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Heere is a prayer which is a kinde of hol∣ding God,* 1.1 by the relation of a Father; this is one way of stirring up our soules, to consider the relation of a Father. It stirres up bowells, when a childe is beaten by his Father, O stay Father, spare, it works upon the bowells. There
is a world of Rhetorick in this one word Fa∣ther, why Lord, thou art my Father, shall I bee destroyed? let us lay hold on God by this re∣lation that he puts upon himselfe; and he will not lay it aside though we be unworthy to be sonnes. He doth not say, thou art our Father, and we are thy sonnes; because hee thought they were unworthy, (as the Prodigall saith, I am unworthy to be called thy sonne) but instead of saying we are thy sonnes, he saith, we are the clay, thou art the potter. Yet he is a Father continually; and though in Christ you cannot call him Father, yet you may by Creation, and initiation, being brought up in the Church. Goe to him with the incouragements you have, and cast your selves upon him. There is a bond for you by Creation, and there is his command, he bids you call him Father, hee is a Father by Creation; looke not upon this or that sinne, but goe to him, and call him Father, as you may call him; say thou art my Father, thou hast given mee a being in the Church, wrastle with him as you may, though as found Christians you cannot call him Father. Be weary of your courses, are you willing to come under Gods hand to bee sonnes; you are sonnes by Creation already, offer thy selfe to be of his family for the time to come, and God will give a sweet report to thy soule. Stand not out at the staves end, Thou art our Father, Lord. If you have a purpose to live in firme, the Divell is your father, and not God, you are of your
father the Divell, but if wee bee willing to submit, wee may say, Doubtlesse thou art our Father.
The considera∣tion that God is our Father should stirre us up to seek to ••i••