be treated and addressed to, with such and such actions and affections to be served and worshiped. So that if we apprehend God truly as he is, circled with all his natural glories and perfections, our apprehensions will produce in us such affections, and our affections such deportment and behavior towards him, as are suitable to the perfections of his nature; and we shall please him with such services as will both please and become him; with admiring thoughts, and dutiful wills, and godlike affections; with an ingenuous fear, an humble confidence, and an obedient love; with cheerful praises and profound adorations; with sober, wise, and rational devotions; such as will wing and employ our best affections and most noble faculties; for it is such a worship only as can suit such perfections, and please such a nature as God's." (Ibid. p. 163.)

"A right apprehension of God is also necessary to inspire us with the best principle of serving him. For it is certain that there is no principle in human nature that will so effectually engage us to the service of God, or render our service so acceptable to him, as that of love; which will tune our wills into such a harmony with God's, that we shall no longer choose and refuse according to our particular likings and dislikings; but what is most pleasing or displeasing to him will be so to us; and our wills being thus united and subjected to his, our obedience will extend to all his commands, and admit no other bounds but his will and pleasure." (Ibid.)

"But to the inspiring our souls with this principle, there is nothing more necessary than right apprehensions of God; who in himself is doubtless the most amiable of beings, as having all those perfections in infinite degrees, that can beget or deserve a rational affection. So that we cannot think him to be any way otherwise than he is, without thinking him less lovely, and detracting more or less from the infinite beauty of his nature: for, since he cannot be more lovely than he is in himself, every false apprehension of him must needs represent him less lovely. But, since of all his perfections that of his goodness is the most powerful motive and engagement of love, there is nothing more necessary to kindle our love to him than right apprehensions thereof. For being infinitely good as he is in his own nature, it is impossible we should conceive him to be better than he is; and therefore every false notion we entertain of his goodness, must necessarily detract from it and so much as we detract from his goodness so much we detract from the principal reason and motive of our loving him." (Ibid. p. 165.)

(To be continued.)

A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE SUPPLICATORY PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER,

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION.

It is written in the prophecy by Jeremiah, x. 23, "It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." Who then, it may be asked, is his guide and director? We have this question distinctly answered, in the same unerring Word of divine wisdom; in Psalm xxxvii. 23, it is written by David, "The steps of man are ordered by the Lord.” Our authorized version reads, "The steps of a good man ;" but as a notice that the term of quality, good, is not to be found in the original Hebrew scriptures, it is printed in italic letters.

In reality, although altogether unknown to man, although man is not in the least conscious thereof, at least except, and until, by divine mercy, he may have attained to a celestially regenerate state of mind and life, yet the Lord is leading man in every step that he takes, from his birth to his death, in the natural world, and afterwards to eternity in the world to come.

That man may obtain a knowledge that this is the real fact, and may also be brought to make acknowledgement thereof, notwithstanding its contrariety to the appearance of things with him and about him, especially as he stands in his natural state of life, are among the many important uses for which the Word of divine revelation is put into his hands.

The petition of the Lord's prayer, "Lead us not into temptation,” like all the other petitions and parts thereof, and, indeed we may say, of the whole of the divine Word, has a natural, a spiritual, and a celestial sense.

Here, before we proceed further, it may be useful to give a general outline of the contents of this inestimable form of prayer. When we look at it as a whole, we may discern its contents to be as high as heaven, and indeed higher, and its descent is into the vast depths of the infernal abyss. This may be demonstrated by giving a brief analysis of its several parts.

The invocation is, Our Father, who art in the heavens. Our Father is the divine human Lord, whose personal habitation is above all the angelic heavens, in the midst of the spiritual sun; and who, from thence, beams forth light and life to all created existences, in all worlds, spiritual and natural.

The first conscious organic forms into which the Lord inflows,

from his presence in the spiritual sun, are the blessed inhabitants of the angelic heavens. These heavens are three. The divine influx first enters the third or highest, which is as an expanse over the second or middle; into which it next enters from the third. The second heaven is an expanse over the first or lowest. Above the highest or third heaven is the heaven or heavens of the internals of every created human being, wherever he may be situated, or of whatever quality; and which may be considered as forming an expanse over the third or highest angelic heaven. In this heaven of human internals, the Lord has every man under his omniscient eye and auspice, and operates all things therein, of himself; nor does any one but himself know what is transacted therein. In the particular view, the heavens are the immediate seat of the Lord with man, whereinto the Lord first inflows with life from himself, and thereby, among other distinguished benefits, enstamps immortality upon his human creature.

The first existences who are conscious of the reception of life and light from the Lord, are the thrice blessed inhabitants of the third or celestial heaven. All the good things of love and the true things of wisdom, with which this heaven abounds, may be considered as included in the first petition, "Hallowed be thy name." For there the divine human name is hallowed in the highest possible creaturely degree.

