THE Lord's Prayer UNCLASPED: WITH A Vindication of it, against All Schismatics. Heretics, called Enthusiasts. Fratra cilli. By James Harwood, B. D. Luk. 11.2. When ye pray, say, Our Father, etc. Mat. 26.44. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the Same words. LONDON, Printed for the Author, and are to be sold by G. and H. Eversden at the Grayhound in Pauls-Church-yard, 1654. To the Worshipful Citizens and Inhabitants in Pater-Noster-Row. THrice noble and much honoured Citizens, Give me leave to present to you that prayer which Christ presented to all Christians. The more enemies it hath found, in the Name of Christ jesus, the more I beg of you to countenance it, and befriend it. Though some in these sad times have underprized our high calling, yet none must doubt to call this our Lords Prayer: Religion is at a low ebb, when God's Ministers and Christ's own Prayer is little or nought set by. Justly have we been punished, and righteous O Lord art thou in all thy works: yet what ever we suffer, I beseech you in the name of God and Christ, to be the Patron of this Prayer; which among some called Christians hath found as many scorners as Christ its maker among the Jews: mockers, when you speak to God, ere you end, be pleased, thus to pray, Mat. 6. and this to say, Luk. 11. The one Evangelist registering the Rule to pray by, that other recording the subject matter of our prayers: and both intimating thus much to all ages, if we lay by this prayer, we lose the rule to pray by: if we say not this prayer, we miss much, if not most our Christ commanded us to pray for. I will not trouble your religious ears with those horrid profane speechoes uttered, and in public against this pious prayer. It's no wonder to me Christ's own prayer hath so many enemies, where the Devils Doctrine hath so many fast friends. But this is condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness better than light, falsehood than truth, and a fantastic Enthusiasm, more than Christ's own Orison. I desire rather to pity than to reproach the brainsick Humourists of our times, whose disloyal censures, like disloyal subjects, have scandalised their supreme Sovereign, the King of Salem, the Son of God. The cause, because he prescribed this set form of prayer: and hence it is pretended, the spirit is stinted, for that the matter and form prescribed. But have you not heard how he who had a larger portion of the Spirit than all living, who thought it no robbery to be equal with God the Father, in the Garden of Gethsemane, prayed three times, and every time used the self same words— Let his precept there, * Luk. 11.2. his practice * Mat. 26.41. there, encourage your worshipful society to patronise this book of Prayer: nay, the very name of your Abide shall make me more confide; as God hath placed you in such an Eden, who knows but it's to protect this Prayer which came out of the Paradise, the Breast of our Messiah? your earthly Lot is fallen to you in a fair soil, while the plat of ground you inhabit is P. N. R. as in that Row you have a corporal residence, so you shall not want a true Beadsman to be earnest with God at your end, you may live for ever in his Bosom from whence came this prayer, a prayer I beseech you, oft to iterate, for a speedy post, which will convey and in a trice all your supplicats to your great Master, God Almighty. A rare preparation, which fits you for your passage from Egypt unto Canaan. In a word, this prayer is that salt which seasons all your undertake. Nor do I attribute this virtue to the bare outward saying your Pater noster, but as being joined with the heart's sincerity; nor would I the outward form totidem verbis to be neglected: for know't, as thou mayst be an hypocrite, and do God all bodily service, so thou canst never be a good Christian, and deny to do it. I would you therefore exercise this set form of prayer, to show you are no Enthusiasts; to join also with your voice the spirit of understanding, to show you are good Christians. That command * Luk. 11 of Christ, shall be your warrant, to go down to this his forge to sharpen your blunted goads and mattocks. I speak not this as a despiser of them, have the gift of making a prayer: that I say is to comfort such as have a mean portion of the gift of prayer. It's may purpose then not to pick a quarrel, but prevent a duel, and tell you what is justifiable, a set form, not to implead to pray as the spirit moves, so be joined with it the spirit of understanding. To conclude, our Christ his precept hath made this Prayer legitimate, and when we pray, let us understand what's that we pray, and this shall stop the mouths of all oppugners. I will add a widow's mite to this work, by recommending once more this prayers, unfolding to your protection; which if not, for love to me, who owns nought, to merit at you hands; yet for the honour of Christ, I doubt not but you will accept of the tendered service of Your Wellwisher, J. H. The Epistle to the Vulgar. MY two years' Catechisms I have put in print for you to peruse, and that which was delivered more at large, is now thus * Short. concise: here you may spy much matter in few words; and if any word you understand not, I have made this star * to direct you to the marginal note, to give you light and let you see my plain meaning. As I was loath to unfold this sacred subject in a * Base. sordid style, so to help your conceptions, I have not disdained to english English words, and let you know by the Margin, the meaning of that, which otherwise might have passed your understanding: I know it for the truth of God, better are five words in a known tongue, than five thousand in an unknown. It is this that hath made me stoop in explaining, down to the meanest of your capacities; yet if you understand not, what comes first to hand, mark what follows, for commonly my following words explain my former. I desire to be counted foolish, to make you wise in Christ Jesus. If aught here offered, outstrip your relish, blame not altogether me, but in part your apprehensive wit for the world, and dulness to conceive the things of God. God of his goodness make you all wise unto salvation. To the more Ingenuous Reader. READER, IT is the fashion of quick and nimble wits to value nought, if not accommodated with some rarities, though I have made the margin not for you who are all eyes, yet the matter of an attractive power to draw nigh your ears: be pleased to peruse this little Book, and either all or none; it may be you may find a somewhat you never met with. I dare not promise much, it is presumption; nor underprize my pains, since some say it is a sly vainglory, & a begging by refusing. I much desire you would not discourage these my first endeavours, and if you chance to spy a blemish in Venus her face, not to eye it more than all her beauty, which if you do, you have got a bargain, but lost a chapman: every one can say, it is an easier thing to find fault with than to mend. And he that will mend what here's amiss hath leave to find fault with what he list. I speak not this to make a variance, but salve a difference; assuring myself he is not a Scholar, that will carp. I have put myself to the world's wide venture, and aim at my * Scholars. Coat to defend my cause. Humorous heads who have more words than wit, and censures than solidity, they can gain nought at my hands by their opprobries; these have a good word for none, not then for me. It is the ingenuous auspicious Reader I rely on for his favour, whose favourable report shall make my printed paper his debtor, and myself his devoted. To the Author of the Prayer. THE Author of the Book in all humility begs leave to dedicate these few ensuing lines to the Author of this Prayer, Christ Jesus, God blessed for ever, Amen. O my God and my King, the holy Penman of this most holy prayer; thou art one who waste, who art, & to be forever, God, and yet man, man and yet God. In thee the Godhead is hominified, in thee the manhood is deified; thou art an immense Majesty, present with us in earth, and at the same time Lord Precedent in Heaven. Thou art one in person, yet hast two natures; one of the three Persons, yet all the three but one in substance; begot before all Time, born in the dispensation of Time; not to increase thy honour, but to set us from thrall, Thou taughtest Exemplo. Thou taughtest Praecepto. Voce, By learning us. Prece, By praying for us. Thou prayedst to thy Father for us: Thou preachedst to us how we should pray to thy Father, not as we will, but as thou hast wiled; thou teachest us what to say, and we are bound to say thy prayer; Thou hast taught us how to pray, so ties us not at all times to the same words. O thou wisdom of the Father, let me learn wisdom from thy lips; Who to furnish the meanest of * In Understanding. men, prescribes them a Platform, who so sets down a platform, as licenses the more gifted to exercise their gift of prayer. Thy prayer, O Christ, is not given to stint the spirit, thy prayer is lent to support it. Blessed be thou my God and my Christ, who hast not only purchased for us to be called Gods Sons, but taught us to say, Our Farther— Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I give over thy prayer, I honour its Author, I reverence its matter, I admire its method; it was made by Christ God, made by Christ for man, useful for all men; never could so much be contained in so narrow a room, but that of Gods making, the Sons penning, the Holy Ghost his inspiring. Let the Enthusiasts slight it, the fratra cilli lay it by, as men conceiving they are come to an acme of perfection, yet such as fail I find in the best of my expressions, that let them be the protasis, this shall be the apodosis; and if with my own I begin, with our Lords * Prayers. I desire to make an end; the Lords Prayer is the summary of all things necessary, and when I have prayed for all I can, in this as in a glass, my Christ lets me see the face of all my desires: while I am expounding this sacred Prayer, Lord let thy sacred Spirit descend down upon me, so shall thy Name be honoured, and I enabled to discharge this great work I have in hand. O thou who madest this prayer, make me understand its meaning; and while I am in hand with this work, blow the spark of my meditations into a flame, let my paraphrase be set Carbo & lampas, a light shining, and lamp burning; by this light, guide babes in knowledge on to a set form of prayer, by it confute all Heretics who deny a set form of prayer. O my Christ I will shut up my too much boldness of speech to thee with admiration of thee, who art all in all unto us all; bread to feed us, wine to cherish us, the white robe to cover us; thou hast slain our sins by thy passion, quickened us to a life of grace by thy Resurrection, provided a mansion for us by thy Ascension: we may enter in, for thou art the door; no danger by the way, for our Christ is the way; we can have no better assurance then from him is the truth; nor let us fear the sting of death, for we are servants to the Lord of life, to him who is the way, the truth, and the life. O my Saviour, I bless God for thee, I glory in thee, I cast myself upon thee, upon the bended knee of my body I beg thy blessing, praying in thy own words saying thy own Prayer: Our Father which art, etc. The Author of the Book his Speech to the Prayer. O All heavenly Prayer, the very language of the Lord Jesus, the Christian * A good Word till abused. Directory, The Rubrics Epitome, short in words, copious in matter, which gives God his Due, begs all needful for us all: all thy precious petitions, it is my every day's prayer, may be writ with the pen of a Diamond in my heart. O Divine Prayer, I am purposed to give thee every morning the visit, every night to hold conference with thee; the first to salute, the last to take my leave of. Thou hast taught me to bless God, my here welfare, my hereafter happiness; what to seek, a Kingdom; how to ensure it, by doing what thou wilt, as thou wilt. O most holy prayer, which suits God for us all, and for all needful, which teaches us how to unravel our debts and discharge them, to prevent sin by praying against sin; yea prays in the midst of our temptations for safe deliverance. Thou art magnum in parvo, yet sayest little; yet when we have said all we can, we can say no more. I admire thy brevity, short yet sweet, few words, yet full as the Patriarches sacks: understood we at length what thou comprehendest in short, we would every day lengthen our esteem of thee, lessen our opinion of our own barren expressions. But I am sorry thou art so slighted by those who think themselves none-such, and for my part I would be very sorry to be such as they are— O most sacred Prayer, whither wilt thou go, the Enthusiast his hasty conceptions will be thy death; the Sectarian Minister, for fear of popular displeasure, is feared to acknowledge thee in the Pulpit, yet thou hast one fast friend, the orthodox conformist, who hath bid thee welcome home to his house, and shames not to walk with thee to Church. He prays in thy Dialect; and when he uses other words, Saying the, thou epitomizest all he had said before. The orthodox Conformist is thy fast friend; the unstable Schismatic a friend in summer; the old Heretic at all times at odds with thee. But let who will despise thee, I will honour thee, I will honour thy Author, I will give due honour to thy divine matter; thou art part of God's Word composed by Christ who is the Word: and every of thy words are of weight. This considered, who can deny it, but our Lord's Prayer hath had hard measure? God forgive them, who for popular ends have laid thee by; God open their eyes, who prefer their own before our Lord's Prayer: God give us Conformists grace so to say our Lord's Prayer, that we may have all, in it, granted; even for his sake grant it good Lord, who made it, who taught it, who left it for us to learn; it is our Saviour hath commanded us to say it; it is a Christians duty to do it; he is an Atheist that doth deny it: I will use it for my pattern to pray by, for a platform, and say it, not as tied by it from all other prayers, not at all times lay it by, but sometimes I will borrow all its words, sometimes pray to the same sense; now making it my rule, anon all the petitions of my prayer. And thus O sacred prayer, I will assoil my soul from all superstitious conceits of thee, as also from the least disrespect of thee: and while I use my own words, I will bind me to thy method; and when I take not that large, I will quit my spirit within the circumference of thy Petitions. Thus in honour of him who made thee, I take my leave mannerly of thee, wishing the next Age may not pretend God's Spirit, and despise our Lord's Prayer, lest their contemning Christ's Ordinance, denounce all such to be Heretics—. AN EXPOSITION UPON THE Lord's Prayer. THere are four species or kinds of pouring out our minds to God Almighty, and they are all involved in one verse in the holy Bible, in that place where the Apostle said, Let there be made supplications, 1 Tim. 2.1. prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks for all men. And now mark what is meant by each, and which is meant in this place. 1. Supplication is a prayer framed to God, for forgiveness of sin, or its prevention. 2. Prayer, is a pouring out our mind to God, framed, to testify our seeking God with an holy and an humble heart. 3. Intercession, is a suiting God for others; as Wife, Children, our K. or Country. 4. Thanksgiving, is a pouring out our spirit to God, framed, to testify our thankfulness to God for benefits received. And what now I pray you is prayer, largo sensu, but either a thanking God for some good turn, a begging of God to be good to other, an humbling ourselves in God's presence with fear and reverence: or else a desiring God to forgive us all our sins? But to what doth, what hath been said, tend? To certify us, that the Lords Prayer is for species or kind; a supplication for begging forgiveness of sins: A prayer, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, implying none ought to say it, sed humili voce, in all humility: A request or intercession, for we here pray for others as ourselves, to God for God, to God for man, only while we say this prayer, we give no thanks; and I think it is to put us in mind, how many, I had almost said, the most of our suppliants are cousen-germans to the nine Lepers thankless persons. Be pleased kind reader to lend a look, and behold The Name of this Prayers. The Substance of this Prayers. It's Name, is Dominica oratio, the Lords Prayer; for it is called the Lords Prayer. This sacred title, Lord, I find, predicates of two, de die, de oratione: we have a day called the Lords Day, and a prayer called the Lords Prayer. Implicitly, it implies, that that day is a day of prayer, and this prayer appropriates that day, it is said, to the Lord. But come, Why is this prayer called our Lord's Prayer? For that made by our Lord, our Lord and Saviour, God's Son, the second person. For that directed to the Lord, our Lord God, God the Father, the first person. Two passages have made open proclamation, how this is a most excellent prayer. First, For that penned by Christ. Secondly, After such a sort as God himself by it is bespoke. 1. The compiler of this prayer was our Saviour, Two Extracts. which dignifies it, and desires me to mind every word in it. 2. This prayer is put up, and it is to God the Father, the supreme head over all the Angels in Heaven, men on earth, devils in hell: here is another call upon, to move our vulgar to learn the meaning of every parcel of this prayer. O my God and my Christ, The Avowry. since ye are both interessed in this prayer, when I say it, it shall make me mind every word that is in it. As this prayers Name procured two to proclaim the excellency of it, no less doth its substance: the two, the substance, or subject matter of this prayer, have sent out to sound abroad the unparallelled excellency of it, Are its Brevity. Are its Fecundity. For the first it's proverbial, short and sweet, as if short things were sweet things; here is a short prayer, I know none sweeter. But it's demanded, Why think you this prayer more excellent for its brevity? I will give you six Reasons why I think so. 1. The shorter, the sooner learned; long lessons are long a taking out. 2. The shorter, the better may it be remembered: what can you say perfecter than your Pater noster? 3. Ofter may it be said over: the knights of Malta say it over an hundred and odd times a day. 4. Here's no relish of tediousness, it gins and ends in a trice. 5 It may soon be understood, if will be at home, in a week. 6. It's an assurance to me, God quickly can hear. A prayer whose conciseness doth demonstrate, that our God stands in no need to be cried on from morning until noon; as was Baal, 1 King. 18.26. Behold as an exceeding short, so a most fecund or fruitful prayer; and at large, it highly extols its excellency, while here is neither God nor man forgot. Secondly, There is neither good we want, nor evil that we would be freed from, but here we pray sored; for God to give us the one, remove far from us the other: Vnico verbo, in one word, here is involved, what good every man stands in need of: again, all the evil of all men, with a boon to be delivered from it. Since thus much is comprised in this little, The Avowry. this little prayer hath prevailed with me to prise it above all the prayers of all us mortals. Our discourse hath gained us this knowledge, that this is a most excellent prayer. But objected, Object. May I say no other prayer? Yes, Res. for this read Mat. 24.20. Orate ne fuga vestra, pray that your flight be not in the winter. But we be wiser than Christ, he said, When ye pray, say, Our Father. By those words, When ye pray, say Our Father, perchance our Christ gave us a hint, that in conclusion all Christians should close alike, making this prayer the * Last. period, not the * First. praeword; the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, not the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as if our own words we had showed a weakness, by his should be made amends. O my God, The Avowry. while I speak to thee in my own language, I will not pretermit to conclude as thou hast taught to say, Our Father which art in Heaven. The substance or subject matter of this prayer consists of Two parts: The Preface. That * Placed after. post-put. 1. The Preface is wrapped up in the six first words before the prayer, which are these; Our Father which art in Heaven. 2. That placed after. Are, 1. Petitions six. 2. The Reasons three. 3. The Conclusion; one only word, Amen. The preface, is that I first mean to intermeddle with, of which I will speak Conjunctim, in whole. speak Divisim, by parts. And first in whole, before our prayers we stand in need of such a preface. First, lest we come too saucily to God Almighty. Secondly, in that time to recollect our whole Spirits to pray. 1. For the first, we should not have has Zebedees' wife so impudent, if before her prayer she had placed such a preface, she would have been lowlier minded, if she had minded that the highest heaven had been God's habitation. Man, it's the nature of him, and he learned it of a woman, to be too saucy in his suit, and more to aim at his own honour, than God's glory. Again, the Gadarens for the loss of their Hogs, could not have been so clownishly uncivil, but have used better words to our Jesus, had they praeput such a preface as this. The ignorance of what God is, makes mean man unmannerly, and petition God's departure, rather than his presence. 2. The second reason, this preface had need be said, for that, in this time we have time to recollect our whole soul, and mind, and spirit to pray. O consideration doth well what we are to do, ere we do it. An hasty zeal brings forth an untimely birth, in which there is oft more haste then good speed. An inferior, when he speaks to his better, he sets before a, May it please you, If it please your worship; A protospeech, as to win audience, so to get breath, and briefly, a short time, wherein men gain a brief, or recollect of their longer intended after discourse. Thus have we cause to count of this preface, as a time in which to make a Collect of all to be said. In this Idea, I have much presented, and whilst I cast a glance on this prospective glass, I see to the utmost end of my suit, by a divine kind of contemplation. It were well we would weigh in the balance of our considerations, these passages recommended in this preface, which as I have spoken of in whole; by parts now give me leave to prosecute. O my God, I am ever resolved, The Avowry. so thou wilt assoil me presumption, to pry yet more and more into this ark of thy Covenant. This preface shows unto us, What God is. Where he is. 1. What God is, our Father. 2. Where he is, in Heaven. He that is our God, is our Father, and this our Father he is in Heaven: all I have said, is witnessed, while said, Our Father which art in Heaven. Here our God is described, Relatiuè Relatively. Possessiuè Possessively. The relation we have to him, is as nigh as the child is to the father. And to show what kind of father, next follows the possessive, our, a pronoun which protests God is not a stepfather, but our own Father, Our Father; his name is Father, not named Lord, not my Lord Judge: Here is a term which scents neither of Lordly overlooking, nor of Judge-like sentencing; He is neither troubled with the port of pride, and disdains to cast his Eye upon us; nor yet is clothed in Pontius Pilat's apparel to pass sentence against us; nor assumes he yet this name, Father, to make us only credulous; he hath washed his hands, and will not be guilty of our blood: it imports, as a father loveth his child, so God us, which God grant. We will go take notice what this Expression puts us in hopes of. Expression binds us to do. For the first word Father puts us in mind of 4 things; 1. Of the love of God. 2. His commiserating compassion. 3. His fear that we fall. 4. His best help when we need. First, For God's love to man, I may say of it, as was said of Christ to Lazarus, Lord how thou lovedst him! David admires, Psal. 8. Jonathans' falls far short of it, though his love did surpass the love of women, 2 Sam. 1.26. But come, Can a woman forget her own child? The Quaere implies a possibility, but a rarity; yet it's averred, the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us. And thus the natural love of the mother, the faithful love of friends, the love of God to us surpasses; it parallels itself with Christ's to Lazarus, who shown then his love unto him, when he unable to do him a pleasure, when he dead and in grave, when he stunk in the grave. O Lord how unutterable is thy love towards all us thy sons and daughters! Secondly, This term or title, Father, puts us in hopes of Gods commiserating compassion. O he pities our distressed estate, that the patrimony he gave us prodigals, is spent; that we who are his, are forced to feed on husks and acorns; that fallen amongst thiefs, and what's left is taken from us: O how his bowels yern within his belly, to see us so poor and needy and naked, not like that we were! it grieves him to see us so ill like; but most, that we in misery, and yet the foundlings make no matter of it. Thirdly, God is our Father, and it insures us how feared he is we fall, 1. Apparent by his injunction served upon the Angels to pitch their tents about us, Psal. 34.7. 2. By his passing by our elder * Angels. brethren, who had fallen, but we having fallen, he sent his own Son to help us up again. O God the greater hath been our misery, the more cause we have to admire thy mercy. Fourthly, God is called our Father, which insures us how ready he is to help us, that are fallen. If a child should chance to fall into a pond, you need not, if his parent know of it, wish him to go and help him, his bowels yern, his feet run, his hands he reaches out, to lay hold on his babe. God who is Father of us all, always knows our mischances, he needs be told by none, bid by none go help us. The truth is, our help standeth in the Lord our God, who made both heaven and earth, and blessed be his name world without end. Secondly, God is our Father, and as it puts us in hopes of his love, compassion, fear we fall, best help; so the title binds us to do all is beseeming to be done to a Father, nought else. It's inquired what is that 1. Ask him blessing. 2. Do him reverence. 1. The title, Father, adviseth us to crave God's blessing: O, saith Esau to Isaae, father bless me, even me also. He will not leave him till he bless him, Esau his earnest suit shall teach me to make an high estimate of God's blessing, yea, to esteem of God's blessing better than Jason's golden Fleece, He speaks it in respect of his high esteem he hath of God's blessing above all else he wants. or yet the great Cham's, Tree full of Pearls hanging by clusters. I stand in need of much, yet give me this, and believe me, I have got more than all else I want. Our little ones desire twice a day our blessing, gentle monitors which in a still voice solicit us, to crave God's blessing. God is our Father, we our children's, we look they should ask us blessing: as much God expects of us. 2. The word Father puts us in mind we must behave ourselves reverently towards God, and at two times in special, When we speak to God. When God speaks to us. 1. For the first, I have oft admired of that carriage of Elisha to Elias, who thus cried out after him, O my Father, my Father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof: If Gods good Prophet have such high styles, much more own we to God himself. First, our honourable additions, such as Almighty and most merciful Father, it were well they were called in to be witnesses, when we speak to God, that it's with all reverence. Again, let our reverence be made to appear by bespeaking God in a low voice; the high God loves to be bespoke in a low language, (cum plurima humilitate, with much humility.) When we speak to him, let us take our terms with us, when of ourselves, say as did the Prophet, I am a worm and no man: as did the Patriarch, Minor sum Domine, I am less a Lord than the least of thy mercies. God our Father cannot abide to hear us his sons and daughter's mouth the word Merit. Let me tell thee and truly, he that will tell God he deserves heaven, God will do him no more but justice, yet reward him with hell. For my own part, The Avowry. I had rather cry when I pray, God be merciful to me a sinner, then to brave it out, Lord, I am not as this Publican: yea, and by professing of meritlesse, I will gain the more. 2. You must reverence God your Father speaking to you, this he doth so oft as we do: as St. Paul saith, We are Gods Ambassadors, and God entreats you by us; whilst you hear us preach the word of God, God expects you hear it with all reverence, as words proceeding forth of his own lips: and yet we have a sort, who neither the four and twenty Elders, who veiled their Crowns and laid them at his feet; nor yet the Abyssines, who pull off the shoes in the Church-porch as they go in, can move them to come mannerly into God's house the Church to hear him. Howsoever those saucy sons of Zebedees' wives, and their mother came to speak a good word for them, they should miss their * Gods. Father's blessing. The next thing to be prosecuted and explained, is intimated in the word, Our. This is the relation we have to God, he is, Our Father: I will not here speak upon the divers ways how the word Father is taken, only so much say, as may direct us to this possessive, our God is called Our Father Distinctiuè. Our Father Praerogatiuè. And first by way of Distinction, And that tripartitely 1 Generaliter. 2 Specialiter. 3 Singulariter. 1. Generaliter; so God is the Father of us all, all our Fathers; for this read, Deut. 32.6. Is not he thy Father? hath he not made thee? 2. Specialiter; sic Justorum per adoptionem, so God is the Father of us his adopted; for this read Mat. 5.48. Be ye perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. 3. Singulariter; so God is Christ's Father by eternal generation; and so the word is used Mat. 11.27. All things are delivered unto me of my Father. A review. God generally is all our Fathers, first by creating us. Specially, our Father only on whom he hath bestowed a portion of grace. Singularly, God is Christ's Father, no so ours, as his, for Christ is his eternal offspring without beginning. Now we see here why not Christ, but Christians say this prayer, for that God is our Father, not as his. Secondly, why the adopted saints say Our Father, for that they are all his adopted children. Thirdly, why we admit even of the most wicked with us, to say our Lord's prayer, for that he is Father of good and bad, all our Fathers by creation. All the world by creation, have a like relation unto God, and may call him our Father. All sanctified Saints have a more nigh tie to God; and may call him our Father, by creation, by adoption, yet more than the elect in special, or the world in general, may Christ say, and call God, my Father, not by creation, not by adoption, but by generation. Strait then is the tye of God the Father to Christ his Son, for God's natural Son. Next is the relation of the Saint to God, who is his Father by adoption. The most remote relation is that of the wicked to God, who is called their father, for that he made them, so did he the beasts of the field, and fowls of the air. All then this word, our, our Father, as used by the wicked, can put them in hope of, is God's general providence, to provide for them as his other creatures. That which the word, our, our Father, as used by the elect, aught to put us in hopes of, is God's special providence, that he will be with us to deliver us out of all our trouble. The word, our, our Father, as used by the elect in special, world in general, not by Christ in particular, protests, he that is our Father, yet he is Christ's Father, after a more miraculous manner, than any other. And yet to our comfort this possessive, our, proclaims God is not a stepfather, but our own, Our Father. O how doth prayer link us on earth to the God of heaven; makes us, of as nigh alliance, as father and son, own father and own son. Now since so nigh a tie, our carriage is base if our Father disinherit us. I am resolved for my own part to carry myself to God, The Avowry. like a son to his Father; lest God our Father, whilst he provides a portion for his other children, disinherit me his son. Object. What is the inheritance? Res. A crown of immortal glory. But demanded, Object. What may occasion God to disinherit me of it, The case of disinheriting. To this I answer, If thou be a natural. If the son be a natural, the father doth disinherit him, it holds likewise in spiritualibus, though thou canst prove that God's thy Father, and he confess thou art his son, yet thou shalt never heir one of his mansion-houses in heaven, if thou be a Natural. 1. Two sorts of Fools. By this Natural, I understand either David's fool, who hath said in his heart there is no God. Psa. 14.1. Or, 2. Paul's Natural, 1 Cor. 2.14. the natural man who perceives not the things of God. Here are two sorts of Fools, The Atheistical Fool. The Carnal minded Fool. The child which doth deny his father, why should his father let him inherit? here is David's fool. The son which heeds not his father's instructions, doth run the same fortune: here is Paul's Natural or the carnal mind fool. Well, that I may not befool myself, The Collect , and so become uncapable to be heir, heir of God, and joint heir with Christ Jesus; I will both confess a God, and acquaint myself with his most sacred word. But inquiry must be made, why we say not, My, but, Our, Our Father. The reason is tripartite: Propter pacis conservationem. Propter superbiae expulsionem. Propter mului auxilii subventionem. And first, Propter pacis conservationem, to make us keep the K. peace: Did not this, We be brethren, alloy the quarrel betwixt Lot and Abraham? The remembrance that we came from one, The Product. , makes us all as one, and live in unity. Secondly, Propter superbiae expulsionem, to expel pride: An acknowledgement we have all in common, one common parent, occasions, whilst in the world promoted, in the heart humility. This paternal Tie, The Product. , which links in alliance, poor and rich, sways down aspiring hearts, He means than the meanest. whilst it forces this confession, * We are no better. Thirdly, Propter mutui auxilii subventionem, to procure us one another's aid and assistance, when we consider we have all one Father. Lord, The Product. how it will work with us to relieve one another, and do our best devoir to fetch him fair off, who is left in a forlorn hope! The Collect. I will use this phrase * Our. of speech in my prayer, that for the time I pray, I may be put in mind, To do good to all, subject my thoughts, and live in peace. The Preface professed to tell us Two things: What God was. Where he was. The first part of its promise it hath performed. The second, it is now about it, that now the preface is going to do, is to tell us where. This father of ours, is, in heaven. Apparent, while said, Our Father which art in Heaven. That here I take notice of, is 1. Man's parley with God. 2. God's place of abode. Man's parley with God, the word, Art, ensures it; God's place of abode we have here espied, its Heaven: Our Father thou art in Heaven. For the first, this word, Art, is vox loquentis, the sound, or voice of one speaking to another, not of another, but to another. And now since the party speaking is man, the party bespoken, God; since it's man that prays, God that is prayed to; since man goes not about to get to God's speech, by Angels or Saints; but at first God's self is spoke to, which is apparent by this, Art, this shows the privilege of such as live! within the pale of the Church; Note. We may all of us have free access to God himself: Moses had he been alive, would have deposed it. The Angels stand before his face, and we may call on the Lord and he will hear: says Dawid, I called on the name of the Lord, and he heard me. That I note is, Note. , We may call on God, and he will be within our call. It's a comfort Audience, and Dispatch. Of the first * Audience. , we are here insured, which furthers, dispatches business. It shall be my greatest comfort in my greatest want, that my prayers go strait to God. Thou art his child, how will he commiserate thee? He is thy Father, how will he tender thy cause? No sooner hast thou spoke it, but he hears it. It was the misery of a great Emperor, that three days he lay at the Pope's gate Penitentiall-wise, and could have no audience: (My God and my Lord is more lowly, who at first, grants us access.) Now to the place of God's abode or residence, of which I will speak A Parte ante. A Parte post. A part ante conjunctim. A part post divisim. A part ante conjunctim, as Heaven glances back upon the foreword, Father. A part post divisim, in respect of the last word Heaven. For the first, the place of God's abode, it is Heaven: God our Father thou art in Heaven. That Gods our father, it shows his willingness to help us. That he is in Heaven, it shows his ableness to help us. I have viewed the Preface from Dan to Beersheba, from one end to the other; and it tells me, he that would get good! by prayer, must be persuaded, God is both willing and able to help him: if he were willing, not able, alas his wishes could do me no good; if he were able and not willing, all his might were not worth a mite to me: Now that he is both willing and able, I am sure he will do for me all he can; and it's enough. If thou mean to be bettered by prayer, come not despairing neither of God's Will, nor Can. I read of a couple, the one doubting of God's willingness, the other of his ableness: Mat. 8. 2. saith the Leper Master if thou wilt thou canst make me clean. Mar. 9.22. The man whose son was possessed, said, If thou canst do any thing for us, help us. He that makes such Ifs, and Ands, in his prayers, God will give him such an Item, it will not well please him. Now will I speak of God's place of abode, a part post, divisim, as led to it by the last word in this Preface, Heaven, Our Father, it's thou we pray to, who art in Heaven: I will make this my method, give you, 1. Several acceptations. 2. Tell you which is meant. 3. Show what it may put us in mind of. 1. The word Heaven signifies the God of Heaven: Luk. 15.21. where said, Father I have sinned against Heaven. 2. The seat of the blessed: Mat. 5. 19 Where said, Great is your reward in Heaven. 3. The visible Church on earth: Rev. 12.7. There was a great battle in Heaven. 4. The Spheres and Orbs: Psal. 19.1. The Heavens declare. 5. The air next us: Mat. 6.26. The birds of Heaven labour not. 6. Heavenly creatures, as inanimate so animate: as Angels, Job 15.15. The Heavens are not clear in his sight. 7. A great height: thus Deut. 1.28. The cities are walled up to Heaven. 8. The bodies of the Saints, here God is said to abide, ut in Coelo, 1 Cor. 3. & 1 Cor. 6. I find only these 8 acceptations of Heaven in the holy Bible, and though one be but meant, I will give you two to make choice of, far distant, both significant; the one * Above. supra, the other * Below. infra; the one the place of the Church triumphant, the other the mystical subject of the Church militant: first, then by Heaven may be meant the seat of the blessed, that majestical place of magnificence, as I may so say, God's chief Manor House in the Highlands. Or if you mind not to look so high, you have nigher at hand an Heaven: the righteous Saints on earth, they are the Temple of the living God, yea, and he dwells in them and walks in them: here it is God dwells, these are his Temples, God's house above is Heaven; and his Heaven below, the Saints. The letter makes us subscribe to the first exposition; the Spirit causes our acknowledgement of the second; Dame Nature hath set her hand to the one, it's the Lady Grace persuades us to confess this other. And ut potenter, God is said to dwell above, sic virtualiter here below: his Highland House Heaven displays his power; This his * The Saints on earth. house in these Netherlands, his efficacious work in us. Well while I acknowledge the sense literal, The Avowry. I will not let pass the sense mystical, viz. that by Heaven may be meant the elect on earth. Nor wants there some semblance betwixt the Saints, and Heaven: they shine, sicut luminaria in mundo, and as the Heavens lend us light, so are the Saints willed to let their light shine before men: and ut sol in Coelo, sic mundi in mundo; as the Sun is the lightest part of Heaven, so of these says our Saviour, Vos estis lux mundi, Ye are the light of the world: the Death of these, is like the Sun's Eclipse, the Life of these, that high noon, or Sun at height, which is a guide to all that are not blind, O ye Saints, The radiant rays of your good works, have given me cause to conjecture how like you, is that Heaven whither you are a going; as also to presume, I have not much miss of Heaven, while met with such so like it. But come, what may these two interpretations put us in mind of? The first of something which concerns God. The second of something which concerns ourselves. The first doth divulge what God himself is. The second, what we ought to be. Our God his abode is in heaven, The Extract. which proclaims he is an immortal Majesty dwelling in light inaccessible. By Heaven likewise may be meant, us men in whom God dwells, as in an house; Extract. O what one's then behoves it us to be? The wicked are the Devil's house to which he is returned, Mat. 12. Look at his house, though a base beggarly one, yet lo how it's kept fine and neat, swept and garnished, formality, garnished with the gilt of hypocrisy. And yet to consider how we let this mansion house of Gods, in the Isle Man lies full of Mamholes, we may be ashamed of it; in very deed we let all lie forlorn. To please our friends against they come, we make all trim, Lord, why should we not do as much to please the Lord? And yet in every corner of that Hall, Heart, you may spy an ash-heap of evil imaginations: Gen. 6. That back room Memory, is filled with old ill done deeds: That upper room Judgement, with error and heresy: Those out houses, Ears, are filled with rubbish of news; State news, what done in Court, Country news, how rules price of Corn, ribaldry news, obscene songs; our Eyes are full of vanity, our Tongues full of deceit: and now while neither in-room, nor out-room, soul nor body is trimmed up, nor cleansed, how can the Lord take delight to dwell in us? A fair caveat to go make fit to dress our house, yea, all in this Isle of Man. I am resolved against my Lord come, The Avowry. to make ready, lest my Lord and Master take dislike with his own, and in stead of taking it up for an house of prayer, he leaving it, it become a den of thiefs. Thus much for the Preface. Now I purpose, Deo juvante, God enabling, to speak upon that post-put and first of the Petitions: and in brief, to make this my method to take notice of: 1 Their Division. 