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giving to God for mercies received, as a well-tuned lute or other inftrument doth give an harmonious found upon the touches of a fkilful artist. And most certainly that nature is ftrangely out of tune and order, that upon mercies received makes not a fweet return of Thanksgiving and Praife. This, therefore, as it is the nobleft, fo it is the most natural production of the reasonable nature, the fullest of congruity to the right difpofition of its faculties.

Almighty God, fends upon the children of men benefits, bleffings, deliverance, favours: and the fruit that he doth (and that moft juftly) expect, is a crop of praife, glory, honour and thanksgiving; Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou fhalt glorify me. And it is a barren, degenerate, ftupid heart, that yields not fuch fruit of fuch a femination. So that Praise and Thanksgiving is connatural to our very faculties, the tribute that the rational nature naturally pays to the Divine Being, as his benefactor; the very fruit that the Great Lord of the Harvest expects for all his goodness and mercy.

4. The truth is, Thanksgiving is the very end of prayer and as the end is more noble than the means -conducible to the end, fo therefore is the duty, the bufinefs of Thanksgiving in itself, though equally neceffary, yet more noble than Prayer itself.

I want fomething that I would defire Almighty God to give me, and I therefore pray; my merciful Lord grants me ny defire, and gives me what I pray for; and therefore gives it, and gives it upon my prayer to him, that therefore his mercy and goodness may be more evident unto me, and that thereupon I may praise, and glorify, and give thanks unto him.

And if with the nine Lepers in the Gofpel, I receive the benefit I ask, and do not with the tenth give glory to God for the benefit I receive, I disappoint both the giver for what he defigned in the gift, and difappoint my very prayers in that which is their just and proper end.

VOL. I.

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And

And hence it is, that our bleffed Lord in that abfolute form of Prayer which he hath taught us, promiseth the first and greatest petition of the hallowing or glorifying of the name of God; and the firft, the great, the regnant petition, that is to influence all the reft that follow, especially thofe that are for the fupplies of our

own wants.

5. Whereas in prayer we ask that we may receive from God, Almighty God hath been pleafed to honour and dignify our duty of Thanksgiving with fo much condefcenfion of his Majefty, that he receives, or at least interprets it as a receipt from his poor creature. It is true, our praises add nothing to his perfection and felf-fufficiency; nay, our very Thanksgiving and Praise is but a gift that he gives to himself, he gives us a being that may be capable to praife him, gives us hearts and affections that may be willing to praise him, gives us grace that may enable us to praise him, gives us benefits that may excite us to praife him, gives us directions how to praife him, gives us laws, commands, promises, encouragements to praise him: So that in truth our very Thanksgiving and Praises to him are but his own work; and yet fuch is his goodness, that he takes, and accepts, and rewards our Praifes and Thanksgivings, as if they were our own actions. And whereas in prayer we receive from him, in Thankf giving he is pleafed fo far to honour this duty, as if he received fomewhat from us, and accordingly accepts 'and rewards it.

1 reigning.

MEDITATIONS

MEDITATIONS

UPON

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

MATTH. VI. 9.

AFTER THIS MANNER THEREFORE PRAY YE: OUR FATHER, &c.

By the fin of Adam, and the corruption and obliquity that thereupon entered into human nature, mankind had contracted a threefold mifchief. 1. Guilt, that needed an expiation. 2. Blindness, that needed an illumination. 3. Perverfenefs and rebellion, that needed power and victory to fubdue it. In the fullness of time God fent his Son into the world with healing for all these diseases.

1. He fent his Son to be our facrifice and our priest. And not only fo in his own person, but by derivation unto thofe that believe on him, he hath imprinted upon them, and communicated unto them a participation of his own office, and hath made them kings and priests.

1. By making an atonement for them with his Father, whereby they are accepted: I fay not unto you, I 'will pray the Father for you; for the Father himself 'loveth you;' not to exclude the continuance and efficacy of his interceffion, but to intimate the fulness of our reconciliation, that having made us of his household, we may have accefs to the Master and Father * Ephes. ii. 19.

1 John xvi. 26, 27.

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of the family. For through him we have accefs unto the Father 1. 2. By fending his own Spirit to inftruct, and warm, and fit our spirits to come into the prefence; For through him we have access by one fpirit, teaching what to afk, and enabling us to afk as we should. For we know not what we should

. pray for as we ought 3.'

2. As he made him a facrifice for our guilt, fo he fent him to be a light for our darkness 4.' The world was all in darkness and error; the most exact fublimate wits infcribed their altar, to the unknown God. They were ignorant of things to be known, and of things to be done. The Son of God that came out of the bofom of his Father, and knew all his mind, received a commiffion from him to inftruct mankind in the way to life: I have given unto them the words which 'thou gavest me 5: He whom God hath fent speaketh the words of God 6:' 'No man knoweth the will of 'the Father, fave the Son, and him to whom the Son ' revealeth it 7.'

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3. As he came with light to inftruct us, fo he came with power to conquer in us. Thy people fhall be willing in the day of thy power,' and to conquer for us Death and Hell.

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The bufinefs that we are to confider, refpecteth principally the first and fecond part of his meditation; viz. In bringing the Will and Mind of God to us, to teach us what to aík, which concerns his Prophetical Office: And again, having formed defires in us according to that Will of God, to prefent them unto his Father, which concerns his Prieftly Office."

After this manner pray. One of his disciples 'faid unto him, Lord, teach us to pray. And he faid, When ye pray, fay 8,' &c. In general we may learn, 1. That Chrift doth not exclude other prayers; the injunction of this excludes not all other prayers. Our Saviour himself, and thofe that were acquainted 9 Rom. viii. 26. 4 John i. 5. 7 Matth. xi. 27. 8 Luke xi. 1, 2.

Ephes. ii. 18.
John xvii. 18.

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Ephes. ii. 18. 6 John iii. 34.

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with his mind and practice, ufed variety of prayers, according to the feveral occafions, differing from this form, and therefore the Apostle commands, Praying always with all prayer and fupplication 1.' Prayers formed for every occafion. And that fpirit that maketh interceffion for us with groans that cannot be uttered, is not confined to any particular form, not to vary from it.

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2. Though thou art not reftrained to this form only, yet in all thy prayers pray after this manner. fomewhat in this prayer that must be ingredient to all thy prayers.

1. Be fure thou haft a commiffion, a promife for what thou prayeft; defire those things that are warrantable by the Will of God revealed in his Word. Christ was acquainted with the mind of God, and gives us a pattern to afk thofe things which are warrantable: Afk for thy good, but afk not for thy luft 2.

2. Though the things thou afkeft be warrantable and agreeable to the revealed Will of God, yet in the particularity of thy defires refer thyfelf, and fubmit unto the will of God; becaufe thou art not wife enough to know what is fit for thee in particular, efpecially in the measure, time, and manner, of the thing thou afkeft. The Son of God hath taught us to pray for the fulfilling of the Will of God before the fupply of our wants: and in his own prayer in the garden, "Nevertheless not ' as I will, but as thou wilt. Whatfoever thou defireft, yet confine not God. Thou fhall be fure thy prayer fhall not lofe its fruit, though the thing defired feem not to be granted. The cup did not pafs from our Saviour, though he afked it, yet he was heard in that ' he feared 4,'

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3. As much as thou canft, let thy prayer be a reafonable fervice, a work of thy spirit and understanding, not only of thy lips and tongue; for thou haft to do with the God of the fpirits of all flesh, that will te

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