A26266	----	The axe at the root of the innovation of singing in the worship of God lately sprung up to the trouble of many, and the defiling of others. Or, some brief queries; with an introduction proposed to the singers in the popular way of singing Psalms, as translated, and tunes as invented, and as now sung together by the professor and prophane, as an ordinance of God. Designed for the preservation of right worship, especially in the churches of Christ, that have upon the declaration of their faith been baptized. By a Baptist. Awdeley, Lewis. 1696 Approx. 18 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 7 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2008-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A26266 Wing A4279A ESTC R213577 99825924 99825924 30316 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A26266) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 30316) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1805:04) The axe at the root of the innovation of singing in the worship of God lately sprung up to the trouble of many, and the defiling of others. Or, some brief queries; with an introduction proposed to the singers in the popular way of singing Psalms, as translated, and tunes as invented, and as now sung together by the professor and prophane, as an ordinance of God. Designed for the preservation of right worship, especially in the churches of Christ, that have upon the declaration of their faith been baptized. By a Baptist. Awdeley, Lewis. 12 p. [s.n.], London : printed in the year 1696. A baptist = Lewis Awdeley. Reproduction of the original in the British Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. EEBO-TCP is a partnership between the Universities of Michigan and Oxford and the publisher ProQuest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by ProQuest via their Early English Books Online (EEBO) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). The general aim of EEBO-TCP is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic English-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in EEBO. 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Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Worship -- Early works to 1800. 2006-03 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2006-05 SPi Global Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2007-04 Robyn Anspach Sampled and proofread 2007-04 Robyn Anspach Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion The Axe at the Root OF THE Innovation OF SINGING In the Worship of God ; Lately sprung up to the trouble of many , and the defiling of others . OR , Some brief Queries ; with an Introduction proposed to the Singers in the popular way of singing Psalms , as translated , and Tunes as invented , and as now sung together by the Professor and Prophane , as an Ordinance of God. DESIGNED For the Preservation of Right Worship , especially in the Churches of Christ , that have upon the declaration of their Faith been Baptized . By a Baptist . In vain do they Worship me , teaching for Doctrine the Commandments of Men , Matth. 15.9 . LONDON , Printed in the Year 1696 To all Christians of the Baptized Congregations , Salutation . Dearly Beloved in our Lord Jesus Christ , HAVING been conversant amongst you for Forty years past , I cannot be supposed ignorant of your Practises in Matters of Worship ; and am well assured ( notwithstanding some Differences in Matters of lesser moment ) you have maintained the Essentials of Salvation , and Church Communion , to your great commendation . But of late , there hath arisen amongst you certain Persons who have troubled the Peace of the Churches , and have occasioned Divisions , to the Grief of many , by innovating a Form of Worship never practised ( as I find in all Histories ) by any of your Brethren before you : Nor indeed in the World by any other , till about the time of Beza and Calvin , in the last Century . And that is , to sing in Rhyme by a set Form , and that by all the People together ; whether Saints or Sinners , Members or no Members , whether they are Young or Old , understand or not understand what is sung . For the Reverend Ri. Watson Doctor of Divinity , in his Book printed at London , Anno 1684. about this Subject , Pag. 19. saith thus , The Original of this Device , ( viz. of turning the Psalms of David into Rhime and Metre ) was not in England , but first taken up by one Clement Marrot , a Groom of the Bed-chamber to the French King Francis the First , and having told us how he made Songs for the King to sing . He adds Pag. 20. That he was prevailed with by Fr. Vetablus , to relinquish his trifling Doggerel , and to turn David 's Psalms into French Metre , and he did the first 30. and that the King sung them as he had done his former Ballads . And as he afterwards tells us , He went to Geneva , and was incouraged by Beza and Calvin , and that afterwards he turned 20 more into Rhyme , by their means and procurement ; and that the Papists were strangers to , and Enemies against this Novel Practice , is plain : For that the Doctors of the Sorbon complained of it to the King , and procured an Edict against the use thereof . But he went to Geneva and there it was imbraced . Now to know about what time this was , we may guess by an Eminent Passage in History . That disturbance given to the Duke of Guise , by those who sung Marots Psalms , Anno 1562. and for that Marot was with Calvin at Geneva ; and the other is noted , as hapning quickly after they began to put these Rhymes of his into Practice : It must have its Original from or about that time . Therefore we may infer from thence , as we usually do on another Subject . We say , that seeing our Adversaries cannot prove from Scripture or any Authentick History , that any Infant was Baptized in the first two Centuries , it was because the same was not commanded by Christ , nor taught by his Apostles . And surely the case will hold good here also , seeing that 1500 years past , since our Saviours time , and no instance to be given of any Church of Christ that ever sung in Rhyme . Now were there no other Objection against it than only the form of its performance , it is not a matter so slightly to be passed over ; because your selves deny Sprinkling to be Baptism , purely from a wrong Form used in the manner of applying the Water to the Person that is to be Baptized . Besides , the Learned among you know , That it could not be the Practice of the Jewish Church to sing in Rhyme ; because neither the Song of Moses , Deborah , nor the Book of Psalms , as they are in the Hebrew , are any of them in Rhyme , but all in Prose : And yet certainly they must acknowledge the Jews had as great an Obligation upon them to perform it in that mode as any now , in case it had been an essential part of Singing . Moreover the Jews amongst us at this day , do believe they sing , and in the same manner their Fore-fathers did ; and yet all they do is in Prose , not in Rhyme . And I am as certain , there is no such Form of Singing expressed in the New Testament to be practised by Christ , or his Apostles , or the Primitive Churches ; Nor as yet have I met with any of our Brethren of a contrary Persuasion , who have asserted it , altho their Practice indeed is otherwise ; for they all sing in Rhyme : And when it hath been demanded of them , why they sung in a Form different from the Church of the Jews of old , and also from that of the Primitive Christians ? They have Answered , because they knew not how to sing otherwise . I might make some Reflections upon this , which might not be very pleasing ; but I design Truth and not Division , and therefore shall forbear . As to the other parts which belong to this Controversy , I find the Assertors of it are divided among themselves ; some having pleaded for it as a Duty simply Moral , and so no need of a Gospel Precept . Others , they have pleaded for it in both senses , and therefore think themselves at liberty to argue either . And others , in the latter only as a Gospel Institution ; and some as partly Legal , and partly Evangelical , viz. The singing it self in the latter , but the Form of doing it , and the Persons performing it , they take from the former , viz. the Law. And therefore , till they are better agreed in the State of the Controversy , I shall refer the whole matter to the Answer which shall be given to the following Paper , which ( in my Opinion ) comprehends the true state of the Case . And if our Brethren will please to answer these Queries , it may be great satisfaction to the Doubting . Whereas if they must go without a particular and due Answer , they will serve to keep me and others in our present and antient Practice ; and we ought not to be blamed by our Brethren , for refusing to admit any thing into the Church as an Ordinance which we have not a sufficient Authority for , from the New Testament ; because some of them cannot but know , that all those Corruptions that are found in the Church of Rome , were not brought in at once , but by degrees . Yea , even the Mass it self was brought in by divers Popes , at more than 12 several times ; as for instance , one he appointed the Confiteor , another the Introitus , another the Kyrie Eleyson , another the Gloria in Excelsis , another the Gradual , another the Offertorium , another the Canon , another the Memento , another the Te igitur , another the Agnus Dei ; with other things too tedious to relate , which has made it so monstrous a piece of Worship as it is now found to be . And altho' I do allow , that what our Brethern have done in bringing in this of Singing into the Church , is not in it self a matter of the greatest moment ; yet if by the same Rule we should have Forms of Prayer introduc'd next , and after that other things , which might also by degrees upon the same Foundation be innovated ; it might tend to the utter ruine of Primitive Christianity , which they know fell out in the first Grand Apostacy . But hoping our Brethren design no such thing , and that God will always stir up some of his faithful Servants to oppose it , if attempted . I shall say no more , but refer you to the Queries themselves , which I judge may be fit to be published for the benefit of those concerned , so far as appears to me upon the reading of them : For I assure you , I am not the Author thereof , and therefore will not assume that to my self which is the Product of the Labour and Study of one , much better skilled in this Controversy . But upon the request of the Publisher , have thought fit to write this Introduction . QVERY , 1. VVHether or no the word Sung , be not added in Matth. 26 , 30. and in Mark 14.16 . and in Acts 16.25 . and in Heb. 2.12 . For in none of those places the term Sung is to be found as is affirmed ? 2. Whether the Translators have done well in adding to the Word of God ? 3. Whether they do well that justifie the Translators who have so done it ? 4. Whether they that Preach , and Print , and confidently urge from those Texts they sung , do not deceive others , and justify the Translators in their adding to God's Word ? 5. Whether those Translations that read that , when they had Hymned , or given Thanks , be not more agreeable to the Truth ? 6. Whether the Term 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Hymnesantes , doth not as strongly imply , that they lamented , as that they sung and rejoyced ? 7. Whether there is not a greater probability , that they Mourned or Lamented , than that they sung and rejoyced at that time ? Note , Now altho' you cannot take this Point from us , neither can we give it you ; yet seeing you will insist upon it right or wrong , make your best on 't , and answer these following Queries . 8. Whether or no if Christ and all the Apostles sung the Hymn together , that the Hymn that they thus sung did not belong to the Passover , and ceased with the Passover ? 9. Whether or no as there was a Hymn belonging to the Passover , there was not a necessity they should sing the Hymn as belonging to the Passover ; otherwise , how could it be said they kept the Passover ? 10. Whether or no they sung two Hymns , the one belonging to the Passover , and ceased with it ; and the other belonging to the Lord's Supper , and remaining ? 11. Whether or no if it be as 't is said , that they sung together , and went out singing , that they returned back to conclude with Prayer , as now you generally do ; but where is your President for it ? 12. Whether ( notwithstanding all that you have said ) there is either Precept or President for your singing either at the Lord's Supper , or before , or after your Sermons ? If you have , you are desired to produce it ; for that will end the Controversy about it : but nothing short of that will. But seeing some of the Singers stick not to this , but fly to the Law for their Refuge : As those seventeen Gentlemen , whose hands are put to a Pamphlet , Entituled , A Sober Reply , &c. do assert in their third Argument . If singing Gods Praises were under the Law with Voices lift up together , and the Saints are in the New Testament required to sing , and no other way it prescribed or laid down how they should sing : Then the Saints in the New Testament ought to sing as they sang under the Old. But such was the singing of Gods People under the Law , and the Churches are enjoyned to sing Psalms in the New Testament , and no other way prescribed or laid down how they should sing . Ergo. The Churches are now to sing in the times of the Gospel , as Gods People under the Law. Therefore let them answer these Queries following : 13. Whether or no the Jews when they sung in the Temple , or else-where , what they sung was not in Prose ? 14. Whether or no any sung in the Temple Worship , but the Singers only ? 15. Whether singing was not an Office instituted of God for his Worship in the Temple , and performed by the Levites only ? 16. Whether all the Levites sung together , or only Asaph , Heman and Jeduthan , and their Sons and Bretheren ? 17. Whether they had not a chief Chanter , to give Instructions in the Song to the Singers ? 18. Whether or no the Singers were not commanded to be clothed in White Linnen ? 19. Whether or no they were not commanded to sing with Musick , viz. with Cymbals , Psalteries and Harps ? 20. Whether the Priests themselves were not appointed with their Trumpets , to join with the Singers in their singing ? 21. Whether or no all the Congregation which Assembled together , ever sung with the Levites ? 22. Whether the Jews ever sung in their Synagogue Worship ? 23. Whether or no singing in our Cathedrals ( if we must take our Rules from Legal Practices ) be not a more agreeable Practice than yours ? for they Sing in Prose , and have Musick , and are clothed in White Linnen , and have Choristers , with a Chaunter to give instructions : but you have none of these . 24. Yet whether or no these Practices are not condemned by all judicious Christians , as superstitious ; and seeing you plead for your Singing from the same Authority , what can yours be less ? 25. Whether it be not a strange Doctrine , that there is no Direction how to sing in all the Gospel ? 26. If this be true , ( as 't is said ) then whether it is not more strange that we having no Direction , should be necessitated to sing as they sung under the Law ? 27. Whether it be not most strange , that instead of following those Directions they have given , they should set up a way of Singing , in direct opposition to that as practised under the Law ? 28. Whether or no 1 Cor. 14.15 . where the Apostle Paul saith , He will sing with the Spirit , and with Vnderstanding also , was not only Direction to the Church , but a President also , whatever they have said to the contrary . 29. Whether or no what the Apostle Paul hath said in Eph. 5.18 , 19. if it be a Precept ; that be not the Precept , Not to be drunk with Wine ; but be filled with the Spirit : implying , that if they were not filled with the Spirit , they could not speak to themselves in Psalms and Hymns , and Spiritual Songs : And in Coloss . 3.16 . That the Word of Christ must dwell richly in them , in all Wisdom ; implying , that otherwise they could not admonish one another in Psalms and Hymns , and Spiritual Songs , nor sing with grace in their Hearts ; and surely , this is most agreeable to the Apostles Doctrine and Practices whatever is , or can be said to the contrary ? 30. Whether or no it were not better to pluck off the Mask , and give over your Singularity , and join with the other Auxiliaries , and rest in what you practise , even in the Psalms as Translated into English Metre , with the Tunes as printed and allowed to be sung by all people together , before and after Sermons , and before and after their Prayers ? For , is it not a clear case , that if they were then Translated in English Metre , they were never Translated before ? and if they were then allowed and appointed to be sung , they were not allowed nor appointed before . And never talk of repairing the Breach ; for if there ever was a Breach , it was then repaired , or it is not yet repaired . But ceasing at present , hoping some of the great Singers will Answer these Queries ; it is also desired they would Answer this one Argument ; for 't is not questioned but it is of more weight than those Three that have been levyed against it , tho' ushered into the world with the Authority of seventeen Hands . That which Christ our great Law-giver never commanded , nor his Apostles in his Name never taught , nor practised , cannot be a Gospel Duty . But Christ never commanded , nor his Apostles never taught nor practised in his Name , that ever a Christian Congregation , when Congregated together , should sing Psalms or Hymns promiscuously , or all together , both Men and Women , Young and Old , Boys and Girls , Professors and Prophane . Therefore such a singing of Psalms or Hymns by a Christian Congregation , when congregated together , is not a Duty . FINIS . 
A47127	----	The benefit, advantage and glory of silent meetings both as it was found at the beginning, or first breaking forth of this clear manifestation of truth, and continues so to be found by all the faithful and upright in heart at this day / writ for the stirring up and encouraging of those more especially who are lately convinced unto the love of them, and diligent improving them unto those ends and uses for which they serve by George Keith. Keith, George, 1639?-1716. 1687 Approx. 51 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 14 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2003-05 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A47127 Wing K145 ESTC R29891 11217645 ocm 11217645 46870 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A47127) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 46870) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1444:30) The benefit, advantage and glory of silent meetings both as it was found at the beginning, or first breaking forth of this clear manifestation of truth, and continues so to be found by all the faithful and upright in heart at this day / writ for the stirring up and encouraging of those more especially who are lately convinced unto the love of them, and diligent improving them unto those ends and uses for which they serve by George Keith. Keith, George, 1639?-1716. Crisp, Stephen, 1628-1692. 27 p. Printed by Andrew Sowle ..., London : 1687. Postscript signed: Stephen Crisp. Reproduction of the original in the British Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. EEBO-TCP is a partnership between the Universities of Michigan and Oxford and the publisher ProQuest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by ProQuest via their Early English Books Online (EEBO) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). The general aim of EEBO-TCP is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic English-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in EEBO. EEBO-TCP aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the Text Encoding Initiative (http://www.tei-c.org). The EEBO-TCP project was divided into two phases. The 25,363 texts created during Phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 January 2015. Anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source. Users should be aware of the process of creating the TCP texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data. Text selection was based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL). If an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in NCBEL, then their works are eligible for inclusion. Selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. In general, first editions of a works in English were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably Latin and Welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so. Image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. Quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in Oxford and Michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet QA standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. After proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. Any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor. The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines. Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Society of Friends -- Doctrines. Worship. 2003-01 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-02 SPi Global Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2003-03 John Latta Sampled and proofread 2003-03 John Latta Text and markup reviewed and edited 2003-04 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion THE Benefit , Advantage , and Glory of Silent Meetings , BOTH As it was found at the beginning , or first breaking forth of this clear manifestation of Truth , and continues so to be found by all the Faithful and Upright in Heart at this Day . Writ for the stirring up and encouraging of those , more especially who are lately Convinced unto the love of them , and diligent improving them , unto those ends and uses for which they serve . By George Keith . LONDON , Printed , by Andrew Sowle , in the Year 1687. The Benefit , Advantage , and Glory of Silent Meetings . BEfore the breaking forth of this clear manifestation of Truth , that now shineth in great Brightness and Glory , which began in the Nation of England some twenty six Years ago , or so , there was many People both in that Nation and elsewhere , in whom there was some true desires and breathings raised and begot after the Lord , by the secret workings of his Eternal Power , insomuch that many in that day began to seek the Lord in great Earnestness and Zeal , upon whom he had caused his Light so far to shine forth , that thereby they came to see their Poverty , Nakedness and Emptiness , notwithstanding of the large and much Profession which they had made in divers Sects , and also by the same , they came to see their want of the living God , though they had learned a notional and litteral knowledg of him , from them who spoke weakly upon the Scriptures , what they had gathered from the Letter , by their Hammerings and Toolings upon them , and so it came to pass , that many who were diligent and zealous followers of these Ministers of the Letter , through these dawnings of the Light of God and Christ , which began to appear in them , became to weary and tire of that ministration they were under , which was at best but that of the Letter , and for most part also , had much of Falshood and Untruth mixed in with it , from the Worlds Spirit and Wisdom , so that their Doctrine had neither the sound Words of Truth , nor the Virtue and Life of Truth to make it Savoury and Nourishing into the Souls of the People , so that many come to loath and refuse it , for it appeared unto them ; no better then as Dead & Corrupted Water , yea as the Waters of Egypt that became Blood , which they loathed to drink off , and the same People who began to loath the Doctrine and Ministry of the National Priesthood , and also of others , who pretended more , finding it both Dead and Corrupt , they found great perpexity and heaviness of Mind , as not knowing what to do , whether to go ; they were pressed in Spirit to leave and forsake the Dead and corrupt Ministry they were formerly under , as finding it hurtful , yea killing ( for the Letter killeth ) but they knew not where to find the living and true Ministery which might administer unto them that which could answer unto the living desires of their Souls , and could Satisfie and Nourish them ; & at the same time there were divers , in divers Parts , who had some inward true and Living openings and Manifestations of Truth , but they were not come to a Clear and Sound State and Condition in their own particulars , nor to a clear discerning of the Manifestations and workings of Truth from their own imaginations . And from the Enemies transformings and likenesses , & yet in this uncleanness & unsoundness they went forth and spoke and declared and Preached and Writ many things , which because they did in part issue or proceed from the Light of Truth , were much taking into their hungring & seeking Souls , who had left the Dead and tastless Ministery they were formerly under , and so because there was somewhat in the Words or Declaration of these men , which did partly answer unto the Witness and truth of God in their hearts , they began much to look after them , follow and hear them , and drink in their Doctrine , even as the parched and dry Land drinketh in the Rai● of a Summer shower ; yet this came to prove much unto the great hurt and loss both of these Teachers , and also of them who gave up to be taught by them . For their Ministery not standing in that cleanness and soundness , either of Doctrine or Spirit , as was needful , it could not but prove as unwholsom and hurtful food , especially seeing there was not that discerning begot in People , whereby they could make a clear difference betwixt the pure and the impure , that which was of God , and that which was but of Man , and of the Enemy ; betwixt the pure and clean Grains , and the Tares ; for indeed in their Ministry they did not sow altogether clean Grain , but many noisom Tares with it , and that in much more abundance , then the true Wheat , and the Tares sprung up , and choaked the good Seed , and hindered it , so the good Seed withered in many , and in many others was in a decaying and withering condition , but the Tares waxed great and flourished , and as for those Teachers who went forth as to sow , for most part , it proved most to their own loss and prejudice , for not being brought into a cleanness and soundness in their own particular Condition , neither as to Doctrine nor Spirit , the Serpent who beguiled the Woman , betrayed the simplicity in them , and so through his subtilty drew them forth still further and further from the true openings of Truth which at sometimes were opened in them truly from the Lord , out into their own vain imaginations and apprehensions , and also into the Enemies transformings and likenesses : whereby the tender dawnings and breakings forth of Truth became to be vailed and clouded in them , and the Darkness prevailed to blind the Eye , which had received some half opening , and so their latter condition was worse then the first , yea many of them became worse then others , as unsavoury Salt , having run out from the Sence and Savour of that which Savoured them in some Measure , and thereby gave occasion of offence unto many People ; for some of these aforesaid , having run out from the Measure of Truth in their own particulars , vented and published both in Words and Writing , Gross , Unsound and Pernicious Doctrines , and others of them became loose and desolate in their lives , all which the Enemies of Truth charged upon Truth it self , and spoke evil of the Way of it , unto many Simple People , who too much believed them , and so were scared and offended , even at the appearance of Truth it self . And about the same time , the People , even those of them for most part , who were most tender , Ingenious and Zealous , ( through a weakness of understanding , and because of the customary Way they had been used to ) had too much an Eye to Words , and too much a Life in them , for they could not meet together , but some behoved to speak , in Doctrine Exhortation or Prayer , &c. Otherwise they would have thought the Time mis-spent , so much as passed away of it without Words , for their minds were much drawn forth , seeking satisfaction , and refreshment in outward Words , Practices and Observations , which yet they found not , but both their Words and Practices for most part proved their Burden , and they Groaned under them , and yet they knew not what to do , for they saw no way how either to Worship God , or profit their own Souls , or one another , but as they thought was in Words , or outward Practises and Observations , and yet they missed the Kingdom , which they in some true Measure desired , and so were scattered abroad , as in Divers Flocks and Companies , like Sheep without a Shepherd , seeking the true Fold and Pasture , but not finding it . And the Lord who had Pity upon them of Old , whom he beheld as Sheep without a Shepherd , and whose Bowels Yearned over them , in the same Yearnings of Bowels extended his tendrr Mercies and Compassion into these , who at that time had Tender Breathings and desires raised in them after himself , and to know and Worship Him aright , and in the acceptable Way , and he prepared Messengers , and seat among them , in a needful and acceptable time , who having attained unto the soundness and clearness in their own Condition , both as to Doctrine and Spirits , through the Power and Grace of the Lord , with and upon them , ( which others before them , as aforesaid , were not come into ) Preached the glad Tidings of the Gospel in Purity and Soundness , upon a People whom the Lord had prepared to receive them , as he had prepared them to Minister to them , the first Principles whereof were to this purpose or effect ; That what was to be known of God was manifest within , that the Kingdom of God was to be sought after , and found within , by every Man , in a Heavenly Seed and Principle , which was of God in every Man , the Word near in the Mouth , and in the Heart ; that God & Christ was to be sought within , found , received and enjoyed within , in the Measure of the Light wherewith he did enlighten every one that comes into the World , and that whoever do truly believe in God and in Christ , must believe in the Light , wherewith Christ did enlighten them , who is given of God a Light to lighten the Gentiles and the People , and who so believe in the Light , which convinceth of sin , judgeth and reproveth it in thought , Word and deed , come to receive life by it , and be made alive unto God , so as to have a Sence of his Divine Power and Vertue , and to see him , and behold him , and enjoy him , and have fellowship with him ; in which Life they come to receive Power over Death , Sin and Darkness , and in the same , they come to receive the true knowledge of God and Christ , and the things pertaining to his Kingdom ; and therein , and therefrom , and thereby they come to receive right thoughts and apprehensions of God , and also the right and sound Words , which are fit to be spoken of him , and concerning him , and his Way and Kingdom ; and which thoughts and Words had a manifestation of his heavenly Life and Vertue in them , as they were received in the Living and Eternal Word , near , and in the Heart ; and so that all thinking or speaking of God , or to him , or the things of his Kingdom , behoved to have this rise , the Word , Light and Life of God in the heart ; otherwise they were all wrong , dead and unsavoury , and so neither acceptable unto God , or profitable either unto the speakers or hearers ; and in like manner , all practices and works , which are not wrought in this Principle , the Light , Life and Spirit of God , within , are but dead and unprofitable , Works and Fruits of Death and Darkness , as not having the Life of God , for their Rise , Spring and Original , and so the first beginning of the Ministry , in great part , was in the Life and Power of God to call off people from all their dead and dark thoughts , Words and Works , as to God , and his Way and Worship , which were not brought forth in the Life and Light of God in the Heart , were not thought in the Life , spoken in the Life , done and practiced in the Life , as being all but false , unsound , unprofitable , and unacceptable ; and as the sound and clear Ministration g●ven them , in the Light and Life of God was to call people off from all the thoughts Words and Works of Death and darkness , so was it also to call them off , and turn them from the Darkness it self , unto the Light , which lighted every one of them , and from Death unto the Word of Life , nigh unto every one , and which would give Life unto every one , who became turned towards it , in the drawings and Vertue thereof , and this was the clear and Sound Ministration , which the Apostles received from Christ , and particularly Paul , who was sent unto the Gentiles , to turn them from Darkness into Light , and from the Power of Satan unto God , which Ministration , as it was greatly Blessed of God in the primitive times , unto that effect so was it , and is it in this our Day , the Work of Labour and Love of him , whom the Lord sent as the first of many others who came after , did greatly prosper , ( though in much contradiction into many who opposed , some through Ignorance , and others through Malice ) whereby in a small time many out of Divers Sects and Professions came to be turned into the Light , and be convinced of it , and by it , that it was the very saving Light of Christ Jesus , notwithstanding of all that Priests or Professors said or disputed to the contrary , for the Ministration had that Light and Evidence , Life and Authority , yea Power & Dominion of Truth in it , which even by a Spiritual compulsion , forced an assent in the Hearts of many , and the Measure of Truth which was Clouded and Vailed in many , came to be reached unto , through this Ministration , so as to answer unto it , to the sufficient convincement of these , in whom it is thus answered . And as for them who came to be clearly and soundly reached , so as to feel the Power and Life of God in the Ministration reach into the Measure and Seed of Truth in their own particulars : O what a Day and Time it was unto them , that was even such a Day as they had never the like of it before , nor ( in some Sence ) after it , for it was a Day unto them both of Joy and Heaviness , Comfort and Sorrow , Light and Darkness , Life and Death , their Joy and their Comfort was in the Morning Dawnings of the Beauty and Glory of God , which begun somewhat to appear in the Light , as they became turned towards it ; but their heaviness was , in that they began to find the exceeding sinfulness of sin , and how to feel themselves so hedged and compassed about with intanglements and hindrances both within and without , but more especially within , to stop them from entring into the new and living and perfect way of God , which began to be revealed in the Light , insomuch that they came to see that these things which they formerly counted gain , were now Dung and loss unto them , and that which they esteemed as their Glory , became now their shame , as namely their large Profession and Righteousness , and way of Worship , which stood in Dead and empty performances , in the oldness of the Letter , in which they had a Life , and which had a Life in them also , but it was the Life of Death , which Reigned in them , and do Reign in all , from Adam unto Moses , yea and whose Reign is not put down , until Christ the Blessed Seed and Life be Witnessed raised and revealed in the Particular ; and so this Day of God brought Death and Darkness over all that false Life and Light , which had Place in them formerly , and stained all their false Beauty and Glory , even all the Glory of Flesh , or of the First-birth , in all the Wisdom , Counsel and Knowledge thereof , and in all its thoughts and apprehensions of God , and in all its Words , and Works , and Practices , and Righteousness , whereby it came to pass that these who seemed to have , and had much Knowledge and understanding of God and Christ , but it was according to the Flesh or First Birth , began now to See and be Convicted , that they were very Ignorant , so as even to say , surely I am more Bruitish then any Man , and I have not the understanding of a Man in me ; and thus many , who were Teachers of others , for many years , came to be Convinced that they had need to Learn the very first Principles of the Doctrine of Christ , and so these who had stood in a long and Large Profession of Words , and attained to great Abilities that Way , in Doctrine , Exhortation , and Prayer , &c. Whether through Education or frequent Practice , being come to a true and Living Sence and Convincement , that it was all but Carnal and Fleshly , or at best stood in a great Mixture , having more of Flesh then Spirit in it , and more of Death and Darkness , then of Life and Light , which is hurtful , as aforesaid , came to be gathered out of all that Bulk , and heap of Words into the waiting Place , in the Measure of the Light , which had Convinced them , and given them some Sence of their Conditions , so to wait upon the Lord in his Light in all possible stilness and quietness , and silence of Mind , not only out of all outward Performances and Words , but even out of all Thoughts and Apprehensions of God or Christ , and all inward motions and Workings , which had not the Light , or Word , or Spirit of God in their Hearts , for the Rise and Spring , and this they were brought unto through the Ministration aforesaid , which pointed or directed them unto this place , even silence , both as to Words and Thoughts , and that both apart and together , by which Ministration also they were called to assemble or gather together in the Name of Christ , whose Name is the Light , the Wisdom and Power of God , and the second Adam , the quickning Spirit , to wait together in this Silence . So in this Name they were called and directed to assemble or gather together , to wit , in the Light , Wisdom , Power and quickning Spirit of God , so they were not to come in their own Wisdom and Spirit , or in the Wisdom and Spirit of the first Adam , as to Meditate , Teach , or Pray , or give Thanks in the Words which that Wisdom and Spirit did teach them , for that had been to meet in the name of the first Adam , and not in the Name of the second , whose Name is the Light , and the Life , and the Power , and Wisdom of God , as aforesaid , and so this Wisdom , and Power , and Name , was to furnish them in all they did or spoke in their Meetings or Assemblies ; and to this the Apostle directed the Believers in his day , that whatsoever they did in Word or Deed , they should do it in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ ; if they Taught , it should be in his Name , to wit , in his Light , Life and Power ; and if they Prayed it should be in this ; and if they gave Thanks it should be in this ; and then the Words uttered or expressed by them should be Spirit and Life , that would both reach unto God , for a sweet Savour and Odour before him , and also unto his Witness in the Heart of them who heard , for what they spoke should not be the Word of Man , but the Word of God , Christ the Word , the Light , and the Life , speaking in them , and through them , as Christ said unto the Disciples , It is not you that speak , but the Spirit of the Father that speaketh in you , and according to this Paul said , That no Man could call Jesus the Lord , but by the Holy Ghost ; for the Name of the Lord is a living Name , and so cannot be named but by the Power and Vertue of his own Life ; indeed a Man , in his own natural Spirit may pronounce the Letter of the Name , but the Letter is not the Name , for the Name is the Word of God , but the Letter is not the Word , and so it is one thing to pronounce the Letter or Letters , but for another to name or speak the Word of God , yea , or inwardly only to conceive in it the Mind or Heart , which none can do but by the Holy Ghost . Now about this time that divers were convinced , as aforesaid , and gathered together in Divers Places , through very Necessity , their Meetings came to be Silent , for some Time , though the First Rice and Ground of their Meeting in Silence , was , that they were taught it of the Lord , forasmuch as there were but few , who were then attained unto that Soundness and Clearness of Condition , in their own Particulars , so as thereby to be fitted and Qualified in the Word , Life , Power , and Wisdom of God , to Minister unto others in Divers Places , Friends being but very young at that first breaking forth of Truth ; and so their Works was mostly , if not only to joyn together , in a joynt Concurrence to wait upon the Lord , for the indu●ngs of his Power from on High , and to see the Work and Operation of his Word , Light and Life in them , every one being turned unto the Manifestation thereof in their own particulars : For indeed in beginners , or those who are but lately turned unto the Light and Life of Truth , it hath much to Work through in them , and they have many Steps of inward Tryals and Exercise to Pass through in the Light and Life of Truth , before they attain unto that Soundness and Clearness in their own Conditions , whereby they can safely and Purely Administer the Word and Words of Life unto others without mixture ; for First a Man must be in a good Measure gathered into the Life and Spirit of Truth , so as to be well rooted and fastened in it , in his own particular , before he be in such a fit Condition as to Minister unto others , with safety and advantage , and the Word of Life must first have some free passage in a Mans Heart , Mind and Spirit , before it can have a free passage in the Mouth , and it must have got some good Measure of Command and Dominion over the Heart , and the Thoughts and Affections thereof , otherwise it cannot so conveniently , and readily have the command of the Mouth ▪ so as to order and direct it , that the Mouth steadily and soundly , only as the Instrument of the Word and Spirit of God , may only express or declare the living Words of God , otherwise as where the Heart is not under the command of the Life as aforesaid ) the Mouth will reel and stagger in its expressions , and be apter to speak the Words of the Wisdom and Spirit of Man then of God ; now as the Words of the Spirit of God and Christ are in the Mouth Spirit and Life ; so the Words of or from the Spirit of Man , though even gathered from the Scriptures , are instead of Spirit , but Letters ; and instead of Life , but Death ; the one is Spirit and Life , the other but Letter and Death , which Profits not , but hurts ; yea even the Mixture , ( as where it is partly Letter , and partly Spirit ) as much as possible , is to be shunned and forborn , especially , in this so Clear and Glorious manifestation of Truth , which calleth out of all Mixtures , both in Words and Works unto Purity , soundness and simplicity in all , and now doth more pressingly require it , then in the Times of Ignorance and Darkness that are past . Thus I say , that even very necessity at first occasioned their silent Meetings of Friends in Divers places , every one being afraid to open the Mouth , nor daring to open , it till the Lord opened it by the Power and Vertue of own Spirit and Life , and though none durst speak or open a Mouth , nor had received that Spiritual Power and ability to do it , yet a necessity and Duty they found in it , to meet together , yea the least measure and appearance of Life and Light in every one did even draw them together , and when or wherever they came together in the drawings thereof , and sat down together in stilness and quietness , every one being turned and gathered unto their particular Measures , they came to find the Benefit , Advantage and Glory thereof , in a Wonderful and unspeakable manner ; for after this manner they became all as one Body , and as Members together of the Body , and one of another by reason of that wonderful and excellent and Glorious Unity , which the several Measures of Life and Light , hath in the particular Vessels and persons . For if even but two be together , & that each of both be gathered unto their own measure of Life , the measure of Life in thr one doth after a secret & unspeakable manner reach unto the measure of Life in the other , & flow forth into it , wh●reby the one is raised , & Strengthened & inlarged by the other , & as it were fed & refreshed thereby , yea and the Life in the one doth so joyn , and Vnite its force and strength and Vertue unto the other , that every particular feels the Strength and Vertue of the twofold measure of Life , as it were doubled within themselves ; and if they be three thus gathered together , the particular Measure of Life in every one reacheth unto every particular , so that one feels not only the Vertue Force and Strength of his own particular Measure of Life , but also the very force and Strength of the other two , so that his Life is as it were strengthened , enlarged and refreshed , as in a threefold degree , and so still as the number of these do increase , who come indeed to Witness any Measure of the Life and Light of God to spring up in them , all the particular Measures of Life in the particular Vessels , or Persons in whom it hath appeared , Vniting in one , even as many small Streams , become as a large river of Life , which in the wholeness , or Vniversallity of it , hath its Course Motion and Operation , in and through every Member , in some Measure , according to the capacity of each ; and thus the whole Vniversal Life and Spirit of the whole Body reacheth , in its whole Vertue , in some Measure unto every Member for the quickning , refreshment , and edifying thereof , as even it is in the Natural Body , for the Natural Spirit that is Vniversally diffused through the whole , reacheth unto every Member in the Body , with its Influence Life and Virtue , end a plain example whereof we have also in the Light , that is Natural , for if a Company of People should come into a dark place , every one of them having a Lamp or Candle lighteh , each person injoyeth not only the Light of his own , but also of all his Neighbours , where each suf●er their Light freshly to shine forth . And of this Friends having such manifest and clear Experience in their own particulars , they became greatly indeared toward , one another in all Pureness and tenderness of Love , and finding the great Benefit and Advantage which they had in one anothers Company , Presence and Fellowship , as of one being a Strength to another , their Life and Spirit reaching unto them , oft without all Words , yea in the silence or ceasing of Words they were drawn to meet often together , for that in the Presence and Company of one another they were inwardly Refreshed , Comforted , Quickened and Strengthned , through that Communion and Communication of the Spirit and Life of God , from Vessel to Vessel , as from one upon all , and from all upon one , and this is that Communion of the Saints , which is a Mystery forever sealed from all Natural Men , but is most open and clear to every Child of Light , yea even unto the Youngest , who are but as Babes and Sucklings in the Truth . And oft times it so comes to pass , that one only particular Person is made an occasion of great Refreshment , Quickning and Comfort unto many , yea unto a whole Meeting , so that in good and certain experience , where divers have come together , but Life had but a weak or small manifestation in and among them , as being but young in the Truth , and much Death and Darkness as yet having place , which Burthened and Clouded the tender Life , so that , as it were the Power of Death and Darkness could be felt to work strongly in the Meeting , by reason of which those who met had much ado to wrestle against the said dark Power , yet the coming of one among them , and sitting down with them in the Meeting , to wait together upon the Lord in pure Silence , has occasioned Life in great Glory and Dominion to shine fo●th , & flow like a mighty River through the whole Meeting , and every particular Member thereof , by which every particular could sensibly feel the Power of Darkness and Death , which did Burthen and Weaken the Meeting , and quench or stop the springing up of Life , to be removed by the force and strength of Life , which br●ke forth against it , and dispelled it , as the Sun in his strength dispelleth and breaketh a Cloud into pieces , the occasion of which hath been , that the one aforesaid hath had the Life of God in his own particular raised into a large stature and measure of Power and Dominion , whereby his Life hath had its course through all that Darkness that stood in the way , to the reaching the weak and small measures of Life in the others , and so by its Influence quickening and strengthening Life in every particular , till it was raise● over all that stood in its way , and all were abundantly Refreshed , Comforted and Quickened , and such through the Goodness and Providence of God , are sent unto others , or raised up , among them to be unto them as Nursing Fathers , and Stewards , and Shepherds , unto whom , as it were , the Keys of the Kingdom were given , that may open it unto others ; not but that it is possible to be opened , even without all Instruments from without , yea the Service and Benefit of Instruments , fitted and prepared of God , hath been , and is found to be great unto the more abundant opening of it , and helping the Weak and Feeble unto the more ready and easie entrance into it , wherefore such cannot but be dearly Loved and Honoured in the Truth , for their Works sake ; and because of that excellent measure of Life in them , which hath such universal Influence and Service unto all . And though the Unity and Fellowship of the Children of Light and Truth doth not simply consist in their outward Nearness , Company , or Presence , for that though at never so great an outward Distance , their Unity remains , in that Spirit which reacheth over and through all , yet it is certain that even their being together in the outward ( when they are gathered in the Name of Christ as aforesaid , as in the particular measure of his Life and Light made manifest in them ) doth greatly conduce and contribute to increase and strengthen their Unity , and to make their Fellowship and Communion of Life the more sensible as is known and witnessed by certain experience ; for that when they are outwardly present , Life hath and oppertunity to convey it self unto one another , by an through the natural Spirit , and the very Face of one sharpneth another , as Iron doth Iron , for where Life is rased in the Heart , it hath its Image on the very Face or Countenance , which by a secret Vertue reacheth unto others . Yea not only doth Life convey it self , and its pure influence , through the Voice and Sight , but even through the taking one another by the Hand , where it is done in pure and undefiled Love , and by the laying on of Hands also , as was witnessed in the Primitive Times , so that those who were indued with a large measure of the Life and Spirit of God , whilthey laid Hands on them who Believed , Vertue went forth from that force and strength of Life in them , an● reached unto these on whome Hands were laid , whereby they came to feel the Life to be raised in their own particulars , and the Power of the Holy Ghost to fall or break forth upon them , as even so it is witnessed at this Day , in and among the Children of Truth , through the form●r formality of laying on of Hands , that is in the false Church , which hath only the empty and bare imitation is not regarded . And thus now it being showed , how great an Advantage and Benefit the Children of Light and Truth have in their Meeting together , through the Communication of Life , yea from all to every one , and from one to all , and that without all Words , as well as with them , the Benefit and Advantage of their meeting together , even in Silence , cannot but be manifest , and this serves to answer that common Objection used by many , who say , We may sit silent at Home , and wait in silence in our own Houses , and so be as much edified , a● to come to a silent Meeting , where nothing is spoke for our Instruction or Learning ; to which I say , nay if your outward Liberty and Health can permit you to come , and yet you come not , but stay at home , you cannot Profit , nor be Edified so much at home , though you should give your selves to waiting in silence , as by coming to the Meeting of the Lords People and waiting together with them in silence , first , because to meet together is the Ordinance of God , which he doth bless ; yea he hath promised that where two or three do meet together in his Name he will be in the midst of them , and this promise is to meeting simply in his Name , though there should be no Speaking among them ; but secondly because as is said , through that universal influence of Life , which the whole Meeting hath upon every particular Life , to raise and refresh , and strengthen Life in every particular , th●refore it is manifest ; that it is more profitable and edifying to wait with others , where oppertunity can be had then alone , for while we wait with others , we become a strength and help unto one another in waiting , which many can seal the truth of by certain experience , who have found much more ready and easie access and entrance to wait upon the Lord , and a much more freedom of Mind from vain Thoughts and Encumbrances while they were waiting with others , then while alone ; as also many has been Convinced and brought to the knowledg of the Truth by coming to Silent Meetings , and seeing as is showed that Life doth readily most prevail & abound while they wait together , surely these occasions cannot but be the more Edifing and Profitable , when rightly improved , for when Life is most raised , and doth most prevail and abound in the Heart , then a man hath the best opertunity to feel the operation of it in him to work and purge out the old Nature and Spirit , with the Works thereof , and to leven him into a new lump , so as to mould and transform him unto its own pure Similitude and Image . And so these who came together , to meet after this manner in Silence , so that they would sit together many hours in a deep Silence and Quietness , came to sind great Benefit and Advantage in them , yea and a great Glory , though such Meetings became the Worlds wonder , and natural and dark spirited men did scorn and deride them , as they do unto this day , yet the Children of Truth found them , and do find them the most Profitable and Edifying Meetings that ever they were at , where all Flesh is made Silent , and the Lamb alone is waited for to appear in his Temple , and speak forth his holy Mind , Will and Counsel in such Vessels as are fitted and prepared of him , and those who met together in this Silence , where , at that time perhaps , not one in the Meeting had a Mouth opened , or utterance gave them , in the Life and Spirit of God , came in due time to receive the opening of the Mouth in a very large and powerful , and glorious manner , as continues unto this day with them who yet remain alive in the Body , and now many have received an opening of the Mouth , and come to witness the Word of Life sprung up in great Power and Glory , to the putting Words into their Mouths , which are Spirit and Life that Minister Grace , largely unto the Hearers , and are a Sweet and Precious Savour and Odour unto God , even a Sacrifice of a sweet Smell ; and so they witnessed the Promise fulfilled unto them , upon the matter ( though the many Tongues and Languages , with other circumstantial things be not ) as the Disciples did , who were commanded to tarry at Ierusalem , and wait for the Promise of the Father , which was the pouring forth and effusion of the Holy Ghost , or Holy Spirit ▪ and Life of God upon them ; and they wait , so it came to pass , that on the day of Penticost , being assembled together with one accord , they were filled therewith , and began to speak forth the wonderous things of God , as they felt them in their Hearts , and as the Spirit gave them utterance . And seeing they were not commanded to Speak , Preach , nor Pray , nor Sing , but in the Name of Christ , that is in his Life , Spirit and Power , as it moved them , it is manifest , at times , the Disciples , or Christians in the Primitive Times had Silence among them , as we now have , seeing they were not to Speak , but when the Life moved ; and surely there were among them , who did not always feel the motion of Life to Speak , nor were always in a Capacity or Condition for Speaking , and though now , since the glorious increase and growth of Truth , few Meettings have some or other to whom a Ministry in Words is given more or less , so that seldom or rarely Meetings are under a necessity to be wholy Silent , from first to last ; yet because of the great Advantage , and Benefit , and Glory that is found in them , Friends are many times willing and desirous to sit down and feed together in Silence , upon the heavenly and invisible Life , so as to reach unto one another in the Communications of Life , and feel the States and Conditions of one another therein in Silence , and enjoy that secret and hid Fellowship together which the World knoweth not , so as even to be silent , though both a Liberty and Ability in the Life may be present with divers ( where no pressure no pressing occasion is found ) to utter Words , which indeed hath a great Glory in it , that People should Converse together in Spirit and deep Silence , and without all Words . Now among divers great an 〈…〉 d Advantages and Benefits , which they who came to be Convinced did find , in the sitting down together to wait in silence ; there were some that in the silence , their Minds being turned towards the Light and Life of God which had appeared to them , they came to find their Mindes stayed therein and thereby , for a great and mighty Power broke forth , in the Light , unto which their Minds were turned , and did gather their Minds into it more and more , whereby they came to know a being Planted , and Grounded , and Rooted , and Setled , and Established in the Truth , and in the Light , and Life , and Spirit and Power thereof ; and so they came to be gathered out of all the Tossings and Waverings of Mind , and out of all the Incumbrances and Wandrings , into Stability and Steaddiness in the Truth , which was even as to be delivered from a Stormy and Tempestuous Sea , and brought to dry Land ; and thus also they came to be gathered out of all their own Thoughts and Imaginations , and uncertain Conjectures and Guessings concerning the things of God and Religion , into the clear and certain manifestation of Truth , by which also they came to receive an inward discerning , so as to distinguish & make a difference infallibly betwixt things and things in them , as to see and know and feel what was of God , and what was not of him , but of Man or of Satan ; and so as they waited in this silence , their minds being turned towards the Lord , they could discern the right and wrong Spirit , and the Work and motion of each , and came to see what was to be Kept and Spared , and what was to be Denied ; what was to be preserved Alive , and Cherished and Nourished , and what was to be Slain and Famished and Starved , and so in the Silence they came to find the pure Judgment of the Lord to pass over and through all in them , as the Refiners Fire , which purifieth the Glod and Silver , but consumeth the Dross and maketh a clear Separation , and the Power of the Lord God was found and felt to work mightily in them , for the breaking down , and Killing , and Consuming , and Destroyed every Evil Thing and Work , which had place in them and removing and taking out of the way whatever Clouded or Vailed , or Burthened the pure Life to arise and shine forth , and so the Mountains which were raised over the Seed and burthened it , came to be shaken , yea the Earth and the Heavens , ( by which these bodily Quakings and Tremblings did also seize upon divers , and from this the Name Quakers was in scorn cast upon Friends ) that the Mountain of the Lord might be raised up a top of them all , and so through the mighty working of Gods Power , which was revealed in the Light , to which their minds were turned in silence , they came to be brought out of the mixture , wherein they stood formerly , into a clearness and soundness of Condition in the Truth , both as to Spirit and Judgment in their own particulars ; and so they came to a clear and sound understanding of the things of God , & of Truth , & Religion , and the way of Worship , and to have clear and sound Thoughts and Apprehensions of them , which did purely and clearly arise in the Light , in which their minds became stayed , and so in due time a pure and clear ministration in Words was given unto many of them , so that they preached pure , sound & clear Doctrine , in a pure and clear manifestation of Life , unto which pure Ministration many came to be brought , who had a Ministration formerly among People of divers Sects and Opinions , which stood in the mixture aforesaid , that was not clear Grain and Food , and therefore hurt both themselves and others , but being gathered together unto thi● pure Ministration ( which they received by sitting down to wait upon the Lord , to learn together in silence , with all subjection , the pure and clear and perfect knowledg of things ) they came both to be saved themselves , and to be made instrumental to save many others : And so in silence they came to receive these many precious openings and discoveries of Truth and Religion ; and the Scriptures were largely and purely opened unto them concerning these many things , which are the matters of Difference between the Friends and Children of Truth , and the Priests and Professors , and these together with many precious and excellent Gifts of the Spirit , and also much inward Peace , Joy , Refreshment and Consolation in the holy Spirit , and much increase of Life and Grace , and Righteousness and much Beauty , and Glory , and Dominion in the Life , were among the Blessed and Glorious Advantages they received in meeting together , and waiting together upon the Lord in pure Silence and Stilness , and which are all known and witnessed , and found at this day ( even as at the beginning ) by them , who faithfully and diligently do observe them and improve them . And by this means also the Truth came greatly to spread and gain Ground , and so doth at this Day , even in that these who were Convinced in all the parts and corners of the Land , where the sound of Truth came , did meet together , though there were but two or three in a place , and sat down together to wait upon the Lord in pure Silence , out of all their own Thoughts and Words , and Works , which was a great and loud Testimony , and did Preach all abroad far and near , which gave occasion unto many who had some measure of Simplicity and Tenderness to consider the thing , and the signification of it , that in a time wherein Professors had so much a life in Words , ( as if all Religion had been turned into Words , and in Speaking and Hearing , as indeed it was so with most part , that they knew no more of it , but to hear and talk Words , and so their Religion was a Monster , as if all the Body were become the Tongue and the Ear ) that a People should be raised up to meet together in Silence , and in Silence to be Edified , and Taught and Instructed more then in all the Words they had formerly heard or spoken , and in silence to Worship God , and Pray , and give Thanks , and be Helped and Strengthened one by another , this gave occasion , and doth and will give occasion still more and more unto many , that have any measure of Tenderness and Simplicity to look beyond Words into the inwards and substance of Religion ; and indeed hereby many came to be Convinced , more then by all the Preachings in Words that ever they heard , the very Silence and Silent Meetings of Friends Preached unto them so Convincingly , and reached them , that they came both to confess and own the Truth , and to sit down in silence with them who were formerly gathered , turning in their Minds to the Light , whereby they came to be partakers of the Benefits of Silence , as aforesaid , with them , and so they came to see the proportion of the true Religion , which is as a well proportioned Body , and is not all Tongue or Ears , but hath many other Parts and Members , and these far greater ; for the Tongue , as said Iames , Is but a little Member ; and so indeed the Words ( which the Tongue can utter , and answers thereunto ) are but a very little part in respect of these many other things which pertain unto the true Religion , and even , as in the Natural Body , many other Members recei●e power to execute , and do their proper and respective Offices , before the Tongue ; as we see in Infants , who can use divers Members of their Body , but cannot speak with the Tongue ; so is it even as to the true Religion , which first gives power as to the use of divers other things relating thereunto , before it gives power as to speak of them , so that obedience unto the Truth , and the practice of a holy Life and Conversation , doth most naturally proceed the speaking of or concerning the Truth ; and this is the order of Christ , who said , He that keepeth my Commandments , and teacheth men so to do , ( so her● is first keeping the Commandments before teaching unto others ) the same shall be great in the Kingdom of Heaven . And so Friends being turned towards God , to wait upon him for his Teachings in their Silent Meetings , have not their Meetings to depend upon any Speakers or Speaker without , whatsoever , and therefore they can and do meet together with Advantage when they know not of any Speakers ; and thus their Meetings are constantly kept up for a Testimony to Truth , and the Edification of themselves , as also for the reaching unto others ; whereas among all other Professions and Professors , it is quite otherwise , for if they have no Speaker , they have no Meeting , and so their Meetings depend upon the Words and Lips of men , as if they could receive no good in Meetings but what dropped from the Lips of men , whereas the good that Friends look at , and wait for in Meetings , and do receive , is far beyond all Words whatsoever , even the very Words of Life , ( which Words are precious unto them notwithstanding , and desirable in their place ) and that Good is the Life it self , which was before Words , and will be when Words are not , and in which all Words are to cease ; but the Life endureth for ever , in which Friends have Fellowship with God , and one with another . And as touching Silent Meetings or Meeting together in silence , it is not only traceable among the Disciples and Apostles in the Primitive Times as aforesaid , but even in the Old Testament so called ( although it be thought such a strange thing among Priests and Professors generally ) for did not Iob and his Friends meet together in silence 7 days , Iob 3.13 . And did not Ezekiel sit among the Captives 7 days , and did not open his Mouth to any , till at the End of them , when the Word of the Lord came to him , Ezek. 3.15 , 16. Yea , and the Ilands are bid be Silent before him , Isa. 41.1 . and said Zechariah , Let all Flesh be Silent before the Lord , for he is raised up out of his Holy Place , Zech. 2.13 . George Keith . POST-SCRIPT . The Copy of a Letter written from Germany , by Stephen Crisp , to Friends , which doth suit with the preceeding Paper . ALL Friends every where , who have tasted of the Goodness of God , keep in the Savour thereof , and let not your Minds be stoln away from that which is Living , for that which is Living cometh from Above , and makes you Lively , but that which is Corruptible cometh from the Earth , and brings Death with lt over your Souls ; and therefore watch in diligence to retain the Savour of the Life of Truth , that you may Live , from a sence that Christ liveth in you , who is the Seed , the Truth , the Noble Plant , and grows and bringeth forth Fruit in you . And all Friends , every where , who thus keeps and retains the Savour of Life in them , they will come to feel daily Quicknings thereby , and will have power over the Nature that is dead in Adam to all good Works , and especially to waiting upon God with a stedfast and stay'd Mind : Nothing so hard as this to that old and corrupt Nature which is soon weary . This is that Nature which cannot watch with Christ one hour , but let his Tryals and Sufferings be never so great this leads from Watching to Sleeping , this hath no Fellowship with the Seed of God in its Sufferings , and shall have none in its Dominion . And where this drowsie Nature stands Uncrucified , it keeps you in the Weakness out of the Power , and this brings out of the savour and feeling of the Goodness of God , and so makes Meetings unprofitable , and as it comes through Custom to be allowed and subjected to , it leads into Hypocrisie , that is to say , into a professing to waiting upon God , and a presenting the Body in the Meeting , and then letting the Heart ( which God requires ) depart far from him , even into the Ease and Liberty of the Flesh , in which the Apostle said , they that lived could not please God. Therefore , Dear Friends , in the Name of God I exhort you , consider what you do when you Assemble together , and let it be in the Name of Iesus , that is in his Power , not in the Weakness , nor in the Flesh like a Fleshly Meeting , but in his Name and Power make War with the Flesh , and with the Drowsie Spirit that lodgeth there , and in the Faith overcome it , and be not overcome by it , for that is Bondage : And hold your Meetings in the Spirit , where every one is made alive and flourisheth , and grows in Life and in Dominion , and shines forth to the Glory of God , and to the Comforting and Refreshing one of another . For now as any one suffereth himself to be overtaken with Sleep in a Meeting , he looseth the sence of the Power of God , he becomes a Griefe to the Diligent , and an Evil Example to the Negligent , and brings himself under the Judgment of Gods Power in his own Conscience , which when he awaketh riseth up against him ; and also he is under the Judgment of the Power in the whole Meeting , which , when he comes to a true sence of , will be no light thing ; and further , if any that are unbelieving come in among you , and see such things among you , that make a profession of an inward Power , and an inward quickning Spirit , and a Worship that is inward in the Spirit and Truth , herein causeth such the Name of God to be Dishonored , the way of Truth to be holden in little Esteem , by such who know it not in themselves , and a Stumbling-Block is hereby laid in their way to hinder them from any farther seeking after the Truth . Oh Friends ! consider these things , and be all diligent in this Matter , and let not that earthly part have Liberty , but let it be kept in the Cross till it Dies , or else it will keep and hold you Dead and Unsensible of God or one another . And this is that hath hindred the growth of many , namely their Carelesness in coming to Meetings , and their Slothfulness when they are there . Therefore for time to come , let every one that bears the profession of Truth , be diligent in the Work of God , and be good Examples to each other ; and observe your time and hour of coming to Meeting ; and set not one hour , and then come at another ; and neglect not your middle week Meetings , by reason of your outward Occasions , for that will not bring a Blessing upon your Affairs , but let all things give way to the Service of God , and then all things shall work together for good unto you , and there shall be no lack of any thing that is good for you . So dear Friends , in the true love of God have I writ this unto you , as it lay upon me from the Lord , as a word of Exhortation , to stir up the pure mind in you all ; and the God of Power and Strength give you of his Might , and of his Power to help you in all your Necessities , and in all your Combates , and strengthen your Faith , in which and by which the Victory is obtained , which is the desire of my Soul for you all , who am your Friend in the Fellowship of the Gospel . Stephen Scrisp . THE END . 
A07381	----	Churches, that is, appropriate places for Christian vvorship both in, and ever since the Apostles times. A discourse at first more briefly delivered in a colledge chappell, and since enlarged. By Joseph Mede, B.D. and fellow of Christs Colledge in Cambridge. Mede, Joseph, 1586-1638. 1638 Approx. 93 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 40 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2004-08 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A07381 STC 17765 ESTC S122056 99857209 99857209 22899 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A07381) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 22899) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1475-1640 ; 1247:12) Churches, that is, appropriate places for Christian vvorship both in, and ever since the Apostles times. A discourse at first more briefly delivered in a colledge chappell, and since enlarged. By Joseph Mede, B.D. and fellow of Christs Colledge in Cambridge. Mede, Joseph, 1586-1638. [6], 74 p. Printed by M[iles] F[lesher] for John Clark, and are to be sold at his shop under St Peters Church in Cornhill, London : M DC XXXVIII. [1638] Printer's name from STC. The first leaf is blank. Reproduction of the original in the British Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. 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Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor. The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines. Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Church buildings -- Early works to 1800. Worship -- Early works to 1800. 2004-05 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2004-05 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2004-06 Judith Siefring Sampled and proofread 2004-06 Judith Siefring Text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-07 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion CHVRCHES , THAT IS , Appropriate Places FOR Christian VVorship ; BOTH IN , AND EVER SINCE THE APOSTLES TIMES . A Discourse at first more briefly delivered in a Colledge Chappell , and since enlarged . BY JOSEPH MEDE B. D. and Fellow of Christs Colledge in CAMBRIDGE . LONDON , Printed by M. F. for JOHN CLARK , and are to be sold at his Shop under S t Peters Church in Cornhill . M DC XXXVIII . REV mo . IN CHRISTO PATRI ET DOMINO SVO SVMME HONORANDO , DOMINO GVILIELMO DIVINA PROVIDENTIA ARCHIEPISCOPO CANTVARIENSI , METROPOLITANO , TOTIVSQVE ANGLIAE PRIMATI . Hanc suam de Ecclesiarum ( hoc est , Locorum cultui Christiano dicatorum ) jam inde ab Apostolorum temporibus antiquitate Dissertationem , Antiquitatis Ecclesiasticae propugnatori , sublatique inter sacrum & profanum discriminis assertori eximio , In grati & officiosi animi indicium Eâ , quâ decet , submissione , & favoris spe DICAT CONSECRATQUE Rev ma Paternitatis ipsius Cultor & Sacellanus observantissimus I. M. PErlegi hanc Dissertationem Historicam de Christianarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitate , cui Titulus est [ Churches , &c. both in and ever since the Apostles times . ] in quâ nihil reperio Fidei Orthodoxae , aut Historiae Ecclesiasticae contrarium , quo minùs cum utilitate publicâ imprimatur , ita tamen , ut si non intra tres menses proximè sequentes typis mandetur , haec Licentia sit ominò irrita . IUN . 4 o. 1638. R mo . in Christo Patri , & D no. D. Arch. Cant. Sacellanus Domesticus GUIL . BRAY. CHVRCHES : THAT IS , APPROPRIATE Places for Christian Worship both in , and ever since the Apostles times . 1 COR. 11. 22. Have ye not houses to eat and drink in ? [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; ] Or despise ye the CHVRCH of God ? IT is taken in a maner for granted by the most of our Reformed Writers , and affirmed also by * some of the other side : That in the Apostles times , and in the Ages next after them ( whilest the Church lived under Pagan and persecuting Emperours ) Christians had no Oratories , or places set apart for Divine Worshipp ; but that they assembled here and there promiscuously , and uncertainly , as they pleased , or the occasion served , in places of common use , and not otherwise . But that this is an errour , I intend to demonstrate by good evidence , taking my rise from this passage of the Apostle , who reproving the Corinthians for using prophane banquetings and feastings in a sacred place ; Have ye not Houses ( saith he ) to eat and drink in ? 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; Or despise you the CHVRCH of God ? Here I take the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Church , to note , not the assembly , but the place appointed for sacred duties , and that from the opposition thereof to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , their owne Houses , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Have ye not houses to eat and drink in ? These are places proper for ordinary and common repast , and not the Church or house of God : which is againe repeated in the last verse of that Chapter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , If any man hunger , let him eat at home . Thus most of the Fathers tooke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this passage ; namely , as most of the words , signifying an assembly or company , are wont to be used also for the place thereof : as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Synagoga , Collegium , &c. S t. AUSTIN is so plain , as nothing can be more . For concerning expressions , where the continent is called by the name of the thing contained , he instances in this of Ecclesia : Sicut Ecclesia ( saith he ) dicitur locus , quo Ecclesia congregatur . Nam Ecclesia homines sunt , de quibus dicitur : Vt exhiberet sibi gloriosam Ecclesiam . Hanc tamen vocari etiam ipsam Domum orationum , idem Apostolus testis est , ubi ait ; Nunquid domos non habetis ad manducandum & bibendum ? an Ecclesiam Dei contemnitis ? S t. BASIL hath the same notion in his Moralia . Reg. xxx . Quòd non oportet * loca sacra , mistura eorum quae ad communem usum spectant , contumelia afficere . Which he confirmes thus ; Et intravit Iesus in Templum Dei , & ejiciebat omnes ementes & vendentes in Templo , & mensas numulariorum & cathedras vendentium columbas evertit , & dicit eis ; Scriptum est , Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur , vos autem fecistis eam speluncam latronum . Et ad Cor. 1. Nunquid domos non habetis ad manducandum & bibendum ? aut Ecclesiam Dei contemnitis ? Si quis esurit , domi manducet , ut non in judicium conveniatis . Againe , in his Regulae compendiosiùs explicatae , Interog . & Respons 310. answering that question , Nunquid in communi domo sacra oblatio debeat celebrari : Quemadmodum , saith he , verbum non permittit , ut vas ullum commune in sancta introferatur , eodem modo etiam vetat , sancta in domo communi celebrari : quum vetus Testamentum nihil isto modo fieri permittat ; Domino item dicente , plusquam templum est hic ; Apostolo item , Nunquid domos non habetis ad manducandum & bibendum ? &c. Ex quibus erudimur , neque communem coenam in Ecclesia edere & bibere , neque Dominicam coenam in privata domo contumelia afficere : extra quam , si quis , cum necessitas poscat , locum domumve puriorem delegerit tempore opportuno . The Author also of the Commentaries upon the Epistles , amongst the workes of S. Hierom ( whosoever he were ) expounding Ecclesiam Dei contemnitis , by Facientes eam Triclinium epularum , shewes , he took Ecclesia here to signifie the place . The self-same words are to be found in the Commentaries of Sedulius , as many other passages of this Author verbatim ; which I note by the way . S t. CHRYSOSTOME is of the same minde ; Ecce quarta accusatio ( saith he ) quod non pauperes tantum , sed Ecclesia laeditur . Quemadmodum enim Dominicam coenam privatam facis , ita & LOCVM , tanquam DOMO ECCLESIA usus . Ecclesia therefore here with him is Locus . And so it is with THEODORET , who paraphraseth the words on this manner : Si acceditis , ut lautè & opiparè epulemini , hoc facite in domibus Hoc enim in ECCLESIA est contumelia , & aperta insolentia . Quomodo enim non est absurdum , intus in Templo Dei , praesente Domino qui communem nobis mensam apposuit ; vos quidem lautè vivere , eos autem qui sunt pauperes , esurire , & propter paupertatem erubescere ? THEOPHYLACT and OECUMENIUS follow the same track , as he that lookes them shall finde . I have produced thus largely the Glosses of the Fathers upon this Text ; that they might be as a preparative to my ensuing discourse , by removing or mitigating , at the least , that prejudice which some have so deeply swallowed , of an utter unlikelihood of any such places to have been in the Apostles times , or the times neere them . For if these Glosses of the Fathers be true , then were there places called Ecclesiae , and consequently places appointed and set apart for Christian assemblies to performe their solemne service to God in , even in the Apostles times ; Or suppose they be not true , or but doubtfull , and not necessary ; yet thus much will follow howsoever , That these Fathers , who were neerer to those Primitive times by above 1100. yeares then we are , & so had better meanes to know what they had or had not , than we , supposed there were such places , even in the Apostles times . If in the Apostles times , then no doubt in the Ages next after them . And thus we shall gaine something by this Text , whether we accept this notion of the word Ecclesia , or not . HAVING therefore gotten so good an entrance , we will now further enquire what maner of places they were , or may be supposed to have been , which were appropriated to such use ; and that done , proceed to shew by such testimonies or footsteps of Antiquity , as time hath left unto us ; That there were such places through every Age respectively , from the dayes of the Apostles unto the raigne of Constantine ; that is , in every of the first 3. hundred years ; For the first , It is not to be imagined they were * such goodly and stately structures as the Church had after the Empire became Christian , and we now by Gods blessing enjoy ; but such as the state and condition of the times would permit ; At the first , some capable and convenient room within the walls or dwelling of some pious disciple , dedicated by the religious bounty of the owner , to the use of the Church , and that usually an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , an upper room , such as the Latins call Coenaculum ; being , according to their manner of building , as the most large and capacious of any other , so likewise the most retired and freeest from disturbance , and next to heaven , as having no other roome above it . For such uppermost places we finde they were wont then to make choyce of , even for private devotions ; as may be gathered from what we reade of S. Peter . Acts 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; That hee went up to the house top to pray : for so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies , exusu Hellenistarum , and is accordingly here rendred by the vulgar Latine , in superiora . Such an Hyperôon as we speake of , was that remēbred by the name of * Coenaculum Sion , where , after our Saviour was ascended , the Apostles & Disciples ( as we reade in the Acts ) assembled together daily for prayer and supplication ; and where being thus assembled , the holy Ghost came downe upon them in Cloven tongues of fire at the feast of Pentecost . Concerning which , there hath beene a tradition in the Church ; that this was the same roome wherein our blessed Saviour , the night before his Passion , celebrated the Passeover with his Disciples , and instituted the mysticall Supper of his Body and Blood , for the sacred Rite of the Gospell : The same place , where on the day of his Resurrection he came , and stood in the middest of his Disciples , the doores being shut ; and having shewed them his hands and his feet , said , Peace be unto you , As my Father hath sent me , so I send you , &c. Iohn 20. The place where 8. dayes , or the Sunday after , he appeared in the same manner again unto them being together , to satisfie the incredulity of Thomas , who the first time was not with the rest : The place where Iames the Brother of our Lord , was created by the Apostles , Bishop of Ierusalē : The place where the 7. Deacons ( whereof S. Stephen was one ) were elected and ordained : The place where the Apostles and Elders of the Church at Ierusalem held that Councell , and patterne of all Councels , for decision of that question ; Whether the Gentiles w ch beleeved were to be circūcised or not . And for certain the place of this Coenaculū was afterwards enclosed with a goodly Church , known by the name of the Chur : SION , upon the top whereof it stood : Insomuch that S. Hierome in his Epitaphio Paulae , made bold to apply that of the Psalme unto it ; Fundamenta ejus in montibus sanctis : diligit Dominus portas Sion super omnia tabernacula Iacob . How soone this erection was made , I know not ; but I beleeve it was much more ancient than those other Churches erected in other places of that City by Constantine and his Mother ; because neither Eusebius , Socrates , Theodoret nor Sozomen make any mention of the foundation thereof , as they doe of the rest . It is called by S. Cyril , who was Bishop of the place , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the upper Church of the Apostles ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( saith he ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . The holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles in the likenesse of fiery tongues here in Ierusalem in the VPPER CHURCH OF THE APOSTLES . Cyril Hierosol . Cat. 16. If this tradition be true , it should seeme by it , that this Coenaculum , from the time our blessed Saviour first hallowed it by the institution and celebration of his mysticall Supper , was thenceforth devoted to be a place of prayer & holy assēblies . And surely no Ceremonies of dedication , no not of Solomons Temple it self , are comparable to those sacred guests whereby this place was sanctified . This is the more easie to be beleeved , if the house were the possession of some Disciple at least , if not of kinred also to our Saviour according to the flesh ; which both reason perswades , and tradition likewise confirmeth it to have been . And when we reade of those first beleevers , that such as had houses and lands sold them and brought the prices & laid them down at the Apostles feet : it is nothing unlikely , but some likewise might give their house unto the Apostles for the use of the Church to perform sacred duties in . And thus perhaps should that tradition , whereof Venerable Bede tels us , be understood ; viz. That this Church of Sion was founded by the Apostles : Not , that they erected that structure , but that the place , from the time it was a Coenaculum was by them dedicated to be an house of prayer . His words are these De locis sanctis . cap. 3. in Tom 3. In superiori Montis Sion planicie , monachorum cellulae Ecclesiam magnam circundant , illic , ut perhibent , ab Apostolis fundatam ; eo quod IBI SPIRITVM SANCTVM acceperint : In quâ etiam LOCVS COENAE DOMINI venerabilis ostenditur . And if this were so , why may I not think that this Coenaculum Sion was that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , whereof we reade concerning the first Christian society at Ierusalem . Acts. 2. 46. That they continued daily in the Temple and breaking bread [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] in the House , ate their meat with gladnesse and singlenesse of heart ? the meaning being , that when they had performed their devotions daily in the Temple , at the accustomed times of prayer there , they used to resort immediatly to this Coenaculum , and there having celebrated the mysticall banquet of the holy Eucharist , afterwards took their ordinary and necessary repast with gladnesse & singlenesse of heart . For so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be rendred for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and not domatim , or per domos , house by house as we translate it ; and so both the Syriack and Arabick renders it , and the N. T. ( as we shall see hereafter ) elsewhere uses it . Moreover we finde this Coenaculū called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the 2. ver . of this chap. And for the phrase of breaking of bread , we know that the same a little before in the 42. ver . is wont to be understood of the Communion of the Eucharist , and by the Syriack Interpreter is expresly rendred by the Greek word , Fractio Eucharistiae , both there and again chap. 20. ver . 7. according to that of S. Paul , The bread which we break , &c. why should it not then be so taken here ? If it be , then according to the Interpretation we have given , this will also follow ; that that custome of the Church , to participate the Eucharist fasting and before dinner , had its beginning from the first constitution of the Christian Church : A thing not unworthy observation , if the interpretation be maintainable ; of which let the learned judge . It was an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Coenaculum also , where the Disciples at Troas came together upon the first day of the week to break bread , or to celebrate the holy Eucharist . Act 20. 7. where S. Paul preached unto them , and whence Eutychus , being overcome with sleep , sitting in a window fell down 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , from the third story or loft , and was taken up dead . Such a one seems also to have been the place of the Churches assembly at Caesarea Cappadociae , by that which is said Acts 18. 22. viz. That S. Paul sailing from Ephesus , landed at Caesarea , where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , having gone up and saluted the Church , he went down to Antioch . Note , he went up to salute : whereby it should seem , that the place where the Church was assembled , was some upper place . See Ludovic de Dieu upon this place ; where he tels us , that the Ethiopick translator so understood it , rendring , & descendit Caesaream , & ascendit in Domum Christianorum ( .i. Ecclesiam ) & salutavit eos , & abiit Antiochiam . Such as these , I suppose , were the places at first set apart for holy meetings , much like to our private Chappels now in great mens houses , though not for so generall an use . In processe of time , as the multitude of beleevers encreased , some wealthy and devout Christian gave his whole house or Mansion place , either whilest he lived , if he could spare it , or bequeathed it at his death , unto the Saints , to be set apart and accommodated for sacred assemblies , and religious uses . At length , as the multitude of beleevers still more increased , and the Church grew more able ; they built them structures of purpose , partly in the Coemiteries of Martyrs , partly in other publique places : even as the Iews ( whose religion was no more the Empires than theirs ) had , neverthelesse , their Synagogues in all Cities and places where they lived among the Gentiles . IN THE FIRST CENTURIE . THIS being premised , I proceed now ( as I promised ) to shew , that there were such places as I have described , appointed and set apart among Christians for their religious assemblies and solemn addresse unto the divine Majestie , through every one of the first three Centuries particularly ; and that therefore they assembled not promiscuously , and at hap hazard , but in appropriate places ; unlesse necessity sometimes forced them to do otherwise . For the times of the Apostles therefore , or first Century in particular , which ends with the death of S. Iohn the Evangelist , I prove it , first , from the Text I premised , where is a place mentioned by the name of ECCLESIA , not to be despised or prophaned with common banquettings : at least from the authority of the Fathers , who by their so expounding it , give us to understand , they thought it not improbable , that there were such places in the Apostles times . For the further strengthening of this kinde of argument , know also , that Eusebius , in that discourse of his , where he endeavours to prove , that the Essenes , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which Philo describes , were the first Christian Society of the Iewish nation at Alexandria , converted by S. Mark ; amongst other Characteristical notes ( as he * cals them ) or badges of Christianity ( however he were mistaken in his conclusion or inference ) alledges this for one of the first , that they had sacred Houses , called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or worshipping places , that is , Churches . His words are these . Deinceps ubi eorum domicilia quaenam essent descripserat ( nempe Philo ) de Ecclesiis in vari●s locis extructis sic loquitur : Est in quoque agro aedes sacra , quae appellatur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , vel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in quo illi ab aliis a soli agentes , b sanctae religiosaeque vitae mysteria obeunt : c nihilque eò vel cibi , vel potionis , vel aliarum rerum , quae ad corporis usum necessariae sunt , important , d sed leges & oracula à prophetis divinitùs edita , & hymnos , aliaque quibus scientia & pietas erga Deum crescat & perficiatur . Afterwards reciting some other customes and particular observances of their discipline ; as their frequent assemblies in their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to heare the Scriptures read & interpreted ; the distinction of places for men and women ; their maner of singing Hymnes and Psalms by a Praecentor , the rest answering , e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the extreams of the verses ; the degrees of their Hierarchy , like those of Deacons and Bishops , and some other the like , he concludes ; Quod 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : That Philo wrote these things , as one having knowledge of the customes at the beginning delivered by the Apostles , is manifest to any one . But whether that be so manifest or not , this I am sure is ; that Eusebius beleeved the antiquity of Churches or Oratories of Christians to have been from the Apostles times ; yea , to have been an Apostolicall ordinance , or else he mightily forgot himself , to bring that for an argument or badge to prove Philo's Essenes to be S. Marks Christians : then which otherwise there could not be a stronger argument to evince the contrary to what he intended . Now who could know this better than Eusebius , who had searched into and perused all the writings and monuments of Christian antiquity then extant , for the compiling of his Ecclesiasticall history , and his Commentaries of the * Acts of Martyrs now perished ? Adde to this , what I a little before observed out of Bede , de locis sanctis ; of a tradition , that the Church of Sion was founded by the Apostles . And so I leave my first argument . My next argument why may I not take from that singular character given to some one above other in the Apostles salutatiōs , as their peculiar ? Salute such a one , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and the Church at his house . As Colos. 4. 15. of Nymphas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Salute Nymphas and the Church at his house . To Philemon also ; To Philemon our deare brother and fellow labourer ( to Appia our beloved , and Archippus our fellow-souldier , ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and to the Church at thy house . See , he forgets it not after a parenthesis , neither attributes it to Archippus , but as proper to Philemon alone . The like he hath of Aquila and Priscilla two severall times , once sending salutation to them , Rom. 16. Salute Priscilla and Aquila , and the Church at their house ▪ Again sending salutation from them , 1 Cor. 16. 19. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord , with the Church at their house . Which I understand not , to be spoken of their families as it is cōmonly expounded , but of the congregation of the Saints , there wont to assemble for the performance of divine duties ; that is , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Whence ( if it be granted ) it will follow ; First , that the Churches then , used to assemble , not in mutable and promiscuous , but in definite and appropriate places . Secondly , that those who are here saluted with that appendix , were such as , in their severall Cities , had bestowed & dedicated some part , or some place within their dwellings , to be an Oratory for the Church to assemble in , for the performance of divine duties according to the rule of the Gospell ; Nymphas at Colosse , Philemon at Laodicea ( for there Archippus , who is saluted with him , was Bishop , saith * Author constit . Apost . as Philemon himself was afterwards of the neighbouring City Colosse : ) Aquila and Priscilla first at Rome , till Claudius banished thē with the rest of the Iews from thence , Acts 18. 2. afterwards at Ephesus , Ibid ver . 19. whence S. Paul wrote that first Epistle to the Corinthians . I am not the first ( I think ) who have taken these words in such a sense . Oecumenius in two or three of these places ( if I understand him ) goes the same way , though he mention the other exposition also : As to that of Aquila and Priscilla , Rom. 16. his note is ; Adeò virtute spectati erant , ut suam etiam domum Ecclesiam fecerint . Vel dicitur hoc , Quia omnes domestici fideles erant , ut jam Domus esset Ecclesia . He mentions as I said both interpretations . So upon that of Nymphas , Col. 4. His words are , Magni nominis hic vir erat , nam domum suam fecerat Ecclesiam . And unlesse this be the meaning , why should this appendant be so singularly mentioned in the salutations of some , and not of others ? and that not once , but again , if the same names be again remembred , as of Aquila and Priscilla . Had none in those Catalogues of salutation , Christian families , but some one only who is thus remembred ? It is very improbable , nay if we peruse them well , we shall finde they had , but otherwise expressed ; as in that prolix Catalogue , Rom. 16. wee finde Aristobulus and Narcissus saluted with their houshold , Asyncritus , Phlegon , &c. with the brethren which are with them ; others , with the Saints which are with them . 2 Tim. 4. 19. The houshold of Onesiphorus . This therefore so singular an Appendix must mean some singular thing , not common to them with the rest , but peculiar to them alone : And what should this be but what I have shewed ? Now because this exposition concludes chiefly for a Coenaculum devoted to be an house of prayer : let us see , if out of a Pagan writer , who lived about the end of this Centurie , we can learn what maner of ones they were . For * Lucian in his Dialogue Philopatris , by way of derision ( sed ridentem dicere verum quid vetat ? ) brings in one Critias , telling , how some Christians went about to perswade him , to be of their religion ; and that they brought him to the place of their assembly , being an Hyperôon , which he describes thus : Pertransivimus ( saith he ) ferreas portas , & aerea limina ; multisque jam superatis scalis , in Domum aurato fastigio insignem ascendimus , qualem Homerus Menalai fingit esse : atque ipse quidem omnia contemplabar , — video autem , non Helenam , sed mehercle viros in faciem inclinatos & pallescentes . So he . My third proofe is from a tradition the Church hath had , of the houses of some devout and pious Christians , as afterwards ; so even in the Apostles time , converted into Churches or Oratories ; as the house of Theophilus , a potent man in Antioch ( the same , as is supposed , to whom S. Luke ( who was also an Antiochean ) inscribes both his Gospell and Acts of the Apostles ) who , being converted unto the Faith by S. Peter , converted his house into a Church , where S. Peter had his first See , or Episcopall Residence . This tradition is derived out of the Recognitions of Clemens , where it is first found . Which , though it be an Apocryphall writing , yet is of no small antiquity ; and this passage is of such a nature , as it cannot be well imagined , to what end it should be devised or fained . The like is reported of the house of Pudens , a Romane Senatour and Martyr , in the Acta Pudentis ; That it was turned into a Church after his Martyrdome . This is that Pudens mentioned by the Apostle in the 2. Epist. to Timothy , and coupled with Linus : Pudens and Linus ( saith he ) salute you . All this comes not of nothing ; but surely argues some such custome to have been in those times . I will seale up all my proofes for this Centurie of the Apostles with one passage of Clemens ( a man of the Apostolicall age , in his genuine * Epistle ad Corinthios : Debemus omnia rite & ordine facere , quaecunque nos Dominus peragere jussit : praestitutis temporibus oblationes & liturgias obire . Neque enim temere vel inordinatè voluit ista fieri , sed statutis temporibus & horis . VBI etiam , & A QVIBVS peragi vult , ipse excellissima sua voluntate definivit ; ut religiosè omnia , secundùm beneplacitum ejus , adimpleta , voluntati ipsius accepta essent . Here Clemens saith expresly , That the Lord had ordained ( even now in the Gospell ) aswell appropriate places WHERE , as appropriate Times and Persons ( that is Priests ) When and WHEREBY he would be solemnly served , that so all things might bee done religiously and in order . Who then can beleeve , that in the Apostles times ( when this Clemens lived ) the places were not distinct for holy services , as well as the Times and Persons were ; or that Clemens would have spoken in this maner , unlesse he had known it so to have been ? The Corinthians , it seemes , in that their notorious sedition and discord , had violated this order ; at the correction whereof this passage aymeth . This one passage therefore makes all my former proofes credible , and may supply their defect , where they are not enough convictive . And it is the more precious , in regard of the penury of written Monuments by any Disciples of the Apostles remaining unto us of that Primitive Age. If any man shall ask , where this divine ordinance , which Clemens here mentioneth , is to be found ? I answer , in the Analogy of the old Testament ; whence this principle is taught us : That , as the divine Majestie it self is most sacred and incommunicable , ( the reason why the worship and service given unto him must be communicated with no other ) so is it likewise a part of that honor we owe unto his most sacred , singular and incommunicable eminency , that the things wherewith he is served , should not be promiscuous and common , but appropriate and set apart to that end and purpose . And thus I conclude the first Seculum . IN THE SECOND CENTURIE . NOW for the second , & that too for the beginning thereof , we have a witness not to be rejected , the holy Martyr Ignatius who suffered An. 107. & wrote the most of his Epistles in his bonds . He in his confessed Epistle ad Magnesios speaks thus : Omnes ad orandum in idem loci convenite , una sit communis precatio , una mens , una spes in charitate & fide inculpata in Iesum Christū : quo nihil praestantius est . Omnes velut VNVS , ad TEMPLVM Dei [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] concurrite , quemadmodum ad VNVM Altare , ad VNVM Iesum Christum Pontificē ingeniti Dei. Loe here a Temple with an Altar in it , whither the Magnesians are exhorted to gather thēselves together to pray ; To come together in one place , that so they might all joyn together in one cōmon prayer , spirited with one intētion , with one & the same hope in the Charity & Faith they have to Christ ward : Secondly , to come thither as one , that is , in unity of affection and brotherly love one towards another , as if all were but one & not many , even as the Altar , before which they presented themselves , was but one , and the high Priest and Mediatour between them and the Father , Iesus Christ , but One. For it is to be observed that in those primitive times they had but One Altar in a Church , as a Symbole , both that they worshipped but One God through One Mediatour Iesus Christ , & also of the unity the Church ought to have in it self : whence Ignatius , not only here , but also in his Epist to the Philadelphians urges the unity of the Altar for a monitive to the cōgregation to agree together in one . For Vnum Altare ( saith he ) omni Ecclesiae , & unus Episcopus cum Presbyterio & Diaconis conservis meis . This custom of One Altar is stil retained by the Greek Church . The contrary use is a transgression of the Latins , not only symbolically implying , but really introducing , ( as they handle it ) a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or multiplying of Gods and Mediatours , instead of that One God , and One Mediatour between God and men , the man Christ Iesus . Nay more than this : It should seem , that in those first times , before Diocesses were divided into those lesser & subordinate Churches , we now call Parishes , & Presbyters assigned to thē , they had not only One Altar in one Chur or Dominicū , but one Altar to a Church , taking Chu : for the Cōpany or Corporatiō of the Faithfull , united under one Bishop or Pastor ; and that was in the City and place where the Bishop had his See and Residence : like as the Iews had but one Altar & Tēple for the whole Nation , united under one high Priest. And yet , as the Iews had their Synagogues , so perhaps might they have more Oratories than one , though their Altar were but one , there namely where the Bishop was . Die Solis , saith Iust. Mart. omniū , qui vel in oppidis vel ruri degunt , in eundē locu conventus fit ; Namely , as he there tels us , to celebrate & participate the holy Eucharist . Why was this , but because they had not many places to celebrate in ? And unlesse this were so , whence came it else , that a Schismatical Bishop was said cōstituere or collocare aliud Altare : & that a Bishop & an Altar are made correlatives . See S. Cyprian Ep 40 , 72 , 73. & de unitate Ecclesiae . And thus perhaps is Ignatius also to be understood in that fore-quoted passage of his : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Vnū Altare omni Ecclesiae , & unus Episcopus cum Presbyterio & Diaconis . Howsoever , I here determine nothing , but refer it to the judgement of those who are better skilled in Antiquity : only adding this , that if it were so , yet now that Parishes are divided into severall Presbyteries as their proper Cures , every one of them being as it were , a little Diocess , the reason and signification of unity is the same , to have but One Altar in a Parish Church . To this testimony of Ignatius of the use in his time , I will adde another of his , in his Epistle ad Antiochenos , where , in his salutes he speaketh thus : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , I salute the keepers of the HOLY DOORES the Deaconisses w ch are in Christ : that is , the Doores the womē entred in at . For so we may learn frō the Compiler of the Apostolicall Cōstitutiōs , Li. 2. c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 al. 61. describing a Ch : assembly : Stent ostiarii , saith he , ad introitus virorum , illos custodientes ; Diaconissae ad introitus foeminarum . But if they had in Ignatius his time Holy doores , ( or as some render it sacra vestibula ) who can beleeve also but they had holy Houses ? This Epistle indeed is none of the confessed ones . The title is accepted against ; as that Ignatius wrote no Epistle ad Antiochenos , because Eusebius , and after him S. Hierom , when they rehearse his Epistles , make no mention of any such . Yet were the Antiochians his flock , his pastorall charge . Who would not then think it unlikely , that , amongst so many Epistles written to other Churches in his going that long journey from Antioch to Rome , to receive the crown of Martyrdom ( yea to Smyrna through which he had passed ) he should not remēber with one farewell Epistle that Church whereof he was Bishop & Pastor , as well as the rest ? Thus much I dare say ; that this is as strong an argument every whit , to perswade that hee wrote such an Epistle ( especially there being one extant under that Title ) as Eusebius his silence ( for S. Hierom did but follow his steps ) is that he did not . For why should it be thought more necessary , that Eusebius should have met with all the Epistles of Ignatius in the Library of Aelia or Ierusalem ( whence he * professeth to have collected the whole matter of his History ) then he did with all the works and Commentaries of some other Ecclesiasticall men whom he mentioneth ; many of whose writings , besides those he rehearseth , he confesseth not to have come to his hands , or knowledge , either what , or how many they were ? See him Hist. Li. 5. c. a 26. & Li. 6 c. b 10. This will be yet more considerable , if we remember , that some Books , even of the Canon of the N. Test. were not known to some Churches at the same time with the rest , and therefore a while doubted of , after they had notice of them . Besides it is to be noted , that Eusebius in expresse tearms undertakes only to recite those Epistles of Ignatius , which he wrote , as he passed thorow Asia : but after his comming into Europe ( whence those Epistles are dated , which he mentions not ) whether any thing were written by him or not , he informs us nothing . Nay , which is yet more ; Vedelius grants the words and sentences of this Epistle to be the most of them , by their style & character the words & sentences of Ignatius ; but he would have them therefore to be taken out of some of his other Epistles ; to wit , according to a new & strange cōceit of his , that the genuine Epistles of Ignatius have been robbed & guelded of much of their contēts , to make up more Epistles under new Titles . he excepts only in this Epistle against the salutatiōs at the end thereof ; because there were not so many , or no such a Church-offices in Ignatius his time , as are there mentioned . But what is this else , but to beg the question ? Till therefore some body shall not only affirm , but prove , there were no such , no not in the Church of Antioch ( b whence divers Ecclesiasticall customes had their first beginning , which were afterwards imitated by the rest of the Churches ) I can see no just cause hitherto , why I should not beleeve this passage , as well as the rest , & so the whole Epistle to have had Ignatius for its Author . And so I leave it . For the middle of this Seculū , or thereabouts , there are a extant two short Epistles of PIUS the 1. Bishop of Rome to one Iustus Viennensis ; none of the Decretals ( for they are indeed coūterfeit ) but others diverse from thē , which no man hath yet , that I know of , proved to be suppositious . In the first whereof there is mētion made of one Euprepia , a pious and devout Matron , who consigned the title of her house unto the Church for the use of sacred assemblies . Antequam Roma exiisses , saith he , soror nostra Euprepia ( sicut benè recordaris ) titulum domus suae pauperibus assignavit : ubi nunc cum pauperibus nostris commorantes , b Missas agimus . He seems by pauperes , to note the Clergy , which in his other Epistle he cals Senatus pauperum , Salutat te Senatus pauperum : Otherwise the whole Christian flock might be so called ; according to that in the Gospell , Pauperes Euangelizantur . ( Mat. 11. 5. Luc. 7. 22. ) and that of Esa. cap. 61. applyed by our Saviour Luc. 4. The Lord hath annointed me to preach the Gospell to the poore : & according to that in the Parable Luc. 14. 21. Introduc pauperes , Bring in hither the poore . Perhaps in those perillous times , they were wont to make their donations of this kinde under such covert names . In his 2. Epistle to the same Iustus he mentions certain Martyrs , who had then newly ( as he there speaks ) triūphed over the world : Amōgst which he mentiōs one Pastor , by Office a Presbyter ; who before his death , had erected or created a Titulus , that is , a Church , as that name is vulgarly known to signifie : Presbyter Pastor ( saith he ) Titulum condidit , & digne in Domino obiit . Why the Roman Chu : called such places by the name of Tituli , whether because by their dedication the name of Christ our Lord was , as it were , inscribed upon them , ( as the maner then was to set the names or titles of the owners upon their Houses and possessions ; ) and so it would concurre in notion with those other names of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & Basilica , The Lords and the Kings : or whether because they gave a title of Cure or denomination to the Presbyters , to whom they were committed ( for the chief or Episcopall Church I doubt whether it were so called or not ) let others determine . I shall not do amisse , I think , if I adde to this testimony a passage of Theophilus Antiochenus ( who lived at the same time ) which though , I grant to be indifferent to be otherwise understood ; yet seems very prone to be construed for our purpose : It is to be found in his second Book ad Autolycum ; where having compared the world to the Sea , he follows the Allegory thus ; Quemadmodum ( saith he ) in Mari insulae quaedam prominent habitabiles , frugiferae , & quibus est aqua salubris , necnon navalia , & portus commodi , quò se naufragi reciperent ; Sic Deus dedit mundo , qui peccatorum tempestatibus & naufragiis jactatur , Synagogas , quas Ecclesias sanct as nominamus . [ gr . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ] in quibus veritatis doctrina fervet , ad quas confugiunt veritatis studiosi , quot quot salvari , Deique judicium & iram evitare volunt . It is ambiguous what he means here by Ecclesiae : but if it were probable , that Synagoga were here taken , as it is usually in the N. T. for a place ; then might we determine , that Ecclesia were so taken also , and not for a Company or Assembly only . Well , howsoever Ecclesia be taken in this passage ( which I reckon not upon ) yet thus much I am sure of , that toward the end of this Century , it was used for a place of sacred assembly : witnesse Clemens Alexandr . ( who then lived ) Lib. 7. Strom where speaking of the Church or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , saith he , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , I call not now THE PLACE , but the congregation of the Elect , Ecclesia : whereby it appeares , that in his time Ecclesia was used for the place of the assembly of the Elect , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as he cals them , that is , of the Saints , and not for the congregation only . For otherwise this caution needed not . And so himself uses it in that story of the yong man , whō S. Iohn committed to a Bishop of Asia to be instructed and trained up in the Christian piety and discipline , and who afterwards was by ill company withdrawn to lewd and debauched courses , and became Captain of a band of robbers in the Mountains . For there when S. Iohn , after a time comming again to visit the Churches , demanded of the Bishop an account of the charge he had committed to him ; The Bishop answers , He is become a villain and a robber , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and now instead of the Church , he hath laid hold of a Mountain , with a company like himself . To conclude , if the name were in Clemens his time , undoubtedly the thing was . And this is my proofe for the latter end of this Centurie . IN THE THIRD CENTURIE . NOW are we arrived at the third Seculum , and the last under the Ethnick and persecuting Emperours : VVherein the Testimonies of the Christians Oratories do abound , and are such as will out-face any that shall dare contradict them . For the beginning of this Centurie , Tertullian shall give in evidence . 1. In his Book De Idololatria . VVhere declaiming against some Christian Artificers , who , because it was their occupation and trade , thought it lawfull to make Idols for the Gentiles , so themselves worshipped them not ; he speaks thus : Tota die , ad hanc partem zelus fidei perorabit , ingemens Christianum ab Idolis in ECCLESIAM venire , de adversaria officina in DOMVM DEI venire ; attollere ad Deum patrem manus matres Idolorum , his manibus adorare , quae ( nempe in operibus suis ) foris ( .i. in Templis Gentium ) adversus Deum adorantur ; eas manus admovere Corpori Domini , quae Daemoniis corpora conferunt . Mark here , DOMVS DEI , & ECCLESIA expounded by it ; In Ecclesiam venire , id est , In Domum Dei venire ; and both of them set in opposition to an Idol-shop . Of this DOMUS DEI or House of God , in his Book adversus Valentinianos , he describes unto us the form and posture , upon this occasion . He compares the Valentinian heresie , in respect of their affected secresie , and reservednesse in hiding the mysteries of their doctrine , to the Eleusinian Holies , whose Temple had many Curtains and Doores , through which those , that were to be initiated , were 5. years in passing , before they could be admitted unto the Adytum or sacrarie , where the Deity was : VVhereas contrariwise , he proveth out of Scripture , the badge and genius of the Religiō of Christ , to consist in a Dove-like simplicity and opennesse , and accordingly had its Oratories or Houses of worship , not like that of the Eleusinian Holies , concealed with multiplicity of walls , vails , turnings and windings , but agreeable to , and as it were figuring its disposition . For Nostrae Columbae domus ( saith he ) simplex , etiam in editis & apertis ; & ad lucem . Amat figuram Sp. sancti , Orientem Christi figuram : Nihil veritas erubescit , &c .... Nostrae Columbae domus .i. Domus religionis nostrae columbinae , or Catholici Christi gregis , qui Columba figuratur ; namely , as he said a little before , Christum Columba demonstrare solitaest , serpens vero tentare ; meaning , as I suppose , not so much Christ personall , as Christ mysticall , that is , the Disciples , or Religion of Christ. For it is the conclusion of his proofes brought out of Scripture , to shew , that simplicity was the livery of Christs Disciples or Religion ; In summa , saith he , Christum columba demonstrare solita est , &c. And otherwise , that solita est would scarcely be true ; since Christ personall is but once pointed out by a Dove , namely , at his Baptisme . This House , saith he , is simplex , that is , Sine tot portarum & sipariorum involucris : Also in editis & apertis , places which Doves delight in : Et ad lucem . i toward the place whence light springeth , or the Sun-rising : For Amat figuram Sp. sancti . i. the Dove , as also Orientem Christi , figuram : wherein he alludes to that Oriens exalto , or Day-spring from on high , in Zacharies Benedictus , and hath reference to the word , Et ad lucem . i. ad locum vel plagam lucis . For , that the Churches of Christians anciently were turned toward the East , appeares by the Author of the * Apostolicall Constitutions , which surely are as ancient as Tertullian Domus sit oblonga , ad Orientem conversa , saith he ; Besides it appeares out of a Tertullian himself , that Christians then worshipped towards the East , and therefore more than probable , their houses were sited and accommodated accordingly . Thus I have done my best to cleare this passage , because the Author is crabbed and obscure . There are two or three b more places in the same Father , where the Christian Oratories are mentioned by the name of Ecclesia : but because the ambiguous and indifferent signification of this word , either for a Place or an Assembly , makes them not convictive , unlesse some circumstance bee annexed , which determines it : I will only produce that De corona Militis , Chap. 3. where concerning the Sacrament of Baptisme he speaks thus : Aquam adituri , ibidem , sed & aliquanto prius in ECCLESIA , sub Antistitis manu contestamur , nos renunciare Diabolo , & Pompae & Angelis ejus . Dehinc ter mergitamur . I say Ecclesia here signifies the Place . For the clearing whereof , know , that the Baptisteries , or places of water for Baptisme , in those elder times , were not , as now our Fonts are , within the Church , but without , and often in places very remote from it . When therefore Tertullian here saith ; That those , who were to be baptized , first made their abrenunciation in the Church sub manu Antistitis ( that is , as I suppose , the Bishop or Priest laying hands upon them , either in the mean time , or assoon as they had done ) and afterward again at the Water : He must needs by Ecclesia mean the Place ; otherwise , if it were taken for the Assembly of the faithfull , the Church in that sense was present also at the Water . But Ecclesia here and the Water are supposed to be two distinct places ; in both of which ( according to the rite of the African Churches ) Abrenunciation was to be performed : Aquam adituri , IBIDEM ( .i. apud aquam ) sed & aliquando prius in ECCLESIA , contestamur , nos renunciare Diabolo , &c. And thus much for the testimony of Tertullian . My next witnesse is Hippolytus , who flourished between the twentieth and thirtieth yeare of this Century in the raign of Alexander Mammeae . He in his Treatise De consummatione mundi seu de Antichristo , describing the signes and impieties which should precede the persecution of Antichrist ( as he conceived thereof , ) hath this passage concerning the irreligion and prophanenesse which should then raign : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Templa Dei domorum communium instar erunt , ubique Ecclesiarum eversiones fient , scripturae contemnentur . And in his description of the persecution it self , This : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 IEPA 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. Sacrae Ecclesiarum aedes instar Pomorum custodiae erunt , pretiosumque corpus & sanguis non extabit in diebus illis , Liturgia extinguetur , Psalmorum decantio cessabit , scripturarum recitatio non audietur . No man of reason can beleeve , but that he that speaks thus , knew and was well acquainted with such Places in his own time ; though his description be of that which was to be in time to come . For it would be a marvellous conceit , to think he prophecied of them , having never seen them . Nay , a prophane Testimony will further confirm us , he needed not : For Lampridius reports of this Alexander Mammeae ( in whose time Hippolytus lived ) Quòd cum Christiani , quendam locum , qui publicus fuerat , occupassent ; contra Popinarii dicerent sibi eum deberi : rescripsit Imperator , Melius esse , ut quomodocunque illic Deus colatur , quàm Popinariis dedatur . About the middle of this Century flourished that famous Gregorie of Neocaesarea , surnamed Thaumaturgus . He in his Epistola Canonica ( as the Greeks call it ) describing the 5. degrees or admissions of Poenitents , according to the discipline of his time ( which he cals 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( saith he ) est extra portam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ORATORII , ubi peccatorem stantem oportet fideles ingredientes orare , ut pro se precentur . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( .i. Auditio ) est intra portam in loco qui 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dicitur , ubi oportet eum qui peccavit stare usque ad Catechumenos , & illinc egredi . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( .i. substratio ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 N̄AOY 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ut intra TEMPLI portam consistens cum Catechumenis egrediatur . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( .i. congregatio , seu consistentia ) est ut cum fidelibus consistat , & cum catechumenis non egrediatur . Postremo est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 participatio Sacramentorum . Who sees not here , that Christians in his time had Oratories or sacred Houses to worship in , and those accommodated with distinct places of remoter and nearer admission ? Nay further we finde in this Gregories life written by Gregorie Nissen , that he was himself a great Founder and erecter of these sacred Edifices ; whereof the Church built by him at Neocaesarea in Pontus , ( where he was Bishop ) was still standing in Gregorie Nissens time . Heare his words , where he relates the speedy and wonderfull successe this Thaumaturgus had in the conversion of that City : Cum omnibus omnia fieret , saith he , tantum sibi auxilio spiritus repente populū adjunxit , ut ad TEMPLI fabricationem animum adjiceret ( gr . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) cum omnes offerendo , tam pecunias quam operas suas , studium ejus adjuvarent . Hoc est , Templum , quod usque hodie ostenditur : quod magnus ille vir statim aggressus , quasi fundamentum atque 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sacerdotii sui ( .i. Episcopatus ) in maxime conspicuo urbis loco constituit . He addes besides , that , whereas in his own time there had happened a most grievous Earthquake ; Quo omnia tàm publica quàm privata aedificia disjecta essent ; solum illud Templum Gregorianum illaesum & inconcussum mansisse . Nor is this all ; He tels in the same place , how that a little before the persecution of Decius ( which was Anno Christi 252. ) this Thaumaturgus , having converted , not the City of Neocaesarea only , but the whole territory adjoyning , to the faith of Christ , [ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the converts pulling down their Idol-Altars , and Idol-Temples , and in every place erecting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Oratorias in nomine Christi Aedes , stirred up the fury and indignation of the Emperour . About the same time with this Gregory , lived S. Cyprian at Carthage . In him I observe the Christian Oratories twice remembred ; once by the name of Domnicum .i. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; another time of Ecclesia . The first in his Book De opere & eleemosynis , speaking against communicating the holy Eucharist without an offering . Matrona , saith he , quae in Ecclesia Christi locuples & dives es , Dominicum ( sacrificium ) celebrare te credis , quae corbonam omnino non respicis ? quae in DOMINICVM sine sacrificio venis , quae partem de sacrificio quod pauper obtulit , sumis ? The other in his 55. Epist. or 3. ad Cornelium ; where declaiming against some lapsed Christians , who having in time of persecution sacrificed unto Idols , would neverthelesse , without due penance and satisfaction , be admitted again into the Church : If this be once permitted ( saith he ) Quid superest quàm ut ECCLESIA Capitolio cedat ; & recedentibus sacerdotibus ac Domini nostri ALTARE removentibus , in Cleri nostri sacrum venerandumque consessum ( .i. in Presbyterium , seu 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) simulacra atque Idola cum Aris suis transeant ? Note , that Ecclesia here and Capitolium , Christs House and Iupiters Temple , stand in opposition one to the other ; also that Capitolium by Antonomasia is put for a Gentile Temple in generall ; that in the one ( to wit , Ecclesia ) was Altare Domini nostri , & sacer venerandusque consessus Cleri ; in the other , Idola & simulacra cum Aris Diaboli . Contemporary with S. Cyprian was that famed Dionysius Alexandrinus , made Bishop somewhat before him , but out-lived him some 5. yeares , namely untill 265. There is an Epistle of his extant ( which is part of the Canon Law of the Greek Church ) to one Basilides , resolving certain quaeres of his ; Amongst the rest , whether a woman during the time of her separation might enter into the Church or not ; To which , his answer is negative . This Quaere he expresseth thus ; De mulieribus quae sunt in abscessu , an eas sic affectas oporteat DOMVM DEI ingredi , gr . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . By which , and his answer thereunto we learn not only , that the Christians had then Houses of worship , but a religious respect also to difference them from common places . And here , because the time fitly presents it in our way , take notice , for some reason that we shall heare of ere wee have done : That this of the Christians having such houses for their devotions , was a thing publiquely known to the Gentiles themselves , together with the name whereby they called them : as appears by two Imperiall Rescripts , the one of Galienus about the yeare 260. recorded by Eusebius . Hist. lib. 7. cap. 12. which cals them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Worshipping Places ; which having been a little before , in the persecution of Valerianus his Father , taken from the Christians , and then in the hands of the Gentiles , Galienus graciously restored them unto them , with liberty freely to exercise their Religion . The words of the Rescript , so much of them as is needfull to our purpose , are these : Imperator Caesar , Publius Licinius , Galienus , &c. Dionysio , Puniae , Demetrio , & caeteris Episcopis , salutem . Meae munificentiae beneficium per universum divulgari Orbem praecepi : Vt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 .i. à locis religionis cultui dicatis discedatur . Et propterea vos mearum literarum exemplari uti poteritis , quo nemo deinceps vobis quicquam facessat molestiae , &c. The other is of Aurelianus , De libris Sibyllinis inspiciendis , when the Marcomanni invaded the Empire , Anno Ch. 271. recorded by Vopiscus , in these words : Miror vos , Patres sancti ( he writes to the Senate ) tamdiu de aperiendis Sibyllinis dubitasse libris ; perinde quasi in Christianorum ECCLESIA non in TEMPLO Deorum omnium tractaretis ; that is , in the Capitol , where the Senate used sometimes to sit . Adde to this , if you please , that which Eusebius relates of this Emperour , to wit , that when Paulus Samosatenus , being deposed by the Councell from his Bishoprick , and Domnus chosen in his room , would not yeeld up the possession of the Church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : The matter being brought before Aurelianus the Emperour , he decrees , that it should be given to those of the Sect , unto whom the Bishops of Rome and Italy should send Letters of communion : Sic demum Paulus ( saith Eusebius ) à seculari potestate , summo cum dedecore , ex ECCLESIA expellitur . For that by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is here meant the Christians Oratorie or house of sacred assembly at Antioch , ( and not the Bishops house , as some would have it ) appeares , both because Eusebius elsewhere so uses it , as namely Lib. 8. cap. ult . & Lib. 9. cap. Θ. as also , because he expounds himself presently by Ecclesia , when he saith : Sic Paulus summo cum dedecore à potestate seculari , ex Ecclesia exigitur . For surely he meant not , that he was by the secular arme cast out of the Church , as Chu●ch is taken for the company of the Faithfull , but as it signifies the Place of sacred assembly , where this Paulus kept possession , after he was deposed for heresie by the Councell . But what need we trouble our selves thus to gather up Testimonies for the latter half of this Seculum ? I have one Testimony behinde , which will dispatch it all at once , yea , and if need be , depose for the whole also . It is that of Eusebius in his eighth Book Hist. Eccl. in the beginning : where describing those peacefull and halcyonian dayes , which the Church enjoyed for many yeares , from the time of the Martyrdome of S. Cyprian unto that most direfull persecution of Diocletian , and how wonderfully the number of Christians was advanced during that time , he speaketh on this manner : Quomodo quisquam infinita illos hominum turbâ frequentatos conventus coetuūque in singulis urbibus congregatorum multitudinem , illustresque in * ORATORIIS concursus describere valeat ? Quorum causa , quum in a ANTIQVIS illis AEDIFICIIS satis amplius loci non haberent ( vel antiquis illis aedificiis haudquaquam amplius contenti ) b amplas spatiosasque in omnibus urbibus ex fundamentis erexerunt ECCLESIAS . Loe here , how in those Halcyonian dayes , Christians had not only Churches or Houses of worship , but such as might then be called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ancient aedifices ; which how far it may reach , let others judge : Secondly , that the number of Christians being grown so great , that those ancient Fabricks were no longer sufficient to contain them , they erected new and more spacious ones in every City from the foundations : And all this testified by one that himself lived and saw part of those times . These sacred Aedifices , Diocletian , and those other surrogated Emperours , ( which contained that direfull ten yeares persecution begun by him ) commanded by their Edicts to be every where demolished , as we may reade in the same Eusebius at large . The like whereunto seems never to have happened in any of the former persecutions ; in which they were only taken from the Christians ; but again , when the persecution ceased , for the most part restored unto them : as in the former persecution they were by Galienus , under the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . And thus I think I have proved , by good and sufficient Testimonies , that Christians had Oratories or Churches , that is , appropriate Places for Christian worship in every of the first 300. yeares : I am well assured ( whosoever be Iudge ) long before the dayes of Constantine . I will adde to these authorities two or three reasons , why they must , in all likelihood , have had such Places ; First , because it is certain , that in their sacred assemblies they used then to worship and pray towards the East : which how it could be done with any order and conveniencie , is not easie to be conceived ; unlesse we suppose the Places wherein they worshipped to have been situated and accommodated accordingly ; that is , chosen and appointed to that end . Secondly , because of their discipline , which required distinct and regular Places in their assemblies , for the Poenitentes , Auditores , Catechumeni , & Fideles , and therefore argueth they met not in every place promiscuously , but in Places already fitted & accommodated for that purpose . Lastly , because they had before their eyes an example and pattern in the Proseuchais and Synagogues of the Iews , from whom their Religion had its beginning ; which though as contrary to the Religion of the Empire as theirs , yet had places appropriate for the exercise therof , wheresoever they lived dispersed amōg the Gentiles . Who can beleeve , that such a pattern should not invite the Christians to an imitation of the same , though we should suppose , there were no other reasons to induce them , but that of ordinary conveniencie . ANSVVER TO THE OBIECTIONS . I Come now to answer the Objections brought by such as maintain the contrary opinion , which are two . First , say they , It is not likely , no not possible , they should have any such places living under a Pagan and persecuting State and Empire . I answer : this Objection is already confuted by matter of fact . For it is to be noted , that the greatest and most cruell Persecutions , and the 5. last of the ten , fall with in the third or last Centurie . In which , that Christians had Oratories or Houses of Christian worship , we have before proved by most indubitate and irrefragable testimonies : But if in this , why not aswell in the former Ages , wherein the persecutions were , as no more in number , so far lesse bitter ? For it is to be taken notice of , that these Persecutions were not continuall , but as it were by fits , and those of the 2. first Centuries of no long durance : so as the Churches enjoyed long times of peace and quietnesse between them . Besides , why should it seem to any one lesse credible , that Christians should have their Oratories or Houses of worship under the Romane Empire , whilest the State thereof was yet Gentile and opposite to the faith of Christ ; then that they had them in the Kingdome of Persia , which never was Christian ? For , that they had them there as old as the dayes of Constantine , Sozomen testifieth , Lib. 2. c. 8. The occasion of the demolishing whereof by K. Isdigerdes , and of that most barbarous persecution of the Christians of those Countries for 30. yeares together , about the yeare 400. Theodoret relates Lib. 5. cap. 38. namely , that one Audas , out of an indiscreet and unseasonable zeale , ( though otherwise a vertuous and godly Bishop ) having demolished the Persians Pyraeum , or Temple where the Fire was worshipped , and refusing to build it up again , as was enjoyned him ; the King thereupon mightily enraged , caused all the Christians Oratories or Churches in his Dominions to be demolished likewise , and that horrible persecution before mentioned , to storm against them . Could the Christians finde means and opportunity to erect Churches , that is , houses for their Religion under a Pagan government in Persia , and could they not under the Romane Empire ? The other Objection is from the Authors of Apologies against the Gentiles , Origen against Celsus , Minutius Felix , Arnobius , and Lactantius , who when the Gentiles object Atheisme to the Christians , as having no Templa , no Arae , no Simulacra ; these Authors are so far from pleading they had any such , that they answer by way of concession , not only granting they had none , but ( which is more ) affirming , they ought not to have , and condemning the Gentiles which had . Celsus , saith Origen , ait nos Ararū , & statuarū , Templorūque fundationes fugere : Origen denies it not , but gives the reason : Templorum fundationes fugimus , quia ubi per Iesu doctrinam comperimus , quemadmodum colendus sit Deus ; ea nos evitamus , quae sub pietatis praetextu & opinione quadam impios reddant , qui à vero per Iesum cultu aberrando falluntur , qui utique solus est vericultus via , vereque illud profatur , Ego sum via , veritas , & vita . MINUTIUS FELIX when Caecilius objects , Cur occultare & abscondere , quicquid illud quod colunt magnopere nituntur .... Cur nullas aras habent ? Templa nulla ? nulla not a Simulacra ? ..... nisi illud quod colunt & interprimunt aut puniendum est , aut pudendum ; brings in his Octavius answering thus : Putatis autem nos occultare quod colimus , si Delubra & Aras non habemus ? Quod enim simulacrum Deo fingam , cum sirectè existimes , sit Dei homo ipse simulacrum ? Templum quod ei extruam , cum totus hic mundus , ejus operâ fabricatus , eum capere non possit ? & cum homo laxiùs maneam , intra unam Aediculam vim tantae Majestatis includam ? nonne melius in nostra dedicandus est mente ? in nostro imò consecrandus est pectore ? ARNOBIUS In hâc consuestis parte crimen nobis maximum impietatis affigere , quod neque Aedes sacras venerationis ad officia extruamus , non Deorum alicujus Simulacrum constituamus aut formam , non altaria fabricemus , non Aras. He denies none of this , but answers : Templa quaerimus in Deorum quos usus ? aut in cujus rei necessitatem , aut dicitis esse constructa , aut esse rursus aedificanda censetis ? &c ..... LACTANTIUS condemns the Gentiles for having them : Cur , inquit , oculos in coelum non tollitis ? & , advocatis Deorum nominibus , in aperto sacrificia celebratis ? Cur ad parietes & ligna & lapides potissimum , quàm illò spectatis , ubi Deos esse creditis ? Quid sibi Templa ? Quid Arae volunt ? quid deniq , ipsa simulacra ? Who would now think , that Christians had any Churches or Houses of worship in these Authors dayes ? This Objection indeed looks very big at the first sight , but it is no more but a shew , and we shall deale well enough with it . For we are to take notice , that these Authors all foure of them lived and wrote within , and after the third Seculum was begun , and the eldest of them Minutius Felix after Tertullian ; Origin after him : yea , why do I say , after the third Seculum was begun , or within it ? when as 2. of them , Arnobius and Lactantius , lived and wrote rather after it was ended , and in the beginning of the fourth ; Arnobius in the time of the Persecution of Diocletian , Lactantius somewhat after him : for he was his Scholler and dedicates his Institutions adversus Gentes , to Constantine the Great . Now then remember , what authorities and testimonies were even now produced for the Christians Oratories all that Seculū throughout , not probabilities only , but such as are altogether irrefragable and past contradiction . This they seem not to have considered , unlesse they dissembled it , who so securely urge these passages , to infer a Conclusion point-blanck against evidence of Fact. As for example ( I will alledge no more , but what is out of possibility to be denyed or eluded . ) Had the Christians no Oratories or Churches in Gregory Thaumaturgus his time ? Had they none in S. Cyprians ? Had they none in the dayes of Dionysius Alexandrinus ? Had they none , when Galienus released their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ? Had they none in those halcyonian dayes whereof Eusebius speaks , when the multitude of Christians was grown so great , that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the ancient Aedifices were no longer able to contain their Assemblies ; but that they were fain to build new and spacious Churches in every City from the foundations ? Had they none , when the Edict of Diocletian came forth for demolishing them ? For all these were before , that either Arnobius or Lactantius wrote . Let those therefore , who put so much confidence in these passages , tell us , before they conclude , how to untie this knott , and then they shall say something . What then , will you say , is the meaning of these passages , and how may they be satisfied , and this scruple taken off ? I answer : The Gentiles in these Objections had a peculiar notion of what they called a Temple , and these Fathers and Authors , in their disputes with them , answer them according unto it . For they defined a Temple by an Idoll and the inclosure of a Deity ; not of the statue or Image only , but of the Daemon himself : that is , they supposed their gods by the power of spels and magicall consecrations , to be retained and shut up in their Temples , as birds in a Cage , or the devill within a circle ; that so their suppliants might know where to have them , when they had occasion to seek unto them ; and that , for such retaining or circumscribing of them in a certain Place , an Idoll was necessary , as the center of their collocation . Thus much Origen himself will inform us in those his disputes against Celsus , as in his 3. Book pag. 135. Editionis Graecolat ; where he describes , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Temples and Idols to be places where Daemons are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , enthroned or seated , either having praeoccupied such places of themselves , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or brought thither by certaine ceremonies and magicall invocations , do as it were dwell there . And againe , Lib. 7. pag. 385. in fin . telling us , that Daemons 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , set in those kinde of formes and places , ( viz. Idols and Temples ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. & either lodged and confined thither by magicall consecrations , or otherwise having praeoccupied the places of themselves ; where they are delightfully fed and refreshed ( for so the Gentiles thought ) with the nidor and savour of the Sacrifices . I shall not need to produce the rest of his sayings to the same purpose ; let him that will , consult him further in the end of that 7. Book pag. 389. and a little before p. 387. in fine . To this confining of gods in Temples ( that so those that had occasion to use their help might not be to seek , but know where to finde them ; ) that also of Menander cited by Iustin Martyr , in his De Monarchia Dei , hath reference . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( saith he ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , — 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . No God pleaseth me that gads abroad , None that leaves his house shal come in my Book , — A just and good God ought To tarry at home to save those that placed him . According to this notion of a Temple , these Authors alledged grant , that Christians , neither had any Temples , no nor ought to have ; Forasmuch as the God whom they worshipped , was such a one as filled the heaven & the earth , and dwelt not in Temples made with hands . And because the Gentiles appropriated the name of a Temple to this notion of encloistering a Deity by an Idoll ; therefore the Christians of those first Ages , for the most part , abstained therefrom , especially when they had to deale with Gentiles ; calling their houses of Worship Ecclesiae , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( whence is the Dutch and our English Kurk and Church ) in Latine Dominica ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that is , Oratories , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or the like : seldome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Templa ; that appellation being grown , by the use of both sides , into a name of distinction of the houses of Gentile superstition from those of Christian Worship . Which that I affirm , not upon bare conjecture , these examples will make manifest . First that of Aurelian the Emperour , before alledged , in his Epistle to the Senate , De libris Sibyllinis inspiciendis : Miror vos , Patres sancti , tamdiu de aperiendis Sibyllinis dubitasse libris , perinde quasi in Christianorum ECCLESIA , non in TEMPLO Deorum omnium tractaretis . And that of Zeno Veronensis in his Sermon de Continentia : Proponimus itaque , ut saepe contingit , in unum sibi convenire diversae religionis diem , quo tibi ECCLESIA , illis adeunda sint TEMPLA . ( He speaks of a Christian woman maried to a Gentile . ) That also of S. Hierom in his Epistle ad Riparium , saying of Iulian the Apostate , Quod sanctorum BASILICAS , aut de struxerit , aut in TEMPLA converterit . Thus they spake , when they would distinguish : Otherwise , now and then , the Christian Fathers use the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Templum , for Ecclesia ; but respecting the Temple of the true God at Ierusalem , not the notion of the Gentiles . That this answer is true and genuine , I prove , first , because the Gentiles themselves , who objected this want to the Christians , neither were , nor could be ignorant , that they had Oratories where they performed their Christian service , when they were so notoriously known ( as we saw before ) to the Emperours Galienus and Aurelian ; and a controversie about one of them referred unto the latter ; when also the Emperours Edicts flew about in every City for demolishing them . Why therefore do they object in this maner , but because , for the defect of something they thought thereto necessary , they esteemed not those Oratories for Temples ? Secondly , because in that dispute between Origen & Celsus , it is supposed by both , that the Persians and Iews were , as concerning this matter , in like cōdition with the Christians ; neither of both induring to worship their Gods in Temples . Heare Origen speak , Lib. 7. p. 385 , 386. Licet Scythae , Afrique Numidae , & impii Seres aliaeque gentes , ut Celsus ait .... atque etiam Persae aversentur TEMPLA , ARAS , STATVAS , non eandem aversandi causam , esse illis & nobis : and a little after ; Inter abhorrentes à statuarum , templorum , ararum ceremoniis , Scythae , Numidae , impiique Seres & Persae , aliis moventur rationibus , quàm Christiani & Iudaei , quibus religio est sic numen colere . Illarum enim gentium , nemo ab his alienus est .... quod intelligat , Daemonas DEVINCTOS haerere CERTIS LOCIS & STATVIS , sive incantatos quibusdā magicis carminibus , sive aliàs incubantes locis semel praeoccupatis , ubi lurconum more se oblectant victimarum nidoribus ..... Caeterum , Christiani homines , & Iudaei , sibi temperant ab his , propter illud legis ; Dominum Deum tuum timebis , & ipsi soli servies : item propter illud ; Non erunt tibi alieni Diipraeter me , & , Non facies tibi ipsi simulacrum , &c. Loe here , it is all one with Origen to have Templa , as it was to worship a other gods : as it was a little before with Minutius Felix his Octavius ( if you mark it ) to have Delubra & Simulacra . Yet certain , neither Celsus nor Origen , whatsoever they here say of the Persians and Iews , were ignorant , that the Persians had their b Pyraea or Pyrathaea ( Houses where the Fire was worshipped ) though without Images or Statues : also , that the Iews had both then , & also formerly , their Synagogues and Proseuchae , in the places and Countries where they were dispersed ; and once a most glorious & magnificent Tēple or Sanctuary : Ergo , by Temples they understand not houses of prayer & religious rites in the generall ; c but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , places where Daemons were incloistered by the position of an Idol , or cōsecrated Statue . And here let me adde ( because it is not impertinent ) what I have observed in reading the Itinerarium of Benjamin Tudelensis the Iew ; namely , that he expresses cōstantly after this maner , the Oratories of Iews , Turks , & Christians by differing names : those of the Iews he cals 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 .i. Houses of assembly , or Synagogues : The Turkish Mosquees 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Houses of prayer ; but the Christian Churches , because of Images ( yea that renowned Church of S. Sophie it self ) he called alwayes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 BAMOTH , the name of the Idol-Temples in the old Testament , which we translate High Places . This I note for an example of that pronenesse in Religions of a contrary Rite , thus to distinguish , as other things , so their Places of worship by diversity of names , though they communicate in the same common nature and use . Thirdly , that the answer I have given to these objected passages is genuine , I prove ; because some of these Authors acknowledge elsewhere , that Christians had houses of sacred worship in their time : As namely Arnobius ( whose words were as pressing as any of the rest , yet ) in the self same Books acknowledges the Christians Oratories by the name of CONVENTICULA , or Meeting places ; by that name indeavouring I suppose , to expresse the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . The place is about the end of his 4. Book adversùs Gentes : Quòd si haberet vos ( saith he ) aliqua vestris pro religionibus indignatio , has potiùs literas ( he meanes the Poets absurd & blasphemous fictions & tales of their gods ) hos exurere debuistis olim libros ; istos demoliri , dissolvere Theatra haec potiùs , in quibus infamiae numinū propudiosis quotidie publicātur in fabulis ( of this their scurrilous dishonouring of their gods upō the Stage he had spoken much before ) Nam nostra quidē scripta , cur ignibus meruerint dari ? cur immaniter CONVENTICVLA dirui ? in quibus * summus Orator Deus , pax cunctis & venia postulatur , magistratibus , exercitibus , Regibus , familiaribus , inimicis , adhuc vitam degentibus , & resolutis corporum vinctione , &c. He alludes unto the burning of the Books of Scripture and demolition of the Christians Oratories by Diocletian ; of which see Eusebius , Lib. 8. cap. 3. And know from hence when Arnobius wrote . Nay Origen himself , one of the first brought to depose against us , ( if Rufinus his Translator , deserve any credit ) will in his Homily upon the 9. chap. of Iosua testifie both for Churches and Altars among Christians in his time . For , thus he allegorizeth there the story of the Gibeonites , whose lives Iosua & the flders spared , but gave them no better entertainmēt , than to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for the Congregation , and for the Altar of the Lord. Sunt quidam in Ecclesia ( saith he ) credentes quidem , & habentes fidem in Deum , & acquiescentes in omnibus divinis praeceptis , quique etiam erga servos Dei religiosi sunt & servire eis cupiunt ; sed & ad ornatū ECCLESIAE vel ministerium satis prompti paratique sunt : in actibus verò suis , & conversatione propria , obscoenitatibꝰ & vitiis involuti , nec omnino deponentes veteremhominem cum actibus suis , sed involuti vetustis vitiis & obscoenitatibus suis , sicut & isti ( .i. Gabeonitae ) pannis & calceamentis veteribus obtecti ; praeter hoc , quod in Deum credunt , & erga servos Dei , vel ECCLESIAE cultum ( .i. ornatum ) videntur esse devoti , nihil adhibent emendationis vel innovationis in mores , &c ..... And a little after : Veruntamen sciendum est , quantum ex hujuscemodi figurarū adumbrationibus edocemur , quòd si qui tales sunt in nobis , quorum fides hoc tantūmodo habet , ut ad ECCLESIAM veniāt , & inclinent caput suum sacerdotibus ( mark here a custome ) officia exhibeant , servos Dei honorēt , ad ornatum quoque ALTARIS vel ECCLESIAE aliquid conferant , non tamen adhibent studium , ut etiam mores suos excolant , actus emendent , vitia deponant , castitatem colant , iracundiam mitigent , avaritiam reprimant : ..... sciant , sibi , qui tales sunt , qui emendare se nolunt , sed in his usque in senectutem ultimam per severant , partem , sorténque ab Iesu Domino cum Gabeonitis esse tribuendam . Thus Origen by his Interpreter . And if any where Rufinus may be trusted , sure he may in this , forasmuch as in his Peroration in Epist. ad Romanos , he hath given us his word , that in his translation of this and the next Book , he took not his wonted liberty , to insert or alter any thing , but simply expressed every thing , as he found it . Heare his words . Illa ( saith he ) quae in Iesu Nava & in Iudicum librum & in 36 , 37 , & 38. Psal. scripsimus , simpliciter expressimus ut invenimus , & non multo cum labore transtulimus . Vide locum & Erasmi Censuram . Lib. Origen . Besides , he that but considers the matter , together with the brevity of this Homily , cannot see a possibility , how these passages can be an addition or supplement of the Translators , unlesse he made the whole Homily : because the contents of them are the onely argument thereof , and being taken from it , nothing would be remaining . Lastly , because the fore-alledged words of Lactantius are so usually brought against us , though they be nothing urgent , and his time be altogether repugnant to any such inference : yet absolutely to take away all scruple , let us heare him also , Instit. Lib. 5. c. 2. expresly giving evidence for us , and that even by the name of Templum . Ego ( saith he ) cum in Bithynia literas oratorias accitus docerem ; contigissétque eodem tempore , ut Dei Templum everteretur : duo extiterunt ibidem , qui jacenti atque abjectae veitati ( the Christian verity ) nescio , utrum superbiùs an importuniùs , insultârunt . See the rest which follows . This was when the Edict of Diocletian came forth for the demolishing of the Christians Churches . And thus , having removed that stumbling stone , which hath been the main inducement to the contrary opinion , so prejudicial to those works of religious bounty and piety : I hope my proofes will finde the freer passage with those of understanding and judgement ; to whose pious consideration I have devoted this my Discourse . FINIS . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A07381-e350 * Ioseph . Vice. com . de antiquis Missae ritibus . Vol. 3. l. 2. c. 21. Quaest. 57. sup . levit . * Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * Isidorus Pelusiota . lib. 2. Epist. 246. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Where note , that of two expressions of this in the same place , the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Printed Copie are deficient in the first of them ; but to be supplyed out of this , the second , or repetition of the same thing , as the Reader that considers it , will observe the Antithesis requires . * Coenacula dicuntur , ad quae ●calis ascenditur . Fest. Inde Ennio Coenacula maxima coeli . For these traditiōs , See Adricenius ex Nicephor . &c. and Bede infra , de locis sanct . Epist. 27. Apud Homerum passim . Hist. Eccl. lib. 2. cap. 16. * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . c N. B. d He meanes the Bookes of the Law , the Prophets , and Psalmes , and like things of sacred use . e Author Const. Ap. vocat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lib. 2. c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . al. 61. Alius David hymnos cana & populus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , idest , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , extremitates versuum ; non versuum initia , ut malè Intepres Bovius . * He mentions it Hist. Eccl. li. 5. cap. 1. * Lib. 7. c. penul . * Or whosoever else were the Author thereof under Trajan , whose then fresh successe in subduing the Parthians and Arabians ( contrary to the unlucky presages of some ) his scope seemes to have been to gratulate . See Iacobus Micyllus in Argumento . * Pag. 52. Vid. Graec. Ab An. 100. ad 200. * Lib. 6. c. 14 al. 21. Vid. Graec. a In Graeco 27. b In Graeco 12. a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vid. Epiplaen . Exposit. Fidei cathol . c. 21. De duobus ultimis , Const. Apost . l. 8. cap. 24 , 26. b See Act. 11. 26. Socr. lib. 6. c. 8. Theod. lib. 2. c. 24. a In Tom. 1. Biblioth . Patris edit . Pariscens . ex Archivo Viennensi . b The word Missa seem●s to have been long used in Italy before it was elsewhere . Clem , Alex in Opere , Quis sit ille dives , qui salvetur , Apud Euseb. Hist. Ecc. lib. 3. cap. 17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Also in this Century undoubtedly were extant those fabricks in the Coemiteries of S. Peter , in the vaticane , and of S. Paul in via ostiensi ( which could be no other then some Christian Oratories ) whereof Gaius speakes , in Euseb. & cals Tropaea Apostolorum . lib. 2. cap. 24. Ab Anno 200. ad 300. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril . Hier. * Lib. 2. cap. 57. al. 61. a Apol. cap. 16. b De Spect. cap. 25. Ad Vxor : lib. 2. c. 9. De coron . milit . c. 3. De velandis virginibus . cap. 3. & 13. * Ex Psal. 79. 2. & caeteris similibus juxta LXX . Cap. 49. He was made Bishop , Anno 249. lived untill 260. viz. Cypr. * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 .... Wheresoever ten men of Israel were , there ought to be built a Synagogue . Maimon . in Tephilla . cap. 11. §. 1. Object . 1. Object . 2. Institut . adversus Gentes . lib. 2. cap. 2. According to this notion of Templum , Tertul . c. 15. de Idololatria . Si Templis renunciasti , neseceris Templum janu●● tuam . Et de corona mil. Excubabit ( nempe ) Christianus ) pro Templis quibus renunciavit ? & coenabit illic ubi Apostolo non placet ? Id est , in Idolaeo . 1 Cor. cap. 8. 10. a So with Tertullian in the places before alledged in the margin Renunciasse Templis dicitur qui Idolis . b S●rabo ●● . 15. in append ad Herodot . Theod. li. 5. c. 38. Yea ●e de 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nanea in Elyma de Perfidis . 1 Mac. 6. 2. 2 Mac. c. 1. ver . 13. c i. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * Liturgiae Christianae discriptio . 
A59314	----	<?xml-stylesheet href='xml2htm.xsl' type='text/xsl'?> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <?xml-model href="http://schemata.earlyprint.org/schemata/tei_earlyprint.rng" type="application/xml" schematypens="http://relaxng.org/ns/structure/1.0"?> <TEI xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0"> <teiHeader> <fileDesc> <titleStmt> <title>Glory's resurrection being the triumphs of London revived, for the inauguration of the Right Honourable Sir Francis Child, Kt. Lord Mayor of the city of London : containing the description (and also the sculptures) of the pageants, and the whole solemnity of the day : all set forth at the proper cost and charge of the honourable Company of Goldsmiths.</title> <author>Settle, Elkanah, 1648-1724.</author> </titleStmt> <editionStmt> <edition>This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription A59314 of text R10579 in the <ref target="http;//estc.bl.uk">English Short Title Catalog</ref> (Wing S2688). 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This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of <ref target="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal</ref> . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. </p> </availability> </publicationStmt> <seriesStmt> <title>Early English books online.</title> </seriesStmt> <notesStmt> <note>(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A59314)</note> <note>Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 50750)</note> <note>Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 511:34)</note> </notesStmt> <sourceDesc> <biblFull> <titleStmt> <title>Glory's resurrection being the triumphs of London revived, for the inauguration of the Right Honourable Sir Francis Child, Kt. Lord Mayor of the city of London : containing the description (and also the sculptures) of the pageants, and the whole solemnity of the day : all set forth at the proper cost and charge of the honourable Company of Goldsmiths.</title> <author>Settle, Elkanah, 1648-1724.</author> <author>Child, Francis, Sir, 1642-1713.</author> </titleStmt> <extent>[6], 6 p., 4 leaves of plates (1 folded)</extent> <publicationStmt> <publisher>Printed for R. Barnbam ...,</publisher> <pubPlace>London :</pubPlace> <date>1698.</date> </publicationStmt> <notesStmt> <note>Dedication signed: E. 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xml:id="A59314-002-b-0560">Lordship</w> <w lemma="will" pos="vmb" reg="will" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0570">will</w> <w lemma="execute" pos="vvi" reg="execute" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0580">execute</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0590">that</w> <w lemma="honourable" pos="j" reg="Honourable" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0600">Honourable</w> <w lemma="trust" pos="n1" reg="Trust" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0610">Trust</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0620">.</pc> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="To" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0630">To</w> <w lemma="say" pos="vvi" reg="say" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0640">say</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-0650">,</pc> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0660">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0670">Lordship</w> <w lemma="will" pos="vmb" reg="will" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0680">will</w> <w lemma="answer" pos="vvi" reg="answer" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0690">answer</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0700">the</w> <w lemma="expectation" pos="n1" reg="Expectation" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0710">Expectation</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0720">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0730">the</w> <w lemma="world" pos="n1" reg="World" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0740">World</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-0750">,</pc> <w lemma="speak" pos="vvz" reg="speaks" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0760">speaks</w> <w lemma="too" pos="av" reg="too" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0770">too</w> <w lemma="little" pos="j" reg="little" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0780">little</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-0790">:</pc> <w lemma="there" pos="av" reg="there" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0800" type="contract1">There</w> <w xml:id="A59314-002-b-0800c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="something" pos="pi" reg="something" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0810">something</w> <w lemma="more" pos="av-c_d" reg="more" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0820">more</w> <w lemma="than" pos="cs" reg="than" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0830">than</w> <w lemma="expectation" pos="n1" reg="Expectation" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0840">Expectation</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-0850">,</pc> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="an" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0860">an</w> <w lemma="universal" pos="j" reg="Universal" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0870">Universal</w> <w lemma="assurance" pos="n1" reg="Assurance" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0880">Assurance</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0890">and</w> <w lemma="confidence" pos="n1" reg="Confidence" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0900">Confidence</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0910">of</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0920">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1g" reg="Lordship's" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0930">Lordship's</w> <w lemma="performance" pos="n1" reg="Performance" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0940">Performance</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0950">.</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e180"> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="And" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0960">And</w> <w lemma="while" pos="cs" reg="whilst" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0970">whilst</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0980">the</w> <w lemma="worshipful" pos="j" reg="Worshipful" xml:id="A59314-002-b-0990">Worshipful</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="Company" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1000" rendition="#hi">Company</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1010">of</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n2" reg="GOLDSMITHS" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1020">GOLDSMITHS</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-1030">,</pc> <w lemma="have" pos="vvb" reg="have" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1040">have</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-1050">,</pc> <w lemma="after" pos="acp-p" reg="after" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1060">after</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1070">a</w> <w lemma="three" pos="crd" reg="three" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1080">three</w> <w lemma="year" pos="n2" reg="Years" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1090">Years</w> <w lemma="cessation" pos="n1" reg="Cessation" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1100">Cessation</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-1110">,</pc> <w lemma="revive" pos="vvd" reg="revived" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1120">reviv'd</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1130">the</w> <w lemma="customary" pos="j" reg="Customary" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1140">Customary</w> <w lemma="splendour" pos="n1" reg="Splendour" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1150" rendition="#hi">Splendor</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1160">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1170">the</w> <w lemma="city" pos="n1" reg="City" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1180" rendition="#hi">City</w> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1190">on</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1200">this</w> <w lemma="solemn" pos="j" reg="Solemn" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1210">Solemn</w> <w lemma="occasion" pos="n1" reg="Occasion" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1220">Occasion</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-1230">,</pc> <w lemma="i" pos="pns" reg="I" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1240">I</w> <w lemma="dare" pos="vvb" reg="dare" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1250">dare</w> <w lemma="not" pos="xx" reg="not" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1260">not</w> <w lemma="say" pos="vvi" reg="say" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1270">say</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-1280">,</pc> <w lemma="it" pos="pn" reg="'t" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1290" type="contract1">'t</w> <w xml:id="A59314-002-b-1290c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" join="left">is</w> <w lemma="whole" pos="av_j" reg="wholly" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1300">wholly</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1310">their</w> <w lemma="own" pos="d" reg="own" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1320">own</w> <w lemma="natural" pos="j" reg="Natural" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1330">Natural</w> <w lemma="grandeur" pos="n1" reg="Grandeur" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1340" rendition="#hi">Grandeur</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1350">and</w> <w lemma="magnificence" pos="n1" reg="Magnificence" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1360" rendition="#hi">Magnificence</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-1370">,</pc> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1380">so</w> <w lemma="much" pos="av_d" reg="much" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1390">much</w> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="as" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1400">as</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1410">their</w> <w lemma="gratitude" pos="n1" reg="Gratitude" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1420" rendition="#hi">Gratitude</w> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1430">that</w> <w lemma="furnish" pos="vvz" reg="furnishes" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1440">furnishes</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1450">the</w> <w lemma="entertainment" pos="n1" reg="Entertainment" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1460" rendition="#hi">Entertainment</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1470">.</pc> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1480">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1490">Lordship</w> <w lemma="make" pos="vvz" reg="makes" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1500">makes</w> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1510">so</w> <w lemma="considerable" pos="j" reg="considerable" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1520">considerable</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1530">a</w> <w lemma="lustre" pos="n1" reg="Lustre" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1540">Lustre</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-1550">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1560">and</w> <w lemma="give" pos="vvz" reg="gives" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1570">gives</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1580">that</w> <w lemma="ornament" pos="n1" reg="Ornament" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1590">Ornament</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1600">to</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1610">their</w> <w lemma="society" pos="n1" reg="Society" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1620">Society</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-1630">;</pc> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1640">that</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1650">this</w> <w lemma="public" pos="j" reg="Public" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1660">Publick</w> <w lemma="triumph" pos="n1" reg="Triumph" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1670" rendition="#hi">Triumph</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-1680">,</pc> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1690">on</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1700">Your</w> <w lemma="inauguration-day" pos="n1" reg="Inauguration-day" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1710">Inauguration-Day</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-1720">,</pc> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1730">is</w> <w lemma="not" pos="xx" reg="not" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1740">not</w> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1750">so</w> <w lemma="much" pos="av_d" reg="much" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1760">much</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1770">a</w> <w lemma="present" pos="vvb" reg="Present" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1780">Present</w> <w lemma="they" pos="pns" reg="they" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1790">they</w> <w lemma="make" pos="vvb" reg="make" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1800">make</w> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1810">You</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-002-b-1820">,</pc> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="as" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1830">as</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1840">a</w> <w lemma="debt" pos="n1" reg="Debt" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1850">Debt</w> <w lemma="they" pos="pns" reg="they" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1860">they</w> <w lemma="pay" pos="vvb" reg="pay" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1870">pay</w> <w lemma="You." pos="n1-nn" reg="You." xml:id="A59314-002-b-1880">You.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-002-b-1890"/> </p> <pb facs="tcp:50750:3" xml:id="A59314-003-a"/> <p xml:id="A59314-e270"> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="Of" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0010">Of</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0020">all</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0030">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1g" reg="Lordship's" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0040">Lordship's</w> <w lemma="numerous" pos="j" reg="numerous" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0050">numerous</w> <w lemma="virtue" pos="n2" reg="Virtues" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0060">Virtues</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-0070">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0080">the</w> <w lemma="true" pos="av_j" reg="truly" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0090">truly</w> <w lemma="noble" pos="j" reg="Noble" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0100">Noble</w> <w lemma="train" pos="n1" reg="Train" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0110">Train</w> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0120">that</w> <w lemma="attend" pos="vvb" reg="attend" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0130">attend</w> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0140">You</w> <w lemma="thither" pos="av" reg="thither" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0150">thither</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-0160">,</pc> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0170">Your</w> <w lemma="unshake" pos="j_vn" reg="Unshaken" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0180">Unshaken</w> <w lemma="constancy" pos="n1" reg="Constancy" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0190">Constancy</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0200">to</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0210">Your</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e280"> <w lemma="native" pos="j" reg="Native" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0220">Native</w> <w lemma="altar" pos="n2" reg="Altars" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0230">Altars</w> </hi> <w lemma="seem" pos="vvz" reg="seems" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0240">seems</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0250">to</w> <w lemma="carry" pos="vvi" reg="carry" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0260">carry</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0270">the</w> <w lemma="lead" pos="j_vg" reg="Leading" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0280">Leading</w> <w lemma="glory" pos="n1" reg="Glory" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0290">Glory</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0300">.</pc> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0310">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="lordship" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0320" type="contract1">Lordship</w> <w xml:id="A59314-003-a-0320c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="true" pos="av_j" reg="truly" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0330">truly</w> <w lemma="Christian" pos="n1-nn_j" reg="Christian" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0340">Christian</w> <w lemma="undivided" pos="j" reg="Undivided" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0350" rendition="#hi">Undivided</w> <w lemma="knee" pos="n2" reg="Knees" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0360">Knees</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-0370">,</pc> <w lemma="pay" pos="vvb" reg="pay" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0380">pay</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0390">that</w> <w lemma="great" pos="j-c" reg="greater" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0400">greater</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0410">and</w> <w lemma="more" pos="av-c_d" reg="more" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0420">more</w> <w lemma="entire" pos="j" reg="entire" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0430">entire</w> <w lemma="adoration" pos="n1" reg="Adoration" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0440">Adoration</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0450">to</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="an" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0460">an</w> <w lemma="eternal" pos="j" reg="Eternal" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0470">Eternal</w> <w lemma="throne" pos="n1" reg="Throne" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0480">Throne</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-0490">,</pc> <w lemma="than" pos="cs" reg="than" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0500">than</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0510">to</w> <w lemma="make" pos="vvi" reg="make" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0520">make</w> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0530">at</w> <w lemma="one" pos="crd" reg="one" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0540">one</w> <w lemma="time" pos="n1" reg="time" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0550">time</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0560">a</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e300"/> <w lemma="Cain" pos="n1g-nn" reg="Cain's" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0570" rendition="hi-before-apostr">Cain's</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-0590">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0600">and</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-0610">,</pc> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0620">at</w> <w lemma="another" pos="d" reg="another" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0630">another</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-0640">,</pc> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="an" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0650">an</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e310"/> <w lemma="Abel" pos="n1g-nn" reg="Abel's" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0660" rendition="hi-before-apostr">Abel's</w> <w lemma="sacrifice" pos="n1" reg="Sacrifice" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0680">Sacrifice</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0690">.</pc> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0700">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0710">Lordship</w> <w lemma="will" pos="vmd" reg="would" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0720">would</w> <w lemma="start" pos="vvi" reg="start" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0730">start</w> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0740">at</w> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0750">so</w> <w lemma="poor" pos="j" reg="poor" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0760">poor</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0770">a</w> <w lemma="prevarication" pos="n1" reg="Prevarication" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0780" rendition="#hi">Prevarication</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0790">with</w> <w lemma="omnipotence" pos="n1" reg="Omnipotence" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0800">Omnipotence</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-0810">,</pc> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="as" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0820">as</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0830">to</w> <w lemma="bring" pos="vvi" reg="bring" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0840">bring</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0850">a</w> <w lemma="sheaf" pos="n1" reg="Sheaf" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0860">Sheaf</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0870">of</w> <w lemma="Stubhle" pos="n1-nn" reg="Stubhle" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0880" rendition="#hi">Stubhle</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0890">to</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0900">Your</w> <w lemma="morning" pos="n1" reg="Morning" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0910" rendition="#hi">Morning</w> <w lemma="oblation" pos="n1" reg="Oblation" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0920">Oblation</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-0930">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0940">and</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0950">a</w> <w lemma="lamb" pos="n1" reg="Lamb" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0960" rendition="#hi">Lamb</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0970">to</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0980">Your</w> <w lemma="evening" pos="n1" reg="Evening" xml:id="A59314-003-a-0990" rendition="#hi">Evening</w> <w lemma="one" pos="crd" reg="one" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1000">one</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1010">.</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e370"> <w lemma="nor" pos="cc-x" reg="Nor" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1020">Nor</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1030">are</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1040">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1g" reg="Lordship's" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1050">Lordship's</w> <w lemma="moral" pos="j" reg="Moral" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1060">Moral</w> <w lemma="perfection" pos="n2" reg="Perfections" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1070">Perfections</w> <w lemma="less" pos="av-c_d" reg="lesle" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1080">less</w> <w lemma="conspicuous" pos="j" reg="Conspicuous" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1090">Conspicuous</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-1100">:</pc> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1110">You</w> <w lemma="ascend" pos="vvb" reg="ascend" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1120">ascend</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1130">to</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1140">this</w> <w lemma="metropolitan" pos="j" reg="Metropolitan" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1150">Metropolitan</w> <w lemma="dignity" pos="n1" reg="Dignity" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1160">Dignity</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-1170">,</pc> <w lemma="whole" pos="av_j" reg="wholly" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1180">wholly</w> <w lemma="untainted" pos="j" reg="untainted" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1190">untainted</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1200">with</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1210">the</w> <w lemma="too" pos="av" reg="too" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1220">too</w> <w lemma="common" pos="j" reg="common" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1230">common</w> <w lemma="avarice" pos="n1" reg="Avarice" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1240" rendition="#hi">Avarice</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1250">of</w> <w lemma="greatness" pos="n1" reg="Greatness" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1260">Greatness</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1270">.</pc> <w lemma="no" pos="uh-x" reg="no" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1280">No</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-1290">,</pc> <w lemma="my" pos="po" reg="my" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1300">my</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="Lord" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1310">Lord</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-1320">,</pc> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1330">You</w> <w lemma="come" pos="vvb" reg="come" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1340">come</w> <w lemma="not" pos="xx" reg="not" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1350">not</w> <w lemma="thither" pos="av" reg="thither" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1360">thither</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1370">to</w> <w lemma="gather" pos="vvb" reg="Gather" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1380">Gather</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-1390">,</pc> <w lemma="but" pos="acp-cc" reg="but" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1400">but</w> <w lemma="shower" pos="vvb" reg="Shower" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1410">Shower</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1420">the</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1430">Gold</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-1440">;</pc> <w lemma="while" pos="cs" reg="whilst" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1450">whilst</w> <w lemma="warm" pos="vvn" reg="warmed" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1460">warm'd</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1470">and</w> <w lemma="animate" pos="vvn" reg="animated" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1480">animated</w> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="by" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1490">by</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1500">Your</w> <w lemma="own" pos="d" reg="own" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1510">own</w> <w lemma="innate" pos="j" reg="innate" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1520">innate</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1530">.</pc> <w lemma="principle" pos="n2" reg="Principles" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1540">Principles</w> <w lemma="both" pos="av_d" reg="both" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1550">both</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1560">of</w> <w lemma="charity" pos="n1" reg="Charity" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1570" rendition="#hi">Charity</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1580">and</w> <w lemma="hospitality" pos="n1" reg="Hospitality" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1590" rendition="#hi">Hospitality</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-1600">,</pc> <w lemma="those" pos="d" reg="those" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1610">those</w> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="two" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1620">two</w> <w lemma="illustrious" pos="j" reg="Illustrious" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1630">Illustrious</w> <w lemma="ornament" pos="n2" reg="Ornaments" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1640">Ornaments</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1650">of</w> <w lemma="magistracy" pos="n1" reg="Magistracy" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1660">Magistracy</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-1670">,</pc> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1680">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1690">Lordship</w> <w lemma="have" pos="vvz" reg="has" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1700">has</w> <w lemma="resolve" pos="vvn" reg="resolved" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1710">resolved</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1720">to</w> <w lemma="recall" pos="vvi" reg="recall" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1730">recal</w> <w lemma="from" pos="acp-p" reg="from" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1740">from</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1750">their</w> <w lemma="late" pos="j" reg="late" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1760">late</w> <w lemma="banishment" pos="n1" reg="Banishment" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1770" rendition="#hi">Banishment</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-1780">:</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="And" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1790">And</w> <w lemma="indeed" pos="av" reg="indeed" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1800">indeed</w> <w lemma="those" pos="d" reg="those" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1810">those</w> <w lemma="true" pos="av_j" reg="truly" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1820">truly</w> <w lemma="radiant" pos="j" reg="radiant" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1830">radiant</w> <w lemma="virtue" pos="n2" reg="Virtues" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1840">Virtues</w> <w lemma="can" pos="vmd" reg="could" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1850">could</w> <w lemma="never" pos="av-x" reg="never" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1860">never</w> <w lemma="appear" pos="vvi" reg="appear" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1870">appear</w> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1880">on</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1890">the</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e420"> <w lemma="praetorian" pos="j-nn" reg="Praetorian" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1900">Praetorian</w> <w lemma="chair" pos="n1" reg="Chair" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1910">Chair</w> </hi> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1920">with</w> <w lemma="noble" pos="j-c" reg="nobler" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1930">nobler</w> <w lemma="lustre" pos="n1" reg="Lustre" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1940">Lustre</w> <w lemma="than" pos="cs" reg="than" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1950">than</w> <w lemma="now" pos="av" reg="now" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1960">now</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-1970">;</pc> <w lemma="consider" pos="vvg" reg="considering" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1980">considering</w> <w lemma="they" pos="pns" reg="they" xml:id="A59314-003-a-1990">they</w> <w lemma="will" pos="vmb" reg="will" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2000">will</w> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2010">so</w> <w lemma="immediate" pos="av_j" reg="immediately" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2020">immediately</w> <w lemma="break" pos="vvi" reg="break" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2030">break</w> <w lemma="forth" pos="av" reg="forth" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2040">forth</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2050">in</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2060">that</w> <w lemma="full" pos="j" reg="full" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2070">full</w> <w lemma="glory" pos="n1" reg="Glory" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2080">Glory</w> <w lemma="there" pos="av" reg="there" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2090">there</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-2100">,</pc> <w lemma="after" pos="acp-cs" reg="after" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2110">after</w> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2120">so</w> <w lemma="total" pos="j" reg="total" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2130">total</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="an" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2140">an</w> <w lemma="eclipse" pos="n1" reg="Eclipse" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2150">Eclipse</w> <w lemma="before" pos="acp-av" reg="before" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2160">before</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2170">.</pc> <w lemma="it" pos="pn" reg="'t" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2180" type="contract1">'T</w> <w xml:id="A59314-003-a-2180c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" join="left">is</w> <w lemma="thus" pos="av" reg="thus" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2190">thus</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2200">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2210">Lordship</w> <w lemma="design" pos="n2" reg="designs" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2220">designs</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2230">in</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2240">Your</w> <w lemma="administration" pos="n1" reg="Administration" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2250">Administration</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2260">of</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2270">Your</w> <w lemma="mayoralty" pos="n1" reg="Mayoralty" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2280" rendition="#hi">Mayoralty</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2290">to</w> <w lemma="waken" pos="vvi" reg="waken" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2300">waken</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2310">and</w> <w lemma="revive" pos="vvi" reg="revive" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2320">revive</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2330">the</w> <w lemma="late" pos="j" reg="late" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2340">late</w> <w lemma="droop" pos="j_vg" reg="drooping" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2350">drooping</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2360">and</w> <w lemma="languish" pos="j_vg" reg="languishing" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2370">languishing</w> <w lemma="honour" pos="n1" reg="Honour" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2380" rendition="#hi">Honour</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2390">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2400">the</w> <w lemma="city" pos="n1" reg="City" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2410" rendition="#hi">City</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-2420">:</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="And" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2430">And</w> <w lemma="indeed" pos="av" reg="indeed" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2440">indeed</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2450">to</w> <w lemma="give" pos="vvi" reg="give" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2460">give</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2470">a</w> <w lemma="new" pos="j" reg="new" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2480">new</w> <w lemma="resurrection" pos="n1" reg="Resurrection" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2490">Resurrection</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2500">to</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2510">the</w> <w lemma="grandeur" pos="n1" reg="Grandeur" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2520" rendition="#hi">Grandeur</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2530">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2540">the</w> <w lemma="chair" pos="n1" reg="Chair" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2550" rendition="#hi">Chair</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-2560">;</pc> <w lemma="which" pos="crq-r" reg="which" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2570">which</w> <w lemma="i" pos="pns" reg="I" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2580">I</w> <w lemma="may" pos="vmb" reg="may" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2590">may</w> <w lemma="honest" pos="av_j" reg="honestly" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2600">honestly</w> <w lemma="say" pos="vvi" reg="say" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2610">say</w> <w lemma="have" pos="vvz" reg="has" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2620">has</w> <w lemma="some" pos="d" reg="some" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2630">some</w> <w lemma="time" pos="n1" reg="time" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2640">time</w> <w lemma="lie" pos="vvn" reg="lain" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2650">lain</w> <w lemma="bury" pos="vvn" reg="buried" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2660">buried</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2670">.</pc> <w lemma="it" pos="pn" reg="'t" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2680" type="contract1">'T</w> <w xml:id="A59314-003-a-2680c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" join="left">is</w> <w lemma="thus" pos="av" reg="thus" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2690">thus</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-2700">,</pc> <w lemma="my" pos="po" reg="my" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2710">my</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="Lord" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2720">Lord</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-2730">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2740">the</w> <w lemma="shade" pos="n2" reg="Shades" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2750">Shades</w> <w lemma="behind" pos="acp-p" reg="behind" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2760">behind</w> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2770">You</w> <w lemma="will" pos="vmb" reg="will" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2780">will</w> <w lemma="illustrate" pos="vvi" reg="illustrate" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2790">illustrate</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2800">Your</w> <w lemma="own" pos="d" reg="own" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2810">own</w> <w lemma="glory" pos="n2" reg="Glories" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2820">Glories</w> <w lemma="before" pos="acp-p" reg="before" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2830">before</w> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2840">You</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-2850">;</pc> <w lemma="or" pos="cc" reg="Or" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2860">Or</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-2870">,</pc> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2880">to</w> <w lemma="speak" pos="vvi" reg="speak" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2890">speak</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2900">in</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2910">the</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n1g" reg="Goldsmith's" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2920" rendition="#hi">Goldsmiths</w> <w lemma="dialect" pos="n1" reg="Dialect" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2930">Dialect</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-a-2940">,</pc> <w lemma="those" pos="d" reg="Those" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2950">Those</w> <w lemma="foil" pos="n2" reg="Foils" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2960" rendition="#hi">Foils</w> <w lemma="will" pos="vmb" reg="will" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2970">will</w> <w lemma="set" pos="vvi" reg="set" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2980">set</w> <w lemma="off" pos="acp-av" reg="off" xml:id="A59314-003-a-2990">off</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-a-3000">Your</w> <w lemma="diamond" pos="n1" reg="Diamond" xml:id="A59314-003-a-3010" rendition="#hi">Diamond</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-003-a-3020">.</pc> </p> <pb facs="tcp:50750:3" xml:id="A59314-003-b"/> <p xml:id="A59314-e510"> <w lemma="but" pos="acp-cc" reg="But" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0010">But</w> <w lemma="what" pos="crq-r" reg="what" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0020">what</w> <w lemma="have" pos="vvz" reg="has" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0030">has</w> <w lemma="yet" pos="av" reg="yet" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0040">yet</w> <w lemma="more" pos="av-c_d" reg="more" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0050">more</w> <w lemma="noble" pos="av_j" reg="nobly" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0060">nobly</w> <w lemma="signalise" pos="vvn" reg="signalised" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0070">signaliz'd</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0080">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0090">Lordship</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-0100">;</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="In" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0110">In</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0120">the</w> <w lemma="late" pos="j" reg="late" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0130">late</w> <w lemma="suppression" pos="n1" reg="Suppression" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0140">Suppression</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0150">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0160">the</w> <w lemma="deface" pos="vvn" reg="Defaced" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0170">Defaced</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0180">and</w> <w lemma="adulterate" pos="vvn" reg="Adulterated" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0190">Adulterated</w> <w lemma="coin" pos="n1" reg="Coin" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0200">Coin</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-0210">,</pc> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0220">at</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0230">the</w> <w lemma="time" pos="n1" reg="time" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0240">time</w> <w lemma="when" pos="crq-cs" reg="when" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0250">when</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0260">all</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0270">the</w> <w lemma="private" pos="j" reg="Private" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0280" rendition="#hi">Private</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0290">and</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e530"> <w lemma="public" pos="j" reg="Public" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0300">Publick</w> <w lemma="bank" pos="n2" reg="Banks" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0310">Banks</w> </hi> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0320">of</w> <w lemma="England" pos="n1-nn" reg="England" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0330" rendition="#hi">England</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-0340">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0350">and</w> <w lemma="indeed" pos="av" reg="indeed" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0360">indeed</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0370">the</w> <w lemma="whole" pos="j" reg="whole" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0380">whole</w> <w lemma="currency" pos="n1-nn" reg="Currency" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0390">Currency</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0400">of</w> <w lemma="exchequer" pos="n2" reg="Exchequers" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0410" rendition="#hi">Exchequers</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0420">and</w> <w lemma="treasury" pos="n1g-nn" reg="Treasury's" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0430" rendition="#hi">Treasury's</w> <w lemma="stand" pos="vvd" reg="stood" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0440">stood</w> <w lemma="almost" pos="av" reg="almost" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0450">almost</w> <w lemma="entire" pos="av_j" reg="entirely" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0460">intirely</w> <w lemma="stop" pos="vvn" reg="stopped" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0470">stopt</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-0480">;</pc> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0490">at</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0500">that</w> <w lemma="time" pos="n1" reg="time" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0510">time</w> <w lemma="when" pos="crq-cs" reg="when" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0520">when</w> <w lemma="it" pos="pn" reg="'t" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0530" type="contract1">'t</w> <w xml:id="A59314-003-b-0530c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvd" reg="was" join="left">was</w> <w lemma="no" pos="d-x" reg="no" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0540">no</w> <w lemma="forfeit" pos="j_vn" reg="forfeited" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0550">forfeited</w> <w lemma="credit" pos="n1" reg="Credit" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0560">Credit</w> <w lemma="even" pos="av" reg="even" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0570">even</w> <w lemma="for" pos="acp-p" reg="for" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0580">for</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0590">the</w> <w lemma="proud" pos="j-s" reg="proudest" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0600">proudest</w> <w lemma="court" pos="n1" reg="Court" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0610" rendition="#hi">Court</w> <w lemma="or" pos="cc" reg="or" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0620">or</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e580"> <w lemma="city" pos="n1" reg="City" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0630">City</w> <w lemma="head" pos="n2" reg="Heads" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0640">Heads</w> </hi> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0650">to</w> <w lemma="play" pos="vvi" reg="play" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0660">play</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0670">the</w> <w lemma="insolvent" pos="n2" reg="Insolvents" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0680">Insolvents</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-0690">;</pc> <w lemma="it" pos="pn" reg="'t" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0700" type="contract1">'t</w> <w xml:id="A59314-003-b-0700c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvd" reg="was" join="left">was</w> <w lemma="then" pos="av" reg="then" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0710">then</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0720">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1g" reg="Lordship's" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0730">Lordship's</w> <w lemma="particular" pos="j" reg="Particular" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0740">Particular</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-0750">,</pc> <w lemma="i" pos="pns" reg="I" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0760">I</w> <w lemma="may" pos="vmd" reg="might" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0770">might</w> <w lemma="say" pos="vvi" reg="say" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0780">say</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-0790">,</pc> <w lemma="only" pos="j" reg="Only" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0800">Only</w> <w lemma="pride" pos="n1" reg="Pride" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0810">Pride</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-0820">,</pc> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0830">that</w> <w lemma="when" pos="crq-cs" reg="when" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0840">when</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0850">all</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0860">the</w> <w lemma="other" pos="d" reg="other" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0870">other</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e590"> <w lemma="golden" pos="j" reg="Golden" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0880">Golden</w> <w lemma="vein" pos="n2" reg="Veins" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0890">Veins</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0900">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0910">the</w> <w lemma="nation" pos="n1" reg="Nation" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0920">Nation</w> </hi> <w lemma="be" pos="vvd" reg="were" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0930">were</w> <w lemma="stagnate" pos="vvn" reg="stagnated" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0940">stagnated</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-0950">,</pc> <w lemma="you" pos="png" reg="Yours" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0960">Yours</w> <w lemma="alone" pos="av_j" reg="alone" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0970">alone</w> <w lemma="keep" pos="vvn" reg="kept" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0980">kept</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-003-b-0990">their</w> <w lemma="whole" pos="j" reg="whole" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1000">whole</w> <w lemma="open" pos="j" reg="open" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1010">open</w> <w lemma="circulation" pos="n1-nn" reg="Circulation" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1020">Circulation</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-1030">:</pc> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1040">You</w> <w lemma="answer" pos="vvd" reg="answered" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1050">answered</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1060">all</w> <w lemma="bill" pos="n2" reg="Bills" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1070">Bills</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1080">with</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1090">the</w> <w lemma="same" pos="d" reg="same" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1100">same</w> <w lemma="prompt" pos="j" reg="prompt" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1110">prompt</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1120">and</w> <w lemma="entire" pos="j" reg="entire" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1130">entire</w> <w lemma="satisfaction" pos="n1" reg="Satisfaction" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1140">Satisfaction</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-1150">,</pc> <w lemma="perhaps" pos="av" reg="perhaps" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1160">perhaps</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1170">to</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1180">the</w> <w lemma="wonder" pos="n1" reg="Wonder" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1190">Wonder</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-1200">,</pc> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1210">at</w> <w lemma="least" pos="d-s" reg="least" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1220">least</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1230">to</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1240">the</w> <w lemma="envy" pos="n1" reg="Envy" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1250">Envy</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1260">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1270">the</w> <w lemma="world." pos="n-ab" reg="World." xml:id="A59314-003-b-1280">World.</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="And" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1290">And</w> <w lemma="though" pos="cs" reg="though" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1300">tho'</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1310">the</w> <w lemma="then" pos="av" reg="then" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1320">then</w> <w lemma="general" pos="j" reg="general" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1330">general</w> <w lemma="example" pos="n2" reg="Examples" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1340">Examples</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1350">all</w> <w lemma="round" pos="j" reg="round" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1360">round</w> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="ye" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1370">Ye</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-1380">,</pc> <w lemma="may" pos="vmd" reg="might" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1390">might</w> <w lemma="have" pos="vvi" reg="have" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1400">have</w> <w lemma="excuse" pos="vvn" reg="excused" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1410">excused</w> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1420">You</w> <w lemma="from" pos="acp-p" reg="from" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1430">from</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1440">that</w> <w lemma="stretch" pos="n2" reg="Stretches" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1450">Stretch</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1460">of</w> <w lemma="payment" pos="n1-nn" reg="Payment" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1470">Payment</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-1480">;</pc> <w lemma="yet" pos="av" reg="yet" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1490">yet</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1500">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1510">Lordship</w> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1520">so</w> <w lemma="value" pos="vvn" reg="valued" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1530">valued</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1540">Your</w> <w lemma="reputation" pos="n1" reg="Reputation" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1550">Reputation</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-1560">,</pc> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="as" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1570">as</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1580">to</w> <w lemma="do" pos="vvi" reg="do" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1590">do</w> <w lemma="justice" pos="n1" reg="Justice" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1600">Justice</w> <w lemma="even" pos="av" reg="even" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1610">even</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1620">to</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1630">a</w> <w lemma="supererrogation" pos="n1" reg="Supererrogation" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1640">Supererrogation</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1650">.</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e600"> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="And" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1660">And</w> <w lemma="here" pos="av" reg="here" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1670">here</w> <w lemma="methinks" pos="vvb" reg="methinks" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1680">methinks</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1690">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1g" reg="Lordship's" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1700">Lordship's</w> <w lemma="very" pos="j" reg="very" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1710">very</w> <w lemma="coat" pos="n1" reg="Coat" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1720">Coat</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1730">of</w> <w lemma="arm" pos="n2" reg="Arms" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1740">Arms</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-1750">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1760">the</w> <w lemma="long" pos="j" reg="long" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1770">long</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e610"> <w lemma="hereditary" pos="j" reg="Hereditary" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1780">Hereditary</w> <w lemma="escutcheon" pos="n1" reg="Escutcheon" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1790">Escutcheon</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1800">of</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1810">Your</w> <w lemma="family" pos="n1" reg="Family" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1820">Family</w> </hi> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-1830" rendition="#follows-hi">,</pc> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="by" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1840">by</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1850">a</w> <w lemma="kind" pos="n1" reg="kind" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1860">kind</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1870">of</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e620"> <w lemma="prophetical" pos="j" reg="Prophetical" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1880">Prophetical</w> <w lemma="heraldry" pos="n1" reg="Heraldry" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1890">Herauldry</w> </hi> <w lemma="seem" pos="vvz" reg="seems" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1900">seems</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1910">to</w> <w lemma="blazon" pos="vvi" reg="blazon" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1920">blazon</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1930">the</w> <w lemma="very" pos="j" reg="very" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1940">very</w> <w lemma="virtue" pos="n2" reg="Virtues" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1950">Virtues</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1960">of</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1970">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1980">Lordship</w> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-003-b-1990">that</w> <w lemma="bear" pos="vvz" reg="bears" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2000">bears</w> <w lemma="they" pos="pno" reg="them" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2010">them</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-2020">;</pc> <w lemma="when" pos="crq-cs" reg="when" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2030">when</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2040">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="lordship" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2050" type="contract1">Lordship</w> <w xml:id="A59314-003-b-2050c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e630"> <w lemma="argent" pos="fw-fr" reg="Argent" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2060">Argent</w> <w lemma="eagle" pos="n2" reg="Eagles" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2070">Eagles</w> </hi> <w lemma="true" pos="av_j" reg="truly" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2080">truly</w> <w lemma="soar" pos="vvd" reg="soared" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2090">soard</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-2100">,</pc> <w lemma="while" pos="cs" reg="whilst" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2110">whilst</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="your" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2120">your</w> <w lemma="neighbour" pos="n2" reg="Neighbours" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2130">Neighbours</w> <w lemma="flag" pos="vvd" reg="flagged" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2140">flagg'd</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2150">and</w> <w lemma="droop" pos="vvd" reg="drooped" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2160">droop'd</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2170">.</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e640"> <w lemma="but" pos="acp-cc" reg="But" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2180">But</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2190">in</w> <w lemma="enumerate" pos="vvg" reg="enumerating" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2200">enumerating</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2210">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1g" reg="Lordship's" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2220">Lordship's</w> <w lemma="singular" pos="j" reg="singular" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2230">singular</w> <w lemma="worth" pos="n1" reg="Worth" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2240">Worth</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2250">and</w> <w lemma="desert" pos="n2" reg="Deserts" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2260">Deserts</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-2270">,</pc> <w lemma="i" pos="pns" reg="I" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2280">I</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvm" reg="am" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2290">am</w> <w lemma="enter" pos="vvn" reg="entered" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2300">enter'd</w> <w lemma="into" pos="acp-p" reg="into" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2310">into</w> <w lemma="too" pos="av" reg="too" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2320">too</w> <w lemma="large" pos="j" reg="large" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2330">large</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2340">a</w> <w lemma="field" pos="n1" reg="Field" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2350">Field</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-2360">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2370">and</w> <w lemma="therefore" pos="av" reg="therefore" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2380">therefore</w> <w lemma="shall" pos="vmb" reg="shall" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2390">shall</w> <w lemma="modest" pos="av_j" reg="modestly" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2400">modestly</w> <w lemma="retire" pos="vvi" reg="retire" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2410">retire</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-2420">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2430">with</w> <w lemma="subscribe" pos="vvg" reg="subscribing" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2440">subscribing</w> <w lemma="myself" pos="px" reg="myself" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2450">my Self</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-2470">,</pc> </p> <closer xml:id="A59314-e650"> <salute xml:id="A59314-e660"> <w lemma="my" pos="po" reg="My" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2480">My</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="LORD" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2490">LORD</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-2500">,</pc> </salute> <signed xml:id="A59314-e670"> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2510">Your</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="lordship" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2520" type="contract1">Lordship</w> <w xml:id="A59314-003-b-2520c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="most" pos="av-s_d" reg="most" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2530">most</w> <w lemma="devote" pos="vvn" reg="Devoted" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2540">Devoted</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2550">and</w> <w lemma="most" pos="av-s_d" reg="most" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2560">most</w> <w lemma="dutiful" pos="j" reg="Dutiful" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2570">Dutiful</w> <w lemma="servant" pos="n1" reg="Servant" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2580">Servant</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-003-b-2590">,</pc> <w lemma="e." pos="n-ab" reg="E." xml:id="A59314-003-b-2600">E.</w> <w lemma="settle" pos="n1-nn" reg="SETTLE" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2610">SETTLE</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-003-b-2620">.</pc> </signed> </closer> </div> <div type="speech" xml:id="A59314-e680"> <pb facs="tcp:50750:4" xml:id="A59314-004-a"/> <head xml:id="A59314-e690"> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="TO" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0010">TO</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="THE" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0020">THE</w> <w lemma="worshipful" pos="j" reg="Worshipful" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0030">Worshipful</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="Company" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0040">Company</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="OF" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0050">OF</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n2" reg="GOLDSMITHS" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0060">GOLDSMITHS</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0070">.</pc> </head> <p xml:id="A59314-e700"> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-p" reg="AS" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0080">AS</w> <w lemma="we" pos="pns" reg="we" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0090">we</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0100">are</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0110">all</w> <w lemma="natural" pos="av_j" reg="naturally" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0120">naturally</w> <w lemma="ambitious" pos="j" reg="Ambitious" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0130">Ambitious</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0140">to</w> <w lemma="serve" pos="vvi" reg="serve" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0150">serve</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0160">the</w> <w lemma="noble" pos="j-s" reg="Noblest" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0170">Noblest</w> <w lemma="master" pos="n2" reg="Masters" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0180">Masters</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-0190">,</pc> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0200">You</w> <w lemma="may" pos="vmb" reg="may" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0210">may</w> <w lemma="believe" pos="vvi" reg="believe" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0220">believe</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-0230">,</pc> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0240">Gentlemen</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-0250">,</pc> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0260">that</w> <w lemma="my" pos="po" reg="my" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0270">my</w> <w lemma="humble" pos="j" reg="humble" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0280">humble</w> <w lemma="muse" pos="n1" reg="Muse" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0290">Muse</w> <w lemma="take" pos="vvz" reg="takes" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0300">takes</w> <w lemma="no" pos="d-x" reg="no" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0310">no</w> <w lemma="common" pos="j" reg="common" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0320">common</w> <w lemma="pride" pos="n1" reg="Pride" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0330">Pride</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0340">in</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvg" reg="being" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0350">being</w> <w lemma="call" pos="vvn" reg="called" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0360">call'd</w> <w lemma="up" pos="acp-av" reg="up" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0370">up</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0380">to</w> <w lemma="entertain" pos="vvi" reg="entertain" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0390">entertain</w> <w lemma="You." pos="n1-nn" reg="You." xml:id="A59314-004-a-0400">You.</w> <w lemma="for" pos="acp-cs" reg="For" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0410">For</w> <w lemma="beside" pos="acp-av" reg="besides" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0420">besides</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0430">the</w> <w lemma="particular" pos="j" reg="particular" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0440">particular</w> <w lemma="command" pos="j_vg" reg="commanding" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0450">commanding</w> <w lemma="merit" pos="n2" reg="Merits" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0460">Merits</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0470">of</w> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0480">so</w> <w lemma="many" pos="d" reg="many" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0490">many</w> <w lemma="honourable" pos="j" reg="Honourable" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0500">Honourable</w> <w lemma="member" pos="n2" reg="Members" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0510">Members</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0520">of</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0530">Your</w> <w lemma="society" pos="n1" reg="Society" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0540">Society</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-0550">,</pc> <w lemma="i" pos="pns" reg="I" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0560">I</w> <w lemma="can" pos="vmb-x" reg="cannot" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0570">cannot</w> <w lemma="but" pos="acp-p" reg="but" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0580">but</w> <w lemma="consider" pos="vvi" reg="consider" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0590">consider</w> <w lemma="what" pos="crq-r" reg="what" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0600">what</w> <w lemma="extraordinary" pos="j" reg="extraordinary" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0610">extraordinary</w> <w lemma="dazzle" pos="j_vg" reg="dazzling" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0620">dazling</w> <w lemma="lustre" pos="n1" reg="Lustre" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0630">Lustre</w> <w lemma="even" pos="av" reg="even" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0640">even</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0650">Your</w> <w lemma="profession" pos="n1" reg="Profession" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0660">Profession</w> <w lemma="itself" pos="px" reg="itself" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0670">it self</w> <w lemma="carry" pos="vvz" reg="carries" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0690">carries</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0700">with</w> <w lemma="it" pos="pn" reg="it" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0710">it</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0720">.</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e710"> <w lemma="when" pos="crq-cs" reg="When" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0730">When</w> <w lemma="i" pos="pns" reg="I" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0740">I</w> <w lemma="enter" pos="vvb" reg="enter" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0750">enter</w> <w lemma="into" pos="acp-p" reg="into" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0760">into</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0770">the</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n1g" reg="Goldsmith's" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0780">Goldsmiths</w> <w lemma="laboratory" pos="n1" reg="Laboratory" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0790">Laboratory</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-0800">,</pc> <w lemma="methinks" pos="vvb" reg="methinks" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0810">methinks</w> <w lemma="i" pos="pns" reg="I" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0820">I</w> <w lemma="see" pos="vvb" reg="see" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0830">see</w> <w lemma="even" pos="av" reg="even" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0840">even</w> <w lemma="sovereignty" pos="n1" reg="Sovereignty" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0850" rendition="#hi">Soveraignty</w> <w lemma="itself" pos="px" reg="itself" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0860">it self</w> <w lemma="shine" pos="vvi" reg="shine" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0880">shine</w> <w lemma="there" pos="av" reg="there" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0890">there</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-0900">:</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0910">The</w> <w lemma="very" pos="av" reg="very" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0920">very</w> <w lemma="strong" pos="j-s" reg="Strongest" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0930">Strongest</w> <w lemma="nerve" pos="n2" reg="Nerves" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0940">Nerves</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0950">of</w> <w lemma="war" pos="n1" reg="War" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0960" rendition="#hi">War</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-0970">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0980">and</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-0990">the</w> <w lemma="rich" pos="j-s" reg="Richest" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1000">Richest</w> <w lemma="blessing" pos="n2" reg="Blessings" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1010">Blessings</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1020">of</w> <w lemma="peace" pos="n1" reg="Peace" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1030" rendition="#hi">Peace</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-1040">,</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1050">in</w> <w lemma="effect" pos="n1" reg="effect" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1060">effect</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1070">the</w> <w lemma="only" pos="j" reg="only" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1080">only</w> <w lemma="product" pos="n1" reg="Product" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1090">Product</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1100">of</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1110">Your</w> <w lemma="forge" pos="n1" reg="Forge" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1120">Forge</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-1130">,</pc> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1140">are</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1150">all</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1160">Your</w> <w lemma="own" pos="d" reg="own" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1170">own</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1180">.</pc> <w lemma="nay" pos="uh-x" reg="Nay" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1190">Nay</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-1200">,</pc> <w lemma="even" pos="av" reg="even" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1210">even</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e750"> <w lemma="crown" pos="vvn" reg="Crowned" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1220">Crown'd</w> <w lemma="head" pos="n2" reg="Heads" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1230">Heads</w> </hi> <w lemma="hold" pos="vvb" reg="hold" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1240">hold</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1250">their</w> <w lemma="very" pos="j" reg="very" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1260">very</w> <w lemma="throne" pos="n2" reg="Thrones" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1270">Thrones</w> <w lemma="but" pos="acp-av" reg="but" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1280">but</w> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="by" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1290">by</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1300">a</w> <w lemma="precarious" pos="j" reg="Precarious" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1310">Precarious</w> <w lemma="tenure" pos="n1" reg="Tenure" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1320">Tenure</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-1330">,</pc> <w lemma="without" pos="acp-p" reg="without" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1340">without</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1350">Your</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e760"> <w lemma="mint" pos="n2" reg="Mints" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1360">Mints</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1370">of</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1380">Gold</w> </hi> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1390">to</w> <w lemma="support" pos="vvi" reg="support" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1400">support</w> <w xml:id="A59314-004-a-1410" lemma="'" reg="'" ana="sy">'</w> <w lemma="they" pos="pno" reg="'em" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1420">em</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1430">.</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e770"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1440">The</w> <w lemma="famous" pos="j" reg="famous" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1450">famous</w> <w lemma="Columbus" pos="n1-nn" reg="Columbus" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1460" rendition="#hi">Columbus</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1470">in</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1480">his</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e790"> <w lemma="peruvian" pos="n1-nn" reg="Peruvian" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1490">Peruvian</w> <w lemma="discovery" pos="n1" reg="Discovery" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1500">Discovery</w> </hi> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-1510" rendition="#follows-hi">,</pc> <w lemma="find" pos="vvd" reg="found" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1520">found</w> <w lemma="out" pos="av" reg="out" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1530">out</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1540">a</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e800"> <w lemma="new" pos="j" reg="New" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1550">New</w> <w lemma="world" pos="n1" reg="World" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1560">World</w> </hi> <w lemma="for" pos="acp-p" reg="for" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1570">for</w> <w lemma="little" pos="j" reg="little" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1580">little</w> <w lemma="more" pos="av-c_d" reg="more" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1590">more</w> <w lemma="than" pos="cs" reg="than" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1600">than</w> <w lemma="only" pos="av_j" reg="only" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1610">only</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1620">to</w> <w lemma="supply" pos="vvi" reg="supply" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1630">supply</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1640">Your</w> <w lemma="furnace" pos="n1" reg="Furnace" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1650">Furnace</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-1660">:</pc> <w lemma="nay" pos="uh-x" reg="Nay" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1670">Nay</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-1680">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1690">the</w> <w lemma="very" pos="j" reg="very" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1700">very</w> <w lemma="sun" pos="n1" reg="Sun" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1710" rendition="#hi">Sun</w> <w lemma="himself" pos="px" reg="himself" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1720">himself</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1730">is</w> <w lemma="but" pos="acp-av" reg="but" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1740">but</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1750">the</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n1g" reg="Goldsmith's" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1760" rendition="#hi">Goldsmiths</w> <w lemma="fellow-labourer" pos="n1" reg="Fellow-labourer" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1770">Fellow-Labourer</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-1780">,</pc> <w lemma="while" pos="cs" reg="whilst" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1790">whilst</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1800">his</w> <w lemma="most" pos="av-s_d" reg="most" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1810">most</w> <w lemma="vigorous" pos="j" reg="vigorous" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1820">vigorous</w> <w lemma="beam" pos="n2" reg="Beams" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1830">Beams</w> <w lemma="warm" pos="vvi" reg="warm" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1840">warm</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1850">the</w> <w lemma="rich" pos="j" reg="rich" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1860">rich</w> <w lemma="bed" pos="n2" reg="Beds" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1870">Beds</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-1880">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1890">and</w> <w lemma="impregnate" pos="n1" reg="impregnate" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1900">impregnate</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1910">all</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1920">the</w> <w lemma="whole" pos="j" reg="whole" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1930">whole</w> <w lemma="mineral" pos="n1" reg="Mineral" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1940">Mineral</w> <w lemma="vein" pos="n2" reg="Veins" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1950">Veins</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-1960">,</pc> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1970">to</w> <w lemma="furnish" pos="vvi" reg="furnish" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1980">furnish</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-004-a-1990">Your</w> <w lemma="shop" pos="n2" reg="Shops" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2000">Shops</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2010">of</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e830"> <w lemma="gold." pos="n-ab" reg="Gold." xml:id="A59314-004-a-2020">Gold.</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2030">Gold</w> </hi> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2040" rendition="#follows-hi">,</pc> <w lemma="i" pos="pns" reg="I" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2050">I</w> <w lemma="may" pos="vmb" reg="may" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2060">may</w> <w lemma="honest" pos="av_j" reg="honestly" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2070">honestly</w> <w lemma="say" pos="vvi" reg="say" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2080">say</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2090">,</pc> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2100" join="right">(</pc> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2110">Your</w> <w lemma="handiwork" pos="n1" reg="Handiwork" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2120">Handy-work</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2130">)</pc> <w lemma="do" pos="vvz" reg="does" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2140" rendition="#hi">does</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2150">all</w> <w lemma="thing" pos="n2" reg="Things" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2160">Things</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2170">,</pc> <w lemma="nay" pos="uh-x" reg="nay" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2180">nay</w> <w lemma="indeed" pos="av" reg="indeed" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2190">indeed</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2200" rendition="#hi">is</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2210">all</w> <w lemma="thing" pos="n2" reg="Things" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2220">Things</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2230">,</pc> <w lemma="or" pos="cc" reg="or" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2240">or</w> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2250">at</w> <w lemma="least" pos="d-s" reg="least" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2260">least</w> <w lemma="make" pos="vvz" reg="makes" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2270">makes</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2280">all</w> <w lemma="thing" pos="n2" reg="Things" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2290">Things</w> <w lemma="its" pos="po" reg="its" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2300">its</w> <w lemma="own" pos="d" reg="own" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2310">own</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2320">.</pc> <w lemma="it" pos="pn" reg="'t" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2330" type="contract1">'T</w> <w xml:id="A59314-004-a-2330c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" join="left">is</w> <w lemma="from" pos="acp-p" reg="from" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2340">from</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2350">the</w> <w lemma="golden" pos="j" reg="Golden" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2360">Golden</w> <w lemma="mine" pos="n1" reg="Mine" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2370">Mine</w> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2380">that</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2390">the</w> <w lemma="palace" pos="n2" reg="Palaces" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2400">Pallaces</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2410">of</w> <w lemma="monarch" pos="n2" reg="Monarches" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2420">Monarchs</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2430">,</pc> <w lemma="nay" pos="uh-x" reg="nay" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2440">nay</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2450">the</w> <w lemma="very" pos="j" reg="very" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2460">very</w> <w lemma="temple" pos="n2" reg="Temples" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2470">Temples</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2480">and</w> <w lemma="altar" pos="n2" reg="Altars" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2490">Altars</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2500">of</w> <w lemma="heaven" pos="n1" reg="Heaven" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2510">Heaven</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2520">,</pc> <w lemma="receive" pos="vvb" reg="receive" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2530">receive</w> <w lemma="not" pos="xx" reg="not" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2540">not</w> <w lemma="only" pos="av_j" reg="only" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2550">only</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2560">their</w> <w lemma="noble" pos="j-s" reg="Noblest" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2570">Noblest</w> <w lemma="ornament" pos="n2" reg="Ornaments" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2580">Ornaments</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2590">,</pc> <w lemma="but" pos="acp-cc" reg="but" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2600">but</w> <w lemma="even" pos="av" reg="even" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2610">even</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2620">their</w> <w lemma="very" pos="j" reg="very" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2630">very</w> <w lemma="foundation" pos="n1" reg="Foundation" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2640">Foundation</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2650">.</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e860"> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="And" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2660">And</w> <w lemma="though" pos="cs" reg="though" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2670">tho'</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2680">,</pc> <w lemma="it" pos="pn" reg="'t" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2690" type="contract1">'t</w> <w xml:id="A59314-004-a-2690c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" join="left">is</w> <w lemma="true" pos="j" reg="true" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2700">true</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2710">,</pc> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2720">that</w> <w lemma="sometime" pos="av" reg="sometimes" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2730">sometimes</w> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2740">that</w> <w lemma="too" pos="av" reg="too" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2750">too</w> <w lemma="fatal" pos="j" reg="fatal" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2760">fatal</w> <w lemma="mineral" pos="n1" reg="Mineral" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2770">Mineral</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2780">,</pc> <w lemma="may" pos="vmb" reg="may" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2790">may</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvi" reg="be" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2800">be</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2810">the</w> <w lemma="temptation" pos="n1" reg="Temptation" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2820">Temptation</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2830">of</w> <w lemma="vice" pos="n1" reg="Vice" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2840">Vice</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2850">,</pc> <w lemma="or" pos="cc" reg="or" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2860">or</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2870">the</w> <w lemma="purchase" pos="n1" reg="Purchase" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2880">Purchase</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2890">of</w> <w lemma="shame" pos="n1" reg="Shame" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2900">Shame</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2910">and</w> <w lemma="injustice" pos="n1" reg="Injustice" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2920">Injustice</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-2930">;</pc> <w lemma="yet" pos="av" reg="yet" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2940">yet</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2950">to</w> <w lemma="overbalance" pos="n1" reg="overbalance" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2960">over-ballance</w> <w lemma="those" pos="d" reg="those" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2970">those</w> <w lemma="more" pos="av-c_d" reg="more" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2980">more</w> <w lemma="unhappy" pos="j" reg="unhappy" xml:id="A59314-004-a-2990">unhappy</w> <w lemma="influence" pos="n2" reg="Influences" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3000">Influences</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3010">,</pc> <w lemma="it" pos="pn" reg="'t" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3020" type="contract1">'t</w> <w xml:id="A59314-004-a-3020c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" join="left">is</w> <w lemma="no" pos="d-x" reg="no" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3030">no</w> <w lemma="less" pos="av-c_d" reg="lesle" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3040">less</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3050">the</w> <w lemma="high" pos="j-s" reg="highest" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3060">highest</w> <w lemma="reward" pos="n1" reg="Reward" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3070">Reward</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3080">of</w> <w lemma="virtue" pos="n1" reg="Virtue" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3090" rendition="#hi">Virtue</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3100">.</pc> <w lemma="industry" pos="n1" reg="Industry" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3110">Industry</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3120">,</pc> <w lemma="study" pos="n1" reg="Study" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3130">Study</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3140">,</pc> <w lemma="labour" pos="n1" reg="Labour" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3150">Labour</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3160">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3170">and</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3180">all</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3190">the</w> <w lemma="honest" pos="j" reg="honest" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3200">honest</w> <w lemma="toil" pos="n2" reg="Toils" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3210">Toils</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3220">of</w> <w lemma="life" pos="n1" reg="Life" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3230">Life</w> <w lemma="sweat" pos="vvb" reg="sweated" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3240">sweat</w> <w lemma="only" pos="av_j" reg="only" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3250">only</w> <w lemma="for" pos="acp-p" reg="for" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3260">for</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3270">that</w> <w lemma="prize" pos="n1" reg="Prize" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3280">Prize</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3290">:</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="In" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3300">In</w> <w lemma="short" pos="j" reg="short" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3310">short</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3320">,</pc> <w lemma="we" pos="pns" reg="we" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3330">we</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3340">are</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3350">all</w> <w lemma="smith" pos="n2" reg="Smiths" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3360" rendition="#hi">Smiths</w> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3370">at</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3380">Your</w> <w lemma="anvil" pos="n1" reg="Anvil" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3390" rendition="#hi">Anvile</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3400">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3410">and</w> <w lemma="only" pos="av_j" reg="only" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3420">only</w> <w lemma="hammer" pos="vvi" reg="hammer" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3430">hammer</w> <w lemma="for" pos="acp-p" reg="for" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3440">for</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3450">the</w> <w lemma="gold." pos="n-ab" reg="Gold." xml:id="A59314-004-a-3460" rendition="#hi">Gold.</w> <w lemma="thus" pos="av" reg="Thus" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3470">Thus</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3480">,</pc> <w lemma="though" pos="cs" reg="though" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3490">tho</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3500">the</w> <w lemma="golden" pos="j" reg="Golden" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3510">Golden</w> <w lemma="shower" pos="n1" reg="Shower" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3520">Show'r</w> <w lemma="may" pos="vmb" reg="may" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3530">may</w> <w lemma="sometime" pos="av" reg="sometimes" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3540">sometimes</w> <w lemma="fall" pos="vvi" reg="fall" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3550">fall</w> <w lemma="into" pos="acp-p" reg="into" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3560">into</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3570">a</w> <w lemma="wanton" pos="j" reg="wanton" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3580">wanton</w> <w lemma="Danae" pos="n1g-nn" reg="Danae's" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3590" rendition="#hi">Danae's</w> <w lemma="lap" pos="n1" reg="Lap" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3600">Lap</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3610">,</pc> <w lemma="yet" pos="av" reg="yet" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3620">yet</w> <w lemma="it" pos="pn" reg="'t" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3630" type="contract1">'t</w> <w xml:id="A59314-004-a-3630c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" join="left">is</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3640">that</w> <w lemma="very" pos="j" reg="very" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3650">very</w> <w lemma="glitter" pos="j_vg" reg="glittering" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3660">glittering</w> <w lemma="metal" pos="n1" reg="Metal" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3670">Metal</w> <w lemma="too" pos="av" reg="too" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3680">too</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3690">,</pc> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3700">that</w> <w lemma="wreath" pos="n2" reg="wreaths" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3710">wreaths</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3720">the</w> <w lemma="bracelet" pos="n2" reg="Bracelets" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3730">Bracelets</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3740">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3750">and</w> <w lemma="mould" pos="vvz" reg="moulds" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3760">moulds</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3770">the</w> <w lemma="very" pos="j" reg="very" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3780">very</w> <w lemma="coronet" pos="n2" reg="Coronets" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3790">Coronets</w> <w lemma="for" pos="acp-p" reg="for" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3800">for</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3810">a</w> <w lemma="Diana" pos="n1-nn" reg="Diana" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3820" rendition="#hi">Diana</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3830">.</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e930"> <w lemma="but" pos="acp-cc" reg="But" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3840">But</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3850">,</pc> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3860">Gentlemen</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3870">,</pc> <w lemma="not" pos="xx" reg="not" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3880">not</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3890">to</w> <w lemma="expatiate" pos="vvi" reg="expatiate" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3900">expatiate</w> <w lemma="upon" pos="acp-p" reg="upon" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3910">upon</w> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3920">so</w> <w lemma="voluminous" pos="j" reg="voluminous" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3930">voluminous</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3940">a</w> <w lemma="subject" pos="n1" reg="Subject" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3950">Subject</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-3960">,</pc> <w lemma="it" pos="pn" reg="'t" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3970" type="contract1">'t</w> <w xml:id="A59314-004-a-3970c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" join="left">is</w> <w lemma="enough" pos="av_d" reg="enough" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3980">enough</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-004-a-3990">to</w> <w lemma="congratulate" pos="vvi" reg="Congratulate" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4000">Congratulate</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4010">Your</w> <w lemma="present" pos="j" reg="present" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4020">present</w> <w lemma="pride" pos="n1" reg="Pride" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4030">Pride</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4040">and</w> <w lemma="glory" pos="n1" reg="Glory" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4050">Glory</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-4060">,</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4070">in</w> <w lemma="have" pos="vvg" reg="having" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4080">having</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4090">the</w> <w lemma="fair" pos="j-s" reg="fairest" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4100">fairest</w> <w lemma="royal" pos="j" reg="Royal" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4110" rendition="#hi">Royal</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-4120" join="right">(</pc> <w lemma="or" pos="cc" reg="or" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4130">or</w> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4140">at</w> <w lemma="least" pos="d-s" reg="least" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4150">least</w> <w lemma="deputy" pos="n1" reg="Deputy" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4160" rendition="#hi">Deputy</w> <w lemma="royal" pos="j" reg="Royal" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4170">Royal</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-4180">)</pc> <w lemma="collar" pos="n1" reg="Collar" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4190" rendition="#hi">Collar</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4200">of</w> <w lemma="ss" pos="n1g" reg="Ss'" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4210">SS's</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-4220">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4230">and</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4240">the</w> <w lemma="rich" pos="j-s" reg="Richest" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4250">Richest</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e970"> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4260">Gold</w> <w lemma="chain" pos="n1" reg="Chain" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4270">Chain</w> </hi> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4280">of</w> <w lemma="England" pos="n1-nn" reg="England" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4290" rendition="#hi">England</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-4300">,</pc> <w lemma="among" pos="acp-p" reg="among" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4310">among</w> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4320">You</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-4330">:</pc> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="To" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4340">To</w> <w lemma="who" pos="crq-r" reg="whom" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4350">whom</w> <w lemma="wish" pos="vvg" reg="wishing" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4360">wishing</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4370">all</w> <w lemma="continuance" pos="n1" reg="Continuance" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4380">Continuance</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4390">of</w> <w lemma="honour" pos="n1" reg="Honour" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4400" rendition="#hi">Honour</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-4410">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4420">and</w> <w lemma="yourselves" pos="px" reg="Yourselves" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4430">Your Selves</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4450">of</w> <w lemma="happiness" pos="n1" reg="Happiness" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4460" rendition="#hi">Happiness</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-4470">,</pc> <w lemma="i" pos="pns" reg="I" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4480">I</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvm" reg="am" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4490">am</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-4500">,</pc> </p> <closer xml:id="A59314-e1010"> <salute xml:id="A59314-e1020"> <w lemma="gentlemen" pos="zz" reg="GENTLEMEN" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4510">GENTLEMEN</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-4520">,</pc> </salute> <signed xml:id="A59314-e1030"> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4530">Your</w> <w lemma="most" pos="av-s_d" reg="most" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4540">most</w> <w lemma="humble" pos="j" reg="humble" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4550">humble</w> <w lemma="servant" pos="n1" reg="Servant" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4560">Servant</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-a-4570">,</pc> <w lemma="e." pos="n-ab" reg="E." xml:id="A59314-004-a-4580">E.</w> <w lemma="s." pos="n-ab" reg="S." xml:id="A59314-004-a-4590">S.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-a-4600"/> </signed> </closer> </div> </front> <body xml:id="A59314-e1040"> <div type="account" xml:id="A59314-e1050"> <pb facs="tcp:50750:4" n="1" xml:id="A59314-004-b"/> <head xml:id="A59314-e1060"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0010">The</w> <w lemma="procession" pos="n1" reg="Procession" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0020">Procession</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0030">and</w> <w lemma="whole" pos="j" reg="whole" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0040">whole</w> <w lemma="solemnity" pos="n1" reg="Solemnity" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0050">Solemnity</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-0060">,</pc> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="as" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0070">as</w> <w lemma="follow" pos="vvz" reg="follows" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0080">follows</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-0090">;</pc> <w lemma="perform" pos="vvn" reg="performed" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0100">perform'd</w> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0110">on</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e1070"> <w lemma="Saturday" pos="n1-nn" reg="Saturday" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0120">Saturday</w> <w lemma="October" pos="n1-nn" reg="October" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0130">October</w> <w lemma="29" pos="ord" reg="29th" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0140">29th</w> </hi> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-0150" rendition="#follows-hi">,</pc> <w lemma="1698." pos="crd" reg="1698." xml:id="A59314-004-b-0160">1698.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0170"/> </head> <p xml:id="A59314-e1080"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="THE" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0180">THE</w> <w lemma="whole" pos="j" reg="whole" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0190">whole</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="Company" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0200">Company</w> <w lemma="select" pos="vvn" reg="selected" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0210">selected</w> <w lemma="for" pos="acp-p" reg="for" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0220">for</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0230">the</w> <w lemma="management" pos="n1" reg="Management" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0240">Management</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0250">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0260">the</w> <w lemma="triumph" pos="n1" reg="Triumph" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0270">Triumph</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-0280">,</pc> <w lemma="meet" pos="vvb" reg="meet" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0290">meet</w> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0300">at</w> <w lemma="seven" pos="crd" reg="Seven" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0310">Seven</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0320">in</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0330">the</w> <w lemma="morning" pos="n1" reg="Morning" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0340">Morning</w> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0350">at</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n1g" reg="Goldsmith's" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0360" rendition="#hi">Goldsmiths</w> <w lemma="hall" pos="n1" reg="Hall" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0370">Hall</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-0380">,</pc> <w lemma="viz." pos="n-ab" reg="viz." xml:id="A59314-004-b-0390" rendition="#hi">viz.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0400"/> </p> <list xml:id="A59314-e1110"> <item xml:id="A59314-e1120"> <w lemma="1." pos="crd" reg="1." xml:id="A59314-004-b-0410">1.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0420"/> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0430">The</w> <w lemma="warden" pos="n2" reg="Wardens" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0440">Wardens</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0450">and</w> <w lemma="assistant" pos="n2" reg="Assistants" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0460">Assistants</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0470">in</w> <w lemma="gown" pos="n2" reg="Gowns" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0480">Gowns</w> <w lemma="face" pos="vvn" reg="faced" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0490">faced</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0500">with</w> <w lemma="foin" pos="n2" reg="Foins" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0510">Foyns</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0520">.</pc> </item> <item xml:id="A59314-e1130"> <w lemma="2." pos="crd" reg="2." xml:id="A59314-004-b-0530">2.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0540"/> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0550">The</w> <w lemma="livery" pos="n1" reg="Livery" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0560">Livery</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0570">in</w> <w lemma="gown" pos="n2" reg="Gowns" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0580">Gowns</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0590">with</w> <w lemma="Budge" pos="n1-nn" reg="Budge" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0600">Budge</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-0610">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0620">and</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0630">their</w> <w lemma="hood" pos="n2" reg="Hoods" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0640">Hoods</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0650">.</pc> </item> <item xml:id="A59314-e1140"> <w lemma="3." pos="crd" reg="3." xml:id="A59314-004-b-0660">3.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0670"/> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0680">The</w> <w lemma="foin" pos="n2" reg="Foins" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0690">Foyns</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0700">and</w> <w lemma="budge" pos="vvb" reg="Budge" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0710">Budge</w> <w lemma="bachelor" pos="n2" reg="Bachelors" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0720">Batchelors</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0730">in</w> <w lemma="gown" pos="n2" reg="Gowns" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0740">Gowns</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0750">and</w> <w lemma="scarlet" pos="j" reg="Scarlet" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0760">Scarlet</w> <w lemma="hood" pos="n2" reg="Hoods" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0770">Hoods</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0780">.</pc> </item> <item xml:id="A59314-e1150"> <w lemma="4." pos="crd" reg="4." xml:id="A59314-004-b-0790">4.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0800"/> <w lemma="forty" pos="crd" reg="Forty" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0810">Forty</w> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0820">Gentlemen</w> <w lemma="usher" pos="vvz" reg="Ushers" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0830">Ushers</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0840">in</w> <w lemma="velvet" pos="n1" reg="Velvet" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0850">Velvet</w> <w lemma="coat" pos="n2" reg="Coats" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0860">Coats</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-0870">,</pc> <w lemma="each" pos="d" reg="each" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0880">each</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0890">a</w> <w lemma="chain" pos="n1" reg="Chain" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0900">Chain</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0910">of</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0920">Gold</w> <w lemma="about" pos="acp-p" reg="about" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0930">about</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0940">his</w> <w lemma="shoulder" pos="n2" reg="Shoulders" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0950">Shoulders</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-0960">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0970">and</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0980">a</w> <w lemma="white" pos="j" reg="white" xml:id="A59314-004-b-0990">white</w> <w lemma="staff" pos="n1" reg="Staff" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1000">Staff</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1010">in</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1020">his</w> <w lemma="hand" pos="n1" reg="Hand" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1030">Hand</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1040">.</pc> </item> <item xml:id="A59314-e1160"> <w lemma="5." pos="crd" reg="5." xml:id="A59314-004-b-1050">5.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1060"/> <w lemma="thirty" pos="crd" reg="Thirty" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1070">Thirty</w> <w lemma="other" pos="d" reg="other" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1080">other</w> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1090">Gentlemen</w> <w lemma="carry" pos="vvg" reg="carrying" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1100">carrying</w> <w lemma="banner" pos="n2" reg="Banners" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1110">Banners</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1120">and</w> <w lemma="colour" pos="n2" reg="Colours" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1130">Colours</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1140">.</pc> </item> <item xml:id="A59314-e1170"> <w lemma="6." pos="crd" reg="6." xml:id="A59314-004-b-1150">6.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1160"/> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1170">The</w> <w lemma="serjeant-trumpet" pos="n1" reg="Serjeant-trumpet" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1180">Serjeant-Trumpet</w> <w lemma="wear" pos="vvg" reg="wearing" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1190">wearing</w> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="two" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1200">two</w> <w lemma="scarf" pos="n2" reg="Scarves" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1210">Scarfs</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-1220">,</pc> <w lemma="one" pos="crd" reg="one" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1230">one</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1240">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1250">the</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="Lord" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1260">Lord</w> <w lemma="mayor" pos="n1g" reg="Mayor's" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1270">Mayors</w> <w lemma="colour" pos="n2" reg="Colours" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1280">Colours</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-1290">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1300">and</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1310">the</w> <w lemma="other" pos="pi_d" reg="other" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1320">other</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1330">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1340">the</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n2" reg="Companies" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1350">Companies</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-1360">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1370">with</w> <w lemma="36" pos="crd" reg="36" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1380">36</w> <w lemma="more" pos="d-c" reg="more" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1390">more</w> <w lemma="trumpet" pos="n2" reg="Trumpets" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1400">Trumpets</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-1410">,</pc> <w lemma="whereof" pos="crq-cs" reg="whereof" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1420">whereof</w> <w lemma="16" pos="crd" reg="16" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1430">16</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1440">are</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="His" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1450">His</w> <w lemma="majesty" pos="n1g" reg="Majesty's" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1460">Majesty's</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1470">.</pc> </item> <item xml:id="A59314-e1180"> <w lemma="7." pos="crd" reg="7." xml:id="A59314-004-b-1480">7.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1490"/> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="His" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1500">His</w> <w lemma="majesty" pos="n1g" reg="Majesty's" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1510">Majesty's</w> <w lemma="drum-major" pos="j" reg="Drum-major" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1520">Drum-Major</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-1530">,</pc> <w lemma="wear" pos="vvg" reg="wearing" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1540">wearing</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1550">a</w> <w lemma="scarf" pos="n1" reg="Scarf" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1560">Scarf</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1570">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1580">the</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="company" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1590" type="contract1">Company</w> <w xml:id="A59314-004-b-1590c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="colour" pos="n2" reg="Colours" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1600">Colours</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-1610">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1620">with</w> <w lemma="four" pos="crd" reg="four" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1630">four</w> <w lemma="more" pos="d-c" reg="more" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1640">more</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1650">of</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1660">his</w> <w lemma="majesty" pos="n1g" reg="Majesty's" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1670">Majesty's</w> <w lemma="drum" pos="n2" reg="Drums" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1680">Drums</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1690">and</w> <w lemma="fife" pos="n2" reg="Fifes" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1700">Fifes</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1710">.</pc> </item> <item xml:id="A59314-e1190"> <w lemma="8." pos="crd" reg="8." xml:id="A59314-004-b-1720">8.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1730"/> <w lemma="seven" pos="crd" reg="Seven" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1740">Seven</w> <w lemma="other" pos="d" reg="other" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1750">other</w> <w lemma="drum" pos="n2" reg="Drums" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1760">Drums</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1770">and</w> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="two" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1780">two</w> <w lemma="fife" pos="n2" reg="Fifes" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1790">Fifes</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1800">with</w> <w lemma="scarf" pos="n2" reg="Scarves" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1810">Scarfs</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1820">.</pc> </item> <item xml:id="A59314-e1200"> <w lemma="9" pos="crd" reg="9" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1830">9.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1840"/> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1850">The</w> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="two" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1860">two</w> <w lemma="city" pos="n1" reg="City" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1870">City</w> <w lemma="marshal" pos="n2" reg="Marshals" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1880">Marshals</w> <w lemma="ride" pos="vvg" reg="riding" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1890">riding</w> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1900">on</w> <w lemma="horseback" pos="n1" reg="Horseback" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1910">Horseback</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-1920">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1930">and</w> <w lemma="six" pos="crd" reg="six" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1940">six</w> <w lemma="person" pos="n2" reg="persons" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1950">Persons</w> <w lemma="attend" pos="vvg" reg="attending" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1960">attending</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1970">with</w> <w lemma="scarf" pos="n2" reg="Scarves" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1980">Scarfs</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-1990">and</w> <w lemma="colour" pos="n2" reg="Colours" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2000">Colours</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2010">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2020">the</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n2" reg="Companies" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2030">Companies</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2040">.</pc> </item> <item xml:id="A59314-e1210"> <w lemma="10." pos="crd" reg="10." xml:id="A59314-004-b-2050">10.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2060"/> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2070">The</w> <w lemma="foot" pos="n1" reg="Foot" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2080">Foot</w> <w lemma="marshal" pos="n1" reg="Marshal" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2090">Marshal</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2100">and</w> <w lemma="six" pos="crd" reg="six" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2110">six</w> <w lemma="attendant" pos="n2_j" reg="Attendants" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2120">Attendants</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2130">with</w> <w lemma="like" pos="j" reg="like" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2140">like</w> <w lemma="scarf" pos="n2" reg="Scarves" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2150">Scarfs</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-2160">,</pc> <w lemma="etc" pos="n-ab" reg="etc." xml:id="A59314-004-b-2170" rendition="#hi">&amp;c.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2180"/> </item> <item xml:id="A59314-e1230"> <w lemma="11." pos="crd" reg="11." xml:id="A59314-004-b-2190">11.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2200"/> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2210">The</w> <w lemma="master" pos="n1" reg="Master" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2220">Master</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2230">of</w> <w lemma="defence" pos="n1" reg="Defence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2240">Defence</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2250">and</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2260">his</w> <w lemma="retinue" pos="n1" reg="Retinue" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2270">Retinue</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2280">in</w> <w lemma="like" pos="j" reg="like" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2290">like</w> <w lemma="scarf" pos="n2" reg="Scarves" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2300">Scarfs</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-2310">,</pc> <w lemma="etc" pos="n-ab" reg="etc." xml:id="A59314-004-b-2320" rendition="#hi">&amp;c.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2330"/> </item> <item xml:id="A59314-e1250"> <w lemma="12." pos="crd" reg="12." xml:id="A59314-004-b-2340">12.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2350"/> <w lemma="several" pos="j" reg="Several" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2360">Several</w> <w lemma="pensioner" pos="n2" reg="Pensioners" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2370">Pensioners</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2380">in</w> <w lemma="gown" pos="n2" reg="Gowns" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2390">Gowns</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2400">and</w> <w lemma="cap" pos="n2" reg="Caps" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2410">Caps</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-2420">,</pc> <w lemma="bear" pos="vvg" reg="bearing" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2430">bearing</w> <w lemma="standart" pos="vvz" reg="Standarts" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2440">Standarts</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2450">and</w> <w lemma="banner" pos="n2" reg="Banners" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2460">Banners</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2470">.</pc> </item> <item xml:id="A59314-e1260"> <w lemma="13." pos="crd" reg="13." xml:id="A59314-004-b-2480">13.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2490"/> <w lemma="other" pos="av_d" reg="Other" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2500">Other</w> <w lemma="pensioner" pos="n2" reg="Pensioners" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2510">Pensioners</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2520">in</w> <w lemma="gown" pos="n2" reg="Gowns" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2530">Gowns</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2540">and</w> <w lemma="cap" pos="n2" reg="Caps" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2550">Caps</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-2560">,</pc> <w lemma="carry" pos="vvg" reg="carrying" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2570">carrying</w> <w lemma="each" pos="d" reg="each" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2580">each</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2590">a</w> <w lemma="javelin" pos="n1" reg="Javelin" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2600">Javelin</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2610">in</w> <w lemma="one" pos="crd" reg="one" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2620">one</w> <w lemma="hand" pos="n1" reg="Hand" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2630">Hand</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-2640">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2650">and</w> <w lemma="target" pos="n1" reg="Target" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2660">Target</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2670">in</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2680">the</w> <w lemma="other" pos="pi_d" reg="other" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2690">other</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-2700">,</pc> <w lemma="have" pos="vvg" reg="having" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2710">having</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2720">the</w> <w lemma="arm" pos="n2" reg="Arms" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2730">Arms</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2740">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2750">the</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="company" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2760" type="contract1">Company</w> <w xml:id="A59314-004-b-2760c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="founder" pos="n2" reg="Founders" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2770">Founders</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2780">and</w> <w lemma="benefactor" pos="n2" reg="Benefactors" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2790">Benefactors</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2800">.</pc> </item> </list> <p xml:id="A59314-e1270"> <w lemma="all" pos="av_d" reg="All" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2810">All</w> <w lemma="these" pos="d" reg="these" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2820">these</w> <w lemma="rank" pos="vvn" reg="Ranked" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2830">Rank'd</w> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="by" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2840">by</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2850">the</w> <w lemma="foot-marshal" pos="n1" reg="Foot-marshal" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2860">Foot-Marshal</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-2870">,</pc> <w lemma="march" pos="vvg" reg="marching" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2880">marching</w> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="Two" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2890">Two</w> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="by" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2900">by</w> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="Two" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2910">Two</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-2920">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2930">the</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="company" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2940" type="contract1">Company</w> <w xml:id="A59314-004-b-2940c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="ensign" pos="n2" reg="Ensigns" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2950">Ensigns</w> <w lemma="lead" pos="vvg" reg="leading" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2960">leading</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-2970">;</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2980">the</w> <w lemma="pensioner" pos="n2" reg="Pensioners" xml:id="A59314-004-b-2990">Pensioners</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-3000">,</pc> <w lemma="four" pos="crd" reg="four" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3010">four</w> <w lemma="drum" pos="n2" reg="Drums" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3020">Drums</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-3030">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3040">and</w> <w lemma="one" pos="crd" reg="one" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3050">one</w> <w lemma="fife" pos="n1" reg="Fife" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3060">Fife</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-3070">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3080">and</w> <w lemma="four" pos="crd" reg="four" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3090">four</w> <w lemma="more" pos="d-c" reg="more" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3100">more</w> <w lemma="drum" pos="n2" reg="Drums" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3110">Drums</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3120">and</w> <w lemma="fife" pos="n2" reg="Fifes" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3130">Fifes</w> <w lemma="bring" pos="vvb" reg="bring" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3140">bring</w> <w lemma="up" pos="acp-av" reg="up" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3150">up</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3160">the</w> <w lemma="rear" pos="n1" reg="Rear" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3170">Rear</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3180">of</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3190">this</w> <w lemma="division" pos="n1" reg="Division" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3200">Division</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3210">.</pc> <w lemma="after" pos="acp-p" reg="After" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3220">After</w> <w lemma="they" pos="pno" reg="them" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3230">them</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3240">the</w> <w lemma="pensioner" pos="n2" reg="Pensioners" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3250">Pensioners</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3260">with</w> <w lemma="standart" pos="vvz" reg="Standarts" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3270">Standarts</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-3280">;</pc> <w lemma="four" pos="crd" reg="four" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3290">four</w> <w lemma="trumpet" pos="n2" reg="Trumpets" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3300">Trumpets</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-3310">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3320">the</w> <w lemma="supporter" pos="n2" reg="Supporters" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3330">Supporters</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3340">and</w> <w lemma="crest" pos="n1" reg="Crest" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3350">Crest</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3360">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3370">the</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="Company" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3380">Company</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-3390">,</pc> <w lemma="six" pos="crd" reg="six" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3400">six</w> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3410">Gentlemen</w> <w lemma="usher" pos="n2" reg="Ushers" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3420">Ushers</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-3430">,</pc> <w lemma="than" pos="cs" reg="than" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3440">then</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3450">the</w> <w lemma="budge" pos="vvb" reg="Budge" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3460">Budge</w> <w lemma="bachelor" pos="n2" reg="Bachelors" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3470">Batchelors</w> <w lemma="conclude" pos="vvg" reg="concluding" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3480">concluding</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3490">the</w> <w lemma="second" pos="ord" reg="Second" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3500">Second</w> <w lemma="division" pos="n1" reg="Division" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3510">Division</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3520">.</pc> <w lemma="six" pos="crd" reg="Six" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3530">Six</w> <w lemma="trumpet" pos="n2" reg="Trumpets" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3540">Trumpets</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-3550">,</pc> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="two" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3560">two</w> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3570">Gentlemen</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-3580">,</pc> <w lemma="one" pos="pi" reg="one" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3590">one</w> <w lemma="bear" pos="vvg" reg="bearing" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3600">bearing</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3610">the</w> <w lemma="city" pos="n1g" reg="City's" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3620">City's</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-3630">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3640">the</w> <w lemma="other" pos="pi_d" reg="other" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3650">other</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3660">the</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="company" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3670" type="contract1">Company</w> <w xml:id="A59314-004-b-3670c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="Arms." pos="n1-nn" reg="Arms." xml:id="A59314-004-b-3680">Arms.</w> <w lemma="then" pos="av" reg="then" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3690">Then</w> <w lemma="eight" pos="crd" reg="eight" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3700">eight</w> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3710">Gentlemen</w> <w lemma="usher" pos="n2" reg="Ushers" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3720">Ushers</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-3730">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3740">and</w> <w lemma="next" pos="ord" reg="next" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3750">next</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3760">the</w> <w lemma="foyn" pos="vvb" reg="Foyn" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3770">Foyn</w> <w lemma="bachelor" pos="n2" reg="Bachelors" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3780">Batchelors</w> <w lemma="make" pos="vvi" reg="make" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3790">make</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3800">the</w> <w lemma="three" pos="ord" reg="Third" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3810">Third</w> <w lemma="division" pos="n1" reg="Division" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3820">Division</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3830">.</pc> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="Two" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3840">Two</w> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3850">Gentlemen</w> <w lemma="usher" pos="vvz" reg="Ushers" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3860">Ushers</w> <w lemma="bear" pos="vvg" reg="bearing" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3870">bearing</w> <w lemma="banner" pos="n2" reg="Banners" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3880">Banners</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-3890">,</pc> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="two" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3900">two</w> <w lemma="more" pos="d-c" reg="more" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3910">more</w> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3920">Gentlemen</w> <w lemma="usher" pos="n2" reg="Ushers" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3930">Ushers</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-3940">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3950">and</w> <w lemma="then" pos="av" reg="then" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3960">then</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3970">the</w> <w lemma="livery" pos="n1" reg="Livery" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3980">Livery</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-3990">.</pc> <w lemma="next" pos="ord" reg="Next" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4000">Next</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4010">the</w> <w lemma="city" pos="n1" reg="City" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4020">City</w> <w lemma="trumpet" pos="n2" reg="Trumpets" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4030">Trumpets</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-4040">,</pc> <w lemma="than" pos="cs" reg="than" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4050">then</w> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="two" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4060">two</w> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4070">Gentlemen</w> <w lemma="bear" pos="vvg" reg="bearing" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4080">bearing</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4090">the</w> <w lemma="city" pos="n1" reg="City" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4100">City</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4110">and</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="Lord" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4120">Lord</w> <w lemma="mayor" pos="n1g" reg="Mayor's" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4130">Mayors</w> <w lemma="banner" pos="n1" reg="Banner" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4140">Banner</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4150">.</pc> <w lemma="then" pos="av" reg="then" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4160">Then</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4170">the</w> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4180">Gentlemen</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4190">and</w> <w lemma="court" pos="n1" reg="Court" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4200">Court</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4210">of</w> <w lemma="assistant" pos="n2" reg="Assistants" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4220">Assistants</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-4230">,</pc> <w lemma="etc" pos="n-ab" reg="etc." xml:id="A59314-004-b-4240" rendition="#hi">&amp;c.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4250"/> <w lemma="four" pos="crd" reg="Four" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4260">Four</w> <w lemma="drum" pos="n2" reg="Drums" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4270">Drums</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-4280">,</pc> <w lemma="six" pos="crd" reg="six" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4290">six</w> <w lemma="trumpet" pos="n2" reg="Trumpets" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4300">Trumpets</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-4310">,</pc> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="two" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4320">two</w> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4330">Gentlemen</w> <w lemma="bear" pos="vvg" reg="bearing" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4340">bearing</w> <w lemma="banner" pos="n2" reg="Banners" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4350">Banners</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-4360">,</pc> <w lemma="four" pos="crd" reg="four" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4370">four</w> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4380">Gentlemen</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4390">and</w> <w lemma="four" pos="crd" reg="four" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4400">four</w> <w lemma="page" pos="n2" reg="Pages" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4410">Pages</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-4420">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4430">and</w> <w lemma="then" pos="av" reg="then" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4440">then</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4450">the</w> <w lemma="warden" pos="n2" reg="Wardens" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4460">Wardens</w> <w lemma="bring" pos="vvb" reg="bring" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4470">bring</w> <w lemma="up" pos="acp-av" reg="up" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4480">up</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4490">the</w> <w lemma="rear" pos="n1" reg="Rear" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4500">Rear</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4510">.</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e1290"> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="In" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4520">In</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4530">this</w> <w lemma="order" pos="n1" reg="Order" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4540">Order</w> <w lemma="they" pos="pns" reg="they" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4550">they</w> <w lemma="march" pos="vvb" reg="march" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4560">march</w> <w lemma="from" pos="acp-p" reg="from" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4570">from</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n1g" reg="Goldsmith's" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4580" rendition="#hi">Goldsmiths</w> <w lemma="hall" pos="n1" reg="Hall" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4590">Hall</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-4600">,</pc> <w lemma="attend" pos="vvg" reg="attending" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4610">attending</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4620">his</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4630">Lordship</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-4640">,</pc> <w lemma="who" pos="crq-r" reg="who" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4650">who</w> <w lemma="join" pos="vvz" reg="joins" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4660">joins</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4670">the</w> <w lemma="old" pos="j" reg="old" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4680">old</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="Lord" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4690">Lord</w> <w lemma="mayor" pos="n1" reg="Mayor" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4700">Mayor</w> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4710">at</w> <w lemma="queen-street" pos="n1-nn" reg="Queen-street" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4720" rendition="#hi">Queen-street</w> <w lemma="end" pos="n1" reg="end" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4730">end</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-4740">,</pc> <w lemma="where" pos="crq-cs" reg="where" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4750">where</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4760">the</w> <w lemma="whole" pos="j" reg="whole" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4770">whole</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="Company" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4780">Company</w> <w lemma="move" pos="vvi" reg="move" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4790">move</w> <w lemma="through" pos="acp-p" reg="through" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4800">through</w> <w lemma="Cheapside" pos="n1-nn" reg="Cheapside" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4810" rendition="#hi">Cheap-side</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4820">to</w> <w lemma="three-crane-wharf" pos="n1" reg="Three-crane-wharf" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4830" rendition="#hi">Three-Crane-Wharf</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-4840">,</pc> <w lemma="where" pos="crq-cs" reg="where" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4850">where</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4860">the</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="Lord" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4870">Lord</w> <w lemma="mayor" pos="n1" reg="Mayor" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4880">Mayor</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-4890">,</pc> <w lemma="aldermen" pos="zz" reg="Aldermen" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4900">Aldermen</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-4910">,</pc> <w lemma="livery" pos="n1" reg="Livery" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4920">Livery</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-004-b-4930">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4940">and</w> <w lemma="part" pos="n1" reg="part" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4950">part</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4960">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4970">the</w> <w lemma="gentleman" pos="n2" reg="Gentlemen" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4980">Gentlemen</w> <w lemma="usher" pos="vvz" reg="Ushers" xml:id="A59314-004-b-4990">Ushers</w> <w lemma="take" pos="vvi" reg="take" xml:id="A59314-004-b-5000">take</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-004-b-5010">their</w> <pb facs="tcp:50750:5" n="2" xml:id="A59314-005-a"/> <w lemma="barge" pos="n1" reg="Barge" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0010">Barge</w> <w lemma="for" pos="acp-p" reg="for" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0020">for</w> <w lemma="Westminster" pos="n1-nn" reg="Westminster" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0030" rendition="#hi">Westminster</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0040">,</pc> <w lemma="whither" pos="crq-cs" reg="whither" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0050">whither</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0060">his</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0070">Lordship</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0080">is</w> <w lemma="attend" pos="vvn" reg="attended" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0090">attended</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0100">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0110">with</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0120">the</w> <w lemma="several" pos="j" reg="several" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0130">several</w> <w lemma="barge" pos="n2" reg="Barges" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0140">Barges</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0150">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0160">the</w> <w lemma="respective" pos="j" reg="respective" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0170">respective</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n2" reg="Companies" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0180">Companies</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0190">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0200">with</w> <w lemma="flag" pos="n2" reg="Flags" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0210">Flags</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0220">,</pc> <w lemma="streamer" pos="n2" reg="Streamers" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0230">Streamers</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0240">,</pc> <w lemma="several" pos="j" reg="several" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0250">several</w> <w lemma="pleasure-boat" pos="n2" reg="Pleasure-boats" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0260">Pleasure-Boats</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0270">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0280">with</w> <w lemma="hautboys" pos="zz" reg="Hautboys" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0290">Hautboys</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0300">,</pc> <w lemma="flute" pos="n2" reg="Flutes" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0310">Flutes</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0320">,</pc> <w lemma="trumpet" pos="n2" reg="Trumpets" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0330">Trumpets</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0340">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0350">and</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0360">all</w> <w lemma="manner" pos="n1" reg="manner" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0370">manner</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0380">of</w> <w lemma="music" pos="n1" reg="Music" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0390">Musick</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0400">.</pc> <w lemma="etc" pos="n-ab" reg="etc." xml:id="A59314-005-a-0410" rendition="#hi">&amp;c.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0420"/> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e1360"> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="His" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0430">His</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0440">Lordship</w> <w lemma="have" pos="vvg" reg="having" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0450">having</w> <w lemma="take" pos="vvn" reg="taken" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0460">taken</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0470">the</w> <w lemma="oath" pos="n2" reg="Oaths" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0480">Oaths</w> <w lemma="before" pos="acp-p" reg="before" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0490">before</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0500">the</w> <w lemma="baron" pos="n2" reg="Barons" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0510">Barons</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0520">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0530">the</w> <w lemma="exchequer" pos="n1" reg="Exchequer" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0540">Exchequer</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0550">,</pc> <w lemma="return" pos="vvz" reg="returns" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0560">returns</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0570">with</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0580">the</w> <w lemma="same" pos="d" reg="same" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0590">same</w> <w lemma="attendant" pos="n2_j" reg="Attendants" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0600">Attendants</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0610">and</w> <w lemma="splendour" pos="n1" reg="Splendour" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0620">Splendor</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0630">to</w> <w lemma="Dorset" pos="n1-nn" reg="Dorset" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0640" rendition="#hi">Dorset</w> <w lemma="stairs" pos="n1-nn" reg="Stairs" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0650">Stairs</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0660">,</pc> <w lemma="where" pos="crq-cs" reg="where" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0670">where</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0680">,</pc> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0690">at</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0700">his</w> <w lemma="land" pos="n1_vg" reg="Landing" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0710">Landing</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0720">,</pc> <w lemma="he" pos="pns" reg="he" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0730">he</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0740">is</w> <w lemma="salute" pos="vvn" reg="saluted" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0750">saluted</w> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="by" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0760">by</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0770">the</w> <w lemma="artillery" pos="n1" reg="Artillery" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0780">Artillery</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="Company" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0790">Company</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0800">,</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0810">in</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0820">all</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0830">their</w> <w lemma="martial" pos="j" reg="Martial" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0840">Martial</w> <w lemma="ornament" pos="n2" reg="Ornaments" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0850">Ornaments</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0860">in</w> <w lemma="buff" pos="n1" reg="Buff" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0870">Buff</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0880">and</w> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0890">Silver</w> <w lemma="headpiece" pos="n2" reg="Headpieces" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0900">Head-Pieces</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0910">;</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0920">and</w> <w lemma="thus" pos="av" reg="thus" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0930">thus</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0940">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0950">with</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0960">the</w> <w lemma="whole" pos="j" reg="whole" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0970">whole</w> <w lemma="Cavalcade" pos="n1-nn" reg="Cavalcade" xml:id="A59314-005-a-0980">Cavalcade</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-0990">,</pc> <w lemma="move" pos="vvz" reg="moves" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1000">moves</w> <w lemma="forward" pos="av_j" reg="forward" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1010">forward</w> <w lemma="towards" pos="acp-p" reg="towards" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1020">towards</w> <w lemma="Cheapside" pos="n1-nn" reg="Cheapside" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1030" rendition="#hi">Cheap-side</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1040">.</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="In" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1050">In</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1060">his</w> <w lemma="march" pos="n1" reg="March" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1070">March</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-1080">,</pc> <w lemma="he" pos="pns" reg="he" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1090">he</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1100">is</w> <w lemma="first" pos="ord" reg="first" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1110">first</w> <w lemma="entertain" pos="vvn" reg="entertained" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1120">entertain'd</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1130">with</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1140">this</w> <w lemma="pageant" pos="n1" reg="Pageant" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1150">Pageant</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1160">.</pc> </p> </div> <div type="pageant" xml:id="A59314-e1390"> <head xml:id="A59314-e1400"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1170">The</w> <w lemma="first" pos="ord" reg="First" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1180">First</w> <w lemma="pageant" pos="n1" reg="PAGEANT" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1190">PAGEANT</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-1200">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1210">The</w> <w lemma="amphitheatre" pos="n1" reg="Amphitheatre" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1220">Amphitheatre</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1230">of</w> <w lemma="union" pos="n1" reg="UNION" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1240" rendition="#hi">UNION</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1250">.</pc> </head> <p xml:id="A59314-e1420"> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="A" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1260">A</w> <w lemma="large" pos="j" reg="Large" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1270">Large</w> <w lemma="fabric" pos="n1" reg="Fabric" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1280">Fabrick</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-1290">,</pc> <w lemma="design" pos="vvn" reg="designed" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1300">design'd</w> <w lemma="after" pos="acp-p" reg="after" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1310">after</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1320">the</w> <w lemma="corinthian" pos="j-nn" reg="Corinthian" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1330" rendition="#hi">Corinthian</w> <w lemma="order" pos="n1" reg="Order" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1340">Order</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-1350">,</pc> <w lemma="elevate" pos="vvn" reg="elevated" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1360">elevated</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1370">with</w> <w lemma="four" pos="crd" reg="four" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1380">four</w> <w lemma="marble" pos="n1" reg="Marble" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1390">Marble</w> <w lemma="column" pos="n2" reg="Columns" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1400">Columns</w> <w lemma="fluit" pos="vvn" reg="fluited" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1410">fluited</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1420">with</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1430">Gold</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-1440">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1450">and</w> <w lemma="twist" pos="vvn" reg="twisted" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1460">twisted</w> <w lemma="round" pos="av_j" reg="round" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1470">round</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1480">with</w> <w lemma="laurel" pos="n2" reg="Laurels" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1490">Lawrels</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1500">of</w> <w lemma="flower" pos="n2" reg="Flowers" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1510">Flowers</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1520">.</pc> <w lemma="above" pos="acp-p" reg="Above" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1530">Above</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1540">the</w> <w lemma="etableture" pos="n1" reg="Etableture" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1550">Etableture</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1560">of</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1570">Gold</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1580">and</w> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1590">Silver</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1600">are</w> <w lemma="erect" pos="vvn" reg="erected" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1610">erected</w> <w lemma="four" pos="crd" reg="four" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1620">four</w> <w lemma="noble" pos="j" reg="Noble" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1630">Noble</w> <w lemma="golden" pos="j" reg="Golden" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1640">Golden</w> <w lemma="cup" pos="n2" reg="Cups" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1650">Cups</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-1660">,</pc> <w lemma="be" pos="vvg" reg="being" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1670">being</w> <w lemma="part" pos="n1" reg="part" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1680">part</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1690">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1700">the</w> <w lemma="bear" pos="vvg" reg="Bearing" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1710">Bearing</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1720">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1730">the</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="company" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1740" type="contract1">Company</w> <w xml:id="A59314-005-a-1740c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="Arms." pos="n1-nn" reg="Arms." xml:id="A59314-005-a-1750">Arms.