will , and inclinations to acknowledg them , and to obey them . Rom. 2.15 . a Law written in their Hearts , their Consciences also bearing witness . So that there can scarcely be found any time or person wherein God's Providence did not by some of these wayes convey , at least some Directions of Righteousness , which should be the Rule , by which they should live , and by which they should be judged . So that they that have sinned without the Law , should perish without the Law ; and they that have sinned in the Law , should be judged by the Law , Rom. 2.12 . that is , Somewhat of the Will of God touching Righteousness is derived to all men , though to some more , to some less ; to some by a more clear Dispensation ; to some by a more obscure Dispensation : yet such is the Exact Justice of God , that though he might Judge all Mankind according to the Exactest Rule of his Law given to Man even in his Innocency , yet , that Every Mouth may be stopped , he will Judge them according to so much of his Law , as he hath communicated to them . He will not Judge the Heathen that never heard of the Law of God so clearly published to the Jewes , by that Law ; but by that manifestation or conviction of Righteousness that he hath . Thus if he sin he shall be condemned without the Law , that is , without calling in any other Law to Judge him by , then that Law which hath been in some measure declared unto him .

2. As the Administration of this Kingdom over men is by giving them a Law , so there is likewise an Execution of that Law by Rewards of Obedience , and by Punishments of Disobedience . And this God published in the infancy of the World ; Gen. 4.7 . If thou dost well , shalt thou not be accepted ? and if thou dost not well , sin lyes at the door . Psal. 62.12 . Thou rendrest to every man according to his works . Disobedience to this Law of God obligeth to Punishment upon a double ground : 1. As a natural and a Just consequence of an unjust violation of a Just Duty , in as much as every Creature owes an infinite subjection and obedience to the Soveraign Commands of him that gives it Being . 2. As a consequence of that Sanction , that is expresly annexed to the Law so given : In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death . Obedience on the other side is followed with a Reward , not out of a natural consequent , or a proportion between the Obedience and the Reward ; for every Creature owes obedience to God , though there were no reward at all ; we have therein done but our Duty , and God cannot be a debtor to the best of his Creatures , for their best works . Job 35.7 . If thou be righteous what givest thou him ? but out of the Free Goodness and Bounty of our Law-giver , who is pleased to make himself a debtor to his Creatures obedience , by his Free Promise of a Reward , and annexing of it to the Obedience of this Law , Psal. 62.12 . Also to thee , O Lord , belongeth Mercy , for thou renderest to every man according to his works ; As if he should have said ; O Lord , all thy Creatures owe an universal Subjection and Obedience to thy Command , and when they have done what thou commandest , they pay but the just tribute unto Thee for their Being ; and therefore when they have done all that thou requirest , they must sit down and say , We are unprofitable servants , we have done but what was our duty , and cannot challenge any reward at thy hands . They owe thee more for their Being , that thou hast already given them , than all their service and obedience can amount unto . It is thy Mercy , not thy Justice , that hath annexed any further Reward to that Duty , which we owe unto thee . All the challenge that thy Creature can make to any Reward of his choicest Obedience , is still founded upon thy Mercy , who ( though we are in all this but unprofitable Servants ) art pleased to be to us a Bountiful Master , in giving that Reward to the obedience of thy Creature , which only thine Own Free Goodness did at first freely promise . Even so Lord , because Mercy pleaseth thee .

3. In his most Wise and Special Providing for them , Disposing of them , and Protecting of them . The General Providence of God reacheth every Creature ; but , if that Infinite Wisdom and Power can admit of any degrees in the way of its execution , it is more eminently , at least acted , in his Kingdom over his reasonable Creatures : Luke 12.7 . Fear not , ye are of more value than many Sparrows . Matth. 6.30 . Shall he not much more cloath you ? And this Special Dispensation of this Kingdom is seen in more especially disposing and ordering of the ways and events of Particular men : 2 Pet. 1.11 . Prov. 20.24 . Man's goings are of the Lord . How can a man then understand his own way ? of Societies or Companies of Men. Acts 17.26 . hath determined the times before appointed , and the bounds of their habitations : in protecting them against the power and malice of Evil Angels , restraining them from those Evils , that their malice and natural power is able and willing to Effect , Job 1.12 .

3. His Kingdom over his Church : and this in a more special manner is the Kingdom of God . And herein we consider :

1. The King of this Kingdom : God by an Eternal Decree hath appointed his Son , our Lord Jesus Christ , the King of this Kingdom , Psalm 26.7 . I have set my King upon my holy Hill . Psalm 110.2 . Rule thou in the middest of thine Enemies . And hence it is called frequently the Kingdom of Christ : Colos. 1.13 . the Kingdom of his dear Son . 1 Pet. 2.11 . the Everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ; and sometime the Kingdom of Christ , and of God , Ephes. 5.5 . The Kingdom of Christ in the immediate administration of it , and the Kingdom of God , who hath delegated and substituted him unto this administration , Angels , and Authorities , and Powers , being made subject unto him , 1 Pet. 3.22 . first the Kingdom of Christ , till he shall have Judged all men ; and then the Kingdom of the Father : when he shall deliver up the Kingdom to his Father , that God may be all in all , 1 Cor. 15.24 , 28. And the Regal Office of Christ over his Church principally respecteth these two things : 1. In conquering to himself a people . The whole World was by Sin reduced under a subjection to an Usurper , the Prince of the power of the air , the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience . And this Kingdom of his was a Kingdom of darkness , Colos. 1.13 . Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness . And the Subjects of this Kingdom were a People of darkness : Ephes. 5.8 . Ye were sometimes darkness . And by the advantage of this darkness , this Prince of darkness governed the World as he pleased ; for they knew not whither they went : and by and from this darkness , this Prince led them into another Continent , or rather condition of his Kingdom , a Kingdom of Sin ; and Sin , as the Vice-Roy of this Prince of darkness , did reign in the World , and had dominion over it , Rom. 6.12 , 14. and by Sin he led his Subjects into another Region of his Kingdom , into the Kingdom of death : Sin reigned unto death , Rom. 5.21 . and then death reigned , Rom. 5.14 . Now as God was pleased , by a Mighty hand , to go and take him a Nation from the mid'st of another Nation , Deut. 4.34 . So Christ redeems him a People out of every Tongue and Kindred , and People and Nation , Revel. 6.9 . out of the mid'st of his Enemies . He came to destroy the works of the Devil , 1 Joh. 3.8 . binds this strong man that kept the house , and rescues his prisoners from him .

1. He came a Light into the World , and dispelled and scattered that darkness , which was the principal Engine whereby the Prince of this world did rule . John 1.5 . The Light shined into darkness , and the darkness comprehended it not . And at the very dawning of this Light into the World , the Prince of darkness falls from Heaven like Lightning , Luke 10.18 . And this was that , whereby the Prince of this world was Judged ; that is , all his deceits and methods , and wiles , and abuses of Mankind , were discovered and detected , John 18.11 . And by this Light we are translated from the power of darkness into the Kingdom of his Son , Colos. 1.13 . are become partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light , Col. 1.12 . are become light , and children of the light , Ephes. 5.8 .

And as he came with Light to take away that Egyptian darkness , which overspread the World , Isa. 9.1 . So 2. he came with a Treasury of Merit to expiate the guilt , and a Treasury of Righteousness to cover the stain , and take away the power of sin ; to re-imprint the Image of God , that was defaced by sin ; to rescue the heart from the love of sin , and consequently from the power of sin ; to transmit into the Soul new Principles , new Affections , new Wills . Psalm 110.3 . Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power . As he came with Light to rectifie the Understanding , so he came with Righteousness to rectifie the Will : The strength of a King rests in the Love and Will of his People : when Christ conquers the Will from the Love and Submission to sin , he conquers Man from the Dominion and Kingdom of sin .

3. And as thus by Light he conquered the Kingdom of Darkness , and by Righteousness the Kingdom of Sin ; so he comes with Life also , and conquers us from the Kingdom of Death . When our Saviour died , he entred into the Chambers of Death , and conquered this King of Terrors ; took away the malignity and sting of it by taking away Sin , the sting of Death ; healed these bitter waters by his own passing through them , and by his Resurrection triumphed over the power of death for us , by the vertue of that Resurrection , delivering our Souls from the second death , and our Bodies from the first death , and giving us a most infallible assurance of a final victory over death , by an assured and blessed Resurrection . Thus Death is swallowed up in Victory , 1 Cor. 15.54 .

2. And as Christ hath purchased him a People by Victory , so his Regal Office is considerable in the Government of this people , that he hath so acquired . He hath given them a Law to Live by , the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus , which makes them free from the Law of sin and of death , Rom. 8.2 . The Law of God vindicated from the false glosses , which the corruption of men had in succession of time put upon it ; a Law sweetned and strengthned and actuated by the Love of God wrought in the Soul ; a Law , though of the highest Perfection and Purity , yet , accompanied with the Grace and Assistance of Christ , to Enable us to perform it in some measure ; and accompanied with the Merits of Christ to pardon , and the Righteousness of Christ to cover our defects in our performance of it . He hath given them a new heart , and this Law of his written in this heart : He hath given them of his own Spirit , a Spirit of Life to Quicken them , and of Power to Enable them to Obey . And because , notwithstanding this conquest of Christ of a People to himself , they are still beset with Enemies , that would reduce them to their former bondage , he watcheth over them , and in them , by his Grace , wasting and weakning and resisting their corruptions by new supplyes and influences from him ; quickning their hearts by renewed derivations of Life and Spirit from him , which otherwise would sink and die under the weight of their own Earth ; encountering Temptations , that , like Foggs and Vapours , arise out of our own flesh ; or , like storms or snares , are raised or placed by the Devil against us ; either by diverting them , or by giving sufficient Grace to oppose them . These and the like administrations doth our Saviour use , which though they are secret and not easily discerned by us , and though they are ordered without any noise or appearance , yet they are works of greater Power , and of greater Concernment , and of equal reality , with all the visible administrations of things in this world , which are more obvious to our sense , and are the effects of that invisible Government of Christ , and of that Promise of his , Behold I am with you alway , even unto the end of the World , Matth. 28.20 . This is that Kingdom of God within them , Luk. 17.21 . consisting in Righteousness , Peace , and Joy in the Holy Ghost , Rom. 14.17 . casting down Imaginations , and every high thing , that Exalteth it self against the knowledge of God , and bringing into Captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ , 2 Cor. 10.5 .

3. As in his Government , so his Regal Office is Evidenced in his Judgment . And this Judgment of his , being one of the Acts or Administrations of this Kingdom , is oftentimes called the Kingdom of God . His Judgment of Absolution and Reward to his Subjects , and his Judgment of Condemnation and Destruction to the Rebels and Enemies of his Kingdom .

2. And as we have the consideration of the King of this Kingdom , and consequently of his Subjects , Revel. 15.3 . Just and true are thy ways , thou King of Saints : So the various Administrations of this Kingdome are frequently called the Kingdome of God , and the Mysteries of the Kingdome , Matth. 13.11 , 24 , 31 , 44 , 45 , 47. Matth. 25.1 , 14 , &c. And as the Administrations of this Kingdom are often called the Kingdom , so are the Instruments of this administration .

1. The Word , or Gospel of the Kingdome , which must be preached through the whole World , Matt. 24.14 . and is therefore committed to the ministration of an Angel to dispence it to all Nations , Revel. 14.6 . That great Engin which though seemingly weak , and dispensed by weak and despicable Men , God hath chosen to confound the things that are mighty , 1 Cor. 1.27 . to pull down strong holds , 2 Cor. 10.4 . to gather his Elect , for the perfecting of the body of Christ , the fulness of him that filleth all in all ; and therefore this publication of the Gospel is oftentimes called the Kingdom of Heaven , Mat. 3.2 . The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand . Luk. 10.9 . The Kingdom of God is come nigh unto you , and if a Man consider the Mighty and Strange Effects that this everlasting Gospel hath had in the World for these many Hundred Years , notwithstanding the many disadvantages upon which it entred and hath continued in the World , we may well say that it is the Power of God , and the Wisdom of God , 1 Cor. 1.24 . the Rod of his strength sent out of Sion , Psal. 110.2 . that the Message of a Crucified Christ , published by poor despised men , to a World that never saw him , or if they did , saw no beauty or comliness in him ; to a World full of prejudicies against him , prepossessed with an opinion of their own Wisdom , with Religions extremely opposite , traduced to them from their Ancestors , of which Men are naturally tenacious : that this Message of Christ , not with a promise of Glory or Riches in this World , but with a plain prediction of poverty , scorns , persecutions and Death to those that entertain it , and with a promise of future Life that they never saw , nor can see till they see this no more , should conquer Millions of Souls to the profession and Love of Christ , and to an austere , self-denying , despised Life here , doth evidence and convince that there is the strength and Wisdom of God that is ingaged in this wonderful , yet most positively predicted conquest of the World .

2. The work of the Spirit of God , preparing and pre-disposing the Heart to the receiving of the Gospel of the Kingdom ; convincing the Heart of that Sin and that Death , which hath overspread the whole race of Mankind , and of the Truth and Efficacy and sufficiency of that Redemption which came by Christ , and is published in that Word ; striving and contending with , and mastering and over-ruling the opposition of the will against it ; Calming and quieting and rectifying the distempers and disorders and misplacings of our affections ; opposing and subduing the lusts of our sensual appetite ; inlightning and quickning and cleansing the conscience , and bringing it about to take part with God and the actings of this Spirit upon our Souls ; mingling the word of the Gospel , conveyed into the Heart , with a secret and powerful Energy , whereby it becomes a Seed of Life in the Heart growing unto Eternal Life . And thus , as at first the Motion of the Spirit of God upon the face of the waters , and the powerful word of Command produced the several Creatures ; so by the like Motion of the Spirit upon the Heart , and the powerful call of the Word of Christ by the publication of the Gospel , is wrought this Second Creation of the new Creature , Ephes. 5.14 . Awake thou that sleepest , stand up from the Dead , and Christ shall give thee life .

And these two great Instruments produce in the Heart two active or operative Principles , which after they are produced are not only an Effect of the work of God , but also become instrumental for the increase of it ; viz. Faith and Love : Faith , whereby we receive this Message of Salvation , and entertain it , and rest upon it ; and Love , whereby , out of the apprehension of this great Love of God to us , we love him again ; we love him because he loved us First . And this Love of God ingageth the Soul to a Sincere Obedience to the Will of God . The Misery , from which we are redeemed , is so great ; the Price , by which we are redeemed , so invaluable ; the Glory and Blessedness , to which we are redeemed , so full ; and all these appearing so to the Soul by Faith , that the Soul can think nothing too much to return to that God , that hath so freely done so much for it . Thus Faith worketh by Love . And this is that Kingdom of God , that is within us , Luk. 17.20 . the subjection of the whole Soul to the Scepter and Rule of Christ . If he command Purity of Life , forsaking of all things , denying our selves , crucifying our Lusts , laying down our Lives , the Soul is tutored to that subjection unto the Will of Christ , that it chearfully obeys him in this , and whatever he commands . This is that Kingdom of God , Rom. 14.17 . consisting in Righteousness , a full Conformity of the Soul to the Will of God , the only and absolute Rule of Righteousness ; Peace , upon the sense and belief of reconciliation with God , through him that is our Peace ; and Joy in the Holy Ghost , upon the apprehension of the Protection and Love of Christ , our King , and that Glory which he hath most assuredly prepared for all his Subjects .

3. We have the Degrees of the Manifestation of this Kingdom , Here and Hereafter : the Kingdom of Grace , and the Kingdom of Glory ; both making but one Kingdom of God under different degrees of manifestation . God by his Word and Spirit casts into the Soul a Seed of Life , like that grain of Mustard-seed , whereunto the Kingdom of Heaven is resembled , Matt. 13. And this seed of Life abideth in the Heart , 1 John 3.9 . And there it quickens , and fashions , and moulds the Heart to the Image of God : it opposeth and struggleth against Lusts and Temptations , which labour to stifle and to kill this Seed of Life ; and , like the leaven that was hid in the 3 measures of Meal , Mat. 13.33 . It doth by degrees , assimulate the whole inward Man to this living principle , and conforms the Life unto it . Now though this principle of Life is thus operative , yet in respect of the outward view it is a hidden Life . The External appearance of this Life , is reserved till Christ , who is our Life , shall appear ; and then shall that hidden Life be revealed , Colos. 3.4 . Behold , now we are the Sons of God . 1 John 3.2 . But it doth not yet appear what we shall be , but we know that when he shall appear , we shall be like him . By this seed of Grace , sown in our Hearts , we become the Sons of God ; and of this Sonship we have a secret Evidence in our own Souls ; but there shall be a fuller Manifestation of it when Christ , who is our Life , shall appear . So then , the Kingdom of Grace and of Glory are the same Kingdom , but under a different manifestation : that , a concealed Kingdom , a seed in the ground ; this , the Manifestation of that Kingdom , a seed in the Tree .

To conclude ; When thou prayest , Thy Kingdom come , let thy Soul enlarge it self in these , or the like desires .

O Lord , I know thou art King of Heaven and Earth ; and the least of all thy Creatures , in their most seemingly Casual and inconsiderable events and motions , are under thy most certain and powerful Providence . Yet such is our blindness , and so mysterious are the ways of thy Providence , that sometimes we are at a loss , and desire with thy Prophet Jer. 12.1 . to expostulate with thee touching thy Judgments . If it stand with thy Glory and Will , I beseech thee , let all the events and occurrences of the World appear to be under thy Administration and Government ; that all may see thy Wisdom , and thy Power , and thy Justice , and thy Goodness in all the passages of it ; and that all men may be convinced , that thou , the most High , rulest in the Kingdoms of Men , and that all thy Works are Truth , and thy ways are Judgment , and those that walk in pride thou art able to abase , Dan. 4.32 , 37. That they may all acknowledge he is a God that Judgeth in the Earth , Psal. 58.11 . And because thou hast a more peculiar Kingdom , even those that thou hast given unto thy Son , let that Kingdom of thine come ; do thou send out thy Spirit and thy Word into the World , and subdue the Hearts of all People to the Belief and Obedience of the Gospel of Christ , that all the Kingdoms of the World may be the Kingdoms of God and of Christ . Bring in the Jews , and the fulness of the Gentiles , that there may be one Fold and one Shepherd ; and let thy Son ride on victoriously , conquering and to conquer ; and preserve thy Flock from the mischiefs that are from without , Oppression and Persecution ; and from those that are from within , Divisions and Heresies . Let them walk as becomes the Subjects of the Prince of Peace , Purity and Truth , in Unity , Holiness and Truth , that they may appear to be the People of thy Holiness . Rule every Member thereof by thy Grace ; preserve them from their Enemies within them , Lusts and Defections ; from their Enemies without them , the Incursions of Satan . Make hast to fulfill the number of thine Elect ; and when thy Kingdom of Grace is consummate , then let thy Kingdom of Glory come , the day of the manifestation of thy Righteous Judgment , when the Subjects of thy Kingdom shall be delivered from all death and sorrow , and shall inherit that Kingdom , which thou hast prepared for and from all Eternity . And keep all our hearts looking for and hasting unto thy coming , passing our time here in all Holy Conversation and Godliness , 2 Pet. 3.11 . that so , when our Lord cometh , he may find us so doing ; and then come Lord Jesus , come quickly .

Thy Will be done in Earth , as it is in Heaven .

Though the Will of God be one indivisible Act , yet in regard of the Manifestation of it to us , it comes under a double apprehension : 1. The Will of his Counsel . 2. The Will of his Commands . This is that which he wills to be done by his Creature : The other is that he wills shall be done upon his Creature .

