image upon our minds: so that, partaking of his nature, we become his children, and therefore, we can, with a holy boldness, call him by the title of that relation. In the former sense, God is the father of all his creatures, whether good or bad; but in the latter, he is the father only of the righteous. "Father" is the most magnificent title invented by philosophers or poets, in honor of their gods; it conveys the most lovely idea possible to be conceived by the human breast. As it is used by mankind in general, it marks the essential character of the true God, namely, that he is the first cause of all things, or the author of their being; and, at the same time, conveys a strong idea of the tender love he bears to his creatures, whom he nourishes with an affection, and protects with a watchfulness, infinitely superior to that of an earthly parent. The name of "father" also teaches us, that we owe our being to God, points out his goodness and mercy in upholding us, and expresses his power in giving us the things we ask. Nor is this all; we are likewise taught to give our Maker the title of "father," that our sense of the tender relation in which he stands to us may be confirmed; our faith in his power and goodness strengthened; our hopes of obtaining what we ask in prayer cherished; and our desire of obeying and imitating him quickened; for the light of nature teaches us, that it is disgraceful in children to degenerate from their parents, and that they cannot commit a greater crime than to disobey the commands of an indulgent father.

Lastly, we are commanded to call him "father" in the plural number, and that even in our secret addresses to the throne of grace, to put us in mind that we are all brethren, the children of one common parent; and that we ought to love one another with sincerity, as we pray not for ourselves only, but for all the

"Which art in heaven." These words do not suppose the presence of God confined; he is present every where; is about our paths, and about our bed, and narrowly inspecteth every action of the sons of men. But they express his majesty and power, and distinguish him from those we call father's upon earth, and from false gods, which are not in heaven, the happy mansions of bliss and felicity, where the Almighty, who is essentially present in every part of the universe, gives more especial manifestations of his presence to such of his creatures as he hath exalted to share with him in the eternal felicities of the heavenly Jerusalem.

"Hallowed be thy name." By the name of God, the Hebrews understood God himself, his attributes, and his works; and, therefore, the meaning of the petition is, May thy existence be universally believed, thy presence loved and imitated,

thy works admired, thy supremacy over all things acknowledged, thy providence reverenced and confided in! May all the sons of men think so highly of his divine majesty, of his attributes, of his works and may we so express our veneration for God, that his glory may be manifested in every corner of the world!

"Thy kingdom come." Let the kingdom of the Messiah, or the gospel dispensation, be extended to the utmost parts of the earth, that all the children of men "may become one fold, under one shepherd, Jesus Christ the righteous."

"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." May thy will, O thou great Father of the universe, be done upon us, that by the light of thy glorious Gospel we may be enabled to imitate the angels of light, by giving as sincere, universal, and constant obedience to thy divine commands, as the imperfections of human nature will permit.

"Give us this day our daily bread." Give us, from time to time, such wholesome and proper food, that we may be enabled to worship thee with cheerfulness and vigor.

"And forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors." The Almighty, as supreme governor of the universe, has a right to support his government, by punishing those who transgress his laws. The suffering of punishment, therefore, is a debt which sinners owe to the divine justice so that when we ask God in prayer to forgive our debts, we beg that he would be mercifully pleased to remit the punishment of all our sins, particularly the pains of hell; and that, laying aside his displeasure, he would previously receive us into favor and bless us with life eternal. In this petition, therefore, we confess our sins, and express the sense we have of their guilt; namely, that they deserve death; and sure nothing can be more proper than such a confession in our addresses to God; because humility, and a sense of our own unworthiness, when we ask favors of the Almighty, whether spiritual or temporal, have a tendency to augment the goodness of God in bestowing them upon us.

The terms of this petition are worthy our notice: "Forgive us only as we forgive." We must forgive others, if we hope ourselves to be forgiven; and are permitted to crave from God such forgiveness only as we grant to others; so that if we do not forgive even our enemies, we seriously and solemnly implore the Almighty to condemn us to the punishments of eternal death. How remarkably careful, therefore, should men be to purge their hearts from all rancor and malice, before they enter into the temple of the Almighty, to offer up their prayers to the throne of grace!

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." That is, do not lead into such temptations as are too hard for

human nature; but deliver us, by some means, from the evil; either by removing the temptation, or increasing our strength to resist it. This petition teaches us to preserve a sense of our own inability to repel and overcome the solicitations of the world, and of the necessity there is of our receiving assistance from above, both to regulate our passions, and enable us to prosecute a religious life.

"For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, for ever and ever." Because the government of the universe is thine for ever, and thou alone possessest the power of creating and upholding all things; and because the glory of thine infinite perfections remain eternally with thee; therefore, all men ought to hallow thy name, submit themselves to thy government, and perform thy will; and in a humble sense of their dependence, seek from thee the supply of their wants, the pardon of their sins, and the kind protection of thy providence.

