A Praflical Expojition Secondly, Health and Strength of Body, which is)ndeed the greatefl of Temporal llletli~gs, and ,the Salt to all the re!t,, witho~t which lbey are Unfavoury and Taftelefs. Thudly, All the Means that Gods Provtdence bath appointed to preferve Life and .Health, and to recover. Health when it is decay'd and impJir'd, . Founbly, Succefs m our Lawful Calltng and Endeavours for the procuring a"y Conyemencies and Comfons of Life. For in this Prayer we beg a Bleffing upon our Callmgs and_lnduftry, that God would profper us in them, and by them increafe our Temporal Enjoyments, fo far fonh as IS needful eo his own·Glory and our Good. Fifthly, We beg a Blefiing from Heaven upon wharfoever we enjoy, that it may indeed prove good and comfortable to us; wnhout which all that we poffefsmay prove a great heap of Things, but none_ of them will be Comforts or Enjoyments. And thus I have 6mfbed the Fufi ofthofe Petitions that immt:diarely concern ou r fel~es, whe~ein we beg ?f God the Supply of all our Tempora l Wants. The Two '!htch_remam refpe~ Spmtual Bleffings, of w~JCh rhe former (which is the. f. fi bPet.tuon m order of thts mofi ExceiJem Prayer) IS for the Pardon of Si n, Forg1ve UI our Debt$, a1 we forgiVe our Deblor$, 0f which I now come to Treat. And here before wecome to the Petition itfelf let us briefly take notice of the Con; ilexion and Dependance that it bath upon what went before. ~ Having prayed for our Daily Bread, we are next taught to pray for Pardon. And this Method is indeed moll: Wife, and moll Rational. For, Firft, The Guilt of Sin many times withholds from us thofe Ea r•hly Comforts we !land in need of. We have forfeited all into the Hands ot· God's ]ult ice, and he is pleafed to make us know our Obnoxioufnefs to his Power aod Wrath, by den) ing or taking from us thofe Temporal good Things as a due, tho, the leaft Ponifhm..!nt of our Deferts, lfa, 59· 2. Your Iniquities have feparated between you ondyvttr God, and your Sint have bid bi.r Face from yo11~ tbat he will not brnr you. And rh ~rcfore when we have prayed for our Daily Bread, we are eo pray likewife for the P11rdfln of our Sint; that the Partition between God and us may be removed, and hi sBleffing bt:ing no longer obftruiled by our Guilt, maydefcend down freely and plenti fully upon us. Secondly, Without Pardon of Sin all our Temporal Enjoyments are but Snares and Curfe!i unto us. Though God dotb fomerimes befiow abundance of this World's good Things upon impenitent and unpardoned Sinners, yet they have not fo many Enjoyments as Curfcs: Their Bread is kneaded up with a Curfe, and their Wine rem~ pered and mingled with a Curfe; there is Poyfon in their Mear, and Death in rheir Phyfick; their Table is their Snare, their Efiate their Ferrers, and whatfoever fhould have been for their Welfare proves only a Gin and a Trap unto them ; . for the Wrath of God is one direfullngredieot among all that they polfefs. And' therefore if we would have our Doily Buad given us, or Comfort and Bleffing whh it, we ought earneftly to beg the Pardon of our Sins, which are like rhe Worm in ]onab's Gourd~ which will wirher and devour all our Enjoymenrs. Aod thus much for the Merhod and Order. In the Words themfelves we have, Firfi the Petition, Forgive us our Debts. Secondly, The Condition, or Proportion, or Plea and Argument, (call it which you will,) for the obtaining of this Forgivenefs, As we forgiv.e our Debtors. In the Perir ion we may obferve, rhat rhe fame which our Evangelijl calls Debt$ is by St. Luhe rr. 4• called Sins, Forgive us our Sins. We ftand indebted to God both as we are his Creatures, and as we are Offenders: By the one we owe him the Debt ofObedimce, and by the other rhe Debt of P"nijhment. Firf.l As we are Creatures we owe the Debt ofObedience: And to the Payment of this D;bt we Rand bound both to the abfolure ~overeignty of God, who is the Supream Lord ofall his Cr~mres, and therefore n;ay oblige rhem eo what he pl~afeth, and likewife by his manifold Favours and Merctes conf:rre~ upon us.. From h1m Ke have rece ived our Beings1 and all our Comfons; he mamtams us athts own CoG: aod Charge, he enlargeth us when we are in Srreighls, relieves us when we a~e in Wams, counfels u~ when we are in Doubts, comforts us when we are m Sorrows, deiivers us in our Dangers; and befidcs the manifold Temporal Mercies we daily re· ceive from him, gives us the Means,.rhe Hopes and Promifes? of obra~ning far beue.r Things at his Hands, even Eternal Ltf~ andGlory;. And therefo~e cerra~n~y upon thefe Accounts we owe him all poffible Serv1ceand Obedience. 4-q,nd mdeed l t IS but Reafon '"" tbouid·employ all for him, from whom we receive all, and giveupour felves rohis Sen'Ice,
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