1. The Will of his Counsel ; whereby he hath from all Eternity appointed and ordered most Wisely , and Infallibly , and Irresistibly all the Acts and Events of all his Creatures ; so that those things that seem to us most naturally or most freely to move , are subservient in all their actings to this most free and eternal Counsel of his ; and all those Occurences which seem to us most inconsiderable or contingent , are preordained by the same most Infallible Counsel , and make the Instruments of bringing about the greatest Concernments in the world . Isa. 43.14 . I will work , and who shall let it ? Isa. 14.24 . The Lord of hosts hath sworn , saying , Surely as I have thought , so shall it come to pass ; and as I have purposed , it shall stand . Isa. 14.27 . For the Lord of hosts hath purposed , and who shall disannul it ? and his hand is stretched out , and who shall turn it back ? Isa. 46.9 , 10. I am God , and there is none like me , declaring the End from the Beginning , and from antient times the things that are not yet done , saying , My Counsel shall stand , and I will do all my pleasure . Insomuch that those various , and instable , and free motions of the Will and Mind of Man , which seem to come under no Rule nor Government but of himself , are most Exactly ordered to the bringing to pass the Purposes of God . Prov. 19.21 . There are many devices in the heart of man , nevertheless the Counsel of the Lord that shall stand . Prov. 20.24 . Man's goings are of the Lord , how can a man then understand his own way ? Jer. 10.23 . O Lord , I know that the way of man is not in himself ; it is not in a man that walketh to direct his steps . And herein we may observe the most deep and unsearchable Wisdom , Power , and Purity of God , that whiles Man worketh freely , yet therein God worketh thereby powerfully ; and while Man worketh Sinfully , yet God worketh thereby Purely and Justly . The freedom of the Will of Man is not controled by the infallibility of the Counsel of God , nor can interrupt or disappoint it : and the sinfulness of the will and ways of man is not justified by the Infallibility and Purity of the Counsel of God , nor doth it pollute it . This is admirably set forth in the actings of those two most Powerful Monarchs ; the Assyrian , Isa. 10.5 , 6 , 7. O Assyrian , the Rod of mine anger , and the Staff in their hand is my indignation . I will send him against an hypocritical Nation , &c. Howbeit he meaneth not so . The Assyrian King did what he did most freely , most presumptuously and proudly , and arrogantly , attributing his Successes to his own Power ; had no thought of Justice to punish the defections of Judah , or vindicating the breach of their Covenant with God , but to satisfie his own Covetousness and Ambition , Vers. 13. For he saith , By the strength of mine hand have I done this , and by my Wisdom , &c. Little thinking that the Wrath and Justice of God was the Staff in his Hand , the Strength of his Power . But in all this God doth most wisely and justly manage the Distempers of a proud , ambitious , injurious and covetous King , to the fulfilling of the most Wise and Just Counsels of his own Will , without staining any part there of with the Vices of that person , by which they were acted ; but punishing those Vices in the Instrument which were instrumental in the fulfilling of his Counsel . Vers. 12. Wherefore when I have performed my whole Will upon Sion and upon Jerusalem , I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the King of Assyria , and the glory of his high looks . And as thus in the Assyrian , so after in the Persian Monarch , Isa. 45.1 . Thus saith the Lord to his Anointed , to Cyrus , whose right hand I have holden to subdue Nations before him . Now this Will of Gods Counsel is for the most part a secret Will till it be fulfilling . Psal. 77.19 . Thy way , O Lord , is in the Sea , and thy foot-steps are not known . Though sometimes , for the vindicating of his own Power , and convincing men that he governeth all things according to the Counsel of his Will , he is pleased to proclaim it in Prophecies and Predictions , the great and undeniable Evidences of his Eternal Counsel and Government . Isa. 41.23 . Shew the things that are to come , that we may know ye are gods . Isa. 48.3 , 5. Isa. 42.9 . Isa. 45.21 . Who hath declared this from ancient time ? Who hath told it from that time , have not I the Lord ?

2. The Will of his Commands . This is the Rule of our Actions , Isa. 59.21 . My words , which I have put into thy mouth , shall not depart out of thy mouth , nor out of the mouth of thy seed , &c. Deut. 30.14 . The word is very nigh unto thee , in thy mouth , and in thy heart , that thou mayest do it . Micha , 6.9 . He hath shewed thee , O man , what is good , and what doth the Lord require of thee , but to do justly , and to love Mercy , and to walk humbly with thy God ? The Will of Gods Counsel is Secret , but the Will of his Command is Revealed unto us in these three great Directions of our Lives :

1. The Word of Conscience , the Law written in the heart , or natural Conscience , Rom. 2.14 , 15. So much of his Will is by some means of Providence discovered even to a Natural Conscience , as leaves a man unexcusable .

2. The Word of the Spirit of God speaking either secretly in the heart , or by some occurrence or dispensation of Providence , thou shalt hear a voice behind thee , saying , This is the way , walk in it , Isa. 30.21 .

3. The Word of both Testaments . The Natural Conscience is corrupted , and many times doth not his duty ; the word of the Spirit of God is not so easily discerned by our fleshly Nature , and many times we mistake the voice of our own spirit for the Spirit of God : he hath therefore in his infinite Wisdome and Mercy given us a standing Rule , the Rule of his written Word , obvious to our sence ; and whatever other dictates there shall be , we are sure not to Err in following it : Isa. 8.20 . To the Law , and to the Testimony : for if they walk not according to that Rule , it is because there is no Light in them . This is to be Light to our Steps , and the Lanthorn to our Feet , Psal. 119.105 . 2 Pet. 1.19 . a more sure Word of Prophecy , whereunto we are to take heed as to a light that shineth in a dark place .

In this Petition therefore we desire two things , 1. That his Will may be done . 2. That it may be done here as it is done in Heaven . 1. In respect of the Will of his Counsel : What thou hast willed in Heaven , Let it be done on Earth .

1. Let the Will of thy Counsel be done . It is true , thy Counsels are secret and unknown to me , but they are the Counsels of the most Wise and Just God , and therefore certainly they are most Wise and Just Counsels , and therefore I will be content therein to pray with an Implicite Faith ; for Righteous art thou , O Lord , in all thy ways , and Holy in all thy works . It is true , thy Counsels shall stand , yet are not my Prayers impertinent ; it is the Duty of thy Creature to will what thou willest , and to pray thee to do what thou intendest to do ; that my will may not only Passively submit unto thy Will , but Actively to run along with it .

2. Let me , with all contentedness and cheerfulness , resign up my will , and my self , and my desires , unto thy Will , and bear a spirit conformable to my Saviour , who , when he depricated the worst of Evils , a bitter and a cursed Death , yet he subscribed to thy will contrary to his own . Matt. 26.39 . If it be possible let this Cup pass from me , yet not as I will , but as thou wilt . I am compassed about with dangers , with diseases , with wants , with reproaches , with persecutions , and I come to thee , from whose hand they come , and to beg the removal of them , and I am sure I am taking the fittest course to have them removed , by suing to him , from whose hand they came ; yet thy will be done ; I have done my duty in calling upon thy Name , but I will not offend thy Sovereignty in prescribing unto thy Will : Thou art the God that hast made me , and therefore I owe a Universal Subjection unto thy Will : thou art a God of Infinite Wisdom , and knowest best what is fittest to be done , and when thou art a God of Infinite Mercy and Tenderness and Love unto all thy Creatures , especially to those that seek unto thee in Christ , and dost with as much Love deny some of my requests , as thou grantest others , I will with all Patience and Chearfulness wait upon thee , and submit unto thy Will , both in what thou inflictest , and in what thou denyest . 1 Sam. 3.18 . It is the Lord , Let him do what seemeth him good . Job 1.21 . The Lord gave , and the Lord taketh away ; Blessed be the Name of the Lord . Thus I will hope , and quietly wait for the Salvation of the Lord , putting my Mouth in the dust if so be there may be hope . Lam. 3.26 .

3. Let me , with all expectation and longing desire , wait for the fulfilling of thy Prophesies and Predictions : This part of thy Secret Counsel thou hast revealed , that thy Truth and Wisdom may receive the Glory in it's accomplishment ; and that we thy Creatures look after it , and expect it . Thou hast declared that thy everlasting Gospel shall be preached to all Nations ; that the Kingdoms of the World shall be the Kingdoms of thy Son ; that thou wilt bring in the Jews and the fulness of the Gentiles ; that thou wilt discover and confound the Man of Sin ; that thou wilt send thy Son in the Clouds to Judge the World ; These and the like parts of thy Counsels thou hast published to the World , be thou Glorified in the fulfilling of them . Thy Secret Counsels are deep and mysterious , and when we see them in ther fulfillings , yet they make us to wonder and stagger , so that , though our duty teach us to acknowledge , that thou art righteous when we plead with thee , yet we are apt with the Prophet to Expostulate with thee touching thy Judgments , Jer. 12.1 . As if things fell out besides thy will , and in disappointment of thy Counsel . But in these Manifestations of thy Counsels before they are fulfilled , we see and must conclude , Dan. 4.17 . That the most High ruleth in the Kingdom of Men , and giveth it to whomsoever he will , and setteth up over it the basest of Men. Let therefore this Will of thy Counsels revealed in the Prophecies and Predictions of thy Word be fulfilled , that thou may'st receive the Glory of thy Power , and of thy Wisdom , and of thy Truth in the fulfilling of them , and that every Man may see and conclude that thou , whose Name is Jehovah , art the Most High over all the Earth , Psal. 83.18 . And while I thus pray , my Prayers are not Idle , God having often appointed that Prayers shall be the means to fulfill that , which he hath certainly promised , Ezekel , 36.37 . Yet I will for this be inquired of by the House of Israel .

4. Thou hast another part of thy Counsel more pretious and of greater concernment to me then the former , which thou hast also revealed , the Counsel of thy Promises . When thou sentest thy Son out of thine own Bosom into the World , thou did'st impart unto him this great and concerning part of thy Counsel , and this he hath imparted unto us ; the promise of Pardon of our Sins through his Blood ; of Justification through his Righteousness ; of thy Spirit that should lead us into all truth ; of his abiding with us unto the End of the World ; of conquering and subduing our Lusts and Temptations ; of raising us up at the last day , and giving us an Everlasting Kingdom that cannot be shaken . These Promises , as thou hast given to be the objects of our Faith , Hope , and certain Expectation , Tit. 2.13 . 2 Pet. 3.12 . so are they the objects of our desires , and consequently the subject of our Prayers , and therefore I will pray with David , 1 Chron. 17.23 . Therefore now Lord , Let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy Servants be established for Ever , and do as thou hast said .

And as thus the Will of Gods Counsel is the Subject of this Petition , so is likewise the Will of his Command . And this falls under these Considerations :

1. As thou Willest in Heaven , so let it be done by us on Earth ; and to that purpose :

1. Let thy Will be discovered and made known unto us , and to all Creatures : and in as much as none teacheth like God , Let us be all taught of thee : Let thy revealed Will in thy Word come unto us as light into darkness ; and because our Understandings are blind and sealed up , that they cannot receive this Light , and our Hearts are perverse and will resist it , send down thy Spirit of Life and Power to open our Understandings to receive it , to discern the Truth , and Purity , and Perfection of it ; open our Hearts to receive it in the Love of it , and conquer that Cell of corruption and oppositions that lye there ready to stifle it ; mingle thy Word in our Hearts with Faith , that may purifie our Hearts , and make thy Word powerful to the subduing of all those strong holds and oppositions , that stand out against it : thy Will in Heaven is a Perfect , Pure , and Holy Will , send out such discoveries of thy Will , that we may know it in the Spiritualness and Truth of it , vindicated from the false Glosses , that the Corruptions and degenerations of the times or our own deceitful and false Hearts are apt to put upon it : and that thy Will may be done on Earth as it is in Heaven , let it be known on Earth as it is in Heaven .

2. Because the only true principle of Obedience is Love , shed abroad thy Love in our Hearts : and because the sense of thy Love to us is the cause and ground of our Love to thee , shew us the greatness and fullness of thy Love to us in Christ , and that will reflect acts of Love to thee again , and make us ready and willing to obey thy Will , and exceeding thankful to thee that thou art pleased to accept the sincere , though imperfect obedience of thy Creature .

3. And because the end of the manifestation of thy Love to Mankind in Christ was to redeem us from all Iniquity , and to purifie unto thy self a peculiar People , zealous of good Works , Tit. 2.14 . And in as much as our conformity to thy Will , as it is our Perfection , so it is the Great and Just Tribute that we owe unto thee for our Being , as Creatures , and much more for our Redemption as redeemed , and purchased Creatures ; Let all our Thoughts , Words and Works be universally subject and obedient to thy Will revealed in thy Son , that we may be Holy as thou art Holy in all manner of Conversation : purge our Hearts from vain and unprofitable Thoughts , from sinful and polluted thoughts , from Devilish and Atheistical thoughts ; and let our thoughts be such as becomes the presence of God , before whom they are all naked and legible , such as becomes that Heart where Christ is pleased to make his residence ; Pious , Charitable , Pure , Chast , Clean , Sober , Humble thoughts ; fit to be attendants upon so Heavenly a Guest : wash my Tongue from that fire of Hell that is naturally in it : James 3.6 . deliver it from blasphemous , Atheistical , calumniating , uncharitable , false , vain , and unprofitable words ; and let me use my Tongue as one , whose words are all Registred , and that must give an account for every idle word : Let my Speeches be seasoned with salt , glorifying thy Name , edifying others , true , profitable , seasonable , serious , charitable , discreet ; for by my words I shall be justified , and by my words I shall be condemned . Deliver me from all sinful , impure , unseemly , unjust Actions : in the first life of any action or intention let me bring them to the Rule of thy Word , to the Rule of my Conscience , to the Rule of thy Presence , and impartially measure them thereby ; and if they will not abide that Examination , or upon that Examination want their due conformity ; let me reject them without any more reasonings or disputings . In all my actions relating immediately to thy Majesty , Let them be warrantable , pious , sincere , reverent , humble ; in all my actions relating to others , let them be full of Justice , Charity , free from Revenge , disdain , fullenness , measuring out impartially , as in the presence of God , the same measure which I would desire to be done unto my self : in all my actions relating to my self , let there be sobriety , temperance , moderation , seasonableness . And let all this be done out of that only true principle of obedience , Love to God , presented unto him upon that only ground of acceptation , Jesus Christ ; and seasoned with that acceptable grace of Humility . If when I have done all that is injoyned , I am but an unprofitable Servant ; how unprofitable am I when I Infinitely fail of what I am Commanded .

And as I pray that the things that thou willest to be done in Heaven may be done by us on Earth , so I desire that that Heavenly Will of thine may be done on Earth as thy Will is done in Heaven by those Glorious and Pure Creatures , that alwayes behold thy Face ; Perfectly , Universally , Speedily , Cheerfully , Humbly .

1. Perfectly . The Angels do clearly discern and know the Will of God by a double act : 1. On God's part , a Clear Emanation or Beam of the Mind of God shining into their clear intellectual Nature , and conveying into them a perfect discovery of the Mind and Will of God concerning them . 2. On their part , by a clear Intuition of God , and beholding his Mind and Will in him concerning them ; the Wise God having fitted their Natures with such a measure of intuition of him , whereby , though they cannot see all his Perfections , yet they are fitted and inabled to see so much as is suitable to their Nature , conducible to the fulness of that Perfection which they are capable of , and to the performance of that active service which he requires of them . And as thus they perfectly know His Will , so Their Wills are most purely inclined and moved to the obedience of it ; there is no mixture of impurity or resistance in their wills against the Will of God ; no mixture of Hypocrisie or base self-Ends : for their Pure Natures are taken up with a fulness of Love of God , as large and comprehensive as their Natures , and upon that principle they move in all their acts of obedience , and they clearly see that their highest Perfection consists in the most Even and Unbyassed Conformity to the Command of God , and so the more perfect their Obedience is , the more absolute is their Perfection ; they need no other motive to obey him but this , that it is the most Perfect Command of the most Perfect , and Wise , and Holy God . And as thus their Minds and Wills are fashioned and fitted to a most perfect obedience , so they are indued with a Power from God , exactly commensurate to an exact performance of his Will ; whether it be in their reflexed actions unto God , or whether it be in their instrumental actions unto others . If God command an Angel to destroy an Host of the Assyrians , he can dispatch 185000 of them in one night : if he command an Angel to deliver Daniel out of the Lions Den , he can shut the Lions Mouth , that they shall be rather his Guard , than his Executioners : Dan. 6.22 . If he command an Angel to deliver Peter out of the Prison , he can make his Chains fall off from him , like the towe when it feeleth the fire , Acts 12.7 . When he commands an Angel to comfort his Son , though under a pressure and weight more heavy to his Soul than the weight of the whole Earth , he can dart into the tender and vital parts of the Soul such Comforts and Cordials , that can enable his humanity to bear that burden , Luke 22.43 . When he commands an Angel to attend the Resurrection of his Son , he can at the same instant shake terror and amazement , and dissolution into the Spirits of the Souldiers , and Comfort and Satisfaction , into the Souls of those that expected his Resurrection , and cause that stone which the Pharisees laid upon the Sepulchre , as a seal unto his Mortality , to start aside , and give way to our Saviour's Resurrection , Mat. 28.2 , 3 , 4. And little do we know those wonderful Services , that these invisible Powers do in the World , even for poor and weak Men , at the Command of their great Lord and Soveraign , every hour in the day . And now , O Lord , it is true , that thy Will is done in Heaven , by those thy glorious creatures , perfectly and exactly ; but I and all thy creatures upon Earth have in us a mixture of darkness , that we cannot know thy Will ; and a mixture of corruption , that resists the obedience of thy Will ; and a mixture of impotence , that we cannot perform that part of thy Will , that we know and desire to obey ; so that when we can at any time say with the Apostle , To will is present with me , yet we must , with the same Apostle say , that how to perform that good , we find not , Rom. 7.18 . Therefore I cannot in this House of clay , hope to aspire to the full perfection of an Angelical Obedience , nor to do thy Will on Earth , as it is done in Heaven ; yet there is an imperfect Perfection , which in Christ thou art pleased to accept of , an Evangelical , though not an Angelical Perfection in our Obedience ; a Perfection of Integrity and Sincerity , free from Guile , base ends , or Hypocrisie , a heart truly endeavouring to obey the voice of God in his Word ; and truly sorrowful for his defects and failings in that obedience : Thus the heart of David , 1 King . 15.3 . of Hezekiah , 2 King . 20.3 . were perfect hearts , the obedience enjoyned by David to Solomon , 1 Chron. 28.9 . Serve him with a perfect heart and willing mind : and this perfection of Obedience give unto thy servants , that thy Will may be done on Earth , as it is in Heaven , Sincerely , and Singly .

2. Which is a consequent of the former , Angelical Obedience is an Universal Obedience : there is not any Command of God , not the meanest , but they perform it , Psal. 103.20 . Bless the Lord ye his Angels , that excel in strength , that do his Commandments , hearkning unto the voice of his Word . For the same principle of perfect Love to God , moves them to a willing obedience to every Command , as well as any ; and they find as much beauty in their obedience unto the Command of God , when sent out to minister for the poor Members of the Son of God , Heb. 1.14 . As when sent upon an imployment , for the matter , more glorious . And , O Lord , Let thy Will be thus done on Earth as it is in Heaven : let me have respect to all thy Commandments , and let no sin be so much mine , so dear , so natural , so sutable to my nature or condition , but that I may forsake it at thy Command , and keep my self from my transgression ; since it is the same God that equally commands and forbids in all , and the same Love to God which is , or should be , the principle and ground of all my Obedience , Jam. 2.10 . Whosoever shall keep the whole Law , and yet offend in one point , is guilty of all . A heart that can observe some Commands , and yet dispense with it self in the violation of others , obeys not for Love of God , but of himself .

3. Angelical Obedience is a Willing and Cheerful Obedience . Which still runs upon the former reason ; the principle of their obedience is perfect Love of God ; and Love is an active affection , as strong as death ; so that they are glad of any opportunity , to return the expressions of that Love , in a most hearty and willing obedience , Mat. 18.10 . Christ speaking of the Angels , saith , They always behold the Face of my Father , they watch and are attentive , and with cheerfulness expect every Command of God . And thus also let thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven , that we may willingly and cheerfully perform thy Will ; glad that we thy poor creatures have any opportunity to do any service to thee , though thou needest it not , and thankful that thou art pleased to accept of the obedience of thy creature .

4. Consequently an Angelical obedience is Speedy , Swift , Ready . They dispute not the reason of the Command , nor delay not the performance of it : Like the Centurion's servant , he saith to one , go , and he goeth , Luk. 7.8 . And Lord , as thus thy Will is done in Heaven , so let it be done on Earth : when thou commandest things that our flesh and blood have much ado to disgest , would fain be reasoning against , or at least linger in the observance , give us this grace not to confer with flesh and blood , Gal. 1.16 . but resolvedly and speedily to obey thy Will. When Abraham was called to leave his own Country , he obeyed , and went out , not knowing whither he went , Heb. 11.8 . When commanded to sacrifice his Son , he rose early in the morning , and goes about this hard imploy , Gen. 22.3 . Lingrings and Reasonings upon the Commands of God , as they carry in them a want of Duty , so they always bring with them much disadvantage , either wholly intercepting our obedience , or mingling with it much unwillingness and aversness to it .