2 Their Equality. 3 Their Order. 4 Their Precedency. 5 Subject matter mewed up in each Petition. First, for their Division, they are of two several sorts or kinds: the first sort of them concern God. Second, ourselves. Secondly, for Equality, they are three and three; three concern God, and three man. Thirdly, for Order, this order is observed, God's three precede man's, man's three come behind Gods; ours are set after his, his before ours. Fourthly, their Precedency prays us to take a view of each particular Petition, as set before one another. Fiftly, their matter makes us privy to what is begged of God in each of these petitions in special. For the first, these Petitions are divided into two sorts: First sort or kind are divine, and cast a glance at Heaven. The second sort are humane, and cast a glance at earth: first looks at God, the other at us. 1. Now this Division implies an union, Three Extracts. and that when we send out our supplications abroad, we let them walk hand in hand. Such a compound should be our Prayers, Petitions, sharing out requests meet for God and us jointly. 2. By this Division we are taught, man was not made for himself, he is to pray as well for God's glory, as his own good; many remember themselves, forget God, in their prayers; few remember God, but themselves, in their prayers. A Sect here found fault with, A platform, which teaches them a better lesson: yea, this division of these Petitions into two sorts or kinds; the one concerning God, the other us: tells us, That who prays aright must pray for God's glory, as well as for his own good. 3. Thing this Division informs us of, is, that as discords make the sweetest harmony; so prayers sound best in Gods ears, which consist of sharps and flats, rise and fall, which are now, in alto, as high as Heaven, Anon in Basse, as low as earth. I mean prayers consisting of two parts; Gods glory who lives above, Man's good who dwells below: he that would avoid the name of simple, must make his prayer a compound of these two several sorts of simples. And thus while God and he meet in prayer, it's my hopes they shall do the like in Heaven. There go at least two things to make up whatsoever is, Matter, and Form; and it's not one but two join together to procreate this prayer, Petions Divine, Humane, God and man must be in conjunction, that as for matter, so for form, a right prayer may be brought out, it must bear in its front, the Image of God and us. And therefore he that hath made a prayer, and not praised God, hath produced a body without life. He that praises God, never prays at all for himself, gives a form to a nothing. Single petitions for God's glory only, or for Man's good alone, are no better than Zeuxis Berries, they have a being, but imaginary: A right prayer, is produced whose form is God's praise, whose matter is man's necessity. Well, I am resolved while I pray for myself to remember God in my prayers, and while I beg, God may be honoured, to crave somewhat, for myself, He cannot wish another's happiness, that wils not his own welfare: nor is there hopes that man shall far well at God's hands, who forgets to give God his honour. A passage, The Avowry. which I protest shall cause me to poise my prayers in even scales and hang them even betwixt heaven and earth. The second thing worth your consideration is the Equality of these two sorts or kinds of Petitions. They are three and three; three concerning God, three concerning man; as many for God and his glory, as man and his good; as many for man and his good, as God and his glory: here are petitions as even divided, as Canaan was to Israel; as the Israelites had their Manna, none have too much, none too little, each alike, alike pittance; God and man the like measure number, while three belong to God, three to man. Three Extracts. 1. Heaven will not be behind incourtesie, but what respect we who are but earth, offer God, God gives leave of requital unto us. O Humanity worthy to be admired, when God's Son proffers as much kindness to us mortals, as we mortals tender the immortal God. 2. That secondly I surrender up to the use of your remembrance, is, God's readiness to repay, for parity no ofter can we engage ourselves to honour God, but God is as oft in readiness to recompense: and if we come with our request for the advancement of God's glory, he will allow us to put in another, for our benefit. A passage I profess shall make me give God more, since I may get as much. 3. This licence or leave for our Petitions to equalise Gods avows, Christ who penned this prayer, had one eye looking about how to help us, as the other how God should be honoured. The even number proclaims Christ's dear love he bore as the Creator so the creature. O my God and my Christ, A Soliloquium. let me weigh thy affections beyond desert, while my desert doth merit no parallel with thy Father. I now come to the third thing nemarkable in these petitions, and that is their order, how these petitions are set down. The three which concern God first, our three are set down after: Ride on O Lord with thy honour. The first triumphant entrance, its Gods; the Trumpeters blaze this, are his three first petitions, his precede, ours follow; what shall it teach us nought? doubtless lessons worth our learning. 1. This order for priority protests, Two Extracts. first thing God hath a care of, is his honour: himself says, My honour I will not give to another. He is Lucifer's brother, would enthronize himself in God's honour: an Haman, hanging is too good for him, that thinks himself worthy the King's honour: we have a sort of proud haman's would be jetting in Ahashuerohs his of state, a company of saucy beggars would be served before their Master. But as a beggar before he begs, bids God bless Master and Mistress, and then asks his alms: so this great Master, God, is first to be blest; or poor man who comes naked into God's Hall, should dare to ask him any thing: thus if he do, he is like to far better; thus if not, God will not take it for well done. 2. Again, this order of setting down the three Petitions, which concern God's honour, first learns us a mean, how to obtain a Boon for ourselves: It's thus, first by tendering God due reverence. Zebedees' sons had not learned this manner, and it may be, missed therefore what they would have had. A forethought for our seles, fixed before the thought of God's worship; It is the cause while we look at much we catch little. A worldling that will thrive, hath himself first in his thoughts. An heavenling that will get what he doth want, God is first in his mind, and on his tongue end. A spiritual bankrupt than breaks, when he doth aim to receive all before he doth disburse aught. Well I will pray my God to accept of a talon of worship, or I will dare to petition him for a fee-farm of eternity, his praises I will place before, they will make room in his presence for those needy ones, my petitions. A poor man who hath noblemen to be his spokesmen to his Prince, is in hopes to be heard. It's we who are poor, and needy, and naked; our noble spokesmen who move the King of Heaven in our behalf, are petitions commendatory of his Majesty; after they be come in, who indeed are of a very nigh alliance to our Lord. Then our heavenly Prince will be pleased to give us audience, to read our petitions and subsign them: O that we would weigh this well. For my own part, The Avowry. I will not forget, first to do God reverence, lest my neglect, cause his after denial of my suit. Fourthly, my method obliges me to speak of these petitions precedency, as every one of these Petitions precede one another, I mean go before one another; we must begin with the first, hold on to the Jast; and see, if we can spy why thus Christ set these petitions in their places. In the first petition, 1. Petit. we pray for the hallowing of God's name. In brief that the name of the great God may be among us in high esteem. This is it, is first taken care for, and first prayed for, to put us in mind. His name, its Honour, It's Extract. he doth more set by then all else he hath; more than his Kingdom: Truth is, God weighs the honour of his name above a world of wealth: and therefore in the first petition, God's name and its renown is first prayed for: then his Kingdom; but in the second place in the second petition, which is this. Thy Kingdom come: This is it we are commanded next to intercede for; 2. Petit. that God's Kingdom may come, and that before that Petition, Thy will be done: The cause, It's Extract. because here impossible the will of God should be done, till his kingdom of faithful subjects first flourish. Let God here first have his Church, and he shall then have his will: Hence it is, for it we first pray, and it coming among us, for by God's Kingdom, may be meant God's Kingdom of Grace, that is, his Church, consisting of a multitude of believing Christians, till the King of Heaven have a Dominion of such subjects on earth, there's no need to hope for, much less to pray for, his will may be done. Before a Prince come to sway the Sceptre, he may command and be withstood, when his kingdom is come, his will shall be done. Thus authority must precede command, and a power over be had, or the precept be obeyed. An occasion made Christ will we should pray, first, for God's regality, That his Kingdom may come, or he would a word to be spoke of it, That his will should be done. And thus I come to the third Petition in the Lord's Prayer, 3. Petit. which is this, Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven: this third petition precedes that fourth, in which we pray for all things necessary for this life: now I say, this third hath preeminence of place before that fourth, and it is to certify us, he that would have granted all necessaries for this life, must first with Christ saying pray, and praying say, Father, not my will but thy will be, done: The Petition, for begging ability to do Gods will, is set before the petition for getting goods. A good monitour which shall make me, It's Extract. to get what I want, to do what God wils. By these petitions placing, I am informed, the performance of God's will, guides on to the attainment of whatsoever needful for the life of man. This I am taught, while thus learned to pray: first, Thy will be done; Then, Give us our daily Bread. And thus I come to the fourth Petition for bodily sustenance, 4. Petit. which is set before our petitioning God for the remission of sins: nor can I for certain determine what should be Christ's meaning, in placing a petition for our bodily good, before the petitions for the remission of the sins of our souls; yet I verily imagine, to show, he would have man's natural life first supplied with what needful, and then set down what he should crave to get a life God gave leave on its behalf, first to petition. Or else it may be Christ did it to detect what man most longed for, goods more than forgiveness; we have a better appetite to Bread corporal, than spiritual, and love Meat more than Manna. It's Extract. This petition than had this place signed perchance covertly, to discover, man is more sensible of bodily want than of those sores, the sins of his soul: and that he hath a greedier desire to have this worldly goods, than to discharge his old debts, in which cast by the default of Adam and himself. Well while I cast my eye upon the situation of this petition, I will not forget what I am taught, when I come to suit God, most runneth in our minds these bodies of ours, and the begging bodily necessaries, daily Bread for body's sustenance. But come, while I have seen Christ by placing this petition, picture out man's own mind, which runs upon the world, so by that which follows Christ tells me what man more needs, whilst I in stead of this one petition for the body, Christ causes two petitions to be put upon his poor souls behalf. The first of which two but fift by descent, 5. Petit. from the preface is this, Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that, etc. I am as yet to look at nought save this petitions precedency, it's set down before, And lead us not into temptation: now the precedency of this petition to that following, It's Extract. foreshows, it's neither the sin which hangs on, nor hanging over; but what passed, and commit, we are first to ask God forgiveness for, what first perpetrated, God must first be petitioned to pass it by. The placing this petition before, implies its sin passed most endamnifies us, more than either the marching on towards us of temptations, or the now leaguer of evil lusts. O my God, The Avowry. whilst I cannot forget what I now do, I will call to mind what long since I have committed. And now the last petition hath none to precede, 6. Petit. nor is it the least for that the last placed, for in this last petition we beg a double boon, deliverance from future and present evil. Thus what may seem by undersetting to be set light, for last, this last comprises in it a double boon, that so it may have a like renown, or else perchance it possesses this place, that ever in this upshot of our devotions; we should bear in mind what is the upshot of this prayer, a petition for preservation, now the Lord preserve us, and defend us. Again, perchance this petition is last set down, which involves a duplicated request, to teach us, As at the beginning, so even to the end of our prayers, we must be very earnest with God in our suit. And now to period all these passages, all and every of these petitions comprehend more matter than my tongue can utter, or the eye of reason can discern; when I have seen all I can, I may say as did the blind, Lord that I may receive my sight. Moses upon Mount Nebo saw the good land; but could not from it make a full discovery of all the good things in it: no more, though walked up to the Mount of Meditation, and I see this fertile soil, am I able to judge of all the hidden Treasure buried in the bowels of these petitions: what I see I have set down, and in writing, that so not my own only, but other catechumenists may bear it in their remembrance. This Lord's prayer contains 6. petitions like 6. shires, in which I spy a world of rarities; come let us range among them. As I enter into the frontiers of the first petition, these words I find written to the honour of the great God, and our Father, Hallowed be thy Name: such a land, such a language, this little prayer is Gods little Isle, the first words the inhabitants have on their tongue ends are these, Hallowed be thy Name. Thus they are learned at first to speak and say, Hallowed be thy Name: a pretty speech, as concise as the Laconians, as significant as Caesar's three words. Here is magnum in parvo, much prayed for in few words; we pray to God, for God, sinful man, that Holiness itself may be hallowed: a petition whose subject matter my methodobliges me to unfold, and to show unto you what is meant by this said, Hallowed be thy Name. In speaking upon the subject matter of these six petitions, this method through one, through all I mean to observe; 1. Explain the words. 2. Give you the full meaning of every petition. 3. Collect some natural observations. 4. Extract out some Cases of Conscience. 5. Show what grace waits on every several petition. 6. What vices each petition petitions us to banish out of the coasts of our hearts. 7. The Divine Contemplation upon every petition. There are two words needful to be explained in this petition, 1. Petit. verbum, nomen, & nominis praedicatum, that one word, Name, and its predicate, Hallowed, this is it is here begged, that God's name may be hallowed; which word, Hallowed, since it is first named in the Petition, we will afford it the first place in our Exposition. I have two ways facere ut innotescat to make it manifest what is meant by Hallowed, first by setting it by one very like it, Sanctified, a seeing glass which gives a reflex of knowledge, so that know the one and know the other, they are all one, though of a several name, and in very deed, what Adam said of Eve, may Hallowed say of Sanctified; This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. Hallowed then is all one with Sanctified, yet there are divers sprung out of this * Hallowed. House. It would be known what they are, and which this is. 1. There is an Hallowing which hath Principium a Jove, God for its Author, 1 Thess. 5.23. Not here meant. 2. There is an Hallowing the offspring of us men, by which I mean, man's hallowing, which he generates. First, while he employs that to a holy use which God hath appointed, as his Sabbaths, Exod. 20.8. Not here meant. Secondly, while he makes an acknowledgement, or acknowledges what's on his tongue end in his heart for hallowed, meant here. Now the Hallowing then here spoken of, is not Divine, but Humane; not of the lineage of the immortal God, but mortal man. And more in special that meant by Hallowed, is, man's acknowledgement that God is holy: as much then is intimated by Hallowed, as, O God and Father of us all, Thy name we acknowledge is most holy. But what is meant by Name? Object. That is the second word to be explained, Res. and that you may the better understand it, know it, God's Name hath a twofold acceptation. First, it is taken for honour due unto God, as Psal. 76.1. where said, In Jury is God known, his Name is great in Israel: there Name is taken for Honour, not so here. Secondly, The word Name is taken for all things, whereby God is made known; and so here, which I reduce into four heads: Gods 1. Titles. God's 2. Properties. God's 3. Word. God's 4. Works. God's Titles, such as Jehovah, Adonai, etc. Properties of Mercy, Justice. His Word, Legal, Evangelicall. God's Works Celestial; spoken of Psal. 19.1. Terrestrial, such as we men, the workmanship of God, yea it is our good works we must so let shine, that others seeing them may glorify our Father which is in Heaven, Mat. 5.16. This Exposition is the perfect guide to lead us on, and the gainest way unto, the true and genuine meaning of this petition. And it's this: O God and Father of us all, give us grace to acknowledge thou art the Holy one of Israel, and to declare it by reverencing thy Titles, acknowledging thy Properties, obeying thy Word, as also by leading our lives Holily, Soberly, and Justly. As Nicolaus de Lira saith, they are deceived, who think here we pray, quod aliqua sanctitos Deo acereseat, That by our prayers God may be made more holy. That we pray for is, ut sanctitas quae aeternaliter ei inest xeluceat amplius, that that holiness which was in full perfection in God from the beginning, may shine more and more, The Collect. and may be more evidently discovered in us his creatures, by our honest lives, by that respect we show his Word; by our reverencing his Attributes and Titles. For as a Prince, Simil. it more divulges his princely Majesty, when his Titles are counted sacred, his Justice and and Mercy magnificent; his Laws and Decretals approved for holy, just, and good; when all his subjects do all in them is, to imitate his virtues: So Lord how it lends a lustre to the Lord, Note. our Lord God: Yea, what a glory is it to him by reflexing not adding, when God's name is in high renown among us, when we confess he is just and merciful; when we take his Word for our rule; when we strive, quantum in nobis, to be what the Apostle would, we were holy, * For quality as he is holy! Here's the way to glorify God, and this to hollow him, Lord enable us. The sense and meaning of this petition I have given you; that is past, the points of Doctrine are yet remaining, to make a discovery of them, which are natural from this and the other petitions, we must be beholding to the division of this prayer into parts. It wils us to take notice Whom it concerns in general. What it concerns in special. The parties whom this prayer concern in general, are God and us; God in heaven, us on earth; God who is the giver, us whom are but beggars: the petitioned is God, the petitioners, we ourselves; petitioning God for God, God for us. 1. We petition God for God, Two Doctrines in general. by way of vote, or word, or wish; and what are words, of what worth, what add they to the enlargement of God's renown? O say when you have done all you can, est vox, praeterea nihil, a poor man, Doct. what can he better an Emperor for wishing him well, a new Empire, a bigger? here's all for which God is beholding to us: it were well though we pray much, we would think less, and not be too brag when beggars, and can better God with nought but words and wishes. Again, here we pray to God for God, as for ourselves and our good, so God and his honour. 2. This quashes, and all to pieces crushes a scornful proverb, and too rife, Every man for himself, and God for us all. 3. Every one of us must aim for more than the good of us ourselves, likewise at God and his glory. An homeward thought, an eye too much to ourselves divulges we are more man-lovers than lovers of God. 2. We petition God for us ourselves, what we want you see to whom we must repair, am I not led to learn this lesson? God is the repairer of our broken fortune: well, while I acknowledge this, I cannot miss of a somewhat more. The more I think I have, the more I want; Let me be sensible of my want, and rely upon the Lord for more, if we mean to improve our spiritual estate, we must put up to God, a supplicate, Now we have found the road, God give us grace to keep the way. Be pleased to peruse this prayer in special; and now let us take into our consideration, the points of divine Doctrine deductible from the first petition, Hallowed be thy Name. Here I have in view, The Mood. The Matter. The Mood, one and the same in all the petitions. The Matter varies in all the six. The Mood is Imperative, Doct. thus we are taught to speak, it shows what we should be resolute for the advancement of God's honour. Secondly, it shows what to be feared we are, such as stand need to be made mend our pace with the spur of command: The quere was, and long since, Shall I come unto you with a red? the Romans bundle of wands we stand in need of; yea, by an imperious mandate to be pushed on to the work as much as Israel was to his task. Well, The Avowry. while in the tract of pi●ty I am learned to march on for the honour of my God. This Mandate shall make me suspect my pace, and that with Lots it is lingering. The Matter commanded, is to hollow God's Name: apparent by this said, Hallowed be thy Name. This is first cared for, Doct. to show our care in chief should be for God's honour, as in part you were forepossest, God that made man last, this man is to honour him first, and be the foremost. There's good reason, this last should be first, in honouring God; the first of creatures, and his first of works. Let us lead the Round so the dance be david's, and fall to this labour, before trying oxen, seeing farms, or marrying wives; though these earthly things we have leave to think on, yet not first to think on. God's honour must go before man's good or goods. The fourth and fifth petitions bear me witness; this aught to take place in our hearts, than those. Self-love forbids what I say, grace serves an injunction on us to do it, and warns us to prefer God before ourselves, our pleasures, our profits, our lives, yet further went Moses, Exod 32.32. Paul stepped on as fare as he, Rom. 9.3. Such well wishers to God's renown, as they preferred it before their own salvation. These superlative affections shall make me set back my own suit, The Avowry. at least, till God be served. This sacred Theorem is full foully fallen out with such as have in their minds, Use Meum and Tuum, before on their tongue ends, Maries Magnificat: it is natural for our love to descend, but supernatural for it to ascend; it falls upon earth, must be heaved up to heaven; and therefore we rouse you up with a sursum corda, lift up your hearts, we will shake hands and be friends, so you will do as you say, lift them up unto the Lord. I am resolved upon it by God's good assistance, The Avowry. to banish out of my heart, earthly Mammon, lest the love of Earth, and earthing in it, make me out of love with our Lord and honouring him. The Cases of Conscience are knocking at the door of our hearts, and if you please, we will call them in, and hear what they have to say. It's this. 1. That many neglect to hollow God's Name, whilst his Titles, Attributes, and Word are misused, and men misuse themselves: their works testifying to their teeth their disglorying God. But it's desired to particularise and poll out who they are, that neglect to hollow God's name. First such as in stead of reverend taking God's Titles in their mouths, Swear by his Name Vainly. Commonly. Idolatrously. Perniciously. Now who these are, I will tell you, who can inform you: 1. One called common discourse. 2. Intelligencer is the Alehouse. 3. Lives in Pharaohs house, he was an honest man's son, his name is Joseph the son of Jacob. 4. Informer points at Ahabs two false witnesses two sons of B lial. I will resolve to set a watch over my tongue, The Avowry not come at Belshazzars house, not live in Potiphars, nor yet to have the least acquaintance with Jesabels' pickthanks; Lest while I gain credit with an earthly Queen, The Collect. the King of Heaven come to loss by me; lest while I honour Pharaoh, I dishonour God; lest while I please my , my tongue offend: an lastly, lest while I talk much, my Master's Name be taken in vain. 2. Such neglect to hollow God's Name, who wrong Gods Attributes, or Properties of Mercy. Properties Justice. Who wrongs them? Quest. I will tell you, Res. and first for his Mercy. 1. The first his name is Inconsideration, what God hath done for us men: as the Father made us, his Son redeemed us, the holy Ghost came to be our Comforter. To ruminate upon it, what Heaven hath done for Earth, would make us who are but earth, glorify the God of heaven. The want of this, is the death of that, and makes me while I gain much, mar my market, and turn bankrupt out. Well, The Avowry. for my own part, I am resolved upon it, to ponder in heart what God hath done for me in hand; lest my not notice taking of his mercy, make me owner of no more. 2. The second is an ungrateful person, akin to many of our countrymen; he is called unthankfulness for God's benefits conferred upon us; we have them who have received thousands of favours at God's hands, give not God a good word for it: health and wealth, food and raiment, peace and long days; they have had time enough to do it, but they are akin to the nine Lepers, who take all, will part with nought, no not so much as thanks. Ingratitude is a beastly vice. Hist. The Stork in Norway, when her brood is hatched, in token of hatred to ingratitude, leaves her Landlord one of her young ones; let fools of the earth, learn of fowls of the air. Again, no sin offers more indignity to God's mercy shown us in Christ Jesus, than unthankfulness: this wretched imp of the Devil, hath done much mischief to that pious property of God. I am resolved to part with the one, The Avowry. that I may enjoy the other; and study to be thankful, lest God cease to be merciful. 3. There's a third offers much wrong to God's Mercy, calls Conceit; a conceit we are something, when nothing; and have deserved the good turns God hath done for us, when nought less. A peculiar overprise may hinder a special bliss, Sentences when we make our challenge by due, what we have got, ere long we shall be set without it. There's no greater enemy to God's Mercy, than man's merit; one much cracked of, yet cannot go, while we countenance that Romish bastard Merit, we make Mercy, whose offspring is from God, go pack and get her gone. I am resolved not to fancy that Chimeara conceit of merit, The Avowry. lest while I fall in love with man's merit, God's Mercy departed from me. Who wrongs God's Justice? Quest. 1. One who is a very natural, Res. called fond fancy; or a foolish fancy, that God is a mere compound of mercy, while we humour ourselves God is more merciful than just, we lose his mercy, but his justice meets with us, and yet this superplus conceit of the one, vilely vilifies the other: in this Presumption hath gotten the master head over Despair, while warned God's mercy more to be hoped in, than his justice feared, if we rely on God's mercy too much, we wrong God's justice not a little. I will poise my Spirit betwixt hope and fear, The Avowry. and to balance even, while I hope for mercy, fear justice. 2. Wrongs God Justice are two brothers, both sons to carnal security. The name of the one is called Careless heed taking of Gods proceeding against malefactors. The name of the other is, Non-notice taking of the general Assize to be holden, when every one must answer for all he hath done in the flesh, as avowed 2 Cor. 5.10. God's justice is much dishonoured while men neither mind what inflicted, nor what is threatened against impenitent sinners. We love to dandle in our hands Gods staff or support, will not cast so much as an eye at the Rod of his wrath, God hath holden his corrections these many years, prescribing divers their penances, Measles, Small Pox, Plague, and the Sword dipped in blood, have all certified, thousands have taken penance in white sheets, God it is to be feared, is about opening a vein, and putting us to a new penance, non flumine sed sanguine. This was upon the first entrance of the Scots. And what shall be the end of these things, it's not hid from us, it's upon record, that without repentance we shall perish. All this is true, which blazes, O God how thou art just, Luk. 13.5. yet how little is thy justice feared, O it is our careless passing by of God's visitation past and to be holden, which makes us set his * Justice. corrections light, and live so, loosely, lewdly. I will call to mind what horrid punishments I have seen, The Avowry. and pray I may believe what denounced, A mean, while I admire God's mercy to make me fear his Justice. 3. Such neglect to hollow God's Name, who wrong God's word. Who be they? Quest. There are three offer it injury, Res. one is very many unwritten Traditions, full cousin-german to old wives tales, whose word is in credit with Papists not Protestants, will be taken in Spain and Rome, but in none of our K. Dominions, our sacred Synods did never give them hearing: and yet Tridentinum concilium una cum veteris novique Testamenti libris, traditiones etiam pari pietatis affectu & reverentia suscipit ac veneratur: The Council of Trent, esteems unwritten Traditions as highly as the old and new Testament. Vox Dei & vox hominis, are in the weigh scales: what a wrong is this to God's word, for man's word to parragaud with it; for unwrittn traditions to face it out they will be as well trusted, as Gods own written word. I will make a more high estimate of God's Word than all other, The Avowry. lest while I admit of a parity, to honour Earth, I dishonour heaven. 2. Ignorance is another doth offer much wrong to God's good Word men esteem not what they know not: a barley corn is better liked by the midden Cock than a pearl. It was but an Ass fell to the thistle and left the fertile soil, Heraclitus laughed at him, Hist. we will be sorry for these, who are so very ignorant, they know not: they know nought, their gross ignorance hath made them undervalue that inestimable word, the Word of God, insomuch divers have better appetites to hear a play acted, than a Chapter read, or a Sermon preached, especially by an orthodox Divine. For my own part I am resolved, The Avowry. to fall in love with knowledge, lest my want of knowledge diminish my love to the Word of God. 3. The world is a third that wrongs God's Word not a little; Gods Word hath no greater enemy than this world, Lord how many fly draw offs hath it to withdraw us from reading it, hearing it, medicating on it! How doth it shuffle by all religious duties, proponing either pleasure, and go to the woman's house in the Proverbs, or profit and go to Mammon's, or ease and stay at home all Sermon time: he that will be counselled by the world was never known to wish the Word well. Well though the wicked so far make use of God and his Word, The Avowry. as that he may enjoy the world and its goods; I am resolved only so far to make use of this world, and its good things, as that I may enjoy God and, his Word. 4. They neglect to hollow God's Name, who live but lewdly; the honour of the Prince is laid to the stake, when the subjects are exceeding lews and live wickedly. But who hinders our country men from living well and doing good works, Quest. which others seeing, should cause them to glorify our Father which is in Heaven. There are six of them, Res. 1. Insensibleness of sins. 2. Want of true faith. 3. Want of charity. 4. Incredulity that God will not repay back. 5. Love of this world. 6. Fear to need. Six Orators, and all to draw us from good works; and since I cannot stay to decipher to you out, nor portray the perfect portraiture of these wicked wretches, I will send you to a sort of my very good friends: who are able to rid you of all those idle consorts. 1. Repair to a troubled conscience, one can free thee from an insensibleness of sin. 2. Repair to Abraham, who against hope believed; I mean to a true and lively faith: this will send misbelief a packing. 3. Hast thee on to the house of unity: thou shalt there meet with brotherly love will banish malice. 4. Go me on from hence and get to speak in private with Consideration; I mean, consider with thyself, what largesses received already. Hear is one will thrust Diffidence by the head and shoulders out of the door of thy heart. 5. There is a fift, his name I have forgotten, yet his Motto is this, I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ. This is he, is only able to drive away and cause to departed out of thine heart, and in posthaste, love of this world. 6. Let Solomon be the sixth, whose very language (the creatures neither spin nor labour) is of strength sufficient to free the from that slavish bondage, in which thou wert, to fear, fear to need. Since I have these six to oppose those six, The Avowry. I am resolved to fight under the banner of God's Graces, lest poor soul be ensnared in the gin of hellish vice. The fist moiety of my method warns me to give a call, upon those graces, prayed for in this petition, yea, and to provide them houseroom in my heart. Graces two. They be two Sincerity. They be two Vigilancy. Sincerity, The Parallel. a Jonadab whose heart is upright. Vigilancy, a David, whose eyes prevent the night watches. Behold the Mine without dross, Sincerity. The Court of Guard which guards it, Vigilancy. That's my riches Sincerity: This their keeper, Vigilancy. How much do I want, and want that * Sincerity First? How much may I lose, and let go this * Vigilancy. Latter? For my own part, I will pray my God to enrich me with Sincerity, and Lest I lose it, The Avowry. to guard my heart about with vigilancy. The first grace we have in Commendum, Sincerities Character. is Sincerity, a true upright Nazarite without fraud or covin. This is one persuades us to speak as we think, and think as we speak; to do as we say, and all we say to do: our lips and hearts must be made kind friends; say well and do well, walk hand in hand together: God delights not in specious pretences, where there is no such meaning; he would have us be what we seem to be; not say one thing, and think another; not cry Hail Master, when we come to hale away the Master. I am resolved to affect sincere dealing when I deal with Ged, The Avowry. and to have my heart intent on that which my tongue bathe undertaken to indite. Vigilancies' Character. The second Grace which this petition petitions us to give harbour, is Vigilancy; there are others call it Watchfulness: we may mean well, yet have the foil and fall, without we entertain this Man at arms to aid us. An eye over all ill willers of the great God's renown, inables me, while I spy much, to prevent more. I have a Fabius for an Hannibal, an honourable personage able to deliver my soul from the snare of the fowler. And that I be not entrapped in the ambushment of disrespecting God; The Avowry. I am resolved to set a watch over my ways, words, and thoughts. The Vices prohibited, The Vices two. the graces have given us information of them, And they be two Hypocrisy. And they be two Security. Hypocrisy, The Parallel. one never walks in his own clothes. Security, one cares not what he pucs on, aught or nought. Hypocrisy, who never speaks as he thinks. Security, who never parts with his old thoughts, let all the world say what they will. That first, is fair spoken, and badly meaning. This latter, means as ill, makes no matter who knows it. It is Hypocrisy is quick of hearing, every peal rings him into the Church. It is Security is deaf, whom all the peals of Church ordinance cannot get him to come on, and, in and hear, and be saved. For my own part I am resolved to send a defiance to these two, The Avowry. and ever to stand upon my guard against them, considering the one dissembles in all his actions: and the other weighs not the outrages that he acts to the dishallowing the Divine Majesty. The first Vice we are warned to set a packing, Hypocrisies Character. is Hypocritical dissimulation or dissembling Hypocrisy. This is one goes in the guise of an Angel of light, but is a Devil incarnate: hath ora Virginum, ungues vulturum; speaks full fair, means no such matter; brings to the. Church a face like a Saint, but is cloven footed. O Hypocrisy is a seafaring man, which rows one way, looks another. Sometimes our next neighbour discoverable while lends God his lips, whilst his heart is far from him: A vice hath got pranking up into our lofts and pews, God keep it out of the Pulpit. Truth is, we are all too ready to welcome dissimulation while all too prone to profess more than we practise. I am resolved for the honour of God and glory of his name, The Avowry. to shut my door upon Joab and Judas, lest a worthy in Israel be wronged by me. The second vice which is forbid, is Security, Securities Character. a careless companion say what you will unto him: one weighs not who enters in, so he be not intermeddled with: if you let him take out his nap, God will be injured by him, while no judgement is feared, our God is dishonoured; the not fear of God, is a fearful dishonouring God. I have heard say the let pass of peril is the inlet of profaneness; and none are more profane, than those criers, Et quando ad nos venit. God hath other things to do then to take post, and high it in haste, to see, what we do. Let the carnal heart with Solomon's sluggard, yet take a nap in the duffie downy bed of carnal security, yet that my God may, and by me, be rightly honoured. I am resolved to beg of God to awake me out of my sin, The Avowry. and give me a call as he did Samuel. A Divine Contemplation upon the first Petition. Hallowed be thy Name. Soar aloft my soul, and eye nos what is on Earth, but the God of Heaven. Thou art at this time to be one of the Choir of Angels; take thy tune not in Basso, but in Alto, and give all laud, and glory, and praise to him who sits upon the Throne. Let thy prayers begin with praise, the subject be thy God, the object his. Attributes, the end adoration of his Name. Come poor soul, let me school thee and tell thee, when thou art first in thy own thoughts, thou art furthest from God's acceptance; the Ear of gracious audience. is shut, till the tongue tuned to the glory of God be first heard. The Angel's Ditty hath taught me my duty, first to sing, glory to God; then to pray, for peace upon earth, good will towards men. Give me leave to contemplate upon the Power, Might, Majesty, and Dominion of that Dominus Dominantium. A forethought what he is, how great he is, how good he is, is the wheel turns about my heart from all earthly vanity. It is a service well pleasing to God, profitable to my soul. When I have given God his due honour, I may better expect my Master's reward. O my God and my King, though I be subject to do it, yet by thy grace prevent my unmannerly suiting thee my God and Saviour. Let not the eager desire I have either after goods or forgiveness, make me forget in the first place to give all glory and praise to thy Name. O let me give thee praise, then beg thy mercy: Let me first sound out thy glory, that done, put up my own petitions to thy Divine Majesty. Though I can add nought to thy holiness, to thy honour, to thy power, yet I can add to those celestial Attributes; my acknowledgement, how thou art a God, most holy, most honourable, most powerful. As Confession must precede Absolution; so my God and my christ, confession who thou art, what thou art, must be sent on before, to usher in, my Home resenting supplication. O I will, or I dare to pray for myself, pray that thy great Name, thou great God, may be hallowed, not by augmentation, but promulgation of it, from Dan to Beersheba. Let the trumpet of my lips first sound thy praise, that done, let my tongue crave A somewhat for myself. Let the first * He mess his first petition. born be my prayer to God for God; then let the needy ones my own petitions come out after, who are borne to nought; yet by begging, may get a Blessing of old Isaac the ancient of days; when I am first in my own thoughts, I am the last in God's Book. Let me set myself and all my wants a while aside, till God be served; let his glory be my aim in prime, the second place will serve all my needs. In glorifying thee, a glorious good redounds to me. I will not clip thy coin of glory, lest I go not for currant in thy kingdom of grace. O that thou wouldst enlarge my heart to give thee praise, lest the want of this Foreman, cause the rest of the Jurore, my petitions to be excepted against, in the presence of thee, the Judge of Heaven and Earth. The second Petition. THe second Petition now succeeds by name, Thy Kingdom come. I will, God willing, speak upon The Number, The Nature, of the words to be explained. First for number, here is but one word difficult to be understood; two in the former, one here; Can we learn no lesson from Gods plaining his speech? O it shows us, 1. The more we acquaint ourselves with God, Three Intracts. more plainly he will speak to us. 2. As we grow in devotion, we shall grow in understanding. 