and most dear unto him, Ifaiah 48. 11. My Glory will Į not give to another. Therefore God doth in a fpecial manner hate, Prov. 6. 17. Prov. 9. 13. and r fift it, and them, Jam. 4. 6. When Herod intercepted the Glory of the People, and entertained it, and gave not God the Glory, the Angel of the Lord fmote him, Acts 12. 23. And when the great King was puffed up with the greatness of his Glory and Power, then the Meffage comes, that the Kingdom is departed from him, Dan. 4. 13. And commonly God takes that feason to punish the whole ftock of Sins that a man hath committed, when his heart is moft lifted up: Prov. 16. 18. Pride goeth before deftruEtion. Again, Prefumptuous Sins, thefe bid defiance to the Name of God, to his Truth, his Juftice, his Power, his Prefence, Deut. 29. 20. The Jealoufie of God will fmoke against fuch a Man. Scandalous Sins in those that bear or profefs the Name of God, 2 Sam. 12. 14. by this, occafion is given to the Enemies of God to blafpheme. Inadvertence and want of Confideration of the Works of God; Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operations of his hands: therefore fhall be destroy them, and not build them up, Pfalm 28.5. God therefore doth difpence many of his Works of Providence, that Men fhould wifely confider of his doings, and declare his work, Pfalm 64. 9. This Inadvertence partly difappointeth God of his End, and robbeth him of his Glory. Mifapplication of Events either to false Caufes, Idols, Fate, Fortune, or only to Second Caufes, without the due attribution of all to the moft Wife and Powerful Counsel of the Mighty Lord, Deut. 8. 17, 18. And thou Say in thy Heart, My power, and the might of my hand bath gotten me this wealth; but thou shalt remember the Lord thy God; for it is be that giveth thee power to get Wealth. So for promotion, Pfalm 75. 6. Victory, Ifaiah 10. 5. O AƒSyrian, the Rod of mine anger. V. 13. but, he faith by the ftrength of mine hand have I done this, and by my Wisdom. And as in things concerning others, this obfervation is to be ufed, fo principally in the Occurrences and Providences concerning thy felf: to labour to know that all

Gg 3

things

things that befall thee, come from the most Wife and Juft Hand of God; in all thy Bleffings acknowledge his Mercy, and labour to find him in them; in all thy Afflictions acknowledge his Juftice and his Wisdom; Labour to find out the Caufe, and give him the Glory.

Now concerning the Order of this Petition; it fell not in the first place by Chance; but he that was the Wisdom of the Father, placed it there upon moft juft Reafons.

7, 21. +

1. The Glory of God is that which is first to be fought for; because it is the chief End of God in all things, and that which he principally intended. He Vide Ifa. 43. made all things for his Glory. The firft and higheft Duty of Man is to Love God, and Love to God will carry the Heart to defire that first, which God first wills; in fo much as if the Glory of God muft be loft, or the Soul that Loves him, the perfection of Love will choose the prefervation of his Glory, rather than of it felf, if it were poffible. Vide Exod. 32.33. Rom. 9.3.

2. It is the Jufteft, and only Tribute that all Creatures can return to God for their Being and Bleffing. Such is his Infinite Self-fufficiency, that it is impoffible he can receive any good from them, that receive their Being from him, Job 35. 7. If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? Pfalm 16. 2. My goodness extendeth not to thee. But the return of the Honour or Glory, and acknowledging of his Goodness in all that the Creature can give, and that he is pleased to accept, Pfalm 50. 15. I will deliver thee, and thou shalt Glorifie me. Pfalm 116. 12. What shall I return unto the Lord for all his Benefits to me? I will take the Cup of Salvation, and call upon the Name of the Lord. Revel. 4. 11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive Glory, and Honour, and Power, for thou haft Created all Things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were Created. And according to this Debt of Duty, which the Creatures owe to God for their being, fo we find them, according to their feveral Capacities and Conditions, bringing in their Tribute, Revel. 5. And every Creature which is in Heaven, and in Earth,

Earth, and in the Sea, beard I, faying, Blessing,Honour, Glory, and Power be unto him that fitteth on the Throne, and unto the Lamb for Ever and Ever.

3. It is the best preparation for the Heart that approacheth to God in prayer to be firft taken up withal; if in the ordinary Actions of our Nature the Glory of God should affect our Heart, and be the End at which we should aim, I Cor. 10. 31. Whether ye Eat or Drink, or whatfoever ye do, do all to the Glory of God: And if the Son of God in this pattern of Prayer begins his Petitions with the fanctifying of his Name, it is certainly most neceffary that the Heart of him that fets upon this Duty, be taken up with the confideration of the Honour and Majefty of him, who will be fanctified by all that draw near unto him; and to carry that End through all our Prayers; left while we repeat the Words of this Petition, we take the Name of God in vain, feemingly praying for the Glorifying of that Name, which we at the fame time difhonour; either for want of a due confideration of his Majefty, or for want of making his Glory the Rule and End of our Prayers. This firft Petition therefore requires that the Heart be duly affected with the Glory of that Name which it invokes, and duly acted and directed to that Glory; and that this Petition be drawn through all the rest of our Requests.