</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="In" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1760">In</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1770">the</w> <w lemma="middle" pos="n1_j" reg="middle" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1780">middle</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1790">of</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1800">all</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1810">this</w> <w lemma="noble" pos="j" reg="Noble" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1820">Noble</w> <w lemma="building" pos="n1" reg="Building" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1830">Building</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-1840">,</pc> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1850">on</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1860">a</w> <w lemma="quadrangular" pos="j" reg="Quadrangular" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1870">Quadrangular</w> <w lemma="seat" pos="n1" reg="Seat" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1880">Seat</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-1890">,</pc> <w lemma="sit" pos="vvz" reg="sits" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1900">sits</w> <w lemma="union" pos="n1" reg="UNION" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1910" rendition="#hi">UNION</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1920">in</w> <w lemma="chief" pos="j" reg="Chief" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1930">Chief</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-1940">;</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1950">with</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1960">a</w> <w lemma="chaplet" pos="n1" reg="Chaplet" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1970">Chaplet</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1980">of</w> <w lemma="flower" pos="n2" reg="Flowers" xml:id="A59314-005-a-1990">Flowers</w> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2000">on</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2010">a</w> <w lemma="golden" pos="j" reg="Golden" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2020">Golden</w> <w lemma="head-piece" pos="n1" reg="Head-piece" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2030">Head-piece</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-2040">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2050">and</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2060">a</w> <w lemma="laurel" pos="n1" reg="Laurel" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2070">Lawrel</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2080">of</w> <w lemma="oak" pos="n1" reg="Oak" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2090">Oak</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-2100">,</pc> <w lemma="signify" pos="vvg" reg="signifying" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2110">signifying</w> <w lemma="love" pos="n1" reg="Love" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2120" rendition="#hi">Love</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2130">and</w> <w lemma="wisdom" pos="n1" reg="Wisdom" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2140" rendition="#hi">Wisdom</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2150">.</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2160">The</w> <w lemma="attribute" pos="n2" reg="Attributes" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2170">Attributes</w> <w lemma="or" pos="cc" reg="or" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2180">or</w> <w lemma="grace" pos="n2" reg="Graces" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2190">Graces</w> <w lemma="attend" pos="vvg" reg="attending" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2200">attending</w> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2210">on</w> <w lemma="union" pos="n1" reg="UNION" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2220" rendition="#hi">UNION</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-2230">,</pc> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2240">are</w> <w lemma="three" pos="crd" reg="three" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2250">three</w> <w lemma="other" pos="d" reg="other" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2260">other</w> <w lemma="person" pos="n2" reg="persons" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2270">Persons</w> <w lemma="rich" pos="av_j" reg="richly" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2280">richly</w> <w lemma="habit" pos="vvn" reg="habited" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2290">habited</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2300">with</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2310">their</w> <w lemma="proper" pos="j" reg="proper" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2320">proper</w> <w lemma="ornamento" pos="fw-la" reg="Ornamento" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2330">Ornamento</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-2340">,</pc> <w lemma="be" pos="vvg" reg="being" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2350">being</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e1480"> <w lemma="piety" pos="n1" reg="Piety" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2360">Piety</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-2370">,</pc> <w lemma="harmony" pos="n1" reg="Harmony" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2380">Harmony</w> </hi> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-2390" rendition="#follows-hi">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2400">and</w> <w lemma="diligence" pos="n1" reg="Diligence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2410" rendition="#hi">Diligence</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-2420">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2430">with</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2440">the</w> <w lemma="ensign" pos="n2" reg="Ensigns" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2450">Ensigns</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2460">and</w> <w lemma="banner" pos="n2" reg="Banners" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2470">Banners</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2480">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2490">the</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="company" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2500" type="contract1">Company</w> <w xml:id="A59314-005-a-2500c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="Arms." pos="n1-nn" reg="Arms." xml:id="A59314-005-a-2510">Arms.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2520"/> </p> <div type="poetic_speech" xml:id="A59314-e1500"> <head xml:id="A59314-e1510"> <w lemma="union" pos="n1" reg="UNION" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2530" rendition="#hi">UNION</w> <w lemma="thus" pos="av" reg="thus" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2540">thus</w> <w lemma="address" pos="vvz" reg="addresses" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2550">addresses</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2560">his</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2570">Lordship</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2580">.</pc> </head> <sp xml:id="A59314-e1530"> <speaker xml:id="A59314-e1540"> <w lemma="union" pos="n1" reg="UNION" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2590">UNION</w> <w xml:id="A59314-005-a-2600" lemma="'" reg="'" ana="sy">'</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e1550"> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="s" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2610">s</w> <w lemma="speech" pos="n1" reg="Speech" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2620">Speech</w> </hi> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2630" rendition="#follows-hi">.</pc> </speaker> <l xml:id="A59314-e1560"> <w lemma="when" pos="crq-cs" reg="When" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2640">WHen</w> <w lemma="sacred" pos="j" reg="sacred" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2650">sacred</w> <w lemma="union" pos="n1" reg="UNION" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2660" rendition="#hi">UNION</w> <w lemma="hold" pos="vvz" reg="holds" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2670">holds</w> <w lemma="her" pos="po" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2680">her</w> <w lemma="seat" pos="n1" reg="Seat" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2690">Seat</w> <w lemma="divine" pos="j" reg="Divine" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2700">Divine</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-2710">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e1580"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2720">The</w> <w lemma="sweet" pos="j-s" reg="sweetest" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2730">sweetest</w> <w lemma="harmony" pos="n1" reg="Harmony" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2740">Harmony</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2750">of</w> <w lemma="power" pos="n1" reg="Power" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2760">Pow'r</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2770">is</w> <w lemma="i" pos="png" reg="Mine" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2780">Mine</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2790">.</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e1590"> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="By" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2800">By</w> <w lemma="i" pos="pno" reg="Me" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2810">Me</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2820">is</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2830">the</w> <w lemma="great" pos="j" reg="Great" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2840">Great</w> <w lemma="hinge" pos="vvb" reg="Hinge" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2850">Hinge</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2860">of</w> <w lemma="empire" pos="n1" reg="Empire" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2870">Empire</w> <w lemma="move" pos="vvn" reg="moved" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2880">mov'd</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-2890">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e1600"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2900">The</w> <w lemma="magistrate" pos="n1" reg="Magistrate" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2910">Magistrate</w> <w lemma="obey" pos="vvn" reg="obeyed" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2920">obey'd</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-2930">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2940">and</w> <w lemma="prince" pos="n1" reg="Prince" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2950">Prince</w> <w lemma="belove" pos="vvn" reg="beloved" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2960">belov'd</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2970">.</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e1610"> <w lemma="but" pos="acp-cc" reg="But" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2980">But</w> <w lemma="when" pos="crq-cs" reg="when" xml:id="A59314-005-a-2990">when</w> <w lemma="true" pos="j" reg="true" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3000">true</w> <w lemma="union" pos="n1" reg="UNION" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3010" rendition="#hi">UNION</w> <w lemma="join" pos="vvz" reg="joins" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3020">joins</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3030">all</w> <w lemma="heart" pos="n2" reg="Hearts" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3040">Hearts</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3050">and</w> <w lemma="hand" pos="n2" reg="Hands" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3060">Hands</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-3070">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e1630"> <w lemma="it" pos="pn" reg="'t" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3080" type="contract1">T</w> <w xml:id="A59314-005-a-3080c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" join="left">is</w> <w lemma="only" pos="j" reg="only" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3090">only</w> <w lemma="when" pos="crq-cs" reg="when" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3100">when</w> <w lemma="some" pos="d" reg="some" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3110">some</w> <w lemma="darling" pos="n1" reg="Darling" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3120">Darling</w> <w lemma="head" pos="n1" reg="Head" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3130">Head</w> <w lemma="command" pos="vvz" reg="commands" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3140">commands</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3150">.</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e1640"> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="So" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3160">So</w> <w lemma="rule" pos="vvz" reg="Rules" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3170">Rules</w> <w lemma="great" pos="j" reg="Great" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3180">Great</w> <w lemma="WILLIAM" pos="n1-nn" reg="WILLIAM" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3190">WILLIAM</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-3200">:</pc> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="So" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3210">So</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-3220">,</pc> <w lemma="my" pos="po" reg="my" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3230">my</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="Lord" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3240">Lord</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-3250">,</pc> <w lemma="shall" pos="vmb" reg="shall" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3260">shall</w> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3270">You</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-3280">;</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e1650"> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="A" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3290">A</w> <w lemma="copy" pos="n1" reg="Copy" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3300">Copy</w> <w lemma="from" pos="acp-p" reg="from" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3310">from</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3320">that</w> <w lemma="great" pos="j" reg="Great" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3330">Great</w> <w lemma="original" pos="j" reg="Original" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3340">Original</w> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3350">so</w> <w lemma="true" pos="j" reg="true" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3360">true</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-3370">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e1660"> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="As" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3380">As</w> <w lemma="Caesar" pos="n1-nn" reg="Caesar" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3390" rendition="#hi">Caesar</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3400">to</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="His" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3410">His</w> <w lemma="throne" pos="n1" reg="Throne" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3420" rendition="#hi">Throne</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-3430">;</pc> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3440">You</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3450">to</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3460">Your</w> <w lemma="chair" pos="n1" reg="Chair" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3470" rendition="#hi">Chair</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-005-a-3480">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e1700"> <w lemma="have" pos="vvb" reg="Have" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3490">Have</w> <w lemma="bring" pos="vvn" reg="brought" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3500">brought</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3510">the</w> <w lemma="universal" pos="j" reg="Universal" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3520">Universal</w> <w lemma="darling" pos="n1" reg="Darling" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3530">Darling</w> <w lemma="there" pos="av" reg="there" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3540">there</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-005-a-3550">.</pc> </l> </sp> <pb facs="tcp:50750:5" xml:id="A59314-005-b"/> </div> </div> <div type="illustration" xml:id="A59314-e1710"> <pb facs="tcp:50750:6" xml:id="A59314-006-a"/> <p xml:id="A59314-e1720"> <figure xml:id="A59314-e1730"> <figDesc xml:id="A59314-e1740">depiction of Union</figDesc> </figure> </p> <pb facs="tcp:50750:6" xml:id="A59314-006-b"/> </div> <div type="illustration" xml:id="A59314-e1750"> <pb facs="tcp:50750:7" rendition="simple:additions" xml:id="A59314-007-a"/> <p xml:id="A59314-e1760"> <figure xml:id="A59314-e1770"> <head xml:id="A59314-e1780"> <w lemma="s." pos="n-ab" reg="S." xml:id="A59314-007-a-0010">S.</w> <w lemma="Dunstan" pos="n1-nn" reg="DUNSTAN" xml:id="A59314-007-a-0020">DUNSTAN</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-a-0030">.</pc> </head> <figDesc xml:id="A59314-e1790">depiction of St. Dunstan</figDesc> </figure> </p> </div> <div type="pageant" xml:id="A59314-e1800"> <pb facs="tcp:50750:7" n="3" xml:id="A59314-007-b"/> <head xml:id="A59314-e1810"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0010">The</w> <w lemma="second" pos="ord" reg="Second" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0020">Second</w> <w lemma="pageant" pos="n1" reg="PAGEANT" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0030">PAGEANT</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0040">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0050">The</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n1g" reg="GOLDSMITH'S" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0060" rendition="#hi">GOLDSMITHS</w> <w lemma="laboratory" pos="n1" reg="Laboratory" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0070">Laboratory</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0080">.</pc> </head> <p xml:id="A59314-e1830"> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="A" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0090">A</w> <w lemma="large" pos="j" reg="Large" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0100">Large</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0110">and</w> <w lemma="spacious" pos="j" reg="Spacious" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0120">Spacious</w> <w lemma="work-shop" pos="n1" reg="Work-shop" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0130">Work-shop</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0140">of</w> <w lemma="several" pos="j" reg="several" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0150">several</w> <w lemma="artificer" pos="n2" reg="Artificers" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0160">Artificers</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0170">,</pc> <w lemma="distinct" pos="j" reg="distinct" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0180">distinct</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0190">in</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0200">their</w> <w lemma="proper" pos="j" reg="proper" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0210">proper</w> <w lemma="apartment" pos="n2" reg="Apartments" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0220">Apartments</w> <w lemma="for" pos="acp-p" reg="for" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0230">for</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0240">the</w> <w lemma="several" pos="j" reg="several" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0250">several</w> <w lemma="operator" pos="n2" reg="Operators" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0260">Operators</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0270">in</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0280">the</w> <w lemma="mystery" pos="n1" reg="Mystery" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0290">Mystery</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0300">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0310">the</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n2" reg="Goldsmiths" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0320" rendition="#hi">Goldsmiths</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0330">,</pc> <w lemma="contain" pos="vvg" reg="containing" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0340">containing</w> <w lemma="forge" pos="n2" reg="Forges" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0350">Forges</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0360">,</pc> <w lemma="anvil" pos="n2" reg="Anvils" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0370">Anvils</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0380">,</pc> <w lemma="hammer" pos="n2" reg="Hammers" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0390">Hammers</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0400">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0410">and</w> <w lemma="other" pos="d" reg="other" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0420">other</w> <w lemma="instrument" pos="n2" reg="Instruments" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0430">Instruments</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0440">of</w> <w lemma="art" pos="n1" reg="Art" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0450">Art</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0460">,</pc> <w lemma="etc" pos="n-ab" reg="etc." xml:id="A59314-007-b-0470" rendition="#hi">&amp;c.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0480"/> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="In" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0490">In</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0500">the</w> <w lemma="middle" pos="n1_j" reg="middle" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0510">middle</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0520">of</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0530">this</w> <w lemma="laboratory" pos="n1" reg="Laboratory" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0540">Laboratory</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0550">,</pc> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0560">on</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0570">a</w> <w lemma="rich" pos="j" reg="rich" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0580">rich</w> <w lemma="golden" pos="j" reg="Golden" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0590">Golden</w> <w lemma="chair" pos="n1" reg="Chair" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0600">Chair</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0610">of</w> <w lemma="state" pos="n1" reg="State" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0620">State</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0630">,</pc> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0640">is</w> <w lemma="seat" pos="vvn" reg="seated" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0650">seated</w> <w lemma="st." pos="n-ab" reg="St." xml:id="A59314-007-b-0660">St.</w> <w lemma="Dunstan" pos="n1-nn" reg="Dunstan" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0670" rendition="#hi">Dunstan</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0680">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0690">the</w> <w lemma="ancient" pos="j" reg="ancient" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0700">ancient</w> <w lemma="patron" pos="n1" reg="Patron" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0710">Patron</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0720">and</w> <w lemma="guardian" pos="n1" reg="Guardian" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0730">Guardian</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0740">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0750">the</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="Company" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0760">Company</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0770">,</pc> <w lemma="array" pos="vvn" reg="arrayed" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0780">array'd</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0790">in</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0800">his</w> <w lemma="pontifical" pos="j" reg="Pontifical" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0810">Pontifical</w> <w lemma="ornament" pos="n2" reg="Ornaments" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0820">Ornaments</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0830">,</pc> <w lemma="express" pos="vvg" reg="expressing" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0840">expressing</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0850">his</w> <w lemma="prelatical" pos="j" reg="Prelatical" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0860">Prelatical</w> <w lemma="dignity" pos="n1" reg="Dignity" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0870">Dignity</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0880">,</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0890">in</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0900">a</w> <w lemma="surplice" pos="n1" reg="Surplice" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0910">Surplice</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0920">of</w> <w lemma="white" pos="j" reg="white" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0930">white</w> <w lemma="lawn" pos="n1" reg="Lawn" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0940">Lawn</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-0950">,</pc> <w lemma="over" pos="acp-p" reg="over" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0960">over</w> <w lemma="which" pos="crq-r" reg="which" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0970">which</w> <w lemma="he" pos="pns" reg="he" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0980">he</w> <w lemma="wear" pos="vvz" reg="wears" xml:id="A59314-007-b-0990">wears</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1000">a</w> <w lemma="large" pos="j" reg="large" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1010">large</w> <w lemma="cope" pos="n1" reg="Cope" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1020">Cope</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-1030">,</pc> <w lemma="etc" pos="n-ab" reg="etc." xml:id="A59314-007-b-1040" rendition="#hi">&amp;c.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1050"/> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="On" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1060">On</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1070">his</w> <w lemma="reverend" pos="j" reg="Reverend" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1080">Reverend</w> <w lemma="hoary" pos="j" reg="Hoary" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1090">Hoary</w> <w lemma="head" pos="n1" reg="Head" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1100">Head</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-1110">,</pc> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1120">a</w> <w lemma="golden" pos="j" reg="Golden" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1130">Golden</w> <w lemma="mitre" pos="n1" reg="Mitre" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1140">Mitre</w> <w lemma="beset" pos="vvn" reg="beset" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1150">beset</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1160">with</w> <w lemma="precious" pos="j" reg="precious" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1170">precious</w> <w lemma="stone" pos="n2" reg="Stones" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1180">Stones</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1190">and</w> <w lemma="pearl" pos="n2" reg="Pearls" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1200">Pearls</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1210">of</w> <w lemma="great" pos="j" reg="great" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1220">great</w> <w lemma="value" pos="n1" reg="Value" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1230">Value</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-1240">:</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="In" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1250">In</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1260">his</w> <w lemma="left" pos="j" reg="Left" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1270">Left</w> <w lemma="hand" pos="n1" reg="Hand" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1280">Hand</w> <w lemma="he" pos="pns" reg="he" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1290">he</w> <w lemma="hold" pos="vvz" reg="holds" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1300">holds</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1310">a</w> <w lemma="golden" pos="j" reg="Golden" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1320">Golden</w> <w lemma="crosier" pos="n1" reg="Crosier" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1330">Crosier</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-1340">;</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1350">in</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1360">his</w> <w lemma="right" pos="j" reg="Right" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1370">Right</w> <w lemma="hand" pos="n1" reg="Hand" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1380">Hand</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1390">a</w> <w lemma="pair" pos="n1" reg="Pair" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1400">Pair</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1410">of</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n1g" reg="Goldsmith's" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1420" rendition="#hi">Goldsmiths</w> <w lemma="tongue" pos="n2" reg="Tongues" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1430">Tongs</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-1440">,</pc> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="an" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1450">an</w> <w lemma="emblem" pos="n1" reg="Emblem" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1460">Emblem</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1470">of</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1480">his</w> <w lemma="patronage" pos="n1" reg="Patronage" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1490">Patronage</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-1500">;</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1510">and</w> <w lemma="under" pos="acp-p" reg="under" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1520">under</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1530">his</w> <w lemma="foot" pos="n2" reg="Feet" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1540">Feet</w> <w lemma="lie" pos="vvz" reg="lies" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1550">lies</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1560">the</w> <w lemma="devil" pos="n1" reg="Devil" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1570">Devil</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1580">.</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e1890"> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="On" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1590">On</w> <w lemma="each" pos="d" reg="each" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1600">each</w> <w lemma="side" pos="n1" reg="side" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1610">side</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1620">this</w> <w lemma="noble" pos="j" reg="Noble" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1630">Noble</w> <w lemma="seat" pos="n1" reg="Seat" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1640">Seat</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1650">is</w> <w lemma="place" pos="vvn" reg="placed" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1660">plac'd</w> <w lemma="Apollo" pos="n1-nn" reg="Apollo" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1670" rendition="#hi">Apollo</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1680">and</w> <w lemma="Esculapius" pos="n1-nn" reg="Esculapius" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1690" rendition="#hi">Esculapius</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1700">his</w> <w lemma="son" pos="n1" reg="Son" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1710">Son</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-1720">,</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1730">in</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1740">their</w> <w lemma="proper" pos="j" reg="proper" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1750">proper</w> <w lemma="habit" pos="n2" reg="Habits" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1760">Habits</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-1770">,</pc> <w lemma="bear" pos="vvg" reg="bearing" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1780">bearing</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1790">the</w> <w lemma="city" pos="n1g" reg="City's" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1800">City's</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1810">and</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="company" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1820" type="contract1">Company</w> <w xml:id="A59314-007-b-1820c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="banner" pos="n2" reg="Banners" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1830">Banners</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-1840">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1850">and</w> <w lemma="play" pos="vvg" reg="playing" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1860">playing</w> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1870">on</w> <w lemma="several" pos="j" reg="several" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1880">several</w> <w lemma="melodious" pos="j" reg="Melodious" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1890">Melodious</w> <w lemma="instrument" pos="n2" reg="Instruments" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1900">Instruments</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-1910">,</pc> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="as" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1920">as</w> <w lemma="well" pos="av" reg="well" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1930">well</w> <w lemma="for" pos="acp-p" reg="for" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1940">for</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1950">his</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1g" reg="Lordship's" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1960">Lordship's</w> <w lemma="diversion" pos="n1" reg="Diversion" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1970">Diversion</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-1980">,</pc> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="as" xml:id="A59314-007-b-1990">as</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2000">to</w> <w lemma="preserve" pos="vvi" reg="preserve" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2010">preserve</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2020">a</w> <w lemma="harmony" pos="n1" reg="Harmony" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2030">Harmony</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2040">and</w> <w lemma="decorum" pos="n1" reg="Decorum" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2050">Decorum</w> <w lemma="among" pos="acp-p" reg="among" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2060">among</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2070">the</w> <w lemma="artificer" pos="n2" reg="Artificers" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2080">Artificers</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2090">.</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e1920"> <w lemma="beneath" pos="acp-p" reg="Beneath" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2100">Beneath</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2110">the</w> <w lemma="step" pos="n2" reg="Steps" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2120">Steps</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2130">of</w> <w lemma="ascension" pos="n1" reg="Ascension" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2140">Ascension</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2150">to</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2160">the</w> <w lemma="canonical" pos="j" reg="Canonical" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2170">Canonical</w> <w lemma="chair" pos="n1" reg="Chair" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2180">Chair</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2190">,</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2200">in</w> <w lemma="opposition" pos="n1" reg="opposition" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2210">opposition</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2220">to</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2230">the</w> <w lemma="patron" pos="n1" reg="Patron" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2240">Patron</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2250">,</pc> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2260">is</w> <w lemma="place" pos="vvn" reg="placed" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2270">placed</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2280">a</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n1g" reg="Goldsmith's" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2290">Goldsmiths</w> <w lemma="forge" pos="n1" reg="Forge" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2300">Forge</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2310">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2320">with</w> <w lemma="fire" pos="n1" reg="Fire" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2330">Fire</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2340">and</w> <w lemma="Crucibles" pos="n1-nn" reg="Crucibles" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2350">Crucibles</w> <w lemma="fill" pos="vvn" reg="filled" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2360">filled</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2370">with</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2380">Gold</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2390">;</pc> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2400">a</w> <w lemma="boy" pos="n1" reg="Boy" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2410">Boy</w> <w lemma="blow" pos="vvg" reg="blowing" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2420">blowing</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2430">the</w> <w lemma="bellows" pos="n2" reg="Bellowss" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2440">Bellows</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2450">.</pc> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="On" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2460">On</w> <w lemma="either" pos="d" reg="either" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2470">either</w> <w lemma="hand" pos="n1" reg="Hand" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2480">Hand</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2490">,</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2500">in</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2510">the</w> <w lemma="front" pos="n1" reg="Front" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2520">Front</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2530">of</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2540">this</w> <w lemma="shop" pos="n1" reg="Shop" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2550">Shop</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2560">,</pc> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2570">is</w> <w lemma="set" pos="vvn" reg="set" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2580">set</w> <w lemma="up" pos="acp-av" reg="up" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2590">up</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2600">a</w> <w lemma="large" pos="j" reg="large" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2610">large</w> <w lemma="press" pos="n1" reg="Press" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2620">Press</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2630">of</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2640">Gold</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2650">and</w> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2660">Silver</w> <w lemma="plate" pos="n1" reg="Plate" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2670">Plate</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2680">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2690">with</w> <w lemma="compter" pos="n2" reg="Compters" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2700">Compters</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2710">,</pc> <w lemma="etc" pos="n-ab" reg="etc." xml:id="A59314-007-b-2720" rendition="#hi">&amp;c.</w> <w lemma="represent" pos="vvg" reg="representing" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2730">representing</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2740">a</w> <w lemma="formal" pos="j" reg="formal" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2750">formal</w> <w lemma="shop" pos="n1" reg="Shop" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2760">Shop</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2770">of</w> <w lemma="trade" pos="n1" reg="Trade" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2780">Trade</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2790">:</pc> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="On" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2800">On</w> <w lemma="each" pos="d" reg="each" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2810">each</w> <w lemma="side" pos="n1" reg="side" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2820">side</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2830">are</w> <w lemma="jeweller" pos="n2" reg="Jewellers" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2840">Jewellers</w> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="at" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2850">at</w> <w lemma="work" pos="n1" reg="Work" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2860">Work</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2870">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2880">with</w> <w lemma="anvil" pos="n2" reg="Anvils" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2890">Anvils</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2900">,</pc> <w lemma="hammer" pos="n2" reg="Hammers" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2910">Hammers</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2920">,</pc> <w lemma="stone" pos="n2" reg="Stones" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2930">Stones</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2940">,</pc> <w lemma="spark" pos="n2" reg="Sparks" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2950">Sparks</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-2960">;</pc> <w lemma="beside" pos="acp-p" reg="besides" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2970">besides</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2980">a</w> <w lemma="planisher" pos="n1" reg="Planisher" xml:id="A59314-007-b-2990">Planisher</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3000">,</pc> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3010">a</w> <w lemma="raiser" pos="n1" reg="Raiser" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3020">Raiser</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3030">,</pc> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3040">a</w> <w lemma="drawer" pos="n1" reg="Drawer" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3050">Drawer</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3060">and</w> <w lemma="chacer" pos="n1" reg="Chacer" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3070">Chacer</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3080">,</pc> <w lemma="etc" pos="n-ab" reg="etc." xml:id="A59314-007-b-3090" rendition="#hi">&amp;c.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3100"/> <w lemma="several" pos="j" reg="Several" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3110">Several</w> <w lemma="artificer" pos="n2" reg="Artificers" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3120">Artificers</w> <w lemma="beat" pos="vvg" reg="beating" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3130">beating</w> <w lemma="out" pos="av" reg="out" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3140">out</w> <w lemma="plate" pos="n1" reg="Plate" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3150">Plate</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3160">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3170">and</w> <w lemma="fashion" pos="vvg" reg="fashioning" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3180">fashioning</w> <w lemma="several" pos="j" reg="several" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3190">several</w> <w lemma="vessel" pos="n2" reg="Vessels" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3200">Vessels</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3210">of</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3220">Gold</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3230">and</w> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3240">Silver</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3250">:</pc> <w lemma="likewise" pos="av" reg="Likewise" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3260">Likewise</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="an" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3270">an</w> <w lemma="essay-master" pos="n1" reg="Essay-master" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3280">Essay-Master</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3290">with</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3300">his</w> <w lemma="class" pos="n1" reg="Class" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3310">Class</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3320">,</pc> <w lemma="frame" pos="n1" reg="Frame" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3330">Frame</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3340">and</w> <w lemma="balance" pos="n1" reg="Balance" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3350">Ballance</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3360">,</pc> <w lemma="for" pos="acp-p" reg="for" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3370">for</w> <w lemma="try" pos="vvg" reg="trying" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3380">trying</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3390">of</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3400">Gold</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3410">and</w> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3420">Silver</w> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="by" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3430">by</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3440">the</w> <w lemma="standard" pos="n1" reg="Standard" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3450">Standard</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3460">.</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="In" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3470">In</w> <w lemma="another" pos="d" reg="another" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3480">another</w> <w lemma="apartment" pos="n1" reg="Apartment" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3490">Apartment</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3500">is</w> <w lemma="disgross" pos="n1_vg" reg="Disgrossing" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3510">Disgrossing</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3520">,</pc> <w lemma="flat" pos="j_vg" reg="Flatting" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3530">Flatting</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3540">and</w> <w lemma="draw" pos="vvg" reg="Drawing" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3550">Drawing</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3560">of</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3570">Gold</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3580">and</w> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3590">Silver</w> <w lemma="wire" pos="n1-nn" reg="Wire" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3600">Wire</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3610">.</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="In" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3620">In</w> <w lemma="another" pos="d" reg="another" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3630">another</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3640">are</w> <w lemma="include" pos="vvn" reg="included" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3650">included</w> <w lemma="fine" pos="j-c" reg="Finers" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3660">Finers</w> <w lemma="an" pos="cs" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3670">and</w> <w lemma="refiner" pos="n2" reg="Refiners" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3680">Refiners</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3690">,</pc> <w lemma="melt" pos="vvg" reg="Melting" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3700">Melting</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3710">,</pc> <w lemma="smelting" pos="j" reg="Smelting" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3720">Smelting</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3730">,</pc> <w lemma="fine" pos="vvg" reg="Fining" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3740">Fining</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3750">,</pc> <w lemma="refine" pos="vvg" reg="Refining" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3760">Refining</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3770">and</w> <w lemma="separate" pos="j_vg" reg="Separating" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3780">Separating</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3790">Gold</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3800">and</w> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3810">Silver</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3820">,</pc> <w lemma="both" pos="av_d" reg="both" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3830">both</w> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="by" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3840">by</w> <w lemma="fire" pos="n1" reg="Fire" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3850">Fire</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3860">and</w> <w lemma="water" pos="n1" reg="Water" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3870">Water</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-3880">;</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3890">and</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3900">the</w> <w lemma="master-forger" pos="n1" reg="Master-forger" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3910">Master-Forger</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3920">and</w> <w lemma="three" pos="crd" reg="three" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3930">three</w> <w lemma="other" pos="d" reg="other" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3940">other</w> <w lemma="workman" pos="n2" reg="Workmen" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3950">Workmen</w> <w lemma="make" pos="vvg" reg="making" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3960">making</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3970">a</w> <w lemma="massy" pos="j" reg="Massy" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3980">Massy</w> <w lemma="piece" pos="n1" reg="Piece" xml:id="A59314-007-b-3990">Piece</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4000">of</w> <w lemma="plate" pos="n1" reg="Plate" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4010">Plate</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-4020">,</pc> <w lemma="sing" pos="vvg" reg="Singing" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4030">Singing</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4040">and</w> <w lemma="keep" pos="vvg" reg="keeping" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4050">keeping</w> <w lemma="time" pos="n1" reg="Time" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4060">Time</w> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4070">on</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4080">the</w> <w lemma="anvil" pos="n1" reg="Anvil" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4090">Anvil</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4100">.</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e1950"> <w lemma="here" pos="av" reg="Here" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4110">Here</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="His" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4120">His</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4130">Lordship</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4140">is</w> <w lemma="address" pos="vvn" reg="addressed" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4150">addrest</w> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="by" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4160">by</w> <w lemma="st." pos="n-ab" reg="St." xml:id="A59314-007-b-4170">St.</w> <w lemma="Dunstan" pos="n1-nn" reg="Dunstan" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4180" rendition="#hi">Dunstan</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4190">.</pc> </p> <sp xml:id="A59314-e1970"> <speaker xml:id="A59314-e1980"> <w lemma="st." pos="n-ab" reg="St." xml:id="A59314-007-b-4200">St.</w> <w lemma="Dunstan" pos="n1-nn" reg="Dunstan" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4210">Dunstan</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4220">.</pc> </speaker> <l xml:id="A59314-e1990"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="THE" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4230">THE</w> <w lemma="triumph" pos="n2" reg="Triumphs" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4240">Triumphs</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4250">of</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4260">this</w> <w lemma="day" pos="n1" reg="Day" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4270">Day</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-4280">,</pc> <w lemma="deserve" pos="vvd" reg="deserved" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4290">deserv'd</w> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4300">so</w> <w lemma="well" pos="av" reg="well" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4310">well</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-4320">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2000"> <w lemma="when" pos="crq-cs" reg="When" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4330">When</w> <w lemma="fame" pos="n1" reg="Fame" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4340">Fame</w> <w lemma="shall" pos="vmb" reg="shall" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4350">shall</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4360">in</w> <w lemma="record" pos="vvn" reg="Recorded" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4370">Recorded</w> <w lemma="story" pos="n1" reg="Story" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4380">Story</w> <w lemma="tell" pos="vvi" reg="tell" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4390">tell</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-4400">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2010"> <w lemma="those" pos="d" reg="Those" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4410">Those</w> <w lemma="oracle" pos="n2" reg="Oracles" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4420">Oracles</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4430">of</w> <w lemma="truth" pos="n1" reg="Truth" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4440">Truth</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-4450">�</pc> </l> </sp> <sp xml:id="A59314-e2020"> <speaker xml:id="A59314-e2030"> <w lemma="devil" pos="n1" reg="Devil" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4460">Devil</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4470">.</pc> </speaker> <l xml:id="A59314-e2040"> <w lemma="can" pos="vmb" reg="Can" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4480">Can</w> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4490">You</w> <w lemma="speak" pos="vvi" reg="speak" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4500">speak</w> <w lemma="truth" pos="n1" reg="Truth" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4510">Truth</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4520">?</pc> </l> </sp> <sp xml:id="A59314-e2050"> <speaker xml:id="A59314-e2060"> <w lemma="s" pos="sy" reg="S" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4530">S</w> <hi rendition="#sup" xml:id="A59314-e2070"/> <w lemma="t." pos="n-ab" reg="t." xml:id="A59314-007-b-4540" rendition="#hi-left,1">t.</w> <w lemma="Dunstan" pos="n1-nn" reg="Dunstan" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4560">Dunstan</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4570">.</pc> </speaker> <l xml:id="A59314-e2080"> <w lemma="peace" pos="uh_n" reg="Peace" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4580">Peace</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-4590">,</pc> <w lemma="snarl" pos="vvg" reg="snarling" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4600">snarling</w> <w lemma="devil" pos="n1" reg="Devil" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4610">Devil</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4620">!</pc> <w lemma="thus" pos="av" reg="Thus" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4630">Thus</w> <w lemma="i" pos="pns" reg="I" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4640" type="contract1">I</w> <w xml:id="A59314-007-b-4640c" type="contract2" lemma="will" pos="vmb" reg="'ll" join="left">'ll</w> <w lemma="stop" pos="vvi" reg="stop" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4650">stop</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="your" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4660">your</w> <w lemma="mouth" pos="n1" reg="Mouth" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4670">Mouth</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4680">.</pc> </l> <stage xml:id="A59314-e2090"> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-4690" join="right">[</pc> <w lemma="catch" pos="n2" reg="Catches" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4700">Catches</w> <w lemma="he" pos="pno" reg="him" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4710">him</w> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="by" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4720">by</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4730">the</w> <w lemma="nose" pos="n1" reg="Nose" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4740">Nose</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-4750">.</pc> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4760">]</pc> </stage> <l xml:id="A59314-e2100"> <w lemma="down" pos="acp-av" reg="Down" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4770">Down</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4780">to</w> <w lemma="thy" pos="po" reg="thy" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4790">thy</w> <w lemma="hell" pos="n1" reg="Hell" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4800">Hell</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-4810">,</pc> <w lemma="there" pos="av" reg="there" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4820">there</w> <w lemma="croak" pos="vvb" reg="croak" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4830">croak</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-4840">,</pc> <w lemma="thou" pos="pns" reg="thou" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4850">thou</w> <w lemma="fiend" pos="n1" reg="Fiend" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4860">Fiend</w> <w lemma="accurse" pos="vvn" reg="accursed" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4870">accurst</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-4880">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2110"> <w lemma="see" pos="vvb" reg="See" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4890">See</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4900">this</w> <w lemma="great" pos="j" reg="great" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4910">great</w> <w lemma="day" pos="n1" reg="Day" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4920">Day</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-4930">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4940">and</w> <w lemma="swell" pos="vvn" reg="swelled" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4950">swell'd</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4960">with</w> <w lemma="envy" pos="n1" reg="Envy" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4970">Envy</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-4980">,</pc> <w lemma="burst" pos="vvb" reg="burst" xml:id="A59314-007-b-4990">burst</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5000">.</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2120"> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="In" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5010">In</w> <w lemma="ancient" pos="j" reg="ancient" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5020">ancient</w> <w lemma="time" pos="n2" reg="Times" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5030">Times</w> <w lemma="when" pos="crq-cs" reg="when" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5040">when</w> <w lemma="saint" pos="n2" reg="Saints" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5050">Saints</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvd" reg="were" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5060">were</w> <w lemma="once" pos="acp-av" reg="once" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5070">once</w> <w lemma="adore" pos="vvn" reg="adored" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5080">ador'd</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-5090">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2130"> <w lemma="st." pos="n-ab" reg="St." xml:id="A59314-007-b-5100">St.</w> <w lemma="Dunstan" pos="n1-nn" reg="Dunstan" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5110" rendition="#hi">Dunstan</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvd" reg="was" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5120">was</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5130">the</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n1g" reg="Goldsmith's" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5140">Goldsmiths</w> <w lemma="patron" pos="n1" reg="Patron" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5150">Patron</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="Lord" xml:id="A59314-007-b-5160">Lord</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-007-b-5170">:</pc> </l> <pb facs="tcp:50750:8" n="4" xml:id="A59314-008-a"/> <l xml:id="A59314-e2150"> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="And" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0010">And</w> <w lemma="while" pos="cs" reg="whilst" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0020">whilst</w> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0030">on</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0040">this</w> <w lemma="proud" pos="j" reg="proud" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0050">proud</w> <w lemma="glitter" pos="j_vg" reg="glittering" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0060">glittering</w> <w lemma="stage" pos="n1" reg="Stage" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0070">Stage</w> <w lemma="i" pos="pns" reg="I" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0080">I</w> <w lemma="stand" pos="vvb" reg="stand" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0090">stand</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-0100">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2160"> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="With" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0110">With</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0120">all</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0130">this</w> <w lemma="shine" pos="j_vg" reg="shining" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0140">shining</w> <w lemma="treasure" pos="n1" reg="Treasure" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0150">Treasure</w> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0160">on</w> <w lemma="each" pos="d" reg="each" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0170">each</w> <w lemma="hand" pos="n1" reg="Hand" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0180">Hand</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-0190">;</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2170"> <w lemma="what" pos="crq-r" reg="What" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0200">What</w> <w lemma="though" pos="cs" reg="though" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0210">tho'</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0220">the</w> <w lemma="world" pos="n1" reg="World" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0230">World</w> <w lemma="worship" pos="vvz" reg="worship's" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0240">worships</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0250">the</w> <w lemma="saint" pos="n1" reg="Saint" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0260">Saint</w> <w lemma="no" pos="av-x_d" reg="no" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0270">no</w> <w lemma="more" pos="av-c_d" reg="more" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0280">more</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-0290">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2180"> <w lemma="still" pos="av" reg="Still" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0300">Still</w> <w lemma="there" pos="av" reg="there" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0310" type="contract1">there</w> <w xml:id="A59314-008-a-0310c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="whole" pos="j" reg="whole" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0320">whole</w> <w lemma="thousand" pos="crd" reg="thousands" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0330">Thousands</w> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0340">that</w> <w lemma="my" pos="po" reg="my" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0350">my</w> <w lemma="shrine" pos="n1" reg="Shrine" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0360">Shrine</w> <w lemma="adore" pos="vvi" reg="adore" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0370">adore</w> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2190"> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="A" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0380">A</w> <w lemma="thousand" pos="crd" reg="thousand" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0390">thousand</w> <w lemma="homage" pos="vvg" reg="homaging" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0400">homaging</w> <w lemma="eye" pos="n2" reg="Eyes" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0410">Eyes</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0420">this</w> <w lemma="sight" pos="n1" reg="Sight" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0430">Sight</w> <w lemma="behold" pos="vvi" reg="behold" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0440">behold</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-0450">;</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2200"> <w lemma="not" pos="xx" reg="Not" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0460">Not</w> <w lemma="i" pos="pno" reg="me" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0470">me</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0480">their</w> <w lemma="idol" pos="n1" reg="Idol" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0490">Idol</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-0500">,</pc> <w lemma="but" pos="acp-cc" reg="but" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0510">but</w> <w lemma="my" pos="po" reg="my" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0520">my</w> <w lemma="shop" pos="n1" reg="Shop" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0530">Shop</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0540">of</w> <w lemma="gold." pos="n-ab" reg="Gold." xml:id="A59314-008-a-0550">Gold.</w> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2210"> <w lemma="but" pos="acp-cc" reg="But" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0560">But</w> <w lemma="let" pos="vvb" reg="let" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0570">let</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0580">that</w> <w lemma="superstition" pos="n1" reg="Superstition" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0590">Superstition</w> <w lemma="end" pos="n1" reg="end" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0600">end</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-0610">:</pc> <w lemma="here" pos="av" reg="here" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0620" type="contract1">Here</w> <w xml:id="A59314-008-a-0620c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0630">all</w> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2220"> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="That" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0640">That</w> <w lemma="do" pos="vvz" reg="does" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0650">does</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0660">a</w> <w lemma="just" pos="j-c" reg="juster" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0670">juster</w> <w lemma="righteous" pos="j" reg="Righteous" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0680">Righteous</w> <w lemma="homage" pos="n1" reg="Homage" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0690">Homage</w> <w lemma="call" pos="vvi" reg="call" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0700">call</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-0710">;</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2230"> <w lemma="while" pos="cs" reg="Whilst" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0720">Whilst</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="your" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0730">your</w> <w lemma="illustrious" pos="j" reg="Illustrious" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0740">Illustrious</w> <w lemma="triumph" pos="n2" reg="Triumphs" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0750">Triumphs</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0760">to</w> <w lemma="attend" pos="vvi" reg="attend" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0770">attend</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-0780">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2240"> <w lemma="both" pos="d" reg="Both" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0790">Both</w> <w lemma="shrine" pos="n1" reg="Shrine" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0800">Shrine</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0810">and</w> <w lemma="saint" pos="n1" reg="Saint" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0820">Saint</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0830">to</w> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0840">You</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-0850">,</pc> <w lemma="my" pos="po" reg="my" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0860">my</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="Lord" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0870">Lord</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-0880">,</pc> <w lemma="must" pos="vmb" reg="must" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0890">must</w> <w lemma="bend" pos="vvi" reg="bend" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0900">bend</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0910">.</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2250"> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="That" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0920">That</w> <w lemma="noble" pos="j-c" reg="Nobler" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0930">Nobler</w> <w lemma="lustre" pos="n1" reg="Lustre" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0940">Lustre</w> <w lemma="my" pos="po" reg="my" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0950">my</w> <w lemma="please" pos="j_vn" reg="pleased" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0960">pleas'd</w> <w lemma="eye" pos="n2" reg="Eyes" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0970">Eyes</w> <w lemma="behold" pos="vvi" reg="behold" xml:id="A59314-008-a-0980">behold</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-0990">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2260"> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1000">Your</w> <w lemma="rich" pos="j-c" reg="Richer" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1010">Richer</w> <w lemma="virtue" pos="n2" reg="Virtues" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1020">Virtues</w> <w lemma="far" pos="av_j" reg="far" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1030">far</w> <w lemma="outshine" pos="vvi" reg="outshine" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1040">out-shine</w> <w lemma="my" pos="po" reg="my" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1050">my</w> <w lemma="gold." pos="n-ab" reg="Gold." xml:id="A59314-008-a-1060">Gold.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1070"/> </l> </sp> </div> <div type="pageant" xml:id="A59314-e2270"> <head xml:id="A59314-e2280"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1080">The</w> <w lemma="three" pos="ord" reg="Third" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1090">Third</w> <w lemma="pageant" pos="n1" reg="PAGEANT" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1100">PAGEANT</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-1110">,</pc> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="A" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1120">A</w> <w lemma="triumphant" pos="j" reg="Triumphant" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1130">Triumphant</w> <w lemma="chariot" pos="n1" reg="CHARIOT" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1140" rendition="#hi">CHARIOT</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1150">of</w> <w lemma="gold." pos="n-ab" reg="Gold." xml:id="A59314-008-a-1160">Gold.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1170"/> </head> <p xml:id="A59314-e2300"> <w lemma="ASTRAEA" pos="n1-nn" reg="ASTRAEA" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1180" rendition="#hi">ASTRAEA</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-1190">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1200">the</w> <w lemma="goddess" pos="n1" reg="Goddess" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1210">Goddess</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1220">of</w> <w lemma="justice" pos="n1" reg="Justice" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1230">Justice</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-1240">,</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1250">in</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1260">a</w> <w lemma="long" pos="j" reg="long" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1270">long</w> <w lemma="robe" pos="n1" reg="Robe" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1280">Robe</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1290">of</w> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1300">Silver</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-1310">,</pc> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1320">a</w> <w lemma="crimson" pos="j" reg="Crimson" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1330">Crimson</w> <w lemma="mantle" pos="n1" reg="Mantle" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1340">Mantle</w> <w lemma="fringe" pos="vvn" reg="fringed" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1350">fringed</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1360">with</w> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1370">Silver</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-1380">,</pc> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1390">a</w> <w lemma="veil" pos="n1" reg="Veil" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1400">Veil</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1410">of</w> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1420">Silver</w> <w lemma="fringe" pos="vvn" reg="fringed" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1430">fringed</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1440">with</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1450">Gold</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-1460">;</pc> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1470">on</w> <w lemma="her" pos="po" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1480">her</w> <w lemma="head" pos="n1" reg="Head" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1490">Head</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1500">a</w> <w lemma="plume" pos="n1" reg="Plume" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1510">Plume</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1520">of</w> <w lemma="white" pos="j" reg="white" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1530">white</w> <w lemma="feather" pos="n2" reg="Feathers" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1540">Feathers</w> <w lemma="set" pos="vvn" reg="set" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1550">set</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1560">with</w> <w lemma="precious" pos="j" reg="precious" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1570">precious</w> <w lemma="stone" pos="n2" reg="Stones" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1580">Stones</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-1590">:</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="In" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1600">In</w> <w lemma="her" pos="po" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1610">her</w> <w lemma="right" pos="j" reg="Right" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1620">Right</w> <w lemma="hand" pos="n1" reg="Hand" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1630">Hand</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1640">a</w> <w lemma="touchstone" pos="n1" reg="Touchstone" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1650">Touch-stone</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-1660">;</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1670">in</w> <w lemma="she" pos="pno" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1680">her</w> <w lemma="leave" pos="vvd" reg="Left" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1690">Left</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1700">a</w> <w lemma="golden" pos="j" reg="Golden" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1710">Golden</w> <w lemma="balance" pos="n1" reg="Balance" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1720">Ballance</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1730">with</w> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1740">Silver</w> <w lemma="Scales" pos="n1-nn" reg="Scales" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1750">Scales</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1760">.</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e2320"> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="At" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1770">At</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1780">a</w> <w lemma="descent" pos="n1" reg="Descent" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1790">Descent</w> <w lemma="beneath" pos="acp-p" reg="beneath" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1800">beneath</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1810">this</w> <w lemma="goddess" pos="n1" reg="Goddess" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1820">Goddess</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1830">are</w> <w lemma="place" pos="vvn" reg="placed" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1840">placed</w> <w lemma="charity" pos="n1" reg="Charity" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1850" rendition="#hi">Charity</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1860">and</w> <w lemma="concord" pos="n1" reg="Concord" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1870" rendition="#hi">Concord</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-1880">,</pc> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="as" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1890">as</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1900">the</w> <w lemma="necessary" pos="j" reg="necessary" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1910">necessary</w> <w lemma="supporter" pos="n2" reg="Supporters" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1920">Supporters</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1930">of</w> <w lemma="justice" pos="n1" reg="Justice" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1940">Justice</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-1950">;</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1960">and</w> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1970">on</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1980">a</w> <w lemma="seat" pos="n1" reg="Seat" xml:id="A59314-008-a-1990">Seat</w> <w lemma="remote" pos="j" reg="remote" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2000">remote</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-2010">,</pc> <w lemma="sit" pos="vvz" reg="sits" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2020">sits</w> <w lemma="another" pos="d" reg="another" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2030">another</w> <w lemma="virtue" pos="n1" reg="Virtue" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2040">Virtue</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-2050">,</pc> <w lemma="call" pos="vvn" reg="called" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2060">call'd</w> <w lemma="truth" pos="n1" reg="Truth" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2070" rendition="#hi">Truth</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-2080">,</pc> <w lemma="support" pos="vvg" reg="supporting" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2090">supporting</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2100">the</w> <w lemma="reins" pos="n2" reg="Reinss" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2110">Reins</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-2120">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2130">and</w> <w lemma="guide" pos="vvg" reg="guiding" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2140">guiding</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2150">the</w> <w lemma="chariot" pos="n1" reg="Chariot" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2160">Chariot</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2170">of</w> <w lemma="justice" pos="n1" reg="Justice" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2180">Justice</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2190">.</pc> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="This" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2200">This</w> <w lemma="stately" pos="j" reg="stately" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2210">stately</w> <w lemma="chariot" pos="n1" reg="Chariot" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2220">Chariot</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2230">is</w> <w lemma="draw" pos="vvn" reg="drawn" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2240">drawn</w> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="by" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2250">by</w> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="two" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2260">two</w> <w lemma="unicorn" pos="n2" reg="Unicorns" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2270">Unicorns</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-2280">,</pc> <w lemma="most" pos="av-s_d" reg="most" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2290">most</w> <w lemma="exquisite" pos="av_j" reg="tightly" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2300">exquisitely</w> <w lemma="carve" pos="vvn" reg="Carved" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2310">Carved</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2320">and</w> <w lemma="gild" pos="j_vn" reg="Gilded" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2330">Gilded</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2340">with</w> <w lemma="equal" pos="j" reg="equal" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2350">equal</w> <w lemma="proportion" pos="n1" reg="Proportion" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2360">Proportion</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2370">to</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2380">the</w> <w lemma="life" pos="n1" reg="Life" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2390">Life</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2400">.</pc> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="On" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2410">On</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2420">the</w> <w lemma="back" pos="n2" reg="Backs" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2430">Backs</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2440">of</w> <w lemma="these" pos="d" reg="these" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2450">these</w> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="two" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2460">two</w> <w lemma="unicorn" pos="n2" reg="Unicorns" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2470">Unicorns</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2480">are</w> <w lemma="mount" pos="vvn" reg="mounted" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2490">mounted</w> <w lemma="two" pos="crd" reg="two" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2500">two</w> <w lemma="beautiful" pos="j" reg="Beautiful" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2510">Beautiful</w> <w lemma="young" pos="j" reg="Young" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2520">Young</w> <w lemma="prince" pos="n2" reg="Princes" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2530">Princes</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-2540">,</pc> <w lemma="one" pos="crd" reg="one" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2550">one</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2560">a</w> <w lemma="barbarian" pos="j" reg="Barbarian" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2570" rendition="#hi">Barbarian</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-2580">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2590">the</w> <w lemma="other" pos="pi_d" reg="other" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2600">other</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="an" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2610">an</w> <w lemma="european" pos="j-nn" reg="European" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2620" rendition="#hi">European</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-2630">,</pc> <w lemma="sound" pos="vvg" reg="sounding" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2640">sounding</w> <w lemma="forth" pos="av" reg="forth" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2650">forth</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2660">the</w> <w lemma="fame" pos="n1" reg="Fame" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2670">Fame</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2680">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2690">the</w> <w lemma="honourable" pos="j" reg="Honourable" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2700">Honourable</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="Company" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2710">Company</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2720">of</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n2" reg="Goldsmiths" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2730" rendition="#hi">Goldsmiths</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2740">.</pc> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="At" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2750">At</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2760">the</w> <w lemma="foot" pos="n2" reg="Feet" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2770">Feet</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2780">of</w> <w lemma="these" pos="d" reg="these" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2790">these</w> <w lemma="most" pos="av-s_d" reg="most" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2800">most</w> <w lemma="noble" pos="j" reg="Noble" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2810">Noble</w> <w lemma="creature" pos="n2" reg="Creatures" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2820">Creatures</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2830">is</w> <w lemma="seat" pos="vvn" reg="seated" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2840">seated</w> <w lemma="four" pos="crd" reg="four" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2850">four</w> <w lemma="other" pos="d" reg="other" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2860">other</w> <w lemma="virtue" pos="n2" reg="Virtues" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2870">Virtues</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-2880">,</pc> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="as" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2890">as</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e2390"> <w lemma="prudence" pos="n1" reg="Prudence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2900">Prudence</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-2910">,</pc> <w lemma="temperance" pos="n1" reg="Temperance" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2920">Temperance</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-2930">,</pc> <w lemma="courage" pos="n1" reg="Courage" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2940">Courage</w> </hi> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-2950" rendition="#follows-hi">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2960">and</w> <w lemma="conduct" pos="vvb" reg="Conduct" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2970" rendition="#hi">Conduct</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-2980">,</pc> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-008-a-2990">all</w> <w lemma="proper" pos="av_j" reg="properly" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3000">properly</w> <w lemma="attire" pos="vvn" reg="attired" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3010">attired</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-3020">,</pc> <w lemma="each" pos="d" reg="each" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3030">each</w> <w lemma="hold" pos="vvg" reg="holding" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3040">holding</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3050">a</w> <w lemma="banner" pos="n1" reg="Banner" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3060">Banner</w> <w lemma="display" pos="vvn" reg="displayed" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3070">display'd</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3080">with</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3090">the</w> <w lemma="king" pos="n2" reg="Kings" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3100">Kings</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-3110">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3120">the</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="Lord" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3130">Lord</w> <w lemma="Mayor" pos="n1-nn" reg="Mayor" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3140">Mayors</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-3150">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3160">the</w> <w lemma="city" pos="n1g" reg="City's" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3170">City's</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3180">and</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="company" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3190" type="contract1">Company</w> <w xml:id="A59314-008-a-3190c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="Arms." pos="n1-nn" reg="Arms." xml:id="A59314-008-a-3200">Arms.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3210"/> </p> <div type="poetic_speech" xml:id="A59314-e2410"> <head xml:id="A59314-e2420"> <w lemma="ASTRAEA" pos="n1-nn" reg="ASTRAEA" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3220" rendition="#hi">ASTRAEA</w> <w lemma="thus" pos="av" reg="thus" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3230">thus</w> <w lemma="salute" pos="vvz" reg="Salutes" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3240">Salutes</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="His" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3250">His</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3260">Lordship</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3270">.</pc> </head> <l xml:id="A59314-e2440"> <w lemma="justice" pos="n1" reg="Justice" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3280">JUstice</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3290">of</w> <w lemma="old" pos="j" reg="old" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3300">old</w> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="by" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3310">by</w> <w lemma="long" pos="j" reg="long" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3320">long</w> <w lemma="oppression" pos="n1" reg="Oppression" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3330">Oppression</w> <w lemma="drive" pos="vvn" reg="driven" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3340">driven</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-3350">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2450"> <w lemma="leave" pos="vvd" reg="Left" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3360">Left</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3370">the</w> <w lemma="tyrannic" pos="j" reg="Tyrannic" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3380">Tyrannick</w> <w lemma="world" pos="n1" reg="World" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3390">World</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3400">and</w> <w lemma="fly" pos="vvd" reg="flew" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3410">flew</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3420">to</w> <w lemma="heaven" pos="n1" reg="Heaven" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3430">Heav'n</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3440">.</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2460"> <w lemma="but" pos="acp-cc" reg="But" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3450">But</w> <w lemma="when" pos="crq-cs" reg="when" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3460">when</w> <w lemma="great" pos="j" reg="Great" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3470">Great</w> <w lemma="NASSAW" pos="n1-nn" reg="NASSAW" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3480" rendition="#hi">NASSAW</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-3490">,</pc> <w lemma="Albion" pos="n1g-nn" reg="Albion's" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3500" rendition="hi-before-apostr">Albion's</w> <w lemma="sceptre" pos="n1" reg="Sceptre" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3520">Scepter</w> <w lemma="bear" pos="vvd" reg="bore" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3530">bore</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-3540">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2480"> <w lemma="our" pos="po" reg="Our" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3550">Our</w> <w lemma="law" pos="n2" reg="Laws" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3560">Laws</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3570">and</w> <w lemma="rights" pos="n1-nn" reg="Rights" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3580">Rights</w> <w lemma="send" pos="vvd" reg="sent" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3590">sent</w> <w lemma="kind" pos="av_j" reg="kindly" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3600">kindly</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3610">to</w> <w lemma="restore" pos="vvi" reg="restore" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3620">restore</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-3630">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2490"> <w lemma="she" pos="pns" reg="She" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3640">She</w> <w lemma="visit" pos="vvd" reg="visited" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3650">visited</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3660">the</w> <w lemma="albion" pos="j-nn" reg="Albion" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3670" rendition="#hi">Albion</w> <w lemma="world" pos="n1" reg="World" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3680">World</w> <w lemma="once" pos="acp-av" reg="once" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3690">once</w> <w lemma="more" pos="av-c_d" reg="more" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3700">more</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3710">.</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2510"> <w lemma="thus" pos="av" reg="Thus" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3720">Thus</w> <w lemma="while" pos="cs" reg="whilst" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3730">whilst</w> <w lemma="our" pos="po" reg="our" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3740">our</w> <w lemma="Caesar" pos="n1-nn" reg="Caesar" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3750" rendition="#hi">Caesar</w> <w lemma="yield" pos="vvz" reg="yields" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3760">yields</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3770">a</w> <w lemma="trust" pos="n1" reg="Trust" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3780">Trust</w> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3790">so</w> <w lemma="large" pos="j" reg="large" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3800">large</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-3810">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2530"> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="As" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3820">As</w> <w lemma="proud" pos="j" reg="proud" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3830">proud</w> <w lemma="Augusta" pos="n1-nn" reg="Augusta" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3840" rendition="#hi">Augusta</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3850">to</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3860">Your</w> <w lemma="guardian" pos="n1" reg="Guardian" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3870">Guardian</w> <w lemma="charge" pos="n1" reg="Charge" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3880">Charge</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3890">.</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2550"> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="As" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3900">As</w> <w lemma="he" pos="pns" reg="He" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3910">He</w> <w lemma="from" pos="acp-p" reg="from" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3920">from</w> <w lemma="heaven" pos="n1" reg="Heaven" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3930">Heav'n</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="His" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3940">His</w> <w lemma="sovereign" pos="j" reg="Sovereign" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3950">Sovereign</w> <w lemma="justice" pos="n1" reg="Justice" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3960">Justice</w> <w lemma="draw" pos="vvd" reg="drew" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3970">drew</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-3980">;</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2560"> <w lemma="he" pos="pns" reg="he" xml:id="A59314-008-a-3990" type="contract1">He</w> <w xml:id="A59314-008-a-3990c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="heavens" pos="n2g" reg="Heavens'" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4000">Heav'ns</w> <w lemma="vicegerent" pos="n1" reg="Vicegerent" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4010">Vicegerent</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-4020">,</pc> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="His" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4030">His</w> <w lemma="vicegerent" pos="n1" reg="Vicegerent" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4040">Vicegerent</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-4050">,</pc> <w lemma="You." pos="n1-nn" reg="You." xml:id="A59314-008-a-4060">You.</w> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2570"> <w lemma="Astraea" pos="n1-nn" reg="Astraea" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4070" rendition="#hi">Astraea</w> <w lemma="then" pos="av" reg="then" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4080">then</w> <w lemma="must" pos="vmb" reg="must" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4090">must</w> <w lemma="here" pos="av" reg="here" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4100">here</w> <w lemma="her" pos="po" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4110">her</w> <w lemma="power" pos="n1" reg="Power" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4120">Pow'r</w> <w lemma="resign" pos="vvi" reg="resign" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4130">resign</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-4140">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2590"> <w lemma="her" pos="po" reg="Her" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4150">Her</w> <w lemma="bright" pos="j-s" reg="brightest" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4160">brightest</w> <w lemma="glory" pos="n2" reg="Glories" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4170">Glories</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4180">in</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4190">Your</w> <w lemma="hand" pos="n1" reg="Hand" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4200">Hand</w> <w lemma="shall" pos="vmb" reg="shall" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4210">shall</w> <w lemma="shine" pos="vvi" reg="shine" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4220">shine</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4230">.</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2600"> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="you" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4240" type="contract1">You</w> <w xml:id="A59314-008-a-4240c" type="contract2" lemma="will" pos="vmb" reg="'ll" join="left">'ll</w> <w lemma="best" pos="av-s_j" reg="best" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4250">best</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-4260">,</pc> <w lemma="my" pos="po" reg="my" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4270">my</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="Lord" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4280">Lord</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-4290">,</pc> <w lemma="my" pos="po" reg="my" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4300">my</w> <w lemma="righteous" pos="j" reg="Righteous" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4310">Righteous</w> <w lemma="balance" pos="n1" reg="Balance" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4320">Ballance</w> <w lemma="hold" pos="vvi" reg="hold" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4330">hold</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-a-4340">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2610"> <w lemma="no" pos="d-x" reg="no" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4350">No</w> <w lemma="poise" pos="n1" reg="Poise" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4360">Poise</w> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4370">so</w> <w lemma="even" pos="av_j" reg="even" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4380">even</w> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="as" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4390">as</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4400">in</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4410">the</w> <w lemma="scale" pos="n2" reg="Scales" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4420">Scales</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4430">of</w> <w lemma="gold." pos="n-ab" reg="Gold." xml:id="A59314-008-a-4440" rendition="#hi">Gold.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-a-4450"/> </l> </div> <pb facs="tcp:50750:8" xml:id="A59314-008-b"/> </div> <div type="illustration" xml:id="A59314-e2630"> <figure xml:id="A59314-e2640"> <head xml:id="A59314-e2650"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0010">The</w> <w lemma="chariot" pos="n1" reg="Chariot" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0020">Chariot</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0030">of</w> <w lemma="justise" pos="n1" reg="justise" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0040">Iustise</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0050">.</pc> </head> <figDesc xml:id="A59314-e2660">depiction of the Chariot of Justice</figDesc> </figure> <p xml:id="A59314-e2670"> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="TO" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0060">TO</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="THE" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0070">THE</w> <w lemma="worshipful" pos="j" reg="WORSHIPFUL" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0080">WORSHIPFULL</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="THE" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0090">THE</w> <w lemma="company" pos="n1" reg="COMPANY" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0100">COMPANY</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="OF" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0110">OF</w> <w lemma="goldsmith" pos="n2" reg="GOLDSMITHS" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0120">GOLDSMITHS</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-b-0130">;</pc> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e2680"> <hi xml:id="A59314-e2690"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0140">The</w> <w lemma="print" pos="n2" reg="Prints" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0150">Prints</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0160">of</w> <w lemma="these" pos="d" reg="these" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0170">these</w> <w lemma="pageant" pos="n2" reg="Pageants" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0180">Pageants</w> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-p" reg="as" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0190">as</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0200">a</w> <w lemma="last" pos="j_vg" reg="lasting" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0210">lasting</w> <w lemma="monument" pos="n1" reg="Monument" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0220">Monument</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0230">of</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0240">this</w> <w lemma="year" pos="n1g" reg="year's" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0250">year's</w> <w lemma="triumph" pos="n2" reg="Triumphs" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0260">Triumphs</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-008-b-0270">,</pc> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0280">are</w> <w lemma="humble" pos="av_j" reg="humbly" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0290">humbly</w> <w lemma="dedicate" pos="vvn" reg="dedicated" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0300">dedicated</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-008-b-0310">.</pc> </hi> </p> <pb facs="tcp:50750:9" xml:id="A59314-009-a"/> </div> <div type="illustration" xml:id="A59314-e2700"> <pb facs="tcp:50750:10" xml:id="A59314-010-a"/> <p xml:id="A59314-e2710"> <figure xml:id="A59314-e2720"> <figDesc xml:id="A59314-e2730">depiction of Honour</figDesc> </figure> </p> </div> <div type="pageant" xml:id="A59314-e2740"> <pb facs="tcp:50750:10" n="5" xml:id="A59314-010-b"/> <head xml:id="A59314-e2750"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0010">The</w> <w lemma="four" pos="ord" reg="Fourth" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0020">Fourth</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0030">and</w> <w lemma="last" pos="ord" reg="Last" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0040">Last</w> <w lemma="pageant" pos="n1" reg="PAGEANT" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0050">PAGEANT</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-0060">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0070">The</w> <w lemma="temple" pos="n1" reg="Temple" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0080">Temple</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0090">of</w> <w lemma="honour" pos="n1" reg="HONOUR" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0100" rendition="#hi">HONOUR</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0110">.</pc> </head> <p xml:id="A59314-e2770"> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="THIS" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0120">THIS</w> <w lemma="pageant" pos="n1" reg="Pageant" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0130">Pageant</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvg" reg="being" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0140">being</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0150">the</w> <w lemma="representation" pos="n1" reg="Representation" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0160">Representation</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0170">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0180">the</w> <w lemma="true" pos="j" reg="true" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0190">true</w> <w lemma="merit" pos="n1" reg="Merit" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0200">Merit</w> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0210">that</w> <w lemma="have" pos="vvz" reg="has" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0220">has</w> <w lemma="raise" pos="vvn" reg="raised" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0230">rais'd</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="His" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0240">His</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0250">Lordship</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0260">to</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0270">that</w> <w lemma="honourable" pos="j" reg="Honourable" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0280">Honourable</w> <w lemma="dignity" pos="n1" reg="Dignity" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0290">Dignity</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-0300">;</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0310">in</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0320">the</w> <w lemma="chief" pos="j" reg="chief" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0330">chief</w> <w lemma="seat" pos="n1" reg="Seat" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0340">Seat</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0350">in</w> <w lemma="front" pos="n1" reg="Front" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0360">Front</w> <w lemma="sit" pos="vvz" reg="sits" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0370">sits</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0380">a</w> <w lemma="noble" pos="j" reg="noble" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0390">noble</w> <w lemma="figure" pos="n1" reg="Figure" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0400">Figure</w> <w lemma="personate" pos="n1_vg" reg="personating" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0410">personating</w> <w lemma="honour" pos="n1" reg="HONOUR" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0420">HONOUR</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-0430">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0440">with</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0450">the</w> <w lemma="banner" pos="n1" reg="Banner" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0460">Banner</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0470">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0480">the</w> <w lemma="city" pos="n1g" reg="City's" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0490">City's</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-0500">;</pc> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0510">on</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0520">his</w> <w lemma="head" pos="n1" reg="Head" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0530">Head</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0540">a</w> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0550">Silver</w> <w lemma="head-piece" pos="n1" reg="Head-piece" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0560">Head-Piece</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0570">and</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0580">a</w> <w lemma="stately" pos="j" reg="stately" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0590">stately</w> <w lemma="plume" pos="n1" reg="Plume" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0600">Plume</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0610">of</w> <w lemma="crimson" pos="j" reg="Crimson" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0620">Crimson</w> <w lemma="feather" pos="n2" reg="Feathers" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0630">Feathers</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-0640">,</pc> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0650">his</w> <w lemma="vest" pos="n1" reg="Vest" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0660">Vest</w> <w lemma="embroider" pos="vvn" reg="embroidered" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0670">embroider'd</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0680">with</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0690">Gold</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-0700">,</pc> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0710">Silver</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-0720">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0730">and</w> <w lemma="precious" pos="j" reg="precious" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0740">precious</w> <w lemma="stone" pos="n2" reg="Stones" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0750">Stones</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-0760">;</pc> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0770">a</w> <w lemma="robe" pos="n1" reg="Robe" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0780">Robe</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0790">of</w> <w lemma="scarlet" pos="n1_j" reg="Scarlet" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0800">Scarlet</w> <w lemma="enrich" pos="vvn" reg="enriched" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0810">inrich'd</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0820">with</w> <w lemma="embroidery" pos="n1" reg="Embroidery" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0830">Embroidery</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0840">of</w> <w lemma="tissue" pos="n1" reg="Tissue" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0850">Tissue</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-0860">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0870">with</w> <w lemma="buskin" pos="n2" reg="Buskins" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0880">Buskins</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-0890">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0900">and</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="a" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0910">a</w> <w lemma="silken" pos="j" reg="Silken" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0920">Silken</w> <w lemma="scarf" pos="n1" reg="Scarf" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0930">Scarf</w> <w lemma="fringe" pos="vvn" reg="fringed" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0940">fringed</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0950">with</w> <w lemma="gold." pos="n-ab" reg="Gold." xml:id="A59314-010-b-0960">Gold.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0970"/> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e2780"> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="On" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0980">On</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-0990">the</w> <w lemma="same" pos="d" reg="same" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1000">same</w> <w lemma="basis" pos="n1" reg="Basis" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1010">Basis</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1020">,</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1030">in</w> <w lemma="three" pos="crd" reg="three" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1040">three</w> <w lemma="other" pos="d" reg="other" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1050">other</w> <w lemma="seat" pos="n2" reg="Seats" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1060">Seats</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1070">,</pc> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1080">are</w> <w lemma="plant" pos="vvn" reg="planted" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1090">planted</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e2790"> <w lemma="peace" pos="n1" reg="Peace" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1100">Peace</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1110">,</pc> <w lemma="plenty" pos="n1" reg="Plenty" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1120">Plenty</w> </hi> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1130" rendition="#follows-hi">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1140">and</w> <w lemma="liberality" pos="n1" reg="Liberality" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1150" rendition="#hi">Liberality</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1160">,</pc> <w lemma="proper" pos="av_j" reg="properly" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1170">properly</w> <w lemma="dress" pos="vvn" reg="dressed" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1180">drest</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1190">,</pc> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="as" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1200">as</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1210">the</w> <w lemma="suitable" pos="j" reg="suitable" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1220">suitable</w> <w lemma="attribute" pos="n2" reg="Attributes" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1230">Attributes</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1240">and</w> <w lemma="attendant" pos="n2_j" reg="Attendants" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1250">Attendants</w> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1260">on</w> <w lemma="honour" pos="n1" reg="HONOUR" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1270">HONOUR</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1280">.</pc> <w lemma="at" pos="acp-p" reg="At" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1290">At</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1300">the</w> <w lemma="foot" pos="n2" reg="Feet" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1310">Feet</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1320">of</w> <w lemma="these" pos="d" reg="these" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1330">these</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1340">are</w> <w lemma="lay" pos="vvn" reg="laid" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1350">laid</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1360">the</w> <w lemma="four" pos="crd" reg="four" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1370">four</w> <w lemma="principal" pos="j" reg="Principal" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1380">Principal</w> <w lemma="river" pos="n2" reg="Rivers" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1390">Rivers</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1400">of</w> <w lemma="trade" pos="n1" reg="Trade" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1410">Trade</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1420">,</pc> <w lemma="as" pos="acp-cs" reg="as" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1430">as</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e2810"> <w lemma="Tiber" pos="n1-nn" reg="Tiber" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1440">Tiber</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1450">,</pc> <w lemma="Nile" pos="n1-nn" reg="Nile" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1460">Nile</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1470">,</pc> <w lemma="danube" pos="n1-nn" reg="Danube" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1480">Danube</w> </hi> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1490" rendition="#follows-hi">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1500">and</w> <w lemma="Thames" pos="n1-nn" reg="Thames" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1510" rendition="#hi">Thames</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1520">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1530">with</w> <w lemma="their" pos="po" reg="their" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1540">their</w> <w lemma="several" pos="j" reg="several" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1550">several</w> <w lemma="hierogliphic" pos="n2" reg="Hierogliphics" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1560">Hierogliphicks</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1570">,</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1580">in</w> <w lemma="rich" pos="j" reg="Rich" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1590">Rich</w> <w lemma="habit" pos="n2" reg="Habits" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1600">Habits</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1610">,</pc> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1620">with</w> <w lemma="garland" pos="n2" reg="Garlands" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1630">Garlands</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1640">of</w> <w lemma="flower" pos="n2" reg="Flowers" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1650">Flowers</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1660">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1670">and</w> <w lemma="banner" pos="n2" reg="Banners" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1680">Banners</w> <w lemma="fly" pos="vvg" reg="flying" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1690">flying</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1700">,</pc> <w lemma="etc" pos="n-ab" reg="etc." xml:id="A59314-010-b-1710" rendition="#hi">&amp;c.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1720"/> </p> <p xml:id="A59314-e2840"> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="This" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1730">Ths</w> <w lemma="structure" pos="n1" reg="Structure" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1740">Structure</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1750">is</w> <w lemma="form" pos="vvn" reg="form" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1760">formed</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1770">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1780">the</w> <w lemma="compositive" pos="j" reg="Compositive" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1790">Compositive</w> <w lemma="order" pos="n1" reg="Order" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1800">Order</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1810">,</pc> <w lemma="most" pos="av-s_d" reg="most" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1820">most</w> <w lemma="noble" pos="av_j" reg="nobly" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1830">nobly</w> <w lemma="set" pos="vvi" reg="set" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1840">set</w> <w lemma="forth" pos="av" reg="forth" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1850">forth</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1860">with</w> <w lemma="paint" pos="vvg" reg="Painting" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1870">Painting</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1880">and</w> <w lemma="carve" pos="vvg" reg="Carving" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1890">Carving</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1900">in</w> <w lemma="gold" pos="n1" reg="Gold" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1910">Gold</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1920">and</w> <w lemma="silver" pos="n1" reg="Silver" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1930">Silver</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1940">to</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="an" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1950">an</w> <w lemma="infinite" pos="j" reg="infinite" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1960">infinite</w> <w lemma="lustre" pos="n1" reg="Lustre" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1970">Lustre</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-1980">,</pc> <w lemma="be" pos="vvg" reg="being" xml:id="A59314-010-b-1990">being</w> <w lemma="make" pos="vvn" reg="made" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2000">made</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2010">of</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2020">that</w> <w lemma="precious" pos="j" reg="precious" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2030">precious</w> <w lemma="stone" pos="n1" reg="Stone" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2040">Stone</w> <w lemma="call" pos="vvn" reg="called" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2050">called</w> <foreign xml:id="A59314-e2850" xml:lang="lat"> <w lemma="lapis" pos="fw-la" reg="Lapis" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2060">Lapis</w> <w lemma="lazuli" pos="fw-la" reg="Lazuli" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2070">Lazuli</w> </foreign> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2080" rendition="#follows-hi">.</pc> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="On" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2090">On</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2100">the</w> <w lemma="upper" pos="j-c" reg="upper" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2110">upper</w> <w lemma="part" pos="n1" reg="part" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2120">part</w> <w lemma="over" pos="acp-p" reg="over" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2130">over</w> <w lemma="each" pos="d" reg="each" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2140">each</w> <w lemma="pilaster" pos="n1" reg="Pilaster" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2150">Pilaster</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvb" reg="are" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2160">are</w> <w lemma="four" pos="crd" reg="four" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2170">four</w> <w lemma="pyramid" pos="n2" reg="Pyramids" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2180">Pyramids</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2190">of</w> <w lemma="trophy" pos="n2" reg="Trophies" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2200">Trophies</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2210">of</w> <w lemma="armour" pos="n1" reg="Armour" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2220">Armour</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-2230">,</pc> <w lemma="Bowes" pos="n1-nn" reg="Bowes" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2240">Bows</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-2250">,</pc> <w lemma="quiver" pos="n2" reg="Quivers" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2260">Quivers</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-2270">,</pc> <w lemma="etc" pos="n-ab" reg="etc." xml:id="A59314-010-b-2280" rendition="#hi">&amp;c.</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvg" reg="being" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2290">being</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2300">the</w> <w lemma="ancient" pos="j" reg="ancient" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2310">ancient</w> <w lemma="emblem" pos="n1" reg="Emblem" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2320">Emblem</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2330">of</w> <w lemma="honour" pos="n1" reg="Honour" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2340">Honour</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-2350">,</pc> <w lemma="love" pos="n1" reg="Love" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2360">Love</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2370">and</w> <w lemma="virtue" pos="n1" reg="Virtue" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2380">Virtue</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-2390">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2400">and</w> <w lemma="crown" pos="vvn" reg="crowned" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2410">crown'd</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2420">with</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2430">the</w> <w lemma="four" pos="crd" reg="Four" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2440">Four</w> <w lemma="imperial" pos="j" reg="Imperial" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2450">Imperial</w> <w lemma="crown" pos="n2" reg="Crowns" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2460">Crowns</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2470">of</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e2870"> <w lemma="England" pos="n1-nn" reg="England" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2480">England</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-2490">,</pc> <w lemma="Scotland" pos="n1-nn" reg="Scotland" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2500">Scotland</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-2510">,</pc> <w lemma="France" pos="n1-nn" reg="France" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2520">France</w> </hi> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-2530" rendition="#follows-hi">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2540">and</w> <w lemma="Ireland" pos="n1-nn" reg="Ireland" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2550" rendition="#hi">Ireland</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2560">.</pc> </p> <div type="poetic_speech" xml:id="A59314-e2890"> <head xml:id="A59314-e2900"> <w lemma="honour" pos="n1g" reg="Honour's" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2570">HONOUR's</w> <w lemma="speech" pos="n1" reg="Speech" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2580">Speech</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2590">.</pc> </head> <l xml:id="A59314-e2910"> <w lemma="while" pos="cs" reg="Whilst" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2600">WHilst</w> <w lemma="my" pos="po" reg="my" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2610">my</w> <w lemma="best" pos="j-s" reg="best" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2620">best</w> <w lemma="wreath" pos="n1" reg="Wreath" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2630">Wreath</w> <w lemma="deck" pos="vvz" reg="decks" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2640">decks</w> <w lemma="those" pos="d" reg="those" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2650">those</w> <w lemma="deserve" pos="j_vg" reg="Deserving" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2660">Deserving</w> <w lemma="brow" pos="n2" reg="Brows" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2670">Brows</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-2680">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2920"> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="To" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2690">To</w> <w lemma="her" pos="po" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2700">her</w> <w lemma="love" pos="j_vn" reg="loved" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2710">lov'd</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="Lord" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2720">Lord</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2730">the</w> <w lemma="please" pos="vvn" reg="pleased" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2740">pleas'd</w> <w lemma="Augusta" pos="n1-nn" reg="Augusta" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2750" rendition="#hi">Augusta</w> <w lemma="bow" pos="vvz" reg="bows" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2760">bows</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-2770">:</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2940"> <w lemma="Augusta" pos="n1-nn" reg="Augusta" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2780" rendition="#hi">Augusta</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-2790">,</pc> <w lemma="who" pos="crq-r" reg="who" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2800">who</w> <w lemma="your" pos="po" reg="Your" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2810">Your</w> <w lemma="humble" pos="j" reg="humble" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2820">humble</w> <w lemma="suppliant" pos="j" reg="Suppliant" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2830">Suppliant</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-2840">,</pc> <w lemma="call" pos="vvz" reg="calls" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2850">calls</w> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2960"> <w lemma="once" pos="acp-av" reg="Once" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2860">Once</w> <w lemma="more" pos="av-c_d" reg="more" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2870">more</w> <w lemma="for" pos="acp-p" reg="for" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2880">for</w> <w lemma="her" pos="po" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2890">her</w> <w lemma="old" pos="j" reg="old" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2900">old</w> <w lemma="hospitable" pos="j" reg="Hospitable" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2910">Hospitable</w> <w lemma="wall" pos="n2" reg="Walls" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2920">Walls</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-2930">:</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2970"> <w lemma="she" pos="pns" reg="She" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2940">She</w> <w lemma="want" pos="vvz" reg="wants" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2950">wants</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2960">to</w> <w lemma="see" pos="vvi" reg="see" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2970">see</w> <w lemma="her" pos="po" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2980">her</w> <w lemma="ancient" pos="j" reg="ancient" xml:id="A59314-010-b-2990">ancient</w> <w lemma="greatness" pos="n1" reg="Greatness" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3000">Greatness</w> <w lemma="reign" pos="vvi" reg="reign" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3010">raign</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-3020">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2980"> <w lemma="when" pos="crq-cs" reg="When" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3030">When</w> <w lemma="her" pos="po" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3040">her</w> <w lemma="proud" pos="j" reg="proud" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3050">proud</w> <w lemma="chair" pos="n1" reg="CHAIR" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3060">CHAIR</w> <w lemma="do" pos="vvd" reg="did" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3070">did</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3080">all</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3090">that</w> <w lemma="state" pos="n1" reg="State" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3100">State</w> <w lemma="maintain" pos="vvi" reg="maintain" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3110">maintain</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-3120">;</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e2990"> <w lemma="that" pos="cs" reg="That" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3130">That</w> <w lemma="visit" pos="vvg" reg="Visiting" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3140">Visiting</w> <w lemma="prince" pos="n2" reg="Princes" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3150">Princes</w> <w lemma="fill" pos="vvn" reg="filled" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3160">fill'd</w> <w lemma="her" pos="po" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3170">her</w> <w lemma="praetor" pos="n1g" reg="Praetor's" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3180">PRAETOR's</w> <w lemma="train" pos="n1" reg="Train" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3190">Train</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3200">.</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3000"> <w lemma="why" pos="crq-q" reg="Why" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3210">Why</w> <w lemma="do" pos="vvb" reg="do" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3220">do</w> <w lemma="i" pos="pns" reg="I" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3230">I</w> <w lemma="court" pos="vvi" reg="court" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3240">court</w> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="You" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3250">You</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3260">to</w> <w lemma="perform" pos="vvi" reg="perform" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3270">perform</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3280">that</w> <w lemma="task" pos="n1" reg="Task" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3290">Task</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-3300">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3010"> <w lemma="when" pos="crq-cs" reg="When" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3310">When</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3320" type="contract1">that</w> <w xml:id="A59314-010-b-3320c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="'s" join="left">'s</w> <w lemma="already" pos="av" reg="already" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3330">already</w> <w lemma="grant" pos="vvn" reg="granted" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3340">granted</w> <w lemma="ere" pos="acp-cs" reg="ever" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3350">e're</w> <w lemma="i" pos="pns" reg="I" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3360">I</w> <w lemma="ask" pos="vvb" reg="ask" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3370">ask</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3380">?</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3020"> <w lemma="doubt" pos="vvb" reg="Doubt" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3390">Doubt</w> <w lemma="not" pos="xx" reg="not" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3400">not</w> <w lemma="her" pos="po" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3410">her</w> <w lemma="ancient" pos="j" reg="ancient" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3420">ancient</w> <w lemma="grandeur" pos="n1" reg="Grandeur" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3430">Grandeur</w> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="you" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3440" type="contract1">You</w> <w xml:id="A59314-010-b-3440c" type="contract2" lemma="will" pos="vmb" reg="'ll" join="left">'ll</w> <w lemma="restore" pos="vvi" reg="restore" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3450">restore</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-3460">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3030"> <w lemma="you" pos="pn" reg="you" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3470" type="contract1">You</w> <w xml:id="A59314-010-b-3470c" type="contract2" lemma="will" pos="vmb" reg="'ll" join="left">'ll</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvi" reg="be" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3480">be</w> <w lemma="yourself" pos="px" reg="Yourself" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3490">Your SELF</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-3510">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3520">and</w> <w lemma="she" pos="pns" reg="she" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3530">she</w> <w lemma="needs" pos="av" reg="needs" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3540">needs</w> <w lemma="ask" pos="vvb" reg="ask" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3550">ask</w> <w lemma="no" pos="av-x_d" reg="no" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3560">no</w> <w lemma="more" pos="av-c_d" reg="more" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3570">more</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3580">.</pc> </l> </div> </div> <div type="account" xml:id="A59314-e3040"> <p xml:id="A59314-e3050"> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="His" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3590">His</w> <w lemma="lordship" pos="n1" reg="Lordship" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3600">Lordship</w> <w lemma="here" pos="av" reg="here" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3610">here</w> <w lemma="move" pos="vvz" reg="moves" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3620">moves</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3630">to</w> <w lemma="Guildhall" pos="n1-nn" reg="Guildhall" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3640" rendition="#hi">Guild-hall</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3650">to</w> <w lemma="dinner" pos="n1" reg="Dinner" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3660">Dinner</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-3670">,</pc> <w lemma="be" pos="vvg" reg="being" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3680">being</w> <w lemma="grace" pos="vvn" reg="Graced" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3690">Graced</w> <w lemma="by" pos="acp-p" reg="by" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3700">by</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3710">the</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n2" reg="Lords" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3720">Lords</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3730">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3740">the</w> <w lemma="council" pos="n1" reg="Council" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3750">Council</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-3760">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3770">the</w> <w lemma="judge" pos="n2" reg="Judges" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3780">Judges</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-3790">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3800">and</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3810">the</w> <w lemma="chief" pos="j" reg="chief" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3820">chief</w> <w lemma="nobility" pos="n1" reg="Nobility" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3830">Nobility</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3840">of</w> <w lemma="England" pos="n1-nn" reg="England" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3850" rendition="#hi">England</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-3860">,</pc> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="His" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3870">His</w> <w lemma="honourable" pos="j" reg="Honourable" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3880">Honourable</w> <w lemma="guest" pos="n2" reg="Guests" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3890">Guests</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-010-b-3900">;</pc> <w lemma="where" pos="crq-cs" reg="where" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3910">where</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3920">the</w> <w lemma="solemnity" pos="n1" reg="Solemnity" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3930">Solemnity</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3940">of</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3950">the</w> <w lemma="day" pos="n1" reg="Day" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3960">Day</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3970">is</w> <w lemma="conclude" pos="vvn" reg="concluded" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3980">concluded</w> <w lemma="with" pos="acp-p" reg="with" xml:id="A59314-010-b-3990">with</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4000">all</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4010">the</w> <w lemma="festival" pos="n1" reg="Festival" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4020">Festival</w> <w lemma="magnificence" pos="n1" reg="Magnificence" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4030">Magnificence</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4040">and</w> <w lemma="splendour" pos="n1" reg="Splendour" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4050">Splendor</w> <w lemma="suitable" pos="j" reg="suitable" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4060">suitable</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4070">to</w> <w lemma="so" pos="av" reg="so" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4080">so</w> <w lemma="most" pos="av-s_d" reg="most" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4090">most</w> <w lemma="noble" pos="j" reg="Noble" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4100">Noble</w> <w lemma="a" pos="d" reg="an" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4110">an</w> <w lemma="entertainment" pos="n1" reg="Entertainment" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4120">Entertainment</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-010-b-4130">.</pc> </p> </div> <div type="song" xml:id="A59314-e3080"> <pb facs="tcp:50750:11" n="6" xml:id="A59314-011-a"/> <head xml:id="A59314-e3090"> <w lemma="song" pos="n1" reg="SONG" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0010">SONG</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0020">.</pc> </head> <lg xml:id="A59314-e3100"> <l xml:id="A59314-e3110"> <hi xml:id="A59314-e3120"> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-p" reg="TO" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0030">TO</w> <w lemma="Britain" pos="n1g-nn" reg="Britain's" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0040">Britain's</w> </hi> <w lemma="dread" pos="j" reg="Dread" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0050">Dread</w> <w lemma="Caesar" pos="n1-nn" reg="Caesar" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0060" rendition="#hi">Caesar</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-0070">,</pc> <w lemma="we" pos="pns" reg="we" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0080" type="contract1">we</w> <w xml:id="A59314-011-a-0080c" type="contract2" lemma="will" pos="vmb" reg="'ll" join="left">'ll</w> <w lemma="tune" pos="vvi" reg="tune" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0090">tune</w> <w lemma="up" pos="acp-av" reg="up" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0100">up</w> <w lemma="our" pos="po" reg="our" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0110">our</w> <w lemma="joy" pos="n1" reg="Joy" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0120">Joy</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-0130">:</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3140"> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="To" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0140">To</w> <w lemma="Caesar" pos="n1-nn" reg="Caesar" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0150" rendition="#hi">Caesar</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-0160">,</pc> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0170">and</w> <w lemma="Caesar" pos="n1g-nn" reg="Caesar's" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0180" rendition="#hi">Caesar's</w> <w lemma="great" pos="j" reg="Great" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0190">Great</w> <w lemma="city-viceroy" pos="n1" reg="City-viceroy" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0200" rendition="#hi">City-Viceroy</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-0210">:</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3180"> <w lemma="it" pos="pn" reg="'t" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0220" type="contract1">T</w> <w xml:id="A59314-011-a-0220c" type="contract2" lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" join="left">is</w> <w lemma="Caesar" pos="n1-nn" reg="Caesar" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0230" rendition="#hi">Caesar</w> <w lemma="have" pos="vvz" reg="has" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0240">has</w> <w lemma="lend" pos="vvn" reg="lent" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0250">lent</w> <w lemma="he" pos="pno" reg="him" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0260">him</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0270">the</w> <w lemma="scale" pos="n2" reg="Scales" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0280" rendition="#hi">Scales</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0290">and</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0300">the</w> <w lemma="sword" pos="n1" reg="Sword" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0310" rendition="#hi">Sword</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-0320">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3220"> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="And" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0330">And</w> <w lemma="Augusta" pos="n1-nn" reg="Augusta" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0340" rendition="#hi">Augusta</w> <w lemma="salute" pos="vvz" reg="salutes" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0350">salutes</w> <w lemma="he" pos="pno" reg="him" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0360">him</w> <w lemma="her" pos="po" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0370">her</w> <w lemma="guardian" pos="n1" reg="Guardian" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0380">Guardian</w> <w lemma="lord" pos="n1" reg="Lord" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0390">Lord.</w> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3240"> <w lemma="while" pos="cs" reg="Whilst" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0400">Whilst</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0410">the</w> <w lemma="world" pos="n1" reg="World" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0420">World</w> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="all" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0430">all</w> <w lemma="around" pos="acp-av" reg="around" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0440">around</w> <w lemma="she" pos="pno" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0450">her</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-0460">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3250"> <w lemma="betwixt" pos="acp-p" reg="Betwixt" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0470">'Twixt</w> <w lemma="envy" pos="n1" reg="Envy" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0480">Envy</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0490">and</w> <w lemma="wonder" pos="n1" reg="Wonder" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0500">Wonder</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-0510">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3260"> <w lemma="shall" pos="vmb" reg="Shall" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0520">Shall</w> <w lemma="see" pos="vvi" reg="see" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0530">see</w> <w lemma="her" pos="po" reg="her" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0540">her</w> <w lemma="proud" pos="j" reg="proud" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0550">proud</w> <w lemma="chair" pos="n1" reg="Chair" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0560" rendition="#hi">Chair</w> <w lemma="like" pos="acp-p" reg="like" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0570">like</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0580">the</w> <w lemma="throne" pos="n1" reg="Throne" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0590" rendition="#hi">Throne</w> <w lemma="shine" pos="vvi" reg="shine" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0600">shine</w> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0610">in</w> <w lemma="gold." pos="n-ab" reg="Gold." xml:id="A59314-011-a-0620" rendition="#hi">Gold.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0630"/> </l> </lg> <lg xml:id="A59314-e3300"> <l xml:id="A59314-e3310"> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="Of" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0640">Of</w> <w lemma="war" pos="n1" reg="War" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0650" rendition="#hi">War</w> <w lemma="he" pos="pns" reg="he" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0660">he</w> <w lemma="have" pos="vvz" reg="has" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0670">has</w> <w lemma="end" pos="vvn" reg="ended" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0680">ended</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0690">the</w> <w lemma="toil" pos="n1" reg="Toil" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0700">Toil</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0710">and</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0720">the</w> <w lemma="pain" pos="n1" reg="Pain" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0730">Pain</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-0740">;</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3330"> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="And" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0750">And</w> <hi xml:id="A59314-e3340"/> <w lemma="william" pos="n1g-nn" reg="William's" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0760" rendition="hi-before-apostr">WILLIAM's</w> <w lemma="work" pos="n1" reg="Work" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0780">Work</w> <w lemma="now" pos="av" reg="now" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0790">now</w> <w lemma="be" pos="vvz" reg="is" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0800">is</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0810">to</w> <w lemma="smile" pos="vvb" reg="Smile" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0820">Smile</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0830">and</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0840">to</w> <w lemma="reign" pos="vvi" reg="Reign" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0850">Raign</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0860">.</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3350"> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="In" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0870">In</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0880">the</w> <w lemma="soft" pos="j" reg="soft" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0890">soft</w> <w lemma="sweet" pos="n2_j" reg="Sweets" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0900">Sweets</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0910">of</w> <w lemma="peace" pos="n1" reg="Peace" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0920" rendition="#hi">Peace</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-0930">,</pc> <w lemma="in" pos="acp-p" reg="in" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0940">in</w> <w lemma="one" pos="crd" reg="one" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0950">one</w> <w lemma="olive" pos="n1" reg="Olive" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0960">Olive</w> <w lemma="bower" pos="n1" reg="Bower" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0970">Bow'r</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-0980">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3370"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-011-a-0990">The</w> <w lemma="crown" pos="n1" reg="Crown" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1000" rendition="#hi">Crown</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1010">and</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1020">the</w> <w lemma="chair" pos="n1" reg="Chair" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1030" rendition="#hi">Chair</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1040">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1050">the</w> <w lemma="whole" pos="j" reg="whole" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1060">whole</w> <w lemma="sceptre" pos="n1" reg="Sceptre" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1070">Scepter</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1080">of</w> <w lemma="power" pos="n1" reg="Power" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1090">Pow'r</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1100">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3400"> <w lemma="all" pos="d" reg="All" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1110">All</w> <w lemma="bloom" pos="j_vg" reg="blooming" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1120">blooming</w> <w lemma="like" pos="acp-p" reg="like" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1130">like</w> <w lemma="Aaron" pos="n1g-nn" reg="Aaron's" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1140" rendition="#hi">Aaron's</w> <w lemma="old" pos="j" reg="old" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1150">old</w> <w lemma="wand" pos="n1" reg="Wand" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1160">Wand</w> <w lemma="we" pos="pns" reg="we" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1170">we</w> <w lemma="behold" pos="vvb" reg="behold" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1180">behold</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1190">;</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3420"> <w lemma="while" pos="cs" reg="Whilst" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1200">Whilst</w> <w lemma="calm" pos="av_j" reg="calmly" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1210">calmly</w> <w lemma="possess" pos="vvg" reg="possessing" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1220">possessing</w> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3430"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1230">The</w> <w lemma="halcyon" pos="n1" reg="Halcyon" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1240">Halcyon</w> <w lemma="blessing" pos="n1" reg="Blessing" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1250">Blessing</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1260">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3440"> <w lemma="we" pos="pns" reg="we" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1270" type="contract1">We</w> <w xml:id="A59314-011-a-1270c" type="contract2" lemma="will" pos="vmb" reg="'ll" join="left">'ll</w> <w lemma="merry" pos="av_j" reg="merrily" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1280">merrily</w> <w lemma="troll" pos="vvi" reg="troll" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1290">troll</w> <w lemma="round" pos="av_j" reg="round" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1300">round</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1310">the</w> <w lemma="goblet" pos="n2" reg="Goblets" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1320">Goblets</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1330">of</w> <w lemma="gold." pos="n-ab" reg="Gold." xml:id="A59314-011-a-1340" rendition="#hi">Gold.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1350"/> </l> </lg> <lg xml:id="A59314-e3460"> <l xml:id="A59314-e3470"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1360">The</w> <w lemma="ermine" pos="n1" reg="Ermine" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1370" rendition="#hi">Ermin</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1380">and</w> <w lemma="fir" pos="n1" reg="Fir" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1390" rendition="#hi">Fir</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1400">,</pc> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1410">the</w> <w lemma="robe" pos="n1" reg="Robe" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1420" rendition="#hi">Robe</w> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="and" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1430">and</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1440">the</w> <w lemma="gown" pos="n1" reg="Gown" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1450" rendition="#hi">Gown</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1460">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3520"> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="On" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1470">On</w> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1480">this</w> <w lemma="side" pos="n1" reg="side" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1490">side</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1500">the</w> <w lemma="chaplet" pos="n1" reg="Chaplet" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1510" rendition="#hi">Chaplet</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1520">,</pc> <w lemma="on" pos="acp-p" reg="on" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1530">on</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1540">that</w> <w lemma="side" pos="n1" reg="side" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1550">side</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1560">the</w> <w lemma="crown" pos="n1" reg="Crown" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1570" rendition="#hi">Crown</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1580">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3550"> <w lemma="together" pos="av" reg="Together" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1590">Together</w> <w lemma="shall" pos="vmb" reg="shall" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1600">shall</w> <w lemma="taste" pos="vvi" reg="taste" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1610">taste</w> <w lemma="that" pos="d" reg="that" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1620">that</w> <w lemma="general" pos="n1" reg="General" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1630">General</w> <w lemma="joy" pos="n1" reg="Joy" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1640">Joy</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1650">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3560"> <w lemma="which" pos="crq-r" reg="Which" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1660">Which</w> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="the" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1670">the</w> <w lemma="whole" pos="j" reg="whole" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1680">whole</w> <w lemma="power" pos="n1" reg="Power" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1690">Pow'r</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1700">of</w> <w lemma="hell" pos="n1" reg="Hell" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1710">Hell</w> <w lemma="shall" pos="vmb" reg="shall" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1720">shall</w> <w lemma="never" pos="av-x" reg="never" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1730">never</w> <w lemma="destroy" pos="vvi" reg="destroy" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1740">destroy</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1750">:</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3570"> <w lemma="our" pos="po" reg="Our" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1760">Our</w> <w lemma="Albion" pos="n1-nn" reg="Albion" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1770" rendition="#hi">Albion</w> <w lemma="thus" pos="av" reg="thus" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1780">thus</w> <w lemma="blessed" pos="vvn" reg="blessed" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1790">blest</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1800">,</pc> <w lemma="this" pos="d" reg="this" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1810">this</w> <w lemma="scene" pos="n1" reg="Scene" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1820">Scene</w> <w lemma="to" pos="acp-cs" reg="to" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1830">to</w> <w lemma="behold" pos="vvi" reg="behold" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1840">behold</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1850">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3590"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1860">The</w> <w lemma="day" pos="n1" reg="Day" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1870" rendition="#hi">Day</w> <w lemma="shall" pos="vmb" reg="shall" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1880">shall</w> <w lemma="shine" pos="vvi" reg="shine" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1890">shine</w> <w lemma="bright" pos="j-c" reg="brighter" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1900">brighter</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1910">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3610"> <w lemma="the" pos="d" reg="The" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1920">The</w> <w lemma="sun" pos="n1" reg="Sun" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1930" rendition="#hi">Sun</w> <w lemma="gallop" pos="vvi" reg="gallop" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1940">gallop</w> <w lemma="light" pos="j-c" reg="lighter" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1950">lighter</w> <pc xml:id="A59314-011-a-1960">,</pc> </l> <l xml:id="A59314-e3630"> <w lemma="and" pos="cc" reg="And" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1970">And</w> <w lemma="Phoebus" pos="n1g-nn" reg="Phoebus'" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1980" rendition="#hi">Phoebus</w> <w lemma="new-burnish" pos="j" reg="new-burnish" xml:id="A59314-011-a-1990">new-burnish</w> <w lemma="his" pos="po" reg="his" xml:id="A59314-011-a-2000">his</w> <w lemma="chariot" pos="n1" reg="Chariot" xml:id="A59314-011-a-2010" rendition="#hi">Chariot</w> <w lemma="of" pos="acp-p" reg="of" xml:id="A59314-011-a-2020">of</w> <w lemma="gold." pos="n-ab" reg="Gold." xml:id="A59314-011-a-2030">Gold.</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-011-a-2040"/> </l> </lg> </div> <trailer xml:id="A59314-e3660"> <w lemma="finis" pos="fw-la" reg="FINIS" xml:id="A59314-011-a-2050">FINIS</w> <pc unit="sentence" xml:id="A59314-011-a-2060">.</pc> </trailer> </body> <back xml:id="A59314-t-b"/> </text> </TEI> 
A06315	----	[Charter to Shipwrights company] Worshipful Company of Shipwrights (London, England) 1612 Approx. 164 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 36 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2008-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A06315 STC 16785 ESTC S114020 99849248 99849248 14386 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A06315) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 14386) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1475-1640 ; 1490:07) [Charter to Shipwrights company] Worshipful Company of Shipwrights (London, England) Egerton, Thomas, Sir, 1540?-1617. Fleming, Tho. Coke, Edward, Sir, 1552-1634. 71, [1] p. T. Dawson, [London : 1612?] Title and imprint from STC. Signed at end: Tho. Ellesmere Canc. [i.e. Sir Thomas Egerton], Tho. Fleming, Edvv. Coke. This edition collates: A-I⁴. The charter is dated 10 Sept. 1612--STC. Imperfect; lacks title page. Reproduction of the original in the Cambridge University Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Worshipful Company of Shipwrights (London, England) -- Early works to 1800. 2006-12 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2006-12 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2007-07 Elspeth Healey Sampled and proofread 2007-07 Elspeth Healey Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion IAMES BY THE GRACE OF GOD , King of England , Scotland , France , and Ireland , defendor of the faith &c. To all to whom these presents shall come greting . Whereas wee are credibly informed , as well by our right trustie and right welbeloued Cosin and Counselor Charles Earle of Nottingam Lord high Admirall of England , and Captaine Generall of our Nauy Royall , as also by our principall officers of our said Nauy , how slenderly and deceiptfully , aswell our owne Ships and Barges , as also other Shippes , Boates , Pinnaces , & like vessels of our Marchants , and other our subiectes , vsed in continuall seruice and trafficke , are made and wrought , to the great losse , danger , and preiudice of vs and our said subiectes , and also of the great , needlesse and wastfull charge and expences which wee doe from time to time beare and susteine in building and repairing of our owne Shippes and Pinnaces , which are and haue beene the chiefest and greatest defence of this our Realme , from the assaults of such enemies as haue practized the ouerthrow of the same : Wee weighing the manifould dangers , losses , and hinderances , which might and were likely more and more to ensue thereof , if speedy remedy be not therefore had and prouided . And intending to prouide for the strengthning of these our Kingdomes and Dominions , with sufficient Shipping for defence and seruice thereof . And to th' intent that aswell our selfe might from time to time be furnished , stored , and supplied with the fittest and ablest Ship-wrights , and worke-men for the building , making , and repairing of our owne Shippes , Pinnaces , and other vessels . As also that our Marchants , and other our subiects might also in their worke and building , from time to time , be stored and supplied with skilfull , able , and sufficient Ship-wrights and work-men . And for the better suppressing of deceiptes and abuses of diuers persons , which should take vpon , without sufficient skill and knowledge to make or repaire any Shippes , Boates , Pinnaces , or other vessels , to the great danger and hindrance , as well of our selfe , as of diuers other our louing subiectes . Wee did by our Letters Patents vnder the great Seale of England , bearing date the two and twenteth day of Aprill : In the yeare of our raigne of England , France , and Ireland the third , and of Scotland the eight and thirteith ; Incorporate the Company of Ship-wrights , and the Persons being Ship-wrights or Carpenters , vsing the art or mistery of building and making of Shippes , within our Realme of England , and dominion of Wales , by the name of Maister , Wardens , and Cominaltie of the Art or Mistery of Ship-wrights of England , and did grant vnto them by our said Charter , or Letters Pattents , diuers Preuiledges , Liberties , and immunities , mentioned and contayned in the saide Letters Pattents , tending to the reformation of the saide Abuses and deceites . And whereas diuers defects and imperfections haue been : sithence by experience found to be in the said Charter aswell in the extend thereof to what persons it should extend , As also in the want of sufficient aucthoritie and meanes to gouerne and order the said Corporation and the men and members thereof , and the affaires of the same , and the Shipwrights , workemen , apprentices and seruants vsing the said art , and for want of power and meanes to reforme , preuent , order and correct many contempts , misdemeanors , deceits , and offences in the said art or misterie , and the matters and things thereunto appertaining , and to punish stubborne , obstinate , and disobedient persons of that profession , whereby manifold errors , deceits , & inconueniences are stil practised , and continued , to the great hindrance of the Nauigation of this kingdom , the often losse & hazard of mens liues and goods , and the especiall preiudice of our owne seruice and the Common-wealth . Know yee that wee for reformation , amendment , and supplie of the defects and imperfections aforesaid , and for redresse of the said great and manifold errors , enormities , deceits , and inconueniences , at the Petition of the said Master , Wardens and Cominaltie , and for the great desire wee haue , that good and conuenient lawes , orders , and ordinances should be established and vsed in and about the Corporation and Companie , and the said Art or Misterie , and for the aduancement of the good estate of the Shipping and Nauigation of this Kingdome , to the good seruice both of our selfe and the Common-wealth , Haue of our especiall grace , certaine knowledge , and meere motion , granted , constituted , and ordained , and by these Presents for vs our heires and successors doe grant , constitute and ordaine . That all and euery person and persons being Ship-wrights , Calkers , or Ship-carpenters , or in any sort vsing , exercising , practising , or professing the Art , trade , skill or misterie of building , making , trimming , dressing , grauing , launcing , winding , drawing , stocking , or repairing of Ships , Caruels , Hoyes , Pinnaces , Crayers , Ketches , Lighters , Boates , Barges , Wherries , or any other vessell or vessels whatsoeuer vsed for Nauigation , fishing or transportation within or about our Realme of England and dominion of Wales , or of making , trymming , or repairing of Masts , Toppes , Pullies , Pumpes for ships , Oares , or any other instruments or appurtenances of wood thereunto belonging , or any other Carpentrie worke whatsoeuer belonging to , or vsed , occupied , or imployed , in or about any Shippes , Pinnaces , or other vessell or vessels aboue mentioned , or in any sort appertaining to shipping , sayling , rowing , stocking , launching , or Nauigation , shall from henceforth foreuer be , and shall be taken and accounted to be one body Corporate and politique in matter , deede and name , By the name of Master , Wardens and Cominaltie of the Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights of Redrith in the Countie of Surrey , and them by the name of Master , Wardens and Cominaltie of the Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights of Redrith in the Countie of Surrey , wee doe for vs our heires and successors really , fully , and wholly erect , make , ordaine , create , incorporate , constitute and declare by these presents , one body corporate & politique in matter , deede and name . And wee will and by these presents : for vs our heires and sucessors , of our especiall grace , certaine knowledge and meere motion , doe graunt to the said Master , Wardens , and Cominaltie and their successors for euer . That they by the said name of Master , Wardens and Cominalty of the said Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights of Redrith aforesaid , shall from henceforth haue perpetuall succession . And that they and their successors by the said name of Master , Wardens & Cominaltie of the said Art or Misterie of Ship-wrights of Redrith aforesaid , be and shall be at all times hereafter a bodie Corporate and politique able , & capable , in deed & in law , to haue , hold , occupie , enioy , possesse , and retaine all and singuler vsages , customes , liberties , priuiledges , immunities , iurisdictions , franchises , preheminences , benefits , profits and commodities whatsoeuer to them heeretofore granted or belonging , or heereafter to be graunted or belonging , or incident , requisite or fitte , to or for them , or for such a Corporation to haue and enioy , of what kind , nature , or qualitie soeuer they shall be , to them and their successors for euer . And that also by the same name of Master , Wardens , and Cominaltie of the said Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights of Redrith aforesaid , they shall and may be able and capable in law to haue , hold , purchase , receiue , take , possesse and enioy aswell any mannors , mesuages , landes , tenements , rents , reuersions , seruices , and other hereditaments in Fee , to them and their successors for euer , As also all and singuler goods , chattels , and other things whatsoeuer , and the same manners , messuages , lands , tenements , rents , reuersions , hereditaments , goods , chattels , and other the premisses , and euery or any part or parcell thereof , to demise , graunt , let , set , assigne , and dispose at their will and pleasure , and to make seale and accomplish all deedes , euidences and writings , of , for , and concerning the same and euery parcell thereof in that behalfe needfull , necessarie , or conuenient to be made or had . And that they and their successors by the same name of Master , Wardens , and Cominaltie of the Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights of Redrith aforesaid shall and may be persons able and capable in law to sue and be sued , plead and be impleaded , answere and to be answered , to defend and to be defended in all , or any Court or Courts , place or places , iurisdiction , or iurisdictions whatsoeuer , and before any Iudge , Iudges , Iustices or other person or persons , officer or officers whatsoeuer , in all and singuler actions , plaints , Pleas , suits , quarrels , causes , matters and demaunds of whatsoeuer kinde , nature , qualitie or sort , in such manner and forme , & by all those waies and means , and to such end and purposes as any other Corporation or any our liege people of this our Realme of England , being Corporations or persons able and capable in deede or law , may or can haue , hold , purchase , receiue , possesse , enioy , retaine , giue , grant , demise , alien , assigne , dispose , plead and be impleaded , answere and be answered , and to defend and be defended , or do permit and execute , by any lawful waies or meanes whatsoeuer . And also that the said Master , Wardens , and Cominalty of the Art or Mysterie of Shipwrights of Redrith aforesaid , shall and may make or cause to be made , and may haue a Common Seale for them and their successors for euer to serue for the ensealing , doing and confirming of all and singuler their causes , affaires and businesse whatsoeuer . And that it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Master , Wardens , and Cominaltie and their successors the same Seale at their will and pleasure from time to time to breake , deface , alter , change and make new , as to them shall seeme most meete and conuenient . And further we will , and for vs , our heires and successors , we do grant by these presents . That from henceforth for euer there be , and shall be one Master , three Wardens , sixteene Assistants of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights of Redrith aforesaid , to be constituted and chosen , in such manner and forme as heereafter in these presents is expressed and specified . And for the better execution of the premisses , and also for the good rule and gouernment of the Master , Wardens , and Cominaltie of the Art or Mysterie of Shipwrights aforesaid , from time to time , for euer we haue assigned , ordained and constituted , And by these presents , for vs , our heires and successors , do assigne , name , ordaine , and constitute our welbeloued subiect Phinees Pett , our seruant and Master Ship-wright , to be the first Master of the said Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights , willing that the said Phinees Pett be and shall continue Master of the said Art or Mysterie , from the day of the date of these presents , vntill the morrow after the feast of Saint Bartholmew Th'apostle now next ensuing , and then from thenceforth vntill some other meete and sufficient man of the said Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights aforesaid , be elected , & sworne to execute the said Office of Master of the said Art or Mystery of Shipwrights of Redrith aforesaid , according to the ordinances and prouisions in these presents expressed and limited , if the said Phinees Pett shall so long liue , vnlesse the said Phinees Pett shall happen in the meane-time for some misgouernment or other iust cause to be remoued , whom for such iust cause , we will and ordaine to be remoueable according to the forme heerein expressed . And also we haue assigned , ordained , named , and constituted , and by these presents for vs , our heires and successors , do assigne , name , ordaine , and constitute our welbeloued subiects , William Burrell , Nicholas Symonson , and Thomas Dymock , three other Shipwrights to be the first three Wardens of the Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights aforesaid , Willing that they the said William Burrell , Nicholas Symonson , and Thomas Dymock shall be and continue Wardens of the said Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights , from the day of the date of these presents , till the morrow after the feast of Saint Bartholmew the Apostle , now next ensuing the date heereof , and from the morrow after the said Feast , vntill three other meete and sufficient men of the Art or Mysterie of Shipwrights aforesaid , be to the said Offices of Wardens elected and sworne to execute the same according to the ordinances , and prouisions in these presents limited and expressed , if they the said William Burrell , Nicholas Symonson , and Thomas Dymock shall so long liue , vnlesse they , or any of them , respectiuely in the meane-time shall be remoued for their misgouernment , or for some other iust cause ; whom for such iust cause , wee likewise will and ordaine to be remoueable according to the forme heerein expressed . And moreouer for the better assistance and counsell of the said Master and Wardens in and about the execution of their seuerall Offices , wee haue assigned , named , ordained and constituted , and by these presents for vs , our heires and successors , doe assigne , name , ordaine , and constitute our welbeloued subiects Mathew Baker , William Bright , Edward Stephens , Nicholas Clay , Iohn Apslin , Peter Pett , Thomas Ienkins , Iohn Graues , Robert Bourne , Iames Marshe , William Hedger , Thomas Wells , William Pickes , Iohn Maye , Edmund Iordan , and Richard Watford to be the first and present sixteene Assistants of the said Art or Mysterie , Willing that they the said Mathew Baker , William Bright , Edward Stephens , Nicholas Clay , Iohn Apslin , Peter Pett , Thomas Ienkin , Iohn Graues , Robert Bourne , Iames Marshe , William Hedger , Thomas Wells , William Pickes , Iohn Mare , Edmund Iordan , and Richard Watford , and all other Assistants of the said Art or Mysterie for the time being , shall be and continue Assistants of the said Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights of Redrith aforesaid for and during their naturall liues , and shall from time to time be aiding , counselling , and assisting vnto the said Master and Wardens for the better gouernment , rule and direction of the said Master , Wardens , and Cominaltie of the said Art or Mysterie , and euery member thereof , vnlesse they or any of them shall be remoued from the same place of Assistant or Assistants , for some misdemeanor or other iust cause ; whom for such cause , we likewise will and ordaine to be remoueable according to the forme heerein also expressed . And for the better establishment of this our good intention and purpose , and for the perpetuall , and constant continuance , direction , rule and gouernment of the whole body of the said Art or Mysterie , and euery member thereof , wee will and ordaine , That on the morrow next after the said feast of Saint Bartholmew the Apostle , yearely heereafter , the Master , Wardens , and Assistants of the said Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights aforesaid , for the time being , or the greater part of them for that intent and purpose to be assembled at , or in their common House or Hall , shall elect , choose and nominate one person who hath formerly beene Warden of the said Art or Mysterie , to be Master of the said Art or Mysterie for the next yeare then following , and shall at the same time elect , choose , and nominate out of the said Assistants , three that shall likewise be Wardens of the said Art or Mysterie , which said Master and Wardens , so as aforesaid nominated , elected and chosen , shall be and continue Master and Wardens of the said Art or Mysterie , vnto the said terme of one whole yeare then next ensuing , and further vntill some Master and Wardens shall be respectiuely elected , preferred and chosen thereunto , they and euery of them , first taking a corporall oath vpon the holly Euangelists before the Master and Wardens , being their last predecessors or any two of them , or before the Assistants of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie , or the greatest part of them , for the due execution of their seuerall Offices respectiuely , and also the oath commonly called the Oath of Supremacie : which Oathes wee doe by these presents giue power and authoritie to the said Master and Wardens for the time being , or any two of them , or to the said Assistants , or the greater part of them , to minister and take of the person and persons so elected accordingly , and then euery such Master , Warden and Wardens so remoued , shall then instantly be chosen & elected to be assistant or assistants , and so to remain assistant or assistants in the roome and place of him or them that shal be so chosen out of the said assistants to be Master , Warden and Wardens , first taking his or their corporall oath or oathes , before the then Master and Wardens of the said Art or Mysterie for the time being , or any two of them , for the due execution of their said Offices and places of assistants before they take vpon them the execution of the same ; which Oath wee doe likewise giue power and aucthoritie to the said Master and Wardens , or any two of them to minister and take accordingly . And further our will and pleasure is , And wee doe by these presents , for vs , our heires and successors grant , ordaine , and appoint , that the said Master , Wardens and Assistants , or the greatest number of them , so often as any offence or misdemeanor shall happen to be committed or done by any of the said Master , Wardens or Assistants , shall and may congregate and gather themselues together in their Common Hall , and shall and may haue power and aucthoritie to remoue any or so many of the said Master Wardens and Assistants as they shall finde to haue committed any such Offences or misdemeanors from their said place or places , and elect others in his or their roome , according to the forme heerein expressed , and that when , and as often as it shall happen , the Master and Wardens of the said Art or Mysterie for the time being , or any of them to die and depart out of this life , or otherwise for any reasonable or lawful cause be remoued or be dismissed from his , or their , or any of their Office or Offices of Master and Wardens aforesaid , or any of them within the yeare wherein they or any of them shall be so elected and chosen as is aforesaid , That then , and so often it shall and may bee lawfull to and for the Master , Wardens , and Assistants of the said Art or Mysterie then for the time being , or the greater part of them , within fifteene daies next after such death , dismission , or remouing of such Master or Wardens , or any of them , to nominate , preferre , elect and choose any able and sufficient person or persons out of the said Assistants in the steed and place of him or them so dying , remoued , or dismissed , to be and continue Master and Wardens , or Master and Warden of the Art or Mysterie aforesaid , for and during the residue of the same yeare , and from thence vntill some other person or persons shall be elected and chosen vnto the said Office or Offices of Master and Wardens or Warden of the said Art or Mysterie according to the ordinance and prouision in these presents expressed . And that this course shall from time to time be taken as often as the case shall so require . And that hee or they so nominated , chosen and preferred to any of the Office or Offices aforesaid , before he or they shall enter into the execution of the said Office or Offices , shall take a corporall Oath vpon the holy Euangelists , before the Master and Wardens of the said Art or Mysterie being their last predecessors , or any two of them , for the due execution of the said Office or Offices , and also the oath commonly called the Oath of Supremacie , which Oathes we doe by these presents giue power and aucthoritie to the said Master and Wardens for the time being , or any two of them , to minister and take accordingly . And if it happen any of the Assistants of the said Art or Mysterie to dye or to be remoued from their , or any of their said offices of Assistants for some reasonable cause . That then , and so often it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Master , Wardens and Assistants of the said Art or Mysterie for the time being , or the greater part of them then being or remaining , within conuenient time after the death or remouing of any the Assistant or Assistants as aforesaid , to choose or make one or moe person or persons being of the most honest , discreete , skilfull and sufficient Shipwrights , or workemen of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie to be Assistant or Assistants of the said Art or Mysterie . To continue in the said Office or Offices during his or their naturall life or liues , except they or any of them , for some reasonable cause shall happen to be remoued out of their said Office or Offices as aforesaid . First taking his or their Corporall Oath or Oathes before the Master and Wardens of the said Art or Mysterie for the time being , or any two of them well and truely to execute the said Office or Offices in all things concerning the same . And that so often as the case shall require ; which Oath wee doe by these presents for vs , our heires and successors , giue full power and aucthoritie to the said Master and Wardens , or any two of them to minister and take accordingly . And our will and pleasure is , and wee doe by these presents grant and ordaine . That if any person or persons named or elected to be Master , Warden , or Assistant of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie as aforesaid , shall wilfully , and obstinately , without good and iust cause or excuse , reiect or refuse , the said Office or Place of Master , Warden , or Assistant respectiuely , or after hee hath agreed thereto shall wilfully and obstinately , without good and iust cause or excuse , reiect or neglect the same or the execution and performance thereof , Then the Assistants of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie , or the most part of them , shall or may impose vpon euery such person so refusing or neglecting the Office or Place of Master or Warden , the Fine of Tenne poundes or vnder , and vpon euery person so refusing or neglecting the Office or Place of Assistant the Fine of Twentie Nobles or vnder , to be paid to the vse of the said Corporation . To be had , taken and leauied of the goods and chattels of such person or persons so refusing or neglecting , and fined as aforesaid by way of distresse , or otherwise by action of Debt , Bill , plaint , or Information , wherein no essoine , protection , or wager of Law shall be admitted or allowed to the defendant . And this to be done from time to time , when , and as often as the case shall so require . And moreouer our will and pleasure is , And wee doe by these presents for vs , our heires and successors , grant and ordaine , that there shall or may be from henceforth for euer in all and euery conuenient and needefull place and places of our Kingdome of England and Dominions of Wales , one or more honest sufficient and skilfull person or persons of the said Art or Mysterie which shall be , and shall be called the deputie or deputies of the Master , Wardens , and Assistants of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie to be from time to time heereafter elected , nominated , and appointed by the said Master , Wardens , and Assistants , or foure of them , whereof the Master and one of the Wardens of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie for the time being , to be alwaies two , and to continue in the place or places , of deputie or deputies of the Master , Wardens , and Assistants of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie for the time being , from the time of there said election , for the space of one whole yeare then next ensuing , or vntill hee bee for some iust cause remoued , and some other of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie , be elected , nominated , and sworne to the said Office or place of deputie or deputies according to the true intent and meaning of these presents . And moreouer wee will and ordaine , that in case , and when , and as often as it shall happen any of the said place or places of deputie or deputies , by death or departure , or amotion for iust cause ( which amotion for iust cause , wee will from time to time shall and may be done ) or otherwise shall happen to be or fall voyde . That then , and so often from time to time , within conuenient time , after such auoidance , the same Office or Place , Offices or Places , shall be supplied or filled vp , by nomination , election , and preferment of some other person or persons of the said Art or Mysterie , according to the fourme before expressed , and the purport and true meaning of these presents . And wee will , ordaine and command , that euery person that shall be from henceforth named , and chosen to bee deputie or deputies , to the said Master , Wardens , and Assistants , during the time , that hee or they or any of them , shall continue in his or their Office or Offices , place or places of deputy-ship , doe , and shall from time to time imploy the vttermost of his and their endeuours , abilities , and skill , in the due execution of this our Charter and Letters Patents , and of euery braunch , article and thing therein contained , and of all good and wholesome lawes , orders , and ordinances , which at any time heereafter shall be made and constituted by the said Master , Wardens , and Assistants in euery respect , according to the true intent and meaning of the same , and of these presents , and in all other causes , matters and things concerning the good and welfare of the said Art and Mysterie , And that they the said deputies , for the time being , and euery of them shall bee from time to time accomptable to the said Master , Wardens , and Cominalty and their successors , for all summes of money , profits and commodities by them , or any of them to be collected or receiued , by reason , or in respect of his said Office or Offices , place or places of deputie or deputies , and shall further before he or they execute or vndertake the same Office or Place of deputie or deputies , take a Corporall Oath before the said Master , Wardens and Assistants , or any foure of them , whereof the said Master and one of the Wardens to be alwaies two , or their deputie or deputies , in that behalfe of and for the true and due execution of the said Office and place , and also the oath commonly called the Oath of Supremacie , which Oathes wee doe by these presents giue full power and aucthoritie to the said Master , Wardens , and Assistants , or any foure of them ; whereof the said Master and one of the Wardens to be alwaies two , or to their deputie or deputies , in that behalfe to minister and take of euery such deputie or deputies accordingly . Andour will and pleasure is , and wee doe by these presents for vs , our heires and successors , grant and ordaine , that if any person or persons so named or elected , to be deputie or deputies to the said Master , Wardens and Assistants of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie for the time being as aforesaid , shall accept the same office and deputation , and then after shall wilfully and obstinately without good and iust cause or excuse , refuse to attend or execute the same . So as no person so nominated be compelled against his will , to hold such place of deputation aboue the space of two yeares together . That then the said Master , Wardens , and Assistants , or the more part of them shall or may impose vpon euery such person so refusing to exercise the said Office or Place after such acceptance thereof as aforesaid , a reasonable fine not exceeding Twenty Nobles , To bee leauied and paid to the vse of the said Corporation , And further wee will , and by these presents for vs , our heires and successors , doe grant vnto the said Master , Wardens , and Cominaltie , and their successors . That they the said Master , Wardens , and Cominaltie , and their successors shall and may haue , take and entertaine one honest and discreete person in manner and for me heereafter in these presents expressed to be nominated and chosen , which shall be , and be called the Clearke of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights , And wee haue assigned , made , constituted , named and ordained . And by these presents for vs our heires and successors , doe assigne , make , constitute , name , and ordaine our welbeloued subiect and seruant Richard Newman to be the present Clearke of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie . To bee and continue in the said Office during the terme of his naturall life , vnlesse he for some misdemeanour shall be remoued , dismissed , or shall surrender the same : Which Office wee will shall be vsed and exercised by himselfe or his sufficient deputie or deputies , such as the said Master and Wardens of the said Art or Mysterie for the time being , or any two of them shall allow of . And that from time to time , and at all times after the death , surrender , or remouall of the said Richard Newman , the said Master , Wardens and Assistants of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie for the time being , or the greater part of them shall or may choose , name , and make any other discreete man to be Clearke of the said Art or Mysterie . And that he which shall be so chosen and made Clearke of the same Corporation , Art or Mysterie after the death , remoueall or surrender of the said Richard Newman as is aforesaid , shall and may exercise and enioy the said Office of Clearke of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie for the terme of his life . The said Clearke so to be nominated after the death , or remouall of the said Richard , or his surrendor of his Office as aforesaid , first taking his Corporall Oath vpon the holy Euangelists before the Master , Wardens and Assistants of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie for the time being , or the greater part of them well and truely to execute the said Office of Clearke of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie , in all things appertaining to the said Office to the vttermost of his power according to his skill and knowledge , and so often , from time to time , as often as the case shall require : which Oath wee do by these presents giue full power and aucthoritie to the said Master , Wardens and Assistants or the greater part of them to minister and take accordingly . And further our will and pleasure is , And wee doe by these presents for vs , our heires and successors , giue and grant to the said Master , Wardens and Cominaltie of the said Art or Mysterie , of Ship-wrights of Redrith aforesaid , and their successors , That it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Master , Wardens and Assistants and their successors for the time being , or the greater part of them from time to time , when , and as often as occasion shall require , or to them in that behalfe shall seeme conuenient , likewise to name and appoint any other inferiour Officers , Ministers and members as shall be needfull and expedient , in to , or for the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie , or the good gouernment and affaires thereof , and the same and euery or any of them from time to time , and at all times at their like will and pleasure to displace , remoue , put out or discharge , and him or them or others in his or their place , roome , or steed so remoued expelled , displaced , or discharged to take in againe , place or appoint of new , and in like manner to doe and performe , when and as often as he , they , or any of them shall fortune to die or to depart this life before hee or they be so remoued , expelled or discharged . And also wee will and grant by these presents for vs , our heires and successors , to the said Master , Wardens and Cominaltie and their successors . That the said Master , Wardens & Assistants and their successors for the time being , or the greater part of them shall or may from time to time and at all times heereafter at their like will and pleasure admit , receiue and take whatsoeuer person or persons being our naturall borne subiects , as well within this our Realme of England as in other our dominions and places , being vnder our obeysance , and not otherwise , which would bee , and are , or shall be willing and desirous to bee of the said Corporation as a member or members thereof , and that all and euery person and persons so to be admitted , receiued and taken in by the said Master , Wardens and Assistants , or the more part of them shall from the time of his or their admission , be called and accompted a brother , and member , or freeman of the said Corporation indeede and in name . And also that the said Master , Wardens and Assistants or the greater part of them shall or may again , at their will and pleasure when , and as often as to them or the greater part of them in that behalfe it shall vpon good and iust occasion seeme most meet and expedient , remoue , displace , and discharge all and euerie such person or persons so admitted , receiued and taken in as aforesaid , of and from the said corporation . And to th' intent that as well our selfe , our heires and successors , as also our Marchants and other our subiects may from time to time heereafter , be better furnished , stored and supplied with cunning , skilfull and sufficient Ship-wrights and workemen of that kinde , for the making , building , and repairing of Ships , Pinnaces and other vessels , and for the auoiding , suppressing , or preuenting as much as in vs lieth of the manifold abuses and deceits , therein daily practised and committed by such persons as are altogether vnskilfull , hauing neuer beene trayned or brought vp as apprentices in the said Art or Mysterie , according to the lawes and statutes of this our Realme of England . Wee doe therefore of our more especiall grace , certaine knowledge and meere motion for vs , our heires and successors , will and grant to the said Master , Wardens and Cominaltie of the said Art or Mysterie of Shipwrights of Redrith and to their successors for euer . That euery freeman of the said company shall and may from time to time heereafter , haue , take and keep one or moe apprentice or apprentices , to be trained and brought vp vnder him in the said Trade , Art or Mysterie of a Ship-wright , And that euery such apprentice shall bee by couenants bound by and to his Master that shall so entertain him as aforesaid , duly and truly to serue him as his apprentice , for and during the full space and terme of seuen yeares at the least , and to be ordered and vsed to all intents and purposes according to the custome of the Citie of London , And that the same couenant of apprentiship to be made by writing , indented and registred or enrolled at their Common hall before themselues in their said Corporation by their Clearke or his sufficient deputie or deputies for the time being , and that such enrolement shall be good and effectuall in the law , to all intents and purposes against vs , our heires and successors , and against all person and persons whatsoeuer , Any law , statute , custome or vsage to the contrarie in any wise notwithstanding . Willing and by these presents for vs , our heires and successors , straightly charging and commanding that no Shipwright , , Calker , or Shipcarpenter , or any other being a Freeman of the said Corporation , and vsing , exercising , practising , or professing the said Trade , Skill , Art or Mistery of building , making , trimming , dressing , grauing , launching , drawing , stocking , or reparing of any Shippes , Pynnaces or other vessell or vessels whatsoeuer for nauigation or traffick , shall or may at any time or times hereafter receiue , haue , entertaine , or keepe any apprentise , or other seruant , being not alredy free of the saide corporation , or not hauing serued with some other Shipwright in the same Trade to be vsed , exercised , trayned , or brought vp vnder him in the said trade , art , or mistery as aforesaide , except he first cause euery such his seruant or apprentise , to be bound vnto him by Indenture , for the saide tearme of seauen yeares at the least , or for so many yeares as together with the yeares which he hath serued in the said trade as aforesaide , shall make vp the number of seauen yeares , and doe likewise cause his saide Indenture of apprentiship to be registred , or enrolled before the Clarke of the said company , or his deputy for the time being as aforesaide , within one month next after the taking thereof , vpon paine of our heauy displeasure , and of such fine or other punishment as by the lawes and statutes of this Realme , or by the lawes and ordinances already made , or hereafter to bee made by the said Master , Wardens , and Assistants of the said Art or Mysterie for the time being , or the greater part according to the true intent and meaning heereof , shall or may be inflicted vpon him or them that shall offend therein . And further our will and pleasure is , And wee doe by these presents for vs , our heires and successors of our especiall grace , certaine knowledge and meere motion grant to the said Master , Wardens and Cominalty , and to their successors , That it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Master , Wardens and Assistants , and their successors , or the greater part of them , when and as often as to them , or the greater part of them , it shall seeme needefull or expedient , to assemble , conuocate and congregate themselues together , at or in the Common Hall or house being now at Redrith in the County of Surrey , or in any other place or places for the same conuenient , and then , and there to keepe Court and consultation for the said Corporation , Art , or Mysterie and the affaires thereof , and the perquisites , issues and profits of the said Court or Courts so to be kept and held , to leauie , take and perceiue to and for the vse of the said Corporation , for the better maintenance and preseruation thereof , without any account to be made or rendred to vs , our heires , or successors in that behalfe . And that also it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Master , Wardens and Assistants , or the greater part of them being so assembled as aforesaid ( whereof the Master and one of the Wardens to be alwaies two ) then and there to treate , consult , common , determine and agree amongst themselues , or with any person or persons whatsoeuer of , vpon , and concerning the good estate , benefit , conseruation and wholsome rule , gouernement and ordering of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie , and the men , apprentices , worke-men , worke-man-ship , and all other the affaires & things to the same belonging , or therupon in any wise depending . And at , in , and vpon such their assemblies , meetings and conferences , to make , ordaine and constitute such , and so many good , wholesome , and reasonable lawes , statutes , articles , constitutions , orders , and ordinances whatsoeuer , as to them or the greater part of them being then and there present ( whereof the Master and one of the Wardens for the time being to be alwaies two ) shall seeme reasonable , neccessarie , meete and conuenient , for , touching or concerning the premisses , and for the better aduancement , performance and continuance of the same , and also for the better directing how and in what order and manner the said Master , Wardens and Cominaltie , and all other person and persons vsing the said Art or Mysterie within our said Realme of England and Dominion of Wales , shall demeane and behaue themselues , aswell in all and singuler matters and things touching or concerning the said functions , ministeries , and businesses touching or concerning the said Art or Mysterie as aforesaid , And the same lawes , orders , Articles , and constitutions so made or any of them to put in vre and execute accordingly , and at their will againe to reuoke , alter or change , when and as often as occasion shall thereto require . And our further will and pleasure is , And wee do by these presents for vs , our heires and successors , graunt and command , that whatsoeuer is or shall bee concluded and agreed vpon at any such assembly or meeting of the said Master , Wardens and Assistants of the said Art or Mysterie for the time being , or the greater part of them ( whereof the Master and one of the Wardens for the time being to be alwaies two ) and the same entred and registred in some publique booke to be kept , for that purpose the same shall be holden as lawes , ordinances and statutes , amongst them to bee put in vre and execution , and shall binde all persons of the said Corporation , Art or Mysterie , & all Shipwrights and worke-men of that profession , in any Place , Port , Hauen , or Towne within our said Realme of England and Dominion of Wales , aswell the subiects of the same our Realme and Dominions as strangers , & aliens , for or during the time of their being , in or vpon any part of our said Realme , Coasts or Dominions , or any Creekes or Harbors of the same , to obserue , obey and performe the same from time to time in all things , as the same ought to bee vpon the paines , penalties and punishments in the same , to be imposed , inflicted and lymited . So alwaies as the said lawes , statutes , articles , orders , ordinances , paines , penalties , and punishments , and euery of them bee agreeable to reason and iustice , and not contrary or repugnant to the lawes , statutes , rights or customes of this our Realme of England , nor derogatory to the Iurisdictions and preheminences of the Lord High-Admirall of England , for the time being , or to the Court of Admiraltie of England or the Iudges Register or Marshall of that Court for the time being or any of them . And wee do further will and grant if any person or persons whatsoeuer shall offend against any of the said lawes , statutes , ordinances so made or to be made as aforesaid , or shall violate , transgresse or breake any of them . That then it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Master , Wardens and Assistants of the said Art or Mysterie for the time being , or the greater part of them ( whereof the said Master and one of the Wardens to be two ) to impose and inflict all and singuler such paines , penalties , punishments , fines and amerciaments , and forfetures , or any of them in the said lawes , statutes and ordinances limited vpon all and euery such person or persons so offending or transgressing the same , as they in iustice according to their wisedomes and discretions , and the nature , quantitie and qualitie of the fault , shall thinke fit , and the same fines , penalties , amerciaments and forfaitures , or any of them in the said lawes , ordinances , and statutes , or any of them , or in their orders to be grounded thereupon , to be appointed and specified of the offendors , and euery of them to aske , leauie , gather and receiue , and for default of paiment , that it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Master , Wardens and Cominaltie to distraine the goods and chattels of such offendor , and the same to keepe till they shall be satisfied , or otherwise to bring their action for the same according to law . And our will and pleasure is , That all and singuler fines , forfaitures , sum and summes of money whatsoeuer or heereafter to be due , and receiued by reason of the said decrees , orders or ordinances , shall be to the vse commodity and sole benefit and behoofe of the said Corporation without any account or other thing therefore to vs , our heires or successors to be yeelded , paid , rendred , made or done in that behalfe , without any let , trouble , molestation or interruption of any person or persons whatsoeuer for the same . And wee haue further of our more especiall grace , certain knowledge , and meere motion giuen and granted , and by these presents for vs , our heires and successors doe giue and grant vnto the said Master , Wardens and Cominaltie , and to their successors for euer . That it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Master and Wardens of the said Art or Mysterie for the time being , by themselues or by any their sufficient deputie or deputies , Officer or Officers , or any other person or persons by them for that purpose to be authorised or appointed by writing vnder their common seale , from time to time , & at al times hereafter in lawfull manner , to aske , leauie , haue , receiue and take in all and euery place and places within our said Realme of England and Dominion of Wales , aswell of euery Master workeman , ship-wright , or other person or persons that shall heereafter make or build , or cause to be made or built any newe ship or ships , vessell or vessels of the burden of 100. Tunnes , or more or lesse , all and singuler such profits , dues , dueties , fees , allowances , sum and summes of money whatsoeuer , after such rate , and in such manner and forme as at any time or times heeretofore , themselues , their predecessors , by any name or names of Corporation by , vnder , or by force and vertue of any former Charter or Letters Patents to them or any of them giuen or graunted or by any other lawfull and reasonable way or meanes haue or ought to haue receiued , had , taken or enioyed the same by way of tonnage , quarterage , poundage or otherwise , And also all and euery such fines , amerciaments , penalties sum and summes of money as shall be by force and vertue of these or Letters Patents , our any their lawes , orders , ordinances , statutes or institutions alreadie made or hereafter to be made , for the good gouernment of the said company , assessed or imposed vpon any person or persons whatsoeuer , as shall offend or transgresse contrary to the true intent and meaning of the same , to the sole vse , benifit , and behofe of the saide company , without any accompt to be yeelded , made , or giuen , to vs our heires or successors for the same . And if any person or persons whatsoeuer , of the saide Art or Mistery , shall at any time or times hereafter refuse , deny , or neglect to satisfie and paie all and euery such dues , duties , alowances , fines , amerciamentes , penalties , sum or summes of money as shal be so imposed or assessed , or wherewith he or they shall be charged as aforesaid vpon lawfull demaund thereof to him or them made , either by the said Maister and Wardens for the time being , or any of them or any their deputie or deputies , officer or officers as aforesaide . That then it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Maister and Wardens for the time being , or any of them , by themselues or by their sufficient deputy or deputies , officer or officers so authorised as aforesaid , to enter and distraine any the goods or chattels of the person or persons so offending , denying , or withholding the same , in any place or places whatsoeuer , where the same goods and chattles , or any of them shall or may be found , and the same to take , beare , and carry away , and with him or them to detaine and keepe for and to the vse of the said company , till such fines , summe , or summes of money shall be fully satsfied and paied , or otherwise that it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Maister Wardens , and Cominalty for the time being to sue for and recouer the same dues , duties , alowances , fines , amerciaments , penalties , impositions , summe and sums of mony , in any of our Court or Courts of record . By Accion of debt , bill , plaint , information , or by any other lawfull waies or meanes whatsoeuer . And these our Letters Pattents or the enrolment thereof shall be a sufficient warrant in that behalfe , vnto the saide Maister Wardens , and Cominalty , and to all and euery their deputy and deputies , officer and officers , and to all and euery other person and persons whatsoeuer for the doing therof . And to the end that the secrets of the said Art or Mysterie and the manner of our English building and new making of Ships , Pinnaces , and other vessels , should for more strength and safety of our Realmes and Kingdomes be kept secret , to , and within our selues and our said Realmes and Dominions , and altogether vnknowne to aliens and strangers of other Nations , Our will and pleasure is , and wee doe by these presents for vs , our heires and successors , straightly charge and command that no person or persons whatsoeuer of the said Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights , doe at any time or times heereafter , directly , or indirectly , by any waies or meanes whatsoeuer , presume , or attempt to discouer , or make knowne to any forrainer or stranger , not being a naturall borne subiect of vs , our heires or successors , or not being naturalized or indenized , nor to any other person or persons not being free and sworne of and to the saide corporation , nor being a seruant or apprentice to the saide art or mistery , the secretts of the said trade , art , or mistery , or the speciall manner of our English building or new making of Shippes , Pinnaces , or other vessells as aforesaid , nor to take any alien or stranger borne , being not naturalized or indenized to be his or their apprentice or seruant , vpon paine of our high displeasure , and of such further punishment as by the lawes and statutes of this Realme , or the ordinances and lawes , so made , or to bee made by the said Master , Wardens , and Assistants or the greater part of them as aforesaid , can or may bee inflicted vpon such offendor or offendors for the same . And to the end our will and pleasure heerein may be the better obserued and performed and the offendor punished , wee doe further by these presents giue and grant , for vs , our heires and successors to the said Master , Wardens , and Comminalty , and their successors . That if at any time heereafter , any person , or persons of the said Art or Mistery , shall offend in discouering the secrets of the said Trade , Art , or Mistery to any forrainer or stranger not beeing a naturall borne subiect of vs our heires or successors , or otherwise naturalized and indenized as aforesaid , or to any other person or persons not beeing free and sworne of the said Corporation , or not beeing a seruant or apprentice of or to the said Art or Mysterie , or shall take any alien or stranger borne to bee his or their apprentice or seruant contrary to this our said command and the true intent and meaning of these presents . That then , and so often , it shall & may be lawfull to and for the said Master , Wardens and Assistants , or the greater part of them beeing assembled as aforesaid , to impose vpon euery such offendor a reasonable fine according to the qualitie of his offence at the discreation of the said Master , Wardens and Assistants or the more part of them , the same fine to be forfaited and paid by the person or persons so offending , to the sole benefit , vse and behoofe of the said Corporation , for the better mainteinance and vpholding of the same , and the releeuing of the poore of the said Corporation . And our further will and pleasure is . And wee doe by these presents for vs , our heires and successors of our more especiall grace certain knowledge and meere motion , graunt to the said Master , Wardens and Cominaltie , and their successors for euer , that it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Master , Wardens and Assistants , or the greater part of them , wherof the Master and one of the Wardens to bee alwaies two , to examine and punish by fine or such other correction as the qualitie of the offence shall deserue , and require , euery person which shall vnlawfully depart or goe away from his worke after he hath beene hired or agreed withall for wages before the time or times of his retainer or retainers be expired , or shall be found to grow mutinous stubborne , or disobedient , or any waie a prouoker , inticer or seducer of any other to any mutinie or disobedience , to the hurt or iniurie , or likely-hood of hurt or iniurie of the said Corporation , or of the good gouernment and order therein , or of any seruice whatsoeuer , And also to examine , heare and order all and euery the complaints of or against any ship-wrights or other worke-men of the said Corporation , Art , or profession , or of or against any of his or their Iourney-men , apprentices or seruants . And of our more ample grace , certaine knowledge and meere motion , and for the better suppressing and reformation of the deceits and abuses first aboue mentioned , wee will and haue giuen and graunted , and by these presents for vs , our heires and successors doe freely and absolutely giue and graunt to the said Master , Wardens and Comminaltie of the Art and Mysterie of Ship-wrights of Redrith aforesaid , and to their successors for euer for the time being and to euery of them . That it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Master and Wardens or any two of them for the time being , and also to and for any two of the said Assistants or other two persons beeing skilfull , or which heereafter shall bee skilfull in the said Art or Mysterie being thereunto deputed and aucthorised by writing vnder the common Seale of the said Master , Wardens and Cominaltie , first taking his or their Corporall Oath or Oathes vpon the Euangelists , before the Master and Wardens , or any two of them for the due execution of their said Offices or Places , which Oath wee doe by these presents aucthorise the said Master , and Wardens , or any two of them to minister and take accordingly at all conuenient time or times , taking with them if neede so require a Constable or any other his Maiesties Officer or Officers of the Citie , Towne or Place to search , view and suruey all manner of timber , wood , and other stuffe prouided , prepared , and fitted for the building , making , or repairing of any Shippes , Pinnaces , or other vessels in any place or places whatsoeuer within our Realme of England and Dominion of Wales , or in either of them . And also to search , view , and suruey all and euery the workes and worke-man ship of all and euery person and persons whatsoeuer in making , working , building , or repairing or which heereafter shall make , worke , build , or repaire any manner of Ships , Pinnaces , boats , or other vessels whatsoeuer within our said Realme of England and Dominion of Wales or either of them , And that it shall and may be lawfull to & for the said Master & Wardens , or any two of them , or their deputies so aucthorised as aforesaid , all and singuler Shippes , Pinnaces , Boates and other vessels heereafter to be built , to view , search and suruey , and such of them whereof the timber-worke , at the time of such search , shall not be fully finished , and which , at the time of such search , view , or suruey , so to be made as aforesaid , shall be found to be insufficiently , falsely , and deceitfully , made , wrought or repaired , as they must needes be by that meanes dangerous to such as shall vse or imploy them , to arrest and stay vntill the same shall be reformed , amended , repaired , & made fit for Nauigation . And our further will and pleasure is , that if the said persons before by these presents aucthorised , to make such search as aforesaid , or any of them shall happen to finde any sappie wood , red-wood , or other insufficient wood or timber , to be put into any Shippes , Pinnaces , or other vessells , or hewen , wrought , & fitted for that purpose , That then the said persons or any of them shall forth-with charge and warne the makers or owners of such Shippes , Pinnaces or other vessells forthwith to take away the said sappy wood , red-wood , and other insufficient wood and timber , and to supply the same with other sufficient timber and wood . And if within conuenient time after such charge and warning giuen as is aforesaid , the said sappy wood , red-wood , and other insufficient wood and timber be not taken away , and the same supplied with other good and sufficient timber and wood as is aforesaid . That then , it shall and may bee lawfull to and for the said Master and Wardens , or any two of them , or any two of the said Assistants , or any such deputie or deputies as aforesaid to take and deface all such sappy wood , and red-wood , and all and singuler such other timber and wood , which vpon any such search , and view , and after conuenient admonition and warning giuen . to take the same away and to supply it with better and more sufficient wood and timber , they shall finde to bee put in or apparantly intended to be put into any Ship , Pinnace , or other vessell , or hewen , cut out , or wrought for that purpose , manifestly tending to the preiudice and damage of vs , our heires and successors , or of any other our louing subiects , Marchants and Marriners , whose goods and liues are hazarded , & often lost by reason of such ill stuffe ( the vse of all which sappy and red-wood & other insufficient stuffe ) we do hereby for vs , our heires and successors , straightly prohibit and restraine to be vsed or imployed in any sort in or vpon any shippe or other vessell . And our will and pleasure is , and wee doe by these presents , for vs our heires and successors , grant vnto the said Maister , Wardens , and Comminalty and to their successors for the time being , That it shall and may bee lawfull to , and for , the said Master , Wardens , and Assistants for the time beeing , or the greater part of them , whereof the Master and one of the Wardens to bee alwaies two , to impose and inflict such punishment vppon euery offendor in that behalfe , either by fine or imprisonment , or both of them , as by the lawes and statutes of this Realme or by any lawes or ordinances , to bee made by the said Corporation , as is aforesaid , shall , or may bee imposed or inflicted vppon them for their offence in that behalfe : Or otherwise , that the said Master and Wardens or any two of them or such other person or persons , so authorized , as aforesaid , and which vpon the search shall find any of the deceipts and abuses aforesaid , shall complaine thereof to some Iustice or Iustices of the Peace , within the place or county where such deceipts and abuses shall bee found . And wee doe by these presents , for vs , our heires , and successors , straightly charge and command , all , and euery our Iustice and Iustices , of the Peace whatsoeuer , to whom any such complaint or complaints shall so bee made as is aforesaid , that they and euery of them , shall by all good and lawfull waies and meanes examine and find out the truth of the said complaints , abuses and deceipts . And if vpon due examination thereof , they shall find that any such abuses and deceipts , haue beene commited as aforesaid : That then they cause the party or parties , so offending , to be indited or otherwise punished , for such his , and their abuses and deceipts , either before our Iustices of Peace , in the county where the same abuses and deceipts shall be committed and found at their Sessions of the Peace , or before the Iustices of Assize of the same county , or before any other lawfull Iudge or Iudges , to the end that the said person , or persons so offending , may receiue such condigne punishment , as by the lawes and statutes of this Realme can or may bee inflicted vpon him , or them , for his or their offence or offences , in that behalfe . And our will and pleasure is , And wee doe by these presents , for vs , our heyres and successors , straightly charge and command the said Master , Wardens , and Assistants , of the said Art or Mistery and their successors , for the time beeing , that once in euery month at the least , such search bee made as is aforesaid , And that the authority heereby in that behalfe , to them giuen , be put in due execution , without any respect of persons , or partiality whatsoeuer . Prouided alwaies neuertheles , and our will & pleasure is , that neither the Master , nor Wardens , of the said Art or Mistery , for the time beeing , or any their Deputy or Deputies , so authorized to search as is aforesaid , shall not by coullor of these Letters Pattents , meddle with , or doe any thing to the hinderance , stay , or preuention of any Shippe , Pinnace , or other Vessell that is or shall bee at the time of such their search as aforesaid , ready to go forth for any intended voyage or iourney , or the Master , Owner , Marriner , Saylors , or other Officers of the same . Any thing in these presents to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding . And further of our meere especiall grace , certaine knowledge , and meere motion , wee doe by these presents , for vs , our heires , and successors , graunt vnto the said Master , Wardens and Comminalty , of the said Art , or Mistery of Ship-wrights of Redreth aforesaid and their Successors for the time beeing : That it shall and may bee lawfull to , and for all and euery person and persons , lawfully vsing or exercizing , or which heereafter shall lawfully vse , or exercize the said Art or Mistery , by themselues , their seruants , or Deputies at any times heereafter , to buy and prouide in any the places beyond the seas , all such timber , Plancks , Masts , Deales , Sparres , wood and wooden stuffe , and also all Pitch , Tarre , Rozen , and Oyle as they shall thinke necessary or conuenient , for the building , reparing , grauing , or fitting of Shippes , Pinaces , or other Vessels , and the same so bought , and prouided , shall and may from time to time , for euer heereafter , bring or cause to bee brought into this our Realme of England and Dominion of Wales or any part or place thereof , and the same discharge , and lay on Land , paying to vs , our heires and successors the full custome , poundage , and other dueties due , or which heereafter shall bee due to vs , our heires or successors ; Any Law , Statute , Custome , Proclamation , or any other matter , cause or thing to the contrary notwithstanding . And whereas for the better mainteinance of Nauigation , and incouragement of our louing subiects , to increase shipping within this our Realme , there is and hath bin of ancient time an allowance giuen by vs , and our predecessors of fiue shillings sterling , for euery Tunne of any new builded Ship to be rated according to the burden of the said ship , so as the said ship did containe in burden one hundred Tonnes or vpwards in Tonnes and tonnage , which laudable custome wee being pleased to continue , and finding it also conuenient aswell for the auoiding of abuses that might be offered in rating and setting downe the tonnage of the said ships and otherwise , as also that the builder might haue his right and due allowance of tonnage , to appoint some person or persons of knowledge and experience , for the surueying and ouerseeing of the true rates and tonnage in that behalfe , Wee did by our Letters Patents vnder the great Seale of England , bearing date the 24. day of Aprill , in the third yeare of our raigne , giue and graunt to Iohn Grent gentleman , for and during his naturall life the Office and place of Surueyour of the tonnage and burden of all new builded Shippes of the burden aboue mentioned or vpwards , from time to time within this our Realme of England , together with the wages and fee of twelue pence by the day of lawfull money of England , for the exercising of the said Office or place , together with all and singuler other Fees , profits , commodities and allowances whatsoeuer to the same place or Office in any wise due , incident or appertaining , with a Prouiso or clause therein mentioned , that the said Iohn Grent in the rating and setting down of the tonnage & burden of the saidnew builded ships from time to time should vse the aduice and assistance of one of our ship-wrights to be nominated and appointed by our High Admirall of England for the time being , And that all and euery such bill and bills of tonnage as should be presented to vs , to be signed for the said allowance of fiue shillings vpon euery Tonne of the burden of the said Ships should be first allowed vnder the hand of the said Surueyour , and signed by the said Admirall or his deputie for the time being as hath beene accustomed . And whereas by our Letters Patents , bearing date the 28. daie of Ianuary , in the fourth yeare of our Raigne wee did graunt , or mention to graunt vnto Humfrey Iobson gent. for and during his naturall life the Reuersion of the said Office or place of Surueyor of the tonnage and burden of all new builded ships of the burden of one hundred Tonnes , aboue mentioned , or vpwards from time to time , within our Realme of England next after the death , forfaiture or surrendor of the said Iohn Grent , together with the wages and fee of twelue pence a day for the exercising of the said office , place , and all , and singuler other Fees , profits , commodities and allowances whatsoeuer to the same place or office in any wise due , incident or appertaining As in , and by the said two seuerall Letters Pattens more at large appeareth . And whereas of late we haue bin much wronged , defrauded , and abused , in that sundry of the said shippes for want of exact viewing , surueying , and measuring , haue beene ouer-rated in their burthen and tonnage , wherby wee haue beene charged with the payment of a greater allowance , then in truth wee ought to haue beene . Know yee therefore , that we reposing a speciall trust and confidence , in the faithfulnesse , experience , care , and honest and true circumspection of the Master , Wardens and Comminalty , of the said Art , or Mistery of Ship-wrights . And to the end , that we , our heires , and successors , may not at any time from henceforth , in like sort be defrauded , wronged , or abused , do of our speciall grace , certaine knowledge , and meere motion , giue and graunt to the said Master , Wardens , and Comminalty , and to their successors for euer , the office , function , and place of Surueyour of the tonnage and burthen , of all new builded Ships of the burthen of an hundred tonnes aboue mentioned or vpwards from time to time , within this our Realme of England , Together with the said wages and fee of twelue pence by the day , and all other fees , proffits , commodities , and allowances whatsoeuer , to the said office , or place in any wise due , belonging , incident or appertaining , And them the said Master , Wardens , and comminalty and their successors wee doe by these presents , for vs , our heires , and successors , nominate , ordaine , make and appoynt Surueyours of the tonnage and burthen of all new builded Shippes from time to time , within this our Realme of England , and Dominion of Wales . To haue , hold , exercise , and enioy the said office , function , and place , and also , to haue , receiue , and perceiue , the said wages and fee of twelue pence by the day , immediately when , and from , and after such time , as the Estate and interest , Estates and interrests graunted or mentioned to be graunted to the said Iohn Grent , and Humfrey Iobson respectiuely , by death , surrender , forfeiture , or other occasion , cause , or meanes whatsoener is , are , or shall bee voyde , ended , or determined , and whensoeuer the said office or place shall first happen , or become void vnto the said Master , Wardens , and Cominaltie , and to their successors for euer . And for the better and more exact examination , iudging and finding out from hence forth of the true burden and tonnage of euery Ship , and vessell , that is or shall be capable of , or intended to haue or require the said alowance . Wee doe hereby for vs our heires and successors ordaine , decree , grant , limit , and appoynt , and also straightly charge and commaund the said Master and Wardens for the time being , by themselues or their deputies , being honest , skilfull , and sufficient persons , as well to goe on bord euery such shipp and vessell , and there to view and decerne whether shee be sufficiently and substancially built , as is fit and required in that behalfe , that is to say with two Orlops at conunnient distance , strong to carry ordnance aloft and alowe with her fore-castell and halfe deck close for feight . As also to cause euery such Shipp and vessell to be brought on ground , and by , from , and according to an exact measure taken of her length , breadth depth , & draught , in water so to rate and sett downe the true burden and tonnage thereof , and to certifie the same by Letters testimoniall , vnder the common scale of the said Corporation , and the hands of the said Master and Wardens of the said Art or Mystery for the time being , as they will euer after be ready vpon their oaths & aleagiance to approue the same . And our will & pleasure is , and wee doe by these presents for vs , our heires and successors straightly prohibit , charge and command that no person or persons whatsoeuer shall or may at any time or times hereafter be capable of , or persume to take , receiue or demand the said alowance of fiue shillings a tonne as aforesaid , vntill such due measuring , rating , & certificat be first had & made as aforesaid . Willing and requiring as well our Lord High Tresurer , and Lord High Admirall of England , & our Tresurer & Chancellor of our Exchequor : as also the said Iohn Grent , and Humfrey Iobson , and all other persons whome it may concerne to take notice of our wil and pleasure in this behalfe . Any former grant , prouision , limitation , custome , or vsage , to the contrary heereof in any wise notwithstanding . And moreouer for the better maintaining , strengthning , and vpholding of the said corporation , and the suppressing , and reforming , as well of the manifould errors , deceiptes , and abuses , practized in the said profession , art , and mystery , as also of the disorders , and misdemeanors of diuers wilfull , stuborne , and disobedient persons of the said profession , Art , or Mystery , which can very hardly by any other meanes be redressed , restrained , or reformed , and for the better continuing , setling , and establishing of good orders , discipline , and gouernment amongst them , for the especiall good of our owne seruice , and the generall benefit of all our louing subiects , as well Marchants as others , wee doe of our more ample grace , certaine knowledge , and meere motion , for vs our heires and successors , giue and grant to the said Master , Wardens , and 〈◊〉 , and their successors for euer by these presents . That if any person or persons now practizing , vsing , or professing , or which hereafter shall practise , vse , or professe the said Art , or Mystery , or any thing therevnto appertaining , shall wilfully or obstinately oppose , or resist the order , rule and gouernment of the said Master , Wardens , and Assistantes of the said Art or Mystery for the time being , or shall refuse to obey , or to submit him , or themselues to this our Charter , or Letters Pattents , and to such wholsome lawes , orders , ordinances , and institutions as are or shall be made by force and vertue thereof as aforesaid , tending to the good seruice of vs and our common-wealth , and to the good estate and preseruation of the said Art or Mistery , or shall not well and honestly carry , behaue , and demeane him , and themselues towardes the Master , Wardens , and Assistants of the faid Art or Mistery , for the time being , and their deputy or deputies or other inferior officers respectiuely , according to the true intent and meaning of these presents , but after due and conuenient warning , notice , or admonition giuen to him or them in that behalfe shall still wilfully and obstinately persist , perseuere , or continue in any wilfull , stuborne , obstinate , or disobedient course , tending to the hurt and preiudice of vs , our heires and successors , or any our louing subiects , or the order rule and gouernment aforesaid , either by insufficient , negligent , or deceitfull working , or not performing of his or their duties , or by purloyning , imbeazling of stuffe , or by vnlawfull and disorderly departure from his or their worke , after he or they haue bene hired and such like , or shall doe or commit any act or acts directly or indirectly to the preiudice or hindrance of the said Corporation , or the good estate and procedings thereof , either by wilfull absenting him or themselues from the Common-Hall , and meeting vpon due warning , or by deniall of ordinary and iust duties , or shall by mutinies , combinations , conspiracies , or any such like wicked or vnlawfull course , or practise , persist , or continue in the wilfull breach , neglect , or contempt of this our Charter , or any thing herein contained , or any law , ordinance , or institution , made by force of these presents . That then in all and euery or any of these cases before mencioned , it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Master , Wardens , and assistants , or any three of them , whereof the Master and one of the Wardens to be alwaies two , seuerally to correct and punish such offendor or offendors according to the quantity and quallity of his or their offence or offences , according to the lawes and ordinances of the said Corporation , and according to the lawes and statutes of the realme in that behalfe respectiuely . And whereas the greatest number of the workmen and other persons imployed in the trades aforesaid are soe very pore and nedy , and of meane condition as no pecuniary mulct can take hold of them , and likewise so rude and disordered as noe ordinary or ciuill censure can moue them to yeelde obedience to rule or gouernment . And therefore some sharpe and seuere coertion and constraint must necessarily be vsed towards them in many cases . Therefore our will and pleasure is , and wee doe by these presentes will and ordaine : That if any person or persons now vsing , or which shall hereafter vse or exercise , within the said realme of England , or dominion of Wales , the said Art , Trade , or Mistery of Ship-wrights , or other the workes or trades aforesaid shall obstinately resist and withstand the gouernment of the said Maister , Wardens and Assistants , or their lawfull deputy or deputies , and shall after admonition and warning giuen vnto them , or any of them in that behalfe wilfully persist in such disobedient course either by deceitfull working or by vnlawfull departure from , after they haue bene hired , or within the time or times of their retainor , or shall by combination , conspiracies , or other vnlawfull practises , seeke to ouerthrow , destroy , and bring into contempt the powers , preuiledges , and authorities by these presents giuen and granted to the said Maister , Wardens , and Cominalty , and their successors for the vniuersall benifit and good of our said Realme , dominion and subiects . That the●… , or in such cases , the Lord Admirall of England for the time being , vpon complaint and profe therof made to him , shall take the body or bodies of all and euery such notorious offendors and keepe them vnder arrest , vntill they shall conforme themselues , and reforme what they haue done amisse as aforesaide . And for so much , as a great part of the said Art or Mystery are continually for the most part imploied , and attendant vpon the seruice and nauigation of vs our heires and successors . We therefore of our especiall grace , doe will and grant for vs our heires and successors . That the saide Maister , Wardens and Cominalty , or any of them , or their , or any of their successors shall not at any time or times hereafter be informed , put , placed , or impannelled in or vpon any Assizes , Iuries , Inquests , or attaintes whatsoeuer , before any Iudges , Iustices , or Commissioners of vs , our heires or successors out of the Citties , Townes , Boroughs , Parishes or places where they or any of them doe or shall happen to dwell , vnlesse they haue lands or tenements lying out of the said Citties , Townes , Boroughs , Parishes or places , by reason whereof they or any of them ought to be charged , nor shall at any time be pressed or inforced to serue vs our heires or successors as Land-soldiers , but doe absolutely and freely discharge them and euery of them from any such seruice and attendance . And wee doe further by these presents , for vs our heires and successors straightly charge and commaund all and euery Sheriffes , Bailiffes , and other officers of vs our heires and successors that they & every of them doe from time to time forbeare to put or impanel any of the said Maister , Wardens , and Cominalty , or any their deputies or apprentises , in or vpon any such Iuries , or inquests as is aforesaid , contrary to our said meaning & intent , vpon paine of our displeasure , & of such paines , penalties , and imprisonments as by the lawes of this our Realme can or may be inflicted or imposed vpon them or any of them for their contempt , in doing contrary to our royall pleasure and commandment in that behalfe . And whereas the Master , Wardens , and Cominalty of the said Art or Mistery of Ship-wrights of Redrith aforesaid , and their and euery of their deputies and apprentises being continually for the most part charged and chargeable to be ready and prouided at an howers warning vpon diuers seruices and imployments as well at the Sea , for the necessity , defence , and safety of our realmes and kingdomes , and for the use and imployment of our Marchants for continuance and increase of trade and commerce with forraine Nations , for the benefit and profit of vs and our subiects , as also to giue attendance within our Kingdomes for the new building , repairing , and triming as well of the Shippes , Pinnaces , and vessels of vs , our heires & successors , as also of the Ships Pinnaces , and vessels of our Marchants and subiects . Therefore our will and pleasure is . That if it shall hapen the said Maister , Wardens , and Comminalty , or other persons , which by the true intent and meaning hereof are and ought to be discharged from such seruice vpon Iuries or Inq●ests , shall by Sheriffes , Bailiffes or other officers , ignorantly or wilfully be put and impannelled to serue vpon Iuries , and Enquests , contrary to our true intent and meaning , in that behalfe , in certaine our former Letters Pattents graunted , and also in these presents renued . And that any of the said persons beeing absent from their houses , and places of habitation , at such times as they were , or shall bee sommoned or warned to appeare vpon any such Iuries or enquests , could not , nor cannot plead or alleadge the said former Letters Pattents nor these presents , or the priueledges and authorities hereby giuen and granted vnto them , for their discharge in that behalfe , whereby diuers issues , fines , and amercements are many times returned against them , contrary to our true intent and meaning : Wee doe therefore graunt for vs , our heires and successors , vnto the said Master , Wardens , and Comminalty , and their successors for euer : That if any issues , fines , and amercements shall be returned , forfeited or imposed by , or vppon any of the said person or persons of the said Corporation , Trade , Art , or Mistery , for or in respect of not doing , or not performing of any of the said seruices or other things whereof they are hereby exempted or freed , or mentioned to be exempted or freed : That then the same person or persons , his , or their heires , executors , administrators and assignes and euery of them , and all his and their landes , tenements , goods , and chattels shall be for euer freed and discharged of and from the same issues , fines , and amerciaments , and euery of them . And wee doe require and commaund the Barons of our Eschequer that in respect of the pouerty of many that are to be releeued in this case , they giue them all expedition and ease in the proceedings and pleading for their discharge in that behalfe . And because this Corporation of Ship-wrights hath bin principally instituted & made for the mainteinance and encrease of Nauigation and for the better and more substantiall making , building and repairing of ships , and also for the trayning vp & instructing of Ship-wrights , Ship-carpenters , labourers , and workemen to make them more ready , able and skilfull for seruice , All which things do very greatly concerne the defence , safety , wealth and profit of our selfe , our Kingdomes and subiects . Therefore wee doe not onely straightly charge and command all and euery person and persons which are or shall be of the Cominaltie of this Corporation . That they doe dutifully submit themselues to such good and wholesome lawes , statutes and ordinances as shall be heereafter ordained and made by vertue of these Letters Patents for the gouernment , rule , order and direction of this Corporation , and of all the members thereof , But wee doe also straightly require , charge and command all Masters , Wardens , and Assistants , deputies and other the principall Officers of this incorporation now being , and that heereafter shall bee . That they and euery of them in their seuerall Offices and places , doe carefully , diligently and circumspectly looke to the due and seuere execution of all such lawes , statutes , and ordinances so to be made as aforesaid , that the same may be truely performed and accomplished according to the tenor and true meaning of the same , vpon paine of our heauy displeasure and indignation and of such punishment and imprisonment as by our lawes may be inflicted on them and euery or any of them , wherein our meaning is to extend the greater punishment vpon such as hauing offices and places of trust and charge committed vnto them , shall by wilfulnesse , negligence , remisnesse , partialitie , or otherwise offend themselues , or suffer others to offend in those things , whereof they ought to bee the reformers and redressers , and at whose hands wee expect to receiue and haue amendement and reformation of all offences that shall bee committed by any others in that behalfe . And forasmuch as the pouertie of Ship-wrights and persons belonging to the said Corporation is now much more increased then in former times , and not able to be releeued , supported and maintained , by the duties and reuenues of the said Corporation which heertofore they haue had , or were enabled to haue , being so small in yeerely value . Therefore , and to the end , the said Master , Wardens , and Comminalty and their Successors , may bee from henceforth the better enabled , from time to time to beare and sustaine their charges and expences drawne , and occasioned by reason of the Corporation , and to releeue and maintaine the poore of the same , wee haue of our more especiall grace , certaine knoledge , and meere motion , giuen and graunted , and by these presents , for vs , our heires , and successors , doe giue and graunt vnto the said Master , Wardens , and Comminalty , of the said Art , or Mistery of Ship wrights of Redrith aforesaid , and to their successors , especiall licence , and free and lawfull faculty , power and authority , that they , & their successors for euer , shall and may , not onely haue , receiue , and purchase to them , and their successors for euer , to their owne proper vse and behoofe , as well of vs , our heires , and successors , as of any other person or persons whatsoeuer , Mannours , Messuages , Lands , Tenements , Rectories , Tithes , Rents , Reuersions , Seruices , and other Hereditaments whatsoeuer , which are not held of vs , our heires , and successors , in chiefe , or by Knights seruice , nor of any other by Knights seruice . So alwaies that the same Manours , Messuages , Lands , Tenements , Rectories , Tithes , Rents , Reuersions , or Hereditaments , by the said Master , Wardens , and Comminalty , or their successors , so to bee receiued , purchased , obtained , or had as aforesaid , doe not exceed the cleare yeerly value of forty pound by the yeere , aboue all charges , deductions and reprizes . The Statute of Lands & Tenements , not to bee put in Mortmaine , or any other Statute , Act , or Ordinance , prouision , restraint , or any other matter , cause , or thing whatsoeuer to the contrary notwithstanding . And further wee haue giuen and graunted , And by these presents for vs , our heires and successors , wee doe giue and graunt special licence , and ful & free power & authority to any and euery of the subiects of vs , our heires and successors , and to all and euery body and bodies Corporate and Politique , and other person and persons whatsoeuer , and to euery of them ; That they and euery of them , shall and may , giue , graunt , bequeath , assigne , or by any wayes or meanes whatsoeuer , alnie , deuize , or assure vnto the said Master , Wardens and comminalty , and to their successors for euer , any Mannours , Messuages , Lands , Tenements , Rectories , Tithes , Rents , Reuersions , Seruices , and other Hereditaments whatsoeuer , which are not held of vs , our heires , or successors in chiefe , or by Knights seruice , or of any other by Knights seruice , So that the same Mannours , Lands , Tenements , and other the premisses so as aforesaid to bee giuen , graunted , assigned , or deuised , doe not exceed in the whole , the cleare yeerely value of forty pound per annum aboue all charges , deductions and reprizes : The Statute of Lands and Tenements , not to bee put in Mortmaine , or any other Act , Statute , Ordinance , Prouision or restraint , or any other matter , cause or thing whatsoeuer to the contrary notwithstanding . And finally we doe by these presents , for vs , our heires and successors , straightly charge and command , Aswell the Lord Admirall of England for the time beeing , and also the Iudge of our Admirality and principall Officers of our Nauy , and al Viz. Admirals , Marshals , Sergeants , and other officers of our Admiralty , As also the Lord Mayor of our Citie of London , and the Sheriffes , Iustices , Constables , and other officers , and ministers of the said Citie for the time being , And also the seuerall Mayors of our Cities of Bristoll and Rochester , and of our seuerall Townes of Yarmouth , Plymouth , Dartmouth , Ipswich , Southampton , Woodbridge , Hull , and Newcastell , respectiuely for the time being , And all other Mayors , Sheriffes , Iustices of Peace , Bayliffes , Constables and other officers and ministers of vs , our heires and successors whatsoeuer within our said Realme of England and Dominion of Wales , That they and euery of them be from time to time and at all times heereafter helping , aiding , and assisting to the said Master , Wardens and Cominalty , and to their successors and to euery or any of them for the time being , and to euery of their deputie or deputies , Officer or Officers for the time being for euer , aswell in and for such search , view , and suruey so to be made as aforesaid , As also for and in the execution of all and singuler graunts , ordinances , lawes , constitutions and orders heerein contained , or heereafter vpon , or by vertue of these presents to be made allowed and approued in all things , according to the true intent and meaning of the same , vpon paine of our high displeasure , and as they will answere the contrary . And these our Letters Patents or the Inrolement thereof shall be good and effectuall in the Lawe to the said Master , Wardens and Cominalty , and their successors , to all intents constructions and purposes , against vs , our heires and successors for euer . Any Act of Parliament , statute , Law , Prouision , Proclamation , restraint , or other matter , cause , or thing whatsoeuer to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding . Prouided alwaies that these our Letters Patents , or any thing therein contained , shall not in any wise extend or be construed to extend or be prei●ditiall to our Cinque-Ports , or to the liberties or members of the same or any of them , or to any Iurisdiction , power or aucthority of the Lord-warden of the Cinque-Ports for the time being , which hee hath , or in any wise or sort hee ought , or may lawfully vse , exercise or claime , to or with the office of the Lord-warden of the Cinque-Ports , or of any other office or offices , belonging , incident or appertaining to the said office of Lord-warden of the Cinque-Ports . Any graunt , power , priuiledge , matter or thing , before in these presents contained to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding . Although expresse mention of the true yearely valew or certenty of the premisses or of any of them , or of any other gifts or graunts by vs or any of our Progenitors or Predecessors to the said Master , Wardens , & Cominaltie , before these times made in these presents is not made . Or any statute , act , ordinance , prouision , Proclamation or restraint before this time had made , set forth , ordained , or prouided , or any other thing , matter or cause whatsoeuer to the contrary notwithstanding . In wittnesse whereof wee haue caused these our Letters to be made Patents . Witnesse our selfe at Westminster the sixt day of May in the 10. yeare of our Raigne of England , France and Irland , and of Scotland the fiue and fortieth . To all Christian people to whom these presents shall come Thomas Lord Ellesmere Lord Chauncellor of England , Sir Thomas Flemming Knight Lord cheef Iustice of England , and Sir Edward Coke knight Lord cheefe Iustice of his Maiesties Court of Common Plees , Send greeting in our Lord God euerlasting . Whereas in a certaine Act or Statute in the Parliament holden at Westminster the fiue and twentieth day of Ianuary in the Nineteenth yeare of the Raigne of the late king of famous memory Henry , after the conquest the seauenth , made and ordained for the weale and profit of the subiects , it was amongst other things ordained , established and enacted , that no Master and Wardens and fellowship of Crafts or Misteries or any of them , no rulers of guildes or fraternities should take vpon them to make any Acts or ordinances , ne to execute any Acts or ordinances by them theretofore made in disinheritance or diminution of the Kinges Prerogatiue or of others , nor against the common profit of the people , but if the same Acts and ordinances were examined and approued by the Chancellor , or Treasorer of England , or cheefe Iustice of either Bench , or three of them , or else before the two Iustices of Assises in their Circuit or Progresse in the Shire where such Acts or ordinances be made vpon paine or forfaiture of xl . li. for euery time that they doe the contrary . As by the said Act of Parliament doth and may appeare . Know you now that Phinees Pett Master of the Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights of Redrith in the County of Surrey , and William Bright , Nicholas Symonson and Nicholas Clay now Wardens of the said Art ot Mysterie , with the whole Assent and consent of the Assistants of the same , willing and desiring the said Act of Parliament in all and euery thing to be duely obserued and kept , the twentieth day of Iuly , in the yeare of the Raigne of our Soueraigne Lord Iames by the grace of God King of England , France and Ireland , defendor of the faith &c. the tenth , and of Scotland the fiue and fortieth , haue exhibited to vs a certaine Petition containing diuers Articles , Acts and ordinances for the better order , rule and gouernment of the said Art or Mysterie of Shipwrights , and of the person and persons now practising and professing , or which heereafter shall practise or professe the said Art or Mysterie , or any thing thereunto appertaining , dwelling , and inhabiting , or which heereafter shall dwell and inhabit within the Realme of England , or Dominion of Wales , and for the Common weale and conseruation of the good estate of the said Art or Mysterie of Shipwrights , And haue instantly desired vs , that wee all and euery their Acts and ordinances heereafter mentioned by them to vs exhibited , would examine and approue , and them and euery of them to correct and amend in due and conuenient manner and forme , as the said recited Act of Parliament requireth . Wee well perceiuing and considering their said supplication to be good and acceptable according to their said desires , and by the aucthoritie of the said Act of Parliament to vs giuen all and euery their Acts and ordinance so to vs exhibited haue seene read & wel vnderstood , and all and euery of them examined , corrected and reformed , the tenor whereof heereafter followeth , viz. Inprimis it is ordained that vppon the day of election of new Master and Wardens of the said Corporation the same Master and Wardens so to be elected , shall choose foure persons , whereof two to be of the Assistants , and the other two to bee of the better sort of the Cominaltie of the said Art or Mysterie who are not Assistants who haue called the Auditors of the said Company for the Accompts and reckonings of all such Officers and Accompts of the said Art or Mysterie , are , or ought to be Accomptable for or concerning any money , goodes , plate , profits or other things belonging or appertaining to the said companie of the said Art or Mysterie , To continue in the said place for the space of one yeare after such election , and if any of them dye or be remoued , another or others to be chosen in his or their roome or roomes . Which Accompts and reckonings by them so taken and allowed , shall be deliuered to the Clearke of the said Company to be fairely entred into a booke of remembrance , to be prouided and kept of purpose , for which hee is to haue such reasonable allowance as the said Auditors or two of them shall thinke fitte . And whosoeuer shall refuse the said Office of Auditor beeing thereunto elected , shall forfait and pay to the Master and Wardens of the said Art or Mystery for euery time so refusing to the vse of the said Corporation the summe of forty shillings of lawfull money of England . 2 Item it is ordained that the said Master and Wardens vpon their said Election day shall choose and appoint two sufficient persons of the said Corporation not beeing of the Assistants , which shall be called the Stewards , Aswell for the making and prouiding of the Dinner and Feast for the said Master , Wardens and Assistants , and better sort of the Companie vpon the said election day , As also vpon their Quarter daies when there shall be a meeting for the disposing of businesses and affaires concerning the said Corporation . And whosoeuer shall refuse or neglect the execution of the said place of Steward , being thereunto elected , shall for euery time so refusring , forfait and pay to the said Master and Wardens , to the vse of the said Corporation Fortie shillings of lawfull money of England . 3 Item it is ordained that euery person of the said Corporation vpon warning giuen by the Beadle or any other for that purpose appointed , shall yearely from henceforth vpon the day of Election of new Master and Wardens Assemble themselues together at their Common Hall at Redrith aforesaid , and from thence in a decent manner , shall accompanie the said new Master and Wardens too and from the parrish Church to heare a Sermon , where they shall continue from the begining to the end thereof . And euery person so warned , and making default , not hauing a lawful and reasonable excuse , shall forfaict and pay to the said Maister and Wardens , to the vse of the said Corporation , for euery such offence fiue shillings of lawfull money of England . 4 Item it is ordayned that vpon the said election day , the old Master and Wardens shall make and prouide a conuenient dinner to the New Master and Wardens then elected , and to such of the better sort of the company as shall be warned or inuited thereunto , towards the charge whereof euery person so inuited of the company shall pay two shillings of lawfull money of England . Aud whosoeuer being lawfully warned commeth not , shall notwithstanding pay the said two shillings , which if it be denied or deferred to be paide vpon demaund , the party deferring shall forfaicte to the said Master and Wardens for euery such deniall three shillings fower pence of lawfull English money . 5 Item it is ordained that the said Master and Wardens and two of the said Assistants for the time being , at the least , shal from time to time , so often as to them shall seem meet & conuenient to elect and choose one or moe honest person or persons to be their honest Beadle or Beadles , who shall be at all times attendaunt vpon the said Master and Wardens , & be at their lawful commandements . As well to summon & warne all persons of the said Corporation , and to make returne of their answers , as also concerning all other affaires of the said Corporation wherein there shal be cause to imploy him or them . 6 Item it is ordayned that the Master and Wardens of the said Art or Mistery , shall at all times hereafter haue one substantiall Chest with fower seuerall lockes , and keies for the safe keeping of all moneys , Plate , goods , Letters pattents , euidences , ordinances , accomptes and writinges to the said Corporation belonging , or appertayning . Which fower keyes shall alwaies bee and remaine in the seuerall custodies of the said Master and Wardens for the time being , who shall be all present at euery opening of the said Chest . And if any by necessary occasion shall be letted that he cannot be then present , hee shall appoint one of the Assistance to take his keye and supply his rome in his absence . 7 Item it is ordayned that the said Maister , and Wardens , or any three or two of them , or any two or more of the assistants , or any their deputy or deputies shal once euery month or oftner if neede require , dilligently view , search , and suruey , as wel all Ships , Pinnaces , Boates , Barges , Leighters , Wherries , and other veffels whatsoeuer , now built or hereafter shall be built in any place or places within the realme of England , or dominion of Wales , or either of them , and all timber , planke , and other stuffe prouided fit , or prepared for the building , making , trimming , or repairing of any such Ships , Pinnaces , Boates , or any other vessels , as also all and euery the workes and workeman-ship of al and euery person and persons whatsoeuer vsed or imployed in the said Art or Mystery , or anything thereunto appertaining . And all such Ships , Boates , Barges , Lighters Wherries , and other vessels , which vpon any such search view , or suruey , they shall finde to bee substancially wrought or framed , they shall put the marke or seale of the said Company in some conuenient place , if they thinke fitt to testifie the same . And such of the said Ships or other vessels , ( whereof the timber-worke shall not be fully finished ) as they shall finde to be so insufficiently or deceiptfully made , and wrought or repaired as they must needes be dangerous to such as shall vse them to arrest and make stay vntill the same shall be amended , and made fit for Nauigation . And all such insufficient wood , timber and stuffe , as they shall finde to be put into any Ship , Boate , or vessell , or hewen , wrought , or fitted for that purpose , they shall charge the builders or owners thereof forthwith to take the same away , and to supply it with others that shall be good and sufficient , which if within conuenient time after such charge or warning they shall deny , deferre , or neglect to doe . That then it shall be lawfull to and for the said Master and Wardens , or any two of them , or any two of the said Assistants , or deputies aforesaid to impose and assesse vpon euery offendor for euery such offence , to the vse of the said Corporation fiue pound of lawfull mony of England , or lesse at their discretion . 8 And because many vnskilfull persons , and such as haue not bene brought vp as Apprentises in the said Art , or Mistery haue taken vpon them to vse the same , whereupon hath ensued sundry complaints of insufficient worke-manship , to the preiudice and discredit of the Companie , and the gouerners thereof . It is therefore ordained that no person or persons , practizing , or professing the said Art or Mistery , or any thing thereunto appertaining , shall from hence forth retaine , imploy , or set to worke any Ship-wright Carpenter or professor in the said Art or Mistery vnlesse he shall haue serued therein as an apprentice seauen yeares at least , and whosoeuer shall offend therin , shall forfaicte and pay to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation , forty shillings of lawful money of England . 9 Item it is ordayned that the said Master and Wardens shall forthwith duly examine , inquire , and informe themselues , how many persons of the said profession are at this present able and fitt , and of sufficient knowledge , skill , and practise to be alowed and continued as Maister-workemen in the said Art or Mistery . And them and euery of them at a generall Court or assembly , shall admit and cause to be registered in the booke of Ordinances of the said Corparation . And that from thence forth noe person of the said Corporation shall take vpon him the charge or place of a Maister-workman in the saide profession , or any thing therevnto apper taining , or the doing or performing of any worke or busines , by the day or great , either in making , building , grauing , trimming , or repairing of any Ship , Pinnace , Boate or other vessell , or in directing , guiding , leading , or hauing the charge or ouersight of any busines , worke or workmen , in the said Art or Mistery , vntill he shall haue serued therin seauen yeares or more as an Apprentice , and shall bee approued , licenced , and admitted by the said Master Wardens and Assistants , or the greater part of them by writing , vnder the common seale of the saide Corporation , to be a sufficient worke-man : And whosoeuer shall offend contrary to this Ordinance , shall forfaicte and pay to the said Maister and Wardens , to the vse of the said Corporation , fiue pounds of lawfull money of England . 10 Item it is ordained that no person or persons of the said Corporation , shall from henceforth bee admitted to take vpon him or them to be a yard keeper , except hee be thereunto licenced and alowed by the said Maister Wardens and Assistants , or the greater part of them , whereof the Maister and two of the Wardens to be alwaies three , by warrant in writing vnder the common seale of the said Corporation , vpon paine of forfaicting to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Coporation , fiue pounds of lawfull money of England , for euery month that he shall keepe a yard contrary to this Ordinance . 11 Item it is ordayned that noe person or persons of the said Corporation , Art or Mistery , shall from hence forth keepe any Apprentice at all , vntill he shall haue beene an apprentice seauen yeares or more in the said Art or Mistery or shall be alowed to be a sufficient worke-man , by the said Master Wardens and assistants or the greater part of them . And that no Iorneyman shall retaine or keepe any more then one Apprentice , at any one time vntill he be alowed and licensed to be a master work-man . Nor any master worke man shall haue or take aboue the number of two Apprentices at any one time , vntill he shall be an Assistant of the said Corporation . Nor any Assistant aboue the number of three at any time vntill he shall be a Warden of the said Corporation : Nor any person being or hauing beene a Warden aboue the number of foure at any one time vntill he shall be Master of the saide company , nor any person beeing or hauing beene a Master aboue the number of fiue at any one time . And whosoeuer shall offend this ordinance , shall forfaicte and pay to the said Master and Wardens , to the vse of the said Corporation , fiue pounds of lawfull money of England . Prouided alwaies that it shall be lawfull to and for euery person and persons hereby authorized , to retaine or keepe one or moe apprentice or apprentices at any time within the space of two yeares before the expiration of the tearme of any such apprentice , to take another prentice to succeed him that is growing nere the end of his time as aforesaid . And that two apprentices in this case shall be accompted but as one . 12 Item it is ordained that noe person of the said Art or Mistery shall retaine or keepe any person in the said profession , aboue three months before he bring him to the Hall or place appointed to be there bound apprentice by the Clarke of the compay or his deputie or deputies , for seuen yeares at the least , not to expire before he be foure and twenty yeares old , and to be there enrolled before the said Master and Wardens , or two of them , or before their deputies in remote places according to the true intent and meaning of his Maiesties Charter , in that behalfe , paying such ordinary alowances for the same , as heretofore hath beene vsually accustomed , that is to say two shillings sixe pence for presenting , sixe pence for enrolling , and foure pence to the Beadle . And whosoeuer shall offend in binding his Prentice else where , shall forfaict and pay to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation , for euery such offence forty shillings of lawfull money of England , and for euery weeke that he shall keepe him vnbound after the said three months ten shilling of like money . 13 Item it is further ordered , that for all apprentises formerly bound elswhere their Maisters shall within three months next ensuing ( vpon paine of forty shillings to be imployed to the vse of the said Corporation ) bring their Indentures to the said Clarke , or his deputies , to the end the same may be by him regestred and enrolled , for which they shall pay such fees and alowances as are before expressed , viz. two shillings sixe pence for presenting , sixe pence for enrolling , and foure pence to the Beadle . 14 Item it is ordayned that all Indentures for prentices of the said Corporation , shall be from henceforth made by the Clarke of the said Company for the time being , or his deputies , for which he may receiue and take the vsuall alowance of sixtene pence a pare , vpon paine of forfaicting for euery pare made elsewhere to the vse of the said Clark three shillings foure pence of lawfull money of England . And it is further ordered , that the foresaid charge of presenting , binding and enrolling shall be paid by the friends of the prentice , except the Master be otherwise contented . 15 Item it is ordayned that noe person or persons of the said Art or Mistery shall bargaine , sell , giue or set ouer his prentice or prentices , without the special priuity , licence , and consent of the said Master and Wardens , or their deputies in remote places , to the end they maye forsee that they may be set ouer to such as may lawfully take them and shall be able to teach them their trade , and find them all things necessary , vpon paine to forfaict to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation for euery such offence forty shillings of lawfull money of England . And if it hapen any person of the said Corporation to dye and depart this life , leauing any apprentice who hath serued two yeares or aboue of his tearme . It is ordayned that it shall be lawfull for the widdow of the party deceased to make her best benefit of him , during her widdow-hood that shee can . And that vpon request made to any Master workeman of the said Art or Mistery that he hath meanes to imploy him , hee shall set him to worke for such reasonable wages as he is able to earne . But if at the time of his Masters decease he shall not haue serued the full time of two yeares , or that the widdow die before the expiration of such apprentiship , or that his Master shall giue ouer his profession . That then it shall be lawfull for the said Master and Wardens and their deputies , to assigne and set ouer euery such apprentice , to such persons as they shall thinke conuenient . And if they refuse so to serue them , to correct and punish them according to the quality of the offence and person . 16 Item it is ordayned that euery person of the said profession shall vpon reasonable warning in that behalfe giuen repaire and come to and before said Master Wardens and assistants , or foure of them ( whereof the Master and one of the Wardens to be alwaies two ) or before their deputies at such time and place as shall be by them appoynted , and then and there respectiuely shall yeeld their consents , and willingly subscribe their names and take their corporall oaths to be ministred by the said Master and Wardens , or their deputies , to doe their best endeauor to and for the due performance and execution of his Maiesties Charter in al points according to the lawe , and of all and singular such wholesome and lawfull ordinances , constitutions , and orders as by vertue thereof are and shall be made , approued , and alowed , and so yeeld himselfe , and be registred a freeman of the said Art or Mistery : At which time of such alowing and registring euery Master Worke-man shall pay to the said Master and Wardens a fine of fiue shillinges : euery yard keeper thirtene shillings foure-pence , & euery Iorney-man three shillings sixe-pence , or lesse according to the discretion of the said Master and Wardens , for and to the vse of the said Corporation . And whosoeuer shall offend in any part of this ordinance , shall for euery time so offending forset and pay to the said Master and Wardens to the use of the said Corporation , twenty shillings of lawfull money of England . 17 Item it is ordained , that the said Master and Wardens or their deputie or deputies in remote place or places within the Realme of England and Dominion of Wales , or either of them by their beadle or other Officer for that purpose to bee appointed at any time or times , as often as they shall thinke fitte , summon and warne all person and persons of the said Art or Mysterie , to come and appeare before them either at the common Hall , or at any other conuenient place or places respectiuely , And that euery person so lawfully summoned for what cause soeuer it bee concerning the needefull affaires of the said Art or Mysterie which doth not come and appeare at the day , time and place accordingly , hauing no iust cause of excuse shall forfait and pay to the said Master and Wardens , to the vse of the said Corporation for his contempt and failling at the first time twelue pence , at the second time two shillings , at the third time foure shillings , and so euery time increasing double vntill hee or they summoned doe make their appearance , But if any of the Assistants of the said Art or mysterie shall bee summoned to appeare at the Hall or other conuenient place , vpon a certaine day and hower appointed ( which hower vppon euery Court day shall bee eight of the clock in the morning at the furthest , and shall make default not alleadging a reasonable excuse shal be sent in writing to the said Master and Wardens at the place and hower appointed ) hee shal forfait to the said Master & Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation for euery default , at the first time two shillings , at the second time foure shillings , at the third time eight shillings , and so euery time increasing double vntil he shal make his appearance , to be paid & satisfied by the said Master and Wardens before he shal be admitted to sit downe or take place againe amongst them . And if any person vpon demand made shall refuse or deferre to pay the said fine or fines imposed vpon him or them as aforesaid , hee shall forfait and pay to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation for euery time so refusing or deferring twenty shillings of lawfull money of England . 18 Item it is ordained that no person of the said Corporation shall worke or cause to be wrought any thing in or about the said trade vpon any Sunday , vpon paine to forfait sixe shillings and eight pence for euery offence to the said Master and Wardens , the one halfe thereof to bee to the vse of the said Corporation , and the other halfe to him that will informe thereof being a Ship-wright or Officer belonging to the said Corporation . 19 Item it is ordained that no person of the said Corporation shall at any time counsaile , intice , procure or perswade any seruant or apprentice of the said profession to any disorder , or dishonest , vnlawfull action , or to leaue or forsake his trade or calling , or vnlawfully to depart or runne away from his Masters seruice , either before or after he is bound , And whosoeuer shall offend therein , shall forfait and pay for euery such offence to the said Master and Wardens to the vse aforesaid the sum of fortie shillings of lawfull money of England , or else to be corrected according to the quality and condition of the person . 20 Item it is ordained that if any apprentice of the said Art or Mysterie shall at any time complaine to the said Master and Wardens or to any their deputies for lacke of meat drinke apparrell or for any vnlawfull correction or misuseage , Or if any Master shall complaine of his apprentice for any matter of misdemeanor whatsoeuer . That then in euery such case it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Master and Wardens , or any their deputies , or any two or three of them to send for the partie against whom any such complaint is made , and to take such order therein as they shall thinke agreeable to iustice and equitie , which whosoeuer shall refuse to stand to , shall bee punished by reasonable fine or otherwise according to the quantitie and qualitie of the offence and person , And the like course and order shall be holden against disobedient seruants and prentices in correcting and punishing them when their stubbornes shall be growen to such a head or height as their Master Mistresse of Dame cannot rule them . And it is further ordained that if any prentice shall before the end of his terme marrie or contract himselfe to any woman or vnlawfully depart or run away from his Masters seruice , he shall loose the benefit of all his time and seruice past , and either become new bound to his Master for seuen yeares , or else make him such recompence as the said Master and Wardens or their deputies , or any three of them shall thinke fit and reasonable , who shall likewise inflict vpon him such other exemplary punishment , either by fine , correction , or otherwise as by iustice the nature and quality of the offence shall deserue . 21 Item it is ordayned that euery person now vsing , practising , or professing , or which hereafter shall vse , practice , or professe the said Art or Mistery , or anything therevnto belonging , shall be from time to time contributory , and shall beare and pay vnto the said Master and Wardens for the time being , or their deputie , or deputies for that purpose authorised all such reasonable summe and sums of money , for taxes , tallages , and other impositions , aswell ordinary as extraordinary as shall be thought fit , and shall agree with reason and indifferency to be assessed or imposed vpon him or them for the time being , as well for the necessary seruice of our soueraigne Lord the King his heires and successors , as also for the maintenance , support , and vpholding of the said Corporation , and all other the needfull affaires , causes , and thinges whatsoeuer , for and concerning the common good , wealth , and estate of the said Corporation , according to their seuerall abilities . And euery one that shall refuse to pay and discharge the same portion of money , which shall be so reasonably assessed , rated , and taxed vpon him as aforesaid , shall forfait and pay to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation fortie shillings of lawfull money of England , for euery time that hee or they shall so refuse contrary to the true meaning of this Ordinance . 22 Item it is ordained that euery person and persons of the said Art or Mysterie shall at all times heereafter be and shew himselfe to bee of good and honest behauiour , and bearing both in word and deede toward the said Master , Wardens , and Assistants , and their deputies , Officers , and Ministers for the time beeing and euery of them , and shall bee , and shew himselfe to bee tractable , conformeable and obedient touching all and euery their lawfull constitutions , ordinances , causes and matters concerning the said Art or Mysterie , And if any person shall at any time heereafter be found wilfully obstinate , stubborne or disobedient , or in any wise resisting against the said Master Wardens and Assistants or any of them or any their deputies Officers or Ministers to the let hinderance , or disturbance of the due execution of their said Offices , or shall at any time begin attempt or make any priuie assemblie , conuenticle , counsell , or conspiracy against the said Master , Wardens and Assistants , for the time beeing or any of them , or in any sort tending to the violation or breach of any good ordinance or order now in force or hereafter to be made and ordained for the good gouernment of the said Corporation , or shall at any time directly or indirectly practise or attempt any thinge which may in any wise be preiuditiall or hurtfull to the lawfull and good estate of the said corporation , or hauing knowledge or notice of any vnlawfull attempt , practise or conspiracy , shall not within conuenient time discouer the same to the said Master Wardens and Assistants , or their deputies or some of them , and this or any of these things being proued before the said Master and Wardens or three of them by the testimony of two honest and sufficient witnesses . It is ordained that euery such offendor shall for euery such offence contrary to this ordinance , forfaict and pay to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation forty shillings of lawfull money of England : And it is further ordayned that no person of the said profession vpon paine of forty shillings to be imposed and leauied as aforesaid shall after sufficient warning giuen imploy or sett any such insolent and disobedient person to worke vntill he hath submitted and conformed himselfe , according to his Maiesties expresse pleasure in that behalfe declared in the said Charter . 23 Item it is ordayned that no person of the said Art or Mistery shall openly or priuily reuile , miscall , or misuse with evill speches of reproach any of the said company , or vse any vnciuill or vndecent tearmes against any of them , vpon paine to forfaicte and pay for euery time so offending , to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation fiue shillings of lawfull money of England . 24 Item it is ordained that euery person and persons now practising or professing , or which hereafter shall practise or professe the said Art or Mistery or anything thereunto appertaining , shall truly satisfie and pay to the said Master and Wardens or their deputie or deputies for that purpose authorised towards the maintenance and vpholding of the said Corporation a certaine contribution in the name of Quarterage , according to the rate and proportion following , that is to say , euery Iorney-man not hauing or keeping any seruant or apprentice at all shall pay foure pence euery quarter , that is to say sixteene-pence a yeare , and euery Iorney-man keeping or licenced to keepe one seruant or apprentice sixe-pence a quarter that is two shillings a yeare , euery Master worke-man eight-pence a quarter that is two shillings eight-pence a yeare , and euery Yard-keeper and Assistant twelue-pence a quarter that is foure shillings a yeare . All which seuerall portions of money shall vpon the quarter day be brought or sent to the Hall , or place appointed for the quarterly meeting , and paid to the said Master and Wardens or their deputies , without any deferring or further delay . And whosoeuer shall willfully refuse , deny , or faile to make payment thereof at the time and place aforesaid , shall forfet and pay to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation , for euery such refusall , denying , or failing sixe shilings eight-pence of lawfull money of England . 25 Item it is ordayned for the better experience and cunning to bee had in the said Art or Mistery , and for the better seruice to his Maiesty and the Common wealth , that euery person or persons that doe or shall vse practise or professe the said Art or Mistery any or thing thereunto appertaning , as the making , building , caulking , or reparing of Ships , Pinnaces , Boats or other vessells , or the making or triming of Masts , Oares , Pumpes , Tops , Pullies , or any other Instruments of wood pertayning to shipping , shall practise and exercise themselues and their seruants in euery perticular point and mistery of the said profession , as members of one entire body and branches of one and the selfe-same Art or Mistery , to the end they be not hereafter diuided to the great inconuenience both of his Maiesties seruice , and Common wealth . And if any person or persons shall be hereafter found remisse , or disobedient therein , he shall be reasonably fined and punished at the discretion of the said Master and Wardens or the more part of them . 26 Item it is ordained that euery Iorney-man of the said Art or Mistery , being hired for wages by the day , or week , shall betwixt the midst of the months of March and September come and be at their worke at or before halfe an hower before sixe of the clock in the morning , and continue at worke and not depart vntill halfe an hower after six at night reseruing onely conuenient times of eating and sleeping in the sommer time . And betwixt the midst of September and the midest of March , shall be and continue at their worke from the spring of the day in the morning vntill night of the same day , except the times appointed for dinner , vpon paine to loose and forfet foure pence for euery hower of wilfull absence , and two pence for euery hower of negligent absence , to be deducted and defalked out of his wages that shall so offend to the vse of the said Corporation . 27 Item it is ordained that if any person of the said profession shall be lawfully retained into worke or seruice by the day or great , and shall vniustly and vnlawfully leaue or depart from the same vntill such time as the same worke shall be fully finished , he shall forfet and pay to the said Master and Wardens for euery such offence forty shillings of lawfull money of England to the vse of the said Corporation . And it is further ordayned , that if any Yard-keeper or Master worke-man of the said Art or Mistery , after he hath retained any Iorney-man into his worke or seruice , shall without any iust or reasonable cause put him away and entertaine another , he shall forfet and pay for euery such offence to the said Master and Wardens , to the vse of the saide Corporation , tenne shillinges of lawfull money of England . 28 Item it is ordayned for the better supporting of the said Corporation , and for the maintenance and releiuing of the poore , aged , and decayed persons of the same , euery person of the said Art or Mistery that shall hereafter make or build any new Ship or vessell of the burden of one hundreth Tunnes and vpward , shall pay and contribute to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the poore aged and decaied persons of the said Corporation sixe-pence of lawfull money of England , for euery tunne that euery such Ship or vessell shall containe in burden . And that euery person of the said company that shall hereafter make or build any new Ship , Pinnace , Boate , Barge , Lighter , or any other vessell or vessells whatsoeuer , from one hundreth Tunnes downewards to a wherry , shall pay to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation , three-pence for euery Tunne that any such smaller Ship or vessell shall containe in burden , and for euery Wherry foure-pence of lawfull money of England . And lastly , that euery person of the said profession , Art , or Mistery , that shall fom hence forth directly or indirectly take , performe or doe any old taske-worke , or shall amende or repaire any old Ship , Pynnace , Caruell , Hoy , Boate , Lighter , or other vessell by the great , or taske , shall pay and contribute to the said Master and Wardens , to the vse of the said Corporation twelue-pence of lawfull money of England , for euery twenty shillings that all or any such old worke shall amount vnto . And whosoeuer shall refuse , with-hold , or deny the paiment of the said impositions or any of them or any part therof , after demaund thereof made by the said Master and Wardens or any of them or any their deputies as aforesaid , shall forfaite and pay to the said Master and Wardens , to the vse of the poore of the said Corporation for such refusall ot deferring , double the value of any such imposition . 29 Item it is ordayned that for the vse and purpose aforesaid , euery person of the said Art or Mistery , that shall from henceforth be hired to goe to sea for wages , or shares , shall pay and contribute to the said Master and Wardens two pence for euery twenty shillings , that his wages or shares shall amount vnto . And that whosoeuer shall refuse to pay the same vpon demaund , shall forfaict to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation double the value , and tenne shillings for euery weeke that the same shall bee afterwards detained . 30 Item it is ordained that noe person of the said Art , or Mistery , shall at any time hereafter , be hired , serue , or goe forth to sea as a Carpenter in any Shippe or vessell , vnlesse he shall first giue notice thereof , and register his name at the common Hall , vpon paine of tenneshillinges to be forfaicted to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation , for euery time doinge the contrary . And that noe seruant or apprentice vpon paine of fiue pounds to be forfaicted by his Master , to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation , shall serue or goe for Master-carpenter of any Sip or vessell to sea , except his sufficiency be first examined and approued by the said Master and Wardens , or their deputies , vnder the common seale of the said Corporation . 31 Item it is ordained that once in euery month , or oftner if neede shall require , there shall be kept and holden by the Master and Wardens of the said Art or Mistery , at their common Hall or some other conuenient place , one Court or assembly , for the said Art or Mistery , for the hearing of causes and complaints , and deciding and determining of all questions , debates , and controuersies , concerning the affaires and busines of the said Art or Mistery , or betweene ●he workemen or members therof . At which Court or assembly so to be kept and holden , the said Master and Wardens shall or may call so many of the said Assistants as they shall thinke fit and may conueniently be there , to be aiding and assisting to them in all and euery matter and thing that shal be then and there propounded or moued . And it is ordained that foure times in the yeare , that is to say vpon the feast day of Saint Michaell Th'arkeangell , the feast day of Saint Iohn Th' Appostle , the feast day of Th' annunciation of St. Mary the Virgin , and vpon the feast day of the Natiuity of Saint Iohn Baptist , if they fall not vpon a Sunday , or ells the day following , there shall be holden for the said Art or Mistery foure generall Assemblies , or Courts , which shall be called the foure quarter dayes of Assembly , vnto which there shall be summoned the whole body of the said Corporation , or so many as may conueniently be there . At which time all the ordinances of the said Art or Mistery , if neede shall so require shall be distinctly read vnto them to the end they may the better learne to keepe and obserue the same . And likewise it is ordered that these ordinances or the Coppies thereof shall be sent into the seuerall needful places of the Realme of England and dominion of Wales , to the end the like course may be held and taken by the deputies there . And whosoeuer shall make default in appeareance at any of the said quarter dayes , hauing no lawfull or iust excuse in that behalfe , shall forfet and pay to the said Master and Wardens for the time beeing , to the vse of the said Corporation tenne shillings of lawfull money of England . 32 Item it is ordayned and established that euery person of the said Art or Mistery shall vpon his appeareance before the said Master and Wardens or any three or two of them or any their deputies , become bound in fiue hundreth Pounds of Lawfull money of England to the said Master and Wardens for the time being , vpon Condition to be endorsed or subscribed to this effect following , that is to say . That they nor any of them shall at any time voluntarily worke beyond the seas for any forraine Prince or State or voluntarily giue any direction or aduice to any other person or persons to worke for any such forraine Prince or state without speciall licence first had and obtained by warrante in writing vnder the hands of three of the Lords of his Maiesties most honorable priuy Counsell his heires or successors at the least . And likewise take his Corporall oath to such effect as is mentioned in the said condition-And whosoeuer shall refuse to enter into such bond and take such Corporall oath as aforesaid shall forfet and pay to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation fiue pounds of lawfull money of England , and from thenceforth to be disabled to be of the said Corporation or Society . For making and entring of which said bond the Clark for the time being shall or may take twelue-pence , and for entring and ministring the said oath eight pence . 33 Item it is ordayned that yerely within twentie dayes at most after the newe Master and wardens shall be chosen and sworne , the old Master and Wardens in their common Hall or in some other conuenient place shall present , exhibit , and declare vnto them in the presence of foure at least of the Assistants a true and iust accompt to be exacted and alowed of by the auditors of the company of and for all his and their receiptes and payments concerning the said Art or Mistery , who vpon their said accompts shal be alowed al and euery such reasoable costs charges & expences as they or any of them shall haue disbursed or expended for or about the necessary affaires , occasions , or businesses of the said Art or Mistery . And then and there shall not onely deliuer the said bookes of accompts vnto the said Master and Wardens , but also all money , plate , and goods , together with the said keyes of the said Chest , and all other thinges whatsoeuer being or remaining in his or their custody or possession or which they or any of them shall or may be duely or lawfully charged to haue receiued to the vse of the said Company , or else for such thinges as they cannot presently deliuer , they shall within one month next following the determination of the said Accompt , well and truly pay , content , satisfie , and deliuer the same and euery part thereof vnto the said new Master and Wardens for the time being , to the vse and behoofe of the said Company . And whosoeuer shall make default thereof , shall for euery day after the said month is ended forfet and pay to the said new Master and Wardens , to the vse of the said Corporation forty shillings , vntill he or they shall haue made full payment and satisfaction thereof , according to the true intent and meaning of this ordinance . And if it shall happen any of the said Master and Wardens to be slack or negligent in making or deliuering in the said accompts in manner as aforesaid or be found faultie or vntrustie therein , such offendor shall forfet and pay to the said new Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation , such reasonable summes of money and fines , as shall be assessed by the said new Master and Wardens or the more part of them for the time being . The like course and order to be held by the deputies in remote places vpon paine of forfetting to the said Master and Wardens tenne shillings for euery day after the month is ended that he shall make default in satisfiing and deliuerie to the said Master and Wardens or their succeding deputie or deputies , such money , goodes , and other thinges as they or any of them may lawfully be charged to haue in their handes to the vse of the said company , besides such further fines as they shall thinke to impose vpon them for their slacknes in giuing vp their accomptes . 34 Item it is ordayned that the said Master and Wardens shall imploy their true & best endeauor to order , compound , and appease all complaints and controuersies betweene the brethren and members of the said Corporation , to the end to preuent all occasions of sute in law by one of them against another . 35 Item it is ordained that noe person of the said Art or Mistery shall retaine , keepe , or set to worke any stranger borne , or reueale or discouer to any stranger or other person , not free , or seruing for his freedome in the said Art or Mistery , the secrets of the same Art , or the speciall manner of English building vpon paine of tenne pounds . Nor shall discouer to any person not free or a member of the said Corporation , any speciall points of the Charter or ordinance , or of any busines or matters that at any meeting at the Hall or else where shall be propounded , debated , or concluded , to the preiudice of the said Corporation , vpon paine of fiue pounds to be paid to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation . 36 Item it is ordayned that no Yard keeper , builder , or Master Workman of the said Art or Mistery inhabiting or dweling in any Port , Hauen-Towne , or place within the precincts aforesaid , shall retaine , imploy , or set to worke the people or work-men of any other Porte , or place , as long as he may haue sufficient and able worke-men of his neighbours dwelling within the same Port or place , for reasonable wages toperforme his worke , vpon paine to forfet to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation for euery person he shall entertaine or imploy , contrary to this ordinance fiue shillings , and tenne shillings for euery weeke that after warning giuen he shall imploy or set him to worke . And it is ordayned that the Inhabitants of any Porte , Hauen , or place within the precincts aforesaid , shall not at any tyme hereafter be imployed , retained , or set to worke , in any other place , except hee be first licensed and authorised in writing by the said Master and Wardens or their deputies of that precinct or place where he seeketh or is desirous to be set to worke , and except he pay and contribute towards the reliefe and maintenance of the poore of the said Corporation , three-pence of lawfull money of England , or lesse at the discretion of the said Master and Wardens out of euery daies wages that he shall be there imployed , to be retayned by him that setteth him to worke , who shall be answerable or accomptable , vpon paine of twenty shillings to be imposed vpon euery one that contrary to this ordinance shall imploy any man , or shall refuse to contribute as aforesaid to be paid to the vse of the said Corporation . 37 Item it is ordayned that noe person that is or shall be onely a Caulker shall retaine or keepe aboue one prentice at any one time . And that noe seruant or prentice of the said profession shall be set or suffred to Caulke vnder water in grauing , vntill he hath or shall haue serued two yeares at least , vpon paine of three shillings foure-pence for euery Tide , to be paide by him that shall set any such seruant or Apprentice to worke contrary to this ordinance , to be paid to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation . 38 Item it is ordayned that if any of the Assistants of the said Art or Mistery shall dye or depart this life . That then the residue of the Assistants , or so many as can conueniently be there ( being for that purpose warned ) shall in a decent manner be at the buriall vpon paine of fiue shillings for euery one making default , to be paid to the said Master and Wardens to the vse of the said Corporation . For which said warning , the Beadle is to be alowed fiue shillings for his paines by the Executors or friends of the deceased 39 Item it is ordained that if any person or persons of any other trade or profession whereof there is speciall vse in the said Art or Mistery as Caruers , Ioyners , Inborers , Smiths , Painters &c. shall bee admitted into the freedome of the said Corporation , they shall bee imploied in their proper Art or Mistery before the forrayners , so long as it shall be no disaduantage to the common good , or to any other perticuler person that shall haue cause to vse them . 40 Item it is ordained that if any person or persons vsing , or exercising , or which hereafter shall vse or exercise the said Art or Mistery or any thing therevnto appertayning in any place or places within the precincts aforesaid doe or shall infringe , breake , or not obserue any Act or Ordinance in these points expressed , and doe or shall deny , refuse , delay , or deferre to pay any such sum or summes of money as shall happen at any time hereafter to be forfetted or due to be paide to the said Master and Wardens for any paine , penalty or forfeiture , touching any of the ordinances in these presents expressed , and doe or shall deny , refuse , delay , or deferre to pay any such sum or sums of money as shall happen at any time hereafter to be forfetted or due to be paid to the said Master and Wardens for any paine , penalty , or forfetture touching any of the ordinances in these presents expressed , limmited and appointed . That then it shall and may be lawfull to and for the said Master and Wardens or any two of them or their deputie or deputies or any other person or persons by them in that behalfe to be appointed , either by themselues or else if neede bee taking with them one Constable , Bailiffe , or Headborough or any other of the Kinges officers at all , or any time or times or their will and pleasure to enter into the howse or howses , Boothes , Shops , Ware-howses and Yards of him so refusing , denying , delaying or defering to pay any such paines , penalties , forfetures , or any other summe or sums of money by him or them due or payable , and to distraine the goods of all and euery such parties offending , and to carry away , retaine and keepe the same vntill the said paines , penalties , forfettures , or any other summe or summes of money aforesaid and euery part thereof shall be fully satisfied and payed , or otherwise to leauy or fue for , and recouer the same by any lawfull meanes : And this to doe from time to time so often as need or occasion shall require . 41 And to th' intent that his Maiesties pleasure expressed in the said Charter and Letters Pattents may be the better obeyed , and all the orders , ordinances , and constitutions , in these presents contayned , may without any respect of persons , conniuence or parcialitie from time to time be duly executed and performed . It is ordained that not onely in euery needful place and places within the realme of England and dominion of Wales , there be from time to time election made of the most able and sufficient persons to be deputies in all remote places , that the Charter and ordinances may be there duely and truly executed . But also more especially in the riuer of Thames , where there is greatest imployment , and greatest numbers of people of the said Art or Mistery are inhabiting and residing . It is likewise ordayned that there be for euer sixteene of the most able , wise , discreete , and substanciall persons and workemen who shall be called the deputie Assistants of the said Art or Mistery for the time being . Of whom yearely vpon the feast of Saint Mathew the Apostle there shall be choyce made of two to be their Wardens and Gouernors for the yeare following . The said deputie Assistants , taking their Corporall oath for the due execution of their places , shall respectiuely endeauor themselues to put in execution within the River of Thames all the lawes and ordinances herein contained , and hereafter to be made for the common good , weale and proffit of the said Corporation , and all the grants , powers , and authorities granted by the Kinges Maiesty to the said Master Wardens and Cominalty . They shall inquire and informe themselues from time to time of all manner of abuses , complaints and misdemeanors contrary thereunto , which if they be of ordinary importance they shall examine and decide amongst themselues , referring alwaies matters of more serious consequence to the Master and Wardens . They shal be assisting to the Master and Wardens in their Searches , and in leauying of fines and collecting of duties &c. They shall keepe Court euery sixe weeks at the Hall , where the Clarke shall attend vpon them to aduise with them and register their proceedings . To these Courts they may summon and warne by the Beadle any of the Cominalty or common Worke-men or Iorney men within the riuer , and fine them if neede bee . They shall continew in their places vntill they come to be Yard-keepers or Assistants , and be remoueable vpon iust occasion , and others chosen in their places or steedes . Lastly they shall be accomptable and fineable for neglect according as the deputies in remote places . 42 And for somuch as by their said Charter there is an oath to be administred to the said Master , Wardens , and Assistants , and also to Iorney-men vpon their admittance , and noe fourme of the said oath set downe . It is ordered and decreed that the fourme of the said oath shall bee as followeth . That is to say The Oath of the Master . You shall be true to our Soueraigne Lord the Kings Maiestie , his heires and successors , and you shall endeuour your selfe the best you can iustly lawfully and indifferently to execute and cause to be executed your Office of Master so farre forth in euery respect as lawfully you may , And in like manner shall obserue and cause to be obserued all the good and lawfull Orders , Ordinances and Constitutions herein contained , and heereafter to be made for the common good , weale and profit of the said Corporation , and all the grants , powers and aucthorities granted by the Kings Maiestie , to the Master , Wardens and Cominaltie of the Art or Mysterie of Shipwrights of Redrith in the Countie of Surrey , without sparing any person , for affection , meede , dreade , or promise of reward during the time you shall remaine and be in the said Office of Master . And of all and euery such goods , plate and summes of money , or any other thing or things that by reason of your said Office shall come to your hands or possession , you shall according to Th'ordinances heerein specified , make a good , true , iust and plaine accompt , or else pay such fines as you shall be ordered to pay for your not so doing . You shall not for any malice , nor for loue or affection , assesse any person in a greater or lesser summe than after the quantitie and qualitie of his offence according to your discretion and according to th' ordinances in these presents mentioned . So help you God. 43 The like Oath for the Wardens and Deputies , respectiuely , mutatis mutandis . The Oath of the Assistants , You shall sweare that you shall bee true to our Soueraigne Lord the Kings Maiestie his heires and lawfull successors , and you shall indeauour your selues so farre forth as you lawfully may , to the best of your skill , aswell for and concerning the giuing and vsing your faithfull aduices and counsell to the Master and Wardens of the Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights of Redrith in the Countie of Surrey , for the time being , for their more better execution of their said Offices , And to giue & vse your faithful aid and assistance in euery respect as much as in you lyeth , and lawfully you may doe for the due obseruation of all the good and lawfull ordinances heerein contained or heereafter to be made according to the true intent and meaning of the same , and of the powers , grants , and aucthorities granted by the Kinges Maiestie to the Master , Wardens and Cominaltie , without sparing or impeaching any person or persons whatsoeuer either for affection or malice or in respect of any reward , meede , dread , or promise of reward during the time you shal be an Assistant touching the said Art or Mysterie . So help you God. 44 The Oath of euery one that is made free , You shall be true to our Soueraigne Lord the King to his heires and successors , you shall be obedient from time to time in all matters lawfull to the Master and Wardens of this Art or Mysterie of Ship-wrights for the time being , and readie to come to their lawfull summons except you haue a lawfull excuse . Or else you shall pay such reasonable penalties as you shall forfait for your disobedience according to the Ordinances heeretofore made by the Master , Wardens and Assistants of the said Art or Mysterie . Which Ordinances and euery of them to your power you shall obserue and keepe , and all the lawfull counsels of the Master , Wardens and Cominaltie of the said Art or Mysterie , which at any time of assembly shall lawfully be had in Communication among them then at their common Hall , you shall keepe secret & not disclose the same to any person of the same Cominaltie , nor to any other , & especially to any such person whom the same matter doth concerne and touch . So help you God. All which Ordinances and constitutions in manner and forme aforesaid at the request of the said Phinees Pett Master of the said Act or Mysterie of Ship wrights and of the said William Bright , Nicholas Symonson , and Nicholas Clay now Wardens and Cominaltie of the same by aucthoritie and vertue of the said Act of Parliament made in the said nineteenth yeare of King H. 7. Wee the said Chauncellor and cheefe Iustice of either Bench aforesaid haue , seene , read , examined and perused , and for good laudable and lawfull Ordinances constitutions and Oathes so far as we lawfully may , wee doe allow and approue by these presents . In witnesse whereof wee haue heereunto subscribed our names and set to our seales the tenth day of September . In the yeares of the Raigne of our Soueraigne Lord Iames by the grace of God King of England , France and Ireland , defendor of the faith &c. the tenth , and of Scotland the fortieth . THO. ELLESMERE Cane . THO. FLEMING . EDVV. COKE . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A06315-e50 The preamble . The reasons and ground of this Charter . Who are to bee of the Corporation . The name of the Corporation . To haue a Common Seale . To haue a Master , three Wardens , and sixteene Assistants . Nomination of the first Master . Nomination of the first Wardens . Nomination of the first Assistants . The day of election of Masters & Wardens . To bee remoueable for misdemean or & and others chosen . To be fined for refusall or neglect . To appoynt Deputies in remote places . Their duty and office . To haue a Clarke . Power to choose inferior officers To take in any person to bee of the company and again to displace them Keeping & retayning of Apprentices . To be boūd and enrolled at their Common Hall. Courts and consultation . Power to make lavves . Offendors to be fined . Power to leauie and recouer duties , fines , &c. by distrease or action of Det. Restraint from discouery of the secrets of of the trade . Punishmēt of such as shall depart from their worke and be mutinous . Hearing of complaints . Searches & surueyes . Power to trade beyond the seas . Surueying of Tounage Power to punish . Imprisonment of offendors . Freedome from Size or Sessions Submission to the Charter . Power to purchase . The Kinges charge . The Preamble . Election of Auditors . Election of Stewards . The company to heare a sermon vpon the election day . For prouiding a dinner vpon the election day . Election of Beadles . For hauing a Chest with foure lockes and keyes . Searches and surueies . None to be set to worke vnles he hath beene aprentice to the trade . For distinction & approbatiō of Mr. workemen Admittance of yard-keepers . Taking of apprentices . Binding enrolling and presenting of Apprentises . Formerly bound to be enrolled at the Hall , Making of Indentures . Setting ouer of Apprentices . Submission to the ordinances . Appearance at the Hall vpon summons . Restraining of worke on Sundaies . Against inticing away of prentices Contributions for maintenance of the Corporation . Suppressing of conspiracies against Charters and ordinances . None of the company to reuile another . Payment of quarterage . Perfecting the company in the Knowledge of the Trade Coming to , & departure from worke Continuance at worke begun . Tonnage of Ships & poundage vpon old taske worke Poundage of persons that goe to Sea No insufficient person to goe to Sea. Keeping of monthly & quarterly Courts Restraining of worke to any forraine Prince . Yeelding vp of accompt . Deciding of controuersies . To restrane the discouery of the Secrets of the trade . For imployment so the company at their dweling places . An order for Calkers Buriall of the Assistans Freemen to be imployed be one Forrayners . Di●strayning for Fines . Deputy Assistants in the Thames , Oath of the Maister &c. " 1612 " 