3. That God's Word, with modesty the more we dive into it, the more knowledge God gives to hold up our heads from drowning in the gulf of false exposition. I am resolved to hold out my Rosary, The Avowry with the Collect. reinforce my genius to peruse the Scriptures, and all to prevent misprision, augment my talon, and enucleate the Text. Here is only one word to be explained, Kingdom: This word may be taken four ways. 1. For the Scripture: thus Mat. 21.43. where said, Auferetur a vobis regnum Dei, The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you. 2. For the visible Church, thus Mat. 5.19. where said, He that shall break one of the least of these Commandments, and teach men so, shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. 3. It may be taken for the grace of God, Luk. 17. where said, The Kingdom of God is within you. 4. For the Church triumphant, Mat. 8.11. where said, Many shall come from the East and the West, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom of Heaven. Now all may be here meant though in prime but one. 1. And then we pray in this Petition, That God's Word, and its understanding may come among us. 2. That upon earth there may be a fellowship of faithful professors visible. 3. That Gods grace sent by that sayne his Spirit, in that Chariot the ministry of his Word, may visit our hearts. 4. That these days of misery being perioded, God's Kingdom of glory, we may be seated in it. In one word, we pray for four things. 1. That the word of God and its sound may be heard in our land. 2. That we may be Gods visible Church on earth. 3. For God's grace. 4. And for heaven at our ending. Of this last, what hopes without that precedent? A circumvolution of the four fold sense. Again its presumption to brag of grace; and live without the Church. Lastly, it we aim at all we must do a somewhat more. It you purpose to be members of the Church, be inspired with the Spirit, hereafter have heaven, let the Word of God dwell plentifully in your hearts. I am resolved for my own part to make much of God's Word, The Avowry with the Collect. a mean to make me a member of the Church, aequire grace, and gain heaven. You may be bad ground and sown with this seed, A review. the Word, where this seed, Interpretation, 1. the Word, for so it's called, Luk. 8. is not sown, that most fertile soils, manured with Ethics and the humane arts, brings out but figtree-like cursed fruit. Hence it is, we pray, way may be made for the Word of God, and it may come, ut adveniat hoc regnum, that the kingdom may come. So the Latin signifies, which makes us sensible of Two things, Extracts two. 1. Our Condition. 2. That in Expectation. 1. Of our Condition, that we are dronish in our devotion, and love our ease more than our gains, apparent while we pray, Thy Kingdom come to us, we walk not on to it. 2. This in the second place, makes us sensible of what in expectation. That since, advenit verbum, the Word is come into our towns, oratory's. ears, that now prayed for is, that the Word may enter into our hearts. I am resolved to take notice of my backwardness in devotion, The Avowry. and all to make me more eager, now this * Messenger. sayne God's Word is come, to open the door of my heart and give it harbour. Now this word its hieroglyphic or resemblance, is a Kingdom, for whilst we pray God's Kingdom may come, we mean God's Word the word of truth. And in these particulars, the resemblance holds, 1. For Kingdom like, Resembances. God's Word is of power to correct, instruct, and reprove. 2. It's of force sufficient to make all outlaws, in-law themselves to Gods Law. 3. Hath strength enough to meet in the field, and to oppose all opposers, be they Schismatics or Heretics; Schismatical in Discipline, or Heretical in Doctrine. 4. The Nerves of a Kingdom are meat and ammunition; such is the Word, we live by it, Deut. 8.3 it is called, the sword of the Spirit, Ephes. 6.17. hath in it, to feed at home, and defend abroad. 5. The best of Kingdoms Canaan had its commendation, for abounding with milk and honey: such is this whole land, the word, and therefore called sincere milk, 1 Pet. 2.2. And therefore averred when the Prophet Ezekiel had put in his mouth a morsel of this earth, that it was in his mouth, as honey for sweetness, Ezek. 3 3. I have travelled through the land of the Philistims, and the wilderness of Sin. A Supplicat. But now O Lord strengthen my resolution, to set up my resting place of abode in this * he means the word Taught. Kingdom. That here we pray for, is a visible Church, Interpretation, 2. thy Kingdom come, that is, Lord let us enjoy a Church visible. This interpretation I next bring in, for that unmeet to be a Church, until it have received Gods good word. Here we have leave to pray, as against an Elias his paucity, and the 7000. enforced concealment: So for liberty to continue daily in the Temple, and to find the favour to preach and hear the Gospel, Act. 2.46, 47. We pray then in this petition, and it's allowed, for God, by this second Exposition. 1. That God may add daily unto the Church, Extracts two. such as shall be saved. 2. For the flourishing estate of the Church to the outward eye of the world. Divers can endure the Queen's * Church. Daughter to be all glorious within: but not, that her Raiment should be of pure gold. They cry all for sincerity within, will tolerate no honourable train without. Others would have the Church in worse case than Nebuchadnezars Image, an head of clay and arms of iron: Supremacy they wish not well: the Clergy they make no more count of than iron metal, or S. Judes' trees, as if our silver Chalices brought in wooden priests; nay rather our rich Tithes have brought in a Sect, a sort of devilish damnable Church Robbers, who mean to go to heaven another way, than ever their deceased ancestors; those went by building Churches, these by robbing the Church of her Tithes: I wonder that these should make such a show of holiness, when so full of sacrilege: they abhor Idols, and yet, etc. But come, what is it here we pray for, in this petition, while heard saying, Thy Kingdom come? State of the Church. That is, Lord let there be a visible Church upon Earth: yea, let the Church seem, when Seen, 1. Like a Kingdom, not like a carrion, with nothing on, but skin and bone. We have a company of poor Vicars and Curates in our Country will swear she is almost as ill like. 2. Not like a solitary Cottage with nought left, and as few in it. Nay, as a Kingdom hath a superplus of inhabitants and habitations: so all good Christians ought to pray, may be the state of this our Church; Kingdom like, the professors innumerable. Kingdom like, the Church's profits proportionable. To what purpose patter they over this prayer, whose exorbitant lives are the death of those should be subjects of this Kingdom, the Church, the visible Church. They prate, they pray not, who pray for the coming of this Kingdom, that is, the visibility of the Church. But while they have an eye on the Steeple, lay unlawful hands on the Tithes, and leave not this innocent * The Church. Ewe till they have shorn off her fleece, and left her as sore wounded as was the poor Traveller. God she may once meet, The Supplicat. with an honest Samaritan may show her some compassion. That here we pray for, Interp. 3. is the grace of God; as a visible Church, so invisible grace: by means of the one, we are able to manage ourselves, maugre all mutinous mankind; and by this other to support our spirituals, against that unclean spirit with seven worse than himself, spoke of, Mat. 12.47. Now this exposition I set here after the other, for that in ordinary we must first have a subject, or in hopes of an adjunct, a being in the Church, or the least expectance of our well being, I mean of our being true sanctified members of the Church. That than which according to this Exposition, we pray for, while we say, Thy Kingdom come, is, that God would beslow his grace upon us: A magazine of Grace. a magazine full of which you have laid up, in Gal. 5.24. That I infer, is, since by Kingdom may be meant the grace of God; 1. That grace is of great force. Extracts two. 2. He that is enriched with it, may thank God for it. The first deduction my Master Christ made good, when he said to Paul, My grace is sufficient of thee. The latter that demand determins, Quid habes, quod non accepisti? the question putting it out of question, that God is the author of every good and perfect gift. And new O Lord give me of thy grace, The Supplicat. and I will fight it out against the greatest Goliath that cometh down to upbraid the Israel of my God. By this Kingdom, Interp. 4. may be meant the Kingdom in heaven, or Church the Kingdom in heaven, or Church triumphant: and this I place after the Kingdom of Grace, Quod non possumus venire ad deum per gloriam, nisi ipseprimo veniat ad nos per gratiam, If thus we interpret this petition, this is the meaning, Lord, we thy Church on earth desire a fight and seat in thy Church in heaven: and that we of thy Church Militant, may be made members of thy Church Triumphant; Cujus erit possessio sine timore, usus sine fastidio, refectio sine cibo: In which kingdom thou mayst live without fear, eat without surset, be fed full fat and fair, need not go down to Egypt's barns to buy bread; nay what, being an indenized Citizen in the heavenly Kingdom, canst thou want? Desirest thou Beauty? Three Extracts. fulgebunt justi sicut Sol. 2. Or agility of Body? eris sicut angeli. 3. Or long life? ibi erit aeterna sanitas, there thou shalt live for ever. O my soul obtain this boon, Solilequium. and in getting it thou gainest all. I will ever pray for Heaven, The Avowry. since having I cannot want, what is in most repute upon earth. The third part of my method, warns me to forage these words, and gather up, of them the points of Doctrine which grow upon them. To help us do this, we must make use of the division of this petition into parts, naturally it dissects itself into two parts: In Objectum. In Actum. The Object of the petition is God's Kingdom. The next in sight is the Act, let is come, thy Kingdom come: Or, Lord let thy Kingdom come. The object of our supplicat, is, O God, thy Kingdom: Take it by way of superexcellency, as primarily meant of God's Kingdom in Heaven, to which the Word points, the Church leads, and their parts, to prepare us for God's heavenly Kingdom. While the Word begets, the. Church brings out, and Grace trains up us mortals, making us fit to be made immortal inhabitants of that everlasting Kingdom, God's Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven, which is here described By its Propriety. By its Immensity. By its Propriety, Thy. By its Immensity, Kingdom: A word avouches, Heaven carries the Bowl and Bulk of a Commonveal. 1. The propriety prays us to take notice, Doct. 1 Heaven is Gods own; this Pronoun * Thy. possessive, pleads Gods right to it, and estates him in it. This earth God hath bestowed on us, Heaven he hath reserved for himself, and to it, he hath right, Ratione Creationis. God's title to Heaven. Ratione Possessionis. 1. By right of Creation, a Deo creature, God made Heaven, Gen. 1. 2. By right of possession, est Dei sedes, it's God's Seat, Isa 6.1. & 66.1. And to show Gods absolute power over, and owning Heaven, you shall read in the Revelations, how the Elders in heaven reverence him. And in the second of Luke, how a multitude of heavenly soldiers praise him, singing, and all to the honour of the great God, A song of 3 parts, in Alto. Basso. Medio. 1. In Alto, Heaven's prisksong. Glory be to God on high. 2. In Basso, Peace upon earth. 3. In Medis, towards men. To let pass his soldier's love, his Elders reverence his long possession, and from first creating, make up a good plea, and entitle God to the Kingdom of Heaven. He that hath made thus much, The Avowry. and is owner of no less; for my own part, I am resolved upon it, his right of inheriting not once to question. 2. For Immensity, that begged is a Kingdom, the Kingdom of heaven: Hence take notice, Doct. He that prays for heaven, prays for no small thing. 1. For spaciousness, For spaciousness. speciousness it hath no fellow: he that stands upon his pantofles, is never so high in his own conceit, might there have room enough to turn him in. Again, though strait be the way, yet wide is this high land, Heaven. It is verily imagined, that look how much wider is the world, than the least prison, so much is heaven bigger than earth. And if divers stars, as the Astronomers teach, be bigger than the whole earth, of what immense unmeasurable bigness are the Heavens, in which are fixed so many millions of stars? 2. For speciousness, 2. For speciousness. it's neither the wavie Curtains of the air, the flowery Carpet of the earth, nor yet the whole host of Creatures, have half that lustre, spendor, as in heaven. There's to be seen that City, whose pavement is of pure gold, and as it were transparent glass. The four and twenty Elders with their Crowns on their heads, twelve thousand of every Tribe following the Lamb. Yea, it was there St. Paul saw such things for state, not sit to be spoken of, or uttered. I am resolved to make strong suit to God, The Avowry. and be earnest in prayer with him, and all that I may have an inheritance, in that place so spacious, specious. The object Heaven, I must now part with it, yet it is my hopes, I shall once meet with it, and to the purpose. The Act is next in sight, let it come, a Boon we beg of God, O God, thy Kingdom come; as much as, Let thy Kingdom come. The note is worth writing down in the table books of your remembrance. It is this, Doct. we have not heaven in hand, we must yet wait for it, here we may make our claim, hereafter we take livery and seisin: he that hath the most in hand, hath not this, while this life lasts, a bar is put in, hindering our possession of the Kingdom of heaven. It was never heard corruption could inherit incorruption, we must have patience and wait, till this corruptible, put on incorruptibility, and this our mortal, immortality; after our change, we shall find a change, and forgo earth, and own heaven. This life-time is a school-time, whilst it lasts: we, though schoolboys, may be heirs, and have right to inherit; but while school-time, not admit to take this our estate in possession: there's not an heaven upon earth. Four sorts of Seekers and Missers. It's not to be found at Dives his board, though the Epicure be gone thither to meet with it. 2. Nor yet at Belshazzars feast, all there in sight is, pot-luck, and wit-lack. 3. Our impropriators are seeking for Heaven in the Chancel and Parsonage house, among the glebe and tithe; but I never heard of any had so good hap, as whilst he was robbing God's house, to hit on God's Kingdom. 4. The Usurer makes his gold his God, and it makes me imagine, he thinks his countinghouse his heaven; without all doubt it is his conceit, he shown himself a wise man in getting so much, but a fool, for thinking too well of it. Saul, while he sought his father's Asses, hit of a Kingdom; here are a company imagine they have found the Kingdom, however we have hit upon the Asses. A word is enough to the wise, we befool ourselves, if we, whilst earth, humour ourselves we have heaven, let us wait for the time, in the mean time possess our souls with patience, neither conceiting we have heaven, nor yet despairing of what to come. For my own part, The Avowry. I am resolved to comfort my heart with what I may have, yet not mis-spell posse for esse, nor take a reversion to come, for a plenary possession in present. The next part of my method obliges me to bring in some cases of conscience, and so draw more close home to this petition. The Cases are three, 1. Case. the first is this, whether do any doubt there be such a thing as prayed for, called Kingdom of Heaven, or the Heavenly Kingdom. Know it, some believe no more than they see: some say they believe more than they do. The one his eye is the founder of his faith: the other his belief is no better than lip-labour; the incredulous Atheist, the hyppocriticall Formalist; the one is an open enemy, the other a close underminer, and both ill willers to this Thesis, vid. that there is such a thing, as an heavenly Kingdom. 1. There is such a fool as hath said in his heart, there is no God, no marvel he swear there is no heaven, of all fools this is the fondest. Had this fellow had Martyr Stevens eyes in his head, he might happily have been made see more and believe, not so little. But every one cannot have an eye like an eagle; yet some we see, have no more wit than they stand in great need of, whilst not faith like a grain of mustard seed. 2. The bare Formalist says that in public he doubts of in private, vid. whether such a thing as called the Kingdom of Heaven, he can be content to pray for it, doth not much believe it. But I am resolved on it, The Avowry. as there is provided an Hell for miscreant believers, so an Heaven for Gods elect Saints in Christ Jesus. Yea and for my own part, The Collect. I profess I will never wilfully deny with the profane Atheist, nor covertly make doubt, with the bare Formalist, of the real existence, and being of the Kingdom of Heaven. Second Case is this, 2. Case. Whether shall all living go to heaven? I am no Hickman who believes an universality of salvation, nor no Novatian debars all such as have sinned mortally, post baptismum, from being saved: the former is too charitable, the latter too severe; as not all, shall be saved, so no all those * he means who have committed actual sin after Baptism. be damned. But come, let us neither with the one, be too straitlaced, nor with the other divulge our opinion to smell of Libertinism. We must let these * he means into heaven. In to confound the Novatian: and send Judas to his proper * Hell. place, to confute Hickman. I have a record can witness with me, Case resolved. there is a sort shall not inherit the Kingdom of heaven. Paul hath copied it out, and you shall find it in that first Epistle of his to the Corinthians, chap. 6. vers. 9, 10. If you be such you must not inherit, which who is not, I would know the man. A Soliloqium. O my soul, shall I conceal the truth, what a lust hast thou had to actuate, how hath conceived lust contaminated, though not brought forth, yet brought my Christ to aver it, He that looks after a woman to lust after her in heart, hath commit adultery. Let Christ be true and all men liars, his ipse dixit is sufficient, and must make such who hope the best, fear the worst: who is he, can excuse himself, as not conscious, or dare profess he never did, no not one of those works * Gal. 5.19, 20. of the flesh? If thou sayest thou hast, then hear what God hath to say unto * Vers. 21. thee, they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. O my God and my Christ preserve me from sin, The Supplicat. lest my sin debar me of thy Kingdom. But what shall all they be damned, Object. that do these sinful works of the flesh? Now give heed to what shall be said, my answer I mean to poise in even scales, and let neither Hickmans' tongue, nor Novatus his pen, I mean neither presumptuous thoughts, nor despairing imaginations have the draught one of the other. All that live and die in the prequoted sins, Res. shall be damned; it's thy sin makes thee guilty; it's thy persevering in thy sin, that damns thee: the act of evil makes thee damnable; the act of evil makes thee damnable; the continuance in thy evil, carries thee down into hell: the Law is a Book-case, which opened by God's Counsellor, Moses, finds thee guilty. The Gospel is a Writ, called Melius ad inquirendum, and thou shouldst far better if thou livedst not still as ill. For by own part, by God's good assistance, The Avowry. I am resolved upon it, what I have done to do no more, lest a worse turn betid me: and as I cannot assoil my soul of evil, no more am I resolved to hold on my evil courses. Third Case is this, 3. Case. Who shall be admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven? 1. My answer is this: Not every one that saith Lord, Lord, shall enter into thr Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven. God loves not him is nought but wind, thou mayst speak like an Angel, and go to the Devil: know it, God is better pleased with deeds than words; works among hand, please him at heart: let me tell thee, if thou neglect to do that God bids, then look not to come where God lives: we must be men of action, if we mean to go to Heaven, yea, and the square of our work be Gods will. For my own part, The Avowry. I am resolved upon it, to beg of God ability, what I say, to do; and that which at large I profess, at leastwise in some poor measure I may practise. 2. Persever anti dabitur, to him that is faithful to the end, God will give a Crown of life. O hold out and have Heaven, the promise is not past to him who is to day a Protestant, to morrow a Papist; nor yet to him that gins in the Spirit, ends in the fesh; nor yet to him who puts his hand to the plough, and pulls it back; nor yet to Sir Henry Horspur who puts on fast at first, is soon tired: who like the bird Glott is, Hist. flies fiercely in the forenoon, but in the afternoon, lags and comes behind. The Woodcock's flight is unfortonate, to make such haste, and so soon be tired: mistake me not, I dislike not, your taking up your dough on your shoulders, and in haste to high out of Egypt. That I inveigh against, is, your not holding out to your journey's end, but sitting down with Gad and Reuben on this side Jordan. For my own part, I am resolved by God's good assistance, The Avowry. as I have begun, so to go on: yea, with Elias to hold out my pace, till I come to that heavenly Horeb the Kingdom of Heaven. 3. Petenti dabitur, ask and you shall have: Let us pray for what we want, and we cannot want what we pray for; dumb men get no land: The land of * Heaven. Canaan, in it expect no portion, if not bespoke. He that speaks to God by prayer, comes to him like a beggar, is sent away like a King, with a Kingdom. It's no time now to be tongue-tied, when hearty prayer procures thus much. For my own part, The Avowry. I am resolved upon it, never to give over praying to God, lest my forbearing to pray, deprive me of God's Kingdom. 4. Vincenti dabitur, He that can conquer earth sahll own heaven: command O man thyself, and heaven is at thy command; never am I so sure of an excelse * The Kingdom of heaven. fortune, as when my lofty imaginations I bring low; If I can overrule myself here, it is Gods will I shall rule with him in heaven. Here is a * this flesh Goliath I must overmaster, or no hopes to succeed in the Kingdom: he that inthrals-himself to his lust, hath got a new keeper, and one will keep him from going to heaven. For my own part, The Avowry. I will do my best devoir, not to let sin reign in my mortal body, lest my letting it here keep a quarter, exclude my doby and soul out of heaven. The fist moiety of my method is this, to divulge what graces we have from this petition, given in Commendum: They be two, Faith. Patience. Graces two. The Paralle. Faith to believe the Kingdom to come. Patience to wait till it do come. Faith, whose eye is ever intent upon on a remote object. Patience, who only eyes, and none else but it owner. It is Faith which estates me in the heavenly Kingdom. It is Patience which procures my stay, till the Kingdom come. The first, Faith, makes my tack good This latter, Patience, the * This life. interim, no annoyance. I am resolved to be earnest with my God, The Avowry. to give me two such gifts of grace, as both assure me of * kingdom of heaven. that I want, and without the least repining, overcomes mean man to wait the Lords leisure. Faith is that Jacob's Ladder, Faith's Character. by which I ascend up from off earth into heaven. It is Faith, entitles me to a Kingdom in reversion, though I have not a molehill in possession. Faith is the evidence of things not seen, and as needful as is Evidence to lay claim by, to an inheritance; as requisite is faith for a suppliant to estate him in the Kingdom of Heaven. He that with an honest heart to God will put up this petition, stands need of Faith to believe an heaven. Though my reason fails me to comprehend, my faith overcomes me to believe a Kingdom to come, my common sense can reach no higher than to sublunaries, it's my faith reaches to Celestials; my prayer is neither pithy nor pathetical, if my reason be nor interlared with faith. I prate, I pray not, if I shall short to believe an heaven. And here though I have leave to live in an earthly Kingdom, want faith, and I shall never enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven: as my tongue must be guided by reason, so my heart led on by saith, or else in vain I say this petition: my faith must be founded on God's Words, and his Word is the wafter transports faith to my ear, All said is true, and for certain. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word preached: it is then hearing brings believing, and what I only hear of, I am insured of belief, yea though I cannot set my eye on the Kingdom to come; the eye of faith makes conspicuous what my bodily eye cannot discern. He that hath not faith to believe what here prayed for, may pray all his life, yet miss what he prays for. For my own part, The Avowry. while I pray with my tongue, I will believe with my heart, lest my want of belief bereave my prayer of a blessing. Secondly, Grace given here in Commendum, Patiences Character is Patience, a mere stranger, whom we have oft heard of, and I Wish we were better acquainted with, one deceives the time, and brings a dismal day to an happy end, one can make us content with what in hand, till we acquire what we are to have: and assures us of that hereafter, which yet we never had: when we rush fast on, with more haste than good speed. It is Patience persuades us to take time and wait the Lords leisure. Behold a curious colour of a fiery spirit, and the best delayer of the burning fever of present desire. When I long for what I want, here is one overcomes me to wait till my want be supplied: and where as by promise I have passed me heaven, Patience advises to pass by the present expectance, in hopes of future performance. O thou qualifier of my desire, who wils me not yet to look for, yet still to hope for; in whose repute is neither time past nor present, but to come: Since thou canst procure me time to stay, The Avowry. I am resolved to wait, yea and possess my soul with patience, till it be Gods good pleasure to give me the Kingdom. The sixth moiety of my method, wils me to give you warning what Vices are prohibited in this petition: They be two Misbelied, The Vices two. & Impatience. The Parallel. Misbelief, all doubts. Impatience, all anger. Misbelief, which comdemns before the Assize. Impatience, which is provoked before cause. It is Misbelief makes me miss, of that I might have. It is Impatience purveys for me, what I would not have. I lose by the one, Heaven. I get by the other, au Enemy. It is this hath made me resolve upon it, The Avowry. to banish both, since both enemies, impatience to my here-peace, misbelief to my hereafter-happinesse. Misbelief is of nigh alliance to incredulous Thomas, Misbeliefs Character. one is more swayed by his own will, than God's Word. An Heretic in judgement, and since condemned to hell, believes no Heaven. A licentious libertine, who lives as he list, while he list not believe. A lover of this world, more than the world to come; whose love so dotes on what he hath, as makes him doubt of what to be * Heaven. had. Other limbs of the Devil offer the Kingdom of Heaven violence: but this eldest son of belial, labours utterly to deface that all glorious * Bilief that Heavenis. Architecture. It is misbelief abrases heaven out of men's thoughts, copes men's thoughts and makes them earth in the burrow of terrene felicity, as though this world were the chiefest good, as though there were no heaven, but on earth. O how this Vice disglories God, and robs him of his Crown, Throne, and Kingdom! I am ever resolved to live at odds with him is so great an enemy of the Kings; The Avowry. and to dilate my dear affection to God's Kingdom, I will ever live at deadly feud with infidelity. Impatiences Character. The second Vice this petition warns us to banish, is Impatience, one I must go talk with, yet care not much for his company. This is filius ante diem, a base bred brat, brought out before due time; a hasty fellow, and too forward, minds not, what is prayed for, must be stayed for: and that bad desert must rest content with after owning. This is he, is more forward than wise, and would have, what none here living have, Heaven in hand. How do we wrong our Fortune, when we will needs have it before our time. Though I desire to be dissolved, and be with Christ, yet will I wait till the Lord give and the Lord take. I will not unmannerly haste God till he please, lest I displease God with my haft: we must first work, then have wages; yet some would have wages ere they work; yea be glorified, ere have suffered, as if Christ wore not a Crown of Thorns, before a Crown of Glory. Let me resolve upon it, to abandon all impatience, The Avowry. and suffer till the eleventh hour, since afterwards in hopes to have paid at the evening of my life, a penny of glory in the Kingdom to come. A Contemplation upon the second Petition. Thy Kingdom Come. Can I say this petition and not sigh to think how far from home? An high fortune, and yet but in expectation. O I would not pray for that I want, but that I want what I pray for. It is my misery, that I dwell with Meseck; I should be happy, could I get to Zoar: O the day of my deliverance is not yet come; while here I abide, my day is turned into night: after this transitory mometary life time, my night of sorrow shall be turned into a day of everlasting joy. Let me poise my soul betwixt fear and hope, and fear while that I hope, yet hope in the midst of fear. I will not despair, for a kingdom's to come; I will not presume, since there is a cast at hazard who shall inherit. How slowfooted is my soul, must the Kingdom come to thee? Wilt thou not go on to it? Let me advance on to grace, and glory will give me meeting: let me not go down to Pall, Lud, Tubal, nor yet to Javan of the Gentiles, let me with the two men go up unto the Temple; The Church way, is the way to the Kingdom: come I see, I must take pains, and walk on to the Church militant, I shall never else be a member of the Church Triumphant. O Lord let that Kingdom thy Word, dwell plentifully in me, then shall thy kingdom of glory be inherited by me. But O my soul, take some more solace in these high fortunes to be had in future. Thou hast a son's portion in hand, thou shalt have a Prince's patrimony in reversion. O let me press on then to the prize of my high calling: I am called on to be a Kings, and to enjoy a Kingdom, shall I trifle away time, till it be past time; there is but one way, and it is a narrow way; but one gate, and it is a straight gate, which leads unto this Kingdom: Let me not be numbered among the foolish virgins, who stayed behind till the door was shut: But O with Mephibosheth I am lame, Lord that my ankle bones may receive strength; suffer me not with Gad and Reuben to stay on his side Jordan, ferry my soul, through a sea of tears, to a land of joy; while here, I am by the banks of Babel, and cannot tune that instrument my Heart, to warble our an Israelitish note, bring thy servant to that place of eternal bliss; and then O God and my King, my lips shall show forth thy praise, and my spirit shall rejoice in God my Saviour. The third Petition. NOw succeeds the third Petition, Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven. The old method shall still be observed. First to explain the words difficult to be understood. This is the third petition, and here are three words to be explained in it. The first word difficult to be understood is the word, Will: it hath been a received opinion, Gods will is twofold Secret. Revealed. Galled by the School men Voluntas finis, & Voluntas medii. The first, is the will of God concerning the end. The second, the will of God concerning the means leading to the end. The first of these hath relation to the glorified in heaven, the punished in hell. The other to the Saints exercising gracious life, but never to sinners living a lewd life. To bring these home to the Petition, here we pray for Gods will to be done, that voluntus finis segregatim, it may stand with the secret will of God in his good time to glorify those predestinated. Non conjunctim, we call not of him to will the punishing of the reprobate in hell. Secondly, we pray to God his will may be done, that is, voluntas medii: the overture of the means of grace may be offered to us, and we lay hold of it; yet was it never Gods will: that the means, sins which bring men to hell, that they should actuate, and abominable and blasphemous were it to pray for it. 1. We pray then that Gods will may be done, that is, that it may be his actuated will, that such as he in secret hath predestinated may be glorified, we pray not it may be Gods will, any to be damned. We pray that the revealed means of grace, mediums to glory, may be proffered and profitable to all: but the means leading to Hell, which are sins, God never wills; have we any cause then to pray him to will them? It is God's will, and we pray for it, the means of grace, not the means to damn man. The first, God wils, not the latter. It is God's will, and we pray for it, the glorifying man in heaven, not the punishing any in hell; both which God wils, only the first we pray for. But to leave these acute passages, primarily, as I conceive, Gods revealed will we pray may be perfected, that it may be done, which looks ad Deum. Hominem. The object of Gods revealed wil Being twofold, respectu Sui. respectu Nostri. We pray the will of God quatenus ad Deum speciat, may be done by him, as that whereas he hath willed it, he may do it, convert the Gentiles, call home the Jews, and let the sound of his Word go through all nations. And yet S. Cyprian persuades me this is not the will we are willed to pray may be accomplished: who saith, Non petimus ut Deus faciat quod vult, sed ut nos facere possimus quod Deus vult: we do not pray in this petition, that God would bring to pass what he hath said he would do: but here we pray for an ability for us to do as God wils. Respectu nostrum, we pray, what is God's will, we may have power and strength to do it. Thy will O Lord, not my will, thy will only, not thine and mine, thy will let it be done, though I have been unwilling. Whatsoever God in his word wils, we must pray for ability to do it. And thrust back, will the natural, our will the corrival, wilful will would bear all the sway, stet proratione voluntas, like good subjects, let Gods will stand for a Law with us. That we pray for then, and it is allowed for good in this petition, is that Gods will may by us be accomplished. The two then in the scales, are Gods will, and man's work, this is to be directed, by that preponed. As if, what man did, should sent of what God willed, as if what is God's will may be our work. Well then I will not live in any notorious sin, Res. lest while I say this petition, and desire power to perform, I blaspheme. Secondly, I have learned out a fit mate to match with my works, it is Gods will. Lord that we could spy these two and for ever together, our works then would have no such adulterous offspring. For my own part I am resolved, The Avowry. the will of God shall be the square of my work, neither will I undertake to do that work is opposite against God's good will and pleasure. The second word to be explained, is Earth, apparent while prayed, Thy will be done in Earth; such may be the stones as be we, if God will, such were we, as the earth, at the beginning. There being such consanguinity, betwixt that we tread on, and we that tread on it, may put us, and in doubt what is meant whilst said, Thy will be done in Earth. That in chief, is, that Gods written will may be done. In this Earth, pro loco, by us who are Earth, pro materia. Here we pray that all the inhabitants upon the earth, may apply their best endeavours to do what God wils, were our practice suitable to our prayers, our prayers protest we should all the practice of Divine duties. Well, The Avowry. while we put up this petition for all on Earth to do Gods will, I will call to mind what we all should do, but bemoan, our tongues and lives are at odds. But while we talk of Earth, Heaven must not be forgotten, which is the third word to be explained. And as by Earth, is meant men on earth; so by Heaven Angels in Heaven. And are Angels set to be men's samplers? pretty patterns, and could we take them out, our Master Christ would take it for well done. O thou who made us in thy own likeness, The Supplicat. vouchsafe of thy wont goodness, that thy will may be done by us as by the Angles. Nor is this all, other acceptations are at hand, would you be pleased to accept of them. 1. Some understand by Earth Infidels, by Heaven the faithful. The faithful are the lowest region of God's Heavenly Kingdom. The Infidels are the upper regiment of the Devils earthly dominion: and yet it is prayed for, that Gods will may be done by the one, as by the other; by the Infidels, as by the faithful. O my God, His Vote. for all that all thy servants study to do thy will, yet will I beg that, that many may be made more by the conversion of the Infidels. 2. Again, This flesh, its original is earth: the mind of man, a kin to an heavenly being, which hath caused some to harbour this conceit, that by Earth may be meant this flesh of ours, or part unregenerate, by Heaven the mind or part regenerate; to which if we condescend, we must thus then read this petition, Thy will be done by the flesh, as it is by the mind; by the flesh which serves the Law of sin, as by the mind which serves the law of God. Here are two parties in this Isle of Man; the one holds of God in Heaven, the other of the Devil in Hell; and as Israel was divided betwixt Rehoboam and Jeroboam; so this Isle of man is made a dividend: All is not for God, a corrupt part, taketh part with the Devil. This is it shall make me petition God, His Vote. that as that part of my mind, which is regenerate, so more of me may subscribe to do Gods will. 3. Some by Earth may understand the Church militant, while by Heaven, Christ the head of the Church triumphant, and would have this the meaning of this petition, Thy will be done by the Church in Earth, as it is done by thy Son in Heaven. Here we pray the Church on earth may take Christ in Heaven for a sampler, and that we the members of this his Church would make his will our rule. O God, we of thy Church will study to do thee service, yet confess, The Avowry. we have every day cause to beg we may come nigher the sampler of true obedience, Christ Jesus. This distinguishing upon the three words, which seemed difficult to be understood, is, the porter hath brought the sense of this petition, to the sense of your hearing. The genuine meaning, is a collect of what said, and now we have spelled, let us put together. Prime loco, here we beg of God he would enable us men on earth to do his will as do the Angels in heaven. Which is, Alacriter, Joyfully. Celeriter, Readily. Not by constraint, as some come to the Church, more for fear than love, not latchingly, as those who came into the vineyard at the eleventh hour, meaning to have much for doing little: when we go about God's business we must be merry countenanced, and nimble footed, look blithely, and dispatch speedily. These two they crown the action, and shows the willingness of the whole man to serve his Maker, such a suppliant though he cannot lay claim to aught by his own merit, yet may presume of God's mercy, whereas a grumbling servant, a delatory delayer, when as he thinks he hath done God's work, may be paid in the Devil's coin. As what we must do, must be what God wils, so all we do, be dispatched, Angellike, with alacrity, with celerity, this is the choice sense of this petition. And yet here is involved a boon for Infidels to do Gods will as do the faithful, for this flesh of ours to in-law itself to the Lord as doth the mind regenerate. Lastly, that this Church of Gods upon earth may conform itself to the will of God as did the Head Christ. And now what we have said, The Supplicat. that it may be, and really performed, Dear Father, grant us thy children this one boon, that thy will may be done in Earth as it is in Heaven. We are next to produce the Doctrines, to find them out, we will be beholding to the division of this petition, dissecting itself into two parts: 1. The subject matter. 2. The restrictive manner. The subject matter prayed for, is, Thy will be done in Earth. The restrictive manner, as it is in Heaven. What God wils, we pray we may do, yet not as we will, but as the same is done in Heaven. The first part of the petition, petitions us, to take these particulars into our considerations. 