got them provided this way: and thofe who have had enough for them, little or nothing of it has come to their hand, when God has feen it meet to make it fo. 2. That we fhould be concerned for others alfo, that they may have bread as well as we. Good men are merciful men, and will give to others that need, and much more with 'them well, Jam. ii. 15. 16. We are all of one common nature, which requires this fympathy; and it well becomes thofe who are full to remember thofe who are hungry.

Thirdly, What is the import of thefe words, Give us our bread? There are three things imported in it, as defired by us.

1. That whatever portion of the good things of this life be bestowed on us, we may have a right to them, and fo may look on them as our own bread.

(1) A covenant-right to them, through Jefus Chrift, by whom the loft right to the creatures is reftored to believers, 1 Cor. iii. 22. For if one be in

Chrift, he enjoys his bread by a new tenor, the tenor of the covenant, If. xxxiii. 16. And that makes dry bread fweet.

(2.) A civil right to them, that it be fuch bread as we come lawfully by; that it be our own, not año ther's coming to us in an unjuft way, 2 Theff. iii. 12. One had better want, than be fuftained on the gain of injuftice; for upon that one can never expect God's bleffing.

2. That God would blefs our lawful endeavours for bread. That is a promife of the covenant; and what God has promised we may pray for, Pfal. cxxviii. 2. Thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands. One must not think to get his bread by praying for it, with folded hands, Prov. x. 4. He becometh poor that dealeth with a flack hand. Nor is working for it without prayer to God the way to obtain it, Hag. i. 6. 9. But God's bleffing and man's induftry muft go hand in hand to

wards it.

3. That our bread thus brought to our hands may

be bleffed of God to us, 1 Tim. iv. 4. 5. As an ingenuous child loves rather to take his bread out of his father's hand than to take it to himfelf; fo the bread which is ours as aforefaid, the children of God do by prayer put again into God's hand, that they may receive it out of his hand again with his bleffing. Lord, do thou give us our bread.

Fourthly, What is the import of praying for daily bread? It imports,

1. That we are to confine our defires of the good things of this life to a competency, and not extend them to wealth and riches, Prov. xxx. 8. Give me neither poverty nor riches. We are to pray for daily, not weekly and yearly bread. Riches are a fnare to our corrupt hearts, Matth. xix. 23. and they who are anxious for them court their own harm, 1 Tim. vii. 9. If God lay them to your hand, as he has done to fome of his own, ye are to be thankful for them; but beware the heart go not out after them, but use them for the honour and fervice of God.

2. That we are to be content to live from hand to mouth, having daily bread, without anxiety for the time to come, Matth. vi. 34. Surely we have enough, if God provide for every day as it comes.

Fifthly, What is the import of praying, Give us this day our daily bread? It is not, Give us to-morrow our daily bread. It teaches us,

1. That we are not to be anxious about to-morrow's provifion, Matth. vi. 34.

2. That God will have us every day coming to him for the fupply of our needs. He likes to have his people about his hand, and therefore never furnifhcs them fo one day, but they need to come again another day.

3. That we are not fure of to-morrow. Every day may be our laft. For what is our life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanifheth away, Jam. iv. 14. We may die this day, and need

no more.

So that there is no occafion for praying

1

for any more than provifion fuitable to the day when it comes.

I conclude this fubject with a few inferences.

Inf. 1. Let us be thankful to God, for what we enjoy of the good things of this life. We owe it all to him; and therefore let us take all we have as out of his hand, whatever we do for it: for it is at his charges we live. Let us then be thankful to God, and own ourselves debtors to him, for all our mercies; for he it is that giveth rain and fruitful feafons. That there is food for man and beast among us, is the effect of his free bounty. And it is owing to the fame caufe, that we have peace to enjoy the fruit of our labours, and that God has not put it in the hands of enemies to eat it up. Let us admire his bounty to a finful generation; and fee and notice with wonder how he does good to the unthankful and unholy, and how ftrictly he obferves his promife, Gen. viii. ult. While the earth remaineth, feed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and fummer and winter, and day and night, fhall not ceafe. That year the general deluge happened there was no feed-time nor harveft, but fince, they have never failed.

