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hend what we defire, without laborious explications; fuch flourishes of rhetorick, and fuch a profufion of arguments to enforce it, as if he were to be deceived or flattered into compliance; or did not confider the reafonablenefs of what we afk, or were not inclined to do us good without much perfuafion. Thus indeed it is fometimes neceffary to apply our felves to men, who though they should be able to help us, may not know our wants, or may not readily apprehend us; or tho' they do, may perhaps be unwilling, and need to be perfuaded: But God has none of these imperfections and weakneffes; he understands our neceffities better than we do our felves; he knows both how and when to help us, and from the infinite compaffion of his nature, is more ready of himself to help, than we are to defire he fhould. For this reafon Solomon difcreetly advises us against much talking in our prayers. *God is in heaven, and thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few. And our Saviour cautions us in this paragraph against vain repetitions. Whatever is not requifite to heighten our devotions, or whatever is ufed merely to lengthen them; and whatever may imply, or feem to fuppofe any of the beforementioned weaknesses and imperfections in God, are the repetitions here condemn'd. In oppofition to which our Lord has prescribed us a form or pattern of prayer, extremely fhort, and yet expreffive and fignificant of every thing in general terms, which we can or ought to defire. Some perhaps will fay, If God knows our wants, and will fupply them, of what ufe is prayer? Why should we pray at all? To which we may anfwer, that as thanks and praise are not required of us, as bringing any profit to God; his glory and honour are the fame, however neglectful

* Ecclef. v. 2.

We

we may be of our duty; fo neither is prayer required as neceffary for the conveying any knowledge of our wants to God, or perfuading him to relieve them; but as an exercife of our faith, and an acknowledgment of our conftant dependance upon him. As he who does not give thanks for the benefits he receives, is not worthy of them ; fo likewife he who does not defire and afk a bleffing, does not deserve to have it beftow'd upon him. This therefore being the ground and reafon of prayer, not the laying open our wants before God by way of information, or the prevailing with him by florid arguments to help us; but the reducing to practice an humble and believing fenfe of his power, his goodness, and his other attributes, and of our own dependance upon him; it will appear in the nature of the thing, that prayer it felf is ftill neceffary, because 'tis decent, reasonable, and commanded; and yet that abundance of words in prayer is needlefs, as by the caution here 'tis alfo finful; I will now proceed,

III. IN the third place, to make some short and general obfervations from this divine platform and example of prayer, which our Lord has left us; and they fhall be these that follow.

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(1.) THAT a form of prayer is lawful, not only in our public fervices, but in our private devotions too. Our Saviour is fpeaking here of fecret or clofet prayer, and he bids us pray Tws, thus, Our Father, &c. that is, either in these words (for the prayer it felf is exprefly delivered as a form, Luke xi. 2.) or after this manner; which will imply not only that we should put up those or the like petitions, but that we fhould, or may at least, pray alfo in a prepared form of words, as this which he gives us for a pattern is.

(2.) THAT

(2.) THAT brevity is moft proper and moft acceptable in our devotions; not but that upon particular occafions, fpiritual or temporal, we may enlarge, as the fervency of our minds, or the neceffity of the benefits we pray for, may excite us: for long prayers are not finful merely as they are long, but as they are lengthen'd out of a vain noti on of being more acceptable to God thereby; or as they are spun out by impertinent, needless, and affected repetitions.

(3.) THAT the method of the Lord's prayer is not strictly and to the utmost nicenefs binding, yet in general it is: that is, we fhould begin with a decent and devout preface, and end with a like folemn conclufion, and order the matter as well as the manner of petitions, in fome general proportion, to the directory here given us, as particularly,

(4.) THAT our defire of spiritual bleffings fhould take up more room in our hearts and devotions than of temporal. There is here but one fhort petition for the neceffaries of this prefent life, Give us this day our daily bread: but there are two which regard our fpiritual ftate, viz. for the forgiveness of our paft fins, and the preferving from fin for the

future.

(5.) THAT what tends immediately to the glory of God in the world, fhould be the chief fubject of our prayers, and moft regarded in them. Here are but fix petitions in all; and the three firft (which have the precedence, as of more concern than the other) do especially relate to the glory and honour of God, as, Hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

(6.) THAT we fhould pray for others, as well as for our felves; for it runs in the plural number, our Father; give us this day our daily bread; forgive us our trefpaffes; lead us not into temptation; deliver us from evil. (7.) THAT

(7.) THAT praises, and particular adoration and. acknowledgment of God's power, and other glorious attributes, fhould be join'd with all our prayers. So here, Our Father, which art in heaven. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

(8.) WE muft obferve, that tho' the interceffion and merits of Chrift are not here pleaded or mentioned (becaufe Chrift had not then fuffered upon the cross, nor afcended into heaven, to enter upon his mediatorial interceffion for us, when he prefcribed this form of prayer;) yet we learn abundantly from other places in the New Teftament, that we must put up all our prayers through him, and in his name, not hoping to be accepted on any other terms; and indeed he himself inftructs us elfewhere of the neceffity of this, when he tells us, *Whatsoever ye shall afk of the Father in my name, he will give it you. Having drawn these general obfervations, and that in as fmall a compafs as was poffible, it now remains only that I conclude with a fhort paraphrafe of the Lord's prayer; and the rather short, because it would not be proper to make a long one, fince the prayer it felf was defigned as a pattern of brevity and concifenefs in our devotions; and yet every word being fo very copious and expreffive, it must be fuch a paraphrafe, as may give us at leaft a general notion of the extent and meaning of each fentence in it.

"Most glorious God, the Creator and Sovereign "of all things, the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, "and in him by adoption and grace, the Father "of all true Chriftians; infinite in compaffion to"wards them, and infinitely powerful, as well as "ready to grant, whatever is fit for them to afk:

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"May thy name be every where ador'd with the "profoundest reverence; thy power, thy wisdom, “ thy juftice, thy mercy, and all thy other glori86 ous attributes, which thou difplayeft not only " in heaven, but from thence over all the world, "be acknowledged with humble awe and adorati

on, fear and love by all mankind. Let thy holy "Spirit rule in our hearts, fubdue our corruptions, "and engage our affections to a moft willing obe"dience to thy laws: Let all nations be enlight"ned with a true knowledge of thee, and of Jefus "Chrift whom thou haft fent: Let the heathen "become his inheritance, and the uttermoft parts "of the earth his poffeffion; and in thy due time "compleat the number of the clect, and bring us "all to thy everlasting kingdom of glory. Shower "down upon us fuch influences of thy holy Spi"rit, as may enable us to fubmit chearfully to thy "will in every thing, and obey thy commands "faithfully with the fame readiness, fincerity, "and delight, as the angels do in heaven. Vouch"fafe to bestow upon us this day, whatever thy "divine wisdom (which beft knows what is fit "for us) fhall fee neceffary to the fupport of our

bodies, to the advantage of our affairs, to the "comfort of our minds, and above all to the fpi"ritual benefit of our fouls. Pardon all our fins, "and for the fake of Jefus Chrift, lay not upon us "the punishment for them which we deserve: "Forgive us, gracious Lord, as we in obedience. "to thy command, are heartily ready to forgive "all fuch as have injured or offended us.

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"move far from us whatever may prove an oc❝cafion of fin, or a temptation to it, or at leaft, "fupply us by thy holy Spirit with strength and "refolution effectually to overcome all tempta❝tions. Deliver us from fin, that worst of evils "which can befal us; and from the devil, the au

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