593 according to the fecret Couufel of his own Will. Of this kind is the Knowledge of the Times and Seafons, which God has referv'd to himself; as the Day of Judgment, the Number of our Days, the Fall of Antichrift, the Converfion of the Jews, the Salvation of the Heathens, and the like: All which being kept fecret from us, 'twill be too much Curiofity and Prefumption to pry into or determine any thing about them. By this Will of his he doth whatever pleafeth him in Heaven and Earth, and in all deep places; much of which, as we are not worthy to know, fo neither will it become us too nicely to enquire. This Will of his muft and will be done, whether we pray for it or against it; and therefore our Duty is to acquiefce in all Refolutions of it, and to fay always, God's Will be done. 2. His reveal'd Will, which alone belongs to us, is that wife Discovery of his Mind and Will, made to us in the Holy Scriptures; wherein he has declar'd all that we are concern'd to know or practise. And this again is divided into his Will of Precept, and his Will of Providence: by the one, we are directed what we are to do; by the other, what and how we are to fuffer. The Will of his Precept relates to our Lives and Actions,' directing us how we are to walk, fo as to please God: He bath fhew'd thee, O Man (faith Micah) what is good, and what the Lord thy God requires of thee, &c. Mic. 6. 8. This is the Will of God (faith the Apostle) even your Sanctification, &c. 1 Theff. 4. 5. And elsewhere, God hath call'd us to Holiness, and to walk unblameably before him in Love. This Will of God the Apostle would have us not only to know, but practife; first fearching what is the good, perfect, and acceptable Will of God, and then making it the Rule of our Lives and Actions; that we may be perfectly inftructed in every good Work, to do his Will, Heb. 13. 21. The Will of his Providence refpects all Events of things, whether profperous or adverfe; in which we are to fubmit to the Will of God, and rest satisfy'd in all the Divine Dif penfations, acknowledging the Power, Wisdom, and Goodnefs of God in all that befals both ourfelves and others. This is briefly the Will of God. But, How is it faid to be done in Earth? Why, two ways; either actively, by obeying what God commands, or paffively, by bearing what he is pleas'd to inflict. In the VOL. II. Rr First Firft Senfe, the Will of God is faid to be done by us when we yield a ready Compliance to his Precepts, and order our ways by the Direction of his Laws; when we make his Will the Standard and Measure of our Actions, and fay with the Pfalmift in the Perfon of our Saviour, Lo! I come to do thy Will, O God; yea, thy Law is within my Heart. In the latter Senfe, his Will is done by us, when we patiently bear what he thinks fit to lay upon us, refigning up our Wills to his, and faying with our Saviour, in taking off the bitter Cup, Not my Will, but thine be done. To both thefe we stand oblig'd by the Principles of Reafon and Gratitude, which require us to obey our Maker, who has the fole Power to order and command us; especially when, like a gracious and tender-hearted Father, he only confults our Good, and does far better things for us than we can do for ourselves which fhould teach us in all cafes to say with good old Eli, It is the Lord, let him do what Seemeth him good; and with David, I was dumb, and open'd not my mouth, for it is thy doing. But for the fuller understanding of this Petition, we must enquire, : Secondly, How the Will of God is done in Heaven? for that being made the Measure and Pattern of our doing it here on Earth, it will be requifite for us to know our Platform, that we may the better conform to and act by it. And here we must note, that the Will of God is done by the Angels and glorify'd Spirits in Heaven, in the most perfect and acceptable manner, and indeed in a way not attainable by us in this imperfect State. However, our Saviour here directing us to pray for it, has will'd us to propound to ourfelves the Example of their Obedience, and to use our best Endeavours to imitate and come as near it as we may: To which end, we must know, 1. That the Will of God is done in Heaven readily, without delay. The holy Angels are still about his Throne, waiting his Commands, and are ever ready to do his Plea fure: no fooner do they know their Mafter's Will, but they presently fet about it, and without any dispute or delay moft willingly perform it. Hence we find them always painted with Wings, to fhew the nimbleness and readinefs of their Motion, that they are not flow and tardy in their Maker's work, but are ever upon the wing, and fly in the execution of his Commands. Thefe Angels of his are fometimes ftyl'd, The Eyes of the Lord, that run to and fro the Earth, Zech. 4. 10. fometimes miniftring Spirits, that minifter to the Heirs of Salvation, Heb. 1. 14. all which lets us know the Forwardness and Readinefs of their Obedience. 2. The Will of God is done in Heaven chearfully, without grudging: All things there are done with alacrity and delight, there is no murmuring or complaining, no uneafinefs under their task; but their very Work is Wages, and their Duty is both their Defire and their Happiness. Hence the Angels in Heaven are reprefented to be ftill finging and praifing God, and delighting to do his Will: their whole Imployment is Hallelujahs and Songs of Praife; and all the Bleffed do above, is ftill to fing, and ftill to love: and fure that must be perform'd with great alacrity and chearfulness, that is done with Hearts full of Joy, and Mouths full of Melody. 