Our FATHER. (4) to Our FATHER. (6)

Our FATHER. (4)

4. If God be our Father, he will take notice of the least good he sees in us; if there be but a sigh for Sin, God hears it, Psal. 38.9. My groaning is not hid from thee; if there be but a penitential tear comes out of our eye, God sees it, Isa. 38.5. I have seen thy tears. If there be but a good intention, God takes notice: 1 Kings 8.18. Whereas it was in thy heart to build an house to my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. God punisheth intentional wickedness, and crowns intentional goodness; Thou didst well that it was in thy heart: God takes notice of the least scintilla, the least spark of grace in his Children: 1 Pet. 3.6. Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. The Holy Ghost doth not mention Sarahs unbelief, or laughing at the Promise, he puts a finger upon the scar, winks at her failing, and only takes notice of the good that was in her, her Obedience to her Husband, She obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord; nay, that good which the Saints scarce take notice of in themselves, God in a special manner observes, Matth. 25.35. I was an hungred and ye gave me meat, I was thirsty and ye gave me drink: Then shall the Righteous say, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? They did as it were over-look and disclaim their own Works of Charity, yet Christ doth take notice, I was an hungred, and ye fed me: What a Comfort is this, God spyes the least good in his Children; he can see a grain of Corn hid under Chaff, Grace hid under Corruption.

5. If God be our Father, he will take all we do in good part. Those Duties we our selves censure, God will crown. When a Child of God looks over his best Duties, he sees so much Sin cleaving to them, that he is even confounded: Lord, saith he, there is more Sulphur than Incense in my Prayers; but for your comfort, if God be your Father, he will crown those Duties which you your selves censure; God sees there is sincerity in the hearts of his Children, and this gold (though light) shall have grains of allowance: Though there may be defects in the services of Gods Children, yet God will not cast away their offering, 2 Chron. 30.20. The Lord healed the people. The Tribes of Israel being straitned in time wanted some Legal Purifications, yet because their Hearts were upright, God healed them, he pardoned them; God accepts of the good Will, 2 Cor. 8.12. A Father takes a Letter from his Son kindly though there are blots, or bad English in it: What blottings are there in our holy things, yet

our Father in Heaven accepts: Saith God, it is my Child, and he would do better; I will look upon him through Christ with a merciful eye.

6. If God be our Father then he will correct us in measure; Ier. 30.11. I will correct thee in measure; and that two ways: 1. It shall be in measure for the kind; God will not lay upon us more than we are able to bear, 1 Cor. 10.13. he know, our frame, Psal. 103.14. he knows we are not Steel or Marble, therefore will deal gently, he will not over-afflict: As the Physician that knows the [gap] and temper of the Body, will not give Physick too strong for the Body, nor will he give one dram or scruple too much. God hath not only the Title of a Father, but the Bowels of a Father; he will not lay too heavy burthens on his Children, least their spirits fail before him. 2. He will correct in measure for the duration; he will not let the affliction lye on too long: Psal. 125.3. The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous: It may be there, and not rest. Isa. 57.16. I will not contend for ever. Our Heavenly Father will love for ever, but he will not contend for ever. The torments of the damned are for ever, Rev. 14.11. The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: The wicked shall drink a Sea of Wrath, but Gods Children only taste of the Cup of Affliction, and their Heavenly Father will say, transeat calix, let this cup pass away from them; Isa. 35.10. A sting, a wing.

7. If God be our Father he will intermix Mercy with all our Afflictions: If he give us Wormwood to drink, he will mix it with Honey. In the Ark, the Rod was laid up, and Manna: With our Fathers Rod there is alwayes some Manna. Ashers shooes were iron and brass, but his foot was dip'd in oyl; Gen. 33.24. Affliction is the shooe of brass that pincheth, but there is mercy in the affliction, there is the foot dipped in oyl. When God afflicts the Body, he gives Peace of Conscience; there is Mercy in the Affliction. An Affliction comes to prevent falling into Sin, there is Mercy in the Affliction. Iacob had his Thigh hurt in wrestling, there was the Affliction; but then he saw Gods face, and received a Blessing from the Angel, Gen. 32.30. there was Mercy in the Affliction. In every Cloud a Child of God may see a Rainbow of Mercy shining. As the Limner mixeth dark shadows and bright colours together; so our Heavenly Father mingles the dark and the bright together, Crosses and Blessings; and is not this a great happiness for God thus to checker his Providences, and mingle goodness with severity.

8. If God be our Father, the evil one shall not prevail against us. Satan is called [gap], the evil one, emphatically: He is the grand enemy of the Saints; and that both in a Military sense, as he fights against them with his temptations; and in a Forensical or Law-sense, as he is an accuser and pleads against them, yet neither way shall he prevail against Gods Children; as for his shooting his fiery darts, God will bruise Satan shortly under the Saints feet. Rom. 16.20. As for his accusing, Christ is Advocate for the Saints, and answers all bills of inditement brought in against them. God will make all Satans temptations promote the good of his [gap]hildren: 1. As they set them more a praying; 2 Cor. 12.8. Temptation is a medicine for security. 2. As they are a means to humble them; 2 Cor. 12.7. Least I should be exalted above measure, there was given me a thorn in the flesh. The thorn in the flesh was a temptation; this thorn was to prick the bladder of pride. 3. As they establish them more in Grace. A Tree shaken by the Wind is more settled and rooted; the blowing of a temptation doth but settle a Child of God more in Grace. Thus the evil one, Satan, shall not prevail against the Children of God.