1. Whose will it is we must beg ability to actuate, it is gods, not ours; the Provoune * Thy possessive will depose this is true. 2. The ubi, or place where, it is here in Earth: this place must be no privileged place, Gods will must be done in Earth. First we pray for ability to actuate God's will, here is no noise of ours, but Gods, as if ours unworthy, or ourselves self-willed, and led more by foolish fancy, than rectified reason. Every beggar affects his own brat, how ever deformed, for this cause, here is express charge, and from the Kings own son, to suit God to give us grace to place his issue before our imp, and that not the offspring of us, our wills, But O Lord that thy will be preferred. O it comes hardly off with us to do what God wils, Doct. apparent by this petition put up. Christ prayed not, My will but thy will be done. And that he might sub-set his inferior or natural appetite to save life, to Gods decreed will to lay down his life for us all. Rom. ●. What the law of nature without a taunt might plead for, Christ prays it may not stand against God's determinate counsel. It gives us just cause of surmise now nature is corrupt it is untoward. And we forward enough, to will what God would not. The modest petition of my Messiah without sin, The Avowry. shall make me sinful man confess my refractoriness, to do the will of the Lord. Let us now walk on to the ubi, the place where Gods will is to be done, in Earth. This life time is no privileged time for following our own wills and appetites, Doct. we have here a being, and here an abiding; and for a better end, none on earth have leave to live as they list, and do what they like. There is not a day exempt from God's service to serve the Devil. All our days we must devote to God, and live to him: religion in the name of God, claims a right in thy youth and age. Till earth to earth, that is all this life, we must subscribe to what God hath willed we should do, here while we stay, hear what we must do, Gods will in Earth as it is in Heaven. But what continually to be in our devotion, is this your meaning? What I have said, is no enemy to honest pastime, nor yet to Christian employment. But as Schoolboys the most their time, is set apart to ply and con. A little time is licenced to recreate them in. So God and the lessons he hath to teach us, require the major part. The minor part, there is a connivance, for pursuance of pleasure profit, always provided, so it be in the Lord. I will mind what I am made for, and while I have to do with the world, The Avowry. call to mind my life must be devoted unto the Lord. Now I come to the Doctrines deductible from the restrictive manner, we must beg of God ability to do his will in Earth as it is in Heaven. See you not Heaven is set to be Earth's pattern, Doct. and men on earth to learn of Angles in Heaven; our betters it is no scorn to take them for our samplers, such are Angels. Os homini sublime dedit, saith the Poet, God hath made man to look up, as ever to have an eye on his masters, such are the Angels, God's servants, but our Schoolmasters: and as the Master is more perfect in the Lecture than the shooleboy, so they than we. We desire to know, they do know: we desire to do what we know, The Parallel. it is they can do what God hath made known unto them: in our works are many weaknesses, in theirs not the least of imperfection: we procrastinate, they cry haste, haste for his Majesty's service; yea their wings witness their readiness, willingness. I will resolve upon it, The Avowry. while earth to cast an eye at Heaven, and to make those all * The Angels. glorious creatures, the samplers of my readiness, willingness to do the will of my Father which is in Heaven. Again, the three persons by turns have all of them undertaken to teach us. Angels, scholars in their uppermost Lecture, are set to be our samplers to guide our * Our wills and affections. feet in the ways of God. That I note is this: We have divers schoolmasters, Doct. God the head, who teacheth us by his Word; Angels in Heaven, who teach us by their Examples. Nay nigher, the very creatures, the poor pismire, we are bid to go to her and learn. Five things I infer from this Thesis. First, God would we were good scholars, so much pains is to make us profit. Secondly, we can want no teaching, no whilst a God, Angels, or any creatures. Thirdly, there are no few lessons to learn, where many messengers, many messages. Fourthly, we are hard of learning, with Fambo, some are nineteen year a learing one line. Fifthly, here may be a strong surmise by these many eyes over us, we would play the Truants: in very deed, man naturally hath no heart to what's good. But since I have so much teaching, The Avowry. I am resolved by God's good assistance, not to lose my time, bit ot mind what it is my Master hath to say unto me. The Cases of Conscience are the fourth moiety of my method, which are three. First is this: Whether is a perfect obedience to Gods will required? I. Case. To this question I give this resolution. Christ would never have set us to pray for it, if God had not looked for it: it were needless for man to pray for so much, if his Creator would be content with aught less. I am enjoined by God, to do, what my Christ wils me to pray I may do. A perfect obedience then is required at our hands, and we must do what God wils, as do the Angels. Since now, O Lord, The Avowry. I have thus much to do. I will dismiss my worldly business to follow this my heavenly calling. We have seen what we should do, 2. Case. now let us see what it is we are able to do, and so I come to the second Case, Whither are we able to do, all God doth will? 1. My answer is negative, No, apparent first by our every day confession we break all God's commandments. 2. By Esays evidence, we are all unclean, all our righteousness is like unto filthy rags. 3. By our prayer put up, we need not beg that which is within our reach, it is that we pray for, we have no power over, my beseeching God to grant, shows my want: and since I pray for ability to do Gods will, it assures me, the good I would I cannot. I will confess my frailty, The Avowry. and always acknowledge, though to will be present with me, yet I find no means to perform that which is good. And so I come to the third Case, 3. Case. how we are made capable to attain to do, what God doth will we ‖ should do. To this I answer, To will, is of our own power, but to will what we should and do it, is God: the instrument is ours, the right use of it from God. In me is a something, vid. to will, That it object, is good, I may thank God for it, of whom is both the will and the deed, that is the willing good, and doing the good I have willed. But my last avowry prefers a quere to be discussed, and tells us, even man in the state of grace, who hath a will to do good, finds no means to finish the work, he hath willed. But know it, that is not meant of a total defect, but a plenary performall, though he fail in most, not in all. It seems then by God's good aid, God's child may both will and do good, yet not all the good, God doth will in his Law. To this I answer, God hath a twofold Law. There is Lex Operum, Lex Fidei, the Law of works. the Law of Faith. The Law of Works requires an exact & fingular obedience, at all times, in all places, to all particular statute Laws enacted by the Lord, I pray for this, cannot attain to it height; pray for progress, though fail to fulfil. The Law of Faith requires a full belief, what I cannot do, my Christ hath done it for me, for which I pray, and may attain. But can you prove, a man may be made righteous without the Law of Works, that is, without exact keeping all the Commandments. Believe not me, Res. but S. Paul, who * Rom 3.21, 22. saith, the righteousness of God without the Law, that is, without the Law of Works, is made manifest, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Christ Jesus, unto all, and upon all them that believe; here are Faith and Works met, they are at odds about reconciling man to God. But here is one inspired with Gods own Spirit, Paul the Apostle, he certifies us, it's not works the Law of Works, but faith the Law of Faith, which justifies and makes the believer reputed a fulfiller of Gods will. The Law of Moses had been able to have saved us, if we had been able to have observed it: now that we cannot observe the Old Law of Moses, God hath made a New Law, we shall be saved by belief in Christ Jesus, and this is called the New Covenant. When God gave out the Law of Works first, it was not to save any by it, for God knew, none could do what he commanded: but the Law of * The ten Commandments. Works was given, First, to discover man's infirmities, Three ends of the Law, to discover, to humble, to guide on. like a glass in which to let him see the warts and wens growing upon the face of his Conscience. Secondly, that Law was given to humble man, whileft seeing he had enjoined so much, and had failed in all. Thirdly, that Law was given, to be a Schoolmaster, to teach man the way to his Master, which Master, is our Lord and Saviour, who hath done for man, what man cannot for himself, whose belief Christ hath done it for him, brings all home, and makes, it man's own. How can Christ's fulfilling the Law be made mine? Object. Let me ask thee, Did not one sin, Res. and all became guilty? Wilt thou not then admit this one's righteousness is able to make many righteous? If thou wilt not, I will prove it, by an undeniable witness, Est Deus test is, God is my witness, whilst he saith, * Isa. 53.11 By my righteous servant, shall many be made righteous: that place will persuade thee to subseribe to what delivered. The sin of one brought death upon all, and the righteousness of one, should it restore life but to one? since the sin of the first Adam was made mine, why may not the righteousness of thesecond Adam be made to appertain to me? The disobedience of one hath spoiled me, and shall not the obedience of another better me? It is my belief, and this my belief is grounded upon God's word; that as by one man came sin into the world; so by that one man Christ righteousness. And as we whilst Adam did transgress, were reputed for transgressors, so we, Christ fulfilling God's Law, are reputed to do, what is God's will in the Law. The honour of the deed is dayed us, yet not by the Law of Works, but by the Law of Faith in Christ Jesus, while our belief in him estate us in his Works. The Avowry. For my onws part, I am resolved upon it, to beg of God the gift of faith, which can interest me in that I never sweat for, yea, and though I fail in much, make me reputed one who hath done God's will in earth, as it is in Heaven. We stand in need of two Graces to put ut this Petition, Wisdom. * Graces two. Resolution. Wisdom to discern what is Gods will. The Paralle. Resolution to do as God wils. By the advice of wisdom I make my choice. By Resolutions assistance I follow the chase. Wisdom discovers, Resolution pursues: and what that first presents, this latter lays hold on. This is hath made me resolve upon it, The Avowry. to duplicate my Boon, and to beg of God, both these Graces, that so I may be enabled, both to discern, and do Gods will in Earth as it is in Heaven. The Grace in chief, Wisdoms Character. when I say this petition, I stand in need of, is Wisdom, as hard to be found as the Philosopher's stone, the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, and it we oft meet. This sacred wisdom we seldom meet with, yet when we meet with it, it makes us much set by; tells us among many proffers which to be preferred, in an harvest of employment, whose work we must do, when many masters, at whose bid we must be. In a case of doubt, lo the best resolver; when cross commands, lo the sole dictator, and one upon whom rests the Spirit of the Almight: This is one can acquaint Earth with Heaven's mind, sent out Gods from the Devils, gives us Gods in the wind, wils us to outrun the Devils: yea, one can sever out from the droke of lustful command, the pure grain of God's good will and pleasure. The Sun seems a little body of light in this great world: Wisdom is that great body of light in this * Man. little world, it gives more light to the soul, than the sun to the Body. The one lets us see what's betwixt heaven and earth: the other lets us see, the will of God in heaven, down to earth. Since it is wisdom hath the spirit of discerning, The Avowry. I am resolved, when I pray, to beg the grace of wisdom, that so I may discern God's will, which is to be done is Earth as in Heaven. The second grace prayed for in this petition, Resolutions Character. is Resolution, one of the worthies of Israel, who makes his way through an host of Philistims: a May at arms, and means to do what bid, or die i'th' field. this resolution is of an high spirit, and will on at what peril soever. He is more taken with the deed than danger; and hath ever showed himself a man of action, you cannot take him off, on what bent, but in despite of the devil he will do what God commands; he weighs not who gainsays, but goes on, he makes his way through a sea of troubles, and marches on through a wilderness of stinging serpents; he stands to his Commander Christ, though beset with staves and clubs: and if his honour be called to the Bar, his worship will be hard by, want this assistant resolution, and thy endeavour will perish in the blossom, and though it bud, will never bring out unto perfection. I will by God's good assistance hold on my resolution, The Avowry. and resolve while I live, yea all my life resolve, to do Gods will in earth as it is in heaven. The Vices prohibited are two, The Vices Foolishness. Cowardice. Foolishness, The Parallel. which wants wit. Cowardice, which wants heart. Foolishness, which cannot what God wils. Cowardice, which dare not what God wils. The one of those Vices, is deficient in wisdom: the other in fortitude. While that first hath heart to attempt, wants judgement to go about. That second hath judgement to go about, wants heart to attempt. Since the onset of either disinables me to do whatsoever God wils, The Avowry. I am resolved to pray my God to give me heart I attempt and judgement to go about, yea, and to do his will in Earth as it is in Heaven. Foolishness is the Vice I am here forewarned of, Foolishnesses' Character and a vice for which S. Paul did blame the Galatians. It is spiritual foolishness I now speak of, which is the Devil's purveyor, but the souls improverisher: one makes God neglected, his precept be passed by, and his will lightly looked on. This vice will not let in master overcharge his head piece, makes him let of, or ought put in; its resetter is troubled with * hemeans that's good. nought, for hath not so much wit, yet encumbered but not about what bid, and busy but to no purpose; he finds himself enough to do, whilst he doth nought, and makes others jest his earnest; he minds all but Gods will, for his wit will not serve him to see what God wils: he hath this part of an innocent in the swaddling belt; the infant's head, as if begun newly to live, yet all his life he is to learn: he is yet to go to the school, and let him have never so good a Master, he proves a bad scholar; you may as well hold your tongue, as tell him of heaven, and certify him, what is God's good pleasure and it's all lost labour. I know one in spirituals so foolish, as when bid say his Lord's Prayer, he told his Minister he was brought up with hard labour, not used to learn, to give you it in his own English, such bible babbles. How doth this vice underprize that of highest price, like the dunghill cock the precious soon. For my own part, I am resolved, The Avowry. to beg of God, by the foolishness of preaching, to expel out of my soul, this foolish natural, left this natural, spiritual foolishness, be my hindrance to do Gods will in Earth as it is in Heaven. The second Vice we are warned to banish is spiritual Cowardice, Cowardizes' Character. a child of the Devils own begetting, he dare not * Peter, resist the Devil and he will fly from you. stand his ground, and this his brat is scared with every bugbear: I wonder a coward, & got pranking into the heart, except to hid him. It is this spiritual cowardice in abstracto which hath prevailed to call back resolution, his nigh admittance to the heart and alliance in blood to all in the Isle of Man, makes this weakling thus strong: the feebler he is, the more potent in power; a paradox in nature, yet verified for truth. How doth this one spiritual Cowardice enfeeble the heart, stonish the understanding, and make will, which would do good, retreat. O experience can teach what harm this one doth a Christian, made the seven thousand in Israel hid their heads, and when Baal was to be worshipped, not a man for God to be known to the Prophet. The fear of the arm of man is an enemy to the will of God: and his will is little set by, when the word of man strikes a terror. O the noise of Gebal and Ammon and Amalek if that daunt, down goeth God's cause. A heartless proffessor, the less his heart, the stronger is his party, to withlet what God would: let this Cowardice be billeted in the heart, and there quarter, and this one will be the death of all the horse * God's gifts and graces. men of Israel, they will fall in a swound, suddenly retreat, and in their retreat get their death-blow. But in contempt and scorn of this unchristianlike cowardice, which will not go on when God commands; this shall be my Motto, I weigh not what man can do unto me. For this dastard I have, a, dare, and Joshuas, I will, wounds him to the death. For my own part, by God's good assistance, The Avowry. I am resolved upon it to quit myself like a man, lest while I harbour an unmanlike heart, my heart fall off to do Gods will in Earth as it is in Heaven. A Divine Contemplation upon the Third Petition. Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven. Here I see what I should do, but I Lord how I fail in the performance. Thou O God hast set me a pattern, but I come as far short of the sampler, as the Heavens are distant from the Earth; I can soon learn to know what I should do all my life is too little to learn to do what I know. O God my God, though thou hast given me an understanding heart, yet I find in me my flesh a perverse will, even one who is wonderfully unwilling to do thy will in Earth as it is in Heaven: What hast thou left undone to teach me to do thy will. The Law of Nature, the Law of Moses, the Gospel of Christ Jesus: they spell and put together thy good will and pleasure. Thou hast given me these to teach me, Angels to guide me, and all to lead me to know and do thy will in Earth as it is in Heaven. If Ile would plead igrance, thy unwritten Law in my heart condemns, thy written Word, the Law and Gospel bear witness against me. Nor is this all, but those my samplers, thy Angels, shall one day cry to thee, to take vengeance on me. O how ought my heart to relent, when in secret I think upon it; what pains thou hast taken, and yet how unprofitable a scholar I have been in thy school. Those to whom thou givest much, of them much is expected: I have received a large portion of instruction, but O the lesson of obedience is not yet taken out. Dear Father, I confess my wickedness in thy presence; I pray thee have merey upon me, have mercy upon me, and after the multitude of thy many mercies in Christ Jesus, forgive me all my sins and trespasses. O the thought what's to be done, and how it's to be done, assures me I am * he means without mercy. undone. This is thy Will, and these are my Works; Was ever light and darkness, truth and falsehood more opposite the one to the other? Had I but half an eye, I might see, what will be my end without amendment. O thou who delightest not in the death of a sinner, heal the disease in my soul, my soul is sick to death, yet Lord, say the word, and thy servant shall be healed: O thou Physician of souls, give me a potion of faith, faith to believe, and the cure is wrought. It cannot be my acting, but any believing, how Christ hath exactly acted my part, must make my weak works well, and gain them my Gods good liking. Let my belief in thee beget a willingness in me, to do thy will; Then my God for Christ his sake will accept of my will for the deed. Tack up then my Soul, and look up to that brazen Serpent Christ. In him, and by him, thou hast done the deed: yet when all is done, say it is no morel, but Christ who dwelleth in me. But if out of Christ, thou art out of hopes, to do Gods will in Earth as it is in Heaven The natural man is the impotent man, and can neither the Quid nor Quale: It's no marvel, for saith S. Paul, He perceives not the things of God. O my soul, while thou art in the state of corrupted nature, thou art in an hell of disobedience. Let the noise of the Law awake thee, the voice of the Gospel allure thee, to march out of Egypt, out of Sodom, out of thy natural state and condition. Soul, why standest thou gazing? while in Nature nought can be done, neither what God wils, nor as he wils. O thou God of all Spirits, create in me a new heart; take me out of the old Adam, engraft me in the new: make me a branch of that Vine, Joh. 15. and I shall bring forth clusters of ⋆ grapes. Of myself I have no power to bring forth: only in Christ I live and move in an Angelical sampler of obedience. I must go out of myself, ere I can get into the footsteps of they Angels. Let the Archangel of the Covenant enable my feeble soul, to do thy will in Earth as it is in Heaven. The fourth Petition. THe fourth Petition presents itself before your presence, in which a Boon is put up for man to God, witnessed while said, Give us this day our daily Bread. Here I find one only word needs explaining, Bread, we want of our wills, if we have not Bread every day in our mouths: our headpieces must now give it harbour, that as the material bread pleases the , so the marrow, A Paraphrase upon the petition, what we pray for. I mean its meaning, may satisfy our understanding, here we pray for bread, that God would give us bread: this day bread, daily bread, our daily bread; for substance, bread; for proportion, this day bread; for condition, such as we use daily; for appropriation, our daily bread: A Review. not sell, but give; not one, but us; not us here, but us all, not this meals meat, but this day's meat; not this days [only, but daily; not that's another's, but that's ours. A paradox, our need is daily, our daily need, daily bread: the daily bread we need, is this day our daily bread; this is it we beggars beg of our good Rabboni, give us this day our daily bread: this last word, bread, is the first word I will fall in hand with, I hope all your stomaches in like sort stand to it. There are three sorts of Bread as Bonaventure well observes, Corporal Spiritual. Eternal. The Corporal Bread, is Simple, and Single; or, Mixed, and Miscellan. 1. By Corporal Bread fimply understood, I mean bodily Bread made to feed on, and sustain life with, and thun the word is used, Mat. 15.33. where it is said by Christ's Disciples, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? and this I call feeding Bread. The mixed corporal Bread, made as it were of Miscellan; by it I mean Bread made up of a proper and signification, not only such bread as we eat, but all things necestary for this life, and thus Bread is taken, Exod. 23.25. where said, I will bless thy Bread. Prov. 20.13. I will satisfy thee with Bread: by it is meant, God will give a supply of all earthly necessaries for this life. 2. There is a Sacramental * Spiritual and Sacramentell. bread; that this is so, turn to 1 Cor. 10.16. The Bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? And this I call signifying Bread, or Bread symbolical. 3. There is a third bread, bread Eternal; to prove this, turn to Joh. 6. where said, Ego sum panis vivus, I am the living bread: this bread is Christ. A piece of this bread, who so tastes of, shall never hunger, and this I call the lasty Bread. Now here we pray for corporal Bread, bodily sustenance, sacramental Bread, to have still a taste of that consecrated shive which shows out Christ's death. Here we pray for that eternal Bread, for Christ, that God would give us Christ, interesting us in him all, his Birth, Death, Resurrection, Ascension. And thus while we say this petition: 1. We pray for Bread to nourish our bodies. 2. The Sacrament to strengthen our feeble faith. 3. For Christ to feed our souls to life everlasting. And these are the three sorts of Bread shadowed out by the three loaves in the Gospel: the first loaf whereof can suffice humane life: the second loaf conserve spiritual life: the third loaf preserve life eternal. Now Lord ever give us of this Bread, The Supplicat. that so Lord here we may live, live well, and live with thee, hold out the life of nature, The Collect. live the life of grace, and attain to the life of glory. a All these three sorts of Bread are included, yet all, as I suppose, are not intended, not the Sacramental Bread, for that was asked in the second petition, As it is conjectured by some, viz. Bread i'th' Church keeping, by which I mean, not Shewbread, provided for Priests, but Communion-bread equally by us Ministers distributed to the receivers; nor yet is the Bread eternal here meant, for here we pray but for a day's Bread; that lasts for ever, this ends with supper. The Bread then primarily here meant is corporal Bread, not restrained literally to bodily Bread only as meat for, the belly, this is not all we here pray for; but the Bread here meant is corporal Bread, meant at large figuratively. And the petition involves a Boon, that God would bestow on us all things necessary for this life. And so I come to give you the sense and meaning of this fourth petition, Give us this day our daily Bread. That is, Good father of us all, be pleased to bestow on us all things necessary for this life: yea whatsoever thou seest in thy wisdom behooveful for us. Lo an immense Boon begged in one line, all we want, and in word, a short expression, but a large, look for, not much said, yet much craved, apparent whilst only bread asked, and in ask it, all neceffaries. But how comes so much meant, when so little said? here is only Bread asked, can it involve all things else? 1. I answer, this is named in stead of all, propter excellentiam, quod instar omnium, want it, we had as good want all, no comfort can be taken, and take this away; neither in apparel, pleasure, profit, diet, or aught, indeed it is one gives a relish to all earthly bliss. 2. We name Bread for all, propter capacitatem, give us food to live by, and while life is preserved, threr is a step on, to what not, to the attaining of every good and perfect gift of God, Temporary, as health, wealth, etc. 3. Propter singularitatem, it is the staff of life, and notes out, he that God gives food to, gives him as great a blessing as is upon earth. I will, though I have no more, God The Avowry. praise for what I have, and account his dole of Bread, a blessing supper exceeding. The Doctrines deducible from this The petition, The Doctrines. now next come in; the division of the petition into parts must help us to make privy search to find them out: the parts of the petition are two: Which tell us Of whom we beg. Which tell us What we beg. 1. He of whom we beg, it is God our Father. 2. That we beg, is this day our daily Bread. For quiddity, it is Bread or such Bread we use daily. For quality, daily Bread, or such Bread we use daily. The quidddity begged, being Bread, prays us to take notice of these Two, Panis quantus. Panis cujus. Panis quantus, how much Bread is begged, but a day's Bread for this days Bread. Panis cujus, Note. who owes Bread begged, it is ours, we pray God to give us ours, that what is ours by the law of man by the Law of man we owning it, the God of heaven may interest us in it, confirming our earthly possenssion, by his heavenly blessing. I will endeavour to increase my earthly talon, The Avowry. yet never conceit my title is good to it, until the Lord confirm my humane get by his heavenly grant. We have taken a general view, let us now take a special survey of every parcel of this petition. The first part of its division certifies us, of whom we beggars, beg all earthly necessaries. It is of God the Father: He is the full furnished housekeeper, we the poor needy ones, and we are come to beg of him a supply; what need we beg, but that we want? why would we ask of God, if God had not enough to give? our desiring God to give, must make us all grant. It is God can supply all our wants, Doct. he hath a full stored magazine can never be emptied; the windows barrel which feeds many, doth never diminish; and if the Son of God can satisfy such a sort, and make more to be taken off board, than was set on the table; it is a strong surmise the Father is of equal power. Historians say, nigh Edinburgh, is a fountain of oil, take never so much, there is never the less: if all the earth come and draw out of this fountain, God, they shall find as much left for them to come, as when they first came. At his right hand, id fullness for ever, he feeds all with his blessing, the Lilies, provides for the Ravens, satisfies the hungry Lions, and is he, who gives us our meat in due season; What want we which God cannot furnish us with? is it peace? says Christ, my peace I give you: want we victory? he causes our enemies to fly seven ways before us: want we issue? he hath an Isaac for a Sarah, a Baptist for an Elizabeth: To come home to what instanced; want we food? he can make the ravenous Ravens bring it to his Prophet. Well, The Avowry. I will rely on him is such a worthy, who with his least word can supply all I want. A doctrine which is full foully fallen out with divers, Use with Herod who is seeking honour, but of the Plebeians. Simon Magus, who thinks to get power apostolick, but by his money. Saul, who hopes to find ease, but by the instrument. Dives, who imagines he shall get his souls Requiem but by building his barns bigger. Adam, who thought there was no way to be better like, but by eating of the forbidden fruit; all these have left God, and run after the imaginations of their own hearts, The Collect. forgetting who it is, hath ability to preserve life, give earthly content, peace of conscience, the gift of the holy Ghost, magnificent majesty. While all these walk will, The Avowry. and have lost their way, should lead them to hit of what they want, I am resolved to suit my God, and none else for whatsoever needful. Now be please to take notice of what it is we beggars beg, this day our daily bread, for quiddity, it is bread; for quality, household berad: not Manna bread, not manchet, but such as we use daily. For quiddity, that begged is bread, what bread begged. That in the name of all, and for all, Doct. it implies we have no right to aught, till begged it, we are born naked, to note our beggarly generation, when we be come to man's estate, what have we that we have not received? nor receive we ought, till we have asked it: a modest word, but found'st the same with begged it, we are beholden to God for all we have, and have due to nought, till Da domine demise it. What have our children, but from us? what have we, which is not given by our heavenly Father? Since it is all O Lord thou givest, Lord what a largesse is it that thou givest? since from none else we receive, it is thee only, O Lord, to whom I will give thanks: since it's all we who want, and all sorts of necessaries, Lord whaten beggars be we, as poor and needy as the Church of Laodicea, as the poor man had all taken from him, hence we are bid go beg, go ask, but ask goes before having, and hath avouched, we wanted till we asked. I am resolved to acknowledge my needy necessitated condition by nature, The Avowry and for supply, to repair unto my Maker. The quiddity begged, bread, wils us to casta glance at Panis quantus. Panis cujus. The panis quantus, or the how much bread begged, is this day bread, bread for this day, as it were weighed our for a day, we have leave to crave no more; it shows our requests must either be limited for the world, Doct. or else will burst out to be boundless. And for this cause it is, here is set up an Hercules pillar, to march no further: a non datur ultra, a not go beyond, lo a bound to our desire, a pitch to our petition, a landmark not to be removed; we must not enlarge the bounds of this our boon, but limit it within the Lords leave. How much doth this Thesis tax, Use greedy to get, and unsatiable to be sufficed, the horseleech language and Midas his wish, I mean a sort who are malcontent, have they never so much, who the more they have, the more they crave. I shall meet with these ere they ware, and before I have done this petition, stab them with a spiritual partisan. In the interim, The Avowry. it is my resolution to limit my just and not let it frisk out, to covet what not conceded. The next thing in this part of this petition we are to discourse of, is panis cujus, which certifies us whose bread is begged, we ourselves beg that is ours. Ours and begs it, this may call into question, what interest we have in the creature. There is a right a priore, a foreright. a posteriore, an after-right. A fore right in the state of innocency, by the creative law God conferring. An after-right in this state of misery, by law national man assuming. That first was a grant to be Lord over all, demized to the species. The second an act to have and to hold this or that, demized to the individual. That first and great Charter we lost in Eden, it is saln to God by excheate again. The less and underling Patent we retain, and have right to what we have, jure humano, vix jure Divino, and therefore we call it ours, yet therefore we pray it may be ours. And that as the law of man hath made it mine, so the grant of God may confer it fully. And pray we to God, and to give, and what is ours. And shall it not lend me eyes to see, Doct. my state to my estate is not good, till God confirm it; what we have, we have a broken title to it, till a better title be procured of God, by petition: what Adam forfeited by default, we have rein stored by a supplicat; Ne putetur à nobis, dicimus D● nobis. Aug. epist. 143. nor must we think we own that we have, till that we have be made our own by prayer and supplication: it was Adam's act disannulled our right to the creation, we are to be re-estated, but how? by prayer; here is nought now to be had by command, but by entreaty: and let us pray to God, and God will give what we pray for, even us, this day our daily bread, that is, all earthly necessaries. I am resolved never to be brag of what I have, The Avowry. nor yet to reckon my goods mine own, until my prayers have procured a Certificate, the Lord hath put into my hand that my talon. This for the quiddity, bread; for quality it is such bread, is begged as is used daily, it makes me conceit it is household bread, no curious cate, no delicious dish, no cluster of grapes, nay rather it is judith's parched corn made up into a cake this simple fare and no better, Doct. we being allowed to solicit, foreshows our requests for the world must be moderate, not mighty ones, but midling; not much, more but as much as will suffice; a competency, no plurality; ordinary sustenance, not extraordinary abundance: in a word, we must be content with what comes next to hand; and not look for largesses, but what God pleases, and be it flesh and bread with the Prophet, thank God for it, if pulse and water, with Daniel accept of the dole. 1. When I consider what I have, Three motives to move us to moderate appetite. is more than I deserve, may it not make me content with what I have? I will cast an eye at my own unworthiness, a means to moderate my otherwise instatiable appetite. 2. When I consider he to whom God hath given least, God owes him less than nought; how much cause have they to bless God, who have much; while I no cause to repine who possess the less? 3. When I consider a modicum, a very little is satisfactory, and can support nature, I will not then, to pamper nature, displease my God by greedy grudging. But rest satisfied, The Collect. while I call to mind, this is sufficient, more than owed, or I deserve. How irreconcilably is this divine Doctrine fallen forth with the sole soul affecters of Jonathans' purple: Use Dives his demeans, Hamans' honour, who think they are not, if they have not, court countenance, large revenues, and rich , whose thoughts aspire like Pyramids, and with the Lark mount up, with the Hawk tower up inthe air; I like not this Jersaulkons flight, to whose sudden soar up, is ever concomitant a sudden speedy fall flat. A moderation of mind, is a blessing of God, who resists the proud, decrees not many rich, and avers man being in honour, lasts not long: since this I know, The Collect. this I resolve, to period my appetite with agnad po, and bound it like the boundless Ocean within the banks of moderation. The Cases of Conscience come now to be discussed, they are three; first discussable, is this. How cometh it to pass, 1. Case. that I who pray, get so little? The default is not in the supplicated, Answ. but suppliant, not in thy God, O man to whom thou prayest, but in thyself, Woman who sayest thy prayers. God would let thee have what thou askest, if thou askedst as thou shouldst. And whereas thou mayst rebound, is it not bid, ask and have? All that implies, is, thou canst have nought without ask, yet that denies not, but thou mayst ask and go without; every prayer is not prevalent, every petition not prevailing: the act of praying then, must have added, an aliquid amplius, a somewhat beside to it: To the outward action, inward devotion, heart and tongue must be in the same tune, else our prayers will be as little set by, as those against whom God cries out, you come nigh unto me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me. I will not sever those God would have joined together, The Avowry. lest the separating my heart from my tongue in prayer, procure a separation betwixt my supplicat and Gods grant. This is a received Maxim in Divinity: that, 1. God will neither give his child every thing he asks. 2. Nor always that one thing he asks. 1. For the first, God knows, too much makes us too dissolute, and therefore, will not, we have all we hold out hand for, he will carve us out what fit, will not we have all we cry for; out of the depth of his heavenly foresight, he keeps us with an appetite, for knoweth welcome is a bit of bread, to the hungerstarved: in truth if God were profuse of his blessings, we might have more, but perhaps would thank him less; abundance of earthly bliss, is the clipwing of devotion: whereas a want of the quantum, is a qualifying affliction, which makes me worse like, but more thankful to my Maker. 2. God doth not always give his child that he asks, he will give us a shive of what loaf he likes, not what we please. 1. Perchance thou prayest for health of body, Two instances. God denies it, & gives thee, mentem sanam baud in corpore sano, a good heart in a sick body: shall I now complain of my God, who denies me the minus and gives me the majus; withholds the pejus, and confers upon me the melius? O my God, The Avowry. I will for ever give thee thanks, whilst thou deniest me temporal blessing, but bestowest on me thy spiritual trousures. 2. Perchance thou prayest for wealth, and God visiteth thee with poverty; thou missest what thou lookest for, yet it may be gettest more than thou prayedst for: God who detains what thou wouldst have, can recompense thee with that thou standest more need to have; yea repay the loss of thy expectance with the gift of contentation. Well, The Avowry. I will bid farewell this terrene, fail for this heavenly, hit of, which makes me find more savour in my dough cake, than in all Dives his delicious fare. Lord bestow on me thy bliss, The Supplicat. and be it little, I will count it more of worth, than they that have their store of corn, and wine, and oil. Is this, How cometh it to pass, 2. Case. wicked who pray not, get much earthly means, and much more than the godly: David understood not this case, till he went into the house of the Lord, verbum Dei est Dei domus, God's Word is God's house, we have been in it, and now hear, what here we have heard; it's this, first that riches as a bliss are obtained by prayer: riches as snares are got without, the good man, God gives an estate to be his here comfort: the wicked he likewise gives, but to leave him Inexcufable. 1. There is a grant to inherit to the godly, a connivance only for the wicked to acquire, which whilst he hath licence to possess, he useth hasty and unhonest means to attain; he multiplies amain, but by what means he makes no matter: his Brokers to bring in, are of ill report, such as overreach, cousin, that can, sell time, oppress the poor, swear't out, lie at length; these the wicked worldling employs in his service, and with them serves his turn; by whose unconscionable fetches he comes to outgo, in getting, the good man, and gets more in a year, than he in ten: yet to the comfort of God's servants, hear what S. Austin saith, bonis divitioe dantur ne putentur mala, malis ne putentur bona, God gives good men riches, that riches might not be counted evil things: riches are given to wicked men, and then the name of good thing they are deprived; and thus when the elect doth get, it is no hurt, when the wicked, it is no good; a passage may moderate our admiration: considering since those their goods, are no good things, so called, not so being; so esteemed, not so indeed; the default being in the occupiers, not that in occupation; which no marvel the wicked own in such abundance, since their very selves have spoiled their nature, and as wares of no worth, as counteerfeit coin they keep them, making a great show of them, but no true use of them; like he that hath a bag of bad coin, which serves to rattle, not to run for currant. Secondly, know good Christian, the wicked who have so much, have it for a short space: saith David, I looked at the wicked, and he flourished like a green bay tree, I looked again, and he was not: lo in a very trice the case is altered, his house desolate, his children vagabonds, and in the next generation his name is quite blotted our; what he hath is only durante vita, for his life at longest; which what is it, but a span for length, a post for speed: thus as a thing of no continuance, he enjoys his joy, and his term is ended with Fonas' gourd: or say his means stay by him, he cannot long stay by it, but must be gone and departed. Thou sayest the wicked hath more than thou that servest and fearest the Lord: alas, when one hath all his estate laid on an heap, it makes a fair show, but that in show is all. In very deed, the wicked hath all his portion in this life, nought is behind; whereas the heir God's child thinks himself of better estate with a scant allowance, while he doth remember what to have hereafter: and thus with the purchaser, he is content with a clod in hand, though Tenant at will, like: the wicked have in occupation the whole earthly demean, O he is overgladded with it, to think upon it, that sod of earth ensures him of the fee-farm heaven, like the bite of bread the body of Christ. For my own part, The Avowry. I will not weigh what I have, but what it is I have, ensures me of; nor will I judge of God's kindness by earthly courtesies, while Gods little ensures his largious. Is this, 3. Case. With what cautions may I pray for riches? this case speaks home not ot our possessing them, but our praying for them: and know it, as there is a danger in their use, so in our ask; when we come to put up this petition, our tongues are oft too glib, and our hearts over intent; now lest while we expect a good, we get harm, observe these cautions in praying for worldly riches. 