5. A Heavenly and Angelical Obedience , though it be full of Perfection , yet it is full of Humility . They know that they owe an infinite Obedience to him , from whom they receive their Being ; and that their Obedience to God is but the payment of that debt they owe to him , and cannot make him a debtor to them : They know that infinite distance between the infinite God and themselves , though glorious yet finite Creatures ; and therefore they do not only pay their Obedience , as a just Tribute to God , without arrogance of merit , but they do it with all the Reverence and Acknowledgment that is imaginable . Both these we find in the Adoration of the 24 Elders , Revel. 4.10 , 11. They fall down before him , and cast their Crowns before the Throne , saying , Thou art worthy , O Lord , to receive Glory , and Honour , and Power . The distance between God and Man is infinite ; and though the Angels are nearer unto God in perfection of Nature than men , yet still the distance between them is infinite : here is the odds , the Angels see their distance , and see more of the Perfection of God ; and the more they see of him , the more they Adore and Reverence him , and the humbler they are in their Services ; because they see the greatness of their distance . And if Angelical Obedience , that is so perfect , shall be mingled with so much Reverence , with how much Humility should our Services , that are so imperfect , be allayed ? O Lord , Let thy Will be thus also done in Earth , as it is in Heaven : Give us a sense of thy infinite Glory , and Majesty ; of that infinite distance between Thee and thy Creature ; that with all Reverence to thy Majesty , and all Lowliness in our selves , we may appear before thee in all we do for Thee : Give us a sense of that infinite debt of Obedience , that we owe unto Thee , for our Being , that product of an infinite Power , and an infinite Motion ; for our well-beings , our restitution in Christ , without whom our very Being would have been our burden : Give us a sense of the great imperfections of all our best performances , that need no less a Sacrifice than the Blood and Intercession of Christ , to wash them from that guilt that would damn us , if we had nothing else to answer for : Give us a sense of thy Great Condescention to thy weak and sinful Creatures , that art pleased to deliver unto us the knowledge of thy Will ; and when we by Nature are unable to conceive it , or to believe it , dost give us Light to understand it , and Faith to assent unto it , that thy Law is Holy , Just , and Good ; and when for all these convictions of thy Truth , our hearts , the seats of Rebellion , do oppose it in the love and practice of it , thou art pleased to send down a powerful working of thy Spirit , to chase out of us those oppositions of our corrupted Nature , and to make us willing in the day of thy power , and to strive with and subdue our hearts to any measure of the Love of thy Will ; and when notwithstanding all this , our poor and lean performances are mingled with much of our own deadness , contrary motions , and pollutions , yet thou art pleased to sprinkle our Obedience with the Blood of Christ ; to mingle it with his perfect Righteousness ; to forgive the defects ; to cover the imperfections ; to rectifie the deformities of all our Obedience ; to pardon what is ours , our sins and defects , and to accept and reward what is thine own , as if it were ours , when thou workest all our works in us , and yet rewardest us , as if we had wrought them .

And as in the distinct consideration of the Will , of the Counsels and Commands of God , we are to desire that his Will may be done on Earth as it is in Heaven , so in the conjunct consideration of both these Wills . There is not an Action or Event in the world , but it falls out by the determinate Counsel and Fore-appointment of God ; and yet to the production of these Events , we find a mixture of actions , that expresly thwart the Command of God . The greatest Event , and of the greatest concernment that the World ever knew , or shall know , was the Death of Jesus Christ ; and though he was thus delivered by the determinate Counsel and Foreknowledge of God , yet the Jews took and by wicked hands crucified and slew him , Acts 2.23 . The Counsel of God was a most Wise and Merciful Counsel ; the action of the Jews that fulfilled this Counsel , was a most cruel and unjust action ; yet the injustice of the instrument did no way affect the Counsel of God , nor the Counsel of God no way justifie the action of the Jews ; witness that heavy Curse that upon their own imprecation , lyes upon the actors and their posterity unto this day , His Blood be upon us , and upon our Children , Matth. 27.25 . The man sins most willingly , and though the Wise God intermingle occurrences , that make the sinful actions of men instrumental to his Counsels , yet their Guilt is no less , and no less their own , by being subservient to his Counsel . God hath given thee a word of Command , He hath shewed thee , O man , what is good , and what doth the Lord require at thy hands ? Micah 6.8 . Thou needest not , nor maist seek out for a Rule of thy actions , in the Secret Counsel of God ; nor endeavour to justifie thy actions , because in order to the fulfilling of those Counsels ; but keep to that Rule which he hath given , To the Law , and to the Testimony . Deut. 29.29 . The secret things belong unto the Lord our God , but those things that are revealed belong to us and to our Children for ever .

Therefore , O Lord , teach me so to wait upon the Will of thy Counsels , and to be instrumental in them ; that I may nevertheless ever obey the Will of thy Command ; that while I act thy Will as a Creature , I may never neglect it as a Man or a Christian . Thy Wisdom , it is true , can bring about thy Counsels by the sinful actions of men ; and as thou turnest the hearts of men as Rivers of waters , so thou turnest the sinful motions of the heart , as a skilful workman can turn the streams of water , so that whilest it moves naturally , it shall bring about Ends that are of a higher constitution : But surely if thou canst make those works of disobedience serve thy Providence , much more canst thou use such actions to the fulfilling of thy Counsels , that are suitable to thy Commands ; therefore as the Will of thy Counsels is done in Heaven by the Angels and Blessed Spirits , in such a way as is suitable to thy Commands ; So let thy Will be done on Earth , that while we serve thy Providence , we may nevertheless Obey thy Will ; and whiles we closely observe what thou requirest , that we may Contentedly , Patiently , Cheerfully , and Thankfully submit unto , and receive what thou in thy most Wise Counsel dispensest .

Give us this day our daily Bread .

Our Saviour directs us , Matth. 6.33 . to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness , and then promiseth that the things of this life shall be added to us . And according to the Method of this Doctrine and Promise , so is the Method of this Prayer ; first to seek the Glory , Kingdom and Will of God , and then for those things that are necessary for our selves . And though he hath promised that they shall be added to us , yet he directs to pray for what he hath thus promised to add . And this is the course of God's Will and our Duty , that we should begg of God what he hath certainly promised to give . The Promises of God , as they are the warrants of our Prayers , so our Prayers are required , though not as causes , yet as means of fulfilling his Promises . And then a Promise is most suitable and fitly performed , when it is sued out by our Prayers . When God had promised to build the ruined places , and plant that which was desolate , and had engaged his own Name and Truth to perform it , I the Lord have spoken it , and I will do it , Ezech. 36.36 . yet requires their prayers to precede the performance of it ; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them ; and that amongst other , upon these Considerations :

1. To shew our Dependance upon him : All Creatures , as they are essentially depending upon God in their being and preservation , so according to the measure of their power they testifie that Dependance , Psal. 104.21 . The young Lyons seek their meat from God . Psal. 147.9 . He giveth the Beasts their food , and to the young Ravens which cry . Psal. 145.15 . The Eyes of all wait upon thee , and thou givest them their meat in due season . There is a secret and unknown testification , even in the sensible Creatures , of their dependance upon God for their livelihood , and much more is required , and that most justly , from Man : It is an act of Mercy and Bounty for God to promise and to give ; and an act of Duty and Recognition for Man to seek .

2. It brings the Soul more to see and to acknowledge and magnifie that Mercy that is given , when it is first sued out from God by Prayer . A Blessing obtained upon Prayer carries a more immediate impression of the Liberality of God , than when it is given unsought for .

3. It makes a Blessing the more acceptable , when obtained ; and the more comfortable and contenting in the enjoyment ; when a man , together with the Mercy he receives , receives also a sense of the Mercy and Goodness of God coming with it : and as in respect of this concomitance , so it most times falls out , that such blessings so obtained are more suitable , and seasonable , and ample , and useful , than such as come in an ordinary way of Providence .

4. It fits a man with a better mind to use them with Thankfulness unto God ; with Sobriety , and yet with Cheerfulness ; when a man shall consider that this blessing I had from the hands of the Almighty God , derived to me by that means that he hath enjoyned , Prayer bottomed upon his Promise . The disturbance that growes to any man in any condition , is either out of a disproportion of his condition to a right mind or desire , or a disproportion of his mind to a right fruition : A Blessing obtained by Prayer avoids both ; it brings a proportionable good to his mind and desire ; and it suits the Mind with a proportionable temper to the blessing . Eccl. 6.2 . Solomon tells us of a man to whom God had given Riches and Wealth and Honour , so that he wanted nothing that his heart could desire ; yet God gave him not power to eat thereof : the discomposure of his Mind robbed him of fruition as equally , as if he had not had the possession . But the blessing of Wealth gotten By Prayer , is accompanied with a Mind to use it comfortably and chearfully , yet soberly and humbly . Sin hath put a curse in the Creatures , that they prove unuseful ; and it hath put a Curse in the Soul , that it corrupts the Creature , as an ill stomach doth good nourishment , so that oftentimes they are occasions of Excess and Intemperance , of Pride and Haughtiness , of Carnal Confidence and forgetting of God . Prov. 30.9 . lest I be full and deny thee , and say , Who is the Lord ? Prayer is by the free Goodness of God made a means to take out the Curse from both ; it sanctifies the Creature . 1 Tim. 4.5 . Every Creature of God is sanctified by the Word and Prayer : by the Word of Command given to the creature to make it serviceable ; and by the Word of Promise given to the user ; and by Prayer laying hold upon that Promise , and suing out that Blessing that is contained in it ; and it sanctifies the heart , keeps it in dependance upon God , in confidence in him , in Sobriety before him ; it teacheth him that the Blessings of this Life come from him , are his Blessings ; my Corn , and my Wine , and my Oyl . And accordingly the Heart is tutored to use them with all Moderation , Thankfulness and Contentedness .

1. Give us , &c. Give us our Bread , not Pay it us as a Duty . The best Title we have to all our Blessings is Free Gift . God did not , nor could at first owe to any thing its Being ; and having given a Being to any thing , he owes it not Preservation , nor the means of it ; but the gift of the latter is as free as of the former . When God said to man , In the sweat of thy brows thou shalt eat thy bread , Gen. 3.19 . he gave him not his Bread as the wages of his Labour , but annexed his Toil and Labour as the Curse of his Life ; and yet such is his Mercy that he gives us our Bread for asking it . Matt. 7.11 . How much more shall your Father which is in Heaven , give good things to them that ask him ? O Lord , I have no title to the necessaries of my Life , but thy free gift and bounty ; and had I any , yet my continual Sins do every moment forfeit that title . The Beggar , that begs bread at my door , hath a better right to the bread he begs , as against me , than I have to the bread I eat , as from thee . I come therefore before thee for the necessaries of my life with all abhorrence and detestation of any Merit in my self to deserve them : they are thine before thou givest them ; and they are not mine unless thou givest them ; and when thou hast given them they are still thine ; and blessed be thy Name that thou art pleased to give them me for the asking . Nor doth my asking of my Bread at thy hands deserve the Gift of it to me , but it is the means which thou hast sanctified by thy free promise to procure them for me .

2. Give us our Bread . We cannot give it our selves , our Good is not in our own hands nor power ; it is he that giveth thee power to get Wealth , Deut. 8.16.19 . without his Blessings my Labours and Projections will prove fruitless ; it is vain to rise early , and to go to bed late , Psal. 127.2 . or if they arrive to acquire the Bread I want , yet he can blow upon it and makes holes in my Bag , Hagg. 1.6 , 9. Can send Worms into my Manna , Exod. 16.20 . or if my Store become not unserviceable for me , yet it must be his Blessing that must enable me to eat of it , Eccles. 5.19 . and 6.2 . I will therefore be honestly industrious to get my Bread ; for it is my Duty . Gen. 3.19 . In the sweat of thy brows thou shalt eat thy bread . But I will not be solicitous touching the Event ; for he hath said I will not leave thee nor forsake thee . Heb. 13.5 . And if the Providence of God second my Endeavours , yet I will not sacrifice to my Net . Hab. 1.16 . But with acknowledgment bless the hand of God that gives me the Bread , and labour and pray to make it bread to me ; for man cannot live by bread alone , Matt. 4.4 . But by that word of Blessing whereby he makes it my dayly bread .

3. Give us our bread , yet if thou give it not , give us Contentedness ; for what cause have we to murmur at the denial of that which thou art not bound to give : or if thou turn our dayly bread to bread of Carefulness , or of Affliction , yet give us Patience , and we shall be able to live upon this bread . Our dayly bread is thy free gift , and therefore if thou give it not , it is no injury nor cause of repining .

This Day , or Day by Day :

And why not bread for to morrow , as well as for to day ? the reason of the Prayer is contained in our Saviours Command , Matt. 6.32 . Take no thought for to morrow . And the Reasons of that Command are these :

1. To keep us in a continual Dependance upon God . And this our Saviour enforceth upon the consideration of the very Fowls , Matt. 6.26 . They sowe not , neither do they reap , nor gather into Barns , yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them ; and that , in due season , Psal. 145. And are ye not much better than they ? When Elias was at Gods immediate finding , the Ravens brought him Meat in the Wilderness at seasonable times . Supplies beyond necessity of the present are apt to make us either vainly profuse , or vainly confident . An Example of the first we have in the Prodigal , Luke 15.12 . that would have all his Portion at once that belonged to him : he wasted it in riotous living , which he did not before , when his Fathers care measured out his Supplies according to his Exigencies and Occasions . An instance of the latter we have in the Rich Man , Luke 12. When his Store out-grew his Receipt , so that he projecteth the building of greater Barns , he then sets up his rest ; thou hast much laid up for many years , eat , drink , and be merry . Israel was in less danger when fed as it were from hand to mouth in the Wilderness , then when he had eaten and was full ; when his Herds , and Flocks , and Silver , and Gold were multiplied , then his heart was in danger to be lifted up and to forget God , Deut. 8.3 , 13 , 14. And accordingly it proved when Jesurun waxed Fat , he kicked , and forsook the Lord which made him , and lightly esteemed the Rock of his Salvation , Deut. 32.15 . And such is the baseness and falseness and pride of our hearts , that could we have our turns served by any other means , than from the hands of God , we would never seek unto him : and when we have any thing beyond the exigence of our present condition , we presently make that our confidence . We had rather be beholden to any thing than to him , and rather trust in any thing than in him . Therefore in great condescension to the waywardness of our Natures , he is often pleased to keep the Treasury of outward Blessings in his own hands , deliver them out by little and little according to our present Exigencies , that so though the baseness of our Natures will not , yet the necessities of our Nature and his wise Dispensation enforceth us to make our often Addresses to him to beg our Bread of him , as often as we have necessity to Eat , that thereby we may learn to depend upon him .

2. Though our foolish hearts cannot think so , yet certain it is , that God is the best Treasurer of his own Blessings for us . He husbands them better for us than we can our selves ; dispenceth them with more Prudence , Seasonableness , Convenience , than if they were at our own taking . He knows what proportion is fittest , what time seasonablest : and therefore we are taught by this part of this Petition to trust God with his own Blessings , and with the dispencing of them . Our Father is a Wise and Merciful Father , and we are foolish and inconsiderate Children . Let us trust him with our Portion , it shall certainly be better managed in his hands than in ours . Though he gives not out to day what is fit for to morrow , yet he hath the same Store and Mercy and Wisdom to morrow that he hath to day , or had yesterday . And if he gives me enough for this day upon my Petition , what need I trouble my self about to morrow ? when to morrow comes I will beg it , as I did to day ; and I doubt not but he will deal as bountifully to morrow , as he hath done this day . Therefore I will beg to day for the Bread of this day , and beg to morrow Bread for to morrow , and not anticipate my Duty by begging to day Bread , for to morrow .

3. To put us in mind of our Mortality . Why shall I be solicitous for to morrow , when I know not how God will dispose of me before to morrow comes ? Who can tell what a day may bring forth ? I will wait therefore all my appointed time till my change cometh , Job 14.14 . and if God spare me my life till to morrow , it will be then seasonable to beg Bread for that Life , as I have done for this day .

Our daily Bread .

Bread . We have herein these two Considerations :

1. The Extent of it : Bread is the Staff of Life , the strength of Life , Psal. 104.15 . Bread which strengtheneth mans heart . If this be wanting , it makes a famine , though there be a supply of other things ; and if this be had , the want of other things may be born : and therefore it comprehends all the conveniencies for the support of our Natures . Isa. 55.2 . Wherefore do ye spend your mony for that which is not bread ? Psal. 132.15 . I will abundantly bless her provision , and satisfie her poor with bread . So that when I beg my daily Bread , I beg for all the conveniencies for the support of my life .

2. The Restriction of it : Our Saviour teacheth us to pray for Food for our necessity and conveniency , not for our curiosity or superfluity ; and with Agur to desire food convenient for us , Prov. 30.8 . The Israelites had their daily supply of Bread from Heaven , and they were not contented , but tempted God and asked Meat for their Lusts , Psal. 78.18 . And they were not estranged from their Lusts , but while the meat was yet in their mouthes , the wrath of God fell upon them . A Petition for Supplyes to be consumed upon our Lusts , is with more Mercy denyed than granted , James 4.3 . When we are to ask for Temporal Supplies , our Saviour teacheth us in this Petition , Modesty , Moderation , and Contentation ; if we have Food and Rayment , therewith to be content : not but that Abundance is a Blessing , and such as wherein God not only allows , but requires a cheerful and thankful use , Deut. 28.47 . Because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and gladness of heart for the abundance of all things , therefore shalt thou serve thine Enemies , &c. Wealth and Abundance are Blessings of God , such as we must receive with Thankfulness , and use with Cheerfulness , Sobriety , and Liberality : But we have no promise to be Rich or to have Abundance ; if God gives it , he is better than his Promise , and we have great cause therein to bless his Name : but we have a Promise of supply of our necessities of Nature , and the Promise of God is the foundation of our Prayer . We have commission to pray for Bread , not for Delicacies or Superfluities . These , if given , may be lawfully , and must be thankfully used ; but if not given , we must live contentedly and thankfully without them . God knows what proportion best fitteth us , and if he gives us our daily Bread , he gives us as much as we have a commission to ask ; and yet by asking only for daily Bread , we are not bound to ask meerly for the necessity of the support of Life , but for a comfortable and convenient support according to that condition wherein God's Providence hath placed us . That may be Bread to ones Meal for his Convenience , which may be Quails to anothers Meal for his Lusts . And this variety may arise by the difference of stations or degrees ( that may be but Bread for Solomon's Table , which may be Quails for a meaner person : ) the difference of relations and dependencies , the difference of tempers and constitutions of body , the difference of seasons and occurrences . There may be a Season when our Lord gives us a commission to eat whatsoever our Soul desireth , so it be done before the Lord , and as in his presence , Deut. 14.26 . And there is a Season when slaying of Oxen , and killing Sheep , and eating Flesh , is an iniquity not to be purged , Isa. 22.12 , 13 , 14. The Wise God , that ordereth and disposeth all times , and persons , and circumstances , doth with the same Wisdom fit them with suitable Concomitants and Adjuncts . He hath made every thing beautiful in its time , Eccles. 3.11 .

But besides this Bread for our Bodies , there is Bread for our Souls , which comes under this Petition : The Bread of Life , and the Water of Life , John 6.33 . this is the Life of our Souls . And as much as the Good and Support and Life of our Souls is of more concernment to us , than the Life of our Bodies , so is the Bread of our Souls of more concernment for us to ask , than the Bread of our Bodies : this is Christ , John 6.34 . I am the Bread of Life , he that cometh to me shall never hunger , and he that believeth on me shall never thirst . Bread like the Widows Barrel of Meal , that shall never diminish unto all Eternity . This Bread our Lord hath been pleased already to give us , Christ and his fulness ; and nothing is wanting if we have but a hand to receive it . And this Bread we eat when we believe the Truth of God concerning him ; when we often contemplate upon the Mercy of God in giving him ; and upon that mighty Salvation which in him he hath given us ; when we have often recourse unto him for Grace and Mercy ; when we carry unto him all our stock of Love , and Admiration , and Dependence , and Recumbence , and Resolution of Spirit . And here we find Bread for our Souls in the most comprehensive latitude , accommodate to every condition of the Soul : Here is Bread to feed and to strengthen it , the Grace and Spirit of Christ ; Physick to cure and recover it , the Satisfaction and Merit of Christ ; Varieties to feast and to refresh it , the Promises of God , Joy in believing , unspeakable and full of Glory ; Bread that will satisfie , yet never satiate ; but the more we feed upon him , the greater is our plenty , and the better our stomach .

