rent; becaufe one of the Reasons why we call him Fa-SERM. ther, is the Experience of his Bounty to us: We have XVII. ever found him ready, unask'd and unthought of, to relieve us in all Difficulties and Wants. This therefore

we may confider, with great Gratitude and Refpect, as an earnest of his future Favours, especially fince he has been pleased to encourage us with a Promise, that if we ask, we shall receive; if we feek, we shall find; if we knock, it shall be opened unto us. But we may further obferve from the Epithet of Heavenly, by which he is diftinguished from our earthly Parents, that we may fafely rely on his Wisdom to discern, and his Power to fupply our Wants. An earthly Parent may perhaps be well acquainted with the real Needs and Neceffities of his Child, but may want Power or Ability to fupply them: Or again, he may be able to supply his Wants, but may be ignorant in what manner it may be beft to do it, that it may turn to the Child's Intereft or Advantage. When he asketh Bread, he may ignorantly give him that, which may prove to him no better than a Stone; when he asketh a Fish (fuch ill Judges are we of the Iffues and Events of things) he may chance to give him that, which when he comes to use it, may prove to be as baneful as a Serpent: But this is not the Cafe of our Father, which is in Heaven, who not only fees us in our present Wants, but likewife in all poffible Diftreffes: Who is perfectly acquainted with the Tendencies and Effects of all that we either do or fuffer; and will not fail, if we submit to his Will and Pleasure, and leave the Iffues of things to his unerring Wisdom, fo to order and dispose them to our Benefit and Advantage, that in the end we shall have caufe to admire his Wisdom and to praise him for his Goodness to us; difplayed fometimes by gratifying

M 2

SERM.tifying our Defires, and fometimes by disappointing XVII. our Hopes, by averting those Evils which we ignorantly asked, or by chaftening and correcting us with fuch falutary Difcipline, as, however irksome and afflicting it may be to us for the prefent, he fees to be most useful for us. And thus far we may rely on God's fatherly Goodness, when we make our Petitions to him.

But, laftly, it must be observed, before we part with this Subject, that in all our Requests and Supplications to God, we must have a due regard to the Good of other Men. We must not be so narrow and contracted in our Views, as to aim at nothing but our own private Benefit; but muft enlarge our Requefts with a truly chriftian Charity to the Good of Mankind in general, who, as they have all one common Parent, one Creator and Preferver of the whole, may be prefumed to love as Brethren, and whofe Duty it is therefore to promote the Good of others, by all Services and good Offices in their Power, of which there can be none greater, than that of labouring by our Prayers to procure God's Bleffing for them. We can have no Pretence to ask any thing of God, if we do not truly and fincerely love him; and we cannot pretend to love him truly and fincerely, if we do not love our Brother also. And this is the reafon that the Prayer now before us, is compofed all along in the plural Style, teaching us that whatever we think reasonable for ourselves, we should endeavour to procure likewife for our Brethren, who, as they are derived from the fame Original, and were fashion'd by the fame hand, in the fame form, and of the fame matter with ourselves, are as much under the care of his gracious Providence, and as much entitled to his Love as we are.

То

To fum up all: When we enter into our Clofets SERM. to pray (at which times this excellent Prayer of our XVII. Lord should never furely, if poffible, be omitted) let . us always endeavour to prepare our Hearts for it, by reflecting on God's awful Majefty, and let this difcourage us from prefuming to approach him without a Sense of our Meanness and Unworthiness to ask, or receive any thing from fo pure a Being: But at the fame time, let us remember, that his Mercy is great, that he has borne with our Frailties, and relieved our Neceffities with the Kindness and Compaffion of a Father; that he has admitted us to the Title and Privileges of Sons, and allowed us, through the Merits and Interceffion of our Redeemer, to come boldly to the throne of Grace. For these Mercies, and all others that have ever been received from him, let our Hearts be lifted up with Gratitude, and let them be filled with a fense of his Excellencies and Perfections, which is the best way of afcribing Glory to him; the best way to kindle fuch a Love to God, as will break out in the moft diffufive Benevolence to Mankind; fuch a Love as will give us the best Claim we can have, to ask any thing at the hands of God; and fuch a Love as will difpofe us, above all things, by his Grace, to pray for others, with as much Zeal as for ourfelves; and this feems to be the Frame and Difpofition of Mind, which we all ought to aim at, though we cannot always have it when we direct our Prayers to Almighty God, in that short, but comprehenfive and affectionate Addrefs, Our Father which art in Heaven.

SERM.
XVIII.

A

SERMON

On MATT. vi. 9. Hallowed be thy Name.

HEN, according to the Command of our bleffed Saviour, we have directed our Prayer to the throne of Grace by that short, but comprehenfive and affectionate Address, Our Father which art in Heaven; the next thing to be confidered is the Petition in my Text; the meaning of which, though it ought to be understood, and it is to be hoped is, in foine competent degree, understood by all those who are accustomed to use it in their publick as well as private Worship; yet, because it may be of use, even to thofe who understand it, to meditate fometimes more particularly upon the Senfe of it, that they may be able to recover it with the greater readiness and ease, when they have occafion to make use of it in their Prayers, I fhall at this time take upon me to explain.

And, firft, by God's Name, which we here pray may be hallowed, we are to understand his most glorious Majefty; the Perfon, if I may fo fpeak, of our Father which is in Heaven; as diftinguished from all

other

other Beings. In this Senfe it is used in many Texts SER M. of Scripture, too tedious to be here inferted. When XVIII. Solomon called the new Temple which he had built, a House built to the Name of the Lord, it was never understood, that this Temple was erected in Honour of the word Jehovah, or of any other Title or Appellation whatsoever, by which the God of Ifrael was adored; but that it was raised for his Honour, and dedicated to his Service, and defigned as a place of Worship for him. Again, when God declared, as it appears he did, that in this Temple he would place his Name, it was never understood, that the word Fehovab was either literally infcribed upon the Temple itself, or depofited and preferved within it, but that he chofe this Place, in fome fenfe or other, to be the Seat of his immediate Refidence. In like manner, when we are taught, as we often are in Scripture, to call upon the Name of the Lord, it is not meant that we ought to worship him by any Name in particular, but only that in general we should call upon him, and make our Prayers and Supplications to him. To blafpheme the Name of God, as the Gentiles did, taking. Offence at the ill Lives of Christians, can fignify no more, than in a ftrict Sense to speak, and in a loose Senfe to think, or conceive in our Minds any Notion unworthy of him. On the other hand, to bless, to love, to praife, to magnify, to fing praifes to God's holy Name, have no other Senfe, in the Language of holy Writ, than to afcribe all Glory to him: The word Name being used for the thing fignified by the Name; for the Perfon, or the Deity, the Majefty of God, including those Excellencies and Perfections of his, by which he is distinguished from all other Beings.

This then being fettled, the next thing to be confidered, is the meaning of the word Hallowed in my M 4 Text.