A66381	----	The case of indifferent things used in the worship of God proposed and stated, by considering these questions : Qu. I. Whether things indifferent used in divine worship (or, whether there be any things indifferent in the worship of God?) : Qu. II. Whether a restraint of our liberty in the use of such indifferent things be a violation of it? Williams, John, 1636?-1709. 1683 Approx. 99 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 27 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2005-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A66381 Wing W2689 ESTC R260 12495196 ocm 12495196 62494 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A66381) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 62494) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 951:68) The case of indifferent things used in the worship of God proposed and stated, by considering these questions : Qu. I. Whether things indifferent used in divine worship (or, whether there be any things indifferent in the worship of God?) : Qu. II. Whether a restraint of our liberty in the use of such indifferent things be a violation of it? Williams, John, 1636?-1709. Bagshaw, Edward, 1629-1671. [2], 49, [1] p. Printed by J. Redmayne, Jun. for Fincham Gardiner ..., London : 1682/3. Attributed to John Williams. Cf. NUC pre-1956. Attributed also to Edward Bagshaw. Cf. NUC pre-1956. Reproduction of original in Huntington Library. 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Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor. The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines. Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Worship -- Early works to 1800. God -- Worship and love -- Early works to 1800. 2005-01 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2005-01 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2005-03 Emma (Leeson) Huber Sampled and proofread 2005-03 Emma (Leeson) Huber Text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-04 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion THE CASE OF Indifferent Things Used in the WORSHIP of GOD , Proposed and Stated , by considering these QUESTIONS . Qu. I. Whether things Indifferent , though not Prescribed , may be Lawfully used in Divine Worship ? [ or , Whether there be any things Indifferent in the Worship of God ? ] Qu. II. Whether a restraint of our Liberty in the use of such Indifferent things be a violation of it ? LONDON , Printed by J. Redmayne , Jun. for Fincham Gardiner at the White Horse in Ludgate-street . 1682 / 3. Question . Q. Whether things not prescribed in the Word of God , may be Lawfully used in Divine Worship ? BEfore I proceed to the Case it self , it will be fit to consider what the things are which the Question more immediately respects . For the better understanding of which , we may observe , 1. That there are Essential parts of Divine Worship , and which are , either by Nature or Revelation , so determined , that they are in all Ages necessary : In Natural Religion , such are the Objects of it , which must be Divine ; such are the acknowledgments of Honour , and Reverence , due and peculiar to those Objects , as Prayer , &c. And in the Christian Religion , such are the Sacraments of Baptism , and the Lord's Supper . These are always to be the same in the Church . 2. There are other things relating to Divine Worship , which are arbitrary and variable , and determined according to circumstances , as Gesture , Place , &c. As to the former it 's granted by the contending Parties , that they are all already prescribed , and that nothing in that kind can be added to what is already prescribed , nor can any thing so prescribed be altered , or abolished . Nothing now can be made necessary and binding to all Persons , Places , and Ages , that was not so from the beginning of Christianity ; and nothing that was once made so by Divine Authority can be rendred void or unnecessary by any other . Therefore the Question is to be applied to the latter , and then it 's no other than , Whether things in their own nature Indifferent , though not prescribed in the Word of God , may be lawfully used in Divine Worship ? Or , Whether there be any thing Indifferent in the Worship of God ? Toward the resolution of which , I shall 1. Enquire into the Nature , and state the Notion of things Indifferent . 2. Shew that things Indifferent may be Lawfully used in Divine Worship . 3. Consider how we may know what things are Indifferent in the Worship of God. 4. How we are to Determine our selves in the use of Indifferent things so applied . 5. Shew that there is nothing required in the Worship of God in our Church , but what is either Necessary in it self , and so binding to all Christians ; or what is Indifferent , and so may be Lawfully used by them . 1. I shall enquire into the Nature , and state the Notion of things Indifferent . In doing of which we are to observe , that all things with reference to Practice are reducible to these three Heads : First , Duty . Secondly , Sin. Thirdly , Neither Duty nor Sin. Duty is either so Morally , and in its own Nature , or made so by Divine and Positive Command . Sin is so in its own Nature , or made and declared to be such by Divine and Positive Prohibition . Neither Duty nor Sin , is that which no Law , either of Nature or Revelation , hath determined ; and is usually known by the Name of Indifferent , that is , it 's of a middle Nature , partaking in it self of neither extremes , and may be indifferently used or forborn , as in Reason and Prudence shall be thought meet . Things of this kind the Apostle calls Lawful , 1 Cor. 10. 23. &c. because they are the subject of no Law , and what are therefore Lawful to us , and which without Sin we may either chuse or refuse . Thus the Apostle doth determine , Rom. 4. 15. Where no Law is there is no Transgression , that is , it can be no transgression to omit that which the Law doth not injoyn , nor to do that which it doth not forbid ; for else that would be a Duty which the Law doth not injoyn , and that would be a Sin which it doth not forbid ; which is in effect to say there is a Law where there is none , or that Duty and Sin are so without respect to any Law. But now if Duty be Duty because it 's injoyn'd , and Sin be Sin because it 's forbidden , then Indifferent is Indifferent because it 's neither injoyn'd nor forbidden . For as to make it a Duty there needs a Command , and to make it a Sin there needs a Prohibition ; so where there is neither Command nor Prohibition , it 's neither Duty nor Sin , and must be therefore Indifferent , Lawful , and Free. So that we may as well know by the Silence of the Law what is Indifferent , as we may know by its Authority what is a Duty or a Sin. And I have no more Reason to think that a Duty or a Sin which it takes no notice of ( since all Obligation ariseth from a Law ) than that not to be a Duty or a Sin which it doth : The Nature of Lawful things being as much determined so to be , by the want of such Authority , as that of Necessary is determined by it : And he that shall say that 's a Duty or a Sin which is not so made and declared by any Law , may as well say that 's no Duty or Sin which there is a Law about . To conclude , there must be a Law to make it a Transgression , and the want of a Law doth necessarily suppose it to be none , and what there is no Law for or against , remains Indifferent in it self , and Lawful to us . As for instance , suppose there should be a Dispute concerning Days set apart for the Service and Worship of God , how must this be determined but by the Law of Nature or Revelation ? and how shall we be resolved in the case , but by considering what the Law injoyns or forbids in it ? If we find it not injoyn'd , it can be of it self no Duty ; if we find it not forbidden , it can be of it self no Sin ; and consequently it 's Lawful and Indifferent , and in what we neither Sin by omitting nor observing . So the Apostle concludes , Rom. 14. 6. He that regardeth a day , regardeth it unto the Lord , and he that regardeth not the day , unto the Lord he doth not regard it ; that is , there was no Law requiring it , and so making the observation of it Necessary ; and no Law forbidding it , and so making the observation of it Sinful ; and therefore Christians were at Liberty to observe , or not to observe it as they pleas'd ; and in both they did well , if so be they had a regard to the Lord in it . 2. I shall shew that there are things Indifferent in the Worship of God , and that such things , though not prescribed , may be lawfully used in it . 'T is allowed by all that there is no Command to be expected about the Natural Circumstances of action , and which the Service cannot be celebrated without , such as Time and Place , and that these are left to humane Prudence to fix and determine . But what those Natural Circumstances are is not so universally agreed to . And if they be such as aforesaid , that is , such as the action cannot be performed without , then it will very much serve to justify most of the things in dispute , and defend our Church in the use and practice of them . For what is there almost in that kind amongst us , which is not Naturally or Morally necessary to the action , and if Time and Place fall under humane determination , because they are naturally necessary , then why not also Gesture and Habit , which Worship can no more Naturally be celebrated without , than the former ; and consequently a Surplice , or Kneeling and Standing , may be alike lawfully determined , and used , as Time for assembling together , and a Church to assemble and officiate in . And what Natural Circumstances are to a Natural action , that are Moral Circumstances to a Moral action ; and there are Moral as necessary to a Moral action , as there are Natural necessary to a Natural action . As for example , what Time and Place are to Natural , that are Method and Order to Moral and Religious acts , and can no more be separated from these than the other can be separated from the former , and therefore the Method and Order of Administration in Divine Worship ( where not otherwise determined and appointed by God ) may as well be determined by Men , as Time and Place , with respect to the nature , end , and use of the Service . So that the exception made against humane Appointments in Divine Worship , viz. ( that all but natural circumstances must have a Divine Command to legitimate their use ; and that whatever is not prescribed , is therefore prohibited ) is of no service to them that plead it ; and it remains good so far notwithstanding , that there are things Indifferent in the Worship of God , and that the outward Order and Administration of it is left to Christian Prudence And this I shall more particularly prove . 1. From the consideration of the Rules laid down in the Gospel , relating to the administration of Divine Worship which ( except what refer to the Elements , &c. in the Sacraments ) are taken from the Nature of the thing ; and so always were obliging to all Ages under the several variations and forms of Divine Worship , and will be always so to all Christians in the World , viz. such as respect Order , Decency and Edification , insisted upon , 1 Cor. 14. 26 , 40. So that we are no otherwise bound , than as bound by these measures , and where not bound by them we are free . For as in former Ages from the beginning of the World , where revelation did not interpose ( as it did under the Mosaical Dispensation ) all persons were left at liberty , and if so be they had a respect to those natural rules , might choose what ways they pleased for the regulation of Divine Worship : So when under the Gospel we have no other than those Natural rules ( except as above excepted ) the particular circumstances are as much now the matter of our free choice , as they were then , and this or that may be used and observed , as the Case requireth and Occasion serves . So that if ever there were things Indifferent in Gods Worship , and the administration of it was left to the Consideration and Prudence of Mankind , it is so still , since the Gospel keeps to those eternal Rules which even the Nature of the Thing hath invariably established , and which , if it ever was sufficient for the guiding of the Church of God in those particulars , is certainly so when the Nature of Man is improved by new helps , and so he is more capable of judging what may be sutable to that essential Worship which God hath prescribed under the Gospel , and to Him whom that Worship is directed to . But then that which confirms this , is that those Rules are also general ; and such as will in their use and end respect all People in the World. The Apostles in all their Discourses upon this subject rarely do descend to particulars , and in what they do , shew how far Custom and Charity , and the Reason of the thing ought to govern us ; as in the case of mens being Uncovered in the Worship of God , for which the Apostle doth argue not from Institution , but the Nature and Decency of it , being in token of their preheminence , and the headship they have over the Woman , &c. 1. Cor. 11. 47. But otherwise they without doubt thought it unpracticable to tye all Nations up to the same Modes and Circumstances , or if practicable that it was not worth the while , when the Worship might as well be Administred , and God as much Honoured by one as the other . Now if they did think it sufficient to prescribe only in this General way , it must needs be that the particulars of those Generals must be Indifferent , and that the chusing of one particular before the other was left to Christian Prudence . And if it should be said ( as it is ) that when the things are determined in general , the particulars are therein also vertually determined , and so are not Indifferent ; I shall content my self to reply , that by this way of arguing there would be nothing Indifferent in the World : There being nothing how Lawful and Indifferent soever in it self , but what we are limited by General Rules in the use of . As for example , all Meats are now Lawful to Christians , but yet there are General Rules by which we are determined in the use of them , such as our own Constitution , and our Quality , or Scandal given to others : But the being thus bounded by such Rules , doth not change the Nature of those Meats , and make them to be other than Indifferent . So it is in the Worship of God , for the better Administration of which there are general Rules laid down , and according to which we are to be determined in our choice of particulars , but yet the particulars notwithstanding are Indifferent , and matter of Christian Liberty , and what humane prudence is to regulate us in . All which will yet be further confirmed by considering the Nature of the things which are the Subject of those general Rules , viz , Order , Decency and Edification , which do mostly , if not altogether , depend upon variable circumstances , and may be different according to those circumstances ; sometimes this , and at other times that being subservient thereunto . As for instance , Decency doth generally depend upon Custom , and the Custom of Ages and Countries being different , Decency in one Age or Country may be and often is quite different from what it is in another . It was once comely amongst some Nations to be covered in Divine Worship , and practised both amongst the Jews in their Synagogues , as the Apostle doth insinuate , 2 Cor. 3. 14. and their own Authors do acknowledge a ; and also amongst the b Romans . But it was Comely amongst others to be Uncovered , as amongst the Grecians , c who in those Times giving Laws of Civility , and in many things of Religion too to other Nations , it became a prevailing Custom , and was , as a thing decent , introduced into the Christian Church . Thus it is also as to Edification , which doth in like manner often depend upon circumstances , and according to those circumstances the Edification of the Church in its Peace , Union , and Comfort may be promoted or hindered , and that may be for Edification in one Age or Church , which is not so in another . Thus the being covered in Divine Worship was for Edification in the Jewish Church , being used in token of Fear and Reverence , Distance and Subjection ; in allusion to which the Seraphims are represented appearng before God , after that manner , Isai. 6. 2. and in mitation of whom the Apostle pleads that Women should be vailed in Religious Assemblies , in token of Subjection and Shamefacedness , 1 Cor ▪ 11. 10. But on the contrary He doth Judge and Determin that , for the Reasons above given , it was better and more for Edification , that Men should be therein Uncovered . So the Love-feasts , and Holy-kiss of Charity were at the first thought good for Edification , and were accordingly used in Apostolical times , ( being an Excellent and Useful , Admirable and Friendly , Custom ) as thereby was signified the Universal Love and Charity that Christians ought to maintain , and which they should at all times but especially in Divine Worship be forward to express and renew : But when Disorder and Licentiousness arose from them , they were generally laid aside , and Abolished by Authority . So it was thought to be for Edification in the Primitive Church to Administer Baptism by immersion or dipping , and the Apostle doth make use of it as an excellent argument to newness of life , Rom. 6. 3 , 4. and yet notwithstanding the signification of it , and the practice of the Church for a long time , a Charitable reason hath over-ruled it , and brought in Sprinkling instead of it . Thus sitting at the Lords Supper is accounted decent by some , and for Edification , as it 's a table posture , and is a sign of our being feasted by God ; and yet in a general Synod of the Reformed Churches in Poland , &c. it was declared that forasmuch as sitting was introduced first by the Arrians ( beside the Custom used in all the Evangelical Churches throughout Europe , ) we reject it as peculiar to them ( that as they do irreverently treat Christ , so also his Sacred appointments ) and as a Ceremony less Comely and Devout , and to many very offensive . So that Order , Decency , and Edification being generally mutable things , and varying as circumstances vary , there could in the nature of the thing be only general rules prescribed , and so the particulars must be left to discretion , and to be determined by those that are best able and have Authority to judge of the circumstances , and to pick out of them those which are Indifferent , what may best serve the ends of Religion , and the honour of its institutions . 2. I shall prove that things Indifferent in themselves , though not prescribed , may be Lawfully used in Divine Worship , from the practice of our Saviour and his Apostles . Under the Law the Constitution was very exact , the Rites and Orders of it very particular , and the Observation of them punctually required . But as it was not so precise but that many things respecting the outward order were added , so some things were altered upon prudential considerations ; and by the addition or alteration of which the Authority of that Law was not conceived to be infringed , nor violated ; as it 's evident from the respect which our Saviour shewed to them , and his compliance with them . An instance of this is the Synagogual Worship ; It 's a controversy whether there was any provision made under the Law for the places themselves , the intimations of that are ( if any ) very obscure , but there are not so much as any intimations of the manner and order or parts of the Worship therein to be observed ; and yet we find such there was , Acts 15. 21. Moses being read and preached there every Sabbath day ; and that our Saviour frequently resorted to it and bore a part in it , John , 18. 20 , &c. The like temper we find him of , when he used the Cup of Charity after the manner of the Jews , in the Passover , though there was no institution for it ; and that it was as many other things , taken up and used amongst them by way of signification , and as a Testimony of entire Friendship , and Charity , Luke , 22. 17. But I conceive alteration of circumstances in the institution is much more exceptionable than the addition of such to it , and yet this was both done by them and observed by our Saviour , when there was nothing else to oblige him , but only a condescension to them in such usages and rites as were inoffensive in themselves , and what were then generally used in the Church . That the posture first required and used in the Passover was standing , the circumstances , being to be eat with Staves in their Hands and Shoes on their Feet , &c. do prove , and is affirmed by the Jews ; and it is as manifest that the Jews in the time of our Saviour , and for a long time before , did recede from it , and did eat it in the posture of discumbency ; whether it was as they looked upon themselves as settled in the possession of Canaan , which they were at the first institution Travelling towards ; or , as it 's said by the later Jews , because it was a sign of Liberty , and after the manner of Kings and Great men , is not so material , as it is that our Saviour did follow this Custom , and complied with this practice of theirs without hesitation . And thus did the Apostles when they observ'd the hours of Prayer , Acts , 3. 1. which were of humane institution as well as the Pray●rs themselves , ( for without doubt they were publick Prayers , which were used in the Temple , ) but though the place was , yet that service was of no more Authority than what was used in the Synagogues . Now if the Jews did thus institute and alter things relating to external Order and Administration , according as the case might require , and it was lawful for them so to do ( as it 's plain from the compliance of our Saviour and the Apostles with them in it ) then much more may it be supposed lawful for the Christian Church to exercise that liberty when they have no other than such general rules for their direction as they had then , without such particulars as they had . And that this is no other than a certain Truth will appear from the same liberty taken in Apostolical times in Religious Assemblies , when the Christian Church not only complied with the Jews in such Rites as they were under no Obligation , but that of Charity , to use , and which they did use because they were not forbidden , and so lawful ; ( as when St. Paul took upon him a Vow , Acts. 21. 26. ) but also had some Observances of its own , that were of a ritual nature , and as they were taken up so might be laid down upon prudential consideration . Such I account was the Washing the Disciples Feet , which was done by our Saviour in token of the Humility he was to be a president of , and would have them follow him in ; and which it seems was obferved amongst them , 1 Tim. 5. 10. and for a long time after continued in a sort in some Churches a . Such also were the Love-feasts at the Administration of the Lords Supper ; and the Holy-kiss used then amongst Christians , if not as a constant attendant upon all publick Worship , yet to be sure at Prayer b . Which and the like usages , however taken up , yet were in the Opinion of the Church no other than Indifferent , and accordingly were upon the abuse of them ( as I observed before ) discarded . From all which it appears , that there was no such thing as Prescription expected before any Rite should be introduced into the Church , or before it would be lawful for Christians to use it , but that where it was not forbidden , the Practice of the Church was to determine them ; and if Prescription had been thought necessary for every thing used in Divine Worship , which was not Natural , then certainly our Saviour and his Apostles would never have used or encouraged others to use any thing that wanted such Authority , and that was not of Divine Institution . Now if it should be objected that these usages of the Christian Church were Civil observances , and used as well out of God's Worship as in it ; and therefore what there needed no institution for , and might be lawfully used without . I answer 1. That this doth justify most of the usages contended for , and there would be nothing unlawful in using a White Garment , &c. in Divine Service , since that as a sign of Royalty and Dignity was used in Civil as well as Religious cases , and according to this Argument may therefore lawfully be used in Religious , because it was in Civil . Secondly , They must say that either a Civil observance , when used in Religious Worship , remains Civil , notwithstanding its being so applied , or that it 's Religious whilst so applied ; if the former then Kneeling or Standing in the Worship of God would be no acts of Adoration and not be Religious , because those postures are used in Civil matters ; if the latter , then it must be granted that there may be Rites used in the Worship of God and to a Religious end , which there is no Divine Prescription for . Nay Thirdly , It 's evident that these and the like were not used by the Christians as meer Civil Rites ; this I think is made evident , as to Washing the Feet , by a Learned Person a ; and not only was the kiss of Charity called the Holy-kiss in Scripture , but by the Fathers , ( notwithstanding what is b objected ) the Seal of Prayer , and the Seal of Reconciliation , and both consistent , the one as it was an attendant upon that office , the other as it was a testimony of their Charity and Reconciliation to each other in it . Fourthly , If the being Civil usages did make them which were originally so , to be lawful in or at Divine Worship , then there is nothing that is used out of Worship in Civil cases and affairs , but may be introduced into the Church ; since if it be for that reason that any usages of that kind are defended , the reason will as well defend all as one . And then the Histrionical Practices of the Church of Rome might warantably be introduced , as the rocking of a Babe in a Cradle at night , at the Nativity time ; the Harrowing of Hell at Easter , &c. Then a Maypole may be brought into the Church for Children to Dance-about and Climb up on , in sign of their desire to seek the things above ; and a stiff Straw put into the Childs Hand , for a sign of Fighting against Spiritual Enemies , as with a Spear ; And all the absurdities of that Nature charged injuriously upon our Proceedings a would return with success upon themselves : Since all these are fetched from Customs and Practices in Secular matters . Fifthly , If this be a reason to Defend the Use of Rites in the Christian Church , because they are used out of it , and in Civil cases ; then what will become of that position , before spoken of , and generally asserted by those who oppose us , that nothing is to be used in the Worship of God without Prescription , except the Natural Circumstances of Action ; for though Civil and Natural are sometimes coincident , yet they may be and often are Separated ; for Feasting and Salutation are Civil usages , but are no Natural Circumstances in Divine Worship , and which that cannot be performed without . And if these and the like were used in the Church , and applied and annexed to Divine Worship ; then the reason upon which they were introduced and used doth , wherever that reason is , justify the like Practice , and we are left still to choose and act according to the Permission and Allowance that is given us ; that is , all such things that are not forbidden are just matter of our Christian Liberty , and there is no Sin in a Prudent exercise of it . 3. I shall further prove and strengthen the Proposition , that things Indifferent , though not prescribed , may be lawfully used in Divine Worship , from the ill consequences attending the contrary ; one of which is , that if we hold all things not commanded to be prohibited , we shall find no Church or Religious Society in the World but are Guilty ; and if the doing so makes Communion with a Church unlawful , there is no Church we can hold Communion with . There are some Churches that do maintain and use such things as the Scripture expresly condemns , and do lay aside such as the Scripture requires ; as the Church of Rome , in its Worshipping Saints and Angels , and denying the Cup to the Laity , &c. And these things make it necessary for those to quit its Communion that are of it , and for those to avoid it that are not in it . But other Churches there are that are Guilty of no such Fundamental Errors and fatal miscarriages , and may so far lawfully be Communicated with . But even none of these are there , but what , either wittingly or unwittingly , do take the liberty of using what the Scripture hath no where required . It was notoriously so in the Ancient Church when some Customs did universally obtain amongst them ; as the Anniversary Solemnities of the Passion , Resurrection , and Ascension of Christ , and Descent of the Holy-Ghost , the receiving of the Lords Supper Fasting ; a the Praying toward the East b ; the Standing in their Devotions on the Lords Days , c especially from Easter to Whitsuntide ; the Dipping the Baptized thrice in Water d , & c.. Now whatever some of the Fathers might plead for any of these from Scriptures misunderstood , yet it 's plain that none of these are required in Scripture , and if so , a Person that holds it unlawful to use any thing uncommanded , and to hold Communion with a Church so using , must have separated from the Catholick Church , since ( if there be Credit to be given to the Fathers so reporting ) they all agreed in the use and practice of the things above recited . And he that held all fixed Holy-Days of Ecclesiastical Institution unlawful , and all Ceremonies not instituted by God to be prohibited , must not have Worshipped with them , who did not only thus do , but thought it unlawful , when universally Practised to do otherwise . But again as there were some Rites universally held in estimation , so there were others that were peculiar to some Churches , and that were not thought to be obliging out of that Particular Communion , as when in the Church of Rome it was the Custom to Fast on the Saturday ; and of most others to make no such distinction betwixt that and other days . a In the Church of Milain they Washed the Feet of those that were to be Baptized , but in the Church of Rome , they used it not b . Now if persons did believe such things unlawful , they could have no Communion with any particular Church , because no Church was without such Uncommanded Rites ; or if they could be so fond as to think the Rites of their own Church to be of Divine Institution , yet how could they have Communion with a Church , where the contrary Custom did prevail , as in the cases abovesaid . And as it was then , so it is now with all stated and settled Churches in the World , who do Practise against this Principle , and either expect not or are not able to find a Command for every thing established amongst them ; and that Practise with as much contrariety to each other as the Church of Rome and Milain once did . So in some Churches they receive the Lord's Supper Kneeling , in some Standing , in others Sitting . In some they Sprinkle the Child in Baptism but once , and in others thrice . Now there would be no reconciling of these one to another , and no possibility of holding Communion with them under these circumstances , or of being a Member of any Church , if we must have an institution for every thing done in the Worship of God , and that we must joyn in nothing , which has it not . As for Instance what Church is there in the World , which has not some form or forms of Prayer , and whose Service for the most part ( generally speaking ) is not made up of them ; especially that doth not use them in the Administration of the Sacraments . But now if a Person holds that whatever is not prescribed is unlawful , and that forms of Prayer are no where prescribed , then he cannot joyn with the Church so using , but while in the body of the Church by residence , he must be no Member of that Body in Communion . Nay further , if this be true , then none must hold Communion with them who are of this Opinion ; since those that pretend most to it , and urge it as a reason against Communion with us , live in contradiction to it , and do Practise and Use things which they have no more Authority , nor can give more reason for , than we do for the things they condemn , and that is , that they are lawful , expedient , and convenient . As for Example , let us consider the Sacraments , in which , if any thing , we might expect particular Prescription , because they are meer Institutions ; where do they find that the Baptized Person is necessarily to be Sprinkled ? What Command or Example have they for it , or what reason more than the reason of the thing taken from expedience and the general Practice of the Church of God in colder Climates ? And yet this is as much used amongst them that pretend to keep exactly to the Rule of Scripture , as it is amongst us that take a liberty in things Uncommanded ; but with this difference , that they do it upon the supposition of a Command , and so make it necessary , and our Church leaves it , as it is , Indifferent . Again , where do they find a Command for Sitting at the Lord's Supper , or so much as an Example ? ( For the Posture of our Saviour is left very uncertain . ) Where again do they find a Command for the necessary use of conceived Prayer , and that that , and no other , should be used in the publick Worship of God ? And that they must prove that maintain publick Forms unlawful . Where again do they find it required that an Oath is to be taken by laying the Hand on the Gospel and Kissing the Book ? which is both a Natural and Instituted part of Worship , being a Solemn Invocation of God and an Appeal to him , with an acknowledgment of his Omniscience , and Omnipresence ; his Providence and Government of the World ; his Truth and Justice to Right the Innocent and Punish the Guilty ; all which is owned and testified by Kissing that Book that God has declared this more especially in . And if we more particularly descend to those that differ from us in this point : Where do those of the Congregational way find that ever Christians were otherwise divided from Christians than by place , or that they did combine into particular Churches , so as not to be all the while reputed Members of another , and might be admitted , upon removal of place , upon the same terms that they were of that they removed from ; or indeed that they were so Members of a particular as not to be Members of any or the whole Church of Christ , upon their being Baptized ? Where do they find that Christians were gathered out of Christians , and did combine into a Society Excluding those from it that would not make a Profession of their Faith and Conversion distinct from that at Baptism ? Where do we ever read that he that was a Minister of one Church was not a Minister all the World over , as well as he that was Baptized in one was reputed a Christian and Church-Member wherever he came ? Again , where do we read that its necessary that Ministers should be alike in Authority , Power , and Jurisdiction , and that there is to be no difference in point of Order and Superiority amongst them : Or that there are to be Elders for Governing the Church , who are not Ordained to it , and are in no other State after than they were before that Service , both of which are held by the Presbyterians , strictly so called ? And if it be said these respect Government but not Worship ; I answer the case is the same , for if we are to do nothing but what is prescribed in the Worship of God , because , ( as they say ) it derogates from the Priestly Office of Christ , and doth detract from the Sufficiency of Scripture ; then I say upon the like reason , there must be nothing used in Church Government but what is prescribed , since the Kingly Office is as much concerned in this as the Priestly in the other , and the Sufficiency of Scripture in both . Lastly , Where do any of them find that position in Scripture , that there is nothing lawful in Divine Worship but what is prescribed , and that what is not Commanded is Forbidden ? And if there be no such position in Scripture , then that can no more be true than the want of such a position can render things not Commanded to be unlawful . And now I am come to that which must put an Issue one way or other to the dispute ; for if there be no such position in Scripture , either expressed in it , or to be gathered by good consequence from it , we have gain'd the point ; but if there be , then we must give it up . And this is indeed contended for . For it s Objected , That it s accounted in Scripture an hainous Crime to do things not Commanded ; as when Nadab and Abihu offered strange Fire before the Lord , which he Commanded them not , &c. From which form of expression it may be collected , that what is not Commanded is Forbidden ; and that in every thing used in Divine Worship there must be a Command to make it lawful and allowable . To this I answer that the Proposition infer'd , that all things not Commanded are Forbidden , is not true , and so it cannot be the Sence and Meaning of the Phrase ; for 1. then all things must be either Commanded or Forbidden ; and there would be nothing but what must be Commanded or Forbidden ; but I have before shewed , and it must be granted , that there are things neither Commanded nor Forbidden , which are called Indifferent . 2. if things not Commanded are Forbidden , then a thing not Commanded is alike Hainous as a thing Forbidden . And then David's Temple which he designed to Build would have been Criminal as well as Jeroboam's Dan and Bethel ; and the Feast of a Purim , like Jeroboam's Eighth Month b ; and the Synogogal Worship like the Sacrificing in Gardens c ; and the hours of Prayer d like Nadab's Strange Fire . The former of which were things Uncommanded , and the latter Forbidden ; and yet They were approved and These condemned . 2. The things , to which this Phrase not Commanded is applied , do give no encouragement to such an Inference from it ; for its constantly applied to such as are absolutely Forbidden . This was the case of Nadab and Abihu , who offered Fire not meerly Uncommanded , but what was prohibited ; which will appear , if we consider that the Word Strange when applied to matters of Worship doth signify as much as Forbidden . Thus we read of Strange Incense , that is , other than what was compounded according to the directions given for it ; which as it was to be put to no common uses , so no common perfume was to be put to the like uses with it . So we also read of Strange Vanities , which is but another Word for Graven Images ; and of Strange Gods. And after the same sort is it to be understood in the case before us , viz. for what is Forbidden . For that such was the Fire made use of by those Young Men will be further confirm'd , if we consider that there is scarcely any thing belonging to the Altar ( Setting aside the Structure of it ) of which more is said than of the Fire burning upon it . For 1. It was lighted from Heaven a . 2. It was always to be burning upon the Altar . b 3. If it was not made use of in all Sacred matters ( where Fire was to be used ) yet it was most Holy , and when Atonement was to be made by Incense , the Coals were to be taken from thence c , and therefore surely was as peculiar to those Offices as the Incense , and to be as constantly used in them , as never to be used in any other . And it will yet make it more evident if it be considered 4. That just before there is an account given of the Extraordinary way by which this Fire was lighted , for the Text saith , there came out a Fire from before the Lord , and consumed upon the Altar the Burnt-Offering , &c. and immediately follows the Relation of Nadab's miscarriage . Now for what reason are these things so closely connected , but to shew wherein they Offended . For before it was the Office of Aaron's Sons to put Fire upon the Altar , and now through Inadvertency or Presumption Attempting to do as formerly , when there had been this Declaration from Heaven to the contrary , they Suffered for it . 5. It appears further from the conformity betwixt the Punishment and the Sin ; as there came Fire from before the Lord and consumed the Burnt-Offering ; to teach them what Fire for the future to make use of : So upon their Transgression there came out Fire from the Lord and devoured them ; to teach others how Dangerous it was to do otherwise than he had Commanded . So that it seems to me to be like the case of Vzzah , when they carried the Ark in a Cart , which the Levites were to have born upon their Shoulders ; and it was not an Offering without a Command , but otherwise than Commanded , that was their Fault ; and without doubt they might with no more Offence have taken what Fire they would for their Incense , than what Wood they pleased for their Fire , if there had been no more direction about the one than the other . But to proceed in the other places of Scripture where this Phrase of not Commanded is to be met with , it s also so applied to things Forbidden ; as to what is called Abomination , which is the Worshipping of Strange Gods , the Sun , Moon and Stars , and the Host of Heaven : To the building the High Places of Topheth , and the burning their Sons and Daughters in the Fire to Baal , and causing them to pass through the Fire unto Molech . Of such and the like its said , which I Commanded them not , neither came it into my mind . And lastly it 's applied to the false Prophets , who spake Lies in the name of the Lord ; in which case the meer being not Commanded nor sent by him , is in the nature of the thing no less than a Prohibition , it being a Belying God ; though there had been no such place as , Deut. 18. 20. to forbid it . Now if so much stress was to be laid upon the Phrase , as the Objection doth suppose , and that we must take a Non-Commanding for a Prohibition , we might reasonably expect to find the Phrase otherwhere applied to things that were no otherwise Unlawful than because not Commanded ; but when it s always spoken of things plainly Prohibited , it s a sign that it s rather God's Forbidding that made them Unlawful , than his not Commanding . But it may still be said , why should then the Phrase be used at all in such matters , and why should the case be thus Represented , if not Commanded is not the same with Prohibited ? To this I answer , 1. That all things Prohibited are by consequence not Commanded ; but it follows not that all things not Commanded are Prohibited . If it was Forbidden to Offer Strange Fire , then it was a thing not Commanded ( for otherwise the same thing would be Forbidden and Commanded ) but if it had been a thing not Commanded only , it would not by being so have been any more Prohibited than the Wood that was to be burnt upon the Altar . Now it s with respect to the former that things Prohibited are call'd things not Commanded ; and not with respect to the latter . 2. Indeed the Phrase not Commanded is only a Meiosis or Softer way of speaking , when more is understood than express'd . A Figure usual in all Authors and Languages , that I know of , and what is frequently to be met with in Scripture . Thus it s given as a Character of an Hypocritical People , they chose that in which I Delighted not , which is but another Word for what was said in the verse before , their Soul Delighted in their Abominations , or Idolatries . And when the Apostle would Describe the evil state of the Gentile World , by the most Hainous and Flagitious Crimes , such as Fornication , Covetousness , Maliciousness , Envy , Murder , and what not , he saith of these , that they were things not convenient . And it is as evident that the Phrase not Commanded is of the like kind , when the things its applied to are alike Notorious and Abominable . But it s further Objected , that it s said in Scripture , ye shall not add unto the Word which I Command you , neither shall ye diminish ought from it : And that our Saviour condemning the Practices of the Scribes in this kind , concludes , In Vain do they Worship me , Teaching for Doctrines the Commandments of Men. From whence it may be collected 1. That all things not Commanded by God in his Word are additions to it . 2. That such additions are altogether unlawful . To this I reply , 1. If they mean by adding to the Word , the doing what that Forbids , and by diminishing , the neglecting of what that requires ( as the next Words do intimate , and is plainly the sense otherwhere a , when it s no sooner said , What thing soever I Command you , Observe to do it ; but it immediately follows , thou shalt not add thereto , nor diminish from it ) it s what we willingly condemn ; according to that of our Saviour , Whosoever shall break one of these least Commandments , and shall teach Men so , he shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven . 2. If they mean by adding the appointing somewhat else instead of what God hath appointed , as Jeroboam did the Feast of the Eighth Month ; and by diminishing , the taking away what God hath Commanded , as Ahaz did the Altar , and Laver , &c. This is what we condemn also , and do blame in the Church of Rome , whilst they feed the People with Legends instead of Scripture , and take away both that and the Cup from the Laity . 3. If they mean by adding , the adding insolent expositions to the Command , by which the end of it is frustrated . This our Saviour condemn'd in the Pharisees , Why do ye Transgress the Command of God by your tradition ? For God Commanded saying , Honour thy Father , &c. but ye say , whosoever shall say to his Father , it is a gift , &c. Thus ye have made the Commandment of God of none effect by your tradition . And this we condemn in the Church of Rome , who do defeat the Commands of God by their Doctrines of Attrition and Purgatory , &c. 4. If they mean by adding , the making of that which is not the Word of God to be of equal Authority with it ; This our Saviour condemn'd in the Pharisees , when they Taught for Doctrines the Commandments of Men , and esteem'd them as necessary to be obeyed , and to be of equal force with what was Authorized by him ; nay it seems , they had more regard to the Tradition of the Elders than the Commandment of God , as our Saviour Insinuates , verse , 2 , 3. and has been observed from their own Authors . This we also condemn in the Church of Rome , which decrees that the Apocrypha and Traditions should be received with the like Pious regard , as the Sacred Writ . 5. If by adding they mean the giving the same Efficacy to humane Institutions , as God doth to his , by making them to confer Grace upon the rightly disposed ; and by diminishing , that the Service is not complete without it . This our Saviour condemn'd in the Pharisees , when they maintained that to eat with unwashen Hands defiled a Man , verse 20. And this we condemn in the Church of Rome , in their use of Holy-Water , and Reliques and Ceremonies . Thus far we agree ; but if they proceed , and will conclude that the doing any thing not Commanded , in the Worship of God is a Sin though it have none of the ingredients in it before spoken of , we therein differ from them and upon very good reason . For therein they differ from our Saviour and his Apostles , and all Churches , as I have shewed . Therein also they depart from the notion and reason of the thing : For adding is adding to the substance , and making the thing added of the Nature of the thing it s added to ; and diminishing is diminishing from the substance , and taking away from the Nature of it ; but when the substance remains intire , as much after this humane appointment as it was before it , without Loss and Prejudice , without Debasement or Corruption , it cannot be called an addition to it , in the sence that the Scripture takes that Word in . Nay so far are we from admitting this charge , that we return it upon them , and do bring them in Criminals upon it . For those that do Forbid what the Gospel Forbids not , do as much add to it , as those that Command what the Gospel doth not Command : And if it be a Crime to Command what that Commands not , it must be so to Forbid what it Forbids not . And this is what they are Guilty of that do hold that nothing is to be used in the Worship of God but what is prescribed , for if that be not a Scripture Proposition and Truth ( as certain it is not ) then what an addition is this ? A greater surely than what they charge upon us ; for all that is Commanded amongst us , is look'd upon not as necessary but expedient ; but what is Forbid by them is Forbid as absolutely unlawful ; the latter of which alters the Nature , whereas the other only affects the circumstances of things . The second Commandment , Thou shalt not make unto thee any Graven Image , &c. is frequently made use of to prove that we must apply nothing to a Religious Use but what is Commanded ; and we are told that the sence of it is , that We must Worship God in no other way , and by no other means or Religious Rites , than what he hath prescribed . The best way to answer this is . 1. To consider what is Forbidden in this Commandment , and 2. To shew that we are not concern'd in the Prohibition . As to the former , 1. In this Command it is provided , that there be no act of Adoration given to any besides God. By this the Heathens are condemned in their Plurality of Gods , and the Church of Rome in the Veneration they give to Saints and Angels . 2. That the Honour we give to God be sutable to his Nature , and agreeable to his Will. Sutable to his Nature ; and so we are not to Worship him by Creatures , as the Sun , &c. for that is to consider him as Finite ; nor by Images and External Representations , for that is to consider him as Corporeal : Agreeable to his Will ; and so we are Forbidden all other Worship of him than what he hath appointed . It s in the last of these we are concerned , for I believe there will be no attempt to prove that there is any thing in our Worship that doth derogate from the perfections of God , and is unsutable to his Nature , further than the defects that must arise from all Worship given by Creatures to a Creator . And if we come to consider it as to what he hath revealed , there can be nothing deduced thence to prove Rites instituted by Men for the Solemnity of God's service to be Forbidden ; and which for ought I see is not attempted to be proved from this Commandment , or from Scripture else where , but by crowding such Rites into and representing them as a part of Divine Worship . This way goes one of the most industrious in this cause . Ceremonies , saith he , are External Rites of Religious Worship , as used to further Devotion , and therefore being invented by Man are of the same Nature with Images , by which and at which God is Worshipped . In which are no less than three mistakes . As 1. he makes whatever is used to further Devotion to be Religious Worship . 2. he makes it a fault in External Rites in Religious Worship that they are used to further Devotion 3. he makes External Rites taken up by Men , and used for that end to be of the same Nature with Images . If I shew that these are really mistakes I think that in doing so the whole argument taken from the 2. Commandment falls with it . 1. He mistakes , in that he makes whatever is used to further Devotion to be Religious Worship : The error of which will appear from this confideration ; that all things relating to Divine Worship are either Parts or Adjuncts of it ; Parts , as Prayer , and the Lord's Supper ; Adjuncts , as Form and Posture . Now Adjuncts are not Parts , because the Worship is intire and invariable in all the Parts of it , and remains the same though the Adjuncts vary . Prayer is Worship , whether with a Form or without ; and the Lord's Supper is Worship , whether Persons Kneel , Sit , or Stand in the receiving of it . And yet though the Adjuncts are no part of Worship , they further Devotion in it . This those that are for conceived Prayer plead for Their Practice , and this also is pleaded by those that are for a Form. This do they urge that are for Sitting at the Lord's Supper , and this they say that are for Kneeling ; so that these and the like Adjuncts do further Devotion , and are for Edification , is an argument used by both . Now if Adjuncts are not part of Worship and may be yet used to further Devotion , then the furthering Devotion by any Rite doth not in it self make that Rite so used to be Worship . I acknowledge there is False Worship as well as True ; True Worship is of Divine Institution , and False Worship is of Humane Appointment ; and becomes Worship when either Divine Institution is pretended for it , or it s used for the same special ends that God's Worship is instituted for , that is , as necessary to acceptance , or as a means of Grace . And so I confess Adjuncts may be made parts of False Worship , as many Ceremonies are in the Church of Rome ; but this is not the case with any things used in the Administration of Worship in our Church ; we plead nothing of Divine Authority to enforce them , use them not as necessary , nor as means of Grace ; after the manner we do the Word of God , and the Sacraments . 2. It s another mistake , that its charged as a fault upon Rites in Worship , that They are used to further Devotion . Without this end surely they are not to be used , or at least not to be encouraged ; for Divine Worship being the acknowledgment of God and a giving Honour to Him , should have all things about it Grave and Solemn , that may best sute it , and promote the ends for which it s used , But if Rites are used in it that have no respect to such ends , they become Vain and Trifling , neither worthy of that nor our Defence . And therefore we justly blame the Church of Rome for the Multitude of Ceremonies used in their Worship , and for such that either have no signification , or whose signification is so obscure as is not easie to be observed or traced , and that rather hinder than further Devotion . Surely it would not so well answer the end if the Hand in Swearing was laid upon another Book , as when on the Gospel ; nor if the Love-feasts at the Lord's Supper had been only as a Common Meal , without respect to Charity signified by it . 3. It s another mistake that External Rites taken up by Men , and used for the furthering Devotion are made to be of the same Nature with Images . This there is no foundation for , for the Religious use of Images is expresly contrary to the Command of God , and Forbidden , because it tends to debase God in the thoughts of those that Worship him by such mediums . But there is nothing in the use of such External Rites ( as are before spoken of ) that fall under the censure of either of these ; but that we may lawfully use them , and the use of which is not therefore at all Forbidden in the 2. Commandment . If there be not a Rule for all things belonging to the Worship of God , the Gospel would be less perfect than the Law ; and Christ would not be so Faithful as Moses , in the care of his Church , Heb. 3. 2. which is not to be supposed . The sufficiency of Scripture and Faithfulness of Christ are not to be judged of by what we fancy they should have determined , but by what they have . It s a plausiable Plea made by the Church of Rome for an Infallible Judge in matters of Faith , that by an Appeal to him all controversies would be decided , and the Peace of the Church secured . But notwithstanding all the advantages which they so hugely amplify , there is not one Word in Scripture ( which in a matter of that importance is absolutely necessary ) that doth shew that it is necessary ; or ( were it so ) who the Person or Persons are that should have this Power or Commission . And in this case we must be content to leave things as the Wisdom of God hath thought fit to leave them , and to go on in the old way of sober and amicable debate and fair reasoning to bring debates to a conclusion . Thus it is in the matter before us , the pretence is very Popular and Plausible , that , Who can better determine things Relating to the Worship of God , than God whose Worship it is ? And where may we expect to find them better determined than in his Word , which is sufficient to all the ends it was writ for ? But when we come to enquire into the case , we find no such thing done , no such care taken , no such particular directions as they had under the Law ; and therefore its certain that neither the sufficiency of Scripture , nor Faithfulness of Christ stand upon that foundation . And if we do not find the like particular prescriptions in Baptism as Circumcision ; nor in the Lord's Supper as in the Passover ; nor in Prayers as in Sacrifices ; its plain that the sufficiency of Scripture and Faithfulness of Christ do respect somewhat else , and that they are not the less for the want of them . Christ was Faithful , as Moses , To him that appointed him , in performing what belonged to him as a Mediator ( in which respect Moses was a Type of him ) and discovering to Mankind in Scripture the method and means by which they might be Sav'd ; and the sufficiency of Scripture is in being a sufficient means to that end , and putting Men into such State as will render them capable of attaining to it . And as for modes and circumstances of things they are left to the prudence of those who by the Grace and the Word of God have been converted to the Truth , and have received it in the Love of it . I have been the larger in the consideration of this principle , viz. that Nothing but what is prescribed may be lawfully used in Divine Worship , that I might relieve the consciences of those that are Insnared by it , and that cannot be so , without subjecting themselves to great inconveniences . For if nothing but what is of that Nature may be used or joyned with , and that the second Commandment doth with as much Authority Forbid the use of any thing not Commanded , as the Worshipping of Images : If Nadab's and Abihu's Strange Fire , and Vzza's touching of the Ark be examples Recorded for caution to us , and that every thing Uncommanded , is of the like Nature , attended with the like Aggravations , and alike do expose to God's Displeasure : If the use of any thing not prescribed be such an addition to the Word of God , as leaves us under the Penalty of that Text ; If any Man shall add unto these things , God shall add unto him the Plagues that are Written in this Book ; we cannot be too cautious in the Examination of what is , or what is not prescribed . But withall if this be our case , it would be more intolerable than that of the Jews . For amongst them every thing for the most part was plainly laid down , and though the particular Rites and Circumstances prescribed in their Service were many , yet they were sufficiently describ'd in their Law , and it was but consulting that , or Those whose Office and Employment it was to be well versed in it , and they might be presently inform'd , and as soon see it as the Book was laid open . This they all agreed in . But it is not so under the Gospel , and there is no greater proof of it than the several schemes drawn up for Discipline , and Order , by those that have been of that Opinion and made some attempts to describe them . And then when things are thus dark and obscure , so hard to trace and discover , that it has thus perplexed and baffled those that have made it their business to bring these things within Scripture Rules , how perplexed must they be that are not skilled in it : And ( as I have above shewed ) must all their Days live in the Communion , its likely , of no Church ; since though a Church should have nothing in it but what is prescribed , yet it would take up a great deal of time to examine , and more to be satisfied that all in it is prescribed . 3. I shall consider , How we may know what things are Indifferent in the Worship of God ? I may answer , to this that we may know what is Indifferent in the Worship of God by the same Rule that we may know what is Indifferent out of Worship , that is , if the thing to be enquired after be neither required nor Forbidden : For the Nature of Indifferency is always the same , and what it is in one kind or instance , it is in all ; and if the want of a Law to Require or Forbid doth make a thing Indifferent in Natural or Civil matters , it doth also the same in Religious : And in things Forbidden by Humane Authority , the not being required in Scripture ; and in things required by Humane Authority the not being Forbidden in Scripture is a Rule we may safely determine the case , and judge of the Lawfulness and Indifferency of things in Divine Worship by . But I confess the Question requires a more particular Answer , because things in their Nature Lawful and Indifferent , may yet , in their use and application , become unlawful . As it is in Civil cases and Secular matters , to be Covered or Uncovered is a thing in it self Indifferent ; but to be Covered in the presence of such of our Betters , as Custom and Law have made it our Duty to stand bare before , would be unlawful , and it would be no excuse for such an Omission and Contempt , that the thing is in it self Indifferent . And then much more will this hold where the case is of an higher Nature ; as it is in the Worship of God , where things in themselves Indifferent may become Ridiculous , Absurd and Profane , and argue rather contempt of God than reverence for him in the Persons using them . Again , the things may , though Grave and Pertinent , yet be so numerous that they may obscure and oppress the Service , and confound and distract the Mind that should attend to the Observation of them ; and so for one reason or another are not to be allowed in the Solemnities of Religion . Therefore in Answer to the Question , I shall add , 1. That things Indifferent are so called from their general Nature , and not as if in practice and use , and all manner of cases , they always were so , and never unlawful ; for that they may be by Accident and Circumstance ; being lawful unlawful , expedient or inexpedient , as they are used and applied . 2. I observe that there are several Laws which things Indifferent do respect ; and that may be Required or Forbidden by one Law , which is not Forbidden or Required by another ; and that may be Indifferent in one State which is Unlawful in another , and by passing out of one into the other may cease to be Indifferent , and therefore when we say things are Indifferent , we must understand of what Rank they are , and what Law they do respect ; As for example , Humane Conversation , and Religious Worship are different Ranks to which things are referred ; and therefore what may be Indifferent in Conversation may be unlawful in Worship . Thus to Enterchange Discourse about Common Affairs is a thing lawful in it self , and useful in its place ; but when practised in the Church and in the midst of Religious Solemnities is Criminal . This distinction of Ranks and States of things is useful and necessary to be observed , and which if observed would have prevented the objection made by some , that if a Church or Authority may Command Indifferent things , then they may require us to Pray Standing upon the head , &c. for that though Indifferent in another case is not in that , as being unsutable to it . 3. Therefore we must come to some Rules in Divine Worship , by which we may know what things in their Nature Indifferent , are therein also Indifferent , and may be lawfully used : It being not enough to plead they are Indifferent in themselves ( as some unwarily do ) and therefore presently they may be used ; For by the same reason a Person may Spit in anothers Face , may keep on his Hat before the King , &c. the Spitting and being Covered being in their Nature Indifferent . But now as there are certain Rules which we are to respect in Common and Civil Conversation , and which even in that case do tye us up in the use of things otherwise Indifferent : So it is as reasonable , and must be much more allowed that there are some Rules of the like Nature which we must have a regard to in the Administration of Divine Worship . And as in Common matters , the Nature of the thing ; in actions the end ; in Conversation the circumstances are to be heeded , viz. Time , Place , Persons ; as when , where , before whom we are Covered or Uncovered , &c. So in Sacred matters ; the Nature of the thing , in the Decency and Solemnity of the Worship ; the end for which it was appointed , in the Edification of the Church ; and the Peace , Glory , and Security of that , in its Order are to be respected . And according to these Rules and the circumstances of things , are we to Judge of the Indifferency , Lawfulness , or Expediency of things used in the Service of God ; and as they do make for or against , and do approach to or recede from these Characters , so they are to be rejected or observed , and the more or less esteemed . But yet we are not come to a conclusion , for 1. These are general Rules , and so the particulars are not so easily pointed to . 2. Decency , and Edification , and Order are ( as was observed before ) Variable and Uncertain , and depend upon Circumstances , and so in their Nature not easily determined . And , 3. Persons have very different Opinions about what is Decent , Edifying , and Orderly ; as in the Apostles time in the Church of Rome some were for , and others against the Observation of Days ; and in the Church of Corinth , some doubtless were for being Covered , others for being Uncovered in Divine Worship . And therefore there is somewhat further requisite to give Satisfaction in the point ; and by which we may be able to Judge what is Decent , Edifying , and Orderly ; as well as we are by what is Decent , &c. to Determine what is fit to be used in Religious Worship . And this we may be help'd in by considering , 1. That some things make so Eminently for , or are so Notoriously opposite to these Rules , that Common Reason will be able forthwith to Judge of them , and to declare for or against them . So when the Love-feasts , and the Lord's Supper were appointed for the testifying and increase of mutual Charity ; if one took his Supper before another , it was to make it rather a private Meal than a Religious Feast , and so was a Notorious Breach of Order and Christian Fellowship . So a Tumultuous speaking of many together is less for Edification , and hath more of Confusion than the Orderly speaking of one by one . And Service in an Unknown Tongue doth less conduce to Edification than when it is in a Language Vulgarly known and Understood ; this is a case that Reason as well as the Apostle doth Determine to our Hands , and which Mankind would with one consent soon agree to , were it not for a certain Church in the World that carries those of its Communion , against Sense , Reason , and Nature , for its own advantage . 2. But there are other things which are not so Clear and Evident , and so the case needs further consideration . For the clearing of which we may observe , 1. That we are not so much to Judge of Decency , Order , and Edification asunder , as together ; these having a mutual Relation to and dependance upon each other . So it s well observed by St. Chrysostom , That nothing doth so much Edify , as Order , Peace and Love : And the Apostle when he had reproved the Disorders of their Service in the Church of Corinth concludes it , Let all things be done to Edifying . The not observing of this is the occasion of very great Mistakes in this matter ; For Persons when they would Judge of Edification consider presently what they conceive doth most improve them in Knowledge or any particular Grace ; and having no further consideration , for the sake of this throw down the Bounds of publick Order and bring all into Confusion ; and for Edifying ( as they apprehend ) themselves do Disturb if not Destroy the Church of God , and render the means used in it ineffectual to themselves and others . Thus again they Judge of what is Decent , and Indecent ; and conclude that there is no Indecency in Sitting , suppose at the Sacrament , or the Prayers ; but they mistake in such a conception , whilest what is against publick Order and Practice , is for that reason Indecent , were there no other reason to make it so . So that if we would Judge aright of either of these we must Judge of them together ; and as Order alone is not enough to make a thing Decent which is in it self Indecent ; so Decency or particular Edification is not enough to recommend that which is not to be Introduced or Obtained without the Disturbance and Overthrow of publick Order and Peace . 2. When the case is not apparent , we should rather Judge by what is contrary than by what is agreeable to those Rules . We know better what things are not than what they are : And if Christians should never agree to any thing in the External Administration of Divine Worship till they agree in the notion of Decency , Order , and Edification ; or till they can prove that the things used , or required to be used in a Church , do exactly agree to the Notion and Definition of it ; Worship must never be Administred , or the greater part of Christians must Exclude themselves from it . And yet this must be done before it can be positively said ( unless in things very manifest ) that this is Decent , or that is Orderly , &c. These things as I have said are variable , and depend upon Circumstances ; and so Persons must needs be Wonderfully Confounded if they come to Niceties and insist upon them . And therefore as we better know what is Indecent than Decent , Disorderly than Orderly , against than for Edification , so it s better to take the course abovesaid in Judging about it . As for instance , if we would enquire into the Decency of the Posture to be used in the Lord's Supper , or the Edification that may arise from it ; some will say its best to receive it in the Posture frequently used in the Devotions of the ancient Church of Standing or Incurvation ; others would choose Sitting , as the dissenting Parties amongst us , and some Forreign Churches ; others be for the Posture of Kneeling used in ours and many more , and all with some shew of reason . In these different cases it may not perhaps be so easy for a Person ( Educated in a different way from what is Practised and Prescribed ) to Judge of the Decency or Edification ; but if he find it not Indecent , or Destructive of Piety , and of the ends for which the Ordinance was Instituted , he is therewith to satisfy himself . St. Austin puts a like case and gives the like answer . Some Churches Fast on the Saturday , because Christ's Body was then in the Grave , and he in a State of Humiliation . Others do Eat on the Saturday , both because that Day God Rested from his Work , and Christ Rested in the Grave . And how in such a case to Determine our selves , both in Opinion and Practice , that Father thus directs , If saith he , what is injoyned be not against Faith , or good Manners , it is to be accounted Indifferent . And I may add , if it be not Indecent , Disorderly and Destructive of Piety , its lawful . 3. If the case be not apparent , and we cannot easily find out how the things used and injoyned in a Church are Decent , &c. we are to consider that we are in , or Obliged to be of a Church , and that these things do respect such a Society ; and therefore are to be Cautious how we Condemn this or that for Indecent , Confused , and Inexpedient , when we see Christians agreeing in the Practice of them , and such whom for other things we cannot Condemn . When we find if we argue against it , they argue for it , and produce Experience against Experience , and Reason against Reason , and that we have a whole Church against our particular conceptions of things of this Nature ; we should be apt to think the Fault may be in our selves , and that it s for want of Understanding and Insight , for want of Use and Tryal , and by Reason of some Prejudices or Prepossessions that we thus differ in our Judgment from them . We see what little things do Determin Men ordinarily in these matters ; how addicted some are to their own Ways and Customs , and forward to Like or Condemn according to their Education , which doth form their conceptions and fix their inclinations ; how Prone again others are to Novelty and Innovation . So St. Austin observes , some warmly contend for an usage , because its the Custom of their own Church ; as if they come , suppose into another Place where Lent is observed without any Relaxation , they however refuse to Fast , because it s not so done in their Country . There are others again do like , and are bent upon a particular Rite or Usage , Because , saith he , they observ'd this in their Travels abroad , and so a Person is for it , as perhaps he would be thought so much the more Learned and Considerable , as he is distant or doth disagree from what is observed at home . Now when Persons are Prone thus to Judge upon such little Reasons , and may mistake in their Judgment , and do Judge against a Church ( which they have no other Reason against ) it would become them to think again ; and to think that the case perhaps requires only time or use to wear off their Prejudices , and that by these ways they may as effectually be reconciled to the things Practised in a Church , as they are to the Civil Usages and the Habits of a Nation , which at the first they looked upon in their kind as Indecent and Inexpedient , as they can do of the Usages of a Church in theirs . As suppose the Dispute should be about Forms of Prayer , or the use of responsals in it , we see that Decency , Order , and Edification are pleaded by the Parties contending for and against , but when a Person considers that whatever Opinion he therein hath , yet if he be against them , he is at the same time against all formed Churches in the World , he may conclude safely that there is a Decency , Order , and Expediency in the Publick use of them ; and as St. Austin saith of a Christian living in Rome where they fasted upon the Saturday that such a one should not so praise a Christian City for it , as to Condemn the Christian World that was against it ; so we should not be so Zealous against a Practice , as to Condemn those that are for it , and be so addicted to our own Opinion as to set that against a Community and a Church , nay against all Churches whatsoever . This will give us reason to suspect its a Zeal without Knowledge when we presume to set our Judgment , Reason , and Experience , against the Judgment , Reason and Experience of the Christian World. Which brings to the Fourth General . 4. How are we to determine our selves in the use of Indifferent things with respect to the Worship of God ? For resolution of which , we are to consider our selves in a threefold Capacity . 1. As particular Persons , solitary and alone . 2. As we are in Ordinary and Civil Conversation . 3. As we are Members of a Publick Society or Church . In the first capacity , every Christian may chuse and act as he pleaseth ; and all Lawful things remain to him , as they are in their own Nature , Free. He may eat this or that ; chuse this day or another , and set it apart for the Service of God and his own soul. In this state , where there is no Law of man to require , he may forbear to use what is Indifferent ; where there is no Law to forbid , he may freely use it . In the second capacity , as in Conversation with others , he is to have a regard to them , and to use his Liberty so as shall be less to the prejudice , and more to the benefit of those he converses with . So saith the Apostle , all things are lawful for me , but all things are not expedient ; all things are lawful for me , but all things Edify not . In this capacity Men are still in their own Power ; and whilst it s no Sin they may safely act , and where it s no Sin they may forbear in complyance with those that are not yet advanced to the same Maturity of Judgement with themselves ; as the Apostle did , Though saith he , I be free from all Men , yet have I made my self Servant unto all , that I might gain the more . And unto the Jews I became a Jew , &c. In such a case the strong should not despise , affront , or discourage the weak ; nor the weak censure and condemn the strong . In the third Capacity , as we are Members of a Church and Religious Society , so the use of Indifferent things comes under further consideration , since then the Practice of a Church and the Commands of Authority are to be respected . And as what we may lawfully do when alone , we are not to do in Conversation , because of Offence : So what we may allowably do when alone or in Conversation , we must not do in Society , if Forbidden by the Laws and Customs of it . For the same reason ( if there was no more ) that Restrains or Determines us in Conversation , is as much more forcible in Society , as the Peace and Welfare of the whole is to be preferred before that of a part ; And if the not grieving a Brother , or endangering his Soul makes it reasonable , just , and necessary to forego our Liberty , and to Restrain our selves in the exercise of it , then much more is the Peace of a Church ( upon which the present Welfare of the whole , and the Future Welfare of many depend ) a sufficient reason for so doing , and to Oblige us to act or not to act accordingly . The Apostle saith , Let every one of us please his Neighbour for his good ▪ to Edification , that is , to his Improvement in Knowledge or Grace , or Christian Piety , and the promoting of Christian Concord and Charity : Now Edification is eminently so with respect to the whole , as the Church is the House of God , and every Christian one of the living Stones of which that Spiritual building is compacted ; and so he is to consider himself , as well as he is to be considered , as a part of it , and to study what may be for the Edification of the whole , as well as the good of any particular Member of it . And how is that but by promoting Love , Peace , and Order , and taking Care to Preserve it ? So we find Edification Opposed to Destruction , to Confusion , to Disputacity and Licentiousness : And on the contrary , we find Peace and Edifying , Comfort and Edification , Union and Edification joyned together , as the one doth promote the other . And therefore as the Good and Edification of the whole is to be always in our Eye , so it s the Rule by which we ought to act in all things lawful ; and to that end should comply with its Customs , observe its Directions , and Obey its Orders , without Reluctancy ▪ and Opposition . Thus the Apostle resolves the case , Writing about publick Order and the Custom newly taken up of Worshipping Uncovered , if any Man seem , or have a mind to be , contentious , we have no such Custom , neither the Churches of God ; looking upon that as sufficient to put an end to all Contentions and Debates ; that whatever might be Plausibly urged against it , from the Jewish Practice , and the Representation even of Angels adoring after that manner ; and from the reason of the thing as a signification of Shame and Reverence ; or from the Practice of Idolators that did many of them Worship Uncovered ; yet he peremptorily concludes , We have no such Custom , &c. The Peace of the Church is to a Peaceable Mind sufficient to put an end to all Disputes about it ; and the Peace of the Church depending upon the Observation of its Customs , that is infinitely to be preferred before Scrupulosity and Niceness , or a meer inclination to a contrary Practice . For in publick cases a Man is not to go his own way , or to have his own mind , for that would bring in Confusion ( one Man having as much a right as another . ) There must be somewhat Established , some Common Order and Bond of Union ; and if Confusion is before such Establishment , then to break that Establishment , would bring in Confusion ; and where that is likely to ensue it is not worth the while for the trial of a new experiment to decry and throw down what is already Established or Used in a Church , because we think better of another ; for saith a Grave Author , and well Skill'd in these matters , The very change of a Custom though it may happen to profit , yet doth disturb by its Novelty . Publick Peace is worth all new Offers ( if the Church is Disquieted and its Peace Endangered by them ) though in themselves better ; and it is better to labour under the infirmity of publick Order than the mischief of being without it , or , what is next to that , the trial of some Form , seemingly of a better Cast and Mould that hath not yet been experimented . I say it again , Infirmity in a Church is better than Confusion , or Destruction which is the Consequent of it : And I had rather choose that as I would a House , to have one with some Faults , rather than to have none at all ; And if I cannot have them mended ( when tolerable ) I think my self bound not only to bear with them , but to do all I can for its preservation though with them , and to observe all things that are lawful for its suppore and encouragement . In doing thus I serve God , and his Church , my own Soul and the Souls of others , promote Religion and Charity in the World ; For God is not the Author of Confusion but of Peace in all the Churches of the Saints . In things which neither we nor the Worship are the worse for , but the Church the better for observing , Peace and Order is far to be prefer'd before Niceties : And certainly neither we nor the Service of God can be the worse for what God hath concluded nothing in . What the Gospel looks at is the Main and Essential parts of Religion in Doctrine , Worship and Practice . And if these be Secured , we are under no Obligation to contend for or against the modes and circumstances of things further than the Churches Order and Peace is concerned in them . So the Apostle , Let not your Good be Evil spoken of : For the Kingdom of God is not Meat and Drink , but Righteousness , Peace , and Joy in the Holy-Ghost ; the promoting Love and Charity , and substantiul Righteousnes . He that in these things Serveth Christ is acceptable to God , and approved of Men. The Beauty of the Kings Daughter is within , saith St. Austin , and all its observations are but its vesture , which though various in different Churches , are no prejudice to the Common Faith , nor to him that useth them . And therefore what he and his Mother received from St. Ambrose , and looked upon as a Divine Oracle , is worthy to be recommended to all , That in all things not contrary to Truth and good Manners , it becometh a Good and Prudent Christian to Practise according to the Custom of the Church where he comes , if he will not be a Scandal to them , nor have them to be a Scandal to him . And if the Custom and Practice of a Church should be thus taken into consideration by a Good Man , then certainly much more ought it so to be , when that is Established , and is made a Law , and is backed by Authority : For then to stand in Opposition is not only an Offence but an Affront ; and to insist upon the Gratifying our own Inclination against publick Order , is to contend whether we or our Superiours shall Govern , whether our Will or the publick Good and Order must take place And what can be the Issue of such a temper but the distraction if not Dissolution of Government ; which as it cannot be without Governed as well as Governours , so cannot be preserved without the submission of the Governed in all lawful things to the Governours ; and the permitting them to choose and determine in things of that kind as they shall see meet . It s pleaded That there should be a Liberty left to Christians in things Vndetermined in Scripture , and such things indeed there are that Christians may have a Liberty in and yet hold Communion , as in Posture , &c. ( though Decency would plead for Uniformity in those things also ) but there are other things , which they must agree in , or else there can be no publick Worship or Christian Communion , which yet they differ in as much as the other . As now whether Worship is to be celebrated with or without a Form ; whether the Lord's Supper is to be received in the Morning or Evening ; whether Prayers should be long or short , &c. Now unless one of these disagreeing Parties doth Yield to the other or there be a Power in Superiours and Guides to determine for them , and they are to submit to them in it , there will be nothing but confusion . And why Superiours may not then Command and why Inferiours are not to obey in all things of the like kind ; In Posture or Habit , as well as the time ( above specified ) and Forms , I understand not . To conclude this , if we find any thing required or generally practised in a Church , that is not Forbidden in Scripture ; or any thing Omitted or Forbidden in a Church , that is not required in Scripture ; we may and ought to act or to forbear as they that are of its Communion do generally act or forbear , or the Laws of that Communion require ; and in such things are to be determined by the publick Voice of the Communion , that is , Authority , Custom , or the Majority . But to this it will be said , If we are thus to be determined in our Practice , then where is our Christian Liberty , which being only in different things , if we are restrained in the use of them , we are also restrained in our Liberty , which yet the Apostle exhorts Christians to stand fast in . 1. This is no argument to those that say there is nothing Indifferent in the Worship of God ; for then there is nothing in it matter of Christian Liberty ; 2. A restraint of our Liberty , or receding from it is , of it self , no violation of it . All persons grant this in the latter , and the most scrupulous are apt to plead that the Strong ought to bear with the Weak , and to give no Offence to them by indulging themselves in that Liberty which others are afraid to take . But now if a Person may recede from his Liberty , and is bound so to do in the case of Scandal , and yet his Liberty be not thereby infringed , why may it not be also little infringed , when restrained by others ? How can it be supposed , that there should be so vast a difference betwixt restraint and restraint , and that he that is restrained by Authority should have his Liberty prejudiced , and yet he that is restrained By anothers Conscience ( as the Apostle saith ) should keep it intire ? And if it should be said this is Occasional , but the other is perpetuated by the Order , perhaps , of a Church . I answer , that all Orders about Indifferent things are but temporary , and are only intended to bind so long as they are for the good of the Community . And if they are for continuance that alters not the case ; For though the Apostle knew his own Liberty and where there was Just Reason could insist upon it , yet he did not suppose that could be damnified , though for his whole life it was restrain'd . For thus he resolves , If meat make my Brother to offend , I will eat no flesh while the World standeth , which certainly he would not have condescended to , if such a practice was not reconcileable to his Exhortation of standing fast in that Liberty , &c. 3. Therefore to find out the tendency of his Exhortation , its fit to understand what Christian Liberty is , and that is truly no other than the Liberty which Mankind naturally had , before it was restrain'd by particular Institution ; and which is call'd Christian Liberty in opposition to the Jews which had it not under their Law , but were restrain'd from the practice and use of things , otherwise and in themselves Lawful , by severe Prohibitions . Now as all the World was then divided into Jews and Gentiles , so the Liberty which the Jews were before denied , was call'd Christian , because by the coming of Christ , all these former restraints were taken off , and all the World , both Jews and Gentiles did enjoy it . And therefore when the Apostle doth exhort them to stand fast in it , it was , as the Scope of the Epistle doth shew , to warn them against returning to that Jewish state , and against those who held it necessary for both Jew and Gentile still to observe all the Rites and Orders of it . Now if the Usages of a Church were of the same kind , or had the same tendency , or were alike necessarily impos'd as those of the Mosaical Law , then Christians would be concerned in the Apostles Exhortation ; but where these reasons are not , our Liberty is not at all prejudiced by compliance with them . As long I say , as they are neither peccant in their Nature , nor End , nor Number , they are not unlawful to us , nor is our Liberty injured in the use of them . And so I am brought to the last General , which is , V. That there is nothing required in our Church , which is not either a duty in it self , and so necessary to all Christians , or else what is indifferent , and so may be lawfully used by them . By things required , I mean , such as are used in the Communion and Service of our Church , and imposed upon the Lay-members of it ( for these are the things my Subject doth more especially respect . ) This is a Subject too Copious for me to follow through all the particulars of it ; and indeed it will be needless for me to enlarge upon it , if the foundation I have laid be good , and the Rules before given are fit measures for us to Judge of the lawfulness , or unlawfulness of things by ; for by these we shall soon bring the Cause to an Issue . I think there is nothing to be charged upon our Church for being defective in any Essential part of Divine Worship● ( as the Church of Rome is in its Half-Communion ) nor of any practice that is apparently inconsistent with , or that doth defeat the ends of any Institution ( as the same Church doth offend by having its Service in an unknown Tongue , and in the multitude of its Ceremonies ) . I think it will be acknowledged , that the Word of God is sincerely and freely Preached , the Sacraments intirely and truly Administred , the Prayers for matter inoffensive and good . And therefore the matter in dispute is about the Ministration of our Worship , and the manner of its performance ; and I think the things of that kind Objected against , refer either to Time , or Forms , or Gesture . To Times , such are Festivals , or Days set apart for Divine Service ; to Forms such are our Prayers , and the Administration of our Sacraments ; to Gestures , as Standing up at the Creed or Gospels , and Kneeling at the Lords Supper . But now all these are either Natural or Moral Circumstances of Action , and which , as I have shew'd , are inseparable from it . Of the former kind are Days and Gestures ; of the latter are Forms of Administration , and so upon the reasons before given may be lawfully determined and used . Again , these are not forbidden by any Law , either expresly , or consequentially , and have nothing that is indecent , disorderly , or unedifying in them ; and which if any should engage his own opinion and experience in , he would be answered in the like kind , and have the opinions and experience of Thousands that live in the practise of these , to contradict him . And if there be nothing of this kind apparent , or what can be plainly prov'd , ( as I am apt to believe there cannot ) then the Proposition I have laid down needs no further proof . But if at last it must issue in things inexpedient to Christians , or an unlawfulness in the Imposure ; are either of these fit to be insisted upon , when the peace of one of the best Churches in the World is broken by it , a lamentable Schism kept up , and our Religion brought into imminent hazard by both ? Alas how near have we been to ruin , and I wish I had no reason to say , how near are we to it , considering the indefatigable industry , the united endeavours , the matchless policy of those that contrive and desire it ! Can we think that we are safe , as long as there is such an abiding reason to make us suspect it , and that our divisions are both fomented , and made use of by them to destroy us ? And if this be our danger , and Union as necessary as desirable , shall we yet make the breach wider , or irreparable by an obstinate contention ? God forbid ! O pray for the peace of Jerusalem , they shall prosper that love thee : Let peace be within thy Walls , and prosperity within thy Palaces . Amen . THE END . Books Printed by Fincham Gardiner . A Continuation and Vindication of the Defence of Dr. Stillingfleet's Unreasonableness of Separation , in Answer to Mr. Baxter , and Mr. Lob , &c. Considerations of present use , considering the Danger Resulting from the Change of our Church-Government . 1. A Perswasive to Communion with the Church of England . 2. A Resolution of some Cases of Conscience , which Respect Church-Communion . 3. The Case of indifferent things , used in the Worship of God , Proposed and Stated by considering these Questions , &c. 4. A Discourse about Edification . 5. The Resolution of this Case of Conscience , Whether the Church of England's Symbolizing so far as it doth with the Church of Rome , makes it unlawful to hold Communion with the Church of England ? 6. A Letter to Anonymus , in Answer to his Three Letters to Dr. Sherlock about Church-Communion . 7. Certain Cases of Conscience resolved , concerning the Lawfulness of joyning with Forms of Prayer in Publick Worship . In two parts . 8. The Case of Mixt Communion . Whether it be Lawful to separate from a Church upon the Account of promiscuous Congregations , and Mixt Communions ? 9. An Answer to the Dissenters Objections against the Common Prayers , and some other Parts of Divine Service Prescribed in the Liturgy of the Church of England . 10. The Case of Kneeling at the Holy Sacrament , Stated and Resolved , &c. The first Part. Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A66381-e130 a Lightf . Hor. Hebr. in 1 Cor. 11. 4. b Plut. Probl. Rom. c Macrob. Saturn . l. 3. c. 6. Chrysost. and Theophyl . in 1 Cor. 11. 17. Tertul. Apol. c. 39. de orat . l. 6. Concil . Laod. c. 28. &c. Synod . Petricov . conclus . 4. An. 1578. Philo. de Sacrif . Able , &c. Lightf . Hor. Matth. c. 26. 20. a Ambros. Tom. 4. l. 3. de Sacrament . c. 1. b Tertul. de orat . c. 1 ▪ 4. Ames . Fresh Suit , l. 2. Sect. 23. &c. p. 334. Casaub. Exercit . 16. c. 73. a Buxtorf . Exercit. Hist. Sacr. Coenae b Ames . ibid ▪ p. 342. n. XXX . a Ames . ibid. l. 1. c. 3. p. 17. a Aug. Epis. 118. Januar. b Basil. de Spir. S. c. 27. c Aug. Epis. 119. Januar. d Ambros. lib. 2. de Sacrament . c. 7. a Aug. Epist. 118. b Ambros. l. 3. de Sacrament . c. 1. Object . I. Levit. 10. 1 , &c. Answ. I. a Esth. 9. 27. b 1 King. 12. 32 , 33. c Isai. 65. 3. d Act. 3. 1. Exod. 30. ● . Ver. 34. Ch. 37. 29. Jer. 8. 19. a Lev. 9. 24. b Ch. 6. 12. c Lev. 16. 12. 46. Lev. 9. 24. Lev. 1. 7. 1 Chron. 13. 7. 10. Ch. 15. 2. Deut. 17. 3. 4. Jer. 7. 31. Ch. 19. 5. Ch. 32. 35. Jer. 29. 22 , 23. Isai. 66. 3. 4. Ch. 65. 3 , 12. Rom. 1. 28 , 29. Object . II. Deut. 4. 2. Matth. 15. 9. Answer . Deut. 4. 4 , 6. a Deut. 12. 32. Matth. 5. 19. 2 King. 16. 14 , 17. Matth. 15. 3. Con. Trid. Sess. 4. Decr. 1. Object . III. Answer . Ames . Fresh Suit , part . 2. sect . 2. command . p. 228. Object . IV. Answer . Rev. 22. 18. 1 Cor. 11. 20 , 21. 1 Cor. 14. 16 , 17. 26 , 27. Chrys. in 1 Cor. Ch. 14. 40. 1 Cor. 14. 26. Epist. 118. Epist. 118. Epist. 86. Casulano . 1 Cor. 10. 2 1 Cor. 9. 19. &c. Rom. 15. 2. 1 Pet. 2. 5. 2 Cor. 10. 8. 1 Cor. 14 26. 1 Tim. 1. 4. Rom. 14. 19. 1 Thes. 5. 11. Eph. 4. 12. 16. ● Cor. 11. 16. Aug. Epist. 118. 1 Cor. 14. 33. Rom. 14. 16. Aug. Epist. 86. Epist. 118. & 86. Object . Gal 5. ● . Answer . 1 Cor. 10. 29. 1 Cor. 8. 13. 
A66373	----	A brief discourse concerning the lawfulness of worshipping God by the common-prayer being an answer to a book entituled A brief discourse concerning the unlawfulness of the common-prayer worship lately printed in New-England, and re-printed in London, in which the chief things objected against the liturgy, are consider'd. Williams, John, 1636?-1709. 1694 Approx. 110 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 21 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2009-03 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A66373 Wing W2683 ESTC R203 12495181 ocm 12495181 62493 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A66373) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 62493) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 951:67) A brief discourse concerning the lawfulness of worshipping God by the common-prayer being an answer to a book entituled A brief discourse concerning the unlawfulness of the common-prayer worship lately printed in New-England, and re-printed in London, in which the chief things objected against the liturgy, are consider'd. Williams, John, 1636?-1709. The second edition corrected. [4], 36 p. Printed for Ri. Chiswell ..., London : 1694. Reproduction of original in Huntington Library. Attributed to John Williams. cf. NUC pre-1956. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. 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Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor. The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines. Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Church of England. -- Book of common prayer -- Controversial literature. Worship -- Early works to 1800. 2007-06 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2007-07 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2008-04 Elspeth Healey Sampled and proofread 2008-04 Elspeth Healey Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A BRIEF DISCOURSE Concerning the Lawfulness of Worshipping GOD BY THE COMMON-PRAYER . Being in ANSWER To a Book , Entituled , A Brief Discourse concerning the Vnlawfulness of the Common-Prayer Worship . Lately Printed in New-England , and Re-printed in London . In which , the Chief Things Objected against the Liturgy , are consider'd . The Second Edition Corrected . Let all things be done decently , and in order , 1 Cor. 14. 40. LONDON : Printed for Ri. Chiswell , at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard , M DC XCIV . IMPRIMATUR , August 9. 1693. GEO. ROYSE . THE PREFACE . HOW Pious or Learned the Author of the Book I undertake to answer may be , I am no more concern'd to know , than I am who the Author is , whom the Publisher bath thought fit to commend as such ; and having so done , to conceal . But he is not ( as far as I conceive ) the more Learned or Pious for Writing this Book : Not the more Learned ; for by all the helps he professes to have had from Didoclavius , &c. he is guilty of many gross and palpable Mistakes : And not the more Pious , because of the uncharitable Reflections and Inferences he every where makes . For would any man of a truly Christian Temper alledge these things now against the Common-Prayer , which were alter'd or expunged above thirty years before he published his Brief Discourse ? Or charge us with violating the Word of God , because we change the word Sabbath for the Seventh Day ; or say that we sacrilegiously steal from it , because Hallelujah , or Praise the Lord , is sometimes left out in the Reading-Psalms ; or that we equal the Apocrypha to , and set it up above the Canonical Scriptures , because it s read on the Highest Holy-days ( as he saith , but not very truly ) tho the Articles of our Church expresly declare them to be only of humane composition . Suppose now I should treat this Author after the same manner ; and whereas he professes to have compared our Liturgy with the Missal , &c. I should take all advantages given in his Book , to shew , that notwithstanding this , he had never read them . I am certain , I could much more easily , and as Charitably do it , as he make good his abovesaid Charge . For would any one conversant in the Missal , Breviary and Ritual of the Church of Rome , have said ( as he doth , p. 5. ) That Beza notes , that in the Roman Liturgy , men are taught to cry , Jesu Miserere mei , no less than ten times one after another ? For what need he quote Beza for that which he has ( as he saith ) read himself ; and which after all , Beza mistook , and he with Beza ; or rather he mistakes Beza in ; since the Jesu Miserere thus repeated , is not in the Missal , &c. but in private Offices of that Church . Who again , that had been conversant in our Liturgy , would have said , as the Author , Some have observ'd , that of 172 Apocryphal Chapters , but 38 are omitted ? For what need he to be beholden to another's Observation , for what he that had thus read the Liturgy must have under his own eye ? So easy is it to repay him in his own Coin , if we will reflect and infer after his way . It 's a shrewd sign this Author was hard put to it to make good his Charge against the Liturgy , and to prove his Point , That it 's unlawful to be present at the Common-Prayer Worship . And after all , it 's of little Service to our Author , and those of his Communion , to make such Exceptions as he has done ; for if all things were alter'd and remov'd that he objects against , they of his way would be no nearer to us than they are , as the things stand at present ; as long as we are a National Church , and have a Liturgy ; and whilst they continue Independent and Congregational , are against the use of any Forms , even such as are Scriptural ( as the Lord's Prayer and Decalogue ; ) nay , against reading the Scripture in their Publick Congregations . Indeed he had dealt more sincerely , if he had acquainted his Reader , That they hold it unlawful to communicate with us , because we are a National Church ; and that they don't joyn in the Common-Prayer Worship , because it 's a Form , and all Forms are in his Opinion unlawful . This indeed had struck at the Root of all ; but this he knew was not so easily prov'd , nor would look so popularly , as to cry out Heathenism , Judaism , and Popery , which he charges our Service-Book with . This indeed will rouze the Multitude ; and it 's no wonder when possess'd with this Representation of our Worship , that the deluded People broke into the Church ( Erected at Boston for the Worship of God , according to the Church of England ) to search for the Images they supposed we worship'd . The time was when the Antinomians from among themselves , treated them in the like way , and call'd them Legal Preachers , Popish Factors , Scribes , and Opposers of Christ . And they may remember what had like to have been the Effect of it , if they had not taken up what their Adversaries call'd a Bloody Tenet . And truly we had reason to fear it , if there had not been a Superior Authority to over-rule it . But I shall forbear to recriminate , and shall leave the rest to the Book , where I have let nothing escape that requires an Answer ; and I hope have given a sufficient Answer to it , and in the issue have prov'd , that ( as far as his Exceptions go ) they have no reason to forbear being present at , or joyning in the Common-Prayer-Book Worship ; which is the Matter of the First Question : Nor that it 's unlawful to take an Oath by laying the Hand upon the Bible ; which is the Matter of the Second . A BRIEF DISCOURSE Concerning the Lawfulness of Worshipping GOD BY THE COMMON-PRAYER . THE First Question proposed by the Author , is , Q. What are the Reasons why you judge it unlawful to be present at , or to partake in the Common-Prayer Worship ? The Reasons he gives are four , taken , 1. From the Original of the Common-Prayer-Book , which , saith he , with the Ceremonies and Worship prescribed therein , I find to be in a great measure Popish and Heathenish . 2. From the Matter of the Common-Prayer-Book . 3. Because Publick Liturgies of humane Composure , are an Innovation and Deviation from Primitive Purity . 4. In this Age of Light , it would be a great Apostacy in the least to countenance or comply with the Common-Prayer-Worship . These are the Reasons he advances , and by which he endeavours to justify their continuance in a Separation from the Church of England , and the Worship therein Administred . And these I shall take the liberty to examine . For the clearer discoursing upon which , I shall divide what I have to say , into so many Chapters , viz. 1. Of the Original of the Common Prayer , or English Liturgy . 2. Of the Matter of it . 3. Of the Original of Liturgies . 4. Of Worship by a Liturgy . CHAP. I. Of the Original of the English Liturgy . OUR Author saith , That the Common-Prayer-Book , with the Ceremonies and Worship prescribed therein , are in a great measure Popish and Heathenish ; and therefore it is unlawful to joyn with it . This will be resolved into two Questions . Q. 1. Whether the Common Prayer be taken out of the Mass-Book ; and be Heathenish , as well as Popish ? Q. 2. Whether the being taken out of the Mass-Book , makes it unlawfull to be used or joyned with , tho it be good and lawful in it self ? Q. 1. Whether the Common-Prayer is taken out of the Mass-Book ? As our Author takes care to represent it , one would think there is little of the Roman Service left out in ours . The Common-Prayer , saith he , is in a great measure Popish — is taken out of the Popes Mass-Book — it cannot be denied it 's derived from thence , p. 1. There is very little in the English , which is not to be found in the other , p. 2. This is matter of Fact , and so is not to be determined by Authority . He himself makes a fair proposal , which I shall accept of , viz. Let such as have any hesitancy about this matter compare the Popish Missal , &c. with the English Liturgy , and they will be convinced , Of what ? That he had never read and compared them ; or is guilty of a notorious Abuse that he puts upon his ignorant Reader , that after he pretends to have read and compared , shall assert so gross a falshood , and say , There is very little in the English , that is not to be found in the other , &c. 1. For there is little comparatively in the English , which is to be found in the Roman Liturgy , and far more is left out , than ever was taken thence . This is indeed directly contrary to what he affirms , and yet let any one compare them , and he will be convinced of the truth of it . Take that which is called the Cannon of the Mass , or Form of Administring the Eucharist , and there is no Agreement , not one Collect or Prayer the same . Go we to Baptism , there is not one Prayer belonging to that Office that is in ours . And as for the Litany , there is not a third part of theirs in ours , and much in ours which is not in theirs . 2. There is nothing in the Service of the Church of Rome , which makes it the Popes Missal , and is peculiar to that Church , that is in ours ; that is , there is no Popery in our Liturgy . This he is in part forced to acknowledge . There are , saith he , things ( as Prayers for the Dead , &c. ) in the Roman Liturgy , which are not translated into English . His Et cetera , if branched into particulars , would be very large , as he could not but know , if he had read and compared them . As for Example , Where are their Crossings , Elevation , and Adoration of the Elements ? Where their Solitary Communion , and Communion in one kind ? Where their frequent Crossings of themselves , and of the Book ? Where their material Crosses , and the Adoration of them ? Where their Prayers for the Dead ? Where their Intercessors , the Virgin Mary and Saints , that are to be found in the Cannon of the Mass ? Where are the many Exorcisms in Baptism , the Puffs they blow in the Infant 's face , their Conjuration of Salt , for a wholesome Sacrament to the driving away of Devils , that 's put into the Mouth of the Infant , as a propitiation unto Eternal Life ? Where the Spittle with which the Ears and Nostrils of the Infants are touched with an Ephphatha , be opened ? Where the Oyl of Salvation , ( as it 's call'd ) wherewith the Priest anoints the Child's Breast and Shoulders in form of a Cross ? Where the Chrism or Oyntment wherewith he anoints the Crown of the Head in figure of a Cross ? Where the change of Garments , their Purple and White Robe , that the Child is to carry unspotted before the Tribunal of our Lord ? Where the lighted Candle put into the Child's hand , that when our Lord shall come to the Wedding , he may meet him ? Where the many Crossings of the Head before Baptism , and of the Eyes , Ears , Nostrils , Breast , Shoulders , Mouth , &c. to be found in their Ritual and Pastoral ? Lastly , To go no farther , Where are the O Holy Mary , Mother of God , &c. pray for us ? Where are the Angels and Arch-Angels , the Patriarchs and Prophets , the Apostles and Evangelists ; the Martyrs , Popes , and Confessors , the Priests and Levites , the Monks and Hermits , the Virgins and Widows , the Forty seven Saints in particular , and all Saints in general , that are called upon in their Litany , Pray for us ? And if nothing that is truly Popish be to be found in our Liturgy , we have so far reason to deny that it 's taken out of the Mass-Book . 3. I add , That our Service is so far from being taken out of he Missal , that whatsoever in it is the same with the Office in the Church of Rome , is mostly taken out of the Ancient Offices of the Christian Church . And because every one cannot compare it , I will produce Impartial Authority for it . Thus saith Mr. Ball , a Nonconformist of great Note in the last Age , The English Liturgy is not a Collection out of the Mass-Book , but a refining of the Liturgy , which heretofore had been stained with the Mass — and is not a Translation of the Mass , but a Restitution of the Ancient Liturgies . So the Ministers of Old England , in a Letter to the Ministers of New England , wrote Anno 1637. It 's no hard task to shew , that our Service-Book was reformed in most things according to the purest Liturgies , which were in use long before the Mass was heard of in the World , p 2. To these I will add one more , for the Character our Author gives of him , viz. Bishop Jewel ( whom he calls that great Light in the English Church , p. 9. ) Who saith , We are come as near as possibly we could to the Church of the Apostles , and of the old Catholick Bishops and Fathers — And besides , we have aimed not only our Doctrine , but Sacraments also , and Forms of our Publick Prayers , after the patern of their Rites and Ordinances . To say the truth , it 's a very odd thing to represent our Liturgy as Popish , when those that composed and used the Liturgy , were burnt by the Papists for it , and when to this day they will not communicate in it , nor with the Church that useth it . Our Author saith , There have been Jusuits and Popish Intelligencers that approved of our Service , and Pope Pius 5 th would have ratified it ? And is it therefore Popish ? The Independent allows the Presbyterian Confession of Faith ; And this Author saith , p. 4. It must be acknowledged that such of the Church-of-England - men , as keep to the 39 Articles in matters of Doctrine , are as Orthodox as any Protestants in the world . And is therefore the Independent a Presbyterian , or this Author a Church-of - England-man ? I trow not . All is , that they agree in the Common Principles the other receives , and yet one is no more the other , than if they had no agreement in such Principles . And so is it here , the English Liturgy has nothing but what is agreeable to the Doctrine of the Gospel , and allowable by the Christian Church ; and therefore what the Papists will , or ought to allow ; but for all ▪ that , we are no more Papists , nor that any more Popish , than the Independent is a Presbyterian , or our Author a Church-of - England-man . It was not then , because it was Popish , that they approved of our Service , but that it was Christian , and pure in its Order and Composure ; neither was it because it was Popish , that the Pope would have ratified it , but because upon any terms he would have prevailed upon Queen Elizabeth to own his Authority , and regain'd her to their Church . 4. However I deny not , but that the Compilers of the Liturgy did peruse the Popish Offices , and take as much from thence , as was conformable to the Ancient Offices , and was fit to be used ; and that the rather , that they might the more easily satisfie doubting or discontented Minds under the Alterations then made , and induce them to comply with them . And this was the meaning of King Edward's Proclamation . A practice very Christian and commendable , and agreeable to the Apostolical prudence , which we read of , Acts 15. 16. 3. 1 Cor. 9. 19 , &c. And which the Nation soon felt the happy effects of , when by this excellent Conduct it became , generally speaking , Reformed . But yet after all , so little was taken out of the Mass-Book , &c. that they differ'd more than they agreed in , and more was left than taken out . But our Author stays not here , That the English Liturgy , saith he , is originally Heathenish as well as Popish , is manifest , 1. In that the Pope's Liturgy from whence ours is deriv'd , is so . The Principal Parts of the Mass-Book were borrowed from Idolatrous Pagans . They came from Numa Pompilius , p. 4. Ans . It has been sufficiently made out by Protestants , that there is a great Affinity and Agreement between the Heathenish and Popish Rites ; but our Author does an injury to the Argument , when affirming , that the Principal Parts of the Mass-Book , were borrowed from Idolatrous Pagans , he goes no further than Vestments , Holy Water , and Incense , as if these were the principal Parts of the Mass-Book , and the chief things that that agreed in with the Idolatry of the Heathens . But this indeed is not to our purpose . Well! suppose there be this Conformity between the Papist and the Pagan ; what is that to us , if we agree with neither ? but that he attempts to prove . For tho he cannot find Incense and Holy Water , and his Et caetera among us , yet he saith , What Vain Repetitions does the Common-Prayer Book abound with ? In one Service the Worshippers must repeat these words . Good Lord deliver us , Eight times over . And , We beseech thee to hear us , Twenty times over . The Gloria Patri is to be repeated Ten times in the same Morning or Evening Service . That the Heathens were wont to Worship their Idols just after the same manner , is clear from Matth. 7. &c. And Beza notes , that the Roman Liturgy does abound with them , wherein Men are taught to cry Jesu , Jesu , miserere mei , no less then Ten times one after another . For the better Resolution of which , I shall proceed in this order . 1. We grant , that there may be such things as vain Repetitions in Prayers , and other Divine Offices , for that is a fault our Saviour charges on the Heathens ; and what we , as well as our Author , charge on the Church of Rome , and is also frequently charged by those that use and plead for Forms , on those that use extemporary Prayers . 2. We yet do maintain , That there are such Repetitions in Divine Worship , as are not vain , that are neither Heathenish or Popish . Such do we read of in the Old Testament , as , Psalm , 57. 1. 75. 1 , 4 , 5. 94. 1. 103. 1 , 2 , 22. 107. 8 , 15 , 21 , 31. 136. throughout . And thus our Saviour repeated the same words thrice in his Agony in the Garden , Matt. 26. 44. and twice on the Cross , Matt. 27. 46. And consequently all Repetitions are no more condemned by our Saviour in Matt. 6. 7. than all long Prayers are , Matt. 23. 14. So that the vanity of Repetitions does not consist in using the same words eight times or twenty times in Prayer . For do we repeat in our Service , Good Lord deliver us , eight times : And Glory be to the Father , &c. ten times ? And , We beseech thee to hear us , good Lord , twenty times ? So we find , that they not only had their thrice , and their four times , but their twenty seven times in every Verse of Psalm 136. His mercy endureth for ever ; which Psalm was most used on solemn Occasions , as we may find it , 2 Chron. 5. 13. 7. 3 , 6. 20. 21. Ezra 3. 11. Jer. 33. 11. So that we may more truly say of the Church of God amongst the Jews , than he doth of the Heathens , and their Idols , that they were wont to Worship God just after the same manner , with Repetitions in their Service , as we . 3. We are to consider wherein the vanity of Repetitions consists , so as to be after the manner of the Heathens . This admits great variety , and just bounds cannot be set ; so that it 's not to be exactly said , Here the vain Repetitions begin . But they are such ; 1. When they that use them , think that they shall be heard for their much speaking , as our Saviour saith , the Hethens did : Thus the Priests of Baal did , crying out , O Baal hear us , from Morning till Noon ; and accordingly Elijah upbraids them , 1 Kings 18. 26 , 27. 2. When it is nothing but Tautology , viz. a Repetition of the same words without new Matter ; or of the same matter , but in different words . Such were the Verses of Battus the babling Poet. Such were the Hymns used often by the Heathens , in the worship of their Gods. Such are the Jesu , Jesu , &c. without Intermission , sometimes used in the Roman Church . But when there are distinct Petitions , as when we say , We beseech thee to hear us good Lord , it 's as lawful to close each after that manner , as it is to say Amen , which we find to follow every particular Petition , and was distinctly repeated for twelve times together after that manner , Deut. 27. 15. 3. Vain Repetitions , are when the words are thought sufficient , tho the Heart be not with them ; but this may be common to any . So that tho there are Repetitions in our Service , as there were among the Heathen , and are in the Church of Rome , yet ours are not vain , nor such Repetitions as theirs , by reason of the matter only , if accompanied with the heart . 3. He saith , Some of the most Learned Patrons of Liturgies produce it as an Argument for them , that the Heathens made use of Forms in their Idolatrous Worship , p. 5. And so he makes this the difference between the Heathens and Christians , that the first used Forms , but the last prayed without them . As for the practice of the Christians , we shall have occasion to speak of it under another Head ; neither shall I trouble my self with the Opinion of those Learned Patrons of Liturgies , he speaks of : But I shall take his Argument as it lies before us , which is , That our Liturgy is Heathenish , because we use Forms as they did . He might as well have said , our Liturgy is Heathenish , because we use words as they did ; since it 's no more Heathenish to use Forms than Words . If they had the use of Forms , it rather shews the sense that Mankind generally have of this matter ; and that there cannot be too great a care taken of our demeanour in Divine Worship , according to the Direction of the Wise man , Eccl. 5. 2. Be not rash with thy mouth , &c. for God is in Heaven , &c. therefore let thy words be few , and well considered . But if the Heathens had Forms , so had the Jews , so had Christians , as I shall shew ; and so Forms no more make our Worship Heathenish than Jewish . But of this afterwards . But supposing , that our Liturgy was ( as he would have it ) taken out of the Mass-Book ; yet , Q. 2. Will the being taken out of the Mass-Book , make that Worship , which is otherwise good and lawful , to become unlawful to be used , or joyned with ? This he affirms , and offers to prove after this manner , It 's a known maxim ( saith he ) Omnis honor Idoli est Idolatria . He that shall put any respect upon an Idol , cannot be clear of the Sin of Idolatry ; but the Mass-Book is an Idol . And he that useth a Prayer , or joyns with a Prayer taken out of that Book , thereby puts an Honour upon an Idol — How then can we joyn in Prayers taken out of the Idolatrous Mass-Book , and offer them to the Holy God ? In which there are Three things contained . 1. That the Mass-Book is an Idol . 2. That to take a Prayer out of the Mass-Book is a respect to an Idol , and is Idolatry . 3. That it 's unlawful to joyn in Prayers taken out of the Mass-Book . 1. The Mass-Book is an Idol . This we may justly question , because an Idol is the Representation of some Divine or Beatified Object , and that is as such propounded and set up for Adoration ; such are the Images of God and our Saviour , of Angels and Saints in the Church of Rome . But in this sense the Mass-Book is no Idol ; there is no Prototype or Object it represents , nor is any such Adoration paid to it , as is paid to an Image , or a Crucifix . We grant as well as he , that the Mass-Book is Idolatrous , as it contains some things that are so , and is used in Idolatrous Worship : But it no more follows from thence , that it is an Idol , than that the Incense , Holy Water , or Vestments , are Idols , which are used when they say Mass . But supposing the Mass-Book for once to be an Idol , that we may proceed to the next question , viz. 2. Whether the taking a Prayer out of the Mass-Book , be such a respect to it , as makes the Prayer to be Idolatrous ? To this I answer , That the Prayers taken out of the Mass-Book , and inserted in our Liturgy , are so far from being a respect , that it is a disrespect to it . For at the same time that some Prayers were taken out , those were rejected that were left behind , for the gross Corruptions that were in them ; and by so doing , the Reformers as much testified to all the World their abhorrence of it , as the emptying of the House of the Goods and Utensils not infected by the Leprosy , and their forsaking it , was a plain declaration of its Pollution . So that if Prayers taken from thence are good , the using them when taken thence , is no Idolatry , and Communion in them no Sin , and no more unlawful than it was to use the Vessels that were carried out of the infected House . But this is the main Question , viz. Q. Whether that which has been used in Idolatrous Worship , may , if otherwise good and lawful , be used where the Worship is not idolatrous ? This he denies , and for it offers these Reasons . 1 We ought not to name an Idol , but with detestation ; much less may we offer it as Worship to God. Psal . 16. 4. Exod. 23. 13. Hos . 2. 16 , 17. P. 4. 2. It was Paul's Judgment , that Meat once offer'd to Idols , should not be made use of , 1 Cor. 10. 28. Therefore a Service-Book offer'd to Idols ought not to used . For there is a parity of Reason . 3. God hath strictly prohibited his people all symbolizing with the Heathen in civil usages , because he would not have them imitate the Heathen Levit. 19. 19 , 27. — especially in matters referring to the Worship of God. Hence they were prohibited going up by steps to the Altar . Exod. 20. 24 , 26. to plant a Grove near the Altar , Deut. 16. 31. And to worship to the East , Ezek. 8. 16. Before I proceed to consider these Arguments in particular , I shall state the Case it self ; for resolving of which , we may observe . 1. That there are things Idolatrous in their own nature , or by a standing positive Law , and so are always the same . Such is the Picture of God , and Worshipping by Images . 2. There are things that have been customarily appropriated to Idolatrous Worship , and the use of which in common estimation , has been accounted Idolatrous . Such was the offering Incense among the Heathens ; and therefore the primitive Christians refused it , as an acknowledgment of their Worship ; and the Thurificati were reputed Idolaters . 3. There are other things that are used as well in true as Idolatrous Worship , and are lawful in themselves ; such as Time , Place , Habit , Posture . The first is always , unlawful , and makes the worship Idolatrous . The second is not to be used where it has been thus appropriated , and thus accounted , during such an opinion of them . So that it 's the last of these that the whole turns upon ; for after all the clamour he makes about Idolatry , and the charge he would fain fasten upon us , he can produce nothing that is Idolatrous amongst us , no Images , no Prayers to Saints , nor so much as any thing appropriated , or in common estimation so accounted ; no incensings of Books or Images , no sprinklings of Holy Water ; but it all amounts to this , that Forms and Repetitions have been us'd by Idolaters ; that they had White Garments , and observ'd Holy-days ; So p. 4 , 5 , 8. Which are things lawful in themselves ( as I shall shew ) and cannot be made unlawful by being us'd in Idolatrous Worship . For when Idolatry is not in the nature of the thing , but in the use , take away the use , and Idolatry ceaseth ; and consequently it may be lawfully used where there is no Idolatry in the Worship , and no Idolatry in the use of it . And if it be not to be used , it 's not because it 's unlawful in it self to use it , but because it 's forbidden by God , as was the case among the Jews ; or because of some circumstances that make it inconvenient and dangerous . Thus it was lawful to eat that Meat , which had been offer'd to Idols , when it was afterward expos'd to sale in the Shambles , or set upon the Table at an Entertainment ; because it was thereby restor'd to a common use ; when yet it was not lawful to sit at Meat in an Idols Temple , for that was to have fellowship in the Idolatry , Chap. 8. 10 , 20. It is then no more Idolatry to use a White Garment , or a Temple , or observe a Day , or to use a Prayer that has been used or observ'd in Idolatrous Worship , or by an Idolatrous Church , than it was to eat Meat that had been offer'd to Idols . Purifie the Gold , and separate the Dross from it , and the Gold is not the worse for the Dross that was before mingled with it . Scrape the Walls , and cast out the infected materials of it , so that the House be freed from the Leprosie , and it might have been as well inhabited , as if it had never been infected , Num. 14. 41. ( to make use of former Comparisons , p. 2 d. and 3 d. ) and take the things lawful from the things unlawful , and they become lawful again , and may be lawfully used . But saith he , The Rubbish of the Leprous house was to be cast into an unclean place : And the Leprosie breaks out still ; therefore we may have no communion with it . p. 3. But surely it 's the same thing if we leave the House that is infected , as it is to carry away the Rubbish into an unclean place ; else why doth he talk of leaving the Communion for the sake of the Leprosie of Idolatry ? We grant the Church we left to be Idolatrous , there the Leprosie is ; and therefore we left it ; but we left the Idolatry with the Church , and let him prove there is any of the Leprosie of Idolatry in what we have taken out of it , and then he would say somewhat to the purpose ; but that he is far from . Let us however consider his Arguments relating to the general part . 1. We ought , saith he , not to name an Idol , but with detestation , much less offer it as worship to God. I answer , 1 st . The naming there forbidden , is the naming an Idol with respect ; and indeed the addressing any Worship to it . So Psal . 16. 4. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another God ; their drink-offering of Blood will I not offer , nor take up their name into my Lips : That is , they might not name them by way of worship , nor offer Sacrifice to them . 2 d. Where is there such a naming of an Idol amongst us ? what respect do we give to his Idol the Mass-Book ? what Saint do we adore ? But , saith he , The Prayers are taken out of the Idolatrous Mass-Book . But what then , if there be nothing of their Idolatry in the Prayers that are taken thence ; when such are taken thence they are no more Idolatrous than before they were taken into the Mass-Book . 2d . He saith , It was Paul's ▪ Judgment , that meat once offer'd to Idols should not be made use of , 1 Cor. 10. 28. Therefore a Service-Book offer'd to Idols ought not be us'd . For there is a parity of Reason . I conceive he is much mistaken in the account he gives of the Apostle's Judgment , who is so far from maintaining meat offer'd to Idols to be unlawful , that he makes it a thing indifferent ( as before ) ; and what a person may with a safe conscience eat of without scruple , unless it be with respect to another's conscience that is thereby offended , as the Apostle determines it , v. 28 , 29. Now if Meat offered to Idols might be eaten of , then a Service-Book that has been used in Idolatrous Worship may be lawfully us'd ( when the things contain'd in it are otherwise lawful and good . ) For there is a parity of Reason , as he argues . 3. He saith , God hath prohibited his People all Symbolizing with Heathen , &c. We grant that God did prohibit the Jews all symbolizing and agreement with the Heathens in their Idolatry . That is not the Question . But , 1. Whether an agreement with Idolaters in what was once used by them in Idolatry , becomes Idolatry , or be unlawful because it has been so used ? 2. Or whether what was forbidden to the Jews is forbidden to all People , And to Christians as well as they ? These we deny . The first we deny as to the Jews , that every thing us'd in Idolatrous Service was unlawful to them ; for he says , The Priests of Isis used to wear Linnen Surplices , p. 9. and yet such Linnen Garments were the Priests and Levites to officiate in . So Circumcision was used among the Egyptians , &c. and yet continued to be used among the Jews . Again , we deny that what was in that kind forbidden to the Jews , was forbidden and unlawful to all . For , 1 st . A great part of what they were forbidden , was with respect to the people that before inhabited the Land ; with whom they were to make no Covenant , but were utterly to destroy them , their Altars and Groves , &c. Exod. 23. 32 , 33. 34. 12. Deut. 7. 2 , 3 , 5. 2. They were a People very prone to Idolatry , and so were tied up by strict Restraints and Penalties . 3. They both came from Egypt , where they had long convers'd with Idolatrous Service , and afterward border'd upon Nations violently addicted to Idolatry and Sorcery ; and in such circumstances there were these Checks laid upon them ; and an assimilation to the Customs of such forbidden . And all this was not from the nature of the thing , and because all usages of Idolators were unlawful , but because of the circumstances of people , time , and place : And if so , then we must leave the case of symbolizing , and no longer make it a Case of Conscience , but of prudence and expediency ; and so we are left to judge what is fit to be retained , and what not ; what practised , and what not . And here our Reformers shew'd their Prudence and Moderation , by what they chose ; when the Ceremonies were few ; and what were the Ceremonies of the Ancient Church , rather than the Romish . When they chose some , that they might not give offence to the Churches of Christ in other parts of the World ; and yet retain'd no more , that they might not burden their own Communion . When the Offices they selected were agreeable to the Ancientest Offices of the Church . So that there was no Reformation in any place , where so much temper was preserv'd , and where the purity of Religion , and the Simplicity and solemnity of Divine Service were more regarded : that what was good was retained ; what was noxious was purg'd out , and even what was superfluous was exscinded . But this he will not allow . For , saith he , the use of such a Liturgy doth harden the Papists in their Idolatry , p. 4. So the Liturgy came from Rome , and will perhaps lead thither again . p. 18. But , 1. How can such a Liturgy harden them in their Idolatry , or lead thither , which has none of their Idolatry in it ; and in which the Papists are expresly charged with Idolatry ? Vid. Rubrick at the Communion . 2. How can this harden them , or lead thither , which has been the means of banishing and keeping their Idolatry out of the Kingdom ? 3. How can this harden them , or lead thither , when the Papists agree with our Author , That it 's unlawful to be present at , or partake in the Common-Prayer Worship , and are excommunicated if they do ? 4. How can this harden them , or lead thither , when there is nothing that the Papists more labour to possess the people with prejudices against ? But he adds , p. 4. The Jews themselves are scandalized by the Liturgy . It 's a celebrated Saying among them , That the Christians have their Jephilleth from Armillus ; that is , their Prayer-Books from Antichrist . At what are the Jews scandalized ? is it that we have a Liturgy ? So have they themselves had of latter Ages at least . And so the Author saith , p. 13. That he had seen Liturgies written in the Hebrew Tongue . Is it that we receive our Prayer-Book from Antichrist ? Yes , saith he , and for this quotes a Celebrated saying of theirs . But is this the truer for their saying so ? they say , it seems , that Christians have receiv'd their Prayers from Antichrist : but I hope that there are many Christians in the World , that have Prayer-Books which they never received from the Antichrist he speaks of ; So the Greeks and Abyssins , &c. The whole is at least a sorry Mistake , and which , for ought I see , he understands no more than we do his Jephilleth . The case is plainly thus ; That the Rabbins say , that Armillus was to be a person of prodigious form , begot of a Marble Statue in Rome , and was to be the last Enemy of the Jews , and the Leader of the Christian Forces against them ; that he should kill Messias Ben Ephraim , and at last be killed by Messias Ben David . That he should give Tephilleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and a Law to the Christians , which he and they set up in opposition to the Law of Moses . So that we see that his Tephilleth is the Law as well as the Prayers of Christians ; and they make Armillus to be toward the end of the World , the last Enemy of the Jews ; and how could our Liturgy , or the Liturgies now used by Christians , be the Prayers received from Armillus , when Armillus is yet to come , according to the Rabinical Notion ? if the Reader pleases he may have a fuller account of this Jewish Garagantua in Buxtorf's Lexicon , Chald. Talmud . Rabbin ; for I am weary of this trifling , and unintelligible Jargon . CHAP. II. Of the Matter of the Common Prayer-Book . BEfore I proceed to the particular consideration of his Objections Relating to this Head ; let me observe , that if we should grant what he finds fault with to be blame-worthy ; yet it 's not to the purpose , and the point he proposed ; which is to give Reasons why he judges it unlawful to be present at , or partake in the Common-Prayer Worship . And that for these Reasons . For , 1. There may be many things that are a reason against Ministerial Conformity , which will not be a reason against communion with the Church ; since there are those things required to the one , that are not required to the other . Such is the Surplice , the Office for Burying the Dead , Marrying , p. 8. &c. which belong to the Minister , and not to the People : And therefore tho it should be unlawful to wear a Surplice , or use these Offices , yet since Lay-Communion is not concern'd in them , they are no reason for separation . 2. Many of his Objections are only directed against the occasional Offices , and so can be no reason against constant communion in the Daily office , or in those Offices in which they do not occur . As supposing what he alledgeth out of the Office of Burial , Marriage , Baptism , &c. to be true and sufficient , yet tho they may be a reason against being present at the Offices of Burial , Baptism , and Marriage , they are no reason against Communion , where those Offices are not concerned . 3. Things inconvenient , if not unlawful , are no reason for a separation , because then there could be no Communion with any Church , since no Church is without them : And if we should grant the reading a worse Translation of Scripture , and the Apocrypha , in the Church , to be things of that nature ; yet it will be hard to shew them to be unlawful in themselves , and so to make it necessary to withdraw from the Church where they are used . If these things be consider'd , most of what he has said will be prevented ; but that I may not seem to avoid any thing , I shall take notice of the Particulars as they lie in order . And his Arguments taken from the Matter of the Service-Book , are ( 1. ) Some things appointed therein are , in the judgment of sober and judicious persons , extremely ridiculous . As how ? First , saith he , How many odd and senseless Translations of the Holy Scripture have been found therein ? It 's well , he said have been found ; for he is fain to draw all his inferences of that kind , but one , from the Service-Book , as it stood before the last revisal , and that is Psal . 58. 9. Or ever their pots be made hot with thorns , so let indignation vex them , as a thing that is raw . At which he Triumphs , What nonsence is this ! Now I do not think that to be Nonsence which is not soon understood ; for then what will he make of the Hebrew in this Verse , which has several difficulties in it ? But I think there is a good account to be given of the sense of this Version ; and that is , E're that the Pots are made hot with the Thorns , they shall be severely punished : The being made hot with the Thorns , sets forth the suddenness ; and the phrase , vexing a thing that is raw , denotes the severity of it . ( 2. ) His next Instance of things extremely ridiculous , is , that in the Liturgy , the Writings of the Prophets , Acts and Revelations , are called Epistles . If these were formerly , they are not now so called ; but of these when read in the place of Epistles , it 's said , The portion of Scripture for the Epistle . That is , the Sections of Scripture read in that order , are generally Epistles ; and so , as it 's usual in other cases , gives the name to all : And as it is not now , so never was it called the Epistle of the Prophets , Acts , or Revelations ; but the Epistle taken out of Isaiah , &c. ( 3. ) He objects against the Responses , Those broken Responds , saith he , and shreds of Prayer ( as Mr. Cartwright calls them ) which the Priests and People toss between them like Tennis-Balls , seem extremely ridiculous to standers-by . Without doubt this is a venture of Wit ; but I suppose there are standers-by that will call it by another Name ; and instead of Wit , term this scurrility in Conversation , and prophaneness in Religion ; Especially if we consider how many Psalms there are in Holy Writ , that are penn'd ( or supposed at least to be so , by Learned men ) after this way . And whatever his Standers-by may think , there are Persons of Piety ancient and modern , that have thought this way very becoming , and of excellent use to quicken Devotion , and excite attention . What may not be said in any case by such persons as these , that call this way of Devotion ( as he doth ) a taking God's Name in vain ? And what occasion may others take after the same manner , to treat their long Prayers , that are often nauseous to standers-by , for their affected length , and tedious enlargements , and forced Repetitions . 2. He objects , The Common-Prayer Book is guilty of violating the sacred Word of God : And here he charges it with no less than obliterating , contradicting , adding to it , and detracting from it ; and then concludes , Amongst men , clipping and corrupting if Coin is Treason ; and certainly it 's a dreadful thing to add to , or take from the Word of God. Dent. 4. 2. Rev. 22. 19. And it 's certainly a dreadful thing ; and wo to them that are guilty . Here I should have expected a rounder Charge by one that had so exactly read the Liturgy , and that he would have told the World that we take whole Chapters from the Word of God , and which have no place in our Kalendar , nor are read publickly in the Church , as I do acknowledge . And surely if the omission of one Verse in a Psalm , and of Hallelujah in others , be a taking from the Word of God ; then much more is the omission of whole Chapters ; nay , of three whole Books . But he durst not press that too far ; for if he had , it would have fallen hard upon such as never have the Scriptures read in their Congregations , tho that was a solemn part of Divine Worship in the Churches of God , as the Scripture informs us , Acts 15. 21 , &c. And if the Church of Rome is so deservedly blamed for reading the Scriptures in an unknown tongue , what do they not deserve that never read them at all in their Congregations ? Surely if they had , according to our Saviour's advice , considered the Beam in their own eye , they would not have thus magnified the Mote in their Brother's eye . I remember a Question in a Book of the same kind with our Author's , Whether Protestants do not sin in defrauding the people of some Books and Chapters of Scripture , as well as Papists in defrauding them of all ? And then what sort of Protestants are they , that with the Church of Rome defraud the people of all , so far as the Publick Service of God is concern'd ? But to return : Before I shall consider his few Instances , that he would make good this Bloody Charge by , I shall premise a few things . 1. That the Instances he offers are , at the worst , Mistranslations , Slips , and Errors , and not chargeable with Perverseness , according to what we charge upon the Church of Rome . For here is no interest to be served : For what is our Church concern'd , whether it be read as the Liturgical Translation has it , the 7 th Day ; or as the Common Translation , The Sabbath ? whether as that , they were not obedient to his word ; or as this , they rebelled not against his word ? whether as that , The rod of the wicked cometh not into the lot of the righteous ; or as this , resteth not ? Whether , as in that , the Titles of some Psalms and Hallelujahs are omitted ; or as in this , they are inserted ? Surely here is no interest visible in this , that should incline our Translators of the Psalter to pick out these Texts above all others to make bold with . 2. Mistranslations and Errors of this kind , are no sufficient reason for not using such a Translation , and much less for separating from a Church where they are used ; for then no Translation could be us'd , or no Church communicated with , because no Church is without such Translations , and no Translation without such Errors . Thus it was in the Church of the Jews , when the Septuagint was used in publick ; Which doth often alter and add to the original Hebrew ; and yet was not only used , but is quoted by the Divine Writers , even in many places where those Alterations and Additions are . So it alters , Heb 10. 5. 11. 21. Rom. 10. 18. Act. 7. 8. It adds , as Luk. 3. 36 , 37. Act. 7. 14 Then also must not our common Translation be used , which besides the mistakes allowed to be in it , does add in many places , and particularly half a Verse , 1 John 2. 23. So it adds the Dates and Subscriptions to the Epistles , Chapters , Verses , and Arguments , throughout the whole , as if Canonical . And of this kind are all his Instances . As ( 1. ) He saith , The Common-Prayer-Book violates the word of God , as sometimes the words of Scripture are obliterated , and others put in their room . Thus in the Catechism they have changed those words in the Fourth Commandment , the Lord blessed the sabbath-day , into the Seventh day . A. We grant it is so ; but it 's to be remember'd , that it 's not so in the 20th of Exodus , but in the Liturgy ; and if the Liturgy differs from Exodus , it 's a difference without a distinction , since the Seventh day and Sabbath are all one ; and if it differs from Exodus , it agrees with the first Institution , Gen. 2. 3. where it 's said , God rested on the seventh day , and God blessed the seventh day , and sanctified it . ( 2. ) He saith , Sometimes the Liturgy makes bold directly and in terms to contradict the Scripture ; so Psalm 105. 28. it 's said they were not rebellious , but the Common-Prayer-Book saith , they were not obedient ; and so Psal . 125. 3. We grant , That there is a seeming contradiction in words , but not in the meaning of it ; for the relative they being undetermined , and indifferently to be applied to Moses and Aaron , or to the Egyptians , accordingly is this place to be interpreted ; if understood of the former , it 's to be read in the common Translation , they were not rebellious ; if of the latter , it 's to be read in the Translation of the Liturgy , they were not obedient . And this last reading is according to the present reading of the Septuagint , and some other Translations that follow that . And yet that Translation was generally used by the Primitive Christians , and was worse than any ever used by us . As for Psal . 125. 3. The rod of the wicked shall not come , &c. that is , so as to rest there , and so as to tempt them beyond what they are able . ( 3. ) He saith , Sometimes the Common-Prayer-Book adds to the Scripture ; there are three whole Verses added to the 14th Psalm . And the Gloria Patri is frequently added to Scripture , as if it were Canonical . Ans . When he saith , That it is a dreadful thing to add to the word of God , and charges our Church with it , we might expect some very criminal instances to make it good ; and when he saith three whole Verses are added , one would think that this was somewhat invented , and herein inserted by the Church upon some wicked selfish design . But , 1. tho we allow that such Verses are added , yet it 's not an addition to Scripture ; for tho not found in this place , yet they are in another , viz. Rom. 3. 13. and quoted by the Apostle from other Psalms , &c. 2. It 's not the common-Prayer-Book that adds , but the Translations which the common-Prayer followed , viz. the Septuagint and Vulgar ; and tho it was a mistake , yet it 's far from being such as incurs the penalty of Deut. 4. 2 , &c. As for the Gloria Patri , I deny that it 's added to the Scriptures as Canonical , any more than the Contents of the Chapters , the Chapters and Verses of the Bible , or the Dates of the Epistles are ; nay , I deny that it 's added at all ; for any one that can read , will see that it 's not inserted in the Psalter , but only rehearsed as the Rubrick directs . And it was for a good end that this was anciently used in the Orthodox Churches of old , and is continued in ours , viz. in opposition to the Arians , and Anti-Trinitarians . Sozom. l. 26. ( 4 ) . He saith , Sometimes words are sacrilegiously stolen out of the Bible . As the last Verse is omitted , Psal . 72. So are the Scriptural Titles of many Psalms . And I know not how often those words , Praise ye the Lord , are left out . He durst not trust his Reader with the things left out , for they would have appear'd of so little Consequence , as would have betrayed the weakness of his Cause , as well as his own partiality : That verse omitted , Psal . 72. is this , the Prayers of David , the Son of Jesse , are ended . The Titles of the Psalms are for the most part such as are no key to the matter of them , and without which the Psalms are as intire as the Chapters without the Contents : The Clause , praise ye the Lord , as in the Hebrew , Hallelujah , and is only left out when it 's independent , and has no immediate Relation to the preceding or following Verse . And the reason of these Omissions seems to be , Because the Psalms being to be read in Parts , according to the ancient Custom in Chrysostom's time and before , or chanted , and so read on without naming the Psalm , the Titles , &c. would have made a break in that order . And this was done after the manner of Singing the Psalms in the Temple-Service , in which the Titles , and the passage , the Prayers of David the Son of Jesse , are ended , were to be sure no part . And so it is in the Singing-Psalms , used by the Dissenters as well as us : And who may as well be charged with such Omissions as we , who there , for the reason abovesaid , use neither the Verse nor Titles . Surely these Persons are hard put to it , that after such a bloody charge of violating , adding to , and taking from the Word of God , can produce no better proofs and evidences for it , but only that we leave out the Titles and Hallelujah , and that only in the ordinary Service in the publick , where they themselves read it not at all ; and when upon the like way of arguing , we may charge them with laying aside the whole Scripture , out of which they read not one Chapter for the information of the People . He goes on , 3. In the Liturgy the Apocrypha Books are made equal with , nay advanced above the Holy Scripture . Strange ! that a Church should be guilty of this , that in their Articles exclude them out of the Canon ; and saith , That they are not read to confirm any Doctrine , but only for informing the Manners . But let us see how he proves this , not by any Assertion of the Church , but some stretches of Arguing . As , ( 1. ) They are made equal . For in the Preface to the Common-Prayer , it 's said , nothing ordained is to be read but the pure word of God , or that which is evidently grounded on the same . But is the Apocrypha so ? Here for improving his Argument , he alters the words of the Preface ; and for that which is in that , agreeable to the same , he reads evidently grounded on the same , and then triumphs , Is the Apocrypha so ? But take it how he will , its evident from hence , that the Apocrypha is so far from being made equal with Scripture , that there is a plain difference between them ; for that to which a thing is agreeable , and on which it 's grounded , is above that which is agreeable to it , and grounded upon it . A Plea grounded on the law , is surely of less Authority than the Law on which it is grounded . The Apocrypha being read , not for establishing any Doctrine , but for informing the Mannners ; there is nothing in what is appointed of that kind to be read , but what is agreeable to the word of God , and not contrary to it ; and so may be read , as well as their Sermons be heard , which can pretend to no more . ( 2. ) He saith , The Liturgy appoints the Apocrypha to be read as Lessons , just as I find it in the Pope's Service-Book , and in a greater proportion than Scripture ; for ( as some have observ'd ) of 172 Apocryphal Chapters , but 38 are omitted . So that these Books are equalized with the pure word of God. But surely he doth not find it in our Service-Book , that the Apocrypha Lessons are read for Canonical Scripture , and declared to be so , as they are in the Pope's Service-Book ; but only as Apocrypha . He that will look for the Apocrypha-Books in the Pope's Bible , as well as Service-Book , will find them mixed with the Canonical , as Hester and Esdras , &c. but he that will find them in our Bibles , will find them by themselves , and Apocrypha in the head of them . If , as he affirms , the Apocrypha is read in a greater proportion than Scripture , it doth more than equalize , and doth rather advance it above the Scripture , and so belongs to his next Assertion , which he would have done well to have reserv'd it to , to make up the proof he is there wanting in . As for what he affirms , that the Apocrypha is read in greater proportion than the Scripture ; nothing more false . For , 1. All the Second Lessons throughout the Year , are out of the New Testament . 2. All Epistles and Gospels read on Sundays and Holy-days , are wholly out of Canonical Scripture . 3. All First Lessons , on Sundays are out of the Old Testament , and none out of the Apocrypha . 4. On the 33 Holy-days , on the Week-days , there are but 26 Apocrypha First Lessons , whereas there are 40 out of the Canonical Scripture . 5. When the Apocrypha is appointed to be read in Course , it 's not clear two Months for First Lessons , but the Holy Scripture is read all the other Ten Months , and more . 6. Of the 39 Books of the Old Testament , but 3 are entirely omitted , viz. Chronicles , and Canticles ; but of the 13 of the Apocrypha , 6 are not read at all . 7. Of the 929 Chapters of the Old Testament , 753 are read in course , and 176 only omitted ( the reasons for which generally will appear to the Reader ) , but out of the 172 Chapters of the Apocrypha , there are ( not as he saith 38 ) 66 omitted , and among them that of Tobit , that he objects against . Where methinks he that pretends to have read and compar'd , shou'd have had more value for his own understanding , than to be beholding to others , and to say some have observed ; for there is nothing like a man 's own observation in matter of Fact. 3. He saith , The Liturgy advanceth the Apocrypha above the Scripture , by intimating that they are more edifying , and can be less spared than many portions of the Holy Canon ; and by ordering them to be read on the highest Holy-days , and many of them twice , some thrice in one year . Methinks in such a round Charge as this , that the Liturgy advanceth the Apocrypha above Scripture , he should have had more than an intimation for his evidence . He calls it before , High-Treason ; and surely it 's very hard to be condemned for it by a bare Innuendo ; and yet even he fails in his intimation . For , 1. if it were true , that the Liturgy order'd the Apocrypha to be read on the highest Holy-days , and many of them twice or thrice in the Year ; it would not follow , that they accounted them more edifying , and less to be spared than Scripture ; especially when Scripture is read on the highest Holy-days , and some portions of it twice or thrice in the year too . 2. It 's not true , that it 's ordered to he read on the highest Holy-days : For on the highest Holy-days , there is nothing but Scripture to be read ; such are all the days dedicated to our Saviour , as the Nativity , Circumcision , Epiphany , Good-Friday , Resurrection , Ascension ; and all the Lords-days . 3. He saith , Many of them are read twice , some thrice in the year . For the twice , it 's only 25 Chapters , viz. 7 in Wisdom , and 18 in Ecclesiasticus : And as for his thrice , there is none but the 5th . Chapter of Wisdom , which after it had been read on the Conversion of St. Paul , has 17 Verses of it read on All-Saints . But now , as to the Scripture , the whole New Testament , except the Revelation , is read over thrice in the year in course , besides Epistles , Gospels , and Lessons out of it on Holy-days . And the Old Testament is read over once , except as before excepted , in course . And many Portions are read again in the Service of Sundays and Holy-days , which amount to above 140 Lessons ; and some few have a third Course . Would any one that observes this , think such a Writer , a Person of any care , I had almost said Conscience ; that utters as black Slanders as Pen can Write , or Mouth can utter , and charges a whole Church with violating the Word of God , and adding to it , and detracting from it , and of advancing human Writings above it , and yet shall come off with changing a Seventh day for Sabbath , with leaving out Hallelujah , with Intimations , and Falsities , with others Observations , that pretends to have read and compared , and what not ; and after all , charges us with this , for Lessons appointed to be read in the Publick Congregation , when they themselves read none at all ; and have no other Translation of Scripture , than what was translated by us , and which they use in Common with us ? This is hard usage indeed ; and if we should retort upon them in the like way , we should think , if we may judge of their value for Scripture by their Publick Service , there are none have a less esteem for it than they , that read not one Chapter of it by way of Lesson throughout the year , as has been before said . 4. He saith , Such things are enjoyned in the Common-Prayer-Book , as ( to my Conscience ) cannot be practised without Sin. But what is this to those that are not obliged to practise them ? What is it to Laymen , that the Priests are required to give the Holy Communion to all new-married Persons ; or to use the Prayers over the Dead ; or to put the Ring on in Marriage ; or use the Surplice , & c ? But what is this which cannot be practised without Sin ? 1. Ministers are requir'd to give the Holy Communion to all new-married Persons , whereas Marriage-Festivals used to be accompanied with such Divertisements as unfit them . By this Doctrine , all that may Marry , may come to the Lord's Supper , whereas Marriage is An Ordinance which Men as Men ( and not as Christians only ) have a right unto . So that by this Prescription many will eat and drink Damnation to themselves . Ans . ( 1. ) If this was required , yet it 's not inconsistent with that state , which is rightly call'd , The Holy Estate of Matrimony ; and besides , those Divertisements do not precede but follow . ( 2. ) Surely those Persons that are married amongst us , are supposed to be Christians , and not to be married meerly as Men. ( 3. ) If any eat and drink their own Damnation , it 's their own fault ; and the danger of it doth not release any of their Duty , or justify their neglect of it . ( 4. ) But the Common-Prayer-Book doth not compel them ; it saith only , That it 's convenient at their Marriage , or at the first opportunity after it . 2. When any man is buried , the Priest must say , Almighty God has taken to himself the Soul of our dear Brother , perhaps the most wicked Wretch on earth . And that his Body is committed to the Ground , in sure and certain hope of a Resurrection to Eternal Life ; tho he did never truly , nor so much as visibly , to the judgment of Charity , repent of his Sins . A. ( 1. ) The Office of Burial , supposes that of Visitation of the Sick to go before , where the Minister is appointed to examine , Whether he repent him truly of his Sins ? &c. ( 2. ) It supposes the Exercise of Discipline , and that such as he speaks of , have the Censures of the Church exercised on them , which if they be not exercised , we know whom we are to thank for the relaxation of it . ( 3. ) However , the Church provides not for extraordinary , but ordinary Cases ; and if an extraordinary Case happens , and be notorious , no Rule of this nature then binds . ( 4. ) If it be not notorious , it 's safer to err on the charitable side . ( 5. ) It 's not now said , That it 's certain hope of a Resurrection to Eternal Life . 3. The putting on the Ring in Marriage , especially the making that Ceremony to be an essential Matter , is Superstition . A. ( 1. ) What Superstition can there be in this , more than in joyning of Hands , both of which are Civil Rites , and fit Declarations of pledging their Troth to each other ? ( 2. ) How can that be Essential , which is one of the alterable things meant in the Preface ? ( 3. ) It 's necessary there should be some Rite used , and some actions by which the espousal should be solemnized , and why not a Ring as well as joyning hands ? And why not these as well as others ? Therefore Bucer calls it , a very fit Ceremony . Script . Angl. cens . c. 20. 4. Churching Women , and their Offerings , is Jewish Superstition . A. ( 1. ) Why Jewish ? Is there any other Sacrifice than that of Thanksgiving offered ? as there was , Levit 12. 6. ( 2. ) What Superstition is there more in kneeling down at offering up Thanks to God , than in putting up a Bill . However Bucer saith , This is agreeable to Scripture , c. 24. 5. The Observation of Popish Holy-days , especially such as are dedicated to Saints , I look upon as highly Superstitious . A. ( 1. ) He looks upon them as such , but how far soever his Opinion may pass with his own Disciples , yet others expect somewhat more . ( 2. ) Why doth he add Popish ? Surely he that has read and compared the Popish Liturgy with ours , must needs know that we have no Holy-days for Popish Saints in our Liturgy . As to which , I shall refer our Author to Mr. Perkins on Gal. 4. 10. 6. Of the Surplice , he saith , It 's highly Superstitious . When Holy Vestments were in use among the Jews , they had an express Command for them . Should they have made a Mitre or Ephod , or other Ecclesiastical Garment of their own heads , they would have sinned greatly ? Witness Judg. 8. 27. If then the Church of God had no power to appoint Sacred Vestments , no more has the Church in these days . — Moreover the Surplice is immediately borrowed from Idolatrous Mass-mongers . — Dr. Abbot ( who was no Fanatick ) saith , That all Priestly Garments , whereby Ministers are distinguished from the rest of the Church , are a special part of the Character of the Beast . The Papists take the Surplice from Jews and Heathens . There were Vestments for the Worshippers of Baal , 2 Kings 10. 12. Bishop Jewel saith , The Priests of Isis used to wear Linnen Surplices . Moreover the greatest part of our Protestant Divines have disliked this Superstitious Garment . So Martyr , &c. 1. His Argument is , the Jews had express Command for their Garments , &c. A. ( 1. ) Had the Jews no Power to appoint or observe any thing relating to Worship without express Command ? How then came the Feasts of Purim and Dedication , the Places and Houses of Prayer ? Nay , whence came the alteration of the posture at the Passover ( which our Saviour complied with ) contrary to the first institution ? And surely Vestments are much of the same nature with Times and Places , &c. ( 2. ) Supposing the Jews might not , what is that to us ? Yes , saith he , no more can we . Why so ? The Apostle shews we have a Liberty they had not , and we may as well do what they could not , as forbear what they might not . They had not a liberty as we , because under a Schoolmaster , and of a Temper that needed it , and whose Service was Typical . And yet notwithstanding this , they had a liberty which they might use , and much more then have we . 2. The Surplice , he saith , is immediately borrowed from Idolatrous Mass-mongers . A. ( 1. ) What is that , if there be no Idolatry borrowed with it ? Do we use it to sanctify Holy-water , Bells , & c ? ( 2. ) As for his Quotation from Dr. Abbot , it 's a gross mistake , at least ; all he saith is , That the Buyers and Sellers , Rev. 13. 16. are the Bishops , Priests , and Monks , that expose to sale Masses and Indulgences , &c. that bind themselves by Oath to the Bishop of Rome , and in testimony of it , are divided from the rest of the Church by Rites , Vows , Vnctions , Tonsures , Garments . Where he speaks of Garments in general , and no more of Surplices than Gowns ; and of Garments they ordinarily wear , such as belong to Monastick Orders , &c. But if he had spoke of all Garments that distinguish the Clergy from the Laity , Dr. Abbot had been in that a Fanatick , and not Dr. Abbot , who himself wore such Garments , and surely did not think by that , he had a special Character of the Beast upon him . What he quotes from Bishop Jewel , is not in that place ( if any where ) he refers to ; neither in the English or Latin Volume . 3. The Papists take the Surplice from Jews and Heathens ; and for this latter , quotes the Priests of Baal . A. But the Text doth not say , they were any more White , than Blue or Black ; and he might as well have prov'd our Gowns we ordinarily wear , or others prove their Cloaks to be such , as well as he prove our Surplices Heathenish from that Text. 4. He saith , The greatest part of our Protestant Divines have disliked it . A. ( 1. ) What saith he to the Lutherans , who all use the like ? Are not they Protestants ? ( 2. ) Do any he names dislike it so , as to think it unlawful ? ( 3. ) Do they dislike it so , as to make a Schism in the Church ; or for it Separate from a Church ? I am certain these he produces , do declare just contrary . Thus Pet. Mart. Epist . Amico & Hoopero , &c. Beza Epist . Grindallo . Zanchy Confes . c 25. § . 30. Hemingius in 4 Leg. Decal . § . 29. &c. Enchir. tit . Adiaph . c. 16. Polanus in Ezek. 44. And Zanchy chuses the Linnen before the Woollen Garment for Divine Offices , as a Sign of Innocence and Holiness , de Redempt . c. 16. I could much enlarge the Catalogue of such Testimonies , if it were necessary . So little did these Learned Men think Mr. Nichol's Argument of any force , which our Author proposes viz. That all Vestments appropriated to the Worship of God , and appointed for the Signification of Spiritual Duties , by the will of Man , are unlawful . But the Surplice is so . This our Author saith is , Not easy to be answer'd ▪ But if it be to be answer'd , no matter whether it 's not easy in his Opinion . From hence arise two Questions ▪ Q. 1. Whether it 's unlawful to use any thing appropriated to the Worship of God by the Will of Man ? Q. 2. Whether it 's unlawful to use any thing in the Worship of God that is appointed for the signification of Spiritual Duties by the Will of man ? By the first it 's unlawful for men to appropriate places , or times , or postures to the Worship of God. And so it 's necessary , to avoid this Superstition , to make all the Meeting-places to be houses of Merchandise , and to be equally divided between Religious and Common Uses . By the 2d , any thing that has such a Signification applied to it , is made unlawful , by Vertue of such Signification , and which without such Signification would have been lawful . So a Surplice would have been a lawful Garment , if not appropriated , and without Signification ; and might have been in its self worn as well as a Cloak , since Custom and Use only makes the difference ; but appropriate it , and clap a signification upon it , it 's unlawful : And so a Cloak may be turn'd out of Service by the same way . So it 's in posture , kneeling and standing are indifferent ; but once appropriate kneeling to Prayer , and make it significative , and to be a posture of reverence , and it becomes unlawful . And so without end . So much for Mr. Nichol's Argument , and it's difficulty . 7. Come we now to the Cross , the greatest Devil amongst all the Idols of Rome ; as he tells us Mr. Parker sheweth . He saith , 1. The first users of it were the Hereticks , Valentinus and Montanus . A. That seems hard , when those that wrote against them used it , as Origen , Irenaeus , Tertullian , and Epiphanius did against the former ; and several others against the latter . We find it as ancient as Tertullian , Cyprian , &c. 2. He saith , Mr. Parker proveth it a sin against all the Commandments , and a breach of the Letter of the second : for men to appoint a Religious Ceremony , is a direct violation of the 2d Commandment , which forbids all human Inventions in Divine Worship , as any part thereof . A. There is a way of proving too much , and that any one that reads Mr. Parker will soon perceive he doth : And of this I take this Instance of the 2d Commandment to be one , of the letter of which the Author saith , the Cross is a breach . Now the Letter of the Command respects two things ; 1. Not to make any Graven Image for Religious Worship . 2. Not to bow down to any such Object . Now the Cross used in Baptism is an Aerial Cross , as he calls it ; and where is the Object or the Worship ? But our Author goes on to prove it after this manner ; for men to appoint , &c. Here we grant the Proposition to be true , because God only is to appoint his own Worship ; and so it 's not in the power of man to appoint any part of it : But now if Religious Ceremonies may be , and yet not be part of Divine Worship , then they are no such human Inventions as are forbidden ; and no direct or indirect violation of the 2d Commandment . Therefore it remains upon him to prove the Cross a part of Divine Worship : For we say it 's only an adjunct , and is no more a part of Worship , than the striking the Blood upon the Door-posts was ( to make use of Zepperus his Similitude ) or sitting or kneeling at the Sacrament . 3. He saith . The Arguments which are brought against the use of Oyl , Cream , Salt , Spittle in Baptism ( practised by the Papists ) hold as well against the Cross . Ans . This I deny ; for the Scripture speaks honourably of the Cross of Christ , which this refers to , but not at all of the rest . Again , the Cross was traduced and reproached by the Heathens , which gave occasion to the use of it , and so were not the rest . So that this was used with reason ; those without it . His instance of the Gallows looks so prophanely , that I shall rather pass it by , than correct it . 4. He saith , The Papists adore the Cross , and it 's an Idol , &c. Ans . But do they adore the Aerial Cross ? But what is their Adoration ( if it were ) to us , that do not adore it ? 5. This hath been testified against by Zegedinus , Lepperus ( it should be Zepperus ) Goulartius , &c. Ans . The Lutheran Churches use it . See Hemingius , &c. Bucer accounts it neither indecent , nor unprofitable , but a Ceremony of much simplicity , and of present admonition of the Cross of Christ ; Script . Angl. censur . c. 12. And generally they account it lawful , and not a sufficient reason for separation ; but to be used , so it be without Superstition . So Goulartius in Cypr. lib. ad Demetr . c. 9. 8. His last Instance of Superstition is kneeling at the Sacrament . Let us consider what he has to say against it . 1. He saith , Men pretend in it reverence to Christ ; but Christ himself was personally present , when his Disciples partook of the Lord's Supper ; yet they did not kneel , but used the Table-gesture then customary among the Jews . Ans . ( 1. ) How is he certain the Disciples did not kneel , but used the customary Posture in receiving ? For the Jews in the Passover changed Postures , and did not throughout keep to that of discumbency . See D. Lightfoot . ( 2. ) The Question is not what they did , but what may lawfully be done ? and then the Question is , whether kneeling be unlawful ? ( 3. ) They themselves no more observe our Saviour's Posture , than the Jews did that required at the first institution . Our Author words it cautiously , when he saith the Disciples used the Table-gesture then customary ; for he well knew it was not sitting , but leaning , or lying along , and that they used this by way of signification . ( 4. ) If the Table be the Rule to guide us , then to put on our Hats is suitable , as he knows who reasons . 2. He saith , Good and Wise men have chosen great sufferings , rather than comply with this Invention . Ans . And there were good and wise men that compiled the Liturgy , and used and enjoined this posture ; which is an argument he seeks to overthrow , p. 16. And as Good and wise men have allowed and approved it ; and thought it by no means allowable to separate and break Communion for it . Such as P. Martyr , Zanchy , Beza , Zepperus , &c. Bains , Noyes , Ames , Cartwright , &c. 3. In Primitive times Christians did not kneel in the participation of the Eucharist . Ans . ( 1. ) It 's certain they did not sit , for they had no Notion at all of a Table-gesture , as appears by the use of the Word Altar , and that they counted that a posture of irreverence . ( 2. ) If they stood ( as he saith ) on the Lord's-days , their standing was a posture of adoration , to be sure , when they received : So St. Cyril expresly , Catech. 5. ( 3. ) It 's probable that on other days , when not obliged to stand , that they kneeled ; and since they received every day , on six Days they kneel'd ; So Just . Mart. Respons . ad quest . 115. and that more especially , because they had a Prayer at receiving , as we have . 4. He saith , It was enjoyned by Pope Honorius , being fitted to the Idolatry of Transubstantiation , &c. Ans . This is a mistake ; for Honorius did first indeed decree Adoration to the Host , but not kneeling at it . For that is a posture no where enjoyn'd in the Church of Rome ; and some of them say , it ought to be received standing ; but which way , whether ●●●…ing standing ▪ or lying , or kneeling , is not material say others , as the Pope himself ordinarily receives sitting , unless he celebrates ; and then , as all Priests then do , he receives standing . And all adore not at the receiving , but at the elevation of the Host . 5. He saith , That Religious Worship , which is before a Creature , and with respect to it , having no allowance from God , is against the Commandment ; but so is kneeling before the Bread and Wine . Ans . ( 1. ) I question whether God ever allow'd any Religious Worship before a Creature , and with respect to a Creature ; for that is Idolatry , and no allowance from God can be supposed to Justifie or require Idolatry . ( 2. ) I deny that there is any Religious Worship with respect to the Bread and Wine ; For that , saith our Rubrick , were Idolatry to be abhorred of all faithful Christians . But it 's only , as it 's there said , for a signification of our humble and grateful acknowledgment of the Benefits of Christ therein given to all worthy receivers . 6. He draws a Conclusion from the whole , The English Liturgy is very Corrupt ; now to offer to the Lord a Corrupt thing , is evil , Mal. 1. 13. Ans . A corrupt thing there , is what is plainly prohibited : Now let him prove the things before disputed to be such : As for example , that kneeling is forbidden . As for that place in Malachi , I leave to his perusal the Letter of the Ministers of Old-England to those in New-England , p. 14. where that is explained . CHAP. III. Publick Liturgies of humane Composure are an innovation , and deviation from primitive Antiquity : And again , Set Forms of Prayer devised by men are an Innovation . FOR this he offers several Arguments . 1. Saith he , Had a Liturgy been needful for the edification of the Church , undoubtedly Christ , or the Apostles by his direction , would have composed one , which none of them ever did . And therefore these men , who take upon them to compose and impose a Liturgy on the Churches , assume to themselves more than Apostolical Power . Ans . I deny his consequence : For tho our Saviour and his Apostles did , declared and left all things essential to a Church , yet there were many things needful to the edification of the Church in future Ages that were not expresly provided for . Our Saviour told the Apostles , that it should be given to them in that hour what they should speak ; and they spoke all Languages by present infusion ; and so were not obliged to think before , or study or learn a Language ; and this was with relation to the present condition of the Church in those times . And there are no directions for after Ages to learn Languages , &c. So there was a miraculous gift of Prayer in the Apostolical times ( as St. Chrysostom observes , Hom. 14. in Rom. 8. ) and no express directions given about it , when that Gift should cease ( as he saith it did ) and when by the cessation of it , Forms would be necessary . Thus faith Capellus ( Thes . Salmur . Part. 3. ) As soon as miraculous Gifts ceased , and Hereticks began to trouble the Church , there was a necessity for Liturgies . And therefore Mr. Ball saith , The Christian Churches for the space of this 1400 years at least , if not from the Apostles times , have had their stinted Liturgies . Trial. p. 96 , &c. So Letter of Min. of Old-England , l. 66 ▪ &c. But this our Author denies , and calls it an Innovation . And saith , 2. The Liturgies father'd on the Apostles , and the ancient Writers ( call'd Fathers ) Learned men have evinced to be spurious . Ans . ( 1. ) It 's granted , that those father'd on the Apostles were so ; but tho not the Apostles , yet many of the Prayers in them were antient , and the main of that call'd St. James's , was used in the Church at Jerusalem , as Dr. Comber [ Original and Vse of Liturgies , p. 97. ] in Answer to Clarkson , has shew'd from Cyril . ( 2. ) It 's certain there was a Liturgy composed by St. Chrysostom and Basil , and a great part of what is so call'd was certainly theirs ; as the abovesaid Author has shew'd , p. 167. 172 , 209. and of this mind were * Mornay and † Rivet . ( 3. ) The leaft that can be observed from these Books , is , that when those Books were writ , then Liturgies were in use ; so Daille ; We deny not but many of these Liturgies are ancient , and written about the beginning of the Fourth Century , tho they were corrupted by Additions and Alterations at several times after their first original . 3. He would prove from an obscure Passage in Justin Martyr and Tertullian , that there was no Book of Prayer used by Christians 200 years after Christ . Ans . The Passage in Justin Martyr is , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Which our Author is forced to corrupt , and add to , before he can work it to his purpose ; for thus he translates it , according as strength and utterance was afforded to him from Heaven : whereas word for word it is , in like manner he [ the President ] offereth up Prayers to him [ God ] as he has Power , that is , as fervently as he could : and so the same Phrase a little before . Of this see Dr. Comber , p. 33 , &c. And as little does the Passage in Tertullian make for his purpose , which is , That the Christians prayed , Sine Monitore quia de pectore ; which surely relates not to the praying extempore ; for what testimony was that of their Loyalty , more than if they prayed by a Form ; but his plain meaning is , they needed no Prompter ( as the Heathens ) but prayed heartily for the Emperors , &c. as their Offices shew'd . 4. He saith , That there was no Liturgy in some Churches , or in general use in the Church , for above 400 years , is manifest from Socrates ; who saith , There were scarcely two Christians found who used the same words in Prayer , l. 5. c. 21. Ans . ( 1. ) Here he perverts again : For ( 1. ) Socrates doth not say two Christians , but two Churches . ( 2. ) He doth not say , they used the same words , but the same manner . ( 2. ) The Words of Socrates do not infer what he would have ; for he saith , In Summ among all Sects you shall scarcely find two Churches agreeing in the manner of Prayer : Which refers not to the Words , but the Ways , as before described , viz. lighting up Candles , &c. ( 3. ) Supposing it was to be understood of the Words , what 's that to Extempore Prayer ? for they may not have the same words , when yet they may have Forms . The Historian's meaning is , That the Churches had different Forms of Prayer , as well as different Rites : So Mornay speaking of the Liturgies of the Greek and Latin Churches ; Tho in substance the Service of these Churches do agree , yet we must not think there was one and the same Prescript Form observed , and kept in them all . 5. He saith , Some plead , that in the Jewish Church of old there were Forms of Prayer , besides those of Divine Inspiration ; but what was not , are all late composures . Ans . 1. If there were Forms of old in the Jewish Church , of Divine Inspiration , and those Forms to be used ( as the Scripture shews ) then it shews that Forms may lawfully be used . 2. That the Jews had set-forms of human composure , of ancient times , Learned men agree : So Mornay shews ; and that the First Christians framed themselves after this manner of Service . 3. Nay , Learned men observe , that Forms were used in our Saviour's time ; and yet he is so far from condemning them , that he attended their Service , and composed a form like to theirs . So Dr. Lightfoot . So that we see he has failed throughout in his attempt of proving Liturgies and set-forms an Innovation . But I can tell what is an Innovation ; and that is , To hold Liturgies unlawful . CHAP. IV. It 's an Apostacy in this Age of Light , to countenance or comply with the Common-Prayer-Book Worship . UPON this his chief Topick is : That Good and Learned men have born witness against the Corruptions of the English Liturgy , and chose to suffer rather than comply with it . Ans . 1. There have been as Good and Learned men that have shew'd those not to be Corruptions . 2. There have been several of his Learned and Good men , who he saith , chose rather to suffer , than sin , by complying with the Liturgy , that have shew'd those Corruptions not to be a sufficient reason for Separation : So Mr. Bradshaw , Mr. Nicols , &c. 3. They were so far from refusing Communion for them , that the Old Nonconformists ordinarily and constantly used the Common-Prayer-Book in their publick Ministrations ; as Mr. Ball , one of them , declares , Tryal , p. 121 , 155. 4. All of them testified against the Brownists , and against a separation from the Church . It was ( saith Mr. Baxter ) the Parish-Churches that had the Liturgy , which Mr. Jacob the Father of the Congregational Party wrote for communion with . The same I may say of Mr. Bradshaw , Dr. Ames , and other Nonconformists , whom the Congregational Brethren think more favourable to their way . In the close , our Author offers some farther Objections from the false and corrupt Doctrine he pretends to find in the Liturgy . ( 1. ) As , that it 's certain by God's word , that Children Baptized dying before they commit actual sin , are undoubtedly saved : This , saith he , savours of Pelagianism . Ans . I don't understand the falseness , or Pelagianism of it . It 's certain by God's Word , that of such is the Kingdom of God , and so they must be capable of it . If capable of it , it must be upon Gospel terms ; but what terms they are capable of but Baptism , I understand not . ( 2. ) That there are two Sacraments necessary to Salvation ; which implies a double Error , viz. that the Sacraments are necessary to Salvation ; and that there are more Sacraments of the New-Testament than two . Ans . I don't see wherein is the first Error , if he had truly represented it ; for it 's said in the Catechism , two Sacraments generally necessary ; that is , that they are a Duty belonging to all persons that are capable of it ; where there are persons to baptize , and a Congregation to communicate with ; and therefore it 's not said absolutely , but generally necessary . As for the latter ▪ a Sacrament is not a Scripture-word , but a Term of Art , and so hath been variously used and applied ; and therefore to set out what it means , the Church has defined what a Sacrament is , and then shew'd there are but two : and so this Phrase is used to distinguish it from any other so called ; and that then none but these two are generally necessary to all Christians . ( 3. ) The Book saith , Some Sins are deadly , as if the Popish distinction of sins into Mortal and Venial , were a sound distinction . Ans . How can that be , when Fornication , which is called deadly in the Liturgy , in the Church of Rome is ordinarily accounted a Venial Sin ; and when the distinction between Mortal and Venial ( as used in the Church of Rome ) is so contrary to the Doctrine of the Church of England ? It 's plain that our Church means thereby no other than heinous . ( 4. ) It 's said , Christ has redeemed all mankind . Ans . The Scripture saith , God will have all men to be saved ; and that Christ died for all , &c. 2. He argues farther , That A stinted Liturgy , is opposite to the Spirit of Prayer , Eph. 6. 18. Ans . ( 1. ) If so , then the Spirit will not communicate it self in a Liturgy , or stinted Form of Prayer , contrary to the sense of all sober Divines . So Dr. Owen : Supposing , saith he , those who make use of , and plead for Forms of Prayer , especially in publick , do in a due manner prepare themselves for it by holy meditation , &c. I do not judge that there is any such evil in them , as that God will not communicate his Spirit to any in the use of them . ( 2. ) If so , then almost all Churches in the world for these 1300 years , at least , to this day ( as Mr. Baxter allows ) have been without the Spirit of Prayer . ( 3. ) If so , then we cannot lawfully communicate in , or with a stinted Liturgy , which has yet been approved by all Reformed Churches , as Mr. Ball saith ; and Mr. Norton saith it's lawful to embrace Communion with Churches , where such Forms in Publick worship are in use . ( 4. ) As for Eph. 6. 18. that we are to pray with all Prayer ; why is that not possible by a Liturgy , when there are in it Supplications , Prayers , and giving of thanks ? 3. He le ts pass the Argument , from the mischief of a prescript Liturgy , and so will I pass what follows from the trivial , unintelligible , and dirty Reflections of it . For he knows we can match his Fidler with Stories of some of those that have been Eminent the other way , and could argue upon the sinfulness of unpremeditated and conceived Prayer . 3. He saith , Mr. Cotton speaketh weightily , in saying , It 's unlawful to bring ordinarily any other Book into the Publick Worship of God , besides the Book of God. A. I know no difference between Reading and Reciting in this case ; and I have heard Mr. Cotton used a Form of Prayer in the Pulpit . If he did not , yet all the Nonconformists in former times did , as far as ever I could learn. To close all ; he undertakes to Answer an Objection , That Good men were the first Collectors and Publishers of the Liturgy , and died Martyrs . This he endeavours to answer ; and yet when it 's to serve his own Cause , it 's a considerable Argument . Thus saith he before , The Corruptions of the Liturgy have been born witness against by good Men ; and his Father , a Holy Man , suffered much for his Nonconformity , and what not . Now surely , if this sort of arguing is good for them , it 's good for us . But he Replies further , 1. All Persons employed in it , were not good Men , as Day Bishop of Chichester . He was a dissembling Hypocrite , pretending to be a Protestant , but afterwards shew'd himself to be a Papist . A. Here he betrays gross ignorance , or somewhat worse . For tho Day was one of the 18 Bishops imployed for compiling the Service-Book at first , Anno 1548. yet at that time he was for Transubstantiation , and Solitary Masses , and against having the Service in the Vulgar Tongue . And when the next Review was , which was 1550. when Cranmer wrote to Bucer about it , it does not appear that Day was concerned ; nay , rather that he was against it , for he refused to set his hand to the Book , before it was enacted by a Law ; and was afterward turn'd out of his Bishoprick , and depriv'd . But to say all in a word , What was this dissembling Hypocrite to those who were truly Pious Men , and acted faithfully according to the Light they had ? as our Author acknowledgeth . 2. He saith , Good men chang'd their minds , so did Ridley and Cranmer . A. Both gross mistakes . For Archbishop Cranmer took upon him to defend the Common-Prayer , Ministration of the Sacraments , and other Rites and Ceremonies , when in Prison . And Bishop Ridley , a little before his Martyrdom , in a Letter to his Friend , saith , This Church had of late the whole Divine Service , all Common and Publick Prayers , framed to the true vein of Holy Scripture . And again , after his condemnation , writing an Answer to Grindal , concerning Knox's peremptory Exceptions against the Service-Book ; I grant , saith he , a Man ( as he is ) of Wit and Learning , may find apparent reasons ; yet I suppose he cannot soundly by the Word of God so disprove any thing in it . 3. He saith , Others were much troubled at the Service-Book ; as Bishop Hooper , and Mr. Rogers at home ; and Calvin , Bucer , Martyr , Bullinger , &c. abroad . So Alasco , and Knox , and the first Reformers in Scotland . A. As for Hooper's dissatisfaction , it was not at the Liturgy , but the Episcopal Vestments ; in which also he at last complied . And as for Bucer's mind , and Pet. Martyr's , the English Reader will find it in the History of the Reformation , p. 154 , 155. And Calvin to the English Exiles at Frankford , declares against a rigorous Opposition , and was pleased that he retained Moderation in this Case . As for Alasco and Knox , whatever they objected against the Liturgy , yet both had their Publick Offices , and Forms of Prayer . 4. He saith , In Queen Elizabeth's time the Bishops made the Common-Prayer-Book in several things worse , and more intollerable , than it was in the days of King Edward 6. A. 1. And I hope he will confess in many things better . 2. Why those Prayers , &c. were left out , he may see in the History of the Reformation , p. 77 , 170 , 392. The reason of which has been before justified . 3. There could be no great alteration to the worse , if that was all that he mentions ; and however is nothing to us , when the Rubrick of the Communion is restored . And now , that he may end as he begun , as he would have our Service-Book come from Popery ; so he will have it , That time will discover that some , who pretend Zeal for the Common-Prayer-Book , are carrying on a design for Rome . And time has discovered , that some of those who pretended Zeal against the Common-Prayer , carried on a design for Rome , and helped them forward in it , or stood as it were Neuters ; and that the Liturgy has not so much a tendency that way , as Separation . The World saw it in the late Reign , and found that the Church that uses the Liturgy , was a Bulwark against Popery ; and when those that were against the Liturgy , either basely complied , fawn'd upon it , or cowardly were silent . THe Second Question . Q. 2. What reason have you to scruple the lawfulness of laying the Hand on the Book , and Kissing the Book in Swearing ? To this he Answers , 1. We do not find in the Scripture the Lord's Servants were wont to swear after this manner ; we read of lifting up the hand , &c. which is a natural sign of Worship . A. 1. We find in Scripture , that they were wont to put the hand under the Thigh in swearing : And thus the same Abraham that lift up his hand , required his Servant to swear , by putting his hand under his Thigh , Gen. 24. 2. and so Jacob made his Son Joseph to use the same Ceremony when he swore , Gen. 47. 29. Now what natural Sign of Worship was in this Rite ? 2. Since we find different Rites us'd , it 's a sign that practice of the Lord's Servants is to be no Rule to us in this matter ; but that we are to govern our selves by the Custom of the place where , and the People among whom we live , if there be nothing in it self unlawful . 3. He saith , and seems to allow it , That the Romans of old , and Italians , and Spaniards , use to lift up the Finger when they swear solemnly . Now I conceive lifting up the Finger is no natural Sign of Worship . And if it had any signification , I know no reason why the Germans may not lift up three Fingers ; to intimate , they invoke the Sacred Trinity , which he saith , he cannot justify . Nor why we may not lay the Hand upon , and Kiss the Book , in token of belief of it , and of our acting according to it , and of our being judged according to it . For the Word of God doth not prescribe in such cases . 2. He answers , Laying the Hand on the Book is a symbolizing with Popish Idolaters , and Superstitious Jews . A. 1. It 's not a symbolizing with Papists as such ; since there are Papists that use other Ceremonies in swearing , as he saith , The Italians , Spaniards , and Germans do . And therefore , if this be a reason , as we must not lift up the Fingers , because they do so ; so we must not lift up the Hand , because that is not to be done , but we must lift up the Fingers too . 2. If it was customary among the Jews to produce the Law in giving an Oath , I see no reason to condemn it ; and so know no hurt to observe it . They used also to adjure Persons , and our Saviour readily answers to it , when thus call'd upon . 3. He replies , Kissing in a Religious way , is a gesture of Adoration . And he closes it , This is clearly to Worship a Book ; and so to give unto a Creature that Honour which is due to God alone . And before he saith , So help you and the Contents of this Book ; is not much better than when the Papists say , So help me God , and these Holy Evangelists , which is gross Idolatry . A. That Kissing may be a Token of Adoration , when the thing kiss'd is an Object of Adoration , is acknowledged . But it 's not a token of Adoration , when the thing kissed is not an Object of Adoration . Thus kissing the Calves , and an Image , is an act of Adoration , because the Object is an Object of Adoration ; but kissing the Book is not , because a Book is no Object of Adoration . If it be asked , Why then is the Book kissed ? I say , it 's in token of Reverence , as it 's the Book of God ; and which , if I so kiss every time I read it , it 's surely far from being Idolatry . And that it is so , appears from what follows , So help me God , and the Contents of this Book : which is in different ways , God by his Grace , and the Contents of this Book by their Instruction ; the one as the efficient , the other the Instrumental cause . And thus without doubt it 's meant in the old Form , So help me God , and these Holy Evangelists , that is , the Gospel wrote by them ; as the name of Moses is given in Scripture to his Writings . So that in this sence it 's neither Idolatry in them , nor any thing like it in us . And we may as lawfully kiss the Book , as lift up the Hand , since neither of them are prohibited by God's Law ; and so being indifferent in themselves , we may act as the case requires . FINIS . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A66373-e230 History of Antinomians ▪ in the Preface . Notes for div A66373-e760 Trial of the Grounds of Separ . ● . 8. p. 152. 1 Cor. 10. 25 , 26. A Survey of the Book of Common-Prayer ; An. 1610. p. 26. Espenceus de adorat . Eucha . l. 2. c. 16. * Of the Mass , l. 1. c. 6. † Censur . 9. 10. De cultu . Lat. l. 3. c. 13. Mass . l. 1. c. 6. So Mornay Mass . l. 1. p. 19. Vol. 1. 157 , 158 , 161. Discourse of prayer , p. 31. Sacrileg . desert . p. 102 , &c. Apol. ● . 13. See Clerk● Collect. of Lives , p. 38. Burnet's Reformat . Part 2. p. 62. and Num. 25. Ibid. p. 163 ▪ p. 203. Fox's Acts and Monuments , Fol. 1465. Fox's Acts and Monuments , Vol. 2. p. 1940. Vide Dr. Taylor . Fox Martyr . p. 1521. Vide Burnet , p. 125 &c. 166. Epist . 200 and 206. and 228. That of Alasco , printed Anno 1550. And that of Knox at Middelb . 1594. 
A70099	----	An exact enqviry after ancient truths, both in scripture and fathers touching the subsistence of the Church of God, digested into three parts : viz. I. True worship. II. Dominion, or divine jurisdiction. III. Discipline, reduced from our father Adams time, through all ages, to these present times ... / by W. Fenwick ... Fenwick, William, 1616 or 17-ca. 1682. This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription A70099 of text R21240 in the English Short Title Catalog (Wing F724). Textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. The text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with MorphAdorner. The annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). Textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. This text has not been fully proofread Approx. 159 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 38 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. EarlyPrint Project Evanston,IL, Notre Dame, IN, St. Louis, MO 2017 A70099 Wing F724 ESTC R21240 12119255 ocm 12119255 54411 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A70099) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 54411) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 241:E77, no 30) An exact enqviry after ancient truths, both in scripture and fathers touching the subsistence of the Church of God, digested into three parts : viz. I. True worship. II. Dominion, or divine jurisdiction. III. Discipline, reduced from our father Adams time, through all ages, to these present times ... / by W. Fenwick ... Fenwick, William, 1616 or 17-ca. 1682. [12], 60 p. Printed for Edw. Husbands and Lawrence Blaiklock, London : 1643. Reproduction of original in Thomason Collection, British Library. eng Church -- Early works to 1800. Worship -- Early works to 1800. A70099 R21240 (Wing F724). civilwar no An exact enquiry after ancient truths, both in scripture and fathers. Touching the subsistence of the church of God; digested into three par Fenwick, William 1643 28864 10 40 0 0 0 0 17 C The rate of 17 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the C category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2006-11 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2006-11 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2007-05 Robyn Anspach Sampled and proofread 2007-05 Robyn Anspach Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion An Exact ENQVIRY AFTER Ancient Truths , Both in Scripture and Fathers . Touching The subsistence of the Church of God ; Digested into Three Parts : VIZ. I. True Worship . II. Dominion , or Divine Jurisdiction . III. Discipline , reduced from our Father Adams time , through all Ages , to these present Times . Very usefull for these Times : By W : Fenwick , Utter-Barrester of Grays-Inne . London , Printed for Edw : Husbands and Lawrence Blaiklock : and are to be sold at their shops in the Middle Temple , & Temple-Bar . To the Right Honorable , Algernon Earl of Northumberland , Lord Percy , Lucy , Poynings , Fitzpain , Brian , and Latimer ; Lord high Admirall of ENGLAND , Knight of the most Noble order of the Garter , and one of His Majesties most Honorable Privy-councell . Right Honorable , THe unworthy oppressed Author hath not long since groaned under the severe censure of the late high Commission for the insuing speculations , which now he adventures to present unto your Honour , hoping for a candid acceptance , and interpretation of his poor indeavours for the good of Zion . Had not the rising Sun of an auspicious Parliament dispelled those clouds of oppresion and tyranny , that menaced a drowning both to me and them , they had been choked in their embrio , and never injoyed the happinesse they have now attained in your Honorable aspect . Pardon ( most noble Lord ) the inforced presumption of the distressed Author , which implores and hopes for your honorable Patronage , and humbly praying for the daily increase of your Honours health and eternall happinesse , remains Your Honours most humble , most devoted Servant , William Fenwick . The Errata . PAge 1. line 27 ; for more , read most . l. 28. for right , r. light . Pag. 2. l. 29. for . 2 , r. of . Line 34. for posterity , r. prosperity . Pag. 4. l. 24. for endeavours , r. endnes . The second Treatise , p. 2. l. 33. for . the , r. thy . for of , r. unto . Pag. 18. l. 3. for he , r. the . Pag. 10 , l. 21 , for in , r. from . Pag. 11. l. 28. for what , r. with Pag. 15. l. 1. for Angelicall , r. Euangelicall . P. 20. l. 9. for . penitent , r. impenitent . Pag. 23. lin 6. for A , r. As. for of . r. to . Pag. 25. l. 9. read , are first . Pag. 54. l. 14. read omitted . Pag. 55. l. 9. read , it is that . l. 29. reade , All , And thus . ZIONS REQVEST To her Honourable , and welbeloved Sonnes now happily assembled in the long and much-desired Parliament of England . RIght deare and well-beloved of God your Father in my Lord ; by whom you are begotten and borne , and welbeloved of me : not begot of mortall or carnall seed , but of the immortall seed of the Word ; neither borne nor brought forth of the mandane wombe of Rome : nor sprong from the native bowels of my humanitie ; but I bore you and brought you forth of my celestiall wombe : the eternall councell of God ; and I have nourished and brought you up in the royall City of divine Salomon , my Lord and your God and Saviour . My sonnes heare your Fathers instruction , and forsake not your mothers teaching ; for they shall be a comely ornament unto your head , and as chalnes to your necke . You have seene with your eyes , and heard with your eares , how the strumpet of Babell hath boasted her selfe against me , and with her impudent face affirmed her selfe to be Queene of heaven and earth , deluding the world with outward apparantes , whereby many are mistaken by her outward glory , supposing her to be my selfe . But I desire you , my most honourable and deare children , to conceive of me aright , and be not deceived with vaine and glorious showes and worldly pompe ; For my glory is internall and heavenly , more splendent then the pure gold of more curious embroderers , which no eye can see , but that Divine eye of right which is given you of your Father . For I testifie unto you , that I am not to be considered by the pompe and glory of the world , nor yet by the wisedome of the wise man , or by the nature of flesh and blood , for those are not heavenly , but earthly sensuall and divelish , and doe not , cannot , nor will not please God , but conceive you me to be heavenly , spirituall . and divine , such as your Father hath described me to be . A mountaine , even Mount Zion , a City , the City of the living God , the celestiall Jerusalem , filled with the societie of innumerable Angels , and the assembly of the first borne , which are written in heaven , and with the presence of God in Trinitie sitting upon the Throne , Judge of all , and with the unity and communion of the spirits of just and perfect men , made perfect with that individuall union which they have with Jesus the Mediatour of the New Testament , and with the blood of sprinkling , which speaketh better things then that of Abel , even the remission of sinnes to the imputation of righteousnesse for justification of sinners , for he came to save sinners , by drawing sinners , to repentance . And I pray you shake of all carnall apprehensions of mee , and conceive me to be really such in nature and condition as my Lord hath revealed me by the mouth of his blessed servant Peter , 1 Pet. 2. affirming mee to bee a spirituall house or temple , 1 Pet. 2. 5. built and compact of living stones , made a spirituall house a holy priesthood , to offer up spirituall sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ , who is my foundation that living stone , on whom I am built , though hee be disallowed of men , yet chosen of God and precious . Neither suppose me to bee a politique body , composed of a temporall head or soveraigne Monarchy , or a Nationall and positive lawes and customes ( which though they bee ordained of God , yet in substance they are humane inventions and traditions of men ) nor consisting of civill and humane Magistrates , endewed with morall gifts and vertues for the externall government , power and posteritie of humane societies , politiquely and wisely providing for the defects of depraved nature , and preventing the dammage , danger and ruine , which the malice of Satan and the corrupt nature of man , would draw upon the societies of men in their terrestriall abode . Though I bee sometimes called a Kingdome in respect of my eternall King , the Lord of Lords , and King of Kings , and of his divine spirituall power and heavenly dominion , which never shall have end : Yet am I never anywhere in Scripture described to bee a temporall or earthly Kingdome . But on the contrary , my Lord did plainly affirme and teach , that his kingdome was not of this world , and prohibited the subjects of his kingdome to take dominion and government upon them one over another , nor set up a Hierarchie among them , as the Princes and Lords of the world did , whose manner is to thirst after preheminence and dominion , but that in his divine kingdome , hee that would be the greatest , should be the least , and hee that should be found to take most diligent labour and paines in ministration of his divine Word and food of life , should bee esteemed a faithfull servant to his Lord and Master . But consider me as I am the minister and dispensator of God , to whom is committed the Administration of that hidden mysterie of God , which was promised since the world began , it was hid from all ages , but now in these latter dayes made manifest to his Saints , To whom God would make knowne what is the riches of his glorious Mystery among the Gentiles . Which riches is Christ in you the hope of glory , and Christ is the Image of the invisible God , the first begotten of every creature : that Word by whom all things were created in heaven and in earth , and he is before all things , and in him all things consist , and he is the head of the body of the Church , hee is the beginning , and the first begotten of the dead , that in all things hee might have the preheminence , for it pleased the Father , that in him all fulnesse should dwell , And through peace made by the blood of that his Crosse to reconcile to himselfe through him ( even through Christ ) all things , both which are in heaven , and which are in earth . This is that Mysterie which is committed to me your mother , not that I should adde or diminish , but that I should deliver unto you , that which I have received of the Lord ; and for that this mysterie my Lord Christ is my head and Soveraigne of my soule I am called his mysticall body . Therefore cast away all carnall and wordly conceits of mee , and behold me in that mysterie , as I am growing up into 〈◊〉 Ephes. 4. 5. which is my head that is Christ , by whom through the unitie of the spirit , in the bond of peace , I am a mysticall body , like a naturall body coupled and knit together by every joynt , for the furniture of the body , according to the effectuall power , which is in every part , wherby the body receiveth encrease unto the edifying of it selfe in love ; And through this unity in my head , I and my head make one compleat mysticall body , so there is one body , one spirit , called unto one hope , of our vocation ; one Lord , one Baptisme , one God and Father of all , which is above all , and through all , and in us all . But as a naturall body is one , and hath many members , and all the members of the body which is one , though they bee many , yet are but one body , even so is Christ , for I am his owne body by his spirituall union ; but marke well and understand , this body is not one member , as a Pope , or Episcopus , to take preheminence , which would make division betwixt me and my head . But in the body there are many members , so in me the body 〈◊〉 Church of Christ there are many members , and hee is the onely true and absolute supreme head . And none but he can give many and divers gifts and administrations as in this , 1 Cor. 12 4. 5 , 6 , 7. but the same Spirit , the same Lord , and though there 〈◊〉 diversities of operations , yet one God is the same , which work 〈◊〉 all in all ; Now if my head be God , and my endeavour the gifts of the spirit , who can impose upon mee any other gifts administration or operation , but onely my Lord , surely no Prince , no Pepe , no Prelate . But consider me , my sonnes in this thing , that the administration of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withall , no member , nor person is to receive this talent , and to hide is , for God doth not light these lights to put them under a bushell but to enlighten the whole house the Church ; As every member of the body is profitable to other , so are my members ; Therefore to some hee gives the word of Wisedome , to another the word of Knowledge , to another the excellencie of Faith , to another the operation of great workes , to another prophesie , to another diversitie of tongues , and to another interpretation of Tongues ; All these worketh one and the same spirit , distributing severally as he listeth , for Christ my Lord and head is God ; And the Father is in him , and hee in the Father which is above all , and through you all , and in us all ; who gives unto every one grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ ; for it was prophesied of him , that when he ascended ( who had first descended into the lowest dejection of earthly paines and debasement for the sinnes of man ) hee should also ascend , and fit on the right hand of God , and lead captivitie captive , and receive of God the Father , gifts to give unto man ; Not humane gifts to governe the terrestriall affaires of this life , but divine gifts to guide and lead the soules of men into the way of peace and eternall felicitis . Therefore seeing my ●●●d is the great mysterie of God , and spirituall word of Life , to whom I am united through the unitie of the Spirit , I am his and he is mine , and both one Christ , one Church and Mysticall body or spirituall Spouse , My Lord give me , all spirituall gifts to translate me , from darknesse into his glorious light ; from carnall and earthly things , to bee made a spirituall and heavenly Spouse . For God which made light to shine out of darknesse , is he which hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ . But wee have this treasure in earthen vessels , that the excellencie of that power , might be of God , and not of man ; For these causes he gave and ordained some members to have diversitie of gifts and administration ; as first Apostles , secondly Prophets and Evangelists , thirdly Pastors and Teachers ; Then such as doe miracles ( for miracles follow the Word , where there is need of confirmation ) and gifts of healing , helpers , as Deacons and Governours as Elders . These are the instruments of ministration by divers gifts distinguished into divers administrations and offices which are distinguished by their spirituall operation and ministration of one and the same word and ministerie of God . This is that order , ordinance and government , or spirituall jurisdiction , which my Lord God your Father hath instituted for the repairing of the Saints , for the worke of the ministery , and for the edification of the body of Christ his Church even mee your Mother , and this is to continue , and not to be altered and restrained untill we all meet together in the unity of faith , and that acknowledging of the Sonne of God unto a perfect Man , and unto the measure of the age of the fulnesse of Christ . Thus Right Honourable my Sonnes and Saints of God your Father , I have presented my selfe unto the view of your heaven-bred judgements and spirituall wisedomes , that you may behold mee all glorious within , and not judge by outward appearance , nor by politique reasons , lest you be mistaken in my nature and condition , and suppose me to be a terrestriall . Hierarchie to bee governed by positive lawes , traditions , Decrees and Canons of men , which cannot search the reines of the heart , nor cure the soule , nor lead her into blisse . Therefore I request you to take into your consideration the heavie burdens grievous to bee borne , ( which the Scribes and Pharisees of Rome , who pretended to fit in Moyses seat ) have laid upon my shoulders : the Episeopall waight whereof you my sonnes have heretofore borne , with much griefe , whilst they advanced themselves to the chiefe seates and most eminent dignities , loving to be reputed great and excellent Rabbies , even above you the naturall Peeres and Potentates of State . And now I conclude , and doe offer unto your sacred considerations the holy Sinode of the Apostles , set forth for a perfect patterne of all Counsells and Ecclesiasticall causes . In the fifteenth of the Acts where you may observe that Synode consisted of the Apostles , Elders , and Brethren . Their consultation was according to the rule of the written Word , there conclusion and sentence was thus ; It seemed good to the holy Ghost , and to us to lay no more burden upon you then these things necessarie . That is , that yee abstaine from things offered to Idols and blood , which includes all Ceremoniall inventions and bloudy sacrifices , and prohibits from that which is strangled with all crueltie and oppression , and from fornication , which imports uncleane conversation and lusts , which if yee forheare yee shall doe well . And though I here claime of you the honour of being your Mother being the body of Christ and Church of God , in whom you also have the honour and prerogative to be the sonnes of God ; yet touching my earthly habitation and abode I am under your Dominion and tuition , whom my Lord hath placed over me for my peace and prosperity on earth . And that through Soveraigne power and authority which he hath ordained over all men , to the end you may give his Gospell a free passage , and be nursing and protecting Fathers of mee in your Common-wealth , that your Father may give you and your King a blessing of welfare and happy being in my Lord Christ , in whom all Nations are blessed , and blessed is that Nation whose God is the Lord . A Breviate of the ensuing second Treatise . THe subsistence of the Church of God composed of a threefold cord , 1. Worship . 2. Dominion . 3. Discipline . In the Tractate of worship are declared 1. The nature of Divine worship . 2. The nature of acceptable obedience . 3. How this worship corresponds with the nature of God , 4. The manner of publike worship from Adam till Moyses . 5. The Service used by the Patriarkes . 6. The same continued in the Nationall Church . 7. The service used in the Synagogues . 8. The same observed by the Apostles . 9. The testimony of the Fathers . 10. An amplification , and undeniable reasons for the puritie of Gods word and worship . In the Tractate of dominion or divine jurisdiction ; 1. Of the first gradation of this Dominion . 2. How Christ ordaines his Vice-royes on earth . 3. Difference betwixt Regall and divine power . 4. The Glasse of Kings . 5. How Divine power is derived unto man from the Father , by the Word , through the spirit . 6. How the Word is the Divine power of God , and the authority committed to the Church . In the Tractate of Government and Discipline . 1. Of the calling of Ministers . 2. The manner of their ordination . 3. The orders and degrees of Pastours , and their 4. Denominations under the Law and Gospell . 5. Of Discipline and censures . 6. Of Excommunication . The subsistence of the Church of God . THe subsistence of Gods Church is composed of a threefold thred , which cannot easily be broken . 1. The first is spirituall and divine worship worship . 2. Spirituall and divine Jurisdiction , or Jure Divino . dominion . 3. Spirituall and divine discipline or government discipline . I call this threefold cord of grace Divine and Spirituall because the universall Minister of Gods dispensation of all saving grace ; is the holy Spirit , the third person of the Trinitie . These are correlative subsistences in the Church of God so depending one upon another , that they cannot be separated or untwisled without either some defect or dismembring of the Church in her selfe , or utter dissolving of her , in essence and nature to be any true Church , Also , without these distinct subsistences in the Church , she cannot exercise the gifts and graces of Gods Spirit , nor the functions and offices ordained of God for ministration of the Word ; For this cause I call them subsistences in the essence of the Church like , unto the subsistences of the Trinitie in the essence of God himselfe . Of Spirituall and Diuine worship . The Worship which God requires , must bee such as is agreeable to his owne nature , and the good pleasure of his owne will ; therefore true divine worship is tyed to the prescript commandement of God , and not to the devising invention of man , therefore to obey is better then sacrifice , and to hearken is better then the fat of Rammes . The nature of acceptable Obedience . It is a supernaturall and filiall worke of God internally and spiritually wrought , seated and invested by Gods Spirit into the intellect , making man a new creature created in Christ Jesus unto good workes ; which God hath ordained that he should walke in them , being renewed in the spirit of the mind , to offer himselfe unto God a living sacrifice in an understanding worshipping of God . This worship and sacrifice , is described by the Prophet David to be a broken and contrite spirit , called a well-pleasing sacrifice to God , presenting a sin-offering , as Psal. 51 , 17. also in the 116 , it is called the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving . How this Worship is correspondent to the nature of God . The Lord doth shew it in the fourth of John 23. and 24. saying , the true worshippers , shall worship God in spirit and truth , that is in the Spirit of sanctification dwelling in the mind , helping our infirmities with sighes and groanes , which cannot be exprest ; and in the truth of his Word dwelling in us in all wisedome and spirituall understanding , such as these the Father requireth should worship him , because God is a Spirit , and they that worship him , must worship him in spirit and truth , and not in the ignorance of the mind , nor in the invention and will-worship of man ; For this cause the Psalmist saith in the 51. 6. Thou O Lord lovest truth in the inward affections ; and in the 50. Psalme he saith , Offer to God the sacrifice of praise , and pay the vowes of the most high , and call upon God ; for the Lord loveth truth in the inward parts . This is the pure and simple worship of God , without the glory and beautie of outward Ceremonies , agreeing with the simple pure essence and nature of God himselfe . Consider wel Pauls Caveat in the Coloss. 2 , 8. 18. 20 , 21 , 22 23. warning all men to beware of humane wisedome , and deceitfull inventions and traditions , according to the Rudiments of the world , and not after Christ ; the outward shew of holinesse which puffes up mens hearts with selfe-conceit , being burthened with traditions , which having a glorious shew of holinesse , of wisedome and voluntary religion , wherein men are out of measure superstitious in zeale , not sparing their bodily labour . The manner of the publike worship of Gods Church from Adam till Moyses . In this first age ; whilest the Church was domesticall in the family of Adam and Noah , and Abram . The first-borne and eldest of every family was ordained of God by creation , to be a King for the common good ; A Priest to offer prayer to God for them , and a Prophet to instruct them . Of this royall dignitie we read , that God gave dominion unto Adam over his posteritie and all sublunary creatures , Gen. 1. 28. This is the fountaine , of Soveraigntie succeeding in the birth-right of the dignitie of the first-borne , untill Cain lost it by killing his brother Abel , C ham lost it for scoffing his Father Noah ; Esan sold it for a mease of portage ; and Reuben lost it for desiling his fathers bed . Then God tooke it into his owne hands , and reserved soveraigntie and the dignitie of preheminence of the first-borne for his owne onely begotten sonne , the first begotten of every creature , the Lyon of Judah , who is King of Kings , and Lord of Lords , by whom Kings raigne , and Princes decree Justice . Also man in Creation was the Prophet of God , for God breathed in his face the breath of life , and made him a living soule ) even that word , which in the beginning was with God , and was God , was the light and life of man ; Adam was taught of God before his fall , as in the second Chapter of Genesis : and also after his fall , as in the third Chapter of Genesis : the seed of the woman should break the serpents head , which doctrine he received of God , and taught his posterity . His Priesthood was manifest , in that hee taught his sonnes to offer sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to God ; the outward signes thereof , they brought to their Father as their high Priest a figure of Christ , Gen. 4. 3. also Hevah gave thanks to God for her issue . The services used amongst the Patriarks . Their practise and service in this age was plain and simple , praise , prayer , and thanksgiving to God : which consisted in confessing their sinfulnesse , and acknowledging the mercie of God in his promise , as after the birth of Seth and Enoch , then ( it is said ) began men to call on the name of God , Genes . 4. 26. And in every family they taught and declared the promise of God to be the word of life ; as Lamech confessed at the birth of Noah , Gen. 5. 29. and Noah and Enoch are witnessed to be Preachers of righteousnesse . This manner of worship was more manifest after the flood , in the life of Abraham by his obedience , his familiar talking with God , as in Chap. 15. 16 , 18 , 19 , 20. and Isaacks conversation , who went out to meditate and pray , in the evening ; so Jacob worshipped God leaning on his staffe and blessed his sonne . Thus the pure and unspotted worship of God , which was used both private and publique among his people , was onely praise , prayer , and thanksgiving , with teaching and Divine instruction ; And to this manner of worship none durst adde nor diminish ; only God himselfe did ( in the dayes of Abraham ) and unto this worship , the signe of the everlasting covenant , betwixt God and his saithfull servant Abraham , and his faithfull seed ; to make a separation and visible distinction betwixt his people and the people of the world , the seed of nature ; under which Covenant was promised the spirit of Regeneration , or spiritual Circumcision , in these words , I wil be thy God , and the God of thy seed , the seed of regeneration . Here we may observe , that to the spirituall and Divine worship of God , none can add any thing but God alone , and God will add nothing but Divine Doctrine necessary to salvation : And that , figured under plaine and simple signes ; lest the naturall corruption of man ( prone to superstition and externall sanctity ) should leane and cleave to the signes , and forget the heavenly things signified , and to seeke holinesse in the action . The same worship and service practised in the Nationall Church . When Israel of twelve tribes became a multitude , and a great Nation , whom God exercised and humbled under the bondage of Pharaoh , that hee might shew forth his mighty power , mercy , and loving kindnesse to his people Israel , hee sent them a deliverer , even his servant Moses . Moses added nothing to the service of the first age : but God added also the Sacrament of the Passeover , to declare unto them , that as none was to be esteemed the people of God , but those that were under the signe of the Covenant of God ; so none should be delivered from the destroying wrath of God : but those that were redeemed , reconciled , and washed , or sprinkled with the blood of the unspotted Lamb of God ; the promised seed of the woman , the word of life , made flesh , in whose death and shedding of his blood , they were saved and delivered from spirituall bondage and death ; and this was to be observed for a perpetuall ordinance among Gods people for ever . And after the Israelites and people of God were congregated and gathered together , and brought out of the bondage of Egypt , the Lord by the ministration of Moses and Aaron ; writ , divulged , and ministred , the Divine precepts of the law of God : the knowledge and perfection whereof , man had lost and forgot by transgression . Out of which law , Moses by the commandement of God , extracted Ecclesiastical ordinances for Aaron , and the legall Priesthood and Levites , for serving of the Tabernacle , to instruct the people by types and figures in the Divine and heavenly mysteries of God under the law , ( as by a Schoolemaster ) till the mysterie of God should be manifested in the flesh , and dwell with men . And of this Doctrine all the Prophets testified and writ declaring and fore-telling the comming of that Messias . All the glory of the Tabernacle , and after that the Temple with the typicall Sacrifices , was but to set forth that spirituall and Divine glory and power : which was to come , and to be manifested in the flesh : and then the outward and earthly glory should be abolished and done away , that the Divine and invisible power thereof , might onely remaine , and shine in the hearts and soules of the Elect , as the Prophet Ioel 2. 28. And afterward will I poure out my spirit upon all flesh ; and your sonnes and your daughters shall prophecie , Ier. 31. 33. After those dayes ( saith the Lord ) I will put my law in their inward parts , and write it in their hearts , and I say ; this is the Covenant which I will make with them , my spirit is upon thee , & my word which I have put in thy mouth , shall not depart out of thy mouth , nor out of the mouth of thy seed ( saith the Lord ) from henceforth and for ever . But in all this they held the daily publique service pure and undefiled , without rites or any other ceremonies , but only the reading of the word , and ministring the Sacrament , and teaching on the Sabbath dayes . And the Jewes for their Divine Services had their Synagogues in every Citie and Towne ; and Christ did by his owne practise and presence observe the same upon the Sabbath day , as it is Luke the 4. 16. 17. as his custome was , he went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath day , and stood up to read , and there was delivered to him the book of Isaiah ; and Acts 13. 14. 15. Paul and Barnabas went into the Synagogue on the Sabbath day . The forme of service used in the Synagogues . First , they began their Service with a generall verball confession , which they gathered out of the Prophets , Levit. 26. 20. Numb. 5. 6. 7. Nehem. 9. 23. The forme of this confession is set forth in the Jewes Talmond : We have sinned , O Lord , we have done wickedly , we have dealt deceitfully in thy fight , we thy people and all the house of Israel , we repent our selves thereof , and are ashamed for the same : and therefore , O Lord , we beseech thee forgive us our sinnes , our iniquities , and our transgressions , as it is written in the book of Moses thy servant . Then followed the reading of the Law and the Prophets , and then after followed the expounding and exhortation , then the Service ended with a generall thanks for all things , and as Paul saith for all persons , 1 Tim. 2. 1. 2. And thus their Service was concluded with blessings upon the people from the mouth of the Minister . The same Service and Method observed by the Apostles . Christ left no other forme of Service in Gods worship , but onely such as was used in the Church of the Jewes , naked and simple prayer , praise , and thanks : reading , preaching , and exhortation with the ministration of the Sacraments ; commanding his Disciples to goe teach all Nations , baptising them in the name of the Father , the Sonne , and the Spirit . The Apostles observed their Masters commandement in every circumstance proper for the ministration of those Divine mysteries ; To all that Christ ordained they neither added nor diminished any thing . Springing from superstition of time , and place , and circumstances , for they knew that Ordination was not tyed to a day , an houre , or any solemne time or season , but was instituted for the benefit of the soule of man , therefore they thought fit to minister the Lords Supper every Lords day . Neither did they use any other order or gesture , but after the same manner sitting as Christ did institute it , fearing the curse of God to adde or diminish ; And held that manner of order most worthy and fit to be observed in Divine mysteries , which their Lord had formerly observed , knowing the power & efficacie to be of his spirit , and not to consist in Rites and Ceremonies , or circumstances of time and place . After the ascension of the Lord , he Apostles and the whole Church ( consisting of 120 persons ) assembled at Ierusalem in an upper Chamber , and abode together with the 11 Apostles , and continued with one accord in prayer and supplication : And then , and there , Peter taught and preached , and in the publique assembly , and with their whole consent , they chose Matthias to supply Iudas his place . Acts 1. 13 , 14 , 15. also 2. 42. and they continued in the Apostles Doctrine and fellowship , and breaking of bread and prayer . In which words is set forth the whole form of their Service and worship used in the Apostolique times , which consisted in preaching the true Doctrine of Christ , their unity of faith and love , ministration of the Sacraments and Prayer . The Testimony of the Fathers . On the day ( saith he ) which is called Sonday ( that is the Lords day ) there is an assembling and comming together of all manner of people , ( dwelling either in the Fields or in the Cities ) into one place , and there are read the Acts , or Records of the Apostles , and the Writings of the Prophets ; so long as the time would suffer , then when the Reader hath left off reading , ( that is to say , he which was President or Chiefe in the assembly , ) the Bishop or Pastor delivered an admonition or exhortat : on by way of discourse , tending to the stirring of them up , to follow and practise those good things . Afterwards wee rise all at once , and send our prayers unto God . And prayer being ended , the bread and wine is brought , and he that directeth the action , delivereth with all the power and might he hath , prayers and thanksgiving , the people assenting say Amen . Then followeth the distribution to every one present , and the communicating of the things which were blessed by thanksgiving , and they send of the same to those that were absent , by the Deacons ; In the end , they which are of ability , and are moved therewithall , give every one according as it pleaseth him , and that which remaineth abideth with him that is president , with which he makes provision for the fatherlesse , widowes , sicke persons , captives and needy strangers . The same Author in another place of the same Apologie : After ( saith he ) that we have washed , that is baptized him , that hath received the fajth , and joyned himselfe with us , wee bring him into the Assembly and Congregation of the brethren , where they are come together to make their common prayers both for themselves and for him , and for all manner of persons whatsoever ; When prayers are thus ended wee salute one another with an holy kisse , and then there is brought to the Pastor the Bread and the Cup , and hee giveth praise and glory to the Father of all things in the name of the Sonne , and of the holy Ghost , and maketh a great thankes-giving , for that hee hath vouchsafed to make them worthy of these things : which being ended the people joyne and put their blessing thereto , saying , Amen ; Afterward the Pastor blessing them : those whom wee call Deacons gives to every one who are present , and they carry to those that are absent ; And this food is called the Sacrament of thankes-giving , which is not lawfull for any one to receive , which hath not before received the truth of our Doctrine of Faith , and hath not beene washed with Baptisme of regeneration for remission of sinnes . Also , Tertullian in his Apologie about few yeares after ; Now , saith he ; I will declare unto you the practises of the Christian function , to the end that when I have refuted the evill I may shew you the good . We come together into one Congregation to have recourse unto God by prayer , forcing him as it were by joyning together of all our prayers , and this violent enforcement is very well pleasing to God ; Wee pray for Emperours , for their Officers and Potentates ; and for the estate present ; for the quieting of matters , wee come together for communicating of the holy Scriptures ; as the present times doe presseus , or to prevent somewhat to come , or to make acknowledgement of the present ; And thus wee feed our faith with holy speeches , we relieve and succour our hope , we make strong our confidence , and therewithall likewise fortifie our Discipline and manner of government by the urgent and uncessant rehearsall , and renowing of the memorie of good precepts . In our Congregations is used likewise exhortations , reprehensions , and the exercise of sacred censures , for then matters are judged with great advisement , as is wont to be done , of such men as assuredly know that the face of God is towards them ; Behold and see their doings , and it is a great foreshew of the judgement to come : if any one amongst us have sinned so deeply as to be excluded from the Communion of prayer and the Assembly ; and of all manner of having any thing to doe with this societie and fellowship , whereof the Elders that are best approved and found most faithfull , doe sit as presidents in the Assembly advanced , and called to that dignity , not through any summes of money ; but by the weight and sway of the good testimonie , which they have given . I have onely reported the testimony of these two Authors of the Primitive times to shew the pure simplicity of Gods worship in their publike service , which was no other but the same in order and forme with the worship used in the Jewes Church , onely in this they differed from the Christians , that after their services and exhortation they ministred the Sacrament of Baptisme when there was occasion . And then the Catechumeni were dismissed with this word ( Missa : ) then the Elders which were all the best approved of Congregation were admitted to the Sacrament of the Lords body and blood ministred with prayer under the signes of Bread and Wine , and singing of Psalmes , then the Minister blessed them , and then with the same word ( ●ie Missa ) the Congregation was dismissed . This word did properly signifie , depart or be gone or leave to depart , but by use it did after signifie the first service and the second service , which they called the first Missa and the second Missa , and in corruption of time it came to signifie the Masse , and Idolatrous sacrifice , from hence the Papists lyingly saigne to derive their Masse ; from the Apostles and the Fathers of the Primitive times . Wee may also observe from the Apostles and the primitive Congregations , that they had this tradition , they ministred the Sacraments every Sabbath , and every one did bring something according to their abilitie to the Lords Table of bread , meat , and wine , which was set on a Table in the middest of the house of prayer , and this they called an offering , the more to encourage the people to this bounty and charity , and this was covered till the first service was done , and the preaching , then the Cloath was taken of , and then the Bishop , or Pastor , or president came to the side of the Table , and gave thankes and prayed for all men , and after tooke Bread and Wine , and consecrated them with prayers ; Sometimes onely with the Lords prayer rehearsing the words of the Institution of our Lord , as in the 1 Cor. 12. 11. And brake the Bread , and the Wine was poured out , and distributed to the people thereto admitted ; The rest of the offerings were given to the poore , the needy and the widowes by the Deacons . And Platina in the life of Telesphorus saith , that in the Apostles times all things were done nakedly , plainly and simply in the action of this mysterie ; And in Rome where the mysterie of iniquitie was to take roote , and bee seated , all things continued , and were done after the same order , doctrines and traditions , as the Apostles taught ; As Irenaus doth witnesse for twelve Bishops successively from the Apostles unto Eleutherius ; Nay ; the simplicitie and puritie of worship continued without addition or diminution untill Constantine the great his time . An amplification what undeniable reasons for the puritie of Gods Worship and service . It is evident and undeniable that Gods worship , and the Divine service hath beene ever from Adam , and practised by his posteritie in the first age plaine , simple , pure , and naked prayer , praise and thankes , without any invention of man , or externall Ceremonie , nor yet any Sacramentall signes , save onely that Adam taught his sonnes to bring unto him , as to their high Priest presenting the person of the promised seed , before the incarnation , their first fruits in thankfulnesse , having onely the naked and simple , ministration of the word promised to be made man , preached by Adam , Seth , and Enoch , and Noah , to feed their holy faith , God enlightning them with the inspiration of his spirit , making them the Prophets of God . And the Divine reasons why God used no Sacramentall signes , nor figurative Sacrifices was , for that Adam and his posterity had not altogether forgot that Divine light of life , which hee was endued with in his creation , though hee had newly lost the possession thereof , yet he was more capable of inspiration , then the next generations were , who had smothered even the light of nature by multiplying their transgressions : And this was a principall cause why they lived in this age above 960. But in the second age God did not onely for their overgrowth of sinfulnesse cut short the dayes of man , but hee also did choose himselfe a people from the loynes of Abraham , and renewed unto him the promise of his blessed seed , and made him a great Nation and Church unto himselfe , and to this Church and people God gave Sacramentall signes to distinguish them from all other Nations to be his owne , and ordained them Statutes , Lawes , and ordinances to instruct them as under a Schoolemaster , and by signes to lead them unto the spirituall power , and efficacie of the Incarnation of Christ and his death unto the remission of sinnes . But it is undeniable and manifest , that hee required no other manner of worship and service of them , then hee did of the first people , for God is unchangeable in his nature ; therefore he cannot nor will not have any other kinde of worship : but one simple pure worship of praise , prayer , and thanksgigiving , and feeding of this worship with the plaine ministration of his promised word of life preached unto them . But why was this second age burthened with ordinances and figures ? because this age was drowned with the growth of sinne , and incapable of light , for sinne by the law became more raging and sinfull ; and the law was weak , and could not prevaile with man because of sinne , for mans sinfulness : was so great , that the spirit of the law which is righteousnesse , could not dwell in flesh and blood but it must be consumed : for this cause the law became death unto man , and man , by the law became dead : for the law did not onely reprove , but condemne . But in this third age the righteousnesse of the law became incarnate , and was made man , that man might be made the righteousnesse of the law : Thus that Christ , who was promised to the first age , is become our righteousnesse : so that now the spirit is communicated in a fuller measure , and more evident and powerfull then it was unto the Jewes in figurative types and ceremonies . And this is the reason why all things are become more spirituall , and God will have his worship now to be known to be onely spirit and truth ; for through him we are become new creatures unto God the Father , created in Christ , not to a new worship , but to the same worship more pure and perfectly to worship in spirit then heretofore . The reason ( why Christ would institute no other worship , nor allow none to be true-worshippers ; but those that worshipped in spirit and truth , simply , plainly , and nakedly , is extracted from Gods owne Essentiall nature , God is a spirit , and therefore will be worship'd in spirit and truth . Also God is one simple pure spirituall Essence , therefore he will have no invention , nor no mixture of any Rites , Ceremonies , or observations but plainenesse . And againe , God will with the simple plainenesse of his worship and preaching confound the wisedome and superstitious curiosity of man , for the naturall corruption of man not savouring nor discerning the beauty and sweetnesse of spirituall things , doth out of a slavish feare and superstitious curiosity , seeke a will-worship of his owne invention which God hates ; But the enlightned soule sees most heavenly and glorious delights in the plaine and simple ministration of Gods word ; for the minde not sticking in the outward forme and signes of the mysteries : shee flies with the wings of Divine speculations into the presence of God and his Angels , as Tertullian saith speaking of the soule . We have a sister ( saith hee ) among us , unto whom is given the gift of Revelation , in the middest of Divine Service , she is east into an extasie , she is brought into the company of Angels , and sometimes into the presence of the Lord himselfe . Againe , according to the Scriptures that are read , the Psalmes that are sung , the Sermons that are made , and prayers which are offered : new matter of vision is administred and offered unto her . Now those that have not this spirituall sence , and eye to taste and see how good and gracious the Lord is , and to behold how beautifull his Tabernacles are , they think it was the ignorance or poverty of the age that suffered the worship of God , and his ministration to be clad in such base and meane array and cloathing , and comparing her to the worldly pomp of Idolatrous and superstitious worship , they were ashamed to show the Church in such plaine roabes before the Gentiles and Iewes ; therefore every Metropolitane after the Nicene Counsell having got the sole government into their hands , devised some sentences out of the Scripture to beautifie the service and the Sacraments , and some rites and ceremonies to correspond both with Iew and Gentile in serving God ; All which things though at the first the Inventers had a good intent , and the words and rites carried a glorious show of holinesse ; yet because they were not the things that God ordained , nor thought fit to be done or to have done in his service and ministration : therefore they brought forth in the end a malignant effect both in worship and Doctrine , Idolatry and Superstition with damnable heresies in the end ; which the first Inventers never dreamed of . For when man adds other words ; or some other thing to the Sacraments , then Christ did use in his institution , doth hee not disallow of the wisedome of God , and thereby make his owne filthinesse appears under his skirts ? as the Lord saith , Exod. 19. last verse , where man is prohibited invention . To beware of this , Cyprian in his Epistle to Adrian the Emperour , adviseth to hold our selves fast to the institution of Christs the Apostles did so as appeares by Paul , 1 Cor. 11. 12. It is truth ( saith Cyprian ) seeing that neither any Apostles neither Angels from heaven could declare any thing unto us ; beside that which Christ hath once taught , I cannot but mervaile how against all Angelicall and Apostolicall Doctrine men dare to offer in some places water in the Cup . Again he saith , they should ask counsell of those whom they follow ; for if in the sacrifice which is Christ we should not follow any other then Christ , it must of necessity follow that wee must obey and doe as Christ hath done and commanded us to doe : so he saith in his Gospel ; If you doe the things I command you to doe , I will call you no more servants but sonne ; And the Father doth witnesse , that Christ is onely to be heard , Aying from heaven this is my beloved Sonne , heare him ; thereupon we are not to regard what those before us have judged meet ; because we are not to apply our selves to follow the customs of man , but the truth and verity of God . And the same Author to stop the month of all will-worshippers faith ; if any of our predecessors either through ignorance or foolish simplicity have held otherwise then the Lord hath taught , either by his precept or by his example ; God will pardon such his simplicity through his rich and abundant mercy ; But unto us now , who are forewarned and taught the contrary by himselfe , it cannot be pardoned . These enforcing and undeniable reasons cannot be withstood , but teach and stirre us up to seek the first purity , simple and plaine manner of worship , and to shake off all rites , ceremonies , and superstitions , and to rest satisfied with the simplicity of preaching , and to cleave to the prescript Institution of Christ in using the Sacrements . Thus much for the worship of God . Of Divine Iurisdiction , the second subsistence in the Church of God . AS Divine worship is the first subsistence , in the unitie of the visible Church of God , in which all the faithfull are congregated ( as it were in one body ) into the unitie of the spirit in the bond of peace , even so Divine dominion must be the second subsistence dwelling in the Church , and filling the Church with life and vigour through all members , as the soule in the body , also it is like sinewes and arteries knitting and coupling together the body by every joynt for the Furniture thereof ( according to the effectuall power which is in the measure of every , part ) receiving increase of the body unto the edifying of it selfe in love . Now all powers are of God from above from the Father of light , as from a fountaine from whence all good gifts and gracious givings doe proceed by his mighty Word through his holy Spirit flowing into the vessels of humanity and running through them with a perpetuall successive duration , returning into the Ocean of Gods glory . The first receptacle of all divine power and dominion communicated from the Father is Christ the Mediatour God and man to whom all power is given , both in heaven and in earth , who is the first begotten of every creature ; And as Daniel saw in his Vision one like the Sonne of Man come in the cloudes of heaven , and approach to the Antient of dayes , and they brought him before him , and he gave him Dominion , Honour , and a Kingdome , that all people , Nations and languages should serue him , for this cause we are taught to conclude our petitions with this obedient acknowledgement , for thine is the kingdome , the power , or dominion , and the glory . This kingdome is one entire kingdome of distinct gradations , yet individuall , like the wheeles in the vision of Exechiel , one within another , as the kingdome of Providence , the Church of Christ militant , with the Soules triumphant , and the dominions , powers , and principalities of Angels ministring before him . The dominion given unto Christ as he is the Sonne of man ( * Christ God and Man ) is the personall power of the Fathers eternall begotten Word , by individuall union of Divine nature , with the humanity communicated to Gods elect . whereby hee is the ingraven forme of the Fathers owne person unto the world , holding up all things by his mighty Word . This Word by the ministeriall proceeding of the holy Ghost is that Scepter of righteousnesse , whereby he guideth and ruleth his kingdomes , as David saith , thy Throne , O God is for ever , the Scepter of thy kingdome is a Scepter of righteousnesse . This is that Scepter of righteousnesse by the precepts and power whereof Kings raign , and Princes decree Justice ; For this cause Christ is called the King of Kings , and Lord of Lords , the onely ruler of Princes . Of the first gradation . For the first gradation of Gods great kingdome , God by Divine ordination in nature in the Creation gave a blessing and dominion unto Adam , to fill the earth with his seed , and to subdue it under his obedience . For this cause it is said , the heaven of heavens is the Lords , the earth he hath given to the Children of men ; from hence God claimes the first borne to be his substitutes on earth , which honour in the beginning was due to them , as the dignity of their birth-right by Gods ordination , which continued in the Family of Adam , till Cain lost it by killing his brother Abell ; Cham lost it by scoffing his father Noah ; Esau sold it for a messe of Pottage , and Reuben lost it by defiling of his fathers bed . Then by the law of that ordinance the dignitie of Birth-right was of divine right conferred upon the Tribe of Judah , and reserved in the line of Iudah for the Lyon of Judah , who is the image of the invisible God , the first begotten of every creature , and for that all things were created by him and for him , and that he is before all things , and in him all things consist ; And also being the ordained Lambe of God before the foundation of the world , he is therefore made the head of the body of the Church , King of Israel , that in all things bee might have dominion and preheminence both of things in earth , and things in heaven ; For it was the Fathers pleasure that in him all fulnesse should dwell , from this fountaine all soveraigntie is derived . How Christ doth constitute his Vice-royes on earth , Kings , Princes , and Potentates , &c. The first ordination of Soveraignty being thus ( as I have shewed ) of Divine right conferred upon the naturall Sonne of God sitting upon his highest Throne of glory , farre above all powers and principalities , he doth by his divine and all foreseeing providence constitute whom it pleaseth him to sit upon his earthly Thrones , over any Nation , people , or language , induing them with proper gifts of his owne spirit for rule and government ; Thus doth God constitute Kings and Princes , and Rulers , after what manner soever it bee done on earth , whether by lineall descent or Nationall choise , or by the sword , howsoever the hand of Providence doth direct , appoint and establish , 1 Sam. 2. 4. Psal. 123. Hee raiseth the poore out of the dust , and lifteth the beggar out of the dung , to set them among Princes , and to make them inherit the seat of glory ; Also , hee pulleth downe and setteth up at his pleasure . It is profitable for us to observe that Adam by his transgression , lost neither the natural faculties of his soule , nor the honour and dignity of his birth-right and dominion though at the first , ( by losing that breath of life which was the light and life of his soule , and that made him the perfect Image of God ) they were weakened and blemished in capacitie . For if he had lost his naturall faculties , hee had lost the forme of his being , and if his birth-right and dignity of dominion had beene abolished before it had beene conferred upon another , then should nature have been deprived of the ministration of judgement , Justice , and equity , which would have brought forth an utter dissolution of the whole generation of man ; But after the sonnes of Adam , as it were forfeited their dignity and birth-right of dominion by multiplying transgression , then God the Father conferred the preheminence thereof upon the Sonne of Man ( even Christ ) that he might consecrate and appoint , whom it seemed good unto him to sit upon his temporall Throne , so that birth-right and preheminence might be his in whom all fulnesse dwelt . And that by him Judgement , Justice and equity might reigne with men . Thus the Regall power of Princes is derived from Christ by the rule of divine ordination in nature , ( for he that is the Author of nature , is the observerr and preserver of all the ordinances in nature ) so that this royall office is restored to man by ordination in Christ ; But the priestly and propheticall office man hath from God by union and communion with Christ , and by inspiration and supernaturall donation through the holy Ghost ; For this cause a Tyrant may bee a lawfull King by ordination of God , yet no Christian member of Christ . Difference betwixt Regall ordination and Divine power . From hence we may extract an evident difference betwixt the power of royall ordination in nature , and the supernaturall power of God which is given to his Church on earth ; That is a ministeriall power to distribute Judgement , Justice , and equity amongst men , with absolute power of coaction to punish actuall offences , with corporall or pecuniary punishment upon body , lands , and goods . This other is a supernaturall power and divine efficacy properly given to the elect of God by inspiration , whereby they have union and communion with Christ , and one with another for every ones owne particular prerogative of son ship , and for the edification one of another , and to some men it is given in a peculiar manner , and a greater measure of divine power and gifts , for the ministration , writing , teaching , and preaching of the Word and Sacraments of God , which is that which was revealed by God to the antient Prophets , and that which was taught by Christ , and after written by the Spirit of God , from the pen and mouth of the Apostles ; And this power is a ministeriall power , mighty in operation to bind and loose the conscience , to open and shut heaven and hell , by declaring the judgement of God against unpentient sinners , and his mercy in Christ to the penitent man , as he hath taught and revealed ; for this power doth not follow the judgement and will of man , nor succession of profession , but is tyed and limited to the power of the Word and will of God ; Therefore what they bind on earth by this ministeriall power , Christ bindes in heaven by his absolute power . By this there is no power of coaction given to the Church over the body , nor purse , nor life , but onely over the soule and conscience , and to rule by instruction , admonition , and correction . That makes men civill and sociable , and restraineth vice for feare of punishment : this other makes men spirituall and divine , meeke and lowly , and full of loving kindnesse , and rooteth out sinne in the heart , making men refraine and shun sinne and wickednesse , for the love of God and goodnesse it selfe . Herein the kingdome of Providence and Grace doe both agree to make man happy and blessed in this life , and in the life to come ; For this cause it was said to Abraham ; In thy seed all nations shall bee blessed ; And David saith , Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord . For no Kingdome nor Common-wealth can be blessed , which doth not entertaine the true Church of God in her bosome , or in which the Church is not involved ; For this cause God doth make good Kings a blessing to his people , and commands his Saints to pray for Kings , Princes , and Governours , that they may lead a peaceable and happy life under them , and that there his Gospell may have a free passage ; And so Kings and Princes become nursing fathers , and nursing mothers ; And in this combination betwixt Church and Common-wealth , righteousnesse and peace doe kisse each other . But if they be wicked Princes , then they are sent for a punishment and scourge of God to the the people , and when God hath whipped his people , then he burnes his roddes with judgements . Therefore bee wise yee Kings , be learned ye Judges of the earth , serve the Lord in feare , and rejoyce in trembling , kisse the Son lest he be angry , and ye perish in the way , when his wrath shall suddenly burne , blessed are all they that trust in him . The glasse of Kings . The glasse wherein Kings are to see themselves by reflexion , and the pattern whereby they are to distribute judgement , justice , and equity , is the Divine nature and holy Trinity of God himselfe . For as the nature of God is strong and mighty full of pitty and compassion , slow to anger , and abundant in goodnesse and truth , whose purity of nature expelleth and consumeth every impure and imperfect thing , even so doth God require his King should be like unto him on earth , as he is in heaven , for he hath set none above him on earth . Therefore as God is in purity of essence a law unto himselfe , and a consuming fire of evill , so ought a King in his politique capacity to be a law unto himselfe by conforming himselfe in a spirituall assimilation to the nature of God in purity of justice , punishing the evill and cherishing the good . Also as the person of the Father in its essence is the fountain of his eternall law which he hath begotten and ordained with himselfe for himselfe to doe all things by ; so is the King in his politique capacity , the fountaine of politique lawes which hee hath as it were begotten in his body politique to rule and governe his people by . And as the eternall law of God is the begotten Counsell of the Trinity in the Deity , so are the lawes politique the begoten Counsell of a politique Trinity which is the Soveraign , the Nobles and Magistrates , and the Councell of Commons , resembling the Divine Trinity in Unity , the indivisible subsistence of a Kingdome ; So that Kings are by this pattern and rule bound to keepe the lawes of their Kingdomes inviolate , and to doe all things by their lawes , as God doth all things by his word : And this is the greatest prerogative of a King , that he keepe his owne lawes freely without compulsion like God himselfe . And likewise as the holy Ghost is the universall Minister and Divine Dispensator of all divine powers , gifts , and graces of God , proceeding from the Father and the Sonne ; even so are the Peeres , Princes , Judges , Magistrates , and Ministers of Justice in a Common-wealth , proceeding from the King and his lawes : The universall Ministers of the Royall powers and lawes of the Kingdome . For though they be many as members in diversity of Dispensation of Justice , Judgement , and equity of the lawes , yet are they all but as one spirit of the body politique , as the spirit of God being one , is by reason of the diversity of Administrations properly called the seaven spirits before the throne of God , Revel. 1. And as the individuall unity of this distinct Trinitie is the subsistence of the God-head ; Even so is the unity of the King with his Lawes , and his Princes and Magistrates , the subsistence of a body politique or Common-wealth ; Therefore Solomon saith , Judgement and Justice is the establishment of the Throne . For this similitudes sake , Kings , Princes , and Magistrates are called Gods : I have said , saith the Lord , yee are Gods , but yee shall die like men , for they are in all things to bee in their Common-wealth as God himselfe ; Therefore wee are taught to pray , Thy will , O God be done on earth as it is in heaven , that Kings may rule by thee , and Princes decree Justice on earth as thou dost in heaven . This is that orbe wherein Kings are to walke as the Sunne in his spheare ; but if Kings make their owne will and lust , their law and rule of Justice , Judgement and equitie , then they are exorbitant , and then God in whose hands are the hearts of Kings , causeth their Counsellers to goe as spoyled , and makes their Judges as fooles , and he looseth the collar of Kings , and girdeth their loynes as with a girdle , and leadeth away Princes as a prey , and overthroweth the mighty , or Pwreth contempt upon Princes , and maketh the strength of the mighty weake , Job 12. 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21. How divine and supernaturall power is derived unto man from the Father by the Word through the Spirit . A civill ministeriall power of Justice is derived of Kings , Princes and Magistrates from Christ , as he is the Son of God , and first begotten of every creature , and therefore most worthy to have preheminence above all , in whom all things consist , for the temporall blisse and happinesse of man on earth . So is divine and supernaturall power derived from Christ , not onely as he is the first begotten Son of God , but also as he is the light and life of man , without whom man cannot be a living soule , and as he is the eternall Mediatour betwixt God and man , that promised seed , the Redeemer of the Elect of God , the predestinated Lambe , slaine from before the foundation of the world , for the remission of sinnes , their ordained King , Priest , and Prophet , of God the Father in a spirituall and more peculiar manner , and measure of mysticall union and communion , then either can be , or ever was , or ever shall be in all the ordinances of God in nature , For this cause that all men might know that he was , and is , the spirituall King of Glory , and that he came not into the world to deprive Kings and Princes of their subordinate power and prerogative : therefore he told them plainly , that his kingdome was not of this world , and he told his Apostles that among them there should bee no such government or dominion in his Church , as the Princes have on earth among men , but the chiefest among them should be he that tooke the most paines to serve the rest with food of life . The Church is called a kingdome , because as in earthly kingdomes Kings and Princes have power by their politique lawes over the bodies , goods , and lives of men : for their wealefull being on earth to the glory of God : so in this kingdome Christ onely and absolutely from the Father through the Spirit hath power by the divine . Word and law of God over the soules of men for their eternall happinesse and salvation of his elect , and to the just judgement and condemnation of the reprobate , to shew forth the abundant riches of his grace in that , and in this to shew forth his wrath and power , suffering with long patience the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction , and in both the exceeding excellencie of his glory doth appeare and is effected . Also , it is called the kingdome of God , because God the Father is the immediate fountaine from whence it floweth ; the person of the Sonne the head , to which the whole body and every member really , and in a mysticall manner is united and incorporated into him their head , because God the Spirit is the immediate minister and dispensator of all divine gifts , and spirituall blessings in heavenly things ; For this cause the Church in Scriptures is sometimes compared to a house or building compact together and built of living stones , Christ being the corner stone or foundation : and thus it is a spirituall house of Saints . It is resembled to a naturall body composed of a head ( Christ ) and many members knit unto it , and one unto another ; and sometimes it is described by the similitude of a throne set in heaven , and he that sits thereon is assimilated to be one in Deitie , but three in distinct subsistences , like to three pretious Jewels ; The first appearing like a Jasper of a pleasant never fading flourishing greene , the mother of all pearles ; The second a Sardine which is of a reddish flesh colour ; The third is in aspect as a Rain-bow that is of the Emerald colour , as the eye can behold nothing more sweet or delightsome . These colours represent the nature of the Trinitie of the God-head , and round about the Throne were twenty foure Seats , and upon the seats twenty foure Elders sitting cloathed in white rayment , and on their heads crownes of gold ; This name of Elders is here given to all the members and congregation of Christ in his kingdome ; and their white rayment is to expresse the righteousnesse of Christ , which is imputed and freely put upon them , and making them Kings , Priests , and Prophets to God the Father ; Their Crownes are to declare their Royall dignitie which they have by Christ , for it is to be noted , that whatsoever Christ is in himselfe , either personally , naturally , or officially , all his members are partakers of the same , in some measure according to the gift of Christ , by union , communion , inspiration , and through externall and instrumentall ministration of his Word . This is the Church of God ; now those things which are individually belonging to the Church , at first the protecting power of God , which is alwayes ready to defend and revenge the cause of his Saints , for God takes their cause into his owne hand , saying , Vengeance is mine , and I will repay it . And God hath said touch not mine annointed , and doe my Prophets no harme ; For this cause ( in this signe of the Church ) there is said to proceed out of the Throne lightnings and thunders , and voyces , because God doth punish the wicked horribly for the Churches sake : none can escape his hands , that oppresse his Saints , for the Lord will roare out of Sion , and will put forth his voyce out of Jerusalem . A second sort of gifts are inward graces of Sanctification expressed in this vision by seven Lampes of fire burning before the Throne , which are the seven Spirits of God , which is the internall sanctification of Gods Spirit filling every soule with gifts like oyle of grace , and fire of zeale to burne with praises before the Throne ; Like to the lampes in the Temple , Exod. 27 , 20. by seven , signifying by a definite number , manifold gifts indefinite . Next are outward gifts , which are allegorically called a sea of glasse before the Throne like Crystall , which expresseth the spirituall pure and unspotted worship of God , and the ministration of his Word as transparent to the eye of the inlightned mind , as Crystall glasse is to the eye of the body , through which the Saints may see the glory and majesty of God in the face of Christ Jesus . As this worship is pure without any spot of mans invention , and consists ( as in the first tract is said ) of prayer , praise and thankes , arising and alwayes nourished by the doctrine of the word of God , which the sea doth signifie , because it is an Ocean of living waters pure like Crystall ; This Sea therefore declares the whole worship of God . And in respect that the Saints inlightned by the holy Ghost are called burning Lampes , it is to them like a sea of oyle to enrich and encrease their lights . Another outward gift is described to be foure Beasts ; And in the middest of the Throne , and round about the Throne were foure beasts , the first like a Lyon , the second a Calfe , the third a face like a man , the fourth like a flying Eagle , and their bodyes are full of eyes before and behind ; These are the ministers and servants of God , who attend the ministration of the Word and Doctrine , and are placed betwixt the Throne and the Elders , as embassadours and messengers of God to his people , their place is in a neerer station to the Throne then the Elders . They are compared to beasts to expresse their qualities , which is required for the conditions of the times and seasons , as the strength and courage of a Lyon , the patience of an Oxe , the prudence and wisedome of a man , the Eagle-like contempt of earthly things , and sharper sight in spirituall and heavenly things . The number is foure , to double the number of the tribe of Levi under the law , to answer the number of Elders , which is double to the twelve Patriarkes . Their bodyes are full of eyes behind and before , which describes that sharpnesse of riches and understanding in divine things , wherewith they are inducd by the gift of the Spirit to discerne things past , things present , and things to come . These beasts each one of them hath sixe wings placed round about them , and full of eyes within the wings ; these wings are not for that use that the wings are to the beasts in E●●●●●…el , two to hide the face , and two to flye , and two to hide their feet : but they are placed about their bodyes as it were for furtherance and assistance in their proper place , and not to flye withall from place to place . These wings therefore signifie Governours , and assistants or helpers , by whom the ministers are ayded in their function , and doe more swiftly and readily afford succour to every part of the Church . These wings are full of eyes within . These signifie the inward gifts of knowledge which are not placed in so neere a measure to the Throne , as the eyes in the body , but they are of the same nature of knowledge in divine things , to this end they stand as in a watch tower , to behold and discerne every ones manners and conversation , and to reprove and exhort privately , and to helpe the ministers in Censure and Discipline of the Church ; therefore Paul saith , obey your overseers and leaders , and yeeld submission unto them , for they watch for your soules , as those that shall give account . These gifts are limited within and under the wings , as to meddle onely with that which is committed unto their power , 1 Pet. 5. 2. they are not to be strikers or busie-bodies , and they are to watch over Christian people onely , for what have wee to doe to judge them that are without ● 1 Cor. 5. 12. 13. They that desire to behold the patterne of Gods Church , as she is on earth in Christ , consider well this vision , and reade it seriously , as it is more fully expressed by Master Brightmans Exposition upon the fourth chapter of the Revelation . This patterne is the perfection of the Church militant , as she is in Christ , and in the judgement of God the Father , who onely knoweth who are his . The beauty and glory thereof is not seene with mortall eyes : for she is not composed of mortall , but immortall seed , even begotten of the immortall seed of the word of God , 1 Pet. 1. 23. for it is the ministration of God the holy Ghost , communicating the knowledge of the Word unto the hearts of the elect , which doth beget them anew or regenerate , and unite them unto Christ , and those are the supernaturall powers , the word of God cōmunicated unto man , and gathereth them into one head Christ , and by a well compact union makes them one Church all communicating of one spirit , one faith , and in one Lord and Father of all , who is above all , and in all , and through us all , blessed for ever , Amen . How the Word is the divine power of God , and the authority committed to the Church . WHen wee speake of the word of God , consider that the word in essence , and property of being is God with God in eternity , eternitie it selfe , as it is described in the first of Iohns Gospell , and though it cannot bee divided in it selfe , yet it is to bee distinguished after the personall order of the Trinitie . Therefore we may say the Word in the person of the Father is the unbegotten Word in the person of the Sonne , it is the begotten Word , and in the person of the holy Ghost , it is the proceeding Word . So that by the proceeding Word all things flow from the Father and the Sonne . By the order of this proceeding power the world was made by the word of God . As the Psalmist saith , Psal. 33. 6. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made , and all the hoast of them by the breath of his mouth . By this proceeding power of the Word man was made a living soule , as Gen. 2. 7. And God breathed in his face the breath of life , and the man was a living soule ; and Ioh. 1. 4. in it was life , and that life was the light of man , not naturall reason , but supernaturall light which inlightened nature . By this proceeding word Adam was restored after his fall , by promising to make the Word the seed of the Woman , and to breake the Serpents head . Gen. 3. 15. for God by the proceeding of the Word , saying he will put enmity betwixt Satan ( whose nature is wicked and evill altogether ) and the humane generation or seed which Satan had made like himselfe , he thereby promiseth that by his proceeding Word , he would make his Word the feed of the Woman , whereby it should be of a contrary nature to wickednesse , of a heavenly pure and holy nature and condition powerfull against Satan . Thus by the proceeding Word , the word ( God ) is made the word of promise , and the Promise is made life , and thus it comes to passe that the Just shall live by faith . By this proceeding word all the Elect of the Father are called , are sanctified , are washed , are inspired , and by inspiration are made sonnes of God , Kings , Priests , and Prophets , for by inspiration of the proceeding Word , God the Word dwelleth in them , for in the proceeding Word , is both the begotten Word , and the unbegotten Word the Father , as Christ saith , my Father and I are one , and the proceeding Spirit is one with the Father and the Sonne , so these three are one in themselves , and beare record in heaven , and they also agree in one by inspiration in the soules of the faithfull , or the Church which makes three to beare record on earth , as the water of Sanctification , and the blood of justification , and our spirit enlightned with the Spirit of God ; it beares witnesse with our spirits , that we are the sonnes and servants of God . For this cause the faithfull are called the Temple of the living God , 2 Cor. 6. 16. as God hath said , I will dwell among them and walke there , and I will bee their God , and they shall bee my people . Also , know yee not that your body is the temple of the holy Ghost which is in you , which yee have from God ? Ye are not your owne , for ye are bought with a price , therefore glorifie God in body and in Spirit for they are Gods . As the proceeding Word hath proceeded by inspiration to dwell in man , which is his internall ministration : so he proceedeth by externall ministration to divulge and write the same proceeding Word by the instrumentall pen and voyce of man for mans instruction , at first written by his Prophet Moyses , and after by the rest of Prophets and Apostles , and Evangelists to feed and preserve their holy faith & worship of God among the faithfull ; As Paul witnesseth , 2 Tim. 3. 15. 16. Thou hast knowne the holy Scriptures of a child , which are able to make thee wise unto salvation , through the faith which is in Christ Jesus . For the whole Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable to teach , to convince , to correct , to instruct in righteousnesse . Thus the proceeding Word doth proportion it selfe to mans capacity , first it becomes the word of promise in the seed of the woman , then the inspirated word to dwell in the mind , and also it is the ministeriall Word , declared , written , taught , and preached for mans instruction , and all is one Word : for this cause the Apostle Peter saith , we have a most sure word of the Prophets , to which yee doe well , that yee take heed , as unto a light that shineth in a darke place , untill the day dawne , and the day starre arise in your hearts , and from hence it is evident , that the Scripture is the very word of God , which proceedeth out of God by inspiration , by instrumentall publishing , and writing the same , and the written Word being the same proceeding word of God , ( even God declared in writing . ) The Scriptures therefore are the Fountaines of living water , and the ground of truth , for preaching , teaching , and instruction , exhortation and correction . And therefore the Scriptures are to be had in Divine estimation , for they containe the divine Word it selfe , and the Pastors and teachers thereof ( being thereunto called of God by a full measure of inspiration ) are to be esteemed the Messengers and Embassadours of God . And this is alwayes to be understood , that no man can attaine to the interpretation of the written Word by naturall ingenuitie or humane learning , or art or industrie , though all be needfull instruments and meanes of knowledge , but onely by inspiration of the proceeding Word , as ver. 21. 20. 21. so that first ye know this that no prophecie of the Scripturis of any private interpretation . For as the prophecie came not in old time by the will of men , but holy men of God spake ●● they were moved by the holy Ghost ; so must holy then of God speake and interpret the Scriptures , as they are moved by the holy Ghost . And that we may know the interpretation to be of the holy Ghost ( being the proceeding Word , and hee that indicted the same Word from the Father and the Sonne by inspiration ) cannot give any other sence or understanding to the written Word , then is agreeable to the nature of the Word in the person of the Sonne and of the Father , and the Word in the person of the Sonne , is the revealed will of God the Father made manifest in the flesh . Therefore we may discerne whether the interpretation be of the Spirit of God or no ( by this ) Iohn 4. 2. 3. Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh , is of God , and every spirit that confesseth not that Iesus is come in the flesh is not of God ; For the confession is not an out ward confession of the lips , nor an historicall confession of the mind , nor a voluntary supposition and opinion of carnall reason , but it is the confession of the Spirit of God , which declares and manifests to the heart , that the Word that is come in the flesh is the very true God ( as Christ said ) to know thee and him whom thou hast sent , Christ , to be the very true God ( as Peter confessed ) thou art that Christ , that Sonne of God , and Christ told him that flesh and blood did not teach him this , but his Father revealed it unto him . This word of God not having beene after this order knowne and considered , hath beene the cause and occasion of much mistake and errours in the Church of God , but understanding the Word in the true nature and property of Gods order and manner of working , leadeth us by the hand from one gradation to another , and stoppeth the mouth of all men that speake against the Scriptures and the holy Spirit . For considering the word of God in these gradations we shall evidently perceive and understand , that the power and authoritie giuen and committed to the Church , is no other thing , but the proceeding word of God , ministring the begotten Word from the Father manifested in the flesh , which ministration is two fold , internall by inspiration through hearing of the Word , because man is an intellectuall Spirit , and therefore a proper Tabernacle for the divine Word to dwell in ; Also externall ministration , because man dwells in an elementary , earthly , and naturall tabernacle , therefore the holy Ghost applyeth himselfe to mans infirmity , and doth use in his externall ministration , elementary , earthy , and naturall instruments by which as a meanes and ordinance the proceeding Word , and the power thereof is daily communicated unto man both to ingraft him into the Word , and to nourish him in the Word unto everlasting life ; For this manner of externall ministration is necessary for man so long as hee dwelleth in this body or earthly house . The instruments which the holy Ghost doth use in the dispensation of the ministeriall Word , are either proper , as some members of the Church set apart for the worke of the ministery , or lesse proper as the signes of the Sacraments . I may call those the externall gifts which God gives to his Church , for it is said that unto every one of us is given grace or the gifts of the Spirit , according to the measure of the gift in Christ . For wee may discerne the Church is a compact body knit to the head Christ , and consisteth of many members , yet in unity of the spirit they are one body , and although there be but one Spirit , yet are there diversities of gifts , diversities of administrations , diversities of operations , yet all one and the same spirit , and these diversities of gifts , make diversities of functions ; So there are many functions in the Church , but God worketh all in all . But the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withall , but peculiar gifts without the which the Church cannot at any time be , and therefore most proper , of which it is said that Christ ascended on high , and lead captivity captive , and received gifts to give unto men , as some to bee Apostles , some Prophets , some Evangelists , and some Pastors and Teachers . Here is to bee observed , that the divine power by internall dispensation is given in common to all , and every member of the Church , so that all have common interest in the word of God , and peculiar power thereby to admonish , comfort and instruct one another , and pray for one another , and beare one anothers burdens , especially they are all Kings , Priests , and Prophets in their Families . For every Father ought to use the office of an Elder in his house , Deut 6. 6 , 7. Deut. 4. 9. But for the externall dispensation of the Word , the power and efficacy thereof is committed unto peculiar men , wherof Apostles , Prophets , Evangelists , Pastors , & teachers , are in the first ranke and functions , and the power and efficacy which is given them , is onely the ministration of the Word , they have not that absolute power which Christ hath , to know who are his from the beginning , and to have compassion , on whom he would have compassion , and to shew mercy , on whom hee would show mercy . For Christ had not this absolute power as he was the Son of man , but as he was the person of God ; For as he was Man , he came not to do his owne will , but the will of his Father ; So likewise when he sent his Apostles and Disciples to teach all Nations , he sent them , as he was sent of his Father . So send I you , saith he , which was not to doe their owne will , nor to teach their owne doctrine , but to do his will as he did his Fathers will , and to teach his doctrine which he taught them , as his Father taught him : so by the Word they are to do and teach , but nothing beside the Word , or without the Word . More at large of this in the Treatise of Discipline . Thus we see the word of life is God in the person of the Father , the unbegotten Word , in the Sonne the begotten Word , and the incarnate Word , In the person of the Spirit it is the proceeding Word , and the ministeriall Word , and this ministeriall Word is the power , and the authority committed to the Church ; So the Ministers cannot doe any thing but by the power of the Word , and this Word is Christ who abideth with them , and with the whole Church alwayes unto the end of the world ; So Christ is the chiefe , and they are his servants and embassadours . Of the third Subsistence of the Church Government and Discipline . AS Divine worship cannot bee wi●hout the divine power of the ministeriall Word , from whence it extracts both the nutriment and efficacie , so neither worship , nor the Divine Word can be without order , government and discipline , whereby the whole spirituall body ( the Church ) is preserved in spirituall health and blessednesse , shining in spirituall decencie and divine beauty . As Psal. 45. 13. 14. The Kings daughter is all glorious within . And her heavenly glory is most excellently set forth in Can●●●…es 6. 10. Who is shee that looketh forth as the morning , faire as the Moone , pure as the Sunne , terrible as an army with banners ? Without externall pompe , temporall confusion , or humane policy ; for God hateth nothing more in the government of his Church , and in his worship , then pompe and policy , and loveth nothing more then to have his Church excell in meeknesse , holinesse , and simplicity , like himselfe , as hee saith , Bee ye holy , for I am holy . And learne of me , for I am meeke and lowly . And he exalteth the humble and meeke , but the proud he sends empty away . When we speake of the Church , it is to bee considered in what fence we take the Church , for the Church of God is in a twofold aspect to be apprehended , one as she is in a mysticall union the body of Christ , the Spouse of Christ , the Lambe , the Bride , in this sence shee is spirituall , pure and holy without spot , without wrinkle , his undefiled . The other as she dwelleth in her naturall humanitie , and abideth here on earth , wherein shee is invironed with manifold temptations , infirmities and afflictions , fighting against the world , the flesh and the divell , and in this condition she is elementary , naturall and visible ; Therefore God in his wisedome and goodnesse to man hath ordained externall dispensation , thereby to communicate the holy and invisible mysteries of his Word to man through visible instruments , elementary and naturall , proper for mans capacity and nature , lest naturall infirmities should become an excuse that God should not speake unto man ; For this cause God doth minister the mighty power of his Word , by the weake and simple voyce of man ; Teaching man by letters , syllables , words and sentences , divine truth , and making evident to the mind and sences of man , by elementary signes , tropes and allegories , and so demonstrating inscrutable mysteries , and divine secrets of grace , power and glory . The first beames of the glorious gospell of Christ ( which Paul calls the Image of the living God ) that shines unto man , is the publike and visible ministration , whose glory compared with the glorious ministration of the law . 2 Cor. 3. 7. ( which none was able to behold and live , which made mountaines tremble , and the Israelites excuse themselves ) is farre more exceeding glorious , which we all are able to behold with openface shining through the vaile of Christs humanitie , wherein as in a glasse or Crystall wee see the glory of God in the love of the Father , and are changed into the same image from glory to glory , as by the Spirit of the Lord . And the thing that is ministred , is the glorious gospell of Christ , which is the doctrine of Christ , or the mystery of the Father ; and it carrieth alwayes this Character with it to know it to be the true doctrine of God . It giveth all glory to God the Father by Christ , and it glorifies Christ through the Spirit , for Christ saith , that which is the Fathers , is mine , therefore the Spirit shall take of mine , and give it you . Outward ministration is called the face and countenance of God ; Therefore the Prophet David saith , O. Lord God of hoasts turne us againe , and make thy face to shine upon us , and wee shall be saved . It was Davids delight , and his whole hearts desire . Psal. 27. 4. One thing have I desired of the Lord , that will I require : that I may dwell in the temple of the Lord all my dayes , to behold the beauty of the Lord , and to visit his temple . The first ordination of this ministration was instituted and practised by God himselfe in Paradise , preaching unto Adam in a created voyce in the coole of the day , and by that meeke voyce Gods presence was knowne unto man ; I heard thy voyce and was afraid . The voyce or word of God ( for it is a significant voyce , making it selfe to be understood ) howsoever God useth weake and despised instruments to expresse himselfe to mans capacity , yet his voyce is mighty , as in the 29. Psal. Reade the whole Psalme . For the voyce of the Lord is powerfull , the voyce of the Lord is full of Majesty . And as Paul describes it , it is mighty in operation , and sharper then any two edged sword , piercing through , even to the dividing of the soule and the spirit , and of the joynts and the marrow , and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart ; For this cause preaching is called the power of God unto salvation . But if the glorious beauty and power of Gods ministration seeme weake and foolish unto some men , because it is ministred by the voyce of man , and the weake signes of the Sacraments being of no strength nor beauty in themselves , It is because the glorious Gospell is hid unto them that perish , and becomes the savour of death unto death , because the God of this world hath blinded the eyes of them that beleeve not , lest the light of the glorious Gospell of Jesus Christ should shine unto them . These riches are sent unto us of God ( from the Father of lights by the Sonne , of the fulnesse of all rich grace , through the Spirit the over-flowing waters of life and blessednesse ) and we have it in earthen vessels , that the excellency of the power may appeare to be of God , and not of man , and those that are sent of God , are qualified with the word of God , and by having the Word , they are knowne to be sene of God ; For they teach and preach not themselves , but Jesus Christ the Lord , and approve themselves messengers and servants to the Saints for Jesus sake . For the word of God wee are alwayes to conceive to be the eternall Sonne of God by generation , and to proceed from God by spiration in creation , and to be communicated unto man since his fall by supernaturall inspiration , and united unto man , and man unto it by incarnation , and ministred unto man by externall dispensation . Thus the Word descends unto man by inspiration , and dwels in man through the Spirit , for the Lord is that Spirit , and where the Spirit of the Lord is , there is the Word , for the Word and the spirit cannot be divided nor separated , they are one . For this cause God useth the externall ministration of his Word and Spirit , that he may inspire and regenerate the mind of man . After this manner are the ministers and messengers that are sent of God indued with the Word and Spirit of God . Therefore let no man say that hee hath the Spirit , if hee want the light of the Word , neither can any man have the Word but by the Spirit , and the Word and Spirit are both made manifest in this , that they reveale the hid things of God , even the mysterie of God in Christ . 1 Cor. 2. 9. 10. which in Col. 2. 3. is called a full assurance of understanding in the knowledge of the mysterie of God in Christ , for he which commanded light to shine out of darknesse , shines into the hearts of the Messengers , to give the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Christ . Of the calling of Ministers . As the externall Ministration cannot be without the Word and the Spirit , so the Church cannot bee without Ministers and messengers of God , and as the ministration is publicke and externall , so the visible Church and Congregations have power of divine right to call and appoint , such as God hath internally qualified , to the externall and publicke exercise thereof ; For as by internall inspiration they are indued with a more then ordinary measure of the Word and Spirit , so they ought to be well knowne , and conversant in the Congregation or facietie of that Church wherein they live , that by a mutuall consent they may be approved and thought worthy to be called to the publick ministration and dispensation of the VVord . This was the practise of the Apostles and primitive Church , Acts 1. 21. 22. Wherefore of these men that have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus , went in and out with us , beginning from the Baptisme of John , unto the same day that he was taken up from us , must one be ordained to be a witnesse with us of his resurrection , and they appointed two . Also , Act. 6. 1. 2. When the nuber of the Disciples was multiplied , then the twelve called the multitude of the Disciples together unto them , and said unto them , it is not meet that we should leave the ministration of the Word and serve tables , wherefore brethren looke you out among you seven men of honest report full of the holy Ghost , and of wisedome , whom we may appoint ouer this businesse . And it is to be observed , that nothing was to bee done in the Church , either by the Apostles , or by those that in the ministration succeeded them , without the consent of the whole Church , which then at first were called Disciples . Of the manner of their externall ordination . Touching the manner of their Ordination that we find in the first of the Acts , they prayed and said ; Thou Lord which knowest the hearts of all men , shew which of these two thou hast chosen , and then they gave forth lots , and the lot fell upon Matthias . And also afterwards in the sixt of the Acts , the multitude of the Disciples or brethren those seven and set them before the Apostles , and when they had prayed , they laid their hands upon them . In the first place of Scripture it is said , the Disciples appointed two , and left the choyce to God , and therefore they give forth lots , because it was an extraordinary calling to an Apostleship to succeed Judas ; But in the second place it is said , they chose Srephin a man full of faith and the holy Ghost , and Philip and Prochorus , and others , &c. And it is remarkable that the Church received instruction from the Apostles as a rule to be observed in choosing Deacons and Elders , as in the first of the Acts they were admonished by Peter to choose such as were conversant in the Church from their beginning . By which I conceive , they ought to bee of knowne conversation , and men of good report , and that they should be full of faith and the holy Ghost , as Steven was , or men endued with the holy Ghost and with wisedome . These are the respects which ought to bee had in choosing Pastors , Deacons , and Governours in the Church ; For all gifts of learning and humane Sciences , howsoever they be excellent and worthy much praise and honour , yet without these Characters of grace they are nothing , and not to be esteemed . Of the orders and degrees of Pastors , and their denominations both under the Law and the Gospell . It is evident that the orders and degrees of Ministers and Governours of the Church of God under the Law were Priests , Levites and Elders , God also sending among them Prophets of extraordinary inspiration , for revelation of the VVord to teach , admonish and exhort the people . The Priests office was figurative , prefiguring Christ untill his comming , offering sacrifices to figure the sacrifice of his body , instructing the people in the promised seed unto the remission of their sinnes , whose manifestation in the flesh should be the accomplishment of all figures and shadowes in the law , which thereby were abrogated . The Levites were given unto Aaron , as an addition to his office , as in Numb. 3. 6 , 7 , 8 , 9. to minister unto him , to keepe his charge , and the charge of the whole Congregation to doe the service , and to keepe the instruments of the tabernacle of the Congregation . The Elders , ( though every Father of a Family bee called Elder , and also the twelve tribes of Iacob ) yet those are properly Elders who are chosen and appointed to be Governours and Rulers both in Church and Common-wealth . For the Governours in Pharaohs house were called Elders , and the Rulers in the Church , as first in the Tabernacle , as Numb. 11. 25 , 26. and Temple were also called Elders . And the Lord stirred up Prophets among them both of the Levites and Priests , and others , as occasion required , never leaving his Church without a Prophet and Rulers till Shilo came . And when that faithfull Prophet of God came into the world , whose effectuall power , and fulnesse of all divine perfection abolished all figures and darke resembling shadowes , then in his owne person and humane presence , hee spread abroad the glad tydings of his glorious Gospell , causing the light of his truth to shine evident without vaile or vizard , notwithstanding he neither altered nor abolished the order of ministration , nor the manner of government , but established the same by his owne example , and the practise of his Apostles . And therefore he said that Christ when he ascended on high , he led captivity captive , and gave gifts unto men , As Ephes 4 11. he gave some to be Apostles , some Prophets , some Evangelists , and some Pastours and Teachers . In this place of Scripture he onely setteth forth the principall functions in the Church , whereof the first paire , as namely Apostles and Evangelists were of immediate calling , and appropriated to the time , ordained by Christ , onely for the propagation and first progression of the Gospell , the gifts of prophecie and working of miracles , attending the confirmation of their doctrine ; As the necessitie of those times required , and as Christ had promised , Marke 16. 17 , 18. And these signes shall follow them that beleeve in my Name : they shall cast out devils , they shall speake with new tongues , they shall take up Serpents , and if they drink any deadly poyson , it shall not hurt them , they shall lay their hands on the sicke , and they shall recover . The second paire , are Pastors and Teachers distinguished by their ordination , for these were ordained internally by the outward dispensation of hearing the Word preached by the Apostles , then externally chosen by the Church , as Acts the sixth , after consecrated by the Apostles , by prayer , and laying on of hands of the Apostles and Elders , Acts 14. 23. This order of ministers is ordinarie , and to continue in the Church unto the comming of our Lord to Judgement . Both these paires are but one and the same function and office , and have but one and the same Commission , which was given by the immediate ordination of Christ to his Apostles . For as God the Father sent his beloved Sonne to bee a light unto the Gentiles , and the glory of his people Israel , in declaring unto them the glad tydings of salvation in his death unto the remission of sinnes . So Christ sayd to his Disciples ; As my Father sent me , so send I you . John 20. 21 , 22. The power and authority committed unto them by this commission is the breath of life , out of the mouth of Christ proceeding from the Father and the Sonne , as it is said ; Man lives not by bread onely , but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God ; Therefore he breathed on them and said , Receive ye the holy Ghost . For the word which Christ spake or breathed out of his mouth , hee affirmed to be spirit and life , saying , John 6. The flesh profiteth nothing , but the word that I speake is spirit and life . The substance of this Commission is mandatory , Matt. 28. 19. Goe teach all Nations , baptizing them in the name of the Father , of the Sonne , and of the holy Ghost . The doctrinall part of their commission , is teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you , and Marke 26. 15. hath it in these words ; Preach the Gospell to every creature . Now the summe of the doctrine , which Christ taught , is set downe more plainly by St. Luke . 24. 44. These are the words that I spake unto you , whilst I was yet with you , that all things must be fulfilled , which were written in the law , and the Prophets , and in the Psalmes concerning mee . And he ( who was spirit , life and light ) opened their understandings that they might understand the Scriptures ; and said , Thus it is written , and thus it behoved Christ to suffer and rise from the dead the third day ; And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his Name among all Nations , beginning at Ierusalem . And after this manner doe the Pastors and Ministers blesse , teach , and sanctifie the people . Thus Christ by preaching and teaching unto them the word of God , out of his mouth , he opened their understandings in the Scriptures , and thereby they received the holy Ghost , for this is Christs manner of breathing upon them , Iohn 20. when hee said , receive yee the holy Ghost . But in Luke he saith , Behold , I send the promise of my Father upon you ; Which is to say , I will send a visible token of the Spirit upon you , or the efficacie of the Spirit upon you . Therefore he sayd , Tarry yee in the Citie of Ierusalem , untill you bee endued with power from on high . Not but that they had received the holy Ghost before , but not the manifestation and evident power thereof , as afterwards it did fall upon them in the similitude of fiery cloven tongues , Acts 2. The fruites and operative effects of ministration of the Spirit is set forth , Iohn 2. 23. Whose soever sinnes ye remit , they are remitted unto them , and whose soever sinnes ye retaine , they are retained . For this is the power and efficacie of the ministeriall Word ( as hath beene formerly showne ) which floweth from the absolute power of Christ , which was given unto him of the Father , as he affirmed to his Disciples , Matt. 28. 18. All power is given me in heaven and in Earth . And this ministration of the Gospell is that key of David committed unto Christ , by which he should open and no man shut , and should shut , and no man should open . And in the 16. of Matthew 16 17. & 18. ver. it is evident , that this power of the keyes , is onely the power of the Gospell of Christ , or rather as Peter confessed the Lord Jesus to bee that Christ , that Sonne of the living God , which he received not by the intelligence of flesh and blood , but by Revelation from God the Father , this power changeth the whole corrupt nature of man , and gives him another denomination or qualitie , making him a strong and immoveable rock , turning Peter to Petra . Thus after this manner is the revelation and power of the Word , given in generall to every one that receiveth the knowledge of Christ , to beleeve that he is that Christ , that Sonne of the living God , ( God himselfe ) against this rocke the gates of hell , the powers and principalities of darknesse , and worldly Governours cannot prevaile . But the particular and publicke ministration thereof , is committed to the Pastors and teachers of the Church of God , by whose ministration and publicke dispensation of the Word , the hearts and consciences of men are opened and shut , bound and loosed every day , as Lydia and others in the Acts , in which the Word becomes the savour of life unto some , and the savour of death unto others ; And this ministeriall power is also given unto them for divine censure and publicke correction , to roote out abominable and unsufferable vices in the Church and Congregations , as shall be shewed in his proper place . Of the nominations under the Law , and under the Gospell . Under the Law it is undeniable , that the Ministers and Governours of the Church , were called Priests , Levites , and Elders . Also , in the Christian Church ( leaving out the extraordinary functions of Apostles and Evangelists ) they are called Pastors , Teachers , Helpers and Governours ; As these rankes are expressed in the 1 Cor. 12. 28. Of helpers , wee reade they were added to the Christian Church in the sixth of the Acts , whose office seemes to be in the place of the Levites , as they are called Deacons . And Governours in the Church , as neither the Synagogue nor the Christian Church could bee well governed without , called Elders in both Churches ; As Ambrose speaking in his Homilies upon the fifth of Timothie , and the first verse , saith to this effect , Both the Synagogue and afterward the Church had Elders , without whose counsell nothing was done in the Church ( though in his times they were almost lost , as he saith in the same place ) which ( saith he ) by what negligence it is growne out of use I know not , unlesse peradventure by their negligence , or rather the pride of the teachers , whilest they alone would be all , and doe all . It these governours were so decayed in his time , how much more are they now worne out of memorie in these our dayes ? But who list to peruse the history of the primitive times , may observe that so long as this government stood in equall dependancie with their Pastors , there could no heresie ever get footing in the Church of God ; But after it was lost and neglected , the Arrian heresie crept into the Church , and filled the universall Church , and all Kingdomes with ambition , contention , heresies and warre , as in the Revelation . The name of Elders is now become an uncouth and abhorred name , though it hath beene alwayes used from the beginning both in Church and Common-wealth to signifie both politique and Ecclesiasticall Governours . For if we consider the derivation of the word ( Priest ) it is no other but Elder , as in the Greeke it is called ( {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} ) which in Latine is ( Senex ) {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} being rendred Presbiter , and in English , Elder , being the comparative of {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} . And in this sence the Apostles called themselves Elders , as John in his second Epistle , 1. verse . The denominations of Pastors , Teachers , Bishops and Elders in the Church were promiscuously used , becaūse though they were distinguished by particular duties and administrations , yet all was of one and the same spirit and power , As Paul , 2 Tin . 1. 11. accounted himselfe a Preacher , and teacher of the Gentiles aswell as an Apostle . But there is no name that belongs to the functions of the Church of God , that doth so much trouble the Church , and the whole world , as the name Episcopus ; Which though I find it but once or twice named in the New Testament , ( as though the holy Ghost thought it not convenient often to use that name ) foreknowing , and foreseeing how much mischiefe it would bring forth to the Christian Church , yet I finde it a name much and frequontly used by the Antient Fathers , and Historians , insomuch as for the reverend and high esteeme it got among them , it is advanced to signifie preheminence , and a spirituall office and dignitie , and honour above temporall Monarchs ; or rather at least in some of their owne conceits and expressions higher then a Monarch , a Pope of universall supremacie above all , that is called God . Notwithstanding , that the name derived from the Greeke {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} signifieth no more but to survey , to consider of the deportment of the flocke , by God committed unto his charge , as of which he is to render an account : so that the etymologie of the word will not imply that lording power , which they doe arrogate unto themselves . But {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} , which signifies busie-bodyes , or medlers in other mens matters , derived of {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} , in Latine ( alvis ) and the word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} , which is in the language of this age usually rendred Bishop , seemes to me a very opposite word to decipher the lording Bishops of our times , which like the Angels that left their primitive station , omitting the proper worke of their ministeriall functions doe moue in an improper orbe of secular affaires , and so may well be called {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} , Busie-bodies , or busie Bishops . If any desire to know the office and dutie of a Bishop , as the holy Scripture setteth it forth , let them reade the third Chapter of Paul to Timothie , and also the first of Peter , the fifth Chapter , the second and third verses , where the office of a Bishop is described under the name of an Elder . Of antient and primitive government of the Church of God . The antient Apostolike and Primitive Government was under Pastors , Deacons and Elders in every Congregation . The manner of their government was twofold , the first part whereof was particular to every man in his function ; The second part was joyntly and publickly together , and none without another . The Pastor , Teacher , or Bishop , his particular function or office was as a President , overseer , and director , not only as a Teacher , but also as an Elder , watching over the health of their soules , and outward manners and conversation , caring for the spirituall good , and salvation of every one , whose office is set forth in the first of Timothie , the 3. chap. 2. 3. 4. & 6. verses . Hee must be a man blamelesse , continent , vigilant , sober , of good behaviour , given to hospitality , apt to teach , not given to wine , no striker , nor greedy of filthy lucre , no brawler , not covetous , one that ruleth well his owne house , having his Children in subjection with all gravity , hee must not be a novice , lest through pride he fall into condemnation , and he ought to be of good report among the adversaries , that the word of God be not evill spoken of . Also Peter exhorts Bishops under the name of Elders , ( acknowledging himselfe also to be an Elder ) saying , Feed the flocke of God , which dependeth upon you , caring for it , not by constraint , but willingly , not for filthy lucre , but of a ready mind , not as though yee were Lords over Gods heritage , but that ye may be ensamples to the flocke . And as Paul advised Timothy to preach the word of God , Bee instant in season , and out of season , reprove , rebuke , exhort , with all long suffering and doctrine . And after the same manner , and in the same sence Christ excited Peter , that the more he loved him , the more he should labour , to feed his lambes , his sheepe , his flocke . But Lordly preheminence Christ did not onely forbid , saying , The Lords of the Gentiles have power over them , but it shall not be so among you , but also saith , Hee that would bee the greatest among you , let him doe most service to the rest . But that fearefull admonition of Christ , me thinkes should shake the hearts of our Bishops with feare , that use predominance over their fellowes and Church of God . Mat , 24. Who is a faithfull and wise servant , whom God hath made ruler over his household , to give them meat in due season ? Blessed is that servant whom the Lord shall find doing so , he shall make him ruler over all his goods . But if that evill servant , shall say in his heart , My Master doth deferre his comming , and begin to smite his fellowes , and to eat and * arinke with the drunken : that servants Master will come in a day when he looketh not for him , and in an houre that hee is not aware of : and will cut him off , and give him his portion with hypocrites : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth . The office of Deacons , ( of their ordination , I have spoken before upon the sixth of the Acts ) is that they stand in place of the Levites , to attend on the hand of the Pastors , aswell to helpe to catechise , to teach , administer the Sacraments , as to care for the poore , and to take the charge of the goods and revenues of the Church ; but for their conversation and qualitie , it is set forth by Paul , in the first of Timothy , the third chapter , the 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13. verses . A Deacon must be grave , not double tongued , not given to strong drinke , not given to filthy lucre , holding the mystery of faith in a pure conscience . Let him first be proved , then let him use the office of a Deacon , being found blamelesse . Even so must their wives bee grave , no slanderers , sober , faithfull in all things . Let a Deacon be the husband of one wife , ruling their children , and their owne houses well . For they that have used the office of a Deacon well , purchase to themselves a good degree , and great boldnesse in the faith which is in Christ Jesus . And if Pastors and teachers would have the like zeale and consideration with themselves , which the Apostles had , Acts the sixth and the second , and would have judged every thing an obstacle , whatsoever might withdraw and hinder them in the preaching of Gods word , and their care of soules , and would make it their delight and labour , to give themselves continually to prayer and ministration , they would discerne , that they can no more be without Deacons one or two in a Congregation , then their bodies can be well without hands , neither would they nourish that indigne opinion , that ignorant ; Nay , often improbous Church-wardens can serve in their place and office as some alledge . Now touching the particular dutie and office of Elders , which in this our age is taken in a corrupt and improper sence calling them lay Elders , which in Scripture from the antient originall , are tearmed Elders of Israel , or of the Tabernacle , as to say , Elders of the Church of God , or of the people of God , to distinguish them from civill Elders and Governours : and they are either such as by natures ordination are Fathers of Christian families , or such as are publickely chosen by the severall Congregations of the Church , and approved by their Pastors and Teachers . Their office and duties were such , as Ambrose said , without whose counsell nothing was done in the Church ; and that both the Synagogue , and the Christian Church had Elders ; They were to be chosen men , such as Jethro advised Moyses , Exod. 18. chosen out of the people , men of courage , such as feare God , men of truth hating covetousnesse , and place such over the people to rule thousands , hundreds , fifties , and tens . But these Elders are here rather to be for civill affaires then Church cares ; But thus we must conceive that Church Elders might as well be exercised in ministration of Justice for the Common-wealth , as in the ministration of Discipline for the Church . For this is the proper duty even of Kings , Princes , and their Magistrates ; as also of fathers of Families , because the Common-weale of Israel is involved in the Church of God , and the Church of God in a Christian Common-weale ; For so ought our Christian Kingdomes to bee composed , as Magistrates may be chosen Church Elders in the Church of God . For blessed is the Nation , whose God is the Lord , * And in such a Kingdome Christ raigneth as a King in excelsis , and his Vice-roy by him , and for him , and the flourishing propagation of the ministery of the Word is the soule of such a Common-wealth . But there is an evident difference betwixt the Elders that governe the Common-wealth , and the Elders that governe the Church ; Distinct they are in their ordination , and in their endowments , and in the manner of exercise , and execution of their office ; For Magistrates and Elders in a Kingdome are those who are appointed of the King or chiefe Governour , as in the first of Peter 2. 13 , 14. Submit your selves unto all ordinances of man for the Lords sake , whether to Kings as superiours , or to Governours as sent of them , and their office is for punishment of evill doers , and for the praise of them that doe well . And these are such as Moyses ordained by the counsell of Jethro before exprest . But Moyses by Gods expresse appointment did afterward ordaine other Elders chosen out of those Elders , whom God indued with the speciall gifts of his Spirit , for helping of Moyses in governing of the Congregation of the Tabernacle , as it is set downe Numb. 11. 16. 17. 25. 26. Then the Lord sayd unto Moyses , Gather unto me seventy men of the Elders of Israel , whom thou knowest that they are Elders of the people , and Governours over them : and bring them unto the Tabernacle , and let them stand there with thee . And I will come downe , and talke there with thee , and take of the spirit which is upon thee , and put upon them , and they shall beare the burthen of the people with thee , so thou shalt not beare it alone . So these were another sort of Elders . Then the Elders that governed over the people , as in the 24 , 25. and 26 , verses . So Moyses went out , and told the people the words of the Lord ; and gathered seventy men of the Elders of the people , and set them round about the Tabernacle . There the Lord came downe in a cloud , and spake unto him , and tooke of the spirit that was upon Moyses , and put upon the seventy antient men : and when the spirit rested upon them , then they prophesied and did not cease . Here their ordination is of God , their indowment is of the Spirit , and their office and duty is to prophecie , and not to cease ; and the end why they were to prophecie , is to beare the burden of the people with Moyses , for the people murmured , and often tempted and provoked the Lord to wrath . And though they received daily instruction , and publicke ministration of the word of God from Moyses and Aaron , yet the seed of truth fell sometimes among stony ground , and sometime upon thorny ground , & sometime in the high way , and either took no deepe root , or it was choaked , or otherwise picked up and carryed away by the sowles of the ayre , so that their murmurings , grudgings , and rebellions were such a burthen to Moyses , and an insupportable griefe that Moyses wished rather to die than to live . Therefore God ordained these kind of Elders to be an assistance in his publicke ministration , that as Moyses among the Jewes , and Paul in the Church of God planted the Word in publicke . So these might be as Apollo's to water it in private , and that by their vigilancie and diligence in every place of the Congregation , they might be ready to suppresse by divine instruction , exhortation , and admonition out of the word of God . Murmurings , grudgings , contentions , strife , cursings , railings , and all sorts of inordinate walkings . This was the private and particular duty of these sorts of Elders by the power of the Word to kill the Cockatrice in the egge , and to pull up the weeds of sinne by the roots . For this cause they are described in the fourth of the Revelation to be the wings of the foure beasts placed round about their bodyes , full of eyes within ; for they are knit unto the Ministers in a peculiar and inseparable neerenesse , and their discerning operation is not to extend beyond the bounds of the Professors of the Church , for as Paul saith , what have wee to doe with those that are without ? These sorts of Elders are so necessarily annexed to the publicke ministration of the Word , as that the Church cannot be without them , but that by the want thereof she doth expose her selfe to all kind of dangers externall and internall , like a bird without wings . Therefore Christ tooke not away this kind of Elders , but rather established them in their function and office , both in private and publicke , as in the 18. of Matth. 15. 16. 17. If thy brother trespasse , got and tell him his fault , betweene thee and him alone : if hee heare thee , thou hast wonne thy brother . If he heare thee not , take yet with thee one or two that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be ●●●firmed . And if he will not vouchsafe to heare them , then tell the Church . Which is to make the offence and the offender knowne to the Congregation ; the Elders acquainting the Pastor , the Pastor acquainting the Congregation , they all joyne in publicke censure and discipline . Paul hath some rules which pertaine to private admonition , for it ought to be done in all gravitie , prudence , and in much love . Galat. 6. 1. If a man bee fallen by occasion into any sinne , yee which are spirituall , restore such a one with the spirit of meeknesse , considering thy selfe lest thou also bee tempted . Beare one anothers burdens , and so fulfill the law of Christ . The Elders ought to excell in brotherly love and wisedome , and to use their exhortations with much temperance , as Paul hath set before them in another place . 1 Tim. 5. 1. Rebuke not an Elder , but exhort him as a fathers and the younger men as brethren . The elder women as mothers , and the younger as sisters with all purenesse . And there is another particular dutie which pertaines to these Elders , as also to the Pastors and Ministers , which is to visit the sicke , and those that are burthened or troubled in conscience , as Iames saith , If any be sicke , let him call for the Elders of the Church , and let them pray for him , and anoynt him with oyle in the name of the Lord . For oyle is an embleme of the holy Ghost , which by comfortable exhortations out of the word of God with prayer is like oyle unto the bones , or as wine that glads the heart . Such refreshment are the Elders to the sicke , for the prayer of faith shall save the sicke , and the Lord shall raise him up , and if he have committed sinne it shall be forgiven him . And for this cause there is a mutuall confession among Christians , when any thing doth vehemently oppresse the conscience , therefore saith James confesse your faults one to another , and pray one for another , that yee may be healed , for the prayer of a righteous man availeth much ; if it be fervent . Of Discipline and censure . Now I come to the second part of government , which consisteth also in these three functions . The first sort is called promiscuously , Pastors , Teachers , Bishops , for they have received the gift of one and the same spirit , according to the measure of Christ , as Ephes. 4. For the gathering together of the Saints , for the worke of the ministery , and for the edification of the body of Christ , untill wee all meet together in the unitie of faith , and knowledge of the Sonne of God unto a perfect Man , and unto the measure of the age of the fulnesse of Christ . The second sort is Deacons . The third is called by a generall name in common to them and the Pastors , Teachers and Bishops , which is the name of Elders , for that in their publicke execution of Discipline , they are joyntly united , so that though the Pastor have the leading voyce and precedencie , yet he is not to execute , nor pronounce sentence in the Churh ●●thout the Elders , nor yet to ordaine either Deacons , Elders , or Pastors , without their counsell , and the generall consent of the Church , so that the Pastors , Teachers and Bishops , are not to beare the burthen alone , it would bee too heavy for them , as it was for Moyses , if they bore the like conscience to God as Moyses did ; and if it were too heavy a burden for one man in those dayes , when the Church was but one Nation , and but one Congregation , and had but one Tabernacle ; How must it not now needs be a farre greater weight , when the Church is many Nations , farre and wide dispersed , and many distinct Congregations . But notwithstanding the Elders be joyned in one power with the Pastors and Bishops , so that nothing ought to bee done without them , the Pastors have this preheminence , that the worke both of Discipline , censure , and ordination of Elders , Pastors and Deacons , is attributed unto them as most proper to their function ; For this cause Paul tells Titus , in his Epistle , cap. 1. that he left him in Crete : that hee should continue to redresse things that remained , and ordaine Elders in every Citie , as ( saith he ) I appointed thee . And Acts the 1423. And when they ordained them Elders by election in every Church , and prayed and fasted ; they commended them to the Lord , in whom they beleeved . For neither divine censure , nor ordination could be done without them , neither would the Apostles nor Pastors of the primitive times , for the space of two hundred and fifty yeares , either censure or ordaine any Elders , Pastors , or Deacons , without the Election , and counsell of the Church and Elders . But a little after these times , when pride began to creepe into the hearts of the Pastors , Teachers , and Bishops , and that the zeale and care of the Elders grew cold and negligent , as Cyprian Bishop of Carthage , lib. 4. speaking of the cause of the then present persecutions , among other things ( saith ) What plagues , what stripes , doe we not deserve , when no not the Confessours and Elders doe keepe Discipline ? And from this degree of luke-warmnesse it came to be omitted , and after the Nicene Councell quite extinct , and wiped out of memory ; So that no marvell if our age call it the new-brought-in discipline and government of Pastors , Elders and People . In this discourse of Discipline , I must have relation to that which is gone before , for that which is part of government in the theoricke is also a part of Discipline in the practicke , therefore though I have shewed that election and ordination are necessary relatives in the Church , that as proper to the Congregation , this other to the Pastours , and how they were practised by the Apostles , yet it is needfull to reforme the Judgements and opinions of men , to shew how it is most proper for Congregations to choose their Pastours and Elders , and Deacons , and also their consent and counsell in their ordination . To satisfie any indifferent judgement , it is best to make it a perpetuall rule and patterne , to follow the example of the Apostles , but it is an enforcing reason , that is necessary that the people , whose summum bonum , doth instrumentally consist in their Pastor should be well acquainted , and sufficiently experimented in his life and conversation , as also in his doctrine which they ought to taste by their care , ( for the earth tasteth words as the palate doth meat ) before they make choyce of him , though it may bee they cannot , nor is it required at their hands to trie his schollarship , but their capacities ( if it be a Congregation that hath lived , and been nourished under a wholsome and structifying ministery ) may well judge and taste the sweetnesse of the divine gift of Preaching by the care , and so trie his doctrine , as the men of Berea did the doctrine of Paul ; and it may so happen in some Congregations , that are well edified in the Word of God , that they may have among themselves some of their Deacons able and sufficient to succeed their deceased Pastor , and withall I doe not thinke it fit to exclude the choyce and presentation of the Universities , nor to debarre their Letters of commendation ; nor for one Congregation to supply the want of another , for all Congregations are members one of another , and every Christian University is a Congregation , and they all make but one Church to God . But what shall I say of Patrons presentations ? I know not , unlesse I should say they are too frequently the seed of Simony ; For except the Nobles and Peeres of this Kingdome doe freely bestow their presentations . I feare there are not many that doe the like , and to speake truly of their first donation , it was not done purely . For the Donors in reserving a presentation to them , and their heires , they kept backe a part of the possession they had dedicated to God , as did Ananias and Saphira ; And so if they bee righty considered , they are are as unnecessary evills in the Church , as Deanes and Prebends , which no man can tell to what use they serve in the Church . But if Patrons cannot be admitted by our law , let them present three or foure at the least , that the Church may have her choyce , and as much as may be avoyd that horrid crime of Simony . And as for ordination , though the power thereof rest in the Pastors and * Bishops , yet it is great arrogancie and presumption to forsake the Apostolike and Primitive practise , and usurpe a singularity and predominancie to themselves , as if they would disdaine the humility of the Apostles , and condemne the wisedome of the holy Ghost . But that which doth foster and nourish men in a good opinion of this errour to attribute such absolute power to the Bishops and Clergie , is that mysticall doctrine of Antichrist , which in that smoakie darknesse thrust upon the world for an undeniable truth , that the Church in her essence is to bee conceived to bee the Bishops and Clergie , and that they onely have the unerrable Spirit of God , and that thereby they have power to doe all things , as much , and as absolutely as Christ himselfe when he was on earth , as once a Romish Priest averred to me , that the Priests or Clergie were the soule of the Church . The nourishing and maintaining of this opinion is the cause why the world hath so long , and so madly doated after Episcopacie ; But if we thinke it fit to cast away the pride and ambition of man , abhorre this opinion , and let the worke bee of God , and not of man . Of Excommunication . Now touching Excommunication , which is that supreme Discipline and divine power which purgeth and segregateth the drosse from the pure gold in the temple of God . This part of Discipline is of so high and holy a nature and qualitie , as that of a Christian , it ought to bee had in a most reverend estimation above all the powers of earth : for it is thunderbolt and lightning of God , that upon whom it falleth and pierceth , it doth consume with a terrible flame , and grind him to powder with a direfull fall . This power is committed unto the Church , not to Bishops alone , nor to the Pastors or Clergie onely , neither have the Elders this power appropriate unto them , but the Church . As Mat. 18 17. If he will not heare , then tell it unto the Church . Now the Church is not properly to bee conceived to consist in any one person , who is but a member of the whole , nor can she be said to be any one proper function in the Church , but the whole Church consisting of one head Christ , and many members indued with divers and many administrations and gifts of one and the same spirit , and in this sence every particular publicke Congregation is an entire Church , and a member of the universall Church throughout the world , because a Congregation containes in it selfe the whole Church of God , as she hath one and the same head ( Christ ) one and the same Spirit , and one and the same ministration of the same Word and Sacrament , and one and the same God and Father of all , above all , in all , and through all , and one . And thus having the same Word and Doctrine , the same functions of Pastors , Teachers , Deacons and Elders , the same Sacraments , Administration , Discipline and Government , so that hereby they are united one into another , and one in all , and all in all . The private exercise of this part of Discipline I have spoken of , which by degrees in private admonition , if it bring not forth the fruits of repentance and amendment , proceeds to the first degree of publicke correction , ( Tell the Church . ) This information is made by the Elders , who have used the private discipline of exhortation , with much wisedome and patience upon some particular persons , who with hardnesse of heart have resisted the power of God through ungodlinesse . They declare the offence to the Pastor , and the Pastor in the publicke assembly acquainteth the people with the offence , and if the delinquent be present , hee is caused to stand upbefore the Pastor , who reproves him with the sharpe Judgements of God against his sinne , by the Word seeking to enlighten his mind , and mollifie his heart ; Which if it prevaile with him , hee falleth upon his knees , and desireth the Congregation to pray for him , which done , the Pastor pronounceth unto him the remission of sinnes , if the Church judge him penitent , if they find him still obstinate and of an unrelenting heart . then they pronounce him debarred from the holy Communion of the Supper of the Lord and continue him upon the stoole of repentance with much exhortation , patience , and long forbearing , till they convince him , or otherwise separate him from the Congregation , for a time ; if after hee continue in his foulenesse of sinne , then hee is againe called to the Congregation and admonished , which if then it take no effect , her is excommunicated by laying on of the hands of all the Elders , after that hee is accounted as an enemie , or as Paul saith , Anathema to the Church , and wholly and finally given over to Satan , according to the words of our Saviour , the 18. Matth. 18. Whomsoever yee bind on earth , shall bee bound in heaven , and whom yee shall loose on earth , shall bee loosed in heaven . Judge , I pray you , if all the politicke wits in the world could ever have devised such a pure and subtile discipline , as should spie into the inward secrets of the thoughts , and intentions of the heart , and should purge the conscience , and should cut off the consuming cankers , and rotten members from the body of the Church . What Romish Apothecary could ever have composed such a soule-saving medicine ? Observe how the holy Spirit hath commanded this discipline to bee alwayes practized in the Church . When Achans covetousnesse troubled the Congregation , by moving Gods wrath against them , a diligent search was commanded to bee made , and being found out , Achan and his house were cut off . Josh. 7. And also , if there bee a scorner or contentious person ( saith Solomon ) cast out the scorner , and so strife will goe out , and so contention shall cease . Also , Rom. 16. 17. 18. Now saith Paul , I beseech you brethren , marke them diligently which cause division and offences , contrary to the doctrine which yee have learned , and avoid them . And more plainly in the 2 Thess. 36. 10. Wee command you brethren , in the Name of Christ , that yee withdraw your selves from every brother that walkes inordinately , and not after the instructions which yee received of us . And in the foureteenth verse he saith ; If any man obey not your saying , note him by a letter , and have no company with him , that hee may bee ashamed , yet account him not as an enemy , but admonish him as a brother . But if he come to the last degree Excommunion , then saith our Lord Christ , let him be anathema . But if you would see the Apostles practice in this discipline , See 1 Cor. 5. chap. 4 and 5. verses , Paul having certaine intelligence that there was odious fornication among them , hee writ thus unto them ; When yee are gathered together , and my spirit , in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ , that such a one , I say , by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ bee delivered unto Sathan for the destruction of the flesh , that the spirit may bee saved in the day of the Lord Jesus . And out of this text make a profitable observation , that Paul will not have Excommunication , ( though but in the second degree ) executed in any private manner , but by the publicke assembly gathered together , neither doth hee allow it to be done in any name , but in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ ; Neither doth hee attribute the power , either to himselfe or the Church , but onely to the Lord Jesus . Now , and lastly , I must conclude with the last part of Discipline , that is Synodicall assemblies , which are of three degrees . The first is particular to every Congregation , which consists of the Pastors the Deacons , and the Elders of that Church , whose customes is the best reformed Churches to meet once a weeke , or as need requires , to take an account of all things that concerne the duties of the Elders and the Church-revenues , the Pastor being their chiefe guide ; Those things about which they chiefly busie themselves , are first to catalogue the Professors of their Congregation , their Catechuminists distinguished from those that are thought fit to be admitted to the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ , their Baptized , their penitents , their Excommunicates , their number of Elders and Deacons , Pastors and Teachers , one or two , as the place requires . In this their assembly they consider the spirituall estate , and condition of the flocke , examine the revenues of the Church , and the necessities of the poore , and what things soever they find meet to edification . The Pastor exhorting the Elders to diligence , care , and zeale in the worke of the Lord , the Deacons to honesty , compasson , and a good conscience . The second order of Synodes is in the reformed Churches , called the assemblies of the Presbyteries , held monethly , or quarterly , under which they comprehend the Pastors and Church Elders , for every Pastor brings with him two or three Elders , after the quantity of the Congregation , and this Synode is a company of Pastors and Elders of a shire or wapontake . In these Assemblies they examine the spirituall condition of every parish , take view of their order , diligence , doctrine , and manners , as well the doctrine and manners of the Pastors and Elders , as of the younger people And there they proceed to such further order and censure , as by the holy Scriptures they are taught . And in these Synodes all errours in opinion , heresies and Schismes , that are found noysome to the Congregation are reproved , and the parties exhorted and admonished . In these their Synodes they alwayes from time to time choose one President to guide the affaires , and thus they avoyd that preheminence , which Episcopacie greedily hunts after . The third degree is the superlative assembly of Presbyteries , which is either Nationall or Provinciall , which in some Churches are held yearely , or otherwise as occasions fit ; over which the prince and Soveraigne is the Principall Elder , and the Presbyters and Elders appoint one Pastor for the time President of the assembly , who moderates and guides the affaires . The matters handled in this Synode are a generall review of both the former Synods , and specially to take care of the preservation of the puritie of Doctrine , and suppressing of Heretickes , and errours , and all misdemeanours , and Schismes in the Church . And whatsoever is done in any of these Synods is certified from one to another , and through the Nationall Church of all their most materiall censures which may concerne them in generall , wherby the Church is preserved in a sweet and pleasant decorum , unitie , puritie and peace . The unerrable patterne of these Synods is taken from the practise of the Apostles , Acts 15. shewing by what rules of temperance and wisedome they ought to judge and give sentence , taking the Scripture for their rule , the holy Ghost for their guide , not laying any burden on the Church by Lawes , Decrees , or Canons , as I have before spoken . And this Divine rule and patterne was kept and observed throughout all the Primitive times , till the great Councell of Nice , as by the Chronography of Socrates . scholast. . may be observed , yet the earthly glory of Babel hath so long dazeled the eyes of most men , that they call the truth novelty . But if men were of a free spirit and cleere judgement , not inthralled with prejudicate opinions , nor darkned with the more then Egyptian mists of Rome , they might here behold the virgin puritie of the Church of God , both in her Worship , Jurisdiction , Doctrine , Government and Discipline , to have beene from the beginning of the world one and the same . Thus have I adventured to present unto the eyes of men , the true face of the Christian Church shining in her spirituall Iustre , and Christ Jesus our Lord raigning and ruling over the soules and consciences of man , not intrenching upon the temporall power of Kings and Princes . Now the Lord give unto us understanding in all things , and with the holy Apostle Paul I will bow the knees of my soule , unto the Father of my Lord Jesus Christ , of whom is named the whole Family in heaven and in earth , that he may grant us according to the riches of his glory , that wee may be strengthened by his Spirit in the inner man , that Christ may dwell in our hearts by Faith , that wee being rooted and grounded in love , may be able to comprehend with all Saints , what is the breadth , and length , and depth , and height , and to know the love of Christ , which passeth all knowledge , that we may be filled with all fulnesse of God . Unto him therefore that is able to doe exceeding abundantly above all that we can aske or thinke , according to the power that worketh in us , be praise in the Church by Jesus Christ thorough all Generations for ever , Amen . Eph. 3. 14. Soli Deo Gloria . FINIS . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A70099e-710 Prov. 1. 8. Iohn 18. 26. Math. 20. 25. Col. 1. 26. 27. Col 1. 15. 16. 18. 19. 1 Chro. 12. 12. Ephes 4. 7 , 8. Ephes 4. 11. Notes for div A70099e-1490 The subsistence of Gods Church threefold . The nature of God is the rule of divine worship . 1 Sam 5. 22. Ephes. 3. 10. Rom. 12 1. The law required a bloudy sacrifice , the Gospell a contrite heart . A Caveat . The domesticall Church . 1 King . Prophet . 2. Gen 2. Ioh. 16. Priest . V●●●… 1. The primitive worship . Circumcision . The nationall Church . Passeover . The word first ministred by God himself to Adam in the Garden , then by Adam , Seth , Enoch & Noah , then by Moses , Aaron and by the Prophets . The publike worship under the law . Acts 1. 13. 14. They avoyded Rites and Ceremonies as burdens not lawfull to be layd on the people of God . Iustinus Martyr . Apolo . 2. about the yeare 130. Tertullian . The faigned and false originall of the Masse . Platina . To tie the Ministers & people of God to set uniform : prayers is to incarcerate the Spirit of God . In the whole time of the primitive Church we find no other uniform prayer , save the Lords prayer used in administration of the Sacrament . Why God used no sacramentall signes . Why God shortned the dayes of mans life . The reason why the second age was clogged with Ceremonies . Why Christ did institute no new worship , but approved and practised the old . 1 Cor. 2. Why man studies to invent new worship . The first in-let of set prayers compiled into a Service-book Mans invention in the worship of God is of dangerous consequence to the Church . Notes for div A70099e-3600 Eph. 4. 4. Rom. 12. 1. Iam. 1. 17. Colos. 1. 15. Dan. 7. 13. The kindome of God is threefold . Providence . Grace . Glory . * God , the anointed man . Of God , the only proper Saviour , Iesus . God by his Incarnation , hath united himselfe to his creatures , and supporteth and preserveth all things by his mighty power . The word of God , is the patterne and rule of all goodlawes . Dominion was by God given first to Adam the first-borne of man . Gen. 1. 28. This Dominion lost by the sons of Adam . Then to be conferred upon Christ the Son of God and man . Restored in Christ to man . Dan. 2. 21. A digression . Civill government is to cut sin by the middle , but supernaturall is to pull it up by the rootes . The Church of God , is the soule of a good Common-wealth , and as a sensitive soule is bestial , without the rational , so is a body politique without the Church , bestiall and tyrannicall . 2 Psal. The Trinitie a true patterne to a Christian King . Prov. 34. When God withdrawes the love of subjects . Ioh. 18. 26. Math. 20. 25 , 26. Notes for div A70099e-4640 As the Scriptures were first given : so are they to be interpreted by inspiration . A way to know the interpretation to be of the holy Ghost . The Papist confesseth Christ in name , but denieth his power in the flesh , in that they say his death is not sufficient for actuall sins , thence are pennance , pardons , satisfactions , Purgatory . Notes for div A70099e-5010 The Church of God considerable in a twofold aspect . Ioh. 16. 15 , 16. The first ordination of the ministration of the Word . Pastors ought before their admission to be well known to the Congregations where they are to reside . The Priest . Numb. 3. 10. The Levite . The Elder . Apostles and Evangelists . Pastors and Teachers . Their Commission . The Authority committed . The substance of the Commission . Blessing them . The doctrinall part of it . Helpers in government . Governours . The good effects of this government in the primitive times . Elders derived . Episcopus , unde & quid sit ? The office of a Bishop delineated by Scripture . The primitive government twofold . The Pastors function . Pet. 1. 5. 1 , 2 , 3. 2 Tim. 4. 2. Matt. 20. 25 , 26 , 27 , 28. * With those that are drunk with the desire and coveting of power and riches . The Deacons office . The office of Elders . Ambrosius . * Thus the Church is incorporated in the Common-wealth , & the Common-weale in the Church . A cleare difference and remarkeable distinction betwixt Elders of the Church and Common-wealth . 1 Tim. 5. 17. The necessity of Church Elders . Rules of private admonition . Another duty of Pastors and Elders . Bishop our superintendent . Verse 23. The Apostles practise is the best of patterns . Ordination . * Or superintendour . Die Ecclesie , non Episcopo , non Pastori tantum . The private admonition by Elders . The Assembly or Synod of Presbyteries within a shire or Wapontake . The generall Synode . 