The divine beam from hence passes into the second or spiritual heaven. The good things of charity and the truths of intelligence, with which the minds of its happy inhabitants are stored, may be considered as included in the second petition, "Thy kingdom come." For while in the celestial heaven, the Lord exercises his government as a priest, from the good of his divine love; he exercises it in the spiritual heaven as a king, from the truth of his divine wisdom.

From the spiritual heaven, the divine beam of life and light from the Lord passes into the first or natural heaven, all whose blessed inhabitants are spontaneously obedient to the good and true knowledges that they may have imbibed, and may be considered as included in the petition," Thy will be done, as in heaven, so upon earth." In our internal, the heaven of our mind, the Lord's will cannot but be done, according as we have before observed; and do we fulfil his will, by living obediently to his commandments, he will flow forth, from his secret mansion with us in our internal, into all our human powers and faculties, even to the very extremes, and thereby sanc

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tify our whole frame, and make us human images and likenesses of himself.

From this first, or natural heaven, the divine beam of life and light from the Lord, passes into the world of spirits, which is in the midst between heaven and hell. With this portion of the spiritual world, every man, in his probationary day, is more immediately connected; and herefrom he then more immediately receives all the needful supplies for the sustenance of his spirit,-his immortal soul, which will live after death to eternity, either in heaven or in hell.

And because the Lord's will concerning us and every one of his human creatures, is, that the supply from the world of spirits should be with what flows from him through the angelic heaven, in its unadulterated and unperverted state, therefore the middle petition of the Lord's prayer is, "Our daily bread give us this day." The daily bread here meant, in reality is himself, in his goodness and truth, his mercy and grace, adapted to our states of recipiency.

As we cannot savingly receive these, or any other divine benefits, unless the evils and falsities of the natural man be removed, therefore he has graciously condescended to give us three forms of suppli cation against evils and falsities, in their threefold degree, as opposed to the goodness and truth, the charity and faith, the obedience and knowledge extant in the three angelic heavens.

The supplication, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors," may be considered as imploring divine help against the evils and falsities reigning in the first or highest infernal dwellings, opposite to the first, or lowest angelic mansions.

The supplication, "Lead us not into temptation," may be viewed as imploring divine aid against evil and erroneous imaginations, that are opposed to the second or spiritual heaven.

And the supplication, "Deliver us from evil," may be contemplated, as humbly craving our heavenly Father's assistance in the combat against the evil concupiscences and the false persuasions opposed to the goodnesses and truths which are the joy and satisfaction of the third or highest heaven of angelic glory.

The expressions of doxology that follow, may be considered as making the acknowledgement and ascription to the Lord, of the whole of the good and true influx out of the angelic heavens, and thereby the whole of the defence against evils and falsities. "For thine is the kingdom," in this series, is an ascription to the Lord of all the truths, and hence of the goodnesses constituting the first heaven.

"And the power," of all the truths, and hence the goodnesses forming the second heaven. "And the glory," of all the truths, and hence the goodnesses pertaining to and making the third and highest angelic heaven.

"Amen," is the truth itself; which, since the glorification of the humanity, proceeds from our divine human Lord, whereof the Holy Word in our hands, is the sure repository; and who, as to person, is Our Father in the heavens. But having made this digression, and we hope not altogether unedifyingly, we now return to the more immediate subject before us, namely, the import of the petition in this divine form of prayer, "Lead us not into temptation."

This petition, as we have before observed, has a natural, a spiritual, and a celestial sense.

Whosoever with a sincere heart, in using this petition, has his cogitations fixed on its natural sense, he may be led to consider it as a supplication to his heavenly Father, that he may not be inclined to imbibe and embrace false and erroneous principles and doctrines, that would lead him astray from obedience to the divine commandments, or induce him to think lightly of them, so as not to make the keeping of them essential to entering into life eternal.

As a corroboration of this being the meaning of the petition, in the natural sense, let it be remarked, in the first place, that according to the connexion in which it stands in this incomparable form, it is a supplication against the power, the malignity, and the craft of the satanic crew, all of whom are imbued with false and erroneous principles and doctrines, and are delighted with them, because they cherish the evil concupiscences of the natural man. All of which falsities and evils, as we have before observed, are in direct contrariety to the true principles and good affections, universally reigning in the second, or spiritual heaven.

In the second place, in order to obtain a correct idea of the import of this supplication, it may be profitable for us to attend carefully and critically to the expressions themselves.

Let it be observed then, that our blessed Lord and Saviour does not "Lead us

herein teach us to pray, "Lead us not to temptation," nor not in temptation;" but the expressions are, "Lead us not into temptation ;" and it may appear to be no forced construction put upon this divine form of words, to consider it as importing a pious supplication, not to be permitted to fall into the false and erroneous doctrines and principles wherewith the satanic spirits are ever ready to inspire our