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procal Affection, which was intended as the Token, whereby all Men fhould know them".

Then, at the fame Time, the Confideration, that this our Father is in Heaven, poffeffed of infinite Power and Glory, tends greatly to infpire us with Reverence towards him, at all Times, and in all Places, but in our Devotions peculiarly. And to this End it is pleaded by the wife King, Keep thy Foot, when thou goest to the House of God; be not rash with thy Mouth, and let not thine Heart be hafty to utter any Thing before God; for God is in Heaven, and thou upon Earth. It also tends no less to remind us, what the great End of our Prayers and our Lives fhould be: to obtain Admittance into that bleffed Place, where God is, and Chrift fits on his right Hand. For in his Prefence is the Fulness of Joy; and at his right Hand, there is Pleafure for evermore.

You fee then, how many important Truths and Admonitions thefe few Words, which begin the Lord's Prayer, include: every Thing indeed, which can encourage us to pray, or difpofe us to pray as we ought.

The Petition, which immediately follows, Hallowed be thy Name, is perhaps more liable to be repeated without being understood, than any of the reft: but when understood, as it easily may be, appears highly proper to stand in the very firft Part of a Chriftian's Prayer. The Name of God means here God himself, his Perfon and Attributes: as it doth in many other Places of Scripture, where fearing, or bleffing, or calling upon the Name of the Lord is mentioned. And to hallow his Name fignifies, to think of him as a Holy Being, and behave towards him accordingly. Now the Word, Holy, hath been already more than once, in the Course of these Lectures, explained to mean whatever is worthy of being diftinguifhed with ferious Refpect. And therefore all fuch Perfons, Places, Things, and Times, as are fet apart from vulgar Ufes, and devoted to religious ones, are faid in Scripture to be holy,

John xiii. 35. • Pfalm xvi. 12.

a Eccl. v. I, 2.

b Col. iii. 1.

and

and commanded to be hallowed. Now thefe being ge-nerally preferved with great Care, as they always ought, from whatever may defile and pollute them; hence the Term, Holy, came to fignify what is clean and pure. And the most valuable Purity, beyond Comparison, being that of a Mind untainted by Sin, and fecure from Tendencies towards it; Holinefs more especially denotes this; and may in various Degrees be afcribed to Men and Angels; but in abfolute Perfection to none, but God. For He, and He alone, is infinitely removed from all Poffibility of doing, or thinking, or approving Evil.

This then is the Senfe, in which we are to acknowledge, that holy and reverend is his Name: this Conception of him is the Manner, in which we are to hallow it, and fanctify the Lord God in our Hearts: a Matter of unspeakable Importance, and the very Foundation of all true Religion. For if we are not fully perfuaded, that He is of purer Eyes, than to behold Evil with Indifference; if we imagine, that He can ever act unrighteously himself, or allow others to do fo; that He is in any Cafe the Author of Sin; or esteems and loves any Thing in his Creatures, but Uprightness and Goodnefs; or fhews himself to be other, than a perfectly great, and wife, and juft, and gracious Being: fo far as we do this, we mistake his Nature, and difhonour Him; and fet up an Idol of our own Fancy, instead of the true God. The Confequence of which will be, that in Proportion as our Notions of Him are false, our Worship, Imitation, and Obedience will be erroneous alfo: our Piety and our Morals will both be corrupted: we shall neglect what alone can recommend us to Him: we fhall hope to pleafe Him by Performances of no Value, perhaps by wicked Deeds; and the Light, that is in us, will become Darkness ..

No Wonder then, if we are directed to make it our firft Petition, that we and all Men may hallow God's

d Pfalm cxi. 9.
Matth. vi. 23.

* 1 Pet. iii. 15.

Hab. i. 13.*

Name,

Name, as we ought: that fo right a Senfe of his Nature and Attributes, especially his Wifdom, Juftice, and Goodness, may prevail through the World, as may banifh at once both Profanenefs and Superftition, and engage us all to fear and love him equally: that we may entertain fuch Notions of Chriftianity, as will promote its Honour; and allow ourselves in Nothing, that may bring Difgrace upon it, or tempt any to blafpheme, inftead of fanctifying, that worthy Name, by which we are called but that each of us, in our Stations, may, with all Diligence, and all Prudence, propagate the Belief of pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father. This is the Way, and the only Way poffible, for us truly to honour Him, and be truly good and happy happy in ourselves, and in each other; in the prefent World, and that which is to come. With this Petition therefore our bleffed Lord most rationally directs us to begin. And let us all remember, that what He bids us pray for in the firft Place, He will expect that we should endeavour after in the firft Place; and as we acknowledge Him, who hath called us, to be holy, that we should be holy also in all Manner of Conversation*.