1. Pray for a mediocrity; Three Cautions. for as too little discourages, so too much makes proud and puffes up: Hagar was sensible of this, and therefore begs neither riches nor poverty; he knew extreme want was an hindrance to the practice of piety, and therefore begged a somewhat: he knew much misled, and withdrew from God, and therefore begged not abundance: let me tell thee, and for the truth of God, he whose tongue is all in it superlatives for this world, his heart harbours diminutive desires to inherit the world to come: when I take leave to ask much, my much endamnifies me mightily, when I cry Da Domine quod vis, my God tees my needs, and that he gives. Physicians, say, a grain of Opium procures sleep, more, danger and death: so a little of these called Opens, riches are beneficial to nature, whereas a superplus is dangerous, oft death. I am resolved to petition God for a little of worldly riches since helpful, The Avowry. not for excessive riches, since insured exceeding hurtful. 2. Pray not for riches in the first place: we are allowed to beg them of God, but God will not they be first begged, he would have our prayers witness we do not overprize these worldly riches, and to testify our desire to have, to ask, yet so to ask, as to divulge our affections are not set on things below: He that commands me, first to seek the kingdom of Heaven, hath schooled me to pray for this earth in the second place. I may spoil my petition by misplacing, and in stead of a bliss, be answered with a Nescio vos, he that hath given me leave to sue to him for health, wealth, honour, counts it his dishonour, that any should ask his Kingdom after them: commonly what is first on my tongue end, is first in my mind, and it is apparent my mind is most on the world, whilst my tongue, imprimis, petitions God for it. This is the bewrayer of my unlawful desire, and that it is more than beseemìng, the spoil prayer, viz. to pray for goods before God's Kingdom. I am resolved upon it, The Avowry. to put earth after, till Heaven be prayed for, and to make my prayer legitimate, I will first set my affections on things above, then on things below. 3. Pray for riches respectively, Caut. 3. not simply, as a help on, not as an hindrance; which like poison if qualified, may do good; if not, nought more dangerous. Pray for riches to be to thee not as the broken reed of Egypt, which if thou lean on, runs into thy hand; but as the poor pilgrim's staff, which he uses when he is half tired, to ease himself on; and as the weak pilgrim, who waxes weary, desires his staff to lean on, and go with: so know it, we are pilgrims and strangers, our home fare off, our * Affections. feet sore surbet, we would on, but unable; and it is lawful for us to call for this staff of maintenance, to ease us and further us in our heavenly pilgrimage: if the world encumber, we must lay the very thoughts of it by; if it further, we may pray for it; yet as the pilgrim makes use of his staff, not for itself, but as a support to set forward, a safeguard to defend: so we must pray to God to put this rod and staff into our hand, which as David's staff was a comfort for defence and furtherance, The Supplicat. the Lord grant such to us, may be our earthly riches. I am resolved to sipplicate my God for riches, and for no other end, The Avowry. than to make use of, as pilgrims do their staves, yea not for the love of them, but the help I have by them, to go more actively on, in the path of pious duties. The graces which this petition commends unto us, Are two, The Graces. 1. Confidence. 2. Contentation. 1. Confidence, The Parallel. which persuades me to believe my God can provide for me. 2. Contentation, which makes me rest satisfied with that God gives. Confidence, a grace which looks upward unto. God. Contentation, a grace which looks down at me may self. Confidence, a grace ascending. Contentation, a grace reglenting. That first, is stella erratica, and courses on from me to my Maker. That latter, is stella fixa, and I am the orb in which it doth move. I am resolved to keep these celestial stars, The Avowry. radiant in the orb my heart, that so they may lend light for me, man, to walk unto my Maker. Confidence, is a grace transcendent, Confidences Character. whose giver is God, whose receiver is man; whose object, that which man doth want: the want of that I would, sets a work my confidence, and whilst I have no more, it is this grace Confidence assures me my God will provide, and sufficient. This is the horn of man's hope, and the incredible creditor of the great God, whose word we take, power we rely on, mercy we hope for: and all this is brought to pass, by the Rhetorical oratory of that only one Confidence. O Confidence, it is thou that ensurest me how ever it go, yet it will go well with me in the end: how oft haft thou made me to cast my eye on my God, and with Abraham 'gainst hope to believe, with just Job in the face of death to despise its malice; and in my most horrid perilous dangers to fear nought, but stoutly to cry it out, Lo, though the Lord kill me, yet will I trust in him. This fiducia spei sets me to work, and makes me rely on my God for reward, to hope for the water of the well of Bethlthem, and to land at Candan in despite of all opponents. This Christian confidence is filius nobilis, of a great blood, and allied to the best, it is the eldest son of Faith, Hopes fastest friend, and Charity's chiet companion; the Physician that prescribes them cordials, and heals the running issues which sore vex these Theological virtues: it is my confidence in God strengthens my feeble faith, keeps my hope from headache, and makes my charity to actively agile, that able to walk on to heaven. I am resolved by God's good assistance, The Avowry. ever to retain the grace Confidence, since while I keep Confidence in the house my heart, the chief of my family, Faith, Hope, and Charity, though they le sick yet their sickness shall not be a sickness unto death. 2. Contentation is a grace of a rare virtue, Contentations Character this makes the poor man rich, the captive conqueror, and the oppressed take all for well done; let me welcome this one, which supplies all my worldly needs, and vows he that hath most, hath not more: this is that one which makes my little, more, and the more I see others have, the less it owner to repine: my forked heart, it is this that fills, and makes what ever it is to fully satisfy. I had rather own this one, than Croesus his wealth, Jason's golden fleece, or the great Cham's tree full of pearls hanging by clufters; what will all I have do me good, and go without it: the more I have, the more I will crave, till contentation stop my mouth. A grace, which whilst I look upward at the wealthier, walks further from from me; a grace which no gainer way I can get to, than by oft walking by the poor man's door. O, the thought not how many richer, but how many poorer, paddles me out the tract to meet with contentation. This is the perswafive orator makes King's content with their confines: Rectors with their Tenths, Lawyers with their Fees, Gentlemen with their Incomes Tradesmen with reasonable gain, and quiets the poor cottager within his thatched house: in a word, this is the pacifier of all people, which quiets the world with me, and me with my means. I am resolved to beg of God the gift of Contentation, since want this, The Avowry. and I can have no peace upon earth. The Vices. Two Vices are here prohibited, Diffidence. Covetousness. The Parallel. Diffidence, a vice which doubts of all. Covetousness, a vice which wishes all. Diffidence, a vice which looks for nought. Covetousness, a vice which would scape nought. It is Diffidence hath an evil heart. It is Covetousness hath an evil eye. The former vice offers violence to my Maker. This latter to my neighbour. Whilst the one makes me distrust God, the other heart-eat my neighbour's goods. For my own part, by God's good assistance, I am resolved upon it, The Avowry. to banish out of the coasts of my heart, Diffidence, Covetousinesse, lest letting them ledger in my Isle, I be taken for a common enemy to God and man. 1. Diffidence, is a vice we are to find out and set a packing: Diffidences Character. as I am informed it's dieted at the Nobleman's house of Samaria, countenanced by all Israel: it's yet alive, and hath made a march from Canaan to this our Kingdom. So many as dare not rely on God, so many have given it welcome: this is a vice offers injuries to Gods velle and posse, and makes a doubt of God's willingness, ableness to provide for us: it is not only man's ill desert begot this diffidence, but man's subordinate conceit of the worth of God, is this sinful vices sire. This Diffidence, makes the carnal wretch, that he dare part with naughts, for fear he want, and willeth him to hold what he hath, for no more is to be had. This is God's Embaser, its owner under, and the poors impoverisher: a vice which makes the poor be sent away without: it owner be out of all hopes of more, and God accounted of, as one not able to make me a man. * of means Of all vices, this is the most villainous, which despoils God of his power, the poor of our dole, the distrustful soul of all heavenly supply. What a mass of mischief doth this one make me? the God of heaven to withhold from me, and my own heart to distrust of better. How is my heart drowned with Diffidence, and my God displeased, while I want an heart to rely on him! This is the vice which would persuade me, my want is more, than God hath to instore, and will needs avouch, the good God can do me no good. The object of Diffidence, is sometimes God's mercy which it despairs of, sometimes earthly means, of which it puts us out of all hopes: this is an enemy to all worldly felicity, and my felicity in the world to come; it makes me uncapable of God's dole on earth, and Gods glories in Heaven. For my own part, The Avowry. by God's good assistance, I am resolved to part with him hinders me from having a part in God's mercy, glory, and to set this vice a packing, which persuades me to think, my God will not, hath not wherewith in this life to supply my needs. Covetousnesses Character 2. Covetousness is the vice, to which Ahab who was sick for Naboths vineyard; and Judas who betrayed Jesus for 30. pence, were partners: this is one would have all he can lay his hands on, and though he have much, yet more: he is in love with never a parable in the Gospel, but that of the talents; yet this he loves, for that it is like metal to his ours, and no geld gilded, but hegets more; not one none, but five ten. Had it not been, that covetousness is Idolatry, and makes his gold his god, he would not have listened to the letter of that text, however the spirit of it he hath passed it by. But come let us look this wretch Govetousnesse in the face, this is he doth horribly encumber his Master with coveting, getting, keeping, increasing; either he persuades him to covet to get, or get to keep, or keep to increase: this is the miser never lays out, but to bring in; nor leaves he to bring in, till at last the Devil. A King of this land, seeing the Danegilt gathered, cried out he saw the Devil and would none of it: if our covetous misers should see all Devils in hell, it's only a may be, I cannot say for certain, whether it would make them disperse and repay back with Zacheus, their ill got goods. But lo, what a gross vice is covetousness; this is it Masters Master, and will not he be free to one nor other: it makes him want what he hath, and starve his paunch to fill his purse. Behold the Owl, which all the birds in the field fly about as distasting: it is this miserly Covetousness, whose owner is like an hog, unuseful, till laid on the shambles; he is never a good Commonwealths man, till quartered and coupned out, and then he that hath fleeced many, feeds many: and whereas at other men's deaths there is weeping and lamentation, at his mirth and merriness; his friends all his life had ill days, their only good day is his dying day, whose death makes them live better, whose whole life is not so beneficial as his now death: the good man doth good works in his life, all good the miser doth, is at his death: this is he would make himself Executor, but not suffered; and would put in a bar as next a kin, but that taken bound hand and foot and cast into utter darkness: he that had so much, hath now as little; and for all his wealth, but a winding-sheet. This is it hath made me resolve upon it, The Avowry. to banish all covetous desires, and to rest content with that my Christ hath willed me to crave, even this day our daily bread. The Divine Contemplation upon the fourth Petition. Give us this day our daily Bread. Come down high thoughts, your Master is no better than a beggar: I thought he had been a man of means, but hath not meat to put in his mouth, and yet how do thoughts rise in his heart, so soon as revelling among the bowls of the Temple? Friend came thou honestly by so much, and waste owner even now of so little? There is as much danger in waxing suddenly rich, as in hiding thy talon in a napkin. But wilt thou see thy perfect picture? look at the man travelling from Jerusalem, he had all taken from him, and thou hast nothing, nothing of thy own. O! I am fallen into a melancholy fit to think upon it, how poor, how proud, and what a Nabuchadnezzar! and yet will vaunt it out, I have built this Babel for thy honour of my name: Take heed, if we speak thus high, we shall be cast low, brought to feed with the beasts of the field. He that will not acknowledge, how all he hath comes from God, shall have his commons changed from a princely Diet, to a Salad. O! when I think upon it, how much God hath given me, what an unthankful wretch I have been, it puts me in a sear to lose what is dear & near unto me. When I am in fear to lose what I have, what hopes have I to get what I need? yet I am upon my knees, and begging of thee, my God and my King, all earthly necessaries. This is it I beg, but why do I beg so oft, and go without? O! I have a false heart to my God; he knows it, and I suffer for it: were my heart as upright to God, as Jonadabs' was to Jehu, he would not only here care for me, but take me up at my end, into his princely * Kingdom of Heaven. Chariot. I wish my heart were the bell to ring me God In into my soul; then should my body he the Temple of the holy Ghost; my heart is a bell, my tongue is the clapper, yet surely there is a flaw in that, there is such a jar in this. O thou founder of this metal, cast me in a new mould, and I shall ring a peal to thy praise. Thou that madest me a man, make me a man of God, then shall I ask and have, beg and it shall be given unto me, corporal bread to feed my body, spiritual bread to feed my soul; bread eternal, able to feed body and soul to life everlasting. You see I aim at much, yet not master of a molehill, as poor as the Church of Laodieca, poor and needy and naked: I am fit to take than to give. Solomon begged neither riches nor poverty. A mean would do well; my prayer protests, I am in a sadder condition; I own nought, till Gods grant confirm it. O proud heart, lower thy topsail; God keeps a warehouse, where thou lodgest, and God can remove the Mart at his pleasure: Thou hast heard it cried, Bellisarius was a General. Date obolum: How is the world turned upside down, cannot the swordman keep possession? O no, it is praying, not fight must do the deed. Let me tell thee, what hands cannot do, tongue may do; so heart and tongue go together. O my God, whom thou hast joined together, let no man put asunder, lo the twins can overcome my God to supply all my wants: But I must come then to him like a praying Publican, lest speaking in the Dialect of the proud Pharisee, he set me packing like a saucy sinner. Lord, my want is great, learn me to beg a right: and when I pray, bow the Heavens and come down. And for the merits of our Jesus, grant me all my prayers and supplications. The fift Petition. THe fift petition is this, Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us; my method hath me at command, and overrules me to observe this rule: first to explain what word is difficult to be understood. All here is one, yet this one is twice used in this petition, only the number is varied: the word ambiguous is, Trespass, in the singular number, and Trespasses in the plural number. This one only word hath a double object, 1. God. 2. Man. 1. As it hath reference to man, it signifies to forgive damage done a man's estate or person [and thus the word is used, Numb. 5.6. Levit. 6.2. Mat. 6.15.] 2. As it hath reference to God, it signifies to forgive sin committed against God: and thus sometimes by this word, is understood violence offered. God, sometimes violence offered our neighbour; God wronging, man injuring; the one by ungracious sinning, the other by unjust dealing. The neglect of religious duties ushers in trespasses against God; the want of civilised morality makes me to trespass man: and whilst we trample underfoot the two great Commandments of the Law, viz. Love God above all, the greatest: the second like to that, thy neighbour like thyself: we break a gap open, by which we come to commit grievous trespasses against God and man. In a word, my inner man is a God trespasser, my outward it is the man trespasser: and as man is visible, so the the trespass against man is commonly discernible: and as God is invisible, so my trespass against God more commonly is covert; and this is that makes one so sore fret at, the other we so little fear, and yet here is but one name for two, to note out sins nature, that it is a trespass, aggravated for that against God; which how insufferable is this soul trespassing God, since a bodily wrong, there is this ado to make us put it up. O! man it is the nature of him, Note. oft to offend his God, and make it a matter of nought; but if injured by his like, to make it a matter of moment. And so much, as God must be engaged to forgive all, or he a trifle, all his sinful trespasses, as he the terrene trespass against him. And thus I go on, having done with the explication of the words * Trespasses and trespass. ambiguous. To give you the Sense and meaning of this fifth Petition, it's this, If a man would have his sins committed against God forgiven him, he must not nick on the score the ill turns his neighbour doth him; God will have us even on earth, or else he will be at odds with us in Heaven: The truth is, he will not be friends with us, till we shake hands one with another; my sinful debt runs on to God, and increases, if the wrong my neighbour hath done me, be not blotted out of my debt-book * Memory I will therefore forgive man, The Avowry. that I may be forgiven of God, and release my just cause of grievance against my neighbour, lest whilst I work my private spleen, I procure God's endless wrath. He that for an halfpenny would have a broken head, A review of the point in hand. I had rather be master of his wealth than wit. There are a sort as much overseen, who say, they care not what come of it, they will be revenged, they get costs and damage, but soon may count their gains A miserable gains, when the recovery of their damage, divulges there's a writ of enquiry sent exforo Coeli for God to be satisfied in strict point of justice for all their trespasses committed against him. I will cress out my debt-book, The Avowry. and tean in pieces my process, lest my toe strict calling to account every idle word, and prosecuting frivolous suits in Law, debar me of tho benefit of the Gospel, I mean the forgiveness of my sins. Having scented the Sense, let us go collect the points of Doctrine deducible from this fift petition. The Division will direct us the readiest way to do this, which prays us for our furtherance in so good a work to take notice of these two: 1. The materia, or matter which we pray for, it is God's forgiving us our trespasses against him. 2. The modus or manner to be forgiven, as we forgive others that trespass against us. This is it we first pray for, that God our Father would forgive us our trespasses. 1. The party we supplicate, is God the Father. 2. The Delinquents or offenders craved forgiveness for, are us. 3. That we would were forgiven us, are by nature trespasses; Which for Plurality, are many. Propriety, ours. Now few, yet set fasts, nor some man's, but every man's, as in special this man's, so in common all men's. And as all are interessed, so all in too many, too many are all our sins and trespasses. But come, let us cast a glance at him to whom we pray for forgiveness of sins. The party supplicated to forgive sins is God; this leads us by the hand to see this for the truth of God. That it is God can forgive us our sins and trespasses: Doct. a plain Doctrine yet pleasant, yet not more pleasant than profitable: who hath this power? if not God, Christ would never have advised us to pray to God for forgiveness, if he could not have forgiven us: He that made me so good when nought, now I am nought, no doubt can make me good: And as when I had little, God gave me much, so now I own much, he it is can remitit to a little, remission of sins is an article of my Creed. Though the Papists have razed the second Commandment out of the * ten Cómandements. Decalogue, we are not very kind, but we'll fall foully out, if they offer like violence to this article of remission. I will confess the faith, The Avowry. and maintain this for truth, that it is only God can forgive us our sins and trespasses. As he, so only he, which what power then he hath left to the Church, I will defer the decision of that, so much quered, I mean our absolution to a case of conscience * But the case could not gain an imprimatur. The * Offenders. delinquents craved forgiveness for, are us, not us here, but us all, wheresoever, whosoever: This, us, is an universal, and reaches from Dan to Beersheba: It predicates of all people, and proclaims every singular sold is a sinner: you must not doubt of this, Doct. since the Law hath concluded all under sin, we are all such sinful trespassers against God, that if we come to be tried by the law we shall be forced to cry out to the * Christ. judge for the benefit of our * Gospel. book. We read Gen. 5.6. that the imaginations of our hearts are continually evil; and as after a stone be cast into a pond, Simil. one bubble begets another and so circular bubbles till all be set with beastly bubbles: so ever since that infernal, original sin, was hurled by Adam's hand into man's heart, our hearts have risen up with bubbles of beastly vices, and they have not left to spread, till they have wholly overspread all this pond the heart. Look as a fountain whose springs ever cast up an incessantly, so it is with the heart: its springs are opened, will never be shut. But what springs up? waters of Mera, * Evil thoughts. brackish, unsavoury and unwholesome till healed by the Lord. You'll scarce believe what a corrupt fountain is the heart of of man, but turn to Mat. 15.19. there you may see what springs out of it: Out of the heart cometh evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: Here are seven springs, and not one wholesome one among them all: here are seven measures of seed i'th' sprout, yet all that comes up, are tares sown by the envious man: Here are seven sheaves ripened and fit to be inned, and not one ear of good grain to be seen in any of them: What degenerate ground is this heart of man? how much brings it out, and how little to be set by? We are Gods husbandmen, but alas, how have we let lie * Unhusbanded. uncultured this vineyard of the Lords, Heart? It's not one, but all of us, have need with strong cries to beseech the Master of the vineyard not to lay it to our charge, but forgive us our trespasses. 3. Now I come to that we pray God to forgive us, our trespasses, he that hath as mean fight as the man, Mark 8. who saw men as trees, may see by trespasses are meant sins: In two things our sins resemble trespasses. that which I already have noted, and again desire you to take notice of, is this: 1. That our sins are of the nature of trespasses; for as unneighbourly trespasses sow dissension betwixt man and man, so our sins betwixt God and us, they are just cause of grievance, and urge him to commence a suit against us in his court of justice. 2. As he that trespasses his neighbour, his neighbour may recover damage, so our sins cast us in damage. And it is no little, amounting to more than all our goods, to the loss of our lives, to the first death, death of body, and without God be merciful and remit, to that second death, death eternal, a passaage would be well thought on; which may make us admire how much our mild and merciful God puts up at our hands, we may say God is a good neighbour, who bears so much with us, and that earth hath no cause to complain of heavens hard neighbourhood. I am resolved to take notice that so maity sins are so many trespasses committed against God, The Avowry. That so my notice taken of my sin, may work a wonderful amazement in me at God's mercy. I have divers yet to go visit, and I will on, next in sight are a sort of our overnigh alliance, even, our trespasses. 1. Which for plurality are many, for trespasses. 2. For propriety they are ours, our trespasses, and we own them. First, for plurality they are many, what need I collect that so apparent and from the text? Doct. It's many sins of which we are conscious: would you make a privy search through soul, survey life and conversation, I might spare pains to bring in witness, or would we Christians tread in the steps of Phoeylides the Heathen, Hist. who every night ere he went to bed, recounted over thrice all the evil that day he had done. O what a sort of all sorts of sins would be within sight! as many might we spy, as the hairs of our head, sand on the shore, stars in the firmament: the misery of a man is, he is a sinful creature; his greater misery is, Man's greatest misery. he takes on notice of his sins. How hath the God of this world blinded the eye of our understanding! Juggler's make what not, seem to be; Satan what is, as not to be: that enemy which lives in our own house, is the Devils fast friend; our evil heart, this labours to hid from us all our evil deeds. If there be a wonder upon earth, it is this, The world's wonder. That man who is all sin, sees no sin; and as he that is drunk, tell him of it, he will scarce believe it, Simil. but will walk out, and vaunt and vault as if none such: so is it with us all, we are drunk, but not with wine, have swallowed with the Leviathan an Ocean of sin, yet we walk and jet abroad, as if not such sinners as God knows we are. I am in haste, yet amresolved, The Avowry. to try my heart and search my reins, yea to sift out my conversation, and all to find out those I am sure do harbour * In my heart. here, even a multiplicity of sins and tresyasses. Judge how much should be our sorrow, Use since our sins so many; let us go weep with Rachel, let our weeping be like the weeping of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo: we read how Mary wept much, for she had sinned much, and shall we sin much, and sorrow little? God forbidden. Let every sin cause us to shed a tear, which if we did, I am persuaded we might sail to heaven by a sea of tears; what a shame then for our tears as yet, not to have watered our cheeks? pray to God those * Tears. Ezek. 47. temple waters may rise and increase from the ankles to the knees; from the knees, to the loins; from the loins, to be a river impassable. Take my word for it, there was never any went to heaven by dry land: there is no way to heaven, but by water. It's the water of tears through which we must sail, which the deeper the less danger; the faster they flow, the more secure is the * The penitent sinner. passenger from being run a ground on shelves, and shallows, and sands. I am resolved to fear a shallow, The Avowry. when not fear't a deep; and to think myself never more safe from being a cast away, than when I have store of sea room, of watery tears to steer in. This for the plurality: the propriety is the next in sight, intimated in this word, Our, Forgive us our trespasses. This * Our possessive protests, sin is allied in full blood to Adam's brood, It is bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh: it is a branch sprouts from us the bowl; a slip, and we the knot; a spread weed, and our heart is the ground hath given it nutriment, groweth faddoming. The bark hath not nigher relation to the bowl, the sap to the heart of oak, than our sins to us; we are become one incorporated body, of one name, nation, family; nay more, it's we are sins procreating parents, and like none more than the viper, Hist. we bring them out which bring us to our deaths: yet while there is the least life in us, these our offspring will not be shaked off; they foot it after us, as cain's dog did after him: seem we to deny these to be our imps, they will not be said, but rame it out, we are thy works, and we will follow thee: Use This clamour of sinful works after us, may cause us to veil our topsail, not too much to stand upon our pantofles. If the fruit be bad, the trees not good; bitter fruit, a bitter root; what we are, would God we had hearts to consider. For my own part I am resolved, The Avowry. as to believe what I may be lie grace, so to remember what I am by nature; yea to bear in mind, the whole posterity of Adam are incorporated into evil. The modus or manner is the last parcel in this petition considerale, we beg pf God to forgive us our trespasses; after what manner? as we forgive them that trespass against us. 1. We will cast a glance, at this last part of the petition, as all the words have relation to what foregoing. 2. As one only of them to one foregoing: for the first we beg forgiveness as we do forgive; Christ commands thus to ask forgiveness of our trespasses at God's hands, as we forgive our neighbours that trespass against us, and it shows, Doct. We shall be forgiven as we do forgive. It is our own metwand, our sins must be measured our by: it is our own scales our sins must be weighed our with; as we weigh out to others down weight of recompense for their trespassing us: as we cut them out by the standard, a retaliation of justice for wrongs offered us, even as we do to others, so shall it be done to us. Christ himself saith, With what measure ye meet out to others, it shall be meted out to you: as if Christ had said, if ycu look for satisfaction for man wronging you, so will God for wronging him, it you put up, not calling to account, so will the good God even strike off your reckoning. O! our hearty forgiving our neighbours the trespasses they have committed against us, binds Gods hands, he cannot take vengeance on us for our trespasses against him. Use A passage prays us, as we tender our own good, to be good one to another. The adage was, Homo homini lupus, if it still be so, let me tell thee, est lupus in fabula, he that is a wolf to his brother, holds a wolf byth'ear; and while he looks to right his wrong, doth himself the injury: how may this work like good physic upon all Gods good people, and purge out the old * Malice? leaven of the Pharisees. Three assurances we forgive 1. Let us forgive one another not by piecemeal, but by wholesale: The cross week chapmen the Londoners little set by. 2. Let us forgive not for a time, but all our life time, this * Termi for life. durante vita makes us freeholders', and in heaven. 3. Let us forgive not in word, but in deed, and from the heart. This reality with man, shall make me a man with my God, and God to forgive me my trespasses, as I forgive others that trespass against me. And now if we had no more to move us to a composure of all differences among us then this, the forgiveness of our sins, Lord how should it work with us? Let this cause us to shake hands, and be hearty good friends; here live in peace, that hereafter we may live in glory; here love one another, that in heaven we may be beloved of our Lord. I will conclude with David in admiration of the world's concord, Psal. 134. Ecce quam bonum, & quam jucundum, Behold, how good and pleasant a thing it is, brethren to dwell together in unity! There is one word yet to be weighed in the balance of the sanctuary in this last part of the petition, against one other in the forepart of the petition, Trespass with Trespasses. The first word is of more * Trespasses. weight, the latter is the * Trespass. lighter: what a pressure implies the former, predicating, and in the plural of man's many fins against God? how light is this latter, which predicates of man damnifying man, whilst that without count, this within count; whilst this latter finite, the former infinite. Doct. The phrase implies not only God will forgive much for a little; but also that our sinful trespasses against God are more in number by far, than our neighbour's trespasses against us. The one is infinite, all the other but as one. How do this lead us by the hand to see the goodness of God to us humane creatures; he puts up much, will we do so? our sins against him exceed all number, and all damage all men living do us; shall we then seek revenge? he forgives much for little, shall I to satisfy me a little, lose that much? I am resolved both to confess my many sins against my God, The Avowry. as also to comfort my heart for That insured. Upon what terms will God forgive us our sins and trespasses? Object. Let me be sorry for my sins, Res. and God is just to forgive me all my sins. Let a serious contrition go before, and a plenary pardon posts after: if I here can find a sorrowful soul, I am sure to. meet with a merciful redeemer; I must lament for that I have brought out a sinful burden, than my sin shall be no burden to my conscience: let me grieve for that constrained to live with Meseck; it's the way for me to be delivered from the Tents of Kedar. O Lord, I was shapen in sin, and in iniquity did my mother conceive me; I can no way have washed off me these my leprous spots, till I reckon up all my sins in the bitterness of my soul: all my lise I have fed upon the delicious pasture of deceitful sin, I shall surfeit upon it, without I take a large taste of the bitter herbs of true repentance; yet more, this my sorrow must be of the best, else I am as bad as the worst; if I sergeant with God on earth, I cannot go for currant with him in heaven: such than as hath been my sin, Three manner or kinds of repentance. such let be my sorrow. 1. Timely; good Christian, seek thy Creator in the day of thy youth: O defer not to do that which must be done, or thou art, and for ever, undone. I confess true repentance is never too late repentance, yet late repentance is seldom true repentance; one at last gasp repent, that how mayst not despair: but one, therefore do not presume: He that may have assurance of his pardon to day, and puts it off till to morrow, it is an even wager he shall be denied that to morrow, he sets so light to day. Since God hath given me time, God give me grace to make use of my time; yea to day while it is day, to turn unto the Lord our God. 2. Do thou sorrow in abundance for thy sins. You have read, how Mary she wept much, for she had sinned much; we say, A large sore must have a large plaster; as there must be a diet drink of faith inwardly given, so a cerecloth of sorrow applied to the partill-affected: our sins are out of number, our sighs must be past count: when God sets down our misdeeds in figures, and we our repentance in cyphers, there is not expectance of forgiveness. It is time, therefore considering how long, and how oft we have spoke the speech of Ashd●d, to go tune our voices to Jeremiah's Lamentations, lamentations, weeping, and mourning. Be now for a short momentary life-time a Benoami a son of sorrow; & thou shalt, and for ever, be a Benjamin, thy father's darling; O blessed are they that mourn, for theirs is the Kingdom. 3. Repent cordially, from the bottone of the heart repent. The Tree Mallabon brings out but one apple in a year; Hist. but it grows up from the root, utinam a cord fructificarmeur, would God and from the root the heart we would bring out fruit worthy of the name of repentance, Says God, My Son give me thy heart; it is a little legacy, but very well liked of; it is the wheel in the clock, makes all move and do their duty: my knee bow, my tongue confess, my eye water, and all the man put on a mourning suit; where this inward sorrow is, the outward man conforms presently: outward duties are so far from superstition, that they are inavoidable waiters upon that man whose heart doth act the part of true repentance; and as salt, so hearty repentance seasons all my undertake; it is the best evidence to testify my sins are forgiven me. Is this, 2. Case If a thief upon the gallows, who cries he forgives all the world, and doth remit the ill turns done to him, will God his? I am not of opinion, that his release can gain God's acquittance; yet know I it, without he forgive his neighbour, God will not forgive him: what is forgiveness, but bonum opus, a good work? which through the wicked liver cannot be saved by, yet not without, I thus then determine this Case, the thief must forgive, if he will be forgiven, yet the naked act is not enough, this plain stuff is nought, without it be well watered; I mean his forgiveness must be rawed and streamed with tears of true repentance, for his own offence committed against our good God. Let me see such a thief, and to die to day, and I dare say, that night he shall be with Christ in paradise. I will die in hopes of God's forgiveness, The Avowry. for that I can forgive my neighbour, yet never conceit my sinful score is crossed out, till my true repentance bear witness. Will God forgive him, 3. Case. forgives not his neighbour: Christolog. faith, Qui sio petit iste se etiam accusat, He that so prays, himself accuses, and there needs no other witness to condemn him: he desires God to deal with him as he deals with others; whom while he seeks to be revenged of, pulls on his own head the vengeance of God: God who in all things else is our director, in forgiving, would have us to be his pattern; Man, God means to make his sampler by, to forgive. And as man forgives man, so will God, man: it is but a veil for mischievous villainy, which the Council of Trent hath found out; who by the parties in the petition, profess is meant the Church, avouching this is the petitions meaning: That we desire God to forgive us our trespasses against him, as we, that is, say they, the Church forgives others. Thus they refer that to the species, predicates of the individual, and by this their gloss, lay the reins in the neck of malice, making no matter of private malice, since the universal Church remits him whom I malice. But I am resolved, I will never rest content, The Avowry. for that the Church is at unity with him, hath done me wrong, till I myself forgive him myself hath done me wrong. The Graces which this petition commends unto us, Are two, Purity. The Graces two. Humanity. Purity within the house. The Parallel. Humanity without doors. Purity, the souls consort. Humanity, the body's beautifier. By Purity, I am enabled to carry fair to God. By Humanity, to be boneer to my neighbour. It is that first reconciles me to God in Christ. This other appeases me towards all of my kind. How much pains ought I to take to enjoy the society of such two as can quiet heaven with earth, and us who are earth one with another? I am resolved to affect being holy as God is holy, The Avowry. that so my Creator and I his creature may be kind: I will also resolve upon it, to give entertainment to humane courtesy, since my kindness to man, makes my God more remiss to me. The first Grace given in Commendum by this fist petition, Purities Character is Purity: one who took Angels for his fast friends, but found in them no steadfastness, Adam for his nigh alliance, but never since he wore his first breeches: this is he many make show of love to; that's all, are lip-friends, not heart-friends, & entertains this Purity like a kinsman that is as far off as adam's, and yet this is that one own brother to the Queen's daughter, who is all glorious within, of full blood to the spouses best beloved, so rarely qualified. O Purity, was it not thou didst keep my Christ company in his journey, from heaven to earth, whose us possess thee who came from heaven? At Christ his Cross we took acquaintance, our acquaintance, we must now go renew it; yea be renewed according to the inner man; Whatne men ought we to be, shaving put on the linen Ephod, purity of heart, which is God's gist, man's bliss, and the Devil's undoer. Let me keep Purity company, I stand in need of much to be forgiven, my needs will be less. Let me be never so deep a debtor to God, and the income of this one strikes off all my reckoning: say I have trespassed God, and exceedingly, here is he can end the quarrel: God who is much displeased that I have lived ill, is twice as well pleased, that I live better: he looks not at what I was, but what I am: and my now conformity persuades him, not to question my past impiety. He sets his estimate of goodness, on us, by the time present; and if he now find us holy, our past unrighteousness he forgives. I will beg of God the grace of Purity, The Avowry. that so my now reformed life may ensure me, even in this life, of the forgiveness of all my sins and trespasses. The second Grace recommended to us, Humanity's Character. is Humanity, a virtue veiled under an earthly vizard, whose glorious splendour, Lord let it shine through me and glent on all, What makes me more manlike than Humanity; and affiances me more than this, to all others? This is the tie of humane nature, the Make-friend among men; and that one which cancels all unkindnesses, when dabate makes discord; this makes friends; when spleen spits venom, this sucks it out; when wrong bids right it, this bids put all up: How lightsome doth humanity make me! a plausible pleader, and advises, if possible, to have peace with all men; it vows my quiet in mind, recompenses; the offered me injuries by others, let me thus overcome. And it's with honour, repay favours for frowns; good words, for ill deeds; yea, pray for my very enemies: O Stephen, I will take thee for my pattern, and beslow Lay it not to their charge, on those, who take up stones to stone me: Behold the Dove which hath no gall, it is Humanity; the innocent Ewe, which opens not its mouth before the shearer, He that is accoutred with this grace, will part with much, makes no matter of it, suffer out of measure; not measure out by the same measure unto other. O Humanity, thy courtesy to others, endears thy God to thee, while thy silent let pass, of worldly wrongs, wrings mercy from thy Maker: Let me put up all, the way to wipe off all, and remit trespasses against me, the mean to get my trespasses against, forgiven me. I am resolved to effect all humane affability, The Avowry. and that to almen living, that somy affable carriage to such as do me injuries, may bind my God, and by his word, to remit me, my sin sand trespasses. The vices two. The two Vices prohibited are Soul soiling. Heart hatred. Shoul soiling, The Parallel. a Colonel of the black guard. Heart hatred, a Captain under his command. Soul soiling, a continual makebate betwixt my God and me. Heart hatred, a no seldom dissension-sower betwixt me and my neighbour. Soul soiling, the author of inward uproars. Heart hatred, the cause of outward Garboils. The first cause foreign wars. The latter, civil sedition. While the one makes by God and me fall out; the other, me with my neighbour. I am resolved by the grace of God, The Avowry. to bandy all my forces, to force these graceless Seminaries of sin to be gone. The first Vice forbidden in the first petition, Soul soiling Character. is Soul soiling: This is the Vice, the Schoolmen call malus habitus an evil habit, consuetudo peccandi, custom of finning; altera natura, that other nature, which makes sin natural, eustomable, habitual: a vice breeds and nusles us up in evil; a vice which makes us common annoyancers of God, and no more set by finning, than eating and drinking, walking and talking. This Vice of all other, is the devil's darling, Gods accursed, and man's mischief maker; that Absalon that steals away the hearts of the men of Israel, and allures us from our allegiance to our Lord God: This is that one can do more with the wag of his finger, Hist. than Pompey with the stamp of his foot; and hath, and no few, at as much command as the Centurion his servants; where this malus habitus inhabits, men are made very slaves; whom this vice bids go, he goes; come, he comes; do this, he doth it. Behold the rudder which turns about the ship, soul; The Commander which with a word hath at command all in our Isle. How doth the Sons of men like Samson, dote on this Dalilah, which while it promises content, causes the Spirit of the Lord to departed from us: this is the vice proffers us peace, but upon worseterms then the men of Jabesh Gilead; they were to have put out every man his right eye; this leaves us not an eye to see with: he that habits himself in sin, sees not that he sins, his evil habit hath made him senseless he doth evil. O! custom in sin makes no conscience of sin; and the ofter the sin's committed, the seldomer the sinner finds fault with it; a daily trespasser is a stiff out-facer; and what is every day done, the doer of it thinks the less shame of, though it deserve more to be reproved, yet it less grieves, and by much. Mark how the first gross offence made the heart sob, when again committed, not so much, when after, scarce at all: the increase of sin, is the decrease of the sense of sin, which how much more all the man is soiled with, so much less matter makes he of it. This habitual evil is a vice which pleases man's , displeases his God, increases man debt, disinables to satisfy, bids us take our fulth of pleasure, takes from us an heart to bear't in mind, after that, man must be called to judgement. I am resolved by God's good assistance, The Avowry. to pray my God to guard my heart from this overspreading sin, soul soiling, lest while I entertain it, it stop my mouth and make me careless to crave of God to forgive me my sine and trespasses. The next Vice prohibited, Heart hatreds Character is Heart hatred, Cain gave it first birth-dom, the world ever since houseroom, and the envious man welcome. This is the vice souses the soul in blood, which if it grow up, becomes a * A feeder on man's flesh. Cannibal, none is more out of charity, yet none seems more charitable, while it will take nought, but repays * A Box on the Ear. it back; it restores what we would not have, and is ready to give, or any to receive; it makes its master think of his neighbour, when he hath no thanks for his labour; and bestow on him much pains, but to his neighbour's costs and damage: this is a spark hid, which ere long barns out, an hover over cloud, which presently dissolves into a deluge: a pest which will break out, and some are sure to die for it. The plague is not more perilous, the flood more furious, the fire more fierce, than this vice, which who so once falls into, finds it a fury of hell, a firebrand of the Devil, and a Devil incarnate: How doth the potion of opportunity alter this vices * The malicious man. owner, in a trice, changes his looks, tone, complexion, makes the man double in his speech, tremble with his joints, and be ready to kill or be killed. This is the man who means to be even with his neighbour by living at odds with him, who wrongs himself, by seeking to right himself, and now will go do that in an humour, he will have cause to rue ever after: The maliciousmans' three assistants. he hath three sturdy Assistants, whom he sets a work, to work his neighbours ill fare. 1. The first is Anger, which is brevis furor, a Bedlam, and makes us more like mad men, than men of reason, and unreasonably mad for a fit. 2. The second is, Choler, who cares not what he doth, so it be done, and to his neighbour's damage, and irrecoverably. 