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fuppofing God's Readinefs to make our Duty eafy to us, if we be not wanting to our felves, fhew our Inexcufablenefs if we do it

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And let me add, We should aspire after that Grace of doing the Will of God on Earth as it is in Heaven, if we have any effectual Defire moving in us of arriving to the heavenly Kingdom, if we have any good Hope of coming into that bleffed Place, we fhall make it our Bufinefs to ule our felves to the Manners and Custom of it before we come there. The Angels are fix'd in that State, and poffeffed of the Happiness of it by their Obedience, and we cannot any other way fecure our Title to it but by ours.

In the mean time we pray for no lefs a Blefling for our felves in this World when we fay, Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, than that we may feel fome of that heavenly Pleafure which is the Portion of Augels, and of the Spirits of juft Men made perfect. For Their Piety and Sanctity is the Spring of their principal Chearfulness and Joy; Their Delights are ravishing, becaufe they are pure, not fullied with the leaft Spot of Sin, nor choak'd with Guilt; They are perfectly happy, because their Will is ftill as their Maker's Will is; They have no Reluctancy to what they should be, but the whole Bent of their Natures is to

their Duty; They feel the Excellency of Righteoufnefs and Holiness, and of the Eternal Laws of Juft and Good, not in Notion only, but by inward Confcience and Experience of the Things themselves, and this makes them what they are, tranfcendently bleffed Spirits. It is true indeed, fuch is the State of good Men, who living in Houfes of Clay have yet fubdued Bodily Luft and Paffion, and begun to taste the pure Delights of the Mind and Conscience, and what a bleffed Thing it is no more to ftruggle against the Divine Will, but to unite their Wills to God, when they do not only center in the fame Things, but 'tis a God-like Principle that fways the Mind of a Man to that which God would have him do. Concerning the Happinefs of fuch Perfons, I fay, when we have faid the most that we can, we have faid nothing in Comparifon to what they know and feel. He whofe Mind is alienated from the Life of God can hardly guefs at it, it is only to be understood by those that have it, unless they also that are fall'n to the Bottom of Despair, can, by the Rule of Contraries, frame fome Apprehenfion of it. The Affurance, the Evennefs, and the Clearnefs of a good Man's Mind, his Joy in believing that he is God's Creature, and God's Servant, and that God's Eye is always upon him, and that God's

Providence

Providence always goes along with him, can no more be defcribed in Words, than Life can be fhewn in a Picture, than the Light of the Sun, and the Variety of Colours, can be reprefented to a Man that is born blind. To pray that God's Will we may do on Earth as it is done in Heaven, is to pray that we may have Heaven upon Earth, and the Joys above brought down to us here below, and that God may dwell in us. For fo the Scripture defcribes the happy State of the Obedient, intimating that it is like the Condition of the holy Angels, that dwell in the Prefence of his Glory and Majefty.

Such is the Petition our Saviour hath taught us to offer up to God in this Prayer. And now in the last place, let us confider how Qualified the Petition fupposes them to be that can use it fincerely.

The general Qualification doubtless is an holy Endeavour to keep all God's Commandments, and where this is wanting a Man cannot fincerely use this Petition.

I think I need not tell you, that they who entice and tempt other Men to fin are great Hypocrites, in praying that God's Will may be done on Earth as it is in Heaven; for this is the fame as to pray that other Men may do God's Will, whilft we do what we can to make them contradict it

But

But there are Thefe forts of Men, that I fhall take notice of, as Unprepared to use this Petition, and when they do, they are condemn'd by it.

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1. They that object Inconveniency and Grievance against any Law of Christianity. Of these, Some, not oppofing or withstanding the Rule, are yet difpleafed with it. Others, in Difpleafure and Prejudice against it, have cheated themselves into fuch a falfe Interpretation of it, that in effect they make it no Rule at all. There are Precepts of equal Dealing, and Reftitution, and Almfgiving, and Forgiveness of Injuries, in the Gofpel, which pinch, and gall, and ftraiten moft Men one way or other, in their Trade, their Pleasure, their Ambition, their Way of Living, their Principles of Honour; and it is this that will make them complain that God deals fo hardly with us, or to conclude, that there is an easy Meaning of the hard Text, and so much was not meant for Practice as feems to be expressed in Words; and fo let Chrift and his Apostles fay what they will in thefe Things, yet if Honour fays No, if Profit, if Pleafure, and the Moft Examples be on the other fide, it must be concluded that Chrift would never be fo unreasonable as to make these Rules with an Intention to bind us, that had fo much to fay for breaking loofe from them,

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Now whofoever argues with himself in this manner, and practises accordingly, does but mock God, as much as in him lies, when he says, Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. And whatever the Intention of those Laws was, to be fure his Intention agrees not with his Prayer; he either minds not what he fays, or he is a downright Hypocrite, and convinc'd by his own Confcience.

2. They also that are carried no farther than to Partial Obedience, and are not refolved upon the forfaking of All Sin, and the Performance of All their Duty, cannot with good Senfe or honeft Meaning pray to God that his Will may be done upon Earth as it is in Heaven. For there it is done Univerfally, without difputing any one Part of it ; and truly where it is not fo done, it cannot in good Sense be faid to be done at all. For that is true Obedience only which is performed with refpect to the Authority that requires it; and he has no regard to that Authority, who difputes it in any thing which falls under fuch Authority. And if a Man doing fome Things that are required by God, neglects others, because he is under great Temptations to neglect them, he plainly fhews that he would have neglected

all,

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