what they desired; or give them when it would have been more advisable not to have done it. Whereas our heavenly Father is all-merciful, all-powerful, and all-wise; and by consequence, liable to none of these defects.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.-1 Kings, viii. 39. Then hear thou in heaven, thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men. Psalm cxv. 3. But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. cxxiii. 1. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. Luke, xi. 13. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? James, i. 17. Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

6. Q. What do you learn from this introduction? A. To come to God with great assurance, but with great reverence too: who as our Father will not fail to hear his children, if they ask as they ought of him; as he is our heavenly Father, can give us whatsoever we stand in need of. 1 John, v. 14, 15. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us; and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Psalm ciii. 13. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. Lamen. iii. 40, 41. Let us search and

try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heaEccles. v. 2. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few. Matt. vii. 9, 10, 11. What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? or, if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him.

7. Q: Is God so in heaven as our earthly fathers are upon earth?

A. No, by no means; for God being infinite, is every where present; neither shut out of any place, nor circumscribed by any. But because God is pleased to shew himself in heaven, in the highest excellences of his Divine majesty and glory: and is there attended by his holy angels; therefore heaven is considered as his court and his throne. And we very properly direct our prayers to God there, where our Saviour sits to intercede with him for us; and where the blessed spirits attend upon him, and fall down before him and worship him.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Jer. xxiii. 23, 24. Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places, that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. 1 Kings, viii. 23, 27, 38, 39. And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart.—

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded.What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands to this house: Then hear thou in heaven, thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; for thou, even thou, only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men. Isaiah, xl. 22. It

is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. Psalm cxxxix. 7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall 1 flee from thy presence?

a Psalm xi. 4. The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven. cxxiii. 1. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou, that dwellest in the heavens. Isaiah, lxvi. 1. Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? Matt. v. 16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, which is in heaven.

v. 45.

That ye may be the children of your Father, which is in heaven. xii. 50. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. xxiii. 9. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Acts, vii. 49. Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord.

8. Q. Wherefore are we taught to say, Our Father?

A. Not as if God were not the Father of every one of us in particular, as well as of us all in general; or that we might not each of us truly and properly say, My Father: but to enlarge our affections, to correct our pride, and increase our charity, and to teach us that there is no man so mean but what has as good a right to call God his Father, as the greatest among us; nor any, therefore, who ought not to be looked upon as a brother by us, and to be treated, and loved, and prayed for by us accordingly.

SECT. XXXV.

Of the First Petition, Hallowed be thy name. 1. Q. How many petitions are there in this prayer? A. Six: three with respect to the honour and glory of God; which may be accounted pious wishes, rather than formal petitions: and three with relation to our own needs.

2. Q. What is the first of these?

A. Hallowed be thy name.

3. Q. Wherefore did Christ begin his prayer with this petition or desire?

A. To shew us that we ought to make God's glory the first thing in our prayers, as well as the chief end of all our actions, 1 Cor. x. 31. Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Psalm viii. 1. O Lord, our God, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. cxlviii. 13. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.

Isaiah, vi. 3. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. xii. 4. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

4. Q. What is here meant by the name of God?

A. The same as in the third commandment: viz. God himself; and whatsoever does in any wise relate to him. Exod. vi. 3. And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known unto them. xxxiv. 5, 6. And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.-1 Kings, v. 5. And, behold, 1 purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God. Psalm xx. 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee, xl. 2. I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. lxxx. 18. So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. 1 Chron. xxii. 8. The word of the Lord came to me saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. 1 John, v. 13. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life; and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.