To conclude then the whole consideration of this Petition ; When I pray for my daily Bread , my Soul doth or should run out into such thoughts as these : O Lord , thou did'st at first freely give me my Being , I could not deserve it when I was not : The same Title that I have to my Being , I have to my Preservation , and Support of my Being ; it is still free gift , and therefore I come to thee for my Bread upon no other terms , than as a poor Beggar to a most bountiful Lord . And because thou hast commanded me to cast my care upon thee , therefore I seek my Bread of thee for this day , which thou hast hitherto lent me . I desire to trust thee with my Portion , and it is my happiness that my Portion is not in my own hands , but in thine . Give therefore , I pray thee , Bread for this day , and when to morrow comes , I will beg Bread of thee for to morrow ; and if thou givest me this day supplies beyond the expence of this day , I will use it thankfully , and nevertheless dependingly ; for I will renew my Petition for my daily Bread , still . It is thy blessing that gives my Bread power to nourish me . And that which is Bread to day , and sufficient for to morrow , may without thy blessing upon it , like the Israelites Manna , kept beyond thy Command , be Worms to morrow : And because thou hast promised , that verily I shall be fed , Psal. 37.3 . upon that promise of thine I beg food and cloathing convenient for me . If thou givest me no more , or not so much , give me Contentedness , and Thankfulness ; and if thou givest me more , give me Thankfulness for it , Sobriety in the use of it , and Liberality in the dispencing of it . In giving me but Enough , I am Steward for my self ; and in giving me more than Enough , I am but a Steward of that abundance for others . But above all , Ever give me of the Bread of Life , that whilest my Body is fed , my Soul may not be starved , either for want of that Everlasting Bread , or for want of an appetite to it .

And forgive us our Debts , Matt. 6. Our Sins , Luk. 11.

Sins . We are all under the guilt of sin . No man lives and sins not , Eccles. 7.20 . If we say we have no sin , we deceive our selves , 1 John 1.8 . God made Man Righteous at first , and gave him a Righteous Law ; and in as much as Man owed an infinite subjection to the Authour of his Being , he owed an Exact Obedience to the Law of his Maker : yet God was pleased to give him this Law , not only as the Rule of his Obedience , but as a Covenant of Life and of Death ; viz. that so long as he and his Seed should observe that Law , so long they should enjoy Blessedness and Immortality ; and if they should break any part of that Law , they should die the death . The first man made a stipulation for himself and his Posterity , and this was but just ; for he had in himself the Race of all Mankind : all succeeding Generations are but pieces of Adam , who had not , nor could have their Being but from him ; and so it was but Reasonable and Just for him to contract for all his Posterity . And as it was just in respect of the Person contracting , so it was just in respect of the Manner of the Contract : the Law that was his covenant was a just and righteous Law , a Law sutable to the indowments and power of his Nature : Again , the Blessedness , which by his obedience he was to hold , was not of his own creating nor obtaining ; it was the free gift of God , and it is but reasonable that the Lord of this gift might give it in what manner he pleased ; and it could not be unjust that the Lord , that gave him this Blessedness should give it him under what Conditions he pleased : but he gave it him under most reasonable and just Conditions , viz. an Obedience to a most just and reasonable Law , which suited with the ability and perfection of his Nature ; and therefore when , upon the breach of Covenant by Man , he withdrew that blessedness from him and his posterity , he did no more than what was most just for him to do . And thus we stand Guilty of that Sin which our first Father committed , and are deprived of that Blessedness and Life which our first Father had ; and the Privation of that Blessedness and Immortality is Death . Rom. 5.12 . By one Man sin entered into the World , and death by Sin ; and Vers. 19. By one Mans Disobedience many were made Sinners . 1 Cor. 15.22 . In Adam all die . And by this Sin of Adam all were made Sinners , by these two wayes :

1. By actual participation of his disobedience ; for we were then in him : but that is not all , for upon that reason every Man should stand guilty of all the Sins committed by any of his Progenitors since Adam , which seems not to agree with the profession of Almighty God , Ezek. 18.20 . The Son shall not bear the Iniquity of the Father . But the case is not alike ; for Adam was created in integrity and perfection , in an ability to perform the Law , and so was a fit person to stipulate for his posterity . 2 And as he was a person so qualified , so the Covenant was made between God and him , both for him , and his posterity ; and 3 As we suffer in the penalty of his Disobedience , so we had enjoyed the benefit of his Obedience ; we had come into the World with the same Liberty of Will , and Integrity , and Perfection of Nature that he had : But all these are wanting in any other person in the World : 1. A defect of Nature is gone over all , that none is fit to stipulate for himself and his posterity : 2. No such contract hath been at any time made between God and any other Man .

2. By a necessary Consequence ; for God having justly withdrawn from Man his Blessedness and Perfection ; and Sin having corrupted and imbased his Nature , we by propagation from him derive a corrupted , depraved Nature , full of impotence , and rebellion , and disorder . Job . 14.4 . Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? God was pleased to communicate to Man a being in the Essence of a Man ; and to communicate unto him a degree of Purity , Immortality , Wisdom , and Perfection beyond the compass of his Natural subsistence : but this latter was communicated to him under a covenant , which when he broke he lost , and not only lost that , but even stained , and corrupted , and imbased that very being , that after he had sinned , he retained . And this is the old Man corrupt , according to the deceivable Lusts , Ephes. 4.22 . A body of death , Rom. 7.24 . And this Depravation of our Nature was followed with the continual Corruption , and at last with the dissolution of Nature : and that not only in those who had sinned after the similitude of Adams transgression , by an actual breach of an express Law , Rom. 5.14 . But in all that were partakers of Adams corrupted Nature , even Infants ; and so Death passed over all .

And as thus we partake of Original Sin , as well by being virtually actors in it , as also by derivation of a corrupted Nature ; so this corruption of our Nature produceth in all our Lives continued and renewed Actual Sins , the conceptions of Lust . Jam. 1.15 . And these Actual Sins , according to the difference of those commands of God , which are violated , are either Sins of Omission , or of Commission : and both come under the extent of this Petition , by the name of Sins or Trespasses , Luk. 11. by the Name of Debts , Matt. 6. For we owe unto God Duty and Obedience , and every Violation of that duty leaves us so much indebted unto God : the least of which is impossible to be paid when once incurred ; because it is impossible for us to make that not to have been , which hath already been , and impossible for us by all our future Obedience , ( were it as exact as the will of God requires ) to expiate a Sin past ; for still that perfect obedience is no more then we owe ; we have therein but done our duty and are but unprofitable Servants ; but if it were possible to think that one act of perfect obedience to God would expiate for any Sin past , yet such is the Corruption of our Nature , that not one such act can be found : there is in our best actions a mixture and adherence of some defect or other , that makes it become the subject still of this Petition , that which needs Mercy to Pardon , and therefore cannot contain Merit to Deserve .

So then all are concluded under Sin , Gal. 3.22 . and consequently under Guilt , the effect of Sin ; and consequently under death , and a curse the wages of Sin . And this Sin , guilt and curse is so closely bound to every one of Adams posterity , that there is no possibility in the best of them to deliver themselves from it : therefore O Lord teach us to pray :

Forgive us .

Forgiveness is an act of Free Grace , whereby our offended God freely , and without any Merit of ours , remits the Sin , the Guilt and Punishment ; the Person offended is he only that can forgive : the rule was true though misapplyed , Mar. 2.7 . Who can forgive Sins but God only ? and Forgiveness is an act of most free Mercy and nothing of Merit in the person forgiven . Isa. 43.25 . I , even I am he , that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake and will not remember thy Sins . Misery ; which is the effect of Sin , is the Object of Mercy , but it is not the Desert of it , especially when that very Misery , under which we are brought by Sin , is a Misery wilfully contracted by our selves , and not only so , but is still a sinning Misery , a Misery accompanied with stupidity and senslessness , with aversion & opposition against that God , and that very Mercy , that should deliver us . God commends the freeness and fulness of his Goodness to us , by taking that season to be Merciful , when our condition is most Miserable , not because our misery deserves his pity . Ezek. 16.6 . I said unto thee , when thou wast in thy blood , Live : Yea , I said unto thee , when thou wast in thy blood , Live . This Forgiveness is thus wrought : Man , that was infinitely bound to love and obey the Author of his Being , most unrgatefully and unnecessarily sinned against him , and thereby deservedly incurred the everlasting curse of the most Just and True God , and forfeited his being : yet , though Man had destroyed himself , Almighty God , of his own Free Will , and without any other Motive , and by his own Infinite Wisdom , contrived a way , whereby his most exact Truth and Justice might be satisfied , and yet his creature saved , and his Mercy and Goodness might be infinitely evidenced unto Men and Angels : By an Everlasting Covenant between the Father and the Son , the Son he must assume our Nature , and offer it up as One Sacrifice for Sin for ever , Heb. 10.12 . This was that Mystery hid from Ages and Generations ; the Mystery that the Angels desire to look into , 1 Pet. 1.12 . The Great Mystery of Godliness , God manifested in the Flesh , 1 Tim. 3.16 . The great End of the Creation of Man . And by this Sacrifice thus freely given by our offended Lord , we have Redemption , even the Remission of our sins , Ephes. 1.7 . Colos. 1.14 . And Pardon thus freely given by the Father , and yet thus dearly bought by the Son , is with abundance of Love and Grace , proclaimed and tendred unto all , in all the World , that will but come in , and enter into Covenant with God in Christ . Jer. 31.34 . I will forgive their iniquity , and will remember their sin no more . And although this one Sacrifice of Christ , offered up once for all , is a full satisfaction for all the sins of his Elect , to the end of the World , yet the same eternal Contract , that made it so , did likewise appoint certain Means actually to apply it ; And make it effectual to us , of Faith to lay hold upon it . And in as much as , notwithstanding our giving up our Names to Christ , many renewed daily sins are committed by us , our Lord teacheth us to resort daily to this Sacrifice , this Magazine of Mercy , this Fountain opened to wash for sin and for uncleanness , thence to fetch new applications of this one Sacrifice for our renewed offence , and to beg our Pardon as often as we beg our Bread .

So then ,

1. We have the true Original of Forgiveness , the Free Love of God , which gave Christ as the Sacrifice for Sin , and accepted that Sacrifice as the price of our Pardon : So God loved the World , that he gave his only begotten Son , that whosoever believed in him should not perish , but have everlasting Life , John 3.16 .

2. We have the Meritorious Cause of it , that Sacrifice of Christ , whereby Pardon is impetrated for as many as lay hold upon it .

3. The Act , which that Eternal Counsel appointed to be the Means of the actual Application of it to the Soul , receiving of the Pardon thus offered . To as many as received him , to them , &c. Joh. 1.12 . For as we live , and move , and have our Being by God , and his Will , and Providence ; yet the same Will of his hath appointed the means , whereby that Will of his is accomplished , our daily Bread , and the use of it : So , although from God we have our Pardon , yet the same Will of his hath appointed Faith in Christ , to be the instrument of an Actual or Effectual Application of it ; and the Efficacy of Faith , as an instrument for that purpose , depends likewise upon the same Will of God , which hath so appointed . When the Israelites were bitten with fiery Serpents in the Wilderness , God commanded Moses to erect a brazen Serpent for their cure , Numb. 21.8 . But , although the Divine Will had annexed a power of healing unto that Serpent instrumentally , yet the same Will appointed the actual application of that power , to the looking upon that Serpent : Every one that is bitten , when he looketh upon it , shall live : So though by the Eternal Will of God , a Pardon is obtained by the Death of Christ , yet the same Will of his hath appointed Faith in Christ , the means of the receiving of that Pardon : and yet this very means is not in our own power , but it is the Gift of God . John 6.44 . No man can come unto me , except the Father draw him .

4. The renewed Exercise of that Act , upon occasions of sin committed or renewed . Prayer for Pardon , which as it doth most naturally flow from the sense of sin , and of a Pardon impetrated by Christ , so by the Divine Institution , it is required to apply that Pardon actually to the Soul : and it is a high Mercy of God to grant it for the asking ; and an argument of a proud unbelieving heart , to think to have it without it : and whensoever the Spirit and the Word of God , hath wrought in a man a belief , of , and in the Sacrifice of Christ , the same Spirit doth work in the heart a desire of it , which is nothing else but the Prayer of the Mind ; for it maketh intercession according to the Will of God , Rom. 8.27 . And herein we therefore see two things :

1. Our Duty . Our sins are many , and daily , even after we have given up our Names to Christ . If we say we have no sin , we deceive our selves 1 Joh. 1.8 . And though meritoriously Christ hath satisfied for those very sins , yet we are to have often recourse to this Sacrifice , to fetch our cure and our cleansing , in the actual application of this Sacrifice unto us . Had a man been bitten by a fiery Serpent , he might look upon the brazen Serpent and live ; and had he been bitten again , he must have looked again , or else he had died : it is so with us , only here is the odds ; the man that had been once cured , if bitten again , might perchance not have looked again upon the Serpent , and so have died : but it is otherwise here ; the same principle of Life , that abiding seed , 1 John 3.8 . that did at first make him to seek , and sue to Christ for his first actual Pardon , will after a fall , a renewed sin , send the Soul to this Fountain , for a new act of application , of that cleansing and pardoning : he cannot commit sin , that is , lye in it , without recourse to God for Pardon , because his Seed abideth in him , 1 Joh. 2.8 .

2. Our Priviledge . If any man sin , we have an Advocate , 1 John 2.1 . an Advocate that knows the mind of our Judge , and out of that knowledge , hath taught us as often as we beg our Bread , to beg our Pardon , and that with assurance that we shall be heard , if we do it in Faith and Sincerity . 1 John 1.9 . He is faithful and just to forgive . It is the Proclamation of his Name , Exod. 34.7 . Forgiving iniquity , transgression and sin . It is his promise , Jer. 31.34 . Jer. 33.8 . I will forgive their iniquity , and remember their sin no more : Even to a revolting and backsliding creature , upon true repentance . Isa. 56.7 . Let the wicked forsake his way , and the unrighteous man his thoughts , and let him return unto the Lord , and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our God , for he will abundantly pardon . Jer. 3.12 . Return thou backsliding Israel , and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you ; for I am merciful , saith the Lord , and will not keep anger for ever ; only acknowledge thine iniquity . Christ came into the World to restore in Man the lost Image of God . And when Peter asked him , Matt. 18.21 . How oft shall my Brother sin against me , and I forgive him , till seven times ? Jesus said unto him , I say not unto thee till seven times , but till seventy times seven times . And surely that Mercy , that Christ required in a poor mortal Man , is infinitely fuller in the merciful God , who delights in Mercy and Forgiveness : Only remember ,

1. To take heed of Presumptuous Sins , Premeditated Sins , Sins against knowledge , and against convictions , Sins with a presupposition of Pardon . Deut. 29.19 . That shall bless himself in his heart , saying , I shall have peace , though I walk in the imagination of my heart . The Lord will not spare him . These , though they cannot exceed the Mercy of God to pardon them , they many times shut and seal up the Soul against Pardon , hardning the heart to a great difficulty , if not a final impossibility , of Repentance ; and by that means the Soul is disabled , with any comfortable ground or assurance to beg Pardon , without the great Mercy of God to soften that heart again .

2. Make a frequent and serious Examination of thy past Actions ; measure them by the Rule of the Word of God ; and find out that accursed thing , whatsoever it be , that is displeasing to him : so that , as much as may be , thou maist distinctly , and with reference to particular sins , or faults , or failings , pray over this Petition . There is not a day , but by a wary observation , thou wilt not only find a general indistinct distemper , which is to be the subject of this request , but particular , special , eminent Evils , that deserve a particular reflection upon them , in the repetition of this Petition . Let us search and try our wayes , and turn to the Lord our God : And to this end ,

3. Endeavour to keep thy Conscience always Wakeful , Vigilant , Tender ; be content to listen to her chidings ; she soldom quarrels without a cause : but suppressing , checking , and stifling the language of Conscience , makes her at last either sullen , or senseless , or outragious . A vigilant Conscience will prevent thee from many sins : but if it do not , it will tell thee of them , and bring thee upon thy knees , and make this Petition seasonable , and a Pardon gotten thereupon acceptable and comfortable : for how can that Man , with any sense beg Pardon for a sin , when he scarce finds himself sensibly guilty of any ? This Petition is delivered up but carelesly , and coldly , and fruitlesly , by such a person .

4. Give God the Honour of his Justice , even when thou suest for the Benefit of his Mercy , in aggravation of thy sins to the due height ; in owning damnation and utter rejection , as the just reward of every sin , humble thy Soul truely and deeply for it . This will make thy Prayer earnest , and thy Pardon dear ; it gives to God the Honour of his Justice , and the Glory of his Mercy , which is all the Tribute thou can'st pay unto him for his free Goodness , in giving thee that Pardon , without which thou wert eternally lost .

5. Give thy Mediator the Honour and End of thy Redemption . Thy Saviour died , it is true , to obtain thy Pardon , but wilt thou continue in sin , that Grace may abound ? sin , that thou maist be pardoned ? and renew thy sins , that God may renew his Pardon ? God forbid . Thou dost , as much as in thee lyeth , disappoint the End of Christ's Death , who therefore died , that he might redeem unto himself a peculiar people , zealous of good works . Let the begging of thy Pardon , be ever accompanied with a resolution not to offend again ; otherwise God , that sees thy heart , looks upon thy asking of Pardon , as a higher , and more impudent , and presumptuous sin , than that which thou seemest to beg the forgiveness of .

6. Upon the discovery of any particular sin , which in a special manner concerns thee , beware of these things :

1. Sleeping in it , without recourse to God for Pardon for it ; or slipping over it in thy Prayer without a particular animadversion upon it . Be content to open this sore : The longer it is kept covered , the worse it is . Thou must know that every sin is written before God with a point of a Diamond , and though thou art contented to forget it ; or by incursion of time to wear out the remembrance , or at least the horror , of it ; yet it is written , and thou shalt be sure to hear of it ; and the longer it continues , the harder thy heart grows ; and the deeper doth the canker and stain of that Sin work and spread into thy Soul ; and the more difficultly is thy Pardon obtained , and yet the less earnestly sought . It is a secret curse in thy bosom , that makes all thy services to God unacceptable and unsavory ; and who can tell when the decree may come out ? when this Sin will ripen into an eminent Judgment ? Therefore clear thy account with God betimes ; let not the guilt of a Sin lye long upon thy conscience , but make thy peace betimes ; sue out thy Pardon speedily . Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth .

2. Yet after a Sin freshly committed , fall not presently to beg thy Pardon , till thou hast humbled thy Heart , and put it into a fit frame to come into the presence of God ; till thou hast got a sense that it is an evil thing and a bitter to depart from him ; till thou hast crept to thy Saviours Feet for his Blood to wash thee , and for his Righteousness to cover thee , and for his Mediation to bring thee , otherwise a defiled polluted creature , into his Fathers presence , under his Patronage ; till thou hast mourned over him , whom thou hast pierced ; and been ashamed before him of thy miscarriage ; and acted thy Faith upon his All-sufficient satisfaction ; till thou hast taken up Resolutions of future amendment : and then in the Name and Mediation of thy Saviour , fall upon thy knees , and beg thy Pardon .

As we forgive our Debtors , Luk. 12. For we forgive our Debtors .