2. Let us look to God, and depend by faith on him for future mercies; and particularly look to him, for his bleffing on the winter and fpring feason, on which fo much depends with us. Whatever ftrait he may be pleafed to bring, let us accept it humbly off his hand, fince he owes us nothing, and may do with his own what he will. Look to him for removing of it, and patiently wait his time. Pray for his blefling on your substance, and on the work of your hands. You fee the petition is put in your mouths for it every day. And therefore being offered through Chrift, it will be accepted.

3. Let us be content with the measure he fees meet for us. Though others may have more than, we, we have more than we can crave as debt; and it becomes us not to pretend to teach the Ruler of the world, to

whom he should give more, and to whom lefs, Matth. XX. 15.

4. Let us make God our friend through the mediation of his Son, Acts xii. 20. Repent, and turn from your fins; and reform yourselves and families. Sin is the only makebate betwixt God and us: put that away, fince ye depend entirely on him for all you have. It is a ftrange thing to be provoking him, and grieving his Spirit, by a courfe of fin, on whom we depend for all things.

5. Beware of abufing God's good creatures to gluttony, drunkennefs, fenfuality, and luxury. Be not like the horfe that kicks against him that feeds him: and fight not against the Lord with the benefits he puts in your hands. Many to whom the Lord has given plenty of worldly good things, look on themfelves as entitled to a greater liberty than others: but know, that the more ye have, ye are the more in God's debt; and as your receipts are more than others, your reckoning will be deeper.

6. Let us ferve God joyfully with what he gives us. Let not men take God's gifts, and beftow them on their lufts, as thofe who ufe their worldly good things to the difhonour of the name of God, and the feeding of their pride, fenfuality, and other brutal paffions. Sobriety becomes us; and as our Lord has ftinted us to ask no more than a day's provifion, let us ufe what he gives for every day foberly, with thankfulness; and improve it to his honour, in doing his will.

7. Let us not be anxious about provifion for this life, nor go out of the road of duty or righteoufneís to get it. For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulnefs thereof; and they that keep his way, he will fee to their provifion. Let us be diligent in our feveral callings to maintain ourfelves in an honeft way, without anxious folicitude and carking cares about the event; but leave the fuccets to God, taking thankfully whatever he fends, and craving his blefling upon it.

VOL. III.

4 A

8. Lafly, Let us from the fame God through Jefus Chrift look for eternal life, and the means leading thereto. Be concerned for your fouls, and for the bread of life to them. Little bread will ferve us till we will need no more. Many of us have eaten most of our bread already, and lefs inay ferve us than we are aware of. Our fouls mutt have food too, and live for ever; therefore be efpecially concerned for them.

T

The Fifth Petition.

MATTHEW vi. 12.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

HIS petition concerns our fouls, as the former did our bodies, and relates to the pardon of fin, which we are here taught to pray for.

In difcourfing from this fubject, I fhall confider,

1. The order of this petition, and the connection of it. II. The petition itself.

III. Deduce fome inferences.

I. I fhall confider the order of this petition, and the connection of it. Concerning the order of it two things may be obferved.

1. That it follows the petition for daily bread. Not that bread is comparable, far lefs preferable to pardon but that the time of this life is the teafon of pardon, Heb. ix. 27. Now or never we must be pardoned. When we have no more ado with bread, death taking away the neceffity of it, we have no more ado with pardon.

2. That it is the firft of the petitions for spiritual bleffings. Because pardon of fin is a leading benefit, and while fin remains unpardoned, the communication betwixt God and the finner is itopt, Amos iii. 2. Can two walk together, except they be agreed? While God has a controverfy with the finner, he purfues it in greater or leffer mealure, Pfal. ixvi. 18. the removal of guilt is the opening of the fpring' of fpiritual bleffings, to run abundantly; it is the taking the ftone off the mouth of the well.

And

As to the connection, this petition is knit to the former by the particle and, Give us this day, &c. And forgive us, &c. which fpeaks this, that, in giving of bread without forgiving of fin, there is death in the pot, Pfal. iv. 6. & 'xvii. 14. There can be little up or fweet in the bread of the condemn