A53671	----	A brief instruction in the worship of God, and discipline of the churches of the New Testament, by way of question and answer with an explication and confirmation of those answers. Owen, John, 1616-1683. 1667 Approx. 251 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 116 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2005-12 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A53671 Wing O721 ESTC R9489 12329824 ocm 12329824 59624 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A53671) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 59624) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 644:21) A brief instruction in the worship of God, and discipline of the churches of the New Testament, by way of question and answer with an explication and confirmation of those answers. Owen, John, 1616-1683. [2], 228 p. s.n.], [London : 1667. Attributed to John Owen. Cf. McAlpin Coll. Reproduction of original in Union Theological Seminary Library, New York. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Worship. 2005-02 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2005-03 SPi Global Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2005-04 Emma (Leeson) Huber Sampled and proofread 2005-04 Emma (Leeson) Huber Text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-10 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A BRIEF INSTRUCTION IN THE WORSHIP of GOD , AND DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCHES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT , BY WAY OF QUESTION AND ANSWER ; With an EXPLICATION and Confirmation of those Answers . Printed , 1667. A Short Catechism : with an Explication upon the same . Q. 1. WHat doth God require of us in our dependance on him , that he may be glorified by us , and we accepted with him ? Answ. That we ( a ) Worship him ( b ) in and by the wayes of his own appointment . ( a ) Matth. 4.10 . Rev. 14.7 . Deut. 6.13 . chap. 10.20 . ( b ) Lev. 10.1 , 2 , 3. Exod. 24.3 . Gen. 18.19 . Joshua 23.6 , 8. Zach. 14.16 . Explication . By the Worship of God inquired after , not that which is naturall on morall , which is required in the first Commandment is intended . Such is our faith and confidence in him , our fear of him , our subjection of soul and conscience unto him , as the great Soveraign Lord , first cause , last end , Judge and Rewarder of all men ; the Law whereof was originally written in the heart of Man , and hath been variously improved and directed by new Revelations and Institutions . And this Worship is called naturall , upon a double Account . First , Because it depends on the nature of God , a due perception and understanding whereof , makes all this Worship indispensibly necessary : for none can know God , but it is his duty to glorifie him as God , that is , to believe in him , love him , trust him , and call upon him , which all are therefore cursed that do not , Psalm 79.6 . 2 Thes. 1.8 . And Secondly , Because it was in the principle of it concreated with the nature of man , as that which suited , directed , and enabled him to answer the Law of his Creation , requiring this obedience of him in his dependance on God. And this Worship is invariable : but it concerneth those outward wayes and means whereby God hath appointed that faith , and love , and fear of him to be exercised and expressed unto his glory . And this kind of Worship ▪ though it depend not upon the nature of God , but upon his free and arbitrary disposal , and so was of old liable unto alterations ; yet God did ever strictly require in the several states and conditions that his Church hath gone through in the World. And this is that , which most commonly in the Scripture is called by the name of the worship of God ; as that whereby all the acceptable actings of the souls of men towards him are expressed , and the only way of owning and acknowledging him in the World , as also of entertaining a visible intercourse with him . This therefore he calls for , and requires indispensibly of all that draw nigh to him , and that because he is the Lord our God , Rev. 14.6 , 7. Mat. 4.10 . Deut. 10.12 , 13. For his observance hereof , doth he so approve of Abraham , Gen. 18.19 . And sets it down as an everlasting Law unto all others , that in a holy observation thereof , he will be sanctified in all that draw nigh unto him , Lev. 10. 1 , 2 , 3. his commands also concerning it , are multiplyed in the Scripture , with the approbation of all those that attend unto them . We may not think to find acceptance with God , or to inherit the promises , if supposing our selves to adhere unto him in Worship internall and naturall , we neglect that which is externall and of his free appointment : for besides , that we renounce thereby our inward dependance on him also , in not observing his commands , as Adam did in transgressing an Institution , we become wholly useless unto all the ends of his Glory in the World , which is not the way to come to an enjoyment of him . Neither , do we only express and profess our inward morall naturall worship of God hereby , by which means it becomes the principall way and instrument of faith and trust exerting themselves in our obedience , but also it is a most effectual help and assistance unto the principle of that natural worship , strengthening the habit of it , and exciting it unto all sutable actings , unto its increase and growth . Qu. 2. By what means do we come to know that God will thus be worshipped ? Answ. That God is to be worshipped , and that according to his own will and appointment , is a ( a ) principall branch of the Law of our creation , written in our hearts ; the ( b ) sense whereof is renewed in the second Commandment ; but the wayes and means of that worship , depend meerly on Gods ( c ) Soveraign pleasure and Institution . ( a ) Rom. 1.21 . chap. 2.14 , 15. Acts 15.16 , 17. Acts 17.23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29. verses . ( b ) Exodus 20.4 , 5 , 6 , ( c ) Jer. 7.31 . Exod. 25.40 . Heb. 3.1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6. John 1.18 . Explication . These two things all men see by nature . First , That God , however they mistook in their apprehensions of him , would be and was to be worshipped with some outward solemn worship . So that although some are reported to have even cast off all knowledge and sense of a divine being , yet never any were heard of , that came to an acknowledgement of any God , true or false , but they all consented , that he was constantly and solemnly to be worshipped . And that not only by individuall Persons , but by Societies together , that so they might own and honour him whom they took for their God. And thus far outward worship is required in the first Commandment ; namely , that the inward be exercised and expressed . When we take God for our God , we take him to worship him , Deut. 10.12 , 13. Other thoughts , namely of inward worship , without outward expression at all , or any time , or in any way , are but a covert unto Atheism . And , Secondly , This also they are lead to an apprehension of , by the same light whereby they are a Law unto themselves , Rom. 2.14 . that God would be worshipped in the way , and by the means that he himself appointed and approved , whence none among the Heathen themselves undertook to appoint wayes and Ceromonies of Worship , but still they pretended to derive the knowledge of them from the Gods themselves , of whom they reckoned that every one would be worshipped in his own way . And because notwitstanding this pretence , being left of God , and deluded of Satan , they did invent false and foolish wayes of worship , not only not appointed of God , but such as were unsuited unto those inbred notions which they had of his nature and excellencie● , the Apostle convinces and disproves them , as men acting against the light of nature , and principles of reason , Rom. 1.21 . they might have seen , that , in their Idolatry they answered not their own inbred conceptions of the Divine power and Godhead , so as to glorifie him as God. And in the like manner doth he argue at large , Acts 17.23 . but beyond this , the inbred light of nature could not conduct any of the Sons of Men ▪ This alone is contained in the first Precept , that God was to be worshipped they knew , and that he was to be worshipped by wayes and means of his own appointment they knew ; but what those wayes and means were , they knew not . These alwayes depended on Gods Soveraign will and pleasure , and he made them known to whom he pleased , Psalm 147.19 , 20. And although some of the wayes which he doth appoint , may seem to have a great compliance in them unto the light of nature , yet in his worship he accepts them not on that account ; but meerly on that of his own institution ; and this as he hath declared his will about in the second Commandment ; so he hath severely forbidden the addition of our own inventions unto what he hath appointed : sending us for instruction unto him alone , whom he hath endowed with Soveraign Authority to reveal his will , and ordain his worship , John 1.18 . Matth. 17.5 . 1 Chron. 16.13 . Qu. 3. How then are these wayes and means of the worship of God made known unto us ? Answ. In and by the written word only ; which contains a full and perfect Revelation of the will of God ; as to his whole worship , and all the concernments of it : John 5.39 . Isa. 8.20 . Luke 16.19 . 2 Tim. 3.15 , 16 , 17. 1 Pet. 1.19 . Deut. 4.2 . chap. 12.32 . Joshua 1.7 . Prov. 30.6 . Rev. 22.20 . Isaiah 29.13 . Explication . The End wherefore God granted his word unto the Church , was , that thereby it might be instructed in his mind and will , as to what concerns the worship and obedience that he requireth of us , and which is accepted with him . This the whole Scripture it self every where declares and speaks out unto all that do receive it ; as 2 Tim. 3.15 , 16 , 17. with the residue of the testimonies above recited do declare . It supposeth , it declareth , that of our selves we are ignorant how God is , how he ought to be worshipped , Isa. 8.20 . Moreover it manifests him to be a jealous God , exercising that holy property of his nature in an especial manner about his worship ; rejecting and despising every thing that is not according to his will , that is not of his Institution , Exod. 20.4 , 5. That we may know what is so , he hath made a Revelation of his mind and will in his written word , that is , the Scripture ; and to the end that we might expect instruction from thence alone in his worship , and act therein accordingly . First , he sends us and directs us thereunto , expresly for that purpose , Isa. 8.28 . Luke 16.19 . John 5.39 . and not once intimates in the least , any other way or means of instruction unto the end . Secondly , He frequently affirms , that it is sufficient , able , and perfect to guide us therein , 2 Tim. 3.15 , 16 , 17. 1 Pet. 1.19 . Psalm 19.7 , 8 , 9. and whereas he hath expresly given it unto us for that end , if there be any want or defect therein , it must arise from hence , that either God would not , or could not give unto us a perfect Revelation of his will ; neither of which can be imagined . Thirdly , He hath commanded us to observe all whatsoever he hath appointed therein , and not to make any addition thereunto , Joshua 1.7 . Deut. 4.2 . chap. 12.32 . Prov. 30.6 . Revel . 22.20 . And , Fourthly , Peculiarly interdicted us the use of any such things , as are of the institution or appointment of Men , Isa. 29.13 , 14. So that from the Scriptures alone , are we to learn what is accepted with God in his worship . Qu. 4. Have these wayes and means been alwayes the same from the beginning ? Answ. No! But God hath altered and changed them at sundry reasons , according to the counsell of his own will , so as he saw necessary for his own Glory , and the Edification of his Church . See Gen. 2.16 , 17. Gen. 17.10 , 11. Exod. 12.3 , 4 , 5. Exod. 20. Chap. 25.9 . Heb. 1.1 . Heb. 9.10 , 11 , 12. Explication . The externall worship whereof we speak , being as was shewed before , not naturall or moral , arising necessarily from the dependance of the rationall creature on God , as its first Cause , chiefest Good , last End , and Soveraign Lord , but proceeding from the meer will and pleasure of God , determining how he will be honoured and glorified in the world , was alwayes alterable by him , by whom it was appointed . And whereas ever since the entrance of sin into the World , God had alwayes respect unto the promise of the Lord Christ , and his mediation , in whom alone he will be glorified , and faith in whom he aimed to begin and increase in all his worship , he hath suited his Institutions of the means thereof , to that dispensation of Light and knowledge of him , which he was pleased at any time to grant . Thus immediately after the giving of the promise , he appointed sacrifices for the great means of his worship ; as to glorifie himself expresly by Mens off ring unto him of the principal good things which he had given them , so to instruct them in the faith , and confirm them in the expectation of the great sacrifice for sin that was to be offered by the promised seed , Gen. 4.3 , 4. Heb. 11.4 . These were the first instituted worship of God in the World after the entrance of sin . Hereunto he nextly added Circumcision , as an express sign of the Covenant , with the grace of it , which he called Abraham and his seed unto by Jesus Christ , Gen. 17.10 , 11. And to the same general end and purpose , he afterwards superadded the Passeover with its attendant institutions , Exod. 12.23 , 24. And then the whole Law of institutions contained in Ordinances , by the Ministery of Angels on Mount Sinai , Exod 20. So by sundry degrees , he built up that fabrick of his outward worship , which was suited in his infinite wisdom , unto his own glory , and the edification of his Church , untill the exhibition of the promised seed , or the coming of Christ in the flesh , and the accomplishment of the work of his mediation , Heb. 1.1 . for unto that season were those Ordinances to serve , and no longer , Heb. 9.10 , 11 , 12. And then were they removed by the same authority whereby they were instituted and appointed , Col. 2.14 , 18 , 19 , 20. So that though God would never allow , that Men , upon what pretence soever should make any alteration in the worship appointed by him ▪ by adding unto it , any thing of their own , or omitting ought that he had commanded , either in matter or manner , notwithstanding that he knew that it was to abide but for a season , but commanded all men straitly to attend to the observation of it whilest it was by him continued in force , Mal. 4.4 . yet he alwayes reserved unto himself the Soveraign power of altering , changing , or utterly abolishing it at his own pleasure : which authority he exerted in the Gospel as to all the meer Institutions of the Old Testament . Whilest they continued , he inforced them with morall reasons , as his own holiness and Authority ; but those reasons prove not any of those institutions to be morall , unless they ensue upon those reasons alone , and are no where else commanded : for being once instituted and commanded , they are to be inforced with morall considerations , taken from the nature of God , and our Duty , in reference unto his Authority . So , saith he , Thou shalt reverence my Sanctuary , I am the Lord , which no more proves that a morall Duty , then that enjoyned upon the same foundation , Levit. 11.44 . I am the Lord your God , ye shall therefore sanctifie your selves , and ye shall be holy , for I am holy , neither shall ye defile your selves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth . Not defiling our selves with the touching , or eating of creeping things , is now no morall Duty , since the institution is ceased , although it be inforced by many morall considerations . Qu. 5. Is there any farther alteration to be expected in , or of those institutions and ordinances of worship , which are revealed and appointed in the Gospel ? Answ. No! The last compleat Revelation of the will of God being made by the Son , who is Lord of all , his Commands and Institutions are to be observed inviolably unto the end of the World , without alteration , diminution , or addition , Heb. 1.1 . chap. 10.25 , 26 , 27. Matth. 28.20 . 1 Cor. 11.26 . 1 Tim. 6 14. Explication . It was shewed before , that all the Institutions of the Old Testament had respect unto the coming of Christ in the flesh , who was the end of the Law , Rom. 10.4 . and thereupon they were subject to alteration or abolition upon a twofold account . First , Because that which they were appointed principally to instruct the Church in , and to direct it unto the expectation of , was upon his coming accomplished and fulfilled , so that their end was absolutely taken away ; and they could no more truly teach the mind and will of God : for they would still direct unto that which was to come , after it was past and accomplished . And this is that which the Apostle Paul so variously proves , and fully confirms in his Epistle to the Hebrews , especially in the 7 , 8 , 9. and 10. Chapters . Secondly , The Lord Christ during their continuance , was to come as the Lord over his whole house , with more full and ample authority , then any of those , whom God had employed in the institution of his Ordinances of old , were intrusted withall , Heb. 1.1 , 2 , 3. He spake in former dayes by the Prophets , but now by the Son , whom he hath appointed heir of all , Chap. 3.5 , 6. Christ as a Son over his own house , whose house are we . And therefore they are all to be at his disposall , to confirm or remove , as he saw reason and occasion . And this he did virtually in the sacrifice of himself , or the blood of his Cross , fulfilling and finishing of them all , John 19.30 . Breaking down the middle wall of partition , abolishing in his flesh the enmity , even the Law of Commandments contained in Ordinances , blotting out the hand-writing of Ordinances , he took it out of the way , nayling it to his Cross , Eph. 2.15 . Colos . 2.14 . Secondly , Authoritatively , by his Spirit in the Apostles , and the doctrine of the Gospel preached by them , Acts 15.10 , 11. Now therefore why tempt ye God , to put a yoak upon the neck of the Disciples , which neither our Fathers nor we were able to bear , but we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved , even as they , Gal. 3.24 , 25. Wherefore the Law was our Schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ , that we might be justified by faith ; but after that faith is come , we are no longer render a Schoolmaster , Chap. 5.2 , 3 , 4. and eventually or providentially , when he caused sacrifice and offering to cease , by the Prince of the people , that came with an Army making desolate , to destroy both City and Sanctuary , Dan. 9.26 , 27. according to his prediction , Mat. 24.2 . But now under the New Testament , the worship that is appointed in the Gospel , is founded in , and built upon what is already past and accomplished , namely the death and life of Jesus Christ with the sacrifice and atonement for sin made thereby , 1 Cor. 11.23 , 24 , 25 , 26. which can never be again performed ; neither is there any thing else to the same purpose , either needfull or possible , Heb. 10.26 . So that there is not any ground left for any new institution of worship , or any alteration in those that are already instituted . Nor , Secondly , Can any one be expected to come from God with a greater and more full authority for the Revelation of his mind , than that wherewith his only Son was accompanied ; which yet must be , if any alterations were to be made in the appointments of worship that he hath instituted in the Gospel . For no Inferior , nor an equall authority , can abolish or alter that which is already appointed , so as to give satisfaction unto the consciences of men in obedience unto such alterations . And therefore because there arose not a Prophet like unto Moses under the Old Testament , there could be no alteration made in his institutions , but the Church was bound severely to observe them all untill the coming of Christ , Mal. 4.4 . Remember ye the Law of Moses my servant , which I commanded unto him in Horeb , for all Israel with his Statutes and Judgements ; and that because there arose not a Prophet afterwards in Israel like unto Moses , whom the Lord knew face to face , Deut. 34.10 . And our Apostle to prove the right of Christ to alter the Ordinances of the Law , layes his foundation in manifesting that he was above the Angels , Heb. 1.4 . being made so much better than the Angels , as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they , and that because the Law was given by the Ministery of Angels , chap. 2.2 . and so also that he was greater than Moses , chap. 3.3 . For this man was accounted worthy of more glory than Moses , in as much as he who hath builded the house , hath more honour than the house ; Moses verily was faithfull in all his house , as a servant , but Christ as a Son over his own house : Because Moses was the Law-giver , and the Mediator between God and Man in the giving of the Law. Now if this be the sole foundation and warrant of the alteration made of Mosaical Ordinances by Christ , namely that he was greater and exalted above all those whose Ministry was used in the dispensation of the Law , unless some can be thought to be greater , and exalted in authority above the Son of God , there can be no alteration expected in the Institutions of the Gospel . Qu. 6. May not such an Estate of faith and perfection in obedience be attained in this life , as wherein Believers may be freed from all obligation unto the observation of Gospel Institutions ? Answ. No! For the Ordinances and Institutions of the Gospel being inseparably annexed unto the Evangelical administration of the Covenant of Grace , they may not be left unobserved , disused , or omitted , whilest we are to walk before God in that Covenant , without contempt of the Covenant it self , as also of the Wisdom and Authority of Jesus Christ. Heb. 3.3 , 4 , 5 , 6. Rom. 6.3 , 4 , 5 , 6. Luke 22.19 , 20. 1 Cor. 11.24 , 25 , 26. Heb. 10.25 . Rev. 2.5 . chap. 3.3 . Explication . All our faith , all our obedience in this life , what ever may be obtained , or attained unto therein , it all belongs unto our walking with God in the Covenant of Grace , wherein God dwells with Men , and they are his people , and God himself is with them to be their God. Other wayes of communion with him , of obedience unto him , of enjoyment of him on this side Heaven and Glory , he hath not appointed nor revealed . Now this is the Covenant that God hath made with his people ; That he will put his Laws into their mind , and write them in their hearts , and will be to them a God , and they shall be to him a people , and he will be mercifull to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities will he remember no more , Heb. 8.9 , 10 , 11 , 12. And what ever Men attain unto , it is by vertue of the grace of that Covenant , nor is there any Grace promised in the Covenant to lead men in this life , or to give them up unto a state of perfection short of glory . Unto this Covenant , are the institutions of Gospel Worship annexed , and unto that administration of it which is granted unto the Church upon the coming and death of Christ. Without a renunciation and relinquishment of that Covenant , and the grace of it , these institutions cannot be omitted or deserted . If Men suppose that they have attained to an estate wherein they need neither the grace of God , nor the mercy of God , nor the blood of Christ , nor the Spirit of Christ , it is not much material● , what they think of the Ordinances of worship . Their pride and folly , without that mercy which is taught , promised and exhibited in those Ordinances , will speedily be their ruine . Besides , the Lord Christ is the absolute Lord over his own house , Heb. 3.4 , 5 , 6. And he hath given out the Laws whereby he will have it guided and ruled whilest it is in this World. In and by these Laws , are his Ordinances of Worship established : for any persons on what pretence soever , to plead an exemption from the obligation of those Laws , it is nothing but to cast of the Lordship and dominion of Christ himself . And yet farther , to secure our obedience in this matter , he hath expresly commanded the continuance of them untill his comeing unto Judgement , as in the places above quoted will appear . Qu. 7. What are the chief things that we ought to aim at in our observation of the institutions of Christ in the Gospel ? Answ. 1. To sanctifie the name of God. 2. To own and avow our professed subjection to the Lord Iesus Christ. 3. To build up our selves in our most holy faith . And 4. To testifie and confirm our mutuall love , as we are Believers .. ( 1. ) Levit. 10.3 . Heb. 12.28 , 29. ( 2. ) Deut. 26.17 . Josh. 24.22 . 2 Cor. 8 , 5. ( 3. ) Ephes. 4.12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16. Jude 20. ( 4. ) 1 Cor. 10.16 , 17. Explication . That we may profitably and comfortably , unto the glory of God , and our own edification , be exercised in the observation of the Institutions and Worship of God , we are alwayes to consider what are the ends for which God hath appointed them , and commanded our attendance unto them , that so our observance of them may be the obedience of faith . For what ends soever God hath appointed them unto , for that end are they usefull and effectuall , and to no other . If we come to them for any other end , if we use them for any other purpose , or with any other design , if we look for any thing in them or by them , but what God hath appointed them to communicate unto us , we dishonour God , and deceive our own souls . This we ought diligently to enquire into , to know not only what God requires of us , but wherefore also he requires it , and what he aims at therein . Some of the principall things whereof are enumerated in this Answer . And it is well known how horribly many of the institutions of the Gospel , have been by some , especially the Papists , abused , by a neglect of the ends of God in them , and imposing new ends of their own upon them unto Superstition and Idolatry . Grace is ascribed unto the outward observance of them , whereas all Grace is of the promise , and the promise in the Covenant is given only to the faith of the right observers . The elements in the Sacrament of the Eucharist , are turned into a God , first worshipped , and then devoured , with many the like abominations . Qu. 8. How many we sanctifie the name of God in the use of Gospell Institutions ? Answ. 1. By an holy reverence of his Soveraign Authority appointing of them . 2. An holy regard unto his speciall presence in them . 3. Faith in his promises annexed to them . 4. Delight in his Will , Wisdome , Love and Grace manifested in them . 5. Constancy and perseverance in obedience unto him in their due Observation . ( 1. ) Levit. 10.3 . Mal. 1.6 . Rom. 4.11 . Exod. 20.6 , 7. James 4.12 . ( 2. ) Mat. 28.20 . Isaiah 59.21 . Exod. 29.43 , 44 , 45. ( 3. ) Gen. 15.6 . Heb. 4.2.6 . Exod. 12.27 , 28. 2 Cor. 6.16 , 17 , 18. chap. 7.1 . ( 4. ) Psal. 88.1 , 2 , 4 , 10. Psal. 65.4 . Psal. 36.7 , 8. ( 5. ) Psalm . 23.6 . Psal. 27.4 . Rev. 2.3 , 10. G●l . 6.9 . Heb. 10.23 , 24 , 25. Heb. 12.3 . Explication . This is the first thing that God requireth us to attend unto , in the celebration of the Ordinances of his worship ; namely , that we therein sanctifie his name , the greatest duty that we are called unto in this world . This he layes down as the generall rule of all we do herein Levit. 10.3 . I will , saith he , be sanctified in them that come nigh unto me , and before all the people I will be glorified . Whatever we do in his worship , we must do it that he may be sanctified , or whatever we do is an abomination to him . Now the principall wayes how we may herein sanctifie the name of God are expressed . As , First , When in every Ordinance , we consider his appointment of it , and submit our souls and consciences unto his authority therein which if we observe any thing in his worship but what he hath appointed , we cannot do it . Not formality , not custome , not the precepts of Men , not any thing but the authority and command of God , is to be respected in this obedience . This is the First thing that Faith regards in Divine Worship ; it rests not in any thing , closeth nor with any thing , but what It discerns that God hath commanded , and therein it eyes his Authority as he requireth it , Mal. 1.6 . If I be a Father , where is mine honour ? if I be Master , where is my fear ? Rom. 14.11 . As I live , saith the Lord , every knee shall bow to me , and every tongue shall confess to God. Reverence then unto the authority of God appointing his worship , is a principal means of sanctifying the name of God therein . This was the solemn sanction of all his institutions of old , Deut. 6.4 ▪ 5 , 6 , 7. Hear O Israel , the Lord our God is one Lord , and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart , and with all thy soul , and with all thy might ; and these words which I command thee this Day , shall be in thy heart , and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children . And the observation of them he presseth on this account , that the people might fear that glorious and dreadfull name , the Lord thy God , Deut. 28.58 . which name he had so often engaged in his commands , saying thou shalt do it , I am the Lord. And in the New Testament , our Lord Jesus Christ proposeth his authority as the foundation of his commanding , and our observation of all the institutions of the Gospel , Mat. 28.18 , 19 , 20. Jesus came and spake unto them saying , all power is given me in heaven and earth , go ye therefore , and teach all Nations , baptizing them in the name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost , teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you . And he is to be considered in all our obedience , as the great and only Law-giver of his Church , as the one Law-giver who is able to save and to destroy , James 4.12 . the Soveraign Lord over his house , Heb. 3.4 , 5 , 6. unto whom every knee is to bow , and every conscience to be in subjection ; and he who heareth not his voice , is to be cut off from the people of God , Acts 3.23 . It shall come to pass , that every soul which will not hear that Prophet , shall be destroyed from among the people . Secondly , God hath frequently promised his speciall presence in and with his instituted Ordinances . Of old both unto the things themselves , and the places wherein they were according to his appointment to be celebrated ; those of places , being also of his speciall institution . Under the New Testament , all difference of , and respect unto place is taken away , John 4.21 . The hour cometh , when ye shall neither in this Mountain , nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father , but the hour cometh , and now is , when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth ; for the Father seeketh such to worship him . And we are commanded in all places equally to make our prayers and supplications : but his presence is promised and continued with the due celebration of the things themselves by him appointed for his service , Ma● . 28.20 . Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you , and loe I am with you even to the end of the world : In them is the Tabernacle of God with men , and he dwells among them , and they are his people , Rev. 21.3 . the promise of Christ being , that where two or three are assembled in his name , there he will be in midst of them , Mat. 8.18 , 20. And this promised presence of God , or Christ , consisteth , 1. In the power and efficacy which he by his Spirit implants upon his Ordinances to communicate his Grace and mercy unto his Church ; it being his Covenant , that his Spirit shall accompany his word for ever unto that purpose , Isa. 59.21 . 2. In the special blessing which he gives his people in those duties , both in the acceptance of them and testifying his good will unto them . Exod. 29.42 , 43 , 45. At the Tabernacle of the Congregation will I meet with the People , saith the Lord , there will I meet with the children of Israel . And the Tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory , and I will dwell amongst the children of Israel , and will be their God , Zech. 2.10 , 11. Ezek. 20.40 , 41. I will accept you with your sweet savour , Ezek. 43.27 . in both giving them intimate communion with himself by Jesus Christ , John 1.3 . By all these , he gives that special presence which he requires an especiall reverence and regard of faith unto , whereby his name is yet farther sanctified . 3. God hath given special promises , or promises of his speciall grace unto them that attend upon him in his worship in a due manner , and hereunto also belongs that sacred Relation , which by vertue of divine institution ▪ is between the sacramentall elements , and the especial Graces of the Covenant which they exhibit and confirm ; and the mixing of these promises with faith , according as they are appropriated unto any particular institution , belongs also to the right sanctification of the name of God. So also , 4. doth our delight in them : now this delight in the worship of God so much commended in the Scripture ▪ and proposed unto our example , consists not in any carnall self-pleasing , or satisfaction in the outward modes or manner of the performance of Divine Worship , but it is an holy soul-refreshing contemplation on the will Wisdom , Grace and Condescention of God ; in that he is pleased of his own Soveraign meer will and grace , so to manifest himself unto such poor sinfull creatures as we are ; so to condescend unto out weakness , so to communicate himself unto us , so to excite and draw forth our souls unto himself , and to give us such pledges of his gracious intercourse with us by Jesus Christ : by the contemplation of these things is the soul drawn forth to delight in God. Lastly , Whereas great opposition lyes oftentimes against the Churches obedience unto God in this matter , and much persecution befalls it on that account , great weariness also being apt from the remainders of unbelief , carnall wisdom , indwelling sin , weakness of the flesh , in Believers themselves to arise in the course thereof , and many temptations also beset them on every hand , to turn them aside from the way of truth and holiness , constancy and perseverance in the due and orderly celebration of all the Ordinances of the Gospel belongs unto this duty . And this perseverance respecteth both the things themselves , and the manner of their performance , both which are of the highest concernment for us diligently to attend unto . First , As to the things themselves ; herein do we principally glorifie God , and give due honour unto Jesus Christ , when we abide in our professed subjection unto him , and observance of his commands , against difficulties , oppositions and persecutions . This he taketh notice of , Rev. 2.13 . Thou holdest fast my name , and hast not denyed my faith , even in those dayes wherein Antipas was my faithfull Martyr , who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth . And this he requireth of us indispensably if we will be his Disciples , or ever hope to obtain the reward , Mat. 10.38 , 39. He that taketh not his Cross , and followeth after me , is not worthy of me ; and it is he who endureth unto the end , that shall be saved , Matth. 24.13 . And unto them who are faithfull unto the death , and them alone doth he give the Crown of Life , Rev. 2.10 . giving us caution not to lose those things which we have wrought , that we may receive a full reward , 2 John 8. And as to the manner of their performance , two things are to be regarded in this duty of perseverance , and the sanctification of the name of God therein . First , The inward principle of our obedience , our faith and love which are to be preserved from decay , Rev ▪ 2. 4 , 5. I have somewhat against thee , because thou hast left thy first love ; remember therefore from whence thou art fallen , and repent , and do thy first works , Chap. 3.3 . Remember how thou hast received , and heard , and hold fast and repent . Secondly , The outward manner of observance which is to be kept entire , according to the primitive institution of Christ , 1 Cor. 11.23 . I have received of the Lord , that which also I delivered unto you , not admitting of any corruptions in it to avoid the greatest trouble , Gal. 5.11 . And I Brethren , if I yet preach circumcision , why do I yet suffer Persecution ? Qu. 9. How do we in our Observation , profess our subjection unto the Lord Jesus Christ and his Gospel ? Answ. In that being all of them 1. Appointed by him as the head Law-giver , King of his Church . And 2. Made by him the ensignes and tokens of his Kingdom , and Subjects , in their due observation principally consists that profession of him , and his name , which be so often calleth us unto , and so indispensably requireth at our hands , Mat. 28.18 , 19 , 20. 1 Cor. 11.23 . Heb. 3.6 . Heb. 12.25 . John 8.31 . Chap. 13.13 . Chap. 14.15 , 21 , 23. Chap. 15. 14 , 17. Chap. 13.35 . Chap. 15.14 . Luke 9.26 . Rom. 10.10 . 1 John 2.3 , 4. Explication . The ground and reason of this Duty is evident . The Lord Jesus Christ streightly enjoyns all his Disciples the profession of his name , and layes it on them as indispensable unto Salvation , Rom. 10.10 , With the heart man believeth unto righteousness , with the mouth confession , or profession , is made unto salvation , John 12.42 , 43 , 44 , 45. Now this profession of the name of Christ , which is so much abused and mistaken in the World , consists in the keeping of his commandments , John 15.14 . ye are my Friends , if ye do whatsoever I command you : So also Mat. 28.20 . his Disciples are to be taught to do , and observe , whatever he commandeth . Now whereas he is the head and King of the Church , the next immediate and special Law-giver of it appointing unto it all his Ordinances , and its whole worship , as it becomes him who is Lord of the house , the institutions of the Gospel worship are his most especial commands : And in their observation , consists that profession of him which he requires of us ; Therein doth he call them out of the world by profession , whom he hath redeemed out of it by his blood , 1 Cor. 6.15 , 16 , 17. Rev. 5.9 . in these he exerciseth his Kingly , or Lordly power over his Church . Heb. 3.6 . and in the willing obedience of his people , gathering themselves unto the Ensigns of his Rule , he is glorified in the World. Qu. 10. How do we in and by them build up our selves in our most holy faith ? Answ. By the exercise of that communion with God in Christ Iesus , which in their due Observation he graciously invites and admits us unto , for the increase of his grace in us , and the testification of his love and good will towards us . Gen. 17.10 . Levit. 26.11 , 12. Prov. 9.5 , 6. Ezek. 26.27 , 28. Zach. 14.16 , 17. Mat. 26.27 , 28. Rom. 6.3 . Explication . The next and principall ends of all instituted worship in respect of Believers , are the increase of the Grace of God in them , their edification in their most holy faith , and the testification of the good will of God unto them , Ephes. 4.11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15. And he gave some Apostles , and some Prophets , and some Evangelists , and some Pastors , and Teachers , for the perfecting of the Saints , for the work of the Ministery , for the edifying of the body of Christ , till we all come in the unity of the faith , and of the knowledge of the Son of God , unto a perfect man , unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ ; that we henceforth be no more children , tossed to and fro , and carryed about with every wind of doctrine , by the sleight of men , and cunning craftiness whereby they lye in wait to deceive , but speaking the truth in love , may grow up into him in all things , which is the head , even Christ , from whom the whole body fitly joyned together and compacted , by that which every joynt supplyeth according to the effectuall working in the measure of every part , maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of it self in love . Whence also is that prayer of the Apostle for the blessing of God upon the Church , in the use of them , Ephes. 3.16 , 17 , 18. That he will grant you according to the riches of his glory , to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inward man , that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith , that ye being rooted and grounded in love , may be able to comprehend with all Saints , what is the breadth , the length , and depth , and heighth , and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge , that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God : For these ends , and with a design to have them accomplished , in and upon their souls , ought they to attend unto them . James 1.21 . Receive with meekness the ingrafted word of God , which is able to save your souls , 1 Pet. 2.2 . As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word , that you may grow thereby . Unto the effecting of these ends , especially the increase and establishment of our faith , are they sui●ed and appointed of God , whereon all their efficacy doth depend . In their due observation , doth God give out that supply of Grace which he hath promised , Ephes. 1.16 , 17 , 18 , 19. and thus also is faith exercised , in an especial manner , which i● the only ordinary means of its growth and increase . Habits both acquired , and infused , are increased and strengthened by frequent acts on suitable objects , Hos. 6.3 . Then shall we know , if we follow on to know the Lord. In the celebration of Gospel Ordinances , God in Christ proposeth himself in an intimate manner to the believing soul , as his God , and reward ; and his love in Christ , in an especiall manner in some Ordinances . So doth Christ also exhibit himself thereunto , Rev. 3.20 . Behold , I stand at the door , and knock , if any man hear my voice , and open the door , I will come in to him , and will supp with him , and he with me . Faith therefore directed by the word to rest in God , to receive the Lord Christ in the observation of his Ordinances , is excited , increased , strengthened , and that in answer unto the appointment and promises of God. Qu. 11. How are mutuall love and communion among Believers testified and confirmed in their Observation ? Answ. In that they are appointed by the Lord Christ for that end , and in their own nature as attended unto in their Assemblies , are in an especiall manner suited unto that purpose . John 13.35 . 1 Cor. 10.16 , 17. 1 Cor. 11.18 , 19. Ephes. 4.4 , 5 , 6. Explication . The principles of mutual , spirituall love among Believers , arise from their relation unto one Father , Matth. 23.9 . One is your Father which is in Heaven : who giveth unto all them that believe in Christ , Power to become the sons of God , John 1.12 . And their being all Children of the same Family ; that family in Heaven and Earth which is called after the name of God the Father of it , as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ , Ephes. 3.14 , 15. and unto Christ Jesus as their elder Brother , who is not ashamed to call them Brethren , Heb. 2.11 . being by him born of God ; and from their participation of one and the self same Spirit , which dwelleth in them , as they are the Temple of God , and the Spirit of God dwelleth in them , 1 Cor. 3.16 . as also in all the fruits of that one Spirit , 1 Cor. 12.4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8. and in that one faith and hope whereunto they are called ; Eph. 4.4 , 5 , 6. endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace , there is one body , and one Spirit , even as ye are called in one hope of your calling , one Lord , one Faith , one Baptism , one God , and Father of all , who is above all , and through all , and in you all . And that love which is not built on these principles and foundations , is not Evangelical , whatever other ground it may have , or occasion it may pretend unto . Communion of Saints consists in their mutuall love duly exercised according to rule ; and all communion is an effect of Union . In Union therefore must lye the springs of love : and this consists in a joynt incorporation of Believers into Christ ; for as the body is one and hath many members , and all the members of that one body being many are one body , so also is Christ ; for by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body ; and this they have by the means before mentioned , namely their adoption , faith , and inhabitation of the Spirit . Now in the joint celebration of the Ordinances of Gods worship , they altogether make profession of these principles , and act that one faith , hope , and love jointly , whereof they are made partakers , and thereby grow up more and more into the head by that which every joint supplieth , Eph. 4.16 . and some of them are peculiarly designed by the Lord Christ , for the testification of their love , and union among themselves , 1 Cor. 10.16 , 17. the cup of blessing which we bless , is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ? the bread which we break , is it not the communion of the body of Christ ? as we being many are one bread , and one body , for we are all partakers of that one bread . Qu. 12. What is principally to be attended unto by us in the manner of the celebration of the worship of God , and observation of the institutions and Ordinances of the Gospel ? Answ. That we observe and do all whatsoever the Lord Christ hath commanded us to observe , in the way that he hath prescribed ; and that we add nothing unto , or in the observation of them , that is of mans invention or appointment . Deut. 4.2 . chap. 12.32 . Jer. 7.27 . Ma● . 15.9 , 13. Mat. 17.5 . Coloss. 2.3 . Mat. 28.20 . Heb. 3.3 , 4 , 5 , 6. 1 Cor. 11.23 . Rev. 22.18 . 1 Chron. 16.13 . Isa. 29.13 . Explication . This was in part spoken to before on the third Question , where it was shewed that the Scripture is the only way and means , whereby God hath revealed what that worship is , which he will accept in and of the Church . Here , moreover , as to the duty of the Church in this matter , three things are asserted . First , That we are to observe and do all whatsoever the Lord Christ hath commanded us to observe . This lyes plain in the command , Mat. 28.20 . Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you . And we are directed unto it in the injunction given us from Heaven , to hear , that is obey him in all things , Mat. 17.5 . he being the Prophet to whose teachings and instructions , we owe obedience on pain of extermination from among the people of God , Deut. 18.15 . Act. 3.22 , 23. Whatever he hath appointed , commanded , revealed as the will of God to be observed in or about the worship of God , that is to be kept and observed by the Church inviolably . For if we are his Friends and Disciples , we will keep his commandments . No disuse of what continuance soever , can discharge us from the observation of institutions . After the Feast of Tabernacles had been disused from the times of Joshua , unto the return from the captivity , the restoration of it was required of God and accepted with him , Neh. 8.17 . No abuse of how high a nature soever can absolve us from obedience unto an institution , 1 Cor. 18.19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23. After the great abuse of the Lords Supper in that Church , the Apostle recalls them again unto the observation of it , according to the institution of Christ. And after the defilement of all the Ordinances of the Gospel , under the Anti-Christian apostacy , yet the Temple and the Altar are to be measured again , Rev. 11.1 . and the Tabernacle of God was again to be raised amongst men . Rev. 21.3 . No opposition , no persecution , can give the Church a dispensation wholly to omit , and lay aside the use of any thing that the Lord Christ hath commanded to be observed in the worship of God , whilest we are under the obligation of that great rule , Acts 4.19 . Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God , judge ye . It is true in the observation of positive institutions , we may have regard unto rules and prescriptions of prudence , as to times , places , and seasons ; that by no inadvertency or miscarriage of ours , or advantage taken by the adversaries of the truth , the edification of the Church be hindred . So the Disciples met with the doors shut for fear of the Jewes , John 20.19 . and Paul met with the Disciples in the night , in an upper chamber , for the celebration of all the Ordinances of the Church , Acts 20.7 , 8. yet as to the obligation unto their observation , it indispensably binds us , and that alwayes , and that as to all the institutions of Christ whatever , Heb. 10.25 . Not forsaking the assembling of our selves together as the manner of some is , but exhorting one another , and so much the more , as you see the day approaching . To dispence with Christs commands practically is unlawfull ; much more doctrinally ; most of all authoritatively as the Pope takes on himself to do . This then is the Churches duty , to search out all the commands of Christ recorded in the Gospel , and to yield obedience unto them . We are not in this matter , to take up meerly with what we find in practice amongst others , no , though they be men good or holy . The duty of the Church , and consequently of every member of it in his place and station , is to search the Scriptures , to inquire into the mind of Christ , and to find out whatever is appointed by him , or required of his Disciples ; and that with hearts and minds prepared unto a due observation of whatever shall be discovered to be his will. Secondly , Whatever belongs unto the worship of God in the way or manner whereby any of the Ordinances of Christ is to be performed , comes also under the command of Christ which is duly to be attended unto , and observed . Indeed whatever is of this nature appoin●ed by Christ , it doth therefore belong to the worship of God. And what is not so appointed , neither doth , nor can be any part thereof . Of this nature are the celebration of all other Ordinances with prayer ; for every thing is sanctified by the word of God and prayer , 1 Tim. 4.5 . of some of them indispensably in the assemblies of the Church , 1 Cor. 10.16 , 17. Chap. 11.20 , 24 , 25 , 33. With care , in the observation of the general rules of love , modesty , condescention and prudence , doing all things decently and in order , 1 Cor. 11.33 . Chap. 14.40 . Gestures in some sacred actions , Mat. 26.20 , 26. John 13.23 . All which the Church is diligently to inquire into , as things that belong to the pattern of the house of God , the goings out thereof , and the comings in thereof , the forms thereof , and the Ordinances thereof , with the Laws thereof , promised to be shewed unto it , Ezek. 43.11 . to attend carefully to their observation is its duty , being left at liberty as to all other circumstances which no authority of man can give any real relation to the worship of God unto . Therein lyes the exercise of that Spirit of wisdom , and revelation in the knowledge of the mysterie of the Gospel , which is given unto the Church , Ephes. 1.17 , 18. It was the wisdom of the antient Church to do and observe all that God appointed in the way and manner that he had prescribed for their observance , Deut. 4.5 , 6. Behold I have taught you statutes and judgements even as the Lord my God commanded me ; keep therefore and do them , for this is your wisdom and understanding . And herein is the command of Christ kept inviolate and unblameable . The perswasion of some , that the Lord hath not prescribed all things wherein his worship is concerned , seems to proceed from a negligence in inquiring after what he hath so prescribed : and when once that perswasion is entertained , all farther inquiry is superseded , and despised . For to what end should any one seek after that which he is satisfied cannot be found ? as that which is not cannot be . But this mistake will be elsewhere more fully discovered . Thirdly , A principal part of the duty of the Church in this matter is , to take care that nothing be admitted or practised in the Worship of God , or as belonging thereunto , which is not instituted and appointed by the Lord Christ. In its care , faithfulness and watchfulness herein , consists the principal part of its loyalty unto the Lord Jesus as the Head , King and Law-giver of his Church ; and which to stir us up unto , he hath left so many severe interdictions and prohibitions in his word against all additions to his commands upon any pretence whatever ; of which afterwards . Qu. 13. Are not some Institutions of the New Testament ceased , as unto any obligation unto their observation , and therefore now rightly disused ? Answ. ( 1. ) Some Symbolical tokens of moral duties occasionally used , only for present instruction in those duties , are mentioned in the Gospel , without any intention to oblige Believers unto the formal constant use or repetition of them . And ( 2. ) Some temporary appointments relating unto gifts in the Church , bestowed only for a season in the first plantation of the Gospel are ceased ; but ( 3. ) No institution or command of Christ , given unto the whole Church , relating unto the Evangelical administration of the New Covenant , for the use and benefit of all Believers , doth or shall cease to the end of the World , nor can be wholly omitted without a violation of the authority of Iesus Christ himself , John 13.12 , 13 , 14 , 15. Rom. 16.16 . 1 Cor. 16.20 . 1 Tim. 5.10 . Mark 6.13 . Jam. 5.14 . Matth. 28.20 . 1 Tim. 6.14 . 1 Cor. 11.16 . Explication . Mention is made in the Scriptures of sundry things practised by the Lord Christ and his Apostles , which being then in common use amongst men , were occasionally made by them Symbolical instructions in moral duties . Such were washing of feet by one another , the holy kiss , and the like ; but there being no more in them , but a sanct●fied use directed unto the present civil customes and usages , the commands given concerning them , respect not the outward action , nor appointed any continuance of them , being peculiarly suited unto the state of things and Persons in those Countries ; as John 13.12 , 13 , 14 , 15. After he had washed their feet , and had taken his garments , and was set down again , he said unto them , know ye what I have done to ye , ye call me Master and Lord , and ye say well , for so I am ; if I then your Lord and Master have washed your feet , ye also ought to wash one anothers feet , for I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you . 'T is evident that it is the moral duty of brotherly love , in condescention , and mutual helpfulness to be expressed in all necessary offices as occasion doth require , that is the thing which Jesus Christ here enjoyneth his Disciples , and leads them to by his own example in an office of love then in use in those parts . The same is to be said of the holy kiss , Rom. 16.16 . which was a temporary occasional token of entire love ; which may in answer thereunto , be expressed by any sober usage of salutation amongst men to the same purpose . But the things themselves were not instituted for any continuance , nor do represent any special grace of the New Covenant , which is inseperable from every institution of Gospel worship properly so called . Common usages or practises therefore , directed to be used in a due manner , and unto a proper end , where they are used , make them not institutions of worship . Neither have they in them as so commanded or directed , any one thing that concurs to the constitution of a Gospel-Ordinance : for neither had they their rise in the authority of Christ , nor is any continuance of them enjoyned , nor any promise annexed unto them , nor any grace of the New Covenant represented or exhibited in them . Besides , there were in the first Churches continued for a while certain extraordinary gifts , that had their effects visibly on the outward senses of men , and tended not immediately unto the edification of the Church in their faith , but unto the conviction of others , and vindication of the authority of them by whom the Gospel was Preached and propagated . Such was that gift of healing the sick , which being an especial effect of the Holy-Ghost for the advantage of the Church in those dayes , in some places it was accompanied by anointing with Oyle ; but this being no universal practice , and used only in the exercise of a gift extraordinary , whose use and being are long since ceased , it never was appointed nor intended to be of continuance in the Church , which is not tyed by the Lord Christ to the empty signs and shadows of things whose substance is not enjoyed : besides , no spiritual grace of the Covenant was ever intimated , sealed , or exhibited by that usage of anointing with Oyle . The first mention of it is , Mark. 6.13 . where its practice is reckoned among the effects of that extraordinary power which the Lord Christ committed unto his twelve Disciples on their first sending out , and is referred unto the same series of miracles which they wrought in pursuit , and by vertue thereof , they cast out many Devils , and anointed with Oyle many that were sick , and healed them . And by what is there recorded , the subsequent mention of it , James 5.14 . is to be regulated , but now unto a reall evangelical institution of worship , it is required ( 1. ) That it be a command of Christ manifested by his Word , or Example proposed unto our imitation , Matth. 28.20 . ( 2. ) That it be given and enjoyned unto the whole Church with the limitation of its administration expressed in the Word , 1 Cor. 11.25 . ( 3. ) That unto the due performance of it , Gospel grace be required in them that attend unto it . ( 4. ) That it teach , or represent , or seal , or improve some grace of the Covenant , and have a promise of acceptation annexed unto it , and whatever is thus appointed , the Church is indispensably to continue in the observation of , unto the end of the World. Quest. 14. May not the Church find out , and appoint to be observed , such religious rites , as being adjoyned unto the celebration of Gods instituted worship , may farther the devotion of the Worshipers , and render the worship it self in its performance more decent , beautiful and orderly , as the appointing of Images , and the like ? Answ. All acceptable devotion in them that worship God , is the effect of faith , which respects the precepts and promises of God alone . And the comeliness and beauty of Gospel worship , consisteth in its relation unto God by Iesus Christ , as the merciful high-Priest over his house , with the glorious administration of the spirit therein . The order also of it lyeth in the due and regular observation of all that Christ hath appointed ; and therefore all such inventions are in themselves needless , and useless , and because forbidden , unlawful to be observed , Rom. 1.21 . Chap. 14.23 . Heb. 4.2 . Chap. 11.6 . Deut. 13.4 . Chap. 27.10 . Chap. 30.2.8 , 20. Chap. 11.27 . Matth. 27.5 . Isa. 29.13 . Heb. 11.4 , 6. Ephes. 2.18 . 2 Cor. 3.8 , 9 , 10 , 11. Heb. 10.19 , 20 , 21 , 22. John 4.21 , 23. 1 Cor. 14.20 . Matth. 28.20 . Exod. 20.4 . Deut. 4.2 . Matth. 15.13 . Isa. 29.13 . Deut. 12.32 . Chap. 17.3 . Explication . Three things are usually pleaded in the Justification of the observance of such rites and ceremonies in the worship of God. ( 1. ) That they tend unto the furtherance of the devotion of the Worshipers . ( 2. ) That they render the Worship it self comely and beautiful . ( 3. ) That they are the great preservers of order in the celebration thereof . And therefore on these accounts they may be instituted , or appointed by some , and observed by all . But things are indeed quite otherwise , God is a spirit and will be worshiped in spirit and in truth , John 4.24 . And no devotion is acceptable unto him , but what proceedeth from , and is an effect of faith , for without faith it is impossible to please God , Heb. 11.6 . and faith in all things respects the commands and authority of God ; for , saith he , in vain do they worship me , who teach for doctrines the commandments of men , Matth. 15.9 . and he rejecteth all that honour which is given him by those , whose fear towards him , or worship of him , is taught by the precepts of men , Isa. 29.13 . These things therefore being utterly destitute of divine Authority , they can no way farther or promote the devotion of the Worshipers . What natural , or carnal affections may be excited by them , as men may inflame themselves with Idols , Isa. 57.5 . or what outward , outside devotion they may direct unto or excite , is uncertain ; but that they are no means of stirring up the grace of God in the hearts of Believers , or of the increase or strengthening of their faith , which things alone God accepts in Gospel Worship , seeing they are not appointed by him for any such purpose , is most certain : for to say that any thing will effectually stir up devotion , that is , excite , strengthen or increase grace in the heart towards God , that is not of his own appointment , is on the one hand , to reflect on his wisdome and care towards his Church , as if he had been wanting towards it in things so necessary , which he declares against , Isa. 5.4 . what , saith he , could have been done more to my Vineyard , that I have not done in it ? so on the other , it extolls the wisdom of men above what is meet to ascribe unto it . Shall men find out that , which God would not , or could not , in matters of so great importance unto his glory , and the souls of them that obey him ? yea , and it cannot be but that attendance unto them , and their effects must needs divert the mind from those proper spiritual actings of faith and grace , which is its duty to attend unto . And this is evidently seen in them who indulging to themselves in their observation in multiplyed instances , as in the Church of Rome , have changed the whole spiritual worship of the Church , into a Theatrical pompeous shew of carnal devotion . Secondly , The comelyness and beauty of Gospel worship , doth not in the least depend upon them , nor their observation . The Apostle doth in sundry places expresly compare the spiritual worship of the Gosple , with that of the Law , whilest the Church had a worldly Sanctuary and carnal Ordinances , Heb. 9.1 . and although it be most evident , that the worship of the Old Testament , did for the glory and ornaments of outward ceremonies , and the splendour of their observation , far exceed and excell that worship which God commands now , as suitable unto the simplicity of the Gospel , yet doth the Apostle prefer this for glory , comelyness and beauty , unspeakably above the other ; which manifests that these things can have no respect unto outward Rites and Ceremonies , wherein the chief admirers of them can no way vye for glory with the old worship of the Temple . So the Apostle , 2 Cor. 3.7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11. if the ministration of death , written and engraven in stones , was glorious , so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses , for the glory of his countenance , which glory was to be done away , how shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious ; for if the ministration of condemnation be glory , much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory : for even that which was made glorious had no glory , in this respect , by reason of the glory that excelleth ; for if that which was done away is glorious , much more that which remaineth is glorious . He compareth the two ministrations , and the several worships of the Law and Gospel , preferring this unspeakably above the other ; sufficiently manifesting , that the glory of it consisteth not in any pompeous observance of outward Ceremonies . And elsewhere He declareth , that indeed it doth consist in its relation to God in Christ , with the liberty and boldness of the worshipers to enter into the holy place , unto the Throne of Grace under the Ministry of their merciful and faithful High-Priest , being enabled thereunto by the spirit of adoption , and supplications ; for therein , through Christ we have an access in one spirit unto the Father , Eph. 2.18 . as it is expressed , Heb. 10.19 , 20 , 21. having therefore boldness to enter into the holyest by the blood of Jesus , by a new and living way , which he hath consecrated for us , through the veil , that is to say , his flesh , and having an High-Priest over the house of God , let us draw near with a true heart , in full assurance of faith , having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience , and our bodies washed with pure water . This is the glory of Gospel worship , and the beauty of it ; whose consideration whilest the minds of men are diverted from , to look for beauty in the outward preparation of ceremonies , they lose the priviledge purchased for Believers by the blood of Christ. Instead then of farthering the beauty and comeliness of Gospel worship , they are apt to lead men into a dangerous errour and mistake , namely that the beauty and excellency of it consists in such things , as upon a due consideration will appear to be mean and carnal , and far beneath those ceremonies and ordinances of the Old Testament which yet in comparison of the Worship of the Gospel , are called Worldly , carnal , beggarly , and are said to have no glory . Thirdly , They do not in the least tend unto the preservation of due order in the celebration of divine Worship . All order consists in the due observation of rule . The rules of actions are either natural , or of his special appointment . Both these take place in religious worship ; the institutions or commands of Christ , containing the substance thereof , in their observation principally consists the order of it . Whatever is of circumstance in the manner of its performance , not capable of especial determination , as emerging or arising only occasionally upon the doing of that which is appointed , at this , or that time , in this , or that place , and the like , is left unto the rule of moral prudence , in whose observation their order doth consist . But the super-addition of ceremonies , necessarily belonging neither to the institutions of worship , nor unto those circumstances whose disposal falls under the rule of moral prudence , neither doth nor can add any thing unto the due order of Gospel Worship . So that they are altogether needless , and useless in the Worship of God. Neither is this the whole of the inconvenience wherewith their observance is attended ; for although they are not in particular , and expresly in the Scripture forbidden , for it was simply impossible that all instances wherein the wit of man might exercise its invention in such things , should be reckoned up and condemned , yet they fall directly under those severe prohibitions which God hath recorded to secure his worship from all such additions unto it , of what sort soever . Yea the main design of the second precept is to forbid all making unto our selves , any such things in the worship of God , to add unto what he hath appointed , whereof an instance is given in that of making and worshiping Images , the most common way that the sons of men were then prone to trangess by , against the institutions of God. And this sense and understanding of the commandment is secured by those ensuing prohibitions against the adding any thing at all unto the commands of God in his worship , Deut. 4.2 . Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you , neither shall ye diminish ought from it , that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God , Chap. 12.32 . what things soever I command you , observe to do it , thou shalt not add thereto , nor diminish from it , Chap. 17.3 . to the same purpose were the places before mentioned , Matth , 15.9 . as also is that severe rule applyed by our Saviour unto the additions of the Pharisees , Verse 13. Every plant , which my Heavenly Father hath not planted , shall be rooted up . And there is yet farther evidence contributed unto this intention of the command , from those places where such evils and corruptions , as were particularly forbidden in the worship of God , are condemned , not on the special account of their being so forbidden , but on that more general , of being introduced without any warrant from Gods Institutions or commands , Jer. 7.31 . they have built the high places of Tophe● , which is in the valley of the Son of Hinnom to burn their Sons and their Daughters in the fire , which I commanded not , neither came it into my heart . Chap. 19.5 . they have also built the high pl●ces of Baal to burn their Sons with fire , for burnt-offerings unto Baal , which I commanded not , nor spake , neither came it into my mind . These things were particularly forbidden ; but yet God here condemns them as coming under the general evil of making additions unto his commands , doing that which he commanded not , nor did it ever enter into his heart . The Papists say indeed , that all additions corrupting the worship of God are forbidden ; but such as farther , adorn , and preserve it , are not so ; which implyes a contradict●on ; for whereas every addition is principally a corruption because it is an addition , under which notion it is forbidden , ( and that in the worship of God which is forbidden is a corruption of it ) there can be no such preserving , adorning addition , unless we will allow a preserving and adorning corruption . Neither is it of more force which is pleaded by them , that the additions which they make , belong not unto the substance of the worship of God , but unto the circumstances of it ; for every circumstance observed religiously , or to be observed in the worship of God , is of the substance of it ; as were all those ceremonious observances of the Law which had the same respect in the prohibitions of adding , with the most weighty things whatsoever . Qu. 15. Whence may it appear that the right and due observation of Instituted worship , is of great importance unto the glory of God , and of high concernment unto the Souls of Men ? Answ. This is fully taught in the Scriptures ; as ( 1 ) God would never accept in any state of the Church , before or since the fall , moral Obedience without the observation of some institutions as tryals , tokens , and pledges of that obedience . And ( 2 ) in their use and signification by his appointment they nearly concern the principal mysteries of his will and grace . And ( 3 ) By their celebration is he glorified in the World : And therefore , ( 4 ) As he hath made blessed promises to his people , to grant them his presence and to bless them in their use : So ( 5 ) Being the tokens of the mariage relation that is between him and them , with respect unto them alone he calls himself a jealous God ; And ( 6 ) hath actually exercised signal severity towards the neglecters , corrupters or abusers of them . ( 1 ) Gen. 2.16 , 17. Gen. 4.3 , 4. Gen. 17.9 , 10 , 11. Exod. 12.24 . Exod. 20. Math. 28.19 ▪ 20. Math. 26.26 , 27. Eph. 4.11 , 12. Rev. 1.13 . Rev. 21.3 . ( 2 ) Gen. 17.10 . Exod. 12.23 , 24. Rom. 6.3 , 4 ▪ 5. Math. 26.27 . 1 Cor. 11.25 , 26 , 27. ( 3 ) See question the eighth and ninth . ( 4 ) Exod. 29.42 , 43 , 45. Deut. 14.23 . Psal. 133.3 . Math. 18.20 Rev. 21.3 . ( 5 ) Exod. 20.5 . Deut. 4.23 , 24. Josh. 24.19 . Ezek. 16. ( 6 ) Levit. 10.1 , 2. Num. 16.3 , 8 , 9 , 32 , 35. 1 Sam. 2.28 , 29. 2 Sam. 6.6 , 7. 2 Chron. 26.16 , 19. 1 Cor. 11.30 . Explication . For the most part , the instituted worship of God is neglected and dispised in the World. Some are utterly regardless of it , supposing that if they attend , after their manner , unto moral obedience , that neither God nor themselves are much concerned in this matter , of his worship . Others think the disposal and ordering of it to be so left unto men , that as to the manner of its performance , they may do with it as it seems right in their own eyes , And some follow them therein as willingly walking after their commandments , without any respect unto the will or authority of God. But the whole Scripture gives us utterly another account of this matter . The honour of God in this world , the tryal of our faith and obedience , the order and beauty of the Church , the exaltation of Christ in his professed subjection to him , and the saving of our souls in the wayes of his appointment , are therein laid upon the due and right observance of instituted worship , and they who are negligent about these things , what ever they pretend , have no real respect unto any thing that is called Religion . First therefore , in every state and condition of the Church , God hath given his Ordinances of worship , as the touchstone and tryal of its faith and obedience , so that they by whom they are neglected , do openly refuse to come unto Gods tryal . In the state of innocency , the tryal of Adams obedience according to the law of nature , was in and by the institution of the trees of life , and of the knowledge of good and evil , Gen. 2.16 , 17. And the Lord God commanded the Man saying , of every tree of the garden thou maist freely eat , but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil , thou shalt not eat of it for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou , shalt surely die . This was the first institution of God , and it was given unto the Church , in the state of innocency and purity . And in our first Parents neglect of attending thereunto , did they transgress the whole law of their creation , as failing in their duty in that which was appointment for their tryal in the whole ; Chap. 3.11 . Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat ? &c. And the Church in his family after the fall , built upon the promise , was tryed also in the matter of instituted worship . Nor was there any discovery of the wickedness of Cain , or approbation of the faith of Abel , until they came to be proved in their sacrifices , a new part of Gods instituted worship , the first in the state and condition of sin and the fall whereinto it was brought . Gen. 4.3 , 4 , 5. In process of time , it came to pass Cain brought of the fruit of the ground , an offering unto the Lord , and Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof ; and the Lord had respect unto Abel , and to his offering , but unto Cain , and his offering he had not respect . The ground whereof the Apostle declares , Heb. 11.4 . By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain , by which he obtained witness that he was righteous , God testifying of his gifts . In the observation of that first institution given to the Church in the state of the fall , did Abel receive a testimony of his being justified and accepted with God. Afterwards when Abraham was called , and peculiarly separated to bare forth the name of God in the world , and to become the spring of the Church for future ages , he had the institution of circumcision given him for the tryal of his obedience ; the Law and condition whereof was , that he who observed it not should be esteemed an alien from the covenant of God , and be cut off from his People . Gen. 17.9 , 10 , 11. God said unto Abraham , thou shalt keep my covenant , thou and thy seed after thee in their generations . This is my covenant which ye shall keep between me and you , and thy seed after thee , every man-child among you shall be circumcised , Verse the ( 14 ) and the uncircumcised man-child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised , that soul shall be cut off from his people , he hath broken my covenant . And in like manner so soon as ever his posterity were to be collected into a new Church state and order , God gave them the Ordinance of the Passover , Exod. 12.24 . Ye shall observe this thing for an Ordinance to thee and to thy Sons for ever ▪ and that upon the same penalty with that of circumcision ; to these he added many more on mount Sinai , Exod. 20. all as the tryals of their faith and obedience unto succeeding generations : How he hath dealt with his Church under the new Testament , we shall afterwards declare . In no state or condition then of the Church , did God ever accept of moral Obedience without the observation of some instituted worship accommodated in his wisdome unto its various states and conditions . And not only so , but as we have seen , he hath made the observation of them according unto his mind and appointment , the means of the tryal of Mens whole obedience , and the rule of the acceptance or rejection of them . And so it continues at this day , what ever be the thoughts of men about the worship which at present he requires . Besides , God hath appointed that his Ordinances of worship shall be as effectual means as to instruct us in the mysteries of his will and mind , so of communicating his love , mercy , and grace unto us ; as also of that communion , or intercourse with his holy Majesty , which he hath graciously granted unto us by Jesus Christ. And this as it is sufficiently manifested in the Scriptures quoted in answer unto this question , so it is at large declared in the writings of those holy and good men , who have explained the nature of gospel Ordinances , and therefore in particular we need not here insist much in the farther proof of it . Thus Abraham was instructed in the nature of the covenant of grace by circumcision , Gen. 17.10 . which is often explained in the old Testament , by applying it in particular to the grace of conversion , called the circumcision of the heart , Deut , 10.16 . Chap. 30.6 . Jer. 4.4 . as also in the new Testament , Coloss. 2.11 . And by the Passover , where the people taught , not only the mercy of their present deliverance , Exod. 12.23 , 24. but also to look for the Lamb of God who was to take away the sin of the world , John 1.29 . the true Passover of the people of God which was sacrificed for them , 1 Cor. 5.7 . how our incision or implanting into Christ , is represented and signified by our Baptism , the Apostle declares , Rom. 6.3 , 4 , 5. as also our communion with him in his death , by the Supper of the Lord , Matth. 26.27 . 1 Cor. 11.25 . and all these graces which they teach , they also exhibit , and are the means of the communication of them unto Beleivers . Moreover the experience of all Beleivers , who have conscientiously waited upon God in their due observance , may be produced in the confirmation of it . The instruction , edification , consolation , Spiritual strength , courage , and resolution , which they have received in and by them , hath been witnessed unto in their lives , and ends ; and they to whom these things are not of the greatest importance , do but in vain pretend a regard unto God in any thing whatever . Farthermore , God hath appointed our duty in the observation of his instituted worship , to be the means of our glorifying him in the world . Nor can we otherwise give glory to God , but as we own his authority over us , and yield obedience to what he requires at our hands . And what we do herein , is principally evident in those duties which lye under the eye and observation of Men. Some duties of obedience there are , which the world neither doth , nor can discern in Believers . Such are their faith , inward holiness , purity of heart , heavenly mindedness , sincere mortification of indwelling sin , some whose performance ought to be hid from them , as personal prayer , and almes . Matth. 6.2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6. Some there are , which are very liable to misconstruction amongst Men , as Zeal in many of the actings of it . But this conscientious observation of instituted worship , and therein avowing our subjection unto the authority of God in Christ , is that which the World may see , and take notice of , and that , which unless in case of persecution ▪ ought not to be hid from them ; and that which they can have no pretence of scandal at . And therefore hath God appointed that by this means and way , we shall honour and glorifie him in the World , which if we neglect , we do evidently cast off all regard unto his concernments in this World. Herein it is , that we manifest our selves not to be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ , of him and his words , which he so indispensably requireth at our hands , Mark 8.38 . For , saith he , whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinfull generation , of him also shall the son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father , with the holy Angels . Hereby ▪ do we keep the commandments of Christ , as his freinds ▪ John 13.35 . for these peculiarly are his commands , and if we suffer for them , then we do most properly suffer as Christians , which is our glory , that 1 Pet. 4.14 , 15 , 16. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ , happy are ye ; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you , on their part he is evil spoken of , but on your part he is glorified , but let none of you suffer as a murderer , or as a thief , or as an evil doer , or as a busi● body in other Mens matters , but if any Man suffer as a Christian , let him not be ashamed , but let him glorifie God ●n this behalf . And a happy and a blessed thing it is , to suffer for the observation of the special commands of Christ. Farther , to encourage us in our duty , the holy faithful God hath given us many great and precious promises , that he will graciously afford unto us his especial sanctifying blessing presence , in our attendance on his worship according to his appointment . For as he promised of old that he would make glorious the place of his feet , or abode amongst his people , Isa. 60.13 . that he would meet them in his sanctuary , the place of his worship , and there dwell amongst them , and bless them , and be their God , Exod. 29.42 , 43 , 44 , 45. Deut. 14.24 . so the Lord Jesus Christ hath promised his presence to the same ends and purposes , unto all them that assemble together in his name , for the observation of the worship which in the Gospel he hath appointed , Matth. 18.20 . For where two or three are gathered together in my name , there am I in the midst of them . And therein is the tabernacle of God , his gracious dwelling place , with Men. Rev. 21.3 . Now when God offereth unto us his presence , his gracious blessing , sanctifying , and saving presence , and that in and by promises which shall never fail , what unspeakable guilt must we needs contract upon our own souls , if we neglect or despise the tenders of such grace ? But because we are apt to be slothful , and are slow of heart in admiting a due sense of spiritual things that fall not in with the light and principles of nature , to stir us up unto a diligence in our attendance unto the will of God in this matter , he hath declared that he looks upon our obedience herein as our whole loyalty unto him in that conjugal covenant which he is pleased in Christ Jesus to take Beleivers into with himself , Jer. 3.14 . turn O backsliding children , saith the Lord , for I am marryed unto you , and will take you one of a City , and two of a family , and will bring ye unto Sion , and I will give you Pastors according unto mine heart , which shall feed ye with knowledge and understanding . Coming unto Sion , in the worship of God , under the leading and conduct of Pastors according to the heart of God , is our answering the relation wherein we stand unto him as he is marryed unto us , and thereupon he teacheth us that as an Husband , he is jealous of our discharge of our duty in this matter , accounting our neglect of his worship , or profanation of it by inventions and additions of our own , to be spiritual disloyalty , whoredome and adultery , which his soul abhorreth , for which he will cast off any Church , or people , and that for ever , See Exod. 20.5 . Deut. 4.23 , 24. Jos. 24.19 . Ezek. 16. whatever he will bear withal in his Church , he will not bear with that which his jealousie is exercised about . If it transgress therein , he will give it a bill of divorce ; which repudiated condition , is the state of many Churches in the World , however they please , and boast themselves in their meritricious ornaments and practices . To give yet farther strength unto all these considerations , that we may not only have rules and precepts , but examples also for our instruction , God hath given many signal instances of his severity against Persons who by ignorance , neglect , or regardlesness , have miscarried in not observing exactly his will and appointment in and about his worship . This was the case of Nadab and Abi●●s , the sons of Aaron , Levit. 10.1 , 2. of Corah , Dathan and Abirain , Numb . 16.3 , 8 , 9 , 32 , 35. of the sons of Ely , a sin not to be expiated with sacrifices and burnt offerings forever , 1 Sam. 2.28 , 29. of Vzza in putting the Ark into a Cart , when he should have born it upon his shoulders , 1 Chron. 16.13 . of Vzzia the King in offering incense contrary to Gods institution , that duty being appropriated unto the Priests of the posterity of Aaron , 2 Chron. 26.16 , 19. these are sufficient intimations of what care and diligence we ought to use in attending unto what God hath appointed in his worship , and although now under the new Testament he doth not ordinarily proceed to the inflicting of temporal judgements in th● like cases of neglect , y●● he hath not wholly left us without instances of his putting forth tokens of his displeasure in temporal visitations on such miscarriages in his Church , 1 Cor. 11.30 . For this cause , saith the Apostle , many are weak , and sickly among you , and many sleep . From all which it appeares of what concernment it is unto the glory of God , and the salvation of our own souls , to attend diligently unto our duty in the strict and sincere observation of the worship of the Gospel ; for he lets us know , that now a more severe punishment is substituted against such transgressions in the room of that which he so visibly inflicted under the old Testament , Heb. 10.25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29. Qu. 16. Is there yet any other consideration that may stir up Beleivers to an holy and religious care about the due observation of the institutions of the Gospel ? Answ. Yea ! namely that the great apostacy of the Church in the last dayes , foretold in the Scripture , and which God threatneth to punish and revenge , consists principally in false worship , and a departure from the institutions of Christ. Rev. 14.4 , 5. Chap. 17.1 , 2 , 3 , 5. Explication . That there is an Apostacy of the Church foretold in the book of the Revelations ▪ is acknowledged by all who with sincerity have inquired into the minde of God therein . The state of things at this day , and for many ages past in the World , sufficiently confirm that perswasion . And herein sundry things in general , are obvious unto every sober consideration thereof . First the horrible evils , troubles and confusions that are to be brought into , and upon the World thereby . Secondly , the high guilt and provocation of God , that is contained in it , and doth accompany it . Thirdly , the dreadful vengeance that God in his appointed time will take upon all the promoters and obstinate maintainers of it . These things are at large all of them foretold in the Revelation , and therein also the Apostacy it self is set forth as the cause of all the plagues and destructions that by the righteous judgement of God , are to be brought upon the World in these latter dayes . Now as God doth earnestly call upon all that fear him , not to intermeddle , nor partake in the sins of the Apostates , lest they should also partake in their judgements , Chap. 18.4 . ( I heard a voice from Heaven , saying , come out of her my people that ye be not partakers of her sins , and that ye receive not of her plagues . ) So he doth plainly declare ▪ wherein the apostacy and sin it self should principally consist , and that is in the corrupting and contaminating of the Ordinances of his worship , or the introduction of false worship joyned with the persecution of them who refused to submit thereunto . For this cause , is the sin it self , set out under the name of fornication , and whoredome ; and the Church that maintains it , is called the Mother of Harlots , Chap. 17.5 . That by fornication , and whoredome , in the Church , the adulterating of the worship of God , and the admission of false self-invented worship in the room thereof , whereof God is jealous , is intended , the Scripture every where declares . It is easie then to gather of how great concernment unto us it is , especially in these latter dayes wherein this so hainous and provoking sin is prevalent in the World , carefully to attend unto the safe unerring rule of Worship , and diligently to perform the duties that are required therein . Quest. 17. Which are the principal institutions of the Gospel to be observed in the worship of God ? Answ. ( 1. ) The calling , gathering and setling of Churches with their Officers , as the seat and subject of all other solemn instituted worship . ( 2. ) Prayer with thanksgiving . ( 3. ) Singing of Psalms . ( 4. ) Preaching the word . ( 5. ) Administration of the Sacraments of Baptism , and the Supper of the Lord. ( 6. ) Discipline and rule of the Church collected and setled ; most of which have also sundry particular duties relating unto them , and subservient unto their due observation . ( 1. ) Matth. 28.19 , 20. Acts 2.41 , 42. 1 Cor. 12.28 . Ephes. 4.11 , 12. Matth. 18.17 , 18 , 19. 1 Cor. 4.17 . 1 Cor. 7.17 . Acts 14.23 . Titus 1.5 . 1 Tim. 3.15 . ( 2. ) 1 Tim. 2.1 ▪ Acts 6.4 . Acts 13.2 , 3. ( 3. ) Ephes. 5.19 . Colos. 3.16 . ( 4. ) 2 Tim. 4.2 . Acts 2.42 . 1 Cor. 14.3 . Acts 6.2 . Heb. 13.7 . ( 5. ) Matth. 28.19 . Matth. 26.26 , 27. 1 Cor. 11.23 . ( 6. ) Matth. 18.17 , 18 , 19. Rom. 12.6 , 7 , 8. Rev. 2.3 . Explication . These things being all of them afterwards to be spoken unto severally and apart , need not here any particular Explication . They are the principal heads wherein Gospel-worship consisteth , and whereunto the particular duties of it may be reduced . Qu. 18. Whereas sundry of these things are founded in the light and law of nature , as requisite unto all solemn worship , and are moreover commanded in the moral Law , and explications of it in the Old Testament ; how do you look upon them as Evangelical institutions to be observed principally on the authority of Jesus Christ ? Answ. Neither their general suitableness unto the principles of right reason , and the dictates of the light and law of nature , nor the practice of them in the worship of God under the Old Testament , do at all hinder them from depending on the meer institution of Iesus Christ , as to those especial ends of the ●●●ry of God in and by himself , and the edification of his Church in the faith which is in him , whereunto he hath appointed them : Nor as unto that especial manner of their performance , which he requireth ▪ in which respects they are to be observed on ●he account of his authority and command only , Matth. 17.5 . Matth. 28. ●0 . John 16.23 , 24. Heb. 3.4 , 5 , 6. Ephes. 1.22 . Chap. 2.20 , 21 , 22. Heb. 12.25 . Explication . The principal thing we are to aim at in the whole worship of God , is the discharge of that duty which we owe to Jesus Christ the King and head of the Church ▪ Heb. 3.6 . Christ as a Son over his own house ▪ whose house are we , 1 Tim. 3.15 . That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thy self in the house of God , which is the Church of the living God. This we cannot do unless we consider his authority as the formal reason and cause of our observance of all that we do therein . If we perform any thing in the worship of God on any other account , it is no part of our obedience unto him ; and so we can neither expect his grace to assist us , nor have we his promise to accept us therein ; for that he hath annexed unto our doing and observing whatever he hath commanded , and that because he hath commanded us , Matth. 28 20. teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you , and loe , I am with you alwayes , even unto the end of the World. This promised presence respects only the observance of his commands . Some men are apt to look on this authority of Christ as that which hath the least influence into what they do . If in any of his institutions they find any thing that is suited or agreeable unto the light of nature , as Ecclesiastical societies , government of the Church , and the like they say are , they suppose and contend , that that is the ground on which they are to be attended unto , and so are to be regulated accordingly . The interposition of his authority they will allow only in the Sacraments which have no light in reason or nature ; so desirous are some to have as little to do with Christ as they can , even in the things that concern the worship of God. But it would be somewhat strange , that if what the Lord Christ hath appointed in his Church to be observed in particular , in an especial manner , for especial ends of his own , hath in the general nature of it an agreement with what in like cases the light of nature seems to direct unto , that therefore his authority is not to be considered , as the sole immediate reason of our performance of it ; But it is evident , First , That our Lord Jesus Christ being the King and Head of his Church , the Lord over the house of God , nothing is to be done therein but with respect unto his authority , Matth. 17.5 . This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased , hear ye him ; Ephes. 4.15 . Speaking the truth in love , grow up into him in all things , which is the head , even Christ , from whom the whole body fitly joined together , and compacted by that which every joint supplyeth , according to the effectual working in the measure of every part , maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of it self in love ▪ Eph. 2.20 , 21. Ye are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets , Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone , in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy Temple in the Lord ; in whom you also are built together for an habitation of God through the spirit . Secondly , And that therefore , the suitableness of any thing to right reason or the light of nature , is no ground for a Church observation of it , unless it be also appointed and commanded in especial by Jesus Christ. Thirdly , That being so appointed and commanded , it becomes an especial institution of his , and as such , is to be observed ▪ so that in all things that are done , or to be done with respect unto the worship of God in the Church , the authority of Christ is alwayes principally to be considered ; and every thing to be observed as commanded by him , without which consideration it hath no place in the Worship of God. Quest. 19. What is an instituted Church of the Gospel ? Answ. A society of Persons , called out of the World , or their natural worldly state , by the administration of the Word and Spirit , unto the obedience of the Faith , or the knowledge and Worship of God in Christ , ●oyned together in an holy band , or by special agreement , for the exercise of the communion of Saints in the due observation of all the Ordinances of the Gospel , Rom 1.5 , 6. 1 Cor. 1.2 . 1 Cor. 14.15 . Heb. 3 1. James 1.18 ▪ Rev. 1.20 . 1 Peter 2.5 . Ephes. 2.21.22 , 23. 2 Cor. 6.16 , 17 , 18. Explication . The Church , whose nature is here inquired after , is not the Catholick Church of elect Believers of all ages and seasons from the beginning of the World unto the end thereof , nor of any one age , nor the universality of professors of the Gospel ; but a particular Church wherein by the appointment of Christ , all the Ordinances of the Worship of God are to be observed and attended unto according to his Will. For although it be required of them , of whom a particular Church is constituted , that they be true Believers , seeing that unless a man be born again , he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God , and so on that account they be members of the Church Catholick ; as also that they make visible profession of faith and obedience unto Jesus Christ , yet moreover it is the will , command and appointment of Christ , that they should be joyned together in particular societies , or Churches , for the due observation of the Ordinances of the Gospel , which can alone be done in such Assemblies . For as the members of the Catholick Church , are not known unto one another meerly on the account of that faith and union with Christ which makes them so , whence the whole society of them is , as such , invisible to the World and themselves , visible only on the account of their profession , and therefore cannot meerly as such , observe the Ordinances of the Gospel , which observation is their profession ; so the visible Professors that are in the World in any age , cannot at any time assemble together , which from the nature of the thing it self , and the institution of Christ , is indispensably necessary for the celebration of sundry parts of that worship which he requires in his Church ; and therefore particular Churches are themselves an Ordinance of the New Testament , as the National Church of the Jews , was of old . For when God of old erected his Worship , and enjoyned the solemn observation of it , he also appointed a Church as his institution for the due celebration of it . That was , the people of Israel solemnly taken into a Church relation with him by covenant , wherein they took upon themselves to observe all the laws , and ordinances , and institutions of his worship , Exod. 20.19 . Speak thou with us , and we will hear , Exod. 24.3 . And Moses came , and told the People all the words of the Lord , and all the judgements , and all the people answered with one voice , and said , all the words which the Lord hath said , we will do , Deut. 5.27 . All that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee , we will hear it and do it . And God accordingly appointed them Ordinances to be observed by the whole congregation of them together at the same time , in the same place . Exod. 23.17 . Three times in the year all thy Males shall appear before the Lord thy God. Deut. 16.16 . Three times in a year all thy Males shall appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose . Neither would God allow any stranger , any one not of the Church so instituted by him , to celebrate any part of his instituted worship , untill he was solemnly admitted into that Church as a member thereof . Exod. 12.47 ▪ 48. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it , and when a stranger shall sojourn with thee and will keep the Passover to the Lord , let all his Males be circumcised and then let him come near and keep it , and he shall be as one that is born in the Land for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof . To the same end and purpose , when the knowledge of God was to be diffused all the World over by the preaching of the Gospel , and Believers of all nations under Heaven were to be admitted unto the priviledge of his worship , Eph. 2.15 , 16 , 17 , 18. the national Church of the Jewes with all the Ordinances of it being removed and taken away , the Lord Christ hath appointed particular Churches , or united Assemblies of Believers ▪ amongst and by whom he will have all his holy Ordinances of worship celebrated . And this institution of his , at the First preaching of the Gospel , was invariably and inviolably observed by all that took on them to be his Disciples , without any one instance of questioning it to the contrary in the whole World , or of the celebration of any Ordinances of his worship amongst any Persons , but only in such societies or particular Churches . And there is sufficient evidence and warranty of this institution given us in the Scripture : For , First they are appointed and approved by Christ. Matth. 18.15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20. If thy Brother shall trespass against thee , go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone , if he shall hear thee , thou hast gained thy Brother ; but if he will not hear thee , then take with thee one or two more , that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established ; and if he shall neglect to hear , then tell it unto the Church , but if he neglect to hear the Church , let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican ; verily I say unto you , whatsoever ye shall bind on earth , shall be bound in Heaven , and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed also in Heaven ; again I say unto you , that if two of you shall agree on earth , as touching any thing that they shall ask , it shall be done for them of my Father which is in Heaven ; for where two or three are gathered together in my name , there am I in the midst of them . Such a Church he supposeth and approveth , as his Disciples had relation unto , and as any one of them could have recourse unto as a Brother , in obedience to his commands and directions . This could not be the Church of the Jews neither in its whole body , nor in any of its Judicatories . For as at that time there was a solemn decree of excommunication against all and every one that should profess his Name ; John 9.22 . The Jews had already agreed that if any man did confess that he was Christ , he should be put out of the Synagogue ; which was executed accordingly upon the man that was born blind , Verse the 34. which utterly disabled them from making any use of this direction , command or Institution of his for the present ; So afterwards the chief business of the Rulers of those Assemblies from the highest court of their Sanhedrim , to the meanest Judicatory in their Synagogues , was to persecute them , and bring them unto death . Math. 10.17 . They will deliver ye up to the Councills and they will scourge you in their Synagogues . John 15.21 . And it is not likely that the Lord Christ would send his Disciples for direction and satisfaction in the weighty matters of their obedience unto him , and mutual love towards one another , unto them with whom they neither had , nor could , nor ought to have any thing to do withal ; and if they were intended , they were all already made as heathens and Publicans , being cast out by them for refusing to hear them in their blasphemies and persecutions of Christ himself . Such a society also is plainly intended , as whereunto Christ promiseth his presence by his spirit , and whose righteous sentences he takes upon himself to ratifie and confirm in Heaven . Moreover such a Church doth he direct unto , as wi●h which his Disciples were to have familiar Brotherly constant converse and communion , with whom they were so to be joyned in society , as to be owned or rejected by them according to their judgement , as is apparent in the practice enjoyned unto them ; and without relation , whereunto no duty here appointed could be performed . As therefore the very name of the Church , and nature of the thing , bespeaks a society , so it is evident that no society but that of a particular Church of the Gospel can be here intended . Secondly , these Churches he calls his Candlesticks ▪ Rev. 1.20 . In allusion unto the Candlesticks of the Temple , which being an institution of the old Testament , doth directly declare these Churches to be so under the New. And this he speakes in reference unto those seven principal Churches of Asia , every one of which , was a Candlestick , or an institution of his own . Thirdly , In pursuit of this appointment of Christ , and by his authority , the Apostles so soon as any were converted unto the faith at Jerusalem , although the old National Church state of the Jewes was yet continued , gathered them into a Church or society for celebration of the ordinances of the Gospel . Acts. 2.41 , 42. they that gladly received the word , were baptised , and they continued stedfastly together in the Apostles doctrine , and fellowship , and in breaking of bread and in prayers . verse ( 47 ) the Lord adding unto this Church dayly such as should be saved . And this company is expresly called the Church at Jerusalem . Acts. 8.1 . This Church thus called and collected out of the Church of the Jewes was the rule and pattern of the disposing of all the Disciples of Christ into Church societyes in obedience unto his command throughout the World. Acts 11.26 . Acts 14.23 , 27. Fourthly , they took care for the forming , compleating and establishing them in order according to his will , under the rule of them , given ▪ and granted unto them by himself for that purpose , all in a st●ddy pursuit of the commands of Christ. Acts 14.23 . they ordained them Elders in every Church . Titus 1.5 . For this cause left I thee in Creet that thou shouldst set in order the things that are wanting , and ordain Elders in every City , as I had appointed thee . 1 Cor. 12.28 . Ephe. 4.11 , 12. Fifthly , they do every where in the Name ▪ and authority of Christ , give unto these Churches rules , directions , and precepts for the due ordering of all things relating to the worship of God , according to his minde as we shall see afterwards in particular ▪ For First , there is no charge given unto the Officers , Ministers , Guides , or Overseers that he hath appointed , but it is in reference unto the discharge of their duty in such Churches . That Ministers or Officers are of Christs appointment , is expresly declared . Ephes. 4.11.12 . He gave some Apostles , some Prophets , some Evangelists , some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints , for the work of the Ministery , for the edif●ing of the body of Christ. 1 Cor. 12.28 . God hath set in his Church , first Apostles , secondarily Prophets thirdly Teachers . These are of Christs institution ; but to what end ? why , as they were ordained in every Church , Acts 14.23 . Titus 1.5 . So their whole charge is limited to the Churches , Acts 20.17 . He sent to Ephesus , and called the Elders of the Church , and said to them ; Verse the 28. take heed therefore unto your selves , and to all the flock over which the Holy-Ghost hath made you Overseers , to feed the Church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood , 1 Pet. 5.2 . The Elders which are among you , I exhort , feed the flock of God , which is among you taking the oversight thereof , 1 Tim. 3.15 . Colos. 4.17 . And say to Archippus take heed to the Ministry which thou hast received in the Lord , that thou fulfill it . They were the Churches of Christ wherein they ministred , which Christ appointing them to take care of , manifests to be his own institution and appointment . And this is fully declared , Rev. chap. 2.3 . where all the dealings of Christ with his Angels , or Ministers , are about their behaviour and deportment among his Candlesticks , each of them , the Candlestick whereunto he was related , or the particular Churches that they had care of , and presided in ; the Candlesticks being no less of the institution of Christ , than the Angels . And they were distinct particular Churches , which had their distinct particular Officers , whom he treateth distinctly withall about his institutions and worship ; especially about that of the state of the Churches themselves , and their constitution according to his mind . Secondly , There is no instruction , exhortation or reproof given unto any of the Disciples of Christ after his ascension , in any of the books of the New Testament , but as they were collected into , and were members of such particular Churches . This will be evidenced in the many instances of those duties that shall afterwards be insisted on . And the Lord Christ hath not left that as a matter of liberty , choice or conveniency , which he hath made the foundation of the due manner of the performance of all those duties whereby his Disciples yield obedience unto his commands , to his glory in the World. Sixthly , The principal writings of the Apostles are expresly directed unto such Churches , and all of them intentionally , 1 Cor. 1.1 . 2 Cor. 1.1 . Gal. 1.2 . Phil. 1.1 . Colos. 1.2 . chap. 4.16 . 1 Thes. 1.1 . 2 Thes. 1.1 . Ephes. 1.1 . compared with Acts 20.17 . 1 Pet. 5.2 . or unto particular persons , giving directions for their behaviour and duty in such Churches , 1 Tim. 3.15 . Tit. 1.5 . So that the great care of the Apostles was about these Churches , as the principal institution of Christ , and that whereon the due observance of all his other commands doth depend . Of what nature or sort these Churches were , shall be afterwards evinced ; we here only manifest their institution by the authority of Christ. Seventhly , Much of the writings of the Apostles in those Epistles directed to those Churches , consists in rules , precepts , instructions , and exhortations for the guidance and preservation of them in purity , and order , with their continuance in a condition of due obedience unto the Lord Christ. To this end do they so fully and largely acquaint the Rulers and Members of them with their mutual duty in that especial relation wherein they stand to each other , as also of all persons in particular in what is required of them by vertue of their Membership in any particular society ; as may be seen at large in sundry of Pauls Epistles . And to give more strength hereunto , our Lord Jesus Christ in the revelation that he made of his mind and will personally after his ascension into Heaven , insisted principally about the condition , order and preservation of particular Churches ; not taking notice of any of his Disciples not belonging to them , or joyned with them . These he warns , reproves , instructs , threatens , commands , all in order unto their walking before him in the condition of particular Churches , Rev. 2. and ( 3. ) at large . Besides , As he hath appointed them to be the ●eat and subject of all his Ordinances , having granted the right of them unto them alone , 1 Tim. 3 . 1● . intrusting them with the exercise of that authority which he puts forth in the rule of his Disciples in this World , he hath also appointed the most holy institution of his supper to denote and express th●● union and communion which the members of each of these Churches have by his Ordinance among themsevles , 1 Cor. 10.17 . The cup of blessing which we bless , is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ? the bread which we break is it not the communion of the body of Christ ? for we being many are one bread and one body , for we are all partakers of that one bread . And also he gives out unto them the gifts and graces of his spirit , to make every one of them meet for , and useful in that place which he holds in such Churches as the Apostle discourseth at large , 1 Cor. 12.15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26. verses . Colos. 2.19 . Eph. 4.16 . It is manifest then that no Ordinance of Christ is appointed to be observed by his Disciples , no communication of the gifts of the Holy-Ghost is promised to them , no especial duty is required of them , but with respect unto these Churches of his Institution . In the Answer to this Question , four things are declared tending to the Explication of the nature of a particular Church or Churches . ( 1. ) The subject matter of them , or the persons whereof such a Church doth or ought to consist . ( 2. ) The means whereby they are brought into a condition capable of such an estate , or qualified for it . ( 3. ) The general ends of their calling . ( 4. ) The especial means whereby they are constituted a Church ; which last will be spoken unto in the next Question . For the first , All men are by nature the children of wrath , and do belong unto the World , which is the Kingdom of Satan , and are under the power of darkness as the Scripture every where declares . In this state , men are not subjects of the Kingdom of Christ , nor meet to become members of his Church . Out of this condition , they cannot deliver themselves . They have neither will unto it , nor power for it , but they are called out of it : this calling is that which effectually delivers them from the Kingdom of Satan , and translates them into the Kingdom of Christ. And this work or effect the Scripture on several accounts variously expresseth . Sometimes by Regeneration , or a new birth , sometimes by conversion or turning unto God ; sometimes by vivification , or quickening from the dead ; sometimes by illumination or opening of the eyes of the blind ; all which are carryed on by sanctification in holiness , and attended with Justification and adoption ; And as these are all distinct in themselves , having several formal reasons of them , so they all concur to compleat that effectuall vocation or calling that is required to constitute persons members of the Church . For besides that this is signified by the typical holiness of the Church of old , into the room whereof reall holiness was to succeed under the new Testament , Exod. 19.6 . Psal. 24 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6. Psal. 15.1 , 2. Isa. 35.8 , 9. Isa. 54.13 . Chap. 60.21 . 1 Pet. 2.9 . our Lord Jesus Christ hath laid it down as an everlasting rule , that unless a man be born again , he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God , John 3.3 . requiring regeneration as an indispensable condition in a Member of his Church , a subject of his Kingdom . For his Temple , is now to be built of living stones , 1 Pet. 2.5 . Men ▪ spiritually and savingly quickened from their death in sin and by the Holy-Ghost , whereof they are partakers , made a meet habitation for God , Eph. 2.21 , 22. 1 Cor. 3.16 . 2 Cor. 6.16 . which receiving vital supplyes from Christ its head , increaseth in faith and holiness , edifying it self in love , Ephes. 4.15 , 16. And as the Apostles in their writings , do ascribe unto all the Churches , and the Members of them a participation in this effectual vocation , affirming that they are Saints ▪ called , sanctified , justified and accepted with God in Christ , Rom. 1.5 , 6. 1 Cor. 1.2 . 1 Cor. 4.15 . Heb. 3.1 . Jam. 1.18 . 1 Pet. 2.5 . 2 Cor. 6.17 , 18. 1 Cor. 6.11 . So , many of the duties that are required of them , in that relation and condition , are such , as none can perform unto the glory of God , their own benefit , and the edification of others , ( the ends of all obedience ) unless they are partakers of this effectual calling , 1 Cor. 10.16 , 17. 1 Cor. 12.12 . Ephes. 4.16 . Add hereunto that these Churches and the members of them , are not only commanded to separate themselves as to their Worship of God , from the World , that is men in their worldly state and condition , but are also required when any amongst them trasgress against the rules and laws of this holy calling above described , to cast them out of their society and communion , 1 Cor. 5.13 . from all which it appears , who are the subject matter of these Churches of Christ ; as also secondly , the means whereby they come to be so , namely the administration of the spirit and word of Christ ; and Thirdly , the general ends of their calling , which are all spoken to in this answer . Quest. 20. By what means do persons so called become a Church of Christ ? Answ. They are constituted a Church , and interested in the rights , power , and priviledges of a Gospel-Church , by the will , promise , authority , and law of Iesus Christ , upon their own voluntary consent and engagement to walk together in the due subiection of their Souls and Consciences unto his authority , as their King , Priest and Prophet , and in an holy observation of all his commands , ordinances , and appointments , Matth. 18.20 . Chap. 28.18 , 19. Acts 2.41 , 42. Exod. 24.3 . Deut. 5.27 . Psalm 110.3 . Isa. 44.5 . Chap. 59.21 . Ephes. 4.7 , 8 , 9 , 10. 2. Cor. 8.5 . Explication . That the Lord Christ hath constituted such a Church-state as that which we enquire about , hath been proved already . Unto a Church so constituted , he hath also by his word and promise annexed all those priviledges and powers , which we find a Church to be entrusted withall . This he hath done by the standing and unalterable Law of the Gospel , which is the Charter of their spiritual society and incorporation . Neither are , nor can any persons be interested in the rights of a Church any otherwise , but by virtue of this Law and constitution . This therefore is first to be laid down , that the sole moral foundation of that Church-state which we enquire after , is laid in the Word , Law , and appointment of Christ. He alone hath authority to erect such a society , he is the builder of this house , as well as the Lord over it , Heb. 3.3 , 6. neither without it , can all the authority of men in the World appoint such a state , or erect a Church , and all acceptable actings of men herein , are no other but acts of pure obedience unto Christ. Farthermore , We have declared that the Lord Christ by the dispensation of his word and spirit , doth prepare and fit men to be subjects of his Kingdom , Members of his Church ; the work of sending forth the means of the conversion of the souls of men , of translating them from the power of darkness into light , he hath taken upon himself , and doth effectually accomplish it in every generation . And by this means he builds his Church , Matth. 18.20 . For unto all persons so called , he gives command that they shall do and observe whatever he hath appointed them to do , Mat. 28.20 . in particular , that they profess their subjection to him , and their obedience , in joyning themselves in that state wherein they may be enabled to observe all his other laws and institutions , with the whole worship of God required therein . Being converted unto God by his Word and Spirit , they are to consider , how they may now obey the Lord Christ in all things . Amongst his commands , this of joyning themselves in Church societies wherein he hath promised his presence with them , Matth. 18.20 . that is to dwell amongst them by his word and spirit , Isa. 59.21 . is the very first . This by virtue of that command and promise of his they are warranted and enabled to do , nor do they need any other warrant . The authority of Christ is sufficient to beare men out in the discharge of their duty to him . Being then made willing and ready in the day of his power , Psalm 110.3 . they consent , choose , and agree to walk together in the observation of all his commands . And hereby do they become a Church . For their becoming a Church , is an act of their willing obedience unto Christ. This obedience is an act of their wills , guided by rule ; for this also is necessary that they proceed herein according to the rules of his appointment afterwards to be unfolded . And herein , upon their obedience unto the commands of Christ , and faith in his promises , do Believers by virtue of his Law , and constitution , become a Gospel Church , and are really and truly interested in all the power , rights and priviledges , that are granted unto any Church of Christ. For in this obedience they do these two things which alone he requires in any persons for the obtaining of an interest in these priviledges . First , They confess him , his person , his authority , his law , his grace Secondly , They take upon themselves the observance of all his commands . Thus did God take the children of Israel into a Church-state of old . He proposed unto them the Church obedience that he required of them , and they voluntarily and freely took upon themselves the performance of it , Exod. 24.3 . And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord , and all the judgements , and all the people answered with one voice , and said , all the words which the Lord hath said , will we do . So Deut. 5.7 . and hereby they had their solemn admission into their Church-state , and relation unto God. And the like course they took when ever there was need of renewing their engagements , Josh. 24.18 , 21 , 22. And the people said we will serve the Lord , for he is our God ; and Joshua said unto the people ye are witnesses against your selves , that ye have chosen the Lord to serve him , and they said we are witnesses . This was the covenant , that was between God and that people which was solemnly renewed , so often as the Church was eminently reformed . Now although the outward solemnity and ceremonies of this covenant were peculiar unto that people , yet as to the substance and nature of it in a sacred consent for the performance of all those duties towards God and one another which the nature and edification of a Church do require , it belongs to every Church as such even under the Gosple . And this is the way whereby Beleivers or the Disciples of Christ , do enter into this state , the formal constituting cause of any Church . This account doth the Apostle give of the Churches of the Macedonians , 2 Cor. 8.5 . And this they did , not as we hoped but first gave their own selves to the Lord , and unto us by the will of God. before the performance of other duties , and in order thereunto , they first gave themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ , or took upon themselves the observance of his commands and institutions , which is the intendment of that expression . Among these commands one was that they should give up themselves to the Apostles doctrine , Rule and government in the order by Christ prescribed , that is in Church order . This therefore they did by the will of God , according to his will , and appointment . This description doth the Apostle give of the way whereby the Believers of Macedonia were brought into Churches . It was by their own obedience unto the will of God , consenting , agreeing , and taking upon themselves the observation of all the commands and institutions of Christ , according to the direction and guidance of the Apostles . So did the Believers at Jerusalem , Acts 2.41 , 42. Being converted by the word , and making profession of that conversion in their Baptism , they gave up themselves to a stedfast continuance in the observation of all other Ordinances of the Gospel . Besides the Church is an house , a Temple , the house of God , 1 Tim. 3.15 . The house of Christ , Heb. 3.6 . The Temple of God ; Ephe. 2.21 , 22. Believers singly considered are stones , living stones ; 1 Peter 2.5 . Now how shall these living stones come to be an house , a Temple ? can it be by occasional occurrences , civil cohabitation in political precincts , usage or custome of assembling for some parts of worship in any place ? these things will never frame them into a house or Temple . This can be no otherwise done but by-their own voluntary consent and disposition . Ephe. 2.19 , 20 , 21 , 22. Ye are fellow-Citizens with the Saints , and of the household of God , and are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets , Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone , in whom all the building fitly framed together , groweth unto an holy Temple , in the Lord ; in whom you also are builded together for an habitation of God through the spirit . Chap. 4.16 . From whom the whole body fitly joyned together , and compacted by that which every joynt supplyeth , according to the effectual working in the measure of every part maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of it self in love . From these and sundry other places , it is manifest , that the way and means of Believers coalition into a Church-state , is their own obedience of faith , acting it self in a joynt voluntary consent to walk together in an holy observation of the commands of Christ , whence the being and union of a particular Church is given unto any convenient number of them by his Law and constitution . Qu. 21. Seeing the Church is a society or spiritual incorporation of persons under rule , government or Discipline , declare who or what are the rulers , governors or Officers therein under Jesus Christ ? An. They have been of two sorts ( 1 ) extraordinary appointed for a season only , and ( 2 ) ordinary to continue unto the end of the World. Qu. 22. Who are the extraordinary Officers or Rulers or Ministers of the Church appointed to serve the Lord Jesus Christ therein for a season only ? An. ( 1 ) The Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ , with ( 2 ) the Evangelists and Prophets indowed with extraordinary gifts of the holy Ghost , associated with them , and employed by them in their work and Ministry . ( 1 ) Math. 10.2 , 3. Acts 1.26 . 1 Cor. 12.28 . Ephe. 4.11 . ( 2 ) Luke 10.1 . 2 Tim. 4.5 . Titus . 1.5 . Acts 11.27 , 28. Acts 21.9 , 10 , 11. 2. Cor. 1.1 . Explication . That the Church is a Spiritual corporation , attended with rule and government , is evident from the nature of the thing it self and testimonies of Scripture . Only as the Kingdome of Christ is not of this World , or Worldly , so this rule and government of the Church is not mearly external , and secular , but spiritual . Neither doth this rule at all belong unto it , merely as materially considered , in men yielding obedience unto the call which is the foundation of the Church , nor absolutely as it is formally constituted a Church by the consent and agreement described , but moreover it is required that it be organically compleat with Officers or rulers ; now to the constitution of such a society or corporation there is required . First , that the persons whereof it is constituted do consent together into it for the attaining of the ends which they design . Without this no society of any kind can exist . This is the form of mens coalescencie into societyes . And that there is in the Church such a consent and agreement hath been shewed . Secondly , that there be Rules or Laws for the guidance and direction of all the Members of the society , in order to their pursuit of the proper ends of it . That such Rules or Lawes are given and prescribed by the Lord Christ unto the Church , will afterwards appear in our consideration of them in particular ; so that the Church is a society of men walking according unto Rule or Law for the attaining of the ends of the society . Thirdly , that there be Authority instituted for to see to the due Observation of these Rules and Lawes of the society , which consists in this ; ( 1 ) That some be appointed to Rule and Govern in the Church . ( 2 ) Others , to Obey and be Ruled or Governed ; both according to the Laws of the society and not otherwise . And both these are eminently found in this Church-state as we shall see in the ensuing Question with their Answers and Explications . Now that these Officers , or Rulers , should be of two sorts , both the nature of the thing it self required , and so hath our Lord Jesus Christ appointed . For when the Church was first to be called , gathered , and erected , it was necessary that some Persons should 〈◊〉 extraordinarily employed in that work ▪ for ordinary Officers , antecedent unto the calling and erection of the Church , there could be none . And therefore these pesons were in an extraordinary manner endowed with all that power which afterwards was to reside in the Churches themselves ▪ and moreover with that , which was peculiarly needful unto the discharge and performance of that special duty and work that they were appointed unto . But when Churches were called , gathered ▪ erected , and setled for continuance ▪ there was need of Officers suited to their state and condition , called in an ordinary way ; that is in a way appointed for continuance unto the end of the World ; and to be employed in the ordinary work of the Church , that is the duties of it , which were constantly incumbent on it by virtue of the command and appointment of Christ. Quest. 23. Who are the ordinary Officers or Ministers of Christ in the Church to be alwayes continued therein ? Answ. Those whom the Scripture calls , Pastours and Teachers , Bishops , Elders , and Guides , Acts 14.23 . Acts 20.17 , 18. 1 Cor. 12.28 . Ephes. 4.11 . Phil. 1.1 . 1 ▪ Tim. 3.1 , 2. chap. 5.17 . Titus 1.5 , 7. Heb. 13.7 , 17. 1 Pet. 5.1 . Explication . Several names , are on several accounts , partly designing their authority , partly their duty , and partly the manner of their discharge thereof , assigned in the Scripture to the ordinary Ministers of the Churches . Sometimes they are called Pastors and Teachers , Ephes. 4.11 . 1 Cor. 12.28 . Sometimes Bishops or Overseers , Phil. 1.1 . Act. 20.28 . Titus 1.5 . Sometimes Elders , 1 Pet. 5.1 . 1 Tim. 5.17 . Act. 14.23 . Act. 20.17 . Sometimes Guides , Heb. 13.7 , 17. By all which names , and sundry others whereby they are expressed , the same sort , order , and degree of persons is intended . Nor is any one of these names applyed or accommodated unto any , but all the rest are also in like manner ; so that he who is a Pastor or a Teacher , is also a Bishop or Overseer , a Presbyter or Elder , a Guide or Ruler , a Minister , a servant of the Church for the Lords sake . And of all other names assigned to the Ministers of the Church , that of Bishop , can least of all be thought to have designed any special order or degree of preheminence amongst them . For whereas it is but four times , or in four places used in the New Testament as denoting any officers of the Church , in each of them it is manifest , that those expressed by the other names of Elders and Ministers are intended . So Act. 20.28 . the Bishops are the Elders of the particular Church of Ephesus verse the 17. Phil. 1.1 . there were many Bishops in that one particular Church , who had only Deacons joyned with them ; that is they were the Elders of it . Tit. 1.8 . the Bishops were the Elders to be ordained vers . the 5. which persons are also directly intended , 1 Tim. 3.2 . as is evident from the coincidence of the directions given by the Apostle about them , and the immediate adjoyning of Deacons unto them vers . 8. So that no name could be fixed on with less probability to assert from it a special supream order or degree of men in Ministry , than this of Bishops . Neither is there any mention in any place of Scripture , of any such preheminence of one sort of these Church-Officers or Ministers over another ; not in particular in those places where the Officers of the Church are in an especial manner enumerated , as 1 Cor. 12.28 . Eph. 4.11 . Rom. 12.5 , 6 , 7 , 8. Nor is there any mention of any special office that should be peculiar unto such Officers , or of any gifts or qualifications that should be required in them ; or of any special way of calling or setting apart to their office ; nor of any kind of Church that they should relate unto , different from the Churches that other Elders or Pastors do Minister in ; nor of any special rule or direction for their tryal ; nor any command for obedience unto them , but what are common to all Ministers of the Churches of Christ ●uly discharging their trust , and performing their duty ; no intimation is given unto either Elders or Ministers to obey them ; or directions how to respect them ; nor unto them how to behave themselves towards them ; but all these things are spoken and delivered promiscuously and equally concerning all Ministers of the Gospel . It is evident then that these appellations do not belong unto one sort of Ministers , not one more than another ▪ and for what is pleaded by some , from the example of Timothy and Titus , it is said , that when any persons can prove themselves to be Evangelists . 1 Tim. 4.5 . to be called unto their office upon antecedent prophecy , 1 Tim. 1.18 . and to be sent by the Apostles , and in an especial manner to be directed by them in some employment for a season , which they are not ordinarily to attend unto , Titus 1.5 Chap. 3.12 . It will be granted that they have another duty and office committed unto them , than those who are only Bishops or Elders in the Scripture . Quest. 24. What are the principal differences between these two sorts of Officers or Rulers in the Church , extraordinary and ordinary ? Answ. ( 1. ) The former were called to their office immediately by Iesus Christ in his own Person , or revelation made by the Holy-Ghost in his name to that purpose ; the latter by the suffrage , choice and appointment of the Church it self . ( 2. ) The former both in their Office and work , were independant on , and antecedent unto all or any Churches , whose calling and gathering depended on their office as its consequent and effect ; the latter , in both consequent unto the calling , gathering and constituting of the Churches themselves , as an effect thereof , in their tendency unto compleatness and perfection . ( 3. ) The authority of the former being communicated unto them immediately by Iesus Christ without any intervenient actings of any Church , extended it self equally unto all Churches whatever : that of the latter being derived unto them from Christ by the election and designation of the Church , is in the exercise of it , confined unto that Church wherein and whereby it is so derived unto them . ( 4. ) They differ also in the gifts which were suited unto their several distinct works and employments . ( 1 ) Matth. 10.2 . Luke 10.1 . Gal. 1.1 . Acts 1.26 . Acts 6.3 . Acts 14.23 . ( 2 ) Joh. 20.21 , 22 , 23. Gal. 1.1 . Ephes. 2.20 . Rev. 21.14 . Acts 14.23 . Titus 1.5 , 7. ( 3 ) Matth. 28 , 18 , 19 , 20. 2 Cor. 11.28 . Act. 20.28 . 1 Pet. 1.2 . Colos. 4.17 . ( 4 ) 1 Cor. 12.28 , 29 , 30. The Answer hereunto is such as needs no further Explication . Quest. 25. What is required unto the due constitution of an Elder , Pastor or Teacher of the Church ? Answ. ( 1 ) That he be furnished with the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the edification of the Church , and the Evangelical discharge of the work of the Ministry . ( 2 ) That he be unblameable , holy , and exemplary in his conversation . ( 3 ) That he have a willing mind to give up himself unto the Lord in the work of the Ministry . ( 4 ) That he be called and chosen by the suffrage and consent of the Church . ( 5 ) That he be solemnly set apart by fasting and prayer and imposition of hands unto his Work and Ministry . ( 1 ) Ephes. 4.8 , 11 , 12 , 13. ( 2 ) Titus 1.7 , 8 , 9. 2 Tim. 3.2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7. ( 3 ) 1. Pe● . 5.2 , 3. ( 4 ) Acts 14.23 . ( 5 ) Acts 13.2 . 1 Tim. 5.22 . 1 Tim. 4.14 . Explication . Five things are here said to be required unto the due and solemn constitution of a Minister , Guide , Elder , Pastor , or Teacher of the Church ▪ which as they do not all equally belong unto the essence of the call , so they are all indispensably necessary unto him that would be accounted to have taken that office upon him according to the mind of Christ , and they are plainly expressed in the Scripture . The First is , that they be furnished with the gifts of the Holy-Ghost , for the discharge of the Ministry . The communication of the gifts of the Holy-Ghost , is the foundation of the Ministry , as the Apostle declares , Ephes. 4.7 , 8 , 11 , 12 , 13. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ , wherefore he saith , when he ascended up on high , he led captivity captive , and gave gifts unto Men , and he gave some Apostles , and some Prophets , and some Evangelists , and some Pastors and Teachers , for the perfecting of the saints , for the work of the Ministry , for the edifying of the body of Christ , till we all come in the unity of the faith , and of the knowledge of the Son of God , unto a perfect man. And if this were not continued , if the Lord Christ did not continue to give gifts unto men for that end , the ministry must and would cease in the Church ; and all Church order and administrations thereon . The exercise also of the gifts , is required in all them that are called unto sacred office , 1 Tim. 4.14 . Neglect nor the gift that is in thee . Hence persons destitute of these gifts of the spirit , as they cannot in a due manner discharge any one duty of the Ministry , so wanting an interest in that which is the foundation of the Office , are not esteemed of God as Ministers at all , whatever their outward call may be , Hosea 4.6 . Because thou hast rejected knowledge , I will also reject thee , that thou shalt be no Priest to Me. Secondly , Their unblameableness and holiness of conversation is previously required in them that are to be set apart unto the Ministry . This the Apostle expresly declares , and layes down many particular instances whereby it is to be tryed , Tit. 1.7 , 8 , 9. For a Bishop must be blameless , as the steward of God , not self-willed , not soon angry , not given to Wine , no striker , not given to filthy lucre , but a lover of hospitality , a lover of good men , sober , just , holy , temperate , holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught , that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convince the gainsayers , 1 Tim. 3 ▪ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7. A Bishop must be blameless , the husband of one Wife , vigilant , sober , of good behaviour , given to hospitality , apt to teach , not given to wine , no striker , not greedy of filthy lucre , but patient , not a brawler , nor covetous , one that ruleth well his own house , having his Children in subjection with all gravity ; for if a man know not how to rule his own house , how shall he take care of the Church of God ? not a Novice , lest being lifted up with pride , he fall into the condemnation of the Devil ; moreover he must have a good report of them which are without , least he fall into reproach , and the snare of the Devil . Not that the particulars here mentioned by the Apostle are only to be considered in the conversation of the person to be called to the Ministry , but that in an universal holy conversation these things he requires that he should be eminent in amongst Believers , as those which have an especial respect to his work and office . And a failure in any of them , is a just cause or reason to debar any person from obtaining a part and lot in this matter . For whereas the especial end of the Ministry , is to promote and farther faith and holiness in the Church , by the edification of it , how unreasonable a thing would it be , if men should be admitted unto the work of it , who in their own Persons were strangers both unto faith and holiness . And herein are the Elders of the Churches seriously to exercise themselves unto God , that they may be an example unto the flock , in an universal labouring after conformity in their lives unto the great Bishop and Pastour of the Church , our Lord Jesus Christ. Thirdly , It is required that such a Person have a willing mind to give up himself unto God in this work , 1 Pet. 5.2 , 3. The Elders which are among you , I exhort , feed the flock of God which is among you , taking the oversight thereof , not by constraint , but willingly , not for filthy lucre , but of a ready mind ; neither as being Lords over Gods heritage , but being Ensamples to the flock . Willingness and readiness of mind , are the things here required as a previous qualification unto any mans susception of this Office ; and two things doth the Apostle declare to be contrary hereunto . First , The undertaking of it by constraint , which compriseth every antecedent external impression upon the mind of the undertaker ; such are personal outward necessities , compulsions of Friends , and relations , want of other wayes of subsistance in the World ; all which and the like are condemned by the Apostle as bring some constraint on the mind , which on other accounts oughty to be free and willing ; as also all tergiversation and backwardness in persons duly qualified and called , on the consideration of difficulties , temptations , streights , persecutions , is here condemned . Secondly , an eye and regard unto filthy lucre or profit in the World , is proposed as opposite unto the readiness of mind which is required in them that are called to this work . An aim in this employment for men by it to advantage themselves in the outward things of this world , without which , it is evident that the whole work and Office would lye neglected by the most of them who now would be accounted partakers of it , is openly here condemned by the Apostle . Fourthly , Election by the suffrage and consent of the Church is required unto the calling of a Pastor or Teacher , so that without it formally , or virtually given or obtained , the call however otherwise carryed on or solemnized , is irregular and defective . There are but two places in the New Testament where there is mention of the manner whereby any are called in an ordinary way unto any ministery in the Church ; and in both of them there is mention of their election by the community of the Church ; and in both of them the Apostles themselves presided with a fulness of Church power , and yet would not deprive the Churches of that which was their liberty and priviledge . The first of these is Acts the 6. where all the Apostles together , to give a rule unto the future proceeding of all Churches in the constitution of Officers amongst them , do appoint the multitude of the Disciples or community of the Church , to look out from among themselves , or to choose the persons that were to be set apart thereon unto their office , which they did accordingly , Verses 2 , 3 , and 5. Then the twelve called the multitude of the Disciples unto them , and said , it is not reason that we should leave the word of God , and serve Tables ; wherefore Brethren , look ye out among you seven men of honest report , full of the Holy-Ghost , and wisdom ; and the saying pleased the whole multitude , and they chose Stephen , &c. This was done when only Deacons were to be ordained , in whom the interest and concernment of the Church is not to be compared with that which it hath in its Pastors , Teachers , and Elders . The same is mentioned again , Acts 14.23 . where Paul and Barnabas are said to ordain Elders in the Churches by their election and suffrage , For the word there used , will admit of no other sence , however it be ambiguously expressed in our translation . Neither can any instance be given of the use of that word , applyed unto the communication of any office or power to any person or persons in an assembly wherein it denoteth any other action but the suffrage of the multitude ; and this it doth constantly in all writers in the Greek tongue . And hence it was that this right and priviledge of the Church , in choosing of those who are to be set over them in the work of the Lord , was a long time preserved inviolate in the primitive Churches , as the ancients do abundantly testifie . Yea the shew and appearance of it , could never be utterly thrust out of the World , but is still retained in those Churches which yet reject the thing it self . And this institution of our Lord Jesus Christ by his Apostles , is suited to the nature of the Church , and of the authority that he hath appointed to abide therein . For as we have shewed before , persons become a Church by their own voluntary consent . Christ makes his subjects willing , not slaves : His rule over them is by his grace in their own wills , and he will have them every way free in their obedience . A Church-state is an estate of absolute liberty under Christ , not for men to do what they will , but for men to do their duty freely , without compulsion . Now nothing is more contrary to this liberty , than to have their Guides , Rulers , and Overseers impose on them without their consent . Besides , the body of the Church is obliged to discharge its duty towards Christ in every institution of his , which herein they cannot , if they have not their free consent in the choice of their Pastors or Elders , but are considered as mute persons , or brute creatures . Neither is there any other ordinary way of communicating authority unto any in the Church , but by the voluntary submission and subjection of the Church it self unto them . For as all other imaginable wayes may fail and have done so , where they have been trusted unto , so they are irrational , and unscriptural , as to their being a means of the delegation of any power whatever . Fifthly , Unto this election succeeds the solemn setting apart of them that are chosen by the Church unto this work and ministry , by fasting , prayer , and imposition of the hands of the Presbitery , before constituted in the Church wherein any person is so to be set apart . Qu. 26. May a Person be called to , or be employed in a part only of the Office or work of the Ministry , or may he hold the relation and exercise the duty of an Elder or Minister unto more Churches than one at the same time ? Answ. Neither of these have either warrant or President in the Scripture , nor is the first of them consistent with the authority of the Ministry , nor the latter with the duty thereof , nor either of them with the nature of that relation which is between the Elders and the Church , Acts 14.23 . 1 Pet. 5.2 . Acts 20.28 . Explication . There are two parts of this Question and Answer , to be spoken unto severally . The First is concerning a person to be called or employed in any Church , in a part only of the office or work of the Ministry . As suppose a Man should be called or chosen by the Church to administer the Sacraments , but not to attend to the work of Preaching ; or unto the rule or guidance of the Church ; or in like manner unto any other part or parcell of the work of the Ministry , with an exemption of other duties from his charge or care . If this be done by consent , and agreement , for any time or season , it is unwarrantable and disorderly ; ( what may be done occasionally upon an emergency , or in case of weakness or disability befalling any Elder as to the discharge of any part of his duty , is not here enquired after . ) For , First , If the Person so called or employed have received gifts fitting him for the whole work of the Ministry , the exercise of them is not to be restrained by any consent or agreement ; Seeing they are given for the edification of the Church to be traded withall , 1 ▪ Cor. 12 ▪ 7. The manifestation of the spirit , is given to every man to profit withall ; and this he which hath received such gifts , is bound to attend unto , and pursue . Secondly , If he have not received such gifts as compleatly to enable him unto the discharge of the whole work of the Ministry in the Church wherein he is to administer , it is not lawful for the Church to call him unto that work wherein the Lord Christ hath not gone before them in qualifying him for it . Yea to do so , would be most irregular , for the whole power of the Church , consists in its attendance unto the rule given unto it . And therefore the office and work of the Ministry being constituted by the Law of Christ , it is not in the power of the Church to enlarge or streighten the power or duty of any one that is called unto the office thereof . Neither can or ought any person that is called unto the worke of the Ministry to give his consent to the restraint of the exercise of that gift that he hath received , in a due and orderly manner , nor to the abridgement of the authority which the Lord Christ hath committed unto the Ministers of the Gospel . As it is incumbent upon them to take care to preserve their whole authority , and to discharge their whole duty , so that arbitrary constitutions of this nature are irregular , and would bring in confusion into Churches . The second part of the Question is , concerning the Relation of the same person to more Churches than one at the same time , and his undertaking to discharge the duty of his relation unto them , as an Elder or Minister . And this also is irregular and unwarrantable . Now a man may hold the relation of an Elder , Pastor , or Minister unto more Churches ▪ than one two wayes ; First , formally and directly , by all equal formal interest in them , undertaking the Pastoral charge equally and alike of them , being called alike to them and accepting of such a relation . ( 2 ) virtually ; when by virtue of his relation unto one Church he puts forth his power or authority in Ministerial acts in , or towards another . The First way is unlawful , and destructive both of the Office and duty of a Pastor . For as Elders are ordained in , and unto the Churches respectively that they are to take care of ; Acts 14.23 . Tit. 1.5 . And their office power consists in a relation unto the Church that they are set over , so they are commanded to attend unto the service of the Churches wherein , and whereunto , they are so ordained . Act. 20.28 . 1 Peter 1.2 . And that with all diligence care and watchfulness , as those that must give an account , Heb. 13.17 . which no man is able to do towards more Churches than one , the same duty being at all times to be performed towards all . And because the whole authority of the Elders ▪ Pastors , or B●shops of Churches , is ministerial ▪ ● Cor. 4.1 . consisting in a power of acting upon the command of Christ , they are bound in their own persons to the discharge of their duty and Office , without the least pretence of authority to delegate another , or others , to act their part or to do their duty , which would be an effect of autocratorical authority , and not of obedience or Ministry . The latter way also of relation unto many Churches is unwarrantable ; For ( 1 ) It hath no warrant in the Scripture ; no Law , nor constitution of Christ , or his Apostles , can be produced to give it countenance ; but Elders were ordained to their own Churches , and commanded to attend unto them . ( 2 ) No rule is given unto any Elders how they should behave themselves in reference unto more Churches than one , in the exercise of their ministerial power , as there are rules given unto every one for the discharge of that duty in the Church whereunto he is related . ( 3 ) There is no example to give it countenance recorded in the Scripture . ( 4 ) The authority to be put forth hath no foundation . ( 1 ) Not in the gifts they have received ▪ for the ministerial power is not an absolute ability or faculty of doing what a man is able , but a right , whereby a man hath power to do that rightly and lawfully , which before he could not do . This , gifts will not give to any ; for if they did , they would do it to all that have received them . ( 2 ) Not in their election , for they are chosen in and by that Church whereunto they stand in especial relation , whose choice cannot give ministerial power over any but themselves . ( 3 ) Not in their setting apart by fasting , prayer , and imposition of hands , for this is only unto that office , work , and power , whereunto they are chosen . They are not chosen for one end , and set apart for another . ( 4 ) Not from the Communion of Churches , for that gives no new power , but only a due exercise of that which was before received . Qu. 27. What are the principal duties of the Pastors or Teachers of the Church ? An. ( 1 ) To be examples unto the flock in faith , love , knowledge , méekness , patience , readiness to suffer for the name and Gospel of Christ , with constancy therein . ( 2 ) To watch for the souls , and take care of all the spiritual concernments of the whole flock committed to them . ( 3 ) To preach the word diligently , dividing it aright . ( 4 ) To preserve and contend for the truth . ( 5 ) To administer all the Ordinances of the Gospel duly and orderly . ( 6 ) To stir up and exercise the gifts they have received in the discharge of their whole work and administration of all Ordinances . ( 7 ) To instruct , admonish , cherish , and comfort , all the Members of the Church as their conditions , occasions and necessities do require . ( 8 ) To attend with diligence , skill and wisdome unto the discharge of that authority which in the rule of the Church is committed unto them . ( 1 ) 1 Tim. 3.10 , 11 , 13. Chap. 4.12 . 2 Tim. 2.3 . Coloss. 1.24 . Phil. 2.17 . Chap. 3.17 . ( 2 ) Heb. 13.17 . Acts 20.28 . ( 3 ) 2 Tim. 2.15 . 2 Tim. 4.2 . Rom. 12.6 ▪ 7 , 8. ( 4 ) 1 Tim. 6.20 . Acts , 20.28 . Jude 3. ( 5 ) 1 Cor. 4.1 , 2. 1 Tim. 3.15 . ( 6 ) 1 Tim. 4.14 , 15 , 16. ( 7 ) Acts 20.18 , 19 ▪ 20 , 25 , 26. 1 Thes. 3.5 . 2 Tim. 2.24 , 25. ( 8 ) Rom. 12.8 . 1 Tim. 5.17 . The answer is full and plain . Qu. 28. Wherein principally doth the authority of the Elders of the Church consist ? An. ( 1 ) In that the Rule of the Church and the guidance thereof in things appertaining unto the worship of God , is committed unto them . And therefore ( 2 ) Whatever they do as Elders in the Church according unto rule , they do it not in the name or authority of the Church by which their power is derived unto them , nor as Members only of the Church by their own consent or covenant , but in the name and authority of Iesus Christ , from whom by virtue of his Law and Ordinance their ministerial office and power is received ; so that ( 3 ) In the exercise of any act of Church power , by and with the consent of the Church , there is an obligation , thence procéeding , which ariseth immediately from that authority which they have received of Iesus Christ , which is the spring of all rule and authority in the Church . ( 1 ) Acts 20.28 . Heb. 13.7 , 17. 1 Pet. 5.2 . 1 Cor. 12.28 . ( 2 ) 1 Tim. 3.5 . Coloss. 4.17 . 2 Cor. 10.4 , 8. ( 3 ) 1 Tim. 4.11 . Titus 2.15 . 1 Peter 1.2 , 3 , 4 , 5. Explication . The answer unto this Question explains the power or authority of the Elders of the Church , from whom they do receive it , and how it is exercised by them ; the right stating whereof is of great importance in the whole discipline of the Church , and must therefore here be farther explained : to this end we may consider , First , that all Church power is originally vested in Jesus Christ the sole head , and Monarch thereof . God the Father hath committed it unto him , and intrusted him with it for the accomplishment of his work of mediation , Matth. 28.18 . Secondly , that he doth communicate of this authority by way of trust , to be exercised by them in his name , unto persons by him appointed , so much as is needful for the ordering and disposing of all things in his Churches , unto the blessed ends for which he hath instituted and appointed them . For no man can have any power in his Church for any end whatever , but by delegation from him . What is not received from him , is meer usurpation . And whoever takes upon himself the exercise of any Rule , or Authority , or power in the Church , not granted unto them by him , or not rightly derived from him , is an oppressor , a thief , and a Robber ; this necessarily follows upon the absolute investiture of all power in him alone . 1 Cor. 12.28 . Ephe. 4.11 , 12. Thirdly , the means whereby the Lord Christ communicates this power unto men , is by his Law , and constitution , whereby he hath granted , ordained , and appointed , that such and such powers shall be exercised in his Church , and that by such and such persons , to be derived unto them in such a way and manner ; so that the word of the Gospel , or the Laws and constitutions of the Lord Christ therein , are the first recipient seat and subject morally of all Church power whatever . Matth. 16.19 . Matth. 18.18 , 19 , 20. Fourthly , the way and means whereby any persons come to a participation of this power regularly , according to the mind of Christ , is by the obedience unto , and due observation of his laws and commands , in them unto whom they are prescribed . As when an Office , with the power of it , is constituted and limited by the law of the Land , there is no more required to invest any man in that office , or to give him that power , than the due observance of the means and way prescribed in the law to that end . The way then , whereby the Elders of the Church do come to participate of the power and authority which Christ hath appointed to be exercised in his Church , is by their , and the Churches due observance of the Rules and Laws given by him for their election , and setting apart unto that office . Heb. 4.3 . Acts 14.24 . Fifthly , on this account they receive their power from Christ himself alone , and that immediately ; for the means used for their participation of it , are not recipient of the power it self formally , nor do authoritatively collate or conferr it , only the laws of Christ are executed in a way of obedience . So that though they are chosen and set apart to their office by the Church , yet they are made Overseers by the holy-Ghost , Acts 20.28 . Though they have their power by the Church , yet they have it not from the Church ; nor was that power whereof they are made partakers ( as was said ) formally resident in the body of the Church , before their participation of it ; but really in Christ himself alone , and morally in his word or law . And thence is the rule and guidance of the Church committed unto them by Christ , Heb. 13.7 , 17. 1 Pet. 5.2 . 1 Tim. 3.5 . Sixthly , this authority and power thus received from Christ , is that which they exert and put forth in all their ministerial administrations , in all which they do as ministers in the house of God , either in his worship , or in the rule of the Church it self . They exercise that authority of Christ , which he hath in his law appointed to be exercised in his Church ; and from that authority is due order given unto the administration of all the ordinances of worship ; and an obligation unto obedience to acts of rule doth thence also ensue ; so that they which despise them , despise the authority of Christ. Seventhly , when as Elders they do , or declare any thing in the name of the Church , they do not , as such , put forth any authority committed unto them from and by the Church , but only declare the consent and determination of the Church in the exercise of their own liberty and priviledge ; but the authority which they act by , and which they put forth , is that which is committed to themselves as such by Jesus Christ. Eighthly , this authority is comprised in the Law and constitution of Christ which themselves exert only ministerially ; and therefore when ever they act any thing authoritatively , which they are not enabled for , or warranted in by the word of the Gospel , or do any thing without , or contrary unto rule , all such actings as to any spiritual effect of the Gospel , or obligation on the consciences of Men , are Ipso facto null , and are no way ratified in Heaven , where all their orderly actings are made valid ; that is , by Christ himself in his Word . Ninthly , The reason therefore why the consent of the Church is required unto the authoritative acting of the Elders therein ; is not because from thence any authority doth accrew unto them anew , which virtually and radically they had not before ; but because by the rule of the Gospel this is required to the orderly acting of their power , which without it would be contrary to rule , and therefore ineffectual ; as also it must needs be from the nature of the thing it self ; for no act can take place in the Church without or against its own consent , whilest its obedience is voluntary and of choice . But if it be asked , what then shall the Elders do , in case the Church refuse to consent unto such acts as are indeed according to rule , and warranted by the institution of Christ ? it is answered , that they are First diligently to instruct them from the word in their duty , making known the mind of Christ unto them in the matter under consideration . ( 2 ) To declare unto them the danger of their dissent in obstructing the edification of the Body to the dishonour of the Lord Christ , and their own spiritual disadvantage . ( 3 ) To wait patiently for the concurrence of the grace of God with their Ministry , in giving light and obedience unto the Church ; and ( 4 ) In case of the Churches continuance in any failure of duty , to seek for advice and counsel from the Elders and Brethren of other Churches , all which particulars might be enlarged , would the nature of our present design and work permit it . Quest. 29. What is the duty of the Church towards their Elders , Pastors or Teachers ? Answ. ( 1 ) To have them in reverence and honour for their office and works sake . ( 2 ) To obey them conscientiously in all things wherein they speak unto them in the name of the Lord. ( 2 ) To pray earnestly for them , that they may , and to exhort them , if need require , to fulfill the work of the Ministry ( 4 ) To communicate unto them of their temporals for their comfortable subsistance in the World , and usefulness unto others . ( 5 ) Wisely to order things by their direction , so as that they may be amongst them without fear . ( 6 ) To abide with , and stand by them , in their sufferings for the Gospel , and service of Christ among them . ( 1 ) 1 Thes. § . 12 , 13. 1 Tim. 5.17 . ( 2 ) Heb. 13.17 . 1 Cor. 16.16 . ( 3 ) Ephes. 6.18 , 19. Colos. 4.3 . 2 Thes. 3.1 . Colos. 4.17 . ( 4 ) Gal. 6.6 . 1 Cor. 9.14 . ( 5 ) 1 Cor. 16.10 . ( 6 ) 2 Tim. 1.16 , 17 , 18. 2 Tim. 4.16 . Quest. 30. Are there any differences in the Office , or Offices , of the Guides , Rulers , Elders or Ministers of the Church ? Answ. The Office of them that are Teachers , is one and the same among them all ; but where there are many in the same Church , it is the will of Christ that they should be peculiarly assigned unto such especial work in the discharge of their office power , as their gifts received from him do peculiarly fit them for , and the necessities of the Church require . Rom. 12.4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 1 ▪ Cor. 8.11 . 1 Pet. 4.10 . Chap. 5.2 . Explication . The Office of them that are to instruct the Church in the name and authority of Christ , is one and the same , as hath been shewed before . And there are many names that are equally accommodated unto all that are partakers of it , as Elders , Bishops , Guides ; They are all alike Elders , alike Bishops , alike Guides , have the one office in common amongst them , and every one the whole intire unto himself . But there are names also given unto them , whereby they are distinguisht , not as to Office , but as to their work and employment in the discharge of that office : such are Pastors and Teachers , Ephes. 4.11 . Which are placed as distinct persons in their work , partakers of the same Office. Now the foundation of this distinction and difference lyes . First , In the different gifts that they have received ; For although it be required in them all , that they have received all those gifts , abilities , and qualifications which are necessary for the work of the Ministry , yet as to the degrees of their participation of their gifts , some may more excell in one , others in another , 1 Cor. 12.4 , 5 , 6. There are diversities of gifts , but the same spirit , and there are differences of administrations , but the same Lord : and there are diversities of operations , but it is the same God which worketh all in all . For to one is given by the spirit the word of wisdom , to another the word of knowledge by the same spirit , &c. and all these gifts are bestowed upon them to be exercised and laid out , for the profit and benefit of the Church ▪ Verse the 7. The manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withall . And therefore every one is in a● especial manner to attend unto the exercise and use of that gift wherein he doth excell ▪ or which tends most to the edification of the Church ; every man being to minister according as he hath received , 1 Pet. 4.10 . Secondly , It lyes in the nature of the work of the Ministry in the Church , which in general may be referred unto two heads or ends . First , The instruction of it in the knowledge of God in Christ , and the mysteries of the Gospel , that it might grow in grace , wisdom , saving light , and knowledge . Secondly , The exhortation of it to walk answerable unto light received in holiness and universal obedience . Now though these several ends of the Ministry cannot be divided or separated , yet they may be distinguished , and so carryed on distinctly , that in the one , knowledge or light may be firstly and principally intended , so as to lead unto obedience ; in the other , holiness may be firstly designed , as springing from Gospel light or knowledge . Hence therefore are the Elders of the Church , principally to attend unto that work or that end of the Ministry , which by the Holy-Ghost they 〈◊〉 most suited unto . And therefore the Church following the intimations of the Holy-Ghost , in communicating his gifts in variety as he pleaseth , and attending their own edification , may and ought amongst those whom they choose to the Office of Elders or Ministers , withall design them in Particular unto that especial work which they are especially fitted and prepared for ; and this upon their being chosen , and set apart , they are accordingly to attend unto : He that teacheth on teaching , he that exhorteth on exhortation ▪ Rom. 12.7 , 8. Their Office then is the same , but their teaching , work , and employment on the grounds mentioned , distinct and different . Quest. 31. Are there appointed any Elders in the Church , whose office and duty consist in rule and government only ? Answ. Elders not called to teach ordinarily , or administer the Sacraments , but to assist and help in the rule and government of the Church , are mentioned in the Scripture . Rom. 1● . 8 . 1 Cor. 12.28 . 1 Tim. 5.17 . Explication . This Office of ruling Elders in the Church , is much opposed by some , and in especial by them who have least rea●son so to do ▪ For First , They object against them , that they are lay Elders ▪ when those with whom they have to do , deny that distinction of the Church into the Clergy and Layity . For although they allow the distribution of 〈◊〉 , into Officers , and the multitude of the Brethren , yet they maintain that the whole Church is Gods Clergy , his lot , and portion , 1. Pet. 5.3 . Again , they affirm them to be Elders , and therein not meerly of the members of the Church , but Officers set apart unto their Office according to rule , or the appointment of Christ. And if by Layity , the people distinct from the Officers of the Church are to be understood , the very term of a lay Elder implyes a contradiction , as designing one , who is , and is not , a Church Officer . Besides , themselves do principally govern the Church by such whom they esteem Lay-men , as not in holy-Orders ; to whom the principal part of its rule , at least in the execution of it is committed , which renders their objection to this sort of Church-Officers unreasonable . Others also have given advantage by making this Office annual , or biennial , in them that are chosen unto it ; which though they plead the necessity of their Churches for , as not having Persons meet for this work and duty , who are willing to undertake in constantly during their lives , without such a contribution for their maintenance as they are not able to afford ; yet the wisest of them do acknowledge an irregularity in what they do , and wish it remedied . But this hinders not , but that such Church-Officers are indeed designed in the Scripture , and of whom frequent mention is made in the ancient writers , and footsteps also , yet remain in most Churches of their institution , though wofully corrupted . For besides , that some light in this matter may be taken from the Church of the Jews , wherein the Elders of the People , were joyned in Rule with the Priests , both in the Sanhedrim , and all lesser Assemblies ; there is in the Gospel express mention of persons that were assigned peculiarly for Rule and Government in the Church , as 1 Cor. 12.28 . And it is in vain pretended that those words , helps , governments , do denote gifts only , seeing the Apostle expresly enumerates the persons in Office , or Officers , which the Lord Christ then used in the foundation , and Rule of the Churches as then planted . He that ruleth , also is distinguisht from him that teacheth , and him that exhorteth , Rom. 12.8 . and is prescribed diligence , as his principal qualification in the discharge of his duty . And the words of the Apostle to this purpose , are express , 1 Tim. 5.17 . Let the Elders that rule well , be counted worthy of double honour , especially those who labour in the word and doctrine . For the words expresly assign two sorts of Elders , whereof some , only attend unto rule ; others moreover labour in the word and doctrine . Neither doth that word , as some would have it , labour in the Word , intend any other labour but what is incumbent on all the Pastors and Teachers of their Church as their constant duty ; see Rom. 6.12 . Acts 20.35 . 1 Thes. 5.12 . Now can we suppose that the Apostle would affirm them to be worthy of double honour , whom comparing with others , he notes as remiss and negligent in their work . For it seems that others were more diligent in the discharge of that duty , which was no less theirs , if only one sort of Elders be here intended . The Scripture is not wont to commend such persons as worthy of double honour , but rather to propose them as meet for double shame and punishment , Jer. 48.10 . 1 Cor. 9.16 . And they are unmindful of their own interest , who would have Bishops that attend to the rule of the Church , to be distinctly intended by the Elders that rule well ; seeing the Apostle expresly preferreth before and above them , those that attend constantly to the Word and Doctrine . And besides what is thus expresly spoken concerning the appointment of this sort of Elders in the Church , their usefulness in the necessity of their work , and employment , is evident . For whereas a constant care in the Church , that the conversation of all the members of it be such as becometh the Gospel , that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be not evil spoken of , is of great concernment and importance , and the Pastors and Teachers , being to give up themselves continually unto prayer , and the ministry of the word , cannot attend unto the constant and daily oversight thereof , the usefulness of these Elders , whose proper and peculiar work it is to have regard unto the holy walking of the Church , must needs be manifest unto all . But whereas in most Churches , there is little or no regard unto the personal holiness of the members of them , it is no wonder that no account should be had of them who are ordained by the Lord Christ to look after it and promote it . The qualifications of these Elders , with the way of their call and setting apart unto their Office , being the same with those of the Teaching Elders before insisted on , need not be here again repeated . Their authority also in the whole rule of the Church , is every way the same with that of the other sort of Elders , and they are to act in the execution of it with equal respect and regard from the Church . Yea the business of rule , being peculiarly committed unto them , and they required to attend thereunto with diligence in an especial manner , the work thereof is principally theirs ; as that of labouring in the word and doctrine doth especially belong unto the Pastors and Teachers of the Churches . And this institution is abused , when either unmeet persons are called to this Office , or those that are called , do not attend unto their duty with diligence , or do act only in it by the guidance of the Teaching Officers , without a sence of their own authority , or due respect from the Church . Quest. 32. Is there no other ordinary Office in the Church , but only that of Elders ? Answ. Yes of Deacons also . Quest. 33. What are the Deacons of the Church ? Answ. Approved men chosen by the Church to take care for the necessities of the poor belonging thereunto , and other outward occasions of the whole Church , by the collection , keeping , and distribution of the Alms , and other supplyes of the Church , set apart and commended to the grace of God therein , by Prayer . Acts 6.3 , 5 , 6. Phil. 1.1 . 1 Tim. 3.8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13. Explication . The Office of the Deacon , the nature , end , and use of it , the qualification of the persons to be admitted unto it , the way and manner of their Election and setting apart ; are all of them plainly expressed in the Scripture , Acts 6.1 , 2 , 3. There arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews , because the Widdows were neglected in the daily ministration ; then the twelve called the multitude of the Disciples unto them , and said , it is not reason that we should leave the word of God , and serve Tables ; wherefore Brethren , look ye out among you seven men of honest report , full of the Holy-Ghost , and wisdom , whom we may appoint over this business ; and the saying pleased the whole multitude , and they chose Stephen , &c. whom they set before the Apostles , and when they had prayed , they laid their hands on them . 1 Tim. 3.8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13. Likewise must the Deacons be grave , not double tongued , not given to much Wine , not given to filthy lucre , holding the mystery of the faith in a pure Conscience ; and let these also first be proved , then let them use the Office of a Deacon , being found blameless ; the Husbands of one Wife , ruling their Children , and their own house well , for they that have used the Office of a Deacon well , purchase to themselves a good degree , and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus . These things are thus plain and express in the Scr●pture . But whereas many have grown weary of the observation of the institutions of the Gospel , this Office hath for a long time been lost amongst the most of Christians . By some the name is retained , but applyed to another work , duty , and employment than this to which it is peculiarly appropriated in the Scripture . Their proper and original work of taking care for the poor , they say , is provided for by others ; and therefore that office being needless , another , unto another purpose , under the same name , is erected . Such are Deacons that may read Service , Preach and Baptise , when they have license thereunto . But this choice , to rej●ct an Office of the appointment of Christ , under pretence of provision made for the duties of it another way , and the erecting of one not appointed by him , seems not equall . But whereas it is our duty in all things to have regard to the authority of Christ and his appointments in the Gospel , if we claim the priviledge of being called after his name , some think that if what he hath appointed may be colourably performed another way without respect unto his institutions , that is far the best . But omitting the practice of other Men , the things that concern this Office in the Church , are as was said , clear in the Scripture . First , The persons called unto it are to be of honest report , furnished with the gifts of the Holy-Ghost , especially with wisdom , Acts 6.3 . And those other endowments usefull in the discharge of their duty mentioned , 1 Tim. 3.8 . Secondly , The way whereby they come to be made partakers of this Office , is by the choice or election of the Church , Acts 6.2 , 3 , 5. whereupon they are solemnly to be set apart by prayer . Thirdly , Their work or duty consists in a daily ministration unto the necessities of the poor Saints , or Members of the Church , Vers. 1 , 2. Fourthly , To this end that they may be enabled so to do , it is ordained , that every first day the Members of the Church do contribute according as God enables them of their substance , for the supply of the wants of the poor , 1 Cor. 16.2 . And also occasionally , as necessity shall require , or God move their hearts by his grace . Fifthly , Hereunto is to be added whatever by the providence of God may be conferred upon the Church for its outward advantage , with reference unto the end mentioned , Acts 4.34 , 35. Sixthly , These supplyes of the Church being committed to the care and charge of the Deacons , they are from 〈◊〉 to minister with diligence and wisdo● unto the necessities of the poor ; that so the needy may be supplyed , that there may be none that lack , the rich may contribute of their riches according to the mind of Christ , and in obedience unto his command , that they which minister well in this office , may purchase to themselves a good degree , and boldness in the faith , and that in all , the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified with praise and thanksgiving . It belongs therefore unto Persons called unto this Office , First , To acquaint themselves with the outward condition of those that appear to be poor and needy in the Church , whether by the addresses of such poor ones , who are bound to make known their wants , occasions , and necessities unto them , or by the information of others , or their own observation . Secondly , to acquaint the Elders and the Church as occasion requireth with the necessities of the poor under their care , that those who are able may be stirred up by the Elders , to a free supply and contribution . Thirdly , To dispose what they are entrusted with faithfully , cheerfully , tenderly , with partiality or preferring one before another , for any outward respect whatever . Fourthly , To keep and give an account unto the Church when called for , of what they have received , and how they have disposed of it , that so they may be known to have well discharged their Office ; that is with care , wisdom , and tenderness , whereby they procure to themselves a good degree with boldness in the faith , and the Church is encouraged to entrust them farther with this sacrifice of their almes , which is so acceptable unto God. Quest. 24. Wherein consists the general duty of the whole Church , and every member thereof in their proper station and condition ? Answ. In performing , doing , and kéeping inviolate all the commands and institutions of Iesus Christ , walking unblameably and fruitfully in the World , holding forth the Word of truth , and glorifying the Lord Christ in and by the profession of his name , and kéeping his testimony unto the end . Matth. 28.20 . Acts 2.42 . Phil 2.15 , 16. Chap. 4.8 , 9. 1 Thes. 3.8 . 1 Pet. 4.10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14. 1 Tim. 3.15 . Heb. 10.23 . Explication Besides the general duties of Christianity incumbent on all Believers , or Disciples of Christ as such , there are sundry especial duties required of them as gathered into Church societies , upon the account of an especial trust committed unto them in that state and condition ; For , First , the Church being appointed as the seat and subject of all the institutions of Christ , and ordinances of Gospel worship , it is its duty , that is , of the whole body and every member in his proper place , to use all care , watchfulness and diligence , that all the commands of Christ be kept inviolate , and all his institutions observed , according to his mind and will. Thus those added to the Church , Acts 2.42 . Together with the whole Church , continued stedfastly ( which argues care , circumspection and diligence ) in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship and breaking of bread and prayers ; Which principal duties are enumerated , to express their respect towards all . This is their standing fast in the Lord , which was a matter of such joy to the Apostle when he found it in the Thessalonians ; 1 Ephe. 3.8 . For now we live if ye stand fast in the Lord. That order and stedfastness which he rejoyced over in the Colossians ; Chap. 2.5 . For though I am absent in the flesh , yet am I with you in the spirit , joying and boholding your order and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. And where this duty is despised , men contenting themselves with what is done by others , there is a great neglect of that faithfulness in obedience which the Church owes unto Jesus Christ. Secondly , the Glory of the Lord Christ , and the doctrine of the Gospel to be manifested in , and by the power of an holy exemplary conversation , is committed unto the Church and all the members of it . This is one end wherefore the Lord Christ calls them out of the World , separates them to be a peculiar people unto himself , brings them forth unto a visible profession , and puts his name upon them , namely that in their walking , and conversation , he may shew forth the holiness of his doctrine , and power of his spirit , grace , and example to effect in them all holiness ; godlyness , righteousness and honesty in the World. Hence are they earnestly exhorted unto these things . Phil. 4.8.9 . Brethren whatsoever things are true , whatsoever things are honest , whatsoever things are just , whatsoever things are pure , whatsoever things are lovely , whatsoever things are of good report , if there be any vertue , if their be any praise , think on these things ; and that to this end , that the doctrine of the Gospel may be adorned and Christ glorified in all things ; Tit. 2.10 . And those who fail herein are said to be Enemies of the cross of Christ ; Phil. 3.18 ; As hindring the progress of the doctrine thereof , by representing it undesirable in their conversation . This also therefore , even the dutie of universal holiness , with an especial regard unto the honour of Christ , and the Gospel which they are called and designed to testifie and express in the World , is incumbent on the Church , and every member of it ; namely as the Apostle speaks , that they be blameless , and harmless , the sons of God , without rebukes in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation , among whom they are to shine as lights in the World , Phil. 2.15 . Thirdly , the care of declaring and manifesting the truth is also committed unto them . Christ hath made the Church to be the pillar and ground of truth . 1 Tim. 3.15 . where the truth of the Gospel is so firmly seated , founded , fixed , established , and then lifted up in the wayes of Christs appointment to be seen , discerned , and known by others . And as this is done principally in the preaching of the Gospel by the Elders of the Church , and in their contending for the truth once delivered unto the saints , Jude 3. So it is also the duty of the whole Church , to hold forth the word of life , Phill. 2.16 . by ministring of the gift that every man hath received ; 1 Peter , 4.10 . In the way of Christs appointment . In these , and the like instances , doth our Lord Jesus require of his Church that they express in the World their subjection unto him , and his authority ; and that they abide therein unto the end , against all opposition whatever . The sinful neglect of Churches in the discharge of their duty herein , was one great means of that Apostacy from the rule of the Gospel which they generally of old fell into . When the members of them began to think that they had no advantage by their state and condition , but only the outward participation of some Ordinance of worship , and no duty incumbent on them , but only to attend and follow the motions and actings of their Guides , the whole societies quickly became corrupt , and fit to be disposed of according to the carnal interest of those that had by their neglect and sin , gotten dominion over them . And at all times , as the people were negligent in their duty , the Leaders of them were apt to usurp undue authority . When the one sort will not do that which they ought , the other are ready to take upon them what they ought not . It is a circumspect performance of duty on all hands alone , that will keep all sorts of persons in the Church within those bounds , and limits , and up to those rights , and priviledges , which Christ hath allotted and granted unto them . And herein alone doth the order , honour , and beauty of the Church consist . Church members therefore are to search and enquire after the particular duties , which as such , are incumbent on them ; as also to consider what influence their special state and condition as they are Church members , ought to have into all the duties of their obedience as they are Christians . For this priviledge is granted unto them for their edification , that is their fartherance in their whole course of walking before God. And if this be neglected , if they content themselves with a name to live in this or that Church , to partake of the Ordinances that are stated and solemnly administred , only that which would have been to their advantage , may prove to be a snare and temptation unto them . What these especial duties are in the particular instances of them , is of too large a consideration here to be insisted on . Besides it is the great dutie of the Guides of the Church , to be inculcating of them into the minds of those committed to their charge . For the Churches due performance of its dutie , is their honour , Crown , and reward . Qu. 35. Whence do you reckon prayer , which is a part of moral and natural worship , among the institutions of Christ in his Church ? An. On many accounts ; as ( 1 ) because the Lord Christ hath commanded his Church to attend unto the worship of God therein . ( 2 ) because he bestowes on the Ministers of the Church , gifts and ability of prayer for the benefit and edification thereof . ( 3 ) he hath appointed that all his other ordinances should be administred with prayer , whereby it becomes a part of them . ( 4 ) because himself ministers in the holy place , as the great High priest of his Church to present their prayers unto God at the throne of grace . ( 5 ) because in all the prayers of the Church , there is an especial regard had unto himself , and the whole work of his mediation . ( 1 ) Luke 18.1 . Chap. 21.36 . Rom. 12.5 . 1 Tim. 2.1 , 2. ( 2 ) Ephe. 4.8 , 12 , 13. Rom. 8.15 , 16. Gal. 4.6 . ( 3 ) Acts 2.42 . 1 Tim. 4.5 . ( 4 ) Rev. 8 3 , 4. Heb. 4.14 , 15 , 16. Chap. 6.20 . Chap. 10.20.21 , 22. ( 5 ) John 14.13 . Chap. 15.16 , 22 , 26. Ephe. 3.14 , 15. Qu. 36. May not the Church in the solemn warship of God , and celebration of the Ordinances of the Gospel , make use of , and content it self in the use of forms of prayer in an unknown tongue composed by others and prescribed unto them . An. So to do would be ; ( 1 ) contrary to one principal end of prayer it self , which is that Believers may therein apply themselves to the throne of grace for spiritual supplies according to the present condition , wants , and exigencies of their souls . ( 2 ) to the ma●n end that the Lord Iesus Christ aimed at in supplying men with gifts for the discharge of the work of the mimistry , tending to render the the promise of sending the holy Ghost , which is the immediate cause of the Churches preservation and continuance , néedless , and useless . Moreover ( 3 ) It will render the discharge of the duty of Ministers unto several precepts and exhortations of the Gospel , for the use , stirring up and exercise of their gifts impossible , and ( 4 ) thereby hinder the edification of the Church , the great end of all Ordinances and institutions . ( 1 ) Rom. 8.26 . Phil. 4.6 . Heb. 4.16 . 1 Pet. 4.7 . ( 2 ) Ephes. 4.8 , 12 , 13. ( 3 ) 1 Tim. 4.14 . 2 Tim. 1.6 , 7. Colos. 4.17 . Matth. 25.14 , 15 , 16. ( 4 ) 1 Cor. 12.7 . Quest. 37. Is the constant work of Preaching the Gospel by the Elders of the Church , necessary ? Answ. It is so , both on the part of the Elders or Ministers themselves , of whom that duty is strictly required , and who principally therein labour and watch for the good of the flock ; and on the part of the Church , for the fartherance of their faith , and obedience , by instruction , reproof , exhortation , and consolation . Matth. 24.45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51. Rom. 12.7 , 8. 1 Cor. 9. 17 , 18. Ephes. 4.12 , 13. 1 Tim. 4 15 , 16. Chap. 5.17 . 2 Tim. 2.24 , 25. Chap. 3.14 , 15 , 16 , 17. Chapter 4.2 . Quest. 38. Who are the proper subjects of Baptism ? Answ. Professing Believers , if not Baptised in their infancy , and their Infant séed . Matth. 28.19 . Acts 2.38 , 39. Acts 16.33 . 1 Cor. 1.16 . 1 Cor. 7.14 . Colos. 2.12 , 13. With Genesis , 17.10 , 11 , 12. Quest. 39. Where , and to whom , is the Ordinance of the Lords Supper to be administred ? Answ. In the Church , or Assembly of the congregation , to all the Members of it , rightly prepared , and duly assembled , or to such of them as are so assembled . 1 Cor. 11.20 , 21 , 22 , 28 , 29 , 33. Acts. 2.46 . Quest. 40. How often is that Ordinance to be administred ? Answ. Every First day of the wéek , or at least as often as opportunity , and conveniency may be obtained . 1 Cor. 11.26 . Acts 20.7 . Quest. 41. What is the Discipline of the Church ? Answ. It consists in the due exereise of that authority and power which the Lord Christ in and by his Word hath granted unto the Church , for its continuance , increase , and preservation , in purity , order , and holiness , according to his appointment , Matth. 16.19 . Rom. 12.8 . 2 Cor. 10.4 , 5 , 6. Rev. 2.2 , 20. Explication . Sundry things are to be considered about this discipline of the Church ; as First , The foundation of it , which is a grant of power and authority made unto it by Jesus Christ , as Mediator , Head , King , and Law-giver of his Church . For all discipline being an act of power , and this being exercised in and about things internal , and spiritual , no men can of themselves , or by grant of any others , have any right or authority to , or in the exercise thereof . Whoever hath any interest herein , or right hereunto , it must be granted unto him from above , by Jesus Christ , and that as Mediator and head of his Church . For as all Church power , is in an especial manner by the authority and grant of the Father vested in him alone , Matth. 28.18 . Ephes. 1.20 , 21 , 22 , 23. So the nature of it which is spiritual , the object of it which are the Consciences and Gospel priviledges of Believers , with the ends of it , namely the glory of God in Christ , with the spiritual and eternal good of the souls of men , do all manifest that it can have no other right nor foundation . This in the first place is to be fixed , that no authority can be exercised in the Church , but what is derived from Jesus Christ , as was spoken before . Secondly , The means whereby the Lord Christ doth communicate this power and authority unto his Church , is his word or his law and constitution concerning it in the Gospel ; so that it is exactly limited and bounded thereby . And no power or authority can be exercised in the Church , but what is granted and conveyed unto it by the word ; seeing that Christ communicates no power or authority any other wayes . What ever of that nature is beside it , or beyond it , is meer usurpation , and null in its exercise . Herein is the commission of the Guides and Rules of the Church expressed , which they are not to exceed in any thing . Herein are bounds and limits fixed to the actings of the whole Church , and of every part and member of it . Thirdly , This power or authority , thus granted , and conveyed by Jesus Christ , is to be exercised as to the manner of the administration of discipline , with skill and diligence , Rom. 12.6 . 1 Cor. 12. and the skill required hereunto , is a gift , or an ability of mind bestowed by the Holy-Ghost upon men to put in execution the Laws of Christ , for the government of the Church , in the way and order by him appointed ; or a spiritual wisdom whereby men know how to behave themselves in the house of God , in their several places , for its due edification in faith and love , 1 Tim. 3.15 . And this ability of mind to make a due application of the Laws of the Gospel unto persons , times , and actions with their circumstances , is such a gift of the Holy-Ghost , as whereof there are several degrees answering to the distinct duties that are incumbent on the Rulers of the Church on the one hand , and Members on the other . And where this skill and wisdome is wanting , there it is impossible that the Discipline of the Church , should be preserved or carryed on . Hereunto also diligence and watchfulness are to be added , without which ability and power will never obtain their proper end in a due manner , Rom. 12.6 , 7 , 8. Fourthly , The end of this discipline is continuance , increase , and preservation of the Church , according to the rule of its first institution , 1 Cor. 5.7 . This power , hath Christ given his Church for its conservation , without which it must necessarily decay , and come to nothing . Nor is it to be imagined that where any Church is called and gathered according to the mind of Christ , that he hath left it destitute of power and authority to preserve it self , in that state and order which he hath appointed unto it . And that which was one principal cause of the decayes of the Asian Churches , was the neglect of this Dicipline , the power and priviledge whereof , the Lord had left unto them and intrusted them withall , for their own preservation in order , purity and holiness . And therefore for the neglect thereof they were greatly blamed by him . Rev. 2.14 , 15 , 20. Chap. 3.2 . as is also the Church of Corinth by the Apostle , 1 Cor. 5.2 . as they are commended , who attended unto the diligent exercise of it , Revel . 2.2 . Chap. 3.9 . The disuse also of it , hath been the occasion of all the defilements , abominations and confusions , that have spread themselves over many Churches in the World. Quest. 42. Vnto whom is the power and administration of this Discipline committed by Jesus Christ ? Answ. As to the authority to be exerted in it in the things wherein the whole Church is concerned , unto the Elders ; as unto tryall , judgement and consent in , and unto its exercise unto the whole Brotherhood ; as unto love , care , and watchfuless in private and particular cases , to every member of the Church . Matth. 24.45 . Ephes. 4.13 , 14. Acts 20.28 . 1 Tim. 3.5 . Chap. 5.17 . Heb. 13.17 . 1 Pet. 2.3 . 1 Thes. 5.12 . Gal. 6.1 , 2. 1 Cor. 4.14 . 1 Cor. 5.2 , 4 , 5. 2 Cor. 2.6 , 7 , 8. 2 Tim. 4.2 . Explication . It hath been shewed that this power is granted unto the Church by virtue of the Law and constitution of Christ. Now this Law assigns the means and way whereby any persons do obtain an interest therein ; and makes the just allotments to all concerned in it . What this Law , Constitution or Word of Christ assigns unto any , as such , that they are the first seat and subject of , by what way or means soever they come to be intrusted therein . Thus that power or authority which is given unto the Elders of the Church , doth not first formally reside in the body of the Church unorganized or distinct from them , though they are called unto their Office by their suffrage and choice ; but they are themselves as such , the first subject of Office power ; For so is the Will of the Lord Christ. Nor is the interest of the whole Church in this power of discipline whatever it be , given unto it by the Elders , but is immediately granted unto it , by the will and Law of the Lord Jesus . First , In this way and manner the Authority above described , is given in the first place , as such , unto the Elders of the Church . This Authority was before explained , in answer unto the 28th . question , as also was the way whereby they receive it . And it is that power of office whereby they are enabled for the discharge of their whole duty , in the teaching , and ruling of the Church ; called the power of the keyes , from Mat. 16.19 . Which expression being Metaphorical , and in general lyable unto many interpretations , is to be understood according to the declaration made of it in those particular instances wherein it is expressed . Nor is it a two-fold power or Authority that the Elders ▪ of the Church have committed unto them ; one to teach and another to rule , commonly called the power of order , and of jurisdiction ; but it is one power of Office , the duties whereof are of several kinds , referred unto the two general heads , first of teaching by preaching the word and celebration of the Sacraments , and ( 2 ) Of rule or government . By virtue hereof , are they made Rulers over the house of God , Matth. 24.45 . Stewards in his house , 1 Cor. 4.1 . Overseers of the Church , Act. 20.28 . 1 Peter 5.2 . Guides unto the Church , Heb. 13.7 , 17. Not that they have a supream or autocratorical power committed unto them , to enable them to do what seems right and good in their own eyes , seeing they are expresly bound up unto the terms of their Commission , Matth. 28.19 , 20. To teach men to do and observe all , and only what Christ hath commanded ; nor have they by virtue of it , any dominion in , or over the Church , that is , the laws , rules or priviledges of it , or the consciences of the Disciples of Christ , to alter , change , add , diminish , or bind by their own authority , 1 Pet. 5.3 . Mark 10.42 , 43 ▪ 44. But it is a power meerly ministerial , in whose exercise they are unto the Lord Christ accountable servants , Heb. 13.17 . Matth. 24.45 . And Servants of the Church for Jesus sake , 2 Cor. 4.5 . This authority in the Discipline of the Church they exert and put forth by virtue of their Office ; and not either as declaring of the power of the Church it self , or acting what is delegated unto them thereby , but as ministerially exercising the authority of Christ committed unto themselves . Secondly , The body of the Church , or the multitude of the Brethren , ( women being excepted by especial prohibition , 1 Cor. 14.34 , 35. 1 Tim. 2.11 , 12. ) Is by the Law and constitution of Christ in the Gospel , interested in the administration of this power of discipline in the Church , so far as , First , To consider , try , and make a judgement , in and about all persons , things , and causes , in reference whereunto it is to be exercised . Thus the Brethren at Jerusalem joyned in the consideration of the observation of Mosaical ceremonies with the Apostles and Elders , Act. 15.23 . And the multitude of them to whom letters were sent about it , likewise did the same , Verse the 30 , 31 , 32. And this they thought it their duty and concernment to do , Chap. 21 , 22. And they are blamed , who applyed not themselves unto this duty , 1 Cor. 5.4 , 5 , 6. Thence are the Epistles of Paul to the Churches to instruct them in their duties , and priviledges in Christ , and how they ought to behave themselves in the ordering of all things amongst them according to his mind . And these are directed unto the Churches themselves , either joyntly with their Elders , or distinctly from them , Phil. 1.1 . And the whole preservation of Church-order , is on the account of this duty recommended unto them . Neither can what they do in complyance with their Guides and Rulers , be any part of their obedience unto the Lord Christ , unless they make previously thereunto a rational consideration and judgement by the rule , of what is to be done . Neither is the Church of Christ to be ruled without its knowledge , or against its will ; nor in any thing is blind obedience acceptable to God. Secondly , The Brethren of the Church are intrusted with the priviledge of giving and testifying their consent unto all acts of Church power , which though it belong not formally unto the authority of them , it is necessary unto their validity and efficacy ; and that so far forth , as that they are said to do and act what is done and effected thereby , 1 Cor. 5.4 , 13. 2 Cor. 2.6 , 7 , 8. And they who have this priviledge of consent which hath so great an influence into the action and validity of it , have also the liberty of dissent ; when any thing is proposed to be done , the warrant whereof from the Word and the rule of its performance , is not evident unto them . Qu. 43. Wherein doth the exercise of the authority for discipline committed unto the Elders of the Church consist ? An. ( 1 ) In personal private admonition of any member or members of the Church , in case of sin , errour , or any miscarriage known unto themselves . ( 2 ) In publick admonition in case of offences persisted in and brought orderly to the knowledge and consideration of the Church . ( 3 ) In the ejection of obstinate offenders from the society and communion of the Church . ( 4 ) In exhorting , comforting , and restoring to the enjoyment and exercise of Church priviledges such as are recovered from the error of their wayes ; all according to the lawes , rules , and directions of the Gospel . ( 1 ) Matth. 18.15 . 1 Thess. 5.14 . 1 Cor. 4.14 . Titus 1.13 . Chap. 2.15 . 2 Tim. 4.2 . ( 2 ) 1 Tim. 5.19.20 . Matth. 18.16 , 17. ( 3 ) Titus 3.10 . 1 Tim. 1.20 . Matth. 18.17 . 1 Cor. 5.5 . Gal. 5.12 . ( 4 ) 2 Cor. 2.7 . Gal. 6.1 . 2 Thess. 3.15 . Qu. 44. May the Church cast any Person out of its communion without previous admonition ? An. It may in some cases , where the offence is notorious , and the scandal grievous , so that nothing be done against other general rules . 1 Cor. 4. Qu. 45. Wherein doth the liberty and duty of the whole brotherhood in the exercise of discipline in the Church in perticular consist ? An. ( 1 ) In a meek consideration of the condition and temptations of offenders , with the nature of their offences , when orderly proposed unto the Church . ( 2 ) In judging with the Elders according to rule , what in all cases of offence is necessary to be done , for the good of the offenders themselves , and for the edification and vindication of the whole Church . ( 3 ) In their consent unto , and concurrence in the admonition , ejection , pardoning and restoring of offenders , as the matter shall require . Gal. 6.1 , 2. 1 Cor. 5.2 , 4 , 5 , 12. 1 Cor. 6.2 . 2 Cor. 2 , 6 , 7 , 8. Qu. 46. What is the duty of private Members in reference unto the discipline appointed by Christ in his Church ? An. It is their duty in their mutual watch over one another , to exhort each other unto holiness and perseverance ; and if they observe any thing in the wayes and walkings of of any of their fellow Members not according unto the rule , and the duty of their profession , which therefore gives them offence , to admonish them thereof in private with love meekness and wisdom , and in case they prevail not unto their amendment , to take the assistance of some other Brethren in the same work ; and if they fail in success therein also , to report the matter by the Elders direction , unto the whole Church . Matth. 18.16 , 17 , 18. 1 Thess. 5.14 . Explication . In these questions an enquirie is made after the exercise of discipline in the Church , as to that part of it which belongs unto the reproof and correction of miscarriages according to the distribution of right , power , and priviledge , before explained . The first act hereof consists in private admonition ; for so hath our Lord ordained , that in case any Brother , or member of the Church , do in any thing w●lk disorderly , and not according to the rule of the Gospel , that he , or they , unto whom it is observed , and who are thereby offended , may and ought to admonish the person or persons so offending of their miscarriage and offence , concerning which is to be observed . First , what is previously required thereunto ; and that is , First , that in all the members of the Church there ought to be love without dissimulation . They are to be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love , Rom. 12.9 , 10. which as they are taught of God , so they are greatly exhorted thereunto ; Heb. 13.1 . This love is the bond of perfection the most excellent way and means of preserving Church order , and farthering the edification thereof . 1 Cor. 13. Without which , well seated , and confirmed in the hearts and minds of Church members , no duty of their Relation can ever be performed in a due manner . Secondly , this love is to exert and put forth it self in tender care and watchfulness for the good of each other ; which are to work by mutual exhortations , informations , instructions , according as opportunities do offer themselves ▪ or as the necessities of any do seem to require . Heb. 3.13 . Chap. 10.24 . Secondly , this duty of admonishing offenders privately and personally , is common to the Elders with all the members of the Church ; neither doth it belong properly unto the Elders as such but as Brethren of the same society . And yet by virtue of their office the Elders are enabled to do it with more Authority morally , though office power properly be not exercised therein . By virtue also of their constant general watch over the whole flock in the discharge of their office , they are enabled to take notice of , and discern miscarriages in any of the members , sooner than others . But as to the exercise of the discipline of the Church in this matter , this duty is equally incumbent on every member of it , according as the obligation on them to watch over one another , and to exercise especial love towards each other is equal : Whence it is distinguished from that private pastoral admonition , which is an act of the teaching office and power , not directly belonging unto the rule or government enquired after . But this admonition is an effect of love and where it proceedeth not from thence , it is irregular , Matth. 18.16 , 17 , 18. Rom. 15.14 . Thirdly , this duty is so incumbent on every member of the Church , that in case of the neglect thereof , he both sinneth against the institution of Christ , and makes himself partaker of the sin of the party offending , and is also guilty of his danger , and ruine thereby , with all that disadvantage which will accrue to the Church , by any of the members of it continuing in sin against the rule of the Gospel . They have not only liberty thus to admonish one another , but it is their express and indispensible duty so to do . The neglect whereof is interpreted by God to be hatred of our Brother ; such as wherewith the love of God is inconsistent , Levit 19.17 . 1 John 4.20 . Chap. 3.15 . Fourthly , although this duty be personally incumbent on every individual member of the Church , yet this hinders not but if the sin of an offender be known to more than one at the same time , and they joyntly take offence thereat , they may together in the first instance admonish him , which yet still is but the first , and private admonition ; which is otherwise , when others are called into assistance , who are not themselves acquainted with the offence but only by information , and joyne in it , not upon the account of their own being offended , but of being desired according unto rule to give assistance to them that are so . Fifthly , the way and manner of the discharge of this duty is , that it be done with prudence , tenderness , and due regard unto all circumstances ; whence the Apostle supposeth a spiritual abilitie to be necessary for this work Rom. 15.14 . Ye also are full of goodness , filled with all knowledge , also able to admonish one another ; especially four things are to be diligently heeded . First , that the whole duty be so managed , that the person offending may be convinced , that it is done out of love to him and affectionate conscientious care over him , that he may take no occasion thereby for the exasperation of his own spirit . Secondly , that the Persons admonishing others of their offence , do make it appear that what they do is in obedience unto an institution of Christ , and therein to preserve their own souls from sin , as well as to benefit the offenders . Thirdly , that the admonition be grounded on a rule , which alone gives it authority and efficacy . Fourthly , that there be a readiness manifested by them , to receive satisfaction ; either ( 1 ) In case that upon tryal , it appeareth the information they have had of the miscarriage whence the offence arose , was undue , or not well grounded ; or ( 2 ) of acknowledgement and repentance . Sixthly , The ends of this Ordinance and institution of Christ , are , ( 1. ) To keep up Love without dissimulation among all the members of the Church ; for if offences should abide unremoved , love which is the bond of perfection , would not long continue in sincerity ; which tends to the dissolution of the whole society . ( 2. ) To gain the offender , by delivering him from the guilt of sin , that he may not lye under it , and procure the wrath of God against himself , Levit. 19.17 . ( 3. ) To preserve his person from dishonour and disreputation , and thereby to keep up his usefulness in the Church . To this end hath our Lord appointed the discharge of this duty in private , that the failings of men may not be unnecessarily divulged , and themselves thereby exposed unto temptation . ( 4. ) To preserve the Church from that scandal that might befall it , by the hasty opening of all the reall or supposed faylings of its members . And ( 5. ) To prevent its trouble in the publick hearing of things that may be otherwise healed and removed . Seventhly , In case these ends are obtained , either by the supposed offending persons clearing of themselves , and manifesting themselves innocent of the crimes charged on them , as Joshua 22.22 , 23 , 24 , 25. 2 Cor. 7.11 . Or by their acknowledgement , repentance , and amendment , then this part of the discipline of the Church hath , through the grace of Christ obtained its appointed effect . Eighthly , In case the persons offending , be not humbled nor reformed , nor do give satisfaction unto them by whom they are admonished , then hath our Lord ordained a second degree of this private exercise of discipline ; that the persons who being offended , have discharged the foregoing duty themselves according unto rule , shall take unto them others , two or three , as the occasion may seem to require , to joyn with them in the same work and duty , to be performed in the same manner for the same ends , with that before described , Matth. 18 , 15 , 16 , 17. And it is the duty of these persons so called in for assistance ; First , To judge of the crime , fault , or offence reported to them ; and not to proceed unless they find it to consist in something expresly contrary to the rule of the Gospel , and attested in such manner , and with such evidence , as their mutual love doth require in them , with respect unto their Brethren . And they are to judge of the testimony that is given concerning the truth of the offence communicated unto them , that they may not seem either lightly to take up a report against their Brother , or to discredit the testimony of others . Secondly , In case they find the offence pretended not to be a reall offence indeed contrary to the rule of the Gospel , or that it is not aright grounded , as to the evidence of it , but taken up upon prejudice , or an over-easie credulity , contrary to the law of that love which is required amongst Church-members , described 1 Cor. 13. and commanded as the great means of the edification of the Church and preservation of its union , then to convince the brother offended of his mistake , and with him to satisfie the person pretended to be the offender , that no breach or schism may happen among the members of the same body . Thirdly , Being satisfied of the crime and testimony , they are to associate themselves with the offended Brother in the same work and duty , that he himself had before discharged towards the offender . Ninthly , Because there is no determination how often these private admonitions are to be used in case of offence , it is evident from the nature of the thing it self , that they are to be reiterated ; first the one , and then the other , whilest there is any ground of hope , that the ends of them may be obtained through the blessing of Christ , the Brother gained , and the offence taken away . Neither of these then is to be deserted , or laid aside , on the first , or second attempt , as though it were performed only to make way for somewhat farther ; but it is to be waited on with prayer and patience , as an ordinance of Christ appointed for attaining the end aimed at . Tenthly , In case there be not the success aimed at obtained in these several degrees of private admonition , it is then the will of our Lord Jesus Christ , that the matter be reported unto the Church , that the offender may be publickly admonished thereby , and brought to repentance ; wherein is to be observed , First , That the persons who have endeavoured in vain to reclaim their offending Brother by private admonition , are to acquaint the Elders of the Church with the case and crime : as also what they have done according to rule , for the rectifying of it ; who upon that information , are obliged to communicate the knowledge of the whole matter to the Church . This is to be done by the Elders , as to whom the preservation of order in the Church , and the rule of its proceeding do belong , as we have shewed before . Secondly , The report made to the Church by the Elders is to be , ( 1. ) Of the crime , guilt , or offence ( 2. ) Of the Testimony given unto the truth of it ( 3. ) Of the means used to bring the offender to acknowledgement and repentance ( 4. ) Of his deportment under the private previous admonitions either as to his rejecting of them , or as to any satisfaction tendred ; all in order , love , meekness , and tenderness . Thirdly , Things being proposed unto the Church , and the offender heard upon the whole of the offence , and former proceeding , the whole Church , or multitude of the Brethren , are with the Elders to consider the nature of the offence , with the condition and temptations of the offenders , with such a spirit of meekness as our Lord Jesus Christ in his own person set them an example of , in his dealing with sinners , and which is required in them as his Disciples , Gal. 6.1 , 2. 2 Cor. 2.8 . Fourthly , The Elders and Brethren are to judge of the offence , and the carriage of the offender according to rule , and if the offence be evident , and persisted in , then Fifthly , The offender is to be publickly admonished by the Elders , with the consent and concurrence of the Church , 1 Thes. 5.14 . 1 Tim. 5.20 . Matth. 18.16 , 17. And this admonition consists of Five parts ; ( 1. ) A declaration of the crime or offence , as it is evidenced unto the Church . ( 2. ) A conviction of the evil of it , from the rule or rules transgressed against . ( 3. ) A declaration of the authority and duty of the Church in such cases . ( 4. ) A rebuke of the offender in the name of Christ , answering the nature and circumstances of the offence . ( 5. ) An Exhortation unto humiliation and repentance and acknowledgement . Eleventhly , In case the offender despise this admonition of the Church , and come not upon it unto repentance , it is the will and appointment of our Lord Jesus Christ that he be cut off from all the priviledges of the Church , and cast out from the society thereof , or be excommunicated wherein consists the last act of the discipline of the Church for the correction of offenders ; and herein may be considered , First , The nature of it , that it is an authoritative act and so principally belongs unto the Elders of the Church , who therein exert the power that they have received from the Lord Christ , by and with the consent of the Church according to his appointment , Matth. 16.19 . John 20.23 . Matth. 18.18 . 1 Cor. 5.4 . Titus 3.10 . 1 Tim. 1.20 . 2 Cor. 2.6 . And both these the Authority of the Eldership and the consent of the Brethren , are necessary to the validity of the sentence , and that according to the appointment of Christ , and the practice of the first Churches . Secondly , The effect of it , which is the cutting off , or casting out of the person offending from the communion of the Church , in the priviledges of the Gospel , as consequently from that of all the visible Churches of Christ in the earth by virtue of their communion one with another , whereby he is left unto the visible kingdom of Satan in the World , Matth. 18.17 . 1 Cor. 5.2 , 5 , 13. 1 Tim. 1.20 . Titus 3.10 . Gal. 5.12 . Thirdly , The ends of it which are , ( 1. ) The gaining of the party offending , by bringing him to repentance , humiliation , and acknowledgement of his offence , 2 Cor. 2.6 , 7. 2 Cor. 13.10 . ( 2. ) The warning of others not to do so presumptuously . ( 3. ) The preserving of the Church in its purity and order , 1 Cor. 5.6 , 7. all to the glory of Jesus Christ. Fourthly , The causes of it or the grounds and reasons on which the Church may proceed unto sentence against any offending persons . Now these are no other but such as they judge according to the Gospel , that the Lord Christ will proceed upon in his finall judgement at the last day . For the Church judgeth in the name and authority of Christ , and are to exclude none from its communion , but those whom they find by the rule , that he himself excludes from his Kingdom ; and so that which they bind on earth , is bound by him in Heaven , Matth. 18.18 . And their sentence herein is to be declared , as the declaration of the sentence which the Head of the Church , and Judge of all , will pronounce at the last day ; only with this difference , that it is also made known , that this sentence of theirs , is not final or decretory , but in order to the prevention of that which will be so , unless the evil be repented of . Now although the particular evils , sins , or offences , that may render a person obnoxious unto this censure and sentence , are not to be enumerated , by reason of the variety of circumstances which change the nature of actions , yet they may in general be referred unto these heads . First , Moral evils , contrary to the light of nature , and express commands or prohibitions of the moral law , direct rules of the Gospel , or of evil report in the world amongst men walking according to the rule and light of reason . And in cases of this nature , the Church may proceed unto the sentence whereof we speak , without previous admonition , in case the matter of fact be notorious , publickly and unquestionably known to be true , and no general rule ( which is not to be impeached by particular instances ) lye against their proceedure , 1 Cor. 5.3 , 4. 2 Tim. 3.2 , 3 , 4 , 5. Secondly , Offences against that mutual love which is the bond of perfection in the Church if pertinaciously persisted in , Matth. 18.16 , 17. Thirdly , false doctrines against the fundamentals in faith or worship , especially if maintained with contention , to the trouble and disturbance of the peace of the Church , Gal. 5.12 . Titus 3.9 , 10 , 11. 1 Tim. 6.3 , 4 , 5. Revel . 2.14 , 15. Fourthly , Blasphemy , or evil speaking of the wayes and worship of God in the Church , especially if joyned with an intention to hinder the prosperity of the Church , or to expose it to persecution , 1 Tim. 1.20 . Fifthly , Desertion , or total causeless relinquishment of the society and communion of the Church ; for such are self-condemned , having broken and renounced the covenant of God , that they made at their entrance into the Church , Heb. 10.25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29. Sixthly , The time or season of the putting forth the authority of Christ in the Church for this censure , is to be considered ; and that is ordinarily after the admonition before described , and that with due waiting , to be regulated by a consideration of times , persons , temptations , and other circumstances . For , ( 1. ) The Church in proceeding to this sentence , is to express the patience and long suffering of Christ towards offenders , and not to put it forth without conviction of a present resolved impenitency . ( 2. ) The event and effect of the preceding Ordinance of admonition is to be expected ; which though not at present evident , yet like the word it self in the preaching of it , may be blessed to a good issue after many dayes . Sixthly , The person offending , thus cut off , or cast out from the present actual communion of the Church , is still to be looked on and accounted as a Brother , because of the nature of the Ordinance which is intended for his amendment and recovery , 2 Thes. 3.15 . Count him not as an enemy , but admonish him as a Brother ; unless he manifest his finall impenitency , by blasphemy and persecution , 1 Tim. 1.20 . Whom I have delivered unto Satan , that they may learn not to blaspheme . Seventhly , The Church is therefore still to perform the duties of love , and care , towards such persons . ( 1. ) In praying for them , that they may be converted from the errour of their way , James 5.19 , 20. 1 John 5.16 . If any man see his Brother sin a sin , which is not unto death , he shall ask and he shall give him life ; for them that sin not unto death . ( 2. ) In withdrawing from them even as to ordinary converse for their conviction of their state and condition , 1 Cor. 5.11 . 2 Thes. 3.14 . With such a one no not to eat . ( 3. ) In admonishing of him , 2 Cor. 3.15 . admonish him as a Brother , which may be done ( 1 ) Occasionally , by any Member of the Church ( 2 ) On set purpose by the consent and appointment of the whole Church ; which admonition is to contain , ( 1. ) A pr●ssing of his sin from the rule on the Conscience of the offender . ( 2. ) A declaration of the nature of the censure , and punishment which he lyeth under . ( 3. ) A manifestation of the danger of his impenitency , in his being either hardened by the deceitfulness of sin , or exposed unto new temptations of Sathan . Eighthly , In case the Lord Jesus be pleased to give a blessed effect unto this ordinance , in the repentance of the person cut of , and cast out off the Church ; he is , First , To be forgiven both by those who in an especial manner were offended at him , and by him , and by the whole Church , Matth. 18.18 . 2 Cor. 2.7 . Secondly , To be comforted under his sorrow , 2 Cor. 2.7 . And that by ( 1 ) The application of the promises of the Gospel unto his Conscience , ( 2 ) A declaration of the readiness of the Church to receive him again into their love and communion . Fourthly , Restored ( 1 ) By a confirmation or testification of the love of the Church unto him , 2 Cor. 2.8 . ( 2 ) A readmission unto the exercise and enjoyment of his former priviledges in the fellowship of the Church ; all with a spirit of meekness , Gal. 6.1 . Quest. 47. The preservation of the Church in purity , order , and holiness being provided for , by what way is it to be continued and increased ? Answ. The way appointed thereunto , is by adding such as being effectually called unto the obedience of faith shall voluntarily offer themselves unto the society and fellowship thereof , Acts 2.41 . 2 Cor. 8.5 . Explication . The means appointed by our Lord Jesus Christ for the continuance and increase of the Church , are either preparitory unto it , or instrumentally efficient of it . The principal means subservient or preparitory unto the continuance and increase of the Church , is the preaching of the Word to the conviction , illumination and conversion of sinners , whereby they may be made meet to become living stones in this spiritual building , and members of the mystical body of Christ. And this is done either ordinarily in the Assemblies of the Church , towards such as come in unto them and attend to the Word dispensed according to the appointment of Christ amongst them , 1 Cor. 14.24 , 25. If there come in one that believeth not , or one unlearned , he is convinced of all , he he is judged of all , and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest , and so falling down on his face , he will worship God ; or occasionally amongst the Men of the World , Acts 8.4 . Secondly , the instrumentally efficient cause is that which is expressed in the answer , namely the adding in due order unto it , such as being effectually called unto the obedience of the faith and profession of the Gospel , do voluntarily out of conviction of their duty , and resolution to walke in subjection to all the ordinances and commands of Christ , offer themselves to the society and fellowship thereof , whereby they may be laid in this spiritual building as the stones were in the Temple of old , which were hewed and fitted elsewhere . Qu. 48 What is required of them who desire to joyn themselves unto the Church ? An. ( 1 ) That they be free from blame and offence in the World. ( 2 ) That they be instructed in the saving truths and mysteries of the Gospel . ( 3 ) Sound in the faith ( 4 ) That the Lord having called them unto faith , repentance , and newness of life by Iesus Christ , they give up themselves to be saved by him , and to obey him in all things ; and therefore ( 5 ) Are willing and ready through his grace , to walke in subjection to all his commands , and in the observation of all his lawes and institutions , notwithstanding any difficulties , oppositions , or persecutions which they meet withall . ( 1 ) 1 Phil. 10. Chap. 2.15 . 1 Cor. 10.32 . 1 Thess. 2.11 , 12. Tit. 2.10 . ( 2 ) John 6.15 . Acts 26.18 . 1 Pet. 2.9 . 2 Cor. 4.3 , 4 , 6. ( 3 ) 1 Tim. 1.19 , 20. 2 Tim. 4.3 , 4. Ti● . 1.13 . Jude 3. ( 4 ) Ephe. 4.20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24. ( 5 ) 2 Cor. 8.5 . Qu. 49. What is the duty of the Elders of the Church , towards persons desiring to be admitted unto the fellowship of the Church ? An. ( 1 ) To discern and judge by the rule of truth applied in love , betwéen sincere professors and hypocritical pretenders . ( 2 ) To instruct , direct , comfort , and encourage in the way , such as they judge to love the Lord Iesus in sincerity . ( 3 ) to propose and recommend them unto the whole Church , with prayers and supplications to God for them . ( 4 ) To admit them being approved into the order and fellowship of the Gospel in the Church . Acts 8.20 , 23. Tit. 1.10 . Rev. 2.2 . Jer. 15.19 . Acts. 18.26 . 1 Thess. 2.7 , 8 , 11. Acts. 9.29 , 27. Rom. 14.1 . Qu. 50 What is the duty of the whole Church in reference unto such persons ? An. To consider them in love and meekness , according as their condition is known , reported , or testified unto them , to approve of , and rejoice in the grace of God in them , and to receive them in love without dissimulaton . 1 Cor. 13. Explication . What in general is required unto the fitting of any persons to be members of a visible Church of Christ , was before declared , and that is , that , which the Lord Jesus hath made the indispensible condition of entring into his Kingdom , namely of being born again . John 3.33 . This worke being secret , hidden , and invisible , the Church cannot judge of directly and in its own form or nature , but in the means , effects , and consequents of it , which are to be testified unto it concerning them who are to be admitted unto its fellowship and communion ; it is required therefore of them , First , that they be of a conversation free from blame in the world ; for whereas one end of the gathering of Churches is to hold forth , and express the holiness of the doctrine of Christ , and the power of his grace in turning Men from all ungodliness unto sobriety , righteousness and honesty , it is required of them that are admitted into them , that they answer this end . And this the principle of grace which is communicated unto them that believe , will effect and produce . For although it doth not follow that every one who hath attained an unblameable honesty in this World , is inwardly quickened with a true principle of saving grace , yet it doth , that they who are indowed with that principle , will be so unblameable . And although they may on other accounts be evil spoken of , yet their good conversation in Christ will justify it self . Secondly , competent knowledge in the mysteries of the Gospel , is another means whereby the great qualification inquired after is testified unto the Church . For as without this no priviledge of the Gospel can be profitably made use of , nor any duty of it be rightly performed , so saving light is of the essence of conversion and doth inseparably accompany it , 2 Cor. 4.6 . God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness , hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God , in the face of Jesus Christ. Where this is wanting , it is impossible for any person to evidence that he is delivered from that blindness , darkness , and ignorance , which all men are under the power of in the state of nature . Such a measure then of light and knowledge , as whereby men are enabled to apprehend aright of the person and offices of Christ , of the nature of his mediation , the benefits thereof , and the obedience that he requires at the hands of his Disciples , is expected in them who desire to be admitted into the fellowship of the Church . Thirdly , hereunto is to be added , soundness in the faith . For the unity of faith is the foundation of Love and all the duties thereof , which in an especiall manner are to be performed towards the Church , called therefore the house-hold of faith . There is among the members of the Church one faith ; Ephes. 4.5 . The common faith , the faith once delivered unto the saints , Jude 3. Which is the sound doctrine , 1 Tim. 1.10 . Which those that will not endure , must be turned from ; 2 Tim. 4.3 . the faithful word that is to be held fast . Tit. 1.9 . 1 Tim. 1.19 . And which we are to be sound in ; Tit. 1.13 . Contained in a form of sound words , as to the profession of it , 2 Tim. 1.13 . And this soundness in the unity of the faith , as it should be improved unto oneness of mind , and oneness of accord , in all the things of God , Phil. 2.2 . Though it may admit of some different apprehensions in some things , wherein some may have more clear and distinct discoveries of the mind and will of God than others , which hinders not , but that all may walk according to the same rule , Phil. 3.15 , 16. So it is principally to be regarded in the fundamentall truths of the Gospel , in and by the faith whereof the Church holdeth on the head Jesus Christ ; Coloss. 2.19 . And in the fundamentall principles of Gospel worship , the joynt celebration , whereof is the next end of the gathering the Church , for without a consent of mind and accord herein , no duty can be performed unto edification , nor the peace of the Church be preserved ; and these principles are those which we have explained . Fourthly , it is required that these things be testified by them unto the Church , with the acknowledgement of the worke of Gods grace towards them , and their resolution through the power of the same grace to cleave unto the Lord Christ with full purpose of heart , and to live in all holy obedience unto him . They come to the Church , as Disciples of Christ professing that they have learnt the truth as it is in Jesus , which what it infers the Apostle teacheth at large ; Ephes. 4.20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24. See also Acts 11.23 . Acts 8.21 , 22 , 23. And this by themselves to be testified unto the Church . First , that they may be received in love without dissimulation , as real partakers in the same faith , hope and salvation with themselves , as living members of the mystical body of Christ. Secondly , That on all ensuing occasions , they may be minded of their own profession and engagements , to stir them up thereby unto faithfulness , stedfastness , and perseverance . Hereupon are the Elders of the Church to judge by the rule of truth in Love and meekness concerning their condition , and meetness to be laid as living stones in the house of God ; so as that they may , ( 1. ) Reject false hypocritical pretenders if in or by any means their hypocrisie be discovered unto them . Acts 8.20 , 23. Titus 1.10 . Jer. 15.19 . ( 2. ) That they may direct , and encourage in the way , such as appear to be sincere , instructing them principally in the nature of the way whereinto they are engaging , the duties , dangers , and benefits of it . Acts 18.26 . Act. 14.22 . 1 Cor. 3.22 , 23. ( 3. ) To propose them , their conditions , their desires , their resolutions , unto the Church after their own expressions of them , to be considered of in love and meekness , Acts 9.26 , 27. Whereupon those that are approved , do give up themselves unto the Lord , to walk in the observation of all his commands and ordinances , and to the Church for the Lords sake , 2 Cor. 8.5 . abiding in the fellowship thereof , whereunto they are admitted , Acts 2.41 , 42. Quest. 51. Wherein doth the especial form of a particular Church whereby it becomes such , and is distinguished as such from all others , consist ? Answ. In the special consent and agréement of all the members of it , to walk together in the observation of the same Ordinances numerically ; hence its constitution and distinction from other Churches doth procéed . Exod. 19.5 , 8. Chap. 24.3 , 7. Deut. 26.17 . 2 Cor. 8.5 . Acts 14.23 . Acts 20.28 . Heb. 13.17 . Explication . It hath been before declared , what especial agreement or covenant there ought to be among all the members of the same Church , to walk together in a due subjection unto , and observance of all the institutions of the Lord Christ. And this is that which gives it its special form and distinction from all other Churches . In the general nature of a Church , all Churches do agree , and equally partake . There is the same law of the constitution of them all ; they have all the same rule of obedience ; all the same Head , the same end ; all carry it on by the observation of the same Ordinances in kind . Now besides these things which belong unto the nature of a Church in general , and wherein they all equally participate , they must also have each one its proper difference , that which doth distinguish it from all other Churches ; and this gives it its speciall form as such . Now this cannot consist in any thing that is accidental , occasional , or extrinsical unto it , such as is cohabitation , ( which yet the Church may have respect unto , for conveniency , and farthering of its edification ) nor in any civil or political disposal of its members into civil societies for civil ends , which is extrinsecal to all its concernments as a Church ; nor doth it consist in the relation of the Church to its present Officers , which may be removed or taken away without the dissolution of the form or being of the Church , but it consisteth as was said in the agreement or covenant before mentioned ; For First , This is that which constitutes 〈◊〉 a distinct body , different from others ; for thereby and no otherwise do they coalesce into a society , according to the law of their constitution and appointment . Secondly , this gives them their especial relation unto their own Elders , Rulers , or Guides who watch over them as so associated by their own consent , according unto the command of Christ. And Thirdly , From hence they have their mutual especial relation unto one another which is the ground of the especial exercise of all Church duties whatsoever . Quest. 52. Wherein consists the duty of any Church of Christ towards other Churches ? Answ. ( 1 ) In walking circumspectly , so as to give them no offence . ( 2 ) In prayer for their peace and prosperity . ( 3 ) In communicating supplyes to their wants according to ability . ( 4 ) In receiving with love and readiness the members of them into fellowship , in the celebration of the Ordinances of the Gospel , as occasion shall be . ( 5 ) In desiring and making use of their counsel and advice in such cases of doubt , and difficulty , as may arise among them . ( 6 ) In joyning with them to express their communion in the same doctrine of faith . ( 1 ) 1 Cor. 10.32 . ( 2 ) Psalm . 122.6 . Ephes. 6.18 . 1 Tim. 2.1 . ( 3 ) 2 Cor. 8.4 , 6. Acts 11.29 , 30. Rom. 15.26 , 27. ( 4 ) Rom. 16.1 , 2.3 Ep. Joh. 8 , 9. ( 5 ) Acts 15.2 . ( 6 ) 1 Tim. 3.15 . Explication . Churches being gathered and setled according to the mind of Christ , ought to preserve a mutual holy communion among themselves , and to exercise it , in the discharge of those duties whereby their mutuall good and edification may be promoted . For whereas they are all united under one Head the Lord Christ , Ephes. 1.22 , 23. in the same faith and order , Ephes. 4.5 . And do walk by the same rule , they stand in such a relation one to another , as is the ground of the communion spoken of . Now the principal wayes , whereby they exercise this communion , are the acts and duties enumerated in the answer unto this Question ; as , First , Carefull walking so as to give no offence unto one another ; which although it be a moral duty in reference unto all , yet therein especial regard is to be had unto other Churches of Christ , that they be not in any thing grieved or tempted , 1 Cor. 10.32 . Give none offence ; neither to the Jews nor to the Gentiles , nor to the Church of God. Secondly , In constant prayer for the peace , welfare , edification and prosperity one of another , Rom. 1.9 . Colos. 1.9 . Ephes. 6.18 . And this because of the special concernment of the name and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ , in their welfare . Thirdly , In communicating of supplyes for their relief according unto their ability , in case of the outward wants , straits , dangers , or necessities of any of them , Acts 11.29 , 30. Rom. 15.26 , 27. 2 Cor. 8.1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 , 14. Fourthly , The receiving of the members of other Churches to communion , in the celebration of Church Ordinances , is another way whereby this communion of Churches is exercised , Rom. 16.1 , 2.3 Ep. Joh. 8.9 . For whereas the personal right of such persons unto the Ordinances of the Church , and their orderly walking in the observation of the commands of Christ , are known by the testimony of the Church whereof they are members , they may without farther enquiry or satisfaction given , be looked on pro tempore as members of the Church wherein they desire fellowship , and participation of the Ordinances of Christ. Fifthly , In desiring or making use of the counsel and advice of one another , in such cases of doubt and difficulty , whether doctrinal , or practical , as may arise in any of them , Act. 15.2 , 6. And from hence it follows , that in case any Church either by errour in doctrine , or precipitation , or mistake in other administrations , do give offence unto other Churches , those other Churches may require an account from them , admonish them of their faults , and withhold communion from them , in case they persist in the errour of their way ; and that because in their difficulties , and before their miscarriages , they were bound to have desired the advice , counsel and assistance of those other Churches , which being neglected by them , the other are to recover the end of it unto their utmost ability , Gal. 2.6.11 . And hence also it follows , that those that are rightly and justly censured in any Church , ought to be rejected by all Churches whatever ; both because of their mutuall communion , and because it is , and ought to be presumed , untill the contrary be made to appear , that in case there had been any difficulty , or doubt in the proceedure of the Church , they would have taken the advice of those Churches , with whom they were obliged to consult . Lastly , Whereas the Churches have all of them one common faith , and are all obliged to hold forth and declare it to all men as they have opportunity , 1 Tim. 3.15 . to testifie this their mutual communion , their interest in the same faith and hope , for the more open declaration and proposition of the truths of the Gospel which they profess , and for the vindication both of the truth , and themselves , from false charges and imputations , they may , and if God give opportunity , ought to joyn together in declaring and testifying their joynt consent and fellowship in the same doctrine of faith , expressed in a form of sound words . Quest. 53. What are the ends of all this dispensation and order of things in the Church ? Answ. The glory of God , the honour of Iesus Christ the Mediator , the fartherance of the Gospel , the edification and consolation of Believers here ; with their eternal salvation hereafter . Rev. 4.9 , 10 , 11. Chap. 5.12 , 13. 1 Cor. 3 22.23 . Ephes. 4.11 , 12 , 13. Finis . 