Here we Learn ,

1. That it is our Duty to forgive others , Matt. 18.21 , 22. Upon their repentance , Luk. 17.4 . If he trespass against thee seven times in a day , and seven times in a day turn to thee , saying , I repent ; thou shalt forgive him : and that upon these considerations : 1. From that conformity that is , or should be , in our Nature to the Nature of God : he is slow to anger , and of great Mercy , Psal. 145.8 . Who is a God like unto thee , that pardoneth iniquity , and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage ? he retaineth not his anger for ever , because he delighteth in Mercy , Mic. 7.18 . And Christ coming to renew the broken Image of God in Man , and to renew him after the Image of him that created him , doth enjoyn & imprint this part of the Divine Image , Luk. 6.36 . Be ye merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful . And Mercy in the Heart is that excellent habit , from whence forgiveness proceeds . And hence it is , that where the Spirit of Christ comes , it assimilates the Nature to that disposition , Gal. 5.22 . The fruit of the Spirit is Long-suffering , Gentleness , Meekness . 2. From that great commandment enjoyned by God in the Moral Law , Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self . And much more inforced under the new Covenant , even to the Love of our very Enemies , Matt. 5.44 . I say unto you , Love your Enemies ; and consequently forgive your Enemies ; for Love is that affection that produceth Pardon , and this injunction lyes upon us under the same obligation whereby we are bound to love our Brethren ; for the Love we owe to God is that grand Obligation that binds to whatsoever he commands . Joh. 14.15 . If ye love me , keep my Commandments ; Therefore if ye love me , love and pity , and pardon your Enemies . 3. From that great Equity and Reason , the proportion of Gods dealing with us . Matt. 18.32 . I forgave thee all that debt because thou desiredst me . Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant , even as I had pity on thee ? Colos. 3.13 . Forbearing one another , and forgiving one another , even as Christ forgave you . If God should require obedience to any command , though I saw no reason for it , yet the Love of God would constrain me to reason thus : Though I see no reason of this command , yet when I consider who it is that commands it , even the Infinite and Merciful God , to whom I owe my self and all I hope for , I see reason enough for me to obey , though I see not the reason why God should command . But in this injunction of Forgiving my Enemy , I see a most just and proportionable reason of my Obedience : I owed unto God a most Infinite Love and Obedience to the uttermost possibility of my Being ; for from him I had it ; and when I broke that Allegiance , I owed unto him an Infinite Debt of Guilt and Punishment ; and with this guilt I likewise contracted an innate enmity against that God , to whom I owed so vast a debt of Duty and of Guilt : this very God freely without my seeking , when I hated him , sent me his Son with a free Pardon of all this Infinite Guilt , and commanded me to shew Mercy to my offending brother : the offence that I committed was against an Infinite Obligation of the creature to his Creator ; the offence that my Brother commits as against me , is only against some petty relation ; we are otherwise both equals ; God freely forgave me , when there was nothing to enjoyn , or inforce , or deserve , or so much as to seek it , and is it not reasonable that I should forgive my brother , that it may be seeks my Pardon ? but if he doth not , our common Lord and Master enjoyns it ?

2. Consequently upon the former the not observing of this Duty , doth most Justly and Reasonably deserve that I should not be heard in this Petition . If I can so boldly and unthankfully encounter a Command of God standing upon such just and reasonable grounds , with what face I can expect a Pardon from him at my request , when I refuse to Pardon my Brother at his command ?

3. Consequently also the pardon of my Brother is no Meritorious cause for God to pardon me : the Breach of any command is a meritorious cause of Punishment ; but the Observation of one duty cannot deserve the Pardon of the violation of another ; God requires me to forgive my Brother , and when I have done so , I have done but my duty , and no not deserve my Pardon , and therefore when I say , forgive me , for I forgave others ; I make not the Pardon I ask , the wages for the Pardon I gave ; for as my Brothers offence against me holds not proportion with my offence against God ; so neither doth my Pardon of him hold proportion with Gods Pardon to me .

4. Nor consequently is my Pardon of others the measure of that Pardon I beg of God : The offences committed by my brother against me are not in truth so much offences committed against me , as against God ; for it is therefore an injury to me , because done against that law that he hath interposed between him and me ; and so though I am concerned , yet in truth the foundation of my concernment is that Law that God hath set between him and me ; and were it possible to suppose no such Law , it were impossible to conceive any injury to be done from one man to another . So then my Pardon of him is but of slender concernment of my own , the chiefest interest is Gods . Again , my offence against God is against an Infinite Obligation , and against an Infinite Person ; but my brothers offence against me , as it relates to me , is but of finite relation or obligation , and against a finite Person ; and therefore the measure of the thing forgiven by me is too short and too narrow to fit and sute with that whereof I beg my Pardon . Again , my Pardon to my Brother is with a great deal of corruption , superciliousness , pride , grudging , aversness , expostulations , secret risings of my Heart against him : O! But such a Pardon will not serve my turn ; I beg a Pardon at the hands of the God of Mercy and Perfection , a full , a perfect Pardon . Measure not out , O Lord , thy Pardon to me according to my Pardon to my Brother , the thing I pardon holds not proportion with the offence which I have committed against thee : his is but a finite offence against me , a finite Creature ; mine is an infinite Offence gainst an infinite Obligation , and against an Infinite God : the Pardon that I give , is mingled with ruggedness , with revenge , with remembrance of the thing I forgive ; but the Pardon I beg of thee is an abundant Pardon , Isa. 55.7 . A blotting out , and an everlasting forgetting of my Sins , Isa. 43.25 . Such a Pardon as leaves not behind it the tincture of my former guilt ; that though my Sins were as scarlet , they may be as white as snow , Isa. 1.18 . But ,

5. Forgive us , for we forgive . By our Union with Christ , we partake of his Priviledge of being the Sons of God ; so that as a Father hath tenderness towards his child , and is apt and ready upon his submission to Pardon him , so there is the same , and a far greater readiness in him to forgive ; I said , I will confess my Transgressions unto the Lord , and thou forgavest the Iniquity of my Sin . As soon as he had but a resolution to beg his Pardon , God prevents his Petition by granting that Pardon which he intended to ask . And as by this Union with Christ , we partake of his Priviledge , so we partake of his Spirit ; and that Spirit is a Merciful Spirit , ready to Pardon an Enemy even before he ask it . This was the command he gave us , and this was the Pattern he left us , who when he was reviled , reviled not again , 1 Pet. 2.21 , 23. but prayed for those that sought his Life , Luk. 23.34 . Father , Forgive them , for they know not what they do . And therefore this Conformity unto the Mind of Christ is an Evidence unto a Man of his Participation of him , and that God heareth him as a Father heareth his Child ; and by this means Faith is strengthened ; and the Soul argues thus in this Petition ; O Lord I am guilty in my self of many Sins , but yet , if I am found in thy Son , thou wilt look upon me with the same tenderness that a Father looks upon his child , and wilt be more ready to forgive me than I can be to ask it : I find thy Son was Merciful , and ready to forgive , even his Enemies ; and I thank thy good Grace , I find in my self the same mind that my Saviour bore , a mind ready to forgive the injuries that were offered him ; and this disposition I have not from my self , nor my own spirit , for that spirit lusteth after envy ; but surely it comes from that meek and gentle Spirit that is in thy Son : and upon this I do believe I am in some measure united to him : and as I do partake of his Spirit , so I doubt not but I partake of that relation of his , even the relation of a Son unto thee , and in that relation , I come before thee , and beg thee to pardon my Sins , assuredly trusting that thou , that hast created in me a mind of Mercy and Forgiveness unto others , wilt shew thy self a God of Mercy and Pardon unto me .

6. Forgive us , for we forgive : It is true , our Pardon of others deserves not thy Mercy , nor can it make thee a debtor unto us ; but , Bountiful Lord , thou hast been pleased in Christ , in whom all thy Promises are Yea and Amen , by thine own free Promise , to engage thy self unto thy creature , Psal. 18.25 . That with the merciful thou wilt shew thy self merciful . Matt. 5.7 . That the merciful shall obtain Mercy . Mat. 6.14 . That if we forgive men their Trespasses , thou wilt forgive us : and these Promises of thine , freely and undeservedly made by thee , I lay before thee , when I beg my Pardon in Jesus Christ , thereby to strengthen my Soul in thy Goodness , in the free remission of all my Sins .

To conclude , In this Petition the Soul breathes out such thoughts as these : O Lord , I confess before thee , I am a sinful creature ; I have a sinful and polluted Nature , a Body of sin and death ; and this sinful Nature sends forth through all my Thoughts , Words and Actions , foul and filthy streams in every moment of my Life ; and if thou shouldest pass by all the sins of my Nature and Life unto this day , and shouldest call me to an account for my errors since I last begged my Pardon , there were guilt enough left to press me down to the lowest Hell ; And this guilt of the least of any of my sins , as it is more than I am able to answer , so it is more than I am able to expiate ; there is no escaping but by thy free Pardon , and that Pardon I beg of thee in the Name and Righteousness and Promise of thy Son , who knew all thy mind , and taught me to seek my Pardon as often as to seek my daily bread . And in confidence only of that free Mercy of thine , I beseech thee , pardon me ; and as I beg the Pardon of my sins in general , so in special I beg the Pardon of those Sins , which I committed since thy last act of remission granted , and manifested , and ratified unto me : this or that neglect of my Duty to thee , or my neighbour ; this or that sinful , proud , unclean , vain Thought , which hath stained my Soul , and grieved thy Spirit , and polluted or weakned my Conscience ; this or that uncharitable , or malicious , or unseemly or vain Word ; this or that unjust , or unbecoming , or unchristian , or ungodly Action ; every one of these leaves a spot in my Soul , which nothing but the Blood of Christ , and thy Free Grace can take away ; It leaves a Disease , a Weakness , a Wound in my Soul , which nothing but thy Free Spirit can heal and recover . And though I know that my greatest mercy to others , cannot merit mercy from thee , because that mercy is but my duty , and a duty mingled in the performance of it , with many of my own imperfections , which stand in need of thy mercy to pardon it , and that little good that is in it , is not my own , but the work of thy Grace , as free as thy Pardon ; yet it is an evidence to me , that thou wilt be merciful unto me , in that thou hast , contrary to my own nature , wrought a merciful temper in my heart to others , the same mind that was in thy Son ; and therefore I am humbly confident that thou hast given me that Spirit of thy Son , and consequently the relation and priviledge of a Son ; that , in as much as thou hast given me a heart to pardon others , thou wilt make good thy Promise of Mercy and Pardon unto me . I make mention of my remission of others , not as the merit of thy forgiving of me , but thereby to strengthen my Faith , and to lay hold of thy Promise made in and by thy Son ; that if we forgive Men their offences , thou wilt also forgive us . And this I beg , not to make room for new offences , by pardoning the old , nor to continue in sin that Grace may abound ; but with a resolution to forsake my sins , as well as to confess them , and not turn again to folly ; strengthen me so with thy Grace , that as thou hast now cleansed my Soul from my past sins and spots , so I may keep my self from mine Iniquity ; that I may live more to thy Honour ; that I may walk with more Vigilance ; that I may every day find my account less , and thy Spirit and Grace more and more effectual in me , to conform me to the Will and Example of thy Son , in all Holiness and Blamelessness of mind and life : and to that end ,

Lead us not into Temptation , &c.

This Petition directs us to pray for (1) Preventing Mercy : Lead us not into Temptation . (2) Delivering Mercy : but deliver us from Evil. Keep us from falling into Evil ; but if we fall into it , deliver us from it .

The Former part , wherein is considerable , 1. What is meant by Temptation . 2. What to lead into Temptation .

Temptation may be understood (1) for an Active Solicitation unto Evil of Sin : this is done either by the Devil : thus our Saviour was led by the Spirit into the Wilderness , to be tempted of the Devil , Matt. 4.1 . And therefore he is often called the Tempter ; who being a Spirit , is , by the advantage of his Nature , and by the permission of God , able to mingle himself so with our Souls and faculties , that he can immediately solicite unto Evil. Thus he mingled himself with the Spirits of the Prophets of Ahab , and became a lying Spirit in their Mouths , 1 Kings 22.21 . Thus he mingled himself with the Spirit of Judas , tempting him to betray Christ , Luke 22.7 . with the spirit of Ananias , Act. 5.3 . Why hath Satan filled thy Heart ? or it is done by Evil Men , either by their Counsels , Perswasions , or Examples : or by our own corrupt hearts , James 1.14 . Every Man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own Lusts and inticed . Our corrupt and sinful flesh breathes and evaporates into our Souls those ill and filthy vapors , which , infect , and disorder , and seduce it from God ; the Law of our Members bringing us into captivity to the Law of sin , Rom. 7.23 .

2. For that Objective Temptation , or the Object from whence occasionally Temptation ariseth . And thus almost every Object of our sense is a Temptation ; not that there is any proper active motion or action of the Object to perswade to sin , but the corruption of our sensual Nature , meeting with such an Object , acts amiss upon it , and so it becomes a Temptation to sin : and especially if the Object be such as bears a disproportion to our enjoyment of it ; The beauty of the Apple was a Temptation to Eve ; the wedge of Gold and the Babylonish Garment to Achan ; Naboths Vineyard to Ahab , Bathsheba to David : yet in these the Objects were innocent , and had in themselves no active solicitation to Evil , but because they were seemingly good , yet prohibited , corrupted Nature laid hold upon that seeming good , and violated the Command . This taught the Wise man to pray against extreams either of Plenty or Poverty ; because his corrupted Nature was ready to turn either into Temptation : Riches into Arrogance and Presumption ; Poverty into Blasphemy and Murmuring , Prov. 30.9 .

3. For that Act which is not ordered unto Sin , but to some Experiment or Tryal of the temper or disposition that is in a Man ; a Temptation of Trial. Thus God tempted Abraham , when he commanded him to offer up his Son , to prove the sincerity of his Love and Obedience to God ; Gen. 22.12 . By this I know that thou fearest God . To the like purpose were all those difficult dispensations to the People of Israel at the Red Sea , and in the Wilderness , that he might humble them , and prove them , and to know what was in their heart , Deut. 8.2 . And for this end God often sends several Afflictions upon those he truely loves , that their Faith may be tryed . And these Tryals are called Temptations , 1 Pet. 1.6 , 7. Ye are in Heaviness through manifold Temptations , that the Tryal of your Faith may be found to praise , &c. Jam. 1.2 . Count it all Joy when ye fall into divers Temptations , knowing that the Tryal of your Faith worketh Patience .

2. What it is to lead into Temptation , and how God may be said to lead us into them .

1. As to the latter of these sorts of Temptations , they may , and do come from God ; viz. Tryals of Grace , by the permitting and inflicting of afflictions . It is a work no way unbecoming his Purity and Justice ; It is ordained to singular Ends.

1. To his own Glory .

2. To the good of those that he thus tryes ; thereby teaching them to despise the World ; to adhere unto him ; to reach out after a better Life ; to live by Faith and not by Sense ; patiently to submit to his hand , and to wait upon him for deliverance . By this Refiners fire he consumes their dross , their carnal confidence , building Tabernacles here , drives them to their true home , and gives them a proportion of Eternal Comfort and Hope , far more valuable than that Temporal comfort which they want .

2. As touching Temptation unto Sin ,

1. That God tempteth no Man . He that is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity , will never solicite any Man to that which only he hates : It is the great work of God to withdraw Men from sin , and surely he will never draw Men into it . Jam. 1.13 . God cannot be tempted with Evil , neither tempteth he any Man .

2. As he doth not actively tempt any Man , or move him to Evil ; so neither doth he infuse into the Heart or Soul a Receptivity of Temptation , he doth not excite the Heart to close with any Temptation , or create or stir up any corruption in the Heart to take fire from a Temptation .

And yet in some sort he is said to lead into Temptation :

1. By withdrawing that Grace of his , whereby we are prevented from , and defended against Temptation . We walk in the midst of Enemies and snares : the Prince of the air hath his Instruments , that most Vigilantly takes all opportunities to draw us into sin , evil Angels and evil Men ; And were there not a Devil or his Instruments without us , to tempt us to Evil , we have an old Man within us , a fountain , a Sea of Corruption , a deceitful and wicked heart , a Body of sin and death , that can with much advantage , and doth with much ease , draw us into Sin ; and the merciful God that seeth these snares , which the evil one layes for us in our way , though we see them not , sends out his own Grace and Spirit , and sometimes removes the snare out of our way , sometimes leads us another way that we miss the snare : he over-rules and restrains this raging Sea of our own corruptions ; and , as our Saviour did to the Winds and Seas , commands them , Peace and be still : he doth by the same Spirit strengthen and inable our hearts to resist , and oppose , and subdue those Temptations that rise from within , and comes from without . And this Grace of his he owes not to us ; It is meerly of his free Mercy , Gen. 20.6 . For I withheld thee from sinning against me ; and yet such is his Goodness that he seldom withdraws this Grace from us , unless we thrust it away and reject it ; and then he withdraws that Grace of his , and that being withdrawn , that cruel and subtil Enemy of our Souls falls in upon us , and subdues us ; and that Sea of corruption within us , that hath now no banks to keep it in , breaks in and over-whelms us . And thus was the heart of Pharaoh hardned by himself , Exod. 8.15 . And yet said to be hardned by God , Exod. 10.1 . By withdrawing from him that Grace that should soften it . And this Subduction of the Grace of God principally respects Temptations from our selves .

2. By Permission . The Devil and his Instruments are under the restraint of the Power of God , and without a commission or at least a permission , from him , cannot actually execute that evil that is in their Natures and Wills : he solicits Job , by himself and his instruments to let go his integrity , but this he cannot do without a Permission : Job . 1.12 . he seduceth Ahab to his destruction ; but this he cannot do without a Permission : 1 Kings 22.21 . he tempts David to presumption and carnal confidence , 1 Chro. 21.1 . But this he cannot do without a Permission : 2 Sam. 24.1 . he watcheth the opportunity of Gods displeasure against Israel , and gets leave thereupon to tempt David to number the People : and here we may see the Infinire Wisdom of God in managing that evil , that was in the Devil to tempt , and in David's heart to be overcome , to a most just and excellent end ; the punishment of the sin of Israel by Davids sin . Here was in the same action , Malice in the Devil , corruption in David , yet nothing but Purity and Justice in God . He never gives the Devil a Permission to tempt , that Man may thereby sin ; but he turns that Temptation and that sin into a work either of singular Mercy or Justice . The Devil could not have entered into Judas without a Permission ; nor Judas have betrayed our Lord without a Permission ; nor the Jews have delivered him up to Judgment without a Permission ; nor Pilate have judged him without a Permission , John 19.11 . Here was Malice in the Devil , and Treachery in Judas , and envy in the Jews , and Injustice in Pilate , and Murder in the Souldiers ; and yet in God the greatest manifestations of his Truth , and Justice , and Wisdom , and Purity , and Mercy , that ever the World did or shall see . While he permits the Instrument to sin , he , nor his action , is in no sort defiled by it , but manageth that sin , which is none of his , to bring forth that Righteousness that is only his .

3. He is said to lead into Temptation , by the External Dispensation of his Providence , and that :

1. By withdrawing those External restraints from sin ; such are the taking away of good Men , good Governours , good Laws . So much Goodness as is in these is his own ; and he may justly call home what is his . As the restraining Grace that he lends to a particular Man is not due to him , so these External Restraints , they are not due to us ; but they are the free Mercy and Favour of God ; and yet as in the former , so in this , the removal of them is seldom but upon some eminent sin . When Jerusalem had offended against God he takes from them the Prudent , and the Antient , and the Honourable Man , and the Counsellor , and gives them Children to be their Princes . Isa. 3.2 . when his Vineyard brings forth wild grapes , he takes away the hedge thereof : Isa. 5.5 . the good Order , and Rule , and Laws among them . When God is angry with a Man , or a People , Governours of exemplary goodness are taken away , not only from the Evil to come ; but by their being taken away , Evil succeeds , evil Manners , and then evil Events .

2. By proposing of Objects , which , though they have no evil in them , nor are they propounded to the end to draw Men to Evil ; yet the Evil heart of Man takes opportunity by them to act unto Evil. The Egyptian Inchanters could have no more made Blood by their Inchantments without a Permission , than they could make Lice ; Exo. 8.18 . yet by that act of theirs Pharaoh his heart was hardned , Exod. 7.22 . Again when , upon the importunity of Pharaoh , and the Prayer of Moses , the Plague of Frogs was removed , it was an act of Mercy in God ; yet when Pharaoh saw there was respite , he hardned his heart , Exod. 8.15 . And here appears that Sea of Poyson that is in our heart by Nature , that will corrupt an innocent object , as was the wedg of gold ; a Mercy , as was this to Pharaoh ; nay the very Grace , and Goodness , and Patience , and Bounty of God into a Temptation to Covetousness , Presumption , Wantonness .

Now from this Petition we learn our Duty in reference unto these Temptations :

1. In reference to such Temptations , which God is pleased oftentimes to send for Tryal , such as are Afflictions and Persecutions .

1. That we are not to seek them . Our Savious teacheth us to pray against all Temptationr ; they are not in themselves good , but are turned to good by the Wise and Merciful hand of God .

2. That if we fall into them , to be quiet and contented , and to discern the hand that hath led us into them , and the end why he did , and to co-operate to that end : to learn by them Patience under the hand of God ; Confidence in his Grace and Power to support us ; still to hold our Integrity ; not to be amazed and disordered , as if some strange thing had befallen us , but rest upon that Promise of his , who is faithful and will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able , but with the Temptation will make a way to escape . 1 Cor. 10.13 . Know that it is he , whose Will thou hast before prayed may be done , that hath led thee into this Temptation . And by this means thy Temptarion shall be only a Temptation of Tryal , and for thy Advantage ; not a Temptation of Seduction .