James ii. 7.

* James i. 27.

k

1 Pet. i. 15.

LECTURE

T

XXXI.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done.

HE fecond Petition of the Lord's Prayer, Thy Kingdom come, follows very naturally after the firft, Hallowed be thy Name. For hallowing the Name of God, that is, entertaining juft Notions, and being

poffefled

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poffeffed with a deep Sense, of the Holiness of His Nature, His Abhorrence of Sin, His Juftice and Goodness; is the neceffary Preparative for fubmitting to, and being faithful Subjects of, that Kingdom, for the coming of which we are directed to pray.

God indeed is, ever was, and cannot but be, Lord and King of the whole World, poffeffed of all Right and all Dominion over all Things: as the plainest Reafon fhews, and the Conclufion of this very Prayer, in Conformity to the rest of Scripture, acknowledges. In this Senfe therefore we cannot pray for his Kingdom, as fomething future, but only rejoice in its being actually prefent: for what can be greater Joy, than to live under the Government of infinite Mercy, Wisdom, and Power? The Lord reigneth: let the Earth rejoice, let the Multitude of Ifles be glad thereof.

But befides this natural Kingdom of God, there is a moral and spiritual one, founded on the willing Obedience of reasonable Creatures to thofe Laws of Righteoufnefs, which he hath given them. Now this, we have too plain Evidence, is not yet come amongft Men, fo fully as it ought. The very firft of human Race revolted from their Maker; and their Defcendants, as both Scripture and other Hiftory fhews, grew, Age after. Age, yet more and more difobedient; till at Length the Inhabitants of the whole Earth, instead of being the happy Subjects of God's rightful Empire, became, by immoral Lives, and idolatrous Worship, most wretched Slaves to the ufurped Dominion of the wicked one. The Wisdom and Goodness of God made immediate Provifion, through his only Son our Lord, to oppose this Kingdom of Darknefs, as foon as it appeared in the World: not by his abfolute Power; for Obedience lofes its Value, unless it proceed from Choice; but by the rational Method of Inftructions, Promifes, and Warnings from Heaven, fuperadded to what Nature taught, and fuited to the Circumftances of every Age. These he gave at firft by the Patriarchs to all Men

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promifcuously; and whoever acknowledged his Authority, and obeyed his Laws, was a good Subject and true Member of his Kingdom. But when afterwards, notwithstanding this Care, the Corruption of Mankind was become general, He chofe the Pofterity of his Servant Abraham, and diftinguished them by his efpecial Favour: not as cafting off the reft of the World; for in every Nation, at all Times, they that fear God, and work Righteoufnefs, are accepted with Him: but that, in this People at leaft, the Profeffion of Faith in Him, and Subjection to Him, might be kept alive; not merely for their own Benefit, but the Information of others alfo. With them therefore was the Kingdom of God, in a peculiar Degree, for 1500 Years. While they flourished in their own Land, they held forth the Light of Truth to all the Nations round them. And when they were led captive or difperfed into other Lands, they fpread it yet farther and thus were great Inftruments in preparing the rest of Mankind for that general Re-establishment of Obedience to the true God, as King and Lord of all, which our bleffed Saviour came to effect.

The Gofpel Difpenfation therefore having this for its End, and being much more perfectly fitted to attain it, than any preceding Manifeftation of Religion had been; the Scripture, in a diftinguished Manner, calls it the Kingdom of God, or of Heaven: both which Words denote, in exactly the fame View, that Dominion, which in Daniel it is foretold the God of Heaven fhould fet up, and which fhould never be deftroyed. Our Saviour was then, after John the Baptift, only giving Notice of its Approach, and opening the Way for fetting it up, when he firft directed his Difciples to pray, that it might come. By his Death He raifed it on the Ruins of the Devil's Ufurpation, over whom He triumphed on his Crofs and now it hath been many Ages in the World. But ftill it is by no Means come, in that Extent, and to that good Effect, which we have Reafon to beg that it may, and to believe that it will. The largest Part

Acts x. 35.
5

e Dan. ii. 44.

• Col. ii. 15.

of

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