These infuing Confiderations therefore arife from the placing of this Petition firft in this Prayer:

1. As thou prayeft that his Name be hallowed, fo in all thy Requests labour to Sanctifie the Lord in thy Heart; Sanctifie him in his Greatnefs and Majefty with Honourable and Reverent Thoughts of him in thy Heart, with an aweful and humble carriage both of thy inward and outward Man, as in the prefence of the Great and Glorious King of Heaven and Earth; Sanctifie him in his Authority and Soveraignty, by calling upon him in Obedience to his Command and Will, who hath Commanded it; by acknowledgment of thy dependance upon him: Sanctifie him in his Power, and All-fufficiency, by cafting thy felf upon him, who is mighty to Save, and

Gg 4

to

to fulfil thy moft Extenfive and Large Requefts: Sanctifie him in his Goodness and Mercy, which is infinitely more large to pardon thy Sins, to fupply thy Wants, and to fill thee with all good Things, than thy Neceffities or the wideft compafs of thy Soul can be to ask: Sanctifie him in his Truth and Faithfulness, by a recumbence and a refting upon his promises, That no one thing fhall fail of all the good things that he hath spoken, That no Man fhall feek his Face in vain; That he that hath faid, Whatsoever thou fhalt ask in his Son's Name, he will give it; That hath granted us accefs unto him upon the purchafe of his Son's Blood, will in no fort reject those Requefts which he himfelf hath Commanded thee to makę.

2. As thou prayeft in the first place, that his Name may be fanctified; fo let that be the End of all thy Requests. Be fure thou ask not any thing which may not be fuitable to that End, much lefs contrary to it. And in what thou askeft agreeable to that End, let it be likewise for that End. Ask not thy daily Bread for thy Lufts, but that thou mayeft Glorifie him by it, and for it. Ask not pardon for thy Sin barely for thy eafe from Punishment, much lefs to make room for new Offences, but that thereby his Mercy and Truth may be magnified, and his Creature reftored to a Condition Actively to ferve him, and Glorifie him. The End is firft in intention, and is that which draws out all the Actions, and orders and directs them to that End; and every Action tafts and relifheth of that End: Since therefore the Sanctifying of the Name of God is, or fhould be thy chief End, and therefore is firft in thy Requefts, Let all thy Requests and Prayers be primiarily and chiefly directed to this that is, or fhould be, thy chiefeft End.

3. As the Glory of God fhould be the chief of thy defires, fo confequently muft it be the Measure of them. That which is the chiefeft End muft controul and overrule all other fubordinate Ends, if they come in competition with it. For as it is of greatest value, fo it is of greatest force. Whatsoever therefore thou askeft, let

ic be still with fubordination to the Glory of God; and be rather contented to be disappointed in thy other inferiour Ends, than that this fhould in the leaft degree be disappointed: Only know, and reft affured of this Truth, That fuch is the great Goodnefs and Wisdom of God, that he hath placed all thofe Requests which are of abfolute neceffity to be granted thee, in fuch an order, and path, that the granting of them always confifts with his Glory; and whilft thou feekeft them, thou canst not mifs of Glorifying him; and therefore thou mayeft be fure the making of his Glory the measure of thy Requests, fhall never difappoint thee in them: fuch as are the pardoning thy Sins, the delivering thee from being finally overcome with Spiritual Evils: But thy other requests, for Temporal Benefits or Deliverances, or the particular Circumftances of those other, as the Manifeftation or affurance of Pardon, the degrees of Spiritual Bleffings, or the seasons of granting them, thefe may not always lie in the Road-way of his Glory. Be content in these to wait upon him, and let them ftill be asked with fubordination to this great End; but be affured that by preferring his Glory as thy chief End, and fubjecting the fulfilling of thy Requests to the Glory of God, thou shalt be no lofer in the End. Never any Man was a lofer, nor ever shall be, that principally intends the Glory of God, though to the disappointment of his own particular Ends. Thou haft done thy duty in asking, and in asking with this restriction, if it tend moft for the Glory of God. And thou haft done thy Duty in being contented, and rejoycing that thy very requeft is difappointed, if God receive Glory thereby: for thou haft that which thou didft in the first place defire; and had thy particular Request been granted, and the Glory of thy Maker fuffered thereby, thou had'ft been disappointed in the first and great Petition, Sanctified be thy Name; which thou haft carried along with thee as the qualification of all the reft of thy Requests, and as that which thou haft as it were prayed over again in every other Petition thou haft made. Affure thy felf, if thou canft take delight

.