9. If God be our Father, no real evil shall befal us; Psal. 91.10. There shall no evil befal thee: 'Tis not said no trouble, but no evil. Gods Children are priviledged persons; they are priviledged from the hurt of every thing; Luke 10.19. Nothing shall by any means hurt you. [gap]. Chrys. The hurt and malignity of the affliction is taken away. Affliction to a wicked Man hath evil in it; it makes him worse; Rev. 16.9. Men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God: But no evil befalls a Child of God, he is bettered by affliction; Heb. 12.10. That ye may be made partakers of his holiness. What hurt doth the Furnace to the Gold, it only makes it purer. What hurt doth Affliction to Grace, only refine and purifie it. What a great priviledge is this to be freed, though not from the stroke of Affliction, yet the sting: No evil shall touch a Saint. When the Dragon hath poysoned the water, they say the Unicorn with his horn doth draw out the poyson. Christ hath drawn out the poyson of every Affliction, that it cannot prejudice a Child of God. Again, no evil befalls a Child of God, because no condemnation: Rom. 8.1. No condemnation to them in Christ Iesus. God doth not condemn them, nor Conscience doth not condemn them: Both Jury and Judge acquit them, then no evil befalls them; for nothing is really an evil but that which damns.

10. If God be our Father this may make us go with chearfulness to the Throne of Grace. Were a Man to petition his enemy there were little hope; but when a Child petitions his Father he may come with confidence to speed: The word Father works upon God, it toucheth his very Bowels. What can a Father deny his Child? If a Son ask bread will he give him a stone? Matth. 7.9. This may embolden us to go to God for pardon of Sin, and further degrees of Sanctity. We pray to a Father of Mercy, setting upon a Throne of Grace; Luke 11.13. If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give his Spirit to them that ask him. This did quicken the Church, and add wings to Prayer. Isa. 63.15. Look down from heaven: ver. 16. Doubtless thou art our Father. Who doth God keep his Mercies for but his Children? Three things may cause boldness in Prayer: We have a Father to pray to, and the Spirit to help us to pray, and an Advocate to present our Prayers. Gods Children should in all their troubles run to their Heavenly Father as that sick Child, 2 Kin. 4.19. He said unto his Father, My head, my head: So pour out thy complaint to God in Prayer, Father, my heart, my heart: My dead heart, quicken it; my hard heart, soften it in Christs Blood; Father, my heart, my heart. Sure God that hears the cry of the Ravens, will hear the cry of his Children.

11. If God be our Father he will stand between us and danger. A Father will keep off danger from his Child. God calls himself scutum, a shield: A shield defends the Head, guards the Vitals; God shields off dangers from his Children, Acts 18.10. I am with thee, and none shall set on thee to hurt thee: God is an hiding place, Psalm 27.5. God preserved Athanasius strangely; he put it into his mind to depart out of the house he was in the night before the enemies came to search for him: As God hath a Breast to feed, so he hath Wings to cover his Children; Psal. 91.4. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust. God appoints his holy Angels to be a Life-guard about his Children, Heb. 1.14. never was any Prince so well guarded as a Believer. The Angels, 1. are a numerous guard, 2 Kings 6.17. The mountain was full of horses of fire round about Elisha. The Horses and Chariots of fire were the Angels of God to defend the Prophet Elisha. 2. A strong guard. One Angel in a night slew an hundred and fourscore and five thousand, 2 Kin. 19.32. if one Angel slew so many, what would an Army of Angels have done? 3. The Angels are a swift guard; they are ready in an instant to help Gods Children; therefore they are described with wings to show their swiftness, they fly to our help, Dan. 9.21, 23. At the beginning of thy supplication the commandment came forth, and I am come to thee? Here was a swift motion for the Angel to come from Heaven to Earth between the beginning and ending of Daniels Prayer. 4. The Angels are a watchful guard, not like Sauls guard, asleep when their Lord was in danger; 1 Sam. 26.12. The Angels are a vigilant guard, they watch over Gods Children to defend them; Psal. 34.7. The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him. There is an invisible guardianship of Angels about Gods Children.

12. If God be our Father we shall not want any thing that he sees is good for us: Psal. 34.10. They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. God is pleased sometimes to keep his Children to hard commons, but it is good for them; Sheep thrive best on short pasture; God sees too much may not be good; plenty breeds surfeit; Luxuriant animi rebus secundis: God sees it good sometimes to dyet his Children and keep them short, that they may run the Heavenly Race the better; it was good for Iacob there was a Famine in the Land, it was a means to bring him to his Son Ioseph; so it is that Gods Children sometimes see the Worlds emptiness, that they may acquaint themselves more with Christs fulness; if God see it be good for them to have more of the World they shall have it; God will not let them want any good thing.

