on the 1o'rd:S 'Prayer. the Saints in Scrip,rure,_ in all their Ap.~roaches to t_lie Thro~e .of Grace, were--wOnt in the beginning of thetr ~rayers t.Q .affeEt and- ov.er~awe theu .Hearts .with th~ hum-: hie monuon of God's GloriOUS AunbuteS. ThOs Solomon, r Kings 8. 23· 0 Lord Goii iflfrael there is no God like unto thee; zlz Hctiven aboUt, or in tbc Earth beneath;. who kecfcft Covenant and iliercy with tbj S.e1'JJ_ants. Thus Je!~oJapbat, d Chrob 1 • 20. 0 6. 0 C..ord God of our Fathers, art not thou Goil m Heaven? Andn.tlefl not. tiJOt&- Over all , r.be Kingdoms of the Heatl)tns? And in thy Hand ~t tbcr~ nor Power and i11~"ght ?~· So .He.. ! zekiah, 2 Kings r 9· r ~. 0 Lord God of lfrael, who d':f!ellefl bea•ecn tb~ Cherub1ms; thou arr God, even thou alone, who bajf made Heaven and Earth. And fo the Prophef1 Jerem. 32 . t7· Ab Lord God, behold thou haft made the Heaven and the Eart]l, by tby great Power andflretchcd-out Jirm, and there i.r .nothing toO bard for .'ha. T!Je,gr~ar, the mighty God, the Lord of Hojlt i.r bi1 Name, great in Counjel, 'atid ?!Jigbiy i'nitrorkin'g.._ Arid thus our S1viour him.felf; Mattb. 11. 25. I thank thee, 0 F4rlur; Lord of Htaven and Earth. And ro the Apo!lle, AJs 4· 24. Lord, tbau art Gad that baj/ inade Hed· vtn and Earth, the S.ea, and all that in tbe1b is. And thus to confider feri6ufly ot: and reverently ro. exprefs, the infinitely Glo~ious Amihures of God, i~ an excellent Means m compofe us into a Holy Fear and Awe of God, fuch as becomes vile Duft and Afhes to b~ afreaed wi1h when it !lands in the Prefence of its great Lord and, Creator: Only here let us remember that we dwell not fa long upon theTfrles and: Attributes ofGod, nor run fo rituch out into Preface, as to forger our Errand unto him. SecondiJ, Next after the Preface we have the Petirion·s fOllowing in thei.r Order. Of rhefe fome reckon Six, others Seven; but which foever we take the Matter is not great: They may be all reduced under Two General Heads. FirR, Such as refpeEl God's Glory. . . Secondly, Such as r_efpeEl our fi:l•es and others. The Three firft rerpea God's Glory and the Three or Four \all our own Good 1 and that either Temporal or Spiritual: Temporal, in begging at God's Hands our daily Bread, Spiritual, in defiJ ring both the Pardon of and Delivera~ce from Sin. · · And here again we may obfetve the Admirable Order and Method of this Prayer,' in thar our Saviour hath placed.the Petition> which refers to our Temporal Good> as; it were in the very Midft and Centre of it, it being encompaffed round about wirli Petitions for Heavenly and Spiriwal Bleffings~ And this may intimate to us that we are only tO bait at th.: World in our Paffage and }<;>urney to Heaven, that we ought to begin with SpiriJUals, and end with SpiriJUals, but only ro take up and refre!h out' felves a litde with our daily Bread in oui \?;lay. ' Thirdly, ln the Doxology, or Prai!e, there are Four Things contained. Firft, God)s Soverdgnty, Thine is tbe Kingdom. Secondly, God's Omnipotency, .And the Power. Thirdly, God's Excellency, And the Glary. , Fourthly, The Eternity and Unchangeablenefs of them, and of all God's other At~ tributes noted to us in that Expreffion, For ever. · . Fo.,·tbly, and Laf/ly , Here is the ratifying Particle, Jlmen, added as a Seal to the whole Przyer; and it importeth a Defire to have that confirmed or gtanted which we have prayed for. And thus Benaiab when be had received Infiruaions from David concerniv~ th~ efiabl.ifhing of Solomo11 in the Kingdom, anfwereth thereto) .Amen, and explams 1.r, r Kmgs t.J6. The Lord Gad of my Lord the King fay fo taa. Sa ~liat wh:n we' add ~his Word, Amen, at the end and clofe of our Prayers~ it is as much as 1f we had fa~d, !be Lord God fay fo toa_; or the Lord grant thefe Requefts: For the proper SlgnJficatton of Amen IS, jO" bt zt, or fo zr zs, or fo it fha/1 be. the: former notes our Defires, the latter our Confidence and Affurance, of being heard. Now of all thefe Four Part<, of which this Prayer is compofed, I lh•ll fpeak in iheir Order. Firft, Therefore let us confider the Preface in theft: Words, Our Father, wbicb art in Heaven. And here God is defi:ribed by Two ofhis mofi: eminent Attributu, his Grace and Glory, his Goodnejs and his Grearnefs; by the one, in that be is lliled Ottr Father · by the other, in that he is fa id to be in Heaven: And both there are mort fweetly tern~ pered together, to beget in us a Holy Mixture of Filial Boldnefs and Awful Reverence which are fo neceiT'ary w the fantl:ifyingofGod'.r }{ame in all our Addreffes to him. W~ are con;manded to com~ to tbt Throne of G.rac~ with Boldnif.s, Heb. 4· 16. and yet to Jcrv.eGod~cceprably wuh Revtre_nc;,and wtthfear. Heb. 12. tS. •Yea,and indeed the very call m& of 1t a T/Jrone ofGrace Intimates both tbefe AffeElions at once. It is a Tbrone, Hhb2 and
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