Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

1

Compellation, he hath united us all into one Soul, and
taught us with one Heart and one Voice to breathe out our
Requests together: by which he hath directed us to lay
afide all Malice and Envy, to love as Brethren, and to come
together as fo many Children of the fame Father; and then
we fhall fay with the Pfalmift, Behold, how good and pleasant
a thing it is for Brethren to dwell together in Unity! In fhort,
There is no Father but is delighted with the Concord and
Unity of his Children, nor can any turn the deaf Ear to
their united Petitions; but this is no where more accepta-
ble and fuccefsful than in our Addreffes unto God, whofe
holy Spirit is no lefs griev'd at our Divifions, than 'tis de-
lighted with Unanimity: which fhould teach us to labour
for thofe pious and charitable Difpofitions, that may incline
us to unite in our Petitions, and with one Mind and one
Mouth to fay, Our Father.

:

3. To the common Relation and Compellation of Our Father, we are directed to add the Title of Heavenly Father, or Our Father which art in Heaven; partly to diftinguifh him from all earthly Parents, and partly to raise our Minds above these terrene Objects here below, and fasten them on the celeftial Manfions above. Our Fathers upon Earth are impotent and weak, like ourselves; and tho they may wish well to their Children, yet are many times unable to help them but our Father in Heaven is always willing, and always able to help thofe that call upon him. This is fignify'd to us by the Royal Seat of his Refidence, which is in Heaven, the Center of all Happiness and Power, where he reigns as a King for ever, and has his Imperial Throne in the Regions of Light and Glory: whereby is reprefented to us the fuperlative Greatness and Majefty of him whom we addrefs to in cur Prayers; which is not any frail earthly Creature, like ourfelves, but the omnipotent Creator of all things, whofe Throne is in Heaven, and can do whatever pleafes him. He is indeed every where, and filleth the Earth as well as Heaven with his Prefence; but his Royal Seat, or more efpecial Refidence, is in Heaven, the Manfion of never-failing Light and Glory, from whence he beholds and bleffes the Children of Men.

By this our bleffed Saviour would,

1. Poffefs our Minds with aweful Apprehenfions of God, and create Reverence and Humility in our Approaches to him, confidering the infinite diftance and difproportion between him and us; he being the great God that hath his

Throne

4

Throne in the Heavens, and we but vile Worms, crawling upon the face of the Earth. Now this Reverence is order'd to be exprefs'd by the Paucity of our Words, and the Lowlinefs of our Gestures in our Addreffes to him. For the former, Solomon wills us to confider, that God is in Heaven, and we upon Earth, therefore our Words fhould be few: Sutable whereunto a greater than Solomon hath condemn'd the much Speaking of the Heathens, and the long Prayers of the Pharifees. For the latter, David calls upon us to worship, and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our Maker: which requires us to pray to him with the greatest lowlinefs both of Body and Mind; and to encourage us hereunto, our bleffed Saviour hath given us his Precept and Example for both.

2. Our praying to a Father in Heaven was defign'd to confirm our Faith and Hope in him, and to beget the greater. affurance of an Answer to our Petitions, for Power and Goodness are infeparably annex'd to his Royal Throne: Being feated in the higheft Heavens, he hath all other things under his feet, the very Angels themfelves continually attending his Throne, and being ever ready to do his Will. And what can we want on Earth, that have a Father in Heaven that can do all things?

3. The confideration that God is in Heaven, ferves to elevate our Minds above these earthly things, and to fix them upon the things above. Surfum Corda, lift up your Hearts, was often founded in the Ears of the People in the times of the Primitive Devotion; to which the Anfwer was, Habemus ad Dominum, we lift them up unto the Lord. Low and mean Thoughts and Defires become not those that pray to the moft High; his being in Heaven fhould heighten our Minds, and raise them above the perifhing Vanities of this World.

In a word, the Relation of Father may give us Boldness and Confidence in our addreffing to him.

His being Our Father may teach us Charity and Concord in all our Requests: His being Our Father in Heaven may teach us Reverence and godly Fear in all our Approaches to the Throne of Grace. So much for the Preface to this excellent Prayer, in which we fee every Word hath its weight, and admirably prepares us to put up the following Petitions.

[blocks in formation]

H

DISCOURSE V.

LUKE xi. 2.

Hallowed be thy Name.

AVING done with the Preface, I come to the Petitions of the Lord's Prayer, which are in number Six; three whereof relate unto God, as Hallowed be thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven; and three unto ourselves, as Give us this Day our Daily Bread, Forgive us our Sins,and Lead us not into Temptation. The former tend to the advancing of God's Glory, and the latter to the promoting our own Salvation.