13. If God be our Father all the Promises of the Bible belong to us: Gods Children are called Heirs of the promise; Heb. 6.17. A wicked Man can lay claim to nothing in the Bible but the Curses; he hath no more to do absolutely with the Promises, than a Ploughman hath to do with the City Charter; the Promises are Childrens Bread; the Promises are mulctralia Evangelii, the Breasts of the Gospel milking out Consolation; and who are to suck of these Breasts but Gods Children: The promise of Pardon is for them; Ier. 33.8. I will pardon all their iniquity whereby they have sinned against me. The promise of Healing is for them; Isa. 57.18. the promise of Salvation, Ier. 23.6. the Promises are supports of Faith, they are Gods sealed Deed, they are a Christians Cordial. O the Heavenly Comforts which are distilled from the Lembick of the Promises. St. Chrysostome compares the Scripture to a Garden, the Promises are the Fruit-Trees that grow in this Garden. A Child of God may go to any

Promise in the Bible, and pluck Comfort from it: He is an Heir of the Promise.

14. God makes all his Children Conquerours: They are born of God, and are conquerours. 1. They conquer themselves: Fortior est qui se quam qui fortissima vincit maenia: The Saints conquer their own Lusts; they bind these princes in fetters of iron: Psal. 149.8. Though the Children of God may sometimes be foiled, and lose a single battle, yet not the victory. 2. They conquer the World. The World holds forth her two Breasts of Pleasure and Profit, and many are overcome by it; but the Children of God have a World-conquering Faith; 1 Iohn 5.4. This is the victory over the world, even your faith. 3. They conquer their Enemies. How can that be, when they oft take away their Lives? (1.) They conquer by not complying with them: The three Children would not fall down to the Golden Image, Dan. 3.18. they would rather burn than bow; here they were Conquerours. He who complyes with anothers Lust is a Captive, he who refuseth to comply is a Conquerour. (2.) Gods Children conquer their enemies by heroick Patience. A patient Christian, like the anvil, bears all strokes invincibly: Thus the Martyrs overcame their enemies by Patience; nay, Gods Children are more than conquerours; Rom. 8.37. [gap], We are more than conquerours? How are Gods Children more than Conquerours? Because they conquer without loss, and because they are crowned after death, which other Conquerours are not.

15. If God be our Father, he will now and then send us some tokens of his Love. Gods Children live far from home, and meet sometimes with coarse usage from the unkind World; therefore God to encourage his Children, sends them sometimes tokens and pledges of his Love: What are these? He gives them a return of Prayer, there is a token of Love; he quickens and enlargeth their Hearts in Duty, there is a token of Love; he gives them the first fruits of his Spirit, which are Love-tokens, Rom. 8.23. As God gives the wicked the first fruits of Hell, horrour of Conscience and Despair, so he gives his Children the first fruits of his Spirit, Joy and Peace, which are foretasts of Glory. Some of Gods Children having received these tokens of Love from their Heavenly Father, have been so transported that they have dyed for Joy; as the Glass oft breaks with the strength of the Wine put into it.

16. If God be our Father he will indulge and spare us; Mal. 3.17. I will spare them as a man spareth his own Son that serveth him: Gods sparing his Children imports this, his clemency towards them, he doth not punish them as he might; Psal. 103.10. He hath not dealt with us according to our sins: We oft do that which merits Wrath, grieve Gods Spirit, relapse into Sin; God passeth by much, and spares us: God did not spare his Natural Son, Rom. 8.32. yet he will spare his Adopted Sons; God threatned Ephraim to make him as the Chaff driven with the Whirlwind, but he soon repented; Hos. 13.4. Yet I am the Lord thy God: ver. 10. I will be thy King: Here God spared him as a Father spares his Son▪ Israel oft provoked God with their complaints, but God used clemency towards them, he oft answered their murmurings with Mercies; here he spared them as a Father spares his Son.

Our FATHER. (5)

17. If God be our Father he will put Honour and Renown upon us at the last day. 1. He will clear the innocency of his Children: Gods Children in this Life are strangely misrepresented to the World; they are loaded with invectives, they are called factious, seditious: Elijah, the troubler of Israel; Luther was called the trumpet of Rebellion; Athanasius was accused to the Emperor Constantine to be the raiser of Tumults; the Primitive Christians were accused to be infanticidii, incestus rei, killers of their Children, guilty of Incest; as Tertullian; St. Paul reported to be a pestilent person, Acts 24.5. Famous Wickliff called the Idol of the Hereticks, and that he dyed drunk. If Satan cannot defile Gods Children, he will disgrace them; if he cannot strike his fiery darts into their Conscience, he will put a dead fly into their Name; but God will one day clear his Childrens innocency, he will roll away their reproach: As God will make a Resurrection of Bodies, so of Names; Isa. 25.8. The Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces, and the rebuke of his people shall he take away: God will be the Saints compurgator. Psal. 37.6. He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light. The Night casts its dark mantle upon the most beautiful Flowers, but the light comes in the Morning and dispells the darkness, and every Flower appears in its orient brightness; so the wicked may by misreports darken the honour and repute of the Saints, but God will dispel this darkness, and cause their Names to shine forth: He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light. As God did stand up for the honour of Moses when Aaron and Miriam went about to eclipse his Fame; Numb. 12.8. Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? So will God say one day to the wicked, wherefore were not ye afraid to defame and traduce my Children? They having my Image upon them how durst ye abuse my Picture. At last Gods Children shall come

forth out of all their calumnies, as a Dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold; Psal. 68.13. 2. God will make an open and honourable recital of all their good deeds: As the Sins of the Wicked shall be openly mentioned to their eternal infamy and confusion, so all the good deeds of the Saints shall be openly mentioned, and then shall every man have praise of God; 1 Cor. 4.5. Every Prayer made with melting eyes, every good service, every work of Charity, shall be openly declared before Men and Angels, Matth. 25.35. I was an hungred and ye gave me meat, thirsty and ye gave me drink, naked and ye clothed me: Thus God will set a Trophy of Honour upon all his Children at the last day. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father: Matth. 13.43.

