fit of anger, not only have cursed his birth-dropped upon us, Lam. iii. 23, His mercies day, but curse his God. But Job lying at "are new every morning." Mercy comes in God's feet, and blessing him in affliction, dis- as constantly as the tide; nay, how many appointed Satan of his hope, and quite spoiled tides of mercies do we see in one day. We his plot. Had Job murmured he had pleased never feed, but mercy carves every bit to us; Satan; had he fallen into a heat, and sparks we never drink, but in the golden cup of of his anger had flown about, the devil had mercy; we never go abroad, but mercy sets a warmed himself at this fire of Job's passion; guard of angels about us; we never lie down but Job quietly submitted and blessed God; in bed, but mercy draws the curtains of prohere Satan's design was frustrated, and he tection close about us; now, shall we receive missed of his intent. The devil hath oft de- so many good things at the hand of God, and ceived us; the best way to deceive him, is shall we not receive evil? Our mercies far by quiet submission to God in all things, outweigh our afflictions; for one affliction we saying, "Thy will be done.” have a thousand mercies, O then let us submit to God, and say, "Thy will be done." The sea of God's mercy should swallow up a few drops of affliction. 24th. Consideration, to bring our wills to God in affliction doth much honour the gos religion, as if it were not able to subdue an unruly spirit. It is weak physic, which cannot purge out ill humours: and sure it is a weak gospel, if it cannot master our discontent, and martyr our wills. Unsubmissiveness is a reproach, but a cheerful resignation of our will to God sets a crown of honour upon the head of religion, it shows the power of the gospel, which can charm down the 22d. Consideration, it may rock our hearts quiet in affliction, to consider, that to the godly the nature of affliction is quite changed; to a wicked man, it is a curse, the rod is turned into a serpent; affliction to him is but an effect of God's displeasure, the begin-pel; an unsubmissive Christian reproacheth ning of sorrow; but the nature of affliction is quite changed to a believer, it is by divine chemistry turned into a blessing; it is like poison corrected, which becomes a medicine; it is a love token, a badge of adoption, a preparatory to glory; should not this make us say, "Thy will be done?" The poison of the affliction is gone; it is not hurtful, but healing. This hath made the saints not only patient in affliction, but to sound forth thank-passions, and melt the will into God's will; fulness. As bells, when they have been cast in the fire, do afterwards make a sweeter sound, so the godly, after they have been cast into the fire of affliction, have sounded forth God's praise, Ps. cxix. 71, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted." Job i. 21,"Blessed be the name of the Lord." 23d. Consideration, to make us submit our will to God's in affliction, is, to think how many good things we receive from God, and shall not we be content to receive some evil? Job ii. 10, "Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" In the Hebrew, shall we receive good from God and not evil? This may make us say, "Thy will be done." How many blessings have we received at the hand of God's bounty? We have been bemiracled with mercy. What sparing, preventing, delivering mercy have we had? The honeycomb of mercy hath continually therefore in scripture submissive patience is brought in as an adorning grace, Rev. xiv. 12, "Here is the patience of the saints." 25th. Consideration, the example of our Lord Jesus, how flexible and submissive was he to his Father! He who taught us this prayer, "thy will be done," had learned it himself; Christ's will was perfectly turned to his Father's will; it was the will of his Father that he should die for our sins, and he endured the cross," Heb. xii. 2. It was a painful, shameful, cursed death; he suffered the very pains of hell equiva lently, yet he willingly submitted, Isa. lii. 7, "He opened not his mouth." He opened his side when the blood ran out, but he opened not his mouth in repining, his will was resolved into the will of his Father, John xviii. 11, "The cup which my Fa ther hath given me shall I not drink it!" Now the more our wills are subject to God's will in affliction, the nearer we come to Christ our pattern; is it not our prayer we may be like Christ? By holy submission we imitate him; his will was melted into his Father's will. 26th. Consideration, to submit our wills to God is the way to have our will; every one would be glad to have his will,-the way to have our will is to resign it,—God deals with us as we do with froward children,-while we fret and quarrel, God will give us nothing, but when we are submissive, and say, "Thy will be done," now God carves out mercy to us. The way to have our will is to submit it. David brought his will to God's, 2 Sam. xv. 26, "Here am I, let him do to me as seems good to him." And after he resigned his will he had his will; God brought him back to the ark and settled him again in his throne, 2 Sam. xix. Many a parent that hath had a dear child sick, when he could bring his will to God to part with it, God hath given him the life of his child: there's nothing lost by referring our will to God, the Lord takes it kindly from us, and it is the only way to have our will. 27th. and ult. Consideration, we may the more cheerfully surrender our souls to God when we die, when we have surrendered our will to God while we live. Our blessed Saviour had all along submitted his will to God; there was but one will between God the Father, and Christ. Now Christ in his life-time having given up his will to his Father, at death he cheerfully gives up his soul to him, Luke xxiii. 46, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." You that resign up your wills to God, may at the hour of death comfortably bequeath your souls to him. account of any of his matters." Who shall 2. God's will is a wise will, he knows what is conducing to the good of his people, therefore submit, Isa. xxx. 18, "The Lord is a God of judgment," that is, he is able to judge what is best for us, therefore rest in his wisdom, and acquiesce in his will. We rest in the wisdom of a physician, we are content he should scarify and let us blood, because he is judicious, and knows what is most conducible to our health; if the pilot be skilful, the passenger saith, "let him alone, he knows best how to steer the ship;" and shall we not rest in God's wisdom? Did we but study how wisely God steers all occurrences, and how he often brings us to heaven by a cross wind, it would much quiet our spirits, and make us say, "Thy will be done." God's will is guided by wisdom; should God sometimes let us have our will, we would undo ourselves; did he let us carve for ourselves, we would choose the worst piece; Lot chose Sodom because it was well-watered, and was as the garden of the Lord, Gen. xiii. 10, but God rained fire upon it out of heaven, Gen. xix. 24. 3. God's will is a just will, Gen. xviii. 25, The second means to bring our will to "Shall not the judge of all the earth do God in affliction is, study the will of God. right?" God's will is regula et mensura,— 1. It is a sovereign will; he hath a supreme it is the rule of justice; the wills of men are right and dominion over his creatures, to dis- corrupt, therefore unfit to give law; but God's pose of them as he pleaseth; a man may do will is a holy and unerring will, which may with his own as he lists, Matt. xx. 15, " Is it cause submission, Ps. xcvii. God may cross," not lawful for me to do what I will with my but he cannot wrong us; severe he may be, own?" A man may cut his own timber as he not unjust; therefore we must strike sail, and will. God's sovereignty may cause submis-say, "Thy will be done." sion, he may do with us as he sees good. 4. God's will is a good and gracious will, God is not accountable to any creature for it promotes our interest; if it be God's will what he doth, Job xxxiii. 13, "He giveth not to afflict us, he shall make us say at last, it was good for us that we were afflicted. God's voice?" Exod. v. 2. But Eli saith, "It is flail shall only thrash off our husks. That the Lord, let him do what seems good in his which is against our will shall not be against sight," 1 Sam. iii. 18. See the difference our profit; study what a good will God's is, between a heart that is swelled with pride, and we will say, fiat voluntas,-"Thy will and that which is ballasted with humility; be done." Pharaoh saith, "Who is the Lord?"-Eli, "It is the Lord." An humble soul hath a deep sense of sin,-he sees how he hath provoked God, he wonders he is not in hell; therefore, whatever God inflicts, he knows it is less than his iniquities deserve; this makes him say, "Lord, thy will be done." O get into an humble posture, the will is never flexible till the heart be humble! 5. God's will is an irresistible will; we may oppose it, but we cannot hinder it; the rising of the wave cannot stop the ship when it is in full sail, so the rising up of our will against God cannot stop the execution of his will, Rom. ix. 19, "Who hath resisted his will?" Who can stay the chariot of the sun in its full career? Who can hinder the progress of God's will? Therefore it is in vain to contest with God, his will shall take place; there is no way to overcome God, but by lying at his feet. 3d Means to submission to God in affliction is, get a gracious heart; all the rules and helps in the world will do but little good, till grace be infused; the bowl must have a good bias, or it will not run according to our desire, so till God put a new bias of grace into the soul, which inclines the will, it never submits to God; grace renews the will, and it must be renewed before it be subdued; grace teacheth self-denial, and we can never submit our will till we deny it. 66 6th Means, get your hearts loosened from things below; be crucified to the world. Whence is children's frowardness, but when you take away their playthings? When we love the world, and God takes away these things from us, then we grow froward and unsubmissive to God's will. Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd; and when God smote it, he grew froward, and because God had killed his gourd, kill me too, saith he, Jonah iv. 8. He who is a lover of the world, can never pray this prayer heartily, “thy will be done;" his heart boils with anger against God; and when the world is gone, his patience is gone too. Get mortified 4th Means, let us labour to have our cove-affections to these sublunary things. nant-interest cleared, to know that God is 7th Means for submission to God's will, our God, Ps. xlviii. 14, "This God is our get some good persuasion your sin is pardonGod." He whose faith does flourish in as-ed. Feri, Domine, feri, quia peccata mea surance, that can say, God is his, will say, condonata sunt,- smite, Lord, smite where Thy will be done," A wicked man may thou wilt,' said Luther, 'because my sins are say, God hath laid this affliction upon me, pardoned.' Pardon of sin is a crowning and I cannot help it; but a believer saith, my blessing; hath God forgiven my sin, I will God hath done it, and I will submit to it. He bear any thing, I will not murmur but admire; who can call God his, knows God loves him I will not complain of the burthen of afflicas he loves Christ, and designs his salvation; tion, but bless God for removing the burthen therefore he will, with St Paul, take pleasure of sin; the pardoned soul saith this prayer in reproaches, 2 Cor. xii. 10. And in every heartily, "Thy will be done." Lord, use adverse providence yield to God, as the wax thy pruning-knife, so long as thou wilt not to the impression of the seal. come with thy bloody axe to hew me down. 5th Means to submission to God in affliction, get an humble spirit; a proud man will never stoop to God, he will rather break than bend; but when the heart is humble, the will is pliable. What a vast difference was there between Pharaoh and Eli? Pharaoh cries out, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his 8th Means, if we would have our wills submit to God, let us not look so much on the dark side of the cloud as the light side; that is, let us not look so much on the smart of affliction, as the good of affliction. 'Tis bad to pore all on the smart, as 'tis bad for sore eyes to look too much on the fire; but we should look on the good of affliction; brought the congregation of the Lord into Samson did not only look on the lion's car- this wilderness, that we should die there." cass, but on the honeycomb within it, Judges So God hath brought this affliction upon us, xiv. 8, "He turned to see the carcass of the because he hates us, and intends to destroy lion, and behold, there was honey in the car-us; and such hard thoughts of God cause cass." Affliction is the frightful lion, but see sullenness and stubbornness. O let us make what honey there is in it; affliction humbles, a fair and candid interpretation of provipurifies, fills us with the consolations of God; dence. Doth God afflict us? Say thus, perhere is honey in the belly of the lion; could haps he intends us mercy in this; he will try we but look upon the benefit of affliction, stub- us whether we will love him in afflictions; bornness would be turned into submissive- he is about to mortify some sin, or exercise ness, and we should say, "thy will be done." some grace; he smites the body that he may 9th Means, pray to God that he would save the soul. Could we put such a good calm our spirits, and conquer our will. It is meaning upon God's dealings, we should no easy thing to submit to God in affliction, say, "thy will be done." "Let the righteous there will be risings of the heart; therefore God smite me, and it shall be a kindness, it let us pray that what God inflicts righteously, shall be an excellent oil, which shall not we may bear patiently. Prayer is the best break my head," Ps. cxli. 5. spell or charm against impatience; prayer 11th and ult. Means, if you would submit doth to the heart as Christ did to the sea, to God in affliction, believe that the present when it was tempestuous, he rebuked the condition is best for you. We are not comwind, and there was a great calm; so, when petent judges; we fancy it is best to have the passions are up, and the will is apt to muti- ease and plenty, and have the rock pour out ny against God, prayer makes a gracious calm rivers of oil, but God sees affliction best; he in the soul; prayer doth to the heart as the sees our souls thrive best upon the bare spunge doth to the cannon, when hot, cools it. common; the fall of the leaf is the spring of 10th Means, if we would submit to God's our grace. Could we believe the present will in affliction, let us make a good interpre- condition is best which God carves out to us, tation of God's dealings, take all God doth the quarrel would soon be at an end, and we in the best sense. We are apt to misconstrue should sit down satisfied with what God God's dealings, and put a bad interpretation doth, and say, "thy will be done." So much upon them, as Israel, Numb. xx. 4, " Ye have for this third petition. OF THE FOURTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. MATT. vi. 11. Give us this day our daily bread. John As Mi In this petition there are two things ob- | concerns. Christ preferred his Father's glory servable: 1st, The order. 