3. To pray unto God :

1. To prevent us from them : for as they are not to be sought , so all due means is to be used to avoid them .

2. To be delivered out of them .

3. To be supported in them ; 1. with Patience to bear them . 2. with Grace to improve them to Gods End ; and if God say unto thee , as once he did to Paul , My Grace is sufficient for thee , it will become an act of Heavenly Chymistry to turn thy Iron into Gold , thy Temptation into Advantage .

2. In reference to Temptations unto sin , we learn two special Duties , Watchfulness and Prayer , both joyned together by our Saviour for this purpose , Matt. 26.41 . Watch and pray , that ye enter not into Temptation .

1. Watch ; (1) That thou be not a Tempter : and therein ,

1. Beware of Tempting God : ( for such Tempters there have been : ) (1) By Presumption and presumptuous casting our selves upon unnecessary dangers , Matt. 4.6.7 . (2) by Murmuring and discontent , Exod. 17.2 . Why tempt ye the Lord ? Deut. 6.16 . Psal. 78.18 . They tempted God in their Heart by asking meat for their Lusts .

2. Beware of Tempting the Devil ; for such is the Villany of our Nature , that we are ready even to solicite the Devil himself unto Temptation , by adventuring upon secret and unwarrantable Arts , unreasonable practices , going to Witches , using Charms , Invocations , or willingly being in such places where they are used ; adventuring into unwarrantable places or companies without any just or reasonable calling thereunto .

3. Beware of tempting Others unto any sin , either by thy Perswasion , or by thy Practice . The former is more gross , the latter well near as dangerous ; 1. to the person offending ; Matt. 18.7 . Wo be unto the World because of offences . 2. unto others , especially when the occasion is given by a person in eminence of Place or Reputation . Peters dissimulation proves a compulsion , Gal. 2.14 . and this extends not only to things simply evil , but also to the practice of things in themselves indifferent : 1 Cor. 8.11 . Rom. 14.15 . Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ dyed . The thing that to thee is indifferent , and so esteemed by thee , when it shall draw another into the like practice upon thy Example , but against his Conscience becomes an occasion to lose his Soul .

4. Beware of tempting Thy self ; and this may be done divers ways :

1. By giving way to wandering and vain Thoughts . They mislead the heart , indispose for Good , corrupt the mind , possess it with vanity ; as for Example , when a Man will raise an imagination to himself , that if he had such a degree of Wealth , and then what Houses he would build , what Retinue he would have , what Table he would keep , what Equipage he would have ; or fancy to himself , that if he had such a degree of Power , then how he would revenge such an Enemy , how he would honour such a Friend , and the like . Such is the vanity of our minds that it can , and often doth , frame such similitudes to it self , and upon them beget such follies and vain resolutions as these . The temptation and sin that ariseth out of Wealth and Power really injoyed , are those very workings of the mind upon them : viz. Confidence , Ostentation , Pride , Revenge and the like . Now in these Imaginations and vain Thoughts , the Soul tempts it self in a double way : First , he tempts his understanding into a Lye and a falsehood , by putting himself into that imaginary condition in which he is not . 2. He tempts himself in his Will and Affections , drawing from those very imaginations that he hath thus framed those very same mischiefs , and that very same poison , if not worse , which his corrupted Heart would have drawn from the real injoyment of that very Power or Wealth , which he hath imagined himself to have ; and thereby improveth this very Imagination into a real Temptation , staining , corrupting and poysoning his mind , and commits adultery with his own Imagination . O Jerusalem , cleanse thy self : how long shall vain thoughts , lodge within thee ? Jer. 4.14 .

2. Idleness . And from this Idleness and want of Imployment the Soul runs out either into these vain Imaginations , whereof before , or into unprofitable or sinful resolutions ; and to these the Devil joyneth himself , and if he finds a Man not busied in what he should be , he will help him to busie himself in what he should not be : David was walking carelessly upon his house , sees and lusts , and sins : he therefore that allows himself to Idleness , thereby tempts himself to be tempted by himself , or by the Devil .

3. Trusting a Mans self too much unnecessarily with , or in , Places , Companies , or Objects , that carry in them Temptations to sin ; such as are rude , impious , or wanton company , or conversation ; Stage-Plays ; filthy or wanton songs , books , pictures ; Places of Idolatrous worship ; presence at Atheistical , irreligious disputes or discourses ; reading books or discourses against the Deity , the Scriptures , &c. Joseph declined conversation with his adulterous Mistress : Gen. 39.10 . He hearkned not to her to lye by her , or to be with her . And when the wise Man disswadeth from the practice of dissolute persons , he forbids to walk in the way with them , Pro. 1.15 . and not to come nigh the door of her house . Pro. 5.8 . not to look upon the Wine when it gives its colour in the Glass . And a Man , that thus trusts himself with objects or companies unnecessarily , tempts himself : and it is a kind of presumption to expect , and rare to find , that he comes off without some disadvantage . He that hath taught us to pray that we be not led into Temptation , hath given no promise of Grace to deliver us from that Temptation , which contrary to our Prayer and duty we seek .

2. As we must watch over our selves that we tempt not our selves or others , so we must watch that we be not tempted ; or if tempted , that we be not overtaken : and for that purpose ,

1. Watch over thy ways , and see that the ways thou goest in be warrantable ways , ways that thou hast a commission of God to walk in , the ways of thy Christian duty , the ways that are commended or allowed by the Word of God , the ways of thy lawful profession . If they be such , thou mayst be confident that he , that hath given his Angels charge over thee , to protect thee in all thy ways , will remove out of this way of thine those Snares , that the Devil lays for thee , or at least will lead thee besides them . It is true , the Enemy hath his Traps hid as well in our ways , as out of our ways ; but when we are out of our warrantable ways , the very way wherein we are is a snare , and is likewise all strewed with snares and traps for us ; and we have no promise of direction or protection from God in such by-ways . Therefore consider diligently , Am I in a lawful way ? have I a calling or commission from God or his Word to walk in this way , or to be about this business ? if so , well then , I will trust on him for protection , I am in the great Kings High-way : but if not , then I am in an Enemies Country , I have not the protection or promise of God , I am like to meet with Temptations , and to fall under them , I am out of my way , and I know not whether this wandring fire will lead me . And this is the meaning of the wise man , Pro. 4.26 . Ponder the way of thy feet , and let all thy ways be established : That is , consider what way thou art in , and be sure it be a right , and sound , and warrantable way .

2. Labour to have thy conversation and walking to be with God , in his Presence , and keep a constant communion with him : for such is his condescention to his poor Creatures , that he is pleased to allow us to walk with him if we will . Enoch walked with God , Gen. 5.24 . Noah walked with God , Gen. 6.9 . God said to Abraham , Walk before me and be perfect , Gen. 17.1 . I have set the Lord alwayes before me , Psal. 16.8 . That is , to endeavour to have the whole frame of our conversation as before him , and to have continual communion with him in all the way of our Life ; and not only at the select and solemn times of Prayer , but in the general Frame of our conversation . And if thou hast such a Guide , he will be to thy Soul , even in the darkest and most difficult and dangerous times , what he was once to his own People , a Pillar of fire , that thou mayst see thy way before thee , and he will shew thee where the snare lyes , and how to avoid it ; nay , if thou slip into it , he that leads thee by thy hand , will pull thee out of it , and will not suffer thy foot to slide .

3. When any Action of any considerable or unusual nature is to be undertaken by thee , that is somewhat beyond or beside the ordinary track of thy Life , let this have a special and distinct examination , and be not content with that general care of thy ordinary way , but bring it to a more particular scrutiny .

1. Consider how it becomes the Presence of God , and whether it will abide to be brought before him without some regret and shame : how if this were the last action of thy Life , and presently to be brought into his Judgment , whether it would abide that Tryal .

2. Consider whether it be allowed or condemned by the Word of God , or what part or what circumstance thereof will not abide that Examination .

3. Bid thy Conscience plainly and truly tell thee what she thinks of it , and of every part of it , and what she likes , and what she dislikes of it .

4. See if there be any thing in it that thou wouldest be ashamed to own it before Men , or any part of it .

And if upon these Examinations thou canst clear the action to be agreeable to the Presence and the Word of God , the Testimony of thy Conscience , and darest to expose it to the Judgment of Men , do it : but if it fails in any ( as when it fails in any , be sure it fails in all , though happily in some particular , according to the different constitution of a Man , and the nature of the thing , the exorbitancy will be more apparent , it may be , in one than in another ; for all sin flyes the Presence of God , crosses the Word of God , hurts the Conscience and brings shame ) reject it or so much of it , as upon this Examination will not abide this test ; there is a Temptation in it .

4. Upon such a discovery of sin in the action to be undertaken , hold not dispute with thy own corrupt Heart long about it , but reject it without any more reasonings ; for if thou enter into debate with thy heart , she is a Sophister and will deceive thee ; she will distinguish , and put differences , and inforce the necessity or convenience of the business , the possibility of a greater good which may outweigh the evil , the inconsiderableness of that crookedness that thou hast discovered , and by degrees at last over-work thee and bring thee about . And the Devil is not wanting to be assistant in this dispute and to interpose . When Eve entered into discourse and dispute with the Devil , and heard his reasons , and argued the Case , he over-matched her in her Innocence , to offend against a most express and a most penal Law : and how much easier will the conquest be over a corrupt and weak Soul , when the treacherous flesh is won already without any perswasion ?

5. If thy Temptation be importunate , lay against it in the other ballance these two considerations , and if thou wilt be reasoning with thy Temptation , reason thus : I am now perswaded and solicited to this action , wherein upon Examination I find apparently a sin against God and my own Life ; and it is true , I have propounded to me the Necessity , or the Profit , or the Pleasure of it , but I know I am now in the Pesence of the Glorious and Eternal God , that hath power to bring me out of this Necessity without the help of this sinful action , and is able to blast this action , that it shall not serve to accommodate this Necessity ; before that God who is Lord of all the wealth in the world , and hath promised that he will not leave me nor forsake me ; I am before that God that hath promised Eternal Pleasures for evermore to those that fear him , and can mingle or follow this pleasure that I expect from this temptation with a most bitter curse , even unto all Eternity ; And it is this God that hath forbidden me to commit this Sin , and doth stand to see whether I will abide by his Command , or side with his Enemy ; I am before my Lord Jesus , that laid down his life for me , became a curse to redeem me , as well from my subjection to sin for the time to come , as from the guilt of sin for the time past ; and that Jesus stands and beholds whether I now value or despise that Blood of the Covenant , and is accordingly ready with Vengeance or Glory to reward me ; I am before those glorious and pure Spirits , the elect Angels , whom God hath hitherto appointed as Ministers for my preservation , that see and observe whether I hold a Conformity with the Purity of their Natures , or whether I will foul my self in this filth , and partake with their Enemy the Prince of this World . Could the Eyes of my sense behold the least of that Glory that beholds me , it would make me ashamed of my purest actions ; and though I see it not , I am certain it sees me . With what face can I then commit this Villany in the Presence of that God , to whom I , and all the World owe our being ? before the face of that Saviour , who hath laid down his Life to rescue and redeem mine ? before those Angels who at the command of God are pleased to be Ministring Spirits for my preservation ? how shall I grieve that Spirit , whom I hear at this very instant whisper unto me , Do not that abominable thing which I hate ? and what will the end of this be ? will it not be a stain to my Soul , and bitterness in the End ? what can this temptation promise me that it can perform ? or if it can perform what it promiseth , and promise what it will , can it promise that to me which can be equivalent to the loss of the favour and presence of the Eternal God ? the loss and ruine of my immortal Soul ? can it countervail the shame and damage that will ensue upon a contempt committed to the Majesty and Mercy of the Eternal God , before whose immediate view I am now basely and contemptuously , at the solicitation of his and mine Enemy , going about to commit this evil ? Again , 2. Let me but consider , that with the same measure of shame that I shall submit to this Temptation , with the same measure of Comfort and Glory shall I resist it . When I consider that in the View and Presence of the Glorious God , of my Merciful and Tender Saviour , of the Pure and Blessed Spirits , those Glorious Courtiers of Heaven , I shall give a Testimony of my Love to God , I shall resist and reject the Solicitation of the Enemy of Heaven , and hold fast mine Integrity . Could Job have but heard that approbation which God gave of it after the Devil had practised his Experiments , Job . 2.3 . That he still holdeth fast his Integrity , though thou movest me against him , it would have abundantly satisfied him for all his Losses , and abundantly strengthened his Heart against all future Temptations . And what we read of him , we may be sure is true concerning our selves ; the same practices by the Devil to seduce us , and the same attestation given by the Eternal God , if we resist his Temptations . But which is more than this , the Eternal God , as he stands by to see my behaviour , so he stands by me to supply me with strength , if I seek to him for it , and with an Immortal Crown to reward me in that Victory over my temptation , which his own strength hath given me . I will therefore lay in the ballance against the Pleasure or Profit of my Temptation , the Shame and the Punishment from that God that beholds me ; and against my loss in the resisting it , the Glory and Advantage in the Presence of God , that I shall obtain in overcoming it .

6. Carry with thee a jealous and Watchful Eye over thy self in all Conditions and Actions . For there is a Snare and a Temptation in every thing thou dost , or that doth befal thee .

1. Take heed to thy Senses and their Objects : thou hast an Evil Eye , a covetous Eye , a wanton and adulterous Eye , and envious Eye , and unsatiable Eye ; thou hast an itching Ear , or an Ear open to vanity , dull of hearing , when that thou hearest is profitable ; thou hast a sawcy and a luxurious Palate : that if it find not a snare in thy Table , or a Serpent in thy Cup , will easily make it .

2. Take heed to thy Understanding , It is apt to ravel out it self in impertinent and unprofitable , if not dangerous and presumptuous Speculations , to mispend it self and thy precious Time in that which hurts thee , or at least , doth thee no good ; and of what use will the most of them be within one moment after thy death ? Either they shall be known exactly without a minutes study , or they will be unuseful , and utterly unserviceable to thee ; whereas every minutes time thou spendest here in improving thy Knowledge of God and his Word is sowing of a Seed , that shall in thy Immortal Soul , yield a Harvest suitable to her condition .

3. Take heed to thy Memory , it is apt to receive the Figures and Impressions of vain or sinful Words or Actions ; and the Devil is apt to turn that side of the Glass to thy Soul , that contains those Characters , especially at such times , when it may divert thee from , or disturb thee in better Thoughts , or Imployments .

4. Take heed to thy Heart , it is a deceitful Heart , a treacherous and a false Heart , that will side with the Enemy of thy God , and of thy Soul , and of thy Peace ; an Hypocritical and a false heart , that will turn into a thousand shapes , so that thou canst not know what it is ; It is the fountain of all those bitter waters that stream through the faculties and actions ; a box full of the Spirits of poyson which will infect all thou dost , and over-spread the World with villany and furies ; a foul , impure , impostumated principle , that nothing can cure or change , but the great Lord of the World , the God of the Spirits of all flesh ; and yet when God is pleased to set up his Rule and Scepter there , there is never a minute but this heart of thine is practising Rebellion or Treachery or Apostacy against it ; therefore Keep thy heart with all diligence , for out of it are the issues of thy life , Prov. 4.23 . the Objects upon which thy Heart fixeth , though they are innocent and harmless for the most part , yet the ill constitution of thy heart turns them to the poyson of thy Soul ▪ Riches , and Power , and Honour , and Creatures are in themselves good ; but it is the heart that turns them into Temptations , and into sins . In the Pursuit of them , it begets Covetousness , Ambition , unlawful Means . In the Fruition of them , it begets Pride and Insolence and carnal Confidence . In the Want of them it begets Murmuring , and Discontent and Envy : In the Use of things lawful it begets excess and immoderation and unseasonableness : In the Performance of things commendable and commanded , it begets Arrogance , Self-attribution , Vain-Glory , Overprizing of them and of it self for them , opinion of Merit , a supposition of Priviledge to offend in other things because of the due performance of these . And thus we cannot want a Temptation , so long as we carry about us a heart so full of corruption ; Therefore carry a strict and diligent hand over thy heart ; for it hath in it a fountain , a seed , a stock of Temptations .

5. Set a Watch over all the Actions of thy Life of what kind soever : 1. In matters Indifferent , or that are so represented to thee : suspect thy Judgment in them , and know that thou art apt to judge partially , and to put a face of indifferency upon things that it may be are evil ; and therefore rather be content to deny thy self the use of things indifferent , than to hazard thy self upon that which may prove a sin . If thy carnal heart judge a thing indifferent , it is ten to one but that thing hath somewhat of sin in it : if thy heart dare only say it is indifferent and may be done , thou mayst certainly conclude , that it may certainly be let alone : In matters presented to thee as indifferent to be done or not to be done , be content to refuse that part which thy sinful heart most inclines thee to . When thou denyest thy self in that which thou art sure is sinful , It is the duty of thy Obedience : when thou denyest thy self in that which seems Indifferent , it is the duty of thy Watchfulness . 2. In matters that are certainly . Lawful ; yet take heed of any mixture of any unlawful circumstance : for that makes thy very lawful action a snare to thee to draw thee into sin . Any one defect is enough to make the whole action sinful : as in the use of the creatures , if it be accompanied with the circumstances of Immoderation Unseasonableness or Unsuitableness : in the acquiring of Conveniences for life , if it be accompanied with any unlawful means , Anxiety , robbing God of the Heart , unseasonable robbing God of his Time : these make the things , that are in themselves lawful , to become sins . And not only is it so in case of things lawful , but in case of things Necessary and Commendable : to glorifie God is our most universal and indispensable duty , yet to talk deceitfully for him : becomes a sin : Job . 13.7 . to offer Sacrifice was a duty enjoyned under the old law , yet to commit Robbery for burnt offerings , or to offer Sacrifice with hands full of blood , turns the Sacrifice into an Abomination , Isa. 1.13 . To Pray , to give Alms , to Fast , are duties injoyned by God ; but to do them for Pride , or Vain-Glory , turns them into a sin . Matt. 6.1 . The mixing of an ill Means , or an ill End , spoils the whole Service .

6. Especially have an Eye to that Temptation that is most suitable to thy Age , Complexion , Constitution , or Condition : for that is thy most dangerous Temptation , because it hath the greatest Power over thee . The temptations of Youth are commonly Lightness , Pride of Apparel , Rashness , Lust , Excess : the temptations of Riper Age are commonly Vain-glory , Ambition , Revenge , Violence : the temptations of Old Age , Covetousness , Morosity , &c. So the temptations incident to the several Constitutions or Complexions , Anger , Lust , Immoderate eating , Sluggishness , Unquietness , Fearfulness , Vanity of Thoughts , &c. So the Temptations incident to the several Conditions of a Man , those that border upon his Trade or Profession , Lying , Cosening , &c. Upon his Estate in this World ; Poverty is apt to incline to Murmuring , Repining , Envy at others that seem of less Merit yet more Wealth ; use of unlawful means either to supply , or to cover our wants : Power and Greatness are apt to tempt to Revenge of past injuries , or present neglects , to scorn and despise others , to Pride and Arrogance , to love to be Flattered , and to hunt for Applause , to Boasting , Threatning , Superciliousness , Forgetting of Relations , using undue Means to support it , &c. Wealth is apt to tempt to Confidence in it , to set up our rest here , to be loth to think of death or change , to forget God , to undervalue , or not to think upon our everlasting future condition , vexing and tormenting cares , an imagination that we are out of the need or reach of the Divine Providence . 1 Tim. 6.9 . Those that will be rich fall into many Temptations : Pleasures expected or enjoyed , are apt to thrust out of the heart the thought of the Presence of God , and the thought of Death and Judgment , that so they may be the more freely and uncontrolably enjoyed ; they are apt to estrange a man from access to God or confidence in him , &c. These and the like temptations , every man may find , by a small observation of himself ; and others , are apt to follow the several conditions of men , and prevail upon them : and therefore , especially upon any great change of our condition foreseen , we are to fence our selves strongest against those temptations , which are indeed nothing else but the Issues and Productions of the heart upon such Conjunctions , and are as natural to it in that state of corruption , wherein she is , ( as ) vermine are to be produced from heat and putrefaction ; and therefore expect such temptations upon any great change of thy condition , and fortify thy self against them with Resolution , with Watchfulness , with often thoughts of thy Mortality , with Remembrance of the Presence , Power , and All-sufficiency of God ; and lastly , with Recourse to God by Prayer against them ; for Except the Lord keep the City , the Watchmen wake but in vain , Psal. 127.1 .

