glory on earth not only expreffed, by teaching his difciples to pray, "Hallowed be thy name, thy

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kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is "in heaven, Matth. vi. 9, 10. and adjoining with them in these petitions; but by an actual, immediate, particular, addrefs to the Father, for that purpofe, by himself, faying, "Father, glorify thy "name," John xii. 28. In thefe prayers, or cries, his apoftles and "the men which accompanied with them, all the time that he went in and out among "them," had a peculiar fhare. Befides the many prayers put up for them, in the former periods of his humiliation, there is a beautiful cluster of fuch petitions, in the 17th chapter of John; "Holy Fa"ther (faid he) keep, through thine own name, "thofe whom thou haft given me, that they may "be one as we are," verf. 11. "Keep them "from the evil," verf. 15. "Sanctify them through "thy truth," verf. 17. "Father, I will that they "alfo whom thou haft given me, be with me "where I am; that they may behold my glory, "which thou haft given me," verf. 24. Nor did he only pray for his then difciples, but for all who, in every age of the Chriftian church, fhould, by converfion to the faith and hope of the gofpel, become fuch. "Neither pray I for thefe alone (faid "he) but for them alfo which fhall believe on me

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through their word," John xvii. 20. Nay, his prayers were extended to his enemies themselves. In praying for them who should afterwards believe, he, doubtless, prayed for his enemies, all being by nature enemies to him, enmity against him: but he more efpecially prayed for thofe who were immediately inftrumental in his fufferings and death, at leaft for fuch of them as he had gracious defigns upon; and prayed for them, when most perfecuted by them. Father (faid he, in his laft agonies 66 upon

"upon the crofs) forgive them, for they know not " what they do," Luke xxiii. 34.

The cries or prayers of the Man Christ were vastly different from those of other men, in the innocence and purity of them. Whatever guilt was imputed to him, there was none committed by him. Though, as the reprefentative of finners, he was, in a legal fenfe, moft guilty; yet, in a perfonal abstracted view, he was of all men the most immaculate and holy. Though, in the language of the apostle, he was I made fin for us, he knew no "fin," 2 Cor. v. 21. Whence all his prayers behoved to be of a piece with the diftinguishing fanctity of his nature; without the fmalleft mixture of weaknefs, guilt or imperfection. Accordingly, as one apoftle informs us, that "he knew no fin ;" another affures us, that "he did no fin," 2 Pet. ii. 22. did no fin in heart, word, or action; no fin in a perfonal or relational capacity, in a moral or religious regard. Which with no propriety can be faid of mere men: for there is not only, no man "that finneth not," I Kings viii. 46. but no "juft man, upon earth, that doth good, and fin"neth not," Eccl. vii. 20. In the very prayers, and other religious performances of holy men, there is fo much guilt, that infinite holiness might justly condemn their perfons, and reject their performances, on account of it. For "who can fay, "I have my heart clean, I am pure from my fin?" Prov. xx. 9. Nay, "if we fay that we have no fin, "we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us," 1 John i. 8.

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His prayers or cries differed likeways from those of mere men; as by them he approached immediate

to the Father, without using a mediator. It is an invariable maxim in the fyftem of Chriftianity, That as "there is one God, and one Mediator be66 tween

tween God and man,” 1 Tim. ii. 5. so, that "no man cometh unto the Father but by him,” John xiv. 6. whereas our Lord dealt immediately with the divine Majefty in perfon; evident from his very defignation of a Mediator, which supposes his dealing immediately with God, the offended, as he dealt immediately with man, the offending party. For a Mediator incapable of approaching both the difagreed parties, could be no Mediator, could effect no proper mediation; and thence could not, without impropriety, fo much as deferve the name. Nor did he only use no Mediator, but he actually needed none. Guilt renders God tremenduous and awful to finners. Guilt ftands as an ir refragable bar between God and man. Guilt not only provokes Jehovah to fpeak to them in wrath, but makes finners themfelves fhy of approaching to him. What the people of Ifrael faid unto Mofes, the typical Mediator, is the truth respecting every mere man, how foon, and in how far, the infinite diftance between God and him is discovered. " And all the people (says the historian) saw the "thunderings, and lightnings, and the noife of "the trumpet, and the mountain fmoaking; and "when the people faw it, they removed, and flood "afar of; and they laid unto Mofes, Speak thou "with us, and we will hear; but let not God "speak with us, left we die;" Exod. xx. 18, 19. whereas our Lord's righteoufnefs, his perfonal conformity to the Father, was fuch, in breadth and length, in kind and degree, that he could, and, with all propriety, did plead the merit of it, as his argument with the Father, in crying to him. "Let not them (said he) that wait upon thee, O "Lord, God of hosts, be ashamed for my fake; "let not those that seek thee be confounded for my fake, O God of Ifrael:" and as the argu

