ftood in this Place by the Will of God, and They Only. And I do not fee what can be alledged to the contrary, but this, that in this Petition, Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, all good Men pray for nothing less than an abfolute Refignation of themselves to the Providences of God, that they may in this approve his Ordaining of all Things in the World, his Sending of Afflictions and Judgments, nay, and his Permiffion of Sins, fo far as he permits them, that they may be fully fatisfied that he does all Things for the beft, and that there is not the leaft Fault to be charged upon his Providence, nor ought there to be any Complaint of, or the leaft Murmuring against it: So that, let our Portion in this Life be what it will, be it for the better or the worse, as to our outward Condition, yet we ought not only to be Patient, but to be Thankful, and Chearfully to rely upon his Wisdom, Power and Goodness, and constantly to expect the fulfilling of all his gracious Promises. All good Men have thus understood this Petition, and I make no queftion but this in part ought to be understood by it, and falls under it. But then all this is plainly reducible to the Obedience of God's Commands. For fuch an Appre henfion as this of God's Ways and Provi dences, that he is righteous in all his Ways, and holy in all his Works, is not only a Duty required

required in Scripture, but fhewn by natural Reason, and the Light of Nature. For he that is infinitely wife and good can do nothing but what is agreeable to infinite Wisdom and Goodness. And therefore whatever happens in the World to our felves or others, which we cannot endure without Trouble, fhould not yet quite deject us, because it happened by the Permif fion and Over-ruling of that Divine Providence which governs the World, to which nothing is Cafual, which fuffers nothing to ftraggle out of its Notice; and therefore because it is the Providence of the most just, wife, and good Being, we are or ought to be fure that it will produce Good out of this Evil, and he will make that which at prefent cannot be joyous, but grievous, to bring forth Events for his own Glory, and for our Good, tho' the Manner of it cannot be comprehended readily by our fhort Understandings. A Chearful and Contented Spirit under Afflictions is our Duty, by virtue of a Number of Precepts in the Gofpel, and fhewn in divers Examples of Scripture. It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, bleffed be the Name of the Lord. And fays our Saviour, Not my Will, but thine be done. We must in Duty fubmit our felves to the Hand of God. We must caft our Care upon him, who careth for us.

We

We must commit our Way to him, and put our Truft in him. Thefe are Rules of Duty, that is, the Matter of our Obedience.

It is true Heaven is no Pattern of Paffive Virtue, because there neither is nor can be any Occafion for it There. In Heaven there is no patient Submission to the Divine Difpenfations, because there can be no Evil, or Trouble, or Suffering, in a State of the moft perfect Blifs and Happiness. The Dwellers in the bleffed Place above attend upon God, they worship him, they serve and obey him, they do all his holy Pleasure. Accordingly we are taught to pray, thy Law be obeyed, thy Pleasure executed, thy Service perform'd amongst Men, as it is done by the Inhabitants of Heaven. But yet this Petition is not to be limited and reftrained to the more Active Part of Religion and Virtue, which confifts in the Worship and Service of God, and in a ready Execution of his Commands. Submiffion to God's Providence under outward Evils is to be reduced to it, as Part of the Matter we pray for in it, to wit, that by this Virtue in particular the Will of God may be done on Earth as his Will is done in Heaven, tho' Submiffion to the Divine Pleasure in Affli&tion is not a Virtue belonging to the heavenly State at all. The Meaning of the Petition is, that what the Will of the Lord is on Earth may be done upon Earth, as all

his Will to be done in Heaven is done in Heaven. We pray that the Duty God requires of us, and befits the Church Militant in an imperfect State of Trial, may be performed here, as the Duty God requires of the holy Angels and blessed Spirits in Heaven, and is proper and neceffary for that State, is done there. Now a patient Refignation of our felves to God in Difficulties and Sufferings, according to the Precepts of Religion, being that Will of God which relates only to our Earthly Condition, we pray that even this may be done no less than his other bleffed Will in Earth and Heaven too, which is equally meet and requifite to be done in both Places. And therefore the Petition must be understood and taken in that Latitude, as to include every Branch of Duty.

So likewife as to a patient waiting for the fulfilling of God's Promises, efpecially that of the Kingdom of Heaven, which is the great Promife of all, this falls under the Precepts of the Gospel, where we are commanded to hope unto the End, where it is required of us, that Patience may have its perfect Work, that Patience which we have need of, that having done the Will of God we may receive the Promife. So that you fee in all thofe Refpects of praying that God's Will may be done, which either look to his Decrees concerning Things that shall cer

tainly come to pass, or to thofe Providences which are the Executions of fuch Decrees, we pray for no other thing than that we may do his Will; that is, the entire Senfe of this Petition, Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, is, that we may perform all that Duty which belongs to us, one Part whereof is manifeftly this, to fubmit to his Providences, to be patient under Afflictions, and to wait for the fulfilling of his Promises.

This I take to be the full as well as plain Meaning of thefe Words, Thy Will be done, that is, make us all truly obedient to thy holy Will in all Things. And the Petition thus understood will deferve and require our utmost Affection in offering it up to God.

2. What are we to understand by doing the Will of God upon Earth as it is done in Heaven, or as the Angels do it in Heaven?

This I conceive may appear in these following Particulars.

1. This is to pray that we may do the Will of God univerfally, and have respect unto all his Commandments. And this is the Trial of fincere Obedience, not to perform those Duties only which we have in Comparison little Prejudice againft, either from our Natural Temper, or our Education, or our Worldly Interefts, or the Examples of those we converfe with, or to avoid those M 2

Sins