out purfe, and ferip, and fhoes, wanted ye any thing? And they faid, Nothing.

2. To our own fpiritual welfare: Thy name, &c. Thy kingdom, &c. Thy will, &c. Then, Forgive us our debts, &c. It fpeaks the difpofition of the faints in fubmitting even their fpiritual comforts and eafe unto the glory of their Father. An eminent inftance of this we have in David, 2 Sam. xv 25. 26. And the king faid unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I fhall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and fhew me both it, and his habi tation. But if he thus fay, I have no delight in thee: behold, here am I, let him do to me as feemeth good unto him. And we have another eminent inftance of it in David's Lord, Pfal. xxii. 1. 2. 3. My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me? why art thou fo far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the day-time, but thou heareft not; and in the night flafon, and am not filent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabiteft the praises of Ifrael. To this holy fovereignty Mary was required to ftoop, and fhe did it, John xx. 17. Jefus faith unto her, Touch me not: for I am not yet afcended to my Father: but go. 10 my brethren, and fay unto them, I afcend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God. And why hould not all the children of God fubmit the whole of their fpiritual comforts, and the way of their travelling through the wilderness, unto their heavenly Father, that he may difpofe of it to his own glory, and according to his will? I make no queftion, but men are to fubmit their eternal falvation to the honour of God; but as foon as one is brought into God's family, that is fecured, and put beyond a poffibility of lofing.

The reafon of this point is, That God is man's chief end, and the chief good. All things are from him, and fo must be for him, Prov. xvi. 4. Rev. iv. ult. And to alter this order, is for men to make God's ho

nour the means, and their ownwelfare the end, which is to lift up themselves very poudly above God.

USE. 1. This fpeaks death tothose who make the intereft of God's name, kingdan, and will, lacquey at the foot of their perfonal private interefts; and who cut and carve in their religion as may be moft fubfervient to advance their own intereft, Phil. ii. 2 1. They will drive over God's honour confcience, juftice, and equity, to compafs their own ends, and facrifice all that is facred to their own worldly interest.

2. It speaks comfort to thɗe who firft feek the kingdom of God in the habitud conduct of their lives, Matth. vi. 33. Thefe feek in the order prescribed, and fo cannot mifs to come fpeed. Heaven is a-top with them, and earth under their feet. They confent to the cutting and carving of their own lot, as may be moft fubfervient to God's honour. They look mainly to God's honour, and God will fee well to their welfare.

In the text God is reprefented as the univerfal Benefactor, Maintainer, and Supporter of all, out of whofe hands every one muft receive his portion; and to whom Chrift fends rich and poor, to beg their bread of him, And here fee,

1. What we are to feek of him, for our bodies; bread, i. e. all the means of life, neceffaries and conveniencies; for a man may be killed with thirft, and ftarved with cold, though he had abundance of other things, if he want things neceffary in these cafes.

2. What bread, daily bread; i. e. a competent portion of the good things of this life; God as the great Steward giving to all their portion meet for them, as a mafter or fteward of a family gives to every member his ftated allowance.

3. What fort of daily bread; our own; fuch as we lawfully come by; for what is unlawfully gotten, and we have no right to by God's gift, Satan puts it in mens hands, not God.

4. When we are to feek it; this day, i. e. every

day. God keeps all nen hanging on him for every day's provifion. In efpect of God, thofe who have the greatest fulness live from hand to mouth, and they are indebted to God for every day's mercies, as well as the poor.

5. How we are to fek it; Give us, i. e. by way of free gift. We cannot plead the merit of a crumb; but grounding our ple: on mercy through Chrift, we may feek all we need.

6. Laftly, For whom we are to feek; us, i. e. for ourfelves and others; for we are one needy company, and must be all furnished from the fame hand.

Before I proceed to a particular confideration of this petition, I fhall obfeve this point of doctrine from it, viz.

DOCT. Men depend wholly and entirely on God's boun ty, for all the means and comforts of life. There are fome who are quite broken, have nothing left them, and can do nothing for a livelihood: how do they live? they hang on about their friends hands, and they have nothing but what they give them. That is the cafe of all men with respect to God, the best friend of the creatures; and have what ye will, ye know not your own ftate, if ye know not that ye thus depend on him.