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ment for acceptance, he added, "Becaufe, for thy fake, I have born reproach; shame hath cover"ed my face," Pfal. lxix. 6, 7. "I have glori"fied thee on earth, (faid he) I have finished the "work which thou gavest me to do;" there is the plea, upon which he founded the following claim :" "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine "own felf, with the glory which I had with thee, "before the world was," John xvii. 4, 5. He pled, not on the footing of mercy and forbearance in God, but on the footing of righteousness, abfolute, eternal righteousness, in the Divine Nature; as what, difpofing and determining Jehovah to render to every one according to their real demerit, behoved to conclude for the answer of his prayers; evident from his calling him, in that noticeable prayer, "Holy Father," and again, "Righteous "Father," John xvii. 11, 25. In this there was nothing prefumptuous or premature; for the Father was "well pleafed for his righteousness' fake," as confifting in his "magnifying the law, and mak"ing it honourable," If. xlii. 21. The prayers or cries of Jefus Ghrift were always fuch as the Father was well pleafed to grant. Other men, faints not excepted, may, through their blindness and imperfection, ask, not only what the Father will not give, but what, should he indulge them in, would be hurtful for them to receive. "Ye afk (fays "the apoftle) and ye receive not, because ye afk "amifs," James iv. 3. This is uniformly the cafe with finners; and, in things refpecting a prefent life, or not effential to falvation, frequently the cafe with faints themselves. Whereas no defires flowed from the Saviour's heart, no petition dropped from his lips, but what was intirely a tranfcript of the Father's will, altogether a copy of the divine purpofe and pleafure, and an invariable

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evidence of what Jehovah would actually grant. From the Father's repeated declaration concerning Chrift, first at his baptifm, and then at his transfiguration; the complacency he had in his prayers, as well as in his perfon, is manifeft and clear. "This (faid he) is my beloved Son, in whom ( "am well pleafed," Matth. iii. 17. and Matth. xvii. 5. and, from what our Lord himfelt faid to the Pharifees, it is plain he had the believing perfuafion, the delightful conviction, that in prayer as well as in other duties, he always, without exception, fquar'd his conduct by the divine pleafure. "He that fent me (faid he) is with me; the Fa"ther hath not left me alone, for I do always "thofe things that please him," John viii. 29. As an obvious confequence from this, our Lord's ery never failed of fuccefs, his prayer never miffed an anfwer. Saints may pray once, again, and again, to no purpofe; they, in manifold inftances, may, with the church complain, "Thou coverest

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thyfelf with a cloud, that our prayers fhall not, "pafs through," Lam, iii. 44. But, whatever defertion the Man Chrift, as to his Father's comfortable prefence, groaned under, his prayers were never fent empty away: For "he lift up his eyes

(fays the evangelift) and faid, Father, I thank thee "that thou haft heard me; and I know that thou "heareft me always," John xi. 41, 42. The most remarkable circumftances, however, in which the prayers of the Man Chrift differed from thofe of other men, was, his fometimes demanding, rather than begging, of the Father. As to mere men,

they must fall down, as unworthy creatures, at the footstool of mercy, the throne of grace; fenfible they deferve not what they afk; perfuaded that Jehovah may, without injuftice, deny their requeft: and quite satisfied that, unless the fovereign

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