Acts20.28.

There- Cor.6.18.

we are purchased "is IIis own blood." He saith, "He will 1Pet. 1.19. be our God and we His people," IIe will be our Father and Lev.26.12. we His children, He our Lord and we IIis servants. fore we may challenge at His hands that favour which kings vouchsafe to their subjects, which fathers shew to their children; that is, to love them, to defend them, and to wish them all the good things they need.

If IIe have purchased us to Himself by Iis blood, then we pertain to Him, and we may say to Him as His disciples said

to Christ, "Carest Thou not for us" that pertain to Thee, Mark 4.39. "but sufferest us to perish?"

These words, "Kingdom, Power, and Glory," being jointly considered, are a representation of the Trinity.

As Moses, speaking of the Author of our creation, reckons

24-26. Isa. 6.

.. 3.

up the name of God three times; as in the blessings of the Gen. 1. 27. Law the name of God is thrice repeated; and as the Angels Num. 6. cry there, "Holy, Holy, Holy," to teach that there are three Persons in the Godhead, which the heathen themselves have compassed, so Christ in the New Testament doth by these words, "Kingdom, Power, and Glory" signify those three Persons, Which afterwards He expresseth by the name of "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."

66

Mat. 28. 19.

25.

If we consider them severally, although they may all be ascribed to any Person of the Deity, yet "the Kingdom" is to be ascribed unto Christ, "Power" to the Holy Ghost, and 1 Cor. 15. Glory" to the Father; that we setting ourselves in Christ's Rom. 15. "Kingdom," that is, His Church, by the "Power" of the Rm. 6. 4. Holy Ghost, may be partakers of that "Glory" which God the Father hath prepared for us.

Again, these words are set to distinguish God's Kingdom from earthly kingdoms. Each king hath not power, as the

13.

king of Israel saith: "If the Lord do not succour thee, how 2 Kings 6. can I help thee?" But God's Kingdom is a Kingdom of power.

Secondly, there are kingdoms of might, but not of glory: such was the kingdom of David, he had a kingdom of might but not of glory, for he spent all his time in troubles; but the kingdom of Solomon his son was both a powerful and a glorious kingdom, and there was a figure of the perfect Kingdom of Christ.

SERM.
XVIII.

Wherefore we are taught by these words, that as the Kingdom is the Lord's, so IIe hath not only a Kingdom of power whereby He is able to defend, but of glory whereby He can also reward IIis servants and subjects. Moses desired of Ex. 33. 18. God that He would "shew him Ilis glory," but he that is of Christ's Kingdom shall see the glory which Christ had from Joh. 17. 5. the beginning with the Father.

To consider these words severally. Upon these words of Ps. 86. 11. the Prophet, "Knit my heart unto Thee," one saith, Religio dicitur a religando: as there is a mutual bond between the king and his people, so there is between God and us. The king's duty is to defend his subjects from injury and wrong, and to bestow on them all manner of benefits. The duty of subjects is to be dutiful, and yield all ready service to their prince: so God for His part is ready not only to defend us from all danger, but to bestow all good things upon us; and therefore we are bound to be religious and dutiful to Him, as to our King and Sovereign; we must not only love Him as Mal. 1. 6. a Father, but fear Him as our Lord and King. And this mixture shall keep us in the way of salvation, we shall neither too much despair, nor presume of His goodness; this fear we must testify both by a reverend regard of His Law and of His officers. He is no good subject that rebelleth against the laws of his prince, no more are we when no more can be Isa. 29. 13. gotten at our hands but "by the precepts of men:" when Mic. 6. 16. “the statutes of Omri are kept" for fear of temporal punish

16.

ment, and the laws of God are had in no price, then it is a sign that we are not so dutiful and loyal to our heavenly Prince as we ought to be.

Secondly, we must testify our fear of God by a reverend regard of His prophets and priests, which are the ministers 2Chron.36. and officers in His kingdom. When the Jews "mocked the messengers of God, and misused His prophets," they shewed their contempt of God IIimself, and therefore "the wrath of the Lord arose against that people." Contrariwise, if we have Gal. 4. 14. an honourable conceit of them, and "receive them as the angels of God," then we shew ourselves to be dutiful vassals to our heavenly Lord and King.

2 Pet. 2. 9.

Next, for "Power." As St. Peter saith, God is able both to respect the righteous, and to shew vengeance upon the wicked,

so whether we respect the power of His grace inward whereby He worketh all good things in the hearts of His people, or the outward power whereby He defendeth them from evil; whether it be the power of His Holy Spirit, or of IIis right hand, we must confess with the Saints that "all power and Rev. 7. 12. strength and might" belong to God. And therefore whatsoever power we have, whether inward or outward, we must employ it all in His service. Fortitudinem meam ad Te servo, Ps. 59. 9. "I will keep my strength," or "reserve it unto Thee." So we must not spend our strength in thoughts of vanity, but employ it to His use and to the setting forth of His glory to Whom only all power belongeth.