18. If God be our Father he will settle good land of inheritance upon us: 1 Pet. 1.4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus, who hath begotten us again to a lively hope, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled. A Father may be fallen to decay, and have nothing to leave his Son but his Blessing; but God will settle an Inheritance on his Children, and an Inheritance no less than a Kingdom; Luke 17.32. It is your Fathers good pleasure to give you a kingdom. This Kingdom is more Glorious and Magnificent than any Earthly Kingdom; it is set out by Pearls and precious Stones, the richest Jewels; Rev 21.19. What are all the Rarities of the World to this Kingdom? The Coasts of Pearl, the Islands of Spices, the Rocks of Diamonds? In this Heavenly Kingdom is that which is satisfying, unparallel'd Beauty, Rivers of Pleasure; and this for ever: Psal. 16.11. At thy right hand are pleasures for evermore: Heavens eminency is its permanency; and this Kingdom Gods Children shall enter into immediately after Death: There is a sudden transition and passage from Death to Glory: 2 Cor. 5.9. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. Gods Children shall not stay long for their Inheritance; it is but winking and they shall see God: How may this comfort Gods Children, who perhaps are low in the World, your Father in Heaven will settle a Kingdom upon you at death, such a Kingdom as eye hath not seen; he will give you a Crown, not of Gold but Glory; he will give you white Robes lined with Immortality. It is your Fathers good pleasure to give you a kingdom.

19. If God be our Father it is Comfort: 1. In case of loss of Relations: Hast thou lost a Father, yet if thou art a Believer thou art no Orphan, thou hast an Heavenly Father, a Father that never dyes, 1 Tim. 6.16. Who only hath immortality. 2. It is comfort in case of Death: God is thy Father, and at Death thou art going to thy Father: Well might Paul say, Death is yours, 1 Cor. 3.22. it is your friend that will carry you home to your Father. How glad are Children when they are going home? This was Christs comfort at Death, he was going to his Father; Ioh. 16.28. I leave the world and go to the Father; and Iohn 20.17. I ascend to my Father. If God be our Father we may with comfort at the day of death resign our Souls into his hands. So did Christ; Luke 23.46. Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit. If a Child hath any Jewel, he will in time of danger put it into his Fathers hands, where he thinks it will be kept most safe: Our Soul is our richest Jewel; we may at Death resign our Souls into Gods hands, where they will be safer than in our own keeping; Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit: What a comfort is this, Death carries a Believer to his Fathers house, where are delights unspeakable and full of glory. How glad was Old Iacob when he saw the Waggons and Chariots to carry him to his Son Ioseph; the Text saith, His Spirit revived; Gen. 45.27. Death is a triumphant Chariot to carry every Child of God to his Fathers Mansion house.

20. If God be our Father, he will not disinherit his Children; God may for a time desert them, but not disinherit them: The Sons of Kings have been sometimes disinherited by the cruelty of Usurpers; as Alexander the Great his Son was put by his just Right, by the violence and ambition of his Fathers Captains; but what Power on Earth shall hinder the Heirs of the Promise from their Inheritance? Men cannot, and God will not cut off the entail. The Arminians hold falling away from Grace, and so a Child of God may be defeated of his Inheritance; but I shall show you that Gods Children can never be degraded or disinherited, their Heavenly Father will not cast them off from being Children. 1. It is evident Gods Children cannot be finally disinherited by vertue of the Eternal Decree of Heaven. Gods Decree is the very Pillar and Basis on which the Saints perseverance depends; Gods Decree tyes the knot of Adoption so fast, that neither Sin, Death or Hell, can break it asunder; Rom. 8.30. Whom he did predestinate them he also called, &c. Predestination is nothing else but Gods decreeing a certain number to be Heirs of Glory, on whom he will settle the Crown; whom he predestinates he glorifies; what shall hinder Gods electing Love, or make his Decree null and void? 2. Besides Gods Decree, he hath engaged himself by Promise, that the Heirs of Heaven shall never be put by their Inheritance. Gods

Promises are not like blanks in a Lottery, but as a sealed Deed which cannot be reversed: The Promises are the Saints Royal Charter; and this is one Promise that their Heavenly Father will not disinherit them; Ier. 32.40. I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me. Gods Fidelity, which is the richest Pearl of his Crown, is engaged in this Promise for his Childrens perseverance; I will not turn away from them. A Child of God cannot fall away while he is held fast in these two Armes of God, his Love and his Faithfulness. 3. Jesus Christ undertakes that all Gods Children by Adoption shall be preserved in a state of Grace till they inherit Glory: As the Heathens feigned of Atlas that he did bear up the Heavens from falling; Jesus Christ is that blessed Atlas that bears up the Saints from falling away.