3. The Will of God is done in Heaven fincerely, without Hypocrify: There is no diffembling or double-dealing in thofe pure and fpotlefs Regions, no flattery or falfhood among thofe glorify'd Spirits, they are not doing one thing and defigning another, nor look different ways; but as the Cherubims in the Temple look'd all toward the Mercy-Seat, fo do thofe Cherubims above look always to the Throne of God, to receive his Commands, and fulfil his Will. 4. The Will of God is done in Heaven thorowly, without partiality: There is no picking and chufing among thofe bleft Inhabitants, they do not take care to execute one Command, and leave another undone; but they are ftill accomplishing the whole Will of God, and leave not the leaft hint or intimation of his Word unfulfill'd: for the Will of God being the reafon and measure of their Obedience, it must extend to all his Commands, which have the fame ftamps of a divine Authority upon them, and that must render their Obedience both uniform and univerfal. 5. The Will of God is done in Heaven unanimously without Difcord or Divifion: There is a perfect Harmony, Confent, and Unity among the bleffed-Spirits above, who all join in one Concert, and by united Hearts and Voices complete the Mufick of the Celestial Choir. There is no Jarring or Difcord to be heard there, no Sects of Factions, no contrary Interefts and Defigns, no fecret Grudges or Rr 2 open open Contentions; but all confpire together in perfect Peace and Concord, every one moving in his own place without thwarting and disturbance, and all uniting together with one Mind and one Mouth to glorify their great Creator. This is the Will of God, and thus is it done in Heaven. Laftly, The Will of God is done in Heaven conftantly, without Wearinefs or Defection: for they ceafe not day or night faying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hofts, which was, which is, and which is to come. They are conftantly finging Praises to him that fitteth on the Throne, and to the Lamb for evermore. There is no Wearinefs or Fainting among thofe glorify'd Spirits; their Hallelujahs are inceffant, and their Praifes know no end or decay. This is the Pattern here fet for our Imitation, which tho we cannot at prefent come up exactly to, nor keep pace in our Obedience with thofe fwift-wing'd Meffengers of Heaven, yet we are directed to follow, and come as near them as we can. And this will lead me to the Third Thing propounded, viz. What we pray for when we fay, Thy Will be done in Earth, as it is in Heaven. In general, we pray for a Complacence and Satisfaction of Mind in all God's Proceedings, fubmitting to his Pleafure, obeying his Precepts, and humbly acquiefcing in all the Difpenfations of his Providence: not oppofing our Will to his, but difclaiming our own Judgments, and renouncing our Defires, when they appear inconfiftent with his, and in all things refigning ourfelves to his Wisdom, with not my Will, but thine be done. More particularly we pray, 1. That we may do the Will of God as readily as the Angels do in Heaven, who difpute not the Equity of his Commands, nor complain of the Difficulty of his Work, but prefently fet about it, and run with chearfulness in the ways of his Commandments; fo ought we to be ever ready to every good Word and Work, doing his Will without delay or procraftination, faying with David, I made hafte, and delay'd not to keep thy Commandments. And likewife relishing a Sweetnefs and Delight in doing the Will of God, faying with the devout Pfalmift, O how I love thy Law, all the day long is my study in it; and elsewhere, I delight to do thy Will, O God. 2. We pray that we may do the Will of God heartily and fincerely, as the Angels do in Heaven, who do their Mafter's Will not only with Alacrity and Vigour, but with Integrity and Singlenefs of Heart. Thofe flaming Seraphims are all Love and Rapture, having the conftant Fire of Divine Love burning in their Breafts, which makes them obferve the Commands of God with Ardency and Affection. So likewife ought we to obey from the Heart the Commands of our Maker, being not flothful in Business, but fervent in Spirit, ferving the Lord; not with Eye or Lip-Service as Men-pleafers, but doing it heartily as unto the Lord. 3. We pray that we may do the Will of God fully and impartially, as the Angels do in Heaven; for they do not perform their Duty by halves, or make the Doing of one thing compound for the Neglect of another, but pay an uniform and univerfal Obedience to all his Commands: they are ever ready to execute the whole Will of God, and bear an equal Regard to all his Precepts, as having all the fame Authority. This we' fhould not only pray for, but endeavour likewife to put in practice. We find this the frequent Subject of the Pfalmift's Prayers, that God would direct him to love all his Precepts, and to hate every falfe way; withal adding, Then fhall I not be afbam'd, when I have refpect to all thy Commandments, Pfal. 119. 6, 128. And Zachary and Elizabeth are commended for walking in all the Commandments of the Lord blameless. These are noble Patterns for our Imitation, and yet our Saviour here fhews us a more excellent way; willing us to pray, that the Will of God may be done on Earth, as fully and thorowly as it is in Heaven. 4. We pray that we may do the Will of God unanimoufly as the Angels do in Heaven. There is no Diffenfion or Nonconformity among the Inhabitants of those bleffed Regions, but they all join together with one Heart and one Voice to fing the Praises of their Maker; so likewise ought we with one Mind and one Mouth to glorify God: this is to begin our Heaven here on Earth, and to do the Will of God here below as it is done above, by joining with them in one Confent and Harmony of Affection and Devotion; which is a matter highly worthy of the united Prayers and Endeavours of all Chriftians. And therefore we find our Bleffed Saviour, who prefcrib'd this Petition, upon his leaving the World, praying that all his Followers Rr3 upon |