Secondly, That the Lord doth freely and graciously give these good things to us, that is, merely out of his bounty and goodness. It is not from his strict remunerative justice, but out of his grace. The very air we breathe in, the bread we eat, our common blessings, be they never so mean, we have them all from grace, and all from the tender mercy of the Lord. Ps. cxxxvi. '25, you have there the story of the notable effects of God's mercy, and he concludes it thus : ' Who givetli food to all flesh ; for his mercy endureth for ever,' Mark, the psalmist doth not only ascribe those mighty victories, those glorious instances of his love and power, to his unchangeable mercy, but our daily bread. In eminent deliverances of the church we will acknow- ledge mercy ; yea, but we should do it in evejy bit of meat we eat, for the same reason is rendered all along. What is the reason his people
Mat. VI. 11.] THE lord's prayer. 155
smote Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og the king of Bashan, and rescued his people so often out of danger ? 'For his mercy endureth for ever.' And what is the reason he giveth food to all flesh ? ' For his mercy endureth for ever.' It is not only mercy which gives us Christ, and salvation by Christ, and all those glorious deliverances and triumphs over the enemies of the church ; but it is mercy which fur- nisheth our tables, it is mercy that we taste with our mouths and wear at our backs. It is notable, our Lord Jesus, when there were but five barley loaves and two fishes, John vi. 11, 'He lift up his eyes and gave thanks.' Though our provision be never so homely and slender, yet God's grace and mercy must be acknowledged.
But to evidence this by some considerations that certainly it is of the mercy of the Lord that he giveth bread to the creature : God giveth these mercies —
1. To those that cannot return any service to him.
2. To those that will not return any service to him.
3. When we are at our best we cannot deserve them.
4. We deserve the quite contrary.
[1.] He giveth these mercies to those that cannot return any service to him ; the beasts, and fowls of the air, the young ravens : Ps. cxlv. 16, ' Thou openest thy hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.' What can the beasts, or fishes, or fowls of the air deserve at God's hand ? What honour and service can they bring to him? Only they have a bountiful Creator, from whom they receive their allowance.
So as to infants. Alas ! what can they deserve at his hand ? When God rocks their cradles, and nourisheth them from the dug, what service can they do to God ? Isa. xlvi. 3, 4, ' By me,' saith the Lord, ' you are borne from the belly, and carried from the womb ; and even to your old age, I am he ; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you.' Mark, not only in old age, when we have done God service, doth he maintain us ; but from the womb, the belly, before we could do any- thing for him, we were tenderly handled by him. He alludeth to parents and nurses, which carry their younglings in their arms. In infancy we are not in a capacity to know the God of our mercies, and look after him ; yet he looked after us then, when we could not per- form one act of love and kindness to him. The psalmist takes notice of this : Ps. xxii. 9, 10, * Thou art he that took me out of the womb ; thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb ; thou art my God from my mother's belly.' Christians, before ever you could do anything for him or yourselves, before you could improve his mercy, when you could not know who was your benefactor, who it was that nourished and cherished you, yet then God rocked your cradles, kept you from many dangers, nursed you, and brought you up, and carried you in the tender arms of his providence.
[2.] God gives these mercies to those that will not serve him when they can : Isa. i. 2, 'I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.' There are many in the world whom God protects, supplies, and provides them of all necessaries, yet they return nothing but disobedience, contempt, rebellion, and unthankful-
156 AN EXPOSITION OF [MaT. VI. 11,
ness. The sun doth not shine by chance, but at God's disposal : Mat. V. 45, ' He makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.' Most of those which are fed at God's table, and maintained at his ex})ense and care, they are his enemies ; and many times the more men receive from him the M^orse they are. Look, as beasts towards man, when they are in good l)light they grow fierce, and are ready to destroy those which nourish them, so, when we are plentifully supplied, we kick with the heel, wax wanton, and forgetful of God. Or as a froward child scratcheth the breast which suckles it, so we rebel against God that nourished ns, and brought us up, and dishonour our heavenly Father that pro- vides these blessings for us. Parisiensis hath a saying, ' They which hold the greatest farms many times pay the least rent.' So the great ones of the world, they which have most of God's bounty, give him the least acknowledgment.