[1.] We ought to come to him as renouncing our strength, and waiting for his grace as able to help us. That address Jehoshaphat made in a temporal case is good also in a spiritual : 2 Chron. xx. 12, ' Lord, we have no might ; our eyes are unto thee.' There is a renouncing of their own strength, and a dependence upon God. There must be a renouncing of all seh-dependence, for God ' gives grace to the humble,' James iv. 6. The word humble is to be understood not morally, to those that are of a lowly carriage towards men, of a meek spirit ; but it is understood spiritually, of those that, in the brokenness of their hearts, acknowledge their own nothingness and weakness : to the.se he gives grace. God withholdeth and withdraweth his influences when we do not acknowledge the daily and hourly necessity of grace — when we do not desire it with such vehemency as we were wont, nor re-
230 AN EXPOSITION OF [Mat. VI. 13.
ceive it with such thankfulness and rejoicing. In these three last petitions of the Lord's Prayer : ' Give us this day our daily bread ; ' then, ' Forgive us our trespasses ; ' then, ' Lead us not into temptation : ' we beg daily bread, daily pardon, daily strength. We can neither live without the one nor the other : we cannot live without daily bread, nor live comfortably without daily pardon, nor live liolily with- out daily grace. And therefore you are to ' wait upon God all the day,' Ps. XXV. 5 ; and Ps. xvi. 8, ' I have set the Lord always before me.' Now, we may be said to set the Lord before us, either in point of reverence, when we are sensible of his eye and presence, or in point of dependence, when we are still waiting for his strength ; and that is the meaning there, ' He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.' Look, as a glass without a foot falls to the ground, and is broken as soon as it is set out of hand, such a sensible Christian apprehends himself to be if he be out of the hands of God ; he is broken, and falls to pieces. Therefore, in this sense, he goes to God, and desires him to keep him from temptation. Dependence begets observance. If the creature could once but live of himself, though it were but for a while, God would seldom hear from him. This is that which is the bridle upon the new creature, to keep up his constant commerce with God.
[2.] We must go to him with confidence, in an actual dependence upon the all-sufficiency of his grace. It is not enough to apprehend our weakness, but we must also go forth in the strength of God ; that is, hold up our hearts with a sense of this, that God is able to bear us up, and defeat all our spiritual enemies. God would not take off the temptation from Paul, 2 Cor. xii. 9, but saith, 'My grace is sufficient for thee.' He can either weaken temptation, or give in further supply of strength ; therefore encourage yourselves in the power of the Lord. The devil cannot tempt us one jot further than the Lord will permit him ; his malice is limited and restrained : if you be in Satan's hands, Satan is in God's hands, and can do nothing without his leave and permission ; he begs leave to enter into the herd of swine, much less can he enter into the sheep of his pasture.
2. Look upon God, not only as the giver of grace, but as the sovereign giver and disposer of it according to his own will : Phil. ii. 13, 'It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.' His giving of grace is altogether free, as what measure of assistance we shall have, and by what means it shall be supplied. God may enlarge or abate the degree of his influence, according to his own will. Now, thus we must come to him, with submission to his good pleasure, either for taking off the temptation, or continuing it for your exercise, or the measure of your supply. When you murmur and fret, it is a sign you have too good thoughts of your- selves ; when we jjrescribe to God, it argues some ascribing to our- selves. You are to endeavour, indeed, to pray, and use all good means to come out of temptation ; but submit, if the Lord be pleased to continue his exercise upon you. Nay, though God should continue the temptation, and for the present not give out those measures of grace necessary for you, yet you must not murmur, but lie at his feet ; for God is Lord of his own grace.
Mat. VL 13.] the lord's prayer. 231
3. You are to look upon God as a judge, correcting some foregoin<>- sin by your present temptation. And therefore —
[1.] You must humble yourselves under his mighty hand, when you are exercised with great and sore temptations, and accept the punishment of your iniquity without murmuring ; that is the only way to get it off, when you own it as the fruit of sin : Lev. xxvi. 41, ' If then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity ; ' and Micah vii. 9, ' I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him.' Acknow- ledge the justice of his providence in this trouble that is brought upon you. A Christian must not only look to the malice of Satan in his temptations, but to the justice of God. Look, as in outward afflic- tions, we are not to reflect upon instruments : — Job did not say, ' The Chaldean and Sabean hath taken,' but ' The Lord hath taken/ chap. i. 23 — so in these spiritual afflictions, take the temptation out of God's hand, as a judge. Though Satan pursue you with fiery darts, with temptations horrible and terrible, yet look upon it as the fruit of some foregoing sin. If he should tempt you by injection of despairing- fears or blasphemous thoughts, these are not your sins, but they may- be a punishment for your sins ; so you ought to humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, When you are vexed with such temptations as pierce and prick you in your veins, as David speaks ; when the devil bears in blasphemous thoughts upon the heart, they are his sins, but your corrections, justly ordered by God. It may be it is for the correction of your sin that you have provoked God to afflict you thus ; and this rod, if it smart, it was dipped in your own guilt, and it is a fruit of God's fatherly indignation for your folly and vanity ; for God may thus manifest it, by giving thee up to this severe discipline, to be tempted and vexed by Satan. Now, it is your duty to be sensible of your sin, and say, as Sion in her troubles, Lam. i. 18, ' The Lord is righteous, for I have rebelled against his com- mandment'