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elders, whose number was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen. Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing, for ever and ever. Amen.

In the instruction that I have prepared for you at this time, my brethren, I will first consider the design of this kind of conclusion, with the beautiful relation of all its parts, and its fitness to encourage our devotion, and which we may reasonably suppose induced our blessed Lord to add it to his Prayer (Matt. vi. 13): but as it does not always appear to follow the form of the Prayer in the original of all the Gospels in which it is recorded, I will,

Secondly, afford you a few short and profitable reasons for this seeming omission, in order that my endeavour towards every necessary information you might require on this subject, may prove as perfect as possible.

First, then, as nothing can be more proper than that all our addresses to God should close with an act of thanksgiving, according to the solemn rules just now presented, the form of this conclusion does very fully declare that we

own God's supreme dominion over all things, as likewise his power and will to do above all that we can ask or think. It shows us that all the religious service we pay to God, whether we pray to him, confess to him, give thanks, or whatever we perform, we ought to do with a view to God's glory. This is an essential doctrine, and abundantly established by the example of all the Apostles. St. Paul admonishes us (1 Cor. x. 31), that, whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, it should be all done to the glory of God: we should have continually before us our absolute obligation to, and dependence upon him, and that we are only made to be instruments of his glory and service. And in Col. iii. 17, he repeats the exhortation, with a very necessary addition to all Christians, that, whatsoever we do, in word or deed, we should do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father by him; that is, by acknowledging his blessed Son to be the grand cause of our creation, and the ability of our doing any thing acceptable to God, or profitable to our own best interests, viz. the salvation of our souls and to the expediency of this practice, no less than to the truth of the precept, St. Peter assents, recommending with equal force, and some useful variation, that, if any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; that is, let him govern all his instruction by the

spirit of the Gospel. If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability that God giveth; that is, let him ascribe his sufficiency to the undeserved gift of God's grace, and not to his own mere strength, or any unassisted purity of his own natural inclination: and the reason is indispensable, says the Apostle-because that thereby God in all things may be GLORIFIED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, who hath glorified the. Father through his obedience; by the glory which the Father hath given him-to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Pet. iv. 11.)

We may further most reasonably suppose, that this form of conclusion was added by our. Saviour, to keep alive in our minds a due sense, not only of the great necessity we have to pray to God for all those things that are before spe cified in the Prayer, but as a matter of a valuable support; since, by dwelling habitually upon the gracious goodness, mighty power, and uncontrollable sovereignty of the Almighty, we shall be daily encouraged to expect a certain notice of every suitable request from the hands of Him to whom we apply for these several blessings. And as the reason for our indulging frequent regard of God's universal dominion and just right to our humblest homage, cannot be described in more sublime words than those of the 96th Psalm, ver. 7, 8, 9, 10, I shall close

VOL. III.

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this part of my subject with that very applicable portion of it: Ascribe unto the Lord, O ye kindreds, worship and power; ascribe unto the Lord the honour due unto his name: bring presents, and come into his courts. O, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth stand in awe of him. Tell it out among the heathen, that the Lord he is King; and that it is he who hath made the round world so fast, that it cannot be moved; and that he shall judge the people righteously.

From this description of the sacred Person we approach in prayer, and with which the words of this doxology so truly correspond, we are most plainly taught our duty in this respect-that we ought to ask these things of God on this very account; because, as he is the King of the whole world (for the kingdom is the Lord's, and he is the Governor among the people, Psa. xxii. 28), so ought he to be applied to by all his creatures. Again, by reason he is also the POWER, and is able both to hear and answer our petitions; therefore of him it is more fit to desire whatever we stand in need of, according to the pious acknowledgment of the obedient King Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. xx. 6), who thus exclaimed, with holy faith, in the house of the Lord: O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou the God of heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the hea

then? and in thy hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? And, lastly, because God is the GLORY of all our solemn and needful applications to himbecause that is the end of all things which are or were created-because a study of this glory is part of the creature's obedience and reverence, which can belong to God alone, the worship which peculiarly raises and distinguishes him above the creature; therefore to him only ought we to make our prayer, and not to any other.

The next thing we are taught by this doxology, or concluding form of humble praise, as being of the greatest importance to our happiness in this uncertain and trying state, is the truth of the confession it contains, which certainly contributes to encourage hope that we shall receive what we are commanded by Christ to pray for. Since our faith is hereby strengthened in the profession of his ability to grant what we desire; and, further, as the things we ask are expressly dictated to us by the words of his own wisdom, and so highly add to his own honour to bestow, as well as our real advantage to receive, we have the strongest possible assurance to believe we shall receive them, and that nothing will prevent it, but the insinserity of our address.

Again, the value of this particular form of

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