To confirm this point, confider,

1. God is the Creator of all things. He made us and all things, and particularly thofe which contribute to the fupport and comfort of our lives, Pfal. c. 3. What a precious thing is the life of man, for which fo many hands are fet on work to maintain it? They that have a great family to maintain, will have feveral hands employed in feveral pieces of work, and all to provide for them. All mankind depend on God; his family of nature is a vast one: and he has made the hands to be employed in it accordingly. He made the corn, and the beafs of the earth, for this end; the earth itfelf to produce the one, and feed the other; and the heavens, with the glorious bodies therein, to influence

the earth for that effect.

For thi caufe the fun, that

great fervant of the world, is conftantly going about, making day and night, feed-time and harveft, &c. and all for the fupport of the family.

2. He preserves them all in ther being, Heb. i. 3. The whole frame of the univerfe, and all the creatures in it, are upheld by him, as a ball in the air; which would presently fall down, if he should withdraw his fupporting hand. The being of the creatures is in a continual flux; there is no neceflary connection be. twixt their being one moment and another; fo that if God fhould withdraw his hand, they would immediately dwindle into nothing. Our food would all evanish, the beafts difappear, the whole globe of the earth go like afhes in the wind, and the fun go out like a candle burnt to fnuff, without his fupporting influence.

3. He is the Proprietor of us and of all the creatures that we have the benefit of, in heaven or earth. He has given you the ufe of them, but the property re mains with him: he is the true Owner and Lord of all. Have you got the corn into your barns or barnyards to feed you, and the wool to clothe you? remember, God fays, it is my corn and my wool, Hof. ii. 9. Have you the bills plenifhed with your ftore? remember, God's mark is upon them all, fmall and great, Pfal. l. 10. As it is his earth that bears us, and his air that we breathe, so it is his food that maintains us, and his raiment that clothes us.

4. All things that have life, are maintained on his charges, man not excepted, Pfal. cxlv. 15. 16. The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due feafon. Thou openeft thine hand, and fatisfieft the defire of every living thing. He makes grafs to grow for the cattle, and feeds the young ravens that cry. The fame heavenly Father whom we feek our daily bread from, feeds the fowls of the air, Matth. vi. 26. If God fhould close his hand upon the creatures that wait on him for their food, where would man's comforts be

that are drawn from them for the fupport of his body?

5. All the ufefulnds and comfort of the creatures to us depends on God, Matth. xix. 17. Whatsoever good is in them, is aropt into them from the fountain of goodness. The creature is a mere empty nothing in itself, and is foifenlefs without the bleffing from the Lord, Matth. iv. 4. No creature can be more to another than God makes it to be, Hof. ii. 21. 22. The corn cannot hear Jezreel, nor the earth the corn, nor the heavens the earth, unlefs God hear firft; and then the heavens will hear the earth, the earth the corn, and the corn Jezreel.

6. Wherefore God has a negative on all the creatures. Should they all fay, Yea, if he fay, No, nothing can be done, Lam. iii. 37. He is the fpring that fets all the wheels of the creation a-going. Should he ftop and deny his influence, then all of them are motionless that moment. Thou haft bread; but what will it avail thee without his bleffing? if he withdraw it, thou mayst eat, and not be fatisfied, Hof. iv. 10. Thy cloaths could not warn thee without it. Ye might plough and fow, and get nothing for your pains, if he but lay his charge on the earth to deny her fruits. Ye might tend your cattle and flocks, and do your beft for them, and all to no purpose, if he keep back his own, Pfal. XCV. 4. which ye cannot crave as debt. Ye might rife early and fit up late, and ply your business with the utmoft diligence; but when thou haft done all thou canft do by art or induftry, remember what Mofes fays to the Ifraelites, Deut. viii. 17. 18. Thou fay in thine heart, My power, and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth. And confider what the Lord fays, Pial. cxxvii. 1. 2. Except the Lord build the houfe, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rife up early, to fit up late, to eat the bread of forrows: for fo he giveth his be loved fleep.