on the Lord's Prayer, my Grace is fufficierir, not thine: The Grace that is in th ee is weak and hdplefs; it is a very nmhing if l withdraw my Influence from ir; but tbe quickning Grace that ftowstrom me, this alone is fufficient to remov~ the TemptatiOII, and to Prevent ihe Sin. Now whilft God's Exciting Grace works thus upon Sr. Paul's Jttht~tnt Grace; this Temptation, this Thor'! ar his ~r7aft, (as th~~ report of the Nrgbtrngal, ) on~y makes him the more wakeful and vtg!lant• . But tf God lhould have fufpended Ius gracious Influence, rh is Thorn would fadly have wounded his Confcience by the Commiffion of fome foul and grofs Sin. . . Now as all manner of Sin lyes couched and comprehe nded in that Body of Sirl which we carry about with us, fo alL manner of Grace s are couched alfO in that Principle of Grace which God bath implanted in his own Childre.n: A~d when rhe Devil by a Temptation calls forth a pamcu_lar Sm, God alfo_ by h1s e~cmng lnHuence calls fonh a particular contrary Grace to hmder rhe Comm1fiion of H• Thus when they are tempted to Pride God calls forth lfumility to prick that fwelling and pufty Bladder. So when they are tempted to Wrath and Pa/.fion he 1\irs up Meekneft ro oppofe it. When a lflurmuring a~d Rc_pining at_God's Difp~nfadons, he purs Pati- ence upon its perfeEl Work. And m bnef there IS no one Sm whatfoever that the DeVil can by his Tcmptt~tions fiir up in the Hearr, hut God alfo can, and often dotb; !tir up a contrary Grace to quell and mafter ir. Bur now there are Two Gracts which are more efpecially employed in this Service; and they are an awful Fear, and filial Love, ofGod: And therefore when we pray that God would deliver us from Evil, weFfr~;'That he would fo atfel.l our Hearts with that Dread and Rev erence of his Holy Majdly, that we may not dare to commit the leaf\ Sin, knowingly and willing- ly, againfi him. For the fear of God is a powerful Prefervativeto withhold the Soul fi-om confenting to Temptation; and when we are fully poffelfed with it, we fhall he able ro return that Anfwer to every Sollicitation of the Devil rh at Joftph did to the filthy Enticements of his lewd Miflrejs, How !hall we do this Thing and Sin againft God> Yea, it will prcfetve us not only from the more grofs and fcandalous Al.ls of Sin, but from the fecret lurking Wickedne!fes that lye dee p io the Heart. 2 Cor. 7· •· Let us cleanfe our fdves from all Filthinifs and Pollution, hotb ofFiefo and Spirit, perfdling lfolinefs in t/J< Fear ofGod. Indeed, where this Fear ofGod is deeply implanie~ it will keep us from offending him in our Thoughts, as well as in our AtHens. We fhall be afraid to Sin againO: him by Hypocrifie, or Unbelief, or Impenitency, as 1vell as by Murder, or Blatphemy, or any ofthofe flagitious Crimes, whith not only tbeLaw ofGod, but the Law of Nature and rigbt Reafo n, condemn. Secondly, We pray that God would fo atfel.l our Hearts with a Holy andFilial Lovt of himfelf, that may fweetly, and yet powerfully, ke ep us from whatfoever may be an Oflence unto his Divine 111ojefly. For Love would not willingly do any Thing that may offend or grieve the Objea loved. There is a Holy Ingenuity in this Grace; ·that firongly engageth the Heart to love what God loves, and to hate what he hates. Now the only Obiea ofGod's Hatred is Sin, and therefore where the Love of God is implanted, it will caufe fuch a DivineSimpathy of Afle El:ion, that thofe who love tbe Lord will hate Sin and Iniquity, as the Pjolmiji fpeaks, Pjal. 97· 16. And certainly Harred of Sin is a moft effeaual Means to keep us f rom committing ofir. And thus I have !hewn you the Methods that God ufeth in deliverin g us from Evil. By his Refiraining p,·ovidence, by his Reflraining Grace, and by his Sanllifying and Re. ncwing Grace. Hence then fee to whom you are to afcribe your Preferva tion from Evil, and from thofe horrid Sins that others fall into. Sacrific~ not to your own Net, not to theFreedom of your own Wills, not to any Excellency in your own Difpofition and Temper not to your Natural Averfation to what is Wicked and Impious : But gh•e the Praif~ and Glory both of what thou art, and of what thou art nor, wholly unto God. Thy Nature is as finful as the worft ofMens; and that thy Lif e is not as finfut and wicked as the worft, proceeds only from the Goodncfs and Grace of God which bath made the Difference; yea, a Difference little lefs than Miraculous; for is ic not a Miracle that when the Fountain is as bitter in our Hearts, a s in the Hearts of others yet that the Stream fhould nor be fa? Whence is ir, ~hat fince we have the fame cor~ rupt Heans with Cain and ]udar, or any of the moll btanded Wretches in the VVorld for Sin and VVickednefs, tbat yet we have not co mmitted the like Impieties with them, but that God bath either rejlraintd or fanaifird us 1 But Sanl.lifying Grato
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