Oldalképek
PDF
ePub

Amen to him be honour and power everlasting, to him be glory and dominion, Amen.

Now unto him that is able to keep us from falling, and to prefent us faultlefs before the prefence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wife God our Savour, be glory and majefty, dominion and power, now and ever, Amen.

Hallelujah, falvation, and glory, and honour and power, unto the Lord our God, Amen. Hallelujah.

And now, we proftrate our fouls before the throne, and worship God, faying, amen, blessing, and glory, and wifdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever,

Amen.

Bleffing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that fitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever; and let the whole creation say, amen, amen.

6. It is very proper to fum up our prayers in that form of prayer which Chrift taught his difciples,

Our Father which art in heaven; Hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trefpaffes as we forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever, Amen.

CHAP. VIII.

A Paraphraife on the Lord's Prayer, in fcripture expreffions.

THE

HE Lord's Prayer being intended not only for a form of prayer itself, but a rule of direction, a plan or model in little, by which we may frame our prayers and expreffions, being remarkably concife, and

yet vaftly comprehenfive, it will be of good ufe fome. times to lay it before us, and obferving the method and order of it, to dilate upon the feveral paffages and petitions of it, that when we ufe it only as a form, we may use it the more intelligently; of which we fhall only here give a fpecimen in the affiftance we may have from fome other scriptures.

(Our Father which art in heaven.)

O Lord our God, doubtless thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Ifrael acknowledge us not; thou, O Lord, art our Father, our redeemer,thy name is from everlasting; and we will from this time cry unto thee, our Father, thou art the guide of our youth.

Have we not all one father, has not one God created us? Thou art the father of our spirits, to whom we ought to be in fubjection, and live.

Thou art the father of lights, and the father of mercies, and the God of all confolation: the eternal father, of whom, and through whom, and to whom are all things.

Thou art the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, whofe glory was that of the only begotten of the Father, who is in his bofom, by him as one brought up with him, daily his delight, and rejoicing always before him.

Thou art in Chrift, our father, and the father of all believers, whom thou haft predeftinated to the adoption of children, into whofe hearts thou hast sent the spirit of the Son, teaching them to cry, abba, Father. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we fhould be called the children of God. That the Lord God Almighty fhould be to us a father, and we should be to him for fons and daughters; And that as many as receive Chrift, to them thou shouldest give power to become the fons of God, even to them that believe on his name; which

are born, not of the will of man, but of God, and his grace.

O that we may receive the adoption of fons, and that as obedient and genuine children we may fashion ourfelves according to the example of him who hath called us, who is holy; and may be followers of God, as dear children, and conformed to the image of his fon, who is the first born among many brethren.

Enable us to come to thee with humble boldnefs and confidence, as to a father, a tender father, who fpares us as a man fpares his fon that ferves him; and as having an advocate with the father, who yet has told us, that the father himfelf loves us.

Thou art a father, but where is thine honour? Lord, give us grace to ferve thee as becomes children, with reverence and godly fear.

Thou art a father; and if earthly parents, being evil, yet know how to give good gifts unto their chil dren, how much more fhall our heavenly father give the holy spirit to them that afk him. Lord, give us the fpirit of grace and fupplication.

We come to thee as prodigal children, that have gone from our father's house into a far country; but we will arife and go to our father, for in his house there is bread enough, and to fpare, and if we continue at a distance from him, we perifh with hunger, Father, we have finned against heaven and before thee, and are no more worthy to be called thy children, make us even as thy hired fervants.

Thou art our father in heaven, and therefore unto thee, O Lord, do we lift up our fouls. Unto thee we lift up our eyes, O thou that dwelleft in the heavens: As the eyes of a fervant are to the hand of his master, and the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, fo do our eyes wait upon thee, O Lord our God; a God whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, and yet whom we may have accefs to, having a High Priest that is paffed into the heavens, as our forerunner.

Thou, O God, dwelleft in the high and holy place,

and holy and reverent is thy name. God is in heaven, and we are upon earth, therefore fhould we chuse out words to reason with him; and yet through a mediator we have boldness to enter into the holiest.

Look down, we pray thee, from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness, and of thy glory, and have compaffion upon us, and help us.

Heaven is the firmament of thy power: O hear us from thy holy heaven, with the faving strength of thy right hand; fend us help from the fanctuary, and ftrengthen us out of Zion.

And, O that fince heaven is our father's house, we may have our conversation there, and may seek the things that are above.

(Hallowed be thy name.
:)

And now, what is our petition, and what is our requet? What would we that thou fhouldelt do for us? This is our hearts defire and prayer in the first place, father in heaven, let thy name be fanctified. We pray that thou mayeft be glorified as a holy God.

We defire to exalt the Lord our God, to worship at his footstool, at his holy hill, and to praise his great and terrible name, for it is holy, for the Lord our God is holy. Thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Ifrael.

We glory in thy holy name, and therefore fhall our hearts rejoice, because we have trusted in that holy name of thine, to which we will always give thanks, and triumph in thy praife.

Lord, enable us to glorify thy holy name for ever more, by praifing thee with all our hearts, and by bringing forth much fruit, for herein is our heavenly father glorified. O that we may be to our God for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory, that being called out of darkness into his marvellous light, to be to him a peculiar people, we may fhew forth the praises of him that hath called us.

O that we may be thy children, the work of th

hands, that we may fanctify thy name, and fanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and fear the God of Ifrael, and may be to the praise of his glory.

Enable us, as we have received the gift, fo to minister the fame as good stewards of the manifold grace of God, that God in all things may be glorified through Jefus Chrift: And, if we fuffer, enable us to fuffer as chriftians, and, to glorify God therein; for this is our earneft expectation and hope, that always Jefus Chriit may be magnified in our bodies in life and death.

Lord, enable others to glorify thee, let even the ftrong people glorify thee, and the city of the terrible nations fear thee; but efpecially let the Lord be magnified from the border of Ifrael. Let them glorify the Lord in the fires, even the Lord God of Ifrael in the ifles of the fea. O let all nations, whom thou haft made, come and worship before thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name; for thou art great, and doft wonderous things, thou art God alone,

O let the gentiles glorify God for his mercy, let his name be known and confeffed among the gentiles, and let them rejoice with his people. O let thy name be great among the gentiles, and let all the ends of the world remember and turn to the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations worship before thee; and let them declare thy righteoufness to a people that fhall be born.

Lord, do thou thyself dispose of all things to thy own glory, both as king of nations, and as king of faints: Do all according to the counfel of thy own will, that thou mayeft magnify thyself, and fanctify thyfelf, and mayeft be known in the eyes of many nations, that thou art the Lord. O fanctify thy great name, which has been prophaned among the heathen, and let them know that thou art the Lord, when thou shalt be fan&ified in them.

Father, glorify thine own name: Thou haft gloified it, glorify it yet again: Father, glorify thy fon, hat thy fon alfo may glorify thee. O give him a

« ElőzőTovább »