But before I begin to fpeak particularly of them, it will not be amifs to obferve two things; the one relating to the Order, the other to the Number of thefe Petitions.

ift, That which concerns the Order, is that our Saviour here directs us in the first place to mind the Honour of our Maker, and to prefer his Glory before our own Salvation; for the Petitions that refer to the former, go before thofe that concern the latter. Indeed the Glory of God was the first and great End of our Creation; he made and defign'd all things fubfervient thereunto, and stamp'd apparent Marks of his infinite Power, Wisdom, and Goodnefs upon them for that purpose: But Man especially was endow'd with nobler Faculties to that end, having an Underftanding to know, and a Tongue to fet forth his Praife. This is to be the end of all our natural Actions; Whether ye eat or drink (faith St. Paul) do all to the Praise and Glory of God, 1 Cor. 1o. 31. but must be chiefly fo of all our religious Actions, which the fame Apoftle ftyles the Fruits of Righteousness, to the Glory and Praife of God, Phil. 1. 11. And St. Peter declares, the end of all our good Works is, that God in all things may be glorify'd, 1 Pet. 4. 11. 'Twas the Pharifees fault to make their Prayers for felfifh and fecular Ends, to be feen of Men, and to court more the Praife of Men than the Honour of God; whereas our Saviour, in this Prayer, hath taught us another Leffon, where, by placing the Petitions that concern our Maker before thofe that relate to ourfelves, he hath fhew'd

fhew'd that our first and principal Regard ought to be to him, and that we are to prefer his Glory before our own Good: which is therefore to be obferv'd not only in all our Prayers, but in the whole Course of our Lives. This for the Order. Then,

2dly, For the Number: We are allow'd to put up as many Petitions for ourselves, as are requir'd for our Maker; for our Saviour hath here prefcrib'd three for each. And tho Duty and Decency require our first and principal Regard for the Glory of God, yet in fubordination to that, we may and ought to confult our own Good: yea, God Almighty hath fo clofely twifted his own Glory and our Good together, that we cannot mind the one without the other; there is fuch an infeparable Connexion between them, that our Happiness confifts in honouring of him: for we cannot better ferve ourselves than by ferving him, and we never advance his Glory but we promote our own. So that we cannot complain of God as a hard Mafter, who hath thus made our Duty to become our Intereft, and for one Petition put up for him, hath allow'd us to put up another for ourselves. Sure his Commandments cannot be grievous, that are allay'd with fo much Sweetnefs, and carry their Reward with them; nor can his Ways be unequal, who hath equally minded our Happiness with his own Glory.

That which we are to obferve from hence, is the exceeding great Honour and Favour which God vouchfafes to his worthless Creatures, in bearing fo tender a Regard towards them, in a manner loving them as himfelf, and equally confulting their Honour and Happiness with his own Glory; which fhould make us fay with the Pfalmift, Lord, what is Man, that thou art thus mindful of him; or the Son of Man, that thou fo regardeft him?

And now having premis'd these things, I begin with the firft Petition of the Lord's Prayer, contain'd in thefe words, Hallowed be thy Name. What is meant by the Name of God, and what by Hallowing or Sanctifying his Name, has, been already open'd in our Expofition of the Third Commandment; to which, to avoid Repetitions, I refer the Reader.

Briefly, By the Name of God, we are to understand all that by which he makes himself known to us, and distinguifheth himself from all others, as his Titles, his Attributes, his Word, and his Works; and likewife all things related to him, or denominated by him, as his Minifters,

[blocks in formation]

Part II. his Sanctuary, his Sabbath, his Poffeffions, or that confecrated Part of our Subftance, which he hath referv'd and devoted to the Altar: all which being intitled to him, and styl'd more peculiarly his, are here comprehended under the Name of God.

By Hallowing or Sanctifying of this Name, we are to understand the having an honourable Efteem of it, the exalting of it in our Mind, and feparating it from common and profane to Divine and Sacred Ufes.

But for the fuller underftanding of this Petition, we may note, that to fantify in Scripture hath a double Senfe, either to make holy, or to ufe and do unto a thing according to, or as it becometh its Holinefs. In the former of thefe fenfes God is not to be hallow'd or fanctify'd by us; for he being infinitely holy of himself, we can neither add to his Holiness, nor take from it: and therefore 'tis in the latter fenfe that we are to understand these words, when we fay, Hallowed be thy Name; that is, that we think and fpeak of it in a holy manner, and use it in fuch a way as becometh the Holiness of it. And how that may be best done, 'twill be requifite here briefly to declare.

To which end we are to obferve a twofold Holinefs: The one original, abfolute, and independent, which appertains to God only; the other a deriv'd, relative Holinefs, which appertains to thofe things that are more peculiarly his, and belong to him.

Now according to thefe two forts of Holinefs, there are two different ways of Sanctification; the one appertaining to God himself, the other to all things related to him, and call'd by his Name. For the

First, There is a peculiar incommunicable Honour and Holiness to be attributed to God, upon the account of his fupereminent Excellency and Perfections, which is not to be given to any created Being; and this is that religious or divine Worship which is in Scripture appropriated to him, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only halt thou ferve, Mat. 4. This is that Glory to God in the Higheft, which was fung by the Angels at our Saviour's Birth, and which they are ftill finging in Heaven, To him that fitteth on the Throne, and to the Lamb for evermore. This is the Honour due to his infinite and adorable Perfections, in afcribing whereof we are to join with the heavenly Hoft in that Seraphick Hymn, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive Honour, and Glory, and Power, for thou hast created all

things,

« ZurückWeiter »