Quest. How doth Christ preserve the Saints Graces till they come to Heaven?

Resp. 1. Influxu Spiritus. Christ carries on Grace in the Souls of the Elect by the influence and co-operation of his Spirit. Christ doth Spiritu continually excite and quicken Grace in the Godly; his Spirit doth [gap] blow up the sparks of Grace into an holy flame. Spiritus est Vicarius Christi; The Spirit is Christs Vicar on Earth, his Proxy, his Executor to see that all that Christ hath purchased for the Saints be made good: Christ hath obtained an Inheritance incorruptible for them, 1 Pet. 1.4. and the Spirit of Christ is his Executor to see that this Inheritance be settled upon them.

2. Christ carries on Grace perseveringly in the Souls of the Elect, vi orationis, by the prevalency of his intercession; Heb. 7.25. He ever lives to make intercession for them. Christ prayes that every Saint may hold out in Grace till he comes to Heaven. Can the Children of such Prayers perish? If the Heirs of Heaven should be disinherited, and fall short of Glory, then Gods Decree must be reversed, his Promise broken, Christs Prayer frustrated, which were Blasphemy to imagine. 4. That Gods Children cannot be disinherited or put by their Right to the Crown of Heaven, is evident from their Mystical Union with Christ. Believers are incorporated into Christ, they are knit to Christ as the Members to the Head, by the Nerves and Ligaments of Faith, so that they cannot be broken off; Eph. 1.22, 23. The Church which is his Body. What was once said of Christs Natural Body, is as true of his Mystical; A bone of it shall not be broken. As it is impossible to sever the leaven and the dough when they are once mingled and kneaded together; so it is impossible when Christ and Believers are once united, that they should ever by the power of Death or Hell be separated. Christ and his Spiritual Members make one Christ; now is it possible that any part of Christ should perish? How can Christ want any Member of his Body Mystical, and be perfect? Every Member is an Ornament to the Body, and adds to the honour of it: How can Christ part with any Mystical Member, and not part with some of his Glory too? So that by all this it is evident that Gods Children must needs persevere in Grace and cannot be disinherited. If they could be disinherited then the Scripture could not be fulfilled, which tells us of Glorious Rewards for the Heirs of Promise; Psal. 58.11. Doubtless there is a reward for the righteous. Now if Gods Adopted Children should fall finally from Grace, and miss of Heaven, what Reward were there for the Righteous? And Moses did indiscreetly to look to the recompence of reward, and so there would be a door opened to despair.

Object. This Doctrine of Gods Children persevering, and having the Heavenly Inheritance settled on them, may cause carnal security, and make them less circumspect in their walking?

Resp. Corrupt Nature may as the Spider, suck poyson from this Flower, but a sober Christian who hath felt the efficacy of Grace upon his Heart, dares not abuse this Doctrine: He knows perseverance is attained in the use of means, therefore he walks holily, that so in the use of means he may arrive at perseverance. St. Paul knew that he should not be disinherited, and that nothing could separate him from the love of Christ, but who more holy and watchful than he; 1 Cor. 9.27. I keep under my Body, and Phil. 3.14. I press toward the mark. Gods Children have that holy fear in them as keeps them from security and wantonness; they believe the Promise, therefore they rejoyce in hope; they fear their hearts, therefore they watch and pray. Thus you see what strong consolation there is for all the Heirs of the Promise. Such as have God for their Father are the happyest persons on Earth, they are in such a condition that nothing can hurt them; they have their Fathers Blessing, all things conspire for their good; they have a Kingdom settled on them, and the entail can never be cut off. How may Gods Children be comforted in all conditions, let the times be what they will; their Father is in Heaven, he rules all: If troubles arise they shall but carry Gods Children so much the sooner to their Father. The more violently the Wind beats against the sails of a Ship, the sooner the Ship is brought to the Haven; and the

more fiercely Gods Children are assaulted, the sooner they come to their Fathers house. 1 Thess. 4.18. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

VSE IV. Of Exhortation. Let us behave and carry our selves as the Children of such a Father. In several particulars.

1. Let us depend upon our Heavenly Father in all our straits and exigencies; let us believe that he will provide for us. Children rely upon their Parents for the supply of wants: If we trust God for Salvation shall we not trust him for a Livelyhood? There is a lawful provident care to be used, but beware of a distrustful care; Luke 12.24. Consider the ravens, they neither sow nor reap, and God seedeth them. Doth God feed the Birds of the Air, and will he not feed his Children? ver. 27. Consider the lilies how they grow, they spin not, yet Solomon in all his glory was not arayed like one of these. Doth God cloath the Lilies, and will he not cloath his Lambs? Even the wicked taste of Gods bounty; Psal. 73.7. Their eyes stand out with fatness. Doth God feed his Slaves, and will not he feed his Family? Gods Children may not have so liberal a share in the things of this life, but little meal in the barrel; they may be drawn low, but not drawn dry; they shall have so much as God sees is good for them; Psal. 34.10. They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. If God gives them not ad voluntatem, he will ad sanitatem; if he gives them not alwayes what they crave, he will give them what they need; if he gives them not a feast, he will give them a viaticum a bait by the way: Let Gods Children therefore depend upon Gods Fatherly Providence; give not way to distrustful thoughts, distracting cares, or indirect means; God can provide for you without your Sins, 1 Pet. 5.7. Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you: An Earthly Parent may have affection for his Child, and would provide for him, but sometimes he is not able; but God can create a supply for his Children; yea, he hath promised a supply, Psal. 37.3. Verily thou shalt be fed. Will God give his Children Heaven, and will he not give them enough to bear their charges thither? Will he give them a Kingdom and deny them Daily bread? O depend upon your Heavenly Father, he hath said he will never leave you, nor forsake you; Heb. 13.5.

