saints, they (they, Ileb. i. 14. It cannot stand with angelical obedience to leave the least tola of (iod's will unfulfilled ; this is to d<» (iod's will as the angels, when we do all his will, — f/idcf/idd propter Deum Jit aquali- If r fit. This ^vas (iod's charge to Israel, Numb. XV. 10., " Remember and do all my commandments." And it was spoken of David, Acts xiii. 22., " I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, who shall perform all my will," (Gr.) " all mv wills." Every command liatli the same authority ; and if we do (iod's will up- rightly, we do it uniformly, — we obey every part and branch of his will, we join first and second tal)le. Surely we owe that to God our Father which the papists sav, we owe to our mother the church, unliuiited obedience; we must incline to every com- mand, as the needle moves that way which the loadstone draws. This discovers the unsoundness of many who do God's will by halves, — they pick and choose in religion,-— they in some things comply with God's will, l)ut not in others, — like a ioundered horse, who sets but some of his feet on the ground, he favours one foot. He who is to play upon a lute, must strike upon eA'ery string, or he spoils all the music. God's commandments may be com|)ared to a ten-stringed lute, we must obey God's will in every command, strike ujjon every string, or we can make no good melody in religion. The badger hath one foot shorter than the other: hypo- crites are shorter in some duties than others ; some will pray, not give alms, — hear the word, not forgive their enemies, — receive the sacrament, not make restitution, — how can they be holy who are not just ? Hypo- crites profess fair, but when it comes to sa- crificing the Isaac, crucifying the beloved sin, or parting with some of their estate for Christ, here they stick, and say as Naaman, 2 Kings V. 18., " In this thing, the Lord pardon thy servant." This is far from do- ing God's will as the angels do ; God likes not such as do his will by halves ; if your servant should do some of your work, which you set him about, but not at all, how would you like that?
Obj. But who is able to do all God's will .?
Ans. Thouj^^ /♦'e cannot do all God's will legally, yet we may evangelically; which is^
488
OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER.
Ist. When we mourn that we can do God's will no better ; when we fail, we weep, Rom. vii. 24.
2d. Wlien it is the desire of our soul to do God's whole will, Ps. cxix. 5., " O that my ways were directed to keep thy sta- tutes." What a child of God wants in strength, he makes up in desire. In mag- nis voluisse sat est.
3d. When we endeavour, quoad conatmn, to do the whole will of God. A father bids his child lift such a burden, the child is not able to lift it, but he tries, and does his en- deavour to lift it ; the father accepts of it, as if he had done it, this is to do God's will evangelically, and God is pleased to take it in good part ; though it be not to satisfac- tion, yet it is to acceptation.
3. We do God's will as it is done in hea- ven by the angels, when we do it sincerely, sinefuco. To do God's will sincerely, lies in two things :
1st. To do it out of a pure respect to God's command.
2d. With a pure eye to God's glory.
1st. To do God's will out of a pure respect to God's command. Abraham's sacrificing Isaac was contrary to flesh and blood ; to sacrifice the son of his love, the son of the promise, and that no other hand but the fa- ther's own should do this, here was hard service ; but, because God commanded it, out of pure respect to the command, Abra- ham obeyed. Tliis is to do God's will a- right, when though we feel no present joy or comfort in duty, yet, because God com- mands, we obey ; not comfort, but the com- mand is the ground of duty. Thus the an- gels do God's will in heaven ; God's com- mand is the weight sets the wheels of their obedience a-going.
2d. To do God's will sincerelv, is to do it *with a pure eye to God's glory. The Pha- risees did the will of God in giving alms ; but that which was a dead fly m the oint- ment, was, that they did not aim at God's glory, but vain glory, — they blew a trum- pet. Jehu did the will of God in destroy- ing the Baal-worshippers, and God com- mended him for doing it ; but because he aimed more at settling himself in the king- dom, than at the glory of God, therefore God looked upon it no better than murder,