2d, The matter. before his own glory as he was man, I. The order. First we pray "hallowed viii. 49, 50, "I honour my Father, I seek be thy name," before, "Give us this day not my own glory." God's glory is that our daily bread." Hence we learn, that the which is most dear to him,—it is the apple glory of God ought to be preferred before of his eye,—all his riches lie here. our own personal concerns. cah said, Judges xviii. 24, "What have I First we pray," Hallowed be thy name, more?" so I may say of God's glory, what thy kingdom come, thy will be done," before hath he more? God's glory is the most we pray "give us this day our daily bread." orient pearl of his crown, which he will not God's glory ought to weigh down all before part with, Isa. xlii. 8, "My glory will I not it; it must be preferred before our dearest give to another." God's glory is more worth than heaven, more worth than the salvation of all men's souls; better kingdoms be demolished, better men and angels be annihilated, than God loose any part of his glory. First we pray that God's name may be hallowed and glorified before we pray, "give us our daily bread." We are to prefer God's glory before our nearest concerns; before there can be a preferring God's glory before our private concerns, there must be a new birth wrought; the natural man seeks his own secular interest before God's glory, John iii. 31, "He is of the earth, earthly." Let him have peace and trading, let the rock pour out rivers of oil, Job xxix. 6, and let God's glory go which way it will, he minds it not. A worm cannot fly and sing as a lark: a natural man, whose heart creeps upon the earth, cannot admire God, or advance his glory, as a man elevated by grace doth. Use. Of trial. Do we prefer God's glory before our private concerns? Doth God's glory take place? Minus te amat qui aliquid tecum amat, quod non propter te amat, Aug. 1st, Do we prefer God's glory before our own credit? Fama parri passu ambulat cum vita. Credit is a jewel highly valued; like precious ointment, it casts a fragrant smell; but God's glory must be dearer than credit or applause; we must be willing to have our credit trampled upon, if God's glory may be raised higher. Acts v. 41, The apostles rejoiced "that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name;" that they were graced so far as to be disgraced for Christ. 2d, Do we prefer God's glory before our relations? Relations are dear, they are of our own flesh and bones; but God's glory must be dearer, Luke xiv. 26, "If any man come after me, and hate not father and mother, he cannot be my disciple." Here odium in suos, is pietas in Deum. "If my friends (saith Jerom) should persuade me to deny Christ,-if my wife should hang about my neck,-if my mother should show me her breasts that gave me suck, I would trample upon all, and flee to Christ." 3d, We must prefer God's glory before estate; gold is but shining dust, God's glory must weigh heavier. If it come to this, I cannot keep my place of profit, but God's glory will be eclipsed, here I must rather suffer in my estate, than God's glory should suffer, Heb. x. 34. 4th, We must prefer God's glory before our life, Rev. xii. 11, "They loved not their own lives to the death." Ignatius called his fetters his spiritual jewels, he wore them as a chain of pearl. Gordius the martyr said, “It is to my loss, if you bate me any thing of my sufferings." This argues grace crescent, and elevated in a high degree. Who but a soul inflamed in love to God, can set God highest on the throne, and prefer him above all private concerns? II. The second thing in the petition, is the matter of it. "Give us this day our daily bread." The sum of this petition is, that God would give us such a competency in these outward things, as he sees most excellent for us. It is much like that prayer of Agur, Prov. xxx. 8, “Feed me with food convenient for me;" give me a viaticum, & bait by the way, enough to bear my charges till I come to heaven, and it sufficeth. Let me explain the words, "Give us this day our daily bread." [Give] Hence note, that the good things of this life are the gifts of God: he is the donor of all our blessings. "Give us:" not only faith, but food is the gift of God; not only daily grace is from God, but "daily bread;" every good thing comes from God, James i. 17, every good gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights." Wisdom is the gift of God, Isa. xxviii. 26, "His God doth instruct him to discretion." Riches are the gift of God, 2 Chron. i. 12, "I will give thee riches." Peace is the gift of God, Ps. cxlvii. 14, "He mak eth peace in thy borders." Health, which is the cream of life, is the gift of God, Jer. Xxx. 17, "I will restore health to thee." Rain is the gift of God, Job v. 10, “Who giveth rain on the earth." All comes from God; he makes the corn to grow, and the herbs to flourish. Use 1st. See our own poverty and indi gence: we live all upon alms, and upon free-gifts, "give us this day." All we have is from the hand of God's royal bounty; we have nothing but what God gives us out of his store-house; we cannot have one bit of bread but from God. The devil per |