A59850	----	A practical discourse of religious assemblies by Will. Sherlock. Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707. 1681 Approx. 435 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 201 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2004-08 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A59850 Wing S3322 ESTC R27485 09884835 ocm 09884835 44315 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A59850) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 44315) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1367:6) A practical discourse of religious assemblies by Will. Sherlock. Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707. [14], 367 [i.e. 383], [1] p. Printed for Richard Chiswell, London : 1681. Reproduction of original in the Union Theological Seminary Library, New York. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Church of England -- Customs and practices. Worship. Public worship. 2003-11 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-12 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2004-04 Rina Kor Sampled and proofread 2004-04 Rina Kor Text and markup reviewed and edited 2004-07 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A Practical DISCOURSE OF Religious Assemblies . By WILL. SHERLOCK , D. D. Rector of St. George Botolph-lane , London . LONDON , Printed for Richard Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard ▪ M. DC . LXXXI . The Preface . To his Beloved Parishioners , the Inhabitants of St. George Botolph-lane , and St. Botolph-Billingsgate , Grace , Peace , and Truth , be multiplied . My Friends and Brethren , I Hope we are all sensible of that great Account we must shortly give to God of all our Actions , which obliges us , as we love our Souls , to take care , both to know our Duty , and to practise it ; neither to suffer our selves to be byassed by Interest , Prejudice , and Partiality in our Inquiries after Truth , which is the common cause of many dangerous Mistakes in Religion ; nor to be overborn by any impetuous Lusts and Passions , to the neglect or violation of it . That Relation I stand in to you , makes me concerned , as I love my own Soul , to take care of yours ; and tho there are many Men fitted with greater Abilities for the discharge of so weighty an Office ; yet I thank God , I cannot charge my self with any wilful neglect , either in informing my self , or instructing you . I am as careful as I can not to mistake my self , and resolvedly honest not to conceal any part of your Duty from you , tho in this Age plain and free dealing meets with no great encouragement . The greatest hindrance I have in the exercise of my Ministry among you is , That many of you , who are as much bound to attend my Instructions , as I am to instruct you , and must as certainly give an account of your neglect , as I must of mine , do yet either wholly , or in part , withdraw your selves from your Parish Church , and make it in that way impossible for me to discharge this Duty to you . And therefore that I might not be wholly wanting in my Duty to you , I have sent this little Book to wait on you at your Houses , and to invite you to our Communion , to convince you of the evil of such a Neglect , and to remove those Mistakes and Prejudices which have kept you at a distance . And since some of you , who do not forsake my Ministry , are yet guilty of other Neglects , which are of very dangerous consequence , especially the neglect of the Holy Supper of our Lord , I have here admonished you of your Duty , and offered the most prevailing Considerations , I could think of , to perswade you to it . And now I hope you cannot take it ill , if I endeavoured to make this Discourse , which was designed for your Instruction , as generally useful as might be , and took a larger scope than I hope had been necessary , had it been calculated only for your private use ; since I would not have you , nor the World think , that I charge you with all those Faults and Miscarriages which I there reprove ; but there are too many , who are called Christians , guilty of them all , and possibly this Book may fall into the hands of some such Men ; and if it does , I pray God they may find the benefit of such plain , but seasonable Instructions . But whatever other Men do , I think , I may in reason and justice expect from you , that you will vouchsafe to read and consider this Discourse . I have contrived it to be as plain and easy as I could ; but yet I fear some things may not be fitted to every Capacity ; for as there are different degrees of Knowledg among Men , so I did not scrupulously confine my self to the lowest , being , as St. Paul speaks , A Debtor to all Men , to the Wise , and to the Unwise ; And therefore if any of you find any thing above your reach , do not presently fling the Book away , for you will find those things , which are of most general concernment , fitted to very ordinary Understandings . If you meet with any thing , which you may think sharp or severe , God is my Witness , that I have no design to anger any Man in it , and therefore have carefully avoided all unnecessary Severities ; but there are some severe Truths , which yet must in many cases be spoken , if we would do any good : And those Patients who will not endure the severity of a Cure , must perish under more gentle Remedies . I only beg this requital of my pains and care of you , That if you have any Objections against what is offered , if you meet with any thing you do not understand , you would consult me in it ; if you are offended at any thing , let me know it first , before you publish it to others : and if you have nothing to oppose , have a care of resisting the Evidence of Truth , but comply with your Duty , and rejoice that you are delivered from any Mistakes . I beseech God give you a good understanding in all Things , and Hearts obedient to the Truth , and preserve you blameless until the coming of our Lord Iesus Christ. Which is the hearty prayer of Your faithful Friend and Servant in the Gospel of Christ , W. Sherlock . THE CONTENTS . The Introduction . OF Religion in general , Page 1 What Religious Worship is , Page 3 Of Publick Worship , and the danger of forsaking publick Assemblies , Page 4 The difference between Schisms in the Church , and from the Church , Page 7 The difference between Schism and Heresy , Page 9 What is a publick Assembly for Religious Worship , Page 15 A Scheme of the Design of the following Treatise , Page 17 The seasonableness of this Discourse , Page 18 Some Objections against it answered , Page 20 Part I. Chapter 1. Section 1. COncerning Speculative Atheists , Pag. 28 The Inclinations of Humane Nature to Religious Worship , Pag. 29 What natural Inclinations are not owing to education , Pag. 30 Inclination to Religious Worship natural , and yet Idolatry and Polytheism not the Voice of Nature , Pag. 32 How natural Inclinations to Religion , prove the natural Notions of God imprinted on Mens minds , Pag. 35 To scoff at Religion , is contray to good Manners , an affront to humane Nature , to the Wisdom and Authority of Government , and to the wisdom of Philosophers , Pag. 40 To scoff at Religion , exposes such Scoffers to contempt , Pag. 42 To deride Religion , is contrary to Mens Interest , as being injurious to publick Societies , Pag. 45 To affront God , more dangerous than meer Atheism , Pag. 46 Tho Religion were a mistake , yet it is no ridiculous thing , Pag. 48 Atheists should not wholly forsake Religious Assemblies , Pag. 50 Non intermeddle in the Disputes of Religion , Pag. 52 Section 2. Concerning the Practical Atheist , Pag. 53 Irreligion as great an affront to God as Atheism , Pag. 54 Not to worship is great injustice , Pag. 56 Irreligion the most sordid Ingratitude , Pag. 65 Our Baptismal Vow an Obligation to Religious Worship , Pag. 73 Section 3. The danger of Irreligion , both with respect to this World and the next , Pag. 82 The folly of Irreligion , Pag. 91 A serious Exhortation to take care of our Souls , Pag. 98 Every part of Religious Worship fitted to the Wants and Necessities of our Souls , Pag. 99 The care of our Souls our greatest concernment , Pag. 104 CHAP. II. COncerning Publick Worship , Pag. 110 Publick Worship to be preferred before private , tho it were not expresly commanded by God , Pag. 111 Publick Worship a greater honour to God than private Devotions , Pag. 116 External Worship must be publick , Pag. 118 God is a publick Benefactor , and therefore publick Worship is due to him , Pag. 120 Publick Worship instituted by God under the Law , Pag. 122 And by Christ under the Gospel , the true Notion of a Church requires it , Pag. 125 This proved from the nature of Christian Communion and Sacraments , Pag. 126 The same proved from the Institution of the Gospel-Ministry , and the power of the Keys , Pag. 130 And from the publick profession of Christianity , Pag. 133 And from the Duty of Princes , to encourage and propagate Religion , Pag. 134 CHAP. III. Section 1. COncerning those who plead Conscience for Separation , and set up distinct Communions of their own , Pag. 138 Some Inquiries , with reference to their honesty and sincerity in this Matter , Pag. 139 1. Whether they separate upon true Principles of Conscience ; the difference between private Opinion and Conscience , and the use of this Distinction , ibid 2. Whether they consider the great Evil of Schism , Pag. 151 3. Whether they believe our Communion to be unlawful , Pag. 156 4. How they came to think our Communion unlawful , Pag. 156 5. Whether they ever impartially examined the Reasons of their Separation , Pag. 170 6. How they behave themselves towards their Governors , Pag. 184 Section 2. Some general Considerations , in order to remove those Prejudices which some have entertained against the Worship of the Church of England , Pag. 188 1. From the Nature of God , Pag. 190 2. From the Nature of Christian Religion , Pag. 193 3. From the Example of our Saviour , Pag. 207 4. From the practice of the Apostles , and the first and best Churches , Pag. 208 Section 3. An answer to some popular Cavils , Pag. 215 Concerning Will-Worship , Pag. 216 Concerning Superstition , Pag. 222 The Church of England charged with Idolatry , Pag. 235 And with Popery , Pag. 236 PART . II. CHAP. I. COncerning Parochial Communion , CHAP. II. Concerning irreverence in Worship , 267 CHAP. III. Concerning the neglect of the publick . Prayers of the Church , 281 CHAP. IV. Concerning the publick administration of Baptism , 289 CHAP. V. Concerning the publick instruction of Youth , 296 CHAP. VI. Concerning the great neglect of the Lord's Supper . ERRATA . PAge 6. line 26 , read Apollos . P. 9. l. 13. r. and that none . P. 18. l. 15. r. that they either . P. 50. l. 14. f. we , r. be . P. 105. l. 18. r. you 'l . P. 124. l. 26. r. who . P. 164. l. 9. r. fell . P. 185. l. 2. r. them . P. 208. l. 6. r. so . P. 212. l. 11. f. if , r. that . P. 219. l. 24. r. now though . P. 224. l. 12 , 13. r. difficult . P. 230. l. 5. r. had . P. 331. l. 18. f. rule , r. rite . P. 346. l. 28. f. truth , r. faith . A Practical Discourse OF Religious Assemblies . The INTRODUCTION . 1. Containing a short Account of the nature of Christian Assemblies for Publick Worship . 2. A Scheme of the Design of this following Treatise . 3. The seasonableness of such a Discourse . 1. RELIGION is the greatest Concernment of Mankind , both with respect to this life and the next ; and the Worship of God is the most excellent part of Religion , as having GOD , the most excellent Being , for its immediate Object : This is the Work and constant Imployment of Angels , and blessed Spirits in Heaven , who see the Face of God , dwell in his Presence , admire his essential Glory , and infinite Perfections , and sing Eternal Hallelujah's to Him. When we come to Heaven , we shall have no unruly Passions and Appetites to govern ; and tho our Souls shall be transformed into a pure Flame of Divine Love , yet there will be no place for the laborious exercise of Charity , in pitying and relieving one another ; where all the Inhabitants shall be perfectly happy in the enjoyment of the most perfect Good. Indeed in this World Temperance and Charity are no Christian Vertues , but as they are acts of Worship ; that is , as they flow from a great sense of God , and veneration for him : for God is the sole Object of Religion ; and to be sober , and to be charitable upon some meaner Considerations , without any respect to God , as the last end of all , is to serve our selves or our Friends , or to follow the inclinations of our nature , but is not properly the Service of God. Whatsoever we do out of a just sense of God , is in some respects an act of Worship ; for it is to honour the Deity , which may as effectually be done by actions , as by words ; verbal praises are of no value with God , are meer lip-labour and formal complements , when they are alone , and produce no answerable effects in our lives . This is what the Apostle calls , a form of Godliness , without the power of it . Religion is nothing else but such a vital sense of God , as excites in us devout affections , and discovers it self in a divine and heavenly Conversation . But yet that which we more strictly call Worship , is the most visible and solemn expression of our Honour for God , when we lift up our hearts , and our eyes and hands to God in Prayers , Praises , and Thanksgivings ; and when it is sincere and hearty , has a powerful influence upon the government of our Lives : For what sincere Worshipper can be so void of all fear of God , as to break his Laws , and contemn his Authority , and despise his Judgements ? and therefore that vain and hypocritical semblance of Religion , wherewith some bad Men deceive themselves , and flatter God , is called the form of Godliness without the power , it being only an external imitation of Religious Worship , without that powerful sense of God , which governs the Lives of truly devout and pious Men. And as the Worship of God is the most excellent part of Religion , which has the most universal and most powerful influence upon our Lives : So publick Worship is the most excellent Worship , as you shall hear more hereafter . Indeed the right and power of holding Publick Assemblies for Worship , is the fundamental right of the Church , whereon all Church-Authority depends , as has been well observed and proved by a * Learned Man of our Church . The Power of the Keys signifies no more , than Authority to take in , and to shut out of the Church ; the first is done by Baptism , the second by Church-Censures , the highest of which is Excommunication , which debarreth Men from all parts of Christian Communion . And therefore the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews , makes forsaking Christian Assemblies , either to be an Apostacy from Christianity , as it was in those days , or at least a fair step towards it : he exhorts those to whom he writ , to hold fast the profession of their Faith without wavering ; that is , to continue firm and stedfast in the profession of Christianity , and in order to this , gives them this Caution , Not forsaking the assembling of themselves together , as the manner of some is , but exhorting one another , and so much the more as you see the day approaching . Which at least supposes , that to forsake the Assemblies of Christians , does greatly dispose Men to a final Apostacy , as appears from the following verses , wherein he urges the great danger of Apostacy , which had been nothing to his purpose , had not separation at least been the beginning of it : But if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledg of the Truth , there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sin , but a certain fearful looking for of Vengeance , and fiery Indignation , which shall devour the Adversary . He that despised Moses ' s Law , died without mercy under two or three Witnesses ; of how much sorer punishment shall he be thought worthy , that trampleth under foot the Son of God , and hath counted the Blood of the Covenant , wherewith he was sanctified , an unholy thing , and hath done despite unto the Spirit of Grace ? The truth is , whoever carefully examines the state of the Apostolical-Churches , according to that account we find of them in the Writings of the Apostles , ( and I may add of the succeeding Ages ) from the report of the most Primitive and Apostolical Fathers , will find , that none but Apostates from Christianity ( by Apostates , not meaning those who wholly renounced the Name and Profession , but those who renounced the Truth of Christian Doctrine ) actually separated from the Communion of the Church . There were Schisms and Divisions in the Church of Corinth , which S. Paul reproves them for ; but we do not find that they actually separated into distinct Communions , but contended amongst themselves about the preference of several Apostles , which of them was greatest ; Every one of you saith , I am of Paul , and I of Apollo , and I of Cephas ( or Peter ) and I of Christ. And this seems to be the Case in the second Schism of Corinth , in the time of Clemens Romanus , who writ a Letter to them in the name of the Church of Rome , perswading them to Peace , Unity , and Order . But besides these Schisms in the Church , ( which S. Paul makes a great sign of carnality ; For are ye not carnal ? for whereas there is among you Envying , and Strife , and Divisions , are ye not carnal , and walk as Men ? For while one saith , I am of Paul , and another , I am of Apollos , are ye not carnal ? There were also Schisms from the Church ; as we learn from St. Paul's Epistle to Timothy ; For of this sort are they who creep into Houses , ( who kept Secret and Clandestine Meetings ) and lead captive silly Women , laden with Sins , led away with divers Lusts ; ever learning , but never able to come to the knowledg of the Truth . Now as Iannes and Iambres withstood Moses , so do these also resist the Truth : that is , they opposed themselves against the Apostles of Christ , who were the only Teachers of the true Religion ; and were that to the Christian Church , which Moses was to the Iews . Which plainly signifies that they set themselves up against the Apostles , and gathered Churches in opposition to them . Of such Separatists St. Iohn speaks ▪ whom he calls Antichrists ; they went out from us , because they were not of us ; for if they had been of us , they would no doubt have continued with us : but they went out , that it might be made manifest , that they were not all of us . Where the Apostle expresly affirms , that they went out from them , that is , forsook the Christian Assemblies : by which he proves , that they were not of them , i. e. that they did not belong to the same Body and Society , but had entertained such Doctrines , as were destructive to the Christian Faith , for otherwise they would not have separated from the Christian Church . Now this necessarily supposes , that Christian Communion is so indispensible a Duty , that no Man can causlesly separate from the Christian Church , without at least bringing his Christianity into question ; that nothing can reasonably tempt Men to a Separation , but their renouncing some great Article of the Christian Faith , nor can any thing justify a Separation , but such Corruptions , as destroy the Faith once delivered to the Saints ; for otherwise there had bin no force in the Apostle's Argument to prove that they were corrupt in the Faith from their Separation ; They went out from us , because they were not of us : for if they had been of us , no doubt they would have continued with us . So that tho we should grant , that Schism ( as Dr. Owen earnestly contends ) signifies no more than Divisions and Contentions among the Members of the same Church , without the breach of Church-Communion , and therefore Separatists are not properly Schismaticks . I know not what he gains by this , when Separation in the Apostles days was looked upon as a much greater evil than Schism , and yet none but Hereticks , or Apostates from the Truth of Christian Doctrine , were in those days guilty of it ; and if the Apostle's Argument holds good , a sinfull and causless Separation can never be own'd without some degree of Apostacy . It is to no great purpose to dispute the signification of words , when the difference between things is plain and notorious . But yet there seems to be a manifest difference in Scripture between Schism and Heresie : the first being commonly applied to signifie those Divisions which were among Christians in the same Communion ; the second , if not always , yet chiefly applied to signify Separation from the Church : for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly signifies a Sect , or Party , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Sectarian . Thus Christianity it self , when the Christians united into a distinct Church-Society , was called Heresy , or a new Sect , and the Sect of the Nazarens . Thus we read of the Sect of the Sadduces , and the Sect of the Pharisees , where the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Heresy is always used . Now tho these different Sects among the Iews did not separate into distinct Assemblies for Worship , but all worshipped at the Temple , ( as even the Christian Iews did , while the Temple stood , as appears from what happened to St. Paul at Ierusalem , the last time he went thither ) yet they were distinguished by different Opinions , Rites and Usages , and Schools ; and , which is usually the effect of such Distinctions , by different Interests and Affections . And , in allusion to those Jewish Sects , these Differences amongst Christians , which did not break forth into open Separation , but occasioned great sidings and Parties , and Heats and Animosities , were indifferently called Schisms , or Heresies . Thus St. Paul joyns Hatred , Variance , Wrath , Seditions , Heresie . But then there were another sort of Heresies , which always ended in Separation ; for such Men were always either cast out of the Church , or separated themselves . Such are those which St. Peter calls Damnable Heresies , whom he compares with the fallen Angels , and the old World , which was destroyed with a Deluge of Water ; and Sodom and Gomorrah , whom he calls presumptuous , self-willed , and that are not afraid to speak evil of Dignities ; that is , who did wilfully and obstinately oppose the Apostles of Christ , who were invested with his Authority , answerable to the Sin of those in the Jewish Church , who set themselves up against Moses and Aaron , and reproached the Rulers of the People ; and it is expresly called , — doing presumptuously , not to hearken to the Priest , that standeth to minister before the Lord. And therefore these Men are said , to have forsaken the right way , and are gone astray . And whoever compares this Chapter with St. Iude's Epistle , will find that St. Peter and S. Iude speak of the same Men , for their Characters do exactly agree ; and of them S. Iude tells us , these be they who separate themselves sensual , having not the Spirit . And thus in the first Ages of Christianity , no Men ever separated from the Communion of the Church , but such gross Hereticks , the several Sects of Gnosticks , of whom Irenaeus and Epiphanius give us a large and particular account ; and for this reason the name Heresy , which properly signifies a Sect or Separation , came to be applied to corrupt and Heretical Doctrines , which in those days were the only cause of Separations . And we may find some remains of this ancient and original use of these words in after-ages ; for though Schism commonly was used in Church-Writers to signify Separation from Church-Communion , and Heresy to signify false Doctrine ; yet separation from the Christian Church , though it were only ocasioned upon a Dispute about Discipline , without any other error in matters of Faith , was called Heresy ; Thus St. Cyprian I remember calls the Schism of Novatianus [ Haereticam Pravitatem ] Heretical Impiety ; and in answer to that question of Antonianus , Quam Haeresin ( Novatianus ) introduxisset , What Heresy Novatianus was the Author of ? he alledges nothing but the breach of the Peace and Unity of the Church , and says , That we ought not curiously to enquire , what he teaches , who is out of the Church ; for whatever he be , he is no Christian , who is not in the Church of Christ. And thus Felicissimus and his adherents are called Haeretica Factio , an Heretical Faction ; though the Schism was occasioned only by a Dispute of Discipline , concerning the restoring the Lapsed to the Peace and Communion of the Church . So that in St. Cyprian's time Separation from the Church , without any other Error in the Fundamentals of Faith , was called Heresy . And though Heresy did most frequently signify corrupt Doctrine , yet a meer error in Doctrine was not thought a compleat formal Heresy , without such Wilfulness and Obstinacy as ended in Separation . And therefore St. Austin describes Hereticks to be those , who hold some false and corrupt Doctrines , and when they are reproved , in order to reduce them to truth and sobricty of Iudgment , do obstinately resist , and refuse to correct their poisonous and damnable Opinions , but persist in defending them . Thus they become Hereticks , and going out of the Church , become its enemies , &c. And this I take to be the meaning of this Father in that famed Saying , Errare possum , Hereticus esse nolo ; though he might err , yet he would not be an Heretick ; that is , that he would not so obstinately persist in the defence of any private Opinion in opposition to the received Doctrine of the Christian Church , as to break the Communion of the Church upon that account . Now if this were the Case , that besides those Divisions among Christians in the same Communion , which are called Schisms by St. Paul , there were formal Separations from the Church , of a much more heinous nature , which none in those days were guilty of , but those who renounced the purity of the Christian Doctrine ; if such Separations were always condemned in the Primitive Church , as Heresy and Apostacy from Christianity , though such Separatists were not guilty of any fundamental Error in Doctrines of Faith , I see not what Dr. Owen gains , by proving that Separation is no Schism , when it appears to be a much greater evil . And indeed if the Doctor will allow Schism to be a great evil , when it signifies no more than Contentions and Quarrels in a Church , any one would reasonably think that Separation from a Church should be a much greater Evil : for Contentions and Quarrels are then come to their heighth and perfection , when they make Friends , Brethren , and Confederates part company ; and it seems strange that less Quarrels should be a greater Evil than greater Quarrels , unless he thinks it is with Schism , as under the Law it was in the case of Leprosy , that when the whole Body was over-spread with it , the Leper was pronounced clean . But the most material Inquiry here is , What is a Publick Assembly for Religious Worship ? for our Dissenters meet as publickly now , as the Church of England , and therefore cannot be charged with forsaking Christian Assemblies ; and in times of Persecution the Primitive Christians met very privately in small numbers , or in the night , or very early in the morning , to avoid the discovery of their Persecutors , and yet such private and clandestine Meetings were not really Conventicles , but publick Church-Assemblies . Which is a plain Proof , that it is not numbers , nor meeting openly and publickly which makes a Church-Assembly , but holding such Assemblies by the Publick Authority of the Church , and in union with it : As in the State , when a great many People meet together without Publick Authority , it is a Riot , not a Legal Assembly . Publick Places of Worship , allowed by the Publick Authority of the Church , is one thing which makes the Assemblies of Christians publick : For the Primitive Christians allowed no separate Assemblies , no Congregations but what met in the publick Church ; and therefore we find an express Canon in the Council of Gangra , That if any shall take upon him out of the Church privately to preach at home , and making light of the Church , shall do those things , which belong only to the Church , without the presence of the Priest , and the leave and allowance of the Bishops , let him be Accursed . So that Publick Worship is that Worship which is performed in Publick Churches , or , in case of necessity , in other places , by the allowance and appointment of the Publick Authority of Church and State , and Separate Meetings , which have no such allowance and authority , must be Schismatical Conventicles , unless they can prove the lawfulness and necessity of such a Separation ; for indeed nothing can make a Separation lawful , but what makes it necessary . II. This following Treatise consists of two Parts : the first concerns those , who wholly , or for the most part absent themselves from the Publick Assemblies of Christians ; and these are of three sorts : 1. Those who forsake Religious Assemblies out of prophaneness , for want of a due sense of any Religion , or in contempt of it . 2. Those who forsake Religious Assemblies for want of a due sense of the necessity and advantage of Publick Worship ; who do not go to Church , because they think they can worship God as well at home in their Closets or Families . 3. Those who plead Conscience for their Separation , and set up distinct Communions of their own . The second Part is designed to correct some great Miscarriages in Publick Worship , which some , who profess to live in Communion with the Church of England , are too notoriously guilty of . Such as these : 1. The forsaking the Communion of their Parish Churches without just cause for it . 2. Irreverence in Worship . 3. The neglect of a due attendance on the publick Prayers of the Church . 4. The neglect of the Publick Administration of Baptism . 5. That they neglect or refuse to submit their Children and Servants to Publick Instructions . 6. That either never receive the Lord's Supper , or very rarely . III. The very naming these things , must needs convince all Men , who have any sense of Religion , how seasonable this Discourse is ; for there was never any Age wherein there was more need of it . And since Religion has so great an influence upon the government of Mens Lives , the neglect or miscarriage of Publick Worship does not only tend to corrupt Mens Manners , but has a very ill aspect upon Publick Affairs . I confess it is a very ill time for any Man , who prefers his own Ease and Quiet , before the Service of God and of Religion , to put forth to Sea in such a Storm and Hurricane ; when the passions of men are in such a ferment , that they are hardly capable of coole thoughts , and impatient of the gentlest Reproof and Opposition ; the most charitable Designs are misconstrued , and nicknamed ; and whoever endeavours to convince Men of their Mistakes , how careful soever he be to avoid all just occasion of offence , is either a Railer , or a Persecutor . But these things , I thank God , do not much affect me , and shall never affright me from any part of my Duty ; I value a good Name as much as other Men , but am contented to be reproached for the sake of my Lord and Master , who was Himself reproached and vilified by Scribes and Pharisees . But that which , I suppose , will be thought most unseasonable at this time , is what concerns the Dissenters from our present Establishment ; for this is now upon all occasions urged , and thought a sufficient Answer to all such Discourses . But can it be thought unseasonable to perswade Men not to forsake Christian Assemblies , when it is grown so general a practice , that many have lost all sense of the evil of it ? Is it not a fit season for the applications of the Physician , when the Patient is dangerously sick of a mortal distemper ? Thanks be to our good God , we still enjoy the Opportunities of Publick Worship , and therefore have opportunity also of perswading and exhorting Men to return to the Communion of the Church : How effectual indeed such Exhortations may be at such a time we cannot tell ; success in these matters does not so much depend upon the fittest season , as upon the Grace of God , and the good temper of the Ground where the Seed falls , as our Saviour tells us in the Parable of the Sower , Matth. 13. However , in case of necessity , a thing must be done when and as it may ; and I think there never was greater necessity for this Exhortation than in our days . But that which I perceive makes some Men think it so unseasonable at this time to perswade Men to return to the Communion of the Church of England , is , because they are either in great hope to pull down the Church of England , or at least to open the Door a little wider , to let those in , who are now excluded by some scruples of Conscience , about some indifferent Rites and Ceremonies used in our Worship . As for the first of these , I wish with all my Soul , that such seasonable Exhortations as these may prove very unseasonable for their Designs , that it may bring Men to their Wits , and make them consider what they are a doing , when they go about to pull down the best Church in the World. It may be very unseasonable indeed for them , but it would be a very unseasonable and despicable piece of Folly and Modesty for all those who favour Sion , to stand still and say nothing , while they accomplish their Designs , and bring their wicked Devices to pass . As for the second sort , who only desire to see the Church Doors a little wider , to receive more honest and devout Men into our Communion , I cannot imagine why they should conceive such Exhortations unseasonable at this time : for , are they afraid that such Discourses should so far satisfy all Men in our Communion , that there should be no need of any alteration ? Truly I have no great hopes to see such blessed effects of the wisest and most convincing Discourses ; and if such a thing ever should be , certainly no good men would be troubled at it , since the great End they designed , viz. To see all Men return to the Communion of the Church , would be as effectually obtained ; and it is much more desirable to see Men rectify their own Mistakes , than to alter wholsom Constitutions , wherein there is always great danger , and very seldom any great success , witness the miserable Confusions of the last Age. Or do they think it impossible to vindicate the Church of England from unjust Imputations , to wipe off that dirt , which is cast upon her by her inveterate Enemies , to discover the evil and danger of Schism and Separation , without obstinately adhering to every Punctilio , and opposing all reasonable Condescentions to the weakness or ignorance of others ? I am sure there is no consequence in this , and it is a great Argument that they censure and revile Men before they know them . We know how to distinguish between the lawfulness and necessity of things , between some less material Circumstances of Worship , and the Peace and Communion of the Christian Church . Possibly the most zealous and most learned Defenders of the Church , are most ready to any Reasonable Compliances , when-ever Authority shall see fit . We have a late Instance of it in an excellent Person , than whom possibly no Man ever writ better for the Church , nor ever hinted more reasonable and equal Proposals in the behalf of Dissenters . The truth is , it is as absolutely necessary to dispose Mens minds to Peace and Union by good Arguments , and pious and earnest Exhortations , as it is for Publick Authority to relax the Terms of Communion , to give ease to some doubting and scrupulous Consciences ; for while Men have such superstitious Conceits , that God is either pleased or displeased with doing or not doing some indifferent things in themselves considered ; with wearing or not wearing a Surplice , or using or not using the Cross in Baptism : when Men think that God will be angry with them for doing that , which he hath no where forbid ; and that we must do nothing in the external Ministries of Religion , but what he has expresly commanded , ( and then I confess I do not see how we can perform any one Duty of external Worship with a safe Conscience , how we can pray either with or without a Form , since neither of them is commanded in Scripture , as the external circumstances of no one Duty are that I know of ) I say , while Men have such wild unpracticable Notions in their Heads , which when they are pursued to their last Issue , overthrow all manner of external Order and Government in the Church , and end in all the Confusions of Quakerism , it is a vain thing to talk of Comprehensions and Concessions . And while Men have no sense at all of the evil of Schism and Separation , but think it as innocent a thing to set up Church against Church , as to go from one Parish-Church to another ; it is evident that they will never desire to return to the Union of the Church , who have no sense what a necessary duty Christian Communion is , and what a damning Sin Schism is : and therefore whoever does sincerely and cordially desire to see all sober Christians united in the same Communion , must earnestly exhort , perswade , and convince , as well as yield and comply . The common Danger we are all in from the growing Power , and secret Conspiracies of the Popish Faction , makes all Men acknowledge the necessity , and call aloud for Union . Our Dissenters , who never did , nor are ever likely to unite in any thing , but their Cries against Popery , and their Designs of pulling down the Church of England , think this a convenient opportunity to accomplish their Ends , and have been very busy to libel Church and Church-men , to say nothing now of the State : this hath put many worthy Sons of the Church ( who are impatient to hear their Mother reviled and slandered ) upon the defensive part , to vindicate the Reformation of our Church from their rude Calumnies , and yet to express their readiness to comply and unite upon such Terms , when ever Publick Authority shall see fit , as would not utterly destroy our Constitution . The first they have done beyond the possibility of a sober Reply ; and how fruitless their Charity is in attempting the second , the Dissenters themselves will convince all men , who cannot patiently hear of any other terms of Concord , but the extirpation of the corrupt and Antichristian Church of England . I am not ambitious to thrust my self into this Scuffle , and therefore do not appear as a Disputant , but make a close and serious Application to the Consciences of Men , which I hope , when the heat of Disputation is a little over , may prove a more powerful conviction to all well-meaning Men , than the best and most unanswerable Reasons have hitherto done . PART . I. Concerning those who wholly forsake Religious Assemblies . CHAP. I. Containing an Address and Exhortation to those , who have no sense at all of Religion , or that Obligation which lies on them to worship God , and take care of their Souls . SECT . I. Some Proposals made to the Speculative Atheist . 1. That they would once more consider , what strong and almost invincible Inclinations , there are in Humane Nature to the Worship of God. 2. That they would not publickly affront Religion . 3. That they would not wholly forsake Religious Assemblies . 4. That they would not intermeddle in the Disputes and Controversies of Religion . FIrst , I shall begin with those who withdraw themselves from Christian Assemblies out of profaneness , for want of any due sense of Religion , or that Obligation which lies on them to worship God , and to take care of their own Souls : And there are two sorts of these Men , first the Speculative ; secondly , the Practical Atheist . First , The Speculative Atheist , who denies the being of God , and therefore must of necessity despise his Worship ; for that which is not , cannot be the Object of our Love or Fear , or Religious Adorations . Those indeed who do not believe that there is a God , may in prudence conceal their Atheism , and comply with the custom of their Country , in performing all the External Acts of Worship ; but yet few Atheists have so much Wit , or good breeding , as not to affront the universal Belief and Practice of Mankind . Now I shall not at present dispute the Case with these Men , nor attempt to convince them of their great Folly and Madness in not worshipping God , by proving that there is a God who ought to be worshipped . This requires a larger Discourse than my present Design will allow , and has been already done more than once , with all the advantages of Reason and Learning , by much better Pens ; and therefore I shall only make three or four very fair and reasonable Proposals to them . First , That they would once more seriously consider , what strong and almost invincible Inclinations there are in Humane Nature to the Worship of God. I do not argue now from Natural Notions and Anticipations , or those common Maxims and Principles of Reason , which are found in all Man-kind , because the Atheist tells us , That these are only the Principles of our Education , and we should never have had such Conceits and Fancies in our Heads , if we had not been taught them ; though it is a hard thing to give an account , how these Principles should first come to be entertained in the World ; who taught them the first Man ; and how he came so readily to believe them , and so carefully to propagate them to Posterity ; and it seems strange , how Man-kind should so universally assent to such Principles , as the Being of God and a Providence , &c. if at least they are not extreamly agreeable to the Make and Frame of our Minds , though we should suppose them not to be Natural Notions . But , I say , to let pass this now , I shall only desire these Men to consult a little with the Inclinations of Nature ; which are not the Effects of Reason and Discourse , but Natural Impressions , the necessary Efforts , Impetus , and Tendencies of Nature , as a Stone naturally falls downward , and the Fire as naturally ascends . Now it is impossible that any Education should put new Inclinations or new Passions into our Minds ; Education may direct our Natural Inclinations and Passions to Unnatural Objects ; but it can no more make new Inclinations and Passions , than it can make a new Soul. Now among all the Inclinations of Humane Nature , there is none more strong and invincible than the Inclination to Religion , to worship something or other as a God. Though the Heathens were greatly mistaken in their Notion of a God , and some worshipped the Sun , Moon , and Stars , the Earth , and Seas , and Rivers , and the meanest and most contemptible Creatures , for Gods ; yet they all agreed in this universal Inclination to Religious Worship ; which is a plain Argument , that this Universal Consent in Religion was more owing to the impulses and tendencies of a Reasonable Nature , than to the clear and distinct Principles of Natural Reason ; for Reason always joins the Act and the Object together ; but Natural Inclinations are a blind and confused Principle of Action , which thrusts forward to such an Act , without a clear perception of its Object , just as the Appetite of Hunger , which does not direct to any particular sort of Food , but only to eating : for these Natural Inclinations are of the same use with our Natural Passions , which are not designed to direct us what to do , ( that is the Work of Reason and wise Consideration ) but to excite us more vigorously to action , by a natural kind of Thirst and Appetite ; and therefore as Men act very foolishly , who suffer themselves to be hurried away by their Passions , without expecting the Directions and Government of Reason ; so do those Men , who follow their Natural Inclinations , without directing them to their proper Object . And this gives a plain Account , how the Inclination to Religious Worship may be natural , and yet the universal Practice of the Heathen World for so many Ages , in worshipping those things for God , which are no Gods , and in worshipping a great many false Gods instead of one True God , be no Argument , that what we call Idolatry and Polytheism is the Voice of Nature . It is sufficiently known , that when we prove against the Atheist , that there is a God , and that he ought to be worshipped , from the general consent of Mankind in worshipping some God or other , which is no less than the Voice of Nature ; they presently reply , that this Argument will prove Idolatry and Polytheism also to be natural , since Mankind were not more universally agreed in worshiping a God , than they were in worshiping many false Gods. Now though this be false ; for the World was never without some Worshippers of the one True God , the Maker and Governor of the World , and in the most prevailing Times of Paganism , the whole Nation of the Jews , a great , potent and flourishing People , were the Worshippers of the Lord Iehovah ; and though we should suppose it to be otherwise , there are several very good Answers returned to this Objection by Learned Men ; yet I confess none seems to me more clear than this I have now hinted , the difference between Natural Inclinations and Natural Reason . Natural Inclinations work more necessarily , and to this we owe the universal Consent in Religious Worship ; but in a State of Nature , Man-kind were to receive their Directions concerning the Object and Nature of Religious Worship from Natural Reason , which will discover the True God to them , if they make a wise use of it ; but they may chuse whether they will or no , and if they do not exercise their Reason to find out the True God , ( as it is plain the Heathens did not , for which St. Paul tells us they are inexcusable , Rom. 1. ) no wonder if they fall into Idolatry and Polytheism , and the most ridiculous Superstitions . Which shows , how the consent of Man-kind , which is owing to Natural Inclinations , proves the Worship of God to be the Voice of Nature , when the consent of the Heathen World , in the Worship of a great many false Gods , can prove no more , but that they neglected the Directions of Natural Reason , or were imposed on by Wicked Spirits : And this makes it very evident , that when Men so vastly differ in the Object of their Worship , but so universally agree in paying Divine Honours to some Being or other , this cannot be the Effect of meer Custom , or Education , or Natural Reason , ( for then they would agree as well in the Object and Nature , as in the Act of Worship ) but of a natural Inclination to Religion , not governed and conducted by right Reason . And I shall observe further , that Natural Inclinations and Passions being only ( according to the Original Design and Contrivance of our Wise-Maker ) subservient to right Reason , and to be governed by it , natural Inclinations being a necessary Spring of Motion and Action , when meer dry Reason in this imperfect State , would not give us sufficient quickness and vigour in pursuing its Commands . Hence , I say , these Natural Inclinations to Religion , which are so visible in all Mankind , do plainly prove , that there are Natural Notions of God and of Religion imprinted upon Mens Minds ; for there would be no need of such Natural Inclinations , were there no Natural Knowledg to direct and govern them , no more than there would be of our Natural Passions , of Hope , and Fear , and Desire , and Love , were there no Natural Objects proportioned to such Passions : And therefore such Natural Inclinations plainly prove , that those Notions Mankind always had of the Being of God , are not the Effects of meer Education , but of Nature : for if one be Natural , both must be so ; Natural Inclinations , which are in themselves no better than a blind Impetus , must have some Natural Knowledg to guide them . For what the Atheist says , That we owe the Knowledg and Belief of a God , only to the Instruction of our Parents and Tutors when we are Children ; and that this Belief taking so early a possession of our Minds , grows up into such strong Prejudices , that we mistake it for the Dictate of Nature ; and that our Inclinations to Religion are wholly owing to this Belief , is as ridiculous as to say , That our Natural Passions of Hope , and Fear , and Desire , are not implanted in our Natures , but are only owing to the Impressions of External Objects . And then we may as well say , that as long as there is Light , and External Objects to be seen , a Man will see without Eyes , and by the same Reason , may hear without Ears ; for what our Senses are in the Body , that Inclinations and Passions are in the Mind , necessary to make us capable of External Impressions , and to give us a quick perception of them ; no Belief or Opinion whatsoever can put any new Inclination into our Minds , to that which we have no natural inclination to . It is possible to excite some Inclinations which lay dormant in us , and which we had no sense of before ; but to put new Inclinations into us , is to create new Powers and Faculties in our Souls . And therefore since this Inclination to Religion is so strong and so universal , it is evident , that it cannot result from any Notions and Opinions imprinted on our Minds from without , nor does at all depend on them : for some Men can baffle their Reasons , and think they are able to confute all the Arguments for the Being of a God , when they cannot silence and conquer their Inclinations to believe that there is a God , and that they ought to worship him ; this the Atheist feels , and endeavours to laugh away as a meer childish Superstition ; whereas were this Inclination owing to Opinion and Prejudice , it is impossible it should be more strong and more lasting , than such a Belief is . The sum of all is this , That if our Modern Atheists , who pretend such an intimate knowledg and familiar acquaintance with Nature , would be perswaded seriously to consider the Powers of Nature , and be better acquainted with the Frame and Constitution of their own Natures ; if they would consider what is the natural Language and Interpretation of those strong Impressions of Religion , which they feel in their own Minds , it might , by the Blessing of God , open their Eyes to see and adore that God , who made them , and cure their Souls of that most fatal and mortal Disease , which makes them Beasts here , and Devils hereafter . Secondly , Another Proposal I would make to these Men is , That they would not publickly affront Religion , that they would not so impudently attempt to laugh God and Religion out of the World ; that they would not make sport with those Things which other Men account Sacred ; that they would not prophane the Holy Scriptures , by turning them into Ridicule , or obscene and impious Burlesque . This possibly will be thought a very odd Proposal to these Men , who think it the only way to justify their Atheism , by making Religion look ridiculously ; but yet had I to deal with reasonable Men , though they were Atheists , I would not despair of convincing them of the reasonableness of this Proposal . For first , this is nothing but what the Laws of Civility and good Manners require from them . No well-bred Man will chuse to put a publick Affront upon his Friends and Neighbours , though he sees them daily guilty of great Follies and Indiscretions . The Laws of Conversation require us to treat all Men with just respects , though their Understandings be of different makes and sizes , and their Fortune and way of Life very different from our own ; much less then can a modest Man endure the thoughts of affronting Man-kind , or laughing at any thing which is received or established by an Universal Consent . Though the Belief of God were as very a Dream and Fancy as the Tales of Faries , yet there is a certain Reverence due to Humane Nature , at least from Men ; and since all Man-kind , in all Ages of the World ( excepting some few wise and cautious Atheists ) have believed that there is a God , and have honoured him with publick Worship , it is an affront to Humane Nature to laugh at the Being of God , though we do not believe it . Nay this is not only an Affront to Humane Nature , but to Publick Government : In all Nations one Religion or other is established by a Law , so that these Men do not only laugh at the Dreams and Dotages of single Men , but at the united Counsels , and most mature Resolves of all the World ; which is an Argument of great Boldness , but of very little Wit or Manners . A modest Man would be apt to suspect his own judgment of Things , when he found himself opposed by the general Consent of all Men , and the Wisdom of all the World ; but if this did not make him of the Common Opinion , yet at least he would not rudely contradict it . But not only the Wisdom , but the Authority of Government is affronted by these Men , when they laugh at such publick Constitutions , at Religion considered as established by Law. So much do such Men recede from the Principles of their great Master , who though he had no great opinion of Religion in it self , yet thought it something considerable , when it became the Law of the Nation . But neither the Wisdom nor Authority of Laws can command respect from some Men , without a vigorous execution of them , and that would soon teach them better Manners , than ever they will learn in the School of Atheism . Nay , to laugh at the Being of God , and at Religion , is not only to affront the general sense of Man-kind , and the Wisdom and Authority of all Governments , but the Wisdom of the sagest Philosophers , and the most inquisitive Men of all Ages . Among all the Ancient Philosophers , no Man expresly denied the Being of God , or that Worship which was due to him ; Epicurus indeed denied his Providence , which was only a more civil way of turning him out of the World , though he pretended to worship him upon account of his infinite , but idle and unactive Perfections . Socrates died a Martyr for Religion , and Plato and Aristotle did both acknowledg a supream Being ; and the later Philosophers , though they differed about the Nature of God , yet did not question but there was one : so that the Being of a God is not the mistake meerly of a few ignorant unphilosophical Heads , but has in all Ages had such Learned Patrons , as at least do not deserve to be laughed at by Men of the least modesty and good breeding . Secondly , I would desire these Men to consider , how little they consult their own Reputation in laughing at Religion ; it is a very silly thing for some few Men , ( though they were in the right ) to think to out-laugh all the World ; the loudest laughter will always be on that side , right or wrong , where there are the greatest numbers ; though indeed all Men have such a veneration for God and Religion , that such Abuses and Affronts of Religion do not so much provoke Men to laughter , as to a holy jealousie and indignation . No Man can endure with patience to hear that exposed to contempt , which he admires and adores . Such Atheistical Scoffers are looked on as the common Enemies of Mankind ; all Men , but such like themselves , abhor and scorn them , fly their Company , hate their very Names , as Traitors to the Majesty of Heaven , and the great Pests of Humane Conversation , and the reproach and shame of Humane Nature . And can any wise Man , ( let his Opinions be what they will ) who designs to live happily in this World , ( as me-thinks those above all others should desire , who expect nothing hereafter ) think this the best way to happiness , to forfeit the Love and Friendship of all Men who love and worship God , or make any shew of Religion ; which are so much the greatest numbers , that he does in a manner banish himself from Humane Conversation , or render it very unpleasant and uneasy . I know there are some , who expect to gain the Reputation of great Wits , and very cunning Men , by unsetling Foundations , and breaking a merry Jest upon Religion ; but they should consider , that the generality of Men , who will be Judges of these Matters , whether they will or no , look upon the Being of God as so plain and evident a Truth , that that Man infallibly forfeits the reputation of his Understanding , who sets up for Atheism . Atheists may make a Scene and Theatre for themselves , and admire and applaud one another , but all the rest of the World despise them : for indeed it is no argument of any great depth and subtilty , to raise Objections , and start Difficulties , which a Man of very mean parts may do , but it is a greater tryal of Judgment to answer them , which the Atheist , it seems , cannot do ; when Men are so over-subtil , that they cannot understand these plain and obvious Demonstrations , which convince all Man-kind , and are understood by every Plow-man , such subtilty is never admired , but despised . And as for Wit , it is so very undecent to jest with grave and serious Matters , that though it have never so much Salt , it is nauseous and offensive to sober Minds ; no Man admires his Wit , who abuses his Prince , his Father , or his Friend : Prophane Wit is the easiest of all , as consisting in such bold Allusions as any Man may make , who has neither Modesty nor Grace ; and those Men , who have no way to shew their Wit , but by abusing their Maker , have nothing to boast of , but the very scum and putrefaction of Wit. Thirdly , These Men should consider what mischief they may do to publick Societies , by laughing at Religion , and exposing it to contempt ; for Religion is the firmest Bond of Humane Societies ; and if once Men should cast off the Fear of God , nothing but external Fear and Power could restrain and govern them . Atheism is a Secret , which he , who has it , ought in prudence and interest to keep to himself ; for an Atheist can never mend his condition , but may greatly injure himself by propagating Atheism . All the Ends he can serve by Atheism , he enjoys in greatest perfection , while no Man understands the Secret but himself : for the only end he can propose in it , is to be delivered from the Fears of Invisible Powers , to have no restraints laid upon his sensual Enjoyments , but what Caution and Interest suggest , that he may satisfy his Lusts by any means , so long as he can secure himself from present danger . Now when he is an Atheist alone , he has great advantage of the rest of Mankind , because they are restrained by a sense of Religion , and the Fear of God , which is as unequal a Match , as to fight with a Man , whose hands are tied , when your own are free . But now if he should , by his Wit and Learning , proselite a whole Nation to Atheism , Hell would break loose upon Earth , and he might soon find himself exposed to all those Violences and Injuries which he now securely practises . When there is nothing to restrain Men from doing any wickedness they have a mind to , but only the Fear of Humane Power , this World will quickly prove a very miserable State , and Scene of Confusion and Disorder , of Rapes and Adulteries , of Violence and Rapine , of Blood and Murders , especially if the great Leviathan , who is intrusted with the Soveraign Power , understands his own Liberty , as well as his Atheistical Subjects do theirs : So that no wise Man can think it his Interest to promote Atheism , and therefore it cannot be his Interest to deride Religion , and expose it to contempt . Fourthly , Another Reason why they should at least be modest Atheists , is for fear that they should find a God , when they come into the other World ; for they are not so absolutely certain that there is no God , as to be perfectly secure that there is none ; though they think they can answer all the Arguments , whereby Men prove there is a God , ( which is the utmost they pretend to ) though they know how to make a World without God , and can laugh at the silly Cheats which have been put upon Man-kind by some cunning States-men , who invented the Belief of a God , and the Fears of Religion , to make their Government more easy and secure ; yet after all , they dare not undertake to demonstrate that there is no God , and that it is impossible there should be one ; and till they can do this , they can never be perfectly secure that there is none . And therefore lest they should find that there is a God , when they come into the other World , they should offer as few Affronts to him as may be here ; to deny his Being , when he has furnished us with so many ways of knowing him , is a sufficient Affront , without any other additional Aggravations : but if it were nothing but meer incurable ignorance , which made Men Atheists , the Fault is much less , than when they express so much scorn and contempt of the very Name of God and Religion ; for this looks like a profest enmity to the Deity , that they are not only ignorant of him for want of sufficient Evidence , but that they hate and despise the least Thoughts and Imagination of such a Being as Men call God. And therefore were it possible to separate the disbelief of a God from a hatred and contempt of him ( as certainly it might be , were Men Atheists meerly for want of Evidence ) it would concern such Men , though they enjoyed the other Liberties , which Atheism allows , yet to be very modest and civil even to the fanciful Idea and Imagination of a God. For , fifthly , whether Religion be true or false , it is no ridiculous thing , and therefore it argues great folly for any Man to laugh at it . If there be no God , all Religion indeed is a Mistake ; but it is no ridiculous Mistake , when there is such Evidence for it , as convinces the generality of Mankind , even the wisest and most inquisitive Men : and what we call Religion , is so grave and serious a Thing , and of such high importance and concernment to us , that if it be not true , all Mankind have reason to wish it were true . What more lovely and desirable Being could there possibly be , than is ▪ represented by the Notion of a God : an infinitely Wise and Powerful , Holy and Just Being , who made and who takes care of all his Creatures , who governs the World with the kindness and tenderness of a Parent , and takes care , not only of the Great and Publick Affairs of Kingdoms and Empires , but of every particular Creature , how mean and contemptible soever it appears ; and if there be no God , what Man , who loves himself , could forbear wishing that there were One on whom he might securely trust and depend in all Events ? And what is more worthy of a Reasonable Creature , than to adore and worship so perfect and glorious a Being , to pay our thankful Acknowledgments to our great Maker , and constant Benefactor , which is one great part of Religion , which is nothing else , but to love , reverence , and obey , the most Lovely , Excellent , Powerful , Wise , and Holy Lord and Judg of the World ? And what can be more noble than the end of Religion , which is not meerly to live happily a few Years in this World , but to be happy for ever ? a Thing so agreeable to those vehement Desires of Immortality , which are imprinted on our Natures , and does so raise our Minds above the mean and beggarly Enjoyments of Sense , that it makes a truly-religious Man almost as much differ from earthly Men , and sottish Atheists , as a Man differs from a Beast . Here certainly is nothing that is contemptible , nothing but what deserves to be admired ; and though the Atheist may think , that we are mistaken in all this , yet we cannot say , that we have made a foolish choice . This may suffice for the second Proposal , to perswade them not to put publick Affronts upon God and Religion . Thirdly ; If what I have already said , could perswade these Men to treat the Name of God and Religion , with some external Modesty and Respect , my next Proposal to them should be , Not to forsake the Publick Assemblies for Religious Worship ; and indeed they cannot do this , unless they will set up for Atheism , and openly profess it ; or at least bring themselves under a great suspicion of it . Now I cannot imagine what they have reasonably to object against this ; to be sure they can have no Scruple of Conscience ; for those who believe there is no God , cannot believe themselves accountable to any but themselves in these Matters , while they conceal their own Sentiments and Opinions of Things ; and though this be not the Worship of God , whose Being they deny , yet it is a piece of Civility and Respect to Men , to common and received Opinions , and to publick Laws and Constitutions . And the Advantages of this may be very great ; for who knows how God may work upon their Minds at such a Time ! how they may be affected with observing the great and publick Expressions of Devotion in Christian Assemblies , and begin to think , that this must be something more than a Dream and Fancy ? Who knows how God may direct the Preacher , and put such words into his Mouth , as may pierce their Souls , and dispel those Mists and Fogs which clouded their Understandings , and enable them to discover the Truth , and Certainty , and Excellency of Religion . To be sure this is never likely to be done by their turning their Backs upon Publick Instructions , which is very often the Cause , but is a very unlikely Cure of Atheism . But , lastly , I think at least such Men should be so modest , as not to intermeddle in the Disputes and Controversies of Religion . It is a fulsome and nauseous Thing , to see the Atheists and Infidels of our Days , to turn great Reformers of Religion , to set up a mighty Cry for Liberty of Conscience : for what-ever Reformation of Religion may be needful at this Time , whatever Liberty of Conscience may be fit to be granted , yet what have these Men to do to meddle with it ? those who think Religion a meer Fable , and God to be an Utopian Prince , and Conscience a Man of Clouts , set up for a Scare-crow to fright such silly Creatures from their Beloved Enjoyments , and Hell and Heaven to be forged in the same Mint with the Poets Styx , and Acheron , and Elysian Fields ? We are like to see Blessed Times , if such Men as these had but the Reforming of Religion . SECT . II. Concerning the Practical Atheists , who profess to believe that there is a God , but live as if there were none ; very seldom think of him , and neglect to worship him : Several Considerations to convince ▪ them of the Evil and Sinfulness of Irreligion . SEcondly ; Another sort of Men , who desert Religious Assemblies for want of a due sense of Religion , are the Practical Atheists , Men who though they profess to believe that there is a God , yet live as if there were none , very seldom think of him , and take no care to please him , and make him their Friend ; and though they believe their Souls shall survive their Bodies , and be either very happy , or very miserable hereafter , yet are so wretchedly careless , so brutishly unconcerned for Times to come , as to make no Provision for a future State ; to use no diligence to escape the Eternal Miseries , or to obtain the Eternal Rewards of the next Life . And I have but two ways of dealing with these Men , to Convince , and to Perswade ; to convince them of the Evil , the Danger , the folly of Irreligion , of forsaking the Publick Assemblies of Christians ; and to perswade them to take care of their Souls , and to prepare for an Eternal State. Now the natural Method of proceeding is , first to Convince , and then to Perswade : And therefore for the conviction of these Men , I shall represent to them , the Evil , Danger , and Folly of this . First ; The Evil and Sinfulness of it . Now supposing that there is a God , as these Men profess to believe , every Man must acknowledg it to be a most heinous and provoking Sin to neglect or contemn his Worship . 1. For Irreligion is as great , if not a greater affront to God , and contempt of him , than Atheism it self . An Atheist denies that there is a God , an Irreligious Man contemns and slights God , whose Being he owns ; the one denies the Being of God , the other reproaches his Nature . The Atheist denies that there is such a Being , whom we call God ; the Irreligious Man owns that there is such a Being , but will not own him for a God ; that is , will not worship him as God ; for Religious Worship is nothing else but a publick acknowledgment of God , of the Excellencies and Perfections of his Nature , of his Power and Providence in making and governing the World , and taking Care of all his Creatures ; and to refuse to worship God , or to live in an habitual neglect of it , makes a meer Titular and Mock-God of him , and argues a very mean and contemptuous Opinion of the Deity , as including a denial of the Essential Perfections of his Nature , or of his Providence and Government . The Pagan Superstitions and Idolatries were a great reproach to God , both as they gave that Worship , which is due only to God , to Creatures , and too often to Evil Spirits ; and as they worshipped God by such ridiculous , or barbarous and inhumane Rites and Ceremonies , as made a dishonourable representation of the Divine Nature ; but yet even their Idolatrous Worship was some acknowledgment of God's Power and Providence , which is more than these Men do , who refuse to worship him at all . Secondly ; To deny or neglect the Worship of God , is the highest injustice ; it is to deny God what is his natural Right , what is due from us , and what alone we are able to give , and what he requires of us . If we consider God as the most Excellent and perfect Being , who has all possible Perfections in himself , and from himself , and so he has a right to the most Excellent Worship : for all Perfections by a natural right , challenge a proportionable esteem and reverence , and the most absolute and soveraign Perfections , a Sovereign Worship . We cannot see nor hear of an excellent Man , but it excites in us a great Esteem , Love , or Reverence , according to the nature of the Thing wherein he excels ; and prompts us to say what we know in his Commendations . And it is accounted injustice among Men , to deny each other their just Praises ; And how much greater Injustice is it , to deny God his Essential Glory , that incommunicable Worship , which naturally belongs to such incommunicable Perfections ? Indeed it is almost impossible not to admire that which is Great , nor to love that which is Good , nor to fear and reverence that which is powerful ; for our Passions are naturally determined to their proper Objects , and not to discover those Perfections which are notorious and visible , is a reproach to our Understandings ; and not to love , or fear , and admire them according to their Natures , is accounted dulness and stupidity , and a vicious defect in our Will and Passions ; which is a plain Argument , that all Perfections have a natural right to some proportionable Respects ; and therefore the Infinite Perfections of God naturally challenge the highest veneration , since there is such a natural Relation between natural Perfections , and the natural Passions of our Minds . If we consider God as the first Cause of all Things , so God has a natural right to the Praise and Glory of all his Works ; and therefore all the Works of God are said to praise him : The Heavens declare the Glory of God , and the Firmament sheweth his handy-work . What-ever Wisdom , Power , or Goodness is seen in the frame of this vast and beautiful World , what-ever Perfections are bestowed on any Creatures , must be ascribed to the great Maker of all Things . It is impossible to see any curious piece of Painting , without admiring and praising the skill of the Painter ; and that Man is very unjust , as well as very sensless , who can look upon this World , so wonderful for its unknown Extent , exquisite Contrivance , Beauty , Uniformity , infinite Numbers , variety and perfections of its Inhabitants , and not adore and worship that God who made all this . The Order , Beauty , and Glory of Material Beings , are visible Demostrations of the Infinite Perfections of their Invisible Cause ; and the most proper and natural Work of reasonable Creatures , is to discover the Perfections of God , and of his Works , and to worship him with the humblest and devoutest Adorations ; and if it be unjust to defraud Men of the Glory of their wise , and great , and good Actions , it is much greater injustice to God , who is the sole and independent Cause of all Things : and yet not to worship God , is to defraud him of his Glory . And if we consider more particularly , that we our selves are God's Creatures , who owe our Being to him , that in him we live , move , and have our being ; this makes it a natural Debt , to praise and adore the God who made us ; as the Psalmist speaks , To worship and fall down , and kneel before the Lord our Maker . Know ye , that the Lord he is God ; it is he that hath made us , and not we our selves ; we are his People , and the Sheep of his Pasture : Enter into his Gates with thanksgiving , and into his Courts with praise , be thankful unto him , and bless his Name . For since God made us , he has a natural Right and Interest in us , and may challenge our Homage and Obedience , as a just Debt entailed upon our Natures . Thus God argues , A Son honoureth his Father , and a Servant his Master : If then I be a Father , where is my Honour ? and if I be a Master , where is my Fear ? That is , there is at least as much natural Justice in paying all Homage and Worship to God our Heavenly Father and Soveraign Lord , as it is accounted among Men , for Children to honour their Parents , and Servants their Masters ; and therefore let any Man , who will but allow God the same right in his Creatures , which he himself challenges in his Children and Servants , judg how unseemly and unnatural it is , to refuse to love , and honour , and worship the great Author of our Being : Who planteth a Vineyard , and eateth not of the Fruit thereof ? Can any thing be more reasonable , than that God should be worshiped and adored by those Creatures , whom his own Hands have made and fashioned ? So that upon all Accounts , God has a natural Right to our Homage and Worship , and nothing can excuse us from paying this Debt , unless it appear that we are under some natural Incapacity to do it : But indeed this is a Debt which we are all able to pay ; for God has made us reasonable Creatures , endowed us with Wisdom and Knowledg , to discover the Perfections of his Nature , and Works , and to understand our Obligations to him ; and with such a Principle of Will and Choice , as can act freely , and with such inward passions of Love and Joy , Fear and Reverence , Hope and Affiance , as may easily be wrought up to the highest strain of Devotion . He has given us Eyes to contemplate this beautiful Frame of Things , and Tongues to speak his Praises , and publish all his mighty Works ; so that Man-kind seems to be made on purpose for the Worship of God , to be a curious and diligent Observer of God's Works , and to speak of his Glory ; which lays a new Obligation on us , and gives God a natural Title to our Worship . This was the Reason why he made us , this was the Design of our Natures , and the End of our Creation . We live now in such a busy World , where we find so many things to do , to provide Food and Raiment , and all things necessary to this Mortal State ; or , it may be , to serve the Ends of Ambition and Lust , that we can find very little time to worship God ; and therefore are apt to think that this is the least thing we have to do : But we should consider , that this is not the Original Work and Imployment of Man-kind , but the punishment of our Sin , and Apostacy from God : For let us suppose , that Man-kind had preserved their Innocence , and continued in Paradise , where they had no need of Cloaths , and fed on the Fruit of the Garden , which grew of it self , without plowing or sowing , and was fit for Food , without any Arts of Cookery ; when there was no other bodily Employment , but to look to the Garden , which neither required much labour , nor took up much time , but was like those innocent Diversions , we now use to recreate and unbend our Minds with ; now , I say , in such a state as this , which was the Original State of Mankind , how could Men spend their time , but in the Contemplation of God's Works , and in the study of Divine Wisdom and Philosophy , and in adoring the great Maker of all Things ? unless we can imagine , that God gave Man such an active and busy Mind to dissolve in sloth , which is so uneasy a state , that Paradise it self could be no happiness upon these terms ; or that God designed him for an Atheistical Philosopher to admire the Works of Nature , without adoring the Wise Creator . Indeed it is not conceivable , that so vast and comprehensive a Mind , such active and boundless Passions , as God hath endowed Man-kind withal , should be wholly designed for no higher Employment , than to qualify a Man to be a Plow-man or a Mechanick , or to speak the greatest thing at once , to be a Prince or a Minister of State ; such a Mind as comes so near Infinity , as that of Man , was certainly designed for nothing less , than the Knowledg , Love , and Admiration of an Infinite Being . And if we must learn the End for which Creatures are made , by the End which they are capable to serve , it is evident Man was made for the Worship of God , because he is fitted with such Endowments and Perfections of Mind , as qualify him to be a Worshipper . And if God be the greatest and most perfect Being , then the Knowledg and Worship of God , is the noblest Employment of Humane Nature , and consequently the last and highest End for which Man was made . Nay , we may consider further , that Man is not only capable of worshipping God , but no other Creature in this visible World is ; he , and he only , is capable of this Work ; whence again we may conclude , that God made Man for his peculiar Service and Glory , unless we can imagine , that God would make a World , and place no Creature in it , whose proper Business it should be to know and worship his Wise Maker , and Bountiful Lord. Man is the Priest of Nature , who offers up the Praises and Thanksgivings of the whole Creation to God. Thus you see that Religious Worship is a natural Debt which we owe to God ; and that God does expect and exact the Paiment of it from us . We may certainly conclude from hence , that he expects we should live according to the most perfect Constitution of our Natures . This is the natural Rule of our Actions , to serve the Ends for which we were made ; for God did not make such and such Natures for nothing , either to be unimployed , or imployed to other , or to less and meaner purposes than they were designed for . And besides this , we have frequent and express Commands to worship God in that Revelation he hath made to us of his Will. The Scripture is so full of Precepts , Exhortations , and Reproofs about this Matter , that I need not spend time to prove so acknowledged a Truth . But from the whole of what I have now discoursed , we may safely conclude the great Evil of Irreligion , as being the highest injustice to our Maker and Soveraign Lord. Thirdly ; The great Evil of Irreligion , of denying or neglecting the Worship of God , appears in this , That it is the most sordid Ingratitude . Now , Ingratitude is Injustice too ; but it is Injustice to a Benefactor ; that is , it consists in violating all those Obligations which Goodness and Kindness has laid upon us ; as Injustice , properly so called , consists in breaking the Rules of Natural or Civil Right . For Mankind generally accounts the Obligation to return a kindness , as strong and necessary as to pay a Debt ; and nothing is more infamous among Men , than an ungrateful Person ; for as Goodness is a greater Perfection than strict Justice , so Ingratitude must needs be a more hateful Vice than bare Injustice ▪ because it is opposite to the greatest Good. As Goodness is the greatest Glory and Perfection of Humane Nature , so Ingratitude must needs be the greatest Infamy and Reproach , because it is at the greatest distance from Goodness . Now among Men , Injustice and Ingratitude may be separated : Men may be unjust , but not ungrateful , and they may be ungrateful , and not unjust , according to the strict Notion of Injustice : for Men may wrong and injure those who never did them any kindness , and that is Injustice without Ingratitude ; and they may neglect to make decent Acknowledgments , and Returns of Kindness , without injuring their Friends , in any of their Natural or Civil Rights , and that is Ingratitude without Injustice : But now it is impossible to be unjust to God , without being ungrateful too , because he is not only our Natural Lord , but our great Benefactor ; and those very things which give him a natural Right to our Worship and Obedience , do not only lay on us the Obligations of Justice , but of Gratitude to worship him . He made us , and this gives him a natural Right to our Worship , because he is our Natural Lord ; we are intirely his , and owe our selves , and all we have , and all we can do , to him ; and this makes it very unjust to deny or neglect his Worship : But then we must consider , that if we love our Selves and our Being , and those Advantages of Happiness , which Being makes us capable of , then much more we are obliged in gratitude to praise and adore that God who gave us our Being ; for though possibly some will not allow it proper to say , that God was good to us before we had a Being , yet he was very good in making us ; and therefore it is high ingratitude , as well as injustice , in Creatures not to praise and glorify their Maker . Thus that Divine and Heaven-born Mind , and those noble and excellent Faculties of Soul which God hath bestowed on us , as they may make us capable of knowing and worshipping God , so make Religious Worship a natural piece of Justice ; and if we value the excellency of our Natures , and think it any advantage to be made so noble an Order of Beings , Gratitude as well as Justice , obliges us to employ all the Faculties of our Souls , for that high and noble End for which they were made ; that is , to know , and love , and admire , and worship God , the greatest and the best Being , and the most perfect Object of our Minds . It is Ingratitude , as well as Injustice to our Maker , to debase our Natures , to make them stoop to low , mean , and vile Things : to inherit the Curse of the Serpent , to crawl upon their Bellies , and lick up the Dust of the Earth , when they were made to aspire towards Heaven , to unite themselves to God the Fountain of Life and Being , and to live in the Love and Contemplation of him . The like may be said with reference to that good Providence of God , which maintains and upholds us in Being , and provides all Necessaries for us , and defends us from all unseen Mischiefs ; both Justice and Gratitude require us to praise and adore so great and constant a Benefactor . These are all Expressions , both of the Natural Justice and Bounty of our Wise Maker , and therefore lay a mixed Obligation on us of Justice and Gratitude . God was under no Antecedent Obligation , but his own Will and Goodness to make a World ; but if he did resolve to make one , he was under the Obligations of his own Wisdom , and Justice , and Goodness , to make every Creature perfect in its kind , and fitted to attain the end of its Nature , and to make some Creatures for great and noble Ends ; and consequently to bestow very noble and excellent Natures on them ; and therefore there being a mixture of Justice and Goodness in God's making and governing the World , no wonder that it lays a mixt Obligation on us too of Justice and Gratitude . But there is another manifestation of God's Goodness in the Redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus Christ , which is a Work of such pure and unmixt Grace and Goodness , that it is all Goodness , and nothing but Goodness . Innocent Creatures may challenge a natural Right in the Care , and Protection , and Bounty of their Maker ; but a Traitor , a Rebel against the Majesty of Heaven , an Apostate Wretch , who has abused the Bounty and Goodness of his Creator , can challenge no right to those common Blessings which God bestows upon his Creatures ; so that he should cause the Sun to shine , and the Rain to fall on them ; and therefore since Sin entred into the World , even those External and Temporal good Things which Sinners enjoy , are wholly owing to the Goodness and Mercy of God , and accordingly our Obligations to Gratitude and Thankfulness are so much the stronger ; and our Ingratitude , in neglecting the Worship of God , the more heinous and provoking . But much less can such Sinners reasonably expect from God , and much less challenge it as a right , that he should redeem them from that state of Misery into which they had brought themselves , by such an amazing , stupendious , and incomprehensible expression of his Love , as the Incarnation , and Death , and Sufferings of his own Eternal , only begotten , and well-beloved Son : Here is such a height , and depth , and length , and breadth of the Love of God , as passeth all Understanding ; this is Grace , free Grace , the Riches of Grace , the abundant Riches of Grace : And therefore this brings us under such Obligations of Love and Gratitude , as infinitely excel all the Obligations of Natural Justice . Now we are not our own , but are bought with a price , and therefore must glorify God , both with our Bodies and Spirits , which are God's : We are now redeemed , not with corruptible Things , as Silver and Gold , but with the precious Blood of Christ , as a Lamb without blemish , and without spot ; who gave himself for us to redeem us from all Iniquity , and to purify to himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works . As the whole Oeconomy of Man's Salvation by Christ , is the effect of meer Grace and Love , so Gratitude is the only true Principle of Gospel-Obedience : to serve God out of a prevailing sense of his Goodness , to feel that constraining Love and Power of Christ's Love engaging us to live to him , who died for us . For those Men greatly mistake the Nature and Obligations of Gratitude , who think that Gratitude leaves them at liberty to do , or not to do it , as they please ; whereas the Obligations of Gratitude , especially in our present Case , are infinitely more strong and forcible , than those of Justice , and the punishment of Ingratitude proportionably great : For how shall we escape if we neglect so great Salvation , if we refuse to hear him , who spake from Heaven to us ? if we have troden under-foot the Son of God , and counted the Blood of the Covenant , wherewith we were sanctified , an unholy Thing , and have done despite unto the Spirit of Grace . Since then we are now under such powerful Obligations , as the Love and Grace of God declared to us in the Gospel of his Son , to love , serve , and worship him ; we should consider how unkind and ungrateful it is , especially in those who call themselves Christians , to slight or neglect the Worship of their God and Saviour ; certainly such Men cannot expect to be saved by Christ , after all he has done and suffered for them , when they will not thank him for it , when they will not go to God in his Name . As nothing is more infamous among Men , so nothing does more provoke God than such rude Affronts of his Goodness to sin against the Grace of the Gospel ; and those surprising Discoveries and Manifestations of the Divine Goodness , argue so brutish , so diabolical a temper of mind , such a perfect contrariety and contradiction to the Nature of God , that such Men must naturally sink into the lowest Hell ; for those who have no sense of the Gospel-Grace , who cannot be conquered nor affected with all the Charms of so powerful a Love , are as incurable as Apostate Spirits . Fourthly ; Another Aggravation of the Guilt of this Sin is , That those who are baptized and professed Christians , ( and I suppose I write to none else ) are under the Obligation of their Baptismal Vow to worship God ; and therefore to neglect his Worship is Perjury , and breach of Covenant ; it is an Apostacy from Christianity , though they still retain the Name of Christians . And dost thou know what this is , thou profane Wretch , who thinkest it lost time to serve God , who canst not spare so much time from worldly Cares , or from thy Sports and Pleasure , as to attend the Worship of God in the Assemblies of Christians ? Wast thou ever Baptized ? and dost thou know what the signification of Baptism is , That thou art taken into Covenant with God , and hast obliged thy self to serve and worship him ; that thou art incorporated into the Christian Church , and therefore obliged to live in the Communion of the Church , that is , to frequent Christian Assemblies , and to join in all the Parts and Offices of Religious Worship ? and art not thou afraid to deal falsely and treacherously with thy God ? For Vengeance is mine , saith God , I will repay it : It is a dreadful thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God. To have our Portion with Hypocrites and Unbelievers , signifies , in the New Testament , the greatest miseries of the next World. Now as Unbelievers signifies such Infidels as obstinately refuse to believe the Gospel , when it is fairly proposed to them : So Hypocrites does not only signify ( as some Men mistake the word ) those who counterfeit Religion , who make a fine external shew and appearance of Piety and Devotion , when they are rotten at the Heart ; but it signifies those also , who live contrary to their Profession , who are , suppose , nominal and titular Christians , who have been baptized in the Name of Christ , and own his Religion as the Religion of their Country , but live lewd and profligate lives , make no Conscience of worshipping God , nor ever think of saving their Souls : These are the Men , who are proposed as the Patterns and Examples of the severity of God's Judgments , to deter any Man from imitating their wickedness , lest they be punished with Hypocrites and Unbelievers . Those who are baptized into the Christian Church , into the Faith and Worship of Christ , do not only forfeit all the Blessings of the Covenant , by renouncing or contradicting their Baptismal Vow , in an habitual course of a wicked and licentious Life , but become obnoxious to all the Threatnings of the Gospel in their utmost severity ; which is a much worse state than the poor Heathens are in , who never heard of Christ ; for they shall not be judged by the Gospel , which was never preached to them ; and therefore shall not be condemned by the Gospel neither ; as St. Paul tells us , That as many as have sinned without Law , shall also perish without Law ; and as many as sinned in the Law , shall be judged by the Law. And by the same Reason we may add , As many as have sinned in the Gospel , shall be judged by the Gospel . Now to perish without the Law , signifies a much easier punishment than to be judged by the Law ; and to be judged by the Gospel , signifies a great deal more than that ; for as God hath increased his Grace to Man-kind , so he has always annexed severer Punishments to the abuse of it : Thus our Saviour tells us , It shall be easier for Sodom and Gomorah , in the day of Iudgment , than for Capernaum . Sodom and Gomorah were as vile infamous Places as were in the World , and God destroyed them by very memorable Judgments , by raining Fire and Brimstone on them from Heaven ; but yet they never enjoyed those means of Grace which Capernaum did , where our Saviour himself preached in Person , and confirmed the Truth of his Doctrine by many mighty Works , and therefore they should escape better at the last Judgment , than Capernaum ; and Capernaum , I doubt , will escape much better than the Infidels and Atheists , and profane despisers of Religion in our days , because they laboured under old and inveterate Prejudices , which could not easily be removed , but required time and patience , and the exercise of free and impartial Reason to wear them off . But now , when the Gospel has prevailed in the World for so many Ages ; when Men are educated in the Christian Religion , and have all the Prejudices of their first and early Instructions on the right side ; when it is so difficult a thing to cast off their reverence for God , and to silence and stupify their clamorous Consciences : for Men to use so much Art and Industry to turn Atheists or Infidels , or profane Scoffers at Religion , will admit of no excuse , but is the highest Affront to God , and will receive the sorest Punishment , and a Sentence as amazing and astonishing as the Sin is . Thus I have represented the evil and heinous Nature of this Sin ; and if these Men do believe that there is a God , as they profess to do , would they give themselves time seriously to consider these things , I cannot imagine but it must have some good effect upon them . For can any Man , who believes a God , if he ever consider such Matters , endure the least thought of putting such a scorn and contempt upon God , as the neglect of Religious Worship does naturally signify ? He knows what a sharp resentment he himself has of a slight or neglect ; how ill he takes it if Men industriously avoid his Company , if they do but talk and seem to mind something else , when he is telling a Story ; if his Friends neglect to visit him , and turn their heads another way , when they pass by his Door ; and he knows how sensible Superiors especially are of such neglects from their Inferiors . For a Prince to be slighted by his Subjects , or a Father by his Children , or a Master by his Servants , is thought so unsufferable a rudeness , as cannot be too severely punished : And therefore considering that infinite distance which is between God and Creatures , he may easily conclude how ill God takes the neglect of his Worship , which is the greatest slight that can be put upon him , and argues very mean and contemptible Thoughts of him , if such Men did think of him at all . And when he considers also how many Obligations he lies under to worship God , he cannot but blush to be guilty of so great injustice , not to praise and magnify him , who deserves to be praised , and to be had in reverence by all those who are about him . He thinks it great injustice to detract from the Praises of worthy and deserving Men , or to conceal them ; what is it then not to ascribe to God the Glory and Perfection of his Nature and Works , which are proclaimed by all the World ? Not to adore and worship our Maker , who made us for this end , that we might see and speak of his Glory . Did God give me Eyes ( may such a Man say ) to see the Glory of this World , and an Understanding to search out the first Cause , to whom the Praise of all is due , that when I have found him , I should take no notice of him , neither confess his Power , nor admire his Wisdom , nor praise his Goodness ? Did he give me a Tongue to talk of every Trifle , and never to be silent but where it ought to be most vocal , in the Praises of my Maker ? How ill should I take it , could I make any Being that could understand or speak , should it refuse to acknowledg from whence it was , and to whom it owes its Being ? Consider , my Soul , how thou shouldest resent the neglect of a Son , of a Client , of a redeemed Captive , or of any one whom thou hast obliged , and by thy Bounty raised from a low to a splendid Fortune , who owes his Being , his Fortune , his Liberty , and all the Comforts and Blessings of Life to thee . And is it nothing then to neglect the Worship of that God , who is the Universal Parent , Lord , and Benefactor of the World ; who has redeemed thee with the Blood of his Son , and designed a more glorious Happiness for thee , if thy unjust and ungrateful neglects of him , do not render thee uncapable of his Favour ? But how unpardonable is it , for a Man to be false to his Oaths and Covenants ? Such Persons are not thought fit for Humane Conversation , who break the most Sacred Ties , and therefore can never be trusted ; but yet no Man ever broke his Word , much less an Oath or Covenant , but when he expected to make some advantage of it : And shall I break the Covenant of my God ? a Covenant to which I owe all my hopes of Happiness , all the Good I now enjoy , and all that I expect ? If I forfeit my Interest in this Covenant , I must be miserable , and perish like a Fool ; and since I cannot forfeit my Interest without breaking my Covenant , I must perish like an Apostate , a Runnagate , a Traitor , or like one who deserves to suffer the worst things , but deserves no Pity ; and is it so grievous a thing to worship God , that I should chuse rather to be unjust , to be ungrateful , to be perfidious to God , to forfeit his Love and Favour ▪ and to incur his hottest Displeasure , than acknowledg that I owe all to him that I have , and that I expect all from him ? SECT . III. Concerning the Danger of Irreligion , both with respect to this World and the next , and the folly of it ; with a serious Exhortation to these Men to take care of their Souls . SEcondly ; I shall now consider the Danger of Irreligion , in neglecting or contemning the Worship of God : For those who will not be wrought on by a sense of Justice or Gratitude , may yet be governed by the more brutish Principle of Fear . Now the Danger of this , respects both this World and the next . 1. The Danger of Irreligion , with respect to this World. Now , whoever believes there is a God , who governs all Humane Affairs , in whom we live , move , and have our Being , who disposes of our several Fortunes and Conditions of Life , must needs apprehend himself in great danger of being miserable here , while he neglects to adore and reverence the soveraign and unaccountable Lord of the World. We find throughout the Scripture , that the Promise even of Temporal Blessings and Deliverance , is made only to those , who beg it of God by their servent and importunate Prayers . This is the course all good Men in all Ages have taken , and found the blessed success of it ; Call upon me in the day of trouble , I will deliver thee , and thou shalt glorify me . For thou , Lord , art good , and ready to forgive ; and plenteous in Mercy unto all them that call upon thee . Give ear , O Lord , unto my Prayer , and attend unto the Voice of my Supplications . In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee , for thou wilt answer me . He shall call upon me , and I will answer him ; I will be with him in trouble , I will deliver him , and honour him . The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him ; to all that call upon him in Truth . He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him ; he also will hear their cry , and will save them . The Lord preserveth all them that love him ; but the wicked will he destroy : Where , those who love God , are those who pray unto him ; and therefore the wicked , whom God will destroy , are those who do not pray to him , who neglect or despise his Worship : whence it is the Psalmist describes God , that he is One that heareth Prayers ; O thou that hearest Prayer , unto thee shall all flesh come . For indeed it is not reasonable to expect that God should bestow those Blessings and Deliverances on us , which we do not think worth asking , or will not own him to have the disposal of ; those who will not pray for those good Things they want , will not bless God for giving them ; and no wise Man thinks it prudent to place his Favours , where they shall meet with no return ; which is like burying good Seed in a barren Soyl , that deceives the expectation of the Husbandman . God indeed being the Maker of the World , takes care of all his Creatures ; but then he expects that reasonable Creatures should beg the protection , and provisions of his Providence , because this is an excellent Instrument of Government , as it keeps Man-kind under a constant sense of his Power and Providence , and in a constant dependence on him . Those who expect all good Things from God , dare not provoke him to anger by the breach of his Laws ; Men are naturally ashamed of approaching the Presence of God , when they are conscious to themselves of any great Crime , but sneak and hide themselves , as Children do , when they have displeased their Parents , and dare not ask any kindness , till they have first obtained their Pardon ; which makes it highly reasonable and necessary for God to discountenance Irreligion , by casting off the care of such Men who refuse to worship him . It is true , very many Irreligious Men do thrive in this World , and arrive to great Estates , and to great Honours ; for God does not make such an exact difference between good and bad Men in this Life , as he will do in the World to come , and can serve the Ends of his Providence in the prosperity of bad Men. But yet there is a vast difference between God's permitting the prosperity of bad Men , and that constant Providence which watches over good Men. Bad Men may advance themselves by Injustice , Oppression , and Perjury , but they are not advanced by the Blessing , but by the Permission of God , for God never blesses any wicked Arts ; and therefore such Mens Prosperity is very uncertain , and as tottering as the Thrones of Usurpers : for though they have a good Title with respect to Men , yet they are but Usurpers with respect to God , and therefore are tumbled down again at his pleasure ; but the only sure way of thriving in the World , is by God's Blessing ; these are the only lasting and durable Riches and Honours , which are free from such Vexations and Troubles , Fears and Disappointments , which attend on unjust Possessions ; as the Wise Man tells us , The Blessing of the Lord , it maketh rich , and he addeth no sorrow with it . The sum is this ; It is possible for Irreligious Men to enjoy great prosperity without God's Blessing , and those who like this way may take it ; but it is a very uncertain , and a very slippery way , it often ends in Poverty and Contempt , or leads to the Gallows ; or Men lose their standing , when they are almost got up to the top of the Precipice , and they tumble down faster than ever they got up : But those who desire God should take care of them , must pray to him , and worship him ; for as St. Iames told those he writ to , Ye have not , because ye ask not . Some bad Men are for awhile prosperous , but a hundred for one are miserable ; and no Man can be secure from Misery , but in the Protection of God. Secondly ; There is a much greater Danger than this in Irreligion , and that is , The loss of our Souls , the loss of Eternal Happiness , and the miseries of an Eternal Death ; now it is Godliness which hath the promise of this Life , and of that which is to come , and the Grace of God which brings Salvation ; that is , the Gospel of Christ , which contains the Promises of eternal Life , hath appeared unto all Men , teaching us , that denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts , we should live soberly , righteously , and godlily in this present World. These are the Conditions of Eternal Life , without performing which , we shall never see God ; but the intemperate , unrighteous , ungodly Men , shall be condemned to the punishment of Devils , to outward darkness , where there is weeping and wailing , and gnashing of teeth for evermore . For Godliness , which consists in such a constant sense of God , as expresses it self in all Acts of Homage , Worship , and Obedience , is the only vital Principle of Religion ; though Men have a great many very good Qualities , and sociable Vertues ; though they are modest and temperate , just in their Dealings , pitiful to the Poor , of a liberal and generous Spirit in promoting good Designs ; very affable , courteous , and obliging in their Conversations ; yet if they have no sense of God , as these Men have not , who neglect his Worship , all this is no part of Religion , but owing to natural Temper , and good Breeding , or humane Policy , or such other Causes as may make Men good Neighbours and Citizens , but cannot make them good Christians . They may reap some Temporal Rewards of these Vertues , but they cannot carry them to Heaven , for indeed such Men are not qualified for the Work , and the happiness of Heaven , which is to know , and love , and admire , and praise the great Maker and Redeemer of the World ; which no Man can do , who hath not a quick and prevailing sense of his Excellencies and Perfections . And how intolerable would it be , for such Men to keep an Eternal Sabbath in Heaven , to worship God , and sing his Praises day and Night , for ever and ever ; who think it lost time , and a dry , insipid , wearisom thing , to worship God here on Earth ? but they need not fear that Penance , for they shall never be troubled with it : None shall be received into Heaven , but those , who by the constant Exercises of Devotion on Earth , have spiritualized their Minds , and made Religion , in some measure , their Happiness , as well as their Work and Duty . And because there are a sort of inconsiderate Men , who think to grow very religious , and to repent of all their Sins before they die , and thereby prevent the danger of Eternal Damnation , I would desire them to consider ; Thirdly ; That the great Danger of Irreligion , of an habitual neglect of God's Worship , is , That it lets loose the Reins to all manner of Wickedness , and naturally tends to harden Men in Sin , and very often ends in down-right Atheism . Men , who have cast off all sense and reverence for God , have no other restraint from the greatest Villanies , but what the Laws of the Land , their own natural Tempers , their Education and Converse , and such-like Considerations , lay upon them ; which can keep very few Men , who have cast off the Fear and Reverence of God , within any tolerable bounds ; and thus Men run into the wildest Excesses , and wound their Consciences , and stain their Reputations , till they grow hopeless , desperate , and impudent Sinners . Men , who are very bad , and yet will not neglect their Prayers , nor absent themselves wholly from Christian Assemblies , do what they can , find great checks of Conscience , and have a great many sober Intervals ; they cannot say their Prayers , and confess their Sins to God , and beg his Pardon and Mercy , but their Consciences will reproach them , and put them at least upon some imperfect resolutions of amendment ; and when they attend the preaching of the Word , they often are so startled and scared , and labour under such strong Convictions , that they are not able to resist any longer , and the good Spirit of God does not wholly forsake those Men who attend the Publick Ministries of Grace , but sometimes works such miraculous Cures , as are the triumphs of a Soveraign Grace ; and therefore the Case of these Men can never be so desperate and hopeless as theirs is , who take care to think of him as little as possibly they can , and withdraw themselves from Publick Instructions , that they may sin on without disturbance till they drop into Hell. Thirdly ; Let us now consider the folly of Irreligion ; and there is the more reason to do this , because the Irreligious and Profane , the Practical as well as the Speculative Atheist , is very apt to boast of his Wit and Understanding , and to think himself much above the ordinary level of Mankind . But the Spirit of God calls them Fools , The Fool hath said in his Heart , There is no God ; which is not meant of the Speculative , but of the Practical Atheist , who though he professeth to believe that there is a God , yet lives as if there were none . And if Religion be the onely true Wisdom , Irreligion must be the greatest folly ; and yet so we are taught in Scripture , that the fear of the Lord , that is , the Worship of God , which is the most natural expression of our reverence of him , that is Wisdom ; The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom , a good understanding have all they that do his Commandments . The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom , and the Knowledg of the Holy is Understanding . Now what I have already discoursed of the Evil and Danger , proves also the Folly of Irreligion ; for what can be more foolish , than that which contradicts the best Reason of our Minds , and our natural Obligations to worship God , founded on the highest Wisdom ? What can be more foolish , than to undermine our own Interest , to lay Trains of Misery for our selves , and to forfeit our present and future Happiness ? That is cursed , contemptible Wit , which will droll away a Man's Life and his Soul together . But besides all this , the Folly of Irreligion will appear , if we consider these two Things . 1. That it transforms a Man into a Beast ; and then , though such a Man may have all the wild conceits of Apes and Monkeys , and the craft and subtilty of a Fox , yet he has not the Understanding and Wisdom of a Man. He may have an inferior sort of Wit , and may be reckoned the top and perfection of the meer Animal and Sensitive Life , but is fallen vastly below the Attainments of Men ; for it is not Reason , but Religion , which is the Glory and Perfection of Humane Nature , as every one must acknowledg , who believes that there is a God ; for God is the noblest Object of our Minds , and to adore and worship him , is to act according to the most excellent capacity of our Natures . I doubt not at all , but brute Creatures have an inferior degree of Reason , fitted to the low Attainments of their Natures , and that they commonly reason more wisely and truly in their own Concerns , than Irreligious Men do in theirs ; but they cannot know God , nor worship him ; they cannot see nor adore his infinite Perfections , their Reason is confined to a narrow compass , to those things which concern the preservation of their own Being , and the enjoyments of their Natures ; and such a kind of Being is an Irreligious Man , whose Reason indeed is capable of higher and nobler flights , but is pinnioned down , and confined to present and sensible Objects , and serves only to corrupt and deprave a more excellent Nature into a brutish State. Now if that be the true Wisdom and Glory , the specifical Difference of a Man , which distinguishes him from all inferior Creatures , then Religon , as the Scripture tells us , must be his Wisdom ; and whatever Wit Irreligious Men may pretend to , being so much below the Attainments , nay , being no better than the Corruption of Humane Nature , it may set them a degree above the Wit of a Beast , but is no better than folly in a Man. 2. There is not a more certain demonstration of folly , than for Men to act foolishly , especially in Matters of vast Concernment ; and this consideration impeaches the Irreligious Man of the most despicable Folly ; as to give you some Instances of this : Some neglect to worship God out of a careless trifling humour ; they never consider what God is , how much they owe to him , how intirely they are at his disposal , what the danger and punishment of Irreligion is ; and if it be folly not to use the wisest Thoughts , and best Consideration we have , in matters of the greatest moment , then Irreligion is Folly. Others neglect the Worship of God , because it disturbs them in the secure enjoyment of their Lusts , and puts a great many black and melancholy Thoughts into their Heads : which is just as wise , as to shut our Eyes , and run down a Precipice , because it makes us melancholy to open our Eyes and see our Danger ; whereas a wise Man would rather chuse to open his Eyes , that he might see how to avoid it . Others take offence at Religion , because they see a great many Hypocrites zealous pretenders to Religion , and they had as good never mind Religion as be Hypocrites : but is this a good Reason not to mind Religion , because Hypocrites pretend to Religion , when indeed they have none ? Cannot they be sincerely Religious , though Hypocrites be not ? Are there not a great many Religious Men , who are no Hypocrites ? And is not that a better Reason to be Religious without Hypocrisy , than to be of no Religion , to declare to all the World that we are not Hypocrites ? Others are scandalized at the great variety of Religions , which are as contrary to each other , as Light to Darkness ; and conclude , that it is to no purpose to trouble their heads about any form of Religion , for they may be mistaken after all , and they had as good be of no Religion , as not of the right . But if these Men did but wisely consider of what infinite concernment true Religion is , they would conclude quite otherwise , that seeing there is so much dispute which is the true Religion , they would use the greater diligence and honesty to find it out , and hope that God would pardon those Mistakes , which are meerly the Errors of their Understanding , when they offer up to him a pious and devout Soul ; that an honest Man , who is not byassed by Interest , and does not chuse a false Religion upon a Design , will be accepted for his Sincerity and Devotion , by that God who is a merciful and compassionate Father , and very ready to pardon all invincible Mistakes , when they are not made invincible by our own Fault : But to cast off all Religion , because there is some difficulty in finding the right , is just as if a Traveller , when he meets with a great many cross Wayes , should resolve to go no farther , for fear he should mistake the right Road , though he is sure that he shall never get home if he go no farther . Others are so tired with their Secular Affairs , and hard Labour all the week , that truly they must make Sunday a Holy Day , not for Devotion , but for Rest and Pastime , as a Holy Day commonly now signifies ; and therefore they cannot go to Church , which will tire them more than all thir weeks Work did ; that is to say , They feel the Wants and Necessities of their Bodies , and must take care of them , but their Souls must shift for themselves ; they cannot bear hunger and cold , and nakedness ; but never consider , Who can dwell with devouring Fire ? who can dwell with everlasting Burnings ? But more of this presently . Such kind of foolish Reasonings as these , make Men neglect the Worship of God ; and should any Man act or reason so weakly in his Worldly Affairs , he would be beg'd for a Fool if he were worth the keeping . Thus I have endeavoured to convince these Men of the Evil , Danger , and Folly of Irreligion ; I now proceed to the second Thing proposed , to perswade them to take care of their Souls . 2. Let me therefore earnestly exhort all Men to take care of their Souls ; for this is the true Reason why they neglect the Worship of God , Because they are sottishly unconcerned what will become of their Souls after Death , whether they shall be happy or miserable in the World to come . For all Men , who make it the great Business of their Lives to get Heaven , who are impatiently desirous to see God , and to enjoy him , who are afraid of nothing so much , as of being banished from his Presence : I say , these Men are serious and hearty in their Religion , They seek first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness . For tho Religious Worship be a Natural Debt , which we owe to God as we are his Creatures , yet God in great wisdom and goodness has so ordered all the parts of Worship , that we may at the same time , and in the same Act , worship and glorify God , and serve and supply the Wants and Necessities of our own Souls . The Worship of Innocent Creatures , consisted principally in praising that great , wise , and bountiful Maker and Governor of the World ; but the Religion of Sinners is fitted to a lapsed state , to heal and recover our Souls , restore us to the perfection and happiness of our Natures , and to intitle us to new and glorious Rewards . Since we are Sinners , God hath made it one part of Religious Worship , and given us great encouragement , to confess our Sins , and to ask pardon and forgiveness for them : And can any Man , who loves his Soul , and considers , that the Wages of Sin is Death , be careless in suing out his Pardon . Must thou die eternally , Sinner , unless thou obtainest thy Pardon from God , and wilt thou not fall down upon thy Knees , and lie prostrate in the Dust before him ? Dost thou think it sufficient to reserve this Work for thy last Breath , when thou art so hasty to procure a Pardon from thy Prince , when thou hast only forfeited a perishing Estate , or a mortal Life ? Me thinks I should see thee run with all speed to Church , for fear thou shouldest come too late to offer up thy Confessions and Prayers with the Congregation , by the Mouth of God's Minister , who is appointed to pray for thee , and to receive that reviving Absolution which is promised to all humble Penitents , confessing and praying Sinners . And since our own unworthiness our manifold and great Sins , might justly discourage us from approaching the Presence of so Holy a God ; God has in infinite Mercy provided a great High-Priest for us , to offer up our Prayers to God , and to intercede for us ; and has commanded us to come to him in his Name ; and shall we forfeit our Interest in our Saviour's Intercession , by neglecting to beg pardon in his Name ? For the Work of our great High-Priest , is to offer up our Prayers to God , incensed and perfumed with his own Merits : But this supposes , that we must offer up our Prayers to God in his Name ; and therefore those who do not pray to God in Christ's Name , have no part nor interest in his Intercession : He is an Advocate for none but those who Worship God in his Name . And since our Natures are greatly corrupted , and we are very weak and unable to serve God in an acceptable manner , in our own strength , God has made it a part of his Worship to beg the supplies of his Grace , and has promised to give his Holy Spirit to them who ask him ; and when we find , by daily experience , how liable we are to the Assaults of Temptations , and how easily we are conquered by them , and know how impossible it is ever to get to Heaven , unless we be renewed and sanctified by the Holy Ghost ; Can any Man , who loves his Soul , exposes himself naked and unarmed to a tempting World and Devil , without so much as begging the Auxiliary Forces , and Divine Aids of the Holy Spirit , which we may have for asking , but shall never have without . You are glad of any help and assistance to promote your secular Interest . When a City is besieged by powerful and numerous Enemies , they send Embassadors to their Allies and Confederates , and will never want help for want of asking it ; and shall we be so foolish as to become the triumph and the scorn , and a prey to our Spiritual Enemies , for want of crying to God to save us ? For the same Reason , our blessed Lord has appointed and instituted the Holy Feast of his Sacramental Body and Blood , as a conveyance of new Life and Grace to us ; and have those Men any care of their Souls , as well as any honour for their Crucified Lord , who deny themselves so inestimable a priviledg of feasting on the Symbols of Christ's Body and Blood ? which seals to all worthy Communicants the pardon of their Sins , and more firmly unites them to Christ their Head , and to each other , and intitles them to the powerful influence of that Divine Spirit , which dwells in , actuates , and governs the whole Church and Body of Christ. Thus we are very ignorant , and very unmindful of our Duty , and God in great goodness has appointed a whole Order of Men , whose Business it is to instruct us , to teach us what we do not know , and to mind us of those Things which we are apt to forget , and has made it our Duty , and a part of his Worship , to attend their Instructions . And though I hope , in such an Age , and such a Church as this , there are a great many Christians so knowing , that they need not be taught their Duty ; yet it is sad to consider how many very ignorant Professors there are , that want to be instructed in the first Rudiments of Christian Knowledg ; and warm , zealous , and frequent Exhortations , are of great use to the most knowing Christians . And though a great many , who have little other Religion , are forward enough to hear Sermons , yet it grieves me to think how many there are who will live , die , and perish for ever in their Ignorance , because they refuse Instruction ; who can never be perswaded to attend , either Sermons , or Catechising , or so much as reading the Scripture ; and yet these very Men could be contented to hear a large discourse of News , or Trade , or Merchandize ; or how they might order their Affairs to better advantage , and are glad to be told of any Mistake or Error which might have been prejudicial to them in their secular Affairs . And I need not tell you the Reason of this Difference , they are in very good earnest to get this World , but are very indifferent and unconcerned about the next . So that all the parts of Religious Worship , as they are expressions of our Reverence and Devotion for God , so they immediately tend to the happiness of our Souls ; the Virtue of them is seen , in transforming us into a Divine Nature , in obtaining the Pardon of our Sins , and the Supplies of God's Grace , in making us Holy here , and eternally Happy hereafter ; and therefore if we love our Souls , let us constantly exercise our selves in all the Parts and Offices of Religious Worship . And me-thinks , it should be no such hard Matter to perswade Men to love and take care of their Souls ; for can any Man have a greater Concernment in the World than this ? For to love our Souls , signifies no more than to love our Selves , and to take care of our own happiness ; for the Soul is the Man , the Body is only the Organ and Instrument of the Soul , an earthly Tabernacle , wherein it dwells in this state of its Pilgrimage , but it is our Soul only that is capable of Joy and Pleasure , or Grief and Sorrow ; and therefore as the Soul is either happy or miserable , so is the Man , and all Men desire to be happy ; this they seek with unwearied endeavours ; this makes all that busle and stir that is in the World , that all Men are a catching after happiness , and scrambling for it : Why then you say , What is the Dispute and Difficulty , since all Men do love their Souls , that is , desire to be happy ? and it is only the Soul that relishes Happiness , or is the Subject wherein Happiness dwells . This is true , and yet very few Men love their Souls : for we must consider , that the Soul of Man is capable of a two-fold happiness ; one as it lives in this gross Body of Flesh and Blood ; another as it lives without it in a separate state , or receives it again refined and purged , made a Heavenly and Spiritual Body . Now as the Soul dwells in these Earthly Bodies , it is apt to be mightily pleased with sensual Enjoyments , and such Objects as are represented to us by our Senses ; and this is the Happiness which most Men are fond of in this World , which tempts them to all those sensual Lusts which St. Iohn comprises under the Lusts of the Flesh , the Lusts of the Eye , and the Pride of Life ; but now this is not the greatest happiness of the Soul , because dwelling in this Body is not its most perfect State ; it is to dwell but a little while in this Body , and then can enjoy these bodily Pleasures no longer , and therefore that is called the happiness of the Soul , which is agreeable to its most perfect state of Life , and commensurate to an eternal duration . So that the Controversy in short is this , Whether we will prefer an imperfect , unsatisfactory , momentary Happiness , or such a Happiness , which is the biggest our Souls are capable of , and will last to Eternity ; and it is strange there should be any difficulty in this choice . For can an Immortal Being , who is to live Eternal Ages , be satisfied with such perishing Joys as wax old , and expire in half an Age ? It would be thought very strange , that an Immortal Creature should grow weary of Life , and be contented to fall into nothing after threescore or fourscore Years ; and yet this is a much more reasonable desire , than to chuse such a happiness as will last but sixty or eighty Years , when we must live for ever ; and therefore the Atheist is much a wiser Man than an irreligious and profane Worldling . Every one contemns the folly of such a Prodigal , who spends a fair Estate in a very short time , and wasts away the rest of his Life in Poverty and Beggary ; and yet three or four Years pleasure bears some proportion to threescore or fourscore Years ; but threescore or fourscore Years have no proportion at all to Eternity . Were there no other punishment of such Folly , but to live for ever in a sense of our Want , to find no sutable Objects to entertain our Minds , but to languish perpetually with pining and unsatisfied Desires ; yet this were like the pain of perpetual Hunger and Thirst , some-what worse than the delays of Hope , even the torment of Despair . And yet it is much worse still than this ; for such Men , when they come into the other World , will be convinced what Happiness it is they have lost , when they shall see them come from the East and from the West , from the North and from the South , and sit down with Abraham , Isaac , and Iacob , in the Kingdom of God , and themselves shut out ; when they shall see victorious Saints , who have triumphed over all the Follies and Vanities , all the Smiles , Flatteries , and Terrors of this World , cloathed with Bodies of pure Light , and rewarded with immarcessible Crowns of Glory , singing Eternal Halelujahs to their God and Saviour ; and when all the toys and pleasures of this World are gone and past , and nothing is present but the happiness of the next , it will infinitely more afflict them to think they have missed of Heaven , than it would do now to lose their Estates and Honours , and let slip any opportunity they had to make themselves the Universal Monarchs of the World. And yet it is much worse than this too , for such Men will not only miss of Heaven , but sink into Hell , a place of endless ▪ Torments , where there is no ease , and no hope . So well might our Saviour ask that Question , What shall it profit a Man to gain the whole World , and to lose his own Soul ? Or what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul ? And can any thing in the World deserve more of our care and industry , than to obtain eternal Happiness , and to avoid eternal Misery ? And yet this cannot be done , without a sincere and devout performance of all the Acts of Religious Worship . Those Persons do not deserve to be God's Friends and Favorites who do not worship him , and those are not capable of the Joys of Heaven , who cannot relish the Pleasures of Religion , and the Worship of God. CHAP. II. Concerning those who forsake Christian-Assemblies , for want of a due sense of the Nature and Necessity of Publick Worship . Several proofs of the Necessity of Publick Worship ; from the Nature of Religious Worship ; from the Nature of the Mosaick Worship ; from the Institution of a Christian Church , and the Nature of Christian Worship and Discipline . OThers there are , who either wholly , or in a great measure , forsake our Communion , for want of a due sense of the Nature and Necessity of Publick Worship ; They acknowledg it is their Duty to Worship God , but they think they can worship God as well at Home as at Church ; that it is not the Place which makes their Prayers more or less effectual ; but God hears us , where-ever we pray , and is always pleased , even with the single and private Devotions of good Men ; and the World is now so well stored with good Books , that they can spend their time in reading at Home to as good purpose , as if they went to Church to hear a Sermon . And I need not observe how many there are , who Act according to these Principles , i. e. who seldom or never come to Church , though how they spend their Time at home I know not ; but have great reason to suspect , that with too many , a warm Bed in the morning , and a bottle of Wine in the Afternoon , serves instead even of their private Devotions . Now before I proceed to shew what a great and dangerous mistake this is , I shall briefly expostulate the Case with these Men , supposing it to be as they say , That we may serve God very acceptably at Home , without attending the publick Assemblies of Christians . Supposing the Case to be equal in it self considered , yet I beseech you , Why should you prefer your own Private before the Publick Devotions of the Church ? Cannot you serve God , at least as well at Church as you do at Home ? And Publick Worship having bin the universal Practice of the World in all Ages , and under all Religions , does it become a modest Man to affront so general a Custom , which if it be not expresly commanded by God , yet at least has no hurt in it ? And since the generality of Mankind have not only consented in such a Practice , but have believed it to be their Duty ; to pay their joyn'd and publick Acknowledgments to their Universal Lord and Father ; and are apt to suspect these Men of Atheism and Irreligion , who deny or neglect it : What Reason can be sufficient to perswade any Religious Man to oppose so universal a Belief , and to incur the publick censures of Insidelity and Irreligion ? Especially since the publick Exercise of Religion is enjoyned by Humane Laws ; and to neglect it , is an affront to the publick Wisdom and Authority of a Nation ; which , though other things were equal , makes publick Assemblies a Duty , and private Devotion when we ought and may attend on publick Assemblies , to be a Sin. And indeed we cannot imagine , that God should take it well of any Man , how devout soever he be in private , who will rather affront the Universal Practice , founded upon as Universal a Consent of Mankind , will rather be thought an Atheist or an Insidel , will rather trample upon all Humame Authority , than joyn with his Fellow-Creatures , and Subjects , and Neighbours , in the publick Acts of his Worship . Put the case any of you were the Father of a very numerous off-spring , and that without any express Command from you , most of your Children should agree by a common consent to visit you together once a week to ask your Blessing , and pay their thankful Acknowledgments for your great care of them in their Education , and in that liberal Provision you have made for them ; but one or two of your Children should chuse to come alone to you in private , when no body sees them , and obstinately refuse to come with the rest of their Brethren , though they were censured by them with undutifulness and ingratitude for such a Neglect . I am apt to think , there is none of you would accept of such private Acknowledgments , from those who refused the more publick and solemn Addresses : and we have as little reason to expect acceptance from God , when we refuse to worship him in the Congregation of his Saints , how devout soever we are alone . Nay , though we should grant , that private Devotions were as acceptable to God as Publick , supposing they were performed with equal Zeal and Fervency of Mind , yet upon this account Publick Worship has much the advantage ; good Company in all Cases is apt to give us greater briskness and vigour of Mind : the very presence of devout Souls , who breath forth their ardent Desires to God , is enough to fire our cold and chill Spirits , and good Men receive warmth and quickness from each other , and grow into greater ardours and transports : Hypocrites have no other sense of Devotion , but what they receive from good Company ; but good Men themselves , who have a true and constant sense of God , many times experience a great difference in this respect , between their private Retirements , and the more publick and solemn Acts of Worship . Thus you see , that tho we could produce no express proof of the necessity of publick Worship ; yet there are sufficient reasons to prevail with every wise and good Man , not to withdraw himself from the Communion of Religious Assemblies ; and therefore indeed we shall never find , that a truly wise and good Man does . Private Devotion may be a pretence to justify the neglect of publick Worship ; but I dare appeal to these Men's own Consciences , that it is never the true Cause ; for Men who do heartily desire to worship God , will chuse to worship him in the best and most solemn manner , that is , in the publick Assemblies of Christians . But yet to take away this very pretence from them , I come now to consider our Obligations to publick Worship . 1. And first I shall argue from the Nature of Religious Worship , and the fundamental Reasons of it . Now Worship signifies all that part of Religion , which immediately respects God , as it is distinguished from Sobriety and Righteousness , and is commonly known by the name of Godliness ; as the Apostle divides the several Duties of Religion into three parts , living soberly , righteously , and godlily in this present World. And the proper Notion of worshipping God , is to honour him ; all the several Acts of Worship honour God , as they signify our great sense and devout acknowledgment of his Being , Power , and Providence , of the Excellencies and Perfections of his Nature , our dependence on him , submission to him , trust and affiance in him ; such as are great and venerable apprehensions of God , Prayers , Praises , Thanksgivings , and the like . Now every Man must acknowledg , that Honour is always the greater , the more publick it is . That he who has great and admiring Thoughts of God , and publishes this to the World in the most solemn manner , honours God a great deal more , than he who keeps these Thoughts to himself , and praises God so privately , that no Man knows it but himself . The Prophet David resolves to make his Praises of God as publick as he could ; I will declare thy Name unto my Brethren ; in the midst of the Congregation will I praise thee . And exhorts others , to exalt him in the Congregation of the People , and praise him in the Assemblies of the Elders . Praise ye the Lord , I will praise the Lord with my whole Heart , in the Assembly of the Upright , and in the Congregation . And besides this , we may consider , that there are two parts of Worship ; the Worship of the Mind , which consists in honouring God with devout and pious Affections , in bowing our Souls before him ; and the external and visible expressions and significations of this Honour , which is external and visible Worship , such as praying and praising God with an audible Voice , falling down on the ground , kneeling , uncovering the Head , and those other outward Expressions of Devotion , which signify the humble and devout Affections of the mind ; now tho these external signs of Honour may and ought to be used in Private and Closet Devotions , so it be with due caution , not to make them publick , which is a piece of Pharisaical Hypocrisy ; yet the proper use of them is in publick Acts of Worship , to testify our concurrence and agreement with other devout Persons in the same Acts of Worship ; for God knows our Thoughts and Affections , and therefore needs not to be acquainted with our Desires , by cloathing them with words ; he hears the most silent breathings of our Souls , and therefore needs not that we should speak to him in an audible Voice ; he sees the bending of our Souls , and the most humble submission and prostration of our Minds , and needs not be informed of this , by bending or bowing our Bodies to him ; but Men cannot see this but by external signs , nor join in the same Petitions and Praises , without words so audibly pronounced , that all present may hear them ; and therefore those Scriptures which require these external Signs of Worship , suppose that this Worship must be publick too , that we must meet together , to offer up our united Prayers and Thanksgivings to God. And accordingly we find , that all the Psalms of David were penned for publick Worship , for the use of the Temple , and delivered to the Master of Musick , to be sung as publick Hymns of Prayer or Thanksgiving . And if we enquire into the fundamental Reasons of Worship , we shall find our Obligations much more strong to publick than to private Worship , tho that be our Duty also , especially when we want such publick Opportunities . The natural Reason of worshipping God , is , that he is the most excellent and perfect Being , the great and universal Parent and Benefactor , and the Soveraign Lord and Judg of the World ; for it becomes us to acknowledg and adore him who is our Maker , in whom we live , move , and have our being ; who feeds and cloaths us , who defends us from Evil , who encompasseth us with his loving kindness and tender mercies ; and therefore these are the Subjects of most of those Forms of Worship , Prayer and Thanksgiving , which we find recorded in Scripture , especially in the Writings of the Old Testament . Now all this is a more cogent Reason for publick than for private Worship ; for though we are bound to acknowledg those particular Favours and Blessings which God hath bestowed on us , which is the foundation of private Worship ; yet God is not so much to be considered a private , as a publick Benefactor , as an universal Parent , and soveraign Lord , and therefore must be worshipped as a publick Benefactor , that is , with publick Worship ; for there is no visible Worship of God , as the Supream Lord of the World , unless it be publick . And since all Mankind are God's Creatures , and the Subjects of his Care and Providence , and are every one of them bound to worship the same God , natural Reason will inform us , that we ought all to join in the same acts of Worship , which gives a greater awe and solemnity to it : for we cannot think that Man was made a sociable Creature for every thing else , but only for Acts of Worship , which is his highest End and greatest Perfection ; and therefore if Men unite themselves into Societies , for Civil Order and Government , it is as highly reasonable that they should unite for Religious Worship , unless we think that Bodies Politick , Kingdoms , and Common-wealths , are not bound to worship God , as every particular Person is ; tho it be an old Maxim of Government , That Religion is the surest Bond and Cement of Civil Societies . Especially when we consider , that the greatest Blessings we are to praise God for , are such as are bestowed on us in common with others , or all Mankind , such as the influences of Heaven , and the fruitfulness of the Earth ; the blessing of Peace and Plenty , deliverance from Enemies , the advantages of good Government , and all other National Mercies , and above all , the Redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus Christ ; so that God is defrauded of his Glory , if our Acknowledgments be not as publick as his Blessings are : For private Praises are not just Returns , nor due Acknowledgment of publick Mercies . And therefore when the Psalmist celebrates the publick Mercies of God , he invites all Israel to join in his Praises . Praise ye the Lord ; sing unto the Lord a new Song , and his praise in the Congregation of Saints . Let Israel rejoice in him that made him ; let the Children of Zion be joyful in their King. And all this is confirmed by the universal practice of Mankind , who tho they differed in the Objects and Nature of their Worship , yet all agreed in making their Worship publick and solemn ; and such an universal Consent , is no less than the Voice of Nature . Secondly ; Let us now consider what that Worship is which God himself instituted and ordained ; and I shall at present instance in the Jewish Worship , which was typical also of the Christian. Now it is so evident , that every part of the Jewish Worship , which God commanded by Moses , was of a publick Nature , and to be performed in a publick manner , that I need not insist on the proof of it . Their several sorts of Sacrifices were to be offered at the Tabernacle or Temple , by the Priests who were publick Persons ; even those particular Sacrifices which were offered for particular Men , either Expiatory or Eucharistical , to make atonement for their Sins , or to be an oblation of Praise for particular Mercies , were yet offered at the Temple ; and besides this , they had Sacrifices for the whole Congregation , as on the great day of Expiation , which was not for any particular Man , but for the whole Body of the People , and therefore considered them all as united in the same Religion and Worship . God appointed also a publick Place of Worship , viz. the Tabernacle or Temple at Ierusalem ; and a publick place for Worship can be of no use , if there were no obligation to publick Worship . God also instituted publick Times of Worship , the Seventh day Sabbath , their New Moons and Annual Festivals , when all their Males were to appear three times a Year before the Lord : And such Times as these are described by calling Assemblies , and solemn Meetings ; because then they met together for publick Worship ; for indeed it seems to be a contradiction to appoint publick and solemn Times for private Worship . If Men are bound only to worship God in private , there is no need of publick Days of Rest dedicated to God's Worship , for every Man may take his own Time for it , as he finds most convenient and useful ; but fixed and stated Times of Worship , do necessarily suppose publick Worship , and evidently prove , that Solemn and Publick Days for Worship are not sanctified meerly by private Acts of Worship . And therefore we may consider further , that God entred into Covenant with the Children of Israel , not as particular Persons , but as the Seed of Abraham , as a People and Nation whom he had chose for himself , to be his peculiar Inheritance ; and therefore every part of his Covenant ( and the institution of Religious Worship , is none of the least parts of it ) concerns them as a Nation : So that this was a National Covenant , and a National Religion and Worship ; and I need add no more , to prove that , according to God's Institution , it was a publick Worship ; for God was the King of Israel , and therefore required as publick Homage from them , as other Princes expect from their Subjects ; as publick , I say , tho he can Challenge more divine Regards than earthly Princes , because he was their God as well as their King. And therefore the Children of Israel themselves are frequently called the Congregation of Israel , and the whole Congregation , as consisting of such Persons as used to meet together for publick Worship , how had a right to Worship at the Tabernacle of the Congregation . Let us then thirdly consider the Religion of our Saviour , and what Obligations that lays on us to all the Acts of Publick Worship . Now I need not tell you , that Christ has instituted a Church , which is so often in the Writings of the Apostles called a Church , and the Church of Christ. Now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly signifies a Meeting and Assembly , which is called together , and so acquaints us what the Nature of a Christian Church is , that it is a Society of Men united and combined together in the Faith and Worship of Christ ; For the Church of Christ is purely a Religious Society . Our Saviour had no Temporal Kingdom , as the Jews expected ; his Kingdom was not of this World , and therefore his Church is nothing else but a Society of Men for the Worship of God through Christ ; which is a plain demonstration , that every Member of the Christian Church is bound to join in all the Offices of publick Worship ; for there can be no Christian Church , if there be no publick Worship , because the Christian Church is a Religious Society , that is , a Society instituted for Religious Worship ; nor can he be a Member of the Christian Church , who wholly neglects or despises publick Worship ; for he can at best be only a nominal Member of an Assembly , who neglects to assemble with them , especially when it is essential to our Membership to frequent such Assemblies . Now we may safely conclude , that Christ would never have instituted a Church , or Religious Assembly for publick Worship , had not publick Worship been much more acceptable to God than our private Devotions ; had it been so indifferent , as some Men presume , whether we worship God singly , or in a Body and Society ; whether at Home in our Closet , or in the publick Congregation . And we may observe farther , That this Church is called the Body of Christ , and the Apostle tells us , that there is but one body , and one Spirit , even as you are called in one hope of your Calling : Now to be one Body , as all good Christians are , if Christ have but one Body , signifies a very near and intimate union between all the Members of the Body ; this is agreed by all , but then the Question is , wherein this Unity consists ? Some place the Unity of Christians in one Faith , in believing all the Articles of the Christian Faith , or in having a mutual Kindness and Charity , and it must be acknowledged , that these are absolutely necessary to unite Christians to make them the one Body of Christ. But yet this is not all , for there may be great Dissensions and Schisms , where there is but one Faith ; as it was of old in those fearful Schisms of the Novatians and Donatists , who differed not in Matters of Faith , but Discipline ; and as our own sad Experience convinces us at this Day ; and Men may exercise a Christian Charity and Forbearance to each other , without being Members of the same Body ; and therefore we must consider , that this one Body is one Church ; and the Unity of a Church , or Religious Assembly , must of necessity consist in one Communion ; and therefore he who separates himself from Christian Communion , who forsakes the Publick Assemblies for Religious Worship , destroys the Unity of the Church : which is a sufficient Argument , that publick Worship , when we can enjoy the Opportunities of it , is essential to the Notion and Being of a Christian Church . And therefore we find , that this was the constant practice of Christians , from the very first Foundations of a Christian Church . Thus we read of those new Converts , That they continued stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrine and Fellowship , and in breaking of Bread , and in Prayers . And they continuing daily with one accord in the Temple , and in breaking Bread from House to House , did eat their Meat with gladness and singleness of Heart . Here you see the Example of the first Christians , they continued in the fellowship of the Apostles , in the communion of Doctrine , Sacraments , and Prayers , which is the true description of the Unity of the Christian Church ; and therefore the Christian Church is called , a Communion or Fellowship . That which we have seen and heard , declare we unto you , that you may have fellowship with us , ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that you may become Christians , and enter into our Society ) and truly our Fellowship is with the Father , and with his Son Iesus Christ. And therefore the Sacrament of Baptism is our admission into the Christian Church ; that is , gives a right to all the Priviledges of Christian Communion , for we are baptized into one Body ; and the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is expresly called the Communion ; it is that common Table which all Christians have a right to ; The Cup of Blessing which we bless , is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ ? the Bread which we break , is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ ? For we being many , are one Bread , and one Body ; for we are all partakers of that one Bread. It is essential to the nature of the Lord's Supper , that it is a common Feast of which all Christians partake ; for it signifies not only our Union to Christ , but our Union to one another in the same Body ; for which Reason the Reformed Churches universally condemn the private Masses of the Church of Rome , where the Priest receives by himself ; and truly , private Devotions , when they thrust out publick Worship , are much of the same nature . So that the very Institution of a Church , the Example of the Primitive Christians , and those Sacraments of our Religion , which our Saviour has instituted as the Badges of Christianity , and the Conveyances of Spiritual Life and Grace , may convince us how necessary Christian Communion and Publick Worship is , if we will be the Disciples of Christ , and we are expresly commanded by the Writer to the Hebrews , Not to forsake the assembling of our selves together . But we may consider farther , that Christ has instituted an Evangelical Priesthood , the publick Ministers of Religion , whom he has commanded to instruct his Church , to feed his Flock , to pray for his People , and to bless in his Name , to whom he has committed the Power of the Keys , to let in , or to shut out of the Church . Now what use could there be for publick Ministers , unless publick Worship were a great and necessary Duty ? If it were so indifferent a thing , whether Christians frequent the Religious Assemblies , and continue in their Doctrine and Fellowship , breaking Bread and Prayers , it does not seem worth the while to have invested Men with such Power and Authority , which is of so little use , especially since Christianity is so much known , and so far spread in the World ; whereas our Saviour promises to be with his Apostles unto the end of the World ; which could not be meant of the Persons of the Apostles , for they are long since dead ; but of their Successors , who retain their Office and Power , as far as is necessary to the present state of the Church . And the force of this Argument from the Apostolical Office will be better understood , if we consider wherein the Power of the Keys consists , which Christ committed to St. Peter , and the rest of the Apostles , or what is the true ancient Discipline of the Christian Church . Now the Power of the Church , which is truly Spiritual , consists only in letting into the Church or shutting out . The admission into the Church , is by administring Baptism , which they are made the external Judges of , who are fit to be received into the Church by Baptism , and who not ; shutting out of the Church , is by exercising Censures upon Offenders , which consists only in this , in removing such Men from Christian Communion , either in part or wholly , for a time or for ever , according to the severity of the ancient Discipline . Some were not permitted to come into the Christian Assemblies , but lay at the door lamenting their wickedness , and begging their Prayers . Others were admitted to publick Instructions , but not to the Communion of Prayers ; or at least if they were admitted to the Prayers of the Catechumens , those who were publickly instructed and catechised , but not yet baptized , were not allowed to be present at the Prayers of the Faithful . Others were admitted to Prayers , but not to the Supper of the Lord. Now all this supposes , that Christian Communion is not only a necessary Duty , but a great Priviledg , since they had no other way of punishing Offenders , but by denying them the liberty of Worship in their Assemblies ; but what would those Men value Church-Censures , who make so slight of publick Worship , as daily to excommunicate themselves ? Certainly these Men are greatly mistaken , or else the very Office and Authority of an Apostle , is a very inconsiderable thing , and that dreadful Sentence of Excommunication , which was so formidable in the Ancient Church , is a very innocent and harmless thing , since Men may as well worship God alone as in Christian Assemblies ; and that they might do , when excommunicated or shut out of Christian Assemblies . And I observe farther , That our Saviour requires of us , the publick profession of his Name and Worship , which necessarily includes publick Worship ; Whosoever therefore shall confess me before Men , him will I confess before my Father which is in Heaven ; but whosoever shall deny me before Men , him will I deny before my Father which is in Heaven . To confess Christ , is to own him for our Lord and Saviour , not only in words ( tho too many such there are , whom our Saviour will not own , will not confess before his Father which is in Heaven ) but by paying him such publick Homage and Worship , as is a visible demonstration , that we do own him for our Lord. For thus to confess Christ , signifies , With the mouth Confession is made unto Salvation ; for whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord , shall be saved . The Christian Church was to be a Visible Society , like a City that is set on a Hill , or like a Candle placed in a Candlestick , to give light to all that are in the House : But the Church can never be visibly distinguished from the rest of the World , without the publick and visible exercise of Religion ; and therefore our Saviour exhorts his Disciples , Let your Light so shine before Men , that they may see your good Works , and glorify your Father which is in Heaven ; which must refer to all parts of Religion , and therefore includes Acts of Worship , as well as Acts of Mercy and Charity . To conclude this Argument , It is the acknowledged Duty of a Christian Prince , to take care to encourage and propagate true Religion in his Dominions ; which can never be done without encouraging publick Worship , correcting publick Abuses , and punishing the neglect or profanation of it : for if Mens Religion be confined to their Closets , no Man can possibly tell what Religion they are of ; they may be Pagans , Mahometans , Papists , or Infidels , and no Man the wiser , if they can but keep their own counsel : And therefore if it be the Duty of Magistrates to encourage and reform Religion , and yet nothing can fall within his cognizance , or under his care , but what is publick , it is easy to conclude , That publick Worship , which is the Care of publick Magistrates , is the Duty also of private Christians . Possibly some may think , that I have taken a great deal of needless pains in proving so plain a Thing ; and truly I should think so too , were I not sensible by my own experience , how many profest Christians there are , who have very little apprehension of the necessity of publick Worship ; and therefore sometimes come to Church to comply with the fashion of the Place ; and sometime stay at Home , to comply with their own careless Humours . If any such read these Papers , I would desire and beg of them , seriously to consider this Matter , and not to abuse themselves by some childish and sophistical Reasonings , into a Neglect so dishonourable to God , and so destructive to their Souls . Suppose you did really ( as some I fear only pretend ) spend your time in private Prayer , and Reading and Meditation , yet can you reasonably expect that God should accept , should hear and answer your private Prayers , when they signify a Neglect , if not a Contempt of publick Worship ? which is so much more pleasing to him , as it is more honourable to be praised by a multitude of devout Souls in the Face of the Sun , than in a secret Corner , where no Body sees nor hears us . Can you think your single Prayers will as much prevail with God , as when the fervent and ardent Desires of a Christian Assembly are offered up to God by a publick Minister of Religion , whom our Saviour has appointed to pray for us , and to bless in his Name ? Can you any where expect such plentiful effusions of the Divine Grace and Spirit , as in the Congregation of the Saints , while we attend on Divine Institutions , which are never without a Blessing annexed unto them , when there are Subjects capable of receiving it ? There is time enough for our private Devotions , without neglecting or affronting publick Worship . And when we remember that Christ has promised to be present in Christian Assemblies ; Where-ever two or three are gathered together in his Name ; and that God prefers the Gates of Sion , the place of publick Worship , before all the Dwellings of Jacob , it should make us long and thirst after the Courts of God , and be glad when they say , Let us go up into the House of the Lord. CHAP. III. Concerning those who plead Conscience for their Separation , and set up distinct Communions of their own . SECT . I. Containing several Directions to such Men , whereby to try their Honesty and Sincerity in this Matter . THe third sort of Men , who forsake our Religious Assemblies , are those who pretend Conscience for their Separation , and set up distinct Communions of their own ; who separate for fear of Sin ; and think themselves bound , as they honour God , and love their own Souls , to avoid our Communion . Now these Men deserve our most tender regard ; for if they be in good earnest , it is very great pity that those who are so desirous to please God , and to save their Souls , should fall into such dangerous Mistakes . But yet I do not intend to dispute the terms of our Communion with them at this time ; there are so many excellent Books writ in defence of the Church of England , that there is no want of Instruction for those , who are honest and inquisitive ; and therefore at present I shall take another Method , which I hope may prove more effectual , than disputing commonly does . And I shall reduce what I have to say , under these three Heads . First , To put them upon some Inquiries , with reference to their honesty , and sincerity in this Matter . Secondly , To offer some general Considerations for their Satisfaction . Thirdly , To remove some popular Pleas and Objections . First , To put them upon some Inquiries , with reference to their honesty and sincerity in this Matter . For those who plead Conscience for disobeying their Governors in Church or State , offer such an insufferable affront to God , if they be Hypocrites , and carry on other Designs under a pretence of Conscience , that woe be to that Man , that whited painted Sepulchre , how glorious a Profession soever he makes , who is thus rotten at the Heart . And in order to discover your honesty and sincerity , I shall desire every Man , as he fears God , and loves his Soul , and hopes for Mercy at the terrible appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ , when he shall come again to judg the Quick and the Dead , to give a sincere Answer to these following Questions . First ; Whether he do indeed separate from the Communion of our Parish Churches upon true Principles of Conscience ? To pretend to Conscience for any Thing , is to pretend the Authority of God ; for God alone is the Supream Lord and Governour of our Consciences in all Cases , where he interposes his Authority ; and to pretend the Authority of God for disobeying our Governors , and dividing the Church , when we have no such Authority , is like counterfeiting the King 's Broad Seal to justifie Treasons and Rebellions . Few Men make any difference between their private Judgments , Opinions of Things , and their Conscience ; that is , between their own Authority , and the Authority of God ; what-ever fancy comes into their Heads , is called their Conscience , and then they think they are bound to prefer their own private and groundless Conceits , before all the visible Authority of Church and State. And if this Principle be once admitted , it is impossible there should be any lasting Peace and Unity in Church or State. No Man must act against his Conscience , that is , he must not do any thing which he knows God has expresly forbid , nor neglect doing any thing which he knows God has commanded . A Divine Law is the Rule of Conscience , and all the Powers of the World cannot deliver us from the Obligation of it ; in such Cases we must rather chuse to obey God than Men , what-ever we suffer by it in this World ; but an erroneous , doubting , scrupulous Conscience , is improperly called Conscience , it being nothing else but our mistaken Opinion of Things , and the wavering uncertainty of our Minds , which cannot determine on which side the Truth lies . But you will object , That this seems to be a fruitless nicety , which signifies nothing in practice ; for whether you will call it Conscience , or private Opinion , the case is the same ; for we must not do any thing which we believe or fear to be evil , and contrary to a Divine Law ; as St. Paul tells us , That he that doubteth , is damned if he eat ; for what-ever is not of Faith , is Sin. But notwithstanding this , this distinction between Mens Consciences , and private Opinions , between their Judgments directed and governed by the Laws of God , or by other arbitrary and uncertain Measures , is of very great use to direct our practice . For first , this should make us religiously careful not to pretend Conscience , that is , a Divine Authority , where we can produce no Divine Law commanding or forbidding those things , which we pretend to do , or not to do , under the Obligations of Conscience . The pretence of Conscience is , that we dare not displease God , and therefore chuse rather to displease Men : but to pretend a Divine Command and Authority when we have none , is like prophesying falsly in the Name of God , and entitling the Divine Majesty to all our Dreams and Fancies ; it is to make new Laws which God never made , and to set up a new Church , and new Religion in his Name . And if we consider what dreadful Woes and Curses are denounced against those who prophesy falsely in the Name of God , it should make us all tremble to pretend a Divine Command , without Divine Authority . This we may see in the Prophet Ieremiah , Then the Lord said unto me , The Prophets prophesy lies in my Name , and I sent them not , neither have I commanded them , neither spake unto them ; they prophesy to you a false Vision and Divination , and a thing of nought , and the deceit of their Heart . I have heard what the Prophets said , that prophesy lies in my Name , saying , I have dreamed , I have dreamed . How long shall this be in the Heart of the Prophets that prophesy Lies ? Yea , they are Prophets of the deceit of their own Hearts . Therefore behold , I am against the Prophets , saith the Lord , that steal my words every one from his Neighbour . Behold , I am against the Prophets , saith the Lord , that use their Tongues , and say , He saith . Behold , I am against them that prophesy false Dreams , saith the Lord , and do tell them , and cause my People to err by their Lies , and by their lightness , yet I sent them not , nor commanded them ; therefore they shall not profit this People at all , saith the Lord. Now tho we understand prophesying here of foretelling future Events in God's Name , without any Revelation or Authority from him ; yet to pretend that God has commanded or forbidden any thing which he has not , is not a less Crime , than to prophesy Dreams , and the deceit of our Hearts : for the mischiefs which these false Prophesies did , consisted in that ill influence they had upon Mens Lives , that they hindred their Repentance , and encouraged them in their licentious or idolatrous practices ; and therefore to preach up new Laws in God's Name , is as great an Evil as it is to prophesy falsely in his Name ; and therefore no Man must pretend Conscience any further , than the express Commands and Prohibitions of the Scripture . To say that any thing is unlawful to be done which God has not forbid , or that it is unlawful to do any things in Matters of Worship which God has not commanded , is to prophesy falsely in God's Name , when they can shew no such Law extant in the whole Bible . You pretend Conscience , it may be against hearing a form of Prayer , or receiving the Sacrament kneeling , or being present when the Minister uses a Surplice in Divine Administrations . Consider now , whether you do not falsely pretend a Divine Authority , when you have none ; shew me , where God has forbid the use of a form of Prayer , or a Surplice , or kneeling at the Lord's Supper , or the Cross in Baptism : If you think it sufficient that these are not commanded , shew me but that Law , That nothing must be done in the Worship of God but what he has commanded ; and if you can do neither , as I am sure you can't , then consider what an impious thing it is , to say , Thus saith the Lord , when he hath not said it ? to make new Laws , and bind them upon your own Consciences , and impose them upon other Men , by your own private Authority , which is a much heavier imposition , than the observation of some few innocent and indifferent Rites and Ceremonies . Those who understand their Christian Liberty , in the use of indifferent Things , and therefore comply with all wholsome Constitutions of the Church , in obedience to their Civil and Ecclesiastical Governors , do not usurpe upon God's Authority , but obey Divine Laws as Divine , and Humane Laws as Humane ; but to pretend Conscience for disobeying our Governors in indifferent things , is to teach for Doctrines the Commandments of Men , to make that a Divine Law which God never made so , viz. That we must do nothing in Religion which God hath not commanded , tho it be commanded by our lawful Superiors . Secondly ; I observe further , That the meer pretence of Conscience , is not a sufficient justification of any Action , unless we can produce a Divine Law , as the Rule of our Consciences . It is not Conscience , when we mean no more by it , than our private Judgment and Opinions of Things , but the Law of God which is the Rule of our Actions . There never have been worse Actions done , than have been done out of a pretence of Conscience ; and he must be a very uncharitable Man , who believes that there never was a consciencious Pagan , Papist , or Mahometan ; and if to act according to our Consciences , that is , our Belief and Perswasion , be sufficient to acquit us at God's Tribunal , this must necessarily make all Religions indifferent ; for then an honest Pagan , Papist , or Turk , who lives according to his own Perswasion , is as acceptable to God , as the most hearty and sincere Protestant ; then the Jews were very godly and devout Men , when in Zeal for their Law they crucified Christ , and persecuted his Apostles , as believing that they did God good Service ; and therefore we must not content our selves , if we act according to our Belief ; but we must be careful to believe a right , for if we follow the guidance of a blind and ignorant Conscience , we shall wander and go astray to the infinite danger of our Souls ; as our Saviour tells us , That if the Blind lead the Blind , they shall both fall into the Ditch . These blind Men are such as have blind Consciences , that is , are ignorant of their Duty ; but yet may very sincerely follow their own Consciences , and very safely too , if Conscience , right or wrong , were a secure Guide . Thirdly ; I observe further , That we ought not to doubt and scruple any thing which is not forbid by a Divine Law. The Law of God is the Rule of our Consciences ; and therefore to the Law , and to the Testimony , and if our Consciences do not speak according to them , it is , because there is no Light in them . Some Men look upon it as a sign of great tenderness of Conscience to be doubtful and scrupulous , and value themselves more by their Scruples , than other Men do by the most clear and distinct Knowledg , and therefore are afraid of being delivered from their Scruples , and use great Art and Industry to ensnare and entangle themselves ; but I confess , I shall never envy any Man this Attainment , no more than I do a purblind Eye , which sees very imperfectly , and therefore gropes for its way with great caution and fear . Now all Men agree , that when we have any unnecessary Doubts and Scruples , tho we must not act with such a scrupulous Conscience , yet we ought to lay our Scruples aside : But then the great Question is , How we should do it ? unless Men can have Scruples , and lay them aside ▪ again when they please ; but this seems to be a plain and easy way to satisfy our Consciences , that since the Law of God is their Rule , we must never scruple the lawfulness of any thing , which is not either expresly forbid by God , or by such evident and necessary consequence , as every honest Man may discern without using any great skill and subtilty . While Men do not judg of things by the Law of God , but by arbitrary Rules of their own inventing , or by Fancy and Humour , Prejudice or Interest , they may like or dislike just what they please , and call it Conscience when they have done ; but the observing this one Rule , would soon cure all Fanaticism , and restore the Church to Peace and Unity . To make the Scripture a perfect Rule , not only of Faith and Manners , and all the essential parts of Worship , ( which we readily grant and prove against the Church of Rome ) but also of all external Circumstances , Rites and Ceremonies , when we find no such thing said in Scripture , nor any such entire and perfect Form of Discipline and Worship prescribed in it , is the true cause of all our Divisions , and fills peoples heads with endless and infinite Scruples ; but to make the Commands and Prohibitions of Scripture , the Rule of our Consciences , and the certain measure and standard of what is lawful and unlawful , so as neither to condemn nor scruple what is not forbid in Scripture , would infallibly heal our Breaches , and restore us to Peace with our selves , and with one another . Fourthly ; I observe further , That neither a mistaken nor a scrupulous Conscience , can justify our Disobedience to the Commands of our Superiors . We may indeed oppose the Authority of God , against any humane Power ; a Conscience informed and governed by the Divine Laws will not , cannot , ought not to stoop to the greatest Prince , who commands any thing contrary to God's Law , because the Power and Authority of God is most sacred and venerable , absolute and supream ; but an erroneous , mistaken , doubting , scrupulous Conscience ; in a word , a Conscience which is not governed by the Laws of God , is not armed with his Authority neither , and therefore cannot justify our Disobedience to Princes ; for it is only the Opinion of a private Man , and therefore cannot justify Disobedience to publick Authority . Which shews us how necessary it is to inform our Consciences aright , and to keep close to our Rule , not to neglect any thing which God has commanded , nor to do any thing which he has forbid ; and where God has not determined us by his Authority , in those things which he has neither commanded nor forbid , to submit our selves to our lawful Superiors ; for nothing but the Authority of God will justify our Disobedience to Humane Authority , and where we cannot pretend God's Authority , as we cannot in those things , which are left undetermined , it is a sin to disobey our Rulers , though they be but Men. I shall not determine that Question now , Whether a Man , who is under some Doubts and Scruples , ought not to obey his Governors , notwithstanding those Scruples , because he that doubts , is only supposed not to be satisfied about the evil of the thing commanded , but in the mean time he is certain that it is his Duty to obey his Superiors ; and therefore not being sure that he shall sin in obeying ( because he is not sure that what they command is sinful ) and being sure , that he shall sin in disobeying them , ( if their Commands be lawful ) and being withal under a necessity of doing one or t'other , whether he ought not in prudence to take the sure side , that is , to wave his Scruples , and obey his Prince ? I shall at present only observe this one thing , without drawing any peremptory conclusion from it ; That Obedience to our Superiors is a plain and express Law , and so the proper Rule of Conscience ; and therefore if what our Prince commands us , be not forbid by as plain and express a Law as that is which commands our Obedience , we seem to oppose our private and uncertain Opinions , against the express Authority of God , and chuse rather to follow our Consciences , where they are not evidently directed by a Divine Law , than where they are . No Humane Authority must be set up against the Authority of God , but a Divine Authority , that is , a Divine Law , is a more certain Rule than private Opinions . The sum of all is this , That no Man acts out of true Principles of Conscience , but he who keeps his Eye fixed upon his Rule ; who directs and governs his Conscience by the Law of God ; other Men live by their private Humors and Fancies , are turned aside by every Novel and groundless Conceit : And tho they may be pleased to call this Conscience , yet it will not excuse them from the guilt of Schism , if they divide the Church , and rend themselves from the Body of Christ : Conscience will never justify us , but when we obey and observe our Rule . Secondly ; Another Question I would propose to these Men , is , Whether they ever seriously consider the hainous nature of Schism ? Now there is great reason to ask this Question , if we observe with what little consideration most Men engage themselves in it , how wantonly they forsake the Communion of the Church , as if it were perfectly indifferent whether they come to Church , or go to a Conventicle ; as if it were no more , than to leave their own Parish Church and go to another , where there is a Preacher whom they like better . It is plain , that such Men as these never understood what Christian Unity is , nor ever considered what the danger of Schism is ; that is , that they have not acted honestly and sincerely in a Matter of such vast importance . The Christian Church is represented in Scripture as one Body , united to Christ , who is the Head of his Church , and the Saviour of the Body ; This St. Paul makes a powerful Argument to Unity , endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace ; there is one Body , and one Spirit , even as you are called in one hope of your Calling , one Lord , one Faith , one Baptism , one God and Father of all , who is above all , and through all , and in you all . What does this Bond of Peace signify , but the external Communion of the Christian Church , when Christians live together as Members of the same Body , and united to each other as the Members of the natural Body are , by Nerves and Sinews ? For Christians are called one Body , with respect to their external Communion , which is represented in the Lord's Supper , by their eating of one Bread ; as St. Paul argues , The Bread which we break , is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ ? For we being many , are one Bread , and one Body ; for we are all partakers of that one Bread. So that we become one Body by external & visible Communion , by being united into one Religious Society for the Worship of God , and our mutual edification . But speaking the Truth in love , may grow up to him in all things , which is the Head , even Christ ; From whom the whole Body fitly joined together , by that which every Ioint supplieth , according to the effectual working in the measure of every part , maketh encrease of the Body to the edifying of it self in love . The Christian Church is a House , and Building , and Temple of God ; but this House and Building is not raised with loose and incoherent Stones , but all the Building fitly framed together , groweth into a Holy Temple in the Lord. All those Expressions , whereby the Scripture describes the Unity of the Christian Church , signify one Communion , as our Saviour prays for his Disciples , that they all may be One ; and for all those who in after Ages should believe on him ; That they all may be One , as thou Father art in me , and I in thee , that they also may be one in us ; that the World may believe that thou hast sent me . From whence it appears , that our Saviour speaks of an external and visible Union , which may be seen and taken notice of in the World. How frequent are the Exhortations to Christian Love and Unity ? Fulfil ye my Ioy , that ye be like-minded , having the same Love , being of one accord , and of one mind . This was that new Commandment which Christ gave to his Disciples , as the badg of their Discipleship , A new Commandment I give unto you , that you love one another , even as I have loved you ; hereby shall all Men know that ye are my Disciples , if ye have love one to another . And wherein this mutual Love expressed it self , we learn from the first Pattern of the Christian Church . And they continued stedfast in the Apostle's Doctrine and Fellowship , and in breaking of Bread , and of Prayers ; that is , in all the Parts and Offices of Christian Communion : this is essential to Christian Love , to continue in the Communion and Fellowship of the same Body , that there may be no Schism in the Body , but all firmly united by the common Bonds of Love and Peace : and therefore in St. Iohn's Time , those Hereticks who separated themselves into distinct Conventicles , are said to go out from among them ; They went out from us , because they were not of us ; for if they had been of us , they would no doubt have continued with us , ( that is , in our Fellowship and Communion ) but they went out , that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us . Now if this Argument be good , it necessarily infers that indispensable Obligation which lies upon all Christians , who will be owned for Members of that one Body of Christ , to live in Communion with each other . The Unity of Mind and Spirit , of Love and Affection , and the Unity of the same Faith , is necessary to Christian Union ; but this Union is made external and visible by Christian Communion ; and our daily experience tells us , how impossible it is for Men to love like Brethren , like Members of the same Body , who are not of the same Body , but divide themselves into distinct & separate Churches , under different Laws , Government , and Discipline . Now if Christian Love and Union be so necessary a Duty of Christianity , consider what the Evil of Schism is , which rends the seamless Coat of Christ , and divides his Church into so many little Parties and Factions . Christ has but one Body , and those who separate from the Body of Christ , are no longer of his Body ; and the Ancient Christians did believe Schism to separate Men from Christ , and to put them out of a state of Salvation : It was an acknowledged Principle among them , That there was no Salvation out of the Church , and that Schismaticks were out of the Church . I dare not judg any Man's final State , as not knowing what merciful allowances a merciful and compassionate Lord may make , for the Errors and Mistakes , Frowardness and Peevishness of his Disciples ; but yet I wish that all Persons concerned , would seriously consider , that St. Paul makes all other Attainments whatsoever of no value without Charity ; that this is that Divine Principle which unites us to God , and to one another ; that he makes Schism a Work of the Flesh , and when he reproves the Corinthians for that Schism which was among them , though it was not broke out into actual separation , yet he calls them Carnal ; For are ye not carnal ? for whereas there is among you envyings , and strife , and divisions , are ye not carnal , and walk as Men ? So far is Separation from being an Argument of more perfect and excellent Christians , that it is a Work of the Flesh , and the Symptom of a Carnal Mind . But I do not intend to discourse this fully ; but it is a certain Argument , that that Man does understand nothing of Christian Religion , who makes light of Schism , without so much as considering what guilt he involves himself in ; nothing could be a more effectual Cure of Schism , than a serious consideration of the evil and danger of it . That pain we feel in tearing one Member from another , and that mischief the whole Body suffers by it , which becomes maimed and imperfect by the want of the least and most inconsiderable Member , makes us careful to preserve our natural Bodies from any Rent or Schism ; and were we living Members of the Mystical Body of Christ , had we that natural love , sympathy , and fellow-feeling for each other , as the Members of the natural Body have , we should find Schism and Separation as painful to us , as it is to part with one of our Members , and be as sensible of the want of Christian Communion , and the discharge of these mutual Offices of Charity , in exhorting , admonishing , reproving , comforting , praying for , and with each other , ( which cannot be performed in a state of Separation ) as we are of the want of the service of any Member which we have lost : It is a certain sign , that Member does not belong to the Body , which feels not the pain of such Convulsions and Schisms . Thirdly ; Another Question I would ask these Men , is , Whether they do in their Consciences believe , that Communion with our Parish Churches is unlawful ? And there is some reason to ask this ; for it is easily observed , that there are a great many , who are Christians at large , and as occasion serves , can either go to Church , or to a Conventicle . Now if they make Conscience of any thing , we may conclude , that when they come to Church , they do not think it a sin so to do ; or that there is any thing so unlawful in our Worship , as is sufficient to justify a Separation : for if they may lawfully communicate with us once , they may do so always by the same Reason , from whence it follows , that there can be no necessity of Separation , and then Separation must be a sin . Some indeed say , That it is a sufficient reason to separate , even from a True Church , and a lawful Communion , to join in fellowship with a purer Church , and to enjoy purer Ordinances . But I would desire such Men to consider ; First ; That this Notion of a purer Church , and purer Ordinances , varies with every Man's fancy , as having no Foundation in Scripture , Reason , or Antiquity , when you distinguish a purer Church from a pure Church . I would desire to know , what greater degree of purity they find in a Presbyterian or Independent Conventicle , than in our Parochial Churches . If this Purity consists in Doctrine , Government , or Worship ; that Doctrine and Government which is most Ancient , and most Apostolical , is purer than some novel and upstart Opinions , Church Forms and Models ; and that Worship which retains all the Institutions of Christ , and administers them with the greatest order and decency , and most to Christian Edification , is as pure a Worship as that which is slovenly and unbecoming the gravity and solemnity of Divine Worship : That Church wherein Christians may enjoy all the means and conveyances of Grace , without any corrupt Mixtures to spoil their Vertue and Efficacy , is a pure Church , such a Church wherein a Christian may communicate , without doing any injury to his Soul , is a pure Church , and has all the degrees of purity , which is necessary to External Communion . If by a purer Communion , they mean only the Communion of better Men , and of greater Saints , they ought to consider , that it is impossible to exclude Hypocrites out of any Church , unless they pretend to a Gift of discerning Spirits ; nor is it fit they should be excluded , while they are not openly scandalous ; for to shut such Men out of the Church , deprives them of the Means of Grace , and all hopes of proving better Men. And I hope Christian Communion is not confined to any single Congregation , but every good Christian , who lives in the Communion of the Church , enjoys the Communion of Saints in all the World , is a Member of the same Body , which consists of all the true Disciples of Christ. Nay , I would desire them to consider , that the Glory of the Christian Communion is this , That our Fellowship is with the Father , and with his Son Iesus Christ , with the glorious and triumphant Church in Heaven , as well as with the Church Militant on Earth . But ye are come unto Mount Sion , and unto the City of the living God , the Heavenly Jerusalem , and to an innumerable company of Angels ; to the general Assembly , and Church of the First Born , which are written in Heaven , and to God the Iudg of all , and to the Spirits of just Men made perfect ; and to Iesus the Mediator of the New Covenant , and to the blood of sprinkling , which speaketh better things than the Blood of Abel . This is the Church-Fellowship which those enjoy , who live in Communion with the Universal Church , and which Schismaticks have no right to ; and those who think to meet with better Company at a Conventicle , let them take it . But must not the Christian Church consist of all ranks and degrees of Christians , as our natural Body does of several sorts of Members of different honour and worth ? and is it fitting for strong and well-grown Christians to separate from the weak and imperfect , as if the eye should separate from the Body , as despising the Communion of the Foot ; and yet if St. Paul says true , that Schism is a work of the Flesh , and the sign of carnal Men , we have no reason to look for the best Christians in Schismatical Churches . But secondly , it was never till of late days thought lawful to separate from a lawful Communion ; tho as the state of the Church in this World is , it were subject to some defects ; and therefore the Brownists , who separated from the Church of England pretended , that her Worship and Government was Unlawful , Idolatrous , and Antichristian ; and the old Nonconformists , who though they could not conform as Ministers , yet very religiously conformed as Lay-men , both in Prayers and Sacraments , condemned this Schism , and proved , that Communion with the Church of England was lawful , and therefore Separation was sinful ; and I dare challenge any Man to shew me , from the first beginnings of Christianity , that ever it was thought lawful to separate from a Church , where we might communicate without sin . And thirdly , let these Men consider , that this Notion of separating from a lawful Communion , for a purer Communion , lays the foundation of eternal Schisms ; for there being no certain rule for the degrees of this Purity , every Man according to his own fancy may refine for ever . Fourthly ; If they do indeed think the Communion of the Church of England to be unlawful and sinful , I would desire them to enquire , how they came at first to think so ? for this is a very material Enquiry , if Men desire to know their honesty and sincerity in this Matter : for if Men are at first by their own fault ensnared in an Error , and drawn into Schism , how firmly soever afterwards they believe their Separation to be lawful and necessary , it will not excuse them . It is impossible to know all the several ways whereby Men come at first to be engaged in Schism ; but I shall take notice of some few which seem to be most common : Such are these , 1. Education . 2. Lightness and giddiness of Mind . 3. Some distast at Publick Affairs . 4. Some quarrel with the Ministers of Religion . 5. Interest , or the Perswasion of Friends . 1. Education ; when Men have been nursed up in Schism from their infancy , and have been taught to despise the Common Prayer before they could read , and to call the Church Antichrist , and the Ministers of it Baal's Priests , as soon as they could speak . Now it must be acknowledged , that this is the most pitiable case , and the fairest Excuse and Apology that can be made for any Man ; for we all know , what the power of Education is , and how hard it is to deliver our minds from the first Impressions of Childhood and Youth ; but yet this will not excuse a Man , when he has attained to Years of discretion , and has opportunities of being better informed , for if it would , Pagans , Mahometans , and Papists , who labour under the same prejudices of Education , have the same excuse : We must offer up to God a reasonable Service , and that requires the exercise of our Reason in the choice of our Religion , as well as in the discharge of Religious Duties . Nay , Papists , Mahometans , and Pagans , have a better excuse upon this account , than our Dissenters , because their Prejudices may reasonably be thought more invincible , as will appear , if we briefly consider three or four things . First , That theirs is the Religion of their Country , which they have been in quiet possession of for many Ages ; and thus that reverence they pay to the wisdom and memory of their Ancestors , adds to the prejudices of their Education ; whereas every one knows that this present Schism , and the pretences whereon it is founded , are but late Innovations , a Novelty which is not yet grey-headed : And tho Antiquity in it self considered , is no Argument for an ancient Error , nor Novelty , any reasonable exception against Truth , if there are any new Discoveries to be made in this last Age of the World ; yet we all know , when we speak only of the Power of Prejudice , that it is a harder thing to perswade Men to part with such Doctrines , Customs , Usages , Religions which they have received from their Ancestors for many Generations , than to part with some novel Invention , whose very Novelty will not admit of any strong and lasting Prejudice . Thus we know , the Antiquity of the Pagan Religion , which pleaded the Prescription of unknown Ages , made it extreamly difficult to perswade Men to renounce their Country Gods , and to embrace Christianity ; and that Objection of Novelty , tho it were false , was yet a great hinderance to the reception of the Gospel , which I alleadg to shew , that a long and immemorial Prescription , is a more powerful Prejudice than some few Years Education ; and therefore if the Prejudices of Education be thought sufficient to justify our Dissenters , it is a much better Justification of Pagans and Papists in forreign Countries . For , 2ly , it may cause a reasonable suspicion in honest Dissenters , sufficient to put them upon a new search and enquiry , when they remember that the King and the Church of England fall together ; that those , who altered the Government of the Church pulled down Monarchy , and transformed themselves into as many different shapes and forms in the State , as they set up new Models of Discipline and Government in the Church ; which is an Argument , that they were not the most infallible Men , nor acted by the best Principles that ever were . The Church of England , as established by Law , has had possession in this Nation ever since the Reformation ; and a few Years interruption , in a time of Rebellion and great Confusion , is not sufficient to dispossess it ; and therefore all Men ought to have laid aside their Prejudices , and to have returned to the Communion of the Church , as well as to their Loyalty to their Prince , unless they could shew some better Reasons against it , than the Prejudices of Education , which can be no just excuse at this day ; for he is a very unreasonable Man who shall desire any more than twenty Years , to wear off the Prejudices of twenty Years Education . Especially when we consider thirdly , That no other Religion , or form of Church Government , ever had a legal possession of this Nation , during this Anarchy and Interregnum of Church and State. Neither Presbytery , Independency , nor Anabaptism , were setled by Law , but they shuffled as well as they could , and used their utmost skill to establish themselves by the numbers and power of their several Parties , and sometimes one praviled , and sometimes another ; and instead of one National Church , we had twenty National Schisms , but no Church . Which 4thly plainly shews , That the Prejudices of Education can be no good Plea in this Case ; for it is impossible the Prejudices of Education should be strong and invincible , where there is no one fixed Church , nor one face of Religion in a Nation , but several Churches quarrelling and contending with each other . Those who are brought up in a Country where the People never heard but of one Religion , as it is in Spain , or at least never heard of any other , but under such dismal frightful Characters , as may raise their indignation and their hatred of such Monsters , it is no wonder , I say , if such Men's Prejudices be very strong , and almost invincible : but when Men see Religion in so many shapes , and converse with Men of different Perswasions , and see that they are not Monsters , but Men like themselves ; this rather inclines them to uncertainty and Scepticism in Religion , to be sure it is not apt to possess them with any fixt and unalterable Prejudices for or against any Religion . And therefore we find in this state of things , how Men make their advances from one Church to another , till at last they come to Quakerism , the end and centre of all Confusion , as being at the greatest distance from all good Order . Now when Men are in such a wandring state , like Travellers who have no certain Abode , but pass out of one Country into another , visit all , and stay no where , ( which is the deplorable Case of many thousand poor injudicious People ) it is ridiculous to plead Prejudice in their Justification . 2. Others engage themselves in Schism , out of lightness and giddiness of Mind : They have no fixt and stable Principles , and can never like one thing long together ; or they run into Conventicles , out of a wanton curiosity , and are taken with any thing , or with nothing , as it happens ; and thus by degrees contract Prejudices against that Church , whose Communion they forsook without any reason , and then believe it to be unlawful without any . The Zeal of their Preachers , and those hard words they give the Church and Churchmen , makes them believe there is some cause for it , tho they know not what ; and they learn by roat some popular Objections and Cavils , and when they are once engaged , lay aside all thoughts of further consideration , or a timely retreat . When Men first begin to separate , and then learn some Doubts and Scruples , and in time improve those Doubts into lasting Principles of Schism ; it is no Argument of any great honesty : for an honest Man must first have very undeniable proof , that Communion is unlawful , before he can entertain the least thought of a Separation ; and did Men take this course , the Schism would soon be at an end . 3. Others take distaste at the publick Administrations of Civil Government , and hence take occasion to quarrel with the Church . This seems strange , that whatever is done amiss in the State , should be made an Argument against the Church , when the Church in a Christian Kingdom is subordinate to the State , and has no power to correct the Miscarriages of Civil Government , as Civil Governors have to correct and reform the Abuses and Exorbitances of Ecclesiastical Power . But some Persons observing that close Union which is between Church and State , think it a vain thing to attempt the Crown , till they have first pulled down a Legal Church . But tho these Men may talk very much against Church-Impositions , and seem as much concerned for Liberty of Conscience , as they are for the Liberty of the Subject , it is plain , Religion is the least thing in their thoughts ; they love Schism only for the sake of Rebellion , and look upon Schismatical Conventicles , as admirable Nurseries for the Camp , tho I am willing to hope they may be mistaken in it . That this was the plain state of the Case in our late Troubles , we have been lately told in print , by one who is no great Friend to the Church of England , ( tho I wonder so grave and wise a Man , should thus openly betray the Secrets of his Party ) tells us , That when the War was begun by Church-men , who had no design at first to pull down the Church , the Auxiliaries of the Parliament ( the Scots ) would not help them but on the terms of the Covenant ; and so Church-Alterations came on , and the Parliament thought it was better have no Bishops , than such as did prevail against them . This is fair warning , and let the Church and Churchmen have a care how they oppose Rebellion any more . 4. Every Miscarriage of the Bishops or Clergy , or every thing that is thought a Miscarriage , tho it be none , is presently made an Occasion of Separation ; as if so be the Constitution of any Church were ever the worse , because some of the Ministers of it neglect their Duty , abuse their Power , or do some things which do not please every Man's Humour . As if the Miscarriages of some of the Ministers of Religion , which will sometimes happen under the best Government in the World , would justify Men in pulling down an Apostolical Church , modelled according to the Pattern of Primitive Government and Practice . And yet nothing is more common than to see Men forsake the Church and run to Conventicles , if their Minister do not in every thing comply with their Desires ; if he be so ill-bred as to reprove them for their Sins , or so stiff as not to make the Laws and Constitutions of the Church yield and bend to their Humours . I suppose no Man will think , that such Persons separate out of tenderness of Conscience , who date their Separation from some little pet , quarrel , or peevish fit . Nor fifthly , are those very consciencious Men , who separate from the Church out of Interest ; and the perswasions and importunities of some dissenting Friends , who forsake the Church for the sake of a good Trade , or a rich Wife , or in hope of some great temporal Advantage , unless it be a sign of a tender Conscience to make Gain Godliness ; not to serve Christ but our own Bellies . I do but just mention these things , which tho I am sure are great Truths , and necessary for all Men to consider , who would try their honesty and sincerity in this Matter of Separation ; yet , I fear , the very naming of them will be very offensive to guilty Persons , who when they feel their Consciences smart , are very apt to revenge themselves upon their kind and faithful Monitors . Fifthly ; I would desire those Persons , who plead Conscience for their Separation from the Church of England , to consider whether ever they impartially and throughly examined the Reasons of their Separation . We must be fully satisfied , that it is unlawful to communicate in such a Church , before Separation from it can be lawful ; for it is as great a sin to separate from a pure Church , as it is to hold Communion with a corrupt Church ; and a truly honest Man is equally careful to avoid every sin , and is as much afraid of the sin of Separation , as the sin of a corrupt and idolatrous Worship . Now when we consider how few there are that do this , and how much fewer there are that are capable of doing it ; it is too plain an Argument , that most Men separate from the Church , without knowing any just cause and reason for it ; as to explain this Matter a little more at large . First ; How few are those who do examine the Reasons of their Separation ? Not but that there are a great many who furnish themselves with some popular Talk against the Bishops , and Forms of Prayer , and Ceremonies , &c. but to examine the reasons of Things , is very different from being able to make some slight Objections which have been answered an hundred Times . For to examine things , is impartially to weigh and consider both parts of the Question , to avoid no difficulty , to consider what is said for and against Separation , and to hold the ballance so equal , that Interest and Affection do not turn the Scales instead of Reason . Now there are two great Faults which Men are commonly guilty of in this Matter . First , That they do not carefully examine both parts of the Question ; possibly they read such Books as are writ against the Church of England , and so justify a Separation , but do not with the same care read those Books , which prove the sinfulness of Separation , and justify the Communion of the Church of England . They have the Arguments for the Church of England only at second hand , from those who pretend to answer them , but never look into the Books themselves : And I do not wonder at this rate of examining , that Men continue Separatists after all that can be said against it ; for it is rare to find any one Argument against Separation , or for Communion with our Church , fairly represented by those who pretend to answer it ; who commonly pick out such things as are least material , or do not concern the main Controversy , and make a great noise and flourish with seeming to say something , which is nothing to the purpose , but silently pass over what they know they cannot answer . Now whoever separates from the Church , without a thorough and impartial examination of the Reasons of it , tho he should happen to be in the right , is yet guilty of Schism ; that is , tho his separation in it self considered be no Schism , because there may be sufficient Reasons to justify such a Separation ; yet this being more than he can be presumed to know , he contracts the guilt of Schism : for he separates without cause , who does not know the cause of his Separation ; and he cannot know whether there be a just cause for it , who separates before he understands what is said on both sides ; as we all reckon that Man perjured , who swears nothing but what is true ; but without knowing it to be true . Secondly , Another great Fault is , That Men's Minds are commonly byassed by some Interest and Affection , which weighs much more than any contrary Reasons can do ; by one means or other they fall in love with Schism and Separation , and then set their wits on Work to defend it , and those must be mighty evident and powerful demonstrations which can force Men to believe that which they have no mind to believe . If it be objected , That this is a Fault common to both sides : There are few Men , which side soever they are of , but are greatly inclined to favour it , and to help out a weak Argument , which is too light , with some grains of Allowance . I Answer , Possibly with most Men it may be so ; and in many cases it may be so far from being a Fault , that it is both innocent and useful , and an Argument of great Vertue and Goodness ; but the Fault and the Danger is , when the Byass stands the wrong way . As for Instance , a good Man is as strongly inclined to believe that there is a God , and to wish and hope that there is one , as a bad Man is to believe that there is no God , and to wish that there were none : Here are Inclinations and Prejudices on both sides , and yet it is a vertue in a good Man , and a great sin in a bad Man ; because the one is a natural Byass and Inclination , and a sign of Vertue ; the other is against Nature , and the effect of Vice. Thus it is here , the Laws of the Gospel , which so strictly require Christian Love and Unity as a most necessary Duty , and essential to the Christian Profession , clap a Byass upon true Christians Minds , which strongly inclines them to maintain and preserve the Peace and good Unity of the Christian Church , where they can preserve it without an apparent injury to common Christianity ; and therefore this makes them put favourable and candid Constructions upon every thing , and not make a breach without absolute necessity ; and if they should mistake here , it is an Error on the right side ; but an inclination to Separation is a false Byass , contrary to the Genius and Spirit of the Gospel , which inclines Men to Peace and Union , and is usually the effect of some vicious indisposition of Mind ; and if Men's Reason and Judgment be perverted by such an unchristian Inclination , it will aggravate their Guilt and Crime ; and therefore it greatly concerns all Men , who love their Souls , and would avoid the Guilt of Schism , not to be in love with Separation , which will so blind their Minds , that they shall never discover how sinful and causless it is , nor ever be able to deliver themselves from it with all their reading and study ; and it is a mighty suspicion , that Men are in love with Separation , when they are so industrious to hunt for Doubts and Scruples , and little cavilling Objections , which all the lovers of Peace and Unity , at the first Proposal , see the folly and weakness of , while such learned Rabbies are held fast in the Cobwebs of their own spinning . Secondly ; As there are great numbers of Men who separate from the Church of England , without an impartial Examination of the Reasons of their Separation : so there are a great many who are not capable of such Inquiries ; and yet they separate also at all adventures as others do . A great many such Men there are who live by their Labour , and have not time for such Studies , or it may be , cannot read , or however were never used to the Art of thinking and reasoning , and therefore may be easily mistaken in such Matters , while they rely upon their own Judgments of things ; that unless we think it enough to justify such Men , that they have been taught to call the Bishops Antichristian , and our Ministers Baal's Priests , and our Common Prayer the Mass-Book , and kneeling at the Sacrament Idolatry , and the Surplice a Rag of the Whore of Babylon , and such kind of Rhetorical Figures ( which signify nothing but to make a noise and scare ignorant People ) . These Men must be acknowledged to be guilty of Schism in separating from a Church , without knowing any just reason for their Separation . I can think but of two or three things that can be answered to this . First , That tho they are ignorant themselves , yet they are directed by wise and good Men , who understand the reason of these things . Secondly , That this Objection does as well lie against those ignorant People who live in Communion with the Church of England , as against those who separate , for they both understand the Reasons of things alike . And thirdly , That according to this rate of arguing , such Men are not capable of chusing any Religion , but must take the Religion of their Country , as they find it , whether it be Paganism , Popery , or Mahometism . As for the first , That tho they are ignorant themselves , they follow the direction of wise and good Men , who know the Reasons of these things ; I would ask them this Question , who made these wise and good Men their Guides ? and how do they know that they have any reason themselves for what they do ? especially since other as wise and good Men say , that they have none ; and such Persons are as unable to know who is in the right , as they are to discern the Controversy ; and yet they do in a manner determine the Controversy , by chusing Separatists for their Guides , and rejecting those whom the Providence of God , and the Laws of the Land have appointed to be their Guides . It is plain , such Men as these want Guides to direct them , and yet in such Controversies as these , know no more whom to chuse for their Guides , than which side to take ; and therefore it is much the safest for them ( because it will admit of the best excuse if they should err ) to follow the direction of those Guides whom the Providence of God has provided them ; for if they chuse Guides of their own , and heap to themselves Teachers , having itching Ears ; and thereby miscarry , they must blame themselves , but will have no Defence and Apology to make at the Tribunal of God. As for the second , That this Objection equally lies against those ignorant People in our Communion , as against those who separate , for they both understand the reasons of things alike : The Answer is very plain , viz. there is not such a particular knowledg of things required to live in Communion with a Church , wherein we were baptized and educated , as there is to separate from it ; for Separation condemns the Communion of that Church from which we separate as unlawful and sinful , it divides the Unity of the Church , which when it is causeless , is a very great sin ; and therefore before Men venture to separate , they ought to be very well assured , that the Communion of such a Church is sinful ; which they cannot do without a particular knowledg of those things which they condemn as sinful , and the reasons why they do so . To hold Communion with the Church wherein we live , is always the surer side , when there are not such notorious Corruption as the meanest Man , who is honest and sincere , may understand ; for Christian Communion is a great and necessary Duty , and is not to be forsaken for every trifle ; and when the justification of Separation is spun out into such a thin and airy Controversy , as requires a very Metaphysical Brain to understand it ; honest plain Men , who are strangers to such Subtilties , should leave learned Men to wrangle among themselves , and keep close to the Communion of the Church , till they could produce some such Reasons against it , as all honest Men may understand as well as themselves ; but this will be better understood by the Answer to the Objection ; which is this . Thirdly , That according to this rate of arguing , such Men are not capable of chusing any Religion , but must take the Religion of their Country as they find it , whether it be Paganism , Popery , or Mahometism ; but this is a great Mistake , for the difference between Paganism and Christianity , between Popery and Reformed Christianity , is much more plain and discernible , and more easily understood by the most illiterate People , than the Dispute about Ceremonies , Church-Government , and Discipline ; and therefore those who are not capable of judging in these Matters , may yet be able to chuse the Christian Religion , and to reject both Paganism and Popery . The truth of Christianity does not depend upon some nice and curious Speculations , but on the authority of Miracles , which is so sensible an Argument , that the meanest People understand it , as well as the greatest Philosophers ; those Miracles which were wrought by Christ and his Apostles , the knowledg of which is conveyed down to us in the Writings of the New Testament , and which have been owned in all succeeding Ages of the Church till our days , do as certainly prove the truth of that Religion , which Christ and his Apostles taught , as if we had heard God speak in an audible Voice from Heaven to us ; and this is a sufficient reason to believe whatever he has revealed , though we cannot perfectly understand all the difficulties of it . And when we have once embraced Christianity , we have the Writings of the Evangelists and Apostles to be the Rule of our Faith and Practice ; and therefore whatever is expresly forbid in those Writings , every Man , without any great skill in Controversy , knows to be unlawful , as being contrary to the revealed Will of God ; and by this means the plainest Country-man may understand the difference between Popery , and Reformed Christianity ; the peculiar Doctrine of the Roman Church being expresly contrary to the Doctrine and Institutions of our Saviour : for what can be more expresly contrary to the Gospel than worshipping Images , praying to Saints and Angels , praying in an unknown Tongue , the half Communion , where the Priest drinks the Wine by himself , and gives nothing but a Wafer to the People ? these things require indeed great subtilty in the Church of Rome to defend them ; but may be understood and confuted by the plainest Man , who is no Master of Subtilties . But the Case is quite different in the Dispute between the Church of England and Dissenters ; we desire no more from them , but to shew us where any one Doctrine or Practice of the Church of England , is expresly condemned in Scripture , or by such a natural and easy Consequence , as every honest Man , tho no Schoolman nor Philosopher , may understand it . Where do they find that the Office of a Bishop is Antichristian , which has been continued in the Church ever since the Times of the Apostles , and whose Successors they were , if we will believe the Ancient Fathers ? Where do they read , that a form of Prayer is unlawful , when Christ himself gave a Form of Prayer to his Disciples ; and the Book of Psalms consists of an hundred and fifty Forms of Prayer and Praises which were used in their Publick Worship ? Where do they find that the Ceremonies of our Church are Idolatrous and Superstitious , when they can produce no Text of Scripture where they are forbid ? unless they think , that because God has forbid worshipping Images in the second Commandment , therefore he has forbid all external Circumstances of Worship instituted for decency and Order ; which is so subtil a Consequence , as will make a very Metaphysical Head ake to discover it . Now when there is no direct and positive proof , but Men argue wholly from some uncertain and far-fetcht Consequences : How shall the common People , who understood none of the artificial Laws of Reasoning , judg of such Arguments ? It is possible indeed to make some terrible impressions upon their Fancies by great confidence , and an uncouth sound of words which they understand not ; As , that our Ceremonies are Symbolical , that they are new Sacraments , not meer Circumstances , but parts of Worship . Now , how few are there of our Separatists , who understand any thing of this talk ? How long time will they take to teach a Countryman , who is not Book-learn'd , what a Symbolical Ceremony is ? or to understand how our Ceremonies are transformed into Sacraments ? And yet , whoever separates upon such Accounts as these , without being able to understand the true meaning of those terrible Objections , is most certainly a Schismatick . And yet there is a great deal more than this to be known , before Men can justify their Separations ; for suppose they should discover some Faults in our Constitution , they must further inquire , Whether these be only some tolerable Defects and Imperfections , or whether they be Sins ? Whether they Pollute the Communicants , and make Communion unlawful ? Whether they be only active or passive in it ? Whether , supposing the wearing of a Surplice were superstitious , all that are present at the Publick Prayers , who disown such Superstition , are yet guilty of it , and must separate to preserve their Innocence , and to declare their abomination of such Superstitions ? whether the Child , who is signed with the sign of the Cross at Baptism , be ever the worse for it ? or , whether the Parents , who dislike such a Ceremony , sin in submitting their Children to it , in Obedience to their Superiors ? or whether the Fault be theirs who enjoyn it ? These are Matters beyond the reach of every ordinary capacity to determine ; and therefore tho Separation were in it self lawful , very few Men can separate lawfully . 6. I shall add but one thing more , with reference to the trial of these Mens honesty , Whether they separate upon true Principles of Conscience , and that is , by considering how they behave themselves towards their Governors ? The Conscience of any honest Man , especially when it dissents from Publick Constitutions , is a very modest and peaceable Principle ; such Men think it very well if they have leave to dissent , and quietly withdraw , tho they have not leave to vilify the established Religion , nor undermine publick Constitutions ; and tho they cannot obtain thus much favour , but are persecuted for a good Conscience , yet they suffer patiently , after the Example of their great Master , who when he was reviled , reviled not again , when he suffered , threatned not , but committed himself to him , who judgeth righteously . But a Schismatick , whose Conscience serves an Interest , must miss of his end , if he suffers patiently ; such are indeed as little in love with Sufferings as other Men , but yet they love to have some pretence or other to make a great noise and clamour about their Sufferings ; as it is observed of the Schismatical Donatists , that there were several Laws made against that by Theodosius the Emperor ; and tho none of those Laws were scarce ever executed , yet they set up a mighty cry , aggravated every little matter to cast an odium upon the Government , complained that they were injuriously handled , that their Cause was never fairly heard and determined by its intrinsick Merits , but oppressed with Force and Power . And how parallel this Story is to the case of some in these days , I need not tell you . I am sure there are a sort of Men who separate from our Church , and for that reason are reckon'd among the Godly Party , who take as little care to govern their Tongues or Pens ( tho St. Iames makes this the Character of a perfect Man ) as any Schsmaticks in the World ever did ; who neither express any regard to Princes , nor to Truth and Honesty , if they can but serve their Cause by casting dirt upon the Government , or blasting the Reputation of vertuous and peaceable Men , who will not run headlong into the same Excesses with themselves . I will not enlarge upon this Argument , lest telling plain Matter of Fact , should be called Bitterness and Railing ; for some Men , out of a pretence of Conscience , are guilty of such vile and lewd Practices , as they are not willing to hear of again , and think themselves slandered if they do : All that I shall say of it is only this , That a tender Conscience never teaches Men to revile and reproach their Governors ; but this has been the Practice and Character of the most infamous Hereticks and Schismaticks ever since the beginnings of Christianity . St. Iude gives a great many hard words to some Men in his days , which I am not willing to apply to any in ours , who despise Dominions , and speak evil of Dignities . Yet Michael the Arch-Angel , when contending with the Devil , he disputed about the Body of Moses , durst not bring against him a railing Accusation , but said , the Lord rebuke thee . But these speak evil of those things which they know not — Wo unto them , for they have gone in the way of Cain , and ran greedily after the Error of Balaam for Reward , and perished in the gain-saying of Core ; these are spots in your Feasts of Charity , when they feast with you , feeding themselves without fear ; Clouds are they without Water , carried about of Winds ; Trees whose Fruit withereth , without Fruit , twice dead , plucked up by the Roots ; raging Waves of the Sea , foaming out their own shame ; wandring Stars , to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever . I shall conclude with that admirable Rule of St. Austin , in answer to Parmenianus the Donatist . Whoever corrects what he can by Reason and Discourse , and shuts out or lays aside what is not capable of amendment , as far as this may consist with the preservation of Christian Peace and Unity , and modestly disallows , and yet upholds what cannot be parted with , without breaking the Peace of the Church , this is the true Peace-maker . SECT . II. Containing some general Considerations , in order to remove those Prejudices , which some have entertained , against the Worship of the Church of England . I Shall now lay down some general Principles , which may contribute towards the satisfaction of Men's Minds , to remove their Prejudices against the Worship of our Church . The things commonly objected , to drive away our People , from the Communion of our Parish Churches , are the Government of the Church by Bishops , the unlawfulness of Forms of Prayer , the Surplice , the Cross in Baptism , and Kneeling at the Sacrament , and such like ; which concern the use of some indifferent and uncommanded things in Religious Worship . For we have always challenged our Adversaries , to produce any one express Law of Christ , which is contradicted and broken , by the Constitution of our Church , or the Administration of our Religious Offices ; they could never produce any yet , and I am sure never can . And if Men will abuse and scare themselves , with some fancyful Applications of Scripture , and remote and illogical Consequences , there is no help that I know of ; since it is an endless work to answer all such cavils . For Men , who can make Objections without any just Reason , may at the same rate return answers too , without end : Therefore , the best and shortest way I can think of , is , to lay down some such general Considerations , as may satisfy all honest and teachable Minds , that tho it is possible to raise Objections against any thing , yet those Objections must prove fallacious , which contradict other great and apparent Truths . And I shall reduce what I have to say , to these four general Heads . First , The Consideration of the Nature of God. Secondly , The Nature and Design of the Christian Religion . Thirdly , The Example of Christ. Fourthly , The Example of the Apostolick and Primitive Churches in the first ages of Christianity . First , Let us consider the Nature of God ; for God is the Object of our Worship : And that is the best Worship , which is most suitable to his Nature : Thus our Saviour teaches us to argue , God is a Spirit , and they that worship him , must worship him in Spirit and in Truth . And thus the wise Man argues , God is in Heaven , and thou upon Earth , therefore let thy Words be few . Now , to apply this briefly to our present Case ; can any Man , who considers what God is , imagine , that he will be displeased with his Creatures , for offering up their Prayers and Thanks-givings to him in a pious and sober Form of Words ? Can God be pleased with the volubility of the Tongue , or quickness of Fancy , or variety of Invention , more than with devout Affections , than with a Soul enflamed with Divine Love , and possest with a Reverence of the Divine Majesty , and offering up it self to him in few , grave and considerate Words ? Will a Father reject the Petitions of his Child , if as often as his Wants require , he uses the same Words , when he asks the same thing ? Does a Prince like a long extemporary Harangue , when his Subjects come to beg a Boone of him , or a short and well composed Petition ? The wise Man , I am sure , tells us , that few and becoming Words , are more agreeable to the Majesty of God , and more expressive of that distance which is between him and us : and therefore , are more agreeable to the nature of publick Worship , which is only an external signification of the Reverence and Devotion of the Mind . Prayer is a necessary part of natural Religion , and was a Duty incumbent on Mankind , before God made any other revelation of his Will , than by Natural Reason ; and therefore , the Reason of Mankind is a very proper Judg , in what manner we must pray to God , unless there were an express positive Law made about it . Revelation may suggest new matter for our Prayers , and direct us to pray to God in the powerful and prevailing Name of the Holy Jesus : But Words , and Postures , and other external Circumstances of Prayer , which are not expresly determined by Revelation , may be determined by humane Prudence ; for there could be no other rule for these Matters , before God revealed his Will , and if God have not altered this Rule , by a plain positive Law , it must be our Rule still , for we have no better . And therefore , we cannot imagine , that God who is our Supream Law-giver , and discovers his Will to us , partly by the Light of Reason , and partly by Revelation , should be angry with his Creatures , for following the best Reason they have ; nay , for governing themselves by the publick Reason and Authority of Church and State. Whoever only considers the Nature of God , and the reason of things , must certainly judg it fitter to meditate before hand , and to take Words with us , when we approach the Presence of so great a Majesty , than to venture saying any thing which comes next : and neither the Nature of God , nor the Reason of Man , condemns any external Ceremonies for Decency and Order , and an useful Signification , but have taught all Mankind to use them in all Ages of the World , and under all Forms of Religion . Whatever Religious Rites are a Dishonour and Reproach to the Divine Nature , or unbecoming the Seriousness and Solemnity of Worship , natural Reason condemns as Idolatrous or Superstitious ; but whatever is no Dishonour to God , and may be useful to Men , is so far from being condemned , that it is little less than the Law and Voice of Nature . At least thus much we may certainly conclude , that there can be no intrinsick evil in these things , which are neither repugnant to the Nature of God , nor the Reason of Man ; much less can it be Idolatry or Superstition , to use a Form of Prayer , and some significant Ceremonies in Religious Worship ; for Idolatry and Superstition are not made so by positive Laws and Institutions : but to worship a false God , or to pay such a false Worship to the true God , as is a reproach to his Nature , is Idolatry ; and Superstition consists in false Notions , repugnant to the Nature of Worship , and Men may be guilty of Superstition , in using or not using very lawful and indifferent things , when by an abused Fancy , and ill instructed Conscience , they imprint either a religious or sinful Character upon them ; either think they shall please God , or fear they shall displease him , by doing things in their own Nature indifferent , and neither good nor bad , but according as they are used . And this is no small advance , towards satisfying Mens Minds , in the lawfulness of those Religious Ceremonies , which tho indifferent in their own Nature , yet are enjoyned by the Publick Authority of Church and State , for the Order , Decency , and Solemnity of Worship . For that which does not contradict the Light of Nature , which has no repugnancy to the Nature of God , nor is forbid by any plain positive Law , is the matter of Christian Liberty , and falls under the Government and Direction of our Superiors ; as will more evidently appear , if we consider , Secondly , The Nature and Design of the Christian Religion , which I shall discourse of , only as it concerns the present Debate ; and if it shall appear that Liturgies and Ceremonies do no more contradict the Nature of Christianity , than they do the Nature of God , let us all seriously consider , how we shall answer Disobedience to our Governours , and Separation from the Church upon such accounts as these , to our great Lord and Master , when he comes to judg the World : And here I shall do these two things ; 1. Shew you , what that Worship is , our Saviour instituted , and how far it is from condemning the use of sober Liturgies , or decent Ceremonies . 2. What there is in the Christian Religion which countenances both . 1. What the Worship is our Saviour Instituted . Christ came into the World to reform Religion , and there are four things he seemed principally to design . 1. To Spiritualize our Worship . 2. To strip it of all Types and Shadows . 3. To deliver Religion from the Incumbrances of Superstitious Observances . 4. To put a difference between the Substance , Circumstances , and Appendages of Religion , between what is Natural and Moral , and the Instrumental and External parts of Worship . 1. Our Saviour's great design was to Spiritualize our Worship . The Jewish Worship consisted in so many external Rites and Usages , in Washings , Purifications , Sacrifices , Oblations , and the like ; that the generality of them placed the Worship of God , in the Homage of the external Man. If they did but worship God at the right place , and with such Sacrifices and Ceremonies as he had appointed , they took little care of inward Devotion . But now , our Saviour teaches the Woman of Samaria , to worship God in Spirit and Truth , for the Father seeketh such to worship him . God is a Spirit , and they that worship him , must worship him in Spirit and in Truth : Which our Saviour does not oppose to external and bodily Worship , which is the only visible Worship God can have in this World ; but either to a typical Worship , of which more presently , or to such external Worship , as is separated from the Devotion of the Mind , when Men draw nigh to him with their Lips , but their Hearts are far from him . So that , if we can offer up a devout Soul to God , in a Form of Prayer , if the external Ceremonies of Religion do not hinder the Devotion of the Mind and Spirit , so far we do not contradict or oppose the nature of Christian Worship : and if Men do sink down into an external Form of Religion , and never raise up their Hearts to God , the Fault is not owing either to Liturgies or Ceremonies , but to a carnal and earthly Mind . Extemporary and conceived Prayer , has indeed usurped the Name of Spiritual Prayer , but for what Reason I know not ; for I suppose , few Men will pretend to pray by Inspiration ; and tho extemporary Prayer may more heat the Fancy , there may be more serious Devotion and Piety in using a Form ; when we have nothing to do , but to offer up our Souls to God , without setting our Inventions upon the Rack , what to say . An extemporary Prayer is as much a Form , and does as much confine and stint the Spirit in all , but the Speaker , as a Book-Prayer does : and that is a very sorry Devotion at best , which owes its Heates and Passions , not to an inward Sense of God , but to a musical Voice , earnestness in the Speaker , surprising Invention , or popular Rhetorick . 2. Our Saviour's design was to strip Religion of Types and Shadows : He did not indeed do this , while he was upon the Earth , because the Jewish Oeconomy was not ended , all things were not fulfilled , which were necessary to put an end to that State , till Christ died ; nor did his Apostles do it immediately , at least not in all places , but yielded to Jewish Prejudices , and indulged Jewish Converts in their Observation of Circumcision , and other Mosaical Rites : Tho St. Paul , the great Apostle of the Gentiles , would not suffer the Gentile Churches to be brought under that Bondage , which occasioned a great many Disputes with the Jews , as you may see in the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians . But the abrogation of Mosaical and Typical Ceremonies , does not infer a prohibition of all significant Ceremonies in the Christian Worship ; because the Reason and Nature of them were very different : The Mosaical Ceremonies were Types of Christ , who was to come in the Flesh ; and therefore , to retain them in their proper Nature & Use , was to deny , that Christ was come in the Flesh : for when the Antitype appears , there is no longer any use of a Type . But now , a few innocent Ceremonies , which are neither burthensome for their number , to encumber Religion , and clog and shackle our Devotions , nor signify any thing contrary to the Nature & Design of Christianity , but add to the external Decency and Solemnity of Worship , and may withal suggest pious and devout Thoughts to us , are far enough from a Typical Nature , and therefore , cannot be presumed to be shut out of the Christian Church , together with the Law of Moses . For we may observe , that the Apostles themselves , in compliance with the weakness of the believing Jews , did use a great many Mosaical Rites , only stripping them of their Typical Nature . St. Paul was a zealous opposer of Circumcision , and yet did not scruple to circumcise Timothy , not in token of God's Covenant with Abraham ; but to prevent Scandal . And those Christians , who lived at Ierusalem , worshipped in the Temple , kept their Religious Festivals , and observed their Law : but no Christian could do this , according to the Original Institution of those Laws , for that had been to renounce Christianity : but they observed them in complyance with the custom of their Nation , and to avoid giving offence to believing Jews . And if the Apostles might lawfully observe those Jewish Customs , when they were freed from their Typical signification ; it cannot be a Fault to use some such innocent Ceremonies , and Circumstances in Worship , as are no way prejudicial to the Nature of Christianity . If the belief of Christianity , made the Observation of those Jewish Ceremonies Innocent , which in their own Nature , and Original Institution , are inconsistent with Christianity ; as signifying that Christ was not yet come : How much more innocent is it to worship God in a white Garment ; to kneel at the Sacrament , and bend our Knee to our Lord , at whose Table we eat , and to sign our Children with the Sign of the Cross , in honour of our crucified Lord , and as a visible Profession of a suffering Religion . 3. Our Saviour rejects all Superstitious Observances , which were not any part of Religious Worship , and yet were thought to have an extraordinary Sacredness and Religion in them ; such as he calls the Traditions of their Elders , and charges them with teaching for Doctrines , the Commandments of Men , such as washing Cups , Platters , and Hands before Dinner ; thus touch not , taste not , handle not , are by St. Paul , called the Doctrines and Commandments of Men ; which refer to their abstaining from certain sorts of Meats , and the like . So that these Doctrines and Commandments of Men , which Christ flings out of his Religion , were not any Ceremonies or Circumstances of Worship , but some Customs they take up with a great Opinion of their Religion , and Merit : As the Papists have great numbers of them , such as Pilgrimages , and Penances , &c. And St. Paul tells us with respect to such Customs as these , That the Kingdom of God is not Meat and Drink , but Righteousness and Peace and Ioy in the Holy Ghost : that is , that Christian Religion does not consist in such sorry things , as eating or not eating such and such Meats , but Christ expects from us true and sincere Piety , as the only thing that can recommend us to God. Such Superstitious Customs as these , are very different from the Circumstances and Ceremonies of Religious Worship , unless we think it the same thing , to hope to merit Heaven by going a Pilgrimage , by professing Poverty , Celibacy , and blind Obedience , by abstaining from Flesh in Lent , and such kind of vain Superstitions ; as it is to wear a Surplice in the time of Divine Worship , or to receive the Lord's Supper upon our Knees , as an external Expression of Devotion , not as meritorious Superstitions . The Ceremonies of our Church have been often declaimed against , under the Notion of the Doctrines and Traditions of Men ; but it is plain , that neither our Saviour , nor St. Paul , meant any thing like them ; for they do not speak of any Circumstances or Appendages of Religious Worship , but of such arbitrary Superstitions , as they turned into formal Acts of Religion . The fourth does not much concern our present Argument , the difference Christ put between the Substantial , and the Instrumental parts of Worship , any otherwise than to mind us , that we must not look upon any Ceremonies as parts of Worship , but a decent manner of performing it : That our acceptance with God depends upon nothing , that is meerly external , but on the Devotion of the Heart and Soul , expressed in such becoming Words and Behaviour , as may make it visible and exemplary to others ; and this is exactly the Doctrine of our Church , and if any Men think , that such external Expressions of Honour will please God , without the Worship of the Mind and Spirit ; they must answer for themselves , for she owns no such Principles , but takes care to instruct her Children better . And methinks , this should be no small satisfaction to Mens Minds , that the established Worship of our Church , has nothing contrary to the nature and design of Christianity ; from whence it follows , that Men may be very good Christians , while they live in Communion with our Church ; and then I doubt , they cannot be very good Christians when they forsake it : for nothing but an apparent and manifest danger of sin , can justify such a Separation . 2. But let us now further consider , how the Worship of our Church is justified by the Principles of Christianity . We do not pretend that there is an express command to pray always by a Form , or to institute and appoint significant Ceremonies , in the Worship of God ; but there is enough in the Gospel of our Saviour to justify such Practices : as briefly , to point to some few things ; 1. Our Saviour himself taught his Disciples to pray by a Form , Our Father which art in Heaven , &c. And if you will allow that it was lawful for them to pray in these words , though you should suppose , that they were not always bound to use it , it plainly proves , that the Christian Religion does not forbid praying by a Form ; for if it be lawful to pray by a Form , even of Divine Institution , then a Form as a Form cannot be unlawful . 2. Our Saviour has no where prescribed the particular Circumstances of Religious Worship , and yet no Religious Action can be performed without some Circumstances or other ; he has commanded us to pray to God in his Name , to commemorate his Death and Passion in his last Supper , and has commanded his Apostles to baptize all Nations in the Name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost : But how oft we must pray , and celebrate this Heavenly Feast , in what Place , in what Posture , in what Time , he has not told us . He has prescribed the Form of words in Baptism , but not any one Circumstance ; and yet it is certain , there must be some Circumstances for every Action , for the more decent performance , and greater solemnity of such mysterious Rites ; and therefore we may well conclude , that our Saviour left all such to the order and direction of his Apostles and their Successors in all Ages , as may tend most to the preservation of good Order , and the edification of the Church . For we must consider the difference between the Law and the Gospel . Under the Law the Church was in an Infant State , like an Heir under Age , which is under Tutors and Governors , and therefore every part of that Typical Temple-Worship , was exactly framed according to the Pattern in the Mount. But the Christian Church is arrived to a full Age , and set at liberty by Christ from the Yoke of Bondage , and therefore is not under servile restraints , but has the Government of its own Actions , according to the general Rules and Prescriptions of the Gospel . Not that every particular Christian is at liberty to worship God as he pleases , which could bring nothing but confusion and disorder into the Church , but is to be under the Government and Direction of his Spiritual Guides and Pastors , while they keep within the General Rules of the Gospel : But the Christian Church enjoys that Liberty which the Jewish Church had not , that they can institute and appoint , change and alter the external Circumstances of Worship , as the Necessities of the Church , and the Edification of Christians require . So mu●● are those Men mistaken , who argue from Moses to Christ , that Christ is as faithful at least as Moses was ; and therefore since Moses gave them an exact platform of Worship , from which they must not vary in the least punctilio ; therefore they conclude , that Christ hath done so too , tho they cannot shew where he has done it ; that he has prescribed such an exact Form of Government , Discipline , and Worship in the Church , as perpetually obliges all Christians ; whereas we must observe , that there was no Christian Church formed in our Saviour's Days ; but he communicated with his Disciples in the Jewish Church while he lived , and gave them Authority and Power to form Churches after his Resurrection . But we must observe the difference the Apostle makes between Moses and Christ , that one was faithful as a Servant , the other as a Son. Now a Servant must exactly follow his Rules and Orders ; but a Son Governs his own House with greater freedom : and Moses being a Servant , signifies also the servile State of that People whom he governed , that they were in Bondage under the Rudiments of this World , and had their task exactly set them ; but Christ , who is the Son and Heir , and Lord of all , has made us Sons and Freemen too ; and therefore does not give such particular Laws about every little Circumstance , but expects from us a more manly and generous Obedience . And indeed there was great reason why the Jewish Worship should be exactly prescribed by God , because it was typical of Christ and the state of the Gospel ; it was a visible Prophesy of things to come , and therefore could be drawn by no other hand , but that which was guided by an Omniscient Eye ; whence the Apostle observes , that Moses was faithful as a Servant , for a Testimony of those things which were to be spoken after . But in other Matters the Jews themselves were not under such confinement ; their Synagogue-Worship , where they performed the Duties of Natural Religion , was ordered by their own prudence and directions : They ordered the baptizing of Proselytes , without any command or direction in their Law for it ; which our Saviour made the Sacrament of our Admission into his Church ; and that Bread and Wine , which by the same Authority was added to the Paschal Supper , was consecrated by our Saviour as a Festival Commemoration of his broken Body , and his Blood shed for us ; and therefore we have little reason to doubt , whether the Christian Church has the same liberty which the Jewish Synagogue had , to appoint such Circumstances and Ceremonies as are most suitable to the several parts of Religious Worship . 3. The Apostles , who were authorized by our Saviour to make Disciples , and to gather them into Church-Communion , give general Rules for Order and Decency , and enjoyn Obedience to our Spiritual Guides ; Let all things be done decently and in order ; and let all things be done to edifying ; which is even the Rule of the Apostolical Power , which God hath given us for edification , and not for destruction . Now general Rules leave Men at liberty as to particular Instances , because a general Rule may be complied with different ways , which are supposed to be in his choice who receives such a Rule . Thus we are commanded to obey our Spiritual Guides : Obey them who have the Rule over you , and submit your selves , for they watch for your Souls , as they that must give account , that they may do it with joy , and not with grief : Which when there is no fixt and setled Rule of Government , supposes that many things are left to the prudence and discretion of the Governours ; the natural Inference from which is , that tho there be no express command for a Form of Prayers , or significant Ceremonies ; yet when they are ordered and established by the united Wisdom and Authority of Church and State , it is the Duty of every Christian , willingly and chearfully , to comply with them , while they agree with the general Rules of Gospel-Worship . 3. Let us now consider the Example of our Saviour while he conversed on the Earth , which is a most admirable Pattern for all Christians to follow . Now I observe , that though our Saviour lived in a very degenerate Age of the Jewish Church , when their Priests , Scribes , and Pharisees , by those Characters which he himself gives of them , appear to be very vile Persons ; yet he lived in the Communion of the Jewish Church ; tho he were the great Reformer of Religion , yet the time of the Jewish Church not being yet expired , he formed no new Churches , but observed their Publick Assemblies of Worship , preached in their Temple , and in their Synagogues , and observed all their Religious Festivals as punctually as any of themselves : which Consideration ought to give some check to those Men , who forsake the Communion of the Church , under pretence that there are bad Men in it . Thus our Saviour conformed to all those laudable and innocent Customs of the Jewish Church , which were of humane Institution , and were not founded on the Authority of a Divine Law. He celebrated the Feast of Dedication , which was appointed by Iudas Macchabeus and his Brethren , and the Children of Israel , to be observed annually for eight days , in remembrance of the cleansing of the Temple from the prophanation of Antiochus , and the regaining their liberty of publick Worship . This Feast , though it were of Humane Institution , our Saviour no where reproves , but graces and countenances the Solemnity with his own Presence . Thus he conformed to the Synagogue-Worship , which was all of humane Order and Appointment , as you heard before . Thus he who so severely reproved the superstitious abuse even of Divine Institutions , who despised their Sacrifices , and Oblations , and all their external and solemn Hypocrisies , their broad Phylacteries , and their frequent and religious Purifications , when they placed their Religion in the bare doing those things , without attending to the end for which they were commanded ; does both practise and allow those humane Institutions , which served a good end in Religion ; which is a plain Argument that our Saviour did not think it such a prophanation of Religion , to appoint any Circumstances of Religious Worship , not commanded by God ; as that all external Things must be measured by their End and Use. Those are innocent and laudable Customs which serve a good End , either help the Devotion of the Worshipper , or make the Worship more grave and solemn , provided it be not in forbidden Instances . 4. The practice of the Apostles , and the first and best Churches , are a great vindication of the Constitution and Worship of the Church of England : Where we have not a plain and express Rule , Examples , which are great and good Ones , have the authority and face of a Rule ; and he must be a very unreasonable Man , who will desire any better Examples , than of the best and purest Churches . Some are offended at the Superiority of Bishops over Presbyters , and the Inferior Clergy , which they say is expresly forbidden by Christ ; The Kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them , and they that exercise Authority upon them , are called Benefactors . But ye shall not be so , but he that is greatest among you , let him be as the younger , and he that is chief , as he that doth serve . In which words it is plain our Saviour forbids such kind of Authority over one another , as the Gentile Princes exercise over their Subjects ; but that it should forbid all kind of Superiority among the Ministers of the Gospel , is contrary to the Example even of the Apostolick Age. The Apostles indeed were all equal , had no superiority of Order or Power over one another ; and our Saviour in this Place speaks only to the Apostles not to exercise Superiority over each other , for there was a strife among them , which of them should be greatest : But by our Saviour's own Institution , the Office of an Apostle was superior to the Seventy Disciples , whom he sent out to preach the Gospel . And after the Resurrection of Christ , the Apostles were supream Governors of the Church ; and if we believe the first Records we have of the Christian Church , Bishops were the Apostles Successors in their Power in the Church , and in their superiority over Presbyters and Deacons : and so the Government of the Church continued in the hands of Bishops till the Reformation , when the necessity of Affairs , and the aversion some Men had against Popish Tyrannical Bishops , perswaded some Reformers to lay aside the Order , which has been made the most specious Argument against the Reformation ; and to say no more , If Episcopacy be Antichristianism , the whole Church was Antichristian for above fifteen hundred Years together , from the very Times of the Apostles themselves . But if it be an Apostolical Order , I know not what Authority any Man had to alter it ; and for my own part , think that Communion safest which is most agreeable to the Pattern of the Apostolick Churches . Others except against Forms of Prayer . Now not to take notice that Forms of Prayer were of old in use in the Jewish Church , and that our Saviour himself gave a Form of Prayer to his Disciples , we must grant , that we have no certain Evidence what the practice of the Church in the Apostles Days was in this respect . I am much of S. Chrysostoms Opinion , That there were in that Age of Miracles , extraordinary & miraculous Gifts of Prayer , as there was of Healing , and Prophesying , and working Miracles : Not that every Christian had these Gifts , any more than the Gift of Miracles , but there were some Persons who had the Gift of inspired Prayer for the publick benefit of the Church , which made it needless in that Age to have Forms of Prayer for Publick Worship ; and when I see that Age of Miracles return again , I will gladly renounce Liturgy to join in inspired Prayers . But as Miracles ceased , so did the miraculous Gift of Prayer ; and then , as the same Father observes , the Church worshipped God in allowed Forms ; to be sure so it was in his days , and a great while before him ; and if we cannot trace it to its first Original , for want of early Records in those Matters ; yet I think he must be a very scrupulous Man , who would refuse to communicate with the Church in Constantine's Days , who composed Forms of Prayer for his Souldiers , which it is not probable he would have done , had not the Church at that time used Forms of Prayers . And so it continued till the Reformation , and the Reformation made no alteration in it ; for the Lutheran and Bohemian Churches , the Church of Geneva , France , and Holland , have their Lyturgies and Forms of Prayer , and so has the Church of England since the first Reformation of it ; and if not only allowed , but advised by Mr. Calvin himself , till some Jesuites in Masquerade first set up that way of conceived and extemporary Prayers , on purpose to break good Order in our Church , as we well are assured by very credible Testimony . Others scruple significant Ceremonies ; and yet in the very Apostles Days we find such in use , which are now disused , as the Holy Kiss , and the Love-Feast , which was an addition to the Lord's Supper , much more obnoxious to censure than the Cross in Baptism , and yet was retained for several Ages in the Church . In Tertullian's and St. Cyprian's Times , we find a great many symbolical and significant Ceremonies in use among them . They frequently crossed themselves to shew that they were Christians upon all Occasions ; the baptized Person was cloathed in white , and thence Whitsunday received its Name , because that was a solemn Time for Baptism , when those who were baptized were cloathed with white Garments . It were easy to give you abundance of such Instances , which are so obvious to any one , who is acquainted with Ecclesiastical Writers , that it is superfluous to mention them . In St. Austin's Time , Ceremonies were grown so numerous , that he very much complains , not of the significancy and symbolicalness , but of the burden of them ; but never disturbed the Peace of the Church himself , but adviseth others to conform to the Rites and Usages of any Church where they came , though different from the Customs of their own . As far as I have observed , there never was any Schism occasioned in the Christian Church about significant Ceremonies , till of late among us , and it would a little startle a modest Man to separate from the Church of England for such Reasons , as must have made him a Schismatick from all ancient and modern Churches , in all Ages to this day . These things carefully and impartially considered , must needs tend to compose Mens Minds , and reduce those who are gone astray , into the Communion and Unity of the Church : For my part , I should rather venture erring with all the Churches of Christ from the Apostles to this present Age , than break the Hedges of the Church and Christian Communion , to follow some upstart new Lights , tho it were possible they might lead me right . SECT . III. Containing an answer to some popular Cavils , or a Vindication of the Church of England , from the Charge of Will-Worship , Superstition , Idolatry , Popery . LEt us now consider some popular Cavils and Exceptions , which too often prevail with some honest , but less thinking Men to forsake our Communion . And I shall only mention those which concern the Rites and Ceremonies of our Church ; and all that I shall at present do here , shall be to answer some hard Words , and ill Names , which are given to our Worship ; and shew how ignorantly and injuriously they are applied to the Church of England . Such are these , Will-Worship , Superstition , Idolatry , Popery . These are hard Words , which very few People understand , and therein the great force of the Objection lies ; as will appear from a particular examination of them . First , Will-Worship . Now , when Men charge the Church of England with Will-Worship , they generally understand such a Worship , as is not commanded by God , but is originally owing to the Will and Invention of Men. Now this I absolutely deny , that there is any such thing as Will-Worship , in the Church of England . The Worship of the Church of England , consists in publick Prayers and Praises , in reading the Scriptures , and expounding them to the People , and instructing them in the great Articles of Faith , and Rules of Life , in singing Psalms , and administring the Supper of our Lord , and such like Exercises of Devotion : All which are expresly commanded in Scripture , and therefore cannot be Will-Worship in this Sence ; for they are not the Inventions of Men , but the Institutions of Christ. It is true , there are some Circumstances and Ceremonies of Religious Worship , used and enjoyned in the Church of England , which are not commanded by God ; but these are no parts of Worship , and therefore not Will-Worship . We do not think wearing a Surplice to be an act of Worship , nor expect to please God by any external Dress or Habit ; but we think it a decent Garb for those to use , who minister in holy things . We do not think kneeling at the Sacrament to be an Act , but a Posture of Worship , as it is of Prayer ; and therefore not kneel to the Bread and Wine , but receive them kneeling , as expressing that Reverence and Devotion of Mind , which becomes such a mysterious Worship , and as a Posture suitable to those Prayers , which in the Act of receiving we put up to Heaven . The Cross in Baptism is not designed as any act of Worship to God , but as a visible Profession of our Faith in a crucified Saviour ; it is not a dedicating and covenanting Sign , which respects God , but at most an engaging Sign , which respects the Church ; and therefore is not an Act of Worship , much less Will-Worship . To institute any new Kind or Species of Worship , is certainly unlawful ; as to make any new object of Worship , whether it be a visible representation , such as a Picture and Image ; or invisible Beings , as Angels , and deisied Men , a numerous company of whom are worshipped in the Church of Rome or any new Acts of Worship , such as frequent Washings , Purgations , Sacrifices , Pilgrimages , &c. But the Circumstances and Ceremonies of Religious Actions , which are no where determined by God , may and must be determined , either by our own Prudence , or by the Prudence of our Governours , without the least suspicion of Will-Worship ; because they neither are , nor are designed for Acts of Worship . But we must observe further , that this Word Will-Worship is found but once in all the Scripture , and some very wise and learned Men question , whether in that place Will-Worship be condemned by the Apostle , as an ill thing ; the Words are these ; Which things have indeed a shew of Wisdom in Will-Worship and Humility , and neglecting the Body , not in any honour of satisfying the Flesh : For they observe , that Will-Worship is joyned with two other very good things , Humility , and neglecting the Body : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which signifies external Severities and Mortifications , to keep down the Body and bring it into Subjection , not to pamper it with high Nourishment , nor to make Provision for the Flesh to fulfil the Lusts thereof : which seems to be the meaning of what follows , not in honour in satisfying the Flesh : for Honour , as St. Hierom observes , signifies taking Care of , and making Provision for it . So that we may as well say , that Humility and bodily Severities , Strictness and Austerity of Life , in suppressing all the Motions of Lust , and the least inclinations to sensual Pleasures , are forbidden or censured by the Apostle , as that Will-Worship is ; for there is as much appearance of his condemning one as t'other . And besides this , the Apostle says , that these things have a shew of Wisdom in Will-Worship , &c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; now we expound this to signify only a false appearance of Wisdom , yet that supposes , that Will-Worship , and Humility , and bodily Severities are in themselves good things , and parts of Religious Wisdom , when other things which are not good , gain a Reputation of Wisdom , by being like them ; for that which makes these things to have a shew of Wisdom , is , that they are mistaken for Will-Worship , Humility , and neglecting the Body . And therefore , according to this way of expounding the Words , by Will-Worship we must understand voluntary Worship , which answers to Free-Will-Offerings under the Law , which were not commanded by God , but yet were very acceptable to him ; when Men do something more than God has expresly commanded , and deny themselves those Liberties and Enjoyments , which God allows , in order to some Spiritual End , to refine and purge their Souls , that they may arrive at more perfect attainments in Goodness . And there is so much to countenance this Interpretation , that all the Superstitions in the World do deceive and abuse Men , and pass for excellent attainments in Religion , under the shew and appearance of voluntary Worship , and Free-Will-Offerings , of doing something more than God has enjoyned them , whereby they think they so highly merit of God , as to obtain the pardon of their Sins , and become his peculiar Favourites . Thus the Pharisees thought to do , by observing the Traditions of their Fathers , by their frequent Washings , Purifications , Fastings , and Tything even Mint and Cummin : Thus the Papists do by their Fasts , Pilgrimages , and Penances ; but the mistake is , that this is but a false appearance of Wisdom , because tho at first it looks like the noble generous Worship of Free-Will-Offerings , yet it is not so . For tho under the Law , Free-Will Offerings were not commanded ( which had destroyed the Nature of a Free-Will Offering ) yet there are directions given what such Persons shall offer to God , in case they do offer at all ; and in particular that there shall be no blemish in it : which signifies , that this voluntary Worship must be confined to such Instances , as we know are acceptable to God ; and therefore , when Men spend their Zeal in some voluntary Superstitions , which cannot please God , such things have only a shew , a false appearance of Wisdom , in voluntary Worship , because tho their Worship be voluntary , and so far commendable ; yet they do not make a wise choice of the Acts of Worship , do not worship God in an acceptable manner . And this is the very case the Apostle mentions ; for the things which he says , have a shew of Wisdom , are either the worshipping Angels , ver . 18. which has a shew of Humility , that such mean and guilty Creatures dare not immediately approach to God without the Intercession of Angels , who are the great Ministers , Friends , and Favourites of God ; or those Ordinances and Rudiments of the World , touch not , taste not , handle not ; 20 , 21. which he calls , the Doctrines and Commandments of Men , ver . 22. by which he means , either the Jewish Laws of abstaining from certain Meats forbid by the Law of Moses , or the Pythagorean abstinence from the use of Women , or from eating any living Creature ; or , as it is most probable , both of them . These are those things , which have a shew of Wisdom in Will-Worship , and neglecting the Body , but indeed are not true Wisdom , nor an acceptable Worship of God : a great many such things , we may find in the Church of Rome , such as their praying to Saints and Angels , and the Virgin Mary , their Fastings , Penances , and Pilgrimages , &c. which are made substantial parts of Religion ; but Circumstances , and Ceremonies of Worship , were never reckoned among them till now , by any antient or modern Expositors . Now tho Will-Worship were in this place condemned by the Apostle , and these things condemn'd as parts of Will-Worship ; yet the Church of England is not concerned in it , as having nothing in her Worship like these things ; and we must not apply the Name of Will-Worship any farther than the Apostle has applyed it , or to such things as are analogous to what he condems for Will-Worship ; but yet it does not appear , that this voluntary Worship is condemned by the Apostle , or has the least ill Character affixed to it . 2. The second Accusation is Superstition , a Name which is at all adventures given to every thing , which Men dislike in Religion , and being a Name of Reproach serves instead of all other Arguments , especially when they have no other at hand : Thus , to pray by a Form , to wear a Surplice , to kneel at the Lord's Supper , are all superstitious Ceremonies , and so they may for any thing They know , who most frequently use this Word , without understanding what it means ; and no Man need be at any greater trouble to vindicate the Church of England from the charge of Superstition , than to explain the Nature of it , which will soon convince them of their mistake in applying it . Now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which by Tully is rendred Superstitio , is by St. Austin called demonum cultus , the Worship of Demons , that is , of Angels or dead Men ; and in this Sence , St. Paul at Athens , when he observed the Inscription of their Altar to an unknown God , says that they were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that is , more Superstitious than others , i. e. that they worshipped more Gods or Demons than other Heathen Nations , and possibly with more Devotion and Religious Observances . But then , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies a great dread and fear of their Demons and Gods ; and therefore is made equivalent to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a dread or fear of God. And , as a Learned Man observes , this was originally owing to the belief of a divine Providence , and consequently of Rewards and Punishments in this World , and the next : for which reason Epicurus , tho he did not deny the Being of a God , yet he removed him out of the World , and would not allow him to be Maker of the World , nor to intermeddle in humane Affairs ; and those who believed a divine Providence , he rejected under the Notion of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Superstitious fearers of the Deity . Hence he represents the design of his Philosophy to be to deliver Men from Superstition , that they might live without fear of any invisible Powers , or infernal Judges , of whom their Poets especially , told such frightful and tragical Stories ; and therefore , in other places Superstition is made by him equivalent to the fear of Death , or the fear of punishment after Death . And in this Sence Superstition is nothing else but a Nick-Name for Religion , or such a fear of God as is the beginning of Wisdom ; but this was so troublesome and irksome to the Atheistical Philosopher , that he endeavoured to deliver himself and Mankind from the belief of a Divine Providence , or future Account : as in our Age , for the fame reason , too many deny the Being of God , and endeavour to laugh and droll themselves into Atheism , that they may live secure from the fear of Punishment . But tho every bad Man desires to do this , yet few can attain to it , the belief of a God sticks close to their Minds ; and t is equally different for them to deny his Being , as to despise his Power : and therefore , they live in a perpetual dread of God , as an observer of their Actions , and a severe Judg , and can form no other Notion of him , but as of a powerful , domineering , imperious Tyrant . And therefore , Maximus Tyrius makes this the difference between a Religious and Superstitious Man : that a Religious Man goes to God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , without any servile Fear and Horror . which we now commonly oppose to a Filial fear , which is mixt with Love and Reverence ; as a Son Loves and Honours his Father , which is the true Spirit of Religion ; but a Superstitious Man is horribly afraid of God , as a powerful Tyrant . Hence Plutarch observes , that an Atheist does not believe that there is a God , and a Superstitious Man wishes there were none . And hence it comes to pass , that as Superstition makes Men fear God , so it teaches them to flatter him ; for it is the natural temper of Fear to fawn and crouch , and by the basest and most servile Submissions , to court the Favour of an imperious Lord ; and it is as natural for those , who are Proud , Severe , and Imperious to love to be flattered : and therefore those Men , who look on God only as Almighty Power , which is soon provoked , and cannot be resisted , hope to appease so angry a Being , by some servile and flattering Submissions . Whence it is Maximus Tyrius represents a truly pious Man as God's Friend , and a Superstitious Man as his Flatterer ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Now the true Reason of this Difference between the Religious and the Superstitious Man is this ; that a truly Religious Man is one , who conforms himself to the Divine Nature , and admires the Wisdom of God's Laws , and the Beauty and Perfection of Vertue ; and therefore , instead of this servile fear of God , he loves him as the most excellent Being , and securely hopes in him , as the most kind Father and bountiful Benefactor , and delights to pay him such Homage and Worship , as is suitable to his Nature and Perfections . But a Superstitious Man is one , who is in love with some Vice or other , which he fears God will punish him for , but cannot and will not part with it ; and therefore fears God , and flatters him , and invents such Arts to appease an offended and angry Deity , as a Slave would do to pacify his Lord. And here is the true Original of all that , which we call Superstitious Worship ; which is nothing else , but such a Worship , as Superstitious Men pay to God , to appease his Anger , and to flatter him into a good Opinion of them : For Superstition is properly seated in the Mind , as Religion is ; and that is a Superstitious Worship , which serves the Ends of Superstition ; as that is true Religious Worship , which expresseth the sincere Devotion of the Mind , and is fitted to the Nature and Ends of true Religion . This was the Original of those numerous Sacrifices , which were offered by the Heathens , at least they were abused to this Purpose by Superstitious Minds , to appease their angry Gods by the Blood of the Sacrifice , instead of their own : especially those barbarous Sacrifices of Men , and Children , which it is impossible , should ever have any other Original than Superstition : For Men must be in a horrible dread and fear of God , and entertain very frightful Apprehensions of him , before they can either persuade themselves to offer , or believe , that God will accept of such Sacrifices . To the same Original is owing their worship of Demons and Inferior Deities , as Intercessors for them to the more powerful God ; for Men who are afraid , endeavour to make all the Friends they can to a powerful Adversary ; and it not only makes a shew of Humility , as the Apostle speaks , that Men dare not go directly to God , but imploy his great Ministers to speak for them ; but it signifies also a great dread of him : for had Men right apprehensions of the Nature of God , and were conscious to themselves of a sincere Love and Reverence of him , and a desire to please and to be like him , they would be no more afraid to pray to him , than a Child is to ask his Father for what he wants . Thus Superstitious Men , who have a mind to appease God , and to keep their sins , endeavour to court and flatter him with an arbitrary and external Worship , either with a pompous shew ; such as was their carrying the Images of their Gods in Procession , which was so magnificent a sight , that many Christians were tempted to be present at it , which was condemned and censured by the Ancient Fathers ; or with publick Feasts and Sports , their Solennes Ludi , instituted in honour of their Gods , in which so many ancient Christians suffered Martyrdom ; or frequent Washings and Purifications , or external Severities to their Bodies , as Whippings , and cutting themselves till the Blood gushed out , as the Priests of Baal did ; or by prostituting their Wives and Daughters , and defiling themselves in honour of their Wanton Deities : Or by abstaining from certain Meats , and being initiated into the Mysteries of their Religion by severe and troublesome Methods : In these and such-like things consisted that superstitious Worship , which the Heathens paid to their Gods , in such external Rites as were expensive , costly , or troublesome , which they thought apt and proper to atone for their sins , and flatter their angry Gods into a good liking of them , while they continued in sin . Their Worship did not consist in any real and substantial acts of Piety and Devotion , were not designed , and had no tendency in them to make them more like to God , or to do any real Honour to his Nature and Perfections , but were an external piece of Pageantry , like the crouchings and fawnings of Slaves to their Imperious Lords . And thus a superstitious Mind may turn even Divine Institutions into a superstitious Worship , as the Hypocritical Jews did , who had no respect to the nature and signification of those external Rites of Worship which God appointed , but doted upon the Letter of the Law , and thought to please God with the external performance of them . They gloried in the Circumcision of the Flesh , but made no regard to the Circumcision of the Mind and Spirit ; they thought it enough that they descended from Abraham by Carnal Generation , but took no care to imitate the Faith of their Father Abraham : They boasted of the Temple of the Lord , which was the visible Symbol of God's Presence with them , and residence among them , tho they made it a Den of Thieves . They punctually observed their New Moons , and Sabbaths , and Solemn Assemblies , tho they defiled themselves with all manner of wickedness , insomuch that God abhorred his own Worship , as much as the Pagan Superstitions ; and tho he instituted it himself , yet denies that he required it from them . When you come to appear before me ; Who hath required this at your hands , to tread my Courts ? And thus profest Christians may , and do turn the Institutions of our Saviour into the grossest Superstitions ; when they think it sufficient to carry them to Heaven that they are baptized , and call themselves Christians , and say their Prayers , and hear Sermons , and receive the Sacrament , without attending to the end of all this , which is , to transform them into a Divine Nature , to purify their Minds from all earthliness and sensuality , and thereby fit them for the happiness of a Spiritual World. The sum of all is this , That Superstition is not properly in any Act of Worship , but in the Mind ; Divine Institutions may be abused to Superstitious Purposes , and Humane Institutions , which are meer Matters of Decency and Order , may be used without Superstition . The Superstition of Heathens , Jews , and Christians , differ in their Acts , but agree in their Principle , too great a Fear and Flattery of God. But yet from what I have discoursed , we may collect some plain Rules , to judg what is Superstitious , and what not ; and when we may be charged with Superstition , and when not : For , 1. Then Men are certainly Superstitious , when they think they shall please or displease God , meerly by doing or not doing some indifferent things , which he has neither commanded , nor forbid . To think to please God , and to make him our Friend by any Arbitrary Rites and Usages in Religion , is to think , that God may be flattered by external and insignificant Complements , which is the true Spirit of Superstition ; and to think that God will be displeased with us for doing some indifferent Things , which he hath no where forbid , argues a superstitious dread and horror of him , so that we dare not use that liberty which he has no where restrained ; touch not , taste not , handle not ; that is , to forbid doing those things which God has allowed , or at least not forbid , is more certainly an Act of Superstition , than to do those things which God has not commanded ; for Men may do what God has not commanded , without any superstitious Conceit about it ; but they cannot forbid doing what God has not forbid , without placing Religion in not doing it , and to make any thing an Act of Religion , and to think to please God with it , which is no Act of Religion , is certainly superstitious . 2. Then Men are guilty of Superstition in the external Acts of Religion , whether they be instituted by God or not , when they think to please God by the bare external performance of them : for whatever is external in Religion , cannot be acceptable to God for it self : In Christ Iesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing , nor uncircumcision but a new Creature , and Faith which worketh by Love , and Obedience to the Commandments of God : And to hope to please God with any thing else , is to hope to flatter him , and to compound with him for the breach of his Laws , and the want of an inward vital Principle of Religion , by external Hypocrisies and Superstitions . But on the other hand we may be sure ; 1. That no Man can be guilty of Superstition , who hopes to please God , and obtain his Favour , only by an Universal Righteousness , and Holiness of Heart and Life . Such a Man is truly Religious , who endeavours to conform his Mind to the Divine Nature and Image , and to frame his Conversation by the eternal Laws of Goodness ; he neither fears nor flatters the Deity , as the Superstitious Man does , but is the Son and the Friend of God , and the external Expressions and Exercises of his Religion are fitted to the great ends of an Universal Holiness . 2. That cannot be the matter of Superstition , which is not made or judged an acceptable part of Divine Worship : for Superstition can be only in such things , wherein we hope to please God ; and this effectually justifies the Church of England from the charge of Superstition , with respect to the External Rites of Worship , which she declares to be no parts nor acts of Worship , but such Circumstances and Ceremonies , as make the external performance of the Acts of Worship decent and solemn , and are useful to Edification ; to help Men to worship God better , not to please God by such external Rites . The third Accusation of the Worship of the Church of England is Idolatry , a terrible , and yet a ridiculous Charge . But Idolatry is an odious Name , and that is enough ; if there be those who are bold enough to say it , they will be sure to find some of their Proselytes ignorant enough to believe it : It is but calling the Common-Prayer Book and Ceremonies Idols , and then they are plainly forbid in the Second Commandment . But is there indeed no difference between ▪ worshipping God in a sober and pious form of words , and worshipping a Graven Image ? No difference between wearing a Surplice , and falling down to a Stock or Stone ? No difference between signing Children with the sign of the Cross , and dedicating them to an Idol , or false God ? Whither does a blind Zeal transport these Men ! I am sure this is much more like Blasphemy , than any thing in our Worship is like Idolatry ; but such an Argument as this does not deserve to be answered , nor such Men deserve to be reasoned with ; those who can abuse themselves and others with such formidable Nothings , stand more in need of Physick than a sober Confutation . 