2. If God be our Father let us imitate him: The Child doth not only bear his Fathers Image, but doth imitate him in his Speech, Gesture, Behaviour; if God be our Father let us imitate him; [gap], Gr. Nyssen. Eph. 5.1. Be followers of God as dear children. 1. Imitate God in forgiving injuries; Isa. 44.22. I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions. As the Sun scatters not only thin mists, but thick clouds, so God pardons great offences; imitate God in this, Eph. 4.32. Forgiving one another. Cranmar was a Man of a forgiving Spirit, he did bury injuries, and requite good for evil: He who hath God for his Father, hath God for his Pattern. 2. Imitate God in works of Mercy: He looseth the prisoners; Psal. 146.7. He opens his hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living thing; Psal. 145.16. He drops his sweet Dew as well upon the Thistle as the Rose; imitate God in Works of Mercy, relieve the wants of others, be rich in good works; Luke 6.36. Be merciful as your Father also is merciful. Be not so hard-hearted as to shut the poor out of the lines of communication. Dives denyed Lazarus a crumb of Bread, and Dives was denyed a drop of Water.

Our FATHER. (6)

3. If God be our Father let us submit patiently to his Will; if he lay his strokes on us, they are the corrections of a Father, not the punishments of a Judge: This made Christ so patient, Iohn 18.11. Shall not I drink the cup which my Father hath given me? He sees we need affliction, 1 Pet. 1.6. he appoints it as a dyet-drink to purge and sanctifie us, Isa. 27.9. therefore dispute not but submit; Heb. 12.9. We had fathers of the flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: They might correct out of an humour, but God doth it [gap] for our profit; Heb. 12.10. Therefore say as Eli, 1 Sam. 3.18. It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good. What gets the Child by strugling but more blows? What got Israel by their murmuring and rebelling, but a longer and more tedious march, and at last their Carcases fell in the Wilderness.

4. If God be our Father let this cause in us a Childlike Reverence; Mal. 1.6. If I be a Father where is my honour? This is a part of the honour we give to God when we reverence and adore him. If you have not alwayes a Childlike Confidence, yet alwayes preserve a Childlike Reverence; and how ready are we to run into extreams, either to despond or grow wanton. Because God is a Father therefore do not think you may be secure, and take liberty to sin; if you do, God may carry it so as if he were no Father, he may throw Hell into your Conscience. When David presumed upon Gods Paternal Affection, and began to wax wanton under Mercy, God made

him pay dear for it, he withdrew the sense of his Love; and though he had the heart of a Father, yet he had the look of an Enemy. David prayed, Cause [gap]e to hear the voice of joy: Psal. 51.8. He lay several months in desertion, and it is thought he never recovered his full joy to the day of his death. Oh keep alive holy fear; with a Childlike confidence preserve an humble reverence: The Lord is a Father, therefore love to serve him; he is the Mighty God, therefore fear to offend him.

5. If God be our Father let us walk obedientially; 1 Pet. 1.14. [gap], As obedient Children. When God bids you be humble and self-denying, deny yours, part with your bosom sin, be sober in your attire, savoury in your speeches, grave in your deportment, obey your Fathers voice: Open to God as the Flower opens to the Sun: As you expect your Fathers Blessing obey him in whatever he commands, First and Second Table Duties. A Lutenist that he may make sweet Musick, toucheth upon every String of the Lute: The Ten Commandments are like a ten stringed Instrument, touch upon every String, obey every Command, or you cannot make sweet Melody in Religion. Obey your Heavenly Father, though he commands things contrary to Flesh and blood. 1. When he commands to mortifie Sin; that Sin which hath been dear to you: Pluck out this right eye, that you may see the better to go to Heaven. 2. When he commands you to suffer for him, be ready to obey, Acts 21.13. every good Christian hath a Spirit of Martyrdom in him, and is ready rather to suffer for the Truth, than the Truth should suffer. Luther said, he had rather be a Martyr than a Monarch. Peter was Crucified with his Head downwards, as Eusebius. Ignatius called his Chains his Spiritual Pearls, and did wear his Fetters as a Bracelet of Diamonds. This is to carry it as Gods Children when we obey his voice, and count not our lives dear so that we may show our love to our Heavenly Father; Rev. 12.11. They loved not their lives to the death.

6. If God be your Father, show it by your chearful looks that you are the Children of such a Father. Too much drooping and despondency disparageth the Relation you stand in to God. What though you meet with hard usage in the World, you are now in a strange Land, far from home, it will be shortly better with you when you are in your own Country, and your Father hath you in his Armes: Doth not the Heir rejoyce in hope? Shall the Sons of a King walk dejected? 2 Sam. 13.4. Why art thou being the Kings Son lean? Is God an unkind Father, are his Commands grievous? Hath he no Land to give to his Heirs? Why then do Gods Children walk so sad? Never had Children such Priviledges as they who are of the Seed-Royal of Heaven, and have God for their Father; they should rejoyce therefore who are within a few hours to be crowned with Glory.