3. The third is, Spleen, who toadlike, is full of the venom of evenge, and swells up the maw malice, and means as much mischief as may be: It is this vice, and these the aiders are perfect Arithmeticians in the rule of Addition, who reckon up all discourtesies, and discover, and in a moment a world of malice. Whilst they seek for revenge, they pull on their owner the vengeance of God: whose repay back the trespasses done him by man, reduplicates his sins and trespasses unto God. I am resolved to beware of this one, The Avowry. lest overcome by these three, whose joint force captivates diserention, and of a wise man maketh a very fool. The Divine Contemplation upon the fift Petition. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. I have now got notice what I am in debt, and how to clear it; I have a long score, here is a way to strike off all the reckoning. When first I pursed God's Debt-book, I gave it for granted, I was bankrupt. The condition of the obligation revives my drooping spirit. O my God, I am deep in arrears to three, give me grace to make thee my pattern in forgiving, and the debt's discharged. But O how happy am I, have met with so good a Creditor! I van have much forgiven for a little. I now see, I had been utterly undone, had I not fallen into the hands of a most merciful redeemer— O God my God, I will eye my misery, the more I shall admire thy mercy. But what am I? a sinner: whom have I offended? God: How oft? it is past count. O this piece of my prayer protests, the best of us have finned against God, and exceedingly. This is my grief, My sins can not be numbered. This is my Joy, They can be forgiven. Well, I will not sin, that grace may abound, yet rejoice my soul and again; I say, rejoice, that God's grace is sufficient for thee. The petition is a prospective glass, And lets me see My hard fortune, that a sinner. My goodhap, how to be assoiled. It is a picture, Look here at it, and I am any ugly creature. Hold it close, than I look like the King's son. O mighty God, thou showest thy wisdom in the discovering my deformities: thou showest thy goodness in insuring me the cure of my sore. Unhappy, I, who have sinned against thee; how happy I, who for forgiving Man, can have God to forgive me! This is no strange news to hear I am a sinner: This is the wonder, that upon these terms God grants forgiveness. It was Elisha his saying to Naaman, Wash and be clean: and it is Christ hath said it, Forgive, and thou shalt be forgiven. O the depth of the wisdom of our God He hath found out the way to keep heaven and earth in peace. One of us with another, and himself with us all: God will be friends with us, so we will be friends among ourselves. But O my native soil, hast thou not cause to fear the wrath of my God, when such superlative hatred in the land; For the divisions of Reuben, are great grief of heart. Thou who hast the hearts of Kings and Commons at thy disposal, incline our hearts unto a peace: say to the devouring sword, it is sufficient; let us not increase our sins by increasing our malice, lest our malice to men, make our God to hate us. The sixth Petition. THe river which runneth by Chester, changeth her channel every month; in like sort the stream of our discourse hath found out a new channel: it is a drain of Christ's own making, and the Jordan we mean to bathe in. Give me leave as did the Angel, a while to move in this * Petition. pool; the troubling of this waterwork, may work a cure upon some, and make them more sensible, I mean of the sense and meaning of this petition. Yet here are two passages to be opened, that done, we may march on without stop or let, to the meaning of this petition: What are these two passages, but two words we must pass by, by fine force, that is, by the power and help of explication: Temptation is the one word, Evil is the other; into the first of which we beg to God not to lead us, and from that other to deliver us; and thus we have to do with two, two worse than which, rake hell, and they have no fellows; for the one is the bait, and the other is the hook; by Temptation we are drawn on; by Evil we are hung on, the hooks of vice: Lo the lure to entice, Temptation; and the net to entrap, Evil. Since such is our danger, let us fall to prayer, and pray to God, not to lead us into Temptation, but deliver us from evil. Now that you may know what temptation is here prayed against, know it, Temptation is Probationis. Perditionis. Commonly called the Temptation on the right hand, and Temptation on the left hand. The right hand Temptation, or Temptation celestial, is when God tempts man, which what is his Temptation, but his making a trial of man's obedience, sometimes by sacrificing, as Abraham sometimes by advising to sell all and give it to the poor, as the rich young man in the Gospel: sometimes by our suffering crosses and calamities to be laid upon us as on Just, Job, all of which Temptations, count it, saith S. James, exceeding joy, when you are thought worthy, to fall into them: these are not evil of themselves, but approved proofs to discover to the world what we are, and to us ourselves, whether God hath a part or no in us: against such we pray not in this petition. There are Temptations of a lower and base descent, sublunary Temptations called Temptations on the left hand. Now these are of two sorts, either Temptations Ad extra, or Ad intra. Ad extra, are two, 1. Terrestrial. 2. Infernal. Terrestrial are 1. Foreign. 2. Civil. 1. Terrestrial foreign Temptation, ad extra, is when man tempts God: tempting, that is, making an experiment, whether he be of power, can know or be present, God's omnipotence, omniscience, omni-presence we so often tempt, as call in question, his Can, his privity, his presence. This is an immediate presumptuous act of man against God, to cry out, Can God provide bread in the wilderness doth God see or regard, or is God among us? Three sentences which savours of the language of Ashdod, and * Make known. divulge man tempts God with an high hand, while his power he questions, Psal. 78.18, 19 his knowledge, Psal. 94.7. his presence, Exod. 17.7. I am ever resolved, The Avowry. to pray my God to free my from being ensnared in that sin of Temptation, which makes the creature doubt of the power, privity, The Collect. and presence of the Almighty. 2. There is a Terrestrial civil Temptation, ad extra, which is, when man tempts man: Thus did the Pharisees Christ; and the woman in the Proverbs, the young youth, subtle questions & passing pleasant proffers are the midwives give birth to these Temptations: divers have had their bosoms full of these Temptations, wherein men make show more of their wit than grace; and women more of their courtesy than honesty. I will pray my God, The Avowry. as from presuming to tempt him, so likewise, that none neither by subtle craft, nor proff red kindness may tempt, or draw me on to do evil. 2. The next kind of Temptation is infernal, which is when the devil of hell tempts man on earth: 1 Thes. 3.5. that he tempts us, S. Paul can witness, how he doth it, that's most covert. The dispute is not the facto, that's granted; de modo, that's the doubt, and scarce discoverable, of this so secret and sly a work of the Devil: let me say somewhat, since on all sides acknowledged, Satan tempts us to sin, 1 Chron. 3.1. since by so few the manner of his march up to our hearts is discovered, I confess the Scriptures are sparing in setting down, the Devil's manner of tempting us: and where God hath said little, I will not have a mouth to speak much. The Devil tempts us 1. Per alium, by a second. 2. Perseus, by himself. 1 Per alium, by a second; thus he tempted Eve, speaking in the serpent to the woman, as the Angel in the Ass to Balaam: the serpent and the swine have both harboured him: the one to their own, the other to our undoing; so much mischief he made us, when our mother Eve he thus overcame by Temptations; that just cause we have to try each spirit ere we trust it. 2. The Devil tempts pierce, by himself: and this I find to be two manner of ways, Nostra, & Sua forma. 1. In our shape. 2. In his own. In our shape, thus he tempted Christ, Mat. 4. who finding no secret assault as a spirit could penetrate Christ's heart, meets him, as conceived by some, like a man, as less suspicious, by proffers proving to enthrall his eye: how usual is this, and at this day? it is not only * Christ. Innocency the Devils mortal enemy, but Witches his fast friend, and their confessions have made Certificate, that thus the devil tempts and no few. 2. The Devil tempts sua forma, in his own shape, as a spirit; and thus two ways; By Alluring the sense By Working upon the affections Ad Extra. Ad Intra. 1. By alluring the sense, which that he can, who questions? for if Magicians can goll and delude the sense by making us believe we verily see what is not indeed: no doubt their Master is of as much, and much more power to bewitch man's sense, and cause in his eye, such a female to be most beautiful, whose eye presents that object liked to the common sense; which common sense being misused by misinforming, the man is alured to what lewd. 2. Again, the Devil doth yet more to draw man on to sin, for if by these outworks, the senses, the Devil can get no message conveyed to man's heart to tempt him to do evil, he works more closely upon our afftctions, his dear sriends by suggestions: and that after this manner he knows our humours, & which predominates, and so, to what sin appetite is most inclined: in such sort he suggests, bespeaking us men, not by word of mouth for a spirit, but by suggestions for one of those spiritual wickednesses. Thus he propounds and proffers but enforces not, yet he reaches out what oft is laid hold of; which the sooner we lay hold of, for that it samplers the good like of our own constitutions. But I will not, lest I walk wide, or wild wander too far in this mystery of iniquity. God it may be, concealed the modus, the manner how the Devil tempts, to make us spend more time, de materia, about the matter concerning resisting the Devils temptations. 2. There is yet another kind of sublunary temptarion, called the Temptation adintra, and this I call the * Household, or home. domestic Temptation; which is, when a man is tempted or drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed, were it not for this Devil incarnate, all Devils in Hell could scarce harm us, we need neither fear the Devil nor the world, but for this flesh of ours, which S. James calls Lust, it is then carnal lust that tempts us, set a work, by our old man man, Original corruption; which original corruption since hath wafted over from Adam to us Gild, & Filth. And this lust made us yet more filthy than before; for what is lust but a filth or spot spreading all over our nature? this uncleanness bred in us, which is lust, remains more or less in the best of us, and is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the disorder of all the faculties and powers of the mind; not only of the inferior part of the soul, called sensuality, but of that upper part of the soul understanding and will: I take this spotted * Lust. beast to be the first spawn of original sin, who every day we uprise, goars us and bushes us on in haste, to commit evil in the sight of the Lord. The old man, Original sin, sits in his * Heart. chair of state, and sends abroad, Lust, to draw all in our Isle from serving God to serve him. It is then by carnal lust, the old man's servant, that we are drawn away, that is, tempted to do evil; the master sets his man to work; the man miserably overmasters us poor men, and we are led captive by our lust, yea while God leaves us, our lust leads us captive into that strong hold, called Temptation. I am resolved, The Avowry. since so sore beset with the master and the man, to provide me of a second, even God's spirit, that so I be not taken and led into temptation. The second word to be explained, is Evil, now though this word admit of several acceptations, yet I will muster here no more than meet and pertinent to our purpose: You have malum re, & You Have Rem malam. By Malum re, as saith S. chrysostom, is meant the Devil. By rem malam, S. Austin saith, is meant sin. And thus you see, it is the Devil, and sin, we desire deliverance from, from the Devil the Sire of sin, from sin the author of all our ill: two strong enemies for us weaklings, without supply by Prayer, to hold our against; for the one commands hell, that's the Devil: The other, us, Lord are we not said too much by our sins? But lo what doth Evil, more full predicate of, than of these? The Devil it is his old stile, and Sin such is its condition. The Devil's malice, and sins effects can afford neither a better epithet: such is the Devil, Evil, such is, Sin, no better, fratres in malo, brethren in iniguity. I am resolved to period my prayers with this part of the petition, The Avowry. since this part of the petition preferred prevails with God, to deliver me both from sin and Satan. Having explained the words difficult to be underftood; now I mean to give you the sense and meaning of the petition. It is this. Good God and Father of us all, let us not be ensnared in the Gin of lest-handed Temptation, by daring to experiment what thou canst: no nor let those of our own kind overcome us, those of our own house harm us, nor yet the Devils, who bears us so much ill will be able to do us the least annoyance, let me not fall into the fowler's net. Lord I pray not, the net be not set, but that I be not catcht in it; I pray thee not, to take the weapon of Temptation out of the Devils hands, but I pray thee, preserve me, that I be not wounded to death by that weapon; Lord, Lord, after the sword be brandished, the net set, deliver my soul out of the snare of the fouler; Lord deliver me from evil that is from the Devil and sin. From the Devil who is all evil; from sin which makes all of us evil: in whole then here we pray, that we be not hurt by the * Temptation. weapon, nor taken by the * Devil and Sin. warriors. We pray against the danger of that, and deliverance from those, that we may escape that one mischief perpendiculous, Temptation, and be delivered from sin and Satan, so much hath fooled and foiled us. And now to eseape all sorts of complor whatsoever, The Avowry. I am resolved to beg of God, not to let us be led into temptation, but to deliver us from evil. After the Sense, in come the Doctrines. 1. Division. That we pray against is the Led on. 2. That we pray for, is deliverance. Against the Lead on into Temptation; and for deliverance from evil. By the first I lose, by the second I gain; whilst the one to me is perilous, the other propitious. I am resolved to suit my God, The Avowry. both to keep off me, these soul-harming assailants, Temptations, as also to set me free from those two do me now damage, The Devil, & The Sinne. That prayed against, is the Led on into Temptation: not, not to be tempted, but ensnared by Temptation. Thy trials, O Lord, are good, so thou enable us to ftand out in the day of trial. Nor is it meant, that it is Gods proper act in this kind to tempt; but so doth it happen by desertion, when he leaves us, God is said to do what be hinders not to be done; Sicvauss sine qua non, of our leading into temptation. I'll collect some observations from the generality of my exposition, that done, descend on to particulars. You must bear in mind the word explained, Temptation. And how Mantempts God. And how One man tempts another. And how We ourselves. And how The Devil us. From it take notice, How Man's an Enemy to his Maker. Four observations How Man's an enemy to man. How Man's an enemy to himself. How The Devil is all our enemies. That saying of St. Paul, Sapiemtia Carnis, The wisdom of the flesh is enmity with God: That old Adage, Homo homini lupus, oneman would eat another. That Tragic sentence, fera mulla ut inse saviat tam fit fera, no brute so mad a man, to be his own undoing: That saying of the Scripture, The Devil goes about like a roaring Lion, seeking whom of us be may devour: All witness my Doctrines are undeniable. Shall I sear nought, When I am at odds with God. When all other at odds with me. When myself's not true to myself. And the Devil waits on me with an ill turn? By this petition putting up, I am made sensible of all this, which shall cause me, For my own part, The Avowry. to resolve upon it, To stand upon my gurad against the Devil, not too much to trust my own flesh; to try my friend ere I trust him, The Collect. and forthwith to goemake my peace with my God: & High labour, & ho opus. Now let us dissect into parts the petition more particularly. From the forepart of the petition put up against the Lead on, Take notice For whom we put up this petition Take notice For what we put up this petition For whom, it is for us, Led not us. For what, it is for avoiding damage by Temptation. For the first, which is pro queis vel quibus, for whom this petition, to prevent the Lead on into Temptation is put up, it is for us, Led not us. The first of these three last petitions hath been put up for necessaries we want. The second to forgive what we owe. And now this third, for our defence from harm catching by temptation; jointly that I am led on to light on from this us, as it casts a glance over these three last petitions, is this tripartite consideration, To meditate. How miserable is man that hath not, must have Remit, and without a writ of protection is still undone. It is we are poor, have nought to pay, yet bold to crave the King's protection: what can he think walks with a procetion? but how gracious his King, how prodigal the spendthrift, and what woe would follow him, but for mercy. I am resolved, The Avowry. whensoever I come to this latter part, of my Pacer noster, to period it with an admication of God's protection of him, The Collect. hath nought, is in dept, and dailyin danger. Now see for what we put up this petition, as well can witness the exposition; it is put up, and to this end, for avoiding of damage by Tempration, not for avoiding the field, but foil; not for avoiding the fight, but defeat; not for avoiding the battle, but ominous overthrow in the battle; we pray not against our life being a warfare; no, we must be right Spartans', born with Lances, fight the good fight, with beasts, as Paul at Ephesus, with great overgrown Giants, as David did, with spiritual wickednesses: these are our enemies. In a word, the combat must be continued against these three, the Heroglyphicks of the world, the flesh, and the Devil. We pray not then against the war, but being wounded in the war. There will be war while life, and must be prayer for preservation in the war, from wounding. In war, to prayer, Note. Heart must play its part as well as hand. In this life militant, I expect an onset, and will pray for a prevail: I matter not whom I meet, so God enable me, to lift up to him my heart, as Moses did his hand. My prayer put up in this spiritual warfare, makes the odds on my side, two to once, my heart and tongue give the onset on him that sets upon me, I mean Temptation, when I am weakest to wage war with spiritual wickednesses; it's prayer revives my strength: I learned this divine stratagem to reinforce my force afresh of Samson, who when half starved, blind of both eyes, a poor prisoner, yet by prayer, received power to be revenged of his and God's enemies, the Lords of the Philistims. The Result of all. How great soever be the man of sin, come out to upbraid Gods little champion, the least of Ifrael, a poor Saint shall have strength enough to bring to his knees the tallest son of Anack, what assaulting sin soever. I am resolved so soon as I find my sont set on by my spiritual enemy, The Avowry. to retreat back to prayer, since my retreat back to that advantageous ground, assures me. I shall give the man of sin, the fall and foil. But take an observation more natural to the text, we put up this petition against the Lead on into temptation, Note. that is harm happening by it. Lo a very wound we must have life, but limbs; as to escape death, so damage; as a mortal wound, so a green wound, which may be healed. This care had David, apparent by that he said, Lord I will take. heed unto my ways. The Evangelist warned the Jews to have a care of this, when said to them, Think not to say within yourselves, here's provision taken, against an open assault and a small skirmish. O that this care were had over our bodies and sold, than we might play at foils, and not receive so many disgraceful vinnies. The Avowry. I am resolved to have an eye all over, and to stand upon my guard * Head to the foot. a capo pe, since required to take heed to the least harm carching in the encounter. Now see what it is we pray for, Deliverance from evil. I will not divide Deliverance from Evil, since Evil without Deliverance delivers us up to death: Let us tie these two, a good and a bad together; and though the wolves guts being placed nigh the sheep's th'arms fret them all to pirces, yet it's my hopes this Innocent shall have the better of that Malefactor: and that the nigher Deliverance makes his approach, the suddenner downfall will betid Evil. Let us team then these two together, as Samson did his foxes to burn up the land of the Philistims. But to save from spoil, the * Soul: land of israel: 1. I mean, let us treat upon Deliverance and Evil, conjunctim, our Deliverance from Evil. 2. Then upon Evil all alone. First, these two, Devil and sin, are comprehended under this one only word, Evil, from which we pray for Deliverance, to deliver us from Evil, and what to deliver, and us, and from these thus named. This sews us, Note. the Devil and sin are our worst of enemies; that abroad, this at home; that without doors, this within doors; that the prince of the air, this which we heir from Adam, and earths in us, and dwells in us, in our bodies, in our souls. These two seek the destruction of our souls and bodies. Whoso hears the cry of the Crocodile, immediately he is a dead body. O fear not him can kill the body, but these can kill both body and soul. Let me count of these for foes, who are of force to be my undoing, the undoing of all me and for ever. Secondly, what worse enemies than these, which are always at odds with us. Earthly enemies, are not ever in action, take sometimes truce with us, the truth is, these two never take truce, no not a minute, a moment. Devil his daily journey is to compass the earth, and all to make us hellish proselytes. Sin like the Sun, is in continual motion, like the fountain ever bubbling. Hence saith our Saviour, Why do thoughts arise? and you shall see what arise and turn to. Mar. 7.21. Streams of waters of Mara, and amin, and so many, able to drown the Israel of God, as the Red sea all the host of the Egyptians. Thirdly, it is the Devil and sin seek to destroy, & unum & unitatem, not only this or that person, but the species, Hist. the whole kind and posterity of Adam. Nero wished all Rome had but one head, that so with one blow he might be their utter overthrow; what he wished these have wrought, even all our overthrows. The Mirandillian Butchery, the Parisian Matins, the Sicilian Evensong, fall all far short of that these two have complotted, acted, against Adam and all us his offspring. And honce issues out my ill conceit against the Devil and sin. Yea their hate to our kind, The Collect. their continual hate, which stretches out its limits beyond this life to deprive us of a life everlastign: this foul fact of these two, hath made me resolve upon it, to repair to those three, to the trine Unity or Trinity in unity, & all to put up to them this petition, Lord lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Let us now go take notice from what we desire deliverance, it is from Evil. By which word, Evil, you have heard is meant the Devil and Sin: this is their style, nonce else. That I note is, Note. nought is more evil than the Devil and Sin. 1. For antiquity, sio fuit a principie: ever since Devil was a Devil, and sin sin, these have been evil. 2. For spite or malice, know you not, devil makes God out of love with us, and sin, us, out of love with Gods Law. 3. For Complots, the Devil's device to harm Job, and sins insinuation to bring Ananias to his end, reveal they are horrible evil. 4. The Devils Epithets, the evil spirit, the unclean spirit, Mat. 12. and sins effect, By one man came sin, and by sin death; make me give them this title, Evil; and deservedly. I am resolved, The Avowry. since this they are, to beware, yea to watch and ward over my heat, lest my heart admit of acquaintance with these two foul fiends, the Devil and sin. The Cases of Conscience now next come in, and they be three. The first whereof is this, I. Case after what manner, doth Lust and Concupiscence temps us to fin, or entice or draw us on from serving God, to become the servants of sin. This is the hardest thing in the world to discover, and therefore much pains must be taken to complete an answer satisfactory. Such a serious subject as this is, slighting of it is unseemly, and the Orator should be as ill thought of, Hist as Alexander thought of Cherillus, who gave him money to hold his peace. 1. It is and for this cause that I am resolved first to demonstrate, how lust effects this feat by a simile. 2. To make the point more perspicuous, I purpose, God willing, to describe lusts sick days march through the heart of man, and all to captivate poor foul and take the Man prisoner, and lead him into that strong hold called Temptation. First this may be made appear by a Simile drawn from flowers, how lust or concupiscence entices or draws man on to sin. You know there passes from flowers a subtle vapour, which the sense of smelling draws in, and which draws away the sense with delight after it. So lust which sprung up in the Garden of Eden after Eve had finned, from it, as from a flower, passes a subtle vapour of evil thoughts. And as the sent of the flower, goes on by the organ of smell into the brain; so a sent of lusts, even evil thoughts, are carried by that organ the common sense into the heart. And as the delightful smell makes us in love with the subtle vapour: so the pleasures of lusts make us affect the vapours of evil, which come from lust. Nor are those evil vapours a few, but full many, apparent by those already quoted words of Christ, Luk. 24. Why do thoughts arise in your hearts? These are infectious vapours and more dangerous to the soul than fenny mists to the body, if not scattered and blown a way by God's Spirit: they poison soul, and cast understanding, will, and memory, the souls public Notary, into Fever sits. This is it hath made me resolve upon it, The Avowry. to beg of the good gardener God, to root out of that plat of ground my heart, that weed Lust which if left in it, at least be suffered to like, it's sent and savour will infect my soul and all in it. Secondly, Lusts six days march. that every Christian who will take pains to peruse this Case, may be made conscious, how carnal lust or natural concupiscence draws him on to sin. Lusts six days march through soul must be made to compeer. Lust the lewd, imitates God the good; God, six days wrought, to perfect the creation. Lust takes as many day's pains to deface the map Man, the model of all Gods great work, that great work of creation. 1. Lust's first days march is made when it pricks on to the first motions to sin: now this day's march is begun and ended, when carnal lust hath turned man's heart after a vain object; in the Commonwealth, as of pleasure, prosit, honour: in the Church, as after superstitious rites and ceremonies, and more to set by the shadow than the substance. This is that spiritual vertigo Paul taxed the Galatians with, for being troubled with, Gal. 4.9. when they turned again to the weak and beggarly rudiments: would man but mark, he should find this march lust, called Concupiscence, had made into his marches, turned his thoughts from God-ward too much, to eye a vain object. 2. Lust's second days march is made through heart, when thou O man marchest on to like that, to which thy heart turned, now this liking is not all alike, for it is either on the sudden, like a guest unexpected, or else a more impressed liking, like a Seal out and carved; That is sudden surprisal, this other a permanent good like, and these two are shadowed out by that in Job 20.12, 13. where the wicked man is compared to one hath sweet poison in his mouth, he feels a sweetness in it, yet fears it is poison and spits it out. Then this is only a sudden passion, but if he hid it under his tongue roots, if he favour and forsake it not, but keep it in his mouth, than this is a permanent affection, a piece of durable Duretta, a stay by, by us, wouldst thou O man, but mark, thou shouldst find this second days march lust hath made through thy heart: while thou likest the evil of sin, to which thy heart first gave a turn. 3. Lust's third days march, is made through the heart, when that plundering horseman is spied trotting through hearts confines, called Consensus in | delectatione, in English, man's overjoying delight he takes in that evil, to which his heart hath turned and liked: this Rakes merrily on, and there is two of this name, I mean, Duplex consensus, Operis, Duplex consensus, Mentis. A consent to do evil, forbidden in the nine first Commandments. A consent in heart, forbidden in the last, the tenth, which is, when in heart and mind, the man takes a pleasure and a certain delight, in the thought and thinking of his Mistress sin, his Dalila darling sin: have you not spied, tell truth, this overjoying delight in the heart to do the evil of sin? Simil. every of us hath a sin relishes in our thoughts like a sugar plumb in our plaits. The discovery of this is the witness, Lust hath made a third days march through thy heart and mind, and of this I am insured, while thou O man, hast an everjoying delight in the sin likeed and turned to. 4. Lust's fourth days march is more flow, but the more perilous; in this day's march, lust takes leave to stay and look about him all soul over: this day's march gins and ends morante delectatione, with a delaying, or staying, or dwelling upon the thought of doing evil; when this is discoverable, be sensible, lust hath made four days march O man into thy heart; now who, if he search diligently, shall not find lust thus far got, ad morantem delectationem, which the Schoolmen call, Articulatio faetus, the framing and fashioning of all the parts of sin the womb of the soul, after man's turning to eye the evil, after his liking the evil he even now turned to, hath by a kind of carnal copulation begot sin after his assent hath given heat and warmth to this, spurious sperm, and made it capable to grow from little to more: then in comes one by a daily dallying, or a dilatory delight taking, in what was turned to, liked of, assented to, and this is it which gives framing and fashioning in the heart of man to the sin conceived; but as the vipers are the death of their dams, so more we form of this imp of evil in the soul, the more it ruinates the soul. They say the Bear bringeth forth a lump, Hist. but licks it into form: O! our first conceptions of evil, are monstra horrenda, horrible monsters, our licking, That is, our oft Turning to, Liking of, Assenting to, volving and revolving up and down in the soul, hath fashioned this savage Bear, Sinne. And for certain, this slow gate as 'twere loath to leave sins remembrance, branch, but dwelling on it, avouches, it's Lust's fourth days march, it hath made into the heart. The Supplicat. Now God send us well quit of it. 5. Now follows lust's fift days march through the inner Temple the soul: this march is made per aberrationem Cordis, while the heart wanders after evil, so so as the heart gins to gad after that evil, I lookt-at, liked, assented to, stayed to dally with in the fist place, my resuming to think again upon that sin late out of mind, my suffering my mind to call it back again. This discovers the fist days march lust hath made through my soul. O who pereeives not, he hath been thus, foraged by the man of sin: O the sin which runs in our reins, veins, is in our nature is natural to us, rakes up and down the inner man, this is it doth make us reassume and take up a thought, a delight in the sin, we had surceased from; and when the spiritual watchman, enlightened understanding spies this, be pleased to be informed by him, concupiscence or carnal lust hath made the fist days march through thy sout. 6. And now there is but no days march more, the sixth, when this is finished acumest, it is finished and carnal lust got from Dan to Beersheba, from one end of the soul to the other, all soul over, were this days march overpast, all is taken, all but a sort, of clay, thy earthy body; and when the Castle hath yielded, can the Town hold out? when the sword is taken, the scabbard is for no service. This I say, to let you know, fro once this last days march be made through soul, how presently our bodies become a prey to lust, whilst carnal lust with aese enforces our actuating evil bodily. Let us therefore take special heed to discover lusts six days march through the soul, which the better we may do it, know all its way, its words are these, Si tanta sit voluptas, quid si potiar? in English, if there be such pleasure in the thought, will there not be more if the sin be bodily committed, yea thou thyself knowest thou hast thus chopped Logic, and framed this kind of Syllogism which when it hath gotten the consent of seduced reason, than our fleshly lust hath brought us to that haft, that we want nought but opportunity to do all the evil bodily. And thus I have led you on, and let you see Lust's march through that Isle the Soul, and in a mystery, how far our Lust leads us on to do evil. 1. It turns our heart to it. The Collect 2. Makes us like it. 3. Then consent to it. 4. Then dwell in that delight. 5. Then stray from God and dote on it. 6. Then in heart resolve upon it, hofaciam, I will do it Thus fare as saith S. James, every man is led away by his own concupiscence, and enticed to do evil. A misery incident to all men living, a misery from which in full we cannot be delivered, during this life; a misery none is morefearfull yet the least suspected, a misery is the root of all bodily abominations. A misery, which let it reinforce us all to fall to prayer, and pray to God not to lef sin reign in our mortal bodies, that we should obey it in the lusts thereof. Second Case of Conscience is this, 2. Case to be rightly informed, what counter-works had need be made to prevent lusts march through the heart of man; at leastwise, to prevent its march in full force. I have counter-works in readiness agianst each of lusts six days march, and first against, turning the heart towards evil. 1. Meditate, a look back again, may be a break fortune, remember Lot's wife. 2. Meditate, every turn from God towards sin, is a turn face to hell, and who that's wise would part with so fair an object for so foul a fight? 3. Mediatate every turn to sin is like a gap made in the vineyards fence, like a close leak in a ship at sea, which sinks the vessel soul suddenly. 4. Meditate, no sooner lookest thou back to sin, but Devil steals into thy soul. 5. Meditate Hist. , sin is like the * Aspedigorgon. serpent bred in the Temple of Lucia,, which was the present death of him turned his eye to it. Now by these meditations like so many strong works, you may stop lusts first days march, I mean turning heart towards Sin. But say this first days march be made, and lust rise up to make the second days march. I have counter-works to stop lusts second days march through soul, I mean preventions against liking sin. 1. Meditate, sin is the Bear's birth shapeless, an ugly monster, never of Gods making, this will prevent liking it. 2. Meditate, the more thou fallest in love with earth, the less God in heaven is loved: O ye cannot love God, serve God and Mammon; know't, one Dalila is a damnable draw off, from our duties of Christianity. 3. Meditate, it is sins sweet, brings a smart, and the end of these things is death. 4. Meditate, if I like sin, I am in the mind that none is in, that's good, God threw it out of heaven, spurned it out of Paradise; and shall I take pleasure in that, my God is, and that irreconcilably, displeased with? God forbidden. But say this second days march be made, and lust rise up to make the third day's march. I have Counter-works to stop Lusts third days march through the soul, I mean preventions against consenting to evil. 1 Meditate, every consent is a stab and wounds to the heart. 2. Meditate, how thou of a freeman art made a bond and slave, and led captive by consenting to thy lust. 3. Meditate how Eve fared after she had consented, she lost her Eden. 4. Meditate, consent makes conscious and before thou actuate the sin, makes thee liable to the sentence of death and damnation. But say this third days march be made, and lust rise up to make the fourth days march. I have Counter-works to stop lusts fourth days march through soul, I mean preventions against letting evil thoughts be welcome long into the heart, which is the fashioning of sin in womb of the soul. 1. Meditate, when sins birth is, thy death is, thou givest sin a being, and it deprives thee of being a Saint in Heaven. 2. Meditate, that which thou bearest in the womb of thy soul, his name is Esau, who for a mess of pottage will wave the heavenly inheritance. 