4. Another Accusation of the Worship of the Church of England is , That it is Popery : And so indeed it is as much ▪ Popery as it is Superstition and Idolatry : And thus our Religious Princes , and Godly Bishops , are well rewarded for reforming Religion , with infinite pains and labour , and to their utmost peril . It cost many Martyrs their Lives , and would have made the Crown to shake , had it not been secure by an Omnipotent Hand , and All-seeing Providence ; and all this it seems for nothing , for we are not got out of Babylon yet . That Command still lies against the Church of England , as our Ancestors believed it did against the Church of Rome , Come out from among them , and be ye separate , saith the Lord , and touch no unclean thing , and I will receive you . It is somewhat strange that God should suffer our Reformers , who were so sincere and honest , who spared no pains , and feared no danger to purge the House of God , to retain so much of the old Leaven , as makes it unsafe for all good Christians to partake in such Worship . And it is strange that the Papists should be such mortal Enemies to the Church of England , which is so near a Kin to Rome , and look so kindly upon our new Thorough-Reformers . But I would desire these Men to tell me what Point of Popery is still retained in the Doctrine , Government , or Discipline of our Church ? O , say they , that is quickly done , The very Office of Bishops is a Relique of Popery : And if this be so , then the whole Christian Church , from the very first institution of it , has been popishly affected ; for if we will allow the Apostles to have had an Episcopal Power and Authority , we find no Christian Church without Bishops , till the Reformation , that is , for 1500 Years , and I confess I never thought Popery could have pleaded such Antiquity , and early prescription . That Supream and Soveraign Power , which the Bishop of Rome challenges over all other Bishops , and Secular Princes , nay that uncontroulable Authority he challenges over the Laws of God , and Institutions of our Saviour , to change and alter them by his infallible Decrees , when he pleases ; his absolute Power to forgive Sins , and to dispose of Heaven and Hell , is no doubt , the Perfection of that Apostacy , which was foretold should happen in the latter days ; and if our Bishops challenge any such Power to themselves , I will own them to be Antichristian and Popish : But we may see , what admirable Reformers those are like to make , who know not how to distinguish between an Apostolical Office , and Antichristian Usurpations . But the Common-Prayer Book is Popish : I beseech you wherein ; as it is a Form of Prayer ? Then our Saviour ▪ taught Men Popery , for he taught his Disciples to pray by a Form ; and the whole Book of Psalms must be ranck Popery , which consists only of Forms of Prayer , and Thanksgiving , composed for the use of the Temple . But is there any Remains of Popish Worship in our Liturgy ? are there any Prayers to Saints or Angels , or the Virgin Mary ? Are our Prayers concealed from us in an unknown Tongue ? Do we not understand what we say , what Petitions we put up to God ? Do you find the Sacrifice of the Mass , or any Reliques of it in our Liturgy ? Thanks be to God , for our Reforming Bishops and Martyrs , who purged our Worship from all these Abominations . But the Common-Prayer Book is taken out of the Mass-Book , and therefore it is but Popery still . This I will in part grant , but deny the Consequence ; for every thing in the Mass-Book was not Popery , unless you will say , that the Creed , Ten Commandments , and Lord's Prayer are parts of Popery . The plain case is this , You must consider the Church of Rome , as a true Church corrupted , and degenerated from its Primitive Institutions ; for we must acknowledg , that the Church of Rome , was not inferior in all Gifts and Graces to the most eminent Churches in the World , in the Apostles days , and several Ages after . And therefore no wonder , if in its greatest degeneracy , it retained some small Remains of its antient Piety and Devotion , which was buried in the midst of Rubbish , and Idolatrous Superstitions . Consider then , what the proper work of a Reformer must be ? to pull up Root and Branch ; to pull up the Wheat with the Tares ? This would be not to reform a corrupt Church , but to make a new one : This would be to cut off the sound , with the rotten Members ; and is like pulling down a well constituted Government , to correct Abuses . I pray God preserve us from such Reformers as these . In a Word , if these Men , who accuse the Church of England of Popery , can shew any thing practised among us , which is peculiar to Popery , which cannot be justified by the Precepts and Examples of Scripture , and the first and purest Churches , I will heartily joyn with them in calling for a Reformation . In the mean time I would desire them to consider , that they do Popery too much Reputation , by giving up the Church of England to it , and make the name of Popery a less formidable thing , when it is thus indifferently applied to a corrupt , and to a reformed Church . I wish with all my Soul they were half so free from Popish Principles , and Practices in matters of Civil Government , as the Church of England is from a Popish Worship . PART . II. Concerning those Disorders and Miscarriages , which some men are guilty of in Church-Communion . CHAP. I. Concerning those , who ordinarily forsake the Communion of their Parish Churches . HAving discours'd thus largely of those , who wholly separate themselves from Christian Communion , who either communicate with no Church , or forsake the Communion of the Church of England ; I now proceed to correct those Miscarriages , which some , who profess themselves of our Communion , are too notoriously guilty of . And I shall first begin with those , who ordinarily forsake the Communion of their Parish Churches . This has been an old and inveterate evil , of long use and practice , especially in this great and populous City , and it may be thought a daring and fruitless attempt to oppose it ; however I have this satisfaction , that no man can reasonably suspect , that I serve any other interest by this , but the interest of Peace and Order , and the better edification of the Christian Church ; which must reasonably engage all men the more impartially to consider what I shall now offer , which shall be comprized under these two General Heads . First , Our Obligations to Parochial Communion : 2. An Answer to some Objections against it . First , Our Obligations to Parochial Communion : which will appear in these particulars ; 1. That Parochial Communion is in it self an excellent Institution for the more regular Instruction and Government of the Christian Church . We do not indeed pretend , that the division of an Episcopal Church into several Parishes with their distinct Pastors set over them , is in a strict sense of Divine Institution : for Christ and his Apostles did not by an express Law determine the Bounds and Extent of Bishopricks , much less of Parochial Communions ; nor indeed was it possible to do it in those dayes , when the greatest number of people were either Iews or Heathens . Nor was there any need of this , it being at last an acknowledged Principle among Dissenters themselves , and those of the greatest note ; That the directive Light of Nature is sufficient to guide us in such things as these ; the times and seasons of Church Assemblies , the order and decency wherein all things are to be transacted in them , the bounding of them , as to the number of their members , and places of habitation , so as to answer the ends of their institution . And therefore if this Parochial Communion be of great use to the edification of Christians , it not only justifies the Wisdom of the Church in the first Institution of it , but severely condemns those , who break and violate so useful an Institution . The whole Christian Church is but one Body and Society of Christians united to Christ , who is the Head of this Body ; and therefore , were it possible , should all worship their common Father and Saviour together : but since the number of Christians , and their great distance from each other , will not admit this , they are divided into less Societies , for the more convenient Administration of holy Offices , and the exercise of Christian Discipline and Government . How can any thing in a Christian Nation be more useful for all the ends of Church Society , than the distribution of Christians into Parochial Communions ? To enjoy the liberty of publick Assemblies near our own dwellings , without being forced to seek for it at a distance , would have been thought a great priviledge in former Ages ; like the Heavenly Manna falling round about the Tents of the true Israelites . To have a fixed Pastor , who is particularly entrusted with the care of your Souls , to whom you may at all times freely resort , and disclose your spiritual wants , whose neighbourhood and conversation may contract a particular friendship and familiarity , and beget a mutual confidence and endearment , is quite a different thing from some publick and general exhortations ; and the reason why men do not more value the benefit and advantage of a Parochial Guide , is because generally they make so little use of him . This is the truest emblem of Catholick Unity , when we hold personal Communion with those Christians who are our neighbours , and so in the nearest disposition for it : for our obligation to Christian Communion extends it self to all Christian Societies , which live in the Communion of the Church ; and to pick up a Church for constant and Ordinary Communion here and there from stragling members , who live in remote and distant places , is to make a Schismatical difference between Christians , as if all Christians were not of the same body , nor fit for personal Communion : and though forsaking our Parish Churches for other Churches in the same Communion be not so formal a Schism , yet it has some tendency that way , it being a forsaking the Communion of our neighbour Christians and Parochial Guide . There is no other Rule , that I know of , for personal Communion , but cohabitation , or dwelling together in the same neighbourhood ; for then we communicate with the Catholick Church , when we communicate with that part of it wherein we live : but when without just cause we ordinarily forsake the Communion of Parochial Assemblies , we disturb the most convenient Order of Church-Communion , and make a Rent and Schism in the Church , as total Separation makes a Schism from the Church . Neighbour Christians have the most frequent occasions of conversing with each other , and therefore many great ends of Christian Communion are best attained among them : they may exhort and reprove one another , and provoke unto love and good works ; they may watch over one anothers souls , and when they observe each others miscarriages ( which they cannot avoid observing , when they live so near , and converse so often together ) they may apply such timely remedies , as may help up those , who fall , or prevent the fall of those , who trip and stumble ; and when the case is beyond their private redress , may call in the help of their Pastor , who by his wise Counsels and seasonable Exhortations and Reproofs , and pious and ardent Prayers , may convince those who have sinned , and restore them by Repentance , and obtain their Pardon , or strengthen and confirm those who were assaulted by Temptations , and procure fresh supplies of Grace for them . We see indeed very little of this now , and the reason of it is very plain , because few men consider , what are the Duties of Christian Communion , but are too much unconcerned what becomes of their Brothers soul ; they think every man must look to himself , but do not feel that sympathy , compassion and care ; which one member has for another ; that whether one member suffer , all the members suffer with it , or one member be honoured , all the members rejoyce with it ; but were men sensible of the necessity of this mutual care of each others souls , it could never be better discharged than among neighbours , who live under each others eye . And were men faithful in this , it would be a more effectual way to preserve the Church from the infection of putrid and corrupt members , than particular Church-associations , and all the Tests they could use or invent of real Saintship in admitting Church-members . The great Exception against Parochial Communion , which has formerly been , and is still managed by the Independents , is , that there are a great many bad men in our Communion , that Discipline is not duly exercised among us , to remove those from Christian Communion , who have forfeited their right to it by their vitious lives . But though this is no just reason for Separation , and there is a greater noise made about it , than there is any occasion for : since such notorious sinners usually excommunicate themselves , and if they do now and then hear a Sermon ( which I suppose they would not deny to Turks , Heathens and Infidels , as being the most likely Means for their Conversion ) yet never approach the Lord's Table , or are rejected , when known ; yet I say , would every Christian faithfully do his part ( and without this it is impossible Discipline should be duly administred in any Church-State ) Parochial Communion is the most effectual Means to preserve the Church pure , it being almost impossible any man should be guilty of any gross and scandalous vices , but some of his neighbours must know it ; which is more than can be said of any Congregation , whose members live at a distance from each other , and rarely converse together , and when they do , can easily put on greater reservedness and caution , and appear quite other men , than their common conversation speaks them to be . Love and Unity is a necessary duty of Christian Religion , it is the badge of our discipleship , By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples , if ye have love one to another : Now though we must love all Christians , as members of the same body , yet neighbours have the greatest reason by all possible arts and endearments , to secure their love to each other ; because they have the most frequent occasions of quarrels and contentions , if they do not : it is a much harder thing to maintain love and peace among men , who live together , and have different interests , which are many times cross to each other ; than among those who live at a distance , and seldome see one another : and there cannot be a more firm and lasting cement of Peace and Union , than Christian Communion is , when they worship God in the same place , and put up their united Prayers and Thanksgivings to him , and eat at the same Table , as members of the same body , and children of the same Father , and heirs of the same promises . This is a powerful argument to the love of all Christians , but it does more sensibly endear us to those , who are as it were of the same houshold and family : and since there is greater need of this endearment among neighbours , than strangers , Parochial Communion , which is made up of Christian neighbours , who daily converse with each other , does better answer the end of Christian Communion , than gathered Churches . I add further , that in Parochial Communion every particular Christian in a Nation , may be provided for , which cannot ordinarily be done in gathered Churches ; for every particular man belongs to one Parish or another , and is by Law bound to communicate in it , and if he do not , may be discovered , and corrected either by private admonitions , or publick censures : but when men forsake their Parochial Communion , it is impossible to give any account of them ; they may be of this Church , or of that , or of none at all . It is impossible for the Governours of the Church , who are to take care of every particular wandring Sheep , to give such an account of their charge in any other Church-state , as in Parochial Communions ; and that is a sufficient argument to prove that it is a very useful and necessary Constitution , and the more useful and necessary it is , the greater fault is it in those , who without great reason disturb good order , and though they know how to use this liberty wisely and innocently themselves , yet give an ill example to those who will make a bad use of it . I shall add but one thing more , and that is with reference to the good Government of your families : you cannot ordinarily have such inspection over your Children and Servants , when you go to other Churches , as when you can appoint them their Seats or Stations in your own , where you may have your eye upon them , and observe their carriage and behaviour ; and your example in forsaking your own Church , will be apt to teach them to do so too ; and I have reason to fear , that this has too often occasioned the debauchery of many , otherwise hopeful , young men . The Sum is this , that though the division of Churches into Parish-bounds under the conduct of a Parochial Minister , be not founded on any express Law of God , yet it is so highly useful to all the great ends of Church-Communion that it must needs be a very great fault lightly or wantonly to violate so wholsome an Institution . 2. Because the great Plea , which is made by those who communicate with our Church , for forsaking their Parish Churches , is the different abilities of Preachers ; and every one is desirous to hear those Preachers whom he likes best , and thinks there is no hurt in it : I shall , as plainly as I can , and with as little offence as may be , consider this matter . 1. And first I observe , that this is a great pretence of others , for Separation from our Church , that they can profit more by Non-conforming than by Conforming Preachers , and therefore forsake our Churches , and joyn themselves to separate Congregations ; and methinks wife and good men should not like a principle , which so easily leads men into Separation , and ends in Schism . I confess , there is a great deal of difference , between taking the best care we can of our souls in the Communion of the Church , and involving our selves in the guilt of Schism upon this pretence ; but yet that is a suspicious argument which tends towards Schism ; which in its greatest innocency breaks good orders , and wholesome Constitutions , and when it is fully pursued , may lead giddy and unstable minds into Separation . 2. There is so much unaccountable fancy and humour to be seen in those different judgements , men make of Preachers , that it were a very hard case , if the Peace , Order and Government of the Church were to lye at the mercy of mens different fancies . Some are taken with a grave and solid , others with a florid and polite Preacher ; some are pleased with a tone , others with earnestness and vehemence of action and voice . How often do many men vary in their opinions of Preachers , and change their Churches , as their fancy changes ? Those Preachers who are disliked by their own Parishioners , are very often admired by strangers : Now what work would this make in all Civil Governments , were Fancy suffered to over-rule publick Establishments ? and we have as little reason to expect that God will allow of such inroads of Fancy upon the Order and Government of the Church . The design of Church-Communion , and of Preaching the Gospel , is not to please and tickle a wanton Fancy , but to instruct us in the plain Duties of the Gospel , and to furnish us with the Arguments and Motives to a holy life ; and thanks be to God , such discourses we may meet with in most Churches in this Nation , especially in this great City , though it may be not alwayes dressed to every mans palate . It is a sign men are full fed , when they cannot be contented with plain and wholsome food , but complain , if they have not some delicious Sauces to create and tempt an appetite : this I am sure is certain , that men , who govern themselves by such Fancies , do not alwayes make the wisest choice , nor the best improvements . 3. Suppose your Parochial Ministers do not appear to be the best Preachers , the profoundest Divines , nor the most moving Orators ; consider whether this may not in great measure be owing to your selves : whether your withdrawing your selves from their instructions , may not make them more slight and careless in their preparations . Preachers are men subject to humane infirmities , and in all cases it is apt to dispirit men , to see all their pains and labour despised and slighted , especially in this case , which makes them uncapable of doing that service to the souls of men , which their Office requires , and which they so passionately desire . Men who are above the vanity of a great Auditory , are yet desirous to preach to those , whom they are concerned to instruct , and are grieved to see them turn their backs upon them . You might many times have better Sermons , did you not discourage your Preachers by such neglects . 4. Consider farther , that you are particularly accountable for the improvement of those means of Grace , which you did or might have enjoyed in the Communion of your Parish Churches . God is not the Author of Confusion , but of Order and Peace , and therefore requires us to keep our station ; and when the Providence of God , and the Laws of Church and State , have placed us under such a Ministry , we are accountable for no more , than what we can enjoy with the preservation of the Peace , and Order , and Government of the Church : and if our improvements be proportionable to this , we shall not lose our reward . But now suppose , by pursuing your wandring fancies , ye fall into any mistakes , or are ignorant of any part of your duty , when ye might have been better instructed , had ye diligently and constantly attended the Parochial Ministry , what excuse can such men make for themselves ? they are misled , but it was occasioned by forsaking that Guide , whom the Divine Providence had provided for them ; they sin ignorantly , but they might have known better , had they not withdrawn themselves from such instructions : certainly those men act more safely , with reference to a future account , who make the best use they can of such instructions , as the Providence of God provides for them ; than those , who leave their rank and order to chuse better for themselves . 5. We may also reasonably expect the greater assistances of the Divine Spirit in preserving good order , which will tend more to our spiritual increase and growth , than the best external means of edification : the success does not depend upon the gifts and abilities of the Preacher , but upon the influences of Gods Grace : Who then is Paul , and who is Apollos , but Ministers by whom ye believed , even as the Lord gave to every man ? I have planted , Apollos watered , but God gave the increase : so then , neither is he that planteth any thing , nor he that watereth , but God that giveth the increase . Some little imperfect hints may more enlighten our minds , when the Divine Spirit is pleased to teach us , than the most exact and elaborate discourse ; and plain truths without any art or varnish , may be conveyed with more warmth and vigour to our souls and consciences , and may affect us more , than all the charms of humane eloquence . If men design only pleasing their fancies , that they may do better by gratifying their curiosity ; but he , who has no other design in hearing , but to save his soul , ought principally to take care , that he may enjoy the influences of the holy Spirit , which alone can make the external Ministry of the Word effectual ; and the best way to do that , is to observe good order ; for he is a Spirit of Love , and Peace , and Unity , and Order , and therefore is more concerned to supply the defects and imperfections of external Ministries , which we conscientiously submit to , and diligently attend , to preserve good order in the Church . 6. The constant attendance on a meaner Ministry , is much more for our edification , than an occasional hearing much better Sermons . It is too much the humour of many men , who forsake their own Church , to be constant to none ; and by this means they may hear a great many excellent Sermons , and yet not be thoroughly instructed in all parts of their duty : whereas every Minister , who makes conscience of instructing his people committed to him , will take care at one time or other to teach them all the great Articles of Faith , and Rules of Life , which though it may not be so taking and popular , is yet more useful than some general Discourses , and pressing and vehement Exhortations without a particular explication of their duty . Which shews the advantage of attending a constant Ministry , especially if men would acquaint themselves with their Minister , whereby he might the better understand , how to apply himself to their particular cases , to fit his Instructions to their capacities , and his Counsels , Exhortations and Reproofs to their spiritual wants . This may suffice to shew our obligations to Parochial Communion . 2. The second thing proposed , was to answer some Objections against this ; and they are only some hard cases , which make Parochial Communion very nauseous and unpleasant to honest minds , or very dangerous . As to name some of the hardest : 1. The case of a vicious and scandalous Minister , who like Eli's Sons , makes the Sacrifices of God to be abhorred : I am in great hope , that the number of these men is not great , though one were too much : and yet it is not to be expected , that in so great a body of men , there should be none : Let the enemies of God , and of Religion , triumph in this , and encrease their numbers , while we silently lament it . But when this is the case , I think every good man should apply himself to his Superiours , and endeavour to remove him ; if this cannot be done , or is too long delayed , he must learn to distinguish between the man and his Office ; a bad man , but yet a legal Minister ; and though he be unworthy of so holy a Profession , yet the efficacy of his Ministry does not depend upon his personal qualifications , but on the Institution of Christ. The lewdness of Eli's Sons , though it gave great offence and scandal to the Israelites , yet it did not make them forsake the Altar of God : The Scribes and Pharisees in our Saviours dayes , were a vile sort of people , but yet he does not command his Disciples to withdraw from their Communion , but not to follow their examples . The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses seat , all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe , that observe and do , but do not after their works , for they say and do not . And upon these principles St. Austin disputes against the Donatists , and will not allow the personal miscarriages of Ministers , to be a just cause of Separation : and yet if in such cases , a serious Christian with prudence and modesty , and with as little noise and scandal as may be , preserving the Communion of the Church , should joyn in Communion with a neighbouring Minister , I should not see much reason to blame him : for it is no Schism , while he continues in the Communion of the Church , and only forsakes the Communion of his Parish Minister upon too just an offence . 2. The case of an ignorant Minister ; and I hope this case is not very frequent neither , at least not such gross ignorance , as shall make a man utterly uncapable of such a function : and yet it cannot be expected , that all the Parishes in England should be supplyed with Learned Preachers , when there are so many Livings , that will hardly find bread for a Family . But we must consider , that our Church has made excellent provision in this case ; has taken care , that the instruction of her Children , shall not wholly depend upon the personal abilities of the Minister . Our Liturgy is the same , whatever the Ministers abilities be , which contains a very excellent form of Worship , and Administration of Sacraments ; the Catechism , which he is bound to teach the Children , contains the substance of Christian Religion in few and plain words ; and the Homilies which are appointed to be read , are very useful and pious Sermons upon most of the material heads of Religion ; that though the Minister be no great Scholar , if he be but honest and diligent in observing the Rules and Directions of the Church , his people cannot want sufficient Instructions . And this one instance , shews the great necessity and advantage , of publick Liturgies and Homilies , which secures the decent performance of Religious Worship , and the instruction of the people in sound and wholsome doctrine , notwithstanding the personal defects and inabilities of the Minister ; what case such poor Parishes were in , when these provisions were cryed down , as Popish and Antichristian , I cannot guess . 3. The case of an erroneous and heretical Minister ; who mixes poison with his doctrine , and corrupts the plainness and simplicity of the Christian Religion ; and can any Christian , who is bound to take care of his soul , think it his duty to expose himself to the perpetual danger and temptation of erroneous doctrines ? In answer to which , consider , 1. That people are very ill Judges of errors and heresie ; the most antient and most useful doctrines of Christianity have sometimes been thought so ; and when we have so many men intent and zealous to seduce our people , it is an easie matter to whisper the danger of being infected by a corrupt and heretical doctrine . Some think every thing heresie , but Antinomianism ; to perswade men to a good life , to tell them , that there are certain conditions annexed to the Gospel Covenant , without the performance of which , we shall not be saved : that not an idle and notional , but an active and working faith justifies ; that we are saved by Christ , not as a Proxy , who has done all for us , but as a Priest and Sacrifice and Mediator , who has expiated our sins by his death , and sealed the Covenant of Grace in his blood , and now powerfully intercedes for us with his Father , and sends his Spirit into the World to be a principle of a new life in us : these and such like doctrines are by some men reproached with the name of heresie : and upon their authority believed to be so by others : and yet if men must withdraw their Communion for the sake of such heresies as these , they must forsake the most useful Preachers and most Orthodox Churches : and therefore , 2. The charge of heresie must be very plain and notorious , before it can justifie our breach of Communion . If men deny any plain Article of the Christian Faith , it is dangerous to intrust the care of our souls with them , for they are at best but Wolves in Sheeps cloathing ; but to suspect men of heresie , when there is no evidence of it , is it self a very great fault ; and difference of judgement and opinion about some less matters in Religion , which we are alwayes like to differ about , while we see in part , and know only in part , may exercise mutual forbearance , but will not excuse men from the guilt of such causless Separations . 3. Where the presumptions are very strong , we must appeal to Church Governours , to detect his errors and heresies , if he have any , and to secure the flock from such apparent danger : Private Reformations usually prove more fatal , than the mischiefs which they are designed to remedy : and what I said in the case of an ignorant Minister , is very applicable to this , the publick Prayers and administration of Sacraments , and Catechism , cannot be corrupted by the greatest Heretick , if he observe his Rule ; and this secures the purity of Worship , and wholsome instructions : and as for his Sermons , it only concerns men to be wary what doctrines they receive from him , to take nothing upon trust , but to search the Scriptures , whether such things be so . Such a course as this , will maintain good order in the Church , without any danger to our faith . 4. When the bounds of Parishes , and the number of people is too large for Parochial Communion . This has often been made a pretence to justifie separate Meetings , because the number of people is much greater in many Parishes , than can be contained in one Church . The complaint is too true , and worthy of the care of publick Authority to redress it ; but this is no just reason for Separation , though it be a reason for such persons , who are shut out of their own Parish Churches , to go to others , where they can be received ; for where publick Authority has not made sufficient provision for Parochial Communion , men who love their souls , must provide for themselves in the Communion of the Church . CHAP. II. Concerning Irreverence in Worship . ANother great miscarriage , which many professed Christians are guilty of , is an irreverent performance of Religious Worship ; if that may be called Religious Worship , which is not attended with all the solemn expressions of reverence and devotion . There are so many instances of this , that the very naming of them , will be thought sharp and satyrical . There are but few Christians , who put on that true gravity and seriousness of looks and behaviours , as becomes the presence of God , and the solemnity of Religious Worship . You shall see some gazing about them with a roving and wandring eye , as if they came only to see , and to be seen , to observe every new face , or new dress and garb , and therefore too often set themselves out with that fantastick gaiety , which more becomes a Play-house than a Church . You shall see others talk , or whisper , or laugh , to the great offence and scandal of all serious and devout minds . Others instead of worshipping God , sleep away the Prayers or Sermon , or both , as if they were not concerned in either : It is possible indeed for very devout men sometimes to be surprized with sleep , but it is a great indecency , when ever it is so and requires great care to prevent it , in our selves and others ; and is a great contempt of God and of his Worship , when it grows into a custom , and men as naturally dispose themselves to a sleeping posture , as if it were the design of their coming to Church . You shall see others sit all the time of Divine Service , which would be thought a very great rudeness , when we put up a Petition to an earthly Prince : this was unknown in the ancient Church , wherein for some Ages , they did not so much as sit either while the Scriptures were read or expounded : and Eusebius relates a famous ▪ Story of Constantine the first Christian Emperour , that when he made a Speech to him in his own Palace concerning the Sepulchre of our Saviour , he heard it standing , though it were very long , and would not be perswaded to sit down , saying , That it was not fit to consult our ease , while we hear any discourses concerning God : and that it was more agreeable to piety , to hear Religious discourses standing . And what would that Religious Emperour have thought , to have seen Christians in publick Assemblies pray sitting ? And indeed I have often thought , what should be the reason of that universal practice of sitting , when we sing Psalms ; for Psalms of praise and thanksgiving are as much the worship of God as Prayer , and therefore equally require a posture of Devotion . Thus uncovering the head , has at least among Christians , been alwayes accounted an act of Reverence , as pulling off the Shooes was among the Eastern Nations , and therefore becomes the presence of so great a Majesty . But I shall not take notice of every particular instance of such miscarriages , but endeavour to convince you of the great evil and undecency of such irreverence in Worship , and that from these two considerations : 1. The nature of Religious Worship , especially considered as publick . 2. From the peculiar presence of God , and holy Angels in Christian Assemblies . 1. From the nature of Religious Worship , especially considered as publick : Now Religious Worship consists in a great awe and reverence for the Divine Majesty : when we are possest with a great sense of that infinite distance , which is between God and us , and our constant dependence on him , which makes us approach his presence with great humility of mind , with a profound admiration of his infinite perfections , with thankful acknowledgments of his many and great blessings bestowed on us , and with souls devoted to his service and obedience ; hence Religion is so often called the fear of God , because Religion is founded in a great awe and reverence for God. So that where there is no true reverence of God , there is no true Worship of him ; and where ever the mind is thoroughly affected with this religious fear , it will discover it self in our words , and looks , and actions . Our souls have the government of our outward man , and our passions discover themselves in our looks and behaviour . It requires very great art , either to conceal those passions , which we have , or to counterfeit those which we have not : for there is such a sympathy between our souls and bodies , that they powerfully affect each other ; and our wise Maker so contrived our frame , that though the secret motions of our minds cannot be seen , yet they discover themselves by those external and visible impressions they make on our bodies , without which , mankind could never know one another , nor have any pleasure or security in mutual conversation . For no wise man cares to converse with those , who can so artificially diguise themselves , that you can never know , what their inward resentments are . Which shews , that according to the frame of our natures , an inward reverence for God , will shew it self in external actions ; and therefore that it ought to do so ; for as God has united the soul and body into one man , so he has united their motions and actions too , without which , there can be no one perfect act of Religion or Vertue : to worship God with the body without the soul is hypocrisie ; to worship God with the soul without the body is either impossible , because our inward passions will discover themselves by some external signs , when we have no design nor interest to conceal them , or is very lame and imperfect and unbecoming this state of life : We must glorifie God both with our bodies and with our spirits , which are Gods ; he made them both , and united them for his service , and for the same reason , redeemed them both with the blood of his Son. But we shall better see the necessity of this , by considering the nature of publick Worship ; for publick Worship consists in publick signs of honour ; no man has a Window into our souls , to discover the secret devotion of our hearts ; and therefore visible Worship must be expressed in visible actions , in the external reverence of our words , and gestures , and behaviour , that is , in such actions , as express the great humility of our minds , that great sense we have of the infinite Majesty of God , and our own meanness and worthlessness , and all those passions and affections , which become Divine Worship : and therefore rude and unmannerly approaches to God , such as would not become the Majesty of an earthly Prince , whatever inward devotion we may pretend to , is not external and visible Worship , because it is separated from all external and visible signs of honour . And therefore we may observe , that good men in all Ages have not contented themselves meerly to worship God with devout thoughts and passions , but with such external acts of Religion , as either a Divine Institution , or the Custom of their Countrey , and the practice of the Church had made external signs of honour : Such as uncovering the head , or putting off their shooes , or bowing the body , or kneeling , or prostration , or lifting up eyes and hands to Heaven , where God dwells . For this we have the ancient Patriarchs , the Jewish Church , Christ and his Apostles , and the whole Christian Church for many Ages , for our example ; and it will be hard to find any sort of people in the World , that pretended to any Religion , but took great care of the ex●e●nal solemnities , and decent circumstances of Worship : I know of no Age of the Christian Church till very lately , wherein those men would have been allowed to be of any Religion , or admitted to Christian Communion , who should have betrayed such slight thoughts of God in a rude and slovenly Worship , as too many among our selves are now guilty of ; and indeed this has insensibly crept upon us ever since those hot disputes about Ceremonies and the externals of Religion have troubled the Church : for when men began to dispute down all good order and decent administration of Religious Offices , they soon disputed away all external Worship , and many who still pretend no great dislike to publick Constitutions , are so far infected with this disease , that they are not sufficiently careful of the gravity and seriousness of their devotion ; and some are so afraid of Fanaticism , that they dare not look solemnly , nor lift up their eyes and hands to Heaven , for fear of being thought Fanaticks or hypocrites . Thus while some men out of a groundless fear of Superstition , strip Religion of all useful and decent Ceremonies ; and others out of as wild a suspicion of Fanaticism , are afraid to appear grave and serious in their Religion , the publick solemnities of Worship are either left to every mans fancy , or performed in so careless and trifling a manner , that the Name of God is dishonoured , and his Worship profaned and scorned . But my business at present , is with those of our own Communion , and possibly it may do them some good to tell them , that they who appear so zealous against Fanaticism , and are yet so trifling in their Worship , are much the worst Fanaticks of the two . For many of our Dissenters , though they reject the use of our Ceremonies , and neglect that external decency of Worship , which has been in use in all Ages of the Church , yet however they make a shew of great seriousness in their worship , and seem to be very sensibly affected with it , and therefore this looks like Worship , though it want some external solemnities , which may be thought needful ; but when men stare and gaze about them , laugh or whisper at their prayers , and betray great vanity and lightness of mind ( to say no worse ) instead of an awful sense and reverence of God , this is so far from making any shew of Worship , how exact soever they may be in their postures or responses , that it is downright profaneness . They are thus far fanatical in their principles , that they must believe ( if they consider any thing ) that God does not much regard the Worship of the outward man , for did they believe he did , they would be more careful to pay it him ; for the bare doing any thing in Religious Worship , such as kneeling at Prayers , or standing up at the Hymns and Creed , and the like , does not make it so much as an external sign of Worship , unless it be performed with that gravity and seriousness , which is essential to all Religious Worship ; and if they believe , that though God does expect the Worship of the body , he matters not the Worship of the mind , nor how carelesly external Worship is performed , so it be done : This is so wild a principle , that it out-does all the Fanaticks that ever were in the World. Those who were arrant hypocrites , and yet very punctual in the externals of Religion ( such as the Scribes and Pharisees were in our Saviours dayes ) were withal very solemn and demure in those external superstitions : and those who reject external Ceremonies of Religion , yet pretend to great devotion of mind , and rapturous ardours and transports of spirit ; but these men are for an external bodily Worship without so much as the least visible appearance of external devotion ; and ( if there be no other remedy ) I wish with all my heart , that these men would make a Sect by themselves too , and not reproach the Church of England by continuing in her Communion , which has brought a greater scandal upon our Worship , than all the arguments and cavils of Dissenters : though the better way would be , and that which I heartily beg of God , and do earnestly beg all men , to correct this fault , and to wipe off that reproach of a cold formal Worship , by expressing that grave , and serious , and ardent devotion , which so much becomes all the true Worshippers of God , is so essential to Religious Worship , and so interwoven with all the publick Offices of our Religion , which are admirably fitted to serve all the ends of a grave and serious Piety . 2. Let us consider now the peculiar presence of God and holy Angels in Religious Assemblies : Did we see God in a visible glory ( as he used to appear to Moses at the door of the Tabernacle ) every time we meet to worship him , I am apt to think we should all express greater signs of Reverence and devotion : and yet there is none of you , but will pretend to believe , that God is present in your Assemblies , and that he takes a more particular notice of your carriage and behaviour , when ye meet to worship him , than he does at other times ; that is , that he expects now , that ye should take a more particular notice of his presence , and behave your selves with a suitable reverence , as those who believe , that God is present in a peculiar manner , though ye do not see him . Under the Law God dwelt in the Tabernacle and Temple , which was his house ; and therefore when the Tabernacle was finished , God filled it with his presence and glory : there was the Mercy-Seat covered with Cherubims , which was a figure of Gods presence , and the attendance of Angels ; and it was a constant opinion among the Heathens , that their Gods dwelt in their Temples and Images consecrated to their Worship ; and though they were ridiculously foolish in thinking to charm their Gods by some Magical Rites and Mysteries , and confine them to certain places ; yet the original of this , was only a traditional belief , that God was alwayes peculiarly present in all places of his Worship . It is sufficiently evident , that the Primitive Christians did believe , that Angels , who are Gods Retinue and Ministers , do attend Christian Assemblies , and are witnesses of the decency and reverence of our Worship : and this is the most plain and obvious sense of St. Paul's words , For this cause ought the woman to have power over her head because of the Angels , he was a discoursing the decency of mens praying uncovered , and women covered , because the woman ought to be in subjection to her husband ; and therefore it was undecent to appear with her head uncovered ; and much more so in religious Assemblies , wherein we are to have a greater regard to decency because of the Angels , that is , those Angels , who attend our Worship , and carefully observe our behaviour , though we do not see them : and as St. Chrysostom sayes , If we reverence men , much more the Angels of God. From whence we learn these two things , that the Angels attend our Worship , and that for that reason , we ought to be very careful of all decency and gravity in our Worship . And certainly did men heartily believe , and seriously consider , that God and his holy Angels look on , and take special notice of every action , and are greatly offended with a light and trifling carriage , with any gestures or actions , which unbecome so great a presence , it would compose them to greater seriousness and devotion , and either make them afraid to come to Church , or more reverent when they do . CHAP. III. Concerning the neglect of the publick Prayers of the Church . A Nother great miscarriage , which some are guilty of , who do not forsake our Communion is a great neglect of the publick Prayers of the Church : A great many come to Church , when the Service is half read , others when it is near a conclusion , and think there is no great hurt in it neither , if they do not lose the Sermon . At other times when there is only the Divine Service read , without a Sermon , few persons think it worth their attendance , but the Worship of God is exposed to contempt , and the Minister laugh't at for reading to bare Walls and empty Seats . These things , I grant , may happen sometimes , where there is no designed neglect , the mistake of time may occasion some persons coming late , who want certain notice , and on the Week-dayes necessary business may hinder others , who are glad to take all the opportunities , they can get , of publick Worship ; but where there are not such reasonable excuses , the fault is very great , though few people are convinc't of it ; and therefore my business at present , shall be , to endeavour to convince you of the evil of this neglect . 1. If you will acknowledge it your duty to worship God together in the Assemblies of Christians , I need not multiply words to prove such a neglect of publick Prayers to be a great fault : for they are the principal part of the Divine Worship : there we confess our sins to God , and beg his Pardon , and receive a Ministerial Absolution from the mouth of his Minister ; there we praise him in divine Hymns and Anthems , and put up our joint Petitions and Thanksgivings to him ; and this is properly divine Worship , because it is our address to God in Supplications , Prayers and Praises . To hear the Word of God read or preached , is so far an act of Worship too , as it signifies an acknowledgement of his authority over us , and our desire to be instructed by him : but this is but a secondary act of Worship , which consists in hearing God speak to us , either immediately in his inspired Word , or mediately by those men whom he has authorized and qualified for the instruction of his Church : but the Worship of God properly consists in our offering something to God , the Sacrifices of Prayers and Thanksgivings which are highly pleasing to him , when they are offered up by a devout soul in the name and merits of our great High Priest and Mediator Jesus Christ. So that those , who neglect the Prayers of the Church , neglect publick Worship , and those who slight the opportunities of publick Prayers , when there is no Sermon to invite their presence , plainly discover , that they prefer pleasing their curiosity , with hearing some new discourse , before the more solemn acts of Worship , which is a great sign , that they hear to very little purpose , when the end of hearing is practice , and the most excellent part of practical Religion is the immediate Worship of God. 2. Because some men think , they worship God sufficiently , if they come time enough to Church to joyn in the Pulpit Prayer , I would desire them to consider , that Church Communion principally consists in joyning in the publick Prayers of the Church . These men would not be thought , nor do they intend to renounce the Communion of our Church , and yet in effect do so , while they neglect its publick Worship ; for Church Communion consists in meeting together for publick acts of Worship , and then we joyn in the publick Worship of the Church , when we worship God according to that Rule and Form prescribed by the publick Authority of the Church , wherein we live . The Prayer of the Minister before Sermon is not so expresly provided for by our Rubrick , though it be favoured by a Canon made for that purpose , and is now usefully introduced by long custome with the connivance , if not the express allowance of our Governours , but the Liturgy is the form of publick Worship and administration of Sacraments , there the Church offers up more especially her publick Prayers and Praises , this is the great bond of Church Communion , and to neglect or withdraw our selves from this Worship , is in effect to forsake the Communion of the Church , as to the principal part and exercise of it . When you joyn in the Pulpit Prayer , though it be never so well composed , grave and serious , pious and ardent , yet it looks more like the Worship of a particular Congregation , than of the Church , for you joyn only with those , who are present at such a prayer ; but when we offer up our souls to God in that publick Form of Prayers prescribed by publick Authority , we joyn with all the Congregations of England , who at the same time offer up the same Prayers and Praises in the same words , as if they were , but one Congregation , and had but one heart and mouth ; and those men , do not understand the reason and nature of publick Worship , who make light of this . Why is the Worship of a Religious Assembly more acceptable to God , than the private Devotions of good men , when they might as well stay at home , and about the same hour ( which in ancient times was observed for private as well as publick Devotion ) offer up their private Prayers to God for themselves and one another ; for God can hear them all , where ever they are , and their prayers may ascend up to Heaven together ; and this one would think , should be as acceptable and prevalent , as to pray to God in a great company : and yet we see , that our Saviour has instituted publick Assemblies for Worship , has appointed his Ministers to offer up the publick prayers of the Congregation to God in his name , has confined his more peculiar presence and favour to such Assemblies ; and one great reason of this is , that he is pleased with the unity and uniformity of Worship ; for he hath expresly promised , that if two of you shall agree on earth , as touching any thing they shall ask , it shall be done for them of my Father , which is in heaven : for where two or three are gathered together in my name , there am I in the midst of them . This is the fundamental Charter of Christian Assemblies , and the reason of it certainly is stronger , the more universal the consent and agreement is : for if Christ will be present with two or three , who assemble in Christian love and charity , and agree to put up the same Petitions to God , much more when so many Christian Churches are confederated in the same Worship , and offer up the same Prayers and Thanksgivings to God in the same words . How powerful will the united Prayers of a whole National Church be to procure those blessings for us which we want . For if unity and consent in Worship be so pleasing to God ; the greater this consent is , the more pleasing it must be : Especially considering , that in this case , we have not only the consent and agreement of private Christians in such acts of Worship , but are confederated by the publick authority of the Church , and therefore such publick Worship has the beauty and advantages of publick Order and Government . If the Prayers of a particular Minister of Religion be so prevalent , how much more those Prayers , which have the stamp of Church Authority , which are the Desires and Petitions of the whole Church , even when they are offered up by a single Minister ; which cannot so well be said of any Prayer of his own : and if we believe that God is the God of Peace and Order in the Church , we cannot but think it very acceptable to him , to observe good order in our Religious Worship . Did men seriously consider these things , they would be soon sensible of the great advantage of such publick Forms of Prayer , and prefer the Prayers of the Church , before any Prayers of a private composition , or any suddain extempore effusions . For publick Prayers , prescribed by publick Authority , and offered up by a publick Minister , are alwayes in the Communion of the Church , and virtually contain the Desires and Petitions of the whole Church . CHAP. IV. Concerning the publick Administration of Baptism . ANother great miscarriage of those , who live in the Communion of our Church , concerns the administration of Baptism : Publick Baptism is now very much grown out of fashion ; most people look upon it , as a very needless and troublesome Ceremony , to carry their Children to the publick Congregation , there to be solemnly admitted by Baptism into the fellowship of Christs Church . They think it may be as well done in a private Chamber , as soon as the Child is born , with little company , and with little noise . As prevailing as this custom now is , it is of a very late date , even in this Church . It seems to owe its original to the disputes about Ceremonies : for when some men scrupled God-Fathers and God-Mothers , and the use of the Sign of the Cross , to avoid this , they baptized their Children privately at home without either , when they could meet with such a conscientious Conformist as could dispense with his Rule . And when the Church of England was pulled down , and the use of the Liturgy and Ceremonies forbid ; those who still retained their reverence and obedience to the Constitutions of the Church , and would not partake in a prevailing Schism , were forced to retire into private too , and to baptize their Children at home ; and it is a hard thing to break a custome , upon what occasion soever , it was at first begun . That , which necessity occasioned , is continued by some , as a piece of State , by others to save charge and trouble , which might be much better saved by publick Baptism ; by others , out of softness and tenderness ; a kind and indulgent Mother dares not expose a young Infant to the cold Air , unless it be to send it to nurse . I could never hear any thing pleaded for this practice , that deserved an answer ; that which makes this custom prevail , is , that men do not consider the great decency and fitness , and the many advantages of publick Baptism , which I shall therefore now briefly represent . By publick Baptism I mean that , which is administred in the publick Congregation , and in the publick place of Worship : and the fitness and advantage of this will appear , if we consider some few things . 1. That Baptism is our solemn admission into the Christian Church , and therefore ought to be administred in the publick Congregation . Baptism makes us members of the body of Christ , and unites us to the society of Christians , and therefore is of a publick nature , and therefore ought to be administred publickly . For there is no other rule , I know of , whereby to determine the manner and circumstances of any action , but to consider the nature of it : there are some actions , which are more proper to be done in private , others , which require some publick solemnities : and it is as undecent to do a publick action , i. e. an action of a publick nature , privately , as it is to do a private action in publick . Now that is certainly of a publick nature , which concerns a who'e society , and such is the admission of Church-members , and therefore ought to be done in the presence , as well as by the authority of the Church . The efficacy indeed of Baptism depends upon the Institution of Christ , and therefore when it is rightly administred , does not lose its vertue , for want of some due circumstances ; but it is a great fault in those , who wilfully and obstinately refuse to give all Christian offices their due solemnity . 2. We may consider , that Baptism contains a publick profession of our faith in Christ : it is a publick owning of his Religion : no adult person was ever admitted to Baptism without a profession of his faith in Christ : in allusion to which , as Learned Men think , St. Peter calls Baptism , not the putting away of the filth of the flesh , but the answer of a good conscience towards God. The person to be baptized being examined about his faith in Christ , and resolutions of obeying him : Now the profession of our faith , the more publick it is , the more agreeable is it to the nature of Baptism , and the constitution of the Christian Church , which is a visible Society professing the faith of Christ : and though indeed Infants , who are baptized , are not capable of making such a publick profession of their faith , yet their Sponsors and Sureties are , who undertake for their education in the Christian faith : and certainly the publick Church is the most proper place for such a publick profession . To baptize our Children privately , looks as if we were ashamed of the Christian profession ; and there is not a more effectual way to root out Christianity , than to destroy all the publick solemnities of Worship . 4. Publick Baptism is very much for the edification of the Church : It minds Christians of their Baptismal Vow , which I fear too many are apt to forget ; it puts good thoughts into them , when they see , what a grave and serious thing it is to be a Christian ; it sets their consciences on work , to review their past lives , and to consider how they have kept their Baptismal Vow : it minds Children and Servants of their duty , who are seldome at private Baptism , and are many times more affected with such a sight , than with the best counsels . It minds those , who have been God-Fathers or God-Mothers , what charge they have undertaken , which they are to look upon as somewhat more than a complement to a friend , or matter of ceremony ; even a trust , and a trust of the highest nature , an obligation to God , and to his Church , to take care of the Vertuous and Religious Education of such Children . Which may convince all considering men , of what great use it is , that Baptism should be administred with all the aweful and publick solemnities that may be ; and not be huddled over in private , as a thing , that must be done , though it matters not how . 5. For this we have the example of the Primitive Christians , who always administred Baptism in publick places , and in the presence of the Congregation . At first indeed they baptized in Rivers or Ponds , as Iohn the Baptist did in Iordan , where our Saviour himself was baptized , which made many in the Primitive Church ambitious to be baptized there also , as Eusebius reports of Constantine the Emperour , though he was disappointed in it : afterwards they built Fonts near the Church , then in the Church-porch , and at last in the Church it self ; and never allowed of private Baptisms , but in danger of death . And to make the action more solemn , they had publick times for Baptism , which in most Churches were Easter and Whitsunday , when all their Catechumens , who desired Baptism , and were judged fit to receive it , were admitted into the body of Christians , and made members of Christ and of his Church . And thus it continued in following Ages , and so it ought still to be according to the Rubrick of our Church ( I mean as to the publick administration of Baptism , though it be not now confined to such certain times ) which allows of no private Baptisms , but in danger of death : So that this is a plain transgression of the Rule , and therefore such a disorder , as no man should be guilty of , who professes himself a member of our Church . CHAP. V. Concerning the publick Instructions of Youth . ANother great miscarriage is , that few men are so ready and careful , as they ought to be , to submit their Children and Servants to publick Instructions . Of what mighty concernment the Religious and Vertuous Education of Youth is , I need not tell you ; for in a great measure their happiness in this World and in the next depends on it : when Children are brought up in ignorance and folly , it layes a foundation of Atheism and Debauchery in their riper years . Unless they be t●ught to know and to fear God betimes , they are in great danger of laughing at God and Religion , and making a mock of sin , as they grow in years and wickedness . I doubt not but the Atheism and lewdness of this present Age , has been as much owing to the miscarriages of Parents and Governours in the Education of Children and Youth , as to any one cause besides . How many Children have never been taught any other Catechism , than some flattering Complements , modish Oaths , and obscene talk ? How many have been instructed in prophane and impious Jests , and all the topicks of irreligious Wit ? and no wonder , there are so many great Proficients who are wicked above their age , and can as pertly and confidently laugh down God and Religion , as the gravest and most studied Atheists . Others are not so industrious to corrupt Youth , but yet take no care to instruct them better , to possess their tender minds with the knowledge and love of God , and true goodness ; and then there is no great need to teach them to be wicked . If the ground been't tilled and cultivated , you can expect no good fruit , but weeds will grow of themselves . Others possibly do take care to instruct their Children in the Principles of Religion , and to train them up to the practice of Vertue ; and I only wish there were greater numbers of these men ; we might then hope in time to see the World reformed , and Religion grow into fashion and credit again ; at least the next generation might see the blessed effects of those seeds of Vertue and Piety , which are sown now . But there is one great neglect of very mischievous consequence , easie to be observed among us , and we can expect no great good , till it be reformed ; and that is the neglect of publick Catechizing ; which may be sometimes the neglect of the Minister , but is oftner the neglect of the people , who cannot be perswaded to submit their Children and Servants to publick instructions , nor to give any incouragement to it by their own presence and attendance . That this is so , is too evident , and yet I cannot make any probable conjecture , what should be the cause of this ; For , 1. No man certainly can think it an indifferent thing , whether his Children be thoroughly instructed in the principles of Christian knowledge : for knowledge must be both the rule of practice , and the motive of obedience : the Laws of the Gospel must be the rule of our life and practice , and no wonder men do amiss , who know not , what they ought to do ; the Articles of the Christian faith are the motives and principles of obedience , to enable us to conquer the corrupt inclinations of our nature , and the allurements and temptations of this World ; and no wonder men are conquered , who understand not the use of their spiritual armour , who are ignorant of those things , without the belief and knowledge of which , they cannot conquer : Such as the being , and nature , and providence of God ; the incarnation , death , and sufferings , resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ , the eternal Son of God ; the influences and assistances of the Divine Spirit , the Judgement to come , and everlasting life after death . Nor is it sufficient , to be able to say over these words , without some competent understanding of the sense and meaning of them , the Articles of our Creed do not work like Spells or Charms , by the Magical power or sound of words , but as arguments and motives , that is , as they convey such a sense of things to our minds , as govern our affections , and subdue them to the obedience of Christ ; and therefore no man can be the better for his faith , who does not throughly understand , what he believes . And though hearing Sermons may help somewhat towards the instruction of Youth , yet this cannot be so effectual , as Catechizing ; for the first principles of knowledge ought to be taught by few and plain words , and instill'd into them by degrees , as they are able to bear it . There is milk for babes , and meat for strong men : to understand the first principles of Christian knowledge , is necessary to teach them to understand a Sermon , which commonly supposes some competent knowledge in the principles of Christianity : and the true reason , why so few men understand Sermons , or get any good by them , is , because they never well understood their Catechism . The want of this careful instruction of Youth , makes them so unstable and uncertain in their Religion , when they come to be men . This makes so many different Opinions and Sects of Religion , that they are turned aside with every wind of doctrine , that they are taken with every new phrase , that they fall into such monstrous errors , so destructive to the fundamentals of Christian faith ; for it is impossible a house should stand , which has no foundation : So that all men must acknowledge , that it is very necessary , that Children and Youth should be carefully instructed in the fundamental principles of Religion . 2. I cannot suppose neither , that any considering men should think , there is no need of the assistance of the Ministers of Religion for the instruction of Youth : this indeed is a duty , which every Parent , and Master of a Family is concerned in , to instruct those , who are under their care in the knowledge and fear of God ; but if they think their Minister able to instruct themselvs , they cannot but think it reasonable to desire his assistance to instruct their Children . They call in the assistance of men expert and skilful in several Arts to teach them those Arts , which they profess , though they have some skill themselves in them ; and there is nothing of such moment to them , and nothing it may be more difficult , than to be thoroughly instructed in Religion . It requires great skill , and such as every Learned Rabbi is not Master of , to fit the principles of Christian knowledge to the capacity of Children and Youth . The Articles of the Christian Faith contain the highest , and most Seraphical Speculations , that ever were taught by any Philosophy , such as the Incarnation of the Eternal Son of God , who was conceived in the womb of a pure Virgin , and came into the world in our nature , and wrought miracles , and dyed as a Sacrifice for sin , and rose again from the dead , and is now ascended up into Heaven in our nature , and invested with great power and glory , having all power given to him both in heaven and in earth , a name , which is above every name , that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow , both of things in heaven , and things on earth , and things under the earth , and that every tongue should confess , that Iesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father : That when these earthly bodies shall dye , and rot in the grave , they shall be raised again at the last day incorruptible and glorious . These are great , sublime , stupendious Mysteries , and it requires no small skill to know , how to teach such great and mysterious Doctrines to Children and Youth , that they may so by degrees , discover these Mysteries , as neither to blind nor dazle their eyes with their brightness and lustre , nor yet to remain wholly ignorant of them . The thorough knowledge of Christianity is not so easily attained , as some men imagine , nor is every one , who knows something himself , fit to be a Teacher of others . And therefore though I would earnestly exhort you all , to use the best skill you have to instruct your Children and Servants , yet this is no reason to withdraw them from publick instructions : nor can any man , who understands his Religion , think he discharges his duty to God and the Church , meerly by his private instruction of his family , when he neglects , or refuses to bring them to publick instructions . 3. For he must consider , that his Children and Servants , who are baptized , are members of the Christian Church , and therefore ought to be subject to the instructions and discipline of it , as far as their age and capacity will permit . They do not only belong to his private care , but to the publick care of the Church , who is to provide for the instruction of her Children ; and to deny the Church liberty to instruct her Children , or not to interpose their own authority to make them submit to it , is to withdraw their Children from the Communion of the Church , after a solemn dedication of them to God. No good man can with patience think of being guilty of so great a sin , which is a kind of Sacriledge , as it respects God , a degree of Schism from the Church , and very injurious to his Childrens souls . Especially considering , that there is a more peculiar blessing attends the publick instructions of the Church , for the same reason , that God prefers publick before private Worship , and is more peculiarly present in Christian Assemblies , than in the families of private Christians , and blesses the publick administrations of his Word before private counsels . 4. Which may further convince us , that the publick Catechizing of Children and Youth , is not needless , whatever good instructions they may have at home : for besides what I have already observed , that God does more peculiarly bless publick Institutions ; there are several advantages in it , which I shall briefly represent . 1. This will make them more careful to improve in knowledge , when they know , they must give an account of such improvements to the publick Congregations : there will be an emulation between Youth , who shall give the most manly and reasonable account of their faith ; and as they grow in years , they will be ashamed to continue Children in understanding : we see the effects of this shame and emulation in other matters , and when it may be improved to such admirable advantage in this case , if there were nothing more to recommend it , it were a sufficient reason to all good men , who desire the improvement and increase of Christian knowledge in the World , to encourage and promote it . 2. By this means the Church may take notice of the improvement of Youth in Christian knowledge , which is necessary to their regular admission to higher acts of Communion . Those , who are baptized , when they are Children , ought not regularly to be admitted to the Lords Supper , till they have been confirmed , and to qualifie them for Confirmation , it is necessary , they should in some competent measure understand their Religion , and be able to give a reasonable account of their faith : and though indeed the Minister and Bishop may be satisfied in this by private examinations , yet this is no satisfaction to the Congregation , with whom they are to communicate , any otherwise , than as they relye upon the authority of their Minister ; but such young men will be received with a more universal applause , and sincere joy , to the Table of our Lord , who have given such publick testimony of their improvements in Christian knowledge . 3. Another advantage is , that this trains up Children and Youth in a just respect and reverence for their spirial Guides . This may be thought an inconsiderable thing , and only a word by the by for my own Profession ; but let it be for whom it will , Religion never did , nor ever is like to flourish , when the Ministers of Religion are despised , when their counsel is slighted and contemned . Their Office is to be the Guides of souls , and unless men look upon them , as such , it renders their Office useless to the souls of men ; and this is all I mean by a respect and reverence to their spiritual Guides ; to reverence their counsels , reproofs and censures , and to apply to them in all cases which concern their souls . Now when men have been trained up in the knowledge of Religion by their Spiritual Guides , and have found the benefit of their instructions , it makes them naturally reverence their judgements , and advise with them in all difficult cases : a thing much out of use now , and we see the sad effects of it in the lives of too many . 4. By the publick instructions of Youth , those may learn the first principles of Religion , who are too old indeed to be Catechized , but yet very much want it : it is almost incredible to think , how ignorant many men are of the very first rudiments of Christianity , who are baptized in their Infancy indeed , but were never catechized : all our Sermons are in a manner lost upon these men , who can never be brought to understand Religion , unless you teach them , as you do Children , which would be thought a great affront to their age , and long profession : and therefore the best and modestest way of instructing these men , is to instruct Children , when they are present , which may be of great use to them , if they be sensible of their own ignorance , and do not disdain instruction . I shall add but one thing more , and so conclude this argument ; that when I speak of instructing Children , I would not have you think . that I only mean , such young Children , as are just able to repeat the Catechism by heart , but are not capable of giving any other answer , to what you ask , but what they find in their Books ; such Children as these , are scarce capable of any instruction , nor can it much edifie the Congregation to hear them repeat imperfectly the words of the Catechism ; but I principally mean such young men , who are capable of learning , who can understand , what is said to them , and make a reasonable answer , at least with a little help and instruction . We live now in an Age , wherein it is thought a reproach for those to be catechized , who are got out of their hanging-sleeves ; as soon as they are old enough to learn a Trade , they think themselves too old to learn their Religion : But is Religion then so easie a thing , that every youth of sixteen or seventeen is past his Catechism ? Is it a greater reproach at such an Age to be instructed in Religion , than it is to learn Arithmetick and Merchants accounts . I readily grant , such young men ought not to be treated like Children , to be made repeat only the words of the Catechism , as School-Boyes do their Lessons ; but there is a manly way of instruction , which will not unbecome their years , but much contribute to their increase in Christian knowledge ; could this point be once gained , to perswade Parents and Masters to send such to be catechized , as are capable of instructions , I should not doubt in a short time to see very happy effects of this so much despised and neglected duty . CHAP. VI. Concerning the great Neglect of the Lords Supper . THe last miscarriage I shall at present take notice of , is the general neglect of receiving the Lords Supper : for though thanks be to God , this practice is in some measure restored among us , and we now with joy observe more frequent and numerous Communions , than have been for many years last past , yet this holds no proportion at all to those great numbers of professed Christians , who neglect it wholly , or communicate very seldome . Thus to turn our backs on the Lords Table , is a very great reproach to Christianity , and infinitely dangerous to mens souls , because the Lords Supper is the most excellent and the most beneficial part of Christian Worship ; and indeed one would think , that there needs nothing else to perswade any man to so advantageous a duty , but true understanding the nature of it . My present design will not admit of a large discourse , and therefore I shall bring what I have to urge , into as narrow a compass as I can : and 1. Shew you the great evil and sinfulness of this neglect , and 2. Examine what are the true causes or occasions , which tempt men to such a neglect . 1. The great evil and sinfulness of this neglect , and the most effectual way to convince men of this , is by explaining those many obligations , which lye on us , to a frequent celebration of this mysterious Feast . 1. And I shall first argue from the Command and Institution of our Saviour , which certainly is sufficient to make it a standing and necessary duty to all , who profess themselves his disciples . Now the Institution of this Feast runs in the form of a command . So St. Matthew tells us , as they were eating ( viz. the Feast of the Passeover ) Iesus took bread , and blessed it , and brake it , and gave it to the disciples , and said , take , eat , this is my body : and he took the cup and gave thanks , and gave it to them , saying , drink ye all of it , for this is my blood of the New Testament , which is shed for many for the remission of sins . The same account St. Mark and St. Luke give of it , and almost in the same words ; so does St. Paul , which he received by revelation from Christ himself . So that those men at least are guilty of a very great sin , who never celebrate this heavenly Feast , if it will be acknowledged a sin to break a plain express institution of our Saviour ; and very great numbers there are of such men in our Church ( if at least they may be said to be in the Church ) who never received the Lords Supper , who call Christ Lord , and Master , but do not the thing , which he has commanded . And there are two very considerable aggravations of this sin . 1. That it is his last and dying command , which usually has great sacredness and authority in it , though it be but the command , nay , but the desire of a Friend : this command he gave his Disciples the same night , wherein he was betrayed , when he was just about to offer his soul in sacrifice for sins , when he was preparing to encounter with scorn and reproach , with rage and malice , with the shame and exquisite pains of the Cross ; and it is an ill requital of the love of our dying Lord , that we will not obey his dying commands . 2. That our Saviour by the Institution of this holy Feast , has delivered us from all the numerous , troublesome , expensive Ceremonies and Institutions of the Jewish Worship : he has put an end to Circumcision , Sacrifices , Legal Washings and Purifications , and the like , and has only instituted Baptism as the Sacrament of our admission into his Church , which cannot be thought grievous and troublesome , when it is administred but once to a man for his life ; and the Lords Supper as a standing Rite of Worship ; and to deny obedience to one easie Command , when our Lord has delivered us from such a grievous and unsupportable yoke , is a sign , that as much as men talk of Christian Liberty , they little value that love , which purchas 't it at so dear rate . Others there are , who do not wholly withdraw themselves from the Lords Table , but yet think there is no great reason to communicate often ; so they do it some times , though very seldome , they comply with our Saviours Institution , who has commanded us indeed to eat the Sacramental Bread , and drink the Wine in remembrance of him , but has not appointed , how often this shall be done . In answer to this , I grant that our Saviour has appointed no fixt and setled times for the celebration of this holy Supper , but this seems to me a plain argument , that he has instituted this Supper , as an ordinary part of Christian Worship ; if he had intended , that we should have received these mysteries only on some set and solemn times , he would have told us so ; but having appointed no time for it , we must conclude , that this is part of that Worship , which he expects from Christians in all their publick Religious Assemblies , when ever they meet together to worship God and their Saviour . And thus the Primitive Christians understood our Saviour , for they never met together for Religious Worship , but this holy Feast was part , and alwayes accounted the principal part of it . In the Apostles dayes this was done every day , as is generally concluded from that short history we have of their daily conversation , which was spent in the duties and exercises of Religion , that they continued daily with one accord in the Temple , and breaking bread from house to house , did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart , praising God ( the proper work of the Eucharistical Feast ) and having favour with all the people : and we have reason to think it was so in the Apostles dayes , when it is evident , this custom of receiving every day , continued some Ages after : So it was in St. Cyprian's time , and so it was at Rome in St. Hierom's time : and the Apostolical Canons , and the Synod of Antioch denounce Excommunication against those Christians , who come to Church to join in other Religious Offices , but go away without receiving the Lords Supper : afterwards , as mens zeal in Religion decayed , so they abated in the frequen● Celebration of this Feast ; and from every day it came to once or twice a Week , or every Lords day , till it grew so dis-used , that the Church was forced to make provision by her publick Canons , that every Christian should at least receive the Supper of the Lord three times a year , on the three great Feasts of the Church , Christmass , Easter and Whitsunday . But the Institution of our Saviour confining it to no time , seems to make it an ordinary part of Christian Worship ; especially when it was thus expounded by the general practice of the Apostles and Primitive Christians , who were most likely to understand our Saviours meaning , that I confess , I am so far from thinking it an excuse for communicating seldome , that I want a fair Apology to make for our selves for communicating so seldome as once a Moneth , unless the degeneracy of the Age , the decay of Christian Piety , and that little sense men have of the necessity and advantages of this duty , be thought a good Apology . 2. For we may consider farther , that as Christ has instituted this holy Supper , so he has instituted it as an act of Religious Worship . It is a Sacrifice of Prayer and Thanksgiving to God , and to our Saviour . It is a commemoration of the Sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross , a shewing forth the Lords death until he come ; and therefore is a mysterious Rite of Worship , as all Sacrifices were under the Law. But to explain this more particularly , though briefly , I shall consider this holy Feast , both as it respects God , and as it respects our Saviour . 1. With respect to God : and so we may consider it as a Thanksgiving or as a Prayer . 1. As a Thanksgiving to God for his great and unexpressible goodness in sending his Son Jesus Christ into the World , and offering him up as an expiation and atonement for our sins . Certainly it becomes us to admire and adore that Infinite Goodness , which took pity on us in our low estate , and provided a Ransome and Sacrifice and Redeemer for us ; Who so loved the world , that he gave his only begotten Son , that whosoever believeth in him , should not perish , but have everlasting life . And when so proper to do this , as when we celebrate this holy Feast , when we commemorate the Death and Sufferings of our Lord , which must needs affect our souls , if we be not wholly stupid , with a very passionate sense of the love of God : and what more proper Sacrament of Thanksgiving and Praise can we use , than to present him with the memorials of his stupendious love , to let him see , that we retain a fresh sense and remembrance of it , that we never suffer it to slip out of our minds , though it is so many hundred years since Christ suffered , and perfected the work of our Redemption . You cannot more effectually praise any man , than to shew the visible remains and monuments of his Bounty and Charity , as the Widows weeping shewed the coats and garments which Dorcas made , while she was with them . Thus when we offer up to God the memorials of Christs Death and Passion , it is a visible Sacrifice of Praise , and speaks such kind of language as this ; Behold Lord , here is the token of thy love to us , thy own Son bleeding and dying for our sins , thy eternal Son , the Son of thy love , in whom thy soul is well pleased , dying upon the Cross , a shameful , accursed , lingring , tormenting death , scorned and reproached of men , and forsaken of God , who delivered him up into the hands of his enemies , and left him to struggle with the fears and weakness of humane nature , without those divine and supernatural supports , which he now needed most , but least enjoyed . We will never forget such love as this , we will perpetually celebrate this holy Feast , and offer up the memorials of a crucified Iesus , as a sacrifice of praise to his Father , and to our Father , to his God , and to our God. 2. The Lords Supper may be considered as a Sacrament of Prayer ; for so the Sacrifices under the Law were alwayes offered with Prayer , which were accepted in vertue of the Sacrifice ; and therefore though all men could not every day attend the Temple Worship , especially those who lived at a great distance from the Temple , yet the time of Morning and Evening Sacrifices were the usual hours of prayer observed by pious and devout men , who sent up their prayers together with the Sacrifice . Thus Ezra tells us , at the Evening Sacrifice , I fell upon my knees , and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God : and to this the Psalmist alludes , Let my Prayer be set before thee as incense , and the lifting up of my hands as the Evening Sacrifice . For since the fall of man we cannot expect , that God should hear our prayers for our own sakes , we can make no atonement and expiation for our own sins , nor offer him any just compensation for them ; and therefore under the Law God appointed Expiatory Sacrifices , to be offered by the Priests , who were Gods Ministers ; and now under the Gospel God has sent his own Son into the World to be both our Priest , and our Sacrifice : the acceptation of our prayers , depends upon the power of his Intercession , and the power of his Intercession upon the merit of his blood : for with his own blood he entred once into the holy place , having obtained eternal redemption for us . We must now go to God in his Name , and plead the Merits of his blood , if we expect a gracious answer to our Prayers . Now for this end was the Lords Supper instituted , to be a Remembrance of Christ , or of the Sacrifice of the Cross , to shew forth the Lords death till he come , which as it respects God , is to put him in remembrance of Christ's death , and to plead the Vertue and Merit of it for our pardon and acceptance . It is a visible prayer to God , to remember the sufferings of his Son , and to be propitious to his Church , his body , and every member of it , which he has purchased with his own blood . And therefore the ancient Church constantly at this holy Supper offered up their prayers to God in vertue of the Sacrifice of Christ there represented , for the whole Church , and all ranks and conditions of men . For this reason the Lords Supper was called a Commemorative Sacrifice , because we therein offer up to God the Remembrance of Christ's Sacrifice ; and therefore in the ancient Church , the Altar , or the place where they consecrated the Elements , was the place also , where they offered up their prayers , to signifie that they offered their prayers only in vertue of the Sacrifice of Christ , and that the very remembrance of this Sacrifice in the Lords Supper by vertue of its Institution , did render their prayers prevalent and acceptable to God ; and therefore in the very first account we have of the exercise of Christian Worship , we find breaking bread and prayers joyned together . The efficacy of our prayers depends on the merit of Christ's Sacrifice , and the way Christ hath appointed to give our prayers an interest in his Sacrifice , is to offer them in the holy Supper , with the Sacramental remembrance of his Death and Passion . 2. If we consider the Lords Supper as it respects Christ himself , and is a Remembrance of him , so it contains all that peculiar Worship , which the Christian Church payes him as a thankful acknowledgement of his great love in dying for them , as will appear , if we consider what it is to do this in Remembrance of him . For , 1. This signifies to keep this Feast as a publick and solemn Commemoration of our Lord : we ought to remember our Saviour , and think of him as often as we can ; but this holy Feast is a publick celebration of his fame and memory : we must not only think of our Saviour , as we do of an absent Friend , who is very dear to us , but we must remember him as some Nations do their publick Patrons , and Benefactors , with solemn and festival joyes . The Lords Supper is a Feast instituted in honour of our Saviour , wherein the whole Church must call to mind his noble acts , and shew forth his praises , and perpetuate the memory of them from one generation to another : We must call to mind his great and astonishing love , and recount all his victories and triumphs over Sin , and Death and Hell , and him who had the power of death , that is the Devil . We must sing praises to the Lamb of God , who was slain , and is worthy to receive power , and riches , and wisdom , and strength , and honour , and glory , and blessing . This is the proper work of a Religious Feast , to call to mind the works of God , and ascribe unto him the glory due unto his Name . This is the true reason of all Religious Festivals . The Seventh Day Sabbath was originally instituted in honour of the great Maker of all things , who finished the Creation of the World in six dayes , and rested on the seventh ; and was changed to the first day of the Week in remembrance of the work of our Redemption , and the Resurrection of our Saviour from the dead . The Feast of the Passeover was for a memorial of that deliverance the children of Israel had from the destroying Angel , who smote all the first-born of the Egyptians , but spared their houses ; which was but an obscure type of our greater deliverance by Christ , of which the Lords Supper is instituted as a perpetual memorial . All these holy Feasts were for a remembrance , that is , to call to mind the wonderful works of God , to praise his great name , and by a contemplation of his wisdom , goodness , and power in making and governing the world , to inflame our souls with love , and joy , and wonder , till our thoughts and passions grow too big and vehement to be suppressed in our own breasts , but break forth into publick songs of praise and thanksgiving . And thus we must remember our Saviour in this holy Feast , by making publick , thankful , and joyful acknowledgements of his great and mysterious love , and all the mighty things he hath done for the redemption of mankind . When our Saviour says , Do this in remembrance of me : he requires us to keep this Feast with the publick expressions of that love and honour which we bare to his memory ; as a testimony of our thankfulness to him for all that he hath done and suffered for us ; as a profession of our faith and hope , and trust and affiance in a Crucified Jesus ; that we own him for our Lord and Saviour , and are not ashamed of his Cross , nor afraid of any sufferings for his sake . 2. The Lords Supper is the peculiar worship of Christ , considered as a God incarnate : the word was made flesh , and dwelt among us ; the eternal son of God , the uncreated wisdom of the Father came down from Heaven , and cloathed himself with flesh and blood , and became man , as we are , that he might be capable to dwell among us , without that terrour and astonishment which his unvailed glory carries with it , which is too bright and dazling for mortal eyes to gaze on ; and that when he had lived here a poor despised afflicted life in the condition of a Minister and a Servant , he might die as a Sacrifice for our sins : this is represented to us by Bread and Wine , that he was Flesh and Blood as we are , that bread of life which came down from Heaven to give life unto the world . This is a great and stupendious Mystery , which the Angels themselves desire to pry into , the lowest condescension of eternal love , but the highest advancement of humane nature above the glory of Angels into a union with the Deity it self . How should our Souls triumph in God-man , a Saviour of our own race and stock ; and with a litle variation sing the Song of the Blessed Virgin. My Soul doth magnifie the Lord , and my Spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour , for he hath regarded the low estate of our nature ; for behold from henceforth all generations , even the Angels themselves , shall call us blessed ; for he that is mighty hath done great things to us , hath magnified us , hath greatly exalted us , and holy for ever blessed and glorified be his name . How zealous should we be to advance his name and praise , who debased , who humbled , who emptied himself , and made himself of no reputation for our sakes : when he suffer'd so low a debasement by becoming man , and hath so greatly exalted us by it , does it not become us in this holy Feast to advance his name , to sing his praise , to publish his con descending love , and with a greater passion and wonder adore the Deity cloathed with our nature ? how should our hearts leap within us , when we see such a visible representation of an humble and incarnate Deity , when we see that mysterious bread and Wine , which represents to any eye of Faith a God Incarnate , a God cloathed with Flesh and Blood , a God in the nature , and subject to all the sinless weaknesses and infirmities of a man ? Oh amazing and surprizing sight ! which does as much puzzle our passions as our faith , and is as much too big for our love and joy and wonder , as it is for our finite and narrow understandings : and yet oh how pleasant it is to be lost in the contemplation of such love and condescension as this ! to find an object too big for our highest raptures and ecstasies of devotion ! where we launch out beyond the sphere of words and thoughts , and are swallowed up in silence and wonder . This is one great design of the Lords Supper , that we may celebrate the praise and glory of an Incarnate God. 3. The Lords Supper is the proper worship of a Crucified Saviour , for here we see his body broken , and his blood shed for our sins ; it is a Feast upon the Sacrifice of the Cross , wherein we visibly declare and profess our Faith in a Crucified Saviour , and return him our joyful praises , for his great love in dying for us ; here we offer up our selves , Souls and Bodies to him , as the purchase of his blood ; Souls fired with zeal and devotion , and transported with a passionate admiration of his dying love ; a love without any bounds or measure , without precedent or example ; a love stronger than fear , or shame , or death , a love which had no cause but it self , which did not find , but make its object , which pitied us when we did not pity our selves , which suffered such hard , such unsufferable usage from the hands of sinners , to deliver them from those punishments , which they had deserved from God : and can we do less than love him , who hath loved us first ; than live to him , who hath died for us , and give up our selves to be governed by him , who gave himself a ransom for us ? Blessed Iesus ! thou hast conquered , thou hast captivated us by thy astonishing love , we are thine , we give up our selves to thee , take the intire possession of us ; we lay our selves and our dearest concernments at thy feet , use us as thou pleasest ; we have no greater ambition than to serve thee , and to advance thy name and glory , whether in life or death , riches or poverty , honour or disgrace ; we will follow thee whither soever thou leadest us , though it be to the Cross , and through the valley of the shadow of death , and will rejoyce that we are accounted worthy to suffer shame for thy sake , and account the reproach of our Lord greater riches than all the treasures of this world . Nay in this holy Feast we do not only admire and praise his dying love , but extol his power and conquest over death ; that he was dead indeed , but is alive , and hath the Keys of hell and death . Our Lord is risen again , and become the first-fruits of them that sleep ; and now in the death of our Saviour we see the eternal conquest of death and the grave ; for by death he hath destroyed him , who had the power of death , that is the Devil , and delivered them , who through fear of death were all their life time subject to bondage : O death where is thy sting ! O grave where is thy victory ! thanks be to God , who hath given us the victory through our Lord Iesus Christ : at this holy Table we feast on the spoils of death , this is that bread which giveth life to the world , by putting an end to death , and becoming the principle and earnest of Immortality : Glory be to this mighty conquerour , whom all the powers of darkness could not detain prisoner ; this is our crucified Lord , who died with scorn and ignominy , but rose again with glory and power , we do not eat the Sacrifices of the dead , but feed on a living Saviour . So that you see the Lords Supper contains in it self , or is admirably fitted to all the parts of Christian worship , which is no more than expressing that in words and actions which is represented by visible signs in this holy Feast ; we cannot beg of God the pardon of our sins , or any blessings which we want either Temporal or Spiritual , but in the merit of that Sacrifice which is here represented ; the proper subject of Christian praises and thanksgivings is the work of our redemption , and the worship of an Incarnate and Crucified Saviour must relate either to his great humility and condescension in becoming man , his great love in dying for us , or the glory of his resurrection , and that power to which he is now advanced at the right hand of God , all which is either signified or represented in the Supper of our Lord ; and therefore that question how often we should communicate at the Lords Table is easily answered by another , how often we are bound publickly to worship God , and our Saviour Christ ; for the Lords Supper being instituted by our Saviour as a sacred and venerable rule for worship ( for so I must beg leave to call it , for want of a more proper name ) and fitted to all parts of Christian worship , ought to be as often repeated as we worship our Saviour , and publick worship is very lame and imperfect without it . For if it be urged , that it is sufficient to pray to God in Christs name , and to praise him for that wonderful manifestation of his goodness in all the parts of the work of our redemption , without using those visible signs , I would fain know to what purpose they were instituted by our Saviour ; if Christian worship be compleat and perfect without it , it is and ever was as needless an addition as most Christians now think it to be , which , I think , derogates very much from the wisdom of our Saviour in its Institution . We ought not to look upon the Supper of our Lord only as a particular act of worship , but as an external and sensible rite of worship , which is fitted to all parts of Christian worship , and by the institution of our Saviour necessary to give vertue and efficacy to them , as the oblation of Sacrifices under the Law , did to those Prayers which were offered with them . Now suppose that any men should have argued thus under the Law ; that if men prayed devoutly to God , though they offered no Sacrifice they should be accepted by him ; I doubt this would have been called despising Moses's law , and such men must have died without mercy , though they had prayed never so devoutly , and yet the Apostle tells us , that we ought to have greater regard to the Laws and Institutions of Christ , than the Jews had to the Law of Moses . The great danger then of neglecting the Lords Supper , is , that such a neglect may render all our Worship unacceptable to God : a right to Christ's Sacrifice upon the Cross , is by the Institution of our Saviour conveyed in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper ; and therefore though we pray in Christ's Name , if we neglect his Institution , whereby the vertue of his Sacrifice is conveyed to our prayers , we must pray without any interest in his Sacrifice , and we may easily guess of what worth such prayers are ; just as much as our own good works without an Expiatory Sacrifice to recommend them to God. The serious consideration of this thoroughly convinces me , how highly useful , ( not to say necessary ) it is to restore the Apostolical and Primitive practice , to celebrate the Lords Supper as often as we meet for publick Worship , if we would have our Worship true Christian Worship according to our Saviours own institution , as understood and practised by the Apostles themselves . 3. Another obligation to a frequent receiving the Lords Supper is , that this is the principal act of Communion with Christ. There is nothing more frequently talked of , than our Union to Christ , and our Communion with him , which is the great mysterie of our Religion , and the great foundation of our hope . Now Union to , and Communion with Christ , may either be considered as a constant state and relation , and so it signifies being members of the body of Christ , by being incorporated into his Church by a visible profession of our faith in him , ratified and confirmed by Baptism , and by the communication of his Grace and Spirit , which dwells in the sincere Disciples of Christ , as the bond of a spiritual Union , and an abiding principle of sanctification and holiness ; or it may be considered as an Act , and so it is most properly applyed to the Lords Supper , which is the most visible external symbol of our Communion with Christ , and instituted as a Sacrament of Union , for the conveyance of all divine and spiritual blessings to us . And for the explication of this , I shall observe two things In this holy Feast ; 1. That it is our eating at the Table of our Lord , and 2. That it is our feeding on the body of Christ. 1. In the Lords Supper we eat at the Table of our Lord : for this is a Feast of Christ's own appointment , instituted by him on purpose to commemorate his death and sacrifice upon the Cross ; and so answers to the institution of God under the Law , to feast upon Sacrifices : which was constantly observed in Peace-offerings , of which , part was burnt upon Gods Altar , part belonged to the Priest , and part was eaten by the Sacrificers , or those Persons who offered the Sacrifice of Peace-offerings , who are therefore said to partake of the Altar : behold Israel after the Flesh , are not they which eat of the Sacrifices , partakers of the Altar ? To partake of the Altar , signifies to partake with God , whose Altar it is , that is , to have part with him : for part of the Sacrifice was burnt upon the Altar , or given to the Priests , and that was Gods part or share , and the other part was eaten by themselves . Thus it was among the Heathens also , who used to feast on the Sacrifices which they offered to their Gods : and sometimes invited their Christian neighbours to these Feasts , who not sufficiently understanding the nature of such Religious Feasts , many times went as to common friendly entertainments , and therefore are corrected by the Apostle for it , as utterly inconsistent with their Christian profession ; for to eat of a Feast upon a Sacrifice , is to have communion with that Being , whatever he is , to whom the Sacrifice is offered : Now the Gentiles sacrificed to Devils , and therefore to eat of such Sacrifices , is to partake with Devils , to be in confederacy and communion with them . But I say , that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice , they sacrifice to Devils and not to God , and I would not that ye should have fellowship with Devils , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that you should be Communicants with them : Ye cannot drink the Cup of the Lord , and the Cup of Devils , ye cannot be partakers of the Lords Table , and the Table of Devils : that is , it is as irreconcileable to eat at the Table of Christ and of the Gentile Sacrifice , as it is impossible to unite Christ and false Heathen Gods. From whence we learn , that to eat of the Lords Table , that is , of the Christian Feast of the Lords Supper , is to partake with Christ ; or to have Communion with him , as to eat of the Sacrifices under the Law , was to partake of the Altar , or to eat of Pagan Sacrifices , was to partake with Devils . Now in general , there were two things signified by these Religious Feasts . 1. A Covenant relation , that such persons who feasted at Gods Table were in Covenant with him : for all solemn Covenants even between men in the Eastern Countrey were made and ratified by Sacrifice ; thus it was in the Covenant between Iacob and Laban , and Iacob said unto his brethren , gather stones ; and they took stones and made an heap , and they did eat there upon the heap . And what this eating was , we may conclude from the nature of the action , which was confirming a Covenant , and therefore this eating is eating a Sacrifice , as we are more expresly told ; then Iacob offered Sacrifice upon the Mount , and called his Brethren to eat bread , and they did eat bread and tarried all night upon the Mount. And thus it is especially between God and men : thus we know the Mosaical Covenant was confirmed by the blood of the Sacrifice : as the first Testament is said to be dedicated by blood , and the book and all the people , the Tabernacle and all the Vessels of the Ministery , were sprinkled with blood : nay , not only this general Covenant was confirmed by Sacrifice , but all good men , when they offer Sacrifices to God , are understood to make renew , or confirm their Covenant with him , whence is that expression in the Psalms , Gather my Saints together unto me , those that have made a Covenant with me by Sacrifice . Thus the death of Christ did ratifie and confirm the Gospel Covenant between God and men , and therefore the blood is called the blood of the Covenant , and to feast on the memorials of his death and passion , is a signification that we are in Covenant with God , and God with us , that we still own our Covenant , and are resolved still to do so ; it is to put God in mind of his Covenant with us , and us of our Covenant with him ; and if we have been guilty of any breach of Covenant with God , by venturing upon the commission of any sin , when we have with tears bewailed our sin , and renewed our repentance , here we must renew our Covenant , and by approaching the Table of our Lord , declare , that though we are sinners , yet we are not Apostates , that we still own our Covenant , and by the Grace of God , which we now implore , and hope to receive , resolve to continue stedfast in it , while we live . And is not this an inestimable priviledge , to be in Covenant with God , and to have this Covenant as it were signed and sealed to us , as often as we please , by a foederal Rite of God's own appointment ? especially is it not a mighty favour for such frail sinners , who are so exposed to temptations , and so often conquered by them , to have liberty granted upon their sincere repentance to return to Gods Table , and to renew their Covenant , and to be received again into Covenant by God ? Is it not a mighty affront to God , when he invites us to his Table , as those who are in Covenant with him , to live in so great a neglect of it ? Is it not a kind of renouncing our Covenant , when we refuse to own it by such publick solemnities , as he himself has appointed for that purpose ? 2. These Religious Feasts signifie a state of Peace and Friendship with God ; and therefore those Sacrifices of which the Sacrificers were allowed to eat , are called Peace-offerings in the Law of Moses . Under the Law it was not permitted to them to eat of the Sin-offering , that Sacrifice which was offered for the expiation of sin ; but when they had offered a Sacrifice for sin , they might then offer a Peace-offering , and feast before the Lord on the Sacrifice , as a token of peace and reconciliation with God. And thus it is under the Gospel , Christ offered himself once for all a Sacrifice or Offering for sin ; and has obtained eternal redemption for us , and therefore there is no more expiatory Sacrifice to be offered for sins ; but when through the frailty of humane nature , and the powerful temptations of flesh and sense , of the World and the Devil we have defiled and polluted our consciences with sin and guilt , instead of those particular Sacrifices for sin , which the Iews were directed to offer , we must offer up the Sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart to God , that is , we must truly repent of our sins , and turn from them , and arm our selves with powerful resolutions against them for the future , and then we may approach the Table of God , and receive the pledges of his love , and the fresh assurances of our pardon and acceptance through our Lord Jesus Christ. We do not use to receive and entertain any at our Tables , but those who are our Friends ; or at least are not our enemies ; others are intruders , and if they be not turned out again , yet must make themselves welcome ; and indeed a Covenant made by Sacrifice alwayes signifies a Covenant of Peace , and such to be sure the Gospel Covenant is , of which the Lords Supper is the Seal and Sacrament , a Covenant of peace and reconciliation between God and men . None ought to come to this Table , but the Friends of God , as all holy men , and all true humble penitents are , and such men shall be sure to receive a joyful welcome , and all the peculiar marks of Gods favour ; for such this holy Supper it self is to all worthy receivers . 2. In the Supper of our Lord , we do not only eat at his Table , but we feed on his body ; not as if in a carnal sense we eat his natural flesh , and drink his blood , as the Church of Rome teaches , contrary to the common sense and experience of mankind , and without any colourable pretence from Scripture or Primitive Antiquity , but we eat his flesh and drink his blood in such a spiritual manner , as they are exhibited to us in the Sacrament of his own Institution . As to explain this in as few words as may be . The Lords Supper , I told you before in General , did answer to a Feast upon a Sacrifice in the Jewish Law. And now I add , that it is a Feast upon the Sacrifice of Christ , who dyed upon the Cross , and bore our sins in his own body upon the Tree : and therefore it is called eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ. For under the Law the Iews did in a literal sense eat the flesh of the Sacrifice , for part of it was burnt upon the Altar , and part they eat ; and this eating of the Sacrifice , did give them a right and interest in the vertue of the Sacrifice , and all the blessings purchased by it . Now though Christ dyed upon the Cross for us , yet he could not in a literal sense give us his natural flesh to eat ; for he was to rise again from the dead , with a glorious and incorruptible body , and ascend up in the same body to Heaven , and there to continue united to this humane , but glorified body , till he return again to judge the World. This Sacrament of his body and blood was to be celebrated in all parts of the World , where a Christian Church should be planted , and though he himself , who is over all , God blessed for ever more , is present also in all places , and especially in all the Assemblies of his Disciples , who meet to worship him ; yet his body though glorious and perfect as a body can be , yet is but matter still , and therefore confined to one place , and cannot at the same time , be at Rome and Constantinople , nor in ten thousand places at once , more remote than they : and this Sacrament is to be celebrated , his flesh eat , and his blood drank , as long as the Church and the World lasts , and it is contrary to the nature of a body to be so often eat , and yet continue the same body ; and at best were the thing possible , it would be no better than an inhumane and barbarous Rite , to eat the flesh of a man , and of our Friend . And therefore , since by the Institution of God , a Sacrifice for a Peace offering was to be eat , and especially the Paschal Lamb , which was a Type of Christ , and that eating did in a Legal sense unite the Sacrificer and the Sacrifice , and convey its vertue and efficacy to him ; I say hence Christ instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood , i. e. Bread and Wine , to be eat and drank , as the symbols and signs of his Body and Blood , and a Sacramental conveyance of all the merit and purchase of his death to his sincere Disciples , who feed on him : and therefore the Bread and Wine are called his Body and Blood , because feeding on the Bread and Wine is ordained by him instead of his Body and Blood , and that eating Bread and drinking Wine in obedience to his Institution , and in remembrance of his Death and Passion , does to all intents and purposes as much entitle us to the Merits , Atonement , Reconciliation , and all the blessings of the New Covenant purchased by his death ; as eating the Flesh of the Sacrifice did the Iews to the vertue of that Sacrifice , whereof they eat . And since Faith in Christ is made necessary by the terms of the Gospel to an interest in his Sacrifice , the symbols of Bread and Wine , serve as well or better for this holy Feast , than his natural flesh and blood would do ; for here is room for the exercise of faith : we do not see the body of Christ broken , and his blood shed , nothing appears to our bodily senses , but Bread and Wine ; but by an eye of faith we see him hang upon the Cross , and bleeding for our sins , and thus we feed on his Sacrifice , eat his flesh and drink his blood . Bodily eating cannot make us partakers of Christ , but as the Institution of our Saviour has united the vertues of his Sacrifice with the elements of Bread and Wine in this holy Supper , which makes it as much his body to all the real purposes of a feast upon a Sacrifice , as if it were his natural body and blood , in as proper a sense as ever the Iews did eat the Paschal Lamb , which is all the Church of England means by the real presence . So then we by faith eat the body of Christ , and drink his blood , when together with our bodily feeding on the Sacramental Bread and Wine , by faith we feed on the merits of his Sacrifice . And this must needs convince us , how necessary it is to communicate at the Lords Table , as well as to believe in Christ , if we would partake of the merits of his Sacrifice ; for this sacramental Bread and Wine is his body and blood , that is , has the merits of his Sacrifice annexed to it by his own Institution ; and as under the Law , it was not enough to offer a Peace-offering , unless they eat of it , so neither will the Sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross be of any value to us , unless we feed on it in this holy Supper not only by Faith , but also by a bodily eating of those Sacramental elements to which he himself has annexed the merits of his Sacrifice . To feed on the Sacramental elements without faith , is no more than to eat so much ordinary Bread , and to drink common Wine , and to believe on Christ without feasting on his Sacrifice cannot without uncovenanted Grace apply his merits to us : for it is evident , that Truth in its own nature cannot give us an interest in the merits of Christ : for how does my believing that Christ died for sinners convey the merit of his death to me , nay , though I believe , that Christ in particular died for me , this does not actually make his merits mine , but only in the performance of such conditions , and in the use of such means as he hath appointed for the application of his merits to particular persons ; and I see no reason why men may not as well hope to be saved without holiness by Christ , as without eating his flesh and drinking his blood in the Sacrament ; for holiness will not save us without the merits of Christ , and I know not how we should come by the merits of Christ but only in such ways of dispensing , conveying , and applying them , as he himself has appointed , and he has appointed no other ordinary way , but this mysterious Supper . Hence the Apostle tells the Corinthians , The Cup of blessing which we bless , is it not the communion of the blood of Christ , the bread which we break is it not the Communion of the body of Christ ? what does he mean by the communion of the blood , and of the body of Christ , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; the meaning is very plain , that hereby we partake in the body and blood of Christ , that is , in the efficacy of his death and passion , and if we could do this any other way , or without it , it would be a useless Sacrament , as most Christians seem now to think it is : and therefore I doubt not but our Saviour in that mysterious discourse in Iohn 6. had respect to this holy Feast , though not then instituted , when he tells them , Verily , verily , I say unto you , except ye eat the flesh of the son of man , and drink his blood , ye have no life in you . Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life , and I will raise him up at the last day , for my flesh is meat indeed , and my blood is drink indeed , he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood , dwelleth in me , and I in him . The only objection I know against expounding this of eating the flesh of Christ , and drinking his blood in the Lords Supper , is because the Feast was not then instituted , and therefore neither the Iews nor his own Disciples could possibly understand what he meant : now there are several very plain and easie answers to this : as 1. our Saviour said a great many things to the Iews in his Sermons , which neither they nor his own Disciples could understand , when they were spoke , though his Disciples understood them after he was risen , when the Holy Ghost brought those things again to their remembrance , and the event had expounded them , such we may reckon whatever concerned his death and resurrection , and spiritual kingdom . 2. They might as well understand this discourse of eating his Flesh , and drinking his Blood , as they could what he immediately before told them ; I am the living bread , which came down from heaven , if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever : and the bread which I will give is my flesh , which I will give for the life of the world . For they understood as little what it was to give his flesh for the life of the world , and how this made his flesh to be that living bread , as what it was to eat his flesh , and to drink his blood : for they both signifie the same thing , and these words last quoted do plainly prove , that he respects the Eucharistical Feast , when he speaks of his eating his flesh , and drinking his blod : for we must eat his flesh only as considered as the bread of life , which came down from Heaven , and his flesh is bread considered as given for the life of the world , and therefore to eat his flesh and drink his blood must signifie the Sacramental eating of it , as the memorials of his death and passion . 3. Suppose we should understand this eating the flesh , and drinking the blood of the son of man , of feeding on Christ by faith , or believing , yet they could understand this no better than the other , it is plain they did not , and I know not how they should : for to call bare believing in Christ , eating his flesh and drinking his blood , is so remote from all propriety of speaking , and so unknown in all languages , that to this day those who understood nothing more by it but believing in Christ , are able to give no tolerable account of the reason of the expression . Now if this place in St. Iohn be meant of the Lords Supper , as I do not in the least doubt but it is , our Saviour has made it as necessary to us , as we think eternal life to be , for he has expresly told us , except ye eat the flesh of the son of man , and drink his blood , ye have no life in you . We must not indeed expound these words to such a sense , as to make the Sacrament necessary , even to Infants themselves , as St. Austin did , who therefore administred the Eucharist as well as Baptism to Children , which was plainly contrary to the nature of it ; for it must be eaten with Faith , or else it is not the body of Christ to the receivers , and God does not make any ordinance necessary to those , who are under a natural incapacity ; nay , a moral impossibility will excuse this ; when men are desirous to communicate in all our Saviours institutions , but have no opportunity to do it ; for God will dispense his grace in extraordinary ways to all well disposed minds , when his providence denies those which are ordinary ; but those who wilfully neglect the ordinary means of grace , have no reason to expect those which are extraordinary ; how God will deal with those who are guilty of such neglects , not out of a contempt of his institutions , but out of ignorance of their necessity , or a superstitious awe and reverence for them , I will not determine . Having thus proved that we cannot in an ordinary way partake in the benefits and blessings , which Christ hath purchased by his death , but by a Sacramental eating of the body , and drinking the blood of Christ , to make you still more sensible of the infinite hazard and danger of this neglect , I shall briefly consider what those blessings are which we partake of at the Lords Table , and which we cannot expect any where else . And I shall name but these . 1. The pardon of our sins , for this was the purchase of Christ's death , he died for our sins , and expiated them with his own blood : and therefore we may observe , that we do not only eat the body of Christ in this holy Feast , but we drink his blood , the blood of expiation , the blood of the Covenant , which speaketh better things than the blood of Abel : now this was never permitted the Iews to eat any blood , much less the blood of the Covenant , which was sprinkled about the Altar to make Atonement : nay we feed in this holy Supper on a Sin-offering , nay that great expiatory Sacrifice , whose blood was carried into the Holy of Holies , which the High Priest himself was not allowed to eat of ; to which the Apostle alludes in the Epistle to the Hebrews : We have an Altar , whereof they have no right to eat , which serve the Tabernacle : for the bodies of those beasts , whose blood is brought into the Sanctuary by the High Priest for Sin , are burnt without the Camp : i. e. no body was suffered to eat the flesh of the Sacrifice on the great day of expiation , which was a general atonement for the sins of the whole Congregation ; not so much as the High Priest himself ; but their bodies were burnt to ashes . Now the death of Christ upon the Cross was peculiarly typified by that great expiatory Sacrifice , whose blood was carried into the Holy of Holies , as he had discoursed at large in the ninth Chapter , and plainly refers to here , wherefore Iesus also , that he might Sanctifie the people with his own blood suffered without the gate : This is the Sacrifice we eat of , to which he plainly refers in what he adds , by him therefore let us offer the Sacrifice of praise ( or the Eucharistical Sacrifice , which is the Lords Supper ) to God continually , that is , the fruit of our lips , giving thanks to his name : but to do good , and to communicate forget not , for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased : which refers to those oblations for the relief of the poor , and other religious uses , which were always made at the Lords Table . Now what is the meaning of this , that we are allowed to drink of the blood of the Sacrifice , and eat the flesh of the great Sin-offering , and Propitiatory Sacrifice which the High Priest himself under the Law was not allowed to touch ? I say , what is the meaning of it , but to exhibit and convey to us the full and perfect remission of all our sins in the blood of Christ. So that we eat the flesh of an expiatory Sacrifice , and drink the blood of atonement , and thereby partake of that pardon and expiation which was made by Sacrifice , and if we were sensible what the guilt of sin is , and what will be its punishment , we should not fail frequently to come to this holy Table to renew the pardon of our sins in the blood of Christ. 2. Another fruit of Christs death , which we receive at the Table of our Lord , is the assistances of his grace and Spirit ; and the communications of a divine life to us . Hence our Saviour tells us , he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood , dwelleth in me , and I in him : which signifies such a close and intimate union , whereby we receive the communications of his own life and spirit from him : and therefore all Christians are said to be made to drink into one Spirit : which signifies the communications of the divine Spirit at this Holy Table : the whole Gospel administration is called the Ministration of the Spirit , as being accompanied with a divine power , much more this divine Feast , wherein we become one with Christ , eat his flesh and drink his blood , as members of his body , of his flesh , and of his bones , as St. Paul speaks ; and it is impossible the Spirit of Christ should be separated from such an uniting ordinance , as makes us members of his body . 3. By eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Christ in this holy Feast , we have a pledge and earnest of immortality . So our Saviour expresly tells us , Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood , hath everlasting life , and I will raise him up at the last day . As the living Father hath sent me , and I live by the Father , so he that eateth me , even he shall live by me . This is that bread , which came down from heaven : not as your Fathers did eat Manna , and are dead , he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever . Where our Saviour gives the reason , why those who eat him shall live for ever , because he himself shall live for ever : though he must die , he was to rise again into an immortal life and an eternal Kingdom , as the reward of his death and sufferings , and therefore this holy Feast is a certain earnest of immortality to those who feed on him : and we need not indeed doubt this , since it conveys the holy Spirit to us , as St. Paul tells the Romans . But if the Spirit of him that raised up Iesus from the dead dwell in you , he that raised up Christ from the dead , shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit , that dwelleth in you . But possibly some may object , that all this which is attributed to the Holy Supper , we receive at our Baptism , the pardon of our sins , the gift of the Spirit , and the promise and earnest of immortality : for so we are Baptized for the remission of sins , and we are baptized as well as made to drink into one Spirit : and those who are baptized into Christ have put on Christ ; and we are buried with Christ by baptism into death , that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father , so we also should walk in newness of life , for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death , we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection . Now all this I grant to be true , and therefore Baptism ( not the Lords Supper ) is our regeneration , or new birth , we are raised into a new life , are renewed and sanctified at our Baptism , and have the Holy Spirit bestowed on us , as the author and principle of a new life , but the continuance of this grace , and the daily assistances of the Holy Spirit , especially when we have grieved him , and made him withdraw from us by our sins , depends upon our diligent attendance at the Table of our Lord. It is not enough that a man is born into the world , unless he have constant food to preserve his life : and thus it is with the new creature ; and therefore the Supper of our Lord is Bread and Wine , the stay and support of life , to signifie to us , that these supplies of grace which we receive at this Feast are as necessary to our Spiritual life , as our daily food is to the support of a bodily life : and therefore our Saviour calls himself the bread of life which came down from Heaven , of which the Manna was a type and figure ; now we know Manna was their constant food , the only Bread they had , which signified that this heavenly Manna is the daily support of our spiritual life ; and therefore we know the ancient Fathers by our daily bread , in the Lords Prayer , did generally understand the Sacrament of the Lords Supper , which they called the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or the Bread of God. All which may convince us from the very nature and reason of the institution , that frequent communione are as necessary to our spiritual growth and increase in holiness , to repair the decays of our graces , and to renew our strength and vigour in serving God , and to procure the pardon of sin after a relapse , and to call back the holy Spirit , when he is withdrawn from us , as bread is to keep our bodies in constant repair ; and did men love their souls as they do their bodies , they would no more neglect the Supper of our Lord than their daily food . 4. The Lords Supper is the principal part of Christian communion , and therefore as necessary as the communion of the Church is : to debar any persons from the Lords Table is to shut them out of the communion of the faithful , and they are never restored to full communion till they are restored to the communion of this holy Feast : while discipline was preserved in its glory and vigour in the ancient Church , no Christian durst turn his back upon the Table of our Lord , as nine parts in ten now often do : indeed they could not well communicate as faithful Christian people without receiving the Lords Supper . The Catechumens and Penitents were admitted to publick instructions , and to such prayers as were proper for them ; but they were dismissed when that was done , and not admitted to be present at the worship of the faithful , who were in full peace and communion with the Church , the principal part of which was the Holy Supper . Indeed St. Paul attributes the union of Christians in one body to Christ , to this holy Feast . He calls the Cup the communion of the blood of Christ , and the bread the communion of the body of Christ , and assigns this as one reason of it ; for we being many are one bread and one body , for we are all partakers of that one bread . From whence it is plain , that we are united to each other by partaking of the same bread ; for we are one bread , as well as one body , which places Christian unity in a joynt participation of this Holy Feast . This also unites us to Christ , makes us his body , because we all feed on his body : the Church is his body , as being fed and nourished with his body : which both shows us , how necessary the peace and unity of the Church is to give us an interest in the Sacrifice of Christ ; for the vertue of his Sacrifice is contained in the holy Supper , and this must be celebrated in the communion of the Church ; and withal how essential this holy Supper is to Christian communion , as uniting us all to Christ in one body . For shame then let not those men cry out against Schism and Schismaticks , who separate themselves from the body of Christ in that part of Christian communion , which is most essential to Christianity : it is a much less evil not to hear a Sermon together , nay , sometimes not to pray together , than to joyn in all other parts of worship ; but to break company at the Lords Table , where if ever they ought to appear as one body , and one bread , to set up Altar against Altar is somewhat worse , is a greater and more incurable Schism , than to absent our selves from the Lords Table : but for my part I cannot excuse those men from being Schismaticks , who live in an habitual neglect of so necessary a part of Christian communion , and could the ancient discipline of the Church be revived , such men should know that Christian communion in any religious offices , is a priviledge which they do not deserve , and which they should not have . Having thus explained our obligations to frequent Communion in the holy Supper of our Lord , which I judge so plain and evident , that no honest impartial Inquirer can resist the evidence of them , and of such great weight and moment , that no sober Christian can withstand their conviction : I shall now briefly consider the second thing proposed , What are the most common occasions of , or excuses for such a neglect ; and though it were easie to think of a great many , I shall but mention two very briefly , as being I think the most universal and the foundation of all the rest . 1. The first is of that nature , that it is great pity it should have so ill an effect , and that is a mighty reverence and esteem for this holy Feast . Either they can never think themselves worthy to approach the Table of our Lord , or that they can never be sufficiently prepared for it . As for the first , it looks like pride and folly , to think that we must be worthy of the divine favors : they must all be acknowledged to be above our deserts : How came mankind to be worthy , that the Son of God should dye for them , and had God advised with such modest sinners , they might have complemented away the death of Christ , as now they do the benefits and advantages of it in his holy Supper ? How great a Saint soever thou art , thou canst never merit such favours and priviledges as these , for then there had been no need of Christ to merit for thee ; and how great a sinner soever thou art , by complying with the Grace of God , thou maist quickly make thy self a worthy Communicant . Repent of thy sins , and heartily resolve , by Gods Grace to reform thy life , and come to this holy Table with assurance to receive those supplies of Grace , which may enable thee to do it . And as for that great preparation which is necessary to fit our selves for so solemn an act of Religion , I must say , it is in this , as in other acts of Religious Worship , the greater the better : but if we consider what I said before , that the Institution of our Saviour plainly proves , that he designed it for an ordinary part of Christian Worship , we cannot suppose that it requires much greater preparation of mind , than other acts of Religion . This holy Supper is a sacred mysterious Rite of Prayer and Thanksgiving , which gives vertue and efficacy to our prayers , and makes them acceptable and prevalent with God : Are you then , when you come to Church , fit to pray to God and to praise him ? if not , you must neglect your prayers , as well as the Sacrament : if you are , then you are fit to approach the Lords Table to give vertue and prevalency to your prayers . This holy Supper conveys to us the vertue and efficacy of Christs Sacrifice upon the Cross , the pardon of our sins , and the assistances of the divine Grace and Spirit . Now if you be truly penitent , you are qualified to receive the pardon of your sins , and therefore to approach this holy Table , where it is dispensed : if you earnestly desire the divine Grace , you are prepared for the reception of it . Come but with a sense of your wants , and with such desires as a hungry man has of meat , and here you shall be filled and satisfied ; and without such preparations as these , we can neither pray to God to forgive our sins , nor to bestow his Grace on us . Yet I confess , I cannot see , how any man , who is fit to pray to God , should be unfit to approach his Table . 2. Others think , that there is much greater danger in approaching the Table of the Lord unworthily , than in an unworthy performance of other parts of Religious Worship ; but for what reason , they think so , I could never learn. The prayer of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord , and his sacrifice is no more : It is as unpardonable an affront to God , to pray for the pardon of our sins in Christs name without true sorrow and contrition , and serious resolutions of amendment , as it is for an impenitent sinner to receive the Sacrament ; to praise God without a due sense of his Mercy and Goodness , differs not at all from feasting at the Table of our Lord , without any sense of his dying love . I would not be thought to give encouragement by this discourse , to wicked men to approach this holy Table ; such men ought to be carefully turned away from such sacred Mysteries , when they are discovered ; but the whole design is to shew , that those men , who have such clear innocent consciences , that they dare pray to God , need not be afraid of receiving the Sacrament , and those who have not , I would desire them to consider , what a case they are in : they defile every holy duty they meddle with , and are in perpetual danger of Gods wrath and displeasure ; they cannot ask his pardon , but they provoke him the more , for the interpretation of such mens prayers , is only to beg a longer liberty and indulgence in sin ; and therefore this is no more an encouragement to neglect the Lords Supper , than it is to continue in a state of sin and damnation . But you will say , does not the Apostle tell us , that a man must examine himself , and so eat of that bread , and drink of that cup , for he that eateth , and drinketh unworthily , eateth and drinketh damnation to himself , not discerning the Lords body ? Very right ; but not to dispute the particular meaning of that place , is not this true also of him , that hears or prayes unworthily ? Does the Apostle say , that there is any greater degree of worthiness required to receive the Lords Supper , than there is to pray to God ? He who is fit to pray to God , is fit to eat and drink at the Lords Table ; and he who is not fit for either , I am sure is not fit to dye . Our right to immortality is conveyed to us in this heavenly Feast , as you have already seen , and it is equally strange to me , that men should content themselves in such a condition , as makes them unfit to receive the pardon of their sins , the assistances of Gods Grace , or immortal life ; or if they be not in this deplorable condition , that they should neglect that holy Feast , which is the only ordinary instituted means of conveying all these blessings to them . FINIS . Books lately Printed by Richard Chiswel . LOrd Bacon's Remains , octavo . Dr. Puller's Discourse of the Moderation of the Church of England , octavo . Dr. Edw. Bagshaw's Discourses upon Select Texts against the Papist and Socinian , octavo . Mr. Rushworth's Historical Collections : The Second Volume , folio . — His large and exact Account of the Trial of the Earl of Strafford , folio . Remarques relating to the state of the Church of the 3 first Centuries , wherein are interspersed Animadversions on a Book called , A View of Antiquity : By I. H. Written by A. S. Speculum Baxterianum , or Baxter against Baxter , quarto . The Countrey-Mans Physician , octavo . Dr. Burlace's History of the Irish Rebellion , folio . An Apology for a Treatise of Humane Reason , Written by Ma. Clifford Esq twelves . The Laws of this Realm concerning Jesuits , &c. explained by divers Judgements and Resolutions of the Judges ; with other Observations thereupon , by William Cawley Esq folio . Dr. Burnet's History of the Reformation of the Church of England . In two Vol. folio . Bishop Sanderson's Sermons : with his Life , folio . Fowlis his History of Romish Conspiracies , Treasons and Usurpations , folio . Markham's Perfect Horseman , octavo . The History of the Powder-Treason , with a Vindication thereof , against the Author of the Catholick Apology , and others : to which is added a Parallel betwixt that and the present Plot , quarto . Dr. Parker's demonstration of the divine authority of the Law of Nature , and Christian Religion , quarto . A Defence of Dr. Stillingfleet's Unreasonableness of Separation , octavo . Dr. Outram's Sermons on several occasions , octavo , now in the Press . FINIS . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A59850-e2200 * Mr. Thorndyke's right of Christian Assemblies . Heb. 10. v. 23. Vers. 26 , 27 , 28 , 29. 1 Cor. 1. 12. 1 Cor. 3. 3 , 4. 2 Tim. 3. 6 , 7 , 8. 1 John 2. 18 , 19. Acts 24. 14. & 28. 22. & 24. 5. & 5. 17. & 15. 5. Acts 21. 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24. 1 Cor. 11. 18 , 19. Gal. 5. 20. 2 Pet. 2. 1. v. 4 , 5 , 6. v. 10. Exod. 22. 28. Acts 23. 4 , 5. Deut. 17. 12. 2 Pet. 2. 15. Jude , v. 19. Scias nos primo in loco , nec curiosos esse debere , quid ille doceat , cùm foris doceat , quisquis ille est , & qualiscunque est , Christianus non est , qui in Christi Ecclesia non est . Cypr. ad Anton. Epist. 52. Cyp. Ep. 39. Qui ergo in Ecclesia Christi morbidum aliquid pravumque sapiunt , si correpti ut sanum rectumque sapiant , resistunt contumaciter , suaque pestifera & mortifera dogmata emendare nolunt , sed defensare persistunt ; Haeretici fiunt , & foras exeuntes , habentur in exercentibus inimicis , &c. Aug. de Civ . Dei , lib. 18. cap. 51. See the Inquiry into the original of Evangelical Churches , chap. 11. pag. 231. Dr. Cave's Primit . Christianity , par . 1 ch . 7. p. 171. Concil . Gang. Can. 6. Dr. Stillingfl . Unreasonableness of Separation . Mr. Hobbs . Psal. 95. 6. Psal. 100. 3 , 4. Mal. 1. 6. Psal. 50. 15. & 86. 5 , 6 , 7. Psal. 91. 15. Psal 145. 18 , 19 , 20. Psal. 65. 2. Prov. 10. 22. Jam. 4. 2. 1 Tim. 4. 8. Tit. 2. 11 , 12. Job 28. 28. Psal. 111. 10. Prov. 9. 10. Tit. 2. 12. Psal 22. 22. Psal. 107. 32. Psal. 111. 1. Psal. 149. 1 , 2. Isa. 1. 13. Ephes. 4. 4. Acts 2. 42. Vers. 46. 1 Joh. 1. 3. 1 Cor. 12. 13. 1 Cor. 10. 26. 27. Mat. 10. 32 , 33. Rom. 14. 10 , 13 Mat. 5. 14 , 15. Rom. 14. 23. Jer. 14. 14. Jer. 23. 25 , 26. Vers. 30 , 31. Ephes. 4. 3 , 4. 1 Cor. 10. 16. 17. Ephes. 4. 15 , 16 Ephes. 2. 21. Joh. 17. 20 , 21. Phil. 2. 2. Joh. 13. 34 , 35. Acts 2. 42. 1 Joh. 2. 13. 1 Cor. 3. 3 , 4. 1 John 1. 3. Heb. 12. 22 , 23 , 24. Baxter's search for the English Schismat . p. 12. Caeterum etsi vix ulla harum legum executio esset , Donatistae tamen invidiosê , odioseque clamabant , sese injustè vexati , & causam tuam non jure agi , sed vi opprimi ; delibatio Hist. Afric . apud Optatum . Quisquis vel quod potest arguendo corrigit , vel quod corrigere non potest , salvo pacis vinculo , excludit , vel quod salvo pacis vinculo excludere non potest , aequitate improbat , firmitate supportat , hic est pacificus . St. Aug contra Epist. Parmen . l. 2. Joh. 4. 24. Eccles. 5. 2. Acts 21. 21 , 22 Col. 2. 21. Rom. 14. 17. Gal. 4. 1 , 2. Gal. 5. 1. Heb. 3. 5. 1 Cor. 14. 40 , 26. 2 Cor. 10. 8. Heb. 13. 17. John 10. 22. 1 Macab . 4. 59. Luke 22. 25. Foxes and Firebrands . Ep. ad Ianuar. Col. 2. 23. Lev. 22. 17. Acts 17. 22. Dr. Ham. of Superst . Isa. 1. 11. Dr. Owen's Enquiry into the Original of Churches , p. 14. John 13. 35. 1 Cor. 3. 9 , 6 , 7. Matth. 23. 2 , 3 De Vita Const. l. 4. c. 33. 1 Cor. 11. 10 Matth. 18. 19 , 20. 1 Pet. 3. 21. Phil. 2. 9 , 10 , 11. Matth. 26. 26 , 27 , 28. Mark 14. 22 , 23 , 24. Luke 22. 19 , 20. 1 Cor. 11. 23 , 24 , 25. Acts 2. 46. Apost . Can. 9. Concil . Antioch . Can. 2. John 3. 16. Acts 9. 39. Ezra 9. 5. Psal. 141. 2. Heb. 9. 12. Acts 2. 46. Rev. 5. 12. 1 Cor. 15. Heb. 10. 28 , 29. 1 Cor. 10. 18. V. 21. Gen. 31. 46. V. 54. Heb. 9. 18 , 19 , 21. Psalm 50. 5. 1 Cor. 10. 17. Joh. 6. 53 , 54 , 56 , 57. V. 51. Hebr. 13. 10 11 , 12 , 13. Heb. 13. 15. Joh. 6. 56. 1 Cor. 12. 13. 2 Cor. 3. 8. Eph. 5. 30. Joh. 6. 54 , 57 , 58. Rom. 8. 11. 1 Cor. 12. 13. Rom. 6. 3 , 4 , 5. 1 Cor. 10. 16 , 17. 
A30585	----	Gospel-worship, or, The right manner of sanctifying the name of God in general and particularly in these three great ordinances, viz. [brace] 1. hearing of the Word, 2. receiving the Lords Supper, 3. prayer / by Jeremiah Burroughs ; being the second of the seven volumns lately published by Thomas Goodwin ... [et al.] Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646. 1653 Approx. 690 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 136 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2008-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A30585 Wing B6085 ESTC R36311 15643313 ocm 15643313 104284 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A30585) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 104284) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1182:12) Gospel-worship, or, The right manner of sanctifying the name of God in general and particularly in these three great ordinances, viz. [brace] 1. hearing of the Word, 2. receiving the Lords Supper, 3. prayer / by Jeremiah Burroughs ; being the second of the seven volumns lately published by Thomas Goodwin ... [et al.] Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646. [11], 297 [i.e. 247], [13] p. Printed by Peter Cole ..., London : 1653. Half-title page reads: Mr Burroughs Gospel-conversation. Mr Burroughs Gospel-worship. Includes index. Numerous errors in pagination. Reproduction of original in the Huntington Library. 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Theology, Practical. 2006-05 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2006-06 Apex CoVantage Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2007-06 Ali Jakobson Sampled and proofread 2007-06 Ali Jakobson Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion Gospel-Worship : OR , The Right Manner of Sanctifying the Name of GOD in General . And particularly in these Three great Ordinances : Viz. 1. Hearing of the WORD . 2. Receiving the Lords SVPPER . 3. PRAYER . By JEREMIAH BURROUGHS . Being the Second of the Seven Volumns , lately published by Thomas Goodwin , William Bridge , William Greenhil , John Yates , Sydrach Sympson , Philip Nye , William Adderly . coat of arms or blazon COLE . 1216. London : Printed by Peter Cole in Leaden-Hall , and are to be sold at his Shop , at the sign of the Printing-Press in Cornhil , near the Royal Exchange . 1653. TO the READER . OVR purpose in this Preface , is not to speak either of the eminent Worth of the Author , whose memory is blessed in the hearts of all the godly in this Nation ; or of this Piece it self here published : but only to assure thee , That it is his . And although it riseth not up to that exactness and perfection as might have been in them , had he publish'd them himself ; yet with that different allowance which is to be given Notes taken from his mouth in ordinary and frequent Preaching , We doubt not but that in their use and benefit they may be as profitable to the Saints as other of his Writings , being as full of weighty and Divine Materials , having also the impress of the Spirit and language of this holy Man ( one of the greatest Preachers of this Age ) stampt all along upon them . We ( to whom this our Brother was most dear and precious ) being entrusted with the publishing of his Sermons , have thought good first to usher abroad these few , which if they receive that welcom they deserve , many other excellent Pieces of his may soon after have encouragement to appear in publick view . The Points treated of in these , are of great concernment , and therefore we conceive , the Author though in handling of them , he had room enough for the discussing many of the controversies of the times , yet he purposely waved it , and bent himself to the single delivery of that which tended most to edification , and best suted with such a popular Auditory as that was to whom he spake . The Lord of Heaven bless them to thy spiritual advantage , and enable thee by such means as these to sanctifie his Name in the use of all his Ordinances , which is the desire of Thomas Goodwyn , William Greenhil , Sydrach Sympson , Philip Nye , William Bridge , John Yates , William Adderly . The CONTENTS of the several ensuing Sermons . SERMON I. THe occasion of the words 1 The words opened 5 Observ . 1 There must be nothing in Gods Worship , but what he hath commanded 8 Obs . 2. God stands upon little things in matters of his worship 11 Obs . 3. No priviledg can secure from Gods stroke 12 Obs . 4. The more dignity the more danger ibid Obs . 5. The beginnings of great matters meet with difficulties 13 Obs . 6. Those that enter into publick places have need of the fear of God ib. Obs . 7. We should pick out Gods meaning from dark expressions in his word 14 Obs . 8. Sinners may meet with judgments never threatned in the Word 16 Obs . 9. God is very quick with some in the way of judgment 17 Obs . 10. The holiness of a duty will not bear a man out in his miscarriage in it . ib. Obs . 11. The Lord is terrible out of his holy places 18 Obs . 12. Gods judgments are oft sutable to mens sins ib. Obs . 13. We should take heed of bringing strange fire to Gods service 19 SERMON II. Obs . 14. Gods saints many times meet with afflictions in their children 20 Obs . 15. Gods judgments come many times in an invisible way 21 Obs . 16. Gods glory more precious to him than mens lives 22 Obs . 17. The nearer any are to God the more careful they should be to glorifie him ib. Obs . 18. When judgments are exemplary we should look to the word how God makes it good 23 Obs . 19. The great honor of Gods Name in the making it holy . ib. Obs . 20. True friendship to comfort friends in distress from the Word 24 Obs . 21. The way to quiet the heart in affliction , is , to think God wil have honor by it 25 Doct. 1. In worshiping God we draw nigh to him 26 In what respect we are said to draw nigh God in worship 27 Use 1. To take heed what we do when we worship God 30 Use 2. Why guilty consciences fly from the worship of God 31 Use 3. Why Hypocrites meet with such severe judgments 32 Use 4. To neglect Gods Worship is to depart from him 33 Use 5. Exhortation to be much in Gods worship 34 SERMON III. Use 6. The honor of Gods Servants to draw nigh him 39 Doct. 2. We must sanctifie Gods Name in drawing nigh to him 42 First , In preparation to his worship ib. 1 Because he is a great God 43 2 The duties of Gods worship are great 44 3 Our hearts are naturally unprepared 46 4 The hindrances of Gods worship are many ibid 5 The Heathens prepared to worship ship their Idols ibid 6 Preparation shews sincerity of heart 47 Five things wherein preparation consists 48 1 A right apprehension of God 49 2 Taking the heart from sinful waies ibid 3 Taking off the heart from the world ibid 4 In watching and prayer 50 5 In acting the faculties and graces 51 Four things of the excellency of Preparation 52 1 It will make duties easie ib. 2 We shal do much in a little time ib. 3 The Lord will pass by weakness in duties 53 4 It will make the heart alway ready for duty 54 SERMON IV. Cases of Conscience 1 Whether we be alway bound to set some time apart for preparation to duties 55 2 Whether being not prepared ; the duty may be omitted 57 Answered in 4. particulars . 1 The omission of duty will not fit the soul for duty 58 2 It is but a temptation to keep from duty 59 3 If the duty be done in sincerity , though there be not due preparation it is better than to omit it ib. 4 While people struggle with their corruptions , and seek not God , they fall into snares 61 In what manner duties are to be performed that Gods Name may be sanctified ibid 1 We must perform them so , that we may glorifie God as a God 62 Which is done 1 When we offer all we have 63 2 When we grieve that we can do no more 64 3 There is an impression of Gods infinitness on the duties of his Saints ibid 2 When the soul follows after God as a God 66 3 When the soul comes expecting the choicest mercies of God ib. How the heart must behave it self to sanctifie Gods Name in respect of his greatness and glory ibid 1 It must be a sanctified heart 67 1 Because the Lord accepts the person before he accepts the action 69 2 God looks more at the principle of the duty , than at the duty ib. 3 According as the heart is , so will the duty be 70 SERMON V. 2 In sanctifying Gods Name in Worship we must have high thoughts of God 71 3 We must have high ends in worshiping God 72 Several base low ends in worshiping of God. 1 In subjecting his Worship to our lusts ib. 2 Subjecting his worship to the praise of men 73 3 Making self our end in his worship 74 Which we do 1 when we are weary of duties if we find not that we desire 76 2 when men are streightned in worship , and envy others that are enlarged 77 3 when men regard holy duties only in times of extremity ib. 4 There must be reverence and fear in Gods worship 78 5 There must be strength in the Duties of Gods worship 80 Strength of Intention 81 Affection 82 Faculties . 83 6 There must be an humble frame of spirit 84 Which consists 1 In admiring Gods goodness that we are alive to come before him ib. 2 To have no thought of any Excellency in our selves 85 3 To come without our own righteousness ibid 4 To take off our hearts from all ability of grace ib. 5 To wait Gods leisure in regard of the time 86 7 In sanctifying Gods Name we must bring that which is his own ibid 1 The matter must be that which he hath commanded ibid 2 we must be acted by the spirit 87 When duties are acted by natural parts , and not the spirit of God 1 If they change not the heart ib. 2 If they carry not through difficulties ibid 3 when men rejoyce in acting their parts ib. 4 When there is little enlargement in secret 88 5 when there is not constancy in duty ib. Duties acted by Natural Conscience 1 It gives no strength to do them ib. 2 The heart loves not the duty ib. 3 It doth not encrease communion with God ib. SERMON VI. 4 It makes not a duty strong to the soul 89 5 It limits it self in Duty ibid 6 It is satisfied with little 90 7 In the sanctifying Gods Name in Worship , there must be a resignation of all to God ibid 8 All worship must be tendred in the Name of Jesus Christ 91 How to sanctifie Gods Name in reference to his Attributes 1 God is a spirit and to be worshiped in spirit 93 2 God is Eternal , and how to worship him in that consideration 94 3 God is Incomprehensible , and therefore seeth us in every place 95 4 God is unchangable , what that should teach us in our worship 96 5 God is a living God , and what we should learn thence ibid 6 God is Almighty , what that should teach us in our worship 97 7 God is Omniscient , and what that should teach us 98 8 God is a God of wisdom , and what that should teach us 99 9 God is Holy , and what that should teach us in our worship ib. 10 God is Merciful , and what that should teach us 100 11 God is Just , and what that should teach us 101 12 God is Faithful , and what we should learn thence 102 SERMON VII . Reasons why God wil be sanctified in all the Duties of his Worship . 1 God doth will himself the last end 104 2 The especial glory God hath in the world , is , to be actively honored 105 3 The duties of worship are the means to convey Gods choicest mercies ibid 4 We are not fitted to receive mercies , but by sanctifying Gods Name ibid 5 Else we should not hold out in duty 106 Application 1 We have no cause to rest on our duties 107 2 The work of Religion is hard to flesh and blood 109 3 We should be humbled that we have no more sanctified Gods Name 110 4 Exhortation to sanctifie Gods Name 113 1 To consider we have to deal with God in worship 114 2 Not to come in our own strenghth 115 3 Not to be satiisfied with the duty done ibid 5 God is displeased with the duties of wicked men 116 1 God blasts such men 117 2 God opens their eyes on their death-beds to see what they have done 118 6 Those that sanctifie Gods Name , he will sanctifie it in a way of mercy 119 SERMON VIII . Of sanctifying Gods Name in hearing the Word 161 Hearing the word a part of Gods worship 162 1 We profess our dependance upon God for the knowing of his mind 163 2 In hearing we wait on God in the way of an Ordinance ibid In hearing the Word 1 There must be a preparation 165 Which is , 1 To hear the word as the word of God 166 2 To hear the word as Gods Ordinance for our good ib 2 To plough up the fallow ground of the heart , and what is meant by it 168 3 Resolution to yield to all truths delivered 170 4 A desire after the word ib. 5 Prayer before we hear the word 171 The behavior of the Soul in hearing the Word . 1 Careful attention to it ib. Means to help attention ib. 2 An opening of the heart to receive it 175 3 Careful applying of the word ibid 4 It must be mixed with faith 177 How the word is to be mixed with saith ibid SERMON IX . 5 The word must be received with meckness 179 6 It must be heard wich ae trembling heart 181 7 With humble subjection to the word 182 8 It must be received with love and joy 184 9 It must be received into an honest heart 186 10 We must hide the word in our hearts 189 11 We must turn the word into practice 192 SERMON X. Why God will be glorified in them that hear the word 195 1 Because there is so much of God in it ibid 2 God hath appointed it to convey special mercies ib. 3 It is quick and lively in working 196 Use 1. Reproof of several sorts of men concerning the word neglected 197 The fearful estate of those that do not sanctifie God in his Word 200 1 They lose the choicest opportunity ibid 2 The word wil be a great aggravation of sin ibid 3 They that reject the word , reject Christ 201 4 It is an argument of hardness of heart 202 5 It is a sad sign of Reprobation ibid 6 To such there can be nothing sanctified 203 7 They are nigh to a curse ib. 8 It will turn to their damnation 205 9 It will not comfort them in afflictions 206 10 God will make his word good upon them 207 11 The word shal judg them ibid 12 God will blast them that sanctifie not his Name in his word 208 Use 2. Exhortation to glorifie the word of God 209 God wil sanctifie his Name in mercy upon those that sanctifie it in hearing the Word 210 1 All the good in the world is theirs ibid 2 It is a certain evidence of their election 213 3 God will sanctifie them by the word 214 4 They wil be the glory of the Ministers at the day of Christ ibid 5 It will rejoyce them hereafter when God shall magnifie his word 215 SERMON XI . Of sanctifying the Name of God in receiving the Sacrament 225 1 Receiving the Sacrament is a part of Gods Worship 226 2 Gods Name must be sanctified in our receiving the Sacrament 228 1 Because there are presented the greatest mysteries of salvation ibid 2 It is an Ordinance that Christ hath lest out of his love ibid 3 It is the Sacrament of our communion with Christ 229 4 The Covenant of grace is sealed in it ibid 2 No duty is urged with more strength and severity ib. 3 Nothing strikes more upon mens consciences 230 How many are to Sanctifie Gods Name in the Sacrament 231 1 Those that receive it must be holy 232 1 Because it is the seal of the Covenant ibid 2 It is an Ordinance of spiritual nourishment 233 3 Because we are required to examine our selves ib. 4 It is a Sacrament of communion with God and the Saints 234 2 It must be received in an holy communion ibid Wicked men not to be admitted to this communion 235 SERMON XII . Addition to the former concerning holy communion 242 The qualifications in the soul to fit it for receiving the Lords Supper 244 1 Knowledg ibid 2 A broken heart 246 3 Actual purging the heart from sin 249 4 Hungring and thirsting after Jesus Christ 251 5 Exercise of Faith 252 6 Exercise of spiritual Joy 255 7 Thankfulness ibid 8 Renewing of Covenant 257 9 Renewing of love towards God and our brethren 258 SERMON XIII . We must keep to the institution in the Sacrament 261 1 For the gesture 262 2 Delivering it to all in general , and not into every particular mans hand 264 3 That the Communicants be all the while exercised in their thoughts about the death of Christ 265 Meditations in receiving the Sacrament 267 1 That the way of mans salvation it is through a Mediator ibid 2 This Mediator between God and Man is true Man ibid 3 That his Body was broken , and his blood shed for us 268 4 It was the Body and blood of that person that is God , that reconciles us ibid 5 To consider the dreadfulness of Gods justice ibid 6 The price of saving a soul 269 7 The greatness of the evil of sin ibid 8 The infinit love of God to mankind ibid 9 That Beleevers shall be nourished to eternal life ib. 10 To meditate upon the Covenant of grace to Beleevers 270 Holy dispositions to be actuated in receiving the Sacrament 271 Of Sanctifying the Name of God in Prayer 272 What preparation we are to make to prayer 274 1 Concerning the Matter of Prayer 276 2 Concerning the Manner of Prayer 280 Concerning wandring thoughts in Prayer 282 SERMON XIV . A further enlargement concerning wandring thoughts in in Prayer 283 Five Rules to help against wandring thoughts 286 1 Set an high price upon the duties of prayer ibid 2 To reuew resolutions against wandring thoughts 287 3 To set the presence of God before us 288 4 To account all wandring thoughts evil ibid 5 To bless God if at any time he did help us against them 289 3 For sanctifying Gods Name in prayer , there must be the breathings of the spirit 289 4 There must be pure hearts and hands 292 5 We must call upon God in truth ibid 6 We must pray in faith 293 7 In the spirit of adoption 294 8 We must pray with constancy 295 9 We must pray in humility ib. 10 We must tender up all our prayers in the Name of Christ 296 Conclusion of all 297 Books printed by Peter Cole , at the Printing-Press in Cornhil . London . Seven Books of Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs , lately published ; As also the Texts of Scripture up in which they are grounded . 1 The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment , Phil. 4 11. Wherein is shewed , 1 What Contentment is , 2 It is an holy Art and Mystery , 3 The Excellencies of it ; 4 The Evil of the contrary sin of Murmuring , and the Aggravations of it . 2 Gospel-Worship , on Levit. 10. 3. Wherein is shewed , 1 The right manner of the Worship of God in general ; and particularly , In Hearing the Word , Receiving the Lords Supper , and Prayer . 3 Gospel-Conversation , on Phil. 1. 17. Wherein is shewed , 1 That the Conversations of Beleevers must be above what could be by the light of Nature , 2 Beyond those that lived under the Law , 3 And sutable to what Truths the Gospel holds forth . To which is added , The Misery of those men that have their Portion in this Life only , on . Psal . 17. 14. 4 A Treatise of Earthly-mindedness . Wherein is shewed , 1 What Earthly-mindedness is , 2 The great Evil therof , on Phil. 3. part of the 19. vers . Also to the same Book is Joyned , A Treatise of Heavenly-mindedness , and walking with God , on Gen. 5. 24. and on Phil. 3. 20. 5 An Exposition on the fourth , fifth , sixth , and seventh Chapters of the Prophesie of Hosea . 6 An Exposition on the eighth , ninth , and tenth Chapters of Hosea . 7 An Exposition on the eleventh , twelfth , and thirteenth Chapters of Hosea , being now compleat . Twelve several Books of Mr. William Bridg , Collected into one Volumn . Viz. 1 The great Gospel Mystery of the Saints Comfort and Holiness , opened and applied from Christs Priestly Office. 2 Satans Power to Tempt ; and Christs Love to , and Care of His People under Temptation . 3 Thankfulness required in every Condition . 4 Grace for Grace ; or , the Overflowings of Christs Fulness received by all Saints . 5 The Spiritual Actings of Faith , through Natural Impossibilities . 6 Evangelical Repentance . 7 The Spiritual-Life , and In-being of Christ in all Beleevers . 8 The Woman of Canaan . 9 The Saints Hiding-Place in time of Gods Anger . 10 Christs Coming is at our Midnight . 11 A Vindication of Gospel Ordinances . 12 Grace and Love beyond Gifts . Six Sermons Preached by Dr. Hill , Viz. 1 The Beauty and Sweetness of an Olive Branch of Peace , and Brotherly Accommodation budding . 2 Truth and Love happily married in the Saints , and in the Churches of Christ . 3 The Spring of Strengthning Grace in the Rock of Ages Christ Jesus . 4 The Strength of the Saints to make Jesus Christ their Strength . 5 The Best and Worst of Paul. 6 Gods Eternal Preparations for his dying Saints . A Godly and Fruitful Exposition , on the first Epistle of Peter . By Mr. John Rogers , Minister of the Word of God at Dedham in Essex . A Platform of Church-Discipline ; Gathered out of the Word of God , and agreed upon by the Elders and Messengers of Churches assembled in the Synod at Cambridg in New-England . Tears of Repentance : Or , a further Narrative of the Progress of the Gospel amongst the Indians in New-England : Setting forth , not only their present state and condition , but sundry Confessions of sin by diverse of the said Indians , wrought upon by the saving Power of the Gospel ; Together with the manifestation of their faith and hope in Jesus Christ , and the Work of Grace upon their hearts . The Wonders of the Load-stone , by Mr. Samuel Ward of Ipswich . An Exposition on the Gospel of the Evangelist St. Matthew , by Mr. Ward . Clows Chyrurgery . Marks of Salvation . Christians Engagement for the Gospel , by John Goodwyn . Six several Books by Nich. Culpeper , Gent. Student in Physick and Astrology . 1 The Anatomy of the Body of Man , Wherein is exactly described the several parts of the Body of Man , illustrated with very many large Brass Plates . 2 A Translation of the New Dispensatory , made by the Colledg of Physitians of London . Whereunto is added , The Key to Galen 's Method of Physick . 3 A Directory for Midwives ; or , A Guide for Women . 4 Galen's Art of Physick , with a large Comment . 5 The English Physitian ; Being an Astrologo-Physical Discourse of the Vulgar Herbs of this Nation ; wherein is shewed how to cure a mans self of most Diseases incident to mans Body , with such things as grow in England , and for three-pence charge . Also in the same Book is shewed , 1 The time of gathering all Herbs both Vulgarly and Astrologically . 2 The way of drying and keeping them and their Juyces . 3 The way of making and keeping all manner of useful Compounds made of those Herbs . 4 The way of mixing the Medicines according to cause , and mixture of the Disease , and part of the Body afflicted . 6 A New Method both of studying and practising Physick . Great Church Ordinance of Baptism . Mr. Love's Case , containing his Petitions , Narrative , and Speech . Dr. Prestons Saints Submission , and Satans Overthrow . The Bishop of Canterburies Speech on the Scaffold . The King's Speech on the Scaffold . A Treatise of the Rickets , being a Disease common to Children ; wherein is shewed , 1 The Essence , 2 The Causes , 3 The Signs , 4 The Remedies of the Disease . Published in Latin by Dr. Glisson , Dr. Bate , Dr. Regemorter ; now translated into English . Cum multis aliis — Gospel-Worship : OR , The Right Manner of drawing nigh to God , in General : And particularly in these Three great ORDINANCES : Viz. 1. Hearing of the WORD . 2. Receiving the Lords SUPPER . 3. PRAYER . Leviticus , 10. 3. Then Moses said unto Aaron , This is it that the Lord spake , saying ; I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me , and before all the People I will be glorified . And Aaron held his peace . THese words are the speech of Moses to Aaron his Brother , endeavoring to quiet and comfort his heart , which was ( no question ) exceedingly troubled upon that great and sore affliction that was upon him , in the strange death of his two Sons , Nadab and Abihu : The story is this : After Aarons Sons were Consecrated to the Priestly-Office , they coming to attend this their Office , the very first day after their consecration to offer Incense unto God , they ventured to offer Incense with strange Fire , with other Fire than God had appointed : Upon that the fire of Gods wrath broke out upon them , and slew them both presently in the very Sanctuary before all the people , for it was a solemn time : being the beginning of the solemn Consecration of the Priest-hood . Upon this , the spirit of Aaron could not but be exceedingly troubled , to see his two Sons thus struck Now Moses comes to him and saith , This is that which the Lord spake , I will be sanctified in them that draw nigh me , and before all the people I will be glorified . And upon this , Aaron held his peace . We reade that once fire came down from Heaven in a way of Mercy to consume the Sacrifices : but now fire comes down from Heaven in a way of Judgment to consume the Sacrificers , even Nadab and Abihu : they were Aarons Sons , the Sons of a godly man , the Sons of the High-Priest , they were his eldest Sons , for Aaron had other Sons besides Nadab and Abihu , Eleazar and Ithamar , but these were his two eldest Sons : they were two yong men , they were struck in the very prime of their age , they were two that were newly consecrated in the Priests Office , for so you find it in the 9. Chap. And they were two men of renown in the Country , and before all the people of Israel two men that God had much honored heretofore ; as you shall find in Exod. Chap. 24. and the beginning ; this Nadab and Abihu were men of great repute , and great renown , that God did much honor in former times ; for when God called Moses and Aaron with the Elders to come to him , he singles out Nadab and Abihu amongst the rest , and names them . And he said unto Moses , Come up unto the Lord , thou and Aaron , Nadab and Abihu , and 70. of the Elders of Israel . Moses and Aaron , Nadab and Abihu are only named , and then 70. of the Elders in general , but Moses , Aaron , Nadab , and Abihu , as if these were the four eminent men of renown among all the people of Israel , he names none of the 70. Elders but these two , besides Moses and Aaron : therefore these two that were consumed by strange fire , were renowned men , and newly consecrated into their Office. What was their sin ? Their sin it was offering of strange fire , so the text saith that they offered strange fire , which God commanded them not , in the beginning of the Chapter . But had God ever forbidden it ? Where do we find that ever God had forbidden them to offer strange Fire , or appointed that they should offer only one kind of Fire ? There is no text of Scripture that you can find from the beginning of Genesis to this place , where God hath said in terminis , in so many words expresly , You shall offer no fire but one kind of fire . And yet here they are consumed by Fire from God , for offering strange Fire . I find in the 30. of Exod. ver . 9. that there they were forbidden offering strange Incense , but I do not find that they were forbidden offering strange Fire . In Levit. 6. 13. and divers verses in that Chapter we find that God had appointed that they should keep constantly the Fire on the Altar burning , and never to let it go out : Now that was ( it seems ) Gods intention that therefore they should make use of that Fire , and that Fire only . God would have them to pick out his meaning : God sent Fire down from Heaven upon the Altar , so in the latter end of the 9. chap. God sent down Fire from Heaven , and gave them a charge to keep that Fire on the Altar constantly , and never to let it go out : so that it seems God would have them pick out his meaning , that because he had sent down Fire from Heaven upon the Altar , and gave them power to keep that constantly , God would have them therefore to understand , that what Incense or Sacrifice he would have the use of Fire in , it should be only that Fire and no other , though God did never say to them directly in these words , You shall make use of this fire and no other , but God would have them to understand this . That 's their sin therefore in offering of strange Fire . Now Fire comes from the Lord and doth consume them . Some think this Fire came from the Altar , but surely it could not be any ordinary Fire that did consume Nadab and Abihu at this time : for you shall find in the next ver . to my text , That the bodies of Nadab and Abihu were not consumed by the Fire , no , not their cloathes , they were kil'd by the Fire and yet their cloathes were whol , therefore it was not an ordinary Fire , it was some Coelestial Fire struck into them to slay them , for so saith the text in the 4. ver . Come neer , carry away your Brethren from before the Sanctuary out of the Camp : and so they went and carried them in their crats out of the Camp , so that their cloathes and bodies were not consumed , only they were kil'd by the Fire : they were struck with a sudden death , and that in the presence of the Lord : such a death as God had never threatned in the Word before , God had never threatned the Priests and said , If you offer strange Fire you shall be consumed by Fire : but yet God smites them with death by Fire , they had not time to seek God , no not so much ( as we use to say ) as to say , Lord have mercy upon me : they had no time to promise amendment at all : now upon this heavy judgment , the , heart of Aaron could not possibly but be very much troubled , yea , and the spirit of Moses too , for Moses was their Unkle , and Aaron their father , they could not but be exceedingly much grieved : but Moses being the brother of Aaron , seeing his spirit ( no question ) exceedingly troubled , being under such a sad affliction , and that such a Godly man even as Aaron was , should have such a sad judgment befal his children : Moses comes and speaks comfortably to him , and labors to support his spirit : and how doth he do it ? He comes not as ordinarily you use to visit your brethren , Oh! you must be content with this : no , but he comes and applies the Word of God , and shews how God must be sanctified ; and by that he comes to quiet the heart of his brother Aaron This is that which the Lord hath spoke saith Moses : He seeks to stay the heart of his brother with that which God spake . But where do we find that God spake this ? It 's hard to find in any Scripture these very words in terminis before this time : and therefore Augustin thinks it was only the word God spake , but not written , and so they had it from hand to hand by tradition as many other things , as the Prophesie of Enoch that the Apostle Jude speaks of , you do not find it written in the Book of God , and yet the Apostle speaks of it , so that indeed it was from hand to hand : yea and we find in the new Testament when Paul speaks of a thing that Christ should say , how that our Lord saith , It is a more blessed thing to give than to receive ; you find it not recorded in the Gospels that Christ said so . So , this is that which the Lord said , though it was not written from the beginning of Genesis to this very place , or otherwise though it be not recorded in express terms , yet somthing is recorded to the same purpose and effect : and so it may seem to have reference to that Scripture Exod. 29. 43. there we have a Scripture comes as neer to it as any I know . And there wil I meet with the children of Israel , and the tabernacle shal be sanctified by my glory , that 's as much in effect , as I will be sanctified in those that come nigh me , in those that come to worship me in my Tabernacle , I will be sanctified in all things that concern my Worship , I will be sure to be sanctified there . I will be sanctified ] I will be Hallowed , for it is the very same that you have in the Lords Prayer , Hallowed be thy Name , only that 's the Greek word , and this is the Hebrew : but if you would translate this word into Greek , you must translate it by the same word that Christ spake when he taught his Disciples to pray , Hallowed be thy Name , Hallowed and Sanctified is all one . Lord let thy Name appear to be Holy : so I will be Sanctified , that is , I will have my Name appear to be Holy , I will be made known unto my People , and to all the world that I am a Holy God : that 's the meaning of , I will be Sanctified , I will be known to all the world that I am a Holy God. And before all the people I will be Glorified , so it is in the latter part of the verse , as if God should say I account it to be my glory that I should be manifested to be Holy before all the world . I will be Sanctified ; that is , I will have my People to demean and carry themselves so , as to hold forth their acknowledgment of my Holiness so , as by their carriage I may appear to be a Holy God. I will be sanctified by them , or otherwise if they shall not in an active way Sanctifie my Name , that is , if they shall not demean themselves so as to hold forth the glory of my Holyness , then I will be sanctified upon them ; I will demean and carry my self towards them so , as by my actions upon them , I will make it appear what a Holy God I am : So God is Sanctified two waies , either by the Holiness of his People , in their carriage towards him holding forth the glory of Gods Holiness : and so in that 1 Pet. 3. 15. Sanctifie the Lord God in your hearts ; the Saints do Sanctifie God in their hearts when they fear God as a Holy God , and Reverence him , and Love him as a holy God , and so sanctifie him in their lives , when their lives do hold forth the glory of Gods Holiness , then God is Sanctified . But then if we do not do so , then God sanctifies himself , that is in waies of Judgment upon those that do not in waies of Holiness sanctifie his Name . And thus you have it , Ezek. 28. 22. And say , Thus saith the Lord God , Behold I am against thee O Zidon , and I wil be glorified in the midst of thee , and they shal know that I am the Lord , when I shall have executed judgment in her , and shal be sanctified in her . And this is al one with I wil be glorified in the midst of them . And in the 38. of Ezek. 16. 23. you have to the same purpose , And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel , as a cloud to cover the Land : it shal be in the latter daies : and I wil bring thee against my Land that the Heathen may know me , when I shall be sanctified in thee O Gog , before their eyes . And in the 23. ver . Thus wil I magnifie my self , and sanctifie my self , and will be known in the eyes of many Nations , and they shall know that I am the Lord , in the way of the execution of Judgment : thus I will sanctifie my self , so I will be sanctified in those that draw nigh me . In those that are nigh me ] Nigh ones , so it may be read : that is , especially the Priests that did approach to God. Ezek. 42. 13. they approach to God especially . But it is meant generally of all those that shall have to deal in my Worship , whosoever shall come to Worship me , let them look to it , they must sanctifie my Name , they must so demean themselves in my Worship , as to hold forth my Name to be Holy : or otherwise , I will manifest my self against them in the waies of Judgment , for I will appear to be a Holy God. I will have the glory of my Holiness one way or other ( saith God ) in those that come neer Me ; As if God should say , Though it 's otherwise with men , they indeed will be ready to favor those that are neer them , but I will not do so . Men will sooner pass by the offences of those that are neer them , than those that are not : as suppose that a stranger commits an offence , you would be severe towards him ; but suppose it were one of your own Children , or Kinsmen , what would you do then ? Do not we see that men will rather favor their own Kindred than strangers , though the offence be the same ? But I will not do so saith God. Suppose it be one of your own family , wil not you be ready to excuse them ? Suppose it were your own child that should cōmit such an offence , Oh! what friends would you make to take him off from punishment ? Though men would do so towards their own , yet be bitter & severe towards strangers ; Yet I wil not be so saith God : Let those that are neer me look to it , I will be sanctified by them . I will be sanctified in those that draw neer me . Now upon this , when Moses said thus , That God would be sanctified in those that draw neer him : this was Moses scope to Aaron , as if Moses should say , Aaron , though I confess the hand of God is heavy upon you this day : Yet it is fit for you to submit to God , 't is fit that God should be glorified what ever becomes of you ; you are dear to God , but Gods Name is dearer to him than you are : what ever the lives of your sons were , yet it is fit that God should be honored , and his Name Sanctified what ever become of your Sons , or of your Comforts , and therfore let your heart be quieted , you have had a great loss and affliction upon you ; but God hath had glory ; God hath glorified himself . How hath God glorified himself ? Very much by this way ; for God by this way hath done an act to make all the People of the Land fear before him ; to cause them to Worship him with al reverence . All the people of the Land seeing such a Judgment as this , and hearing of it ; they will learn for ever to fear and reverence this God : they will say , How shall we appear before this Holy God ? We had need take heed how we appear in his presence , and Worship him according to the way that He Himself would be Worshiped ; As if Moses should say , This Honor that God hath by this means in the hearts of his people ; it is that that you should account a greater good than the Lives of your Children , what ever they are . This is the scope of Moses speech to Aaron . Now upon this the Text saith : Aaron held his peace ] He was silenced . It may be before , He was expressing himself in grief , and sorrow'd exceeding much in words ; but now he was quiet and had nothing to say : he did by his silence acknowledge his Children were deer to him , but it 's fit that God should be glorified what ever becomes of his Children , and therefore Aaron holds his peace . But the word that is here translated , Holds his peace , It hath more in it than meer silence ; for the Hebrews have another word that signifie meer silence of speech : but this signifies , a staying of the heart , that it doth not further proceed in and trouble of spirit , a silence in the very heart , and staying of it ; a staying of the motions of the heart . I find the same word to be used in Scripture , when Joshua said to the Sun , stand still , stay thy self on Gibeon , Jos 10. 12. It is the same word that is here translated , and Aaron held his peace , that is , he was stayed from further vexing or troubling of himself , or being disquieted ; whereas his heart was in a strong violent motion : Now Moses speech did stop him , and gave a stop to his heart to make it stand still in a wonderful manner , As the Sun , when Joshua spake to it to stand still . As if the Lord should have spoken to his heart , Aaron , thy heart is in a mighty strong motion , but consider that I must be sanctified in those that draw nigh me ; and let all those motions of thy heart be stopt and quiet . Thus now you see the meaning of the Scripture , and the Scope of it . Now in this Scripture you have these Three special and notable Points . 1 That in worshiping of God , there is a drawing nigh unto Him. 2 That when we do draw nigh to God , we should take heed to our selves that we sanctifie Gods Name . 3 If we do not sanctifie Gods Name in our drawings nigh to Him , then certainly God will sanctifie his own Name upon us . These are the Three Points that I intend to handle ; And especially the second to handle largely among you . I confess upon another occasion in one Sermon I have spoke out of these words , but now I intend not only in general , to shew you how you should sanctifie Gods Name in Worship , but likewise in the particular Acts of Worship : As sanctifying His Name in Prayer , in Receiving the Sacrament , in hearing the Word ; in the several chief parts of the Worship of God , how his Name should be sanctified : For in all these you do draw night to God. And for that end I have pitch'd my thoughts upon this Scripture . But before I come to these Three great Points , that are the principal Points in the words read unto you ; I shall take up divers other Notes of observation that lie up and down as it were scattered , that are of great use , and will help us further to make use of this Scripture in the other points that I shall come to afterward , and handle more largely . The first Note is this , That in Gods Worship there must be nothing tendered up to God but what he hath commanded , whatsoever we meddle with in the Worship of God , it must be what we have a Warrant for out of the Word of God. For this speech of Moses is upon occasion of the Judgment of God upon Aarons Sons for offering strange Fire : They offered Fire that God had not commanded . Hence I say , that all things in Gods worship must have a warrant out of Gods word , must be commanded , It 's not enough that it is not forbidden : I beseech you observe it : it is not enough that a thing is not forbidden , and what hurt is there in it ? But it must be commanded : I confess in matters that are Civil and Natural , there this may be enough ; If it be but according to the rules of prudence , and not forbidden in the word ; we may make use of this in Civil and Natural things . But now when we come to matters of Religion , and the Worship of God , we must either have a command , or some what out of Gods Word by some Consequence drawn from some command wherein God manifests his will ; either a direct command , or by comparing one thing with another , or drawing consequences plainly from the Words . We must have a warrant of the Worship of God. One would have thought that these Priests offering Incense to the true God , what hurt was there in taking other Fire ? But there was no Command for it , and therefore it was not accepted . It 's true , there are some things in the Worship of God that are Natural and Civil helps , and there we need not have any Command : As for instance ; when we come to worship God , the Congregation meets , they must have a convenient place to keep the air and weather from them : now this is but a natural help , and so far as I Use the place of Worship as a natural help I need have no Command . But if I will put any thing in a Place beyond what it hath in its own nature , There I must look for a Cammand . For if I account one place more Holy than another ; or to think that God should accept of worship in one place rather than in aother : This is to raise it above what it is in its own Nature . So that when any creature is rased in a Religious way , above what it hath in it by Nature ; if I have not Scripture to warrant me I am therein superstitious . It 's a very useful rule for to help you : If any Creature that you make any use of in a way of Religion beyond what it hath in its own Nature , if you have not some warrant from the Word of God ( whatsoever specious shew there may be in it ) it is Superstition . As now for the Place , there was a place that was Holy , but then it had an Institution from God. And so for garments , to use those that are decent , the light of reason is enough : but if I will put any thing upon them beyond what there is in them in their own Nature , as heretofore in a Surplis , what , Had that any more decency in its own nature , but only mans Institution ? Now when man shall put a Religious respect upon a thing , by vertue of his own Institution when he hath not a warrant from God ; here 's superstition ! we must al be Willing worshipers , but not Wil-worshipers ; We must come freely to worship God ; but we must not worship God according to our own wills , and therefore what ever we do in the Worship of God , if we have not a warrant for it , when this is said , Who requireth this at your hands ? It will stop our mouthes another day : In Matthew 15. 9. In vain do they worship me , teaching for Doctrin the Commandements of men . In vain : it is a vain thing to Worship God , when there is nothing but a Commandement of man for this Worship . If you would Worship God , you must have a Commandement of God for the worship : And in Isa . 29. 13. there is a place to the same purpose , that shews how the Lord is offended with any man that shal teach his fear by their own precepts , Wherefore the Lord said , Forasmuch as this people draw neer me with their mouth , and with their lips do honor me , but have removed their heart far from me , and their fear towards me taught by the precepts of men . Mark it : Now if this be so , the Lord have mercy upon us in this thing . You have cause to be humbled every one of you ; I beleeve in some degree or other , this Congregation very much , and most Congregations that have had the fear of God taught them by the precepts of men : How many things have there been in the Worship of God that you can shew no warrant in the Word for ? A great many things meerly mens inventions , however they are now cast out , because Authority came in and cast them out , and so you submit to it ; but that is not enough for you to submit to it because Authority would have it so ; but you ought to be humbled before God for all your Will-worship , for all your yieldings to any thing in the Worship of God , that was taught by the precepts of men : You see how severe God was to Nadab and Abihu for but taking other fire than that which God had appointed to offer up Incense , though there was no direct Commandement against it . If the Lord hath spared you , and not manifested any displeasure upon you , you have cause to acknowledg Gods mercy , and to be humbled for all your false worship ; Certainly God doth expect it from this Land to be humbled for their Wil-worship , or otherwise they sow among thorns : All the Reformation that is among us , if there be not a humiliation before , for all our false-worship ; 't is not enough that we set up now the true Worship of God , but we must be humbled for our false Worship . And that 's the First Note ; That in the Worship of God there must be nothing but what God Commands . The Second Note is , In the matters of Worship , God stands upon little things : Such things as seem to be very small and little to us , yet God stands much upon them in the matter of Worship . For there is nothing wherein the Prerogative of God doth more appear than in Worship : as Princes , they stand much upon their Prerogatives : Now God hath written the Law of natural Worship in our hearts , as that we should love God , fear God , trust in God , and pray to God ; this God hath written in our hearts : But there are other things in the Worship of God that are not written in our hearts , that only depend upon the Will of God revealed in his Word , which were no duties except they were revealed in his Word . And these are of such a nature as we can see no reason for , but only this , because God will have them . As now , There are many kinds of Ceremonies to manifest honor to Princes that there is no reason for them at all , but meerly because it is a Civil Institution so appointed : So God would have some waies for the honoring of him , that the Creature should not see into the reason of them , but meerly the Will of God to have them so : Now God stands much upon little things , though men would think it a little matter whether this Fire , or that Fire , and will not this burn as well as that ? But God stands upon it : And so for the Ark , when Vzza did but touch the Ark , when it was ready to fall , we would think it no great matter , but one touch of the Ark cost him his life . There is not any one minnim in the Worship of God , but God stands mightily upon it : In the matter of the Sabbath , that 's His Worship , for a poor man to gather a few sticks , what great matter is it ? But God stands upon it . And so when the men of Bethshemesh did but look into the Ark , it cost the lives of Fifty thousand threescore and ten men . If it be a matter of a holy thing that concerns his Worship , he would not have it abused in any thing . Let us learn to make conscience of little things in the Worship of God , and not to think , O how nice such are , and how precise and nice in such smal things ! Thou doest not understand the nature of Divine Worship if so be thou art not nice about it ; God is nice and stands upon little things in the matter of his Worship . Another Note is this ; That there is no priviledges or dignities of man that can secure them from Gods stroke . Eirst , Moses the man of God , he was their Uncle , Aaron that great Instrument of Gods glory , he was their Father : They were men that were newly consecrated to the Priests Office , they were renowned , men that God put much glory upon ; yet if they will venture but to offend God in this little thing , Gods wrath breaks out upon them , and kills them presently . Let us take heed then of venturing , and do not think that any Services that we have done heretofore can bear us out ; If the greatest cannot be bore out with all their priviledges , how dare we poor worms venture upon the displeasure of God ? Thou that art a worthless creature of no use at all in the world , darest thou provoke this God , when as the Lord is so angry against men that are of great use and service , to let out his wrath upon them suddenly ? If you should see a Prince not spare his Favorite , or his Nobles that are about him , but upon one offence that we think is but a little offence , that the Princes anger should be so much against them as to cost them their lives ; what cause is there for poor people to tremble then , when they have done that which may incur the anger of the Prince ? You see all outward priviledges and greatness will not excuse from the stroke of Gods Justice , it should not excuse from the stroke of mans Justice : It 's true , among men , poor people they go to it if they offend , but if great men offend , they escape ; but it is not so with God , for Nadab and Abihu were great and renowned men . The Fourth Note is , That the more the dignity of men is , the more is their danger if they look not to it : And this Note I gather from hence , That Nadab and Abihu were the two eldest Sons of Aaron , and we find in the Scripture that Eleazer and Ithamer that were the two other sons of Aaron , they escaped and were not thus consumed . Why ? Because the two elder sons had the dignity and priviledg to come and offer the Incense , and having greater dignity than the yonger , and not being careful to behave themselves as they ought to do , the Lord smote them , and the yonger they escaped . And so many times they that are in a meaner condition they escape , when those that are in a higher condition they are struck . Let men that are in higher conditions than others look to themselves , for their danger is greater : And you that are in a meaner condition , envy not those that are higher , for you may be more safe in that mean condition which you are in , than they in theirs . The Fifth Note is this , That the beginnings of things of high concernment , do meet sometimes with great difficulties and interruptions . This Note I gather from hence , That Nadab and Abihu were struck at the very beginning of their Priest-hood : As now , suppose there were a new Office erected in a Common-wealth that concern'd the publick good of the Kingdom , and in the very first erecting of the Office there falls out some hideous accident that rings throughout the whol Kingdom , as if God from Heaven had done something against them in that Office : As now , Suppose that the first time the Judges should come at the Bench , that God should strike them from Heaven dead at the very Bench , it would be a mighty matter to darken the glory and honor of that Office. So one would think that it should have been a mighty matter to have darkned the glory and the honor of the Priest-hood alwaies : but God stands not upon that , many times the beginnings of great things are darkned by sad accidents , and therefore let us not be offended though we see some sad accidents to fall out at the beginning of great things , for though accidents fall out sadly at first , yet God may prosper it afterwards , as he did the Priest-hood . The Sixth Note is , That those that enter into publick places . and especially such places as concern the Worship of God , they had need have the fear of God much upon them when they first enter into those places . Now this were a very good Point if I were to preach to an Auditory of Ministers . You see Nadab and Abihu upon their first consecration the Lord smote them for this little miscarriage as we would think . And that 's a Sixth Note which especially concerns Ministers , and therefore I pass it over . The Seventh Note that we have , and that 's very useful for us all , God would have us all to pick out his mind from dark expressions in his Word . Though he doth not express His Will fully , and in express terms ; yet if there be any thing in his Word whereby we may come to gather the mind of God , God expects that we should gather His mind out of His Word , and if we do not it 's at our own peril . The mind of God about this strange fire that these offered , you will say , They were to pick it out : How could they have known that it was Gods mind that they should not offer any fire but that on the Altar ? They should have reasoned thus with themselves , What hath God let fire come down from Heaven upon the Altar , and hath He Commanded that that should be preserved on the Altar for His service ? Surely this must be Gods mind then , that we should make use of this fire rather than any other fire : God expects that they should have reasoned thus , but because they did not pick out Gods mind by reasoning after this manner , therefore the hand of God came out upon them . They offended , and it may be it was through ignorance , but it was at their peril , if they were ignorant of the mind of God when it might be known though it were but darkly revealed , and were to be pickt out from several places compared together , it was at their peril . It is a Point that we have a great deal of need of : for this is the vain heart of man , That if there be any thing that God would have that is not sutable to his own ends , he will stand wrangling against it , and cavelling at it ; How doth it appear ( will he say ) can you bring express Scripture for it ? Bring me express Scripture in words for to prove it , and then I will beleeve it ; and so stands out till you bring so many words of Scripture that forbids such a thing , or commands such a duty . Now my Brethren if you be of this temper , That you will forbear nothing , nor set up any thing but what you have directly express words of Scripture for , you may run at your own peril into woful dangers , into woful sins : know that God hath so revealed a great part of his mind as it is only to be known by gathering one thing from another , and by comparing one thing with another . And God expects this from you , That if upon examination of Scripture that one thing appear more likely to be his mind and will than another ; you are bound to go that way that is more likely . I told you before , That in matters of Worship we must have warrant from the Word ; but it doth not follow , That we must have a direct express warrant in every thing : As it is many times in some kind of picture , the great Art , it is in the cast of the looks ; you cannot say , it 's in the drawing of this line , or the other line , but altogether , it is the cast of the looks that causes the beauty of the Picture : So in the Scripture , you cannot say that this one line , or the other line , take it single that proves it , but let them be laid all together and there will be a kind of aspect of Gods mind , that we may see that this is the mind of God rather than the other , and we are bound to go that way . Now so far Nadab and Abihu might have seen , that they should rather have taken fire off the Altar than any other Fire : But they presum'd because they had not express word , and you see it was at their peril . Oh take heed of standing out , and wrangling against what is required , because you have not express words ; the Lord hath laid things so , and especially in the New Testament , for the ordering of the Church in the new Testament , as you have not express Command for abundance of things , but sometimes an example in some things , and sometimes not a cleer example neither ; but compare one thing with another , and that which seems to be neerest the mind of God that should be bond enough to us , to tye us to go according to what the mind of God seems most probable to be in the Scripture ; and an humble teachable heart will soon be convinced , when another man will not . We find it cleerly , That such things that are most sutable to mens own ends , a little matter will serve the turn to perswade men to it , though one might argue against it : I could easily shew it , but that I think it not so convenient in Pulpits to meddle with such things as those are . Those things I say which are sutable to mens own ends and waies , them they will close withal ; but other things that do cross the flesh , that are most opposite to loosness , and would bring men most under the Government of Christ , those things men stand out against , and they must have cleer and express words , express and cleer warrant out of the Word in so many terms , or otherwise by no means they will not so much as yield to it : That 's a Point that if God would but settle it upon our hearts , might be of very great use ; A gracious heart will see the truth through a very little crevis ; But it is mervailous to consider what a do there is to convince a man before he is humbled , of some part of Gods will ; and how easie is it to convince a man after he is humbled . The Eighth Note is this , That sinners may meet with some judgments of God that were never threatned in his Word . God did never threaten beforehand , and say , Whosoever offers strange Fire , I will consume them with Fire from Heaven ; But they meet with a judgment that was not threatned ; Consider of this , it may be when we come to speak out of the Word , and shew you plainly how God doth threaten such and such sins , you are afraid then ; but know , if thou venturest upon waies of sin , thou mayest meet with dreadful judgments executed that never yet were threatned : Besides all those judgments that are threatned in the Book of God , thou maiest meet with judgments unheard of , unexpected : As God hath mercies beyond what he hath expresly revealed in his Word , for never was it heard since the beginning of the world what God hath laid up for them that love him : So God hath judgments beyond what is in his Word . Sometimes when the Ministers of God do open the threatnings that are in Gods Word , you think that they are terrible : But know that God in the treasury of his judgments hath more dreadful things than ever yet hath been reveal'd in his Word ; and therefore learn to tremble , not only at what is revealed in Gods Word against thy sin , but tremble at what there is in that infinite Justice , Power , and Wisdom of God to find out , and execute upon sinners ; for thou art a sinner , and especially if thou beest a bold and presumptuous sinner ; thou mayest I say expect to meet with whatsoever evil an infinite wisdom is able to devise , and that an infinite power is able to bring upon thee that thou art capable of : Thou committest such and such a sin ; perhaps thou doest not know of any particular Judgment that is threatned against it ; but think thus , I that do provoke God by my sins , what may I look for ? 'T is more than I know to the contrary , but that whatsoever the infinite Wisdom of God is able to find out , and what misery soever I am capable of , that the Lord may bring upon me . Consider of this , and take heed of sin . The Ninth Observation is this , That God is very quick with some in the waies of his judgments . It may be he may spare others for a long time , but concerning thee he may say , Thou shalt not offend twice . If thou wilt venture the first act , God may strike thee with death ; he did so here with Nadab and Abihu , for they were but newly consecrated , so I find it by Interpreters , That they were to be in consecration for seven daies , and this was the first day that they came to their place , and in the very first act that they did , God did smite them : Let us tremble : the Lord is quick towards some , he is patient towards others , but do not thou presume because he is patient to others , he may take thee in the very first act of thy sin , and be quick with thee . The Tenth Note is this , That the holiness of a duty will never bear a man out in the miscarriage of it . This was a holy duty , they were the true Priests of God , they came to offer Incense to the true God , It was right Incense that they offered , there was but this one miscarriage , They had not the same Fire that God would have ; now this miscarriage God comes upon them for , and all the good there was in the Duty it would not bear them out . Consider of this , you that perform many holy duties , take heed of giving way to your selves in any miscarriage , for do not think , that because your duties are very good and holy , that by doing thereof you may venture upon mixture ; take heed of mixing any evil , any miscarriage in any holy thing , though you have performed a thousand holy duties , yet it will not bear you out in the miscarriage of them . The Eleventh Note is this , That the Lord is very terrible out of his holy places . The Note is the same that you have in Psal . 68. 35. The Lord is terrible out of his holy places : When we have to deal with God , who can stand before this holy God ? our God is a consuming fire : The Lord manifests himself here most dreadfully to strike with Fire these two Priests , as in Ezek. 9. 6. Begin at my Sanctuary , saith God. God is terrible , terrible towards those that shall dare to approach unto him , and yet are wicked and ungodly in their approaching , he is terrible to those that are neer unto him , God would have us all to tremble at his presence . In the Twelfth place , Gods Judgments are often very sutable to mens sins . Here they sinned by fire , and they are consumed by fire . They offended by strange fire , and God strikes them by a strange fire . The Judgments of God are very sutable to the sins of men oftentimes . As here by fire , so another time we find it by water : Pharaoh he sins by drowning the Infants of the people of Israel in the waters , and God drowns him in the Sea. If you will be drowning by water , you shall have water enough saith God : And so here , if you will be medling with strange Fire , you shall have strange Fire saith God : God doth many times proportion Judgments to sinners that his righteousness might the more appear : those very creatures in which we sin , many times God makes them , or others of the same kind , to be the Executioners of his Wrath. So it was with the Jews , they would sell Christ for 30. pieces of silver , and they were sold 30. of them for a penny afterwards . And so the story of Adoni-bezek in the first of Judges , that was so cruel in such a way to cut off Thumbs and Toes of Kings , even so he was served in the like kind : and it 's ordinary for men that are of cruel fiery spirits , to meet with cruel fiery spirits likewise . And I would apply it in this particular , You that are stout Children to your Parents , if God lets you live , you many times meet with the very same in your Children , and when you that are Parents meet with stubborn Children , you should reflect , Doth not God come righteously upon me ? And so you that are Servants , you are stout to your Masters , and afterwards when you come to have Servants they will be so to you ; and perhaps you were unfaithful to your Governors , afterwards when you come to have servants , it 's a thousand to one but they will be so to you . Now you should strike your hand upon your heart and say , It 's just with God that it should be so , and that He should come upon me in my own kind . Another Note is this , They offered strange fire . Let 's take heed all of us , how we bring strange fire into Gods Service . Bring strange fire into Gods Service , What 's that ? I find diverse Writers speaking upon this , saith Ambrose , Lusts , and Covetousness are this strange Fire . That which I would have you consider of , is this , Above all strange fire , take heed of the strange Fire of passion and anger ; and especially in the Worship of God ; and at any time when you find your hearts heated and fired with Anger , when you are about to worship God , remember this Scripture , Nadab and Abihu were consumed by God , with fire from God , for coming into Gods presence with strange fire : Now , O Lord , how often have we come into thy presence with strange Fire ! Perhaps your hearts have been burning hot with passion when you have been coming into Gods presence : You are to pray with fervency , for so the Scripture saith : we are indeed to be heat in prayer , by the holy Ghost in our hearts , but certainly not to come with the fire of passion and anger : Lift up your hands without wrath and doubting . If you have been passionate , and your hearts have been heat that way , be sure you get your hearts cold before you go to Prayer . And so when you come to hear the Word , if your hearts have been heat with passion , be sure you get them cold before you come to hear the Word : Receive with meekness the ingrafted Word that may save your souls . And so when you come to the Lords Supper , Take heed of coming with wrath and malice , for then you come but to offer strange Fire . It is a special Consideration for Ministers that come to preach , they should take heed of bringing strange fire into ther Pulpits ; that is , of venting their own passions ; That hath been ever a rule , that I have been convinced of since I knew any thing of Preaching , That that man that is appointed to reveal Gods wrath , had need to conceal his own wrath : that 's certainly a rule for all Preachers , for the Lord sends his Preachers to make known his wrath against mens sins ; but now , the more they make known his wrath , the more they should conceal their own ; and so by that means when they come in the openest way to manifest Gods wrath , the more their preaching would be accepted . Now it 's true , a carnal heart would be ready to think , That when a Preacher speaks out of true zeal to God , he will be ready to say , That he hath aiming at himself : Take heed of that , I beleeve you have had but little occasion of such a temptation in this place : but however this I know , it is the duty of the Ministers of God to be sure to bring nothing but the Fire of the Spirit of God , the Fire that they have from the Alter ; their tongues being touch'd with one of these Coals , and not that they should come with their own passions to further the Righteousness of God , no , The wrath of man doth not accomplish the Righteousness of God. There are some other particulars which being laid down , we shall come to the Three main Points . SERMON II. Leviticus . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . WEE began these words the last day , and shewed the scope of them , and opened the meaning of them , and spake of divers Notes of Observation that we gathered from this story of Nadab and Abihu , and of Gods dealing with them . From the general story of it , there were many Points of notable Observation that were drawn from thence : I 'le ad some few now , and so come to the main Doctrinal Point in the Text. A further Note of Observation is this , That many times even the dear Saints of God do meet with very sore and grevous offlictions in their Children . That the most eminent Saints of God are not freed from very grievous afflictions even in their Children ; It was one of the forest afflictions that almost ever any Saint of God met withal in his Children ; this affliction of Aaron at this time , That two of his Sons , and ( as I told you the last day ) renowned men in Israel , newly consecrated to the Office of Priesthood , that the very first day they came to offer in their Office , they were struck before all the people with Fire from Heaven , and were consumed : Oh what a sad affliction was it to Aaron their Father , when he saw his Sons in such a manner destroyed by God Himself ! Consider of this , you that have Children , and are ready to murmur and complain of every little affliction that is upon you in respect of your Children : If so be that your Children be but a little sick , or there be any miscarriage of them , you think it is a heavy hand of God ; But especially if God take away your Children by death , then you mourn and will not be comforted : Yea , but though God have taken away your Children by death , yea , perhaps it may be by a violent death , as being drowned , &c. yet they have not been strucken with Fire from Heaven by God , and they have not been of such publick use . These here were renowned men , and taken away in their very sin too ; your Children which have gone upon their lawful imployments , and God hath taken away their lives , there is no such cause of murmuring here ; but when God takes away Children in their sins , and in such a way as by Fire from Heaven ; thus God took away Aarons Children , and he was as dear to God as you are : And yet thus God deals with his Saints , with Aaron in regard of his Children , and with his elder Children , and with two of them together . This Example may be enough to still and quiet the hearts of men and women that are afflicted in respect of any calamity that befals their Children . You see what a hand of God is against the very Children of Aaron . A further Note is this That Gods Judgments we see sometimes , though the effect of them be visible , yet they come in an invisible way . For you shal find if you reade on in this story , That they were smote with fire from Heaven , but it did not appear what fire , for it did not so much as consume their cloathes , not their bodies , but went through all and struck them dead , and no body could tell how . Gods judgments do come in a way that is invisible : if it had been in a visible flame of fire , all would have seen it , and it would have burnt their cloaths , or their bodies : but you shall find in the 5. verse , That they were carried away from the Sanctuary in their cloaths , they were not burnt . Another Note is this , That though the lives of men be dear and precious to God yet they are not so precious as his Glory . The Glory of his Name is a thousand thousand times more dear unto God than the lives of thousand thousands of People ; the lives of Nadab and Abihu must go , that God may be Sanctified : If it comes so in the way ( as I may so say ) the lives of men , and the Sanctifying of Gods Name , the Glory of God must pass on , and must have its course let the lives of men go which way they will. We think much to have the lives of men taken away ; but if we know what the Glory of God meant , and what infinite reason there is that God should be glorified , we would not think it much that the lives of never so many men should go for the Glory of God. 'T is mercy that our lives have not gone many times for Gods Glory ; How often might God have glorified Himself in taking away our lives ? We have cause to bless Him , that our lives have been preserved so long as they have . Again Note , That the neerer any men are unto God , the more they had need take heed that they glorifie Him , for they must expect to be spared the less if they sin against Him. Nadab and Abihu , the Priests of God , and they came neer to God , yet by their transgression ; though I told you , We do not find in any place of Scripture directly in words , that this Fire is forbidden , but they should have gathered Gods mind by consequence , And therefore by the way I only Note . That we must not think to urge upon men in all things strict commands in very words , but if it be commanded so as we may draw it by any consequence , it 's a command ; as now here for the Negative , they had not a Negative prohibition in words , yet they had it by Consequence : So for the Affirmative , though we have not the Affirmative in express words , yet if we may have it by consequence , it is an Affirmative as well as the Negative , when we have it by consequence . But now the Note of Observation is , That the neerer any comes to God , if they sin against Him , they must not expect to be spared . Do not think that God will spare you the more because you are Professors of Religion , or because you do often worship him : I suppose you that are acquainted with Scripture , know that place in Amos , 3. 2. You only have I known of all the families of the Earth : therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities . Another Note is this , That when a judgment is exemplary , then we should have recourse to the Word of God , to see how God doth make his Word good in that judgment . So Moses doth , This is that which the Lord hath said . Do you see any remarkable hand of God in the execution of a judgment upon one , have recourse to Gods Word , and presently begin to think this , What is there in Gods Word against that sin that this man hath been guilty of ? If you see a judgment of God upon a Drunkard , remember the threats in the Word of God against Drunkenness , and so the judgments of God upon unclean Persons , Swearers , Sabbath-breakers , Lyars , or any Prophane , and ungodly persons , have recourse to the judgments of God threatned in the Word against such : and so likewise concerning Scorners and Opposers of Religion , remember what is said in the Word of God against such , and so learn to sanctifie Gods Name : We might have mentioned some particular threats of God against particular sinners for the helping of you , that when you see exemplary judgments : to have recourse to the Word of God : But we let that pass . A further Note from this story is this , That the great honor that God intends to his Name , It is , the making of his Name Holy. I wil be Sanctified in them that draw nigh me , and before all the people I will be glorified . As Moses should say in Gods Name , I must , and will have glory from the people , And how ? By making my Name appear to be Holy , this is the glory that I stand upon above all other things , that my Name may appear to be Holy , that I may appear to be a Holy God. I beseech you Brethren consider of this , God stands upon nothing more than to appear to all the world to be a Holy God , there 's the glory of Gods Name in an eminent way , God doth not so much stand upon this to appear to be a strong God , to appear to be a powerful God , to be a God of patience , long suffering , God doth not so much stand to be an Omniscient God , though these Attributes are dear to God , but that he may appear to be a Holy God : that he stands upon . Whatever glory of the Name of God , that God shall be content to have ecclipsed in the world for a while , yet he is resolved he will have the glory of his Holiness above all things : and therefore the Angels when they are celebrating the glory of God , they do not say , Lord Almighty , Almighty , Almighty , or Lord , Omniscient , Omniscient , Omniscient ; but Holy , Holy , Holy : Those three together , the Holiness of God , therein appears the glory of God above all : God stands upon it that he will appear to be a Holy God. Oh that those who profess themselves to be the Servants of God , that they would especially endeavor to hold forth Gods Holiness ; you that are neer to God , you that hope you are Gods Children , and make profession of his Name , labor you to hold forth the glory of his Holiness above all things , in your holy lives and Conversations : for God stands upon this , To have his Name to be Sanctified , I will be Sanctified , saith God , and I will be glorified , so he doth interpret the glory of his Name by being Sanctified . As if God should say , That 's the glory that I look for , That my Name may be extolled as Holy : And therefore the very first Petition that Christ teaches us to pray in the Lords Prayer , it is , Hallowed be thy Name , which is all one with this , Sanctified be thy Name ; Oh let the Name of God appear to be holy in the World : that 's another Note , that these two are joyned together , I 'le be Sanctified in those that draw nigh me , and I will be glorifyed before the People . Again observe , That it is the part of true friendship , to help friends in their distresses , and seek to comfort them from the Word . Though we our selves be in afflictions , yet we should seek to comfort our friends that are in greater afflictions , and to comfort them by the Word , for so did Moses : Moses comes to comfort Aaron , and applies the Word , This is that which the Lord hath said , I will be Sanctified . Now mark , no question Moses was afflicted upon this heavy hand of God , for he was their Uncle ; but though it was heavy upon the Uncle , yet it was heavier upon the Father , and therefore though Moses was troubled , yet he knew that Aaron was more troubled , and therefore he goes to Aaron , and seeks to comfort him , and he makes use of this Word in his comforting of him . Learn this then , to go and comfort your Brethren , for Aaron was Moses brother ; Go and comfort them in their afflictions , and think not because that you have some afflictions upon you , that therefore you should not be a comfort to your brethren : their affliction is greater than yours , and when you come to comfort them , come not in a meer carnal way , and say , Brother you must be content : but you must come and apply somewhat of the Word of God to comfort them , and say , This is that which the Lord hath spoke ; and to that end you should labor to be exercised in the Word of God , that so you may be able to go to your brethren and comfort them in any affliction ; for there is no particular affliction , but there is some Word of God that is sutable to that particular affliction , and those who are well exercised in the Word of God , they can apply some word to every affliction : And indeed this is an excellent friend , and such a friend is worth his weight in gold , that can come to another friend in any affliction , and evermore hath somewhat of the Word of God to apply to that affliction . The last Observation is this , That Aaron held his peace . From whence we may Note , That there is no such way to quiet a gracious heart under any afflictions in the world , as that God will fetch out His Honor by it . It is grievous to me , but God fetches out His Glory , and Honor by it . The applying of the Word , and the consideration that God hath his way to fetch out his glory in our afflictions , is the only way to quiet a gracious heart . All these Points might take up a a great deal of time , but I will let them pass , and come to the main Point of all , I will be Sanctified in those that come nigh me . There are these Three Points in these words . First , That in the Worship of God , men and women draw nigh to God. Secondly , That we ought to Sanctifie Gods Name in drawing nigh to him . Thirdly , That if we do not Sanctifie it , God will Sanctifie his own Name upon us . 1. That in Worshiping of God , there is a drawing nigh to God. Quest . Why , is not God in every place ? Answ . Yes certainly , we can never be in any place but we are nigh to God , God stands by us , and looks upon us : It is not only when you are Worshiping of God that you are nigh Him , but when you sin against Him , when thou art swearing , prophaning His Name , His Day , God stands and looks upon thee , thou art nigh Him : And it may be said or written upon every place , what was said of the City , in the last words of the Prophesie of Ezek. 48. 35. The name of the City was Jehovah Shamma , that is , The Lord is there , the Lord Jehovah He is there , He is present in this place : Oh that you would remember when you are in any place , that the Name of that place is Jehovah Shamma , The Lord is there , In him we live , we move , and have our being , therfore we are alwaies nigh him : yea , but though we are alwaies nigh God in regard of that essential presence of his , yet there is a more peculiar and special drawing nigh to God in the duties of his Worship , and that the Scripture seems to hold forth unto you . First I 'le shew you how the Scripture holds it forth , and then in what respect the Creature may be said to draw nigh to God in holy duties of Worship ; for so it was here , they were coming to offer Incense . 1. That we do draw nigh to God in holy duties , see Jam. 4. 8. Draw nigh to God ( so that you may be neerer God than you were ) that is , by holy services , and holy duties ; and hence it is in Psal . 95. 2. Let us come before his presence with thanks giving ; so that there is a more peculiar coming before Gods presence when we come to worship him than at other times : And Vers . 6. O come let us Worship and how down , let us kneel before the Lord our maker . So in Psal . 100. 2. Let us come before his presence with singing . for that 's one part of the Worship of God. But the Scripture is plain , that there is a special coming before God when we are coming to Worship him , and in this respect the Servants of God in Psal . 148. 14. are said to be a people neer to God. It is a very remarkable expression , and sets forth much the honor of the Saints of God : There 's the commendation of the excellent estate of the Saints . He also exalteth the horn of his people , the praise of all his Saints , even the children of Israel , a people neer unto him . The Saints of God , the Children of Israel , the Church of God are said to be a people neer to God ; Why neer him ? Because that they Worship God , they are much exercised in the Worship of God. This is one respect though there may be divers others mentioned , yet in respect of their coming so much before God in his Worship , therefore they are neer God. Quest . Neer him ! Why , in what respects may a man be said to draw nigh to God when he Worships him ? Answ . To that I Answer , There are three respects in which a man when he is Worshiping God may be said to draw nigh to God : First , Because when we come to Worship God , we come to tender up that homage and service unto him , that is due from us as Creatures to the infinite Creator ; that 's the very end of Worship . If you would know what it is to Worship God , it is this : You come to tender up that homage and respect that is due from the Creature to the Creator . Now when a Subject comes to tender up his homage to his Prince , he comes towards him , when he doth it immediately : So we have none to tender it up by but Jesus Christ , and when we tender it up we must come our selves too , for Christ doth nor take our service and tender it up to God and we be absent , but we must come with Christ , and Christ takes us by the hand and so tenders it up to the Father while we are in presence , so that we are said to come nigh to God in that respect , because of the immediate tendering up of that Worship of ours to God ; I call it immediate in respect of any creature : But in respect of Christ , indeed he is a Mediator to do it , but yet he doth it in a spiritual way , and we have to do with none but God through Jesus Christ in the tendering up of our Worship to him : We may make use of an institution that God hath appointed , but we do not tender up our Worship to God through that creature , but in the use of that creature we do come to God , and our souls are to tender up that respect we owe to God immediatly . therefore in levit . 21. 21. it is said of the Priests in their Sacrifices , when they were to come to Worship God , No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the Priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire . So that when any come to offer any offerings of the Lord made by Fire , it appears he came nigh to God ; he came to bring a Present to God , therefore he comes nigh . So when we come to offer our Spiritual sacrifices unto God , we come nigh to God to offer , it 's the offering of a sacrifice to God. And that 's the first thing , because the creature comes to bring a Present to God , therefore he is said to draw nigh . And secondly , The soul is said to draw nigh to God in holy duties , because it doth present its self before God in those waies through which God doth use to communicate his choice , precious , most excellent and glorious mercies to his people ; I say , when we come to Worship God , we come to set our selves before God in those waies that God doth use to communicate the choice , most excellent and glorious rich mercies that he hath to communicate to his creature . When we have to deal with creatures , as meat and drink , and our outward businesses we have to do with God in them ; but when we come to worship God , we come to present our selves before him in those things that he doth use to let out himself through in a more special and glorious manner to the souls of his people . What 's the reason why Heaven is said to be the presence of God , and why those that are in Heaven are said to live with God ? There they behold the face of God and are before him in a special manner , therefore when Christ teacheth us to pray , he teacheth us to look up to Heaven and to say , Our Father which art in Heaven , &c. Now certainly the essential presence of God is on Earth as truly and really as in Heaven , and God is not so as to have one part in one place , and another in another , but All God is in every place , but the reason why God is said to be in Heaven , it is because the Lord makes known himself there in a more glorious manner than in any other place , and therefore Heaven is the presence of God in a more special way . Now then if the communication of God unto a creature be enough to make the presence of God more special , if this be enough to make a creature to live with God , and to be before his face , because they are there where God doth most communicate himself , then certainly when we come to worship God , we come to be neer God , and be with God , because the duties of his Worship are those means that the Lord hath appointed for the letting out of himself in the glory of his goodness and mercy to his people : You may expect other manner of communication of God goodness through the duties of his Worship than in any other way : And that 's the second respect wherein you may be said to draw nigh to God in holy duties . Thirdly , You may be said to draw nigh to God , because then we should ( and if we worship God as we ought , we do ) act our faith and humility , and all the graces of the Spirit ; We do act them , as it were , upon God , when we come to worship him : That 's required in every duty of worship , that you should stir up the faculties of your souls , and all the graces of the Spirit of God , and you should act them upon God when you are worshiping of him . 'T is not enough to come with grace when you come to worship God , but there must be an acting of that grace upon God. And so we find in Scripture , that the acting of grace upon God , it is a drawing neer to him , therefore in Isa . 29. 13. the Lord complains there , This people draws neer to me with their lips , but their hearts are far from me : as if God should say , Indeed they come and speak to me , and therefore they think they draw nigh to me , but I expect that their hearts should be acting upon me , that 's the meaning . And in Zeph. 3. 2. God complains there of his people that they did not draw neer to him as they should : And it appears plainly , it was from hence , that their graces did not act so upon God as they ought , She obeyed not the voice : she received not correction : she trusted not in the Lord : she drew not neer to her God. So that acting faith upon God is a drawing nigh to God , and so acting any grace upon God is a drawing nigh to God. Now when is there a time for the acting of our graces upon God , so as when we come to worship God ? And therefore in Isa . 94. 7. the Lord complains there , That no man did stir up himself to take hold on him . When we come to Worship God we should stir up our selves to take hold of God. And thus you see in what respects the Soul may be said to draw nigh to God when it comes to Worship him . Now for the Aplication of this point , and it is in divers particulars . The First is this . Hence learn what you do when you come to Worship God and consider of it every time you come to perform any act of Worship . Truly this one thing would be of marveilons use , and it would help forward to the next point of Sanctifying of Gods Name . This you are all convinced of , That it is your duty to Worship God ; when you Pray , you come to Worship God , when you come to hear his Word you come to worship him , and when you receive the Sacrament you Worship him . Now if I should come from one end of the Congregation to the other , and ask every one of you this Question , It is your duty to Worship God , Is it not ? Yes , that you will all be ready to answer . And what do you do when you Worship God ? I fear that this Second Question would gravel many . You will say , We must pray to God , and serve him , and hear his Word , and go to the Communion : yea , but what do your Souls do in this work of worshiping of God ? This should be the answer , and so you should think with your selves , and charge this upon your own hearts , I am now going to worship God , either in Prayer , Word , or Sacrament , I am now going to tender up that homage that is due from a creature to the infinit Creator , so that I must so pray , as I must manifest that high respect that I owe to God as my Creator ; but that I shall speak to more afterword : only now remember this , That you do profess every time you go to Prayer , That you go to tender up that homage that you owe unto God , and so every time you come to hear the Word , there is a profession that you come to tender up that respect and homage that you owe to the infinite God : And so likewise when you come to receive the Sacrament . Now when we come to offer a present to men , we know how we prepare , and with what sutable presence we desire to offer : but of that afterward when we come to speak of Sanctifying Gods Name . 2 Secondly , Remember , when I come to Worship God , I come to set my self before the Lord in those ways that God doth let out the choice of His Mercies to his people in ; I have many mercies from God in the enjoyment of the creature , but when I come to worship Him , I expect the communication of his mercy in another way than through any creature in the world . The duties of his Worship are the chief channels that God doth let out the choicest of His Mercies to the hearts of His people through , and now I am going to worship Him , I am going to present my self before God. Indeed there is a little glimmering of the light of God through other Creatures to me , but the glorious Beams of the light of God is through the duties of His Worship . 3. And then Thirdly , I am now going to act my Soul upon God , so that if I have any abilities to close with God , to act my soul upon him , it must be put forth now at this time : I am indeed at all times to labor to enjoy Communion with God , when I see the Creatures , the Sun , Moon , and Stars , to labor to lift up my heart to God , and when I see the glory of God in the Sea , and for my meat and drink I am to bless God , and to acknowledg God in all , but when I come to worship God , then all the strength of my soul is to be acted upon God in a more special manner ; I must then above all labor to stir up whatsoever I have in my soul to act upon God : this is now to worship God. Secondly , If to worship God , be to draw nigh to God , hence we see the reasons why guilty consciences have little mind to the duties of Gods Worship . When a man or woman hath given liberty to any licentious way , and sinned against their consciences , if they have any light in their consciences , it is one of the tediousest things in the world to come to the duties of Gods Worship ; they had rather do any thing than come to holy Duties , as to Prayer , and especially to secret Prayer . A man or woman that hath an enlightned conscience , and is under the guilt of sin , the coming to God in holy duties , is a very grievous burden to them : Why ? Here 's the Reason , Because to worship God , is to draw to God , and the guilt that is upon them hath made the presence of God terrible to them , and therefore they had rather go into their company , and be merry , eat , drink , sport , or any thing rather than to come into Gods presence . We know how it was with Adam , when God appeared in the Garden and called to him , he ran to hide himself ; Why ? Because he had guiltiness upon him . Oh! the evil that the guilt of sin brings upon the soul , it makes the presence of God terrible . The presence of God it should be more comfortable to us , than our lives ; but our sin makes Gods presence grievous and terrible . A Child sometimes when it hath offended the Father , and is conscious to its self of the offence that it hath given the Father , it had rather be in the Kitchin among the Servants , than to come into the Hall , or Parlor , where the Father is , because it hath offended him . And so it is with a guilty conscience when it is conscious to its self of some haunt of evil that it hath given it self unto , it hath no mind at all of coming into the presence of the Father , but hangs off . My Brethren , the very presence of God in the Communion of his Saints is terrible to a guilty conscience , the very looking upon a godly man is terrible to a guilty conscience : When as thou hast been abroad , and been loose and wicked in thy waies , I appeal to thy conscience , when thou comest into the presence of some holy , gracious man or woman that lives close with God , Doth it not daunt thee ? Now is the presence of God in the very faces of his Saints , terrible to a guilty conscience : how terrible is the presence of God in his Ordinances then ? Indeed those men and women , whose consciences are not enlightened , but are ignorant and sottish , they can sin against God , and go into his presence without any trouble ; you shall have men swear , and be drunk over night , and come to the Sacrament the next day ; What 's the reason ? Because there is no light sn their consciences , their consciences are in darkness , they are besotted in their sin ; but I speak now of one who hath an enlightened conscience , the presence of God is terrible to such an one . A Third Use is this , Here 's the reason why Hypocrites do meet with such vengeance from God as they do . I confess we shall meet with this more especially afterwards , only by the way take notice of it , Hypocrites above all men may expect the severest judgments of God upon them , because they come so nigh God , for they come often to the Duties of Gods Worship ; now they that will come so nigh Gods presence , and come with base and ungodly hearts , to cloak their villany , of all in the world they must expect to have the severe vengeance of God let down upon them ; they that stand nighest the bullet must expect to have the strength of it to be the more upon them ; so when the wrath of God proceeds out upon sinners , wicked men that stand nighest Him , they have the greatest stroke of Gods wrath : But of that more when I come to the Third Point , That God will be Sanctified in those that draw nigh Him. The Fourth Use is this , If to Worship God , be to draw nigh Him , then to neglect Gods Worship , is to depart from Him ; that must needs follow . And this is a dreadful thing , it is the Sentence that shall be at the last day of Judgment , Depart from me . Thou now art willing to depart from God , Oh consider of this you that neglect Worship , the Worship of God in your Families , and in your Closets , and in the Congregation , in the Communion of the Saints , thou hast little minded or regarded the Worship of God ( it may be ) all thy daies , what hast thou been doing all this while ? thou hast been departing from God all this while , and when thy conscience shall be but enlightned , and awakened to see how far thou art from God , how terrible will it be to thee ; Remember this , you that have no mind to the duties of the Worship of God , but love the Commission of sin , you neglect Gods Worship , you were wont to worship him in a constant way in your closets , and families , but now you grow more loose , and so you grow more dead every day than other , you go off from God more and more . Surely there can be no good to neglect Gods Worship . And those that are loth to Worship God , because they cannot worship him as they ought ; from this Point it appears plainly , That there can be no good gotten by neglecting Gods Worship , for it is departing from God , whatsoever plea there may be by any temptation to neglect Gods Worship certainly there is danger in it and therefore never listen to any such temptation as shall draw your hearts from the duties of Gods Worship . There are a generation of wantons in these times , that make little matter of continuing the duties of Gods Worship , they were wont constantly to worship God , and to attend upon the Word , but now it is nothing to them , and they are even ready to thank God for it that they make not such conscience as they were wont to do in the duties of the Worship of God , It may be they will say , That heretofore some slavish terror did carry them on in the duties of Gods Worship more than the understanding of the freeness of the grace of God would admit of : but shall the understanding of the freedom of the grace of God carry thee on less than thy slavish terror did ? Oh blind and wanton spirit that knowest not the waies of God , nor the freeness of the grace of God , nor the riches of it ! Oh what a dishonor art thou to Jesus Christ , and to the freeness of his grace , that thou canst go up and down from day to day and never Worship God! Did Jesus Christ come into the world for that end for to cause thee to depart more from God ? 'T is plain out of the Word , That the duties of Gods Worship are those duties whereby the soul comes to draw nigh to God : And I beseech you Brethren , observe these men , whether there be that Holinese in their lives , that Spiritualness as there was wont to be ? No , you shall find them by degrees to grow loose , yea , run sometimes into gross sins , grow many times to lying and deceiving , and to drunkenness and company-keeping : yea , to worse things by degrees : Perhaps they are at first ready to say , Is thy Servant a dead Dog that I should do this ? But by departing from God they grow dead to holy duties : we find it by experience , That the Professors of Religion have not that Holiness , Heavenliness , Spiritualness as they were wont to have in former times ; and no mervel , for now they keep not so nigh to God as they were wont . You that are Sea-men and Travellers , sometimes you are neer the Sun , and then you are hot , but the further off the Sun you go , you grow to be colder and colder : And so those that neglect the Worship of God they go from warm Sun , they go from the light of Gods Countenance , and from the presence of God , and so they grow cold and chill , and by degrees they grow to prophaness , and it is to be feared that many of them will grow to meer Athiesm . Another Use is this , An Use of Exhortation , that we would be encouraged to worship God , and to be much in the Worship of God. In Heb. 10. 22. Let us draw neer ( saith the Text ) Who would not draw neer to God ? Oh what a good thing is it to be in the presence of God : Is not the Lord the fountain of thy life ? Is it not a sweet thing to be in his presence ? We think it a sweet thing to be in the presence of godly men ; Oh that we might alwaies , live with such men , and be nigh them ! That Martyr Doctor Taylor rejoyced in this , That ever he came into prison to be acquainted with that Angel of God , holy Master Bradford : and as I remember some among the Heathens that profest they would rather be in prison with Cato , than be in the greatest glory with some other . It is a blessed thing to be in the presence of God , to be with him that is the God of our lives , and the fountain of all good ; let us draw nigh to God often , let us know that it is a mercy that we may draw nigh to God ; we might have been banished from the presence of the Lord long e're this time . This is that that the happiness of the glorious Church is set out by , in Rev. 22. 4. They shall see his face , and his Name shall be in their foreheads . This is the Priviledg of the Church . And that it is such a blessing to draw nigh to God , you may see it by that in Ephes . 2. 18. For through him , we both have an access by one Spirit unto the Father . Through Him ] Through Christ we have access by one Spirit unto the Father ; and now ( saith he ) Ye that were strangers and forreigners , are made fellow Citizens with the Saints , and of the houshold of God. And vers . 13. But now by Jesus Christ , ye who somtimes were afar off , are made nigh by the blood of Christ , and you have access through Christ . So , our coming nigh to God is such a priviledg as cost the Blood of Christ ; And will not you improve it ? You were far off in your natural condition , but now you are nigh through his Blood. Lay but this Text warm to your hearts this morning , That I that was far off , am made nigh by the Blood of Christ , made nigh to God ; it will be a means for ever to draw your hearts to all those waies whereby you may draw neerest to God. And by drawing nigh to God often , you will come to encrease your graces abundantly : your graces , how wil they act ? the presence of God wil draw forth the acts of grace , as the presence of the fire draws forth our heat , so the presence of God will draw forth our graces . And by this means we come to live most holy lives . We reade of Moses , he was upon the mountain fourty daies with God , and when he came down his face did so shine , that the people were not able to bear it ; What 's the reason ? it was from hence , because he was so nigh to God : Would you have your faces to shine in a holy conversation before men ? converse much with God , be often with God , be nigh to him , and that will make you shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation . We find it so with some that converse much with God , there is a shine upon their very countenances . And further , it is a special sign of our adoption to love , to be nigh to God. What should a Child love most but to be in the presence of his Father ? Would you know whether you have received the Spirit of aboption yea or no ? I can hardly give you any one sign so cleer as this , For to love to go into Gods presence : As David said , I was glad when they said , Come , and let us go up unto the House of the Lord. You shal have many that love to be in Gods presence , so as they think on it over-night , and long for the time till it comes ; I never am better than when I am with God , me thinks when I get into Gods presence , either in prayer or any duty of Gods Worship , I find my heart warmed and quickned , &c. They are ready to say with Peter , Master , it is good being here . And that 's another thing , It is that which will put us in mind of the life of Heaven , it is the only thing in Heaven to be in the presence of God. Why , the more thou art nigh God in the Duties of Worship , the more thou art in Heaven , and doest not thou pray , That the Will of God may be done in Earth as in Heaven ? Now the Saints and Angels are alwaies before God Worshiping of Him ; then be as much as thou canst in the presence of God , If thou wouldest be in Heaven , be there : Many of the Saints they find it so : It is not so with carnal hearts , they are weary presently , when they are in Prayer , or hearing the Word , it is not so to them : yea , that 's because thou hast not the presence of God , as in Mal. 1. what weariness is there ? Thou canst be a gaming till one or two a clock at night , and though thou shouldest lose thy supper , or the work of thy family , it is not tedious to thee to be exercised in those things that pleaseth the flesh ; but when thou comest to worship God , how quickly art thou tir'd ? now what wilt thou do in Heaven where there is nothing else done to all eternity but worshiping of God ; And then it must needs be delightful to God that thou shouldest come nigh him : There is nothing in the world more pleasant to God than to have His Saints come into His presence . What doth a Father more delight in than to have his Children about him ? Never did any Father or Mother love to have their Children by them , so as God loves to have His Children come nigh Him , and be often with him . And the truth is , one great reason that God suffers you to fall into affliction so much , is , That you may come runing to him : How doth the child come running to the Father or Mother when it is afraid ? why , the Lord is willing to permit men to do you wrong that you may run to him , that he might have more of your presence : Thou that art such a poor creature , yet thou hearest this day that there is nothing in the world that God takes more pleasure in ( next to the presence of his own Son Jesus Christ , and his Saints and Angels that he hath with him in Heaven ) than to have his Saints come nigh him , to have them to be alwaies under his wing . And then by coming often into Gods presence in His worship there will grow a sweet and blessed familiarity between God and thy soul , for thou wilt be speaking to God , and God will be speaking to thee too : We know many times that dear friends who are very neerly linkt together , yet if they be long absent one from another there grows a strangeness , and so by degrees their friendship is deaded ; but now when they are together every day , and there is an intercourse of love and friendship , then their friendship is kept active and quick , but now if they be absent long ; Indeed if they be absent in another Country when they cannot come together , that they are sure it is not through any neglect , then it will not damp their friendship ; but when they are neer and come not one to another , then they think it is out of neglect , and so they grow strange . So it is with the soul , if there were no possibility of coming into Gods presence , then it would not hinder the sweetness of the love of God to us . But now when we have those duties of worship wherein we may draw nigh to God , if we neglect them , our familiarity with God will quickly be lost , Acquaint thy self with God and be at peace . God is willing to be acquainted with his servants , the Lord loves to be familiar with the poorest of his Saints , and wilt not thou maintain that sweet familiarity with God ? These two benefits will fallow upon thy familiarity with God. First , Those that are most familiar with God they are most potent with God ; As now , a stranger cannot prevail in any Petition so as a familiar friend can . Thus my brethren , when strangers come into Gods presence , God doth not so much regard them : but when his familiars come into his presence , the Saints of God that keep close with him in constant communion and converse in the duties of his Worship , God doth take them as His familiar friends , and they will prevail much with God. Secondly , By this means the teror of death will be taken away , there is no such way to take off the terror of the thoughts of death as by keeping familiarity with God , death then is joyful to those that converse with him . That Reverend Divine that is now with God ( Docter Preston ) when he was to die he had this speech , I shall but change my place , I shall not change my company ; whereas its otherwise if thou growest-estranged from God , when death comes it will look with a terrible face , for then thou hast to deal with God , thou art then to go into the presence of the infinite dreadful God , into whose presence thou never hadst any mind to go before , but saith death , I must now carry thee into the presence of God. As thy Body returns to the dust , so thy soul must return to God that gave it ; that is , to receive its eternal doom , &c. But now saith a Saint , what must my boby return to dust and my soul to God that gave it ? it is he which I have been with every day , and can say as he said , My soul go forth , go forth , why art thou unwilling to go forth to him that thou hast conversed with all thy daies ? And then , what safety is there in being neer to God , especially in these dangerous times ? In the times wherein we live it is safe to be neer God ; in Psal . 22. 11. Be not far from me , for trouble is neer , saith David : Lord , trouble is neer me , be not thou far from me . It 's a blessed thing to have God neer us when trouble is neer us . Trouble is neer many of you , perhaps there 's not a spans breadth between death and us , what a blessed thing is it then to have God to be neer us ? When the poor Chickin sees the Kite come neer to seize upon it , and is like to be supprized ; if the Hen be neer , it runs to the Hen , and the Hen covers it , and keeps it safe ; So it should be with us , for so Christ saith of Jerusalem , How often would I have gathered thee as a Hen gathereth her Chickens ? There are a company of Kites abroad in the world , and we are poor shiftless Creatures ; now how happy are we then if we can run under the shadow of Gods wing ? There is a kind of shadow in the presence of God in the enjoyment of the creature ; but the shadow of God that we have in his Worship that is as the shadow of his Wing . There is the shadow of a Tree , and that may help from some kind of troubles ; but there 's another manner of shadow under the shadow of the wing of the Hen , because that nourishes the Chicken : The men of the world they have the shadow of the Tree , as it were , Gods general providence which is over all creatures ; but the Saints of God that draw nigh to God , they have the shadow of Gods Wing , like the shadow of the Hens wing to the Chicken , which doth comfort it , and safe-guard it . Let us by the duties of Worship thus draw nigh to God , and keep nigh unto Him. SERMON III Leviticus , 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . I WILL only add one Particular more to what we said the last day , and then proceed . If in the duties of Worship , we are nigh to God , then hence appears the great Honor that God puts upon His Servants that do Worship him : Certainly the Worshipers of God have great Honor put upon them , because the Lord vouchsafes them to draw nigh unto Him , they are such as are precious and honorable in his eyes . I will not enlarge my self in this , only give you three Scriptures that shew the great honor and respect that God puts upon those that he doth admit to come and worship him . The first Scripture is in Deut. 4. 17. There Moses speaking of the people of Israel , and the great respect that God shewed to them more than others ; for saith he , What Nation is there so great , who hath God so Nigh unto them , as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for ? What Nation is there so great as you are ? ( So great ! ) How doth it appear that the Nation of Israel is a greater Nation than other Nations are ? How ? That hath God so Nigh unto them in all things that they call upon him for : herein any man or woman , or Nation , may be said to be great , that is , greatly honored by the Lord God , in that they have the Lord nigh unto them , and they are nigh unto him ; here 's the greatness of a Nation : You would think that if one would describe the greatness of a Nation , it should be in their great Wealth , their great Trading and Traffick that they have , and the Fertile place that they live in : No , this is not the greatness of a Nation , But what Nation is there so great , that hath the Lord God so nigh to them ? There 's the greatness of a Nation : and so a spiritual heart would account greatness to consist in having God to be nigh unto it . The second Scripture is in Numb . 16. 9. There we have Moses speaking unto the sons of Korah , rebuking them for their sin , and he brings this aggravation to them of the greatness of their sin , saith he , Seemeth it but a small thing unto you , that the God of Israel hath separated you from the Congregation of Israel to bring you neer to Himself ? That is , That you should come to worship him , Is this a small thing to you ? Is not this honor enough ? As if Moses should have said , Why do you contend for any more Honor , the Lord hath separated you , to bring you neer to himself ? Object . This you will say was spoken to the Priests . Answ . But it may be said of every gracious soul , for every Beleever Christ hath made a King , Priest , and Prophet unto himself ; now there is no Beleever , but Jesus Christ hath separated him or her from the rest of the world to be neer unto God. This is the dignity that God hath put upon thee , that thou art separated by His grace to be one neer to Him , whereas others of the world they depart from Him , continually depart more and more from Him ; but ( I say ) the Lord by his grace hath set thee apart for Himself , as he saith in Psal , 4. 3. The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself : Thou art separated from the world , To what end ? It is , that thou mightest be neer to Him , this is thy priviledg , and thou shouldest account it thy great Honor ( thou hast not that Honor and respect in the world as others have , but thou art one of Gods separate Ones , that thou art neer to Him. A third Scripture is in Psal . 33. 28. There you may see how the Prophet David did highly esteem of that great Honor that the Lord did put upon him in this in being neer to God : But it is good for me to draw neer to God. Mark how he speaks , But it is good for me : Why ? For loe , they that are far from thee , shall perish : thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee . As if he should say , There are some that did seem to be neer unto thee heretofore , that were as the Wife to the Husband , but they are gone a whoring from thee ; base Hypocrites , base Apostates , they are gone a whoring from thee , their hearts being carnal , they did not find that Contentment and satisfaction in thy Worship as thy Saints do , and therefore they are gone a whoring from thee ; but it is good for me to draw neer to thee . It is an excellent Scripture . Do you see any yong ones , or others that were very forward not many yeers ago , and would speak of good things , and seem to rejoyce in the Word , but now they are gone a whoring , they are departed from God and His Waies , and the pleasures of the flesh hath taken their hearts ? Thou wilt destroy them ( saith David ) that go a whoring from thee . So thou shouldest think with thy self ; Oh miserable is the condition of those who once were forward in the profession of Religion and now are gone a whoring from God ; But it is good for me to draw neer to God , they are gone from thee , and thou wilt destroy them ; but it is good for me to draw neer to thee ; I bless my self in drawing neer to thee , the Lord , and bless the time that ever I did draw neer to thee , and that ever I knew those waies wherein my soul hath drawn neer to God. Such as worship God aright , and do delight in the Worship of God they are such as have a great honor put upon them , they do draw nigh to God. And thus we have finished the first Point . The second Point is that will hold us some time , and that is , The Sanctifying Gods Name in our drawing neer to God. When we worship God we draw nigh to Him , but let us take heed how we draw nigh , Heb. 10. 12. Let us draw neer with a true heart . Look to thy feet when thou comest into the house of God , Eccles . 5. 1. Now for the Sanctifying of Gods Name in drawing nigh to Him we shall endeavor to open it . 1. In shewing you wherein the Sanctification of Gods Name consists , or what we should do that we might sanctifie the Name of God in drawing nigh to Him. 2. The Reason why God will have his Name to be Sanctified in those that do draw nigh to Him. How we should sanctifie the Name of God in drawing nigh to Him , it is under these two Heads : First , There must be a dew preparation unto the Worship of God that we exercise our selves in at any time . Secondly , A right behavior of our souls in it : in these two things consists the Sanctifying of Gods Name in His Worship . Now under these Two Heads all that I shall speak about the opening of the Sanctifying of Gods Name will be contain'd . At this time I shall only speak to the First : The due preparation of the Soul unto the Duties of Gods Worship : Therein consists a special part of the Sanctifying of Gods Name in drawing nigh to him . And that it is so , we find it in Scripture , That preparation for Worship it is called the Sanctifying of our selves ; and by finding this in Scripture , it hinted me upon this Head , to speak of the preparation unto worship in our sanctifying Gods Name , because I find in Scripture that the sanctifying of our selves for Worship , and the preparation of our selves for Worship , are al one : I 'le give you these two texts ; In 1 Sam. 16. 5. you shall find there , that Samuel when he was sent by God to anoint David in Bethlem , the text saith , I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord : sanctifie your selves , and come with me to the sacrifice . Do you come peaceably say they ? Yes , what then ? Sanctifie your selves and come with me to the Sacrifice : That 's all one , as if he should have said , Prepare your selves and come with me to the Sacrifice : and so in Job , 1. 5. there you shall find that the holy man Job when his sons had been feasting , he was somewhat afraid lest there should be some miscarriage , and that they had sinned against God in their feasting ( as it is very hard to give liberty to please the flesh and not to sin , not to transgress bounds ) therefore Job , though he did not hear of any notorious abuse of their feasting , yet he was afraid lest they should sin , he knew how dangerous it was to have so much satisfaction to the flesh and not to transgress bounds , therefore it is said , he sent to his sons and sanctified them . It was so ( saith the text ) when the daies of the feasting were gone about , that Job sent and sanctified them : that Job sent unto them to prepare them to offer sacrifice , to prepare them for the Worship of God : So that the Scripture holds forth this then , that to prepare for Worship it is , to sanctifie for worship , and so it is one special thing that is required in our sanctifying of God , in our drawing nigh to God , to make a due preparation for his holy Worship , Now for the orderly handling of things : First , I shal shew you That we must prepare for the Worship of God. Secondly , I shall shew you , Wherein this preparation for the Worship of God doth consist . Thirdly , The excellency that there is in this , or what great good there is in preparation for Gods Worship . Fourthly , I shall Answer a case of Conscience or two . Fifthly , I will shew you , What is the behavior of the soul in Sanctifying Gods Name . Sixthly , The Reasons why God will be sanctified in the duties of his Worship . First , That there must be preparation to the Worship of God. For first , That God that we come to worship , is a great and glorious God , and we having to deal with such an infinite , glorious , dreadful Majesty , it is fit that we should make preparation when we come nigh unto him : therefore in Exod. 19. 10. when God came among the people to give them his Law , he did require that they should be sanctified to day and to morrow , and that they should wash their cloaths and be ready against the third day , for the third day the Lord would come down upon mount Sinai in the sight of the people . God did not so much stand upon their cloaths , but it was to signifie an inward washing . Now my breathren , if when God came to give the Law they were so to prepare , then certainly when we are come to worship God in the way of the Gospel , we are to prepare as well as they , because God is coming , For that that is observable is , Why they were for two daies together to make such preparation , the argument is because of the presence of God ; The Lord said to Moses , Go and Sanctifie the people to day and tomorrow , and let them wash their cloaths , and be ready against the third day , Why ? for the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai : The Lord will come down in the third day , and therefore let them be sanctisied . So when thou goest to worship God , thou expectest , or shouldest expect that God will come to thee , and that thy heart shall be drawn to God , and therfore thou shouldest make some preparation . ( For the time of preparation we shall speak to afterward when we come to the cases of Conscience about preparation for worship . ) And so in Chr. 22 5. 14. David makes preparation for the House of God , because it was the House of God that he had to build , though he could not do it himself in his own time , yet being the House of God , what great preparation was made by David ? The moral of which is this , That the House of God being a Type of the Church , and the Worship of God , as well as of Christ ; it shews that there should be much preparation when we have to deal with God in his Ordinances . Secondly , As God is great that we draw nigh to , so the duties of Gods Worship are great duties , they are the greatest things that doth concern us in this world , and it is a sign of a very carnal heart to slight the duties of Gods Worship , to make account of them as little matters : Carnal hearts ordinarily , the things that concern their businesses in the world they think great matters ; Oh I may not neglect that , I may not neglect that , I may not neglect such a business , or I may not neglect to visit or gratifie such a friend ; but now for the Worship of God it is good indeed , but whether it be done or not , it is no great matter therefore they can put off Prayer ; if they have any business the time of prayer must pay for it ; they can put off that upon any slight occasion , they do not account the duties of Gods Worship great matters ; My brethren I beseech you learn this lesson this morning , to account the duties of Gods Worship great matters , they are the greatest things that do concern you here in this world ; for they are the homage that you tender up to the high God , as you heard , and those things wherein God communicates himself in his choise Mercies , now being such great matters there is cause that we should prepare . For that one thing of prayer , saith Luther , It is a great work , and a difficult work , and therefore there had need be preparation for it : Business of great consequence we make preparation for , indeed if a business be a slight business we can fall upon it on a sudden , you make not preparation to go in a Boat one the Thames , but to go a voyage you make great preparation . Now if men and women would but understand the duties of Gods Worship to be great , they would see a necessity to make a preparation ; Many men for want of preparation to duties they lose a great part of the time , when they come to perform a duty of Worship in prayer , they spend half the time that is convenient to be spent in prayer before they begin to pray ; and so in hearing the Word , they are a long time before they can settle themselves to attend to the Word , or in any other kind of worship ; I say a great deal of time in the worship is spent ordinarily before we can get our hearts to close with the worship ; now that is a sore and a great evil to lose any part of the time of worship : Christians , I beseech you account highly of the time of your worship , you have been so long time at prayer , yea , but how much of it hath been lost because you have not prepared beforehand for it ? perhaps you kneel'd upon your knees , but you were a long time before you could get your hearts warm at your work , why you should have been warm before you had come : It is so oftentimes with many men , when they meet together and there is no preparation for their business , they come together and they are a long time before they can buckle to the business that they came about , because there is no preparation , but if there be preparation made , that every man knows beforehand what his work is , they can fall to it , and they can dispatch as much in one hour as others do in two or three ; but of that we shall speak more afterwards . Thirdly , There must be preparation because our hearts are naturally , exceedingly unprepared for every good work , we are all naturally even reprobate to every good work , the duties of Gods Worship are high and spiritual , and holy things , but by nature our hearts grovel in the dirt and we are carnal , sensual , drossie , dead , slight , sottish , and vain , altogether unsit to come into the presence of God : Oh that we were but apprehensive and sensible of the unfitness of our hearts to come into Gods presence ! Perhaps because thou knowest not God thou canst rush into his presence without any more ado , but if thou knowest thy self , and God , thou couldest not but see thy self altogether unfit for his presence , and so as to wonder that the Lord should not spurn thee out of his presence every time thou comest unto him , there had need then be preparation because we are so unsit to come into his presence . Fourthly , There had need be preparation because of the great hinderances of the Worship of God. This business and the other business would hinder ; the intanglements , they would hinder ; the temptations of the Devil , they would hinder ; sometimes the indisposition of our bodies doth mightily hinder ; and the stirrings of the passions of our minds they hinder : if there be any business fals out amiss in the family , and any thing go but cross , how are we put off the hinges and made unfit for holy duties ! There had need be preparation therefore because there are so many hinderances in the way ; many of you will complain that you are much hindered , but do you do what you can to make preparation beforehand ? Do the hinderances that you complain of put you on to be so much the more carefull to make due preparation for Holy Duties . Fiftly , We find that the Heathens themselves by the light of Nature when they did but worship their Idol gods , they would make some preparation , such as was sutable to those gods that they worshiped , therfore they would wash their flesh and purge themselves , but though their preparation was but very poor , yet they taught us thus much , That they were convinc'd in their consciences that when God was to be worshiped , people should be prepared . The sixt and last reason hath a great deal in it , which I beseech you consider of ; we find that the Scripture doth make the uprightness of the heart much to consist in preparation for worship ; and doth make the falsness of the heart to consist in this , that men do not prepare . Perhaps you have not so much thought of this , but yet it is of excellent use unto you . We shall find the Scripture doth make the very uprightness of the heart to consist in the preparation for duty ; and the falsness of a mans heart to consist in this , That he makes not conscience to prepare his heart for God and His Worship : And this I will shew unto you very plainly and cleerly ; take these two Examples , The first of Rehoboam , and the second of Jehoshaphat , one a wicked man whose heart was false , and the other a godly man whose heart was right with God. The falsness of the heart of the one is in 2 Chron. 12. 14. there you have what Gods thoughts of Rehoboam were in the verses before : but now he brings the reason of his sentence upon him , and saith the text , he did evil , because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord : there were many good things that Rehoboam did : I might shew you some things ; as how he did obey the Prophet of God , when he was seeking to avenge himself upon those that did rend themselves from his obedience : the Lord did but send his Prophet , and though he had an Army ready to revenge himself upon those that in a way of rebellion did rend themselves from under his government , and he obeyed the Word of the Lord but for all that he did evil in the sight of the Lord : God looked upon him as a man that had no uprightness in him , Why ? For he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord : Saith God , I look upon all Rehoboam did , as nothing ; look upon his waies as evil , and himself as a wicked man , why ? Because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord , if his heart had been upright with me , he would have prepared his heart to seek me . I beseech you now lay this text to your hearts , Do you prepare your hearts to seek God ? when ye go to prayr , Can you say that you take pains in preparing your hearts for it ? and in hearing the Word ; and so likewise for receiving the Sacrament ? Now for Jehoshaphat a godly man , in 2 Chron. 