2. The second means is that which our Saviour teacheth us in this Petition , Prayer unto God the Father , who is faithful , and will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able , 1 Cor. 10.13 . Through our Lord Jesus Christ , who hath suffered himself being tempted , and therefore is able to succour those that are tempted . Heb. 2.18 . By the Eternal Spirit ; who hath promised to guide us into all truth , John 16.13 . That the Almighty and Eternal God , who so far condescends unto us , as to offer us his Hand to lead us , and his Strength to support us , that sees all our wayes , and our wandrings , and the snares that are spread for our feet , would be pleased to guide us by his Hand and by his Eye , that we may keep the true and old way ; and if any snares be laid there for us by the Enemy of our Peace , that he would either remove or break the snare , or lead us about by them , or lift us over them ; That he would be pleased to cleanse our Hearts from our corruptions , the nursery of our Temptations ; that he would prepare us , and instruct , and strengthen us by his Mighty Spirit to discern , and to oppose , and to overcome the deceits and seductions of our own Hearts .

To conclude therefore this part of this Petition : O Lord God Almighty , that beholdest all my ways , I find that I walk in the midst of Snares and Temptations ; the great Enemy of my Salvation and his Retinue are continually about me , and watch for my halting , secretly and undiscoverably soliciting my Soul to sin against thee , almost in every occurrence of my life , and every motion of my mind ; and having in any thing prevailed against me , either he quiets my Soul in my sin , or disorders my Soul for it , and by both prevents or diverts me from coming to thee to seek my Pardon , as a thing not necessary to be asked , or impossible to be gained : Again , the Men , among whom I live , scatter their temptations for me , by Perswasions to sin , by evil Examples , by success in sinful practices ; And if there were no Devil or Man to tempt me , yet I find in my self an everlasting seed of Temptations , a stock of corruptions , that forms all I am , and all I have or do , even thy very Mercies , into Temptations ; when I consider thy Patience and Goodness to me , I am tempted to Presumption , to Supineness , to an Opinion of my own worth ; when I consider or find thy Justice , I am tempted to Murmuring , to despair , to think the most Soveraign Lord a hard Master . In my Understanding , I am tempted to secret Argumentation , to Atheism , to Infidelity , to dispute thy Truth , to curiosity , to impertinent or forbidden enquiries . If I have Learning , it makes me Proud , apt to despise the purity and simplicity of thy Truth , to contend for Mastery , not for Truth , to use my Wit to reason my self or others into Errors or Sins , to spend my time in those discoveries , that do not countervail the expence , nor are of any value or use to my Soul after death . In my Will I find much averseness to what is good , a ready motion to every thing that is evil , or at least an incertain fluctuation between both : In all my Thoughts I find abundance of Vanity ; when imployed to any thoughts of most concernment to my Soul , full of inconsistency , unfixt , unsetled , easily interrupted , mingled with gross apprehensions . When I look into my Conscience , I find her easily bribed , and brought over to the wrong party , allayed with self-love , if not wholly silent , unprofitable , and dead . In my Affections I find continued disorder , easily misplaced , and more easily over-acted beyond the bounds of Moderation , Reason , and Wisdom , much more of Christianity and thy Fear . In my sensual Appetite I find a continual fog and vapour rising from it , disordering my Soul in all I am about with unseasonable , importunate , and foul exhalations , that darken and pollute it , that divert and disturb it in all that is good , that continually solicit it to all sensual Evils , unto all immoderation and excess . In my Senses I have an Eye full of Wantonness , full of Covetousness , full of Haughtiness ; an Ear full of Itching after novelties , impertinencies , vanities ; a Palate full of Intemperance , studious for curiosities ; a Hand full of violence , when it is in my power ; a Tongue full of unnecessary vain words , apt to slander , to whisper , full of vain-glory and self-flattery . If thou givest me a healthy strong Body , I am ready to be proud of it , apt to think my self out of the reach of sickness or death ; It keeps me from thinking of my latter end , or providing for it ; I am ready to use that strength to the service of sin , with better advantage , more excess , and less remorse . If thou visitest me with sickness , I am surprised with Peevishness , Impatience , with solicitous care touching my Estate and Posterity , and Recovery ; and my thoughts concerning thee less frequent , less profitable than before , though my necessity be greater . If thou givest me Plenty , I am apt to be Proud , Insolent , Confident in my Wealth , reckoning upon it as my Treasure , think every thought lost that is not imployed upon it , or in order to increase it , loth to think of Death or Judgment . If thou visitest me with Poverty , I am apt to murmur , to count the Rich happy , to cast off thy service as unprofitable , to look upon my everlasting hopes as things at a distance , Imaginary Comforts under Real wants . If thou givest me Reputation and Esteem in the World , I am apt to make use of it to bear me out at a pinch in some unlawful action , to use it to mislead others , to use any base shift to support it . If thou cast me into Reproach and Ignominy , my heart is apt to swell against the means , to study Revenge , and to die with my Reputation , though it may causelesly be lost , and to have the thoughts and remembrance of it to interfere and grate upon my Soul , even in my immediate service to thee : any Cross sowers at my blessings , and carries my heart so violently , into discontent , for , it may be , all single affliction , which I deservedly suffer , that I forget to be thankful for a multitude of other Mercies , which I undeservedly enjoy . If I am about a good Duty , I find my heart tempted to perform them Carelesly , Formally , Negligently , Hypocritically , Vain-gloriously , for false or by-Ends ; and when I have done them , my heart is puft up with Pride , opinion of Merit , looking upon my Maker as my Debtor for the Duty I owe him , and yet but slightly and defectively performed to him ; How then can I expect Power from my self to resist a Temptation without , when I find so much treachery within me ? I therefore beseech thee , most Merciful and Powerful Father , to send into my heart the Grace and strength of thy blessed Spirit to resist and overcome all my Temptations , to cleanse and purge this foul heart of mine of this brood and nest of lusts and corruptions that are within it ; to strengthen my self against the Temptations of Hell , the World , and my self ; to lead me in safe paths ; to discover and admonish me hourly of all the dangers that are in my way ; and so by thy mighty and over-ruling Providence to guide me , that I may avoid all occasions of falling ; so to order , and over-rule , and moderate , and temper all the occurrences of my life , that they may be suitable to that Grace thou givest me , to bear them without offending thee ; and if thou at any time suffer me to take a fall , yet deliver me from Presumptuous sins , give me a heart speedily to fly to thee for strength to restore me , for mercy to pardon me . If thou suffer me to fall into Temptation , yet I beseech thee deliver me from the evil .

But deliver us from Evil. Three Evils are here meant .

1. The Evil of Sin . We are before taught to pray for pardoning Mercy in the first Petition ; for preventing Mercy in the former part of this Petition ; and here we are taught to pray for delivering , restoring Mercy . When a sin is committed , there is not only a guilt contracted , which stands in need of Mercy to pardon it ; but the Soul receives a Wound that weakens it , and stands in need of a Divine strength to restore it ; and without this it would never rise out of that state of Impotency , yea of Rebellion into which it is fallen , but would multiply sin upon sin to all Eternity . As before our conversion unto God we are dead in trespasses and sins , and cannot convert our selves ; so after we are converted , any one sin puts us , as in our selves and in respect of our own strength , into the same state of dead Men in which our conversion at first found us ; only here is the odds , God is pleased to put into us a Seed of Life , that shall again quicken us though we fall . 1 John 3.9 . Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin ( that is , continue in it ) for his seed abideth in him . 1 John 2.1 . If any man sin , we have an Advocate , &c. That Seed of Life , that Advocate of our Peace , will cause him to lay hold again upon the Strength , and Mercy and Promise of God ; will carry his Eye to look upon this brazen Serpent ; will enable him to reapply the Merits and Life of Christ to his Soul ; and so that wound that was in it self mortal is cured , and the Soul inabled to return again to God , whom by sin it hath forsaken ; and yet though the benefit is ours , the deliverance is Gods , and he will be sought unto , as well for strength to recover from the state of sin , as for Mercy to recover from the Guilt of Sin after every fall .

2. Deliver us from the evil of Punishment , or Affliction , 1. By giving us Patience to bear it , as from the hand of God ; 2. Wisdom and Understanding to discern and perceive what the end of God is in sending it ; for the Rod hath his Voice and his Message ; It may be it is to bring into remembrance some sin past unrepented of , which lyes rankling in thy conscience , though thou hast forgotten it , and so it bids thee look backward : It may be it is to prevent thee from some sin , which thou art otherwise like to fall into , and so bids thee look forward : It may be thy Heart begins to settle upon her lees , to fix her self upon the World , to grow secure and careless , to grow proud and wanton , and so it bids thee look within thee : It may be God is pleased to use this cross to stir thee up to Dependence upon him , to seek him by Prayer , to discover his Power and Mercy in delivering thee in some eminent way , and so it bids thee look above thee . Learn therefore the message of the Cross , and improve it to that end for which he sent it , and by this means thou shalt be delivered from the Evil of the Evil. 3. Deliver us from Evil , that is , from the very Incumbency of the Evil upon us . And this is a thing that wee may lawfully ask , so it be with submission to the Will of God , who best knows what is fit for us : only of this we may be sure , that though the thing be not granted , yet thy Petition is not lost : when Paul besought God thrice against an affliction , 2 Cor. 12.9 . Though he had not deliverance from it , yet he had sufficient Grace given him to bear it : when our blessed Lord besought that that Cup might pass from him , though he must drink of the Cup , yet he was heard in the thing which he feared , Heb. 5.7 . And thy Prayer for deliverance shall be answered either with a way to escape it , or with strength comfortably to bear it , 1 Cor. 10.13 .

3. Deliver us from the Evil , that is , the Evil one , who goeth about as a roaring Lyon seeking whom he may devour , the Prince of Darkness , the Prince of this World , the Prince of the power of the Air ; an invisible Prince , that could he but get commission from the great Lord of Heaven and Earth , would sift us as wheat , would shake our Faith , and bring us under his own rule ; a Creature , but yet of that Power , Wisdom , Subtilty , and Malice , that he would be easily able to seduce , or at least to disorder and shatter the strongest Man ; as once he did Job : therefore we have cause to pray , that , as the Son of God came to destroy the works of Satan , to judge this Prince of this World , to bruise his Head ; so he would continually assist us with his Grace to resist him , to discover him , even when he transforms himself into an Angel of light ; that if he shall go about to seduce us from the Truth by Signs and Wonders , as once he did Pharaoh ; by Predictions , as sometimes he did in the Heathen Oracles ; by Misapplications even of the very Word of Truth , as he indeavoured to do by our Saviour ; by successes and events of things ; that we may remember the caution that Moses gave unto the Israelites , Deut. 13.3 . The Lord your God proveth you whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart , and with all your Soul ; that if he go about to seduce us into Sin , or denying of the Truth by Proposals and Promises of Honours , Preferments , temporal Advantages , or to affright us from the truth by Menaces , Persecutions , Disgraces , Death , yet we may not be allured or affrighted into sin , but may keep close to the sure Truth of God revealed in his Word , whatever the Event be .

For thine is the Kingdom , Power and Glory .

In the beginning of this Prayer , our Saviour teacheth us to sterngthen our Faith in the Mercy of God , by teaching us to call him Father ; and in the Power of God , by teaching us to call him our Heavenly Father ; that under both these considerations we may look upon Almighty God in the entrance into our Prayers : And because our thoughts are easily taken off from these considerations ; and like Moses Arm , our Faith soon declines , and our light soon burns out ; and because there is an equal necessity of Intention of spirit , as well in our last request as in our first , our Saviour teacheth us to remind those considerations , that may support and fortifie our Souls in the close of our Prayers , as well as in the beginning ; that so the consideration of Almighty God , his Power and Goodness , who is the Beginning and the End , the First and the Last , may be also the Beginning and the End , as of our Prayers , so of all our Services .

Thou art the only , and absolute , and rightful Soveraign of all thy Creatures ; and to thee do all the Creatures in the World owe an Infinite subjection ; for by thy Power and Goodness they were created and are preserved : and yet if it were possible that Infinitude could admit of degrees , the children of Men owe a more Infinite subjection unto thee , than any of the rest of thy Creatures ; for thou yet sparest unto them that being , that by sin they have forfeited unto thee : and yet more than this , those whom thou hast redeemed by the Passion , of thy Son and sanctified , owe thee yet a more Infinite debt of subjection , than the rest of the Children of Men : and because thou art our King , whither should we go to make our requests but unto our King , in whom all Authority is justly placed ? and if thou art our King , it is but reasonable for me to desire , That thy Name may be glorified ; that all the subjects of thy Kingdom , according to their several conditions , may Magnifie and Glorifie the Name of their King ; That thy Kingdom may come with evidence and demonstration of it self ; and that all thy Creatures as they owe a just subjection to thee , so they may duly perform it ; that those that have rebelled against thee may return , and be brought into subjection to thee ; that though other Lords have had an usurped dominion over us , yet that thy Kingdom may break in pieces all Usurpations , and recover thy revolted subjects unto their just Allegiance . That thy Will , the only rightful Law and Rule of Justice may be done in all places of thy Dominion , in Earth and Heaven ; and that all thy Creatures may submit freely to this thy Will , which is the only rule and measure both of their perfection and obedience : The Wills of Earthly Kings are subject to Error , Oppression , and Injustice , and therefore thy Providence hath regulated their administrations by Laws and Rules ; but thy Will is the only Rule , Exemplar , and Foundation of Justice ; therefore let thy Will be done . That thou wouldest give us our daily bread ; when the seven years of plenty had filled Pharaoh's store-houses ; and were after entertained with seven years of Famine , the Egyptian's cryed unto their King for bread , Gen. 41.55 . And whither should we go for Bread for our Bodies , but to our King , who is Lord of all the store of the World , and gives meat to all his Creatures in their season , and feeds the young Ravens when they cry ? And whither should we go for bread for our Souls , but to Thee our King , who hast intrusted this Bread of Life under the hands of our Joseph , our Saviour ; that thou wouldest Forgive us our sins ? For our sins are as so many Treasons against thy Majesty , and thou alone canst remit , against whom alone we can offend : the pardoning of Sins , as it is thy peculiar Prerogative , for who can forgive sins save God only ? so it is thy Property , a part of thy Name , pardoning iniquity , transgression and sin , Exod. 34.7 . That thou wouldest deliver us from Temptation , the cause of sin ; and from Evil , the fruit of sin ; from the incursions of that Rebel against thy Majesty , the Prince of Darkness ; for whither should the Subjects fly for Protection , but to their King ? and though that Prince hath a Kingdom too , yet it is regnum sub graviore regno : the very Kingdom of Hell is subject to thy Authority ; and therefore , as thou art our King , we beseech Thee , Protect and Deliver us .

There may be a lawful and a just Authority , where yet there wants Power to act it : but as thou hast a just Sovereignty and Authority over all thy Creatures , so thou hast an Infinite Power to do whatsoever thou pleasest : nothing is too hard for thee : Evil Men and evil Angels , though they resist thy Authority , cannot avoid thy Power . My requests , that I have here sent up unto thee , they are great requests , but yet they are all within thy Power to grant : Sin hath drawn a cloud and darkness over our understandings , that we cannot see thee ; It hath infused a malignity into our wills , that we cannot abide thee ; and how then shall we sanctifie that Name which we know not ; or if we know , yet we hate it ? But thou hast Infinite Power to scatter this darkness , that we may see thee , & to conquer this perversness , that we may love and glorifie thee . The Prince of darkness hath set up his usurped power , and is become the Prince of the World , and sets up strong holds in our hearts , and mans them with principalities , and powers , and spiritual wickedness ; but thou hast Infinite Power , even by a poor despised Gospel , to pull down these strong-holds , to subdue those Principalities and Powers , to bind the strong man that keeps the House , and to set up thy Throne and thy Kingdom , even where Satan's seat is . The state of our nature is so changed , that we , that were once fitted for an obedience to thy Will , are now become enemies to it , resisters of it , dead to the obedience of it ; but thou hast infinite Power by thy very Word of Command to quicken us , as well as to create us , to change our Natures , to conform our Wills to the obedience of thine , that so thy Will may be done in Earth as it is in Heaven . Sin hath put a curse into the Creature , that it hath lost much of that effectual power to support and to preserve our Nature , that once it had ; and it hath put a disorder into the whole Creation , so that it is a wonder to see that such a World of men and Creatures , amongst whom sin hath sown such a disorder and enmity , should be one able to live by another ; yet thou hast power to remove that curse , to provide for the several Exigencies of all thy Creatures , according to their several conveniencies , to feed us in times and places of necessity ; to make a Raven our purveyor , a Cruise of Oyl or a Barrel of Meal to be a supply for three years Famine . Our daily sins committed so often against so great a duty , against so many Mercies , so much Patience , so much Love , so much Bounty received from one that owes us nothing , are enough to sin away any stock of Pardoning Mercy and Patience below Infinitude ; But thou hast an unsearchable bottomless Fountain of Power , as well to pardon , as to punish . Our Temptations unto sin meet us upon every occasion , from without us , and from within us , and we have no wisdom in our selves to foresee them ; no strength , nor yet any will , to oppose them ; but thou hast infinite Power to foresee , to prevent , to divert them , and to deliver from them . The least of Evils , armed with the guilt of any one sin , will like a weight of Lead , press us into an impossibility of recovery from it ; the enemy of our Souls is conversant within us , and about us , and ready upon every occasion to seduce us into sin , and to torment and disorder us for it ; and his power and strength and subtilty is beyond our power to resist ; and indeed he finds us willing captives ; but as thou hast Authority , so thou hast Power to restrain him , to discover him , to fortifie and strengthen us against him , and to deliver us from him : And therefore I here lay hold of the strength of Omnipotency to grant these my Petitions ; but this is not all :

Omnipotency , though it be one addition of strength to our Prayers , yet it is not enough . The Leper in the Gospel said truly to our Saviour , If thou wilt , thou canst make me clean ; but yet he doth not conclude , Thou canst , therefore thou wilt : but thy Glory is the great End of all thy Works ; the End of thy great Work of Creation ; Prov. 16.4 . the End of thy Son 's coming into the World to redeem Mankind ; Luk. 2.14 . the End of thy Eternal Counsel in electing some to Life , and leaving others ; Rom. 9.22 . It is the only Tribute that all thy Works can give thee for their Being and Preservation , and that which thou accountest most dear and peculiar unto thy self . Isa. 42.8.48.11 . I am the Lord , that is my Name , and my Glory I will not give to another . And in all these my requests I have sought nothing but what conduceth to thy Glory . In granting what I have here asked ; the Benefit is ours , but the Glory is thine . In it , Thou hast the Glory of thy Mercy , the Glory of thy Power , the Glory of thy Bounty and Goodness , the Glory of thy Truth and Faithfulness ; thou hast said of old , that thy Glory shall be revealed , and that all flesh shall see it ; Isa. 40.5 . that they shall sanctifie thy Name ; Isa. 29.23 . that thou wilt set up a Kingdom that shall never be destroyed , and shall break in pieces and consume other Kingdoms , and shall stand for ever ; Dan. 2.44 . Dan. 7.27 . That thy counsel shall stand , and thou wilt do all thy pleasure ; Isa. 46.10 . That thou wilt give us a new heart , and a new spirit , and wilt cause us to walk in thy Statutes , and to keep thy Judgments and do them ; Ezech. 36.26 , 27. That verily we shall be fed ; Psal. 37.3 . That though the young Lions do lack and suffer hunger , yet they that seek thee shall not want any good thing ; Psal. 34.10 . That if we return unto thee , thou wilt have Mercy , and abundantly Pardon ; Isa. 55.7 . That thou art a God Pardoning iniquity , transgression , and sin ; Exod. 34.7 . That thou wilt not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able , but wilt with the Temptation make a way to escape ; 1 Cor. 10.13 . That if we call upon thee in the day of trouble , thou wilt deliver us , and we shall glorifie thee : Psal. 50.15 . And yet though thou , the great God of Power and Truth , hast spoken all this , and wilt do it , yet that thou maist have the due acknowledgment of our subjection and dependance upon thee , thou wilt be enquired of for this to do it for us ; Ezek. 36.36 , 37. And although we are so sinful , that we cannot so much as deserve thy pity in our greatest misery , yet for thy Name 's sake , and for thy Glory's sake hear us : Psal. 106.8 . For thy own sake , Isa. 48.11 . And though all the Praises and Acknowledgments of thy Creatures add nothing to thy Glory ; for thine is an essential , infinite , absolute , independent Glory ; yet since thou art pleased to accept of this our poor and our only Tribute , and to take it in good part from thy Creature , we will thankfully acknowledge thy great condescension to us in accepting of our Prayers , and granting our Requests , giving us liberty through thy Son to be intercessors for our selves , for others , nay for thine own Glory and Kingdom , and the manifestation of it . What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me ? I will take the cup of Salvation , and call upon the Name of the Lord . Give me Grace in all my wants and necessities to fly to thee by Prayer ; and in all my supplies and deliverances to return unto thee with Thanksgiving .

Thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom , and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations ; Psal. 145.13 . A Kingdom which shall in time break and subdue all the Kingdoms of this World , and the Kingdom of darkness , Sin , Death , and Satan . And as is thy Kingdom , such is thy Power , infinite in extent , infinitely more comprehensive than the vastest wants or desires of thy Creatures , infinite in duration , unexhaustible by all the successions of Time and of Eternity it self . And as is thy Kingdom and Power , such is thy Glory , an Eternal and endless Glory ; before the birth of Time , when nothing had a Being but thy self , thou had'st Infinite Self-sufficiency , and an incomprehensible fulness of Glory ; Joh. 17.5 . And when thou did'st in time create the World , it did not contribute unto thy fulness of Glory , but thou did'st communicate and imprint some of thy Glory upon it ; and all the Glory that thy Creatures bring unto thee , is nothing else but the reflection of thine own Glory , a recoyl of that Beam that came from thy Sun : yet though the Glory of thy Essence , cannot receive any increase by this reflection , yet thou art pleased everlastingly to perpetuate this thy reflexive Glory , by the immortal Angels and Spirits of just men made perfect , to whom thou wilt unto all Eternity communicate a fulness of the Vision of thy Self , according to the measure of their perfected , but finite Natures ; and from that communication of thy Glory to them , they shall everlastingly return Glory to thy Name , saying , Blessing , Honour , Glory and Power , be unto him that sitteth on the Throne , and unto the Lamb for ever and ever , Amen , Rev. 5.13 .

THE Lord's Prayer . PARAPHRASED .

O Eternal and Glorious Lord God , for thou gavest at first Being to the Common Parents of all Mankind : Thou art our Father by Nature ; we owe our own immediate Being more to Thee , than we do to our immediate Parents ; for thou art the Father of our Spirits : Thou art our Father by our Preservation ; we could not support our selves in being one moment of time , without the uncessant influence of thy Providence and Goodness : Thou art our Father by Adoption , receiving us in a more special manner to be thy Children in and through Jesus Christ . In all the course and passages of our lives , thou hast manifested unto us the Love , and Compassion , and Tenderness , and Goodness , and Affection , and Kindness of a Father ; Forgiving our offences , Healing our back-slidings , Pitying our weaknesses , Supplying our wants , Delivering us from dangers , Accepting our weak endeavours to please and serve thee , Providing things necessary for us , and an Immortal inheritance of Glory and Happiness . Blessed be thy Name , that art pleased even from Heaven to commissionate us to come unto thee , & to call upon thee under that encourageing , comfortable , and near Relation and Title of our Father ; which carries in it the most full and ample assurance of Audience and Acceptation : for with whom can we expect Acceptation or Access ? from whom can we expect the concession of what we need , if not from Our Father ? to whom should we resort for supplies but to our Father ?

It is true , the Fathers of our Flesh did bear to us Tenderness and Affection : but alas they were Mortal Fathers , Fathers on earth , Fathers that either are dead , or must dye . And besides , though their affections might be large to us , they were straitned in Power ; they were Earthly Fathers ; and possibly their affections to us were larger than their ability . But thou art our Father , an Abiding , Everlasting Father , a Father in Heaven . As thy Love is abundantly extended to us as a Father , so thy Power and Ability to answer us is as large as thy Goodness . Thou art an Heavenly Father , an All-sufficient Father , we are not straitned in thy Love to us , because thou art our Father : neither are we straitned in thy Power , Wisdom , Goodness ; for thou art Infinite in all thy Attributes . Isa. 66.1 . And yet though thou art in Heaven as thy Throne , yet Earth is thy Footstool : though thou dwellest in the Heavens by the glorious manifestation of thy Majesty , yet the Heaven , 1 Kings 8.27 . nor the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thee . Thou art in all places by thy Power , Presence and Essence . Our Prayers have no long journey to thee ; for thou art near unto us , and acquainted with all our thoughts , and wants , and desires . And thou art not only present to hear our Prayers , but to Relieve , supply , support us ; and art pleased by a special Promise to make the poor cottage of an humble , sincere , praying Soul to be thy Temple , and to be present there , Psal. 145.18 . and to be near to all them that in integrity call upon thee .

And since thy Glory and Honour is the great End of all thy works , we desire that it may be the beginning and end of all our Prayers and Services . Let thy great Name be Glorious , and Glorified and Sanctified through all the World : Isa. 11.9 . Let the knowledge of thee fill all the Earth , as the waters cover the Sea : Let that be done in the World that may most advance thy Glory : Let all thy works Praise thee : Let thy Wisdom , Power , Justice , Goodness , Mercy and Truth be evident unto all Man-kind , that they may observe , acknowledge and admire it , and Magnifie the Name of thee , the Eternal God . In all the dispensations of thy Providence enable us to see thee , and to sanctifie thy Name in our hearts with Thankfulness , in our lips with Thanksgiving , in our lives with Dutifulness and Obedience : Enable us to live to the Honour of that great Name of thine by which we are called ; and that as we profess our selves to be thy Children , so we may study and sincerely endeavour to be like thee in all Goodness and Righteousness , that we may thereby bring Glory to thee Our Father , which art in Heaven : that we and all Man-kind may have high and Honourable thoughts touching thee , in some measure suitable to thy Glory , Majesty , Goodness , Wisdom , Bounty and Purity ; and may in all our words and actions manifest these inward Thoughts touching thee , with suitable and becoming Words and Actions .

Let thy Kingdom of Grace come . Let all the World become the true subjects of thee , the Glorious God . And let the Gospel of thy Kingdom ; the everlasting Gospel , run victoriously over the face of the whole World ; Revel. 11.15 . that the Kingdoms of the Earth may become the Kingdom of God and of his Christ . Let thy Grace , and thy Fear , and thy Love , and thy Law rule in all our hearts , and in the hearts of all Man-kind . And subdue and exterminate the Kingdom of darkness , the Kingdom of Satan , the Kingdom of Anti-Christ , bring all Men to the knowledge and Obedience of the Truth : and let the Scepter of thy Kingdom be set up and upheld as long as the Sun endureth . And let thy Kingdom of Glory come . Also make us fit Vessels of it , and that having this hope , we may perfect holiness in thy fear , 2 Cor. 7.1 . 2 Pet. 3.12 . waiting for , and hastning unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ , and the day wherein he shall deliver up the Kingdom unto the Father , 1 Cor. 15.24.28 . that God may be all in all .

And since thy Will is a most Holy , Righteous , Gratious , Just and Wise Will , let it be evermore our choice , to make thy will to be ours , and to resign up our wills unto thee , and to thy Will. Let the will of thy Counsel be done : and although we know it is not in the power of Men or Devils to hinder it , yet so we do testifie our duty unto thee , in praying that nothing may impede or retard the Will of thy Counsels ; for thy Counsels are full of Goodness , and Benignity , and Purity , and Righteousness . And we beg thee to give us hearts most entirely to wait upon thee , in whatsoever thou shall appoint concerning us : that if thou shalt give us Prospeirity and success in this life , we may receive it with all Thankfulness and Humility ; and use it with Sobriety , Moderation and Faithfulness : if thou shalt send us Adversity , we may entertain it with all Submissiveness , Patience , Contentedness ; chearfully submitting to the Dispensation of our Heavenly Father ; ever acknowledging thy Will to be the best Will , and that whereunto it becomes us with all Humility to submit to ; and in the mid'st of all to rejoyce that our Portion , and Patrimony ; and Happiness is reserved for us in a better life . And as we desire the Will of thy Counsels may be done upon us , so we desire the Will of thy Commands may be done by us , and by all Man-kind ; that we may conform our Hearts and Lives to the Rule of thy Blessed Word , that we may live in all Piety to thee our God , in all Righteousness towards men , in all Sobriety towards our selves ; that we may follow those Precepts and Patterns of Holiness , Righteousness , Justice ; Temperance , Patience , Goodness ; Charity , and all other Moral and Christian Vertues , that thou hast in thy Word commanded or propounded for our Practice and Imitation .

And that this Obedience unto Thee and thy Will , may be performed by us and all Man-kind in some measure answerable to what is done by thy Glorious Angels in Heaven : that we ( may ) do it Chearfully without Murmuring ; Sincerely without Dissimulation ; Speedily without Delay or Procrastination ; and Constantly and Uncessantly without Deficiency or Fainting : And that we may not at all fail in our duty herein , be pleased daily more and more to reveal thy Heavenly Will unto us , that so our Wills on Earth may answer thy Will in Heaven : and keep us alwaies careful and circumspect , in sincerity and integrity of heart , to keep close unto it ; that neither the corruptions of our own hearts , the seducements of Satan , the deceits of this present World , may at any time withdraw us from the Obedience of thy most Perfect and Holy Will.

And now , most Gracious Father , as we have Petitioned Thee for things that more immediately concern thy Glory , Kingdom and Will , we beg Thee to give us leave to Petition Thee for some things that more immediately concern our selves . Blessed Lord , thou hast given us our Being ; and yet when thou hast so given it us , we cannot support our selves in that Being one day , nay onemoment , without thy further Influence and Bounty . We therefore beg of Thee our Daily Bread , and in that all the Blessings and convenient Necessaries for our support . We beg bread for this Life : Thou that feedest the young Ravens when they cry , we , that are thy Children , beg of Thee to feed us with food convenient for us : Thou that cloathest the Lillies of the field , give us cloathing for our covering and defence ; and all those necessaries and convenient supplies for our wants and conditions . And because it is thy Blessing that giveth our Food ability to nourish us , our Cloaths to keep us warm , and all other outward supplies , their serviceableness and usefulness for our Conditions , we beg thy Blessing may come along with thy Benefits . And because it is part , as well of our Duty , as of that State and Condition wherein thou hast placed us in this Life , that in the sweat of our brows we should eat our bread , enable us , we beseech Thee , for the Duties of our several Callings and Imployments ; and bless our Labours , that we may serve Thee faithfully therein , and may be enabled thereby honestly to provide for our selves and Families . And as we beg of Thee this meat that perisheth , the convenient supplies of our external conditions in this life ; so , we beseech Thee , give us that Bread that may feed us unto everlasting life ; an Interest in the Righteousness and Merits of thy Son Jesus Christ , thy Grace , and the Direction , Guidance , and Sanctification of thy Holy Spirit ; whereby we may be directed , strengthned and comforted in a walking according to thy Will here , and may everlastingly enjoy thy Presence and Glory hereafter .

Thou art the great Creator , Lord and Governor of all the World ; and art in a more special relation the Soveraign , the Father , the great Benefactor of Man-kind ; and therefore may'st most justly expect from the children of Men our uttermost Love , and Fear , and Reverence and Obedience : and thou hast by the Light of Nature , and by that greater Light of thy Holy Word , revealed unto us a most Holy and Righteous Law , to which we owe a most entire and sincere Obedience : and yet notwithstanding all these obligations , we poor sinful Creatures do daily and hourly violate that Holy Law of thine , both in Thought , Word and Deed : we omit much of what thou requirest of us ; and we commit often what thou forbiddest us : we are deficient in the remembrance of thee , in our Love to thee , in our Fear of thee . We often omit those Duties that thou requirest , of Invocation , Thanksgiving , Dependance ; and when we perform them , they want that due measure of Love , Humility , Reverence , Intention of mind , that thou most justly dost require and deserve : we omit those duties of Charity , Justice , Righteousness , that we owe to others ; that Sobriety , Temperance , Moderation , Vigilance , that relate to our selves ; and we daily commit offences against thee , the Glorious God ; against our neighbours ; against our selves ; contrary to the injunctions of thy Holy Law revealed to us : and these we often reiterate against Mercies , Chastisements , Promises of better Obedience . And although many of our Neglects and Offences immediately concern our selves or others , yet they are all offences against thy Holy and Righteous Law ; and against that Subjection , and Obedience , and Duty , and Thankfulness , that we owe unto thee . And when we have done all this , we are not able to make thee any satisfaction , for any of the least of our offences or neglects , but only to confess our Guilt , and to beg thy Mercy , Pardon and Forgiveness . We therefore come unto thee , who art our Lord and Soveraign , whose Prerogative it is to forgive Iniquity , Transgression and Sin ; to thee , which art our Father , who art full of Pity and Compassion to thy Children , though disobedient and backsliding Children ; to thee , who art a Father of Mercies as well as of Men ; and hast delight in Forgiving thy disobedient and returning and repenting Children : and we confess our Sins , our backslidings , our failings . And upon the account of thy own Mercy and Goodness , upon the account of thy Son's Merits and Sufferings , upon the account of thy own Promises contained in that Word , whereupon thou hast caused thy Servants to trust , Pardon the sins of our Duties , and the sins of our Lives ; the sins of our Natures , and the sins of our Practice ; the sins of our Thoughts , Words and Actions ; the sins of Omission , and the sins of Commission ; the sins of Infirmity , Failing and daily Incursion , and the sins of Wilfulness , Presumption and Rebellion , whereof we stand guilty before thee . Our Request , we confess , is great . The Debt whereof we desire Forgiveness , is a great and a vast debt : but we ask it of the great and glorious Monarch of the World ; we ask it of our gracious and merciful Father ; and from that glorious God , who rejoyceth more in multiplying Pardons upon repenting sinners , than the Children of Men can delight in offending .

And besides all this , we have been taught by him that knew thy Will to the full , that if we from our hearts forgive those that trespass against us , thou that art our Heavenly Father wilt forgive us our Trespasses against thee . Upon this Promise of thine we lay hold . In obedience to thy Commands , we forgive our brethren their offences against us , and beg thee therefore to make good that thy Promise , of Forgive us our offences . It is true , our forgiving of others cannot merit thy Pardon of us . When we forgive , we do but our duty , because thou commandest it . And besides , the Trespass that we remit is but to our Brother , and is but a small inconsiderable trespass , in comparison of those Trespasses whereof we beg the forgiveness of Thee : his Trespass not an hundred pence , ours more than ten thousand talents . Yet , blessed Lord , give us leave to lay hold upon thy Promise , which thou haft freely made , and to strengthen our hearts in this , that that God that hath commanded us to forgive our repenting Brother , will not deny a Pardon to his repenting Children ; and that God that hath been pleased to promise forgiveness to us upon our forgiveness of others , is a God of Truth and Faithfulness , as well as a Father of Mercies : and though our forgiveness of our Brother cannot in any proportion deserve our God's forgiveness of us , yet when the God of Truth hath freely ingaged himself by his Word to forgive us , if we forgive , he will never break it : and he that hath raised in our hearts by his Grace this Merciful temper and disposition towards others , hath thereby given us a pledge of his Mercy and Goodness unto us in Pardoning all our offences .

And because we are weak and frail Creatures , subject to be overcome with every Temptation to depart from our duty to thee ; and we hourly converse with all varieties of Temptations ; Temptations from the World ; Temptations from Satan , the Prince of this World ; and , which is the worst of all , Temptations from our own sinful hearts , corrupt natures , unruly affections ; and without thy continual Grace Preventing or Assisting us , the least of all these our Enemies and Temptations are able to over-match us : And because we are obnoxious to Temptations in all our actions , in all our conditions , in all our wants , and in all our enjoyments ; in our lawful actions we are subject to the Temptation of Immoderation and Excess ; in our religious actions , to Formality and Vain-Glory ; in our Prosperity , to Pride and Forgetfulness of thee ; in Adversity , to Murmuring , and Discontent , and Accusing of thy Providence ; under Injuries , to Vindictiveness and immoderate Anger ; under Comforts and Enjoyments , to Security and Abatement of our Love to thee , and setting up our hopes and our rest upon the present World ; in our Knowledge , to vain and impertinent Curiosity , Pride and Self-conceit ; in cases of Wants , to unlawful Means for our supplies ; in case of Abundance , to Luxury , Intemperance and Contempt of others ; in Sickness , to Impatience ; in Health , to Presumption and Forgetfulness of our latter ends ; in our Callings , either to Negligence , Unfaithfulness and Idleness on the one hand , or to overmuch Solicitousness and vexation on the other hand : If we are in Company , we are in danger to be misguided by evil Perswasions or Examples from others ; if we are alone , we are apt to be corrupted by the evil suggestions of our own corrupt hearts , or of that evil one , that watcheth all opportunities , either to seduce or mischief us . And since all our ways are before thee , and thou knowest the snares that are in them , and how to prevent them , or to prevent us from them , or to preserve us against them , we beseech thee , by thy Providence preserve us from all those Temptations which thou knowest to be too strong for us ; and by thy Grace preserve us from being overcome by those Temptations , that unavoidably occur in all our actions and conditions . Grant us the Spirit of Watchfulness and Sobriety , the Spirit of Moderation and Humility , the Spirit of Patience and Wisdom , the Spirit of Faith and Dependance , and the Spirit of the Love and Fear of thy Majesty , that may support us against all those Temptations unto any sin , that may occur in the course and passages of our Lives ; that though thy Providence should permit us to fall into Temptation , we may not fall under it , but by thy Grace be delivered from the evil of it .

Deliver us therefore , we pray thee , from Evil of all kinds and natures : from the Evil of Sin , and from the evil of Suffering ; from such Evils as may befal our Souls , either to disturb and discompose them , or to defile and corrupt them ; from the Evils that may befal our Bodies , by Casualties or Diseases ; from the Evils that may befal our Estates by Losses and Calamities ; from the Evils that may befal our good Names by Calumnies and Slanders ; from the Evil that may befal our Relations in any kind ; from Publique Evils to the Church or State , wherein we live ; from Private Evils to our selves or others .

And though in this short Prayer we have been bold to ask of thee many large and ample Benefits and Mercies , which , if we look upon our selves only , seem too great for us to ask , yet they are not too great for thee to give ; for thou art the great King and Soveraign Lord of all the World , in comparison of whom , all the Kings of the Earth are but small inconsiderable things ; and yet even their Honour is much advanced by Beneficence and Bounty ; all which nevertheless is but a drop in comparison of that Ocean of Goodness and Bounty and Beneficence , that resides in , and hourly flows from Thee , the great Monarch of the whole World . Thy Subjects are all of thy own making ; and all the good that is in them , or enjoyed by them , is derived from thee to them . The Strength and Glory and Beauty and Excellence of thy Kingdom is not derived from thy Subjects , but from thy Self to them . And therefore , though my Petitions be great , they are fit to be such , because directed to the Mighty Creator and King and Monarch of the whole Universe , the Root and Fountain of all Being and Goodness .

And as thou art the Great Soveraign of all the World , and art invested with the Supream Authority , so thou art the great Creator of all things , and art invested with Infinite Power and All-Sufficiency . And as thou hast the Supream Authority , so thou hast Boundless Power to grant and effect what we have asked . As thou art the Great and Glorious King of Heaven and Earth , and the Father of all Mankind , we have reason to be confident in thy Goodness and Beneficence . And as thou art the Almighty Creator , we have assurance of thy Power , to give us whatsoever thy Wisdom and Goodness doth move thee to bestowe . And therefore upon both accounts we have reason to be confident in the obtaining of what we ask in this Prayer from the great Lord of all things , that is Abundant in Goodness , and All-sufficient in Power .

And although thy Infinite All-sufficiency and Glory can receive no increase from thy Creatures , yet give us leave with Humility to press Thee ever with this argument also : Thou hast been pleased to declare unto us , That thy Glory is thy great end of all thy Works , and art pleased to set the greatest value that may be upon thy own Glory ; and art pleased to command thy Creatures to Glorifie Thee ; and dost accept that small Tribute of Praise and Thanksgiving and Glorifying of thy Name from thy Creatures in good part . Thou hast the Glory of our Dependance upon Thee , which we testifie by invoking thy Great Name ; thou wilt have the Glory of thy Goodness , thy Power , thy Bounty in granting these our Petitions , and Requests ; and the Glory of our Praises and Thanksgivings for thy Bounty and Goodness in accepting and answering them ; which though it cannot benefit Thee , yet it is all thy poor Creatures can return unto Thee , and thou hast declared thy self well pleased with it . Psal. 50.32 . He that offereth Praise glorifieth Thee .

Blessed Lord , therefore be it according to these our Petitions and Desires : and so much the rather , because these our Requests , are not the product of our own Imaginations and weak Judgments ; but that Son of thine , who best knew thy Will , and what thou wouldest grant , hath taught us thus to Ask , and commanded us thus to thus to Pray . Luk. 11.2 . When ye pray , say , Our Father , &c.

FINIS .