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Army of invisible Enemies, employing to overcome us, and not lefs formidably because imperceptibly, all the Stratagems, that Heaven allows them to ufe; this, as it increases our Danger, may well quicken our Prayers for Safety and Deliverance. That there fhould be evil Angels, as well as evil Men, of the greatest Abilities and Accomplishments, is, if rightly confidered, no great Wonder: and that both fhould intice us to Sin, is no reasonable Difcouragement: for let us but apply to God, and we shall not be left in the Power of either. the Power of wicked Spirits is, we are not told in Scripture and it is no Part of Religion, in the leaft, to believe idle Stories about them. Of this we are fure, that they have no Power but what God permits: and He will never permit them to do, what shall prove in the End, any Hurt to thofe, who ferve and fear Him. More especially we are fure, that they cannot in the leaft, either force us into finning, or hinder us from repenting. Invite or diffuade us they may, by fuggefting falfe Notions of the Pleasure, or Profit, or Harmlefinefs of Sin: by reprefenting God, as too good to be angry, or too fevere to be reconciled: by defcribing to our Imaginations, Repentance to be fo easy at any Time, that it is needless now; or fo difficult now, that it is too late and impoffible: by putting it into our Thoughts, that we are fo good, we may be confident and careless; or fo wicked, we muft abfolutely despair. It concerns us therefore greatly, not to be ignorant of their Devices. But, provided we keep on our Guard; earneftly apply to God, and are true to ourfelves; neither their Temptations, nor those of the whole World, fhall prevail against us. For then only, as St. James gives us to understand, is every Man tempted dangerously, when he is drawn away of his own Luft, and enticed. The Enemy within therefore is the most formidable one: and against this it is chiefly, that we are to watch, and pray, that we enter not into Temptation: remembering m James i. 14.

1 2 Cor. ii, 11,

always,

always, that how willing foever the Spirit may be, yet the Flesh is weak".

And now let us obferve, in the laft Place, under this Head, that as we are to pray against being led into Temptation ourselves, we fhould be very careful, never to lead others into it; but do every Thing that we can, to keep them out of it, and deliver them from it: and that, as begging God's Help that we may ftand, must be grounded on a ftrong Senfe of our Proneness to fall; we fhould fhew great Compaffion towards them, who, through the fame Proneness, have fallen. Brethren, if a Man be overtaken in a Fault; ye, which are fpiritual, reftore fuch a one in the Spirit of Meekness: confidering thyfelf, left thou alfo be tempted.

Thus we have gone through the fix Petitions, which compose the second Part of the Lord's Prayer; and fhew it to be worthy of its Author, by diftinctly comprehending, in fo little room, whatever is neceffary for the Honour of God, and our own Good, both temporal and fpiritual. What remains further, is, to speak briefly of the third Part, which concludes the Whole, by afcribing to our heavenly Father, the Praife due unto his Name : acknowledging here more exprefsly, what indeed hath been throughout implied, that His is the Kingdom, the rightful Authority and fupreme Dominion over all His the Power, by which every Thing juft and good is brought to pafs; His therefore the Glory of whatever we his Creatures do, or enjoy, or hope for; of whatever this Univerfe, and the whole Scheme of Things which it comprehends, hath had, or now hatḥ, or ever shall have in it, awful or gracious, and worthy of the Admiration of Men and Angels. And as all Dignity and Might and Honour are His; fo they are His for ever and ever: originally, independently and unchangeably. From everlafting to everlasting He is God the fame Yefterday, To-day, and for ever.

:

These Words then are, at once, an Act of Homage a Matth. xxvi. 41. • Gal. vi. I. P Pfalm xxix. 2.

* Heb. xiii. 8.

¶ Pf. xc. 2.

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to his Greatnefs, and Thanksgiving to his Goodness: both which ought ever to have a Place in our Prayers; and the Conclufion is a very proper Place. For the infinite Perfections of God our Maker, which we thus celebrate, are the best Reafon poffible for every Petition that we have offered to Him: and therefore our bleffed Lord introduces them as the Reafon. For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory. Befides, ending with thefe Acknowledgments will leave them fresh and ftrong upon our Minds: especially as we finish all with that folemn Affeveration, Amen: which is a Word used in Scripture, only upon serious and important Occafions, to confirm the Truth and Sincerity of what is promised, wifhed, or affirmed. It relates therefore equally to the whole of the Prayer: and is in Effect declaring, that we do heartily believe whatever we have faid, and heartily defire whatever we have asked.

