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this limiting the Ufe of the Lord's Prayer to baptized Persons, as anciently it was, implies, viz. that God is the Father of all thofe who are admitted into the Church of Chrift in a more excellent Senfe than he is of the Reft of Mankind. But then withal, the Comfort of thofe other Relations wherein we ftand to God, as he is our Creator and Preferver, and as we are made in his Likenefs, the Comfort of all this returns upon our being adopted to be his Children in Baptifm; and we need not fo confider his being our Father upon this Account, as to forget that he is fo upon others too. Now this is the plain Meaning of our calling God FATHER.

And now let us confider the Usefulness of this Compellation with reference to those Affections with which we ought to make our Prayers to God; whereof the firft I fhall name is,

1. A firm Belief that God will regard Our Requefts, and grant us the Effect of them. For without this we shall have little Heart to ask any thing of him, and when we do, our Defires would be always cooled, and our Devotion abated by Distrust. And now what can more fully express what we would believe concerning God's Goodness towards us than that he is our Father? For this gives us Encouragement to make our Requests known to him, altho' he be fo infinitely

finitely above us, that it feemeth to look like Arrogance and Pride for us to prefume fo much as to speak to him. This I fay, that altho' the Lord be high, and infinitely exalted above us, yet he is our Father, and we are his Children. There is an abundant Benignity and Kindness promised to us by that Relation wherein we ftand to God, as our Creator. When we pray to him, we go to the Fountain of our Beings, to whom we are no Strangers, who knew us from the firft fince he made us, efpecially fince he gave us a Reasonable Nature to know him, to love him, to pray to him, and to receive Favours and Benefits from him. But above all, This giveth us great Confidence in his Goodness, that we fhall be regarded, when we pray to him; That he did not think it beneath him and unworthy of him to adopt us for his Children; That he fent his own Son to take our Nature upon him to reconcile us to God, to be the Firft-born amongst many Brethren, and to make us Fellow Heirs with himself of an everlasting Inheritance in the Kingdom of God. Upon all thefe Accounts our Saviour hath, as you fee, in the two first Words of this Prayer, given us great Encouragement to ask of God that which is needful for us.

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much as if he had told his Difciples beforehand, You may, with great Alacrity and good Affurance, make your Prayers to God,

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for in praying to him you speak to your Father. And that he laid great Strefs upon this Confideration for this Purpose, is plain, from what he faid to them in St. Luke, prefently after he had prefcribed to them this Form of Prayer, ch. 11. v. 13. If ye being evil know how to give good Gifts to your Children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give his holy Spirit to them that ask him? Than which nothing ever could be faid more fit to create in us a Confidence, that there is nothing in God to hinder the prevailing of our Prayers, whatever there may be in our felves; and indeed if we regard Iniquity in our Hearts, the Lord will not bear us. But fetting this aside, what may be faulty in our felves, I can difprove any Pretence that can be brought against praying, as if it might be unprofitable. God indeed by fome Men is reprefented as if he were abfolutely and unchangeably determined upon the Ruin not only of the great eft Part of Mankind, but even of the greateft Part of Chriftians, as if they were bound over to remedilefs Mifery by fuch a Chain of Decrees, as the Force of all their Prayers and Endeavours can never break afunder. But if we have one jealous Thought of this Kind, let us but consider that our Lord Jefus hath taught us to call God our Father; and if we can but believe that he hath not diffembled with us, and put vain Words in

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to our Mouths, this will banifh every fuch diftruftful Thought out of our Minds. He knew full well all the Decrees of God, for he came from the Father, and nothing was hid from him. Had he known that thou wert irreversibly doom'd to eternal Mifery, he would never have made thee believe that God was thy Father; he would never have commanded thee to call him fo, in Confidence of his Goodness. Hath God himself expoftulated with wicked Men from the Relation which they claim towards him, If I be a Father, where is mine Honour? Mal. 1. 6. And can we think that he hath left room for any of us to retort this Expoftulation upon him in this manner; If thou art our Father, Where is thy Compaffion? Where are thy Bowels? Where is thy Goodness? This very Name of God may convince us that he is no fowr or inflexible Being, that there is no Injustice, no Unkindness, no Cruelty in his Decrees and Counsels concerning us; that he cannot be inexorable to our real and juft Defires; that when we call upon him he will graciously hear us, and that like as a Father pitieth bis Children, fo he will be merciful to us when we make our Requests to him.

2. If our Prayers to God ought all to be accompanied with a grateful Senfe of his Benefits already received, and with a most hearty and affectionate Love of him for his Goodness

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Goodness towards us; We may be affected thus,by confidering that God is our Father; for this is that Reafon which St. John gives why we love God, viz. because he first loved us, 1 John 4. 19. which is the true Reason, you know, of Childrens Love to their Parents; to their Parents I fay, who are long beforehand with their Children in Affection and Obligation; And in this refpect it appears that the Love of God is a Paternal Affection, because he first loved us, moved thereunto by himself, not drawn to it by any precedent Obligation from us; Wherefore when we call God Father, we are admonished to return the Affection of Children towards him, which cannot possibly equal his to us, but ought to be the greatelt we can conceive, fo as to love him with all our Hearts, with all our Souls, and with all our Strength.

3. If we ought to come before God with the most lowly and humble' Reverence of his Authority and Greatness; Are we not inftructed thus to dispose our selves when we make our Application to God as our Father? The Goodness of an Equal fhould not encourage us to take the Liberty of a rude Boldness, much lefs the Goodness of a Father; the Clemency of a Father may invite us to draw near to him with Affurance of fucceeding, but then the Authority of a Father will teach us to know our Distance,

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