and mine iniquity have I not hid: I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." We can expect forgiveness only upon our confessing of our sins: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ali unrighteousness," 1 John i 9.. 3. Pray also to your Father that he would forgive your sins. The Saviour commands you this in the text.. Urge him by representing to him his fatherly heart, "that he is good and ready to forgive," Psalm lxxxvi. 5. Plead upon the perfect satisfaction of his Son, that he hath satisfied for your sins, that the Father gave him a perfect acquittal by his resurrection from the dead, that he is become righteousness to you, and is exalted by the right hand of God, to give you remission of sins, and that he intercedes for you. Lay hold of him repeatedly for reconciliation, and lay all your sins upon the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world," John i 29, and persevere, until ye find peace, assurance, and an impression that your sins are forgiven. David was not satisfied, when Nathan said to him, The Lord hath put away thy sins," 2 Sam. xii 134 but he cried still to the Lord, Psalm li. 8, "Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.”

4. Preserve cautiously and circumspectly your reconciled frame, that your indiscretions may not disturb you again: "When the Lord speaks peace to his people and to his saints, they must not turn again to folly," Psalm 1xxxv. 8. Ye know that the Lord is jealous, and that he soon hides his countenance from you, on ac count of your sins, and what pains ye must take, before he will cause his face to shine on you again. Hurry not nevertheless from him with your sins, when ye have misbehaved, through discouragement, with the church, Isaiah Ixiv. 6, 7, but go to him for renewed for giveness: "My little cdildren," saith John, "these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins," 1 John ii. 1, 2.

5. Deal now with your neighbour as your Father deals with you,. How effectually doth he forgive your sins. and continually! Do ye. so also: "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another, if any man have a quarrel against against any; even as Christ forgave you, so do ye also," Col. iii. 12, 13. And be assured that the Lord hath forgiven your iniquity, and covered all your sins. Yea, he hath taken away all his wrath, and

hath turned himself from the fierceness of his anger," Psalm lxxxv. 2, 3. "He hath sworn, that he will not be wroth with you, nor rebuke you," Isaiah liv. 9. And he will therefore one day place you before his throne, where there will be no more sin, nor curses against you. Rev. xxii. 3, and where, according to Isaiah xxxiii. 24, "none of the inhabitants shall say, I am sick :" for "the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." Amen.

THE

SIXTH PETITION

EXPLAINED;

WITH THE CONCLUSION.

LII. LORD'S DAY.

Matt. vi. 13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen.

Q. 127. Which is the sixth Petition?

A. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;" that is, since we are so weak in ourselves, that we cannot stand a moment; and besides this, since our mortal enemies, the devil, the world, and our own flesh cease not to assault us; do thou therefore preserve and strengthen us by the power of thy holy Spirit, that we may not be overcome in this spiritual warfare, but constantly and strenuously may resist our foes, till at last we obtain a complete. victory.

Q. 128. How dost thou conclude thy prayer ?

A. "For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever;" that is, all these we ask of thee, because thou being our king and almighty, art willing and able to give us all good; and all this we pray for, that thereby not we, but thy holy name may be glorified for ever.

Q. 129. What doth the word “Amen” signify ?.

A. "Amen" signides, it shall truly and certainly be; for my prayer is more assuredly heard of God, than I feel in my heart that I desire these things of him,

ALTHOUGH justification and sanctification are distinct bene

fits, they do nevertheless always accompany each other, and are never separated in any person one from the other. Justification is one benefit, and sanctification is another. Justification takes away the guilt of sin, but sanctification cleanses from the filth of sin. Justification is effected by the blood of Christ, but sanctification by his Spirit. The former brings a sinner into a different condition, making him a friend, when he was before an enemy of God, but the latter brings him to a different disposition, rendering him a lover of God, when he was before a hater of him. Yet these benefits are not so distinct, that they are ever separated the one from the other; where the one is, there also the other is always with it. The Corinthians "were washed and sanctified, as well as justified; 1 Cor. vi. 11. "Christ is made to them who are his, sanctification, as well as justification," according to 1 Cor. i. 30. God justifieth the elect sinner, that he may sanctify him: "There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared," saith David, to the Lord, Psalm cxxx. 4. No sooner doth a person obtain of God forgiveness, and justification, than he also becomes desirous of conducting himself in a manner that is acceptable to God; but his enemies also soon bestir themselves, that they may seduce him to iniquity; he, knowing this, and being afraid of sinning, will also resist and encounter his enemies. They are nevertheless too mighty for him, and he hath but i little power: how often do they foil him before, he is aware! what shall the poor soul do? Jesus teacheth her to cry to the Father Lead us not into temptation," &c.

The Saviour had taught the children of God to pray for the pardon of their sins: but their enemies, who would be too mighty for them, would soon encounter them again, that they might seduce. them to new sins. He, knowing their weakness, admonishes them

to flee to the Father, and cry to him, "Lead us not into temptation," that they may thus hallow his name, to which this petition is directed, as well as the foregoing.

We must with the instructor explain here three particulars;

I. The sixth petition,

II. The conclusion,

III. How we must seal our prayer with "Amen.”

I. In the sixth petition we pray in the first place against temptation, and then call upon God for deliverance from evil. The word peirasmos, which occurs here in the Greek, signifies an examination and trial of persons and things, that we may know whether they be in reality what they seem to be. Thus a man "must examine and try himself, whether he be in the faith," 2 Cor. xiii. 5. God also tempts and tries men, not for his own sake, for he is allknowing, but that he may discover their sincerity and virtue to others, For this purpose he sometimes gives them a probationary command; as, when "he tempted Abraham, he commanded him to offer up his son Isaac," Gen. xxii. or he exposeth them to adversities and "tribulations, which befall them for trial," James i. 2. 1 Peter iv. 12, or he gives them "his Spirit, that they may know the things that are freely given them of God," 1 Cor. ii. 12. We do not pray against such temptations in this petition. David prayed that "the Lord would examine him, prove and try him," Psalm xxvi. 2. cxxxix. 23, 24. But the Saviour speaks here of an evil temptation, by which we are enticed and seduced to sin; for "every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed," James i. 14. See also 1 Tim. vi. 9.

The children of God have "three mighty and deadly enemies, namely, the devil, the world, and their own flesh, who cease not to assault them." The devil is the head, who rules the rest; therefore he is emphatically called "the tempter," Mat. iv. 3. 1 Thess. iii. 5. He is "Satan," the adversary who tempts, 1 Cor. vii. 5. He doth this, (1) by offering inducements to sinning, and by bringing men into a situation, in which they can be easily enticed; he proposes to Eve the desirableness of the tree: to Achan he represents the preciousness of the spoil: he directs David to Bathsheba, and he urges Peter to go into the hall of Caiaphas, that he may sift him like wheat. (2) He suggests also evil thoughts. He knows wonderfully well how to maintain a secret correspondence with our spirits, and to exhibit to them the seeming honour, pleasure and profit, that will accrue from sin, and to influence the affections so, that the soul is enticed to sin insensibly, and before she is aware : "He put into