This Expreffion therefore may remind us, that cur Prayers should always be compofed, both in fuch a. Language, and in fuch Words in that Language as all, that are to use or join in them, are well acquainted with. For elfe, as St. Paul argues, How shall he, that occupieth the Room of the Unlearned, fay, Amen: feeing be understandeth not what thou fayeft?

And it should likewife remind us very strongly of another Thing, if poffible, yet more important: that we hould never fay to God, what we cannot say with the utmoft Truth of Heart. Now with what Truth, or what Face, can any Person, that lives in any Sin, repeat the Prayer which our Lord hath taught us, and fay Amen to it; when every Sentence in it, if well confidered, is inconfiftent with a bad Life? Let us therefore confider both it and ourselves very carefully, that we may offer up our Devotions always in an acceptable Manner. For the Sacrifice of the Wicked is an Abomination to the Lord: but the Prayer of the Upright is bis Delight.

1 Cor. xiv. 16..

t Prov. xv. 8.

LEC

LECTURE

XXXIV.

The Nature and Number of the Sacraments.

T

HE far greatest Part of the Duties which we owe to God, flow, as it were, of themselves, from his Nature and Attributes, and the several Relations to Him, in which we stand, whether made known to us by Reafon or Scripture. Such are thofe, which have been hitherto explained to you: the ten Commandments; and Prayer for the Grace, which our fallen Condition requires, in order to keep them. But there are still fome other important Precepts peculiar to Chriftianity, and deriving their whole Obligation from our Saviour's Inftitution of them: concerning which it is highly requifite that our Catechifm fhould inftruct us, before it concludes. And these are the two Sacraments.

The Word Sacrament, by virtue of its Original in the Latin Tongue, fignifies any facred or holy Thing or Action and among the Heathens was particularly applied to denote, fometimes a Pledge, depofited in a facred Place; fometimes an Oath, the most facred of Obligations; and efpecially that Oath of Fidelity, which the Soldiery took to their General. In Scripture it is not used at all. By the early Writers of the Western Church it was used to exprefs almost any Thing relating to our holy Religion; at least any Thing that was figurative, and fignified fomewhat further than at first Sight appeared. But afterwards a more confined Ufe of the Word prevailed by Degrees: and in that ftricter Senfe, which hath long been the common one, and which our Catechifm follows, the Nature of a Sacrament comprehends the following Particulars.

* Eden, Elem. Jpr. Civ. p. 238. Gronov. in Plaut. Rud. 5. 3. 21.

1. There

1. There must be an outward and vifible Sign: the folemn Application of fome bodily and fenfible Thing or Action, to a Meaning and Purpose which in its own Nature it hath not. In common Life, we have many other Signs to exprefs our Meanings, on Occafions of great Confequence, befides Words. And no Wonder then, if in Religion, we have fome of the fame Kind.

2. In a Sacrament, the outward and vifible Sign must denote an inward and fpiritual Grace given unto us: that is, fome Favour freely beftowed on us from Heaven; by which our inward and spiritual Condition, the State of our Souls, is made better. Moft of the fignificative Actions, that we ufe in Religion, exprefs only our Duty to God. Thus kneeling in Prayer is used to fhew our Reverence towards Him to whom we pray. And figning a Child with the Crofs, after it is baptized, declares our Obligation not to be ashamed of the Cross of Chrift. But a Sacrament, befides expreffing on our Part, Duty to God, expreffes, on His Part, fome Grace or Favour towards us.

3. In order to intitle any Thing to the Name of Sacrament, a further Requifite is, that it be ordained by Chrift himself. We may indeed ufe, on the foot of human Authority alone, Actions, that fet forth either our Senfe of any Duty, or our Belief in God's Grace. For it is certainly as lawful to exprefs a good Meaning by any other proper Sign as by Words. But then, fuch Marks as thefe, which we commonly call Ceremonies, as they are taken up at Pleasure, may be laid afide again at Pleafure; and ought to be laid afide, whenever they grow too numerous, or Abuses are made of them, which cannot easily be reformed: and this hath frequently been the Cafe. But Sacraments are of perpetual Obligation: for they ftand on the Authority of Chrift; who hath certainly appointed Nothing to be for ever obferved in his Church, but what He faw would be for ever ufeful. Nor doth every Appointment of Chrift, though it be of perpetual Obligation, deserve

the

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