7. If God be our Father, let us honour him by walking very holily; 1 Pet. 1.16. Be ye holy for I am holy. A young Prince asking a Philosopher how he should behave himself, the Philosopher said, Memento te filium esse Regis, Remember thou art a Kings Son; do nothing but what becomes the Son of a King: So remember you are the adopted Sons and Daughters of the high God, do nothing unworthy of such a Relation. A debauched Child is the disgrace of his Father. Is this thy Sons Coat said they to Iacob, when they brought it home dip'd in blood? Gen. 37.32. so when we see a person defiled with Malice, Passion, Drunkenness, we may say, is this the Coat of Gods adopted Son? Doth he look as an Heir of Glory? 'Tis a blaspheming the Name of God to call him Father, yet live in Sin. Such as profess God is their Father, yet live unholily, they will slander and defraud, these are as bad to God as Heathens: Amos 9.7. Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians to me, O children of Israel, saith the Lord? The Ethiopians were uncircumcised, a base ill-bred People; when Israel grew wicked they were no better to God than Ethiopians. Loose scandalous livers under the Gospel are no better in Gods esteem than Pagans and Americans; nay, they shall have an hotter place in Hell. O let all who profess God to be their Father, honour him by their unspotted lives. Scipio abhorred the embraces of an Harlot because he was the General of an Army. Abstain from all Sin because you are born of God, and have God for your Father; 1 Thess. 5.22. Abstain from all appearance of evil▪ 'Twas a saying of Augustus, An Emperor should not only be free from Crimes, but from the suspicion of them; by an holy Life you would bring Glory to your Heavenly Father, and cause others to become his Children: Est pellax virtutis odor—. Causinus in his Hieroglyphicks, speaks of a Dove, whose Wings being perfum'd with sweet Oyntments did draw the other Doves after her: The holy Lives of Gods Children is a sweet perfume to draw others to Religion, and make them to be of the Family of God. Iustin Martyr saith, that which converted him to Christianity was the beholding the blameless Lives of the Christians.

8. If God be our Father, let us love all that are his Children; Psal. 133.1. How pleasant is it for brethren to dwell together in unity. 'Tis compared to Oyntment, ver. 2. for the sweet fragrancy of it: 1 Pet. 2.17. Love the brotherhood. Idem est motus animae in imaginem & rem; The Saints are the walking pictures of God; if God be our Father we love to see his picture of Holiness in Believers; we pity them for their Infirmities, but love them for their Graces; we prize their Company above others; Psal. 119.63. it may justly be suspected that God is not their Father, who love not Gods Children; though they retain the Communion of Saints in their Creed, yet they banish the Communion of Saints out of their Company.

9. If God be our Father let us show Heavenly mindedness: They who are born of God do [gap], set their Affections on things that are above; Col. 3.2. O ye Children of the high God do not disgrace your high birth by sordid Covetousness. What a Son of God, and a slave to the World? What spring from Heaven, and buried in the Earth. For a Christian who pretends to derive his pedigree from Heaven, yet wholly to mind Earthly things, is to debase himself, as if a King should leave his Throne to follow the Plough; Ier. 45.5. Seekest thou great things for thy self? As if the Lord had said, what thou Baruck, thou who art born of God, akin to Angels, and by thy Office a Levite, dost thou debase thy self, and spot the silver wings of thy Grace, by beliming them with earth? Seekest thou great things, seek them not. The Earth choaks the Fire: Earthliness choaks the Fire of good Affections.

10. Vlt. If God be our Father let us own our Heavenly Father in the worst times, stand up in his cause, defend his Truths. Athanasius owned God when most of the World turned Arrians: If Sufferings come do not deny God: He is a bad Son who denyes his Father: Such as are ashamed of God in times of danger, God will be ashamed to own them for his Children; Mark 8.38. Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father, with his holy Angels. So I have done with the First Part of the Preface, Our Father.

II. The Second Part of the Preface, (which I shall but briefly touch on) is, [which art in Heaven.] [gap]. God is said to be in Heaven, not that he is so included there that he is no where else, for the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him, [gap] Kings 8.27. but the meaning is, God is chiefly resident in the Empyrean Heaven, which the Apostle calls the third Heaven, 2 Cor. 12.2. there God doth most give forth his Glory to his Saints and Angels.

Quest. What may we learn from this, that God is in Heaven?

Answ. 1. Hence we learn that we are to raise our Minds in Prayer above the Earth. God is no where to be spoken with but in Heaven. God never denyed that Soul his suit who went as far as Heaven to ask it.

2. We learn from Gods being in Heaven his Soveraign Power. Hoc vocabulo intelligitur omnia subesse ejus imperio. Calvin. Psal. 115.3. Our God is in the heavens, he hath done whatever he pleased. God being in Heaven governs the Universe, and orders all Occurrences here below for the good of his Children: When the Saints are in straits and dangers, and see no way of relief, he can send from Heaven and help them; Psal. 57.3. He shall send from heaven and save me.

