To conclude : All this grace is offered to you ; if you refuse the offer, your condition is worse than if it had never been tendered to you. The Lord hath sent his Son to help you out of the power of the devil, and bring you in heart and life again to himself ; if you refuse this, then ' This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness ratlier than light :' John iii. 19. The Lord Jesus, when he comes in flaming fire to render vengeance, it shall be upon them that do not obey his government, 2 Thes. i. 8, that did not acknowledge God to be their sovereign. There will be a sore vengeance on them which had the gospel tendered, and this wonderful provision brought home to them, and left to their choice, and yet have turned their backs upon it.
Secondly, AVe beg the continuance of it, that he would maintain this kingdom in our heart, and preserve us in this state ; for those which can call God Father, are still to say, ' Thy kingdom come.' It is not enough to go to Christ to begin it, but to carry it on, and to keep and ' preserve us unto his heavenly kingdom,' 2 Tim. iv. 18 ; that
Mat. VI. 10.] the lord's prayer. 105
we may not revolt to the devil's side after we have chosen God for our God, and so our latter end be worse than our beginning.
Thirdly, We pray for the increase of it, that it may get ground more and more. There are some relics of the kingdom of darkness yet left, and there is something wanting to the kingdom of grace ; we are troubled and molested still. Though sin doth not get the throne, though the regency of it is cast down, yet it is not cast out in regard of inherence. ' Sin shall not have dominion over you ;' that is all we can hope for : Eom. vi. 14. We cannot hope for an extinction of sin, but only that it shall not have dominion. As the beasts in Dan, vii. 12, though their dominion was taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. The reign, power, and dominion of sin is taken down, yet it continues for our exercise and molestation. Now, we desire he might rule in us by his grace, and that of the increase of his government there may be no end.
II. For the kingdom of glory, which, in this private consideration (as it concerns each person), is to begin at death. And when we desire the coming of the kingdom of glory, we do two things : we express our readiness for it, or our desire after it.
1. Our readiness for it ; at least, the kingdom of God is ready for us if we were ready for it ; as the apostle saith, 1 Pet. iv. 5. God is ready to judge, but we are not ready to be judged. And therefore we read of the kingdom of heaven prepared for us, and of men prepared for the kingdom of heaven. It is prepared for the saints : Mat. XXV. 34, ' A kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.' And the saints prepared for it : Rom. ix. 23, ' Vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory." And this is that which the apostle gives thanks for unto the Father : ' Which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,' Col. i. 12. Before we come to heaven, there is a right to heaven ; we are made meet, more mortified and weaned from present things, often in communion with God here, and so for ever with the Lord hereafter. We are still to have our eyes to our rest and happy state, that we may be made ready for it. We express our readiness, or we beg it.
2. That we may express our desires after the enjoyment of it. A Christian is to desire the company of Christ : Phil. i. 23, ' I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ;' and he is to hasten the coming of the day of God : 2 Pet. iii. 12.
Now because this cannot be but by our death, therefore here we may examine a case or two.
Case 1. First, about longing for death. Is it lawful to desire death ? The law doth not only forbid acts, but thoughts and desires ; therefore is it lawful to long for death ?
Ans. Yes ; but yet we are not anxiously to long after it till the time come ; not to grow weary of life out of desperation and tiresome- ness of the cross, as Jonah did, chap, iv, 3 ; but in order to God s glory and accomplishment of our happiness. See more at large, Ps. cxix, verse 17.^
Case 2, Secondly, Do all that have an interest in Christ desire to
^ In a subsequent volume. — Ed.
106 AN EXPOSITION OF [MaT. VI. 10.
die ? Is not death terrible ? Certainly deatli is terrible, both as a natural and a 23enal evil ; as in itself it is the curse of the covenant ; and as it depriveth us of life, the chiefest blessing. Yet we should train up ourselves in an expectation of death ; we should look and long for it, that, when the time is come, we might be willing to give up ourselves into the hands of God. It is required of a Christian that he should not only be passive in his own death, to die in peace, but active. How ? to hasten his death ? No ; but to resign up himself willingly into the hands of God, that his soul might not be taken away, but given up and commended to God. We should be willing to be in the arms of Christ, to be there where he is, to behold his glory. If Christ had such a good- will to men as that he longed to be with us, solacing his heart with the thought of it before all worlds, Prov. viii. 31 — he was thinking of us, how he should come down, and converse with men — surely we should not be so backward to go to Christ. And, therefore, as Jacob's spirit revived when he saw the chariots Joseph sent to carry him into Egypt, so our hearts should be more cheerful and comfortable when death approacheth : especially since death is ours, it is changed ; therefore we should be framing ourselves to such a temper of heart by degrees that we might be ready.