Thirdly, Christ teacheth us to ascribe all glory to God, that whatsoever praise or commendation doth come unto us by any thing we do, we should make a surrender of it to God, to Whom all glory is due, and say with the Church, Non nobis Domine, etc., "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Thy Ps. 115. 1. name give all glory." For, as the Prophet saith, the Church is a place wherein "the voice of gladness" is heard, “and the voice of them that sing, Praise the Lord of Hosts, for He is Jer. 33. 11. loving, and His mercy endures for ever."

The faithful are taught to return all glory to God, which is given to them. God Himself saith, Gloriam Meam alteri non Isa. 42. 8. dabo, "My glory will I not give to another." If He giveth His glory to any other, it is to such as deserve it, and have all power of themselves; but there is no creature which hath any power but what is given of God, and therefore God doth by right reserve His glory to Himself, and we ought willingly yield all glory to Him alone, because He promiseth, "Them 1 Sam. 2. that honour Me, I will honour;" that we glorifying Him here with a verbal glory, we may be "glorified" of Him with 2 Thes. 1. a real glory, when He cometh to judge the world; and, "with 2 Cor.4.17. an exceeding weight of glory."

But yet we do not fully see wherein the glorious Kingdom of God differeth from the kingdoms of this world; for both power and glory may be ascribed to an earthly prince, and it is certain that Solomon had them all; and therefore as He is distinguished from carthly fathers, for that He is said to be "in heaven," so Ile differeth from earthly kings, in that His Kingdom is said to endure "for ever and ever."

30.

12.

SERM.

There is another difference implied in the article. Earthly XVIII. princes have a kingdom, a kingdom of power, and a certain

glory in this world, but it is not "the kingdom."

This propositive article imports two things, a generality and a superiority: for the first point, he that hath but a piece of the earth to bear rule in, is not an universal king; but Ps. 47. 2. "God is King over all the earth." Therefore, if we be so careful to behave ourselves aright in the presence of an earthly king whose kingdom is limited within certain bounds, which if he exceed he is no more king, much more ought we to glorify Him Whose Kingdom is universal.

Secondly, for the superiority of God's Kingdom, there are a Ps. 72. 11. great number of kings on earth; but of this King it is said, “All kings shall fall down before Him, all nations shall worship Rev. 19.16. Him." "For He is said to be King of kings, and Lord of lords." Touching the other difference, signified by the words "for ever." Though a man had all the earth for His kingdom, yet it could not be a kingdom "for ever and ever." No prince ever reigned the whole age of a man, and so long time as a man naturally may live, which the philosophers say is the space of an hundred years; but His Kingdom endureth not only the age of a man, but in sæculum, "for ever and ever." "Thy Kingdom, Power, and Glory" endureth "for ever and ever," whereas man's kingdom, power, and glory, lasteth but a few years, and sometimes but a few days.

2 Kings 9.

37.
[Jer. 13.
18.1

Jezebel had a glorious kingdom, but within a few years it was said of her, Ubi est illa Jezabel? "Where is that Jezebel?" when it was fulfilled which the Prophet Jeremiah foretold, "Tell the king and queen, Humble yourselves, for your dignity shall be taken away, and the crown of your glory shall fall down." And the like is the greatness of all earthly kingdoms; and therefore Christ teacheth us to direct our petitions to Him, Ps. 145.13. "Whose Kingdom is everlasting," Whose power endureth "for ever and ever;" not to a mortal king, but to God Qui solus 1 Tim. 6. habet etc., "Which only hath immortality;" Who being Himself an everlasting King, and incorruptible, is able to bestow

16.

I Pet. I. 4.

1 Pet. 5. 4. upon us both "a crown," and an "inheritance incorruptible, and that fadeth not." This is our hope and the perfection of our desires, and therefore as the Creed hath his period in life everlasting, so last of all we are taught to pray for glory everlasting.

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

SERMON XIX.

Amen.

We are now come to the last word of the Lord's Prayer, the power and efficacy whereof at this time is to be considered, for there is in it every way matter worthy of our consideration, and we cannot perfectly accomplish our duty in prayer, except we understand this word aright; for after we have laid out our several petitions to God, and made our allegation to God why we desire to be respected by Him, namely, because we are of His Kingdom and jurisdiction, for that we have no power of ourselves to do any thing; and lastly, because that we confess that all glory is to be ascribed to Him, then it remaineth that we desire of God that those petitions and allegations made by us may by Him be ratified, which is done in the word "Amen."

Wherein the ancient writers consider two things: first, Jerome saith it is signaculum consensus nostri, that by it we [Cit. a Čorn. a acknowledge that whatsoever we can desire is contained in Lap. in this form of prayer.

Secondly, as St. Cyprian saith, it is votum desiderii nostri, that as we allow of this form of prayer and the petitions made therein, so we desire that it will please God to perform and accomplish them; so in this word is implied the consent of our mind to allow of the things which we are taught to pray for in this prayer, and secondly the desire of our heart for the obtaining of the same.

The one is the seal of our faith, inasmuch as we acknowledge those things to be true. The other is the seal of our love, whereby we testify our desire for the accomplishment of these petitions. The one is referred to truth, the other to the

loc.]