3. Meditate, thou hast him in thy womb will root out thy name. 4. Meditate, the welcome into the world, of this one, will eat thee out of house and harbour, leave thee not a bit of bread in the strength whereof to walk up to the heavenly Horeb. But say this fourth days march be made, and lust rise up to make the fist days march. I have counterworks to stop lusts fist days march through soul, I mean preventions against heart-wandring after sin. 1. Meditate, sin is that Ignis fatuus, that flame sent from hell, to lead the will, and make thee lose the way to heaven. 2. Meditate, the longer thou padlest sins steps, the further thou hast to thy journey's end, I mean further off from heaven. 3. Meditate, white thy thoughts wander after sin, thou art looking for one to be thy Butcher. O was there ever madness like this, for men to run upon their own death! 4. Meditate, the pursue of sin is the turn-back of grace; and to go back to Egypt, is to turn back of Canaan. But say lust hath had leave to make five days march through heart, and by this mean, made thee turn to evil, The Col. like of it, assent to it, dwell upon the thought of it, as also thy soul to gad and wander after the thought of thy sin. Know't, and to thy comfort, I have yet counterworks to beat lust back, and stop him from his sixth day's march; in which, (if withheld) he is neither absolute conqueror, nor thou wholly overcome. These counterworks are so many gracious preventions fortified with Canons of proof, heavenly Meditations to beat lust back from, hoc faciam, resolving to act the evil 1. Meditate upon it, thou art going down the lowest rung of damnation save one, and that is doing the sin, step one step further, and thou art in an hell upon earth. 2. Meditate how soul is evil already, and as though there were not enough ill, must I go make all worse, misuse both soul and body, and make them a den of thiefs, a cage for unclean birds. 3. Meditate, that the punishment first threatened, was for bodily acting evil, witness that Gen. 2.27. In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death. O how great a preservative would this be to keep us from doing evil bodily, to consider, it is that height of evil, that duplicated sin, of soul with body, procures Gods heavy judgements. For my own part, The Avowry. I am resolved by the help of my God, to raise up my spiritual fortifications, lest sinful lust in his march make an havoc, and as he is entered in, so utterly overthrow all in this isle of man. 3. Case. The third Case, How may I be sure of it, I have stood out and resisted the evil of Temptation? Three ways: 1. If thou fly from it, thy departure doth depose thou hast got the better: our gallants say, to stand to it is manlike; the gracious they say, to betake thee to thy heels and run from harm catching by temptation is Saintlike, and that thou mayst count such counsel no disgrace, this is given in charge by General Paul, 1 Cor. 6.18. Flee fornication; A Saintlike retreat from fin makes me a Sovereign over all the unruly passions of my soul. 2. Thou shalt be sure thou hast triumphed by causing thy temptation to give ground, and by laying load on it and cudgelling it with Scriptum est, or sio dixit Dominus. 3. Resistit qui non consentit, he resists who never consents, who if so weak he cannot run from the temptation, or it so strong he cannot force it in the field to fly, yet know't good Christian, thy stand out against it saith, thou hast quit thyself like a man, and let it be as a cordial to comfort thy wounded conscience. And now to comprise all in a line, I am resolved either myself to departed from the evil of Temptation, The Avowry with the Collect. or else by the aid of my God to make it depart and in haste from me, or however by Gods good assistance not to assent but to stand out in the day of trial. We stand need of two graces, The Graces two. to put up this petition, Timidity. Prospicacity. Timidity, or a religious fear. Prospicacity, or a quick divine foresight. Timidity, to walk on warily. Prospicacity, to look to our ways. Timidity, which doubts the danger. Prospicacity, which spies it out when we have fallen into it. It is Timidity, sees nought, yet fears all. It is Prospicacity sees all, that occasions all the fear. I am resolved to pray my God to give me those two Graces, The Avowry with the Collect. both to fear, and to cast an eye all over, and all to prevent I be not led into Temptation, but delivered from Evil. Timidicies' Character. The first Grace given here in Commendum, is Timidity, which what is it but a godly fear? let this grace, though no Anabaptist, be again Christened and thus called, Godly fear; this godly fear is no coward, yet recoils, no dastand, yet dare not, will not on, without mature deliberation, like the Ram, it runs back to give the bigger blow, and for a time stays, the sooner to stint the war. This is the Grace bids fear the worst though it hope the best, and forecasts what may happen, and weighs the end ere got half way. This Grace bids us hold, and not be too bold, to beware what peril may ensue if we accept of the proster, and if such be our works, seriously to consider what will be the end of those things. It is this godly fear, keeps back God's child from laying hands on the Devil's * Mat. 4. All this will I give thee. Donative, and makes him doubt to take, lest he lose by getting, and shun the greeny shade, since sometimes it hath sheltered a poisonous snake, yea forbear to taste of the fruit so pleasant to the sight, since that sense may be deceived, and the purchase be Eden's Apple. O sins proffers are more pleasant than profitable, and seem to content when kill, they allure but delude. Now this it is hath made me resolve upon it, whatsoever pleasing dalliance, The Avowry. sin motions to my soul, to beg of God this Grace, Godly Fear, for fear I be undone, by being led into Temptation. Prospicacity or a quick divine foresight is the grace I stand need of, Prospicatities' Character to be delivered from evil, I mean not from the evil of sin, but evil of punishment that I fell into, or ever I foresaw: the other this grace inables me to foresee, that I fall not into it; I stand in need then of this Grace, not so much to discover the income, as the end of evil; evil hath overtaken all of us, and actual evil, foresight is out of use, and hath no part of employment about preventing actuated evil already past and committed. That than which this grace serves to inform us poor captive Samsons of, it is this, what wages we shall have paid, for grinding in the Philistims common mill of Evil: the work was sin, and the wages must be death: * Sin and Death. both these this grace spies, the one nigh hand, the other a life time off. This grace is the eye of the soul, and lets us see, though a fare off, Dives in torments, as Dives did Lazarus in Abraham's bosom. It eyes as what hath happened, so what is hasting on: it stands upon the tower of Jehoram, and is the watch man discovers death's approach, God's wrath, and Tophet prepared of old: lo the one forewarns, and fore arms, which strengthens me, by the power of my God, to take the main pillar of the Philistims * Sin. house in my arms, and endeavour to pull it down before my dying; and all lest I fall into the same condemnation; though this grace cannot undo what done, yet this foresight sets me to work, to take the waterwork of * Sin. Mera, lest my soul be drowned in the deluge of damnation, as the Egyptians bodies were in the Red Sea. And now since this grace is of this use, to discover what harm approaching, and by this discovery is able to strengthen our hands to prevent a new supply from joining with the train-band of sin. This is it hath made me resolve upon it to petition the * God. King for supply of this grace, The Avowry. which is of an heavenly force, and able to deliver us from evil. Two Vices are here prohibited: The Vices two. Presumption. Ignorance. Presumption, which fears nought. Their Parallel. Ignorance, which knows nought. Presumption, as forward as wise. Ignorance, as blind as forward. It's that first hath more heart than wit. This second more will than can. The one leads us on, to be entrapped in the Ambush, Temptation. The other delivers us up into the main battle, Evil. It is this hath made me resolve upon it, The Avowry. to beg of God to free me from presumption and ignorance, and for this cause in chief, that I be not led into Temptation, but delivered from Evil. Presumptions Character This Vice Pesumption, is of an higher spirit than wit, comes out like a Worthy, but proves a weakling; it fears nought, though hath no defence, and thinks it can bear off all the blows of Temptation, when the blast of an evil thought is able to blow it over: a Vice lays us open to all advantages, and goes out like a * As if all over harnessed a capo pe. Curasier, when as bare of Armour as the * Other Horsemen have on no harness. Crabats, who have on no harness. This is the vice makes us trust too much to our strength, and conceit we are able to conquer, when not to keep, it makes us adventure on once * Upon sin. more, and when it is past, to press on again, and play a game at hazard, for heaven, and stake soul, though sure to lose it. This is the vice which swears we shall enjoy an everlasting inheritance, though we want the * Faith and good works. evidence, and get in good time to heaven, though we be running to hell, the quite contrary way. They say the knight of the Sun, walks and vaults as if a Prince and mighty potentate, when hath not so much money, as to discharge the three penny ordinary: And thus presumption carries a high sail in a low wind, and speaks in buff, when a beggar, makes show of what not. Being full cousin to the adverb, Quasi, may chance to look like a wise man, that's all, is a fool, whose fond head, if we be led by it, our whole bodies and souls will far the worse for it. This is it hath made me resolve upon it, The Avowry. to be earnest with my God, to give me more grace, than to be swayed by this graceless one, Presumption, which fool, if I follow in his folly, sure I am to be led into Temptation. The second Vice I am her forewarned of, is Ignorance. Ignorances' Character. This imp is the offspring of the old world, who were manying and giving in marriage, being ignorant what would betid them, till drowned in the flood, Behold the sea-wreck is fast feasted in our main Continent. The blind byard discerns not what commit, and therefore considers not, what to come. That natural to whom the Gospel is, a riddle, and the Law one of its light acquaintance: This is the vice is a proficient in Temporals, a dolt in Spirituals; and the very vice which makes men merry, when there is no cause for it; hope well when at death's door, and doubt nought, when nought but danger. This is that one, makes us mistake our master, and to serve in stead of the true God, the god of this world, our bellies, as if made to eat and end: our backs, as if true happiness did consist in soft raiment. Our lusts, as if my mind to me a Kingdom; it is this vice, and none but this, makes me take quid pro, quo, falsehood for truth, shadows for substances, and what now, for all to come, while I harbour this harlotary vice, I cannot but commit the evil of sin, yet this is the vice leaves me not so much wit, as to dread, the evil of punishment. This is it hath made me resolve upon it, * The Avowry to beg of God to bestow upon me, saving knowledge, able to expel out of my soul, dammable Ignorance, which if left in the heart behind, it is impossible to deliver us from Evil. The Contemplation. O how do I see in the Idea of my enlightened understanding, how my standing guilty of sin, petitions to have me punished! Had this punishment been bodily sensen of pain, my pains and griefs had been more senfible than they are. Now as yet that my body escapes, let me not conceit all's exempt from punishment, nor yet while God spares * The body. part, that part doth acquit the whole. O poor soul, shalt thou live in me, and there be no more love in me to thee, let me be sensible of a something goes beyond sense, and bear it in mind there's soul punishment as hereafcer, in hell, so here on earth. There's a net set, Temptation, and soul's led into Temptation, an evil one, Sin, and it's to be feared, soul will be delivered up to evil. How is my soul catcht in * Actual evil. that, tortured by * Temptation. this; it hath fallen soul and fared full ill, * Evil. entrapped, and stripped. My sin occasioned my ensnaring, and to go still on in sin, that's my judgement. To be guilty of sin, causes my summons, still to run on: This my punishment, which the less man minds, the more is his misery, and the sooner he suffers; and suffers, and doth it not astonish. The world is grown careless of that we ought to have the greatest care. Who is he doth care for souls ill fare; we sin, yet do not dream to go on in sin, is to go down to execution. That we are sinful men, all grant. This we pray against, is falling again into, sin. The first falls out by natures, fault, that we are sinners. The last falls out by God's judgement. That still we walk in the counsel of the ungodly. When I consider of this, me thinks I see How miserable is man by Adam. How miserable, his sin commit, hath made him. For Adam's sin, man's to be arraigned for a fellow. For man's own sinful works, it is God who suffers man to be led into that strong hold, Temptation, and delivered up to evil. Hell's pains is the fruit of all sins. * That is, to be led into temptation. This the effect of man's foregoing sin, for which first Adam was to be blamed; for which second, myself and none else living; nor yet doth God enforce man to sin, but man's original sin frees God for delivering man from actual Evil. O the thought of this strikes like a dagger to the heart, and may make the best of us have bleeding souls and consciences! To meditate on it; God's not tied to relieve us, to deliver us, when I know, what already I am guilty of, draws down a doom to sin, the sense of my bad deserts shall bring me every day to my knees, and make me beg of God as for myself, so for all our Lords liege people, that he would not lead us into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil. The Reasons. ANd now if you do well consider all the ways I was to walk thorough, I nothing doubt but you will grant, I have made as much haste as did the Israelites in their passage through the Red sea. The Preface is past, The third part of our Lord's Prayer. the Petitions perused, the Reason's next succeed; of which, not much, yet a few words with your leaves: upon which give me leave to descant in short, than discourse at large, as it were, first to run division, after to end with plain song. The last clause in the third * In earth as it is in heaven. petition may, so you please, be read at end of every of the first three petitions. And these three Reasons may likewise satisfy, for that superplus. And do as much service to every of these three last petitions. And thus Christ, * By, in earth as it is in heaven before hath set us down a platform, for that which concerns God, and after this, Reasons to persuade Gods grant for that which concerns us: we are taught how to do by the former, why to hope for here, for that, O God, The three last Petitions and the three Reasons in conjunction. Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, the Glory. Can we want? no thou hast a Kingdom, we will live in hopes of a pardon, since thou hast power, nor will we doubt of deliverance, since all thou dost for us, redounds to thy glory. Nay we are confident of thy providing for us all earthly necessaries, Their second conjunction. remitting all our debts, and trespasses, delivering us from all evil of all sorts, and all for that thou hast means, a Kingdom, Might, and art of Power, A review retrograde or backward of all the three Reasons. and it adds also to thy glory: it is for thy glory thus to deal with us: thou art of power thus to provide for us, nor hast thou straight room, a corner, but a Kingdom: now Lord, what begged grant, for thine is the Kingdom, Power and Glory. It is to augment thy Kingdom and to enrich thee with more heavenly subjects, The Reasons reapplyed. it is within the power of thy reach, and if thou sayest it, the Devil and hell cannot control, nay thus shall thy Majesty be magnified, and a Court Mask full of glory be heaped upon thy head: A short prayer pertinent to the matter prespoke of. and now O Lord be favourable to thy people, say to our bodies Ammi, and souls Ruhamah, provide for the one, and be gracious to the other, let our want be supplied and our woe repealed. Be pleased to provide for our body's necessaries, and grant our souls pardon: Pardon O Lord what past, prevent fins second onset, and at this present be our protector from all evil. But what inducement have we to draw God on to grant this * Threefold. triple boon up for us ourselves, Object. in these three last petitions. A Triple Reason, Ref. having relation to God's Means. Might. Magnificence. 1. To his Means, he hath a Kingdom. 2. To his Might, he hath Power. 3. To his Magnificence, his is the Glory. Let me pen my petition, put it up and presently, The first of the last three Petitions and the Reason poised. present it to his majesty: for since he is of means and hath much, a Kingdom, he will not then say us nay of a little, a bit of bread. Since he can what he will, for of power, no doubt then but he will forgive us that he can, 2 & 2. and that's enough. Since he enhances his honour by it, 3 & 3. and lais is the glory, he will not, this considered, hinder our suit, but grant a writ of delivery of us, out of all our Temptations. And now since our Christ hath tied our good God to grant, by this threefold cord of Reason; It is but reason, the three noble faculties of man's soul, should be called in, to do service, to these * Kingdom, Power, Glory. three predicates the Deo. Now let my understanding, The three faculties of the soul set their task. be set a-work to find out God's Kingdom. Let my almost unlimited will, so far it walks, by it in me, let me be led to find in him, a power surpassing. Let my memory be made the register to book in paper the variety of God's glory. But say my memory hath lost her notebook of record in part, The three Cardinal Vertunall Virtues, their assistants. God's charity to me, extracts a confession, that he excels in glory. Say will be wilful, and will not ponder God's Power, it's hope puts me in hopes his power is surpassing and Transcendent. Say my understanding fail to comprehend the worth of the heavenly Kingdom: it's faith that leads on to believe Gods superexcelling Kingdom. Blessed be that God hath left some relics in me, What common to man. as man Understanding. Will. Memory. Given something to me, What proper to the man of God. as a man of God, Faith. Hope. Charity. By which twice three, I may find out these three: Thy Kingdom among us, Thy power within us, And thy glory above us. Let me dwell upon the raptures of Reason, & Faith. Two fingers point out thy Kingdom. Of Will and Hope, Coursers on to thy power omnipotent. Of Memory and Charity, the public Notaries foe thy glory. Nor do I mean thus to let these Reasons pass by me. But more at large to discourse upon the three last petitions, and these three, all the Reasons. And first I will cull them out by couples, I mean, a Petition and a Reason. Then place them in the file of four, three Reasons and a Petition. That done, a word and away, of the perpetuity of God's Kingdom, Power, Glory, intimated in the word, Ever. The pairs are the first and first, second and second, third and third. Give us this day our daily Bread. This is the first of the three Petitions concerns us. First pair. For thine is the Kingdom: that is the first of the three Reasons, looks to God-ward, to gain his grant, and these two make the first pair. How well are these matched * Intimated in the first of the last three Petitions. Want. * Intimated in the first Reason. Wealth. Too little, and abundance of store; we the poor, God the Prince. * The pairs Emblenme. Their Emblem, is Pharaohs fat and lean kine. The lean, the emblem of this petition, which denotes out our barrenness. The fat, the emblem of God's Kingdom, which denotes out his fullness. * That is, the argument to gain Gods grant of the fourth Petition. We want and thou hast, this is the agrument: and with such a good nature, as our good Gods, it will work. The second pair, are the seconds, the second Petition, and the second Reason. This is the second Petition concerns us; Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. For thine is the Power, that's the second Reason, looks to Godward, to get his grant. How well are these matched, * intimated in the fift Petition: woe, and * Intimated in the second Reason. worth, man's great debt of iniquity, and Gods grand pursefull of omnipotency: man's exceeding sinful score, and Gods irresistible power, who hath power to discharge us, of what debt or sin soever. The emblem of these, The pairs Emblem. is the poor debtor, who cries on my Lord's Steward for mercy: and the Steward's Lord who had power to qualify what was laid in heat of choleron the poor mansscore. That first is the * emblem or resemblance. Hieroglyphic of our necessitated condition, imported in the second of the three last petitions. This other of God's power, who in despite of who so lays aught to our charge, can discharge us, our sinful debt is great. Thy Power O Lord, a writ of protection, This is the argument to gain Gods grant of the fift petition. to keep us from prison, spoke of Mat. 5. This is the argument, and with such a good nature as our good God it will work. The third pair is the third Petition, 3. Pair. and the third Reason, Led us not into Temptation, but deliver us from evil. This is the third petition concerns us, for thine is the glory, that's our Reason to persuade Gods subsigning. How well are these matched, * Intimated in the sixth Petition. fear of captivity, and * Intimated in the last Reason. insured triumph, shame and confusion of face, and all honour and laud, and praise, we weaklings who stand in jeopardy, and that worthy who by relieving the distressed enlarges his glory. Their Emblem is the Forlorn hope, The sixth Petition, and the last Reason's Emblem. and their down-bearing General, come to relieve them; or if you like it not: The three hundred Lappers by all like-i lihood destinated to die, and Gideon their noble Captain by the help of whom they did escape and conquer. The first is the Semblance of the evil likely to betid us, imported in this last petition. The other of our God and his renown and glory. Our state we stand in is very dangerous. This is the argument used tol gain God's grant of the sixth Petition. Thy renowned glory shall yet be made more glorious, by our deliverance, yea to thee for the deliverance of us, shall be given all honour, laud and glory. This is the argument, and with such a good nature as our good God it will work. Again cast your eyes upon the three last Petitions, and these three Reasons, for now that I have culled them out by couples, I mean to put them into a file of four. And to make up my first file, The three last Petitionsand the Reasons put into a file of four. I must go place together, the first of the last three Petitions, and the three Reasons. Then the second and the three over once more. Then the third and the three the third time. The first file. These are of it. The first is this Petition, Give us this day our daily Bread. The second is the first Reason, For thine is the Kingdom. The third, is the second Reason, the Power. The fourth, is the third Reason, and Glory. Their discourse. 1. The Petition prays God to supply wants bodily. 2. The Reasons second the suit, and avouch there is cause. To give what we ask. Since we are in * Poverty: indigency, and thou hast it, for a Kingdom; and canst it, for of Power; and gettest by it, the Glory. These three Reasons, are the three men at Arms, which cry of on our Generalissimo, God, to subsigne what prayed for in the Petition. The effect of the discourse. There is hopes of an happy issue of the suit, for bodily necessaries, since these are met for the good of us. And it's said, When two or three be gathered together, God will be in the midst of them— to hear them. The second file. These are of it. The second of the last three Petitions, and these three Reasons reranged: here are all our old soldiers, all, I say, save one, which is this Petition, Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. Second, third, and fourth, are the three Reasons: For thine is the Kingdom, For thine is the Power, For thine is the Glory. Their discourse. The Petition prays God to forgive us our sins and trespasses. The Reasons second the suit, and vow there is Reason for God to do what we desire. Since we stand need of thy forgiveness who hast enough, for a Kingdom, canst forgive, for of power; gettest by forgiving, the Glory. These three Reasons are the three men at Arms, which cry on our Generalissimo, God, to subsign what prayed for in the Petition. The effect of their discouse. There is hopes of an happy issue of the suit for remission of sin: since these three are met for the good of us. And it's said, When two or three be gathered together, God will be in the midst of them— to consider of their suit. The third file. These are of it. The third of the last three Petitions, and it is the last of all the Petitions. The three Reasons come in as incessantly weary, to make up this broken file. Here's all our old soldiers, all save one, which is this: Led us not into Temptation, but deliver us from evil. The other three are the three Reasons have been twice in action: By name Kingdom. Power. Glory. Their discourse. The Petition prays God not to lead us into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil. The Reasons second the suit, and vows there is reason for it. Let us not be delivered captive up to the world, flesh, or Devil. Since thou hast enough to rescue, for a Kingdom full; canst deliver, for of Power; and since the less thou lettest us be led into Temptation, the more is thy renown and Glory. These are the three men at arms, which cry on our Generalissimo, God, to subsign what prayed for in the Petition. The effect of the discourse. There is hopes of an happy issue out of all our Temptations: and a free deliverance from them, since these three are met together for the good of us: And it is said, where two or three be gathered together, God will be in the midst of them— to sign their Petitions. The third thing to be done is to take into consideration the perpetuity of God's Kingdom, Power, Glory, intimated in the word Ever: yea it is this Ever, hath set me this task: truthis, Iwant eyes to look back, and view the beginning or ending of any one of these * Kingdom, Power, Glory. three. And yet we are called on, to cast an eye back upon both their beginning and ending; and to look at those three, as fare as our sight is able to reach, and that a Parte ante. Parte post. And first, a part ante; fuit ab initio Pegnum. Potestas. Gloria. Thy Kingdom, Power and Glory have been from the beginning: what can I compare these to, and not impair their perpetuity. They are of standing with the Trinity, of their year, before the Heavens were, saith God, I was, and then these were thy Kingdom. Power. Glory. We have matched them with him owns them, and they are his, and with him were from all eternity, God's Kingdom is from everlasting, Dan. 3. His power is of no less length, for that named the strength of his arm. And Manasses prayer proclaims his glory hath been and forever. A gradation. And thus he had a Kingdom, or the world was laid, or its foundation, and power, or he shown his power in casting down from heaven the proud Luciferian fry; and Glory, or ever an Angel could tune his voice to sing a Gloria patri, or an Hallelujah. Ask the days of old, they will tell you these three are their elder brothers: and as they are thus anciently descended a part ante, so a part post, for ever to endure: for long beyond all time, are, to last God's Kingdom, Power, Glory, Yea world without end Longer than all the Kingdoms upon Earth, longer than Sun and Moon, longer than the sons of men. All these wax old as doth a garment, and after these perish, it's these three which break out and bud afresh like Aaron's Rod. And yet if there be aught on earth to resemble their ever being, Being, it is, Man, not man living to die, but dying to live; not this his corruptible life, but his life everlasting. We had a beginning shall never have an ending; and this no end of ours, is like theirs, but their beginning is like to Gods who is without beginning. O how long since they were, how long yet to last! O ever, everlastingly. Such a King, such a Kingdom; Ever, everlasting. Such a Lord, and such his Power, Ever, everlasting. Such a State, and such his state of Glory; its Glory Ever, everlasting. Let me not doubt to get, if I go to him who hath enough to give, a Kingdom, and for Ever. Let me not fear forgiveness, but beg of him hath power to grant it, Power for Ever. Let me not be discomforted, but still live in hopes of deliverance, since he is my friend will rescue, who stands upon his Honour and Glory, and that for Ever. The Divine Contemplation upon the first Reason. For thine is the Kingdom. Lo, have I not hopes of a supply? I beg a boon of the King, I had not turned a suppliant, but that he whom I invocate, is owner of a Kingdom: O God and my King, give me what I beg, since thou hast enough to bestow without diminishing thy store; look not at me an unworthy beggar, but consider how much I want, and how much thou haft: thou canst give to none more poor, I can crave of none hath more to give; I pray the Father let thy wealth supply my want, since all my want may easily be supplied with thy wealth: I have been the Prodigal, I have spent my portion, I have fed on husks: I am now in a sad and sorrowful estate. O like a father whose bowels earn with compassion, say to my soul, Welcome my son, my son, I will own thee, I will enrich thee: thou hast spent me much, I have yet much more; more to give than thou canst spend; there are treasures at my right hand for evermore. O thou who ownest even all, who art Lord Paramount of heaven and earth, I commend all my needs to thy bounteous liberality, thou wilt help, for art merciful; thou canst help, for haste, and a Kingdom. Dear Father, since thou ownest so much, make me master of a little, of one poor mansion; for thine is the Kingdom. I have, no, nothing, and canst thou deny me? thou hast a Kingdom, and wilt thou not give me? O give me what I want, since what I want thou hast, and much more abundance: be so good to me, since there is enough for thee, a magazine to supply my want, and maintain thy train; I have a strong saith to believe thou wilt, my illuminate reason assures me thou canst; now thy submiss son and servant is begging, shut not up thy merciful compassion— For thine is the Kingdom. The Divine Contemplation upon the second Reason. For thine is the Power. What were it to own a Kingdom, and want power to dispose of it: I serve a Master hath enough, and power enough; he hath a Kingdom and all in it, and all at his command: Angels in heaven, the hearts of Kings upon earth, and the very Devils in hell? I am now ready to sing a Gloria patri, all glory, honour and praise be given to him who sits upon the Throne, who sits betwixt the Cherubims, and clasps the heavens in his hands, who dashes the heathen in pieces like a potter's vessel, who hath put a stand to the sea, and his hook in the nostrils of the Leviathan; such a Prince is my Master, and such a Master do I serve, who can what he will, O will what thou canst, even the saving my soul in the great day of the Lord Jesus: But I have many enemies, the world about me, the Devil beheath me, the flesh within me, all are combining my destruction: many to one, and that one a weakling, lame with Jacob, limping with Mephibosheth; What shall I now go do? shall I despair? no, against hope I will hope, I will put my confidence in the God of Israel; and why? for have faith to believe, thine is the power to vanquish, power to deliver, power to exalt out of the dust, dunghill, to a crown of immortal glory. O God and my King, I will fight with beasts at Ephesus, go out against great Goliath, encounter the unclean spirit with seven worse than himself; I am sure to be more than conqueror, so I fight under thy Banner; for thine is the power to subdue Hell, death and the Devil. Othou the preserver of men, be thou my Lord Protector; and I do not fear the fury of all the furies of Og and Magog, I ask nought without thy reach, I crave nought more than thou canst give; give me strength to fight thy battle, ability to hold out in the day of Temptation: then Lord, will I not fear the Tempter, since I am sure thou hast the sole power to support. The Divine Contemplation upon the third Reason. For thine is the Glory. It's an happy exchange, when both parties far the better; canst thou give me nought, but thou gettest by giving? Lord supply thou my wants, and take thou the honour of it: I have nought to retaliate, yet still I receive, give me more of that I want, Mercy, and take what is due to thee, thy Glory. I am emboldened still to beg, since my begging inhances the honour of thy name, who will not give to gain? give me what I want, and the supply of my want shall be the Trumpet of thy praise; It is my shame I am become so destitute of all good, that I am supplied by the Lord for it, all glory be to the Lord. Thus our God casts his bread upon the waters, not many days after finds it; we receive it in lumps of Mercy, he finds it in a whole patch of Glory; he gives what we need, he receives what he stands no need of: and thus he helps us poor despicable creatures, and thus he heaps up a full measure of glory upon himself. Ride on, O Lord, with thine honour, be thou to us a God of compassion, and enhance in the sight of the Heathen. thy own Honour; While thou dost good to man, thou unmaskest thy Majesty among men: Lord stretch out thy hand to do us good, yea, give us Grace, and take thou the Glory. A Divine Contemplation upon Ever, I cannot see how this can be, Thy Kingdom, Power, and Glory from all eternity. I had a beginning in Time, and therefore uncapable to conceivean Eternity before all Time: O now that Reason fails, lee Faith support. And since, O my King and my Christ, it is thou hast said it, I am resolved never to dispute it; thou hast given me an ear to hear, give me an heart to believe the eternity of thy Kingdom, Power and Glory: were this within the reach of reason, I stood in no need of faith: since it is above my Reason, Lord I believe, help my unbelief: But come with the eye of faith, let me look back, and take a view of what was, is, and to be for ever: Thy Kingdom. Thy Power. Thy Glory. Three that ever were, and three that ever owned, a Trinity of persons, a Trinity of Majesty, and that for ever. For Ever, this is a note above the Musicians Ela, a point without the seaman's compass, a letter more than in our Christ-crosse-row; yea, a word, which as yet, never could the heart of man fathom. Give me leave to admire this heavenly language, which we mean mortals cannot learn, and as becometh a Christian to subscribe, not like an Atheist deride this high mystery of eternity. Lo the vast distunce betwixt the Creator and the creature, as in parity of nature, so in Eternity of Time. I am a child, but as of yesterday, and to last little longer than Plintes * Generated at morn, dead at night. flies. But thou arta God whose Dominion had no beginning, hath no ending. The Persian, the Parthian, the Roman Empire; we read and find their α, their ω; but when thine first begun O God, there is no Historian sets it down, no Arithmetician can reckon, nor no Divine is able to prognosticate, they are all silent, swallowed up with the thought of their eternity: Man's imagination can wander and in an instant take a survey in the Idea of his understanding of all that ever was, from the year of our Lord, to the year of the Creation; there is the Hercules pillar, he can go no further; for all his haste, there he takes up his rest, & non datur ultra, here all his thoughts stint, as the Goal not to be gone beyond: but what is this world of Time to this Ever and everlasting? The thoughts of man are but a span in comparison of Eternity: All the Kingdoms of the world are in their swaddling belt, compared with the perpetuity of God's Kingdom, Power and glory, they had no beginning— Miraculum miraculorum, they shall have no ending, for— in secula seculorum. O my soul servest thou such a King who owns such a Kingdom, such a Potentate whose Power is so expanded, such a Sovereign whose Glory darkens the Sun and is more aged then the whole Creation, yea whose All is everlasting, cast down thyself at his sacred footstool, acknowledge his greatness, thy own meanness, what thou art, as nought; what he is, that divine Deity from everlasting to everlasting, whose Kingdom, Power and Glory are for Ever. Amen. THis Ever must not be an everlasting subject, but be ended with Amen. And so I come to the conclusion, The fourth part of my method, the conclusion Amen. Amen, the fourth and last part of this prayer. This is the upshot and end of it. We have now got from Dan to Beersheba, from the hithermost to the utmost part of this prayer. All of it hath been surveyed, and all the worthies in it, all save this one Amen. 1. Let me tell you what Countryman is this Amen. 2. Why made a native in every nation. 3. Since a stranger come from far, be pleased I may be to you his interpreter, and tell you what he means. First this Amen, if you look at him prima ab origine from his first original, Amen, an Hebrew. he is neither Greek nor Latin, but a Hebrew lad, and the last begot of the line of Heber, and as ancient as the tongue in which the Old Testament was writ. All this prayer else is of the lineage of the Grecians. This one, only, Amen, is of the line of the Hebrews. And with this * Hebrew word Amen. Jew, Jesus shuts up the womb of his Prayer. How in a mystery do I meet with this contemplation, Two Contemplations. that the Jews towards the End may get good by Christ and praying to him, And that he who mixed the two tongues in compiling this prayer, compiled this his prayer for the good of Jew as Gentile, latet secretum, in this Hebrew word hath laid hid this secret— unseen till this time. Well, The Avowry. while I period this prayer with this Amen; this last word shall put me in mind of God's first * Jews. love, yea that there is hopes of the Jews home coming, and that those that are not God's people, may come to be called the people of the Lord. Again this Amen is akin to the holy Tongue, and with that tongue this prayer is perioded. 2. How in a mystery am I led to contemplate, Contemplate. 2. my heart, to the end of my prayer, should be heavenly, since my tongue presumes to close it up with the holy Language. I am resolved by God's good assistance, The Avowry. my heart shall have a sent of such as is this last word here uttered. And that as the last word of this my prayer is part of the holy Tongue, so such as is that tongue, such shall be my Heart— Holy. The second thing I promised was to 0110 2 show why this, Amen, Amen, a native in every nation. is made a native in every nation; I mean, admit into every speech, all Countries and Nations using it as usually naturally as their own natural language; so that now it is naturalised through the whole Christian world. It's common traffic with all forts of Languages will witness this. Austin gives this Reason, Reas I ne vilesceret nudatum,. that it should not being made bare by interpretation become more vile among the people. And therefore all keep to one and the same word, Amen, ut honorem haberet velati secreti, to give honour to it as to a veiled secret. It may be it is thus kindly entertained into all languages, to note out, hereby the consent of all nations Christian in the worship of God. Or else this remainder of the holy Tongue is * Spread. diffusive. That the prophecy of Esa. 19.18. may the fulfilled, That the Gentiles should speak the language of Canaan. A word then to be used by Jews, A review of the three Reasons. by Gentiles, and since by all nations, by all the natives in those nations. By the Idiot, by the Learned. This I believe, let the Carnotensian * It forbids any of them to say Amen, because they all count themselves learned; and for that it's said, that the Idcot say Amen. Canon say what it will: a word whose common use declares our serving one God in common. And while we all in common conclude una voce, as one, with one and the self same, Amen. It hath made me admit to prayers with me, the very wicked. Let the proud Pharisee bid stand afar off, as oft as he pleases. A word we all use, left since all is to use it, so many several interpretations into several tongues should * unclothe. denude it of it deserved due, and diminish its sense which is so much; yea, its sense is so signifying, and its matter so much, and itself so hard to be understood; that at this time I have proffered to? be it interpreter to you, and tell you all it means. And thus I am led to the third part of my method, See what is meant by Amen. to tell you what is meant by Amen; And what it is it signifies: this done I have done. I find this Amen in chief, set at latter end of our promise past to keep God's commandments, and there placed, and by a Prophet. 2. Set at latter end of Church service, and so placed by the Church in the * Common-Prayer-Book. Church Rubric. 