19. 3. there you may see what the Lord saith of Jehoshaphat that was godly ; Nevertheless , there are good things found in thee , in that thou hast taken way the groves out of the land , and hast prepared thine heart to seek God. Jehoshaphat was found guilty in joyning himself to wicked men too much , the Prophet comes and saith to him , Wouldest thou help the ungodly , and love them that hate the Lord ? Therfore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord. Jehoshaphat here we see was very faulty in joyning with those that were wicked , and is rebuked by the Prophet from the Lord ; What wilt thou joyn with the wicked ? the wrath of God is upon thee : Well , but for all that , ( I beseech you observe it ) That at that time when the Lord is most displeased against Jehoshaphat , and sends his Prophet in his Name to pronounce this , that the wrath of God is out against him ; yet for all this , God cannot but take notice of this , that he had an upright heart , though he failed in that particular , yet there is some good found in thee , in that thou hast prepared thy heart to seek God. Indeed through some sudden temptations thou art drawn aside in this particular act ; Yea , but it hath been thy care to prepare thy heart to seek me , and in that regard I do look upon thee as having an upright heart . And thus you see how much the Scripture puts upon the preparation of the heart to seek God. And so in 1 Sam. 7. 3. you shall find that the Scripture makes the uprightness of the heart to consist in this , And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel saying , If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts , ( what then ? ) Then put away the strange gods : and Ashtaroth from among you , and prepare your hearts unto the Lord , and serve him only : As if Samuel should say , If you will return indeed to the Lord , if indeed your hearts be upright ( according to what you seem to profess in turning to God , ) Then prepare your hearts to seek the Lord. You do not in truth turn to God except you make conscience to prepare your hearts : Therefore you that never yet knew what it was to make conscience to prepare your hearts for holy duties , know that you have not turned with all your heart unto the Lord , there hath not been the true turning of your hearts unto the Lord. Thus you see there is much lies upon preparation to the duties of Gods Worship : Well , you will say , seeing there lies so much in it , I pray open it wherein it doth consist . To that I answer , It consists in these Five things , which I shall briefly name . First , In the possessing the heart with the right apprehension of that God before whom we come to tender our duties . Then do we make conscience to prepare our hearts , when we labor upon our going to worship God , to get our hearts before-hand possessed with right apprehensions of the Majesty of that God that we are going to worship , and of the greatness and weight of the duty that we are setting about , the nature of it , the manner how it is to be performed , the rule by which we are to be guided , the end that we are to aim at : Meditation is a good preparation to holy duties . And these are the general Heads of our Meditation for our Preparation to Duty . Viz. 1. What God he is we have to deal with . Meditate of God in his Attributes , and then meditate of the weight of our Duties , and the nature of them , and the rule of them , and the end of them ; get your hearts possessed with meditations of this nature ; and in this , at a special thing , doth consist your preparation to holy duties . 2. The Second thing wherein the preparation to a duty consists , it is this , The taking off of the heart from every sinful way , ( the endeavor at least ) If there be iniquity in thine hand or heart , labor to put it out : When thou art to come into God● presence , do not bring into the presence of God the love of any sin in thy heart , but labor to put it from thy heart : in 2 Chron. 29. 5. we find there what is required to preparation ; the text saith , Hezekiah said unto them , Hear me , ye Levites sanctifie now your selves , and sanctifie the house of the Lord God of your fathers , and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place . That is sanctifying a thing , to carry forth the filthiness out of that thing that we would sanctifie : So the sanctifying of our hearts it is , by carrying forth the filthiness out of our hearts , so as to be fit for a duty . And in Job . 11. 13 , 14. If thou prepare thine heart , and stretch out thine hand towards him : ( What then ? ) If iniquity be in thine hand , put it far away , and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles . These Two must be together . 3. A Third thing is this , The preparation of the heart it is , The dis-intangling of the heart from the world , and from all occasions and businesses in the world . I am to worship God , but how is my heart insnared and intangled in this and the othere business ; Now when I come to worship God I must lay aside all , for there 's the preparation of the heart , the separating of it for such a work , for that 's the nature of Sanctification , the separating of a thing from a common use ; I am to worship God , now I must labor to separate my heart from a common use : At other times God gives me liberty to let out my heart to common uses ; but now when I come to worship him , I must separate my heart from all common uses , that my heart may be wholly for God. I remember it is said in the story of Cicil which was Lord Treasurer , that when he went to read , he would lay his gown off and say , Lie there Lord Cicil : So when we go to duty , we should say , Lie by world : ( and by laying aside the world I mean , laying aside of all houshold affairs , or affairs in trading , &c. ) I must be as one that hath nothing to do in the world for that time : It is true , the time cannot be said to be holy for this , as the time of the Sabbath day is holy . You will say , Why may not any time be said to be holy that I spend in holy duties ? No , that is not enough to make time holy , for the time that God makes holy , it is not holy because of the duties that I perform in it , but the duties that I perform then are more acceptable because they are done in such a time , and so that makes a place holy , not because it is appointed for holy duties and uses , but because it is so appointed by God ; and the performing a duty in that place is more acceptable to God than in another place : But now though we cannot make our time holy in that second sense , yet in the first , it is time set apart for a holy use , and in that regard it is holy , and so we should look upon it as not to have our outward business to devour that time that is holy in that regard , as Nehemiah , When Tobiah and Sanballat sent to him to come and confer with them ; No , saith he , I cannot go , for the work is great that I have to do : So we must not intangle our selves to meddle with other things when we are to come to worship God , for our work is great . The Fourth thing for preparation is , To Watch and to Pray : We should watch over our hearts lest they be made unfit for duties . So we should prepare for Prayer all day long in this sense , that is , we should watch over our hearts that they be not let out so far as to hinder us in prayer when we come to do it . I remember that Tertullian saith , That the Christians did so sup as if they were to pray : So when thou art in company thou shouldest watch unto prayer . Oh that you did so ! you cannot but be conscious to your selves , that oftentimes when you have bin in company your hearts have been put out of tune and frame , that you have been no way fit for prayer ; when you come home your house and family finds it so : You that take such delight in company , and sitting up late I appeal to your consciences , whether you can come home and find your selves fit either in your family , or closet to go and open you hearts to God. This is one Note by the way wherby you may come to know whether you have been immoderate in company at any time ; God gives not men liberty to be busie in any outward occasions so as to unfit them for his Service . Preparation consists in that , in watching over your hearts , that you may not be unfitted for any holy duty when God calls you to it , but that you may be ready even to every good work The Fifth Note is this , Preparation consists in the readiness of the faculties of the Soul , and the Graces of the Spirit of God ' presently to act upon the setting upon an holy Duty . When a man or woman shall find the faculties of their soul , and the graces that are in them , to be ready to act assoon as ever they fall upon duty : Just as you see a company of Ringers when they have made all preparation for the raising of the Bells , then in an instant when thy begin to pul , all the Bels go in that tune that according to their skil they set them in . And so it should be with our hearts , the faculties of our souls and graces , though now we are not upon duty , yet we should be so ready , that as it were upon a pul , all the faculties of our souls , and the graces of Gods Spirit should work in a melodious way ; There are those that keep their hearts so prepared , as at the very first moment that they set about the duty of Worship , all faculties and graces begin to act and stir and are working towards God ; As a fire , when all the matter is ready laid , presently it comes to be kindled and flame out ; and thus it should be with our hearts : So that now you see wherein preparation of our hearts to Duty consists . The next thing is , The Excellency of this Preparation : and that may be in way of Application to you to make you to be in love with preparation for holy duties . There is abundance of good in it . As , First , By this means we come to make every Duty of Worship easie to us . Things are difficult when we come upon them unprepared . If you have a friend come to dinner or supper to you , and should come suddenly , and you have nothing prepared , there would be a great deal of stir in the house ; but if you have every thing prepared , it would be carried on in an easie way : And the reason why people complain so much of difficulty in duty , it is , because their hearts are not prepared . Indeed we have naturally many things that keep us off from God , but when the heart is prepared for a holy duty , it goes off as easie to God , even into the infinite Ocean of all mercy and goodness , as a Ship goes off to be lancht when you have made preparation for it ; so the heart can go with an holy holdness to God when you have made preparation for holy duties . In Job 11. ( the place which I quoted before for the work of preparation , do but consider a verse or two further , and you shall find what abundance of good there comes upon the keeping of the heart prepared in things that are good ) vers . 13. If thou prepare thine heart , &c. and then vers . 15. Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot ; yea , thou shalt be stedfast and shalt not fear . When the heart is prepared for that that is good , when it comes into the presence of God , it is able to lift up it self without fear , in a stedfast comfortable way , and this will quit the cost of any labor . Secondly , If the heart be prepared it will do a great deal in a little time . In a Chron. 29. 36. it is said , That Hezekiah rejoyced , and all the poeple that God had prepared the people ; for the thing was done suddenly . The thing came off freely and suddenly when as that they were prepared : Hezekiah rejoyced , and blessed God for such a mercy as this was : It is a great mercy to have the hearts of people prepared unto a good work . And so in 2 Chron. 27. 6. the text saith , Jotham became mighty , because he prepared his waies before the Lord his God. Jotham , he grew mighty by this . And so certainly the way to grow to be very strong & mighty , to be able to do a great deal in a little time , it is to make preration , there may be as much work done in one hour so , as in ten times so much time when the heart is not prepared for it . In Ezra 7. 10. you shall find that the reason is given why Ezra had such good success in his journey , it was , because he had prepared his heart . Make preparation for holy duties , and you shall have success in holy duties . There is a notable Scripture for that in Psal . 10. 17. where the holy Ghost saith , that God prepares the heart : And what then ? when God doth prepare the heart , he doth then cause his ear to hear . There was never a prayer made wherein the heart was prepared for it , but that prayer was heard , they go both together ; Lord , thou wilt prepare their heart , and thou wilt cause thine ear to hear ; if God hath once prepared thy heart , thou wilt be sure to be heard then : Is it not worth a world for to know ones self to be accepted of God in every duty of Worship that we tender up to him ? this one Scripture , Psal . 10. 17. will shew it . Oh the excellency that there is in preparation to duty ! There is one thing more that is very observable , and that is this , Where the heart is prepared to Duties , there the Lord will pass by weaknesses and imperfections in duties . When thou comest to perform holy duties thou art troubled , Will the Lord have regard to such a duty as this is ? Thou maiest have certain assurance that the Lord will have regard if thou canst make this point good to thine own soul , that it was thy care to make preparation for this duty ; Canst thou say , Lord , I have endeavored and done what I could to fit my heart for duty , but O Lord , I find when I am at it , wonderful distractions , much deadness and vanity , What shall I do ? Why , canst thou make good the former , and appeal to God , that indeed it was thy care to make preparation ? I 'le give thee one Scripture then for the quieting of thy heart in this , That the weakness of the duty shall be pardoned and past by where there is care to prepare beforehand ; the Scripture is in 2 Chron. 33. 18 , 19. But Hezekiah prayed for them saying , The good Lord pardon every one ; what , every one ? every one that prepareth his heart to seek the Lord God of his fathers , though he be not clensed according to the purification of the Sanctuary . As if he should say , Oh Lord , there are many things amiss in this People , they are not in many regards purified according to the order that thou hast set , but Lord , if thou doest but see any heart prepared to seek thee , though they fail in such particulars , Lord heal them and pardon them : and did God hearken to his prayer ? Mark the following words , And the Lord hearkned to Hezekiah , and healed the people . Nay saith God , I wil not stand so much upon the purification of the Sanctuary if they have prepared their hearts to seek me . Take this Scripture , know it 's written for thine instruction , and thou mayest make use of it to thine own soul this day , if thou canst appeal to God that thou art careful to prepare thy heart , though thou shouldest not have that pureness of thy heart as thou doest desire , the Lord will pardon thee and heal thee : make conscience of preparation to holy duties . Again further , By being careful to make preparation for duties , within some little time thou wilt bring the heart to such a frame as it will alwaies be ready for duty without much ado ; Indeed at first it is somewhat hard . You will say , Are we bound to spend some time every time we go to prayer beforehand , or every time we come to the Word ? That should have been one of the Cases of Conscience , but I cannot come to Answer that , but this we may say , Be careful to prepare for duties , you that are yong beginners , or you that have made profession a longer time , but yet have not had the weight of this duty upon your spirits ; now be careful for a while to prepare for every duty of Gods Worship , that God calls you to , and I say within a little time thou mayest bring thy heart into such a temper as thou mayest be ready at all times to perform holy duties : because you shall be able to come to that temper and frame that the Apostle exhorts to , Pray continually , for indeed so it should be with us , we should be alwaies prepared either for Prayer , hearing the Word , or receiving Sacraments . Now because Sacraments are so rare those that have any enlightened conscience they think they dare not but prepare for Sacraments , but you should be alwaies in a preparation for the receiving of the Sacraments , as the primitive Christians did . And those that have been acquainted with this Point that I am upon , of preparing for duties , they have come to such a frame of spirit , as that there is not so much time required of them as of others , for they are in a constant fitness , so that there is no instant of time in the whol day , but if God calls them to prayer , they could presently fall down upon their knees and pray so as to Sanctify Gods Name in prayer , that were an excellent temper indeed if you could find it so , that you walk so spiritually and holily before God as there could be never a quarter of an hour from morning to night , nor from the beginning of the week to the end , but if you were cal'd to pray , or to receive the Sacrament , you had your heart fitted , that you could come into Gods presence with a prepared heart , and were able to sanctify Gods Name in the duty . Acquaint your selves with this work of Preparation , and so you may have hearts fitted to come into Gods presence at any time . SERMON III Leviticus , 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . WEE proceed now to what remains . There are only for the perfecting of this Point two Cases of Conscience to be resolved : And then we are to proceed to other things . The First is , Whether we ought at all times to set apart some time for Preparation to every duty of Gods Worship ? Secondly , Suppose we do not find our hearts prepared as we do desire ; Whether it were better to leave off the duty than perform it ? For the First of these , Viz. Whether we are alwaies bound to set some time apart for preparation to the duty that we are to perform . The answer to that is this ; we must distinguish of persons ; There are some that are exercised in the way of godliness , and do keep their hearts close with God in the waies of holiness ; now for them it may be supposed that through their exercise in the waies of Godliness , and keeping of their hearts constant with God in communion with him , walking with God closely , that they are at all times prepared to every good work , and fitted to fulfil that command of the Apostle , Pray continually , that is , in the disposition of their hearts , they are fit to pray at any time , there is no day in the week , nor no hour in the day , but they ( if God call them to it ) could fall down to solemn Prayer . And indeed this is an excellent condition , and a good evidence of the hearts walking close with God , that there is no time but they are fit to pray , and fit for any Ordinance , yea , to receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper . It is possible to keep the heart so close to God , as to be fit for Prayer and for the hearing of the Word , and for receiving the Sacrament every day , or any hour in the day ; but this needs a very close walking with God and communion with God ; and the truth is , this is very rare ; most men let out their hearts so much to other things , as their consciences cannot but tell them , that if God call them to Prayer at such a time in the day they are altogether unfit for it : If they were called to receive the Sacrament , their consciences would accuse them , and tell them , they are unfit for it : but it is not so with those that walk close with God , though they be in the world . You wil say , If a man have business in the world , how can this be ? Yes , Though they have business in the world , yet they carry the heavenliness of their hearts along with them : Our Conversation is in Heaven ( saith the Apostle Phil. 3. ) Now the word that is translated , Our Conversation , it is a word that signifies Our City Converse , our trading is in Heaven : when we go to the City , or Exchange , or about any business , yet our trading is alwaies in Heaven . But now there are other sorts of people that had need at all times to look to their hearts in way of preparation : As , First , Those that first set upon the duties of Religion , yong beginners , that begin at first to set their faces towards Heaven , to worship God , they had need look to their hearts , they should spend some time in Preparation when they come to holy Duties , and the truth is , When the conscience of a man or woman is at first enlightned and awakened , they will be very careful in preparing to holy duties , the fear of God it is mighty upon their spirits at first ; and it should not be less afterward ; the constancy of Gods fear should bring their hearts to such a holy temper as to make them fit for holy duties alwaies . Secondly , Those men and women that any time shall sin against conscience , shall commit such sins as shall in a kind even lay wast conscience , shall break their peace between God and their souls ; they had need spend some time in preparation for holy duties , they cannot come into the presence of God to enjoy communion with God , but they had need beforehand be very serious in the examination of their hearts , and to endeavor the working of their hearts into mourning for their sin , and to labor to possess their souls with the presence of God even before they come . These two sorts of people , such as have not been acquainted with the waies of Godliness , or such as have broken their peace with God by some evil carriage of theirs towards God in some vile way , ( I say ) it is requied of them to be more solemn in the Work of Preparation . 2. But now for the Second Case , which indeed is the main ; Suppose when we come to duties , and begin to examine our hearts , and begin to bethink our selves whether we be prepared yea or no to holy duties , and we do not find our hearts prepared according to that that we do desire , Whether then we may let the duty go for that time , and forbear the performance of it ; as suppose Prayer , or receiving the Sacrament , or coming to the Word , or any other holy Duty ? And the reason of this doubt is Because when any man or woman is consciencious , they think with themselves that they must Sanctifie Gods Name in Holy Duties ; now if they cannot find their hearts in a fit disposition to sanctifie the Name of God in holy duties , they are ready to think thus , Were it not better to neglect this duty and lay it aside for the present ? Will God accept of a duty when I perform it , and am not set for it ? Therefore for the Answer to this , because it is a temptation that sometimes carnal hearts have , and they are ready to take this temptation , and willing to neglect the duty upon such a thoughts as this , that they are not prepared : And the truth is , they are more glad to let the duty fall , than they are sorry for want of the preparation of their hearts for the duty . I beseech you consider of this , whether you have not found it so , that sometimes when you have not been fit to perform a holy duty , there hath not been a more secret willingness of the heart to let the duty go , than a sorrow of the heart because you are not fit for the duty . This is a very evil sign that the heart is very much distempered . Those that are godly indeed when they find not their hearts prepar'd for the duty , it is the trouble of their souls , it is that which goes neer their hearts , when they think with themselves that they are now like to lose a duty of the Worship of God , they are now like to lose their communion with God in a holy duty , they even look upon themselves in an evil case in regard of this ; and it makes them watchful for time to come to take heed of those things that have put them in such an unpreparation as they find their hearts to be in at this time : Now if it be so with thee , it is a good sign that thy heart may be upright with God though through infirmity it comes at such a time to be unprepared for the duty . But yet suppose I find I am not prepared , I am griev'd and troubled at it , ( for that must be premised ) whether were I better to leave the duty for this time than to fall upon it in such an unpreparation as this is ? Now for the Answer to this Question . First , That which I would answer to it is this , The omission of a duty , or the laying of a duty aside , will never fit the soul for a duty afterwards ; it is no way to make thy soul more fit afterwards , because thou hast laid it aside now for the present ; do but observe your own hearts that way , and you will find this by experience : Such a time you have been busie in the world , and occasions have hindered you so as your heart is out of temper and frame for a duty , you lay it aside ; now are you more fit the next day ? If you do neglect duty in the morning upon any business , are you fitter to perform duty at night because of it ? you will not find it to be so : The forbearing a duty now , will not make the soul fitter for a duty afterwards ? therefore it is no wisdom to forbear a duty for want of preparation , because the forbearance will never help to further prepartion , but will make the soul more unfit for duty . It is an excellent Speech that I read , that Luther hath concerning himself , I have learned this by experience , that the oftener I do omit duty , the oftener do I make my self the more unfit for duty , and cause I have to abhor my self . It is not the deferring that makes thee the more fit . 2. Therefore consider that this is but a temptation , and that is the second thing that I would propound to those that shall omit a duty because they are not prepared , That this is but a temptation to keep thee from it , to tell thee that thou art not prepared ; and if thou shalt forbear it because thou art not prepared , in this thing thou doest gratifie the Devil , and the Devil hath what he would have , and so would be encouraged to tempt thee another time because he hath now what he would have , in causing thee to forbear the duty ; First , he laboreth to unfit thee for it , and then he tempts thee to forbear it because thou art unfit , this is the subtilty of the Devil . From whence is it that thou art unfit , but from the temptation of the Devil ? And I find Luther again , that was a man that had as much converse with God as any in his daies , and a man that had as much to draw his heart away , as many temptations , and as many businesses as any , for indeed the great cause of Christ in all the Christian world in a great measure under God lay upon his shoulders , and yet saith he , If any one think that prayer must be defer'd till the soul be purified from impure cogitations , he doth no other than help the Devil , who is powerful enough ; he thinks to be wise in deferring the duty because he is not fit , and he hath many ill thoughts and troubles in his spirit , he doth nothing else ( saith Luther ) but gratify the Devil that is strong enough without this . Oh let us take heed of gratifying the Devil in his temptations , therefore remember it is a temptation for thee to omit a duty meerly because thou art not prepared for the duty . 3. In the Third place , That which I would answer to this Question is this , If any one perform a duty of Worship in that sincerity and strength that he is able to do it , though he be not prepared as he ought , yet it is better to do it than to neglect it . It is true , some do perform a duty in a meer formal way , and to satisfie their consciences , or to cloak and cover ther sins and the like ; perhaps they may so perform it as it might be better to be unperformed than to perform it as they do , but if you do endeavor to the uttermost of your strength to do it , though you be not prepared as you do desire , yet it is better to do it than to omit the doing of it , and you will find it so , for one duty doth prepare for another . Though it be not done as I desire it should be done , yet the doing of it as well as I can at this time will help me to do it better at another time , that is certain : as one sin doth prepare the heart for another sin , so one duty prepares the heart for another ; as now , suppose a man commits a sin , and he hath a conscience that is enlightened that doth hinder him from committing his sin with that full strength that he would do it ; many a man hath a mind to sin , but through the enlightening of his conscience he cannot sin with that delight as he would , because his conscience flies in his face and doth interrupt him , but yet for all this through the strength of his corruption he will break through to that sin ; now though at first they cannot commit that sin with that delight and freedom as they do at other times , yet if their corruptions be so strong as to break through the light of their consciences , the next time they come to the committing of that sin they will commit it with more freedom and ease a great deal . This is evident by experience ; there is none of you but if you well observe your hearts you will find this , A temptation comes to a sin , now you connot do it with so much freedom as you would , but yet you break through it , you will find that the next time you will commit it with more freedom , and so one sin will prepare for another , and it may be you have some trouble of conscience at first , but the next time you will have less trouble , till at length you can commit it freely without any trouble of Conscience at all . As it is in sin , so it is in godliness many times , in some degree ; at the first you have a motion to a holy duty , but through the stirrings of your corruptions you are not fit for it , now do you but break through that difficulty , and the next time you will be more fit , and the next time after that you will be more fit , and so still more and more fit as it is in sin , If a man when he hath some trouble of conscience would but listen to his conscience and would not commit that sin his conscience would grow stronger upon him , and strengthen him against that sin ; so if any man or woman listens to the temptation to defer duty and put it off because they are not prepared , why after that the corruption will grow more strong , therefore set upon the duty , and the peformance of one duty will prepare for another . 4. In the fourth place , While men and women are strugling with their souls and the corruptions of their hearts , and do not fall upon seeking God , they by their very strugling to prepare themselves many times do ensnare themselves ; It may be thou hast thoughts of Atheism or other wickedness , the very strugling with those thoughts may ensnare thy heart ; now the better way were to fall upon prayer , and to cry to God to help thee against them , for while thou art strugling and striving with those thoughts thou art striving with the corruption of thy heart and with the Devil all alone : but now when thou fallest to the duty thou callest in the help of God and of Jesus Christ , and that is a great deal better , while thou art musing , plodding , and troubling thy heart that way , I say , thou art strugling alone , but now when thou fallest upon the duty then thou callest in help from God , and so thou art more able to the performance of the duty than thou wert before . And therefore it is the best way to fall upon a duty though thou canst not find thy heart prepared as thou doest desire , the very falling upon it will fit thee for it . And thus much for the Answer unto those two Cases of Conscience . Now then we are to proceed further in the opening of the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties . Thus much for the preparation of the heart . But when the heart comes to it , in what manner should the duty be performed so as the Name of God may be sanctified in the duty ? or what is the behavior of the soul in the sanctifying of Gods Name when it is in the very act of the duty ? To that I answer , First in general thus , When the soul labors to perform duties so as God may have such glory from the duty a● is fit for a God to have in some measure , then do I Sanctifie Gods Name . You will say this is a very hard thing to perform a duty so as that we should give God the glory that is fit for a God to have : Certainly this is not done by every manner of performance of a duty of Worship : yet you shall hear this opened to you , and I hope you shall have it made very plain before you . First therefore I shall shew you , that when we are to perform a duty of Worship , we should set our selves to glorifie God as a God ; that is , to do it in that manner that God may have that Glory that is fit for a God to have . As now in the duty of Praise , Psal . 66. 2. Make his Praise glorious , that is do it so as you may lift up His Name in it , and that God may be glorious in your praise . And Rom. 1. 21. there the Apostle speaking of the Heathens ; he doth rebuke them ; For what ? It was for this , Because that when they knew God , they glorified him not as God , neither were thankful : now this is spoken especially of the Worship of God ; for he saith afterwards , ver . 23. That they changed the glory of the incorruptible God , into an image made like to corruptible men &c. So that it 's spoken of the Worship of God ; that they glorified not God as God. That is then to sanctifie Gods Name , to glorifie God as God : and therefore our Savior in the 4. of John when he spake to the woman of Samaria , he tels her that God is a Spirit , and must be worshiped in spirit and truth , that is , we must labor to suit our worship to what ther● is in God ; that our worship my be proportionable in some measure even to the nature of God himself : And therfore God being a Spirit , His Worship must be a Divine Worship . I have read of some of the Heathens that dip worship the Sun for a God , and they would offer to the Sun something sutable ; therefore because they did so admire at the swiftness of the motion of the Sun , they would not offer a Snail to the Sun , but a f●ying Horse , a Horse with wings ; now a Horse is one of the swiftest creatures , and the strongest creature to continue in motion for a long time together , and they added wings to the Horse , and they thought that sutable to be a sacrifice for the Sun. So when we come to worship God , that is , to sanctifie His Name , we must behave our selves so as to give him the glory that is fit for a God to have . As now in those three particulars which I opened to you when I shewed you wherein we draw nigh to God : This was one , I told you that when we come to worship God , we come to tender up some present to God , now then we must tender up such a present as is sutable to Gods excellency . If a man should come to a poor man to give a present , if it were not worthy twelve pence , yet it may be taken well : but if you were to tender up a present to a Prince , a Monarch , an Emperor , then you must tender a present that is fit for the quality of the preson . Therefore in Malachi , 1. 8. When the Lord rebukes them for their sacrifices that they were such poor things : Go ( saith God ) and tender up this to your Governor , and see whether he will accept of it or no. So certainly that which may be accepted of by a mean man , would be accounted a scorn if you should tender it up to a Prince , or an Emperor . Now when we come to worship God , we must consider that we are to tender up our service to God , who is the great King of Kings , and Lord of Lords . But you will say , Is it possible for any creature which comes to tender up its worship to God , to tender up that which is fit for a God to have ? This may rather be a discouragement unto prayer , or any other duty of worship than an encouragment . To that I answer thus , Though we be very poor and mean , yet it doth not hinder , but we may tender up that to God which God will acknowledg to be sutable to his infinite excellency : as , First , If we tender up to God all that we have : Though we be never so poor and mean , yet if God hath the strength of our souls , God accepts it . For we are to know that God doth not stand in need of what we have , or of what we do ; but that we might shew our respect to Him : Therefore if we give all that we have , God accepts it . As a Child , if it puts forth all its strength that it hath to do a business which the father bids him , whether the business be doue or no , the father looks upon it and accepts it as sutable to the childs strength ; and it shews the respect that the child hath to his father . And as it is storied of an Emperor , that when a poor man had nothing to offer him but a little water that he had taken up with his hand , he having nothing else , the Emperor accepts of it . So that 's that which God looks for , that the Creature should lift him above all . If therefore when thou comes to worship God , God hath more in thy heart than ever any creature in the world had , God accepts of that , and that you must look unto : Can you say so , when you go to worship God ? Lord it is true , there is much weaknes in my spirit , but thou that knowest all things , knowest , That thou hast more of my heart than ever any creature in the world had . This is sutable to God , God will account this ( in the Covenant of Grace ) to be a present sutable to Himself . As in the Law , when they offered to the building of the Temple , every one could not offer gold and silver and precious stones , but some came and offered Badgers-skins , and some women did spin and offered Goate-hair to the building of the Temple ; and so God accepted of that being the most they could do . 2. In the second place , When we do not only offer unto God the most we can , but when we ad to this the grief of our souls that we can do no more , when the soul shall strive to the uttermost it can , and when it hath done all , saith , I am an unprofitable servant , Oh that I could do more ! This is sutable to God. 3. Thirdly , The People of God though they be weak , yet the weakest Servant of God is able to offer up to God somewhat that is sutable to the infinite Majesty of God , upon this Third Ground , because there is a kind of impression of Gods infinitnes in those services that a gracious heart doth tender unto God , and therefore sutable unto God. You will say , God is an Infinite Glorious God ; Be it so , He is Infinit that 's certain , but the duty of Worship that a grations heart tenders unto God , it hath an impression of Gods infinitness upon it . How is that ? If that can be made out , then indeed we may be encouraged to worship God. Thus , That that a gracious heart tenders up to God hath an impression of His infinitness in this regard , because as God hath no limits of His Being ; so a gracious heart when it comes to worship God , will not propound any limits or bounds , but in the desires of it would fain be enlarged infinitly if it could . If it were possible for a creature to been larged to God infinitly it would be . Here lies ( I conceive ) the main difference between the most glorious Hypocrite in the world , and one that hath true Grace , yea , that hath but the least degree of grace : The most glorious Hypocrite in the world , who ( it may be ) for the outward act doth more than one that hath true grace , yet such a one doth limit himself : he doth great things , but he doth it so , as he limits himself , that is , so much as may serve for such and such ends of his , so much as may serve his turn , either to satisfie his Conscience , or to get credit and esteem , to be accounted eminent in such a way , so much he doth do , but his duty is alwaies limited within such bounds ; and if he could conceive that he might go to Heaven , and that he might have as much Credit and Honor , and as much peace of Conscience with doing less , he would do less . But now , one that hath grace , though but little , though but the least dram of grace , he goes farther , Indeed saith he , Though through the little grace that I have , I cannot do what another can do ; yet this doth so enlarge my heart , that I would have no bounds set in what I do for God , but I would have it enlarged to the uttermost latitude , if it were possible , beyond whatever yet was done for God in the world ; and the more I do , the more I do desire to do . That 's now a kind of infinitness that there is in the heart where grace comes : I say , grace enlarges the heart to a kind of infinitness , that the more it doth , the more it would do : there is no Hypocrite but will have his periods , he will rise thus , and thus , and thus high ; ordinarily you shall find that if he lives in some company , there he is high ; but if he lives in other company , there he is lower : Now there is nothing doth limit a gracious heart , but to all Eternity it would work and work more and more for God : Here now is a Worship that is some way sutable to the infinite Excellency that there is in God : Here 's a kind of proportion ( as I may so speak ) even between the Creature and God himself in this thing , but it is the grace of God in the Creature ; here is the Image of God indeed , because grace doth so enlarge the heart even to an infinitness ( as it were ) for God. And thus you see in the general what it is to sanctifie Gods Name to tender up to God that which is some way sutable to the glory of the infinite God. 2. You know there was a Second thing , viz. That then I do sanctifie Gods Name when I come so to Worship God as my heart works , and follows after God as a God , so as it doth beseem the soul of a Creature to follow the infinite Creator , and to work after the in●●nit Creator : So David in Psal . 63. 5. My soul followeth hard after thee , O God , and ( mark it 's a very sweet Scripture thy right hand upholdeth me . Those whose hearts follow hard after the Lord , they have the right hand of God upholding of them : It 's a mighty encouragement to put forth the heart to the uttermost , because when 〈…〉 ●o the right hand of God upholds thee : so that thy heart must follow after God more than it followed after any creature . 3. When I come to draw nigh to God. I come to present my self for the Cōmunication of the choicest of His Mercies so then I sanctifie Gods Name when I labor to prepare and open my heart for God as for the choicest Mercies that God 〈◊〉 to bestow upon His Creature . When there is such a temper of heart that my conscience tels me it is sutable to that that is fit for a soul to have that expects to receive the choicest mercie from God ; but that we spake too more in the opening of our drawing nigh to God. Now we are to come more particularly to this , to open the Sanctifying Gods Name . First , In what particulars the behavior of the heart may be discovered to be sutable to God in respect of Gods greatness and glory . Secondly , What the behavior of the heart should be as sutable to the several Attributes of God. It will cost us some time to open the particular things in the behavior of the heart as in reference to the greatness and Majestie of God ; considered more generally ; as in Psalm , 48. 1. Great is the Lord , and greatly to be praised . And so in Mal. 1. 14. Cursed be the deceiver which hath in his flock a male , and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing : why ? for I am a great King saith the Lord , and therefore cursed is he that doth not offer a sacrifice sutable to my greatness . And in 2 Chron. 2. 5. we find that Solomon when he was preparing for the Temple , he would build a great Temple , why ? Because God was a great God that he would build it too : So that the Worship of God must be some great thing because the Lord is a great God , and it must be sutable to his greatness . Now if you ask me in what particulars doth the behavior of the soul consist that is very sutable to the greatness of God in the general ? There are many things in this : The first is , You must be careful to bring a sanctified heart . You cannot tender up a worship sutable to his greatness except you bring a sanctified heart with you , there must be holiness in the heart : Under the Law you know , if any one came to offer a sacrifice in his uncleanness , he must be cut off : and so it must be here , we must look to it that we offer not to God in our uncleanness : Wash you and make you clean , in Isa . 1. and then , Come , let us reason together . There is no coming to God without washing and making clean ; in Psal . 93. 5. Holiness becometh thy House O Lord for ever : Holiness becometh the presence of God for ever , we must look to get a sanctified heart . Sanctification consists in those two parts , Mortification , and Vivification : there must be a mortifying of the lusts of the heart : We reade in the Law , that every Sacrifice was to be salted with salt ; that did signifie the mortification of our hearts when we come to offer up our selves as a Sacrifice to God ; the salt did eat out the raw humors , and kept the flesh from putrifying ; so doth the grace of God in mortifying our lusts , In Heb. 9. 14. you have a notable Scripture for the clensing of our hearts when we come to offer any service to God , How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your Consciences from dead works to serve the living God : So that you cannot serve the living God until your consciences be purged from dead works : And how comes your consciences to be purged from dead works ? It is through the blood of Christ , who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God , he must purge your consciences ; So that here 's the way of sanctifying Gods Name by applying of Jesus Christ who was offered to God without spot that our consciences might be purged from dead works , that we might be purged from that natural filthiness and uncleannness in which we all were ; for the whol world doth lie in filth , as a carrion doth lie in his slime . Now if we would worship God so as to Sanctifie him , we must apply Christ to our souls , and get our conscience purged from dead works , and to have the Spirit of Christ in us to quicken up our hearts in the waies of holiness ; to have the Image of Jesus Christ in us , whereby we may be holy according to our proportion even as he himself is holy , this is the sanctifying of the heart ; There must be an habitual sanctification , and actual sanctification of the heart : An Habitual , that is , that the heart must be changed through the work of Regeneration ; there must be a Regeneration in the heart , there must be Divine Principles of the Graces of the Spirit of God in the heart . But you will say , May not an unregenerate man Pray ? To that I answer ; It is true , it is his duty to pray , Powr forth thy wrath upon the Heathen , and upon the families that call not upon thy Name : But it 's as true , that they cannot sanctifie Gods Name in doing of it : But if we would sanctifie Gods Name in it , there must be an Habitual holiness in the heart , for every thing doth act according to its Principles , in Nature it is so ; and so doth the heart when it comes to worship God , it doth act according to the Principles that it hath . And then there must not only be Habitual sanctification , but Actual sanctification likewise ; as in Exod. 19. 10 , 11. there you see what ado there was to fit them for the hearing of the Law , because God was to come among them : God is to come among us , and we are to come to God when we are to perform holy duties ; therefore it is not enough to have Grace , but there must be an improving of Grace , there must be an acting of Grace , not only when you come to receive the Sacrament , to think that then there must be an acting of Grace , but every time you pray and hear , there must be an acting of Grace ; A purging out of your corruptions and an acting of Grace . So that one cannot sanctifie Gods Name in holy duties unless he come thus far , to be able to say , Lord , thou that knowest all things , knowest , there is nothing that thou doest reveal to be contrary to thy Will , but my heart is against it , that 's the least ; thou canst not have any peace of conscience in drawing nigh to God , until thou come thus far , to have thy heart to work thus against sin and to be set upon every good that God reveals to be his mind . You know when a man of quality comes to your house what a deal of stir there is , not only in sweeping , but in making all things as clean and tite and shining as possible can be : Thus it should be when thou comest to God. And the Reason why there must be this sanctifying of the heart is , First , Because the Lord doth first accept of the Person before he doth accept of the action : Men indeed do accept of the persons of men , because they do good actions ; but God accepts of the actions of men because thesr persons are good . If indeed we see a man do good , then we love him and accept of the person of the man , but God first will accept of the person before the action : As the Lord accepted of Abel first , and then he accepted his offering : So you must look to that , to have your persons first accepted of God before any duty can be accepted : You think though you be wicked and sinful , yet if you amend your life , God will accept of you , you go that way to work ; but certainly that is the wrong way ; you must first look after means of acceptation of your persons which is through the Righteousness of Jesus Christ , and through the sanctification of his Spirit , whereby you come to have his Image , and Life , and so are accepted , and then all that proceeds from you comes to be accepted . There is not any action which comes from you that comes to be accepted to eternal life , until your persons be accepted before God , and therefore there must be a sanctifying of the heart before there can be a sanctifying the Name of God in the duties of his Worship : Therefore when you come to perform any duties of Gods Worship , you should consider this , Is my heart Sanctified ? I must sanctifie Gods Name , and how can I do that , except my heart be sanctified ? Secondly , Our hearts must be sanctified , because the Lord doth look more to the principle from whence a thing comes , than at the the thing it self . As indeed were our hearts right as they should , then all the good things that come to us , we would not so much regard what the things are , that we do enjoy from God ; as what the principle is from whence they come , that is , Whether what we do enjoy from God is from the love of God in Jesus Christ or no ? Whether it it be from the general Bounty and Patience of God , or from the special love of God in Jesus Christ ? Our hearts would regard that most if we were spiritual : now then , look as a godly man is not satisfied with enjoying any good thing from God , except he knows it comes from a principle of love to him in Jesus Christ ; So God is not pleased with any thing that comes from us , except he knows that it comes from a principle of Love , Grace , and Holiness in our hearts . Thirdly , According as the heart is , so will the service be ; Certainly if the heart be unclean , the duty will be unclean ; perhaps the words may be fine and brave , but if there be an unclean heart , the duty will be unclean : As it is with a man that hath the Plague , suppose he makes a brave Oration , yet his breath is infectious ; so it is in our services with God : If so be that our hearts within us have the plague , then certainly the breath that comes from us , all our duties will be unclean , and therefore that is the first thing that we are to look for in the sanctifying Gods Name in holy duties : Look to have thy heart sanctified , and consider from what principle it comes ; 't is for want of this that thousands of our duties are cast aside , and God never doth regard them : But this is the first Particular , there are many more to speak of . SERMON V. Leviticus , 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . WEE proceed . The next thing therefore for the behavior of the soul in the sanctifying Gods Name in Worship , is this : When we come to Worship God , if we would sanctifie Gods Name , we must have high thoughts of God ; we must look upon God as he is upon his Throne , in Majesty , and in Glory ; as in Isa . 9. 1 , 2. you shall find , that the Prophet saw the Lord upon his Throne : It is an excellent thing when all who come to worship God , every time they come to worship Him , have their eyes darted up to Heaven , and behold the Lord God sitting in his Glory upon his Throne : So you shall find in Rev. 4. the 24. Elders that worshiped God , they saw him upon his Throne in his Glory , and so they worshiped him ; they worshiped God to purpose ( indeed ) when they saw the Lord in that Majesty as he was . We should at all times have high thoughts of God : take heed of having low thoughts and apprehensions of the infinite Majesty of God at any time , but especially when thou art to worship the great God , then look upon the Lord in that infinite distance that there is between him and thy self , yea , that infinit distance that there is between him and all creatures in the world , look upon the Lord as lifted up in glory , not only above all creatures , but above all excellencies that all Angels and Men , in Heaven and Earth are able to imagine : Look upon the Lord as having all Excellencies in Himself , joyned in one , and that immutably ; look upon him as the Fountain of all excellency , good , and glory that all creatures in the world have : and look upon the Lord every time thou comest to worship him , as that God whom Angels do adore , and before whom the Devils are forc'd to tremble ; behold him in this his Glory , and this will help thee to sanctifie his Name when thou comest to him . The great Reason why people come and worship God in a slight way ; it is because that they do not see God in his glory , 't is a great Mercy for God to give unto us a sight of himself , a sight of his glory here in this world while we are worshiping of him , this would keep our eyes and our thoughts from wandring , if we had a sight of the glory of God , and had high thoughts of God. What 's the reason why we wander so as we do , but meerly because we see not God ? As now , suppose you were in your house , and looking after every feather that were flying up and down , if you should hear that the King were come into the room , or any great Person , it would compose your spirits , because you have high thoughts of such , as of those that are above you : So let us look upon God as in his excellency , and His glory , and have high thoughts of him , and this is that whereby we are to sanctifie Gods Name when we come before Him in holy duties . And that 's the second thing . First a sanctified heart ; and then high thoughts of God. 3. A third thing is , High-ends , Raised-ends in the worshiping of God : Prov. 15. 24. The way of life is above to the wise : It is on high in this respect , when he worships God , his heart is lifted up on high ; there is a holy raising of the heart which is well pleasing to God : Our hearts should be on high in regard of the high ends that we aim at in holy duties : Lift up thy prayer saith Hezekiah to the Prophet in another case ; so I may say , Lift up thy soul when thou comest to worship God in regard of the high ends that thou aimest at : when we are worshiping God we should have our hearts above all creatures , and above our selves . Let not our hearts then be groveling upon the ground , mingled with base and drossie things , when we come to worship the Lord : Indeed it is fit that we should have our hearts low ( as we shall shew hereafter ) in regard of humility , but not low in regard of any baseness of spirit to mix with any base and low ends ; Now there are low and base ends in worshiping of God. As , First , We must take heed we do not subject the Worship of God unto our Lusts , that is a cursed thing , thou art far from sanctifying Gods Name in worshiping of Him that shalt subject His Worship to thy base lusts , this is an abominable , and a cursed thing indeed ; You will say , Who doth thus ? who is the man , or where is he that will do this ? subject the Worship of God to his base lusts ! To that I answer , Whosoever doth make use of any duty of Worship , as Prayer , Hearing the Word , or what ever it be , to cloak any kind of wickedness , whosoever is conscious to himself of any kind of secret wickedness , and yet shall think to cover it by the performance of duties , and shall reason in this manner , Who will think me to be guilty of such a vile thing , when I pray so as I do , and am so careful to hear the Word ? and I hope I shall cover some wickedness this way . If there be any in this place whose conscience tells them that they subject the Worship of God to such a base end as this is , the Lord rebuke them this day , and speak to their hearts ; If I knew any , I would set mine eyes upon them and say as the Apostle to Simon Magus , I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness , and in the bond of iniquity ; and as he said to him that did seek to draw the Deputy from the Faith , O thou child of the Devil , and full of all subtilty , to damn and undo thy self eternally , that seekest to cloak any wicked way by any duty of Gods Worship ; Is it a great evil for a man or woman to make use of any of Gods Creatures to be serviceable to their lusts , as meat and drink & c ? What a damnable thing is it then to make use of any duty of Gods Worship , sometimes extraordinary Worship , as Fasting and Prayer , to be a cloak to cover their wickedness ! Thou art so far from sanctifying Gods Name , that thou pollutest Gods Name ; thou doest what in thee lies for to cast even dirt in the face of God himself that doest so . The second base end , is to subject the duties of Gods Worship to the praise of men , as to perform duties of Gods Worship for the esteem of men , and because we shall be well thought of ; take heed of this you yong ones , and others , you would fain be esteem'd well of by those that you live withal ; It is a desirable thing to have a good esteem from those that are godly ; but take heed that you do not subject the duties of Gods Worship to this . Indeed it may be an encouragement to you , as David saith Psal . 52. 9. This is good before thy Saints : David did encourage ●●●self to praise God , because it was good before Gods Saints ; and I confess it may be an encouragement because holy duties are good before Gods Saints : but take heed that this be not thy highest end that thou aimest at , and that which carries thee on in the work , meerly to get the praise of men , and that they shall think that thou hast good gifts and parts , and therfore thou art inlarged in that regard ; take heed of that ; know , that now thou doest not worship God , but thou worshipest men , thou dost make the praise of men to be thy God , For whatsoever thou doest lift up in the highest place , that 's thy God , whatsoever it be ; therefore if thou liftest up the praise of men , and makest that they end , thou makest that thy God , and so thou art a worshiper of men , but not a worshiper of God. Thirdly , Take heed of making Self thy end ; there are some that are not so base and low in their hearts , as to make the praise of men their end . but they aim and look at themselves , that is , they aim at their own peace , and satisfying their own consciences in the performance of duties ; now though it 's true , when we perform duties of Gods Worship , we may expect to receive some good to our selves , and we may be encouraged to the Duties by the expectation of good to our selves ; yet we must look higher , we must look at the honor and praise of God , that the Name of the blessed God may be honored : Now I am going to Prayer , Oh that I may pray so , as I may lift up Gods Name : I am going to Hear , Oh that I may hear so , as God may be honored by my hearing ; 't is this that carries me on to hearing the Word , and makes me rise readily , and to go forth cheerfully ; I hope that God may have some honor by my hearing this day , and God knows that this is the thing that I aim at , I do not come for company , nor to be seen of men , neither do I come meerly to satisfie mine own Conscience : Others go and hear such Truths of God as do good to their Souls , and if I should neglect them meerly for mine own ease , my Conscience would not let me be quiet ; howsoever there are many whose Consciences will be quiet enough , though they lose an opportunity in the Worship of God ; but yet there are others whose Consciences cannot do so , their Consciences would tell them when they are lying and turning themselves upon their bed , How do you know but that God had something to speak to thy heart this morning , that may never be spoken to thy heart at any other time ? therefore they cannot be at quiet except they attend upon God in the duties of his Worship : But still this is not enough meerly to satisfie conscience ; thy main end it must be that thou maiest this day know some part of the mind of God , that God may speak to thy heart , that so thou maiest be sitted to honor the Name of God , that thou maiest be enabled to live to his Honor the week following so much the better . As in this manner thy thoughts should be , Lord , I find a drossie , carnal heart , I am busie in the world in the week time , and I find that my heart is sullied and defiled with the business of the world , and entangled , but Lord , thou hast appointed thy Sabbath , and Word to be a means to sanctifie my heart , and to clense it ; Oh Lord , communicate thy Grace to my soul through thy Ordinances upon this Day , that so I may be enabled the week following the better to live to thy Honor , Lord , I come into thy presence to that end , that I might know some part of thy Will , and that I might get thy Spirit to be conveyed through this Word of thine into my heart ; this should be thy end when ever thou comest , and not only self . I wil give you two or three Scriptures to shew that God regards little any duties where self is the highest end . The first is in Hosea , 7. 14. They howled upon their beds , ( saith the text there ) but they cryed not to me . The Lord there did acknowledg that they were very much affected in their prayers , but what was it ? It was but a howling upon their beds : And how so ? It was because only they did cry for themselves , They have not cried unto me ( saith the Lord ) with their heart , when they howled upon their beds : It was but meerly for Corn , and Wine , and Oyl , but not unto Me ; they aim'd at Themselves , and not at Me. And in Amos , 5. 22. there the Lord professes , that he did reject the fat of their Peace offerings : Though ye offer me ( saith he ) burnt offerings , and your meat offerings , I wil not accept them , neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts . They were careful to offer their fattest beasts in their peace-offerings , and will not God regard them ? It was in their peace-offerings that they offered their fat beasts , and there they were to eat a great part of it themselves : Indeed the burnt offering was wholly offered unto God , God had all that ; but the Peace-offerings , those that did offer it , they did eat a great part of it themselves : now they were very careful in those offerings that they were to partake of themselves , to offer fat beasts : you do not see that the holy Ghost takes any notice of fat beasts in their burnt offerings . Now the Note from hence is this , That in those things where men are interested themselves , they will be very careful to have the best things . But now the Lord rejected the fat beasts of their Peace-offerings : saith God , You were very careful to offer fat beasts in your Peace-offerings where you may feed your selves , but for those offerings wherein I have all , there you are not so careful , and therefore I regard them not . The third Scripture is in Zach. 7. 7. there they did keep many daies in seeking of God , ( it is an observable Scripture for these times ) Speak unto all the People of the Land , and to the Priests , saying , When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month , even those seventy years ; Did ye at all fast unto me ? even unto me ? Mark the phrase , You fasted in the fifth and seventh month , and for seventy yeers together , but saith the Lord , Did you at all fast unto me ? and then mark how he doubled it , To me ? even unto me ? Noting that when we fast or pray , or do any thing in the Worship of God , we should be sure to aim at God more than our selves , that God may not say of us another day , Do you do it to me , even to me ? You may ask me this Question , How may I know that I am acted by self-ends in holy Duties ? for it is a hard thing for one to know ones own heart , when one is acted by principles of self , and when we aim at God in holy Duties . Now for that I will give you these Notes , to try whether you be acted from your selves or no. The First is this , If a man loves holy Duties , though he finds no present good comes in by them , because they are such things as God requires , and therefore though I get nothing by them , yet this is enough to carry me on , and to carry me on readily , and willingly in the Worship of God : those that can delight in Gods Worship , even at that time , though they find nothing coming in to themselves : But now when we find not that coming in that we do desire , we begin to be weary of Worship , and say , Why have we fasted , and thou seest it not ? This is an Argument that thou art acted by Self rather than by God. Secondly , To know whether we be acted by self-ends , or rather by high ends for God : Those men that can rejoyce in others that are able to honor God in holy duties more than themselves , they may have a good evidence to their own souls , that when they worship God , they are acted by higher ends than Self , but now , such as are straightned themselves , and when they see other more enlarged in the Worship of God , they rather envy them , are griev'd and troubled ; know that Self is a great ingredient in those duties that thou doest perform : if thy heart were raised high to God , though thou canst not thy self be enlarged in holy duties , yet thy soul would be glad that any others are , though I have a wretched and vile heart of my own , yet blessed be God that there are any others that can worship God better than I can . Thirdly , A man that is acted by Self in holy duties , he regards holy duties but little save in time of extremity , in time of fear , or in sickness , or in danger . But now , one that hath high ends in holy duties ; makes the duties of Gods Worship to be the joy of his soul in the midst of his prosperity , and that is an evident sign that thou art not acted by self ends , but by higher ends , Canst thou in the midst of thy abundance say , Lord , thou givest me all conveniences in this world , and all outward things that I want ; but Lord , this is that which is the joy of my soul , this is that which makes my life comfortable , even communion with thy self , in the duties of thy worship , that I have free access unto the Throne of thy Grace to worship Thee the Lord , and there meet with thee when I am in the performance of holy duties ; O Lord , thou that knowest all things , knowest , that this is the thing that makes my life comfortable ; It is not that I have a Table furnished with variety of dishes , and that I can have liberty of time to go into company , and spend according as I please ; but Lord , those incomes of thy Spirit that I do find in the duties of thy Worship , those are the things that makes my life blessed ( indeed ) unto me ? Such a man is able thus to appeal to God , surely when he worships God , he is acted by high ends , and not by self-ends ; And that 's the Third thing that is necessary for sanctifying Gods Name in holy Duties , thou must have a sanctified heart , high thoughts of God , and high ends . In the fourth place , There must be much reverence , and much fear when thou comest into the presence of God to worship him : thou doest not glorifie God as God , except thou doest come into his presence with much fear & reverence of his great Name : Fear in worshiping of God it is so necessary , that many times in Scripture we find that the very Worship of God is called , The fear of God , they are put both for one ; I might give you divers Scriptures for it : and hence it was that the Name of God was called the Fear of Isaac , Jacob did swear by the Fear of his father Isaac ; because Isaac being a great Worshiper of God , kept his constant times to worship God , and worshiped him in such a constant way , as ( except David and Daniel ) we do not find mention of the constancy of any in the worshiping of God as we do of Isaac's ; for it is said , that he walked but into the fields in the evening as he was wont to do , to Meditate , and to Pray ; and therefore God is called , The fear of Isaac . In Psal . 89. 7. is a notable Scripture for this drawing nigh to God with fear : God is greatly to be feared in the Assembly of the Saints , and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him : God is to be had in reverence of all them that are about him , but in the Assembly of his Saints he is greatly to be feared , he is daunting terrible ( so the words are ) in the Assembly of the Saints . When thou comest nigh to God , thou hadst need have thy heart possest with much fear . So in Psal . 2. 11. the Kings and Princes of the earth are called upon to serve the Lord with fear : Let them be never so great , yet when they come into Gods presence , they must serve him with fear ! And so in Psal . 5. 7. In thy fear will I worship toward thy holy Temple . Now this fear of God , it must not be a servile fear , but a filial and reverential fear ; For my brethren , there may be a great deal of slavish fear , where God is not honored ; there may be fear from some terrible apprehensions of God , which yet is not owned by God to be this grace of fear : I 'le give you two notable Scriptures for that , in Deut. 5. 23 , 24. compared with the 29. It came to pass ( saith the text , vers . 23. ) when ye heard the voyce out of the middest of the darkness , for the mountain did burn with fire that ye came neer unto me , even al the heads of your Tribes , and your Elders , And ye said , Behold the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness , and we have heard his voyce out of the midst of the fire : we have seen this day , that God doth talk with man , and he liveth ; now therefore why should we die ? for this great fire will consume us : If we hear the voyce of the Lord our God any more then we shall die . See with what a terror they were struck at the apprehension of Gods appearance ; you would think surely these men did fear God much , but mark in vers . 29. O that there were such a heart in them that they would fear me . Why , did they not fear the Lord ? Were they not struck with such fear that they thought they should die ? they saw this presence so terrible , that they were afraid they should die , and yet , O that there were such a heart in them that they would fear me ! So that it appears by this , That one may be struck with much terror in the apprehension of Gods presence , and yet have no true fear of the Name of God : So some of you it may be in time of thunder or danger , are filled with terror ; but yet may it not be said presently after , O that there were the fear of God in the heart of this man or woman , this youth or maid ! They are terrified somtimes , but yet there is not a filial and reverential fear of God in them . And I find in 1 King. 19. ( where you have the story of Gods appearing in that most terrible manner unto the Prophet Elijah by Fire , by Thunder , and in a mighty Wind ) the Prophet was not so struck with fear of Gods presence when he did appear in the mighty wind , or earthquake , or fire , as when God did appear in the smal still voyce , therfore in vers . 13. it is said , And it was so when Elijah heard it : that is , the soft voyce , ( after the fire , and earthquake , and the mighty wind ) that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out & stood in the entring in of the Cave and behold there came a voice unto him and said , What doest then here Elijah ? Then his heart was more struck with fear where was most of Gods presence ( though it was in a soft voyce ) than when the fire and earthquake did appear : It is a good sign of a gracious fear , when the soul can be struck with more fear from the Word , and from the sight of God in enjoying of communion with him in his Worship , than when God appears in the most terrible way of his works ; or when there is terror in a mans conscience through fear of Hell , when God appears as though he would send him down presently to Hell , though God expects to be feared then , but when the soul in enjoying communion with God in holy duties , and the more communion he hath with God , the more is he struck with reverence and the fear of God , this is a sign of sanctifying fear ; and then , Doth the heart sanctifie the Name of God indeed when it is so possessed with fear in the duties of Worship ? Now this fear of God should be indeed in the soul , and expressed outwardly when you are in the Assembly , by such reverent carriage in prayer , as if a Heathen should come in , he may see Gods Name sanctified , and may say , How great is this God that this People do Worship ! And in your Families , a reverent carriage , not lying all along in prayer upon your elbows sleeping , but carrying your selves so , that if a Heathen should come into your families , they may say , O how great is this God that this people do worship ! And likewise this fear it must be an abiding fear , not only at that instant when you are worshiping of God , or speaking of any of Gods Titles and Names , but a fear that must abide upon your hearts after duty is over ; that is , after you are come out from your Closets one may perceive the fear of God upon you , and so walking all the day long in the fear of God , as it becomes those that have been solemnly setting themselves to worship Him : Now this fear and reverence is contrary to the slightness , vanity , the boldness and presumptuousness that there is in the hearts of men and women when they are worshiping of God. Fifthly , The duties of Gods Worship must be full of strength , for they are not sutable to God else , because God is a God infinite in power and glory himself , therefore God cannot endure vain worshiping . In Isa . 1. 13. I hate vain oblations : Vanity of spirit in worshiping of God is very hateful to God , it doth defile the Name of God , God is dishonored by the vanity of mens spirits . Now this strength is Three fold : First , The strength of Intention . Secondly , The strength of Affection . Thirdly , The strength of all the Faculties of the soul , and the strength of body too , as much as we are able should be put forth in the worshiping of God. 1 First the strength of Intention . We must intend our work as if it were for our lives : If ever we were seriously Intentive or Attentive about any thing , it must be when we are worshiping of the Name of God. When you are coming to Pray , be intent about it . You shall see some when they are going in the street , when they have much intention about their businesse , their friends meet them , and they never mind them ; one may perceive as they are going , That they are mightily intent about their businesse . My Brethren , look upon every duty of Worship as a great thing which you must be intent in your thoughts about , and not give way to the wandring of your thoughts . I have read of one Martyr , that when he was to die , and the fire a kindling , saith an Officer , What! will you not speak when you see the Fire kindling ? Saith he , I am speaking to God : that is , he was praying , and he minded not at all what they were doing . Oh what little things do take our thoughts away from holy duties ! When every toy , every feather , every light matter cals them off ; Is this to Sanctifie Gods Name ? Would not we account it a dishonorable thing , If we were talking to one about serious businesse , and when we are talking , every one that comes by , he should be looking after them , and turning aside to talk with them ? If a Superior be talking with you , he doth expect that you should mind what he saith . But when God is speaking to you , and you are speaking to God , every vain thought that comes by , you are turning aside too : as if it were a greater thing to talk to vain thoughts and temptations , than to the great and glorious God. Therfore now that is the very time that the Devil chuses for to bring temptations when we are in holy duties , for the Devil knows then he doth two works at once : he doth disturb us in our duties , and call off our hearts to that that is wicked , and doth agravate our sin exceedingly . It may be thou wilt not dare to commit that sin that the temptation doth turn thy thoughts upon , yea but the Devil hath spoiled the duty by it . The Lord doth expect that there should be strength of Intention when thou art upon the duty : and there is no time to parlie with temptations now , whatever thoughts come in . The truth is , though they be good thoughts that should come into thy mind , and that time that thou art Praying , yet if they be not pertinent to the duty thou must cast them away as the temptation of the Devil . You will say , Can any thing that is good come from the Devil ? Certainly that which is materially good , and coming unseasonably , may be from the Devil ; the Devil may take advantage by what is in it self materially good , and bring in that in an unseasonable time , and so he may turn it to evil : As now , when thou art hearing the Word , it may be the Devil thinks he cannot prevail to cause thee to have thy heart running about uncleanness ; yea , but ( saith the Devil ) If I can inject good thoughts , I will put into their minds some place of Scripture that is no way pertinent to this , only to divert them : The Devil gets much by this ; therefore look to it , and know that God expects the strength of thy spirit in duty ; that is , Strong intention ; thou art worshiping of God , and therefore thou hadst need be intent about what thou art doing : Indeed sometimes before you are aware , evil thoughts will come into your minds , As when a man is keeping of a door , and there is a crowd of people without that would come in , perhaps the man doth open the door for some Gentleman that he hears is at the door , but when he opens it for one that is to come in , fourty others will crowd in : And so it is many times with the soul , that when it opens the door for some good thought , a great many evil thoughts will crowd in : Those people might come in if they would stay their time , but they should not now come in . So , about worldly businesses , that are not in themselves unlawful , if they will stay the time they may come in ; but they must be bard out now at this time . There is required strength of Intention . 2. Secondly , Strength of Affection is required also : That is , The Affections must work mightily after God , striving with God in Prayer : If ever thou hadst a heart inflam'd in any thing , it should be when thou art praying , or attending upon the Word ; as the Heathens that worshiped the Sun , sometimes I have told you that they would not have a Snail , but a flying Horse , they would offer that that was swift : so when we come to the living God , we must have living Affections , our Affections boyling ; and that will be the way to cure vain thoughts ; as the Flies will not come to the Honey if it be boyling hot , but when it is cold : So if the heart be boyling hot , and the affections a working , it will keep out vain thoughts and temptations : It is a sign of the breath of life when it is warm , but artificial breath you know it is cold ; as now , the breath that comes out of the body that is warm , but the breath that comes out of a pair of bellows that is cold ? So the breath of many people in Prayer , it is discovered to be but artificial breath , because it is so cold , but if there were spiritual life , then it would be warm . Ther must be strength of affection . 3. Thirdly , There must be likewise the strength of all the Faculties : We should stir up whatever we are , or have , or can do to work in Prayer , then the bent of Mind , and Conscience , and Will , and Affection ; yea , and the body should be put to it also , and those that worship God to purpose , they spend their bodies in nothing so much as in the worshiping of God. It will be a sad thing another day when this shall be charged upon many , Thou hast spent the strength of thy body upon lusts , but when didst thou spend any strength of the body about any holy duty ? What a riddle is this to most people , to tell them of spending the strength of their bodies in Prayer , or hearing of the Word , or Sanctifying a Sabbath ; they think the Sabbath is a time of rest , I confess it is a time of rest from an outward labor , but it is a time of spending strength in a spiritual way ; and those that shall worship God a right on the Sabbath , will find it a spending of a great deal of strength , and blessed is that strength that is spent in the Worship of God , rather than in the waies of sin , as most spend their strength : If God gives thee a heart to spend thy strength in His Worship , thou maiest think thus , Lord , thou mightest have left me to have spent my strength in sin , how much better is it spent in the Worshiping of thy Name ? There is one notable Scripture in Jer. 8. 2. that shews how much strength the Idolaters put forth in the worshiping of their Idol , they would not do it in a slight and vain way , but their hearts were much in that false-worship , saith the text , And they shall spread them before the Sun and the Moon , and all the host of Heaven , ( mark now ) whom they have loved , and whom they have served , and after whom they have walked , and whom they have sought and whom they have worshiped : All these are put together in reference to their Idols ; Oh that it could be said so of us in reference to God , when we come to worship him , whom we have loved , and whom we have served , and after whom we have walked , and whom we have sought , and whom we have worshiped ; there is all these several expressions to shew the strength of their spirits in following after their Idols : And that is the Fift thing in our Sanctifying Gods Name . 6. The Sixth is , If thou wilt Sanctifie Gods Name in Worship , there must be an humble frame of spirit , worship him with much humility of soul : Abraham did fall upon the ground before the Lord , and dust and ashes ( saith he ) hath begun to speak unto thee : yea , we reade of Jesus Christ groveling upon the earth , and the Angels they cover their faces in the presence of God ; and so should we be humble when we come before the Lord : there is nothing more abases the soul of man , than the sight of God ; and the great reason of the pride of all mens hearts , is because they never knew God : If thou didest but see God , thy heart must needs be abased ; And when doth the soul see God if not when it comes to worship him ? In Job , 42. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear , but now my eye seeth thee , wherefore I abhor my self , and repent in dust and ashes . Now this humility must be in the sense of our own meanness and baseness . Ps . 34. 6. This poor man cryed to God : They are poor souls that come into Gods presence that sanctifie Gods Name most ; even those souls that do apprehend , and are sensible of their own baseness , and meanness before God. This poor man cried to God : we use to say , Give that poor man somewhat . It doth affect the heart of God when he sees much poverty of spirit : when we come before Him , we must be sensible of our infinite dependance upon God. Come as the woman of Canaan , O Lord , even dogs do receive crums , and though I be a dog , yet let me receive crums ; here is humility of spirit . Now this humility of Spirit appears in these things . 1. First , admiring Gods goodness that we do live at this time , and that we have liberty to come before him ; we might have been past praying and worshiping of God : think thus , What a mercy is it that we are not banished out of Gods presence , that the Lord hath not spurn'd us out of his sight as filth , and cast us out as an everlasting abhorring , while others have been praying we might have bin yelling under the wrath of the eternal God : Come with this apprehension of thy self , and adore Gods goodness , that thou art alive to pray , and alive to hear Gods Word . And that it is not only a duty , but a rich priviledg and mercy that God will admit of thee to come into His Presence . Again , it is the goodness of God , that He will vouchsafe to look upon the things that are done in Heaven , then if the Lord doth humble Himself to behold the things that are done in Heaven , then how doth the Lord humble Himself to behold me a poor vile captive as I am in my self ; and yet that God should not only behold me before Him , but invite me to come into His presence ; What mercy and goodness is this ! 2. Our hearts must be taken off from the thoughts and apprehensions of all excellencies in our selves ; we must not come in the pride of our hearts , because we have abilities more than others , what do all thy parts commend thee to God ? thou hast ability in expressing of thy self in prayer : why , do thy parts commend thee to God ? Whatever is natural in any of our duties is nothing to God , only that which is from his own Spirit , and therefore thou shouldest come in thine own thoughts as vile as if thou hadst no parts and abilities at all . Lay aside all such apprehensions of thy self , for the truth is , some poor broken hearted sinner that can but sigh out a few groans to God , and is not able to speak two or three sentences together in a right language , but only breath out his soul to God , may be a thousand thousand times more acceptable to God than thou that art able to make great Orations when thou comest before Him. 3. Thou must come without any righteousness of thy own , thou must never come to Gods presence but as a poor worm ; and if there be any difference that is made between thee and others in outward respects , it is nothing to thee : when thou art in the presence of God , thou art as a base vile worm , though thou beest a Prince , or Emperor . 4. Thy heart must be taken off from what thou doest : If thou hast any abilities of grace yet thy heart must be taken off there , there may be pride not only from ones parts , but it may be God hath given me enlargements in Prayer , the Devil will come in and seek to puff up thy heart even because of this . But thy heart must be taken off there , and thou must deny thy self in all , when thou hast done the best service of all , yet thou must conclude , thou art an unprofitable servant ; when thou hast prayed the best , yet rise with shame , and take heed of having thy heart puft up even through the assistance of the graces of the Spirit of God in holy Duties . 5. Lastly , Thou must come with a humble resignation of thy self to God , to be content to wait upon God as long as he pleases , to wait upon God in regard of the time , and of the measure , and of the manner of the Communication of himself , in regard of the means by which he will please to communicate himself , wait upon him ; Let me have mercy though at the last hour . This now is an humble heart in Prayer ; and when we come with such a poverty of spirit as this is , we may expect that the Lord will accept of us , Give this poor man somewhat , will God say : This poor man cryed , and the Lord heard him . In the Seventh place , We must bring that which is Gods own in sanctifying Gods Name . I spake to this before in the Point of Preparation , Viz. That in Gods Worship we must give him his own . I will only mention it here in the sanctifying of Gods Name in two regards : 1. First , To give God His own for the matter of it . 2. Secondly , To give God His own , that is , what comes from the work of His own Spirit , or else we do not sanctifie Gods Name . I will give you one text further about the matter of it , in Exod. 39. if you reade the Chapter , you shall find that there is ten times said , that they did as God had commanded Moses : And then in the close of the Chapter , when they had done as God had commanded in His Worship ; the text saith , Moses blessed them . That people is a blessed people that do observe the Worship of God as God hath commanded them . But the main thing is , all that we do it must be acted by the Spirit of God ; it is not enough to have true silver and gold , but it must have the rigbt stamp , or else it cannot go for current coyn . And so it is not enough that the things that we offer to God in His Worship be Gods own , be what we have warrant for out of Gods Word , but it must have the stamp of the Spirit of God. In the Worship of God there be two Questions that He will ask , First , Who required this at your hands ? But then if you can answer thus , Thou O Lord didst require it : It is well : But then God hath another Question , Whose Image and Superscription is this ? If thou canst not give an Answer to that , it will be rejected too : Thou must be acted by Divine Principles , in all that thou doest , there must be the stamp of the Spirit upon that which is tendered to God , else it is nothing . To open this Point fully will ask some time . First , Therefore I will shew you how we may know when our duties are acted by our natural parts rather than by the Spirit of God. Secondly , How we may know whether our duties be acted by natural Conscience rather than by the Spirit of God. 1. First , If thou art acted by natural parts , they will not change thy heart : Men that do perform duties by the strength of natural parts , they may be as large as others , and speak to the edification of others , but those duties do never change their hearts ; now if thou beest acted by the Spirit of God , thou wilt be changed into the very Image of his Spirit . 2. Secondly , If men are acted by Natural parts , they will not carry them through difficulties and discouragements ; but now the Spirit of God if thou hast acted by him , though thou doest meet with never such difficulties , and discouragements , thou wilt be carried through them all . 3. Thou maiest know it by this , wherein dost thou account the excellency of a duty to consist , either in thy self or others ; Thou performest a duty , now ( it may be ) thy parts do act very lively , and to thy credit , and yet thy conscience tells thee that thy heart was straightened : Now canst thou rise up with joy because thou hast thy ends ? At another time ( perhaps ) thy heart is more troubled , and broken : But thou doest not express thy self so much , then thou art discouraged . And when thou seest another perform a duty , if thou seest but any failing in their expressions , thou pitchest upon that , and lookest upon it as a poor thing ; thou art not able to see an excellency in holy duties , except there be an excellency of natural parts ; but those that have the Spirit of God , they can find the Spirit of God acting in others , though they have not such natural parts . 4. Those that are acted by their natural parts , in secret they are less enlarged , than they are before others a great deal . Their parts act much before others , But what is there between God and their own souls ? 5. They that be so acted will not be very constant , you shall have yong ones , that begin to look towards Religion , their parts are a little fresh , and they are mightily enlarged in holy duties , and the thing is good for them to make use of their parts ; but how ordinary it is , that after a few yeers they are deader and duller than they were before , and have less mind to the duties of Gods Worship than they had formerly ? Were this the Spirit of God , you would find as much savour and relish in them afterwards , as there was at that time . Secondly , For natural Consciences , which sometimes puts men upon acting of duties , and ( indeed ) is better than meerly natural parts . 1. If it be only natural Conscience , it puts upon duties , but gives no strength to do them : but when the Spirit of God puts thee upon a duty , it gives thee some strength to perform it , some strength whereby thou gettest some Communion with God. 2. If it be natural Conscience , it puts upon the duty , but makes not the heart glad of the duty , and to love the duty : but if it be the Spirit of God , it makes thee to delight in it , and to love it . 3. If it be natural Conscience , thou doest not by that encrease thy communion with God , thou doest thy duties as in a round ; but now when the Spirit of God puts thee upon holy duties , it is not a task done , but thou findest more and more encrease in communion with God ; thy heart more raised to God , and more closing with the Lord , and so still more and more in the course of thy life : I had a little converse with God at first when God began to acquaint my soul with His Waies , but through His mercy now I find more communion with Him ; and so thou 〈◊〉 bless thy self in God , in that converse that thou hast in communion with Him , thou wouldst not lose that Communion thou hast with God in holy duties , for all the world ; others have their companions , that they have their communion withal , ( much good may do them ) but the Lord hath shewen me another manner of communion which my soul can have with himself , in which it hath sweet satisfaction . And thus you have had Seven Particulars for the Sanctifying of the Name of God in Holy Duties . SERMON VI. Leviticus , 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . 4. AGain , As Natural Conscience doth give no strength to do the duty , so it makes not the duty to be strong to the soul ; that is thus , Thre's no strength got by the duty ; they are not by one duty prepared for another , But the way of the Lord is strength to the upright , that is , when a gracious heart is in the way of Gods Worship , it finds the very duty of the Worship of God to be strength to it , and so it fits it for another Duty . 5. Further , A Natural Conscience limits its self , and is bounded ; that is , so much as will serve the turn for its own peace and quiet , so much it will do , and no more : But when one is acted by the Spirit of God , one is enlarged without any limits at all , not bounded to ones own peace , for the more peace a gracious heart hath in duty , the more it is enlarged in duty : Now a Natural Conscience , that puts to duty , and will act you when you want peace , when you are in trouble and fear , but when you are not in trouble and fear , then it puts not on the heart to performance of duty ; but the Spirit of God puts on the Soul to Duty , when there is most peace and comfort . 6. A little will serve the turn to satisfie natural conscience , so be it they perform the duty , it is enough ; but one that is acted by the Spirit of God in duty , must meet with much of God or else he is not satisfied , he goes mourning in the day time if he hath not met with much of God in the morning in the performance of duty , Thus you see there is much difference between the acting of Natural parts and conscience in duty , and the acting of the Spirit of God. There be only now Two things more for the Sanctifying of Gods Name in Duty , and then we are to come to shew how we should sanctifie Gods Name in Duty in reference to the several Attributes of God. But First for those Two Heads . Further . 7. The Seventh thing is this , When you come to perform holy duties , if you would sanctifie Gods Name , you must consecrate your selves to God , there must be a resignation of Soul and Body , Estate , Liberty , Name , and all you are , have , or can do unto God : This is to sanctifie Gods Name , the consecration of your selves unto God : And the professing of this is the performance of duty , when you are to pray , were a very good thing , actually to profess your selves to be Gods , to profess that you do give up all that you are , have , or can do , to God : Lord , I am thy servant , take all Faculties of Soul , and Members of Body , improve all , lay out all to thine own praise to the uttermost , to bring glory to thy great Name . If every time you came to God in Prayer you did this , this were to sanctifie your selves to God ( I spake before of a sanctified heart , but now this is in a profession of your selves unto God ) do it secretly at least in your own thoughts ; if you do not every time express it in words , yet in your own thoughts do it ; devote yourselves to God every day . Of admirable use it would be , if every day when men and women worship God , either in their closets or families , they did professedly devote and consecrate themselves to God ; and so likewise , every time they come to hear the Word or to receive Sacraments , God would account his Name to be sanctified in such a work as this is . 8. Lastly , That that must make all up , and without which all the other is nothing ; it is , That you must tender up al your worship in the Name of Jesus Christ ; let a man or woman worship God never so well , yet when they have done all if they do not tender it up in the Name of Jesus Christ , God will not account his Name to be sanctified ; thou must by Faith look upon Jesus Christ as the glorious Mediator that is come into the world , by whom thou hast access unto the Father : And act thy Faith upon Christ , and give up thy Duties into his hand , as the hand of a Mediator to be tender'd up to the Father by him ; though thou hast labored what thou canst to perform Duty as well as thou art able , yet thou must not think to tender it up by thine own hand unto God ; but thou must tender it up to the Father by the hand of Jesus Christ the Mediator , and so thou shalt sanctifie the Name of God in holy Duties . We reade in Levit. 16. 13. that when Aaron was to tender up the Incense , he was to put the Incense on the fire before the Lord , that the cloud of the Incense may cover the Mercy-seat that is upon the Testimony , that he die not . Mark , it is as much as his life is worth , whether he doth it , or doth it not . Now Incense it is in the New Testament called Prayer , and so in the Old Testament too , it was a kind of emblem of Prayer ; The offering up of our Prayers , is the offering up of Incense to God ; and the Mercy-seat , it was a Type of Jesus Christ . Now the Incense should cover the Mercy-seat ; so our Prayers must go up to Jesus Christ , must be upon him , and so must be accepted by the Father . And as we reade in Judg. 13. 20. when Monah offered a Sacrifice , the text saith , that the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame : This Angel of God here was Jesus Christ , as we might easily from this Scripture make it out , and he ascends up in the flame from the Altar . Now though we do not offer such kind of Sacrifices with Fire and Incense as they did in the time of the Law , yet when we are offering up of our Incense ; there must be a flame of Fervency and Zeal : But that is not enough , together with the flame of the Altar , and the Angel of God , Jesus Christ , the great Angel of the new Covenant , ( for Angel signifies nothing but Messenger ) the great Messenger that is come into the world , about that great Errend of his , To Reconcile the World to Himself ; He must ascend up in the flame , and so God will account his Name to be sanctified , the Name of God is not sanctified but through Jesus Christ : The acting of our Faith upon Christ as Mediator is a special ingredient to the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy Duties ; as you know the Scripture saith , That the Altar doth Sanctifie the Gift offered upon the Altar . Jesus Christ is the Altar upon whom all our Spiritual Sacrifices are to be offered , and this Altar doth sanctifie the Gift that is offered upon it , let never so great a gift be offered upon any other Altar , it was not accounted holy , nor accepted : So let men by their natural strength or power that they have , offer up the most glorious and speciousest Service to God , it is not accepted except it be offered up upon the Altar Jesus Christ : We have an Altar now , not the Communion Table , but Jesus Christ himself is our Altar , upon whom we are to offer al our Sacrifices , and this Altar must sanctifie the Gift ; we can never have our Gift Sanctified , no , nor Gods Name sanctified in this Gift , except it be offered upon this Altar , and our Faith acted upon Jesus Christ . People little think of this , but of other things , viz. That when we worship God , we should worship him with Fear , and Reverence , and with Humility , and with strength of Intention ; such kind of things every one that hath any enlightening of conscience will think of at some time or other ; but people do least think of this , which is the greatest ingredient of all in the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties , that is , To come and tender up all to the Father , in the Name of Jesus Christ : How many men and women that have been Professors of Religion twenty or thirty years , and yet not acquainted with this great Mystery of Godliness , To tender up all to God in the Name of his Son. This is that that upon divers occasions I have spoken unto , and am willing upon every occasion as I meet with it to speak of , because it is a principal part of the great Mystery of the Gospel , without which , all our duties are rejected of God , and cast away . Now then , put all these Nine things together , and see by them what we ought to do that we may sanctifie the Name of God in holy Duties . But there is something further to be spoken that may help you to sanctifie Gods Name in holy duties , and that is , Several workings of heart , sutable to the several Attributes of God , for that is to sanctifie Gods Name , to have the duty to be such as is some way sutable to such a God as we are now worshiping . Now then let us consider what the Scripture saith of God , and then let us see what sutable dispositions we should have in us unto those things that the Scripture saith of God : 1. First , You know the Scripture saith , that God is a Spirit , in Joh. 4. 24. Then presently Christ saith , That he that worships him , must worship him in Spirit ; that is , there must be a sutableness in our worship to what God is : Is God a Spirit ? then all that worship him , must worship him in Spirit and Truth ; that is thus , When I am to go to worship God , I must consider of him , as he is an infinite and glorious Spirit ; well then , surely bodily worship is not sufficient for me : Though I do kneel down in prayer , or do come and present my body to hear the Word , or my body to receive the Sacrament , this is not to worship God as a Spirit : If indeed that our God were as the Heathens , that were corporeal , then it were another matter , then bodily worship would serve the turn ; but God being a Spirit , he must have Spiritual Worship , therefore my soul , and all that is within me , magnifie his Name : saith David , my Soul magnifie his Name , not my lips only , but my soul : The Apostle in 1 Tim. 4. 8. saith , that bodily exercise profits little ; it is no great matter for the body , God looks but very little at bodily exercise ; but it is godliness that is profitable , it is the work of the Spirit ; when we come to pray , we must pray in the Spirit ; that is , we must pray with our souls , we must powr forth our souls before God , and when we come to hear , our hearts must not go after our covetousness , we must set our hearts to what we hear , we must hear with our hearts as well as with our ears , our souls must be at work in hearing of the Word ; when you hear , it is not enough for you to come and sit in a Pew , and have the sound of a mans voice in your ears , but your souls must be at work : And so when you come to receive the Sacrament , your souls must feed upon Jesus Christ : Bodily-worship without Soul-worship is nothing , but soul-worship may be accepted without bodily-worship ; therefore it is the Soul that God doth principally look at in holy duties : If you be not able to worship God in your bodies , you may worship him in your souls , and God regards that bodily exercise in holy duties is little worth , somewhat it may be worth , I confess sometime bodily exercise may further the soul , as a reverend carriage of the body , and the like , but it is nothing in comparison , the great work is the work of the soul , for God is a Spirit , and must be worshiped in Spirit . And God is said to be a Spirit , not only in that he is not of so thick a Capital substance , but it notes the simplicity of God , he is without any composition , whatsoever is in God , is God Himself , He is absolutely One , there are not divers things in God ; now then , those that come to worship Him , must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth ; that is , there must not be a heart and a heart , there must not be a compounded heart , but you must bring simple hearts before God , without any composition of dross in your selves , and of any kind of falsness , but in the simplicity of your hearts you must come to worship God , and thus you shall worship him with such worship as is some way sutable to him as he is a spirit . 2. Further consider , God as he is an eternal God , what sutable disposition doth this require of me when I am to look upon God as an eternal Being ? it requires this only , That therefore thy heart must be taken off from all temporal good things , and set upon that eternal good , thou mayest indeed desire these outward good things but in order to thy eternal good . Then further , Thou art worshiping an eternal God : hence then , whatsoever sin thou doest confess , although committed 20. or 40. yeers ago , thou must look upon it as if it were now presently committed , and be humbled as much before the Lord as if it were now committed at this present ; You will say , Why so ? Because God is an Eternal God ? Yes : For if I understand Gods Eternity , I know that there is no succession in Gods Being ; therefore the sins that I committed in my youth , if I come to confess them , they are before God as if they were now a doing in regard of time , and therefore I must ( as much as I can ) look so upon them , and be humbled for them as if they were sins lately committed . Many people are troubled for their sins the very day after they commit them , but a little time wears off their trouble : but if you did consider that you had to deal with an eternal God , then you would look upon your sins though a long time since committed as if they were but now done . Likewise there will be this required from the consideration of Gods eternity , You must come with such a disposition of heart as not to think much , though what you desired be deferred and not granted in your time when you would have it . For if there be no time that alters with God , but a thousand yeers are with God as one day , then that that we account long before it s done , it is nothing with God ; and therefore we must have our hearts so work towards God as towards an Eternal God , as one with whom there is no alteration of time at all , with whom there is no succession of time . If we come to a man and seek any thing of him , if he doth not answer us presently , we will think that he will forget it , and other things will come into his mind : but when we come to worship God , we must look upon him as an Eternal Being , and that time alters nothing with him : Thus understanding God in a right way wil much help us in his Worship , and to Sanctifie his Name . We cannot Sanctifie Gods Name , without knowing his Name , without having serious thoughts about his Name ; and getting our hearts to work accordingly . 3. Thirdly , Look upon God when you come to Worship Him in His comprehensible Being : that is , as a God that fils all places , His being is real in the room that we are praying in , the place that we are meeting in , as it is in Heaven . Now then when we come to worship Him , we must consider that that infinite glorious Being stands before us , looks upon us , is at our elbow ; and therefore especially when you worship in secret consider this , it is good to consider it when you are with others , but especially ( I say ) consider it when you are in secret , and know that when you are most private , you have one that looks on you , and takes notice of you , who is more than if you had ten hundred thousand witnesses standing by you , and looking upon you : For it is the Lord that stands by you , and sees your behavior , sees what you do in your worshiping of Him ; take heed therefore that there be nothing done by you that is unbeseeming the presence of such a God as the Lord is : Suppose that some of you were praying , and there were some godly able Minister stood neer you , it would be some means to stir up your hearts to mind what you did : but now the Lord He is not in the next room only , but in the same room , and stands by you : Let there be nothing done therefore unbeseeming the presence of that infinite holy God that stands by you ; and hold this truth forth , The Lord is present with me , I acknowledg it , and I own it , and therefore I carry my self thus , and all because I would witness to Angels and Men , that I do acknowledg that the Lord is present with me in this duty . 4. Fourthly , Consider God is an unchangable God , immutable . That is another Attribute of God ; He is unchangeable . First , Therefore our hearts must be taken off from these mutable things , and set upon God as that unchangable good . Secondly , We must be humbled for our fickleness , and unconstantness ; there is no shadow of change in God , and there is no shadow of constancy in us . Thirdly , When we come into the presence of a God who is unchangable , then we should look upon God as being the same now that ever He was heretofore ; He hath as much displeasure against sin now as ever he had , and that God that hath done such great things for his Church in former times , is the same God to do good to His people as ever he was . And make use of this ; When you reade the Word , and there find how God hath made Himself appear to be glorious for His people ; and now every time I am to worship God , I should think that I am to deal with God that is the same that ever he was , a merciful , and gracious , and just , and powerful as ever he was , and so my heart is to work towards him . 5. Fiftly , When I am to Worship God , I am to look upon Him as the Living God , as that God that hath life in Himself , and gives life unto his Creatures . Then what sutable behavior doth become me ? I must come before His presence with fear ; It is a fearful thing to fall into his hands that is the living God ; that hath my life under his feet , He hath the absolute dispose of my present and eternal condition , He gave me my life , he hath preserved my life , and so may take it away when he pleases , and bring death , eternal death unto me . These things may marvelously help your meditation when you are to come before Him , you who are barren in your meditations , go over the Attributes of God thus , and consider what you may be able to draw from thence . God , He is the living God : What behavior then doth beseem me towards this living God ? Oh let me be afraid lest my soul depart from the living God : Let me bring a living Service to Him , I must not bring a dead heart ; let me take heed how I come before the living God with a dead heart , and with a dead service , to sacrifice that which is dead before it comes , it 's like a carrion that lies dead in the ditch . Oh let us be humbled for our dead hearts , and dead sacrifices ; it is a living God that I am worshiping , and therefore I must pray , Lord turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity , and quicken my heart in thy Law , Psal . 119. 37. Remember when thou comest to worship , that thou come with a quikned heart , for thou hast to deal with a living God : A man or woman that is of an active spirit , cannot endure a dull and heavy servant in the family ; but the Lord is a pure act , and nothing else but act , and therefore he doth expect that all his people should have quick , active , and lively spirits . 6 , When you come to worship God ; you are to look upon Him as Almighty . And so are , First , To fear his great Power when you come before Him. And Secondly : Then you are not to be discouraged by any difficulties . I come to seek for some great thing , and I come to seek to a great God , that hath all Power in Heaven and Earth , and infinitely more power than there is in all creatures in Heaven and Earth ; I am praying to a God that can create peace , create help : My condition cannot be so desperate , but this Infinite Almighty God is able to help me : Let me make him the object of my faith as he is so infinitely Almighty : What a full object of faith is this God that hath all power in Him ? Let me therefore come to him as a strong Tower ; Run to the Name of God as a strong Tower , that can help in all straights whatsoever . There would be much drawing forth of our Faith : if we could present the Lord before us as an infinite Almighty God : when we see outward helps and means neer at hand , then we can beleeve that we may have some succour from him , but when all outward helps and means fail then we are discouraged ; we do not sanctifie Gods Name , but we rather take this Name of God in vain , when as our hearts are discouraged with any difficulties ; now the Lord expects that all his Children that come to worship him , should worship him as the Almighty God , and so have their hearts working towards him ; there would be mighty workings of Spirit towards God , if we saw him by the eye of Faith as well as Reason . 7. Look upon God as an Omniscient God , as a God infinitely understanding all things . Now what doth this call for ? First , If God be a God of infinite understanding , then let not me bring a blind Sacrifice to God , then let not me bring an ignorant heart to God ; this is the excellency of an understanding creature to know the rule and end of its own Actions ; now thou comest to worship an infinite God , of infinite understanding , then know the rule of what you do , and know the end of what you do , and come with understanding in His presence . Secondly , If He be so understanding , come with a free open heart , to open whatsoever is in thine heart to God ; take heed of keeping any secret resolutions in thine own heart , God knows thee , and can tell how to find thee out ; God knows all that is in thine heart before ; all the secret baseness that is in thine heart , the Lord doth understand it , the Lords eye is a piercing eye , He sees thorow and thorow thy heart . It 's a vain thing for thee to come and conceal any thing before Him. You will say , If God understand a mans heart , what need he come and confess ? Yes : He requires it as thy duty that thou shouldest come and open all before him : In spight of thy heart thou canst not cover any thing from the Lords eyes ; but the Lord will see whether thou beest willing of thy self that He should understand al : God doth not require us to come and confess our sins , that so he might know that which he knew not before , but for this end , That there might be a testimony , that thou art willing that he should know all that is in thy heart ; therefore now when thou comest to worship him , ransack every corner of thy heart , and confess all before the Lord , and give glory to his Name , as that God that is an All-seeing God , that knows all the windings and turnings of thy heart : Now meditate of these things that be presented to thee , and it will be a mighty means to help thee to sanctifie his Name . 8. God is a God of infinite Wisdom , therefore when we come to worship God , let us be ashamed of our folly : When thou comest to have to deal with God , look upon him as a God of infinite Wisdom , and I say be thou ashamed of thy folly then , and do thou exercise the grace of wisdom too when thou comest to God ; that is , by propounding right ends ( of which we spake before ) That is one part of wisdom to have right ends , and right means towards those ends , so that the meditation of the wisdom of God when we come to worship him will further us to sanctifie his Name . And further ; This is to Sanctifie Gods Wisdom , when thou comest into Gods presence , in thy greatest straights , deny thy own wisdom , come with a resolution to be guided by the Wisdom of God , in this manner , Lord , I know not how to order my steps , there is much folly and vanity in my heart , but thou art a God of infinite Wisdom , I come to thee for direction , and I profess here , I am willing to give up my whol Soul to be guided by thy wisdom . If every time we come to Worship God we came thus ; Oh Lord , whatsoever our thoughts have been heretofore , yet if thou shalt but reveal thy mind to us , we will hearken to thee , Lord , we beleeve that thy Wisdom it is thy Self , and therefore we profess to give up our selves to thy Wisdom . Now this is to Sanctifie the Name of God. 9. Consider the holiness of God ; God is a God infinitely pure from all sin , and therefore when we come to Worship God , we must be ashamed of our holiness , as the Prophet in Isa . 6 , when he heard the Seraphins cry , Holy , holy , holy , is the Lord of hosts , he fals down and saith , Wo is me , for I am undone , because I am a man of unclean lips . And is God a holy God ? Then let me take heed when I come before Him , that I bring not with me a love to any sin , for the Lord hates it , and let me take heed that I do not cast dirt in the very face of Gods Holiness , but give up my soul to be rul'd wholly by Him : And labor that there may be a sutableness between the holiness of thy heart , and of the infinite God. Now this is to sanctifie Gods Name , when the consideration of this Attribute of God hath such effect upon my heart , that I labor upon this to come with a sutable heart before God. 10. When thou comest before God , Consider that thou comest to a merciful God : And what should this work ? First , It should make me come joyfully into His presence , as a God that is willing to do good to his poor creatures that are in misery . Secondly , It should make me to come with a heart sensible of the need of this mercy ; O Lord , I have had my heart let out to other vain things heretofore , but now Lord , thy mercy it is that my soul comes for , as that wherein my chief and only good consists . Thirdly , It should make me come with expectation of great things from God ; do not come unto God as unto an empty Vine , but as unto a full Vine , and the more thy faith is raised to expect great things from God , the more acceptable art thou to God : Certainly the higher any ones faith is raised when they come into his presence , to expect the greatest things , the more acceptable . It is otherwise with God than men , if you come to men to beg a little thing , you may be welcome , but if you come to ask a great matter , they will look askew upon you : but the truth is , the greater the things are that we come to God for , the more welcome are we into Gods presence ; and those that are acquainted with God they know it , and therefore they come the more fully . When they come to ask Jesus Christ himself and his Spirit that is more worth than ten thousand worlds , they come with more freedom of Spirit than when they come to ask their healths , and the like . Fourthly , It will be likewise another means of sanctifying this Attribute of God ; when thou comest to him : If thou doest come with a merciful heart towards thy brethren : Take heed whensoever you come to worship God , that you come not with a rugged and cruel heart towards any of your brethren ; therefore you find that Christ laies this upon you , in teaching how to pray , you most say , Forgive us our trespasses , as we forgive our brethren that trespass against us : And you find it repeated again , If you forgive , then your Heavenly Father will forgive , and not otherwise . As if Christ should say , When you come to beg mercy , be sure you bring merciful hearts . Fifthly , It is a good way to sanctifie the Name of God in this Attribute , for the soul to be solicitous with it self : What is that that will hinder me from the mercy of God , and let me avoid it ? It is otherwise , a taking of the Name of God in vain , for me to come to profess what need I have of Gods mercy , and yet for al that , never regard to avoid those things that may hinder the work of his Grace upon me 11. Consider the Justice of God , ( that 's another Attribute ) Consider that thou hast to deal with an Infinite , Righteous and Just God : Do not think that if thou beest a Beleever , that thou hast nothing to do with the Justice of God , for certainly thou art to sanctifie the Justice of God. Now you will say , How should a Beleever sanctifie the Justice of God ? Thus : First , He should be apprehensive and sensible , how by sin he hath put himself under Justice , and deserved the stroke of Justice to be upon him to eternity ; he should consider what he is in himself : It 's true , that Jesus Christ hath come between a beleeving soul and the Justice of the Father , and hath taken the stroke of Justice upon himself : yea , but though he hath done it it doth not hinder but that thou shouldst be apprehensive of what thou hast deserved thy self . Secondly , Here is a special thing in the sanctifying of the Justice of God : When we come before him we should consider that we have to deal with an infinite just God , and therefore not to dare to come but through a Mediator ; Here you have the reason why we must tender up all in the Name of Jesus Christ , because when we are to come before God , we are to sanctifie the Name of his Justice : For thee to think thus , I have sinned , and God is merciful ; and I will go and pray to him that he might be merciful , and there 's an end . Is this all ? Oh no , God requires the sanctifying of his Justice , and there is nothing that doth sanctifie his Justice so much as this , That when a poor creature sees the infinite distance that sin hath made between that infinite God and it , it sees that though sin , it hath made its self liable to Justice ; and when it sees that there is an absolute necessity that infinit Justice must have satisfaction , and thinks the sinner , If it comes to me that I must satisfie the Justice of God I am never able to do it , but there is a Mediator , and therefore I 'le fly to him , and by Faith tender up to the Father all the merits of his Son as a full satisfaction to his infinite Justice : When thou comest thus before the Lord , thou Sanctifiest his Name indeed . Many think that when they come to pray , they should look upon Gods Grace , and Mercy , and not upon his Justice ; but thou must look upon both . Another Attribute , it is Gods Faithfulness : Consider thou hast to deal with a God of infinite Truth , and Faithfulness , and therefore look upon him as an object of thy Faith to rest upon , And likewise thou must bring a faithful heart sutable some way to this Faithfulness of God , that is , a heart faithful with him , to keep within the Covenant that thou hast entered into and to perform all the Vows that thou makest with God ; Remember thou hast to deal with a Faithful God , and as the Lord delights to manifest his Righteousness to poor Creatures that seek His face ; so this God doth expect that thou shouldest be faithful in all the Covenants that thou doest make with Him , and this is to sanctifie Gods Name . Now then put all these Attributes of God together , and there you have his Glory , the infinitness of his Glory . The shine and lustre of all the Attributes together is Gods Glory . I have then to deal with a glorious God , and let me labor to perform such services as may have a spiritual Glory upon them , that some Image of the Divine Lustre that there is in God may be upon my services ; and let me look for glorious things seeing I have to deal with such a glorious God. You will say , Here is a great deal of do in serving of God , how much is here that we must do ? I appeal to any gratious heart , What canst thou want of any of these , or what wouldest thou want ? Doest thou say , Her 's a great deal ? Can there be too much to make thee happy ? These things are not only thy duty , but thy happiness , glory and excellency consists in them : If any one should bring you a great many Jewels and Pearls , would you say , Here 's a great deal ado ? Oh no , the more the merrier . So say I , this one meditatiion would take off the thoughts of a deal , for in all these my happiness consists , and the more I have of these , the more shall I enjoy of God , the more happy shall I be both here and for ever . Now I had thought to have given you some Reasons why the Name of God must be sanctified ; only I beseech you by all that hath been said go away with this thought , What little cause is there that any of us should rest upon any of our duties ; If this be required of us thus to sanctifie the Name of God in duty , ( I say ) we have little cause any of us to rest on any duties that we perform . There are many poor creatures that have no other Saviors to rest upon but their Prayers , and coming to Church , and taking the Communion ; Now if in all these the Lord expects that thou shouldst thus sanctifie his Name : Thou hast little cause to rest upon any thing that thou hast done , thou hast cause rather to go alone and mourn for taking the Name of God in vain in the duties of his Worship : Rest not in any of your performances ; labor to perform duties as well as you can , but when you have done , know that you are unprofitable servants after all , and renounce all as in the point of Justification , and rest upon something else , otherwise you are undone for ever . SERMON VII . Leviticus , 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . WEE are coming now to the conclusion of this great Argument of sanctifying Gods Name in holy duties for the general . God expects that we should all in our drawings neer to Him in the duties of worship , sanctifie His Name . Now we are to consider of divers Reasons why God will be Sanctified in all the duties of His Worship . 1. The first Reason is this , It is the very Nature of God to Will Himself the last end , and all other things to work sutable to the lifting up of Himself as the last end : ( I say ) it is as essential to Him as any thing , for Him to will Himself as the highest end , and that all things should work so as to be sutable unto that Glory of His for the furtherance of it : God should cease to be God , if so be He should not will Himself as the highest end , and so will that all things that have any being should some way or other work for Himself : This is the very nature of God. It is that which I conceive the very nature of Gods Holiness consists in , the willing Himself as the last end and so to work al things as sutable unto His own infinit Excellency . Now as this is Gods holiness , so it is the holiness that God requires in His Creatures ( that are capable of holiness ) that they should will Him as the last end , and all things sutable to that infinite Excellency of His. Now if this be the nature of God , and this be His holiness , then certainly it must needs be a necessary duty in al those that would have cōmunion with God and would honor God , to wil as God himself doth will , that is , that all things should work sutable to the infinite Excellency of God , that God may attain the Glory of His infinite Excellency , and this makes it to be a necessarie dutie , that when we come to Worship Him we should Sanctifie His Name : So that the first reason is taken from the very nature of God , it is the very being of God that all things should work to Himself , and in such a sutable way as to lift up His Excellency and Glory . 2. Secondly , We must sanctifie God in the duties of His Worship , because it is the special glory that God hath in the world , to be actively honored ; for his passive glory , that is , to be glorified in a passive way , that he hath in Hell , but the special glory that God would have , it is , that he might be glorified actively : Now there is no such way of glorifying the Name of God actively , as by worshiping of him in a holy manner , and therefore God stands much upon this , That when we come to worship him we sanctifie his Name ; for saith God , If I be not sanctified in my Worship , what active glory have I in the world ? it is the special active Glory that God hath in the world , the sanctifying of his Name in the duties of his Worship . 3. Thirdly , That which we have intimated before , That the duties of Gods Worship are the most precious things , the special conveyances of the choice mercies that he intends to bestow on his Saints , and therefore though he loses his Glory in any thing else , he would not lose it in that wherein he doth especially convey his mercy and goodness to his people . But that we spake too in shewing how we draw nigh to God in holy duties , and it may well come in here again as an Argument why we should sanctifie Gods Name . 4. A Fourth Reason is this , Because there is no way for us to be fitted for the receiving of mercy from God through those duties of Worship , but by our sanctifying of Gods Name ; when thou comest at any time to worship God , what wouldest thou have ? there it some communion that thou wouldest enjoy with God , now there is no way to make thee a fit subject of mercy , or capable of the enjoying of Communion with God , but by such a behavior of soul as this is that hath been spoken of , To sanctifie the Name of God ; thou wouldest be loth to lose those duties of worship that thou doest perform , therefore it is required of thee to sanctifie his Name lest thou doest lose all , for 't is this that makes thee the only capable subject of what good is to be had there . 5. We must sanctifie Gods Name in holy Duties , because otherwise we should certainly never hold out in Duties , but vanish and come to nothing ; now God would be worshiped so by his creatures , as to be constantly worshiped , he would have those that do worship him , to worship him alwaies , to worship him for ever , and he would have this Worship that we perform to him , but to be the begining of that eternal Worship that he shall have from us in Heaven . And so the Saints do Worship God now , the Worship which they perform , it is but as the beginning of that Worship that hereafter in Heaven they shall tender up to God , though there may be some difference in it , as there our prayers will be turned into praises , and it will not be in such outward Ordinances as now we worship God in , there will be no Preaching , nor Sacraments ; yet notwithstanding , the Soul worship that is now , will be in effect the same as it shall be in Heaven . God would have us so to worship him as to continue to worship him : Now ( I say ) ●nless his Name b● sanctified in our worshiping of him , we will certainly fall off : and the truth is , This is the very ground of all Apostacie in Hypocrites ; Some that have been very forward in the worshiping of God when they were young ones , and afterwards they have fallen off , they were wont constantly in their families , and in secret in their chambers to be worshiping of God , and they accounted it the very joy of their lives for the present to be worshiping of God ; but it is not so with them now as it was : yea , they are fallen off ( it may be ) from their very profession of Religion , and turn'd loose ; And now to be in vain company , to drink or play , is better to them than any Service of Worship of God , they prize more to be in company with their sports , than to hear a Sermon , or to be in Communion with the People of God in Prayer : Heretofore they would not have changed one short time of private Communion with God , for the enioyment of a great deal of pleasures and content in the world ; but now it is otherwise with them . How comes it to pass that these are apostatized thus from God ? Surely this is the ground of it , That they did not sanctifie Gods Name in holy Duties , at the most it was but a work of conscience that put them upon them , and they had but some flashes , there was no real Sanctification of their hearts whereby they did sanctifie the Name of God in holy duties , and upon this it is that they have left off . This I dare say , That there was never any soul that did know what it was to sanctifie Gods Name in worship , that ever was weary of worshiping God. It may be some of you may say , We have hard that there is much required in sanctifying Gods Name in duties , and that is the only way to weary the soul , and to make it fall off ; Oh no , ( as we said the last day ) there is not any one thing that hath been opened for the sanctifiing of Gods Name in duties that any gracious heart can tell how to miss , and the more we do sanctifie His Name , the more we shall be in love with worship . For it is from hence that those that sanctifie Gods Name in worship will hold out , because they will find the sweetness of worship , they will meet with God in holy duties , and so they come to be encouraged in worship , but as for others who do worship God in a formal way , their worship will prove to be tedious to them , for they perform the duties , but do not find God in the duties in that spiritual way as the Saints do ; If they think they meet with God , it is but an imagination rather than any real meeting with him ; they do not find the influence of God in their souls in holy duties , so as those do that sanctifie Gods Name in holy duties ; here then you see the Reasons why we are to sanctifie Gods Name in holy duties . Now then for the Application of all this . 1. If all this which you have be required of us for the sanctifying of Gods Name : Hence we see how little cause we have to rest upon any duty of worship that we do perform , certainly the duties of worship that we perform are no such things as are fit to be rested upon for life and for salvation , and yet for the most part there is scarce any thing that people have to rest upon , or to tender up to God for acceptation to eternal life but only their prayers , and their coming to hear , and receiving of the Communion , and such duties that they perform ; this is al they have to tender up for life and for salvation ; perhaps they may sometimes speak of Christ , but the truth is that which their hearts rest upon for acceptation to eternal life is this . And is it but this ? It is a weak prop , a rotten reed that thou hast to rest upon ; Let the duties of Worship be performed never so well ; Suppose we did sanctifie Gods Name to the uttermost that is possible for any creature to do in this world , yet such duties are not to be rested upon : Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob , and the Apostles , the most holy men that ever did preform duties in the most holy manner , yet wo to them if they have nothing to rest upon but their duties ; Consider therefore of this , That what thou must rest upon for acceptation to Eternal life , it must be that which must have so much worth in it , as must satisfie for all thy sins that formerly thou hast committed , yea , and for all the sins that ever thou shalt commit . Now I appeal unto any ones conscience , Is that which thou performest , is Prayer , or receiving the Sacrament , or hearing of the Word , such a work as in thy conscience thou canst think , it hath so much worth in it , as to satisfie God for all the sins that ever thou didest or shalt commit ? I am preswaded if people that have rested upon duties heretofore , would but seriously have this thought in their minds , That I must rest upon nothing for my acceptation for life and salvation , but that that must have such worth in it , as to satisfie God for all my sins that ever have been committed , or shall be committed ; this would take them off for ever from resting in duties . Yea , and it must be such as must be the object of the Infinite holiness of God to take content in , Surely the duties that we perform are no such duties to rest upon : the truth is , If we would seriously consider what they are , at they come from us , we would even abhor our selves in dust and ashes , and account of them as the Prophet speaks of his own righteousness , as menstruous cloathes , they are such as if God should deal with us , as justly he may do , he might cast them and us to the dogs , for they are ( as the Prophet saith ) torn and rent sacrifices ; now if a man in the time of the Law should bring to the Lord a Sacrifice that was all torn and rent before he brought it , would such a sacrifice have been accepted ? All the duties we preform as they come from us they are such ; we reade in Exod. 22. 31. concerning such things as were torn and rent , that they should cast them to the dogs , Ye shall be holy men unto me ( saith he , verse ult ) neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field , ye shall cast it to the dogs , because ye are holy men unto me . Must the People of Israel manifest their holiness in this , That they must eat nothing torn by beasts , but cast it unto dogs ? Or was the holiness of the People of Israel such , as God required them , that they must eat nothing that was torn by beasts ? What then is the holiness of the infinite God ? Our services that we perform are of themselves such as are torn by our beastly lusts many times : How many are there that bring Sacrifices to God that are as Carrion that Swine have been tearing beforehand ? and yet these are the Sacrifices that they bring to God , and not only think that God should accept of them , but they do rest upon them for their acceptation to eternal life . How infinitely are these people mistaken ! how little do they know of God , or of the way of acceptation to eternal life ! That is the first Use . Secondly , If all this be required for the Sanctifying of Gods Name in Duties , that we cannot perform the Duties of Worship without this behavior of Soul ; Hence we see that the work of Religion is a hard and difficult work to flesh and blood . A main work of Religion is , the work of worshiping of God ; for indeed , those that are not Religious and Godly , they never worship God to any purpose : then we come to worship God when we begin to be Religious and godly . Now it must needs be a busie work to be a religious and a godly man , because there is so much required in the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties : Many people think it a very easie matter to worship God , and the worship that they tender up to God is an easie matter , there is little in it . If it were nothing else to worship God but meerly to go and say a few Prayers , and come and hear a Sermon , and take a piece of Bread and Wine , then it were the easiest matter in the world to come and worship God ; but there is more required in the Duties of Gods Worship than thou hast been acquainted with , there is a power of godliness in it . That Text of Scripture is a very famous one , that shews the difficulty that there is in the Worship of God , and how men are mistaken in thinking it such an easie and slight matter to worship God ; it is in Josh . 24. 16. 19. where Joshua doth call upon the people to worship God , and they came off presently , and said , They would worship him ( so you shall find them profess , verse 16. ) But mark what the Text saith in verse 19. And Joshua said unto the People , Ye cannot serve the Lord , for he is an holy God , he is a jealous God , and he will not forgive your transgressions and your sins . As if he should say , You think it is nothing to serve the Lord , and that it is an easie matter to serve him , you think to put off God with any thing : Alas you cannot serve the Lord , for he is a holy God , and is a jealous God , and you must have other manner of hearts than yet you have , and you must understand his Worship in another manner than yet you do : The Lord will be sanctified in those that draw nigh him , and therefore until you understand God , and his waies and Worship , you cannot serve the Lord. Know , that the work of Religion is a very hard and difficult work , for it requireth all this , and therefore the soul had need to be very diligent and laborious that would come to Worship God in a right way . Thirdly , Hence it is an Use of humiliation to us all , even to the best of us ; Oh how little ! how little hath the best of us all sanctified the Name of God! how far have we all come short of the sanctifying of Gods Name in holy Duties ! And when we look abroad in the world , and see what poor service God hath generally from the Men and Women of the Earth , it should make our hearts bleed within us : Where almost is the man or woman that according to that text in Isaiah , stirs up himself to take hold on God ? And I verily beleeve that in the opening of this Point , Of Sanctifying of the Name of God in holy Duties , that I have been in the bosoms of as many , as in the opening of any Point whatsoever ; and as many may have cause to lay their hands upon their hearts , and say , Certainly I have come short of what is required here , and have not been acquainted with this way , this mystery of Godliness , Of Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy Duties as I ought to be : Oh be humbled for this , for all the uncleaness of your hearts in the performance of holy duties . Exod. 27. 4 , 5. you reade , that at the Altar where the Sacrifices were to be offered , the Lord required that there should be a grate made . Thou shalt make for it ( meaning the Altar ) a grate of net-work of brass , and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof , and thou shalt put it under the compass of the Altar beneath , that the net may be even to the middest of the Altar . There was ( as it were ) a grate for the ashes of the Altar to go thorow : As you have grates in your fires to make them burn cleer , and for the ashes to fall down ; so the Lord would have such a grate for the ashes of the Altar to fall down : We had need of such a grate . Oh the ashes , dirt , and filth that there is in our services when we come to offer and tender them up to God! so that we have cause ( I say ) to be humbled for holy offerings . There be many godly people that through Gods mercy , are able to keep from gross sins , they do not find it any great matter to keep from company , swearing , drinking , uncleanness , lying , or wronging of others , and such kind of sins as those are , so that they see not such need of humiliation in this regard , unless it be for that their natures be as corrupt as any though they break not forth into those actual gross sins , but the main work of the humiliation of those that are godly , it is , to be humbled for their thoughts , for the mispending of time , and for not sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties ; those are the main things that are the subject of the humiliation of the Saints , beside the body of sin and death that they carry about with them . And it would be a good sign that thy heart hath some tenderness in it when thou makest these to be the matter of thy humiliation : Carnal people are little troubled for these , if they fall into such sins as that their consciences do fly in their faces , then they are troubled and humbled ; but for such things as these are , they are seldom humbled : To be humbled for thy holy offerings is a good sign of a gracious heart . We reade of Cherubims that they had six wings , and with two of their wings ( the text saith ) they covered their faces : So my Brethren , we had need have wings ( as it were ) to cover our best duties : they had wings , and with two they covered their legs , and with two their faces ; we had need , not only of a covering for our lower parts & meaner duties but a covering for our holy duties , to cover our faces , our best duties of all , the most heavenly duties we perform had need be purged by the blood of Christ : in Levit. 16. 16. we reade of their holy things , that there was need of purging them by blood ; and so it should be in our holy duties . Let us be humbled for our best performance that ever we performed in our lives : The best had need be so . But then as for others that have made little or no conscience of sanctifying of Gods Name , how had they need be humbled ? Thou hast something more to repent of than thou thoughtest of ; for the truth is , Those that have not made conscience of sanctifying of Gods Name in holy Duties , they never in all their lives did any service for the honor of God ; thou hast lived perhaps thirty or fourty , it may be sixty years or more , and didst never yet honor God in any one thing that ever thou didst in all thy life . You will say , God forbid : Have not I prayed , and heard the Word much , and received the Communion often , and yet have I never honored God ? If thou hast not been acquainted with this Mystery of Godliness in sanctifying his Name in these things , this is said from God to thee this morning , That thou hast never done any one action to the honor of God : Thou hadst need begin presently for thy time is not long , And wilt thou go out of this world , and the Name of God never to be honored by thee : Yea , and further , Thou hast lost all thy duties , all the time hath been lost that thou hast been in performance of duties : now it is an ill thing to idle away time in the things of the world ; When a man hath an opportunity for to gain in the world , if so be he loses his time and neglects it , we account it a very sad thing to him ; but now to lose our trading-time for Heaven ( for the times of the worshiping of God are our trading times for Heaven ) that 's sad indeed : And yet thou that makest not conscience of sanctifying the Name of God in holy duties , all the time thou hast spent is lost . And yet further , You that have been false in the performing of duties , and hypocrites , not only all your pains and labor is quite lost ( for if that were so it might be well with you ) but you have aggravated your sins by your holy Duties . Those Duties that others have enjoyed Communion with God in , and furthered their eternal life by , thou hast aggravated thy sins by them , yet it was thy duty to do them ; but I say , by not sanctifying of Gods Name , thou hast aggravated thy sins so much the more . As those that are godly , they work out their salvation , even in their natural actions they sanctifie Gods Name , in eating and drinking , and following their business : they perform those actions in such a holy manner , as they honor God in them , and further their eternal peace ; but as they in their Natural and Civil actions work out their salvation ; so thou in the very religiousest actions dost work out thy damnation : Certainly wicked men that are not acquainted with this work of Godliness , to Sanctifie Gods Name in holy duties , they work out their damnation even in the performance of them . You will say , Then they had better not do them . Yes , they are bound to do them ; but they are bound to do them in a right manner ; as sometimes I have given you this instance , and it is a ful and a cleer one , to shew that men are bound to perform holy duties , and not to leave them undone , and yet they may further their own damnation while they are doing of them : As for example , If so be that a Prince should appoint a man to come into his presence such a day to Petition for his life , which he hath forfeited by the Law , If he do not come he may be a dead man : But now , if this man be drunk on that day , and come drunk into the Kings presence , he may be a dead man too , for presuming to come drunk before him : So wicked and ungodly men , whether they worship or worship not , they are in danger to perish . But of this more when we come to shew that God will be sanctified . In the fourth place , here is an use of Exhortation , That seeing we have this truth thus presented to us , and opened before us ; Oh that we had hearts to apply our selves now to it with all our might , to seek to sanctifie the Name of God when we draw nigh to him ! The Lord hath shewen thee what it is that he requires of thee ; make conscience of it for time to come , thou doest not know what blessed communion thou mayest have with God if thou doest make conscience of this , the truth is , If you have not been acquainted with this , you have not been acquainted with the way of a Christian in his enjoyment of Communion with God , thou doest not know what the comfort of a Christian life means ; do but make tryal of this for time to come , and thou wilt find more comfort in the waies of Godliness , and more thriving in them in one quarter of a yeer than thou hast done before in seven yeers , one Christian that keeps close to God in holy duties , and sanctifies the Name of God in them , ( I say ) finds more comfort with God , and grows on in godliness more in one quarter of a yeer , than the other doth in seven yeers that goes on in an ordinary , dull , and formal way in the performance of the duties of Worship : Some there are in our time that cry out of duties , And what need we trouble our selves so much ? those that know not how to sanctifie Gods Name they think lightly of them ; but now do you apply your selves fully ( as you are able ) to this that I am speaking of , and you will find your selves to be ( as it were ) in another world , you will be able to say , Well , I have not yet understood what it was to enjoy Communion with God in Prayer , in Word , and in Sacraments before ; this will make your faces shine in your conversations if you would do it ; and now to that end that you may do it , there are these two or three things that I would propound to you . 1. In the first place , Learn to know God more , with whom you have to do , and present those things that you have heard before you in your meditations , when as you are to come to God in Prayer , or in any other Duty , and when you are Worshiping of God , remember that you have to do with God and none else . You are every time you come to perform holy duties to be as a man or woman separated from all things . Valerius Maximus tels a story of a yong Noble-man that attended upon Alexander while he was sacrificing , this Noble-man held his Censer for Incense , and in the holding of it , there fell a coal upon his flesh and burnt it so , as the very scent of it was in the nostrils of all that were about him , and because he would not disturb Alexander in his service , he resolutely did not stir to put of the fire from him , but holds still his Censer . If Heathens made such ado in their sacrificing to their Idol-gods , that they would mind it so , as no disturbance must be made what ever they endured : What care should we have then of our selves when we come to worship the high God ? And so Josephus he reports of the Priests that were sacrificing in the Temple when Pompey brake in to them with armed men , and though they might have fled and saved their lives , yet they would not leave off their sacrificing , but were slain by the Soldiers : They did so mind it as a matter of great consequence . Oh that we could mind the duties of Gods Worship as matters of great moment , that so we might learn to sanctifie the Name of God in the performance of them more than ever we have done . 2. When thou comest to worship , take heed thou doest not come in thine own strength . For there is more required in sanctifying the Name of God than thy strength is able to carry thee on in , and therefore act thy Faith upon Jesus Christ every time thou comest to worship God , not only as I said before , to tender up thy services in his Name , but act thy faith upon Christ to give thee strength to do what thou hast to do . And what strength thou hast received from Christ be sure to stir it up : many godly men and women have more strength than they know of themselves ; and if they would but stir up that strength that they have received , they might sanctifie the Name of God a great deal more than they do . Therfore remember that text before mentioned , None stirs up himself to take hold on God : Quicken up thy heart , and rouze up thy spirit when thou art to worship God. 3. When ever thou art worshiping of God , do not satisfie thy self meerly in the duty done , but consider , Do I sanctifie Gods Name in the duty ? Every time thou worshipest him , examine thy heart , whether thou doest it , yea , or no. And if thou findest that thou hast not attained in some comfortable measure to this that hath been presented to thee , let the shame and the sorrow for that abide upon thy spirit until the next time thou comest to worship God ; at such a time I have been worshiping of God , and God knows I have been stirring up my heart in some measure ; but I find my heart dead , wandring , sluggish , and dull ; I say , when thou findest thou canst not do it according to what is required in any comfortable measure , let the shame and sorrow of heart for it abide upon thee till the next time thou comest to worship God , and that will mightily help thee : Thou art now praying , and thou canst not now get up thy heart to what is required ; The next time thou comest to prayer , come in the shame and sorrow of thy heart for the want of sanctifying Gods Name the last time : And so for hearing of the Word , or receiving the Sacraments . And this will further thee mightily for the sanctifying the Name of God in holy duties . But now that all may be sealed up unto you , and so that we may close the Point , know , That God will be sanctified in those that do draw nigh to Him. And there are these two things in the Point . First , If we do not sanctifie Gods Name , God will sanctifie his Name in a way of Justice . Secondly , If we do sanctifie his Name , then he will sanctifie his Name in a way of mercy towards us . For the first , God will manifest that he is displeased with such duties that thou doest perform , he will manifest it one way or other that he is a holy God , and he doth not accept of such unholy things as thou doest tender up to him ; for the truth is , if God should accept of such unholy things from men , God may be said to be like unto themselves . As a man if he doth entertain any as his familiar friend that is naught and wicked , it is his disgrace and dishonor ; a man may sometimes imploy in some business those that are naught and wicked , and it may be no disgrace to him , but if he doth entertain one in his house that is wicked , it is a dishonor to him : So God may imploy the most wicked men in the world in some outward services , but if he should accept of them in his Worship , it would be a dishonor to God , and therefore God that he might sanctifie his own Name , he will manifest his displeasure at one time or other against such duties of worship ; you that perform worship in a formal manner , and with unclean vile hearts ; I say , it stands upon the Honor of God , if he will manifest Himself a holy God , He must manifest some displeasure against that way of thy worshiping of him : This one meditation one would think , should mightily sink into the heart of any man that hath an enlightned conscience , to think thus , It stands upon the holiness of God , And he cannot appear to be a holy God except he doth some way or other appear to be against me in such duties that I tender up unto him . Now you will say , How doth God appear , that he doth not accept of them ? He will appear in these three things : 1. First , By blasting those that do worship him thus in a formal way : It shall at first be secret , but afterwards it will appear more apparantly , and we see it by experience , that such as have been Professors of Religion , and worship God in hypocrisie , and in formality , they have been blasted in their parts and common gifts . The Judgment of God upon Nadab and Abihu that did not Sanctifie Gods Name , it was secret at first ; It struck them dead , and though by fire , yet if you reade the story , you shall find that their cloathes were not burnt , and yet they were burnt in their bodies : So the Lord sometimes doth blast men inwardly in their Spirits , in their Souls , in their Parts , in their common Gifts ; He blasts them ( I say ) inwardly though it doth not appear outwardly , yet at length it will appear before men that they are blasted ; and in these times of the Gospel the Lord doth come with spiritual judgments rather than with outward temporal judgments . In the time of the Law , those that did not Sanctifie the Name of God in holy duties , the Lord did appear by some external and visible way upon their bodies ; but now in the time of the Gospel , there God comes with more spiritual judgments upon mens souls , and those are the most terrible judgments : We have a notable Scripture for this in Isa . 29. 13. How God doth blast those that do not sanctifie his Name in holy duties . Wherefore the Lord said , Forasmuch as this people draw neer me with their mouth , and with their lips do honor me , but have removed their heart far from me , and their fear towards me is taught by the Precepts of men : Mark what follows : Therfore behold I wil proceed to do a marvelous work amongst this people , even a marvelous work and a wonder : for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish , and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid . What do they come and draw neer me with their lips , and their hearts are far from me , and do they worship me in a formal way ? I 'le take away the wisdom from the wise , and the understanding from the prudent : And that is the reason why so many great Scholers are blasted in their very Parts , because they would worship God according to the precepts of men , in a formal way ; and so all Hypocrites , and formal Worshipers , the Lord doth blast them in one way or other ; the judgments of God upon the spirits of men were sometimes in the time of the Law ; But in the times of the Gospel there we find generally the judgments of God to be more spiritual upon the hearts and consciences of men ; we find it by experience God doth discover that he doth not accept of such as those are ; and therefore when you see any that have made profession of Religion , that had excellent Parts at first , many common gifts , and now are as we say , no body ; Remember this Text , That God will be sanctified in those that come nigh Him. Secondly , The Lord doth manifest that he will be sanctified in those that draw nigh him , by awaking their consciences many times upon their sick beds and death beds , the Lord doth force them to give glory to Him , and there to acknowledg that they did not worship God in Uprightness but in Formality . And now they are in horror of conscience and cry out in the anguish of their souls upon the apprehension of the dreadful wrath of God that is upon them : Take heed for the Lords sake of this thing , when you are performing of the duties of Worship , do not rest in the outward duties for they will never comfort you upon your sick and death beds , you may perhaps put off your consciences a little for the present , but when you come upon your sick beds there will be no comfort unto you , and then you will be forced to say , wel , all this while I have but taken the Name of God in vain , and now God hath rejected me and all my services ; and you will then speak to those that come about your beds side , and bid them take warning by you : take heed that when you worship God you worship him to purpose , I have spent time in prayer , and hearing ; but for want of this I find I have no comfort at all , but the Lord appears to be terrible to my soul and comes out against me as an enemy . I say now Gods Name is sanctified : whatever becomes of thee , he will force glory from thee one way or other , and it may be even here in this time of thy life ; but however , at the great day , when the secrets of all hearts must be disclosed before Men and Angles , then the Lord will appear to be a holy God by rejecting all such services that thou didest tender up to him , and it will then be a great part of the work of the day of Judgment for God to be sanctified in those that did worship him ; by declaring before Men and Angels , how did he reject such formal and hypocritical worship that they did tender up unto him , Oh that God would strike this upon your hearts that it may abide upon you every time you come to worship him , to think thus , Let me look to it to sanctifie his Name now , for I hear that God will sanctifie it himself if I do not do it . But then on the other side , If so be that thou makest conscience of sanctifying Gods Name in duties , then he will sanctifie his Name in a way of Mercy ; that is , he will manifest how he doth accept of the least degree of holiness though there be much mixture : God hath a way to take away the mixture by the blood of his Son , and then to accept of any holiness he sees in thee , He will sanctifie his Name by meeting with thee , and revealing his glory to thee when thou art worshiping of him : There is an excellent Scripture for this , Exod. 29. 43. There I will meet with the Children of Israel , and the Tabernacle shall be sanctified by my Glory . Thou that hast a gracious heart , and art worshiping of God in sincerity , thou art as a Tabernacle of God , and God hath his Service and Worship from thee , thou art as the Temple of God , and there will I meet with thee ( saith God ) and I will sanctifie my Tabernacle by my Glory . God wil sanctifie thy heart by his Glory , if thou dost sanctifie his Name . Further , Thou shalt ( it may be ) not alwaies have such glorious comforts , the full beams of the Sun rising upon thee , but at one time or other the Lord will break in upon thee and manifest his Glory to thee , and it 's like if thou hast not such full comforts now , yet upon thy sick bed , though God doth not then alwaies manifest himself fully , for sometimes the disease may be a hinderance , yet it is ordinary that those that in their constant way did sanctifie Gods Name in holy duties , they do lie comfortably upon their sick beds , and a glorious entrance is made for them into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ . And then again , All things are sanctified unto them : as on the other side , those that do not sanctifie Gods Name , all things are cursed to them , if thou doest not make conscience of sanctifying Gods Name in duties , God cares not to sanctifie any thing for thy good : But now , those that make conscience of Sanctifying Gods Name in holy duties , the Lord takes care , that all things shall be sanctified for their good , for the surtherance of their eternal good . And however it be here , yet hereafter at the great day of Judgment it will be a part of the glory of God to manifest before Men and Angels how he did accept of those holy services that thou didst tender up to him ; when Hypocrites shall be cast away and abhor'd , and thou who hadst an upright sincere heart shalt be owned before God , and before men and Angels at that great Day : and God shall say , Well , it is a part of the glory of my Holiness to make it appear that I have accepted of these holy things , that these my poor servants have tendered up to me . And this now is of marvelous use for the comforting of a gracious heart : those duties that thou doest now think thou hast lost , and there will nothing come of them , thou shalt certainly hear of them another day , God will make it appear , there is nothing that he stands more upon than the glory of his Holiness ; and it is the glory of his Holiness that is thy strength in this thing , and that makes it certain to thee that there must be a manifestation of thy acceptance : and therefore take these Truths into thy heart about sanctifying the Name of God. You have had only the Point in general opened to you : Oh that the Spirit of God would bring things unto your remembrance . SERMON VIII . Leviticus , 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . WEE have ( as you may remember ) Preached many Sermons upon that Point , Of Sanctifying the Name of God in the Duties of his Worship : We have spoken unto the Point in the General , the last day we finished it . I do not intend to look back to any thing that was said , but we are to proceed to shew how the Name of God should be Sanctified in the Particular Duties of his Worship . Now the Duties of Gods Worship , are especially these Three : 1. The Hearing of the Word . 2. Receiving of the Sacrament . 3. And Prayer . Other things come under Worship , but yet these are the three chief duties of Worship ; and I intend to speak to al these three , and to shew how we should Sanctifie the Name of God in drawing nigh unto him , in the Word , Sacrament , and Prayer . We might chuse several Texts for all these , but they fall full within the General , and therefore it shall be sufficient , for to ground the Sanctifying of Gods Name in these Duties of Worship upon this Text. 1. Of Sanctifying the Name of God in the Hearing of the Word . THat which we are to speak to this morning , it is the Sanctifying of the Name of God in the hearing of his Word ; If you would have the ground of what we are to say concerning this in a particular Scripture , you may have it in Luke , 8. 18. take heed therefore how ye hear : It is not enough to come to hear the Word , that is good , and no question but God is pleased with the willingness of people to come to hear his Word , but you must not rest barely in hearing , but take heed how you hear . Now this is a Point of great consequence , and I hope it may do good , to help to make many Sermons to be profitable to you , and the Point ( I hope ) is seasonable , and will be very sutable unto you : For those that come to hear so soon in a morning , and are willing , even in hard weather , to come out of their beds , they give some good testimony that they do desire to honor God in their hearing , and to get good by their hearing ; and 't is pity that labor and pains should be bestowed , and no profit , but hurt rather got by it , which God forbid . Therefore now I am to speak to a Point that may help you so to hear , as may recompence all your labor and pains in hearing . In preaching to those that come to hear , so that they may get good and benefit by it , there is a great deal more encouragement than to such as come in a formal way because they use to come ; therfore this Point being a great Point , I shall open it somewhat largely , and cast into this Method : First , I shall shew you , That the hearing of Gods Word is a part of the Worship of God ; for otherwise I could not ground it upon my text . Secondly , I shall shew you , How we are to sanctifie Gods Name in the hearing of his Word , either in regard of preparation unto it , or our behavior in hearing of the Word . Thirdly , Why it is that God will be sanctified in this Ordinance of his . Fourthly , How God will sanctifie himself in such as do not sanctifie his Name in the hearing of his Word . Fifthly , How God will sanctifie his Name in waies of mercy to those that are careful to sanctifie his Name in the hearing of the Word . These are the Five Principal things that concern this Argument . For the first , That the hearing of Gods Word , it is a part of Gods Worship . You heard in the opening of the Worship of God in the general , what it was ; I told you it was , a tendring up of the creatures homage to God , as testimony of the respect that the creature did owe to God ; Now if that be the nature of Worship , certainly the hearing of Gods Word it is a part of the Worship of God : for , in the hearing of Gods Word we , First , Do profess our dependance upon God for the knowing of his Mind and the way to Eternal Life : Every time we come to hear the Word , if we know what we do , we do thus much , We do profess , that we do depend upon the Lord God for the knowing of his Mind , and the Way and Rule to Eternal Life ; we do as much as if we should say , Lord , of our selves we neither know thee , nor the way and means how we should come to be saved , and therfore that we might testifie our dependance upon thee for this thing , we here present our selves before thee . Now this is a Testimony of the high respect we owe to God. Secondly , The hearing of Gods Word is a part of his Worship , because in it we come to wait upon God in the way of an Ordinance , to have that good conveyed to us by way of an Ordinance beyond what the thing in it self is able to do , and therfore 't is Worship ; I wait upon God when I am hearing the Word ( if I know what I do ) to have som spiritual good conveied to me beyond what there is in the means it self , this makes it Worship . When I am busied in Natural and Civil actions , there I must profess , that these things can do me no good without God , but I do not wait upon God in an Ordinance for the conveyance of Natural good beyond what God hath put into the Creature , 't is his blessing with it , that God in the ordinary course of his providence doth convey such Natural or Civil good in the use of those Creatures : But now , when I come to hear his Word , I here come to wait upon God in the way of an Ordinance for the conveyance of some spiritual good that this Ordinance hath not in it self ( take it materially ) but meerly as it hath an Institution in it , and is appointed by God for the conveyance of such and such things . God doth appoint meat to nourish me , and together with his appointment he hath given a natural power to meat to nourish my body , that in an ordinary course of providence is enough for the nourishment of my body ; but now when I come to hear the Word , I must look upon that not only as a thing appointed to work upon my soul , and to save my soul by , not as a thing that hath any efficacy put into it in a natural way as the other hath ; it is not the nature of the thing that carries such a power in it , but it is the Institution of God , and the Ordinance of God in it ; Now then , when I come to wait upon God in an Ordinance for the spiritual good that is beyond the vertue of any creature to convey to me , certainly I worship God , that is a speciall part of worship to wait upon God in this way ; Therefore in these two respects , the hearing of Gods Word it is a part of the Worship of God , and I beseech you remember these two things every time you come to hear . I come now to give a Testimony that I am not able to understand God and the way to eternal life of my self , but I do depend upon God for the knowledg of it . And here I come to wait upon God for the conveyance of that good to my soul that is not in the power of any creature to convey : Now I worship when I do these . But further ( you shall find it more plain when we come to open how we should sanctifie Gods Name in the hearing of His Word ) This is Divine Service , as much as any service can be performed . Heretofore our Prelates and those kind of men , made all the Worship of God to be in their Divine Service ( as they call'd it ) which was of their own inventions , and made light of the preaching or hearing of the Word , but the Word is a great part of that Divine Service that God requires of us in His Worship , and in it you do tender up your homage to God ; You therefore must not only when you come to hear , think , I come to get something , I come to understand more than I did , and to hear such a mans parts , and the like , but remember you come to tender up your homage to God , to sit at Gods feet and there to profess your subjection to Him : That is one end of your coming to hear Sermons . Now then you will say , What should be done in the hearing Gods Word , so as Gods Name may be Sanctified ? For that , as we opened in the general , That in the duties of Gods Worship , there must be preparation , and then an answerable behavior of the soul . So here , there must first be a preparation of the soul to this work , and then an answerable behavior of the soul in it . 1. There must be a preparation of the Soul , so as when you come to hear , you may with all readiness receive the Word : The soul must be made ready , in Act. 17. 11. there it is said , These were more noble than those of Thessalonica , in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind : The word is , with all Alacrity as well as readiness ; their minds were in a fit preparation to receive the Word : and the text saith , They were more noble : The word that is translated more noble , it signifies better bred ; for I do not take this Scripture as if it were meant only of men that were Earls , or Lords , that did thus receive the Word with readiness , but they were of a more Noble disposition , they were well bred men , so the Greek word signifies . A man sometimes preaching to a company of rude people , that never had any good breeding , they will behave themselves rudely , they slight the Word , and like the Swine regard Acorns rather than Pearls : And the Word is seldom so profitable to a company of rude people that have no breeding at all ; but now , there is more hopes to preach to men that have breeding ; Men that are exercised in Arts and Sciences , and have some understanding , and some ingenuity in them , they will hearken to reason . Now there is a great deal of spiritual reason in the Word , there is a great deal to convince men that are but rational men ; Let a man be but a rational man , and willing to attend to the Word , I say , there is a great deal of reason to convince him in it , and it is a sign of good breeding , of men of ingenuity , to be willing to hear the Word ; Who are those in a Parish that so disregard the Word as not to hear it , but the ruder sort ? There are many , I confess , that are men of parts , perhaps the Word doth not so prevail with their hearts as to convert them , yet if they have any good breeding at all , if the Word be preached in a convincing way , so that they see there is a pains taken , and preached as the Word of God to them , they will vouchsafe their presence at least ; but the rude multitude that know nothing at all , they had rather be in Ale-houses drinking and swilling , they never care to hear the Word ; As in such a place as this , There are very few of your miserable poor people that come to hear the Word : What place is there fuller of miserable poor people than this place is ? and yet what a poor appearance is there of such people at the hearing of the Word ? But now those that have any ingenuity in them at all , or any breeding ( for so the word is ) they will receive the Word with readiness : But this breeding here spoken of , was a little higher than natural breeding ; They were spiritually Noble , and so they had a readiness in their hearts in receiving the Word . Now this readiness of heart in receiving the Word consists in these particulars : First , When you come to hear the Word , if you would sanctifie Gods Name , you must possess your souls with what it is that you are going to hear , That what you are to hear is the Word of God , That it is not the speaking of a man that you are going to attend upon , but that you are now going to attend upon God , and to hear the Word of the Eternal God. Possess your souls with this , you will never sanctifie Gods Name else , in the hearing of his Word ; therefore you find that the Apostle writing to the Thessalonians , he gives them the reason why the Word did them so much good as it did : It was because they did hear it as the Word of God , 1 Thes . 2. 13. For this cause also ( saith he ) thank we God without ceasing , because when ye received the Word of God , which ye heard of us , ye received it not as the word of men , but ( as it is in truth ) the Word of God , which effectually worketh also in you that beleeve . Mark , so it came effectually to work , because they received it as the Word of God ; many times you will say , Come , let us go hear such a man preach ; Oh no , let us go hear Christ preach , for as it doth concern the Ministers of God that they preach not themselves , but that Christ should preach in them : So it concerns you that hear , not to come to hear this man , or that man , but to come to hear Jesus Christ . We as the Ambassadors of Christ do beseech you , saith the Apostle . 2. Possess your hearts likewise with this Consideration , That I come to hear the Word as an Ordinance appointed by God to convey Spiritual good to my soul , and this is a very useful consideration , and especially it concerns men of understanding and parts for the helping of them to hear . For men that are of understanding and parts , when they come to hear , this temptation is ready to come upon them , that except they hear some new thing that they did not understand before , wherefore should they come ? I am able to understand as much in such a point as can be said : And when I have come and heard many times , I have heard but that I knew before , and upon that they think there is no use of coming to hear : Now this is a great mistake ; when you come to hear the Word , you do not come alwaies to hear what you did not know , it may be sometimes God may dart in something that you did not think of before , or so fully understand ; but suppose it be not so , you are to come to it as an Ordinance of God , for the conveyance of spiritual good to your souls . You will say , Cannot we sit at home and reade a Sermon ? But hath God appointed that the great Ordinance for the converting and the edifying of souls in the way to eternal life ? True , there is some use of it ; but the great Ordinance is the Preaching of the Word , Faith comes by hearing ( the Scripture saith ) and never by reading ; So that though when you come to hear , you do not hear that which you heard not before , yet you come to attend upon this Ordinance for the conveyance of some spiritual good that ( it may be ) hath not been conveyed before , or in a further degree than it hath been conveyed before : and so you should come to hear the Word with your hearts possest with that meditation , That it is the Word of God , and the great Ordinance that God hath appointed for the conveyance of spiritual good ; so that I come now in obedience to God , and in this I do testifie my respect to God , that I wil attend upon this Ordinance of His for the conveyance of spiritual good to me , and although I may think that this or the other means may do the deed as well , yet because God hath appointed this to be his Ordinance , therefore in obedience to him I will attend upon this means rather than upon other means : as you know Naaman he thought the other waters would have been as good as the waters of Jordan to have healed him , but if God will appoint him the waters of Jordan , that they should heal him rather than other waters , he must wash there : No question but other waters had as much natural vertue in them as they had , but because the waters of Jordan were the Ordinance that God for that time had appointed to cure his Leprosie withal , he must come and wash in those waters rather than in any other : So , because preaching of the Word is the great Ordinance that God hath appointed to convey himself by , therefore he doth require that thou shouldest shew thy respect to him , so far as to attend upon him in this Ordinance . The Second thing that is to be done in way of preparation , it is , To plow up the fallow ground of your hearts , and not to sow amongst thorns ; as you have it in Jer. 4. 3. and so in Hosea . 10. The Word of God ( you know ) is compared to seed , in that Parable of Christ , in Mat , 13. And an Auditory is compared to the ground : I suppose you are al acquainted with that Parable of the sower , that it is to set out the Ministry of the Word , and what fruit it hath upon the hearts of men ; a Congregation is like the field , and a Minister preaching is like the Sower that sows the seed in the field ; he knows not which Truth , whether that or the other will prosper ; the seed being sowed , in some part of the ground is lost , and in another part it grows : so in one Pew the seed of the Word is lost , in another Pew it grows up . But now , if people that are compared to the ground , would so hear the Word , as Gods Name may de sanctified in it , their hearts must be plowed ; as if one should sow seed upon green soil , saw it in the fields upon green grass , What would become of it ? The ground must first be plowed for the preparation of the seed . But you will say , What is the meaning of the plowing of our hearts for the preparation of the Word ? The meaning is nothing else but this , The work of humiliation , the humbling of the soul before the Lord when it doth come to hear Gods Word . Humble it in these two regards . First , Be humbled for your Ignorance , that you know so little of Gods Mind as you do . Secondly , Be humbled for all the sinfulness of your hearts , be sensible of the sinfulness and wretchedness of your hearts , and the miserable condition that you are in ; if you can get your hearts broken with the sence of your sin and misery , and come so to hear the Word , it is very like the Word may be of mighty use , and Gods Name may be very much sanctified in your hearing of the Word . You will say , Must we plow up our hearts before we come to hear ? It must be the Word that must plow us , the Word is the Plow , and so the Ministers of God are compared to Plowmen in the Word , He that puts his hand to the Plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of Heaven . It is true , it cannot be expected that the heart should be throughly plowed as it ought but by the Word , therefore at the first coming to hear there is not hope that men will sanctifie Gods Name till the Word gets into plow them , and so by getting at one time into their hearts they come to be prepared for hearing at another time . And yet somewhat may be done before , by that natural knowledg that men have they may come to know themselves to be sinners , and come to understand themselves to be very weak and ignorant by some knowledg that they may have by the works of God , and by conference with others , and by reading and the like , and so they may in some measure come to have their hearts to be humble . And it is good to make use of these to humble the heart : but now , You that have heard the Word often , and yet have not sanctified Gods Name , there be Truths that you have heard heretofore , that if you had made use of in private to have plowed up your hearts , they would have prepared your hearts for the next time in hearing of the Word , If therefore you would hear the word with a great deal more profit than formerly , your hearts must be plowed by humiliation , Secondly , The heart must be plowed , by laboring to get out those throns that are in the heart , those lusts that grow deep in the heart as throns grow in the ground : labor to pluck them out , that is , when thou comest to hear the word get thy heart into that frame , as to be willing to profess against every known sin that thou hast found in thy heart , labor to find out those lusts that are in thy heart , and then profess against them , that thou art willing to have them to be rooted out of thy heart : if men and women would but do thus when they come to hear , that God might see this in them , that they have before they come profest against every known sin , This would be an excellent thing indeed . 3. Again in the third place , which will follow from hence , When thou comest to hear the Word , come with resolution to yeeld to what ever God shall reveal to be his Mind , I am now going to hear thy Word O Lord , to wait upon thee , to know what thou hast to say to me ; and thou that art the searcher of the secrets of all hearts , Thou knowest that I go with such a resolution to yeeld up my self to every truth of thine , How would the Name of God be sanctified if you did thus come to hear the Word ! If you did come with such a resolution , Job 32. 34. That which I know not , teach thou me ; and if I have done iniquity , I will do no more . In Isa . 2. 3. you have a Prophsie of the Gentils , how they should come to the Word , And many people shall go and say , Come ye , and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord , to the House of the God of Jacob , and he will teach us of his waies , and we will walk in his paths : Here 's a blessed disposition when you come to hear the Word . Some of you come together in streets and lanes , and over the fields ; when you come together , and meet one with another as you walk over the fields , make use of this text , Oh! that this Prophesie might be fulfilled in your coming over the fields every Lord's day , morning , and at other times , that you would say one to another , or when you call one upon another to go to hear , Come , let us go up to the house of the Lord , and he will teach us of his waies and we will walk in his paths . We are resolved , that what ever the Lord shall teach us to be his waies , we will submit unto it . This is a due preparation of the heart for the sanctifying of Gods Name in the hearing of his Word . Fourthly , When you come to hear the Word , come with longing desires after the Word , come with an appitite to it : As in 1 Pet. 2. 2. As new-born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word , that you may grow thereby . Do it as new-born babes . Now you know little babes they do not desire milk to play withal , but only to nourish them : Children of three or four yeers old , they may desire milk to play with ; but new-born babes never care for it but when they are hungry , to nourish them . And so it is true many come to hear the Word to play with it . But now you should come to hear the Word as new-born babes , with a hungring desire after the Word , that your souls may be nourished therby . That were excellent , if every Lords day , and at other daies you did come as hungry to the Word , as ever you went to your dinner or supper , the Word of God should be unto you more than your appointed food , and then you are like to grow by it , and to sanctifie Gods Name in it . Fifthly , Pray beforehand , That God would open thine eyes , and open thine heart , and accompany his Word . Thus did David , Open mine eyes , O Lord , that I may understand the wonders of thy Law. And you know what is said of Lydia , The Lord opened her heart , to attend to the Word that was spoken : Now seeing it is an Ordinance thou doest exspect more good from , than what it self of its own nature is able to convey , thou hadest need to pray , Lord , I go to such an Ordinance of thine , and I know there is no efficacy in it self , it is not able to reach to such effects as I exspect ; that is , To have my heart spoken too , and quickned , and to have mine eyes opened ; But O Lord , open mine eyes , and open mine heart ; Lord , my heart naturally is lockt up against thy Word , there are such wards in my heart , that except thou are pleased to put in a key that may fit my heart , it will never open ; Man , he is not able to know my heart , and therefore he cannot fit a key to answer every word , to resolve every doubt , to silence every objection ; but Lord , thou canst do it : Do thou Lord therefore ●it thy Word this day that may meet with my heart ; Lord , I have gone often to thy Word , and the key hath stuck in it , and it hath not opened ; but Lord , if thou wouldst but fit it , and turn it with thine own hand , my heart would open . Oh! come with such a praying heart to the Word , and thereby shalt thou sanctifie the Name of God in hearing his Word : This is to come to the Word , as to the Word of God , You must not come to the hearing of the Word as to hear a Speech , or an Oration , but come in such a preparation as this is : and so ( I say ) God will be glorified , and you shall be profited . The next thing is , What should be the behavior of the soul in the sanctifying Gods Name in the Word when it is come . Now to that there are these Particulars : First , There must be a careful attention unto the WORD , you must set your hearts unto it , as Moses in Deut. 32. 46. he said unto the people , Set your hearts unto all the words which I testifie among you this day , which you shall command your children to observe to do ; for it is not a vain thing for you , because it is your life . Set your hearts to it , for it is not a vain thing , it is your life : when you come to hear the Word , give diligent attention to what you hear . In Act. 8. 6. it is said The people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake . They gave heed . The word is used often in Scripture , sometimes it is used for to beware of a thing , Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees , beware of them : As a man when he sees an enemy , and is aware of him , he is very diligent to observe how to avoid him : So , there must be as much diligence to get good by the Word , as one would be diligent to avoid any danger whatsoever . And the word signifies somtimes to give such heed as a Disciple gives unto his Master , so they gave heed to the Word . So in Prov. 2. 1 , 2. My son , if thou wilt receive my words , and hide my commandements with thee , so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom . We must diligently attend , and not suffer our eyes and our thoughts to be wandring , but diligently attend to what is said : My brethren , there is all things that may challenge attention in the Word . What would make you to attend to any thing ? First , If he that speaks were much above you , if it were a great Prince or Lord that spake to you , then you would attend . Now , though it is true , it is but a man , that , it may be , is inferior to most of you , that speaks ; yet know , in him it is the Lord of Heaven and Earth that speaks to you . And so you know what Christ saith , He that heareth you , heareth me : So , though you would not attend in respect of the Messenger so much , yet as it is the Son of God that is speaking to you , it may challenge your attention . This day if you should hear a voice out of the Clouds from Heaven speaking to you , would you not then listen ? The truth is , we should listen as much to the voice of God in the Ministry of his Word , as if so be that the Lord should speak out of the Clouds to us . And I will give you a Scripture for that , that the voyce of God in his Word should be as much regarded of you , as if God should speak from Heaven to you by an audible voice out of the Clouds . In 2 Pet. 1. 18 , 19. This voice which came from Heaven we heard , when we were with him in the holy Mount. But mark , in vers . 19. We have also a more sure Word of Prophesie , whereunto ye do well that ye take heed . Mark , We heard a voice from Heaven , saith Peter ; yea , but we have a more sure word of Prophesie , whereunto you do wel that ye take heed . There was a voice from Heaven spake . You will say , If we had heard that voice , we would have given heed to that . Saith the Apostle , You have a more sure Word of Prophesie . Now Prophesie in Scripture is taken for Preaching ; Despise not Prophesie : As if the holy Ghost should say , You must have regard to the word of Prophesie as you would have regard to any voice from Heaven ; Suppose an Angel should come and speak to you , Would not you attend to him ? then whatsoever thoughts you had , they would be taken off , for there is an Angel that is come down from Heaven to speak : Now mark what is said in Heb. 1. 1. God who at sundry times , and in divers manners spake in times past to the fathers by the Prophets , hath in these last daies spoken unto us by his Son , whom he hath appointed heir of all things , by whom also he made the worlds . And then in vers . 3. he describes his Son , And being made so much better than the Angels , as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they : If a Prophet should come and speak , that is not so much as if the Son of God comes , no , nor as if an Angel should come , for Jesus Christ hath obtained a more excellent Name than the Angels , & it is Christ that is the Ministry of his Word , He that heareth you , heareth me . Secondly , That which would cause attention , is the greatness of the matter propounded : It 's true , if a man should speak of some slight and vain things , there need not so much attention . My brethern , the matters in the Word are the great Things of God , it is the Voice of God , the great Mysteries of Godliness , those deep things that the Angels themselves desire to pry into ; yea , the Angels themselves by the Churches they come to have the knowledge of the Mysteries of God. I make no question but in the Ministery of the Word among the Churches , the Angels they attend and come to some knowledge in the Mysteries of Godliness ; for so the Scripture saith , That they have it by the Churches , there the greatest things of Gods Will , the greatest Counsels of God that were kept hid from all eternity , are opened to you in the Ministry of the Word : We do not come to tel you tales , and the conceits of men , but to open the great Counsels of God , wherein the depth of the Wisdom of God comes to be revealed to the children of men , and therefore this cals for attention . Thirdly , Suppose they be great things , yet if they do not so much concern us , there is no such great reason of attention ; Therefore in the Third place , that which we speak , it is Your Life it is that concerns your Souls and Eternal estates : Your Souls and Everlasting Estates do lie upon the Ministry of the Word ; if that be made effectual to you , you are saved : if that be not made effectual to you , you are damned and undone for ever . If we should come to tel you of something whereby you might get some good bargain , or of a way how to get great riches , I make no question but you would rise though it were a cold or rainy morning : But know , when you are called to hear the Word , you are called to hear that which may do you good for ever , that for which you may bless God for to all eternity with the Angels and Saints in the highest Heavens ; If they be such things of so great concernment , then there had need be great attention : You know what Christ said to Martha when she was troubled about his entertainment , Luke 10. 41. Martha , Martha , thou art careful and troubled about many things , but one thing is needful ; and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her . What did Mary choose ? It was this , That she did diligently attend upon Jesus Christ to hear the Word from his own mouth , when Martha was busied in the house to provide for his entertainment ; but it is a better thing to attend upon the Word than to entertain Christ in your houses : You that are of loving dispositions , that if a good Minister shall come to your houses , or a good Christian , that you see but the Image of Christ in , your hearts spring within you , and you will do any thing to entertain them : Well but what if Jesus Christ should come , if you knew that such a man that came within your doors were the Son of God , how would you bestir your selves to entertain him ? But know , it is a more acceptable service to Jesus Christ to attend upon his Word , than to provide for him in your houses : And there is great reason too that we should be diligent in drawing nigh to the Word , and give ear unto it ; because you find that the Lord doth express himself in the Scripture , how he gives ear to us when we speak to him . God is said to encline His ear , sometimes to open His ear , sometimes to bow His ear , sometimes to cause His ear to hear , and divers such expressions there are to that purpose . Now if God when we that are poor wretches speak to Him , shall bow His ear , bend His ear , open His ear , cause His ear to hear , much more should we when we come to attend upon Him. 2. Secondly as there must be attending to the Word of God , so there must be an opening of the heart to receive what God speaks to you ; it is true , it is the work of God to open the heart , but God works upon men as upon rational creatures , and He makes you to be active in opening your hearts , so that when you have any truth come to be revealed , you should open your understandings , your conscience , and will , and affections , Oh Lord , thy truth which thou art presenting here to my soul at this time , let it come in , let me receive it , as the expression is in Prov. 2. 1. My Son , if thou wilt receive my words , and then in ver . 10. When wisdom entereth into thy heart : The words of wisdom , the Words of God , they must enter into the heart , get in ; it may be they get into thy ear , but that 's not enough , they must get into thy heart in Job . 8. 37. There Christ complains that His Word had no place in them ; that 's a sad thing when the Word of God shall have no place in the heart . If a temptation to sin comes , that hath a place in the heart ; but when the Word comes , that hath no place in the heart ; I say , it is a very sad thing that we can find no room for the Word ; we should get room for the Word , Open ye gates , Stand open ye everlasting doors , that the King of Glory may come in : Know that when you come to hear the Word , the Lord is knocking at the doors of your hearts ; have not you felt it sometimes ? Open , O open the doors , let all be opened to receive the Word into your hearts . That is the second thing for the behavior of the soul in hearing . 3. The third thing is The careful applying of the word , so in Prov. 2. 2. There must be an applying of the heart to the word , and an applying of the word unto the heart . All action is by an application of the thing that doth act unto the subject , there must be an application of the word to thy soul , as now , suppose thou comest to hear the Word , and thou hearest of some sin that it may be thou knowest thou art guilty of , take the Word , and lay it to thy heart and say , The Lord hath met with my soul this day , the Lord hath spoken to me , to the end that I might be humbled for this sin , and the other sin that my conscience tells me I am guilty of : So , doth the Lord put thee upon a duty that concerns thee ; acknowledge this , the Lord hath spoken to me this day , and put me upon the reformation of my family , and the reformation of mine own heart . Is there a word presented ? apply that , and let not the trouble of thy heart cause thee to cast off that word that God hath spoken to thee : The application of the word to thy heart is of mervelous use , and it concerns not only Ministers in general , to lay before people the doctrin of the Gospel , but to apply it ; And know , that it concerns you as well as Ministers to apply it ; And not only when they come to that that is called Use , but all the way in the opening of the word , it concerns you all to apply it to your own souls , and to consider how doth it concern me in particular ? My brethren , there is no such way to honor God , or get good to your own souls , as the application of the word unto your selves . As a man that is asleep , if there be a noise made it will not awake him so soon , but come and call him by his name ( and say , John , or Thomas , ) and that will awake him sooner than a greater noise will : So , when the word makes a noise when it is delivered only in the general , men take little notice of it ; but when the word comes particularly to the souls of men , and doth ( as it were ) call them by name , this awakens them : Now , God many times doth speak to your hearts , but you should apply it ; you know the word is compared to meat , and it must be applied to the body , Then do we worship God in a right way when as we take notice of Gods word , as concerning us in particular ; as that notable Scripture that you have in 1 Cor. 14. 25. Where there come a poor man into the Church of God , and hears Prophesying , hears the word opened and the text saith , he is convinced of all , he is judged of all ; and then in vers . 25. Thus are the secrets of his heart manifest , and so falling down on his face he worships God , and reports that God is in you of a truth : That is , when the word comes and meets with his soul in particular , that he finds himself to be aim'd at by the Word , then he worships God , and saith that God certainly is in them . Here 's the reason now that when you come to hear the Word , you do not worship God because you apply it not to your selves , you are ready to say , This was well spoken to such a one , and it concerns such a one , but how doth it concern thy soul in particular ? Sometimes the Lord doth even force men and women to apply it whether they will or no , for that they think the Minister speaks to them in partiticular , and that no body was spoken too in the Congregation but themselves ; This is a mercy when the Lord doth it unto you ; but it is a greater mercy when the Lord gives you a heart to apply to your selves , and although it may trouble you a little for the present , yet be willing to apply it , and account it a great mercy from the Lord , That the Lord will be pleased to speak in particular to your souls . 4. Fourthly , We must mix Faith with the Word , or otherwise it will do us but little good ; Apply it and then beleeve it . In Heb. 4. 2. it is said , that The Word preached did not profit them , not being mixed with Faith in them that heard it . Wherefore there must be a mixture of Faith , to beleeve the Word that the Lord brings unto you . Now concerning that I 'le but propound these few particulars ; You will say , Must we beleeve every thing that is spoken ? sometimes there are some things spoken that we cannot tell how to beleeve ? I do not mean so , to beleeve every thing meerly being spoken , for you must take heed what you hear , as well as how you hear ; but do thus much at least . 1. In the first place , Whatsoever comes in the Name of God to you , ( except you know certainly it is not according to the written Word ) you owe so much respect to it , as to examin it , at least to try it whether it be so or no , as it is said of those Well-bred men that I spake of , that they did examin whether things were so or no. Do not cast off any thing presently that comes in the Name of God : Now any thing that hath the broad Seal upon it , you must not disobey : You will say , It may be counterfeit : but do not disobey it till you be sure it be counterfeit . Oh that men would give but this respect to all things that they hear , never to cast them off till they have examined and tried whether they be so or no. 2. Secondly , Do but grant this respect to the Word that is spoken to you , as to think thus , What if all that I hear spoken against my sin , which laies open the dangerous condition that my soul is in , prove to be true , what a case were I in then ? This hath been the beginning of the conversion of many souls , the having but such a thought as this , It may be things are not so terrible as I hear , but what if they do prove so ? then I am undone for ever . Dare I venture my soul and my eternal estate upon hopes that these things are not so bad as I hear ? I beleeve if you would put your selves to it , you would think it a bold adventure , and the comfort that any of you have grounded upon this , meerly hoping that things are not so bad as you hear ; it is a cursed comfort that hath no sure bottom : Grant that respect therefore to the Word . 3. Thirdly consider this , It may be I do not see cleerly that these things are so which are delivered , I do not see enough to beleeve them now , but what if I were now dying ? what if I were now going to receive the sentence of my eternal doom ; Would I not then beleeve these things ? would I not then think what I hear out of the Word to be true ? It is an easie matter for men to reject the Word while they have their healths , and prosperity ; But if you were to die , and upon your sick and death bed ; if you saw the infinit Ocean of Eternity before you , what would you say then ? were the Word true yea , or no ? would you give belief unto the suggestions of the Devil then ? We find it by exprience , That men that could easily cast off the Word in their healths , yet when they have come to lie upon their sick bed , and death bed , they found the Word true : Beleeve it now as well as then . 4. Consider , If thou doest not beleeve , what a case art thou in ? Am I worse than the Devils themselves ? The Scripture tels me , That the Devils beleeve and tremble ; Why Lord , do I come to hear Sermons , and am I more hard to beleeve than the very Devils themselves ? They do beleeve that Word that I cast off , and they tremble at it , but my soul is not at all stirred , as if there were no reallity in such things that have been spoken to me . There be other things which may further help us towards beleeving of the Word of God , but these shall suffice : And certainly my brethren till we come to this , to beleeve the Word , though we should sit under it many yeers , it will do us little good , and we shall never sanctifie the Name of God in the hearing of it . SERMON IX . Leviticus , 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . THE next thing for the right behavior of the soul for sanctifying Gods Name is this , We must receive the Word with meekness of spirit , that you have in Jam. 1. 21. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness , and superfluity of naughtiness , and receive with meekness the ingrafted Word which is able to save your souls . Receive with meekness ; The former part of this Scripture I confess concerns somewhat that was before , about the preparation of the soul , and we shall perhaps afterwards in the Application come to open the former part of this vers . Lay apart all filthiness , and superfluity of naughtiness : ( But only now we quote the place for this , ) Receive with meeknes : the ingrafted Word which is able to save your souls . Let there be a quietness in your spirits in attending upon the Word , no hurrying : There is a twofold distemper of passion in many people that is a great hindrance to the profit of the Word , and sanctifying Gods Name in hearing it . 1. The first is a distemper of passion in those that have some trouble of concience in them , they are troubled for their sin , and their spirits are in a discontented froward humor because they have not that comfort that they do desire , and therefore the Word of God when it come to be preached to them , if it doth not every way sute with their hearts , and if they do not find present comfort by it , their spirits are in a distemper and frowardness , and cast it off ; and if at any time there be never such comfortable things spoken in the Word , yet there is an anger in their spirits because they are not able to apply the word to themselves , and they think , This doth not concern me : Now there should be meekness of spirit in those that are in trouble of conscience above all ; they should quietly attend upon the Word , and wait for the time that God will speak peace to their consciences : And if I cannot find the Word sutable to me at this time , yet I may at another time : let me attend with meekness , let me receive every thing with meekness ; the Word is above me , and if ever I have good , it must be by the Word at last . It doth much concern those that are in trouble of conscience to have meek spirits . 2. There is another distemper in others , and that is worse ; that is , Such as when they find the Word come neer unto them , relating those sins that their consciences tells them they are guilty of , their hearts rise against God and His Word , and Ministers too : because it would pluck away some beloved corruption , because it rebukes them for some haunt of evil , some distemper of heart that they have been or are guilty of , it puts a shame upon them , and therefore their hearts do rise against it . It is a dreadful thing to have the heart rise against the Word . As we reade of that froward Prince Jehoiakim in the Prophesie of Jeremiah , that when the Roll was read in his hearing , ( sitting in the winter time by a great fire ) he took a penknife and cut it in pieces and threw it into the fire in anger : and I have read that the Jews kept a Fast every yeer to mourn for that great sin , and yet this Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah whose heart did melt at the hearing of the Word , he had an humble and meek heart when the Law was read , and yet see what a different spirit Jehoiakim had either from his Father or Grand-Father . It is a great dishonor to the Name of God for men to give liberty to their passions to rise against the Word ; take heed of passion either while you are hearing the Word , or after the Word ; as many of you while you are discontented with what is said , when you come in company , what a fury are many men in upon the hearing of some things in the Word that comes close to their hearts ; Remember when you are hearing of the Word , that it is that which is above you , and it is not fit for one that is an inferior to shew himself passionate in the presence of a Superior : It is true , the Ministers they may be in as low a condition as you , and in a lower ; but the Word they speak , it is above all the Princes and Monarchs upon the face of the Earth ; and it is fit therefore , we having to deal with God , that we should behave our selves in a meek disposition . 6. The next thing for the sanctifying Gods Name in the hearing of the Word , is this , We must hear it with a trembling heart , with fear as well as meekness , and for that you have that famous Scripture , in Isa . 66. beginning , Thus saith the Lord , The Heaven is my Throne , and the earth is my Foot-stool , where is the house that the build unto me , and where is the place of my rest ? For all those things hath my hand made , and all those things have been , saith the Lord ; but to this man will I look , even to him that is poor , and of a contrite spirit , and trembleth at my Word . This is a most admirable Scripture : Mark how God lifts up himself in his Glory , so great a God , as the Heaven is my Throne , and the Earth is my Foot-stool , where is that house that ye will build unto me ? But then may a poor soul say , How shall I be able to stand before this God that is so glorious ? Saith God , Be not discouraged poor soul who doest tremble at my Word , for I look to you . And then this is a further thing observable , That God hath a regard to that soul that trembles at this Word , rather than to any that should build the most sumptuous buildings in the world for him ; for saith God here , The Heaven is my Throne , and the Earth is my Foot-stool , where is the house that ye build unto me , and where is the place of my rest ? They have built a glorious Temple to God , but what do I regard that saith God ? I regard one that trembls at my Word more than that great house that you have built unto me . It is a notable Scripture to shew what a high respect God hath to one that trembles at his Word , he regards them more than this glorious Temple that was built unto him ; If you were able to build such a place as this was for the service of God , you would think it a great matter , it is not so much regarded as if you could bring a trembling heart to Gods Word , that 's a special thing wherein the sanctifying of the Name of God consists , when we come to see the dreadful Authority that there is in the Word of God , when we are able to see more Glory of God in his Word than in all the works of God besides , for there is more of his Glory in the Word than there is in the whol Creation of Heaven and Earth , take the Sun , and Moon , and Stars : you that are Marriners , you have seen much of the Glory of God abroad , that one would think might strike terror into all your hearts , but know , That there is more of the dreadfulness of Gods Name in his Word than in all his Works ; In Psal . 138. 2. Thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy Name ; the Word it is magnified above all the Name of God whatsoever , and it is a very good sign of a spiritual enlightened soul that can see the Name of God more magnified in his Word than in al his Works besides ; I appeal unto your consciences in this thing , Have you ever seen the Name of God to be more magnified in his Word than in all his Works ; I may with very good confidence affirm this , That there is no godly soul upon the face of the Earth , that hath the weakest degree of grace , but hath seen more of the glory of God revealed in his Word , than he hath seen in all the VVorks of God besides , and his heart hath been more taken with it , It requires therefore a trembling frame of heart when we hear it . And then further , When this is considered that the word is that which bindeth the soul over , either to life or death , mens eternal estates are to be cast by the word , certainly then it requires a trembling heart to hear that by which the eternal estate of man is to be cast , we do not sanctifie Gods Name when we come to hear the word , except we come with trembling hearts , and they are the most likely of all men and women to understand the mind of God ; as for such as come with conceited spirits that they understand as much before they come , and think their reach of wit or capacity is beyond the capacity of any that shall open the word unto them ( yet that were not so much if it did but only rest upon the man , and not reflect upon the word it self . ) Now these that are rich in their own thoughts and understandings are sent empty away , but those that come with trembling hearts to the word , they are the men that are like to understand Gods Counsels revealed in his word . In Ezra . 10. 2 , 3. Shechaniah the Son of Jehiel one of the Sons of Elam answered and said unto Ezra , We have transgressed against our God & have taken strang wives &c. Yet now there is hope ni Israel concerning this thing , now therefore let us make a Covenant with our God according to the counsel of my Lord , and of those that tremble at the Commandement of our God ; So that those that tremble at Gods Word and such as are fittest to counsel , they understand most of Gods mind ; and that 's another particular of the behavior of the soul in sanctifying Gods Name in hearing His Word . 7. The next is a humble subjection to the Word that we hear , our hearts must bow to it , must lie under the Word that we hear , it is a very remarkable Scripture that we have in 2 Chron. 36. 12. There it is said concerning a great King , Zedekiah , He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord , his God , and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the Prophet , speaking from the mouth of the Lord. It is a very strange expression as any we have in the Book of God , that Zedekiah a great King should be charged with this as a great sin , that he did not humble himself , Humble himself , before whom you will say ? We are bound to humble our selves before God , but here it is that he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the Prophet ; Why before the Prophet ? Because he spake from the mouth of the Lord. If it be any messenger that speaks from the mouth of the Lord , God expects that we should humble our selves , so that if any truth comes to be delivered unto you , the Lord expects that you should fall down and yeild obedience to it , whatsoever your thoughts , your judgments , your opinions have heretofore been , if there come any thing in the Word against it you must submit your judgments , submit your very consciences , you must submit your wills , whatsoever your hearts have been set upon , though it hath been never so contentful to your spirits before , yet now submit , and yeild though it go never so cross unto your minds , your wills , your ends , yet all must be submitted , and laid down flat before the Word , so as to be willing to deny your selves of any thing in the world . When a man or woman can say thus , Lord it is true , I confess before I heard thy word opened in the evidence and demonstration or the Spirit unto me , I was of such a mind , and my heart went after such and such contentments , and I thought it was impossible that ever my heart should be taken from them but O Lord thou hast been pleased plainly to shew to me by the opening of thy Word in the evidence of thy Spirit , what thy mind is ; Now whatsoever becomes of my name , of my comforts , of my contentments in this world , Lord , here I cast down al before thee , I submit unto thy Word ; this is a gracious frame . Now is the Name of God extol'd , and lifted up in hearing of the Word , the Name of God is sanctified in such a word of spirit as this is . I have read of a German Divine writing to Oecolampadius another famous German Divine , he hath this expression , Oh let the Word of God come , and though we had 600 necks we would all submit them unto the Word of God saith he . So it should be the temper of such as hear the Word and desire to sanctifie Gods Name in it , let the Word of God come this morning , let God speak and we will submit had we 600. necks , we will submit all we are , or have , to this Word of the Lord , it is the Word of God , that we are willing should triumph over us : To have a Congregation to lie down under the Word of God that is preached to them is a most excellent thing , and Gods Name is much sanctified ; we do not brethren desire you should lie under us ▪ we are not only willing , but we are very desirous that you would examin what we speak to you , whether it be according to the Word of God or no. But look to it , that if we do speak to you that which is the Word from the mouth of the Lord know then that God expects that you should submit your estates , your souls , your bodies , all that you are and have to this Word , and that is another particular in the sanctifying of the Name of God in hearing the Word ; there must be an humble submission of the soul unto it . 8. Another particular , wherein the behavior , of the soul for the sanctifying of Gods Name consists is this , the Word it must be received with love , and with joy , it is not enough for you to be convinc'd of the authority of it , and to think thus , well I must yield to it , this is the Word of God and if I do not yield to it I must expect the plagues and judgments of God to follow it : that is not enough , but you most yield to it with love , and with joy ; except you receive the Word with love and with joy it is not sanctified ; you do not sanctifie Gods Name , nor is it sanctified unto you . You must receive the Word , not only as the true Word of the Lord , but as the good Word of the Lord. In Thess . 2. 10. we find it to be the cause of mens being given over to a spirit of delusion , because they received not the Word of God in love : It is spoken of Antichrist , that at his coming , he shall come with all deceivableness , and he shal prevail with them that perish : Who are they ? They that receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved . It is not enough my Brethren , to receive the truth that we might be saved , but we must receive the love of the truth if ever we would be saved : Good is the Word of the Lord to my soul . And we must receive it with joy too as well as with love ; Prov. 2. 10. When wisdom entereth into thy heart , and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul ; then discretion shall preserve thee , understanding shall keep thee , &c. That is a great matter , when the Word reveals some truth to thy understanding , and thou canst so receive it as it should be pleasant to thy soul , that thy soul rejoyces in it ; it is a good Word it is that which doth me good at the heart : When a people can hear the Word , and the Word coming near unto them they can say , This Word doth me good at the heart , it is pleasant to my soul ; that is excellent . In Act. 2. 41 the godly are described , ( those that did receive the Word , so as to sanctifie Gods Name in it ) by this , That they gladly received the Word , and were baptized : and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls . There were three thousand in one day that did gladly receive the Word : What an Auditory had Peter at this time ! Then the Word it did them good , when they gladly received it . Quest . But it may be said , W● reade in Matth. 13. of the stony ground , the hearers that were not good and did not profit by the Word so as to be saved , yet they received the Word with joy . And Herod , it is said of him , That be heard John Baptist gladly . It seems then that it is not enough to receive it with gladness ? Answ . To that I Answer , First , There must be that which Hypocrites may have , if there be want of that , we cannot sanctifie Gods Name . But you will say , We must go further , or else Gods Name is not sanctified . That I confess : Therefore when I speak of gladness and joy , know , that I mean another kind of joy than the stony ground had ; and so certainly the pleasantness that is spoken of in Prov. which I mentioned before ; And the gladness that the three thousand did receive the Word withal , is different from the gladness of the stony ground . If you ask me , wherein it differs ? I would answer , it differs thus The gladness of an Hypocrite in receiving Gods Word , it ariseth either from the novelty of it , because it is a new thing , and he gets new notions that he had not before ; or else he is joyful from some other carnal excellencies that he finds going together with the Word , some Esteem , or Honor that he shall get by it , some selvishness there is that makes his heart to be glad , for there is a great deal of natural and carnal excellency that goes along many times with the Word . But now this gladness that is spoken of in the Acts , and in the Proverbs , it is the gladness that ariseth from the apprehension of the Spiritual excellencies that there is in the Word , as that it is that Word that reveals God and Christ to my soul ; that word that comes neerest to my soul , to the mortifying of my lusts , and the Sanctifying of my heart : This is that which makes me rejoyce in the Word , the holiness and the Spiritual excellency that I see to be in the Word : Thy Word is pure ( saith David ) and therefore doth thy servant love it , and rejoyce in it . This no Hypocrite can say ; I see the Image of God in his Word , I see the very glass of Gods holiness in the word , I feel that in the word that may bring my soul to God , wherein my soul enjoys communion with God , and Jesus Christ , and it is this that glads my soul . If we receive the word with joy thus , we shall come to sanctifie the Name of God in hearing of it . And that 's the Eighth Particular . 9. The Ninth Particular is this , If we would sanctifie the Name of God in his word , We must receive the Word into honest hearts . This you have in Luke 8. 15. the parable of the Sower ; you shall find there , that there are divers grounds that do receive the Seed ; and by those divers grounds are meant divers sorts of hearers : There is first the high-way ground , that is , Such as hear the word , and never regard what they hear , and assoon as ever they go out of the Congregation , the seed of the word is quite gone , and is as if they had not heard at all . And then there is the stony ground , and the thorny ground , that is , those that hear with joy ( as was spoken of before ) but the cares of the world choak the seed of the Word ; as soon as ever they are gone , they are upon their worldly business , and their thoughts and hearts runs that way . But then there is the good ground , that is , Those that receive the Seed of the Word into a good and honest heart ; a good and an honest heart they are both ioyned together : By a good heart is meant , a heart that hath no malice in it , a heart that doth desire to empty it self of every thing that is against the Word , and which is not sutable to the spiritualness of the Word : A heart ( I say ) that entertains nothing in it that any way makes against the Word , A good heart is a heart ( which as the Apostle saith in Jam. 1. 21. and that place may very well come in here to be opened ) is clensed from all silthiness and superfluity of naughtiness . The Word that is there translated silthiness . it signifies Excrements : that which is unclean , that which comes from the body , such is the sinfulness of your hearts ; you come to hear the Word , if it be with evil hearts you mingle that very filthiness which is as vile before God as excrements are , And superfluity of naughtiness ; by that I take is meant , as if the holy Ghost should say , Do not think it enough for to purge away filthiness , that is , notorious stinking evils , abominable sins , that you do not come with such filthy vile hearts , but whatsoever there is in your heart that is any way against the Word of Grace , it is a superfluity of naughtiness , all kind of evil thoughts , and evil affections that are more than needs . Look into your hearts and affections , and see whatsoever you find there that is more than ought to be , running out unto any thing that they should not , labor to purge out that saith he , do not satisfie your selves in any kind of evil whatsoever : it may be you are clensed from the notorious evils of the world : but if there remains any naughtiness , any kind of drossiness in your hearts that is not grace , it is to be purged out , for it is superfluity : So then that is a good heart that entertains no kind of evil in it , It may be there is some evil , but it doth desire to purge out , not only that that is silthy , nasty , and abominable ; but if there be any thing that should not be there , a good heart is against it . And that is a good heart that is willing to receive any thing that God reveals ; as we use to say , Such a man is a good man ; that is , you can propound nothing to him that is fit to be done , but he is willing to hearken to you . A good man he hath no kind of evil ends in him , no evil designs at all , but he is willing to hearken to every thing that is good : So , a good heart whatsoever is good he is ready to entertain , if it be a good thing his heart is sutable to it , and runs presently unto it ; having a good heart it doth presently close with the good Word of the Lord. But what is meant by an Honest Heart ? By honesty of heart , certainly there is more meant than such a one that we call an honest man , that is , a man that is honest in his dealings between man and man ; there is many a man that is accounted a very honest man in the world , but hath not an honest heart : I beseech you observe it , That man that hath an honest heart to God , is one that receives the seed of the Word , so as he goes beyond the high-way ground , the stony ground , or the thorny ground , he goes beyond those three sorts of professors ; he is one that hath an emenency in profession of Religion beyond those three : Now the world accounts many honest men that do not go beyond any of those three ; yea , the world doth ordinarily account any of those three to be honest men ; As the high-way ground , Are there not many honest men in the world , that regard not the Word of God at all , but only come to hear a Sermon , and assoon as they have done , as it came in at one ear , so it goes out at the other ? I fear there are some men and women that are accounted honest men and women in the world , that can hardly give an accompt of any one Sermon they have heard in all their lives ; hardly , I say , but the Word which they heard is presently taken away from them ; and yet these are accounted honest men in the world : But this is not the honest heart the Scripture speaks of . And many there are that go further than these , that come to hear the Word with joy , and yet they have not this honest heart : Yea , they may hear the Word so as to bring forth a Blade , and yet not have this honest heart . But this honest heart I take therefore to be meant this : An heart that deals squarely and truly with God , behaving it self in a beseeming manner sutable to that Authority and Excellency that there is in the Word of God. As now for Example : 1. First , Among men , he is accounted an honest man that deals squarely and truly with men in all actions ; such a man you will say , is an honest man , as honest a man as ever broke bread ; that is , one that will deal squarely with men , not only in one thing , but turn him to any thing , and you shall find a proportion between one action and another : So this is an honest heart , not one that only will be forward for God in some one action wherein he may enjoy himself as well as God ; but one that deals squarely with God , let God put him upon duty , upon any service , God shall find him still to be the same man : Put him upon any easie service ( as many will imbrace that ) or put him upon a difficult service , it is all one if it be the mind of God ; you shall find him square in every thing , though he be put upon that which he is like to suffer very much in , yet he goes on according to his principles . An honest heart is one that hath received gracious principles , and accordingly he acteth , all the world cannot take him off from his principles of godliness that the Lord hath put into his heart . 2. Secondly , An honest man is one that provides things honest before men , that doth all things in a seemly way in all those relations that he hath unto others , that we account honesty : So when a mans behavior towards the Word is such as doth beseem the Word of that God with whom he hath to deal , That look what excellency , what glory there is in the Word of God , such a sutable behavior there is in the heart of a man to it , this is an honest heart . So that there are those two things , when a man is square with God in one thing as well as another , and when there is a sutableness in the behavior of the soul to what excellency there is in the Word , when the heart of man will not abuse the Word at all , but behaves it self honestly , according unto the gravity , holiness , and weight that there is in the Word . And thus now with such a good and honest heart we are to receive the Word if we will sanctifie Gods Name in it . 10. A tenth particular is this , If we will sanctifie Gods Name in the Word , we must hide the Word in our hearts , we must not only hear the Word , but keep it , preserve it , and then we do declare that we account the Word of God to be worth something indeed ; For , what is it to sanctifie God ( as we have opened before in the General ) but such a behavior towards him , as may testifie the Excellency of the Name of God so the behavior of the soul in hearing the Word , must be such as must give a testimony to the Excellency of the Word , and manifest the high esteem I have of it . Now if I received a thing that is of great value , if I slight it , and let any body take it from me , I do not give a testimony of the excellency of that thing ; but if I take it and lock it up , and keep it under lock and key , I do thereby give a testimony of the esteem that I have of the excellency of that thing : So now , when I come to hear the Word , and meet with Truths that I have gotten into my soul , I close with them , and am resolved within my heart as I am hearing of them , well , This Truth I will keep through Gods Grace , this concerns me , and I will make much of it , and although I forget other things , yet I hope I shall remember this , To sanctifie Gods Name in hearing of the Word : In Isa . 42. 23. Hear ( saith the holy Ghost there ) for the time to come . When we come to the Word , we must not only hearken for the present , as many of us while we are hearing , our hearts are stir'd for the present ; Oh that we could but have that affection of heart alwaies , as we have when we are hearing of the Word ! How many of you have said when you have been hearing such a Sermon , Oh! then me thought I could have gone through fire and water for God ? I , but mark it , you must hear for afterwards . And in Psalm 119. 11. there the Prophet David profest , That he did hide the Word in his heart , the Word was sweet unto him ; Thy Word ( saith he ) have I hid in my heart , that I might not sin against thee . You that come and hear those Truths upon the Lords day , if you would hide them thus in your hearts , and keep them all the week , they would help you against the many temptations that you meet withal ; you go abroad on the week daies into company , and there you meet with a temptation , and it overcomes you , and you complain , Alas ! I am weak , I have met with a temptation and it hath foil'd me : But had you hid the Word that you heard on the Lords day in your heart , it would have kept you from the strength of your temptation that it should not have overcome you . Those that are truly godly they have a care to hide the word in their hearts ; when they hear it they think , This word shall help me against such and such sins which I am prone to by nature , and when a temptation comes to that sin I hope I shall have use of the word that I have heard this day ; As now , Suppose you hear a word against passion , then you should hide that word in your hearts against that time that temptation comes to passion . And you hear a word against sensuality , and abuse of the creatures ; you should hide that word against that temptation cometh . And you hear a word against unrighteousness and unjust dealings ; when a temptation comes to that sin you should hide that word against that time . So , you hear a word that speaks of obedience to Parents and servants duties to Governors , now you should hide that word in your hearts against that time ; I have hid thy word in my heart , that I might not sin against thee , You say , that you would fain withstand and not be overcome with temptations : Then here 's the way , Hide the word within thee , that thou maiest not sin against him . And so in Prov. 2. 1. you have a Scripture to the same purpose , about hiding the Commandements within us . And then in 1 John , 2. 14. I write unto you yong men because you are strong , and the Word of God abideth in you , and ye have overcome the wiched one . I have written unto you yong men , you are yong , you have strong natures , and so strength of nature for God : But how comes this to pass ? You are strong , and the Word of God abideth in you : Here is an excellent Scripture for all yong men , you have your memories fresh , and if you will exercise your memories about any thing , it should be in the word of God ; it is a comly and an excellent thing to see yong ones to have the word of God abiding in them , that if you come to them , not only a week , but a month after they have heard the word , they are able to give you an account of it I am verily perswaded that there are many yong ones in this place , that are able to give you old ones ( if you ask them ) an account of what it is to sanctifie Gods Name in the Duties of worship ; And why ? Because the word of God abideth in them . It is the honor of yong men to have the Word of God to abide in them and hereby they overcome the wicked one . And on the other side , many yong people that do come to hear the Word , it may be they are drawn to it by others , or it may be they love to have a walk in the morning , but the Word of God abideth not in them , and therefore when the wicked one comes with temptations the week after they are overcome by him ; but those that have the Word of God abiding in them they overcome the wicked one . And so in Job . 8. 31. you have a very remarkable Scripture for this purpose of keeping the Word after we have heard it . Then said Jesus to those which beleeved on Him , if you continue in my Word then are you my Disciples indeed . I beseech you observe it , It is said that the Jews did beleeve in Christ , and yet saith Christ , If you continue in my Word then are you my Disciples , why were they not the Disciples of Christ that did beleeve in him ? By this beleeving therefore we must understand some kind of general notion that they had of Christ , they began to think that Christ might be the true Messias , some kind of imperfect beleeving they had , but they were not throughly brought off , now saith Christ , If you continue in my Word , you are my Disciples . As if he should say , Do not you think it enough that you come to here me , and that you are taken by what I say ; you must continue in my Word , and then you are my Disciples : Christ will not own that man or woman to be his Disciple that doth not continue in His Word . O that you would consider of this , you that satisfie your selves in having some flashes of your affections when you are heating the Word , but do not think that you are the Disciples of Christ because of them , In Tit. 1. 9. Holding fast the faithful Word as you have been taught , that is the thing you should labor for , to hold fast the faithful Word , hold it fast , that it may not be taken from you , and so you shall come to Sanctifie the Name of God in the hearing of his Word . 11. The last that I shall speak to is this , If thou wouldest Sanctifie the Name of God in hearing His Word , turn it into practice , or otherwise the Name of God is blasphemed , or at least is taken in vain by thee if thou doest not turn what thou hearest into practice ; So you have it in Jam. 1. 22. He that is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the Word , this man ( saith he ) shall be blessed in his deed . And vers . 22. Be ye doers of the Word , and not hearers only , deceiving your own selves . The word here that is translated , Deceiving your own selves , it 's a word taken from Logicians , and signifies to make a false Sylogisme . A man that hears the Word and doth not do it , he doth as it were reason thus , Those that do come to Church ( as we use to say ) those surely are Religious people , but I come to Sermons and therefore I am Religious : Now this is a false reasoning , and thou doest but cozen thy self . Be not a hearer only , but a doer of the Word , that thou maiest not deceive thine own soul . So in Rom. 2. 3. Thinkest thou this O man that judgest them that do such things , & doest the same , that thou shalt escape the Judgment of God ? As if he should say , You have the word , and you are able o judg thereby what you hear , but yet still you are wicked in your lives : this is despising of the riches of the goodness of God towords you . And in Philippians , 2 , 16. you have a remarkable text where the holy Ghost saith of the Phylippians , That he would have them hold forth the Word of Life . It were a most excellent thing if it might be said of this Congregation , that as they come deligently to hear , and are willing to take pains to get out of their beds so early in the mornings , so all the week after they hold forth the word of God. You that are servants it may be your masters are naught , and the families naught from whence you come ; now when you go home , though it may be they will not let you repeat the Sermon , yet you are to hold forth the Sermon in your practice and conversation : How is the Name of God glorified when we hold forth His Word ! this is to let , not only your light shine , but the light of the word shine before men that they may belold it and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven . So that now put all these Eleven Particulars together , and then you have made good that expression we find in Act. 13. 48. That the Word of God was glorified . And to the same purpose we have another expression in 2 Thess . 3 1. Finally , bretheren , Pray for us , that the Word of the Lord may have free course , and be glorified even as it is with you . This is the commendation of a people , that they do glorifie the Word of God : I beseech you brethren , in the Name of Jesus Christ this morning that you that are hearers of the Word would glorifie the Word , and glorifie the Name of God in the Word ; Oh that not one of you would be a disgrace or shame to the Word of God ; this is the charge that God this morning laies upon you , as ever you expect to receive any good from the Word , or to look upon the face of God with comfort whose Word this is : do not be a shame to His Word , and to the Ministers of His Word . Put all these things together , I say and learn to make conscience of sanctifying Gods Name in hearing the Word , that so there may be none of you that may give any just occasion to others to say , Is this to hear Sermons ? Do you get nothing else but this by hearing Sermons ? If you should open the mouths of men to say so of you , the Word of God ( as much as lies in you ) would be disgraced by you ; you should rather think thus , It were better for me that I should die , and that I were under the ground and rotting there , than that the Word of God should ever be disgraced by me : Let me hold forth the glory of the Word , the Word is that which hath done good to my soul ; the Word is that which I would not for ten thousand worlds but have heard it , and shall I disgrace this Word ? shall I give any occasion that this Word of the Lord should be spoken ill of by reason of me ? O God forbid . Therefore if you regard not your selves and your own honor , yet regard the honor of the word ; If ever you have got any good by the word , you should go away with this resolution , well , I will labor all the daies of my life to honor this word of God that I have got so much good by : If this were but the resolution of every one of your hearts this morning , it would be a blessed mornings work . SERMON X. Leviticus , 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . NOW follow the Reasons why God stands so much upon it , That he will have his Name Sanctified in this Ordinance of hearing his Word . 1. First , It is because there is so much of God in his Word , and therefore we should Sanctifie Gods Name . If it were possible there could be sin in Heaven , that sin would be greater than sin committed here ; therefore the sin of the Angels when they were in Gods presence , in a more special manner was the greater : The Name of God being in any thing , the greater will be the evil , if we do not sanctifie Gods Name in it ; now there is very much of God in his Word , more of God there than in all the Works of Creation and Providence . In Ps . 138. 2 Thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy Name . There being therefore so much of God in his Word , we must sanctifie the Name of God in it . 2. Secondly , God hath appointed His Word to be the great Ordinance to convey the special mercies that He intends for the good of His People . That we spake to before in the general , in shewing how the duties of Gods Worship are as a Channel for the conveyance of Special good to the Saints : But none more than the Word , that 's the Ordinance to convey the first Grace to those that belong to Gods election . The Sacraments is for strengthening , and therefore there is rather more in the Word than in the Sacrament , and yet every one thinks in conscience that he is bound to come carefully to the Sacrament , and to look to Sanctifie Gods Name there . It is an easier matter to convince men and women , that they are bound to sanctifie the Name of God when they come to receive the holy Communion , than for the hearing of the Word : they think not so much of that , but certainly the Word is appointed to be an Ordinance of conveying more blessing than the Sacrament , because it is appointed to convey the first Grace , and to convey strength of Grace as well as the Sacrament : Now being appointed to convey such great things to the souls of the elect , both the first grace and strengthening of grace , and comfort , and assistance thereof , the Lord expects to have his name santifiied in it . 3. Thirdly , The name of God must be Sanctiffed in the Word , because the word is very quick and lively , it works men or women to life or death , to salvation or damnation . In Heb. 4. 12. The word of God quick and powerfull , and sharper than any two edged sword , piercing even to the deviding a sunder of soul and spirit , &c. It is very quick of operation ( the text saith ; ) that is when God hath to deal with men by His Word , He wil not stand dallying and trifling with them , but he is very quick with them either to bring there soules to life , or to cast them away . The time of mens ignorance God winks at , but now he cals all men to repent . Let them look to it now , God did forbeare in the time of ignorance , but He will not forbear so when the word comes , Now is the Ax laid to the root of the tree : And when was that ? when John Baptist came to preach repentance , because the kingdom of Heaven is at hand . though the tree were barren before , and did not bring sorth good sruit , yet it might stand still and not be cut down ; but when the powerfull ministration of the World comes , then the Ax is laid to the root of the Tree : either now come in and be saved , or resist the Word and perish : And therefore that is very observable when Christ sends out His Disciples to preach , in Mark 16. 15 , 16. Saith he , Go ye into al the world and preach the Gospel to every creature , and he that beleeveth and is Baptized shall be saved ? but he that beleeveth not shall be damned : As if he should say , there shall be quick work made with them , go & preach , & those that belong to my election shal be brought in to beleeve and be saved , and the others shall be damned : As if God should say , If they will come in and imbrace the Gospel they shall be saved , if they wil not they shall be damned , and there is an end of them . So that I say , we have need to look to it that we Sanctifie the name of God in His Word upon these Three Grounds , Because there is so much of God in His Word Because he hath appointed it to convey the greatest Mercies to His Saints . And because God is very quick in His Word , one way or other . We shall now proceed to the Application of this Point : And , First by way of reprehension to all those that do not sanctifie Gods Name in hearing the Word ; and herein we shal shew their feareful condition , and how God will Sanctifie His Name upon them in waies of judgment , and then when we come to the use of Exhortation , to exhort you to sanctifie the Name of God , there we shall shew you likewise how God will sanctifie His Name in waies of mercy upon those that do sanctifie Him in waies of obedience in Hearing of His Word . 1. For the first , Certainly if that be to sanctsfie the Name of God that we have spoken of ; Gods Name is but very little sanctified by people that do come to hear His Word , and we have no cause to wonder that there is so little good got by the Word , because there are so few that make conscience to sanctifie Gods Name in hereing it ; Some there are that are so far from sanctifying Gods Name in it , as they altogether neglect it , and make it a matter of nothing whether they come to hear it or no : Saith Christ in Job . 8. 47. He that is of God heareth my Word , ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God. Certainly he that hath the knowledg of God , and any interest in God , and that belongs unto Him , nothing is more sweet to him than the hearing of His Word , but because ye are not of God ( saith Christ ) Therefore you hear not his Word . Those men and women that have no interest in God , but live without God in this world , they regard not to hear His Word . O how many have we that belong to this place that do so ! How many live without God in the world , and do declare to all the world that they are not of God ? they have no part nor portion in God in that they hear not His W●●● ▪ Some there are that come to hear it , but they come to hear it as a meer matter of indifferency , in a meer formal and customary way , or for companies sake , or to give content to others : These are poor and low ends , thou shouldest come to hear the Word , as expecting God should speak to thy soul for the furtherance of thy eternal good ; but your consciences may tell you what vain and wandring heart you have , when you come to hear it . The eyes of the fool ( saith Solomon ) are in all the corners of the earth , up and down wandring , little minding that you are to com to hear God Himself speak to you in the Ministry of man. And if so be that it be minded , yet ordinarily the hearts of men do put off the Word , and if it come any thing neer to them they think to shift it from themselves to others . We have a notable Scripture in Heb. 12. 25. for such men as shift off Gods Word when it comes many times very neer to them : See that ye refuse not him that speaketh : for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth , much more shall not we escape , if we turn away from Him which speaketh from Heaven : See that ye refuse not him that speaks the Word , see that you do not put him off : And that is the signification of it : if you compare it with Luke , 12. 18. you should find that there is the same word used , where speaking of those that were invited to the supper , it is said , They all with one consent began to make excuse ; they began to shift it off , that is the same word . Oh take heed of this , that when you are hearing the Word and Christ comes and speaks to your hearts , and you begin to think that it way concern you , and your consciences begin to stir , take heed that you do not shift him off , take heed that you do not put away the Word from you by any kind of pretence whatsoever . ( It may be ) you will say , If I were certain it were the Word of God , and that God spake to me , God forbid but that I should submit unto it . But though it may be the hearts of men are not so notoriously rebellious as to resolve to sin against the Word , which they will acknowledg to be the Word of God , yet this is the deceit of the heart , when the heart hath no mind to obey , it will shift off the Word , and have pretences and put-offs , Oh take heed that you do not shift off him that speaks from Heaven , by making any kind of excuse whatsoever , but when thou hearest , if the Word of God come to thy conscience , do not listen to vain reasonings that are against it . Others there are that cannot tell how to shift off the Word , but it will come upon them when they are hearing ; it may be they are a little stir'd , but it is presently gone , so that they are far from holding the Word , far from keeping it in their hearts . Oh! How many of you have been stir'd when you have been hearing the Word ! and how happy had it been for you if you had hid those words in your heart that the Lord hath spoken to you in the Ministry of it . If you had but the Invitations of the Spirit now , that sometimes you have had , how happy were it for you ? But it is with many in hearing the word , just as with you Marriners when you are to go abroad , Your friends come with you , take their leaves of you , and then you see them stand upon the shore a while , but when you sail a little further , your friends are out of sight , and then you see only the shore ; you sail on a little further , and then you see only the houses ; you sail a little further , and then you see only the steeples , and such high places ; and you sail yet a little further , and then you see nothing but the Ocean : So it is in hearing the Word ; It may be when you go home , there are some things fresh in your mind , but on the munday morning you have lost some ; but then there are some others that do yet present themselves before you , and then you lose more and more , untill you have lost the sight of all ; all truths are gone , you see no more of the Word , as if you had never heard it ; this is not to sanctifie Gods Name ; you should treasure up the Word as the most rich Treasure that may be . Another sort to be rebuked are those , who are so far from falling down before the Lord to receive the Word with meekness , as they can bless themselves in their wicked waies , notwithstanding the Word comes and meets with them . I only name this , because of that notable Scripture we have , in Deut. 29. 18 , 19. saith Moses there to them , Take heed , lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood , ( what 's that root that beareth gall and wormwood ? ) And it come to pass when he heareth the words of this curse , that he bless himself in his heart , saying , I shall have peace , though I walk in the imagination of my heart , &c. Take heed there be not among you , a root that beareth gall and wormwood ; This is a bitter root in mens hearts , when they can hear the Word of God , and have their hearts rise against it , and think with themselves that there is no such matter , these are but meer words , but meer wind ; let the Minister say what he will , and talk as long as he will , I will go on in my way , I shall do well enough ; that which he saith , it is but his opinion . I say , when men can bless themselves thus in their way , and when there are such tumulcuous and rebellious thoughts rising in their hearts , this is a root of gall and wormwood ; and take heed of it , it will bring forth bitter fruit one day . But I should quickly be prevented if I should lanch into this argument , to reprove the several waies of sinning against God in hearing of his word . And therefore I leave those , and come to shew what a fearful thing it is for men and women not to sanctifie the Name of God in the hearing of his word , that so you may see that God will have his Name sanctified upon them . And they are these : 1. In the first place , You that do not sanctifie Gods Name in hearing his word in those waies that have been opened to you , First , you lose the greatest and happiest opportunity of good that ever creatures had , for an outward opportunity : indeed when God moves by his Spirit if that be neglected , that opportunity is more than meerly hearing his Word , but otherwise except it be at such a time when God adds his Spirit together with his Word ; I say , you that are cast by the providence of God in such a place where the word of the Gospel is preached to you , applied and urged upon you , if you sanctifie not the Name of God , to hear as you ought , and to profit by it ; I say , you lose the greatest opportunity for good that is in the world : Oh what hast thou lost that hast lived many yeers under the Ministry of the Gospel , and yet hast not been acquainted with this mystery of godliness in sanctifying Gods Name in the word . There are many thousand souls that are , and shall be blessing God to all eternity for what of God they have met withal in the Word , but thou hast sat under it stuped as a block , dead and barren , and no good hath been done ; Wherefore is there a prize in the hand of a fool , and he hath no heart to get wisdom ? This will lie upon thee heavy one day , the loss of such an opportunity , and that is the first . 2. In the second place , Know that this Word that is appointed by God for the conveyance of so much mercy to his Elect , it will prove to be the greatest aggravation of thy sin that can be ; This is the condemnation , that light is come into the world , and men love darkness rather than light : This is [ The ] condemnation . If so be that light had not come among you , then the condemnation had not been so great , your sin had not been so great , and your punishment had not bin so great . In Mat. 10. 14 , 15. where speaking of those that did enjoy the Word , and yet did not sanctifie Gods Name in it . Whosoever shall not receive you ( saith Christ to his Disciples ) nor hear your words , when ye depart out of that house , or City , shake off the dust of your feet : Verily I say unto you , it shall be more tolerable for the Land of Sodom and Gomorah in the day of judgment than for that City . It is a most dreadful Scripture ; their very dust must be shaken off in token of indignation , and it shal be more easie for the Land of Sodom and Gomorah in the day of judgment than for that place . You would be very loth to be in a worse condition than Sodom and Gomorah that was consumed by fire from heaven , And now suffer the venegance of eternal fire , Jude 7. Certainly they shall not be so deep in judgments , as those that live under the Ministry of the Word , and sanctifie not the Name of God in it . Your sin is of a deeper dye , than the sin of the Heathens ; yea , and in some respects than the sin of the Devils , they never had the Word of the Gospel sent to be preached to them : and therefore this will aggravate your sin , not only beyond Heathens , but beyond Devils . Look to it then that Gods Name be sanctified in the hearing of his Word . 3. Thirdly , Know that so much as the Word is rejected , Jesus Christ is rejected ; Luke 10. 16. He that despiseth you , despiseth me ; and he that despiseth me , despiseth him that sent me . It is Christ himself that is rejected when the Word is rejected : thou hast not to do with man so much as with Jesus Christ in the hearing of the Word , and the power of Jesus Christ is to be put forth either to do thee good by the Word , or to avenge thy neglect of the Word : Therefore in Matth. 28. 18 19. when Christ sends forth his Disciples to preach , he makes this preface , All power is given unto me in Heaven and Earth : Go ye therefore and teach : As if he should say , I have received all power in Heaven and Earth ; through the power I received I send you to preach , and I 'le be with you to the end of the world : that is , Al power in Heaven and Earth shal go along with you to assist your Ministry , either for the good of those that shall embrace it , or for the misery of those that shal reject it ; so that whosoever stands out against the Ministry of the Word , stands out against all thē power Heaven and Earth that is given to Christ : do not think that thou doest resist a poor weak mortall man , but thou doest resist all the power in Heaven and Earth . And is not this a dreadfull thing then , to be guilty of not sanctifying of Gods Name ? 4. Fourthly , it is an Argument of extream hardness of heart not to be wrought upon by the Word . Luk 16. 31 , If they here not Moses and the prophets , nether wil they be perswaded though one rose from the dead , saith , Abraham . Certainly that man or woman that shall not be wrought upon by the Word so as to sanctifie Gods name in it , I say to such , If one should rise from the dead they would not have there hearts wrought upon , and therefore much less are they like to be wrought upon by afflictions . it may be some of you think when you are upon your sick beds then you will repent ; no surely , if this that is the great Ordinance to bring men to God shall not work upon you so as God shall be honored in it ; you cannot expect that sick ness and affliction should do it , no , if one shall come from the dead to tell you of all the miseries that were there certainly if the Word work not upon you , that will not do it . But you wil say , One would think that there should be more power to work upon the heart : truly no , because it is such an Ordinance appointed by God for working such great works upon the hearts and consciences of men , as the Word is : It is true , the Word is but a weak thing in it self , but here lies the strength that it is an Ordinance of God appointed for to work upon the hearts of men ; therefore if this work not upon you to give God glory in the hearing of it ; there is no other means like to do it . 5. Fifthly , when the Word works not upon men , it is a dreadfull sign of reprobation , If our Gospel be hid ( saith the Apostle in 2. Cor. 4. 3 ) it is hid to those that are lost . It is a dreadful Argument that here is a lost creature , one that God intends no good to . One the Lord works upon , perhaps he lets pass another , one in a family and not in another . Now where it is so that the Word worketh not I say there is no such dreadfull brand of Reprobation as this is . It is true , we cannot give any certain sign of Reprobation ; therefore I cannot say of any man , he hath now such a mark upon him as doth evidently prove that he is a Reprobate ; we cannot tell that , because we know not what God may do afterwards , but we may say this , That it is as dreadful a sign as any . There are not any more dreadful signs than these two . First , For a man to be suffered to prosper in a sinful course ; For God to let men go on and have their hearts desire satisfied in an ungodly way . And then secondly , For the Lord to leave them to themselves , so as the Ministry of the Word shal not work upon them , that they shall be by Gods providence so disposed of , as to live under a faithful and powerful Ministry , and that it should not work upon them : These are the two blackest signs of Reprobation ; and therefore it is a most dreadful thing to sit under the Ministry of the Word , and not to sanctifie Gods Name in it . 6. In the next place : Surely there can be nothing sanctified to thee who doest not sanctifie Gods Name in His Word . The Scripture saith , That every thing is sanctified by the Word and Prayer . And how canst thou exspect that the Word should sanctifie any thing unto thee , seeing that thou doest not make conscience of sanctifying Gods Name in the Word ? The godly think thus , 'T is the Word that must sanctifie all things to my soul , and I had need then sanctifie Gods Name in that from which I exspect the sanctified use of all blessings . You therefore that can sit under it , and make not concience of sanctifying Gods Name in it , I say , you can expect no sanctified use of any thing that you have in this world . 7. Such as do not sanctifie Gods Name in the Word , are very nigh to a curse : There is a notable Scripture for this in Heb. 6. 7 , 8. where the Apostle compares the Word to the rain that fals upon the ground , For the earth that drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it , and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed , receiveth blessing from God : But ( saith he ) that which beareth thorns and bryars is rejected , and is nigh unto cursing , whose end is to be burned . The meaning is this plainly , The rain here is the Word , & the good hearers they are like the ground that receive the rain and bring forth fruit , and receive a blessing : But now ill hearers that do not sanctifie Gods Name in his Word , they are like ground that receives the rain as much as the other , hear as many Sermons as the other , but they bring forth nothing but thorns and bryars : and mark what a dreadful expression is against them ; First , It is rejected , Secondly , It is nigh to cursing . Thirdly , Whose end is to be burned . Thou rejectest the Word , doest thou ? The Lord rejecteth thy soul . If thou hast no need of the Word the Word hath no need of thee ; it is a dreadful thing to be rejected of God. And then , thou art uigh unto cursing : It may be the Lord may for the time withdraw Himself from the soul , and manifest that it is at it were rejected ; but yet the soul hath not the curse of God upon it , to say , Well let this soul perish for ever : but some there are that are under an actual curse , and saith God , Well , My Word shall never do good to this soul , such a one hath sate under it thus long , and hath rejected it , My Word shall never do good to him : Like as in Luk. 14. where those that made excuses when they were bidden to the Supper , the text saith at length , That the Master of the Feast was angry ( which was God Himself that invited them by the Gospel to partake of His Son ; and when men would not come in but make excuses , and refused the offer of the Gospel , ) Verily ( saith he ) none of those men , that were bidden shall tast of my Supper . They shall never partake of any good of the Gospel . This is a dreadful curse . Now the Lord deliver you from having this curse pronounced against you , but yet I beseech you tremble at this Scripture in the Hebrews , they are nigh to cursing . Who knows how nigh some soul in this place may be to this curse , for God to say , This soul hath been often invited , and yet hath made excuses , and put off all , he shall never tast of my Supper , of the good things in Jesus Christ , the Word that hath been so rejected shall never do them good more ; you had better never been born than to have this curse actually upon you . Oh fear and tremble lest your condition be such as to be nigh to cursing : Who knows what a day , a week may bring forth ? It may be the Lord may spare and be willing to pass by the neglect of former Sermons ; but who knows what the next actual rebellion against the Lord in His Word may do to bring the curse upon thee ? And then if so , the next part of the verse will prove to be thy portion , Whose end is to be burned . Oh! It is a dreadful thing to sin against the Word : God stands much upon it . 8 , Eightly , Know that if Gods Name be not sanctisied in it , the end that God hath appointed it for , will be turned quite contrary to thee ; The proper end that God hath appointed his Word for , it is to save souls : but now , where Gods Name is not sanctified it is turned quite contrary ; so the Apostle in 2 Cor. 2. 16. To the one we are the savor of death unto death , and to the other the savor of life unto life : It is a dreadful thing that the good Word of God in which there is such treasures of Gods mercy , wherein the counsels of God , concerning mans eternal estate comes to be revealed , that this should prove to be the savor of death unto death unto any soul , that is , to have such an efficacy in it , as to kill them by the very scent of it as it were ; As some things have such a poyson in them , as the very scent is enough to poyson one ; So saith the Apostle , to some our word hath that efficacy being turned quite to the contrary end , some souls are sav'd , and are , and shal be blessing God to al eternity for the Word ; and thy soul is damn'd by the Word , so as thou wilt hereafter curse the time that ever thou camest to hear it : That wil be a dreadful thing , that the same Word that others shal be blessing of God eternally in Heaven for , that thou shalt be cursing eternally in Hell for , it will be turned to the quite contrary end ; if it works not in the right way , it will work the other ; the truth is , it hardens mens hearts if it brings them not to God ; there is nothing that doth harden the hearts of men more than the Ministry of the Word : yet by accident , not by its self , there is no men in the world have such hard hearts as those that are wicked under the Ministry of the Word ; it is not only an argument that their hearts are hard , but they are hardened by it : That in Isa . 6. 9 , 10. is remarkable for this , and the rather because I find it so often quoted by Christ , I think it is quoted three or four times in the Gospel , And he said Go and tell this People , hear ye indeed , but understand not , and 〈◊〉 ye indeed , but perceive not : Make the heart of this people fat , and make their ears heavy , and shut their eyes , lest they see with their eyes , and hear with their ears , and understand with their heart , and convert and be healed . This is a strange Scripture : What , must a Prophet go to them to make their hearts fat , and to shut their eyes ? why , the word is appointed to open mens eyes , but here the Prophet is sent to shut their eyes that they might not be converted ; this is dreadful , this is for the punishment of some former neglect of the word of God sent unto this people ; above all Judgments you should be afraid of this ; It is not so much that a fire should be upon your houses , as that God should make his word to be a means to harden your hearts . In Ezek. 14. we have a dreadful expression to this purpose , by the Prophet there , where the Lord saith , The people did come to enquire of him , with setting up their Idols in their hearts , but saith God , I will answer them according to their Idol . If men come to the Ministry of the word with their beloved sins , and resolve that they will not part with them , the Lord many times in his just judgment suffers some things in the word to be accidentally a means to harden them in that sin of theirs . I will answer them according to their Idol : Those men are in a dreadful estate whose hearts come to be hardened by the word . 9. Ninthly , If thou doest not sanctifie Gods Name in the hearing of the word , what comfort canst thou ever have by the word in the day of affliction ? Certainly when the day of thy affliction comes , then there is nothing can comfort thee but the word : Vnless thy Law had been my delight ( saith David ) I should then have perished in mine affliction : But thou having been exercised in the word so much , and Gods Name not sanctified , thou must not expect to have thy soul comforted in the day of thy affliction . No marvel then though the word hath been applied again and again to your hearts , and nothing would stick : I remember it was an expression of one in a great deal of terror of conscience ; many came to apply comfortable Scriptures to him , and he himself for a while did take those Scriptures and lay them upon his heart to passifie his troubled conscience , but a little before he died , he cries out with a most fearful terror , There is a fair Plaister made but it will not stick on , it wil not stick on so died despairing : so there is in the word such a plaister as may help a wounded and troubled conscience , but canst thou expect that hast not sanctified Gods Name in thy life time that it shall stick upon thy soul in the day of thy afflction ? never expect it , for the Lord hath said otherwise , Prov. 1. Because when I cryed and call'd ye would not hear , you shal cry and call and I will not hear ; The Lord in His Word cries to the , Oh thou sinfull soul who are going on in the waies of sin and eternall destruction , Return , return , that is the way that will bring thee to eternall miseries , but here is the way that wil bring thee to life and eternall salvation : Thus the Lord cries and cals to day , to day , and thou stopest thy ear , Oh how just is it with God to stop his ear from thy crying and calling in the day of thy affliction . 10. Further , Know that thou that doest not sanctife the Name of God in his Word , that all the Word of God wil be made good one day upon thee , God hath His time to magnifie his Law and to make it honorable , Isa . 42. 21. You slight Gods Law , you slight His Word , and despise it , but God will magnifie it and make it honorable , there is not any sentence that thou hast heard in the Word , but it shall be made good , whatsoever becomes of thy soul , Thou thinkest that God is a merciful God , & he will not damn thee ; but though God be merciful and hath regard to His Creatures , yet the Lord hath ten thousand times more regard to His Word than to all the souls of men and woman in the world , and God will stand to make that good , he will not have such regard to that wretched vile sinfull soul of thine as not to honor His Word , He will honor His Word whatsoever becomes of thee , and al that thou hast heard and rejected shall be made good upon the on day . 11. Again the Word that thou doest reject and sin against , it shall be the Word that shall judg thee , Joh. 12. 48. Look to it as well as you will ; This Book of God out of which we preach , and those truths that we delivered to you from his Word , they must be called over again at the great day to judg your souls by the sentence of every of your eternal estates must be tryed out of this book : Oh look upon it as the word that must judg your souls at the last day , and then you will see it a dreadfull thing not to sanctifie Gods Name in it . And then when the Word doth judg you you shall obey it whether you will of no. Now the Word convinces you and you will not obey it ; but when God comes to judg you by the Word , then you shall obey it : Then when God comes to reade that sentence out of the Word , Go ye cursed into everlasting fire : then I say , you shall be forced to obey it . 12. Lastly , There is yet one thing more ( which should have been mentioned before ) which is very remarkable ; That those men which do not sanctifie Gods Name in his Word , they will be blasted , even here while they live , their parts and common gifts that they yet have will be blasted , wither , and come to nothing . We find it ordinarily , that many that are yong , had very good beginnings , and very good parts , that were very hopeful , and would speak very savorly where they came ; afterwards beginning by degrees to neglect the Word , the Lord hath blasted them , their gifts have withered , the common gifts of the Spirit have been taken from them . I will give you one text for that in Luke , 8. 18. Take heed therefore how you hear . ( It is an Exhortation that follows upon the parable of the Sower that went out to sow ) because it is so that when the Word is sowen as seed , there is so little of it doth prosper , and most hearers do not sanctifie Gods Name in it , therefore look to your selves ; Why ? For whosoever hath , to him shal be given ; and whosoever hath not , from him shal be taken even that which he seemeth to have . You had need look to your selves how you hear , for the truth is , all depends upon it under God ; have you got any common gifts of the Spirit of God , or any abilities to do any service for God ? do not be proud of them , neither be jolly , nor think that you are able to do better than others , and that those are but ordinary things that the Minister speaks , and you are gotten into a higher form . Look to your selves , take heed you come not to the Word with a proud Spirit , be not offended at the plainness of the Word ; take heed how you hear , for if you do not , that that you seem to have shall be taken from you , saith Christ : You seem to have excellent gifts , yea , you seem to have grace too , but take heed how you hear for all this , whatsoever parts you have got , though you be highly esteemed in the company where you come ; and you are able to do things more than others , yet I say , Take heed how you hear , for otherwise that that you have will be taken away from you : have we not seen this in our own experience ? and it is apparant that they began to be withered and to be blasted by neglecting of the word . And therefore I beseech you look to this , that you doe sanctifie the name of God in His Word , and let your hearts bow unto it as unto the Ordinance of God , and wait upon it in the Ministry of it , lest you wither and be blasted and come to nothing . And thus I have shewen the great evil of not sanctifying Gods Name , and how God will be sanctified . I shall be very brief in the Use of Exhortation . Oh that the Lord by this would cause something to stick upon your hearts , that what hath been preached in this point may be made useful for many Sermons afterwards ! that it might be said of you in this place as it was said of them in Act. 13. 48. When the Gentils heard this they were glad , and glorified the Word of the Lord , and as many as were ordained to eternal life beleeved . Oh! that God would make every one of you to be a means to glorifie the Word of God! That should be our care that the Word of God may be glorified by us ; we come to hear the Word , but take heed that the Word of God be not dishonored by us ; In 2 Thess . 3. 