3. We learn Gods Glory and Majesty: He is in Heaven, therefore he is covered with light, Psal. 104.2. cloathed with honour, Psal. 104.1. and is as far above all Worldly Princes as Heaven is above Earth.

4. We learn from Gods being in Heaven, his Omnisciency: All things are naked and unmasked to his eye; Heb. 4.13. Men plot and contrive against the Church, but God is in Heaven, and they do nothing but what our Father sees. If a Man were on the top of an high Tower or Theatre, he might thence see all the People below: God is in Heaven as in an Tower or Theatre, and he sees all the transactions of Men. The Wicked make wounds in the backs of the Righteous, and then pour in Vinegar; God writes down their cruelty; Exod. 3.7. I have seen the afflictions of my people. God is in Heaven, and he can thunder out of Heaven upon his enemies: Psal. 18.13. The Lord thundered in the heavens; yea, he sent out arrows and scattered them, and he shot out lightnings and discomfited them.

5. We learn from Gods being in Heaven, Comfort; for the Children of God when they pray to their Father, the way to Heaven cannot be blocked up: One may have a Father living in Foreign parts, but the way both the Sea and by Land may be so blocked up that there is no coming to him; but thou Saint of God, when thou prayest to thy Father he is in Heaven, and though thou art never so confined, thou mayest have access to him. A Prison cannot keep thee from thy God; the way to Heaven can never be blocked up.

So I have done with the word Father, I shall speak next of the Pronoun [gap] Our, Father. In the first there is an Appellation, Father; in the second an Appropriation, Our Father. Christ by this word (Our) would teach us thus much, That in all our Prayers to God we should act Faith. Our Father; Father, denotes Reverence, Our Father, denotes Faith. In all our Prayers to God we should exercise Faith, Our Father. Faith is that which baptizeth Prayer, and gives it a name, it is called the Prayer of Faith, Iam. 5.15. without Faith it is speaking not praying. Faith is the breath of Prayer. Prayer is dead unless Faith breathe in it. Faith is a necessary requisite in Prayer. The Oyl of the Sanctuary was made up of several sweet Spices, pure Myrrhe, Cassia, Cinamon, Exod. 30.23. Faith is the chief spice or ingredient into Prayer, which makes it go up to the Lord as sweet Incense, Iam. 1.6. Let him ask in faith. Mat. 21.22. Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Invoco te Domine quanquam languida & imbecilla fide, tamen fide; Lord, said Cruciger, I pray, though with a weak Faith, yet with Faith. Prayer is the Gun we shoot with, Fervency is the Fire that dischargeth it, and Faith is the Bullet which pierceth the Throne of Grace; Prayer is the Key of Heaven, Faith is the Hand that turns it; Pray in faith, Our Father. Faith must take Prayer by the hand, or there is no coming nigh to God; Prayer without Faith is unsuccessful. If a poor Handicrafts-man, that lives by his labour, hath spoiled his tools that he cannot work, how shall he subsist? Prayer is the tool we work with, which procures all good for us, but unbelief spoils and blunts our Prayers, and then we can get no Blessing from God: A Prayer that is Faithless is Fruitless. As Ioseph said, You shall not see my face unless you bring your brother Benjamin with you; Gen. 43.3. so Prayer cannot see Gods face, unless it bring its brother Faith with it. What is said of Israel, They could not enter in because of unbelief, Heb. 3.19. is as true of Prayer, it cannot enter into Heaven because of unbelief. This makes Prayer often suffer shipwrack, because it dasheth upon the rock of Unbelief: O sprinkle Faith in Prayer. We must say, Our Father.

Quest. 1. What doth praying in Faith imply?

Resp. Praying in Faith implyes the having of Faith; the act implyes the habit: To walk implyes a principle of Life, so to pray in Faith implyes an habit of Grace. None can pray in Faith but Believers.

Quest. 2. What is it to pray in Faith?

Answ. 1. To pray in Faith is to pray for that which God hath promised; where there is no promise we cannot pray in Faith.

2. To pray in Faith is to pray in Christs meritorious Name; Iohn 14.13. Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will I do. To pray in Christs Name is to pray in the hope and confidence of Christs Merit. When we present Christ to God in Prayer, when we carry the Lamb slain in our Armes, when we say Lord, we are Sinners, but here is our Surety, for Christs sake be propitious, this is coming to God in Christs Name, and this is to pray in Faith.

3. To pray in Faith is in Prayer to fix our Faith on Gods faithfulness, believing that he doth hear and will help; this is a taking hold of God; Isa. 64.7. By Prayer we draw nigh to God, by Faith we take hold of him. 2 Chron. 13.14. The children of Iudah cryed unto the Lord; and this was the crying of Faith; ver. 18. They prevailed because they relyed on the Lord God of their Fathers: Making supplication to God, and staying the Soul on God, is praying in Faith: To pray and not rely on God for the granting our Petitions, irrisio Dei est, saith Pelican, it is to abuse and put a scorn upon God. By praying we seem to honour God, by not believing we affront him. In Prayer we say, Almighty, Merciful Father, by not believing, we blot out all his Titles again.

Quest. 3. How may we know that we do truly pray in Faith? We may say Our Father, and think we pray in Faith, when it is in presumption, how therefore may we know that we do indeed pray in Faith?