3. Set at latter end of our Lord's Prayer, and so placed by our Lord. For the first, I find this Amen, Amens first sense. set at letter end of our promise past to keep God's Commandments, and by the Prophet,— And so Amen is, Nota faciendi voti, a note of a vow. This is made apparent by that place, Jer. 11.5. though the Text the, So be it, the marginal note, is Amen. And it is the Herald doth blaze Jerremiah's vow of obedience to keep God's Commandments. While then you cry Amen The Extract. you Vow obedience to God's Commandments. Now to vow so oft, The Taxation. and break as oft, is a foul fault. This is to heap sin upon sin, while we vow we will serve God, and serve the Devil. Thou hadst better never promise, than never perform, and say nought than say Amen: and not mind to what that one word hath bound thee. Amen is soon said, but binds to much. And as nudum pactum, a bare promise, in honesty binds to pay, so this only Amen to perform; that in foro mundi, this in foro Coeli; that to man, this to God. I would have men mark how far engaged, and to cast up what their word is passed for, to God— to do. Amen hath made us all debtors to God. The Supplicat. Now God of his mercy, and Christ for his merits clear our score. Secondly, I find this Amen set at latter end for the most part of our Church service, and so placed by the Church in the Church Rubric. And so this Amen is Nota assensus, a note of assent; And serves to show or declare what the Priest hath said, the people assent to. And thus this word, Amen, is used, Deut. 27. from the 15. to the end of the Chapter. Amen then, is as much as all said, I assent to: in the Church service faid by the Priest. And let me tell you what I think, it is this. How it is a laudable fashion and commendable custom in our congregations, That when we have said Church Service, being agrreeable with holy Bible, for the people to cry Amen at end. Believe me, as it is the Clerks office, so your duties to cry Amen, your Amen is the man, conjoins Priests and people's hearts together: nay know't, he that hath not a mouth to cry Amen, I dare say wants an heart to call on God. It is a small request, if we say service, for you to say Amen; it is a great benefit for a little disbursement, when one only word interests you in all the prayers we have made. My desire is, when I say service, to hear the whole Congregation say, Amen: St. Austin. Audiri veluti Coeleste tonitru populum reboantem Amen: I desire to hear the people founding Amen as thunder from heaven. O! it showeth that the prayer said by the Minister, whereunto the people answer, Amen, omnium esse communem, to be common to all; thou losest thy part by leaving out Amen: and know't, he that will not lend God his tongue to say Amen, it's not probable God will be so free hearted to him, as to grant him that of which there is not the least testimonial he desired it. To conclude, he must play the Clerk, that would profit by what uttered by the Priest. Here is an happy way found out for the good of our ignorant, yet know't to your comfort, by saying, though but in some sort understandingly, Amen. The Preachers service is made yours, & you may come to gain as much by saying, Amen, as he that saith all the words at large in the Common-prayer-book. An inducement sufficient to cause all to say Amen. We have our task set out to read Service, this is yours, to say Amen: Church-service is half lest undone, while you neglect to say, Amen; and the far greater part, for the people have unacted their part: * Ministers. We put in our replication, while we say service, your rejoinder is unput in, without, Amen. Now Lord grant that while we speak to thee for us ourselves, and for the people: The Supplicat. the people may join with us, and that their, Amen, to our prayers may testify their good and godly meaning. Thirdly, I find this Amen set at latter end of our Lord's Prayer, Pater noster Amens third sense is tripartite. and so set and placed by Christ himself. Now in speaking upon this Pater noster Amen, this shall be my method. First, I will show you three several significations it may admit of. Secondly, in a my sterie, I could tell you, this Amen, and these three significations, might shadow out, and in some sort the Trinity in unity, yea the Trine unity; that one God, and the three Persons. Thirdly, I will give you its complete character. Fourthly, Since the Text is so short give me leave to extract an heavenly fancy from the letters in this last word of our Lord's Prayer. Fistly, The first sense of my pater noster Amen. He end all with two divine Meditations. First, let me give you the three significations of my Pater noster, Amen: and first of the first. 1. This pater noster, Amen, may here be taken pro juris jurandi nota, for a testimony upon oath: thus Mat. 5.18. it is as much as Verily, and it is Englished oft, by Truly, or Verily. Yet when thus Englished, incipit non desinit, commonly it gins ends not the sentence. Yet in this place, dum desinit affirmat asseveratione, while we end with this word, we protest all said is our mind. And now see when you have made an end of praying, this word, Amen, vows you take your oath on it; that your prayer is your very hearts desire. Amen, that is, Lord what I have prayed for, I take an holy on't, I desire it. The Taxation. A perilous protestation, and gives all those a vehement knock over shins, who say one thing and mean another: With the Hawk in windy words towering into the air, when their aim and end is on the earth. The word being now understood, may make those change their counternance who beg of God deliverance from the deceits of the flesh, * Amen. here they soar up, and yet mean when prayers are done, to have familiarity with the flesh, her affections and lusts, here they fall flat down. These are perjured persons coram Deo, Amen is my witness. And now me thinks this should shame sundry of us; that as it is witnessed by this * Amen. examined, have sworn these religious purposes are our mind, and yet mind to do nought less. O it is a fearful thing to dissemble with God Almighty. Now what good we say with our tongues, The Supplicat. Lord give us grace to embrace in our hearts. Secondly, this Pater noster, Amen, may signify ipsam veritatem, the very truth. The faithful and true witness, and thus Amen is taken, Rev. 3.14. where said unto the Church of the Laodiceans, writ these things saith the Amen, that is, the faithful and true witness: there as it is interpreted by common consent, Amen signifies Christ: And so may do here, and then see you not to Christ's hand-writing he sets his name, for Amen is as much as Christ: and then thus this prayer is perioded with this word, this being its last word, Christ. How doth this interpretation lead one by the hand, Three Inferences. and lets me see, 1. How without Christ, first and last in my heart, nought's to be had, 2. Without coming in his name, nought's to be gotten. 3. Without my Saviour Christ, my prayer hath lost its favour. Let me not leave off to meditate on it, and oft, how Christ is the perfection of our prayers; and certainly so he is— O sacred sound which sweetens all our prayers, and makes them all well pleasing to God Almighty! The body of Moses interposed, stopped the plague: The name, Jesus, seals the bliss. Now blessed be this ever blessed Lord and 0664 2 Saviour of all our souls, The Supplicat. Christ Jesus, and for ever. I am resolved never to leave out in my prayer, The Avowry. no not this last word, Amen, since this Amen is as much as Christ, which one sound if from the heart uttered, and beleevingly, is able to procure Gods bless on all my prayers. Thirdly, this pater noster Amen, may be taken pro signo subscriptionis, for a token or mark set to, to assure our subscripbing to what forespoken: Thus it is taken Rom. 1.25.2 Cor. 1.20. and thus it may be here meant; here, Amen, is as much as if the suppliant should say, Lord I do subscribe in heart to what my tongue hath uttered. That I note is this, That Amen, Note. doth acknowledge all foresaid to be the suppliants true meaning: Amen is Avoucher, avouches all said for truth and right when he comes in, I mean, Amen; he justifies all before, he bends us to yield to all said, and brings us to confess freely we like of all we have heard, Three Inferences. uttered or read, An observation I may make a Tripartite use of. As, 1. If there be such worth in saying Amen, say it as oft as occasion calls on thee. Let not this godly prayer be read in thy ear, but have provided for it an Amen; a word well becomes our mouths, every one is for the new cut, but come keep in this old fashion, of saying Amen, as messenger newly alight, and the last at that gatehouse, your lips, which witnesss what you have subscribed to, you are persuaded is the very truth, and that truly you desire it. 2. This interpretation may serve to teach you, and you be not too old to learn, to mind what read, before you set seal, Amen, to it; to mind what said, ere you say Amen: I had as live hear a Wood-pecker whistle, and Owl shriek, a Parrot prate, as hear a parishioner say Amen, that minds not, understands not prayer went before; such fellows as these were fit to make hackney witnesses of, for whereas others would swear, but what they know is truth, these will witness all is true, though they never minded what said. But that with a good conscience, you may cry Amen, mind what said, it is thy part, for thou art to pass thy censure on it: can the Jury pass a just verdict, minds not plead? impossible. The simile suits with thee, and warns thee to note all thy * Petitions penned or spoke. paper-books, that thou mayst be able to pronounce an Amen, that is a positive sentence all is true. 3. This interpretation refels the folly of our ignorant Papists, who when the Seminary saith the prayer in Latin, cry Amen, which should not be denounced, but of what understood; he may as well curse them, as bless them, for aught they know, and yet they cry Amen. A folly to approve for good they know not what, a blind devotion when is out the eye, their understanding, a custom inexcusable, that the ignorant people should cry Amen to Service read in Latin. Surely they have assured confidence in their Priests: and I assure you their Priests had need to have more honesty, than their hearers have wit. But let them be never so honest, I see no reason for it, the people's faith should be pinned on the sleeves of their Priests good meaning. 3. I would have all my people to know what I say, and to say, Amen, but not till they fully understand what said. A duty the more I urge men to— 1. For it begets devotion. 2. Makes us all of one mind. 3. Interests each of you, in the hopes of getting something by prayer. * The Avowry with the Collect of the three interpretations. For my own part, I am resolved, while I say this Amen, to bear in mind, my mark is set, Christ's name is writ, and oath is given for't, and all to conjure what my heart did indite, may be upright. And now in the second place without a misprision of judgement, give me leave to make my promise good. This Amen, Amens semblance. may resemble the Almighty, it came out of the bosom of his son: suffer therefore a word of it, which I desire more to balance with grace than wit, if some want not wit to conceive it. God that one essence Father, Son, & Holy Ghost, The three Persons. Betwixt these, Si liceat parvis componere magna, lo an * Resemblance. Analogy, which task I undertake to let the people know the prize less word, Amen, unus Deus sic hic unica vox, ut Tres personae sic his pro numero Tres significationes: we have in hand, One and One, Three and Three. That one God and this one Amen. That one God divided into three Persons. And this one Amen, admits of three significations. God and Amen: I mean to set the one beside the other, and do you mark in what Amen blushes the Almighty. I'll pass by in that he's the Father, Rev. 3.14. The semblance betwixt Amen and God, holds in five. things. Amen the Son— yet there's a blush: But take Amen for vox praeterea nihil, wherein then lies the resemblance? 1. God is Alpha and Omega. This Amen is Omega, for always last. 2. God comprehends all, sic Amen omnia praedicta, Amen comprehends all men's votes and supplicats. 3. God undestands all Tongues and Languages: and Amen it's well known is no stranger to none of them. 4. God is every where: sic Amen in una quaque regione, you may find Amen in every nation. 5. God is the very same yesterday, to day, and to morrow: Et hoc verbum Amen semper idem, ejus nomen nunquam amittitur: and to show it is no changeling, it is set next secular seculorum. Since this Amen blushes noble a personage, The Avowry. this shall make me ponder in mind, ere I say with my tongue, Amen. In the next place, Amens three significations maintain this, Amen blushes the three persons Father, Son, & Holy Ghost. And first, God the Father: while by Amen is meant an oath, it's the sole decider of all in Earth, so he in Heaven. Secondly, God the Son: Amen, is like him, if not him, Dum hoc verbum est veritas. Thirdly, God the Holy Ghost, while as he, so, this Amen is signum, the mark, the seal, seals all assuredly. I will ever have in high esteem that prayer upon whose last word is imprint the Character of the ever blessed Trinity. The Avowry. And now if you chance to dislike the allusion dislike not my endeavour which is to satisfy, as some with common Cates, so some with a novelty Bitten— you know ere cloth be taken away, novelties are expected or never. Let each take a morsel of the meat will best digest with him; and not condemn the Cateror for that at cost with variety. We see the dish set up upon the long board of your understanding, called Amen. Let us all close up our stomaches with this, Amen. A very taste whereof hath put the people of God in mind, of one God. And God the Father, Son, & Holy Ghost. My vote for all God's people shall be this, His vote. that while to their prayers end, they have in their mouths and bear in their minds— God, so that God would be ever pleased to grant all their prayers put up unto him. The third part of my method moves me to give you the complete character of this one Amen, Amens Character I mean, its description in decurt short significant sentences. Amen then, as you have heard, is an Hebrew by Nation, a Laconian by Language, and a traveller by nature; hath talked with sundry of sundry nations, and when they have said all they can, giveth them it all over in a word. This is hath marched through all the provinces in the Christian world, yet in the rear, never in the front. The Officer at arms who draws up the broad Body into a little circle. The son of Mars makes an end of all; he is placed the lowest, yet is of greatest account, for comprehends quic quid in buccam venit, the last yet the first while from the first to the last; all hangs dependency upon this one, Amen. This is the pacifier of the people, which makes them of one mind: the little map deciphers out their unanimous universal agreement, the prosective glass in which I see a fort gone fare before. The notary bears in mind every petition put up. Lo the repeater over of our prayers, which binds all us to bear in mind all said. This Amen is a memento for man, and a testis to God: our remembrance of what spoke, and the witness betwixt God and us, we meant as we spoke: this is he says little, yet says much, while gives us magnum in parvo, much, in a little, a word of weight, which if pondered, weighs as heavy as the whole prayer. Behold the nut is nought but kernel: the fountain is seafull, and the ship is full fraught: this is it, fills and full the magazine, man's understanding, and hath to lay up a somewhat lest in the out-room, memory. Will must not be a wanting, lest there be a want when search is made for what came aboard. I will board the booty in this bottom, The Avowry. and desite my God to give me understanding to conceive, and memory to bear in mind, all lies hid in this howl, Amen. But come, what is it lies here hid? Sub tegmine Deus, sub tegmine Christus: as much Amen signifies, God Christ, Christ God: himself says, I am the Amen. If you end with God and Christ, have nought to do with the Devil; have you Christ in your mouths? keep than Satan out of your hearts. Thou never with a good heart sayest this prayer, but this last word shuts door upon the Devil. Principium a Jove, finis Jesus, thou beginnest with the Father, endest with the Son. Without doubt the Spirit is thy guide, and teaches thee to pray, teaches thee thus to pray, teachers thee * Pater noster. this to say: let me tell thee, to have God in thy mouth, the Son on thy tongue end, makes probable proof, the holy Ghost is in thy heart. So on the other side to slight such a prayer, which gins with our Father, ends with the Son, maketh it more than probable, the Spirit of the Lord is departed from that suppliant: take it for a maxim in Divinity, he that wilfully refuses to say Christ's Prayer, is not inspired with christs Spirit. Let me tell you, I can see no other cause why any should lay aside, our Lord's Prayer, unless unwilling to use the name, God the Father at the first, and God the Son at the end, in their Rosary. The Jews were so feared to take God's Name in vain, that they used another word in stead: it may be, we have such a piour people, who fear to sin, if they should do what Christ bids them do, Say the Lords Prayer: yet since Amen is in stead of Christ, there is no excuse, neither ever took I those men to be squeasie stomach, who can strain at a gnat and swallow a Camel; who make scruple to say Christ's prayer, yet stick not to rob Christ's Church: in one work, who destroyed her Discipline, defaced her Doctrine, unhallowed her sacred Sacraments: and do to many of God's Ambassadors, as Hanun did with david's, cut off their garments to the hams. Believe me, those who have such strong stomaches to the maintenance of the Ministry, I never knew bear any good will to the Doctrine of the Church: They will cry Amen sooner to the one than the other. I will leave them, and pray for them, the Lord awake them out of that surreptitious sin, Sacrilege. And thus I pass on to the fourth part of my method, which desires, since the subject is short, you would give me leave to extract an heavenly fancy from the letters in this last word of our Lord's Prayer. I know some will carp at it; but for my own part, I am resolved never to write without a censure by some. But know you it, the letters in this one word, involve a mystery, while all the letters in, Amen,— make up mane— Mane. Mane. Mane, the Adverb. Mane, the Verb. Mane the Adverb, which signifies Early. Mane the Verb, which bids bide by it, stay at it. That notes out the Time. This the Term. The time I must begin to pray, is betime. The Term without interim. The time the term of prayer Amen point forth. Forth with's the time, Epigr. the term no ending hath. Now T'le begin to day to pray, not rest; Early, lately, prayer I'll make my feast. Mane invites, bias come, come quickly pray: Mane gives charge we stay, start not away. Amen in one comprises both these two, And to our tasks our bear't doth bend, doth bow. This divine fancy hath brought out two twins, I mean two heavenly mediations: and this is the fist part of my method, and the perfecter of my promise. But I will extract them, and more properly from this very last, word of our Lord's Prayer, which word being, Amen, I look not at, as taken adverbialiter, for them commonly it gins the verse, this ends the prayer: yet when Amen is so used, it signifies Verily, very. 2. I look not at this present at this words as taken verbaliter, so it is set at end our Church Collects, and sounds as much as So bet it. But let me look at this Amen, as taken nominaltter, for a noon, for him who is the truth, for Christ, From this exposition which is the most lofty, and warranted out of the Revelations, I will extract two Meditations Rev. 3.14. For the first, What doth Amen signify? Christ, Christ who is α and ohgr;, the first, and the last, from all eternity, and to last everstingly: and with this sacred sound, shut I up my prayer: that this is thus, this Amen is my witness. The first meditation rises from hence is this: Since we end our prayer with him was from the beginning, Joh. 1.1. 1. Meditate how this puts us in mind to have Timely thoughts: mane, early to fall to prayers. Was Christ from the beginning, and shall I deferrer of praying till the evening * Of my life. ? What a late prayer to an early rising, Lord, such a prayer suits not so early an one as this Amen; let this timely Lord, have timely petitions put up unto him. Meditate, how our first work must be to fall to prayers. A duty there's no dispensation for; a task, haste must not hinder; a business about which let us lay all our heads, betimes, begin you old men in the morning, you young men ere old, you younglings in your side-coates. Meditate upon't how you cannot begin too soon to serve God: for Samuel the young, and Josias at ten are tendering their service. So soon as spring, grass grows. This time of grace is spring-time, let's see prayers put up as thickly quickly as grass grows, else the work of nature will overgrow this gift of grace, and there be found more barrenness in the womb of thy heart, than in the heart of the Earth. Beloved, bear it about in your remembrance, how, 1. We all are found guilty by Law, Motives to further this first mediatation. and what so soon as we can speak, shall we not pray, Mercy good Lord? 2. We may be executed when God will call, and shall we then neglect time to call on God? 3. We have nought of our own, as poor as the poor half-hunger-starved prodigal; and shall we defer a day to beg a somewhat? O! our want may set us to this work— to pray. 4. We are beforehand with God for a thousand favours, and say we begin to retaliate to God thanks to day, we hall scarce for all this have day enough. O! Gods bounty, our want, The Collect. the uncertainty of life, the certainty we are guilty, give a loud shout in our ears and cry, To prayers, to paryers. By the grace of God I am resolved, The Avowry. and do mean, this, mane, shall make me a morning man, yea my eyes to prevent the night-watches till I have donemy devotion. You see now what you should do, first fall to prayers, ere you open shops or you make a bargain, this should be first done, pray to God: let me gripe you. 1. What say you now to those who with Martha are trouble about many things, yet leave undone this unum necessarium, praying, it may be they think to wax wealthier by working than talking; it holds in temporals, not in spirituals. 2. What say you now to those must be roaring of their peals of Ordnance on the Lords days, when all the Bells in the Church have rung them a peal to come to prayers, It may be they think there's more to be got by the sword than the Word; as wise as he is he's deceived thinks so. Religion is not so far gone down dike, so much foothold in our Island, Atheism I hope shall never have. 3. What say you now to those whom an early chapman makes them put off God to another time. It may be they think more to be got by trucking and lying, than beggin: but remember, the beggar is in Abraham's bosom; but as for all liars, their portion is damnation. 4. What say you now to those, who all their lives have made show of Religion, but that's all; are not the men, men take them for. The Hieroglyphic of these outside Saints, is a Gallant in a Busse-coat, that never fought. These look like Saints militant, yet never fought with Beasts at Ephesus— They gilled over their spiritual cowardice with divine formalities. These are they accuse us for being overmuch ceremonious; and yet themselves have no more but the form of godliness. I speak not of all, yet of the most of all; almost all, of that Sect, society think themselves something when nothing. They are taxed for't by St. Paul, Ephes. But let me tell these conceited professors, I say not proficients in their profession: but such as only profess they are proficients in grace and godliness, yet go as flowly on to Heaven, as that Beast of which it is reported, he goes but a yard betwixt sun and sun. This is it I am to tell you, Religion never makes a man have too good a conceit of himself: true zeal is no braggadochio, he that thinks there is none bettern, there is none worse: a windy professor is commonly a graceless gospeler. Be thou the proud Pharisee, I'll be the poor Publican: and while thou vauntest what thou canst do, I am resolved to be sorry I can do no better. But come, a word or two with thee who hath the form of godliness, deniest the poor of it; who talkess like a Saint, livest like a devil: in private you'll not deny it. Know't, God, of all kinds of creatures most dislikes Harpies, which have ora virginum, ungues vulturum, Virgins looks, Vultures claws. Of all kind of pictures Nebuchaanezars' whose head was of gold, arms of filver, belly of brass, legs of iron, feet of clay. The Ferryman rows one way, looks another way. It's commendable in his sea-calling, not in the calling of Christians. Sodom's Apples were fair to the eye, but being touched turned to ashes. O what a misery is this, to seem to be, and not to be! Pageants please spectators eyes, you have another to please, even your Father which is in heaven, who tries the heart and searches the reins. I approve of a glorious profession, let not that be all, beware of hypocrisy; a white Devil makes as fair show, and comes to the Church, and as with a white apron, as in a white surplice. Either be what thou seemest to be, orelse show thyself in thy own colours. Strait what crooked, conversation, conscience; that without doors, this within— else the one will be odious to man, both to God. Bear't in mind, man judges of the heart, by thy words and deeds, and thou mayst decived him: God judges of thy words and actions by thy heart, and him thou canst not deceive. Though some of you, amongst so many, it's to be feared, some be akin to the Adverb Quasi, as it were but such so zealous, yet it's my hopes there's but a few such dossemblers among you, I should be sorry there should be above one Judas in the house of Jesus. A second meditation this Amen gives birthdome: and I thus deduct it from it. Amen, which signifies Christ, is as a so w, as from everlasting, so to last, and everlastingly. Parallel thy prayer with its Author, yea sample the one by the other, there is no end of him, let there be no end of thine: O pray continually. Mane the verb gives us it in command. Let us hold out our prayers as Joshua did his spear, lift up our voice unto the Lord as Moses did his hand, let the waters of Eloim be our prayers emblem, ever overflowing; let the continue motion of the Sun, move us continually to move in the sphere of prayer. Why should I not lengthen my devotion to God, since Gods calling on me and so oft, ere I would give heed, assures me, I shall not be heard for a word, when I call on him: God hath called on us a thousand times, and we would never hear him, turned deaf ear to him, and think we to have God at a whistle when we call? Too much we take upon us, too little we set by the Lord: shall we be so coy? Why then should he be so kind? He calls, we care not; and for a call, is there cause for us to exact his audience? Dust and ashes is too presumptuous, to deny so oft, to expect an answer and for no more. Must we turn deaf ear to God, and must God be bound to hear us for a word? With the sweat of our brows we are to earn our bread? And for a word and away, think we to get bread of life of the Lord of life? Away unworthy wretches, let the septuplate sound of the Trumpets, prompt us on to lift up our voice like a Trumpet to the Lord, and aloud and oft. The fearful Hare, for the safeguard of her life, makes many doubles; doubra less there must be doubling of our Prayers, to wind us our of danger of death: and Death stand we not in awe of thee? I fear not to die, but to die eternally; which let my prayers increase as the waters did under the threshold of the Temple, Ezek. 47. Then will I not doubt by this sea of deep sounding supplications to be ferried over, and set a shore at the gates of New Jerusalem. I come to a second Reason. 2. Hold out your prayers, since its importunity will prevail. Have you not heard, if one word will not, a second onset may do it, if not a second, a third. O! continual droppings of supplications, can cause God's heart thou hast hardened against thee, give again. Gutta cavat lapidem, the stone is hollowed with incessant drops: the unjust judge is move with the importunity of the poor widow, she's not heard at first, cries again, again neglected, and again cries out upon the unrighteous judge, whose ears so much she troubles, for her cause he never weighs, till all he begs he grants. That the parable imports is, importunity seldom gets a may say; and if not with the unrighteous Judge, much less with the Judge of heaven and earth. This is it hath made me resolve upon it, to fall to prayers again, and if I gain not what I go about, not to let God rest at quiet till my suit be signed. 3. This is God's own counsel, pray continually, what shall his counsel be no command? a shame so much should be enjoined, and so little done: here is a long task, and a lazy genration, some never laying their hands to this labour, I mean praying in private neither with their private families, nor in their private closerts. Some disdaining to join with us in Common-prayers, I mean in the Church in public: What's the cause? Where's the defect? wherein smell they either of Heresy or Superstition? would God any loved me so well they would tell me, and where and wherein; I am not so obstinate, but I would give him hearing, and thanks if he deserve it— In time I may meet with such a Goliath, but I trust I need not fear his weaver's beam. But as for those cry out of all printed prayers, I cannot but cry out of them, and tell them to their teeth, while they cry out of superstition in many things they are too superstitious, and in special, while they imagine there's no printed prayer meet to have an Amen, but it made, and extemporary. I have heard of two sorts of prayers have been mightily discommended by a Sect suppose themselves none-such, and I would be sorry to be such as they are. Prayer in print for private use, our printed prayers used in public. For the first, what thinkest thou all have the gift of prayer? There's one spirit, but divers gifts, every one, the Text plain it hath not all of them, what then must he do, wants the gift of expressing himself to God by prayer: these humorous heads debar such poor souls from penned prayers, and leave them in a worse case than the Philistims jest the Israelites, without an instrument to whet their blunted goads and mattocks. For the second, Church prayers; why relishest thou not a pew-prayer, as well as a pulpit-prayer? O! the ones in print, but the other is penned, and by the spirit. I tell thee, and note it, an extemporary pulpit-prayer made by the Minister in respect of thee, is a set form of prayer: and my reason to prove it is this, for that thy spirit is bound to say, Amen, to what he hath dictated. And now since both are set forms in respect of the people, this i'th' pulpit, that i'th' pew, why mayst not thou say Amen as well to Church-prayers made by many gracious choice Divines, as to an extemporary prayer made by some one, sometime, who it may be speaks nonsense to God Almighty. I profess I pity the sullen humour of our times, and a sect who delight themselves with nought but new inventions; as all that know me, know I hate a very rag of Idolatry: So I detest the sick-brainnesse of divers of this age, who are fallen into a frenzy of righting by doing wrong, and of purging out, of our Church— Nay some are grown so impudently devout, that they dare say it, it's not meet to say our Lord's prayer— Lord what impure purity is this, for flesh and blood to give a non placet, to that Christ hath given under his own hand, it fit to go for currant, Luk. 11.2. It shall be my prayers that God 0 would root out of old England, all Heretics, and all conceited Schismatics, who take scare both at our Lord's Prayer, and divers other godly prayers of— Our Lord's prayer is authorised to be said by one of the three States of Heaven, and what one says, all assent to. The other, our Common-prayers have been allowed of by our three States of Parliament, once the reputed nerves and sinews of our nation. All the Members of which, when they meet, the Lord grant in all things which concern this his Church, they may be directed by his holy Spirit. And to this in a peaceable way to agree, let all true hearted natives say Amen. Give me leave to end all with a Divine Contemplation upon Amen. All our prayers are Epitomised in our Lord's Prayer, and our Lord's Prayer in this one, Amen. How soon is it said? how much doth it comprehend? I had need take good heed, when I pray. And have I not as much need to mind, when I end with this, Amen. I have been a long time unfolding my mind to God: this Amen, is that one, which when I have opened it, clasps it up. Have you not seen a book in quires, after that bound up: such is every single petition, such an one is this, Amen. What in them laid severed, in this is bound up. The petitions in our Lord's prayer, are much like the verses of a Psalm whose tune is prick it briefs and semibriefs? Amen set at end, is the quickest semi-quaver Time, and a well pleasing note in the ears of God Almighty— my petitioning Epistle I have put up to God: that is, my Prayer; the Collect of it is, Amen. You know there are abundance of sacred truths believed by us Christians, and yet their Encheridion is our Creed, in like sort, here is a world of good we beg of God, yet all summed up in this Amen. I am resolved to carry about me both my eyes Corporis, Animae, to spy out what here lieth hid. Amen is a deep ocean, and full to the superficies, though strait in the circumference, broad at the centre. O my God, enable me to recollect heart and mind and spirit, that I may discern all hid in this, Amen. But Lord how am I taught from the first to the last word of this prayers, to discharge my duty and please thee: first I pray for that I need, then, Amen, protests this is my mind. This Amen is my witness all my prayers are my desire. When I pray, dear Father, join heart and tongue together, and what with my tongue I beg, let Amen make affidavit I desire it. But come, when we have made long prayers, are they all comprehended in our Lord's prayer? When we have said our Lord's prayer, is it breviated in this its last word? It makes me I dare not at all times give the plaudite to long prayers, nor over censure decurt devotion: the most is not ever the best; let my prayer be of the best, and God will be well pleased with my little, though I say no more. Nor speak I this to lessen devotion, but to comfort those who are not so fully gifted. God may be in thy heart, though thy tongue be not so long, and the Publican be accepted with his short when the Pharisee, his Long, shall be little set by. Amen, set at end of our prayers and devoutly uttered, sounds better in God's ears than vain tautologies. The Hypocrite hath more tongue than heart; the child of God more heart than tongue. Yet O Lord untie the strings of my tongue, and my lips shall show forth thy praise. Yet since thou lovest not much vain babbling, set thou a watch before my tongue, that I offend not with my lips. Da Domine ut Haec recte intellingam, Luther. magis ut haec faciam. FINIS. A Table containing the most remarkable points unfolded in this Exposition. THE Preface. Four kinds of pouring out our minds to God by prayer. pag. 1 The sacred title Lord predicates of two, pag. 3 Two reasons why called the Lords Prayer, ibid. Two extracts from the reasons, pag. 4 The Avowry, ibid. An excellent prayer for brevity made six ways appear, pag. 5 A most fecund prayer apparent by two reasons. ibid. Two teasons why a preface, pag. 8 God described Relatively, pag. 10 God described Positively, pag. 10 Why God called Father, not Lord, ibid. The word Father puts us in mind of four things, pag. 11 It binds us to ask God blessing, pag. 13 It binds us to do him reverence, pag. 13 Esau asked blessing, pag. 14 The estimate of God's blessing, ibid. We must show reverence to God when we speak to God, he speaks to us ibid. Elisha his carriage to Elias, ibid. God's Ministers called God's Ambassadors, pag. 16 The word preached to be heard with much reverence, ibid. The 24 Elders in the Revelation, ibid. The reverend custom of the Abissins', ibid. God is called Father tripertively, pag. 17 A review of the particulars, ibid. Why we admit of the very wicked to say the Lords prayer with us, pag. 18 How every Oath, how every election, how Christ may be called God Father, pag. 18 The case of disinheriting, pag. 20 Two sorts of fools, ibid. The Collect, where all foregoing is abbreviated, pag. 21 Three substantial reasons why we say not my but our Father, ibid. The first Product, 21. The second Product, ibid. The third product, 22. The Collect, ibid. God's ever within call. pag. 24 Gods place of residence, pag. 25 His ableness to help us, ibid. The point enlarge, ibid. The Leper, and the Man whose son was possessed with their If thou wilt, ibid. The Leper, and the Man whose son was possessed with their If thou canst, ibid. Eight acceptations of the word Heaven. pag. 27 Two may be here meant, ibid. The semblance betwixt Saints and Heaven, pag. 28 An extract from the literal sense, pag. 29 An extract from the mystical sense, ibid. Heart compared to a house, pag. 30 The Avowry, Now the Petitions are to be spoken to. ibid. The division, pag. 31 The Petitions are of two sorts or kinds, ibid. Their extracts, pag. 32 The equality of these two sort of Petitions, three concern God, and three men, 34. Three Extracts, ibid. The Petitions precedency, or their going before one another, pag. 38 The subject matter of the 6 petitions compared to 6. shires, pag. 44 Two words to be explained, pag. 46 The Sense of the petition, pag. 49 The Collect of all said, ibid. Two Doctrines in general, pag. 51 Doct. 1. We must be resolute for God's honour, pag. 53 Doct. 2. There's a backwardness in the best of us to this duty, ibid. Doct 3. Our care in Christ should be for God's honour, pag. 54 The cases of Conscience. pag. 56 Three slight Gods word, pag. 61 The graces two, Sincerity, Vigilancy, pag. 66 The Contemplation, The second Petition. pag. 71 Kingdom taken four ways, pag. 76 Interp. 1. By Kingdom may be meant Word, pag. 78 The word and kingdom alike in five things, pag. 79 Interp. 2. By Kingdom may be meant the Church, pag. 80 Interp. 3. By Kingdom may be meant God's grace, pag. 83 Interp. 4. By Kingdom may be meant Heaven, pag. 84 The fourth Interpretation compendiously couched together, pag. 86 Doct. 1. Heaven is Gods own, pag. 86 Doct. 2. He that prays for heaven prays for no small thing, pag. 88 Doct. 3. We have no heaven in hand, pag. 89 1. Case of conscience, whether any doubt there be such a thing as called Kingdom for heaven, pag. 91 2. Case, whether shall all living go to heaven, pag. 92 3. Case, who shall be admitted into this Kingdom of heaven, pag. 95 The Contemplation, The third Petition; pag. 105 A twofold will of God, pag. 108 Doct. 1. It comes hardly of with us to do Gods will, pag. 119 Doct. 2. This life time is no privilege time for following our own will and appetite, ibid. Doct. 3. Heaven is set to the earth's pattern, pag. 121 Doct. 4. We have divers Schoolmasters, pag. 122 The Contemplation, The fourth Petition pag. 135 A paraphrase upon the fourth Petition. pag. 140 Doct. 1. It is God can supply all our wants, pag. 147 Doct. 2. We have no right to aught till begged it, pag. 149 Doct. 3. Our request for the world be limited, otherwise will burst to be boundless, pag. 151 Doct. 4. My state to my estate is not good till God confirm it, pag. 153 Doct. 5. Our request for the world must be moderate, pag. 154 1. Case of conscience, How cometh it to pass, that I who oft pray get so little, pag. 156 2. Case, How cometh it to pass, that the wicked who pray not get much eartly means, and much more than the Godly, pag. 159 3. Case, With what cautions may I pray for riches, pag. 162 The contemplation, The fift Petition. pag. 174 The word Trespass hath a double object, God, Man, pag. 179 Doct. 1. It is God can forgive us our sins, pag. 184 Doct. 2. Every sigular soul is a sinner, pag. 285 Doct. 3. It's many sins of which we are conscious, pag. 288 A simile taken from a Drunkard, pag. 289 Doct. 4. Sin in allied in full blood to Adam's posterity pag. 190 Doct. 5. We shall be forgiven as we do forgive, pag. 192 Doct. 6. God will forgive much for a little, pag. 195 Doct. 7. Our Trespasses against God far exceed our neighbours Trespassing us, ibid. The Contemplation, The sixth Petition. pag. 112 Temptation the bait. pag. 215 Evil is the hook, ibid. Doct. 1. In word to prayer, pag. 231 Doct. 2. Lo a very wound we must have a care to keep far from, pag. 232 Doct. 3. The Devil and sin our worst of enemies, pag. 234 Doct. 4. Naught is more evil than the Devil and Sin, pag. 236 The case of conscience, after what manner doth, lust entice us to sin and draw us on from serving God to become servants of sin, pag. 237 The Character of Timidity, pag. 254 The Character of Prespicacity, pag. 255 The Parallel betwixt Presumption, pag. 257 The Parallel betwixt Ignorance, pag. 257 The Character of Presumption, pag. 258 The Character of Ignorance, pag. 259 The perpetuity of God's Kingdom, Power, Glory, pag. 277 Read the Contemplations upon the three reasons, Kingdom, Power, Glory, pag. 280 A contemplation upon Ever, the fourth part of our Lords Prayers, pag. 285 The conclusion, Amen. Amen an Hebrew, pag. 289 Two Contemplations, pag. 290 Amen a native in every Nation, pag. 291 The reasons why admitteds in every language, ibid. A review of the three Reasons, pag. 292 The Carnotensian Cannon, ibid. Amens first sense, pag. 293 The extract, ibid. The taxation, pag. 294 His supplicat, ibid. Amens second sense, ibid. St. Augustine's saying, pag. 295 The ministers replication, pag. 296 The hearers rejoinder, pag. 297 His supplicat, ibid. Amens third sense, ibid. Pater noster Amen it's thereefold signification, ibid. It's taken pro juris jurandi nota, pag. 298 The taxation. ibid. His supplicat, pag. 299 It signifies ipsam veritatem, ibid. Three inferences, pag. 300 The body of Moses and the name Jusus, ibid. This Amen is sometime taken pro signo subseripri onis, pag. 401 Three inferences, ibid. A tripartite gain got by saying Amen, pag. 303 The Avowry with the Collect, ibid. A man's semblance, pag. 304 The semblance between God and Amen, pag. 305 It holds in five things, ibid. Amen its three significations blush the three Persons, ibid. Amens Character, pag. 307 A divine fancy upon Amen, pag. 311 Two twins or two meditations, pag. 313 Four motives, pag. 314 Meditation, and what it is, pag. 319 The meditation exemplified, ibid. Three reasons to force on the meditation, ibid. The fearful hair, pag. 320 Old Church prayer neither smells of Heresy nor Superstition, pag. 322 A Contemplation upon Amen, pag. 325 FINIS. ERRATA. PAg. 16. line 16. for of meritlesse read I mirit less, p. 16. l. 14. s. ther r. there, p. 37. l. 11. f. sons r. wife, p. 37. l. 12. f. this manner r. these manners, p. 70 l. 6. f. whilst r. but, p. 81. l. 4. f. God r. god, p. 93. l. 6. f. believers r. misbelievers, p. 95, l. 20. f. by r. my, p. 101. l. 14. f. secondly r. second, p. 107. l. 20. f. and r. I, p. 144. l. 26. f. a word r. p. 149. l. 19 r. of, p. 161. l. 23. f. Hagar, r. Agur, p. 171. l. 17. f. under r. undoer, p. 177. l. 12. f. Solomon r. Agur, p. 195. l. 10. f. doer r. doth, p. 211. l. 3. f. pursed r. perused, p. 212. l. y. next 10 the word closed add to my neighbour, p. 241. l. 2. p. 243. l. to. put out of, put must be added in the begimming of the line, p. 310. l. 19 f. stomach r. stomached.