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ever is really good, he will, undoubtedly, as soon as it is really necessary, give us upon our request; provided further, that with our earnest petitions, we join our honest endeavours; for prayer was never designed to serve instead of diligence, but to assist it. And, therefore, if in our temporal affairs, we are idle or inconsiderate, we must not expect that our prayers will bring us good success; and if, in our spiritual ones, we wilfully or thoughtlessly neglect ourselves, we must not imagine that God will amend us against our wills, or whilst we continue supinely indifferent. But let us do our duty to the best of our power, at the same time that we pray for his blessing; and we may be assured, that nothing but an injurious disbelief can prevent our obtaining it; on which account, St. James requires, that "we ask in faith, nothing "wavering."

Indeed, without the encouragement given us in Scripture, it might well be with some diffidence, and it should still be with the utmost reverence, that " we take upon us to speak unto the Lord, "who are but dust and ashes."2 The Heathens, therefore, addressed their prayers to imaginary deities of an inferior rank, as judging themselves unworthy to approach the supreme one. But our rule is, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, "and him only shalt thou serve. The affected "humility of worshipping even angels," and, therefore, much more saints, (who, if really such, are yet lower than angels4) may, as we are taught, "beguile us of our reward;"5 whereas we may come boldly to the throne of our Maker's grace, though not in our own right, yet, through the Mediator whom he hath appointed, and who hath procured us the privilege, and instructed us how

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(3) Matt. iv. 10. (6) Heb. iv. 16.

to use it, by delivering to us a prayer of his own composition, which might be at once a form for us frequently to repeat, and a pattern for us always to imitate.

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That the Lord's Prayer was designed as a form, from his own words: "After this manner pray ye;"7 or translating more literally, "Thus "pray ye;" and, which is yet more express, "When ye pray, say Our Father," &c. Besides, it was given by him to his disciples, on their request that he would "teach them to pray, as "John also taught his disciples;" which undoubtedly was as the great Rabbis amongst the Jews commonly taught theirs, by a form. And, accordingly, this prayer hath been considered and used as such, from the earliest ages of Christianity down to the present.

Yet, our Saviour's design was not, that this should be the only prayer of Christians; as appears both from the precepts and the practice of the Apostles, as well as from the nature and reason of the thing. But when it is not used as a form, it is, however, of unspeakable advantage as a model. He proposes it, indeed, more particularly as an example of shortness. Not that we are never to make longer prayers; for he himself “continued all night in prayer to God;"1 and we have a much longer, made by the Apostles, in the fourth chapter of the Acts. But his intention was, to teach by this instance, that we are not to affect unmeaning repetitions, or any needless multiplicity of words, as if we "thought that "we should be heard for our much speaking."2 And not only in this respect, but every other, is our Lord's Prayer an admirable institution and direction for praying aright; as will abundantly

(7) Matt. vi. 9.
(1) Luke vi. 12.

(8) Luke xi. 2.

(9) Ver. 1. (2) Matt. vi. 7.

appear, when the several parts of it come to be distinctly explained. But though such explanation will show, both the purport and the excellency of it, more fully; yet, they are to every eye visible in the main, without any explanation at all. And, therefore, let us conclude at present with devoutly offering it up to God.

"Our Father, which art in heaven; hallowed "be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will "be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us "this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass "against us. And lead us not into temptation, "but deliver us from evil." For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and Amen.

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LECTURE XXX.

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

Our Father, which art in Heaven; hallowed be thy Name.

THE prayer which our blessed Saviour taught his disciples, doth not need be explained, as being, in itself, and originally, obscure. For, no words could be more intelligible to his Apostles, than all those which he hath used throughout it. And even to us now, there is nothing that deserves the name of difficult; notwithstanding the distance of time, the change of circumstances, and the different nature and turn of the Jewish tongue from our own. But still, in order to apprehend it sufficiently, there is requisite some knowledge of religion, and the language of reli

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gion. Besides, as we all learnt it when we were young, whilst we had but little understanding, and less attention; it is not impossible, but some of have gone on repeating it to an advanced age, without considering it near so carefully as we ought. And this very thing, that the words are so familiar to us, may have been the main occasion, that we have scarce ever thought of their import. Now we are sensible, it would be a great unhappiness to have our devotion as the Church of Rome have the principal part of theirs, in a language that we could not understand. But surely it is as great a fault, if when we may so easily understand them, we do not; or if, though we do not understand them, when we think of the matter, we think about it so little, that, as to all good purposes, it is much the same with praying in an unknown tongue. The Lord's Prayer, in itself, is very clear, very expressive, very comprehensive. But all this is nothing to us, if we say it without knowing, or without minding what we say. For how excellent words soever we use, if we have no meaning to them, this can be no praying. And, therefore, to make it really beneficial to us, we must fix deeply in our thoughts what it was intended by its Author to contain.

Now, it consists, you may observe, of three Parts. I. An Invocation, or calling upon God. II. Petitions offered. III. Praises ascribed to him.

The Invocation is in these words, "Our Father, "which art in heaven." And, few as they are, they express, very fully, the grounds on which divine worship stands.

As the whole world derives its being from God, he is on that account styled, the "Father of all." i But as rational creatures are produced, not only by him, but in his image and likeness; he is in a

(1) Eph. iv. 6.

stricter sense the Father of these. And, therefore, angels and men are called in Scripture, what the animals beneath them never are, "the sons, "2 and the "offspring of God :"3 in which sense the Prophet saith, "O Lord, thou art our Father, and we are all the work of thy hand."4 Now, as our Creator, he is evidently not only our Father, but also our Sovereign Lord.

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A second title God hath to his name, from that fatherly providence and goodness which he exercises every where continually and of which mankind hath large experience; not only in the many employments, comforts, and deliverances, that he grants us, but even in the afflictions which he sends us, always for our benefit; then more especially "dealing with us as with children, whom "he loveth."5

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But there is yet a third reason why we call him our Father, peculiar to us as Christians; and founded on our being united by faith to his Son, "our head," "and begotten again, through his Gospel, to a lively hope, to an inheritance re"served in heaven for us ;"7 privileges so invaluable, that though he is doubtless a father, and a tender one, to our whole species, yet his word speaks for us as the only persons, in comparison, that have a right to consider him in this view. "As many as received him," that is, our blessed Saviour, to them gave he power to become the

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sons of God; even to them that believe in his name. "The Lord is good to all:"9 but singularly good to those who become, by the influences of the Christian Covenant, singularly fit objects of his goodness. They have promises of the greatest blessings, to which nothing but pro

(2) Job. i. 6. ii. 1. xxxviii. 7. (3) Acts xvii. 29. (4) Isa. Ixiv. 8.

(6) 1 Cor. xi. 3. Eph. i. 22. (B) John i. 12.

(5) Heb. xii. 5, &c.

(7)1 Cor. iv. 15. 1 Pet. i. 1,3,4, (9) Psalm cxlv. 9.

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