This is emphatically called the Lord's prayer, because delivered by the Son of God himself; and therefore, we should do well to understand it thoroughly, that when we enter the temple of the Lord, and address him in solemn prayer, we may have hopes that he will grant our petitions. And, above all, not to harbor in our breasts the least envy or malice against any who may have offended us; for it is only on a supposition that we have forgiven others, that we have the least reason to hope for obtaining forgiveness from the great Creator.

The divine Preacher proceeded to consider the great duty of fasting, in which he directed them not to follow the hypocrites in disfiguring their faces, and in clothing themselves in the melancholy weeds of sorrow; but to be chiefly solicitous to appear before God as one that truly fasteth. Then will the Almighty, who constantly surrounds us, and is acquainted with even the most secret thoughts of our hearts, openly bestow upon us the rewards of a true penitent, whose mortification, contrition, and humility, he can discern, without the external appearances of sorrow and repentance. It must, however, be remembered, that our blessed Saviour is here speaking of private fasting, and to this alone his directions are to be applied; for when we are called upon to mourn over public sins or calamities, it ought to be performed in the most public manner.

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Heavenly-mindedness was the next virtue inculcated by the blessed Jesus and this he recommended with a peculiar earnestness, because the Jewish doctors were, in general, strangers to this virtue, in which he was desirous his followers should be clothed, as being the most excellent ornament for a teacher of righteousness.

This virtue is strenuously recommended by our blessed Saviour, by shewing the deformity of its opposite, covetousness,

which has only perishable things for its object. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matt. vi. 19, 20, 21.

More solid happiness will accrue from depositing your treasures in the chambers of the courts of heaven, than in this earthly habitation of clay, where they are subject to a thousand disasters and even, at best can remain only for a short series of years; whereas, those laid up in the heavenly Jerusalem are permanent, subject to no accident, and will purchase "a crown of glory that fadeth not away, eternal in the heavens." Nor let any man be so foolish as to think he can place his heart on the happiness of a future life, when his treasures are deposited in this vale of misery; for wherever are laid up the goods which his soul desireth, there his heart and affections will also remain. If, therefore, ye are desirous of sharing in the joys of eternity. ye must lay up your treasures in the "mansions of my Father's kingdom."

Lest they should imagine it was possible to be both heavenlyminded and covetous at the same time, he assured them that this was full as absurd as to imagine that a person could, at the same time, serve and divide his affections equally between two masters of opposite characters. "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matt. vi. 24.

To strengthen this doctrine, he added a few plain and evident instances of the power, perfection, and extent of God's providence, in which his tender care for the least and weakest of his creatures shines with a remarkable lustre, demonstrating the wise and paternal attention of the Deity to all the creatures of his hand. He desired them to observe the birds of the air, the lilies, and even the grass of the field; leading his most illiterate hearers to form a more elevated and extensive idea of the divine government than the philosophers had attained, who, though they allowed, in general, that the world was governed by God, had very confused notions of his providence with regard to every individual creature and action. He taught them that the Almighty Father of the whole was the guardian and protector of every being in the universe; that every action is subject to his will, and nothing left to the blind determination of chance.

And if we direct our lives according to the divine will, we have surely no reason to be anxious about the necessaries of life. "Behold," says the blessed Jesus, "the fowls of the air for

they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" Matt. vi. 26. Are not the fowls of the air, who have no concern for future wants, fed and nourished by the beneficent hand of your heavenly Father? and can ye doubt that man, whom he hath made lord of the whole earth, shall be destitute of his tender care? "And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these." Matt. vi. 28, 29. Consider the lilies that so finely adorn the adjacent fields; how beautiful their form! how lively their colors! how fragrant their scent! the productions of art but faintly imitate them. Even Solomon himself, dressed in his splendid robes of royalty, was but meanly adorned in comparison of these. And surely, if Omnipotence thus beautifully clothes the various productions of the fields, whose duration is remarkably transient and uncertain, you have not the least reason to doubt that he will bless your honest endeavors, and send you proper clothing. Are ye not of infinitely more value than they?

Be ye anxiously solicitous to obtain the happiness of the life to come; and all the good things of this life, shall, in the course of divine Providence, be added unto you.

Our Lord then prohibited all rash and uncharitable censure, either with regard to the characters of others in general, or their actions in particular: lest, in doing so, both God and man resent the injury. If you judge charitably, says the meek and benevolent Redeemer of the human race, (making proper allowances for the frailties of human nature) and are ready to pity and pardon their faults, both your heavenly Father, and man, will deal with you after the same manner. But if you always put the harshest construction on every action, and are not touched with a feeling of your brother's infirmities, nor shew any mercy in the opinions you form of his character and actions, no mercy will be shewed you, either from Omnipotence, or the sons of men. God will inflict on you the punishments you deserve, and the world will be sure to retaliate the injury. "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matt. vii. 1, 2.

The blessed Jesus, in his pious discourse, told them to inculcate an entire reformation in themselves, a particular absolutely necessary in those whose office it is to reprove and reform their brethren. And surely, nothing can be more preposterous, than to condemn in others, what we practice ourselves; or to set up for reformers of the world, when we ourselves are contami