1. Finally brethren pray for us , that the Word of the Lord may have free course , and be glorified , even as it is with you : Oh that we were able to say so ! and yet through Gods mercy in some degree we hope we can say so : and I could heartily pray that the Word of God might be glorified in all places as it hath been with many of you ; but yet go on in this , and labor every one of you that it may be more glorified , that you may manifest the power of the Word in your Conversations , that all that do behold you may glorifie the Word , and say , Oh what hath the Lord wrought in such a place , in such families , families that were wretched , vile , carnal , and liv'd without God in the world , Prophane , Swearers , Foul-mouth'd , Unclean ; Now since they have attended upon the Word , how hath it wrought upon them ! what a change is there in such men and women ! That the carnal husband may say , Since such time as my wise hath attended upon the Word , I have seen a beauty in her conversation , she it more holy , more gentle , and meek ; and so my servant , more submissive and faithfull , and so my children more obedient than before ; Oh that the Word may be thus glorified . Take heed I beseech you that the word be not blasphemed by any of you : In Tit. 2. 5. there the Apostle gives divers exhortations , and among others to Wives , and to Servants , To be discreet ; chast , keepers at home good , obedient to their owne husbands , that the word of God be not blasphemed ; you must performe your duties unto your husbands and why ? that so the Word of God be not blasphemed , that is , that neither your husband , nor any of your friends may blaspheme the Word and say . What do you get this by going to Sermons ? Oh it should pierce your hearts when as your conscience tell you that you have given cause whereby the Word of God should be blasphemed : and so he exhorts servants and others , and all in the strength of this argument , That the Word of God be not blasphemed : you get up early in a morning to here the Word , that 's good , but take heed you give no occasion that the word be blasphemed . Now I shall shew what an excellent thing it is , so to sanctifie Gods Name in the hearing of His Word as to honor it , and how God will sanctifie His own Name in mercie to you . 1. First , All the good in the word is thine if thou dost sanctifie Gods Name . There is abundance of good in this Word that we preach , it is the Word of the Gospell , and to have all the good in that to be thine , that must needs be an excellent thing ; you will say , smotimes I read and heare such things in the Word that if I were but sure that these things were my portion , how happy should I be ? Here 's one signe by which thou maiest be assured that they are all thy portion : Is it thy unfaned care to sanctifie Gods Name in the hearing of His Word ? Oh peace be to thee ! all the good in the Word in thine : And here we might fall into a commendation of the Word of the Gospel and if I should give way to that a great deal of time would quickly be gone , I will only give you one Scripture for your encouragment to sanctifie Gods Name in the hearing of his Word by way of commendation of it it is Rom. 10. 5 , ( a place I am afraid you have not heard the sweetnes of it for the want of understanding it ) It is quoted out of Deut. for Moses describeth the righteousnes which is of the Law , that the man which doth those things shal live by them . But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise ; Say not in thine heart , who shal ascend into Heaven that is , To bring Christ down from above ; or , who shal ascend into the deep , that is , To bring Christ again from the dead ? But what saith it ? The word is nigh thee , even in thy mouth and in thy heart , that is , the word of faith which we preach . The text hath some difficulty , and yet exceeding sweet to us to know it ; I confess if the Apostle Paul had not quoted this place out of Deuteronomy , and thus interpreted it , who could ever have thought in reading of Deuteronomy , that by one had been meant the word of the Law , and by the other the word of the Gospel ? Therefore the meaning is this , here is a comparison between the Word of the Law and the Word of the Gospel . Concerning the Word of the Law , there is two things wherein that comes short of the Word of the Gospel . First , It is not so nigh thee , Secondly , It is not so certain to assure thy soul what shall become of thee to all eternity : The Word of the Law saith , Who shall ascend into Heaven , &c. but the Word of the Gospel is nigh thee , even in thy mouth , and in thy heart . You will say , Why is not the Word of the Law as nigh one as the Word of the Gospel ? I Answer , The Word of the Law , you hear it in your ears , but it is not written in the heart as the Word of the Gospel is : The Law cannot work savingly upon the heart of a man to bring salvation : those that are meerly Legal , they can hear the duties that are required , but the Word hath no power to write in their hearts what they do hear : But now when you come to hear the Word of the Gospel , that is nigh you , even in your very hearts as wel as in your ears ; God speaks in it , and it comes into your hearts , and there it works efficaciously , which the Law cannot : The Law is but a dead Letter in comparison of the Word of the Gospel . If you come meerly to hear the Law preached , add not in an Evangelical way , you may hear it a hundred times , and it wil never be written in your hearts ? but when you come to hear the Gospel in an Evangelical way , that will come to be written in your hearts , so that the Word of the Gospel is nigh you . But what is the meaning of the other , Say not , who shall ascend up into Heaven & c ? The meaning is this , As if the Apostle should say , The truth is , while you have no other but the righteousness of the Law , you are at an infinite uncertainty about your eternal estates . The Law saith , Do and live ; but you can never know when you have done enough so as to be certain that you are well for eternity : That saith , Who shal ascend into Heaven to know the mind of God concerning me ? whether he will accept of me , and of that obedience and worship that I tender up to him ? Who shall go down into the deep ? Who shall go down to Hell to know there , whether that place be prepared for him or no ? It is a phrase that only expresseth an uncertainty that one cannot be satisfied about his eternal estate , except he could go to Heaven , and there see and read Gods Book , and so discover Gods mind concerning him ; or go down to Hell , and so know whether that place be appointed for him or not ; except I can do one of these I cannot certainly tell , ( meerly by the Law ) whether I shall go to Heaven or Hell. As you that are Merchants and Dealers abroad , you are at a great deal of uncertainty what shall become of your estates . Indeed if I could send one over to the Indies to tell me now my Ship prospered , then I could be at a certainty , then I should hear whether I were a rich man yea , or no , but except I could do such a thing I am at an uncertainty : Such is the expression here , As if a poor soul should say , I would fain be saved , and loth to perish eternally : But all the while the soul remains under the Law , it remains in an uncertain condition ; but now saith he , The Word of the Gospel is nigh thee , even in thine heart , and that is the Word that we preach , that saith , Rom. 10. 9. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus , and shalt beleeve in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead , thou shalt be saved . As if he should say , This Word of the Gospel that is come into thine heart doth assure thy soul of thy eternal estate , so that though thou canst not go up to Heaven , nor go down to Hell , yet thou hast that in thine heart , that doth as it were assure thee that thou shalt be eternally saved , as if thou wert able to go up to the highest Heavens and fetch News from thence . Oh now , the good Word of the Gospel , how should we prize it , and keep it in our hearts ? for that 's in our hearts that will assure us of our salvation to all eternity , and of Gods eternal purpose to do thee good in Heaven . You would account it a great happiness if there could be any art to send abroad to the Straits or to other place , to know how things fare with you : but now if thou hast the Word of the Gospel within thee , if that prevails in thy soul , thou hast alwaies got something in thy heart that will tell thee how things are with thee in Heaven , and what shall become of thee for all eternity . Oh who would not sanctifie the Name of God in hearing of His Word , seeing it is such a blessed Word wherein the Gospel is opened with more clearness than it hath been to many of our fore-fathers . 2. It is a certain evidence of your election , in Thess . 1. 3. 4 , 5. Remembring without ceasing your work of Faith , and labor of Love , and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father , Knowing Brethren , beloved your election of God ; Why ? For our Gospel came not to you in Word only , but also in Power , and in the holy Ghost , and in much assurance . And know this excellency there is in Sanctifying Gods Name in hearing the word , I beseech you mark it , that it is a more blessed thing , than if you did bear Jesus Christ in your wombs ; You that are women , would not you have accounted it a great happines if Christ had been born in your wombs ? Now if thou comest to the hearing of the word , and sanctifiest Gods Name in it , thou art in a better condition , and hast a greater blessing upon thee , than if thou hadest born Jesus Christ in thy womb . In Luk 11. 27 , 28. And it came to pass as he spake these things , that a certain woman of the company lift up her voice and said unto him , Blessed is the womb that bear thee , and the paps which thou hast sucked . Seeing Christ and what gracious things came from him , she spake so ; But he said , Yea , rather blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it . That is Labor to sanctifie my Name , ( as hath been opened in the particulars ) rather is that woman blessed that doth so , than the woman that bear Christ : Me thinks this one Scripture should be such a Scripture for women , to cause them to sanctifie Gods Name in hearing of the word , instead of a hundred Scriptures ; certainly thou maiest be so blessed , if thou wilt beleeve the word that comes from Christs mouth . 3. Do you sanctifie the Name of God in the Word , that will sanctifie you , by that your souls come to be sanctified , and it will comfort you in the day of your affliction , and it will save you at last . 4 , You that do sanctifie Gods Name in hearing of his Word , you will be the glory of the Ministers of God at the great day of Judgment : You will be an honor to them before the Lord , and his Saints and Angels . In Phil. 2. 16. Holding forth ( saith the text ) the Word of Life . This is the duty of all the hearers of the Word , that they must hold forth the Word of Life . When you go home , you must hold forth the power of the Word you hear : well , what wil become of that ? That I may rejoyce in the day of Christ , that I have not run in vain , neither labored in vain : Let that be one Motive amongst the rest . Saith the Apostle , This will be such a glory to me , That I in the day if Iesus Christ shall rejoyce , that I have not labored in vain , I shal bless God for all my studies and care , and all the pains that ever I have taken , and venturing my self for this people , I shall bless God in the day of Jesus Christ . Would it not be a comfortable thing to you , that all the Ministers of God that come to preach the Word saithfully to you , if at the day of Christ you should hear them blessing God that ever he did send them to preach the Gospel in such a place , and you should hear them saying , O Lord , it may be had I been sent to another place I should have spent all my strength in vain , but through thy mercy I was sent to a teachable people that were ready to imbrace thy Word , Oh! this is my crown and glory . Would it not do good to any whose hearts are faithful , to think this , That their holding froth the Word of Life will not only be a glory to God , which is the chief , but it will be a glory to the Ministers , to recompence all their labors , that you shall not only be saved your selves in the day of Jesus Christ , but you shall add to the glory of his faithful Ministers likwise when they do appear before Christ ? 5. I shall add one particular more , There is a time coming when God shall magnifie his word and make it honorable . What a joy shall it be to thee when the Lord before Men and Angels shall come to magnifie his Word , and make it honorable ; for thee then to think , This is the Word that spoke to my heart at such and such a time this is that Word that I did reverence , that I did obey ; that I did love , that I made to be the joy of my heart , this Word the Lord now doth magnifie and make to be honorable : This will be comfortable to thy soul . THE ELEVENTH SERMON Leviticus , 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . THE last day we finished the Point fanctification of the Name of God in the hearing of his Word ; and now we will proceed to the sanctification of the Name of God in receiving the Sacrament ; That 's the next duty of Worship . Now first for the word , Sacrament ; I confess we have not that word in all the Scripture ; as neither have we the word Trinity , and divers other words which Ministers make use of to set forth the Mysteries of Religion by ; but yet it is usefull to consider the meaning why Ministers in the Church have given this name , unto those sings and seals that the Church receives : Sacrament , is to hallow a thing , or to dedicate , because in the Sacraments there are outward things that are made holy , for holy and spirituall ends . Secondly , We our selves do ( as it where ) hallow or dedicate our selves unto God in the vse of these Ordinances : That one reason from whence it hath the name . Or otherwise , as some will have it , Sacramentum because it is to be received sacrament , with a holy mind , and therefore caled the Sacrament . The Churches have vsed it a long time ; in Tertulliar's time ( which was above fourteen hundred years since ) he was the first that we find vsed this word , and most that would open the word unto us , say , that especially it was taken from the practice of Solders , who when they came & listed themselves , bound themselves in to a solemn Oath to be faithfull to their Captain , and to the cause that they did undertake ; and the Oath they were wount to call Sacramentum , A Sacrament . Now in regard that Christians when they come to this Ordinance , they come to seale a Covenant with God , and though they do not formally and explicitely take an Oath , yet they bind themselves in a holy Covenant , which hath the strength even of an Oath in it ; ( For a solemn Promise to the high God hath the strength of an Oath in it ) and from thence they were call'd by these names , Srcraments : but that for the Word , that you may understand it . But the word the Scripture useth to set out this Sacrament , by that that now I am speaking of , is the communion of the body and blood of Christ ; so you have it in 1 Cor. 10. 6. The cup of blessing which we bless , is it not Communion of the blood of Christ ? The bread which we break , is it not the Communion of the body of Christ ? I say we are now treating about this point , how we are to sanctifie the Name of God , in that which the Scripture cals the Communion of the body and blood of Christ ; And now for the opening of that First , we must know that this is a part of the Worship of God , and we draw nigh to God in this , or otherwise it will not come up to our point . And then we shall shew that God is to be sanctified in this duty of worship . And then thirdly , how . First , We do in this draw nigh to God ; We worship God ; For when we are coming to receive these holy Signs and Seals , we come to present our selves before God ; and we have to deale with God Himself in a service that He Himself requires of us , in a Holy , in a Divine service ; we come to present our selvess to God for blessing , for communication of some higher good unto us than pobssily those Creatures that we have to deal with , are able of themselves to convey to us , we come for a higher good than to tast a pece of bread , or to drink a draught of wine , we come ( I say ) to present our selves to God ; that we might have Communion with him , and that we might have the blessing of the Covenant of grace conveyed unto us through these things ; now certainly this is a drawing nigh to God , for to present our selves , for the conveyance of the blessing of the Covenant of Grace through these Creatures , yea , that we might have communion with God himself in them , this is drawing nigh to him , when we come to his Table ; therefore we draw nigh to God ; had not God instituted and appointed these Creatures , Bread and Wine , and the actions about them to be the means of conveyance of blessing unto us , it had been Will-worship for us to have expected any further presence of God in such creatures , than there is in the nature of them . It is true , God is present with every Creature , when we eat and drink at our Tables God is present there ; but we cannot be said to draw nigh to God , and worship God there ; for we there look for no further presence of God with us in them , to convey further good than the Lord hath put into the nature of those things ; only when godly people take them , and receive them as blessings sanctified by the Word , they take them as the blessings of God that come out of love to them . But now when we come to receive that which is cal'd the Communion , there we expect things that are beyond the nature of these creatures , to convey that that is by an institution of God set apart for supernatural uses and ends , not to convey in any natural way such and such things , but in a supernatural way , through the institution of God , and so it comes to be worship . Had we not I say a command for this , it were superstition and Idolatry for us to make use of such creatures for such ends . If any man in the world should have appointed a piece of Bread , or a draught of Wine , to have signified and sealed the Body and blood of Christ , it had been Superstition in any , and Wil-worship , and sinful and abominable to you ; but we are to look upon God , setting apart these Creatures for such holy and solemn ends , and therefore when we come to be exercised in them , we come to worship God ; and we come likewise to tender up our homage to God when we come to attend upon him in such Ordinances as these are ; to tender up that homage that is due from us poor creatures , unto such an infinite and glorious God : and therefore we draw nigh to him in these . Secondly , We must santifie Gods Name in drawing nigh to him ▪ whatsoever we do whether we eat or drink we must do all to the glory of God : Now if your common eating and drinking we must do all to the glory of God , than certanly in this spiritual eating and drinking there must be some special thing done for the glory of God in this . 1. Because there is so much of God in it ; for here there is a presenting before us the great , yea , the greatest Mysteries of Salvation , and deep Councells of God concerning Eternal Life are presented before us in these outward Elements of the Bread and Wine , and action thereof ; Now when we come to eat and to drink those things that are appointed to set forth the great Misteries of Salvation , and the deepest of the Councells of God concerning mans Eternall good , wherein especally God will gloryfie Himself ; we had need there sanctifie the Name of God , for the things that are very great and glorious that are presented unto us . 2. This Ordinance of the Lords Supper , or the communion it is an Ordinance that Christ hath left to his Church , out of the abundance of his love ; and therefore you shall find if you read in the institution of it , in the 25 of Matthew that the same night wherein Christ was betrayed , he took bread and brake it ; though Christ was to die the next day , and to encounter with the warth of God , yea , that very night he was to be in an Agony and to sweat drops of Water and Blood , and the next day to die and to have these tryals of wrath powered upon him , so as to put him to cry out , My God , my God , why hast thou forsaken me ? yet he busies his thoughts that every night to institute this Supper ; surely this must be a great Ordinance , & there is a great deal of love of Christ in it . Christ saw that his Church had need of it , that he should that night when he was betrayed have his thoughts busied about such a thing as this is . One would think at that time , that he had enough to take up his thoughts concerning Himself being to encounter with the Law , and with the Wrath of God for mans sin ; but for all that great work Christ had to encounter with , yet his thoughts are busied about this great Ordinance of the institution of the Supper , and therfore there was great love in it , Christ saw that it was a matter of great moment ; Now if it be so , then there is great cause why we should sanctifie Gods Name in such an Ordinance as this is , and not to account it as a common and ordinary thing . 3. We must sanctifie Gods name in this , because it is the Sacrament of of our communion with Christ , wherein we come to have such a neer Union and Communion with him as to eat his Flesh , and to drink his Blood , and to sit at his Table . We come to have communion with Christ even in all our sences ; now Christ coming so fully to us , that cals upon us to sanctifie his Name when we come before him . 4. In this the Covenant of Grace is sealed , the Covenant of Grace comes to be sealed in both the parts of it ; now when we come to have to deal with God in the way of the Covenant of Grace , both to have the Seal on his part , and the seal on ours , surely this must needs call for a sanctified use of such a thing as is so holy as this is . And that 's the first reason why we are to sanctifie Gods Name in this , because if we be in ordinary eating and drinking we must do it , then in this , wherin there is so much of God , wherein the Mysteries of Godliness are set before us , wherein there is so much of the love of Christ , wherein we are to have close Communion with Jesus Christ , and wherein the Covenant of Grace comes to be sealed on both sides : there had need therefore be sanctifying of Gods Name in the use of it . Secondly , Consider this , That there is no duty in al the book of God that I know of , that is urged with more strength and severity than this is ; as in that place 1 Cor. 11. sheweth , where you have required of every one that comes to receive the Bread and Wine in the Lords Supper , That they should examine themselves and so eat ; and you have the most dreadful expressions against those that do not do it , that I know are mentioned against the neglect of any duty in all the book of God ; there the holy Ghost faith , That whosoever eats and drinks unworthily , First , he is guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ ; and then Secondly , he eats and drink● his own d●mnation : These two expressions have as much dreadfulness in them as can be imagined , and we do not find an exhortation to a duty backt with two such severe expressions ( in case we should neglect our duty ) as this exhortation . What if we do not sanctifie Gods Name in this dutie ? we come to be guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ . Blood guiltiness is a terrible thing ; you know David cries out , Lord , deliver me from blood guiltiness ; to have but the Blood of an ordinary man to lie upon one , to shed the blood of the vilest Rogue that lives in a murderous way , it would lie upon the conscience and be very terrible ; it is impossible that such a man can be quiet all his daies , though he hath never such a seared conscience : An Heathen could not be at quiet if he hath the guilt of Blood lie upon him , but to be guilty of the blood of Christ , whose blood is ten thousand thousand times more worth than the blood of all the men that ever lived upon the face of the earth must needs be a most dreadful thing ; It is a fearful expression , Guilty of the body and blood of Christ , that is , he offers such an indignitie to the body and blood of Christ , as the Lord will charge him of being guiltie of it , guiltie of abusing the body and blood of Jesus Christ . And then , he doth eat and drink his own damnation : but we shall speak more to that , when we come to shew how God will sanctifie his Name in those that do not sanctifie it here in this holy Ordinance . I will not therfore spend further time in those Scriptures , for I bring them only now to shew that there is a necessity of it , that we do sanctifie the Name of God in this Ordinance . Thirdly , There is nothing that strikes more upon a mans conscience ; we find it by experience , even upon wicked mens consciences , and especially upon such begin to be enlightned in the holiness of this Ordinance , God hath put much honor upon it : I confess some men may use it superstitiously though it be an Ordinance of Christ , yet God hath put a great deal of honor upon this Ordinance , that men that are very wicked otherwise , yet their consciences tell them that when they come to this Ordinance then they must be good , then they must not sin , but have good thoughts , and good prayers at that time . And many times they dare not come , if their consciences tell them that they live in some sin . I knew one my self once that was to be executed , and he had never received this Ordinance in all his life , though about fourtie yeers of age ; And being askt the reason why , he confest that he lived in some sin that he was loth to leave , and therefore would never come to that Ordinance all his life , though herein the Devil gul'd and deceived him ; but I mention it to shew what a power there is in the consciences of men about this Ordinance ; this ordinarily is one of the first things that strikes upon the souls of men , when they come to have their consciences awakened , Oh how have I prophaned the Name of God in the Ordinance of the holy communion and have not sanctified his name in it . That God should be sanctified in this Ordinance , that 's cleer enough . But now the great work is , ( which is the third thing which I promised to shew ) how we should sanctifie Gods Name in this Ordinance , Certainly the Name of God hath been much taken in vain , there hath been a great deal of pollution in the use of this Ordinance , and in mens spirits when they have been exercising themselves in such an holy Ordinance as this is ; therefore I will open this to you , and shall not be very large in it , only to shew you the main and principall things that may serve for the direction of us , that the Name of God may not be taken in vain and dishonored as heretofore , and I shall cast what I intend to speak of into these particulars . 1. That whosoever was to partake of this must be holy himself ; none can sanctifie God , but he must have a sanctified heart himself . Secondly , This Ordinance it must be received in a holy communion ; There must be a Communion of Saints for this Ordinance ; and it cannot be received any where else but in a Communion of Saints . Thirdly , The holy disposition of soul particularly , or the qualifications of the soul that are required or the sanictfying of Gods Name in this Ordinance . Fourthly , The manner of the exiplcite going out of the soul , that there are to be at the very time of receiving . Fifthly , The keeping of the institution of Christ in our receiving . These things are required for the sanctifying of the Name of God in this Ordinance . For the first , Those that come must be holy themselves . This is an Ordinance not appointed for Conversion , to make holy ; others that are not converted may come to the Word , because the Word is appointed to work Conversion ; 't is appointed to work Grace , to work the first Grace , Faith comes by hearing ; we do not find in all the Scripture that this is appointed for Conversion , but supposes Conversion ; none are to come to receive this Sacrament but men and women that before are converted by the Word ; the Word therefore is first to be preached to ●en for their Conversion , and then this is an Ordinance appointed for to seal them : therefore in the Primitive times they let all come to hearing of the Word . and then when the Sermon was done , there was an Officer stept up and cried , Holy things for holy men , and then all others where to go out and therefore it was called Missa ( though the papists did corrup it and so called it the Mass afterwards , by mixing there own inventions instead of the Supper of the Lord , but it had that name at first ) I say , this holy Communion was called by the name of Missa , because that all others were sent away , and only such as were of the Church , and accounted godly staid : holy things to holy men . And this must needs be so , because that the nature of it being the Seal of the Covenant of Grace requires it ; it must be supposed that al that comes hither must be in Covenant with God , they must be such as have been brought to submit to the Condition of the Covenant . Now the Condition of the Covenant of Grace is , Beleeve and be saved ; it is therefore appointed for Beleevers ; And as the nature of it begin a Seal , supposeth a Covenant , so none can have his covenant sealed to them , but those that do first submit to it , and are brought into Covenant ; When you make an Indenture , and put to the Seal , certainly the Seal belongs only to those that have their names in the Indenture . Now t is true , though mens names are not mentioned in the word , yet the condition is to those that are brought in to beleeve in Jesus Chrst ; saith God , I come now to seal all my mercies in Christ to their souls . We abuse God if we come to take the seal to a blank , it is to make this Ordinance a rediculous thing ; therefore there must be some transactions between God and your souls before you come to the Seal ; If a man should say to you , Come , set to your seal to such a thing , and there were never any kind of transactions between this man and you before , you would account it rediculous , after there hath been agreements between you , you use then to seal . So it must be here , I would appeal to many of your consciences that have come to the Lords Supper , what transactions have there been between God and your souls ? Canst thou say the Lord was pleased to reveal Himself to me , to make known to me my wretched condition , and the way of grace and salvation , and shewed me that upon my coming in to receive His Son , he would be merciful to me and pardon my sins , and I have found the Spirit of God working my heart to Jesus Christ the Lord from Heaven speaking to me , and I sending an Answer to Heaven again , how willing my soul was to accept of the Covenant , which the Lord hath made with poor creatures in the word of His Gospel ; canst thou say this in the uprightness of thy heart ; if not , know that this Seal belongs not to thee , untill the Lord hath by His word subdued thy heart to this agreement first with him . Secondly This Ordinance , it is the Ordinance of spiritual nourishment , of eating the flesh of Christ and drinking blood in a spiritual way . Now it must needs suppose that first there must be life before there can be any nourishment received in If it be appointed to nourish and encrease grace , then surely there must be grace before ; what nourishment can a dead child take ? The very first thing that is to be done is nourishment here , The word hath power to convey life & then to nourish , but we reade of no such thing here , but that which is to be done here is presently to feed , to eat , and to drink , that is the end of the Sacrament ; therfore it must be supposed that thou must have Spiritual life , there must come no dead soul to this Ordinance , but those who are quickned by the Spirit of Jesus Christ , they must come for nourishment . Thirdly , the act here required doth note , That only those that are holy and godly can receive this Sacrament ; we are required by the Apostle examine our selves . To examine our selves of what ? It must be of our godliness , examine what work of God hath been upon the soul , how God hath brought the soul to Himself , and what Graces of the Spirit of God are there , And how we have been brought into Covenant with God Now if only those can receive worthily , and are to come that first examine themselves , then certainly such only as are godly are to come , for they only can perform those acts that are required Fourthly , It is a Sacrament of Communion with God , and Communion with the Saints ; now what Communion hath Light with Darkness ? what fellowship hath Christ with Belial ? If it be a Sacrament of Communion , of coming to the Table of God ; Will God have enemies to come to his Table : you will invite no enemies to your Tables , but your children and friends ; so they must be the Children of God , and the Friends of God , those that are reconciled to God in the blood of his Son , and those that are his Children that must sit at his Table , therfore they must be holy . Now this may suffice for that first thing , that this is not an Ordinance for al sorts of people , but such as have submitted to the condition of the Covenant before . Such as have grace and ability to examin themselves of their graces , and such as are children and reconciled to God , and so are fit to sit at the Table of God , and to enjoy Communion with him and with his Son , and with the Saints ; for we are one body sacramentally when we come to this holy Ordinance ; all others therfore certainly are to be kept from this Sacrament but such . 2 The Second thing wil make it out more fully , and that is , It is not enough that we be holy our selves ; ( and so al ignorant prophane and scandalous , yea al that are meerly civil , that cannot make out any work of godliness upon their hearts , in bringing them to Christ are excluded . ) But , 1 It is to be done in a holy communion , and is cleer one of that place in 1 Cor. 10. 16 , 17. The Cup of blessing which we bless , it is not the Communion of the blood of Christ ? the bread which we break , is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ ? And then saith the Apostle in the 17. verse , for we being many , are one bread and one body : therefore all that come to receive the Sacrament , thay must so come , as they must be one body , one spiritual Corporation : this very consideration , That those with whom we receive the Sacrament are one body with us , it hath a great deal in it , for the helping of us to sanctifie Gods Name ; this Ordinance , I say , it is to be received only in a holy Communion ; one Christian cānot receive the Sacrament alone , there must be a Communion wheresoever it is to be administred ; it is not enough there is one godly man there , but there must be a Communion of Saints , and in that Communion it is to be received . Quest . You wil say , Must it be received in a Communion of Saints ? what if wicked men do come there , will that hinder us from sanctifying Gods Name in partaking of the Sacrament with them ? Do not we find in Scripture that the Church had alwaies wicked men among them ? there are alwaies tares growing up with the wheat : If you reade even in the Corinthians , you shall find that there were some in that Church that were wicked , yea , and it 's thought that Iudas himself did receive the Sacrament ; therefore what if wicked men be there , doth that hinder ? Answ . I answer , First it is true , That in the Church of God there have been wicked men , and 't is like there will be wicked men to the end of the world ; but yet wheresoever there is a right Communion of Saints , there ought to be the power of Christ exercised to cast out those wicked men , or at least to withdraw from them . This is the Law of Christ , That if there be any that have Communion with you , if any of them do appear to be wicked , you are bound in conscience to go and tell them ; if they do not reform , you are bound to take two or three ; and if they do not yet reform , then you are bound to tell the Church , to tell the Assembly of the Saints when they meet together , for so the word Church doth signifie ; and we find in the 1 Cor. 5. chap. that when there was an incestuous person to be cast out , it was done in the presence of the Congregation : Thus far you are bound to do , otherwise you cannot say , that it is nothing to you if wicked men be there , for you have not discharged your conscience . and so you come to be defiled , and you do not sanctifie Gods Name in this Ordinance , because you have not done to the utternost of your duty for the casting out of those wicked men . And mark , in 2 Cor. 5. 7. there the Apostle writing to the Church , bids them that they should purge out the old leaven , Know ye nst ( saith he ) that a little leaven leaveneth the whol lump ; the Apostle doth not speak there of sin , but of the wicked incestuous person , saith he , you must look to it that this man be purged out from you , or otherwise you are all leavened by it , that is , the whol Church would be leavened by it , if there were not care taken to purge out that one man. You will say , shall we be the worse for one wicked mans coming ; No , if we be no way faulty in it , then we cannot be said to be worse and it cannot leaven us ; but now when it is our duty to purge him out , and we do not do it ; as in all communion of Saints there is a duty , and there is not any one but may do somthing towards it ; thus far every communicant in every communion of Saints must go ; if there be a wicked man there , if you come to know it , and do not go thus far as I have spoken , you are defiled by him , you are not defiled by the meer presence of wicked men ; ( for that is a meer deceit and gull that some would put upon men that differ from them otherwise ; ) but thus now you are defiled by their presence , if you do not do your duty , and the uttermost that you are able to purge them out ; yea , then the whol Congregation is defiled , if they do not do their duty ; now this is the duty of every one in the Congregation , to tell their brother , or to take two or three , and after that to tel the Church , and so come to profess against them or if the Church will not do their duty as they ought , yet then to free their own souls , as to profess , here is one that is so and so guilty , and may be proved thus and thus : and so for my part I to free my own soul profess that this man or woman ought not to have communion here ; and thus you come to free your own souls , and when you have done thus , though wicked men be there you may there eat and drink and not be defiled by their presence , for you cannot be said properly to eat with them now , not to have communion with them , no more than if a dog should come and skip upon the Table , and take a piece of bread ; you cannot have communion with him because he takes it , no more have you with those wicked men when once you have dealt so fare with them you for your selves profess against them that you for your own particular cannot have communion with them herein , this is not to eat with them : The Apostle in 1 Cor. 5. latter end , he doth there require , in the 11. v. that If any man that is called a Brother be a fornicator , or covetous or an idolater , or a railor , or a drunkard , or an Extortioner , with such an one no not to eat ; for what have I to do to judg them also that are without ? that is , the Heathens and those that are in no communion with them , I have nothing to do to judg them ; but do not ye judg them that are within ? When we have so far freed out selvs as professing against their sin , then we cannot be said to have communion with them , and then we do withdraw from those that walk disorderly , when we do our duty thus far . 1 Thess . 3. 14. If any man obey not our Word by this Epistle , note that man , and have no company with him , that he may be ashamed ; and in the sixt verse of that Chapter he commands them in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ , that they should withdraw themselves from every brother that walked disorderly . So that till we do our duty we come to be defiled ; but now , if we do our duty , then it is not the mixture of a Congregation that is enough to hinder any from receiving the Sacrament there , and this will tend much to satisfie men about the receiving in mixt Congregations where any are cast into them , and are actual Members there But now on the other side , if we be in a place where either this Congregation will not take upon them any such power to cast out unworthy ones , or are not convinc'd of this power , then there is no rule that Christ hath set , that we must he forced al our dayes to continue to be in such a Congregation as denies one of the Ordinances of Jesus Christ ; if so be there be any such that are wicked , and we doe first what we can to have them cast out , and we wait with patience in such a Congregation for to have them cast out , and yet we see that either the Congregation doth not understand that they have any such power , or deny such a power that they have , and so upon that all people are left in a mixt way , I say then there is no rule in all the Book of God that should force men to continue to be Members of such a Communion where they cannot enjoy one Ordinance of Jesus Christ , which is the Ordinance of Separating the precious from the vile , the Ordinance of casting out the wicked and ungodly . It where a very diseased body , and in danger quickly of the loss of life , to take in every thing into it , and to have no exexpulsive faculty to purge any thing out again ; so a congregation that is altogether without such an Ordinance as that is of expelling such as are wicked and ungodly ; I say , I find no Scripture that doth force people , and require them as bound in conscience to continue there where they may not injoy all the Ordinances of Jesus Christ , and the right understanding of what I saw now , will help us to answer all those Scriptures that are brought . As if it be that of Judas , first it is hard to make it out cleer whether it were the Lords Sudper that he received yea , or no : but suppose it be granted that he did , yet I make no queststion but such as Judas was , that shall continue to make such anoutward profession as he did , and could not be discovered in the Church-way , but that we may receive with such as are close hypocrites . You will say , Jesus Christ knew him to be faulty , and he told John that lay in his bosom what he was ; but though he knew him as he was God , yet he deales with him in his ministerial way , and he had appointed before that none were to be cast out but were to be delt withal in such a Ministerial way ; so that it is not enough though I knew by Revelation from God that such a man were an Hypocrite ; suppose God should reveale from heaven to me that such a man were an hypocrite , I think I might communicate with him still when he doth not so far discover himself that I can by witness prove his evil ; therefore though men be wicked , yet it doth not defile the communion where they are , if there hath been that way used that Christ hath appointed for the observation in His Church . And when that is done , then I am to withdraw from him , and to profess against communion with him , so that that 's enough to answer the case . We reade likewise that there were divers wicked men among the Corinthians , and of Tares that grew in the Wheat . It 's true , There where wicked men among them , but they were enjoyned by the Apostle to cast out those wicked men , and if they did not do it , it was there sin , and they were defiled by it . And for Tares that were among the Wheat , take it that this is meant concerning the Church , suppose it where ( and yet Christ saith plainly that the field is the world , and it 's the godly and the wicked living together in the world , and so I find many Interpreters take it but howsoever take it that it is meant of the Church-communion , yet thus far is cleer that it was through the fault of the Officers that there should be any Tares among the Wheat ; for so the text saith plainly , that while the servants slept there did Tares spring up ; therefore there should have been none . Secondly , They were not such Tares as would spoil the Wheat , but as Hierom saith in those Countries the Tares did grow much like Wheat all the while it was in the blade , so that they were hardly to be distinguished , though some that were of more understanding were able to discern them from the Wheat ; therefore though such as do grow up like unto the Wheat may be suffered , and yet in this case only , that is , in case that it will prejudice the Wheat , that is , when they are so close to the Wheat as there will be danger by plucking them up to pluck up the Wheat too , then they must be let alone : Mark , first it was through the negligence of the Officers ; they should have been kept out . Secondly , if they do get in , yet while they grow so close to the Wheat as there will be danger that when you pluck out them , to pluck out the Wheat too , only in that case it must be forborn ; but this gives no libertie that therefore all sorts may be let into the Church , and there should be no kind of Ordinance to cast out those that are venemous weeds that will do hurt and mischief . But if you understand it ( as many do ) concerning the world , then the meaning is thus , The preaching of the Gospel that comes to a place , and there 's only good Seed sown , and is a means of the conversion of many , but together with the conversion of some ; there are others that do hear the Gospel preached , and the truth is they being mingled among the hearers of the Word instead of bringing forth good fruit according to the Gospel , they bring forth the Tares ; now saith the servant , Lord , how comes it to pass that we preach such excellent Truths in this place , and yet there are so many wicked men that bring forth such wicked fruit ? Lord , is it thy mind that we should be wholly separated from them , and have nothing to do with them , that there should be a full separation while we live in this world ? no saith Christ , not so ; for then the truth is , if all godly men should wholly withdraw from wicked men , and beleeve that they may not live among them , they could not live in the world . If you did beleeve it were your dutie not so much as to live neer a wicked man , nor to have any thing to do in any kind of converse with him , there would be no Wheat growing in this field of the world here ; and therefore you must be content , when you live where the preaching of the Gospel is , and the seed brings forth good fruit in some , and in others it brings forth Tares , you must not be offended by this that here in this world God doth not by some visible stroke of judgment come and strike them dead , or that God doth not take some course that there should be a full separation here , but that they might live together til the day of judgment ; here I say you shall not have such a full separation ; so that you see it carries a very fair sense to take the field to be the world , and the Kingdom of Heaven there to be the preaching of the Gospel in any place , and so we must be content while we live in this world to be where wicked and ungodly men are . But it doth not follow from this place that we are to have converse in the closest communion , in Church-communion with wicked men , to be made body by eating the same Bread , and drinking the same Wine ; it holds not forth such close communion as this is ; so that there 's little strength can be taken from that place , but still it holds that wheresoever there is the Sacrament of the Lords Supper , there must be a holy communion of Saints . Object . The Scripture only saith , Let us examine our selves . Answ . I grant , for the benefit of mine own soul , I must look to examine my self more especially ; but now for another I am but only so far bound to look to him as to keep my self clean ; it is true , I am not bound to go and pry into his life and all his waies , so as to force him to give an account of things that are secret , but I am bound to keep a watch , and if any thing be done that offends me , then I am bound to go to him according to the formet Rule of Christ , and if he appears to be wicked , then I am bound to see him purged from the Congregition ; for take but that other text in 1 Cor. 5. 6. Know you not that a little leaven leaveneth the whol lump ? If I do not do so much as concerns my duty , than I am defiled by it . So as that you must not think that it is nothing to you how many wicked men comes to the Lords Table , and that it belongs only to the Ministers and they are to look to it ; the truth is , that every one in his place is to look to it , and every one may be defiled , if he doth not perform this duty that God requires of him ; do not say , What have I to do with my Brother ; am I my Brothers keeper ? It was the speech of Cain if thou beest of the same body , you are to have a care of your Brother ; do not ye Judg those that are within ? there is some kind of judgment that every one may pass upon such as do joyn with them in the same Body ; surely it concerns me much ; what shall I do in such an action as to joyn with them to eat Bread , whereby I must profess that I do beleeve my self to be of the same body , that this Drunkerd is of , that this Whoremaster is of , that this Swearer is of ? whenever you receive the Communion with any company , you do profess your selves to be of the same body with that Company ; only in this case , If I have discovered any , and can particularly profess against any one , then I do not profess my self to be of the same body with him ; but now when I come in an ordinary way , and I know such to be wicked , vile , and prophane , and I professe nothing against them , nor take any course at all , I do then by partaking with them , profess my self to be of the same body that they are of . Thou doest as it were openly declare , Lord , here we come and profess that we are all of the Body of Jesus Christ ; now when thou knowest such and such are notoriously wicked and prophane , and dost nothing in the world to help to purge them out , dost not thou think that Gods name is taken in vain ? is not Gods Name prophaned here ? therefore it co●ce●●s us very much to look unto it that it be a holy communion that we receive the Bread and Wine in ; I beseech you therefore understand things aright that I have spoken of ; I have lab●●ed to satisfie men that there is a way that we may partake of the Sacrament though wicked men be mixt with us : but this is that which is required of you for doing your duty , to keep your selves clean , that you may not be accessary to any way to any wicked mans coming to partake of this holy mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ , there are divers things further about this , and the speciall thing I thought of , was to shew you the holy qualifications that there ought to be ; but this I conceive to be the necessary , and I should not have had peace in mine own conscience as being faithfull to you in what I am speaking , of sanctifyng the Name of God in this Ordinance , if I should not have mentioned this that I have spoken unto you , and ther 's an error on both sides , that I desire to meet withal ; either those that come hand over head , and think it concerns them not at all with whom they come to the Sacrament but to look to their own hearts : and there 's an error on the other side , that if they do what they can to keep them away , and yet if they should be suffered to come , they may not come to partake of those things , now it is very usefull for us to know what we should do in this case . SERMON XII . Leviticus , 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . I Shall ad somthing to one particular , that I had the last day , concerning Peoples withdrawing from such a Congregation where they could not receive all the Ordinance of Jesus Christ . As now , If I were in a Church where I could have but a piece of the Sacrament , suppose they deale with me as the papists do with the people that is , they will give them the Bread and not the Wine , Certainly I were not bound to stay with them then , but I were bound to go where I might have the whol Sacrament . So if a Church will give me some one Ordinance and not another , I confess so long as there is hope that I may enjoy it , and that they are in a way for injoyment , I think there should be a great forbearance to a Church as wel as to a particular person ; as I must not withdraw from a particular man , where there is hope still of his reformation , that there may come good of my forbearance , so towards a Church much more ; but I say , if I cannot enjoy neither doth there appear any hope of injoyment of all Ordinances , certainly it were but a cruelty to force men to stay there , when as otherwhere they may enjoy all Ordinances for the good of there souls . And this cannot be schism thus to do ; As now if this schism ? Supose a man were in a place and joyned in such a Communion , for his outward benefit he may remove his dwelling from one place to another if he can have better trading in another place ; than certainly if he may have more Ordinance for the edification of his soul ; he may as well remove from one to another , as he may remove if his trading be better in one place than another . Christ would have all his people look to the edification of there souls ; and should I account that schism , when a man or woman meerly out of tenderness and a desire to injoy Jesus Christ in all his Ordinances for the benefit of there souls , , they find such want to there souls of all Ordinances , that though they may have some in one place , yet if they cannot have all , their souls do not so thrive ; now if this be all the end why they remove , that they might have more edification to their souls , injoying the Ordinances of Christ more fully , God forbid that this should ever be acounted such a sin , that the Scripture is to brand ; no that's schism when there is a violent rending out of malice , for the want of love ; for as a postasie is a rending from the head , so schism from the body , that is , when it is out of an evil spirit , from envie , or from malice , from want of love , or from any base sinister ends , and upon no Just Ground ; but now when it is meerly out of love to Jesus Christ , that I might have more edification to my soul and still I retaine love to the Saints that are there as they are in Communion , and so far as they have any thing good among them , I hold communion with them in that : only I desire in humility , and in meekness that I may be in such a place where my soul may be most edified , where I may enjoy al those Ordinances that Christ hath appointed for his Church , certainly , that soul that can give this account to Jesus Christ for going from one place to another , will be freed by Jesus Christ from such a sin as this is that the world calls Schism ; but the truth is , this word is in mens mouths that understand not what it means , and the Devil alwayes will have some word or other cast upon them that are good ; for he hath heretofore gained much by it , so still he makes account to gain much by words and terms and therefore men should take heed of words and termes that they do not understand , and examine seriously what the meaning is and what is held forth in these words : And thus much for that point that it must be in a holy Communion wherever there is the receiving of the Lords Supper , it must be received in an holy Communion . Now we are to proceed to that which is the main thing , and that is , What are the holy Qualifications or dispositions of the soul , together with the actings fit in receiving of the Lords Supper , what is required in the soul , for he sanctifying of the Name of God in this holy sacrament ? There are many things required . As first , there is required Knowledg ; I must know what I do when I come to receive this holy Sacrament ; knowledg applyed to the work that I am about , When some of you have come to receive this Sacrament , if God would have spoken from Heaven and have said thus to you , what are you doing now ? what do you go for ? What account had you been able to have given unto him ? You must understand what you do when you come thither . First You must be able to give this account to God , Lord , I am now going to have represented to me in a visible and sensible way the greatest Mysteries of Godlines , those great and deep Counsels of my Will concerning my eternal estate , those great Things that Angels desire to pry into , that shall be the matter of eternal praises of Angels and Saints in the highest Heavens that they may be set before my view ; Lord , when I have come to thy Word , I have had sounding in mine ears the great Mysteries of Godliness , the great Things of the Covenant of Grace , and now I go to see them represented before mine eyes in that Ordinance of thine that thou hast appointed . Yea Lord , I am now going to receive the Seals of the blessed Covenant of thine , the second Covenant , the new Covenant , the Seals of the Testimony and will of thine ; I am going to have confirmed to my soul thine everlasting Love in Jesus Christ . Yea Lord I am going to that Ordinance wherein I expect to have Communion with thy self , and the Communion of thy chief mercies to my soul in Jesus Christ . I am going to feast with the , to feed upon the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ . Yea , I am now going to set the Seal of the Covenant on my part , to renew my Covenant with thee , I am going to have Communion with thy Saints , to have the bond of Communion with all thy people to be confirmed to me , that there might be a strong bond of union and love between me and thy Saints than ever ; these are the ends that I go for , this is the work that I am now going about ; thus you must come in understanding , you must come with understanding , you must know what you are going about ; this is that which the Apostle speaks of , when he spake of the disarming the Lords body ; he rebukes the Corinthians for there sin , and shew them that they were guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ , because they did not descren the Lords Body , they look'd only upon the outward elements , but did not discren what their was of Christ there , they did not understand the Institution of Christ ; they did not see how Christ was under those elements , both represented , and exhibited unto them : that is the first thing , there must be knowledg and understanding . And now for the knowledg and understanding of the nature of the Sacrament ; there need be knowledg in other Points of Religion , for we can never come to understand the nature of this Sacrament , without knowing God , and knowing our selves , knowing in what estate we are by Nature , knowing our Fall knowing the way of Redemtion , knowing Jesus Christ what He was , and what He hath done for the making of an Atonement , the necessity of Jesus Christ , and what the way of the Covenant is that God hath appointed to bring mens souls to eternall life by . The main points of Religion must be known , but especially that which concerns the nature of a Sacrament . Now this knowledg likewise must be actual , not meerly habitual knowledg , but there must be a stirring up of this knowledg , that is , by meditation , I must be meditating , have actual thoughts and meditations of what I do know ; that ought to be the work of a Christian in coming to receive the Sacrament , to quicken up his knowledg , to have a renewed work of his knowledg by actual thoughts and meditations of the main Points of Religion , and especially of the nature and the end of this holy institution ; that is the first thing . Secondly , As we must come understandingly , without which we cannot Sanctifie Gods Name so we must come with hearts sutable to the work that we are about , that is , because the great thing that is here , is the breaking of Christs body , and the powring forth His blood . A sutable disposition to this is brokenness of heart , sence of our sin , of that dreadful breach that sin hath made between God and the soul ; our sin should be upon our hearts so as to break them ; But this brokenness must be Evangelical ; it must be through the applying of the Blood of Christ unto my soul ; I must come to be sensible of my sin ; but especially be sensible of it by what I see in the holy Sacrament , that must make me sensible of my sin : There are a great many things to make me sensible of my sin : The consideration of the great God that thou hast sinned against , and the Curse of the Law that 's due to thee , the wrath of God that is incensed against thee for thy sin , and those eternal flames that are prepared for sinners , those everlasting burnings . But now those are not the things that will break the heart in an Evangelical way , in a gracious way ; the main thing by which the soul must come to break its heart , must be the beholding of the evil of sin in the red glass of the blood of Jesus Christ , the beholding him broken ; and truly there is nothing in the world , that hath that power to break the heart of sin , as the beholding of that which is to be beheld in the holy Sacrament , and that heart is a hard heart that can see what is there to be seen , & not break in the apprehension of sin ; when I here see what my sin cost , what a price was made for my soul , when I see the hatred of God against sin , and the justice of God in not sparing his Son , but in breaking his Son for my sin and in shedding the blood of his Son for my sins , I see here that the making of my peace with God did cost more than ten thousand worlds is worth ; I see that by my sin such a breach was made between God and my soul , that all the Angels in Heaven , and Men in the World could never make up this breach ; only the Son of God , he that was God and man , that was thus broken by the burden of the wrath of his Father for my sins , could do this , The truth is , when we come to this holy Communion , we are to look upon Christ as if we saw Him hanging upon the Cross , suppose thou hadst lived at the time when Christ was crucified , and hadst understood as much concerning the death of Christ as now thou doest , and what Christ was , if so be that thou shouldest have beheld Him in the Garden and there sweating drops of water and blood , and lie groveling upon the ground , crying , If it be possible let this cup pass from me : and shouldest have followed Him to the Cross , and there have seen His hands and feet naied and His side pierced , and the blood trickling down , and have heard him crying out , My God , my God , why hast thou forsaken me ; would not such a sight as this is have broken thy heart for thy sin ? the truth is there is more , I won't say only so much , but I say there is more in this Sacrament to break the heart for sin than such a sight as that . You will say , If you should haue Christ to be crucified again before your eyes , if you should see the body of Christ hanging upon the Cross , and there behold him crucified , and hearing of him cry out , My God , my God , why hast thou forsaken me ; you would think if your hearts did not break for sin then , that they were desperately hard ; know every time that thou hast come to receive the Sacrament , thou hast come to see such a sight and it is as great an aggravation of the hardness of thy heart if it hath not broken at this sight , as it would be if it should not break at that sight ; We reade in Gal. 3. 1. of Pauls speaking of the preaching of the Gospel , he saith that Christ was crucified before those that did hear the word : and foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you , that you should not obey the truth , before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth , crucified among you ; he doth not mean that Christ was crucified in Galatia , but that where the word was preached he was evidently set forth , and crucified among them ; but now my brethren , the crucifying of Christ in the Word , is not such a real , evident and sensible setting forth of Christ crucified , as when he is set forth in this Sacrament , and t is that which works with more efficacie to break the heart than that other sight ; and the reason that I give is this : Because you do never find that God did set that apart as an Ordinance : an institution appointed to that end that they should come to look upon that for the breaking of there hearts ; there was indeed a naturalness in it ; that if they did behold Christ , it might break there hearts , but it was not such an Ordinance it was not a Sacrament as this is ; now this being in a Sacramental way in the use of an Ordinance appointed by Jesus Christ to set forth his sufferings , and al the riches of the Covenant of grace to the soul , there may be expected here a further blessing than in the other , though it 's true the other might work mightily upon the heart but yet this being a great ordinance of Christ in the Church , a great institution of Jesus Christ for the setting out of his sufferings , it hath a more special blessing that goes along with it ; every Ordinance hath a promise , and a more special blessing than any other thing that is not an Ordinance . So when you come here to behold Christ crucified before you , you cannot see Christ naturally crucified as upon the Cross : but you have Christ crucified before you in the way of a Sacrament , in the way of a solemn institution of Jesus Christ , that hath a special blessing which goes along with it ; therfore if the heart be not broken here , there is an aggravation of the hardness of the heart as great as if we should behold Jesus Christ upon the Cross and our hearts not broken there ; and indeed this is a special reason why those are said to be guilty of the body and blood of Christ that receive unworthily ; as if a man had been then alive and had been before the Cross ; and there have seen how the blood of Jesus Christ , was shed for sin , and should not have been affected with it , but should have accounted it as a common thing , this man in some regard might have been said to be guilty of His death ; that is , to have joyned and consented with those that 〈◊〉 crucifie Him ; for if a man sees another commit a sin , if he 〈◊〉 affected with that sin , and it does not stir his heart , he may come to be partaker of his sin ; so that those that come to see Jesus Christ crucified , and have not their hearts at all stir'd with the crucifying of Christ , they are in som regard truly said to be guilty of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ ; And that 's the second thing , brokenness of spirit is sutable to the light of a broken Christ . 3. The Third thing that is here to be done in the Sanctifying of Gods Name , is the purging and clensing of the heart from sin ; and actuall clensing and purging the heart from sin there ought to be . The Jews in there Passover were to cast out all leaven and those that were of the custom of the Jews , say that they were wont to do three things in the casting out of their Leaven : 1. they made diligent search for Leaven ; they lighted Candles to look into every corner lest there should be any bit of Leaven left in the house . 2. When they found it they cast it out . 3. They used an execration , they did curse themselves if they should willingly keep any leaven in the house . So my brethren , when we come to partake of this holy Ordinance , there should be a diligent inquisition for sin , for sin in Scripture is compared to leaven ; thou shouldest make a diligent search what sin there is in thy heart , in any of the faculties of thy soul , what sin there is in thy thoughts , in thy conscience , in thy understanding , in thy will , in any of thy affections , what sin there hath been in thy life , what family sins , what personall sins . thou shouldest make a diligent search to see whether there be not some leaven , some evil in thy heart ; and what ever sin thou shalt come to find out in thy heart , there must be a casting of it out ; that is , thy soul must be set against it to apose it with all thy might ; what ever beloved sin , whatever gainfull sin , whatsoever become of thee , thy soul must renounce that sin of thine ; yea and in a kind of execration of thy life : that 's thus , Lord , as ever I expect to receive any good by this Body and Blood of Christ , that I come now to receive , so Lord , here I profess against every sin that I have found out in my heart ; I desire to find out all , and profess against all , and renouuce all , and would do to the uttermost that I am able for delivering of my soul fully , from every known or beloved sin ; Oh that there might not be any remaining in my heart : this must be the disposition of the soul coming hither , and it must needs be thus , or else we cannot sanctifie Gods Name , because there is nothing more sutable than this disposition unto the receiving of the Sacrament ; for we come here to profess , That we do acknowledg that sin did cost so much as it did , that it cost the Blood of the Son of God ; now this cannot chuse but cause the heart to renonnce sin ; If indeed I do beleeve that sin hath cost the Blood of Christ , that it cost him so deer as it did , that it did trouble Heaven and Earth , that there must be such a mighty wonderful way of satisfaction to God for my sin committed against him , Certainly sin hath a dreadful evil in it , Oh let me never have to do with such sin that was the cause of such sufferings to my Savior that did shed his Blood. If so be that thou sawest a knife that had cut the throat of thy dearest child , would not thy heart rise against that knife ? Suppose you come to a Table , and there is a Knife laid at your Trencher , and it was told you , This is the Knife that cut the Throat of your Child , or Father , if you could use that Knife as another Knife , would not any one say , There was but little love to your Father or Child : So when there is a Temptation comes to any sin , this is the Knife that cut the Throat of Christ , that pierc'd his Sides , that was the cause of all his sufferings , that made Christ to be a curse ; now wilt not thou look upon that as a cursed thing that made Christ to be a curse ? Oh with what detestation would a man or woman fling away such a Knife ! and with the like detestation it is required that thou shouldest renounce sin , for that was the cause of the death of Christ . I remember it is reported of Anthony . when Caesar was slain , he comes to stir up the people against those that had slain Caesar , and he takes the cloaths that were bloody , and holds them forth to the people , and saith , Here is blood of your Emperor ; and upon that the people were enraged against those that had slain him , and went and pulled down their houses upon them : So when thou comest to this Sacrament , thou seest the blood of Christ gushing out , and for thy sin , if ever thy sin be pardoned ; either thy soul must be eternally damn'd for thy sin , or else thy sin cost the gushing out of the blood of Christ ; now when thou seest this ; this should cause an holy rage in thy soul against sin that caused this ; surely the putting away sin , the rising of the heart against sin must needs be a disposition sutable to such an Ordinance as this is . And that 's the Third thing required in sanctifying of Gods Name in this Ordinance , the purging out of sin , and rising of the heart against it . 4. The Fourth thing that is to be done for the sanctifying of Gods Name here , it is , the hungring and thirsting of the soul after Jesus Christ ; whosoever comes hither , he comes to a feast , and the Lord exspects that all his Guests should come with stomachs unto his feast , come with hungring and longing for Jesus Christ ; this should be the disposition of the soul , Oh that my soul might enjoy Communion with Jesus Christ ; now , this is the end that I am come for ; Oh! the Lord , that knows the workings of my heart , knowes that this is the great desire of my soul , that I might enjoy Communion with Jesus Christ ; Oh! that I might have more of Christ , that I might meet with Christ , that I might have some further manifestation of Jesus Christ that I might have my soul further united to the Lord Christ , and so have further influence of Christ to my soul ; I come with thirst after the Lord Christ , knowing my infinite need of him , and the infinite excellency that there is in Jesus Christ ; my soul doth famish and perish for ever without Christ ; but in the enjoyment of Christ , there is a fulness for the satisfying of my soul ; that I have had of Christ somtimes in the Word , and somtimes in Prayer , that have been sweet unto me , but I expect a further communion with Christ here , for this is the grand Ordinance for Communion with Jesus Christ ; indeed the word in this respect it is beyond this Ordinance , that is it is not only for the increase of Grace , but for the begetting ; This is only for the increase of Grace , and not appointed for the begetting ; now in that respect the Word is above the Sacrament ; but now this Sacrament is a more full Ordinance for Communion with Jesus Christ , this is the Communion of the body of Jesus Christ , and of his blood , and therfore there ought to be hungring and thirsting desires of the soul after Jesus Christ , therefore you must take heed you do not come with your stomachs full of trash , as children when they can get Plums and Pears and fill their stomachs with them , when they come to your Tables , though there be never so much wholsome diet , they have no mind at all to it ; so it is with men of the world , they fill their hearts with the trash of this world , and with sensual delights , and hence it is that when they come to such a great Ordinance to enjoy communion with Jesus Christ , that then they feel no want at all of Christ , only they come and take a little piece of bread and a draught of wine , but for any strong pausing desires to meet with Jesus Christ there in the Ordinance , to come so as they know not how to live without Christ , even as a man that is an hungred cannot live without his meat and drink ; and so for the soul to have such a disposition after Christ , this is a rare thing ; but know that Gods Name is not sanctified , unless thou doest come in such a way unto his holy Sacrament ; that 's the fourth thing , hungry and thirsty desires after Christ , from a deep sence of the need of him , and the apprehension of the excellency in him . 5. In the fift place there must be an exercise of faith for the Sanctifying of Gods Name here ; Faith that is both the hand and the mouth of the taking of this spiritual meat ; and spiritual drink ; when thou comest to the Feast of the Lord , Faith first is the eye , and then the hand and mouth ; it is the eye of thy soul to give a real sight to what there is here , you are not able to discern the body of the Lord but by the eye of Faith ; if thou comest only with bodily eyes to look upon what is here , thou seest nothing but a little Bread and Wine ; but now where the eye of Faith is , there is a real apperance of Jesus Christ to the soul , as if Christ were bodily present , and we need not have the bread truned in to his body ; for Faith cannot see the body of Christ through the bread , and the blood of Christ gushing in the Wine . And it is a mighty thing to have Christ and such sprituall things made real and not to be a fansie . If one look upon the fire that is painted , one cannot heat ones self in cold wether with that , but fire that is really burning upon the harth ; so those that come to receive the Sacrament , and not come with Faith , that have only the eye of their bodies , they only see as it were a painted Christ , they do not see Christ really , his body and blood and those great mysteries of the Gospel are not presented as real things to their souls ; and hence it is that they go away and get nothing ; but now when the soul comes with the eye of Faith , the soul sees the wonderful things of God , it is the most glorious sight in the world ; al the glory of God in the Heavens and Earth is not like this Sight of Jesus Christ and the mysteries of the Gospel that do appear to the eye of Faith ; therefore you may by this know whether you have come with Faith or no to the Sacrament , whether you have seen the most glorious Sight that ever your eyes did behold , Alas ! with our natural eyes , we behold a Minister coming with a piece of Bread , and a little Wine : but when the eye of Faith is opened , then we behold the glorious things of the Gospel : Many times when you come to hear the Word , your hearts burn within you ; as they that went to Emaus ; but when you are breaking bread , the eye of Faith that must look upon Jesus Christ : and in this sense , those that have pierced Christ must look upon him ; that Scripture is fulfilled in Zachariah , 12. latter end , They shall look on him whom they have pierced by their Sins , and then mourn and lament : This eye of Faith will cause mourning and lamenting for Sin. And then , As Faith is the eye to make what is here real , so Faith is the hand to take it : When you come to a feast , you must have something to take the meat to you : so saith Christ , he brake bread , and gave it unto his Disciples , saying , Take , eat this . Take it ; how shal we take it ? By reaching out of the hand ; if you sanctifie Gods Name in this Ordinance , as you reach out your hand to take the Bread and Wine , so there must be an actual reaching out of the soul by Faith , putting forth an act of Faith to receive Jesus Christ unto the soul , to apply the Lord Jesus Christ unto thy soul with all his merits and good things that he hath purchased ; when the Minister doth give out that Ordinance , 〈◊〉 should look upon God the Father giving out his Son ; as if this were your condition I am now in the presence of the eternal Father , who now doth actually give out his Son to my soul ; and saith Soul , here receive a new this day , my Son with all that he hath purchased for thy good ; now then the soul acts upon this , and by stirring up an act of faith , comes and closes with this gift of the Father and casts its selfe upon Jesus Christ , and saith as it were , Amen : to what the Father gives , Oh Lord , here I come and imbrace thy Son as my life , as my Savior , as the Fountain of all my good , in whom I expect all the good I am like to have either here or to all eternity ; so that there must be a stirring up of the act of faith in an actual taking of Christ , if thou beest a Beleever ; Canst thou remember what thou didst , when first thou didst take Jesus Christ ; when the Lord in the preaching of His word did reveal Jesus Christ to my soul , what didst thou then , Oh soul ; how did thy soul work in closing with Christ ; as thy soul did then in closing with Christ , so it must now renew the work ; there must be a renewal of the work at that time . So that when you come to the Sacrament , you must not think that it is then a time to listen to doubts , fears , and Scruples ; no , but it is a time that God cals for the exercise of faith , the casting of the soul upon Christ , and His merits for life and for salvation , or else the Name of God is not sanctified as it ought ; thou doest not Sanctifie Gods Name , when thou art busying thy soul in doubts and scruples in thy receiving of the Sacrament . And then faith is as the mouth ; when thou comest to eat and drink , how canst thou if thou hast not a mouth ; thou hast a bodily mouth to take in Bread and Wine ; but know that without faith thy soul cannot take in Christ ; faith is as it were the mouth ; that is , by the act of faith the soul doth open it self for Jesus Christ , and not only opens it self , but takes in Christ , to the soul , and makes Christ and the soul as one , as our Bread and Wine is made one with our Body , so faith takes in Christ , and makes him as one with thee , and turns Christ into the nourishment of thy soul , and thou and Christ by faith are made as truly one , as the Bread and Wine that is put into thy Body , is made one with thy body . This is the work of faith , without which we cannot Sanctifie the Name of God. Sixthly , There must be spiritual Joy ; that must be exercised here ; for it is a feast ; here we come to sit with Christ at his Table , we come as Children to our fathers Table , and to sit there with Jesus Christ our Elder Brother ; now as a father doth not love to have his child sit in a sullen and dogged way at his Table , or to be crying , but he would have the child sit in comfort and with a holy cheerfulnes with a holy freedom of spirit ; not in a sullen way , but as a child in the presence of his father , and not as a servant with the master . Obiect . You told us before , that there should be brokenness of spirit and sence of our sin . Answ . That may be , and joy ; we rejoyce with trembling ; therefore that brokennese of spirit that I meant , must not be slavish horror and fear , but a kindly melting of the soul from the apprehension of the love of God unto it in Jesus Christ , that was willing to be at so great cost to purchase the pardon of sin : such a gracious mourning as may stand with joy ; and the truth is , that , that sorrow for sin in the Sacrament that is not mixt with joy , is a sorrow that doth not Sanctifie Gods Name ; godly sorrow and evangelical joy may stand together very well . And therefore know that this is not the time , neither to give liberty to have your hearts sink ; no , there must be no sinking sorrow of heart , but such a sorrow of heart as in the midst of it you may be able to look upon God as a reconciled Father to you , and have a cheerfulness of spirit as in the presence of God ; you must look upon your selves as Gods guests , to be merry at his Table ; now this is a great mystery of godliness ; that there should be at the same time the sight of Christ crucified , and yet at the same time a spiritual cheerfulness in the assurance of the love of God in Jesus Christ . I say , it is a mystery , and only those that are Beleevers are able to understand this mystery , how to have their hearts break , and yet how to rejoyce at the same time in that unspeakable love of God that is here presented unto them in this Sacrament . Seventhly , In the next place , There must be thankfulness ; therefore it is called the Eucharist , and in one of the Evangelists where it is said , Christ blest the Bread , in another it is said , Christ gave thanks ; Christ when he instituted this Sacrament , he gave thanks he gave thanks ; for what ? he gave thanks to God the Father that he was pleased to send him into the world to die for poor souls ; now shall Jesus Christ give thanks unto God the Father for that which did cost him his life ? yea saith Christ , I see that here is a way to save souls , and let it cost me my life if it will , yet I bless thee O Father , if souls may come to be saved though it cost me my life . Christ rejoyced in his Spirit in thanking his Father for this ; then how should our hearts be enlarged with thankfulness when we come to this , that the Ancients were wont to call the Eucharist , that is , a thanksgiving ? we are to give God thanks for every mercy , you will not eat your own bread without giving of thanks ; but when we come to have this bread , this bread of life , here is matter of thankfulness , here is matter of enlargment of soul ; thou that hast the deadest and dullest soul ; and straightest Spirit , yet when thou comest hither and understandest what thou doest , here thou canst not but see matter for the enlargment of thy heart , and wish that thou hadst ten thousand thousand times more strength to express the praises of the Lord ; here is a thing that must be the subject of the Hallelujahs and doxologies , that Angels and Saints must for ever sound out in the highest Heavens ; dost thou know what the Lord presents to thee here ? it is more than if the Lord should say , I will make ten thousand worlds for the sake of this creature , and give all these worlds to him , thou wouldest think that thou wert bound to bless him then ; only when God in Bread and Wine , reaches out to the , the body and Blood of his Son , here is more matter of praise , then if ten thousand thousand worlds were given to thee , and therefore God expects that thou shouldest say to thy soul , My soul praise thou the Lord , and all that is within me praise His holy Name ; bless the Lord O my soul , and forget not all His benefits ; who forgiteth all thine iniquitie , who healeth all thy diseases ; O poor soul , here is the foundation of all mercies ; dost thou praise God for Justification , for sanctification ? here is a glorious application of the mercie of God to the souls of sinners , and therefore if ever thou wert thankfull , be thankfull here . The Sabbath my Brethren , that is appointed to be the set constant day of thanksgiving for the great mercies of God in Christ , and there are other daies for National mercies ; now a special work of the Lords day , is , The celebration of this holy Sacrament ; and the Christians in former times were wont to do it every Lords day , because that is the day appointed by God for to be the day of thanksgiving for that great mercy ; the Lord Jesus Christ : and that 's the reason why the Sabbath was changed ; the last day in the week was the Jewish Sabbath , and that was to celebrate the memorial of the Creation of the World ; and the first day now , it is to be the day of thanksgiving for al the work of God in mans Redemption . Eighthly , A further thing is this , If you would sanctifie Gods Name , you must be willing to renew your Covenant ; that 's the end of it ; there must be an actual renewing of your Covenant with God , that 's thus , I come to receive this Bread & this wine , and this is to be as the Seal of the Covenant on Gods part : now this will be emplied in the nature of the thing , that if I take the Seals of Gods Covenant , that I must be willing to set to my Seal too , to renew the Covenant that God calls me to ; now know , all men and women that are sav'd , they are sav'd by the vertue of the Covenant of Grace ; and there God on his part promises and makes a Cavenant , That he will bestow his Son , Life and Salvation through him ; and thou must likewise come in on thy part , and beleeve on his Son , and repent , which is the Tenour of the Gospel ; now every time thou comest to receive this Sacrament , thou comest to renew this Covenant ; As if thou shouldest say , Lord , thou hast been pleased to make a Covenant of Grace ; as the first Covenant was broken , and all men were cast by that Covenant , now thou hast made a Covenant of Grace , and callest thy servants whom thou intendest to save , that they should renew their Covenant with thee in this Sacrament of thine ; Lord , here I come , and Lord , here I renew it and set to my seal , to promise and Covenant with thee , That as ever I expect to receive any good from Christ , so Lord , here I will be thine , I will give up my self for ever to thee ; as thou hast given me the Body and Blood of Christ for my salvation , so Lord , here I consecrate my body and blood to thee , the last drop of my heart blood shall be given to thee , and so my strength and estate , and name , or what ever I am or have shall be thine Have you done thus when you have come to receive the Sacrament ? have you actually renewed your covenant with God ? you that have taken the body of Christ , have you given up your body to Christ ? What 's the reason then that you sin so much with your bodies ? that you abbuse your body with uncleanness , and drunkenness , and other wickedness afterwards ? Oh you prophane the name of God , and the very Body and Blood of Christ in this , except thou givest up the body and soul to God in way of Covenant : Ninthly , in the last place , for the sanctifying of Gods Name there is required the renewing of Love ; the coming with lovely dispositions and the renewing of the grace of love , not only towards God , but towards our Brethren ; for it is the feast of the Lord , and it is an act of communion , Communion , not only with Christ , but with His Churches , with his saints ; and as I have told you that there is a profession of our selves to be of the same body with Jesus Christ , then the Lord requireth that His Children should not fall out that come to His Table , but that there should be love and peace ; there 's a mighty bond upon thee when thou comest to the Sacrament ; and therefore , first , all heart burnings , and heart grudges , must be laid aside ; and secondly you must come with a willinness to be reconcilled one to another , willingnes to pass by all infirmities in thy Brethren ; here I have the Seal of Gods wllingness to pass by al my sins . and therefore I must be willing to pass by all infirmities in my Brethren ; I must now cast out all ill wishes towards others , and come with a disire of all good unto them ; and with a heart ready to imbrace any opportunity to do any good ; thou doest lye unto God except thou comest with such a heart as this is ; Lord , thou knowest that I am willing to take all opportunities to do good to those , that I now do communicate with , for it is the neerest Communion that possible can be in this world , between one Creature and another , and this is the reason why there should be that Ordinance of Christ set up every where , to cast out those that are unworthy , because it is the greatest union and Communion that possibly can be , for it is the Sacrament and Communion of the same body , they are the same Members of Christ : Now if thou doest not think such an one to be a Member of Christ ; why doest not thou do what thou canst to have him cast out , but so long as thou hast done nothing in private to him , or in telling the Church , thou doest own him to be a Member of Jesus Christ ; if thou doest so , take heed how thy heart be estranged from him , take heed how thou behavest thy self to them ; take heed how thou livest in a jarring , and a contentious way with them , and holdest them off at staves end , or walking at a distance from them , though they be never so poor and mean , know that thou doest prophane this holy Ordinance every time thou comest to it when thou comest with such an heart as this is ; if thou dost not find this renewed love , Lord , there began to be a strangeness between me , and those that have communicated with me , but Lord , thou art pleased to vouchsafe us to come once more to this Ordinance , and Lord , here we do profess , that this Ordinance shall unite our hearts together more than ever they were ; I will study to do what good possibly I can to my brother ; that as we joyn here to the feast of the Lord with comfort , so we may live together in peace & love as it becomes the Saints of God , and the Members of the Body of Jesus Christ ; Oh how far are people from any such work of God as this is ! The Lord expects this should be in you every time you come to the holy Communion . Here hath been Nine particulars now mentioned for the sanctifying of the Name of God when we come to partake of the Sacrament ; but O Lord , what cause have we to lay our hands upon our hearts ! for if this be to sanctifie thy Name then it hath been a riddle , a mysterie to us ; Certainly my brethren , these things are the Truths of God which I have delivered , and so fare as you have been wanting in any of these , know , so far you have taken Gods Name in vain is this holy Ordinance , you have not been worthy receivers of this Sacrament , you have cause to look back to your former waies , and spend much humiliation for your sin herein , and not to be so greedy of it as some are ; they must have the Communion , but I put it to your consciences , Have you repented you for the profaning of Gods Name ? And that 's that we should further have spoken of , That God will be sanctified ; that 's thus , If we do not sanctifie Gods Name , it will quite turn to the contrary ; it is the proper end of the Sacrament , to seal up our salvation : but if we sanctifie not Gods Name , it will seal up our condemnation ; if it hath not been thy endeavor to sanctifie the Name of God , so many times as thou hast received the Sacrament , so many seals hast thou upon thee for the sealing up of thy condemnation . But yet for thy comfort , while thou art alive , it is possible that these sels may be broken open ; as we reade in the Revelations , that John saw the Book that had seven seals upon it , and none could be found that was able to open it ; at length the Lamb that was slain he was found worthy to open the Book : So I say , thy condemnation is sealed up with many seals , and there is no creature that is able to conceal these seals , only the Lamb , Jesus Christ ; yea , that Christ whose blood thou hast shed and been guilty of , only he is worthy ; and he is willing to open these seals ; for as it was with those that did crucifie Christ , yet they were saved by the same blood that thay had shed , as in Acts 2. So though thou hast been guilty of shedding the blood of Christ again and again , by thy prophane coming to the Sacrament , yet know , seeing there is life in thee , and the day of Grace is continued , it is possible that thy soul may be sav'd by that blood that thou hast crucified : Oh how many are cut off that have thus prophaned the Name of God in this Sacrament , and never came to understand this danger ! they are cut off , and now are undone for ever ; then bless God that thou art alive to hear more about this Sacrament , and how Gods Name should be sanctified ; that thou art alive , and hast time to repent the of this great evil , of prophaning the Name of God in this holy Sacrament . SERMON XIII . Leviticus , 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . THere is one thing more about the Sanctifying the Name of God in the Sacrament which cleerly concerns us ; and that is , To keep the Institution of the Sacrament ; for this is such a Worship of God , as depends meerly upon institution ; that is , upon a positive Law , upon the wil of God. There are some duties of Worship which are natural , that we may know by the light of nature they are due to God ; but the Sacrament is a duty of worship that is only by institution ; and if God had not revealed it , we had not been bound to it ; therefore in these duties of institution , God stands very punctual upon them ; we must be very exact , neither to err on the right hand , nor the left ; to make any alteration in the points of Institution ; Now therefore for the Institution of this Sacrament we find it in divers of the Evangelists , in Matth. 26. 26. there you shall find that Christ and his Disciples they eat the Sacrament together ; and this was the way of it ; They were together sitting at the same Table ; so it is called the Table of the Lord sometimes in Scripture ; therefore that 's the first thing that is according to the institution , that those that do communicate must come to the Table as neer as they can ; as many as can sit about it , and all to come as neer as they can , and the reason is , Because that otherwise you will not be able to attain the end why God should have you come to receive ; the end is to remember the death of Christ ; now except pou be able to see the Sight , to see what is done , to have your eye as well as your ear exercised , you do not fully accomplish the end that is appointed ; for this is a Sacrament , that doth present to our eyes the death of Christ , and the great mysteries of salvation , and therefore it is according to the institution , that every Communicant must be where he may behold what is done , he must be where he may see the breaking of the Bread , and the powring forth of the Wine ; Certainly it hath been a disorderly way therefore for people to sit up and down in their Pews every where in the Congregation , and for the Minister to go up and down after them ; so that they could see nothing nor scarce hear any thing : It is much for the attaining the end of the institution , for all Communicants to look upon the breaking of the Bread , and the powring forth of the Wine in the Sacrament , and therefore all should come together ; and there , as many as can sit at his Table , or those that cannot , neer to it ; and the rather , because this is not only from the example of Christ , that he did so , though that 's some what ; but because it hath a spiritual significancy in it , and that 's the reason that it should be done : we find in Luke , 22. 26. the institution of the Sacrament ; Now mark , upon their coming , and being with Christ at the Table , saith Christ in the 29 , and 30. verses , And I appoint unto you a Kingdom , as my Father hath appointed unto me , that you may eat and drink at my Table in my Kingdom , and sit on Thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel : He spake it upon that occasion of the Disciples sitting with him at the Table , when they did eat Bread ; and when they took the Cup ; upon that occasion Christ spake to his Disciples , and said , I appoint you a Kingdom , that ye may eat and drink at my Table , in my Kingdom , that ye may eat and drink the twelve Tribes of Israel ; as if Christ should say , You can sit with me at my table here , and know , that this sitting with me at my Table , it is but as it were a preludium , a foresignification of the Communion that you shal have with me in my Kingdom ; you shall have that familiar Communion with me when I come into my Kingdom , there to sit ( as it were ) with me , to joyn with me in my Kingdom , judging the twelve Tribes of Israel ; even as you do now in that holy Fellowship joyn with me in sitting at my Table : This is the meaning of Christ , so that the gesture in the Sacrament is not a meer indifferent thing ; heretofore it hath been thought unreasonable to contend for what Gesture we should use . Now that which hath been the Institution of Christ , and hath a spiritual significancy in it , is not indifferent ; for not only the eating the Bread and drinking the Wine is significative , but the gesture whereby we have fellowship with Jesus Christ here , to signifie that fellowship we shall have with him in the Kingdom of Heaven ; so that the people of God were depriv'd of a great deal of comfort , and of one special benefit of this holy Sacrament , whereas they might not receive it sitting ; whereas Christ saith that your sitting with me here is a signification of your sitting with me when I come into the Kingdom of Heaven . Some say they must kneel because they may receive it with more reverence ; certainly were it a thing as some say indifferent , it were another matter ; but for to say it is not reverence to sit , in that they accuse Christ himself for want of reverence , as if he would appoint a way , or would have his Disciples use any such way as were not reverent : saith Christ , I intend by your very gesture to have this signified unto you , that though you be poor wretched worms , yea , even such is my love unto you , as you shal sit with me when I come to my Kingdom , and judg the twelve Tribes of Israel ; and every time you come to my Table , and there sit at it , or about it , then you should be put in mind that there is a time , that though you be poor unworthy creatures , worthy to be among the dogs , yet the mercy of God is such unto us , as he hath appointed us to have a familiar fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ when we come in his Kingdom to sit with him , and even to judg the twelve Tribes of Israel ; yea , to judg the whol world , for so saith the Scripture : Shall not the Saints judg the world ? now this hinders spiritual medication and comfort , that the Saints have , therefore we are to look to the institution and follow it : That 's the first thing in sitting with Christ at his Table . The second thing in the institution is , That the Bread being taken by the Minister , is to be blessed , broken , and then to be given ; Christ took it , and blessed it , and brake it , and gave it : and the people they are to look upon all this , to look upon the Ministers taking , blessing , breaking , and giving ; and then the Cup by its self : we find Christ in Matth. 26. 27. he first blest the Bread , and then he blest the Cup distinctly by it self , saying , This is my blood of the new Testament which is shed for many , for the remission of sins ; and you shall observe that the text saith , he drank it and said drink ye all of it ; so that this is not according to the institution , for a Minister to go up and down , and to give it into every mans hand ; certainly this was not so from the beginning ; this is a way of mans own devising ; for the bread and the cup to be given into every bodies hand by the Minister : Christ did but give it once , he gave it to them all , and said , Drink ye all of this , so it was done . Quest . But you will say , Is it not better for to be given into every ones hand ? Answ . No , because that the giving of it once for all , doth signifie more fully the fellowship and communion that they have together ; as at a Table it were a strange thing that every bit of meat must be given to every one particularly ; no , but the dishes must be set before them , and they must take it themselves : Indeed if they be children you cut every piece of meat , and give it into their hands or mouths ; but that 's sutable to a fellowship at Table , and Communion ; to have the meat set before them , being blest , and then for all to partake of it . And besides this , giving it into every ones hand , certainly , it came to us from a Popish and superstitous conceit of the Papists ; for the Papists will give it into their mouths , because the people must not defile it with their hands . And it was to bring more reverence to the Sacrament ; now there 's a great deal of danger for to bring in mens devices for to cause more reverence ; we are to look to the Ordinance of Christ , he gave it once , and said Drink ye all of it , in general to them all ; and so the Ministers should do . And besides there is this in it more , and one would wonder that Ministers should give it in particular and not in general to the Church : for by this means Ministers might abundantly ease themselves of a great deal of charge and guilt ; for upon this ground it will appear , that a Minister , though as an eminent Officer he is to look to his Congregation that they be fit , yet the truth is , it concerns the Church as well to look who comes there , and likewise the Minister I say , to look about him that he doth not say , The Body of the Lord Jesus Christ was given to thee , when he knows they are prophane and wicked ; it concerns the Minister to look that he doth not tell a lye ; but now when the Minister gives it generally to the Church , Take , eat , and Take , drink , he gives it particularly to no body ; Now then his charge is divided to the Church , and if there be any body that is unworthy , let the Church look to it as well as he : though he as an eminent Officer , it 's more especially in particular his duty than any others ; heretofore the charge would lie much upon the Minister , but the Minister according to the Institution , should give the Sacrament to no particular , but in generall to the Church , and therefore if there were but any particular , that the Minister upon a particular knowledg did know to be naught , he might in great part discharge himself , as professing against this or that particular man ; for it is not in his power alone to keep any from the Sacrament , but if so be that he shall profess against such and such men , the Church must joyn with him to labor to keep them from the Sacrament , and that is the next thing for the institution , Christ gave it not into any particular mens hands , but he gave it to all , saying , Drink , and eat ye all of it . A third thing that is to be observed for the institution , of this ; that all the while the Communicants are taking , eating , and drinking the Bread and Wine , they should all of them that while have their thoughts exercised about the death of Jesus Christ ; for that 's the institution ; Do this in remembrance of me ; there should be no action intermingled , in the time of the receiving of the Sacrament ; nothing but minding the work that you are about , that is , to remember the death of Jesus Christ ; and to discern the Body of the Lord , not only when you your selves take the Bread and Wine ; but when you see the Bread and Wine , broken or powred forth , and you see others taking the Bread and Wine , all that while , you should be thinking of the death of Christ , and discerning the Lords Body ; and consider what these outward clements do signifie , and that they do seal the great benefit of the Covenant of Grace ; therfore it is not according to the Institution to be singing of Psalms in the mean time while the Sacrament is receiving ; and so to have your thoughts about other things : singing of psalmes in its due time is a good thing ; but for you to do it at that time when as the death of Christ is presented before you , and Christ calls you to look upon his body , and to think upon what he hath done and suffered ; this is no seasonable , time of singing ; and if you read the institution , you shall find , that Christ , after all was done ( the text saith ) they sang an Hymn ; so that according to the institution , it is after the action is done of eating and drinking , then for the Church to joyn together and sing a psalm in the praise of God ; and then they must mind all , the same thing together , for that 's the thing to be done in the Sacrament , that look what one doth , al must mind together ; for when one part sings , and the other are waiting for the Bread and Wine , this is not sutable to the holy Table-Action , and that Communion that God requires of us ; though the things in themselves are both good that are doing , yet when we are about this holy Ordinance , being it is an Ordinance for Communion , all are to be doing the same thing at the same time ; and so when all have done eating and drinking , then for all to joyn together to the praise of God. Now it may be , this at first seems strang to many ; yet certainly observe this , Do but keep to the institution in the Sacrament , though you may think it a more mean way , yet you will find a greater beauty in this Ordinance than ever you found in all your lives ; for the more we keep to Christs institution , and mingle nothing of our own , the more glory and beauty , and excellency doth appear in the Ordinances of Jesus Christ ; but when any man shall mix any of his own inventions , though he may do it to a good end , and think to add to , and put a greater lustre upon the Sacrament : the truth is , that wich he thinks to be a greater lustre , reverence , or honor put upon it , it doth rather take off the lustre and glory of the Sacrament ; then are the institutions of Christ glorious when there is no mixture among them ; thus we should sanctifie the Name of God , in receiving this holy Sacrament . You have had divers things propounded to you , whereby you may come to know and easily to see that there hath been a great deal of dishonor done to this Sacrament , and the beauty and glory of it hath been darkened , and the sweet that the Saints might otherwise have received in partaking , hath been exceedingly hindred . There is but one thing more that I shal propound to you , and that is , The several Meditations that we should meditate on in receiving of the Sacrament ; the most concerning Meditations are suggested in the holy Communion that are in any thing whatsoever , more concerning , more efficacious , more various Meditations we have suggested here than in any thing , and it is a great sign that men and women do not discern the Lords Body , if so be their Meditations be barren at that time . I will therefore suggest some Nine or Ten Meditations that that Ordinance of God may hold out very plainly and familiarly to every Communicant , for the busying of their thoughts all the time that action is a doing . Meditation 1. As first , That the way of mans salvation it was by a Mediator , it is not only by Gods mercy , Gods saying that he is offended by sin , but he will be content to pass it by ; no , but it is through a Mediator : Now this Meditation is suggested thus , When I see the Bread and Wine , if I discern what that signifies it will hold out this to me , That the way of mans salvation , it is not meerly from hence , that God saith , Well , I will pardon them and no more , but there is required a great work of God to make an atonement between sinners and himself ; this Sacrament doth hold forth thus much unto us , wherefore else have we Bread and Wine , but to signifie that the way of our reconciliation it must be through a Mediator ? Med. 2. The Second Meditation is this , That this Mediator that stands between God and us , is verily and truly Man ; he hath taken our Nature upon him : the Bread that puts us in mind of the Body of Christ , and the Wine , of his Blood , and therefore we are to meditate of the humane Nature of Jesus Christ ; and this is a Meditation that hath abundance that might spring out of it : What , hath the Son of God taken our Nature upon him ? hath he Body and Blood , and human Nature upon him ? Oh! how hath God honored humane Nature ? Then let not me abuse my Body to Lust , to Wickednesse , seeing that Jesus Christ hath taken the body of man upon him , humane Nature upon him , let me honor humane Nature that is so neerly united to the Divine Nature . That 's the second Meditation . Med. 3. Here is presented unto us , what this Mediator hath done for the reconciling of us unto God , that his body was broken ; he hath subjected himself to the breaking of his body , and to the powring forth of his blood for the reconciling of us ; it is not meerly ( as before ) that God saith I will pardon them ; but Christ undertaking to make peace between his Father and us , it cost him the breaking of his body , and the powring forth of his blood ; this is an useful Meditation : Oh! what should we be willing to suffer for Jesus Christ in our bodies , even to resist unto blood , seeing Christ hath been content to have his precious body broken , and his blood shed for us ! Med. 4. Again , A Fourth Meditation is this , That here we come to see we have occasion of meditating of what the Scripture saith , That we are by the blood of God saved , it is the blood of God , They crucified the Lord of Glory , that 's the Scripture phrase ; we should consider when we see the Wine powred out , and so put in mind of blood ; Whose blood and whose body is this ? it is no other but the body and blood of him that was truly God , the second Person in Trinity . This is the great Mystery of the Gospel , and this is very needful for us to be thinking of when we see the body broken , and the blood powred out : What , will the breaking of the body and shedding of the blood of a meer creature be sufficient to make peace between God and Man ? surely no : therfore you must meditate whose body this is , and whose blood this is ; it is the body and blood of him that was God : It 's true , God hath no body nor no blood , but the same person that was God , had a body and blood ; that body and blood was united unto the Divine Nature in an hypostatical union , and from thence it came to have an efficacy for to satisfie God for to reconcile God and us together : This is the great Mystery of Godliness . Med. 5. Another Meditation is this , When you see the Bread broken , and Wing powred out , Oh! the infinit dreadfulness of the Justice of God! how dreadful is the Justice of God , that coming upon his own Son , and requiring satisfaction from him , that should thus break him and bruise him , that should have his blood , that should require such sufferings even from his Son ! dreadful is Gods Justice the Justice of God it is to be feared and to be trembled at ; here we see what is required for the sin of man , and nothing would be bated to Jesus Christ himself . Med. 6. Another Meditation is this , Here I see presented to me what every soul that shall be saved cost ; whoever shall have his soul saved , he hath it sav'd by a ransom , by a price paid that is more worth than ten thousand thousand worlds ; thou slightest thine own soul ; but if it prove to be saved , it cost more than if thousands of worlds had been given for thee ; even the shedding of the blood of Christ , every drop of which was more precious than ten thousand worlds . Med. 7. Again , From hence see what is the evil of sin , how great it is , that hath made such a breach between God and my soul , that only such a way , and such a means must take away my sin ; I must either have lain under the burden of my sin eternally , or Jesus Christ that's God and man must suffer so much for it ; Oh what Meditations are these to take up the hearts of men ! Med. 8. Behold the infinit love of God to mankind , and the love of Jesus Christ , that rather than God would see the children of men to perish eternally , he would send his Son to take our Nature upon him , and thus to suffer such dreadful things ; herein God shows his love ; it is not the love of God so much in giving you a good voyage , and prospering you outwardly in the world ; But , so God loved the world , that he gave his only begotten Son ; And it pleased the Father to break his Son , and to powr out his blood , here is the love of God , and of Jesus Christ : Oh! what a powerful , mighty , drawing , efficacious Meditation should this be unto us ! Med. 9. Those that are Beleevers they shall be nourished to eternal life , so that there is no fear that ever a Beleever should quite fall off from God and die in his sin ; Why ? Because the body and blood of Christ is given to him for his spiritual nourishment : though a Beleever be never so weak yet seeing God hath appointed the body and blood of his Son for him to feed upon and to drink in a spiritual way , surely then the weakest in the world will be strengthened to go through all the hazards , and dangers that there are in the world ; 't is this that strengthens Beleevers to encounter with all kind of dangers , it 's this that preserves the weakest grace in a Beleever , namely the Spiritual nourishment that God the Father hath appointed to them , even the feeding upon the Body , and drinking the very Blood of his Son ; this is meat indeed , and drink indeed that will nourish to eternal life . Med. 10. The last Meditation is this , When you come to this , seeing the Bread broken , and the Wine powred out , you have an occasion to meditate of the whol new Covenant , the Covenant of Grace , that God hath made with sinners ; for so the words of institution are , This is the Cup of the New Testament : the New Testament which is all one with the New Covenant , only different in this particular ; it contains the substance of the new Covenant , but cal'd Testament in this regard ; to shew that the Lord doth do all in the new Covenant , that is , he doth not only promise such and such mercies upon condition of our beleeving and repenting , but he doth work beleeving and repenting , and works grace , and therefore the same thing that is sometime call'd a Covenant , is call'd a Testament ; that is the will of God wherein the Lord doth bequeath his rich legacies to his Children , to those that shall be eternally saved , so that all the good things in the Covenant of Grace they are bequeathed by way of Testament as well as Covenant , and this is a mighty comfortable Meditation to the Saints ; for indeed when they look upon the way of the Gospel as in a way of Covenant , why then they think thus , This require somewhat of our parts to be done , and indeed God will keep Covenant on his part , but it may be we shall not keep Covenant on ours . and so we may fail at last ; but now when thou lookest upon all the good things in the Gospel dispensed in the way of a Testament , that is the Will of God , the Legacies that God doth bequeath to his Servants , this is a mighty comfort to the foul , that all the precious things of the Gospel come to me in the way of a Testament and that 's the meaning of the new Testament , that is , the mercies of God in Christ coming now in the way of another administration , than they did before ; 't is not only new in respect of the Covenant of Works that God made with Adam , but new in respect of the administration ; our fore-fathers , the Patriarchs , they had the same things in substance , but administred in a darker way , and many differences there are ; but now when we hear of the new Testament , there is presented unto us all the riches of the Covenant of grace in the way of a Legacy , and in the administration of it with cleerness , and with a great deal of mercy and goodness of God , the terror and harshness of the old administration being taken away . Now these are the meditations , by which we should labor to sanctifie our hearts , when we are receiving of the Sacrament ; and in the working of these meditations upon our hearts ; we shal come to sanctifie the Name of God , when we are drawing nigh to him in that holy Ordinance of his : thus for Meditation . The next thing when we are there , must be an actuating of these holy dispositions that before we spake of ; 't is not enough for a Christian to bring grace to the Sacrament : but there must be a stirring of that Grace at that time ; or otherwise the Name of God is not sanctified in receiving of the Sacrament and above al graces the actuating of the grace of faith ; 't is not enough that thou beest a Beleever , but thy faith must act at that very instant ; as thus , First , When thou hearest the Minister in the Name of Christ say thus , This is the Body of Jesus Christ which was given for you , take , eat , thou shouldest have thy faith so acting upon the mercy of God , in giving Jesus Christ , for the nourishment of thy soul to eternal life , as if thou didst hear a voyce from Heaven , saying , Here is the Body of my Son given for thee particularly , take it and eat , apply it to thee , and so make Christ one with thee by faith , as the Bread is made one with thy Body when thou doest eat it . And then when thou comest to take hold of the Bread , thou art to put forth the act of faith , faith being as the hand of the soul , and at that instant , when thou takest the Bread and puttest it into thy mouth to eat , thou shouldest stir up the act of faith afresh , laying more hold upon Jesus Christ ; look as once thou didst in thy first conversion , when Christ was presented to thee in the Word or in any other way there was an act of faith drawn forth whereby thy soul did cast it self , and roul it self upon Jesus Christ ; so shouldest thou renew it ; renew the same work of faith that thou didst find in the very first conversion ; and therby thou shalt come to have renewed comfort in the renewing of that act : I might name thee other graces and dispositions how there should be a stirring and an acting of them ; only remember I leave all this Point with this Note , That grace is not enough for partaking the Sacrament of the Lords Supper , except there be an acting , and a stirring up of that grace ; many Christians are careful to prepare , and examine before whether they have grace or no ; but at that time when they come to receive , then there is not a lively working and stirring of that grace , and so they come to lose the comfort and benefit of that Ordinance . Thus much shall suffice for this point of sanctifying Gods Name in receiving the holy Communion ; I shall now come to the last Point , which is the Sanctifying the Name of God in Prayer . Sanctifying the Name of God in Prayer . NOW this Argument might take us up many Sermons ; but upon occasion of the Daies of Prayer and Hmiliation , I have preached divers Sermons about the Point of Prayer ; therefore I shall be brief , and only now reckon up together , and set before your view , the several things that are to be done for the Sanctifying of the Name of God in Prayer : First , for Prayer in that we draw nigh to God , and it 's a duty of Gods Worship , that I suppose all of you cannot but acknowledg , that it is a natural duty of Worship ; the other was instituted but this is natural ; it 's natural for the creature to draw nigh to God in Prayer , wherein the creature tenders up his homage to God , and manifests his profession of his dependance upon God for all good that he hath , and acknowledges God as the Author of all good , therefore this is Worship , and it 's a great part of Worship , Prayer , it is such a part of Worship as sometimes in Scripture it 's put for the whol Worship of God , He that calls upon the Name of God shall be saved : that is , He that worships God aright , Jer. 10. 25. And , Powr out thy wrath upon the Heathen that know thee not , and on the Families that call not on thy Name ; that do not pray ; that is , that do not worship thee : There one part of Worship is put for the whol , as being a principal part of the Worship of God. Surely we must sanctifie Gods Name in Prayer , for it is that which sanctifies all things to us ; 1 Tim. 4. 5. Every thing is sanctified by the Word of God , and Prayer . And if the Argument of Christ was right , as no question but it was , That the Temple was greater than the Gold upon the Temple , because the Temple did sanctifie the Gold : And the Altar was greater than the Offering that was offered upon it , because it did sanctifie the Offering ; then Prayer must needs be a mighty great Ordinance , a greater than any other , because that it sanctifies all things . The Word sanctifies the Creatures ; but Prayer sanctifies the very Word unto our use ; and therefore when we reade the Word , we are to pray for a sanctified use of the Word : Prayer is a great Ordinance , a great Duty of Worship that sanctifies all ; Prayer hath a casting voyce ( as I may so say ) in all the great works of God in the world , the great affairs of the Kingdom of God , the Kingdom of his Power , and the Kingdom of Christ ; I say , Prayer hath a kind of a casting voyce , and doth order , under God , the great things of the world , they are according to the prayers of the Saints , they bring down blessings upon the godly , they powr forth judgments upon the wicked ; the prayers of the Saints they are the viols that are powred forth in a special manner upon the heads of the wicked ; therefore Gods Name is to be sanctified in Prayer . It is to be sanctified , first in preparation ; Psalm , 10. 17. Thou wilt prepare their heart ; thou wilt cause thine ear to hear : It is the Lord that prepareth the heart ; and then he causes his ear to hear : and therefore in 1 Pet. 5. 7 , we are there required to watch unto prayer ; men and women should keep a narrow watch over their hearts and minds , that they may not be hindred in their prayers , that they may be alwaies in a fit posture to pray ; watch unto prayer , it 's that that would help us against many temptations to evil ; if I give way not to such and such temptations , it will hinder my prayers : I shall not have that freedom and enlargement in prayer as otherwise , if I give way to such and such things , therefore let me take heed of this , or it will hinder my prayers . As if the Apostle should say , this should be the care of Christians ; then they are like to sanctifie the Name of God in prayer , if this be their great care that there is nothing in the world that shall hinder their prayers ; O let me take heed I do nothing to hinder my prayers ; if I go abroad into company , and am merry and jocond , and there game and drink , and sprot my self in company ; will not this hinder my prayers ; will not this hinder the spiritualness of my heart in Communion with God in prayer , when I come home at night ? I appeal to you , have you had that freedom in prayer , afterwards ? surely no , therefore watch unto prayer . Now for the preparation of the heart to prayer , we must understand either , First , What is to be done in the course of ones life . Or. Secondly , What 's to be done just when one comes to prayer . For the first , The course of ones life : labor to keep all things even and cleer between God and your souls ; that so you may not come with shakles about your legs ; with guiltiness ( I mean ) upon your consciences ; men that have given way to any base sinful way , when thay come to prayer , the guilt of there hearts doth even sink them ; but those that can keep their peace with God in the course of thier lives , they have other manner of freedom in prayer , than you that walk loosly and contract guiltiness upon your spirits . And then the second thing is , To keep our hearts sensible of our continual dependance upon God ; sensible how we depend upon God , for whatsoever we are , whatsoever we have , whatsoever we do ; for the blessing of all is from God. The beams of the Sun do not so depend upon the Sun , as we upon God ; that if he doth but withdraw Himself never so little from us , we all sink down to nothing and perish for ever ; that soul that every day and hour is sensible of the infinite dependance it hath upon God for its present and eternal estate , will be fit for prayer ; and that should be our care for to carry our selves , as any hour in the day , or minute in the hour , we might be fit to go to prayer ; and that 's one meaning of that place in the Thessalonians Pray continually ; not that every moment we should be praying , but that we should keep our hearts in a praying frame ; some of you when you have let out your passions and are in a distemper , what will you go to prayer now ? your conscience will tell you that you are not fit to go to prayer at that time , Certainly if you be not fit to pray , you are not fit to live ; you are in an ill condition at any time if you be not fit to pray ; and there can be no excuse whatsoever , that can be sufficient to plead for your selves why you should not be fit to pray at any time ; there is that continual dependance upon God for all , and that need you have of the blessing of God for every thing , that there is reason you should be in a fit condition for praying at all times ; but now when you come to prayer at the set time , then there should be a special preparation . First , You should prepare your selves by getting fresh and powerful apprehensions of the glory of God , before whom you go ; prepare by meditation about the glory of that infinite God that you are now addressing your self unto ; possess your selves with thoughts and meditations of the glory of the great God ; that 's the first . Secondly , Labor to get your hearts sensible of what you go for . I am now going to God ; for what ? for pardon of sin , or for assurance of his love ; or for power against sin ; or for such and such mercies ; let me by meditation work my heart to be sensible of these things that I am going to God for , to set a due price upon those mercies that I am praying for , and to get my heart affected with them . Thirdly , Labor to get your hearts separated from the world , and from all things that are here below in the world ; and that should have been a third thing in the course of your lives , you should never let out your hearts to any creature , either to businesses or pleasures in the world so , but that you may have command of your hearts to call them when you will ; to call them in to God in prayer ; and then when you come to prayer there should be an actual separation of your hearts from all things in the world ; dedicating your selves to God for this time , as one that hath nothing to do with the world , nothing to do with anie thing but this dutie that now you are about ; this is the preparation of your hearts to prayer in the course of your lives . Now then for the Prayer its self . First , We must consider of the Matter of Prayer . And Secondly , Of the Manner of it . First for the Matter of it : We must look to it that it be according to Gods will , 1 John , 5. 14. This is the confidence that we have in him , that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us ; therfore for the Matter we must be sure it must be good that we pray for ; it must be for the Glorie of God , for the good of our selves , and the good of our Brethren . First , for the Glorie of God , that should be the chief matter that we are to pray for ; so Christ when he teacheth us to pray , he begins the very first Petition , Matthew , 6. 9 , 1● . Hallowed be thy Name ; thy Kingdom come ; thy Will be done : First begin with the Glorie of God , mind that in the chief place , above all other things . God gives you leave to pray for outward things ; but first for the Glorie of God , minding that before your own benefit ; before the pardon of sin , and your dailie bread ; how few do sanctifie Gods Name in this ? people have little mind to pray , but when they are in outward afflictions , when they are upon their sick beds then they wil pray ; or at Sea in storms , then they will pray , then it seems that the main matter of your prayer is onlie for your selves ; but how hath the matters of the Glorie of the great God , and the good of the Churches taken your hearts all this while ? how have your hearts been affected with this , that the Name of God hath been so little sanctified in the world , and that the Kingdom of God hath not come , and that the Will of God hath not been done , have these things taken up your heart in prayer , the matters of the Glorie of God , and the good of Churches , though your selves have not anie particular interest in them ? if these things did but take up your hearts in Prayer , then , when you are at Sea , you would remember the cause of the Churches , as much as your selves ; the Church is as it were in the midst of the Sea , tost up and down and in a great storm ; now why do not you pray as earnestly for the Kingdom of Christ among his Churches , as for your selves when you are in a strom at sea ? yea , and spiritual things should be the chief matter of your prayer ; for they are the nearest to the glory of God ; though God hath his glory from other things , yet spiritual things are neerest the glory of God ; now in these daies of prayer , many will come to pray , that they might be freed from danger , that they might have outward peace ; this is good ; but spiritual things are the chief things ; and therefore the strength of your spirits should be thus powered forth to God Oh that I could get my heart to God , and the assurance of the love of God! Oh that I could get the shine of his face ! Oh that I could get power over such and such corruptions ! And I beseech you observe this , That spiritual things may be prayed for absolutly ; but outward things must be prayed for conditionally . I may pray ( and never put any condition in at all ) That the Lord would pardon my sins , and help me against my corruptions , &c. But when I pray for the health of my body , I ought to pray , if this be according to thy wil , then restore me to the health of my body , or the health of my husband or the health of my wife ; but thou maiest pray , Lord , convert the soul of my husband or the soul of my wife , without any condition at al : When your estates at sea are in danger , when you pray for them , you must make conditions , Lord , as thou seest best for me so do thou deale with me ; this shewes the excellency that there is in spirituall things above outward things ; surely spiritual things are more to be desired , for they are to be prayed for absolutly , and the others to be prayed for only conditionally . That 's for the first . In the second place , We are to pray for our owne good , God doth give us leave to do so ; onely here comes in a Question . Quest . Whether it be sinfull to pray for afflictions , as somtimes some will be ready to do ? Answ . To that I answer . frist , Take it absolutely considered , we may not pray , that God would afflict us ; because afflione is in its self materially an evil thing , and a fruit of the curse , therefore we may not ( I say ) absolutely pray for it : but thus far we may pray for afflictions disjunctively , conditionally comparatively . Disjunctively , thus , Lord , either grant unto me a sanctified use of such a mercie , or otherwise let me rather be without it ; let me have a sanctified use of my siknes , or otherwise let my sickness be continued to me ; thus now you may pray for continuing in sickness . Or thus , conditionally ' Lord , if thou seest that my heart be so vile and wretched that I will abuse ( through my corruption ) such and such mercies , Lord rather take them from me and let me be without them ; if thou seest that there be no way to break this proud heart of mine but such a way , Lord let that be thy way to break it , if thou seest it according to thy will as the fittest way . Then comparatively thus , Lord rather let me have any afffiction then sin , rather let me suffer loss of my estate than sin against thee , than depart from thee : any thing Lord rather than sin . Thus you may pray for afflictions , but not absolutly . You must not pray that God would send you afflictions absolutely , for you do not know your hearts ; it may be if afflictions should come , your hearts may be as stubborn under your afflictions as they are now ; for affliction hath no power in it self to do us any good . And then for the good of others , for Christ teaches us to pray , Our Father &c. There comes in here a rebuke of the wicked practice of divers in cursing , and then a question about it . It is a wicked thing to use curses ; but it 's a most wicked thing to wish evil to others in way of prayer ; yet how manie doe so ! though it may be they do not think it , they speak to God , and desire him to bring such and such evils upon their neighbors ; yea , somtimes parents , upon their children ; this is a wicked practice of men ; what , is it not wickedness enough for thee to have any desire that there should any evil befall thy brother , but wilt thou dare to presume to call God to be an instrument of the execution of thy base sinfull wrath , that God must be a drudg ( as it were ) to thy wrath , and to thy passion ? this is abominable wickedness . Any of you that ever have been guilty of this sin , of cursing others , Wives , Children , Servants , or Friends , the Lord rebuke you for this sin ; how far hast thou been from sanctifying Gods Name in Prayer ? whereas instead of sanctifying the holy Name of God , thou hast called God to be a servant and a drudg to thy passion , God must be call'd to help the venting of thy passion : Oh! remember this you that have been at Sea , and have been angry , and things not going according to your mind , have fallen a cursing , and wishing such and such evils might come upon those you are angrie with ; that 's a kind of prayer , but it 's a most fearful taking the Name of God in vain in the highest degree : and certainlie God will not hold him guiltless that shall so take his Name in vain ; therefore be humbled for this sin . Object . But you will say , Do not we reade in the Book of Psalms , where many times the Prophet David doth curse the Enemies of God , and wishes evil to come upon them . Answ . To that I answer . First , That the Prophet , and those that pen'd the Psalms they had a prophetical spirit ; and those places that you reade that are in a way of cursing , they are rather prophetical predictions of evil , than direful imprecations ; they are rather fore-telling what shall be in a way of prophesie , than wishing what should be . Secondly , If they be wishing what should be , then I answer That those which were endued with such a prophetical spirit , they did know who were the implacable enemies of God , and who were not ; as David praied against Judas , so many hundred yeers before he was born : by a prophetical spirit he knew that he was the child of perdition ; indeed , if we could certainly know a man that were to be a cast-away eternallie from God , it were another matter : As the Church in the time of Julian , because of his Apostasie being so abominable , it was determined almost generally by them , that he had committed the sin against the holy Ghost , and upon that they curs'd him . Now I say , those that had an extraordinarie spirit , that did know who these were , they might do it ; but this is no example for us in an ordinarie way to wish evil and curses upon others . But thus far we may do with the Enemies of the Church . First , We may curse them disjunctively , Lord either take them out of the way , or keep them that they may not do such mischief in the Church : or thus , conditionally , If thou seest Lord that they be implacable , thou knowest them , if so , let thy wrath and curse pursue them ; Lord , thou seest what evil they are set upon , and therefore rather than they should attain their mischievous designs , let thy wrath and curse pursue them : so we may do it , but not absolutely to curse any , though they should do us never so much wrong , we are called to blessing : But now in zeal to God , take heed that we be not carried on in our own passion ; but being sure it is zeal to God , we may wish the curses of God to pursue those that God knows to be implacable ; this is but an appealing to God , and not at all fastning it upon any particular persons that we know , but leaving it unto God for the execution of it , and so in a zeal to the Glory of God , we may do it , and we are warranted so to do by the second Petition , Thy Kingdom come : for that Petition that requires us to pray for the coming of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ , doth also require that we should pray against all means that hinder the coming of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ , so that every time that the Church praies , Thy Kingdom come , or any praies , Thy Kingdom come , they do as much as say , O Lord , Do thou set thy self against all the Enemies of thy Kingdom ; if they belong to thy Election , Lord convert them , but otherwise Lord confound them . Now thus we see how we are to sanctifie the Name of God in Prayer , in regard of the Matter of the Prayer ; but now for the Manner of Prayer . The most things I confess are there . First , When we come to prayer , we must be sure to pray with understanding , 1 Cor. 14. 15. What is it then ? I will pray with the Spirit , and will pray with understanding also , God doth not love the Sacrifice of fools ; we must not come babling to God in prayer to speak we know not what , and to multiply words we know not wherefore , but God doth require that those that come to prayer , come with understanding , that they offer to God a rational , a reasonable , an understanding sacrifice ; God is a Spirit , and he will be worshiped in Spirit and in Truth ; now as it belongs to all other duties of Worship , so especially in prayer , to know what we do when we pray , not to think to put off God with a meer emptie sound ; that 's the first thing . The Second thing in the manner of Prayer , it is , The giving up all the faculties of our souls in it ; I spake to that in the Worship of God in general , we shall apply it now particularly to prayer , the giving up , not only our understandings , but wills , thoughts , affections , strength in prayer : in 2 Chron. 20. 3. it is said of Jehoshaphat , that he set himself to seek the Lord , he did give his whol self to seek the Lord : we are to give our whol self , and not to divide in Prayer . Now this were an argument that indeed might well take up a whol Sermon , in shewing the evil of the wandering of our spirits in prayer ; we should take heed of the wandering of our spirits in the hearing of the Word , and receiving the Sacraments , and so in prayer ; the people of God are much troubled with the wandering of their thoughts both in Word and Sacrament , and it is their great burden , and should be so , but I never hear any more complainings of the wandering of their spirits than in the time of prayer , the people of God are much pestered in their spirits with this evil , it is very grievous unto them , and many of them go under it as a grievous burden all their daies ; the chiefest burden that is upon their spirits is their wandering in prayer ; so that if God should speak to them as he spake unto Solomon , and bade him ask what he should give him , I verily beleeve there are many in this Congregation , that have already good assurance of Gods love in Christ , if they had not that , that would be the main thing that they would ask , but having attained that , if God would speak from Heaven and say , What shall I give you for your selves , if he should ask you in the general , it may be you would ask something for the Churches ; but if it be for your selves , you would put up this Petition , Oh Lord , that I may be delivered from a wandring spirit in holy duties , and especially in the dutie of Prayer , that I may thereby come to enjoy more holy communion with thy self than ever yet I enjoied , and they would account this to be a greater mercie than if God should give them to be Kings or Queens over the whol world ; if God should put these two into the ballance , Either the whol world to possess , or otherwise to have more free hearts in coming to God in prayer , and to be delivered from that which hath so much hindred ther Communion with God in prayer , they would despise and scorn the world in comparison of such a mercie as this is : howsoever carnal hearts they think little of it , but those that are the Servants of God , they find it to be very grievous to them ; but being the time is past , I shall reserve that to speak yet a little more largely for the help of those that are under the burden of it . I 'le only speak one thing further now , and that shall be to those that are wicked and vile , and not only have vain wandring thoughts in prayer , but even in the very dutie of prayer manie times have wicked and ungodly thoughts ; how horrible are they ? unclean thoughts , murderous thoughts it may be , and most abominable . I confess even those which are godlie may somtimes have some blasphemous thoughts cast into them , for the Devil is never more busie than at the time of prayer ; but they rather come from the Devil than from the stream and corruption of their own hearts , which may be we may make out more cleerlie afterward ; but now I speak to such as have most wicked abominable thoughts , rising from the stream and corruption of their hearts , such thoughts as their hearts do close withal in prayer , and they can roll those thoughts about in their minds as a Child will roll a piece of Sugar in its mouth ; and this is the wickedness of manie men and womens hearts . Take but this one Note with you , That all those dreadful , vile , unclean , covetous thoughts of thine in Prayer , they have been to God as if you had spoken them in words ; thoughts to God , are all one with him as words are to men ; for God is a Spirit , and the Spirit doth converse with God in thoughts , as well as men do converse with men in words ; and what a woful guiltines would have been upon you , had you spoken such vile and wicked things to men as somtimes hath been in your minds even when you have been praying to God , how would the company have even spit in your faces , and kick'd you from them ? none that have any face of godliness would have endured you in their company ; and yet here 's the evil of it , your hearts are not troubled , but you rise off your knees and away you go ; thou hast a cauterised conscience , a seared conscience , that canst entertain such vile thoughts at any time without having thy spirit afflicted , and going away with shame and confusion , as if the greatest evil had befallen thee ; therefore take heed of this . SERMON XIV . Leviticus , 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . WEE are first to sanctifie Gods Name in regard of the matters of our Prayers . And secondly , in regard of the manner . For the first , we made an end of it the last day , and came unto the manner , and there where two things mentioned . First , That we must pray with understandining . Secondly , we must give up our selves to Prayer . Now in the close of the exercise we had occasion to fall upon that Argument about the wandering of our thoughts in Prayer , and by that we come to take Gods name in vain , instead of sanctifying of His Name ; God expects that we should have our thoughts , and wills , and affection , our whol souls acting upon him in the duty of prayer , or els we do not pray to God as unto a God ; vain thoughts in Prayer doe pick up the Sacrifice like the brids that Abraham drove away from the Sacrifice , that they should not pick it . Wicked lusts in mens hearts , are like swine to take the meat and al to hale it in the dirt , so their Prayers are filthy and durty with their lusts ; but those that are otherwise Godly , yet by their vaine thoughts the beauty and excellency of there prayers is taken away ; as Wine and Beer that have the spirits of them gone , so the life and spirit of our duties are gone by our vain thoughts , and therefore vain thoughts do dead the heart very much . So saith David in the 119. Psal . Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity , and quicken me in thy Law : while our eyes look upon vanity , there will be no quickness in our hearts in any service that we tender up to God ; now many of Gods people have experience of the evil of this , and they groan under the burden of this : & as I said the last time , if so be that the Lord should speak from Heaven to them , and ask them what he should have , they having already the asurance of his love in Christ , they would ask the deliverance from a vain spirit in the performance of 〈◊〉 Duties : Bring no vain Oblation saith God in Isa . 1. 13. Oh what vain Oblation do we bring by the vanity of our thoughts in prayer ! 'T is true , the best of us al will have vain thoughts somtimes ; but yet as one compares the vain thoughts of men in paryer , like to a Spaniel that goes out with a man , he walkes perhaps but half a mile , but the Spaniel will be runing up and down this way and that way , and if all the space of ground which the Spaniel hath gone over should me measured , it may be while you are walking half a mile , the Spaniel fetching compasses here and there would be halfe a dozen miles ; so our fances are like a Spaniel which will have fetches about this way and that way in a thousand vain thoughts ; but thus now it is with a godly man ; as a Spaniel though running from his master , yet if he give him a call ; he is able to call him to him presently ; and it were well if it were so with us , though our fances be wild , yet if we were able to call in our fances , and to have them at command , it were well with us : And I find very much , that those that are new comers they complane much of the vanity of their thoughts , they were wount to pray before , and they never had such vane thoughts as now they have ; the reason why there is so much vanity of thoughts , or at least so much taken notice of . It is first , because there is but a little grace in the midst of a great deal of corruption in yong converts , like a spark of fire in the midst of a great deal of ashes ; now if there lies a heap of ashes and nothing else , you do not stir them ; but if there be ashes and some fire , then you will stir them and be blowing those sparks to kindle another fire by . Now when you come to make any motion , then the ashes wil flie about , wheras before they lay still ; So it is here , before God wrought upon thy heart , there was nothing else but ashes upon thy soul , and then they lay still , but now God hath kindled some sparks of grace in thy heart , and God is blowing them up to a greater heat , and is bringing of them to a flame ; upon this motion that is in thy heart , and the stirring to kindle those sparks further in thy heart , it is that the ashes of thy corruption do as it were flie about thine ears , and that there is such stirrings of corruption more than there was before , 't is not because there is more corruption than there was formerly , but before there being nothing else but corruption it lay still , and now because there is something else , therefore it is that corruption doth so stir ; and besides , you know a man that was wont to keep lewd company , if God turn him that he will keep that company no more , at first he shall be more troubled with them than he was before ; and they will keep oftener knocking at his door , and laboring to get him to them again ; so 't is here , when the soul , vanity and lusts were as friends together there was no disturbance , and taking notice of any thing then , but now when the soul is casting out those sinful distempers , and will have no more of them , they for the present will be more importunate , active and stirring than they were before . And besides , the Lord doth this to humble thy heart the more , that thereby thou mayest come to see the great corruption that was in thy soul before ; the working of thy corruptions will discover much evil in thy heart , that thou didst not think was there before ; when the corruptions of men and women lie still , they think there is no such thing in their souls ; as your civil men , what 's the reason that they bless themselves and think they are in a good condition , it 's because their corruptions lie still in them and do not stir , they cannot beleeve what abundance of wickedness there is in their hearts , if God should open the wickedness that there is in the hearts of men naturally , and so all unregenerate men they would think you spake strange riddles , whereas they bless themselves ; they bless God , they know no such thing in their hearts , No ? yes , there are such things , only they are not stir'd , but they lie quiet ; as mud in the bottom of a pond , there it is , yet you cannot see it till it be stir'd : at first conversion ( I say ) the Lord suffers thy corruption thus to stir , that he may discover to thee what an evil heart thou hast , what abundance of sin there is in thy heart , and therefore your yong converts , they look upon themselves as more loathsom and vile than ever they thought they had been . And besides , The Devil sees it a vain thing to tempt a yong Convert to any gross act of sin ; when conscience hath life and power in it , he shall never prevail that way ; but now he thinks he may prevail to disturb them with vain thoughts , and therefore he laies his strength most that way ; therefore let not such be discouraged , that find their spirits anoyed and pestred with them , if they make them to be the burden of their souls ; notwithstanding much vanity of thoughts , the Lord will accept of any desire that they have to sanctifie his Name in holy Duties ; And I shal give you these three or four Rules to help you against these wandring and vain thoughts in holy Duties , and especially in Prayer . First , When thou goest to prayer , account it to be a great work ; set a high price upon thy prayer ; not as having any excellency in it as it comes from thee , but set an high price upon it as a great Ordinance of God , wherein there is communion with God to be enjoyed , and the influence of the grace of God to be conveyed through it ; so set an high price upon prayer , at every time thou art going to prayer ; Lord , I am now setting upon a work that is of very great consequence , and much lies upon it , and I would account it to be a sore and a great evil to me , if I should lose but this prayer : this would be a special means to compose thy spirit , and to keep thee from wandring ; as Nehemiah in Nehem. 6. 3. a place which I have sometimes quoted upon such an occasion ; when the enemies of Nehemiah that would hinder the building of the Temple , sent to him that they might talk together , no saith he ; I am doing a great work to that I cannot come down ; so when the Devil and the vanity of thine own heart , would send to thee to parly , and talk as it were with thee , give an answer , I cannot stand parlying with these things ; the work that I am about is a great work ; there are verie few people that do account the work of prayer a great work ; if thou didst , it would help thee much against the vanitie of thy thoughts . Secondly , Every time thou goest to prayer , thou that art most troubled with such vain thoughts , renew thy resolutions against them ; I have been troubled with vain thoughts heretofore , and am afraid , if I look not to it , that I shall lose this Prayer also ; and therefore O Lord , here I renew my resolutions to set against them in this prayer with all my might ; it is very much that may be done with strong resolutions , and especially if thy strong resolutions be renewed resolutions ; for an old resolution begins to grow weak ; a man that hath resolved upon a thing a great while ago , it hath little power over him ; but now when a man hath resolved upon a thing but this morning , and just at the time when he is going about it , now he doth resolve upon it , and set himself upon it , and doth resolve through the Grace of God , that whatsoever difficultie he meets withal , whatsoever it cost him , that he will go through this work , I say that resolutions renewed have a great deal of power ; and you cannot imagine what a great deal of power the renewing of resolution against vain thoughts will have , if they were renewed everie time thou goest to prayer , until thou gettest power over thy thoughts ; do but make trial of this ; thou hast lost many a prayer by vain thoughts ; and thou hast been troubled for them , and yet they come again ; do but trie for this week ; as I remember I said in the point of passion and anger , that we should resolve with our selves well , whatsoever falls out this morning , I am resolved I will bear it ; so bethink thy self how many Prayers thou hast lost by vain thoughts : and now renew thy resolutions , and Covenant with God , that for this Prayer , I will set my self against them , whatsoever pains I take , I will be sure yet withal to look up to Gods Grace to assist me , I will be sure this prayer to keep my heart close to what I am about ; and perhaps that will help you a little ; but yet some vain thoughts wil come for all that ; then the next night renew them again ; and the next morning renew them again ; and that till thou comest to a habit of keeping thy heart close to the dutie , though now thou feelest thy heart so wild , that thou thinkest it is impossible to bring it into order , but certainly by such a means thy heart will be brought into order . Thirdly , Be sure to set the presence of God before you in prayer ; have a real sight of the infinite Greatness , Majestie , and Glorie of that you present your selves unto , when you are calling upon him ; if so be that thou canst be a real sight of God in his Glorie , it will keep thy heart close to the dutie , as if a man be wandring with his eyes , and looking after everie feather , if the King or some great person come into the room , all his thoughts would be about the King , or the great person that were coming in : so if you would present the Lord in his Glorie and Greatness , Excellencie , Majestie , and Power , before you , and what a dreadful God he is in himself , and yet what a merciful God he is to us in his Son : this would mightily compose our hearts ; certainly men and women that are so wandring in their prayers , it is because their eyes are not open to look upon God in his Glorie , they are as it were dreaming and do not apprehend that God stands and looks upon them , and observes them , and that God takes notice of everie wandring thought that comes from them ; they do not consider that God doth converse with the thoughts of men , as well as men do with the words of men : that 's the third Rule . Fourthly , Take heed thou beest not deceived ; because that those thoughts thou hast in prayer , do not appear to be verie evil in themselves . This is a great deceit and hinders manie in the sanctifying of Gods Name in Prayer ; there is sometimes darted in some vain thoughts ; now because the thought hath no great evil in it self , therefore they think they may play with it , and their hearts close with it , and so run along with it as the fish doth with the bait ; if the Devil casts in a thought of blasphemie , that makes thee quake and shake ; but if thy thoughts have no great evil in them , but they are slight things ; matters of no moment one way or other , upon that thy heart begins to be dandling , and playing with them ; therefore remember this Rule , That in the time of prayer , whatsoever thoughts be in thy mind that do not concern the present dutie , they are sinful before God , though the thoughts for the matter of them be never so good , yet thou art to abandon them as sinful at that time . Therefore never be deceived with this , that the thoughts are not verie sinful : that 's another Rule . In the last place , observe this Rule , If ever God hath helped thee at any time in prayer , that thy heart hath been kept close to a dutie , and thou hast had communion with him , bless God for that , bless God for that help ; 't is a Rule of verie great use for us to get further assistance from God in any thing , if so be our hearts be enlarged to bless God for any assistance we have had heretofore ; and the reason why we gain and prosper so little in our Christian course , it is because we do not take notice of what God hath done for us , to give God glorie for mercies formerly received , and therefore God takes little or no delight in coming in with further mercies to us : as if you had a yong Nurserie of Trees , and they began to thrive very well , but there comes a companie of Caterpillars , and spoils almost all the yong Trees that are set , only two or three are kept from the Caterpillars ; a man goes into his Orchard , and looks upon his Trees , and this is spoiled , and that is spoiled ; but he sees two or three , and these flourish fairly , and these are full of Buds , and are like to come to something , and he rejoyces mightily in those , because they are sav'd when so manie others are spoil'd : and so do thou view thy Prayers , and consider how many nie hath been spoiled as it were by these Caterpillars ; for I compare wandring vain thoughts in Prayer unto Caterpillars that are upon the trees ; and we see that if stormy rainy weather comes , the Caterpillars will fall ; and one would think that these blustering storms , and the hand of God that hath been out against us should have clensed our thoughts and souls from these Caterpillars that have been upon our duties , but manie duties have been spoiled ; yet thou maiest say , that through Gods mercie such a morning in my closet , the Lord hath preserved a prayer to himself and I have gotten power over this vain heart of mine ; bless God for this , and so the Spirit of God will be more readie to come in and help thee another time : But thus much shall suffice to speak to this . That 's the second thing , we must give up our selves wholly to this dutie . The third thing for the sanctifying of Gods Name in Prayer is this , There must be the breathings of the Spirit of God , otherwise Gods Name is not sanctified ; that in Rom. 8. 26. is cleer for this , Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities : for we know not what we should pray for as we ought : but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered . If any of you should say , How can we sanctifie Gods Name , we are poor and weak , we can do little ? Mark , it is said here , That the Spirit helpeth our infirmities to pray ; and the word is exceeding emphatical in the original : in your books it is but meerly helping our infirmities , but the meaning of the word is , In these two things the Spirit helps ; that is , look how a man that is taking up an heavie piece of Timber at one end , he alone cannot get it up , but there comes another , and takes it up at the other end , and so helps him : the word signifies such a kind of helping , as when a man takes a thing at the other end , or on the other side , one standing the one way , and the other standing the other way ; or one taking up one end , and the other the other end , that is the meaning of it ; he helps our infirmities ; the poor soul is pulling and tugging with its own heart , and finds his heart heavie and dull , like a log in a ditch ; And have not many of you found your hearts so ? but now , when you are tugging with your hearts , and would fain lift up your hearts to God in prayer , there comes the Spirit of God at the other end , and takes the heaviest end of the burden and helps you to lift it up : If a Child were at one end of the log , and that were but light , and the other end very heavie ; if one come and take up the heaviest end , a little strength will serve for the lighter end : So the Spirit comes and takes up the heavier end in duty , and so helps our infirmities , helps together . And then the other word is , The Spirit ; that is , together with the acting of the graces of the Spirit in our hearts , you must not say so ; Alas ! what can I do ? it must be the Spirit of God that must do it . It 's true , he doth all . First , he gives converting and habitual grace , and assisting and actuating grace ; but now when the Spirit hath wrought grace so as to convert the heart , and hath given habitual grace in thy heart , why then when the Spirit comes to assist , it doth expect that thou shouldest stir up all the gifts and graces of the Spirit , and the very strength of thy body ; the Spirit of God expects that thou shouldest act to the uttermost thou art able , what power hath been given thee by God ; and when thou art in acting , then the Spirit comes and helps together with us ; noting that we are to put forth what strength we have , and thus Gods Name will be sanctified , when as we putting forth the graces of the Spirit in us , then the Spirit comes and helps ; and what comes from us now comes from the breathings of the holy Spirit in us , and then God who knows the meaning of the Spirit , will know now the meaning of our sighs and groans ; therfore when thou art going to prayer , thou art to eye the Spirit of God ; thou art by the eye of faith to look upon the Spirit of God , and to cast thy soul upon the assistance of the Spirit of God , thou art to look upon the holy Ghost , as appointed by the Father and the Son to that Office , to be a helper to his poor servants in the duties of Worship , and especially in that great duty of prayer ; now upon the reading of this text , and having it thus opened ? this is one good help for thee in prayer ; reade this text , and then exercise thy faith upon it ; Lord hast thou not said that thy Spirit helps our infirmities , when we know not what we pray for nor how to pray for any thing as we ought ; but the Spirit will come , now Lord make good this Word of thine to my soul at this time , and let me have the breathings of the Spirit of God in me ; alas the breaths of men , if it comes from gifts and parts , I know thou wilt never regard it , except there be the breathings of the holy Ghost in me in prayer ; now if you would know whether the Spirit of God doth come in or no , you may know it by this ; the Spirit of God carries unto God , and it makes the Prayer sweet and delightful , so much of the Spirit of God as is there , it comes to the soul in the duty , and it leaves a savour behind it ; a gracious savour is alwaies left behind , when the Spirit of God comes to breath ; O the breath of the Spirit of God is a sweet breath , and it makes prayers sweet ; it never comes into the soul but after it hath done any work it came for , it leaves a sweet scent , after that , the soul finds a sweetness in that prayer ; now many of you have been in the morning at prayer , but I appeal to you ; what sweet savor of the Spirit of God is left behind ? certainly if the Spirit hath been there it is like Civit that is put into a little box , though you should take out the Civit , yet there will be a sweet savor left behind ; so though the Spirit of God , in respect of the present assistance , withdraws it self , yet it leaves a sweet savor behind . The fourth thing is puritie of heart ; pure hearts and hands in Heb 10 22. Rev. 5. 8. having every one of them harps , and golden vials ful of odors which are the prayers of Saints ; mark , the prayers of Saints are odours in golden vials ; the golden vials I may compare to the heart ; the hearts of the Saints must be as golden vials , and then their prayers will be as odours ; in 1 Tim. 2. 8. the holy Ghost giving directions how we should pray , it is with this qualification , I will therefore that men pray every where lifting up holy handes without wrath and doubting , the outward conversation must be pure , and the heart pure ; in Job , 22. 26. mark what 's said concerning that holy man ; there 's a promise made to him for the lifting up of his face to God , putting away iniquitie from his Tabernacle , that by putting away evil from our Tabernacles , and from our hearts , we may be able to lift up our hearts with joy to go ; and that 's the fourth thing , puritie of heart and hands . The fift thing is , in truth , when we come to call upon God , we must call upon him in truth , Psalm , 145. 18. vers . the Lord is nigh unto all , to all that call upon him in truth ; you will say , What is the meaning of that ? to that I answer , First , There must be inward dispositions answerable to the expressions ; as for instance , when I come to express the greatness of the Majestie of God , then I must have an inward disposition sutable to this expression , I must have a fear and reverence of the infinite Majestie of God. Secondly , When I come to confess my sin , to judg my self for my sin , there must be an inward disposition sutable to such a confession ; O how many men and women will come and speak great things against themselves for their sins , and judg themselves for their sins , and yet there , is no such disposition in their hearts sutable to their words ; you shall have some in praying with others , they will be a means to break the hearts of others , they will so follow their sin ; and take such shame and confusion upon themselves for their sin ; and yet God knows their hearts not stir'd all this while ; and then they will call upon God for pardon of sin , and for power against their sin , and yet God knows that their hearts do close with their sin , and are loth to part with their sin in the mean time , this is falsness of heart ; when the inward disposition is not answerable to outward expressions ; I beseech you my brethren consider of the prayers you have made , and especially you that pray much with others , look what expressions you have made , and see whether there be answerable dispositions to the expressions you have made , and how that the Lord doth remember every expression that you have made . Thirdly We must call upon God in truth , that is , Conscionably to performe the engagements of prayer , prayer puts an engagement upon the heart ; now those that call upon him in truth are conscionable to perform the engagements ; as now , do I pray for any good thing ? I am engaged to endeavour in the use of al means for the attaning of the good thing : When you confess a sin , why , you are engaged by that means to endeavour all your might against that sin : and when you pray for my grace , you are engaged to make use of all means you can for the attaining of that grace ; and then besides , in prayer there is much profession unto God for our sinceritie and uprightness , and of our willingness to be at his dispose , perform these engagments that thou makest to God in prayer ; if God should present to us all our professions that We have made to him in prayer , and tell us how we have come short of them , it would make us be in shame and confusion in our own thoughts . Another thing in prayer must be faith ; pray without doubting , as in the former Scripture , the prayer of faith prevails much ; James , 1. 6 7. a man that wavereth and doubteth must not think to obtaine any thing of God. But I should have opened what that faith is that we should have in prayer , we must have faith to beleeve that the thing that we do pleaseth God , and faith in Gods promises , and faith in Gods providence , this should be exercised in the time of our prayers ; And therefore after we have done , to go away beleeving , as Hannah in 1 Sam. 1. 18. we read of her , that after she had been praying she went away , and lookt no more sad , the text saith ; noting that after we have been powring forth our souls to God , we should beleeve and exercise faith and not go in as drooping a way as ever we did . Object . You will say , Yea , if we knew certainly that God would hear us . Answ . The way to be assured that God will hear you , is by casting your selves upon God , how can you know that he will hear , but by resting upon him ? I have been with God , and I have been doing the duty of a poor creature , and for the success I leave it to God , and therfore it must be with faith . But I have so many sins mixt with my prayers , how can I beleeve ? You have an excellent Scripture for that to help a soul , to exercise faith in prayer , notwithstanding there hath been many infirmiities ; in psal . 65. 2 , 3. O thou that hearest prayers , unto thee all flesh shall come ; Thou hearest prayers , but I haue a great manie sines that hinders ; no , mark what though iniquitie prevails against me , as for our transgressions , thou shalt purge them away ? Oh make use of this Scripture , though you remember not other things ; yet you that have dejected hearts and are afraid that God will not hear your prayers , see what text saith , Thou hearest prayer Lord But will not my sins hinder ? no saith David , Iniquity prevails against me , as for our transgressions thou shalt purge them away ; exercise faith in this ; and know that God doth not hear prayer because thou art not sinful , because of thy worthyness , but meerly for his free grace . Another holy disposition in prayer should be this ; The soul should come with a holy freedom , with the Spirit of adoption to God , crying Abba , Father ; if thou comest to God meerly as to a Judg ; though it 's true , those that do not know that God loves them , yet bound as creatures to pray , but thou canst never sanctifie the Name of God , til thou hast a child-like Spirit , the spirit of adoption ; the Lord loves to have his Children come with freedom of Spirit to Himself in prayer , to come as Children , and not to come with dejected countenance , and discouraged hearts ; but come freely to open thy heart to God , as any child would open his heart to a gratious and loving Father . Another disposition is fervency in Prayer ; the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much , and that will be a means to help against vain thoughts too ; as when the Honey is scalding hot then the flies will not come to it ; if thy heart were as it were scalding hot in prayer thou wouldest not have such vain thoughts , Next there must be constancie in prayer ; in 1 Thess . 5. 17. by that I mean this , never to give over until we have that we pray for , or somthing else in leiu of it ; it may be thou heast prayed and nothing is come of it ; but not discouraged thou hast to deale with a great God , and therefore pray againe and againe , & again , and pray with this resolution , Well , let God do with me what he will , I will as long as I live call upon Him , and if God shall cast me away , yet he shall cast me away calling upon Him , as the poor woman of Canaan when Christ called her dog , and discouraged her , yet stil she will pray ; I but Dogs may have crums , that heart is in an ill condition that is discouraged in prayer , because it doth not get what he would , and therefore to think themselves I had as good not pray at all , take heed of any such thoughts . Again If you would pray to God indeed , so as to sanctifie his Name in Prayer , there should be humility in your hearts so as to be sensible of your own unworthyness ; I spake somwhat about being sensible of the distance between God and us , when I spake about sanctifying of Gods name in general . The last that I shall speak of this is , when you have done all this , all these qualifications will not sanctifie Gods Name , except all be tendered up in the Name of Jesus Christ , and in the power of his merits ; let a man or woman pray with as much fervencie , zeal ; constancie , puritie , in truth and sinceritie ; yet except he puts up all in the Name of Christ , I say , he cannot be accepted ; our spiritual offerings must be tendered up in His , Name ; but I have preached much about that . But now put all that hath been said together , and this it is to pray : That is , when as I pray understandingly ; when I give my self to prayer , when there are the breathings of the holy Ghost in my prayer , when there is puritie of heart like a golden vial , together with sinceritie , when it is in truth of heart , when it is in faith , when it comes from a spiritual Adoption , when it is in fervencie , when in constancie , reverence , humilitie , and all put up in the Name of Jesus Christ ; now a man prayes , as it is said of Saul , Behold he prayeth ; so I may say of those that are instructed in ths Art , Behold they pray . You see now that prayer is more than to reade in a book , more than to say a few words ; ye see it is a verie hard thing to pray , a work of great difficultie , and no marval though we have lost so manie of our prayers as we have done ; we must not charge Prayer and God with it , but look to our selves ( I mean not charge the Ordinance of Prayer ) but the vileness of our carriage in our prayers ; and let us for time to come know what a Christian life means . It is said of Christ in Luke : 9 , 29. that , as he was praying , the fashion of his countenance was changed . Oh that , s an excellent thing , that when we have been in our closets at prayer , to come away with our faces shining ; my Brethren could we but pray in such a manner as this is , the very fashion of our countenances would be changed , as Moses when he came from the presence of God upon the Mount , or as Christ that had the fashion of His countenances changed . Prayer , it is the sweet ease of ones spirit , it 's the help at a dead lift , it 's the great Ordinance of our Communion with God in this world , and therefore let us learn this Art of sanctifying Gods Name in prayer . I shall conclude all in this , you have heard the mysterie of the sanctifying the Name of God in worshiping God ; now I beseech you , you that have been a long time in the School of Christ , as it were Apprentices to Christ to learn Christianitie ; be ashamed that you have understood so little of this art in sanctifying the Name of God in Prayer ; It is an art and mysterie that you must be instructed in , and you are not Christians till you are instructed in this , as in an art and mysterie : And that man and woman that shall be instructed truly in this art and mysterie in sanctifying Gods Name now in the worshiping of him , such a man and woman shall be to all eternity sanctifying the Name of God in praising of him . There is a time coming when all the Saints must be in the presence of God , and be alwaies praising of him , and they shall then sanctifie Gods Name for ever ; let us now learn this art of sanctifying Gods name in praying , that we may eternally sanctifie his Name in praising of him . The Alphabetical TABLE . A Absolutely SPiritual things to be prayed for absolutely Page 277 Accept , Acceptation Acceptation of our persons the means of it 69 God accepts not the duties of wicked men 116 The services of the Saints accepted 120 Act , Actual , Action , see Grace . Actual sanctification 68 The Lord accepts the person before the Action 69 God is a pure Act , and requires Actual service 97 Adoption Sign of adoption to desire to be oft in Gods presence 36 We must pray in the spirit of adoption 294 Affections Affections , the strength of them required in Gods Worship Page 82 Aggravation Aggravation of sin , to neglect due hearing of the Word 200 Afflictions see Honor They that sanctifie not God in hearing the Word , can have no comfort from it in afflictions 206 Whether it be lawful to pray for afflictions 277 Afflictions in themselves materially evil 278 All All that we have must be given to God 63 All things sanctified to the godly 319 Altar Christ is the Altar upon which we must offer all our sacrifices 92 Angel Angel , what it signifieth Page 91 Angels , the aggravation of their sia . 195 Anger Anger not to be brought into Gods service 19 Apply We must apply the Word in hearing it . 175 Apostasie , see Schism Apostasie , the ground of it 106 Assurance The Gospel gives assurance of salvation 212 Attention Attention must be given in hearing the Word 171 B Beginners Beginners in Religion to be careful of preparation 56 Beleeving Beleeving the condition of the Covenant of grace 232 Birds Wandring thoughts in prayer as the birds to Abrahams sacrifice 283 Blast God blasts those men that sanctifie him not in Worship 117 God will blast those that neglect his word 208 Bless Many bless themselves in evil waies 198 To bless God for helping us against wandring thoughts in prayer 289 Blind Blind sacrifice not to be offered to God 98 Blood A fearful thing to be guilty of Christs blood 230 Breathing , see Spirit Broken , see Heart What kind of broken heart is required in receiving the Lords Supper Page 255 Christs body broken for us 268 C Children Gods Saints may meet with afflictions in their Children 20 Ground of Consentment in afflictions upon our Children 21 Church Church , what it signifies 235 Church defiled by wicked men uncast out 236 Civil , see Worship Christ All worship must be tendred in the Name of Christ 91 All must be tendred in Christ because of Gods Justice 101 They that reject the Word , reject Christ 201 All our prayers must be tendered in the Name of Christ 296 Command Nothing must be tendred to God in worship but what he hath commanded 8 No express command for many things in the New Testament 15 Comfort , see Word Communion Communion with God not encreased by duties done with natural conscience 88 The Sacrament the Ordinance of our Communion with Christ 229 The Sacrament must be received in a holy Communion 234 How far the presence of wicked men hinder this communion 234 No close Church communion with wicked men 240 More communion with Christ in the Sacrament than in the Word Page 251 Confession Ground of confession to God 98 Conscience Sinners against Conscience need great preparation to Duties . 57 Duties acted by natural conscience 88 Natural conscience limits it self in duties 89 Trouble of conscience should make men meekly hear the Word 180 Consciences of wicked men troubled about the Sacrament 230 Constant Men acted by Natural parts are not constant in Duties 88 There must be constancy in our prayers 295 Contrary The Word will be made good on the contrary , to those that abuse it 205 Conversion Conversion not wrought by the Sacrament 232 Covenant In the Sacrament we make a solemn Covenant 226 Covenant of grace sealed in the Sacrament 229 Those that receive the Sacrament must be in the Covenant of grace 232 Condition of that Covenant ibid Renewing of Covenant in the Sacrament 257 Crucified Christ crucified in the Sacrament 248 Curse They that neglect the Word , are nigh to a curse 203 Cursing of others , sinful 278 How far we may curse the Enemies of the Church 280 D Danger , see Dignity Dark , see Mind . Dead , Death Fear of death taken away , how Page 38 We must not bring dead services and hearts to the living God 97 Consciences of carnal men opened upon their death bed 118 Death of Christ to be meditated on in the Sacrament 165 Dear , see Glory Delight God delights in our drawing nigh to him 37 Depart To neglect Gods Worship , is to depart from him . 33 Dependance We should continually be sensible of our dependance on God 274 Desire We must hear the Word with a desire after it 170 Devil Devil gratified by omission of duties 59 Vnseasonable motions though materially good come from the Devil 82 Wandering thoughts in prayer suggested by the Devil 286 Difficulty Natural parts in performance of duties will not carry through difficulties 87 Not to be discouraged in difficulties considering Gods power 97 The work of Religion difficult 109 Dignity , see Prerogative The more dignity the more danger 12 Dishonor It were a dishonor to God to accept the services of wicked men 116 Disposition Inward disposition in prayer 292 Divine , see Service Doubt The time of receiving the Sacrament no time of doubting 254 We must pray without doubting Page 293 Duty The holiness of a duty will not bear men out in the miscarriage in it 17 Omission of duty will not fit for duty 58. 113 The doing of one duty prepares for another 60 Duties not to be rested on 103. 107 115 To be humbled for our best duties 111 All duties of carnal worshipers lost 112 Sin of hypocrites aggravated by holy duties ibid E Easie Preparation to make duties easie 52 Election Evidence of Election 213 End , see Extremity . Our ends must be high in the worship of God 72 Base ends of men in Gods worship ib. To have right ends a part of wisdom 99 It is the nature of God to will himself the last end 104 Engagement Engagements of prayer to be performed 293 Envy , see Mean Eternity Eternity of God how to be considered in our Worship 94 Excellency Thoughts of our own excellency to be cast off in our worship 85 Exemplary Exemplary judgments should make us look into the word how God makes it good 23 Extremity Men that regard duties only in extremity make themselves their end 77 Examination Examination required in partaking of the Sacrament Page 233 Eye Faith as an eye to see Christ in the Sacrament 252 F Faith , Faithfulness Faithfulness of God , what it should teach us 102 Faith must be mixed in hearing the word 177 Faith exercised in receiving the Sacrament 252 Faith how to act it in the Sacrament 271 We must pray in faith 293 Faculties All the faculties of the soul to be given up in prayer 281 Familiarity , see Potent Drawing nigh to God breeds familiarity 37 Benefit of familiarity with God 38 Falling away Falling away the ground of it 34 Fear , see Publick What fear we must have in Gods worship 78 In fear natural conscience puts on to duty 89 Fervency Fervency required in prayer , 225 Fire Fire from heaven Two-sold 2 Fire that slew Aarons sons , what 3 Strange fire , what 19 Folly To be ashamed of our folly when we come to God 99 Follow The soul is to follow after God as a God 65 Free , see Grace Friend , see Word Friends , who are the best Page 25 G Gesture Gesture in the Sacrament , not meerly indifferent 262 Guilty , see Blood Guilty consciences flee the worship of God , why 31 Guilt to be removed when we come to pray 274 God Duties must be performed to God as a God 23 The word to be heard as the word of God 166 We are reconciled by the blood of that person that is God 268 Good Good heart , what 187 The word will be made good on the abusers of it 207 We are to pray for our own good 277 Gospel Gospel the tenour of it 257 Glory Glory of God dear to him 7 Glory of God dearer to him than the lives of men 22 Glory of God is the lustre of all his Attributes together 102 The active Glory of God is the especial honor he hath 105 Glory of God in his Word the greatest 182 Why God will be glorified in them that hear the word 209 Those that will obey the word will be the glory of the Ministers 214 We should have apprehensions of Gods glory in prayer 275 The glory of God is the chief thing we should pray for 176 Spiritual things neerest the glory of God Page 277 Grace Grace to be acted especially in Gods worship 29 Grace , the freeness of it should make us more diligent in the worship of God 34 Graces encreased by drawing nigh to God 35 Graces to be acted and stirred up in the Sacrament 271 We must act our own graces in prayer together with the Spirit 291 See Covenant Great A people are great that have God nigh them 40 we should prepare to Gods worship because he is great 43 The duties of Gods worship are great 44 How to sanctifie Gods Name in respect of his greatness 67 Great things to be expected from God 100 We must hear the word with attention , because of the greatness of him that sends it 172 We must be attentive because the matters delivered are great 173 H Habitual Habitual sanctification 68 Harden Nothing doth harden the heart more than the word by accident 205 Hand Faith is a hand to take Christ in the Sacrament 253 The Cup in the Sacrament not to be delivered into every particular hand 246 Heart Our hearts naturally prepared for duty Page 46 The heart in preparation to be taken from every sinful way 49 As the heart is , so are the duties 70 The heart is not changed by the acting of natural parts 87 Good heart , what 187 The Word of the Law not in the heart 211 A broken heart required in-receiving the Sacrament 246 Hearing Of sanctifying Gods Name in hearing the Word 161 Hearing the Word a part of Gods worship 162 How to know that God hears our prayers 294 Heathen Heathens attend to worship their Idols 46 Heaven Being oft in Gods presence , minds us of Heaven 36 The Worship of God here , the beginning of that in Heaven 106 Hide We must hide the Word in our hearts 189 Highest What we lift highest in our worship , that is our God 74 See Thoughts , Ends. Hindrance Hindrances in Gods Worship , many 46 Holy , Holiness Holiness the greatest Honor of Gods Name 23 Holiness of God to be held forth by his servants 24 Drawing nigh to God , makes us holy 36 Time and place said to be holy , how 50 God infinite holy 99 Those that receive the Lords Supper must be holy 232 Honest We must receive the Word into honest hearts Page 186 Honest heart , what 188 Honest amongst men , who 189 Honor To quiet the heart in affliction , is to know that God will have honor by it 25 Humble Humbled , Humility . Humility of spirit requisite in the Worship of God 84 To be humbled for not sanctifying the Name of God aright Humiliation in preparing to hear the Word 168 Wandring thoughts in prayer suffered by God to humble us 285 Humility required in our prayers 295 See Worship Hungring There must be hungring after Christ in the Sacrament 251 I Incense Incense , what it signifieth 91 Incomprehensible Incomprehensibleness of God , what it should teach us in our Worship 95 Infinite There is an impression of Gods infinitness upon the duties of his servants 64 Infirmities Infirmities of others to be passed by of those that receive the Sacrament 258 Infirmities how helped by the spirit 290 Institution Institution of the Sacrament to be kept close to 261 Intention Strength of intention required in the Worship of God 81 Joy The mercy of God should make us come to him with joy Page 100 The word to be received with joy 184 Difference in the joy of hypocrites and true Christians 186 Spiritual joy required in receiving the Sacrament 255 A broken spirit may consist with spiritual joy ibid Judg , Judgment Sinners may meet with judgments never threatned in the word 16 God is quick with some in the way of his judgments 17 Judgments many times sutable to the sias 18 Gods judgments many times invisible 21 The Word of God shall judg those that abuse it 207 Justice Justice of God seen in the death of Christ 268 K Knowledg Knowledg required in receiving the Lords Supper 244 Knowledg in other points necessary to them that receive the Sacrament 245 Knowledg actual required in receivers 246 L Leaven Leaven how cast out by the Jews 249 Life , Living Gods goodness in sparing our lives to worship him 84 That God is a living God , what it should teach us 96 The things delivered in the Word concern our lives 174 Beleevers nourished to eternal life 269 Limited The duties of Gods Children not limited Page 65 Little In matters of Worship God stands upon little things 11 Lose The ground why we lose so many prayers 296 Love Natural conscience makes not the heart love a duty 88 The Word must be received with love 184 The Sacrament ordained by Christ out of love 228 Love to be renewed in the receiving the Sacrament 258 The infinite love of God seen in the death of Christ 269 Lust The Worship of God not to be subjected to our lusts . 72 Who they be that subject it to their lusts M Man The Mediator between God and Man , is Man 276 Mean Mean men not to envy great ones , and why 13 Mediator The way of a mans salvation is by a Mediator 267 Meditation Meditation in preparing the heart to holy duties 49 Meditations in the receiving the Sacrament 297 Meekness The word must be received with meekness 179 Mercy , Merciful God is merciful 100 Mercy of God should teach us to be merciful to others Page 101 The duties of Worship , the way to convey Gods choyce mercies 105 The Word a means to convey special mercies 195 Mercy-Seat . Mercy-Seat a type of Christ 91 Mind We should pick out Gods mind from dark expressions 14 We come to know the mind of God when we come to hear the Word 163 Mysterie The greatest mysteries of Salvation presented in the Sacrament 228. 255 Mixture Mixture of mans inventions with Gods Ordinances unlawful 266 Mortification Mortification requisite to the sanctifying Gods Name 67 Mouth Faith , the mouth of the soul to receive Christ 254 N Name No way to enjoy mercies , but by sanctifying Gods Name 105 See Sanctifie Nature , Natural Some duties of Worship are natural 261 Christ hath honored humane Nature by taking it 267 Neer , Nigh God wil be sanctified in those that come neer him 6 Those that are neerest God , should be most careful 22 In worshiping God we should draw nigh to him 26 In what respect we draw nigh to God in worship 27 The Word of the Gospel nigh 211 See Grace , Delight , Adoption . Neglect Several sorts that neglect to sanctifie Gods Name in hearing the Word Page 197 Nourishment The Lords Supper an Ordinance of spiritual nourishment 233 Belevers are nourished to eternal life 269 O Omniscient What we should learn that God is Omniscient 98 Opening Ground of opening the heart to God 98 The heart must be opened to hear the Word 175 Opportunity The happiest opportunity to sanctifie Gods Name is in hearing his Word 200 Ordinance An Ordinance of God , what ? 163 The Word an Ordinance of God to convey good to us 166 Men are not to be forced to Congregations where any of Christs Ordinences are wanting 237 The Lords Supper the great Ordinance appointed to set forth Christs sufferings 348 Own We must bring to God in his service that which is his own 86 P Parts How to know when men are acted by natural parts in Gods worship 87 Passion Passion hinders the right hearing of the Word 179 Wicked men in passion rise against God 180 Peace-offering Difference between Peace-offerings and Burnt-offerings Page 75 Person God accepts the person before he accepts the offering 69 Place The Lord is very terrible out of his holy places 18 God in his essential presence in every place 26 See Holy Plowing Plowing of the fallow ground of the heart , what 168 Men may do somwhat toward the plowing of their hearts 169 See Word Potent Familiarity with God makes us potent with him 38 Prayer Prayer a great duty that needs preparation 45 Prayer required in preparation to duties 50 Vnregenerate men cannot sanctifie Gods Name in Prayer 68 We should pray before we hear the word 171 Of sanctifying the Name of God in Prayer 272 Prayer put for the whol Worship of God 273 See Preparation , Wandring . Praise Gods Worship must not be subjected to the praise of men 73 Preparation Preparation of the soul in the duties of Gods Worship 42 Preparation and sanctification all one 43 Preparation to Gods worship , why ib. Preparation , five things wherein it consists Page 48 Preparation , the excellency of it in seveveral things 52 Those that walk closely with God are in continual Preparation 56 Preparation , a special duty of yong beginners ibid Good men grieved for want of preparation 58 Where there is sincerity , duties should be done though there want preparation 59 Preparation required in hearing the Word 165 Preparation to be made to prayer 273 See Prayer , Great , &c. Prerogative Gods Prerogative appears most in his Worship 11 No Prerogative can secure from Gods stroke 12 Presence Presence of God even in the godly , terrible to wicked men 32 Presence of godly men comfortable 35 To set Gods presence before us in prayer 288 See Guilty Present When we worship God we tender a present to him 63 Sin committed long since to be looked on as present 94 Principle God looks more at the principle of the duty than at the duty 69 Good men look at the principle of the things they enjoy from God 70 Prize To prize those mercies we beg in prayer 275 Prayer to be highly prized 286 Promise Every Ordinance of Christ hath a special promise 248 Publick Those that are in publick place , have especially need of the fear of God Page 13 Pure We must lift up pure hands in prayer 292 Q Questions Two questions God will ask his Worshipers 87 Quick God is quick in way of judgment with some 17 The Word of God is quick in working 196 Quiet The best way to quiet the heart in affliction 25 R Ready What will make the heart ready for duty 54 Readiness to hear the Word , wherein it consists 166 Reading Reading not to be prefer'd before hearing 167 Reprobation Not to sanctifie Gods Name in hearing the Word a sign of reprobation 202 Two fearful signs of reprobation 203 Resign In Gods Worship we must resign all to God 90 Resolution We must hear the Word with resolution to yield to it 170 Resolution against wandring thoughts in prayer 287 S Sabbath Sabbath see Strength Sacrament Sacrament , the meaning of the word Page 225 Sacrament a part of Gods Worship 226 We must sanctifie Gods Name in receiving the Sacrament 229 Vnworthy receiving the Sacrament severely threatned 228 How we sanctifie Gods Name in receiving the Sacrament 291 Whether Judas received the Sacrament of the Lords Supper 238 Safety Safety wherein it consists 38 Salt Salt of the Sacrifice what it signifieth 67 Sanctifie Sanctifie , what it signifieth 5 Gods Name sanctified two waies ibid Gods Name to be sanctified when we draw nigh to him 42 How Gods Name is sanctified in drawing nigh to him ibid How duties must be performed that Gods Name may be sanctified 62 The heart must be sanctified in regard of Gods greatness 67 Sanctification the parts of it ibid Sanctification of the heart double , 68 Sanctifying of Gods Name the only way to sit us for mercies 105 Exhortation to sanctifie Gods Name 113 Nothing sanctified to them that do not sanctifie God in his Word 203 See Sacrament Satisfied Natural consciences is satisfied with a little duty 90 See Sin Schism No schism to depart from a Church that hath not al Christs Ordinances 243 Schism , what Difference between Schism and Apostasie Page ib. Secret Men acted by natural parts are not enlarged in secret 88 See The Sacrament so to be delivered as all may see what is done 262 Self Self not to be our end in our duties 74 Where self is the highest end , God regards not the duties 75 Service Hearing the Word is Divine Service 164 Shadow Shadow of Gods wing , what 30 Shift Of those that shift off the Word closely applied 199 Silence Silence , what 7 Sin The committing of one sin prepares for another 60 No salvation without satisfying for sin 108 The heart must be purged from sin to receive the Sacrament 249 Motives in the Sacrament to abhor sin 250 Sin , the great evil of it 269 Singing Singing Psalms in the time of the Sacrament unfit 265 Singing after the Sacrament requisite 266 Sitting Sitting at the Sacrament the fittest gesture 263 Soul The price of the salvation of a Soul 269 Spirit , Spiritual We must be acted by the spirit in our worship Page 87 God must be worshiped in spirit 93 Spiritual things may be absolutely prayed for 177 How to know when the spirit helps our prayers 291 See Glory , Sweet Strange , see Fire Strength Strength required in Gods Worship 80 Strength required to spend the Sabbath 83 Natural conscience gives not strength to duty 88 We must not come to duties in our own strength 115 Strugling Strugling alone against corruption oft times ensnares us 61 Subjection Subjection required in bearing the Word 182 Sufferings The sufferings of Christ chiefly represented in the Sacrament 246 Ground of suffering for Christ 268 Superstition Superstition , what 9 Sutable , see Judgment Sweet Breathings of the spirit sweet 292 T Table Those that come to the Sacrament should come neer the Table 261 Tares Tares , what ment by them 238 Temptation Time of temptation the time of worship 81 We must hide the Word in our hearts against temptation 191 Terrible , see Place Thankfulness Thankfulness required in receiving the Sacrament Page 255 Motives to thankfulness 256 Time Preparation makes us do much in a little time 52 See Holy Thorns Thorns must be plucked out of the heart when we hear the Word 169 Thoughts In the worshiping of God we must have high thoughts of God 71 Wicked men have many times wicked thoughts in prayer 282 Thoughts are to God as words are to men ibid See Wandring Tremble We should tremble at the hearing of the Word 181 Truth We must pray in truth 292 Truth , what meant by it ibid V Vain Where wicked men are willingly admitted to the Sacrament , Gods Name is taken in vain 241 Unchangable God is unchangable 96 Understanding We must pray with understanding 280 Uncertainty The righteousness of the Law leaves at uncertainty 212 W Wait We must wait Gods leisure in regard of time 86 Ground of waiting from Gods eternity 95 Wandring Wandring thoughts in prayer Page 281 Directions against wandring thoughts in prayer 286 All wandring thoughts in prayer sinful 288 See Birds , Humble , Devil . Warrant , see Command Watching Watching required in preparation to duty 50 Weakness God passes by weakness where the heart is prepared to duty 53 Weary A man that makes himself his end will be weary of duty 76 Wicked Wicked men are to be cast out or withdrawn from in the Sacrament 235 Every man in the Congregation to look to the casting out of wicked men 241 Ground of excluding wicked men 258 Will , Willing . We must be willing , not will - worshipers 10 Things in Gods Worship depend only upon his Will 11 God requires that we will as he willeth 104 Our prayers must be according to Gods Will 276 Wisdom Wisdom of God , what to learn from it 99 Wisdom of God to be our guide ibid Womb Those that sanctifie Gods Name in hearing the Word , it is a greater blessing than to bear him in their Womb 213 Word To comfort afflicted friends from Gods Word 24 The heart must be plowed by the Word 196 The Word must be glorified 194 Word , what should make us este●m ●t Page 186 The Word hath much of God in it 195 The Word a means to convey spectal mercies ibid The Word wherein the strength of it li●s 202 All the good in the Word for whom 210 The Devil 〈◊〉 advantage by fastning ill Words upon th● good 244 The Word , in what respect above the Sacrament 251 The Word sanct fi●d by Prayer 273 Worship Difference between civil things and Gods Worship 9 Natural helps in Gods Worship ib. We should be humbled for false Worship 11 Worship of God , what Page 27 Worship of God the means to convey h●● choyce mercies 28 To he●d what we do in Worship 32 Exhortation to be much in the Worship of God 34 Hea●ing the Word a part of Gods Worship 162 〈◊〉 makes hearing the Word a Worship 163 Prayer put for the wh●● Worship of God 173 See Comman , Li●d . , &c. World In preparation the heart must be taken from the World 49 In prayer the heart must be taken from the world 275 Wrath Preachers that 〈◊〉 Gods wrath should conceal their own 19 FINIS . coat of arms or blazon COLE . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A30585-e10290 Stepney Novemb. 16. 1645 Notes for div A30585-e16440 Stepney , Dec. 21. 1645. Notes for div A30585-e18080 Stepney , Jan. 4. 1645. Notes for div A30585-e19760 Stepney Jan. 11. 1645. 
A77988	----	Gospel-worship: or, The right manner of sanctifying the name of God in generall. And particularly in these 3. great ordinances, [brace] viz. [brace] 1. Hearing the Word. 2. Receiving the Lords Supper 3. Prayer. By Jeremiah Burroughes, the Gospel-preacher to two of the greatest congregations in England, viz. Stepney and Criple-gate, London. Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646. 1647 Approx. 664 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 142 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2008-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A77988 Wing B6084 Thomason E408_1 ESTC R204665 99864131 99864131 116352 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A77988) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 116352) Images scanned from microfilm: (Thomason Tracts ; 64:E408[1]) Gospel-worship: or, The right manner of sanctifying the name of God in generall. And particularly in these 3. great ordinances, [brace] viz. [brace] 1. Hearing the Word. 2. Receiving the Lords Supper 3. Prayer. By Jeremiah Burroughes, the Gospel-preacher to two of the greatest congregations in England, viz. Stepney and Criple-gate, London. Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646. Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680. Cross, Thomas, fl. 1632-1682, engraver. [12], 120, 161-215, [1], 225-297, [21] p. [1] leaf of plates : port. Printed for Peter Cole and R.W. at the signe of the Printing-Presse in Cornhill at the Royall Exchange., London, : 1648 [i.e. 1647] The portrait is signed: Cross sculpt:. "To the reader" dated and signed: Sept. 15. 1647. Thomas Goodwin [and 4 others]. The words "And particularly .. ordinances," and "1. Hearing .. Prayer." are bracketed together on the title page. Text continuous despite pagination. With a final errata leaf followed by an index. G4v not numbered. Variant: G4v numbered "224". Annotation on Thomason copy: "7ber [i.e. September] 22", "1647"; the 8 in imprint date crossed out. Reproduction of the original in the British Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Theology, Practical -- Early works to 1800. Worship -- Early works to 1800. 2007-09 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2007-11 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2007-12 John Latta Sampled and proofread 2007-12 John Latta Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion Gospel-worship : OR , The Right manner of Sanctifying the Name of God in generall . And particularly in these 3. great Ordinances , viz. 1. Hearing the Word . 2. Receiving the Lords Supper 3. Prayer . By JEREMIAH BURROUCHES , The Gospel-Preacher to two of the greatest Congregations in England , viz. Stepney and Criple-gate , LONDON . LONDON , Printed for Peter Cole and R. W. at the signe of the Printing-Presse in Cornhill at the Royall Exchange . 1648. To the Reader . OUR purpose in this Preface , is not to speak either of the eminent worth of the Author , whose memory is blessed in the hearts of all the godly in this Nation ; or of this Piece it self here published : But only to assure thee that it is His. And although it riseth not up to that exactnesse and perfection that might have been in them , had he publisht them himself . Yet with that different allowance which is to be given Notes taken from his mouth in ordinary and frequent Preaching , We doubt not but that in their use and benefit , they may be as profitable to the Saints as other of his Writings , being as full of weighty and Divine materials , having also the impresse of the Spirit and language of this holy Man ( one of the greatest Preachers of this age ) stampt all along upon them . We ( to whom this our Brother was most deare and precious ) being intrusted with the publishing of his Sermons , have thought good first to usher abroad these few , which if they receive that welcome they deserve , many other excellent Pieces of his may soon after have encouragement to appear in publick view . The points treated of in these , are of great concernment , and therefore we conceive , the Author though in handling of them , he had roome enough for the discussing many of the controversies of the times , yet he purposely waved it , and bent himself to the single delivery of that which tended most to edification , and best suited with such a popular Auditory as that was to whom he spake . The Lord of heaven blesse them to thy spirituall advantage , and enable thee by such means as these to sanctifie his Name in the use of all his Ordinances , which is the desire of Thomas Goodwin . William Greenhill . William Bridge . Sidrach Simpson . Philip Nye . Sept. 15. 1647. Gospel-worship : OR , The right manner of drawing nigh to God in generall . And particularly in those three great Ordinances : Viz. 1 Hearing of the Word , 2 Receiving the Lords Supper , 3 Prayer . LEVITICUS . 10. 3. Then Moses said unto Aaron , This is it that the Lord spake saying , I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me , and before all the People I will be glorified : And Aaron held his peace . THESE words are the speech of Moses to Aaron his Brother , indeavouring to quiet and comfort his heart , which was ( no question exceedingly troubled upon that sore and great affliction that was upon him in the strange death of his two Sonnes , Nadab , and Abibu , the story is this : After Aarons Sonnes were consecrated to the Priestly Office , they coming to attend this their Office , the very first day after their consecration to offer Incense unto God , they ventured to offer incense with strange fire , with other fire then God had appointed Upon that the fire of Gods wrath broke out upon them , and slew them both presently in the very Sanctuary before all the people , for it was a solemne time : being the beginning of the solemn Consecration of the Priesthood . Upon this the spirit of Aaron could not but be exceedingly troubled , to see his two Sonnes thus struck . Now Moses comes to him and saith , This is that which the Lord spake , I will be Sanctified in them that draw nigh me , and before all the people I will be glorifyed . And upon this Aaron held his peace . We reade that once fire came downe from Heaven in a way of Mercy to consume the sacrifices : but now fire comes downe from heaven in a way of Judgement to consume the sacrificers , even Nadab and Abihu : they were Aarons sonnes , the sonnes of a godly man , the sonnes of the High-Priest , they were his eldest sonnes , for Aaron had other sonnes besides Nadab and Abihu , Eleazer and Ithamar , but these were his two eldest sonnes : they were two voung men , they were struck in the very prime of their age , they were two that were newly consecrated in the Priests office , for so you finde it in the 9. Chap. And they were two men of renown in the country and before all the people of Israel , two men that God had much honoured heretofore ; as you shall find in the 24 Chap of Exod. and the beginning , this Nadab and Abihu were men of great repute and great renown , that God did much honour in former times ; for when God called Moses and Aaron with the Elders to come up to him , Hee singles out Nadab and Abihu amongst the rest and names them . And hee said unto Moses , Come up unto the Lord , thou and Aaron , Nadab and Abihu , and 70. of the Elders of Israel . Moses and Aaron , Nadab and Abihu are only named , and then 70. of the Elders in generall , but Moses , Aaron , Nadab , and Abihu , as if these were the foure eminent men of renown among all the people of Israel , hee names none of the 70. Elders but these two , besides Moses and Aaron : therfore these two that were consumed by strange fire , were renowned men and newly consecrated into their Office. What was their Sinne ? Their sinne it was offering of strange fire , so the Text saith that they offred strange fire , which God commanded them not , in the beginning of the Chapter . But had God ever forbidden it ? where doe wee find that ever God had forbidden them to offer strange Fire , or appointed that they should offer onely one kind of fire ? There is no Text of Scripture , that you can find from the beginning of Genesis to this place , where God hath sayd in terminis , in so many words expresly , You shall offer no fire but one kind of fire . And yet here they are consumed by fire from God , for offering strange fire . I finde in the 30 `of Exod. ver . 9. that there they were forbidden offering strange Incense , but I doe not find that they were forbidden offering strange fire . In Levit. 6. 13. and divers verses in that Chapter we find that God had appointed that they should keep constantly the fire on the Altar burning , and never to let it go out : Now that was it seemes Gods intention that therefore they should make use of that fire , and that fire onely . God would have them to pick out his meaning : God sent fire downe from heaven upon the Altar , so in the latter end of the 9. Chap. God sent downe fire from heaven , & gave them a charge to keep that fire on the Altar constantly , and never to let it goe out : so that it seemes God would have them pick out his meaning , that because he had sent down fire from heaven upon the Altar , and gave them power to keep that constantly , God would have them therfore to understand , that what Incense or Sacrifice he would have the use of fire in , it should be onely that fire and no other , though God did never say to them directly in these words , You shall make use of this fire and no other , but God would have them to understand this . That 's their sin therefore in offering of strange fire . Now fire comes from the Lord and doth consume them . Some think this fire came from the Altar , but surely it could not be any ordinary fire that did consume Nadab and Abihu at this time for you shall find in the next ver to my text , That the bodies of Nadab and Abihu were not consumed by the fire , no , nor their cloathes , they were kil'd by the fire and yet their cloathes were whole . therefore it was not an ordinary fire , it was some Celestiall fire struke into them to slay them , for so saith the text in the 4 th ver . Come neer , carry away your Bretheren from before the Sanctuary out of the Camp : and so they went and carried them in their coats out of the Camp , so tht their cloathes and bodies were not consumed , only they were kil'd by the fire : they were struck with a sudden death , and that in the presence of the Lord : such a death as God had never threatned in the Word before , God had never threatned the Priests and said , If you Offer strange fire you shall be consumed by fire : but yet God smites them with death by fire they had not time to seek God , no not so much ( as we use to say ) as to say Lord have mercy upon me : they had no time to promise amendment at all : now upon this heavy judgement , the heart of Aaron could not possibly but be very much troubled , yea and the spirit of Moses too , for Moses was their unckle , and Aaron their father , they could not but be exceedingly much greived : but Moses being the brother of Aaron , seeing his spirit ( no question ) exceedingly troubled , being under such a sad affliction , and that such a Godly man even as Aaron was should have such a sad judgment befall his Children : Moses comes and speakes comfortably to him , and labours to support his spirit : and how doth he do it ? He comes not as ordinarily you use to visit your brethren , Oh! you must be content with this : no , but he comes and applyes the Word of God , and shewes how God must be sanctified ; and by that he comes to quiet the heart of his brother Aaron : This is that which the Lord hath spoke saith Moses : Hee seekes to stay the heart of his Brother with that which God spake . But where do we find that God spake this ? It 's hard to find in any Scripture these very words in ter minis before this time : and therefore Augustin thinks it was onely the word God spake but not written , and so they had it from hand to hand by tradition as many other things , as the Prophecie of Enoch that the Apostle Jude speakes of , you doe not find it written in the Book of God , and yet the Apostle speakes of it , so that indeed it was from hand to hand : yea and we find in the New Testament when Paul speakes of a thing that Christ should say , how that our Lord saith , It is a more blessed thing to give then to receive ; you find it not recorded in the Gospels that Christ said so . So , this is that which the Lord said , though it was not written from the beginning of Genesis to this very place , or otherwise though it be not recorded in expresse terms , yet somthing is recorded to the same purpose and effect : and so it may seeme to have reference to that Scripture Exod. 29. 43. there we have a Scripture comes as neere to it as any I know . And there will I meet with the children of Israel , and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory , that 's as much in effect , as I will be sanctified in those that come nigh me , in those that come to Worship me in my Tabernacle , I will be sanctified in all things that concerne my Worship , I will be sure to be sanctifyed there . I will be sanctified ] I will be Hallowed , for it is the very same that you have in the Lords Prayer , Hallowed be thy Name , only that 's the Greeke word , and this is the Hebrew : but if you would translate this word into Greeke , you must translate it by the same word that Christ spake when he taught his disciples to pray hallowed bee thy name , Hallowd and Sanctifyed is all one . Lord let thy Name appeare to be Holy : so I will be Sanctified , that is , I will have my Name appeare to be Holy , I will be made known unto my People , and to all the World that I am a holy God : that 's the meaning of I will be Sanctifyed , I will be knowne to al the world that I am a Holy God. And before all the People I will be Glorifyed , so it is in the latter part of the verse : as if God should say , I account it to be my glory that I should be manifested to be Holy before all the World. I will be Sanctifyed , that is I will have my People to demeane and carry themselves so as to hold forth their acknowledgement of my Holynesse so , as by their carriage I may appeare to be a Holy God. I will be Sanctifyed by them , or otherwise if they shall not in an active way Sanctify my name , that is , if they shall not demeane themselves so as to hold forth the glory of my Holynesse , then I will be Sanctifyed upon them ; I will demeane and carry my self towards them so , as by my actions upon them , I will make it appeare what a Holy God I am : So God is Sanctified two wayes , eyther by the Holynesse of his People , in their carriage towards him holding forth the glory of Gods Holynesse : and so in that 1. Pet. 3. 15. Sanctifye the Lord God in your hearts , the Saints doe sanctifye God in their hearts when they feare God as a Holy God , and Reverence him and Love him as a holy God : and so Sanctifie him in their lives , when their lives doe hold forth the glory of Gods Holynesse , then God is Sanctifyed . Put then if we do not do so , then God Sanctifies himself , that is in wayes of Judgement upon those that do not in wayes of holynesse Sanctifie his Name . And thus you have it Ezek. 28. 22. And say , Thus saith the Lord God , Behold I am against thee O Zidon , & I will be glorified in the middest of thee , and they shall know that I am the Lord , when I shall have executed judgment in her , and shall be Sanctified in her . And this is all one with I will be glorified in the middest of them . And in the 38. of Ezek. 16 , 23. You have to the same purpose , And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel , as a cloud to cover the Land : it shall be in the latter dayes : and I will bring thee against my Land , that the Heathen may know mee , when I shall be Sanctified in thee O Gog , before their eyes . And in the 23. ver . Thus will I magnifie my selfe , and Sanctify my selfe , and I will be knowne in the eyes of many Nations , and they shall know that I am the Lord , In the way of the execution of Judgment : thus I will Sanctifie my self , so I will be Sanctified in those that draw nigh me . In those that are nigh mee ] Nigh ones , so it may be read : that is , especially the Priests that did approach to God. Ezek. 42. 13. they approach to God especially . But it is meant generally of all those that shall have to deale in my Worship , whosoever shall come to Worship me let them look to it ; they must Sanctifie my name , they must so demeane themselves in my Worship , as to hold forth my Name to be Holy : or otherwise I will manifest my selfe against them in the wayes of Judgment , for I will appeare to be a holy God. I will have the glory of my Holynesse one way or other ( saith God ) in those that come neere Mee , As if God should say , Though it 's otherwise with men , they indeed will be ready to favour those that are neere them , but I will not doe so . Men will sooner passe by the offences of those that are neer them then those that are not as suppose that a stranger commits an offence , you would be severe towards him ; but suppose it were one of your owne Children , or kinsmen , what would you doe then ? Doe not we see that men will rather favour their owne kindred then strangers , though the offence be the same ? But I will not doe so saith God. Suppose it be one of your own family , will not you be ready to excuse them ? Suppose it were your own Child that should cōmit such an offence , Oh! what friends would you make to take him off from punishment ? Though men will do so towards their own , yet be bitter and severe towards strangers ; Yet I will not be so saith God : Let those that are neer me looke to it , I will be Sanctified by them . I will be sanctifyed in those that draw neere me . Now upon this , when Moses said thus , That God would be sanctified in those that draw neere him : this was Moses scope to Aaron , as if Moses should say , Aaron , though I confesse the hand of God is heavy upon you this day : Yet it is fit for you to submit to God , 't is fit that God should be glorified what ever becomes of you ; you are deare to God , but Gods Name is dearer to him then you are : what ever the lives of your Sonnes were , yet it is fit that God should be honoured , and his name Sanctified what ever becomes of your Sonnes , or of your Comforts , and therfore let your heart be quieted , you have had a great loss and affliction upon you ; but God hath had glory ; God hath glorified himselfe . How hath God glorified himselfe ? Very much by this way ; for God by this way hath done an act to make all the People of the Land feare before him ; to cause them to Worship him with all reverence . All the people of the Land seeing such a Judgment as this , and hearing of it ; they will learne for ever to feare and Reverence this God : they will say , How shall wee appeare before this Holy God ? Wee had need take heed how we appeare in his presence , and Worship him according to the way that Hee himselfe would be Worshipped ; As if Moses should say , This Honour that God hath by this meanes in the hearts of his people it is that , that you should account a greater good then the Lives of your Children , what ever they are . This is the Scope of Moses speech to Aaron . Now upon this the Text saith : Aaron held his peace ] Hee was silenced . It may be before , Hee was expressing himselfe in greife : and sorrow'd exceeding much in words ; but now he was quiet and had nothing to say : he did by his silence acknowledge , his Children were dear to him , but it 's fit that God should be glorified what ever becomes of his Children , and therefore Aaron holds his peace . But the word that is here translated Holds his peace , It hath more in it then meere silence ; for the Hebrews have another word to signifie meere silence of speech : but this signifies a staying of the heart , that it doth not further proceed in any trouble of Spirit , a silence in the very heart , and staying of it ; a staying of the motions of the heart . I find the same word to be used in Scripture , when Joshua said to the Sunne si and still , stay thy selfe on Gibeon , Jos . 10. 12. It 's the same word that is here translated and Aaron held his peace , that is , he was stayed from further vexing or troubling of himselfe , or being disquieted . Whereas his heart was in a strong violent motion : Now Moses speech did stop him , and gave a stop to his heart to make it stand still in a wonderfull manner , as the Sunne when Joshua spake to it to stand still . As if the Lord should have spoken to his heart , Aaron thy heart is in a mighty strong motion , but consider that I must be Sanctifyed in those that drawe nigh mee and let all those motions of thy heart be stopt and quiet . Thus now you see the meaning of the Scripture , and the scope of it . Now in this scripture you have these three speciall and notable points . 1 That in worshiping of God , there is a drawing nigh unto him . 2 That when wee doe drawe nigh to God , wee should take heed to our selves that wee Sanctifye Gods name . 3 If wee doe not Sanctifye Gods name in our drawings nigh to him , then certainly God will Sanctifye his owne Name upon us . These are the three points that I intend to handle ; And especially the second to handle largely among you . I confesse upon another occasion in one Sermon I have spoke out of these words , but now I intend not onely in generall , to shew you how you should sanctifie Gods Name in Worship , but likewise in the particular Acts of Worship : As Sanctifying his name in Prayer , in Receiving the Sacrament , in Hearing the Word in the severall chief parts of the Worship of God how his Name should be sanctified : For in all these you do draw nigh to God. And for that end I have pitcht my thoughts upon this Scripture . But before I come to these three great Points , that are the principall points in the words read unto you I shall take up divers other notes of observation that ly up and down as it were scattered that are of great use : and will help us further to make use of this scripture in the other points that I shall come to afterwards , and handle more largely . The first Note is this , That in Gods Worship there must be nothing tendered up to God but what hee hath commanded : what soever wee meddle with in the Worship of God , it must be what wee have a warrant for out of the word of God. For this speech of Moses is upon occasion of the Judgment of God upon Aarons Sonnes for offering strange fire : They offered fire that God had not commanded . Hence I say that all things in Gods worship must have a warrant out of Gods word , must be commanded . It 's not enough that it is not forbidden . I beseech you observe it it is not enough that a thing is not forbidden , and what hurt is there in it ? But it must be commanded I confesse in matters that are Civil and naturall , there this may be enough : If it be but according to the rules of prudence , and not forbidden in the word we may make use of this in Civill and naturall things . But now when we come to matters of Religion , and the Worshipp of God ; we mu●● either have a command , or somewhat out of Gods Word by some Consequence drawn from some Command wherein God manifests his will either a direct command , or by comparing one thing with another , or drawing consequences plainly from the Words . Wee must have a warrant for the Worship of God. One would have thought that these Preists offering Incense to the true God , what hurt was there in taking other Fire ? But there was no Command for it , and therefore it was not accepted . It 's true there are somethings in the Worship of God that are Naturall and Civil helpes , and there we need not have any Command : As for instance ; when we come to Worship God , the Congregation meets , they must have a convenient place to keep the Ayre and weather from them : now this is but a naturall help , and so far as I Use the place of worship as a naturall help , I need have no Command . But if I will put any thing in a Place beyond what it hath in it's owne nature , There I must look for a Command . For if I account one place more Holy then another : or to thinke that God should accept of worship in one place rather then in another : This is to raise it above what it is in its owne Nature . So that when any Creature is raised in a Religious way , above what it hath in it by Nature if I have not Scripture to warrant mee I am therein Superstitious . It is a very usefull rule for to help you : If any Creature that you make any use of in a way of Religion beyond what it hath in its owne Nature , If you have not some warrant from the Word of God ( whatsoever specious shew there may be in it ) it is Superstition . As now for the place , there was a place that was Holy , but then it had an Institution from God. And so for garments to use those that are decent the light of reason is enough : but if I wil put any thing upon them beyond what there is in them in their owne nature , as heretofore in a Surplis ; what , had that any more decencie in its owne nature , but only mans Institution ? Now when man shall put a Relgious respect upon a thing , by vertue of his owne Institution when he hath not a warrant from God : Here 's Superstion , wee must al be willing worshippers , but not Will worshippers ; We must come freely to worship God ; but we must not worship God according to our own wils , and therefore what ever we do in the Worship of God if we have not a warrant for it , when this is said , Who requireth this at your hands ? It will stop our mouths another day . In Matthew 15. 9. In vain do they worship me teaching for Doctrine the commandments of men . In vain : it is a vain thing to Worship God when there is nothing but a commandment of man for this Worship . If you would Worship God , you must have a Commandment of God for the Worship : And in Isa . 29. 13. there is a place to the same purpose , that shews how the Lord is offended with any man that shall teach his fear by their own precepts , Wherefore the Lord said , For asmuch as this people draw neer me with their mouth , and with their lips do honour me , but have removed their heart far from me , and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men : Mark it : Now if this be so , the Lord have mercy upon us in this thing . You have cause to be humbled every one of you , I believe , in some degree or other , this Congregation very much , and most Congregations that have had the fear of God taught them by the precepts of men : How many things have there been in the Worship of God that you can shew no warrant in the Word for ? A great many things meerly mans inventions , however they are now cast out , because Authority came in and cast them out , and so you submit to it ; but that 's not enough for you to submit to it because Authority would have it so : but you ought to be humbled before God for all you Will-worship , for all your yeildings to any thing in the Worship of God , that was taught by the precepts of men ; You see how severe God was to Nadab and Abihu for but taking other fire then that which God had appointed to offer up Incense , though there was no direct commandment against it . If the Lord hath spared you , and not manifested any displeasure upon you , you have cause to acknowledge Gods mercy , and to be humbled for all your false Worship ; certainly God doth expect it from this Land to be humbled for their Will-worship , or otherwise they few among thornes : All the Reformation that is among us , if there be not an humiliation before for our false Worship : 't is not enough that we set up now the true Worship of God , but we must be humbled for our false Worship . And that 's the first Note ; That in the Worship of God there must be nothing but what God commands . The Second Note is , In the matters of Worship God stands upon little things : Such things as seem to be very small and little to us , yet God stands much upon them in the matter of Worship . For there is nothing wherein the Prerogative of God doth more appear then in Worship : as Princes , they stand much upon their Prerogatives , now God hath written the Law of natural Worship in our hearts , as that we should love God , fear God , tru● in God , and pray to God : this God hath written in our hearts : but there are other things in the Worship of God that are not written in our hearts , that only depend upon the Will of God revealed in his Word , which were no duties except they were revelead in his Word . And these are of such a nature as we can see no reason for but only this , because God will have them . As now , there are many kind of Ceremonies to manifest honour to Princes that there is no reason for them at all , but meerly because it is a Civil Institution so appointed : so God would have some waies for the honouring of him that the creature should not see into the reason of them , but meerly the will of God to have them so , now God stands much upon little things , though men would think it a little matter whether this fire or that fire , and will not this burn as well as that ? But God stands upon it : And so for the Ark , when Vzza did but touch the Ark when it was ready to fall , we would think it no great matter ; but one touch of the Ark cost him his life . There is not any one minnum in the Worship of God , but God stands mightily upon it : In the matter of the Sabbath , that 's his Worship , for a poor man to gather a few sticks , what great matter is it ? but God stand upon it . And so when the men of Beth-shemesh did but look into the Ark , it cost the lives of fifty thousand threescore and ten men . If it be a matter of a holy thing that concerns his Worship , he would not have it abused in any thing . Let us learn to make conscience of little things in the Worship of God , and not to think , O how nice such are , and how precise and nice in such small things ! Thou doest not understand the nature of Divine Worship if so be thou art not nice about it ; God is nice and stands upon little things in the matter of his Worship . Another Note is this ; That there are no priviledges or dignities of men that can secure them from Gods stroke . First Moses the man of God , he was their Uncle ; Aaron that great instrument of Gods glory , he was their Father : They were men that were newly consecrated to the Priests office they were renowned , men that God put much glory upon ; yet if they will venture but to offend God in this little thing , Gods wrath breaks out upon them and kills them presently . Let us take heed then of venturing , and do not think that any services that we have done heretofore can bear us out ; If the greatest cannot be bore out with all their Priviledges , how dare we poor wormes venture upon the displeasure of God ? Thou that art a worthlesse creature of no use at all in the world , darest thou provoke this God , when as the Lord is so angry against men that are of great use and service , to let out his wrath upon them suddenly ? If you should see a Prince not spare his Favorite , or his Nobles that are about him , but upon one offence that we think is but a little offence , that the Princes anger should be so much against them as to cost them their lives ; what cause is there for poor people to tremble then when they have done that which may incur the anger of their Prince ? You see all outward priviledges and greatnesse will not excuse from the stroke of Gods Justice , it should not excuse from the stroke of mans justice : It 's true , among men poor people they go to it if they offend , but if great men offend they escape ; but it is not so with God , for Nadab and Abihu were great and renowned men . The Fourth Note is , That the more the dignity of men is , the more is their danger if they look not to it : And this Note I gather from hence , That Nadab and Abihu were the two eldest sons of Aaron , and we find in the Scripture that Eleazer , and [ thamer that were the two other sons of Aaron , they escaped and were not thus consumed . Why ? Because the two elder sons had the dignity and priviledge to come and offer the incense , and having greater dignity then the younger , and not being carefull to behave themselves as they ought to do , the Lord smote them , and the younger they escaped . And so many times those that are in a meaner condition they escape , when those that are in a higher condition they are struck . Let men that are in higher conditions then others look to themselves , for their danger is greater : And you that are in a meaner condition , envy not those that are higher , for you may be more safe in that mean condition which you are in , then they in theirs . The Fifth Note is this , That the beginnings of things of high concernment , do meet sometimes with great difficulties and interruptions . This Note I gather from hence , That Nadab and Abihu were struck at the very beginning of their Preisthood : as now , suppose there were a new office erected in a Common-Wealth that concern'd the Publick good of the Kingdom , and in the very first erecting of the office there falls out some hideous accident that rung throughout the whole Kingdom , as if God from Heaven had done some thing against them in that office . As now , suppose that the first time the Judges should come at the Bench , that God should strike them from Heaven dead at the very Bench , it would be a mighty matter to darken the glory and honour of that office . So one would think that it should have been a mighty matter to have darkned the glory and the honour of the Preisthood alwayes : But God stands not upon that many times the beginnings of great things are darkned by sad accidents , and therefore let not us be offended though we see some sad accidents to fall out at the beginning of great things , for though accidents fall out sadly at first , yet God may prosper it afterwards as he did the Priesthood . The Sixth Note is , That those that enter into publick places , and especially such places as concern the Worship of God , they had need have the fear of God much upon them when they first enter into those places . Now this were a very good point if I were to Preach to an Auditory of Ministers . You see Nadab and Abihu upon their first consecration the Lord smote them for this little miscarriage as we would think , and that 's a Sixth Note which especially concerns Ministers and therefore I passe it over . The Seaventh Note that we have , and that 's very usefull for us all , God would have us all to pick out his mind from dark expressions in his Word . Though he doth not expresse his will fully , and in expresse terms ; yet if there be any thing in his word whereby we may come to gather the mind of God , God expects that we should gather his mind out of his Word , and if we do not it 's at our own perill . The mind of God about this strange fire that these offered , you will say , They were to pick it out : How could they have known that it was Gods mind that they should not offer any fire but that on the Altar ? They should have reasoned thus with themselves , What hath God let sue come down from Feaven upon the Altar , and hath he commanded that that should be preserved on the Altar for his service ? Surely , this must be Gods mind then that we should make use of this fire rather then any other fire : God expects that they should have reasoned thus , but because they did not pick out Gods mind by reasoning after this manner , therefore the hand of God came out upon them . They offended , and it may be it was through ignorance , but it was at their perill , if they were ignorant of the mind of God when it might be known , though it were but darkly revealed , and were to be pickt out from several places compared together , it was at their perill . It is a point that we have a great deal of need of , for this is the vain heart of man , That if there be any thing that God would have that is not suitable to his own ends , he will stand wrangling against it , and cavelling at it ; How doth it appear ( will he say ) can you bring expresse Scripture for it ? Bring me expresse Scripture in words for to prove it and then I will believe it , and so stands out till you bring so many words of Scripture that forbids such a thing , or commands such a duty . Now my brethren if you be of this temper , That you will forbear nothing , nor set upon any thing but what you have directly express words of Scripture for , you may run at your own perill into wofull dangers , into wofull sins : know that God hath so revealed a great part of his mind as it is only to be known by gathering one thing from another , and by comparing one thing with another . And God expects this from you , That if upon examination of Scripture that one thing appear more likely to be his mind and will then another ; you are bound to go that way that is more likely . I told you before , That in matters of Worship we must have warrant from the Word ; but it doth not follow , That we must have a direct expresse warrant in every thing : As it is many times in some kind of picture , the great art it is in the cast of the looks ; you cannot say it 's in the drawing of this line , or the other line , but altogether ; it is the cast of the looks that causes the beauty of the picture : So in the Scripture , you cannot say that this one line , or the other line , take it single that proves it , but let them be laid all together and there will be a kind of aspect of Gods mind , that we may see that this is the mind of God rather then the other , and we are bound to go that way . Now so far Nadab & Abihu might have seen , that they should rather have taken fire off the Altar then any other fire , But they presum'd because they had not expresse Word , and you see it was at their perill . O take heed of standing out , and wrangling against what is required because you have not expresse words : the Lord hath laid things so , and especially in the New Testament , for the ordering of the Church in the New Testament as you have not expresse command for abundance of things , but sometimes an example in some things , and sometimes not a cleer example neither ; but compare one thing with another , and that which seems to be neerest the mind of God , that should be bond enough to us , to tye us to go according to what the mind of God seems most probable to be in the Scripture ; and an humble teachable heart will soon be convinced when another man will not . We find it cleerly , That such things as are most suitable to mens own ends , a little matter will serve the turn to perswade men to it , though one might argue against it : I could easily shew it , but that I think it not so convenient in Pulpits to meddle with such things as those are . Those things I say which are suitable to mens own ends and wayes , them they will close withall : but other things that do crosse the flesh , that are most opposite to loo senesse and would bring men most under the government of Christ , those things men stand out against , and they must have cleer and expresse words expresse and cleer warrant out of the word in so many termes , or otherwise by no means they will not so much as yeild to it : That 's a point that if God would but settle it upon our hearts might be of very great use ; A gracious heart will see the truth through a very little crevis : But it is marvelous to consider what a do there is to convince a man before he is humbled of some part of Gods will ; and how easie it is to convince a man after he is humbled . The Eighth Note is this , That s●nners may meet with some judgements of God that were never threatned in his Word . God did never threaten before hand and say , Whosoever offers strange fire , I will consume them with fire from heaven ; But they meet with a judgement that was not threatned : Consider of this , it may be when we come and speak out of the word and shew you plainly how God doth threaten such and such fins , you are afraid then ; but know if thou venturest upon wayes of sin , thou mayest meet with dreadfull judgements executed that never yet were threatned : Besides all those judgements that are threatned in the Book of God thou mayest meet with judgements unheard of unexpected : As God hath Mercies beyond what he hath expresly revealed in his Word , for never was it heard since the beginning of the world what God hath laid up for them that love him : So God hath judgements beyond what is in his Word , Sometimes when the Ministers of God do open the threatnings that are in Gods Word , you think that they are terrible : But know that God in the treasury of his judgments hath more dreadfull things then yet ever hath bin revealed in his Word and therefore learn to tremble not only at what is revealed in Gods Word against thy sin , but tremble at what there is in that infinite Justice , Power , and Wisdome of God to find out and execute upon sinners ; for thou that art a sinner , and especially if thou beest a bold and presumptuous sinner , thou mayest I say expect to meet with whatsoever evill an infinite wisdome is able to devise , and that an infinite power is able to bring upon thee that thou art capable of : Thou committest such and such a sin , perhaps thou doest not know of any particular judgement that is threatned against it : but think thus , I that do provoke God by my sins , what may I look for ? 'T is more then I know to the contrary but that whatsoever the infinite wisdom of God is able to find out , and what misery so ever I am capable of , that the Lord may bring upon me . Consider of this and take heed of sin . The Ninth Observation is this , That God is very quick with some in the wayes of his judgements . It may be he may spare others for a long time , but concerning thee he may say , Thou shalt not offend twice . If thou wilt venture the first act , God may strike thee with death , he did so here with Nadab and Abihu , for they were but newly consecrated , so I find it by Interpreters , That they were to be in consecration for seven dayes , and this was the first day that they came to their place , and in the very first act that they did , God did siute them . 〈◊〉 tremble , the Lord is quick towards some , he is patient towards others , but do not thou presume because he is patient to others , he may take thee in the very first act of thy sin , and be quick with thee . The Tenth Note is this , That the holinesse of a duty will never bear a man out in the miscarriages of a duty . This was a holy duty , they were the true Preists of God , they came to offer Incense to the true God. It was right incense that they offered , there was but this one miscarriage , They had not the same fire that God would have ; now this miscarriage God comes upon them for , and all the good there was in the Duty it would not bear them out . Consider of this you that performe many holy duties , take heed of giving way to your selves in any miscarriage , for do not think , that because your duties are very good and holy , that by doing thereof you may venture upon mixture ; take heed of mixing any evill , any miscarriage in a holy thing , though you have performed a thousand holy duties , yet it will not bear you out in the miscarriage of them . The Eleaventh Note is this , That the Lord is very terrible out of his holy places . The Note is the same that you have in Psal . 68. 35. The Lord is 〈◊〉 out of his holy places : When we have to deal with God , who can stand before this holy God ? Our God is a consuming fire : The Lord manifests himself here most dreadfully to strike with fire these two Preists , as in Ezek 9. 6. Begin at my Sanctuary , saith God. God is terrible , terrible towards those that shall dare to approach into him , and yet are wicked or ungodly in their approaching he is terrible to those that are neer unto him , God would have us all to tremble at his presence . In the Twelfth place , Gods judgements are often very suitable to mens sins . Here they sinned by fire and they are consumed by fire . They offended by strange fire and God strikes them by a strange fire . The judgements of God are very suitable to the sins of men oftentimes . As here by fire , so another time we find it by water : Pharoah he sins by drowning the infants of the people of Israel in the waters , and God drowns him in the Sea. If you will be drowning by water you shall have water enough saith God : And so here , if you will be medling with strange fire , you shall have strange fire saith God God doth many times proportion judgments to sinners that his righteousnes might the more appear those very creatures in which we sin , many times God makes them or others of the same kind to be the executioners of his wrath . So it was with the Jewes , they would fell Christ for 30 pieces of silver , and they were sold 30 of them for a penny atterwards : And so the story of Adoni-hezek in the first of Judges , that was so cruell in such a way to cut off Thumbs and Toes of Kings , even so he was served in the like kind : and it 's ordinary for men that are of cruell fiery spirits , to meet with cruell fiery spirits too . And I would apply it in this particular , You that are stout Children to your Parents , if God lets you live you many times meet with the very same in your Children , and when you that are Parents meet with stubborn Children , you should reflect , Doth not God come righteously upon me ? And so you that are Servants , you are stout to your Masters , why afterwards when you come to have Servants they will be so to you ; and perhaps you were unfaithfull to your Governors , afterwards when you come to have Servants , it 's a thousand to one but they will be so to you . Now you should strike your hand upon your heart and say , It 's just with God that it should be so , and that he should come upon me in mine own kind . Another Note is this , They offered strange fire . Le ts take heed all of us , how we bring strange fire into Gods service . Bring strange fire into Gods service , What 's that ? I find divers writers speaking upon this , saith Am●●rose , Lusts , and covetousnesse are this strange fire . That which I would have you consider of it this , Above all strange fire take heed of the strange fire of Passion and Anger , and especially in the Worship of God and at any time when you find your hearts heated and fired with Anger when you are about to Worship God remember this scripture , Nadab and Abihu were consum'd by God , with fire from God for coming into Gods presence with strange fire : Now , O Lord , how often have ●● come into thy presence with strange fire ! Perhaps your hearts have bin burning hot with Passion when you have bin coming into Gods presence : You are to pray with fervency , for so the Scripture saith : we are indeed to be heat in Prayer by the Holy Gho●t in our hearts , but certainly not to come with the fire of Passion and Anger : Lift up your ha●ds without w●ath and doubting . If you have been Passionate and your hearts have been heat that way , be sure you get your hearts cold before you go to Prayer . And so when you come to hear the Word , if your hearts have been heat with Passion , be sure you get them cold before you come to hear the Word : Receive with meeknesse the ingrafted Word that may save your Souls . And so when you come to the Lords Supper , take heed of coming with Wrath and Malice , for then you come but to offer strange fire . It 's a speciall Consideration for Ministers that come to Preach , they should take heed of bringing strange fire into their Pulpits : that is , of venting their own Passions . That hath been ever a rule that I have been convinced of since I knew any thing of Preaching , That that man that is appointed to reveal Gods wrath , had need to conceal his own wrath that 's certainly a rule for all Preachers , for the Lord sends his Preachers to make known his wrath against mens sins , but now the more they make known his wrath , the more they should conceal their own ; and so by that means when they come in the openest way to manifest Gods wrath , the more their Preaching would be accepted . Now it 's true , a carnal heart would be ready to think , That when a Preacher speaks out of true zeal to God , he will be ready to say , That he hath aiming at himself : Take heed of that , I believe you have had but little occasion of such a temptation in this place : But however this I know , it is the duty of the Ministers of God to be sure to bring nothing but the fire of the Spirit of God , the fire that they have from the Altar ; their tongues being toucht with one of these coales , and not that they should come with their own Passions to further the Righteousnesse of God , no , the wrath of man doth not accomplish the Righteousnesse of God ; there are some other particulars which being laid down , we shall come to the 3 main points . SERMON II. LEVITICUS . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . WEE began these words the last day , and shewed the scope of them , and opened the meaning of them , and spake of divers Notes of Observation that we gathered from this story of Nadab and Abihu , and of Gods dealing with them . From the general story of it , there were many Points of notable Observation that were drawn from thence : I le adde some few now , and so come to the main Doctrinal Point in the Text. A further Note of Observation is this , That many times even the dear Saints of God do meet with very sore and grievous afflictions in their Children . That the most eminent Saints of God are not freed from very grievous afflictions even in their Children ; It was one of the sorest afflictions that almost ever any Saint of God met withall in his Children ; this affliction of Aaron at this time , That two of his Sons , and ( as I told you the last day ) renowned men in Israel , newly consecrated to the Office of Priesthood , that the very first day they came to offer in their office , they were strucke before all the people with fire from heaven and consumed : Oh what a sad affliction was it to Aaron their Father when he saw his Sonnes in such a manner destroyed by God himself ! Consider of this you that have Children , and are ready to murmur and complain of every little affliction that is upon you in respect of your Children : If so be that your Children be but a little sick , or there be any miscarriage of them , you think it is a heavy hand of God ; But especially if God take away your Children by death , then you mourn and will not be comforted : Yea but though God have taken away your Children by death , yea perhaps it may be by a violent death , as being drowned , &c. yet they have not been strucken with fire from heaven by God , and they have not been of such publick use . These here were renowned men , and taken away in their very sin too , your Children which have gone upon their lawfull imployments and God hath taken away their lives ; there 's no such cause of murmuring here , but when God takes away Children in their sins , and in such a way as by fire from heaven ; thus God took away Aarons Children , and he was as dear to God as you are : And yet thus God deals with his Saints ; with Aaron in regard of his Children , and with his Elder Children and with two of them together . This example may be enough to still and quiet the hearts of men and women that are afflicted in respect of any calamity befals their Children . You see what a hand of God is against the very Children of Aaron . A further Note is this , That Gods judgements we see sometimes , though the effect of them be visible , yet they come in an invisible way . For you shall find if you read on in this story , That they were smote with fire from heaven , but it did not appear what fire , for it did not so much as consume their cloaths , nor their bodies , but went through and struck them dead , and no body could tell how . Gods judgements do come in a way that is invisible : if it had been in a visible flame of fire all would have seen it , and it would have burnt their cloaths , or their bodies : but you shall find in the 5 verse , That they were carried away from the Sanctuary in their cleaths , they were not burnt . Another Note is this , That though the lives of men be dear and precious to God , yet they are not so precious as his glory . The Glory of his Name is a thousand thousand times more dear unto God then the lives of thousand thousands of people ; the lives of Nadab and Abihu must go that God may be ●anctified : If it comes so in the way ( as I may so say ) he lives of men and the Sanctifying of Gods Name , the Glory of God must passe on , and mast have its course let the lives of men go which way they will. We think much to have the lives of men taken away ; but if we know 〈◊〉 Glory of God meant , and what infinite reason there is that God should be g●●ned , we would not think it much that the lives of never so many men should go for the Glory of God 〈◊〉 'T is mercy that our lives have not gone many times for Gods glory : How often might God have glorified himselfe in taking away our lives ? Wee have cause to blesse him , that our lives have been preserved so long as they have . Again Note , That the neerer any men are to God , the more they had need take heed that they glorifie him , for they must expect to be spared the lesse if they sin against him . Nadab and Abihu the Priests of God , and they came neer to God , yet by their transgression : though I told you We do not find in any place of Scripture directly in words that this fire is forbidden , but they should have gathered Gods mind by consequence , And therefore by the way I only Note , That we must not think to urge upon men in all things strict commands in very words , but if it be commanded so as we may draw it by any consequence , it 's a command , as now here for the Negative , they had not a Negative prohibition in words , yet they had it by Consequence ; So for the Affirmative , though we have not the affirmative in expresse words , yet if we may have it by consequence it is an affirmative as well as the negative , when we have it by consequence . But now the Note of Observation is , That the neerer any comes to God if they sin against him , they must not expect to be spared . Do not think that God will spare you the more because you are professors of Religion , or because you do often worship him : I suppose you that are acquainted with Scripture know that place in Amos 3. 2. You only have I known of all the families of the earth : therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities . Another Note is this , That when a judgement is exemplary , then we should have recourse to the Word of God , to see how God doth make his Word good in that judgement . So Moses doth , This is that which the Lord hath said . Do you see any remarkable hand of God in the execution of a judgement upon one , have recourse to Gods Word , and presently begin to think this , What is there in Gods Word against that sin that this man hath been guilty of ? If you see a judgement of God upon a Drunkard , remember the threats in the Word of God against drunkennesse , and so the judgements of God upon unclean Persons , swearers , Sabbath breakers , lyars , or any prophane and ungodly persons , have recourse to the judgements of God threatned in the Word against such ; and so likewise concerning Scorners and Opposers of Religion , remember what is said in the Word of God against such , and so learn to Sanctifie Gods Names . We might have mentioned some particular threats of God against particular sinners for the helping of you , that when you see exemplary judgements , to have recourse to the Word of God. But we let that passe . A further Note from this story is this , That the great honour that God intends to his Name , It is the making of his Name Holy. I will be Sanctified in them that draw nigh me , and before all the people I will be glorified . As if Moses should say in Gods name , Why , I must have glory from the people , and how ? By making my name appear to be holy , this is the glory that I stand upon above all other things that my Name may appear to be holy , that I may appear to be a holy God. I beseech you brethren consider of this , God stands upon nothing more then to appear to all the world to be a Holy God , there 's the glory of Gods Name in an eminent way , God doth not so much stand upon this , to appear to be a strong God , to appear to be a powerfull God , to be a God of patience , long-suffering , God doth not so much stand to be an Omniscient God , though these Attributes are dear to God , but that he may appear to be a Holy God : that he stands upon . Whatever glory of the Name of God , that God shall be content to have eclipsed in the world for a while , yet he is resolved he will have the Glory of his holinesse above all things : and therefore the Angels when they are celebrating the glory of God , they do not say Lord Almighty , Almighty , Almighty , or Lord Omniscient , Omniscient , Omniscient , but Holy , Holy , Holy. Those three together , the Holinesse of God , therein appears the glory of God above all : God stands upon it that he will appear to be a Holy God. Oh that those who professe themselves to be the Servants of God , that they would especially indeavour to hold forth Gods Holinesse ; you that are neer to God , you that hope you are Gods Children , and make profession of his Name , labour you to hold forth the glory of his Holinesse above all things , in your holy lives and conversations : for God stands upon this , To have his Name to be Sanctified I will he Sanctified saith God , and I will be Glorified , so he doth interpret the glory of his Name by being Santified . As if God should say , That 's the glory that I look for , That my Name may be extolled as Holy : And therefore the very first Petition that Christ teaches us to pray in the Lords prayer , it is , Hallowed be thy Name , which is all one with this , Sanctified be thy Name ; Oh let the Name of God appear to be holy in the World : that 's another Note , that these two are joyned together , I 'le be Sanctified in those that draw nigh me , and I will be Glorified before the people . Again observe , That it is the part of true friendship , to help friends in their distresses , and seek to comfort them from the Word . Though we our selves be in afflictions , yet we should seek to comfort our friends that are in greater afflictions , and to comfort them by the Word , for so did Moses : Moses comes to comfort Aaron and applies the Word , This is that which the Lord hath said , I will be Sanctified . Now mark , no question Moses was afflicted upon this heavy hand of God , for he was their Uncle ; but though it was heavy upon the Uncle , yet it was heavier upon the Father , and therefore though Moses was troubled , yet he knew that Aaron was more troubled , and therefore he goes to Aaron and seeks to comfort him , and he makes use of the Word in his comforting of him . Learn this then , to go and comfort your brethren , for Aaron was Moses brother ; go and comfort them in thier afflictions , and think not because that you have some afflictions upon you , that therefore you should not be a comfort to your brethren : their affliction is greather then yours , and when you come to comfort , them , come not in a meer carnal way and say , Brother you must be content , but you must come and apply somewhat of the Word of God to comfort them and say , This is that which the Lord hath spoke ; and to that end you should labour to be exercised in the Word of God , that so you may be able to go to your brethren and comfort them in any affliction ; for there is no particular affliction but there is some word of God that is suitable to that particular affliction , and those who are well exercised in the Word of God , they can apply some word to every affliction : And indeed this is an excelent friend , and such a friend is worth his weight in gold , that can come to another friend in any affliction and ever more hath some what of the Word of God to apply to that affliction . The Last Observation is this , That Aaron held his peace . From whence we may Note , That there is no such way to quiet a gracious heart under any afflictions in the World as that God will fetch out his honour by it . It is grievous to me , but God fetches out his glory and honour by it . The applying of the Word , and the consideration that God hath his way to fetch out his glory in our afflictions is the only way to quiet a gracious heart . All these Points might take up a great deal of time , but I will let them passe and come to the main Point of all , I will be Sanctified in all those that come nigh me . There are these Three Points in these words : 1 First , That in the Worship of God , men and women draw nigh to God. 2 Secondly , That we ought to Sanctifie Gods Name in drawing nigh to him . 3 Thirdly , That if we do not Sanctifie it , God will Sanctifie his own Name upon us . First , That in Worshipping of God , there is a drawing nigh to God. Quest . Why is not God in every place ? Answ . Yes certainly , we can never be in any place but we are nigh to God , God stands by us and looks upon us It is not only when you are Worshipping of God that you are nigh him , but when you sin against him : when thou art swearing prophaning his Name his Day , God stands & looks upon thee thou art nigh him : And it may be said or written upon every place , what was said of the City in the last words of the Prophecie of Ezek. 48. 35. The name of the City was Jeh●●ab-Shammah , that is , the Lord is there , the Lord ●ehovah he is there , he is present in this place : Oh that you would remember when you are in any place , that the name of that place is ●●chovah-Shammah , The Lord is there . In him we live , we move 〈…〉 being therefore we are alwaies nigh him yea but though we are alwaies nigh God in regard of that essentiall presence of his , yet there is a more peculiar and speciall drawing nigh to God in the duties of his Worship , and that the Scripture seems to hold forth unto you . First I le shew you how the Scripture holds it forth , and then in what respects the Creature may be said to draw nigh to God in holy duties of Worship ; for so it was here , they were coming to offer Incense . 1 That we do draw nigh to God in holy Duties , see Jam. 4. 8. Draw nigh to God ( so that you may be neerer God then you were ) that is , by holy Services , & holy Duties , & hence it is in Ps . 95. 2. Let us ( saith he ) come before his presence with thanksgiving , so that there is a more peculiar coming before Gods presence when we come to Worship him then at other times : And v. 6. O come let us Worship and how down , let us kneel before the Lord our maker . So in Psal . 100. 2. Let us come before his presence with singing , for that 's one part of the Worship of God. But the Scripture is plain , that there is a speciall coming before God when we are coming to Worship him , and in this respect the Servants of God in Psal . 148. 14. are said to be a people neer to God. It is a very remarkable expression and le ts forth much the honour of the Saints of God : There 's the commendation of the excellent estate of the Saints . He al 's 〈◊〉 the h●rn of his people , the praise of all his Saints even the children of Israel , a people neer unto him . The Saints of God , the Children of Israel , the Church of God are said to be a people neer to God ; Why neer him ? Because that they Worship God , they are much exercised in the Worship of God. This is one respect though there may be divers others mentioned , yet in respect of their coming so much before God in his Worship , therefore they are neer God. Quest . Neer him , Why , in what respects may a man be said to draw nigh to God when he Worships him ? Answ . To that I Answer , There are three respects in which a man when he is Worshipping of God may be said to draw nigh to God : 1 First , Because when we come to Worship God , we come to tender up that homage and service unto him , that is due from us as creatures to the infinite Creator that 's the very end of Worship . If you would know what it is to Worship God , it is this : You come to tender up that homage and respect that is due from the creature to the Creator . Now when a Subject comes to tender up his homage to his Prince , he comes towards him , when he doth it immediately : So we have none to tender it up by but Jesus Christ , and when we tender it up we must come our selves too , for Christ doth not take our service and tender it up to God and we be absent , but we must come with Christ , and Christ takes us by the hand and so tenders it up to the Father while we are in presence , so that we are said to come nigh to God in that respect , because of the immediate tendering up of that Worship of ours to God ; I call it immediate in respect of any creature : But in respect of Christ indeed he is a Mediator to do it , but yet he doth it in a spirituall way , and we have to do with none but God through Jesus Christ in the tendering up of our Worship to him : We may make use of an institution that God hath appointed , but we do not tender up our Worship to God through that creature , but in the use of that creature we do come to God , and our souls are to tender up that respect we owe to God immediately . Therefore in Levit. 21. 21. it is said of the Priests in their Sacrifices , when they were to come to Worship God , No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the Priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire . So that when any come to offer any offerings of the Lord made by fire , it appeares he came nigh to God : he came to bring a present to God : therefore he comes nigh . So when we come to offer our spirituall Sacrifices unto God , we come nigh to God to offer , it 's the offering of a Sacrifice to God. And that 's the first thing , because the creature comes to bring a present to God , therefore he is said to draw nigh . And Secondly , the Soul is said to draw nigh to God in holy duties , because it doth present it's self before God in those ways through which God doth use to communicate his choice , precious , most excelent and glorious mercies to his people : I say , when we come to Worship God , we come to set our selves before God in those waies that God doth 〈◊〉 to communicate the choice , most excelent and glorious rich mercies that he hath to communicate to his creature . When we have to deal with creatures , as meat and drink , and our outward businesses we have to do with God in them ; but when we come to Worship God , we come to present our selves before him in those things that he doth use to let out himselfe though in a more speciall and glorious manner to the souls of his people . What 's the reason why heaven is said to be the presence of God , and why those that are in heaven are said to live with God ? There they behold the face of God and are before him in a speciall manner , therefore when Christ teacheth us to pray he teacheth us to look up to heaven and to say , Our Father which ●rt in heaven , &c. Now certainly the essentiall presence of God is on earth as truly and really as in heaven , and God is not so as to have one part in one place , and another in another , but All God is in every place , but the reason why God is said to be in heaven , it is because the Lord makes known himself there in a more glorious manner then in any other place , and therefore heaven is the presence of God in a more speciall way . Now then if the communication of God unto a creature be enough to make the presence of God more speciall if this be enough to make a creature to live with God , and to be before his face , because they are there where God doth most communicate himself , then certainly when we come to Worship God , we come to be neer God , and be with God because the duties of his Worship are those means that the Lord hath appointed for the letting out of himself in the glory of his goodnesse and mercy to his people : You may expect other manner of communication of Gods goodnesse through the duties of his Worship then in any other way : And that 's the Second respect wherein you may be said to draw nigh to God in holy duties . Thirdly , You may be said to draw nigh to God , because then we should ( and if we Worship God as we ought , we do ) act our faith and humility , and all the graces of the Spirit ; We do act them , as it were , upon God , when we come to Worship him : That 's required in every duty of Worship , that you should stir up the faculties of your souls , and all the graces of the Spirit of God , and you should act them upon God when you are Worshipping of him . T is not enough to come with grace when you come to Worship God , but there must be an acting of that grace upon God. And so we find in Scripture , that the acting of grace upon God , it is a drawing neer to him , therefore in Isa . 29. 13. the Lord complaines there , This people draws neer to me with their lips , but their hearts are far from me , as if God should say , Indeed they come and speak to me , and therefore they think they draw nigh to me , but I expect that their hearts should be acting upon me , that 's the meaning . And in Zeph. 3. 2. God complains there of his people that they did not draw neer to him as they should : And it appears plainly , it was from hence , that their graces did not act so upon God as they ought , She obeyed not the voice : she received not correction : she trusted not in the Lord : she drew not neer to her God. So that acting faith upon God is a drawing nigh to God , and so acting any grace upon God is a drawing nigh to God. Now when is there a time for the acting of our graces upon God so as when we come to worship God ? And therefore in Isa . 64. 7. the Lord complains there , That no man did stir up himself to take hold on him . When we come to Worship God we should stir up our selves to take hold of God. And thus you see in what respects the Soul may be said to draw nigh to God when it comes to worship him . Now for the Application of this point and it is in divers particulars . The First is this , Hence learn what you do when you come to Worship God , and consider of it every time you come to performe any act of Worship . Truly this one thing would be of marveilous use , and it would help forward to the next Point of Sanctifying of Gods Name . This you are all convinced of , That it is your duty to Worship God , when you pray you come to Worship God , when you come to hear his Word you come to Worship him , and when you receive the Sacrament you Worship him . Now if I should come from one end of the Congregation to the other , and ask every one of you this Question , It is your duty to Worship God , is it not ? Yes : that you will all be ready to answer . And what do you do when you Worship God ? I fear that this Second Question would gravell many . You will say , We must pray to God , and serve him , and hear his Word , and go to the Communion● yea , but what do your Souls do in this Work of Worshipping of God ? This should be the answer , and so you should think with your selves , and charge this upon your own hearts , I am now going to Worship God , either in Prayer , Word , or Sacraments , I am now going to tender up that homage that is due from a creature to the infinite Creator , so that I must so pray , as I must manifest that high respect that I owe to God as my Creator ; but that I shall speak to more afterward : only now remember this , That you do professe every time you go to Prayer , That you go to tender up that homage that you owe unto God and so every time you come to hear the Word , there is a profession that you come to tender up that respect and homage that you owe to the infinite God : And so likewise when you come to receive the Sacrament . Now when we come to offer a present to men , we know how we prepare , and with what suitable presence we desire to offer : but of that afterward when we come to speak of Sanctifying Gods Name . 2 Secondly , Remember , when I come to Worship God , I come to set my self before the Lord in those ways that God doth let out the choice of his mercies to his people in : I have many mercies from God in the enjoyment of the creature , but when I come to Worship him I expect the communication of his mercy in another way then through any creature in the World. The duties of his Worship are the chief chānels that God doth let out the choicest of his mercies to the hearts of his people through , and now I am going to Worship him , I am going to present my self before God. Indeed there is a little glimmering of the light of God through other creatures to me , but the glorious beames of the light of God is through the duties of his Worship . 3 And then Thirdly , I am now going to act my Soul upon God , so that if I have any abilities to close with God , to act my Soul upon him , it must be put forth now at this time ; I am indeed at all times to labour to injoy communion with God , when I see the creatures , the Sun and Moon and Stars to labour to lift up my heart to God , and when I see the glory of God in the Sea , and for my meat and drink I am to blesse God , and to acknowledge God in all ; but now when I come to Worship God , then all the strength of my Soul is to be acted upon God in a more speciall manner ; I must then above all labour to stir up whatsoever I have in my Soul to act upon God , this is now to Worship God. Secondly , If to Worship God , be to draw nigh to God , hence we see the reasons why guilty consciences have little mind to the duties of Gods Worship . When a man or woman hath given liberty to any licentious way & sinned against their consciences , if they have any light in their consciences , it is one of the tediousest things in the World to come to the duties of Gods Worship : they had rather do any thing then to come to holy dutys , as to Prayer and especially to secret prayer . A man or woman that hath an inlightened conscience , and is under the guilt of sin , the coming to God in holy duties , is a very grievous burden to them : Why ? Here 's the Reason , Because to Worship God is to draw nigh to God , and the guilt that is upon them hath made the presence of God terrible to them , and therefore they had rather go into their company & be merry , eat , drink , sport , or any thing rather then to come into Gods presence . We know how it was with Adam , when God appeared in the garden and called to him , he ran to hide himself ; Why ? Because he had guiltinesse upon him : Oh the evill that the guilt of sin brings upon the Soul , it makes the presence of God terrible ! The presence of God it should be more comfortable to us then our lives but our sin makes Gods presence grievous and terrible . A Child sometimes when it hath offended the Father and is conscious to its self of the offence that it hath given the Father , it had rather be in the Kitching among the Servants , then to come into the Hall or Parlour where the Father is , because it hath offended him : and so it is with a guilty conscience , when it is conscious to its self of some haunt of evil that it hath given it self unto , it hath no mind at all of coming into the presence of the Father , but hangs off . My Brethren , the very presence of God in the communion of his Saints is terrible to a guilty conscience , the very looking upon a godly man is terrible to a guilty conscience . When as thou hast bin abroad &c. bin loose &c. wicked in thy waies , I appeal to thy conscience , when thou comest into the presence of some holy gracious man or woman that lives close with God , doth it not daunt thee ? Now is the presence of God in the very faces of his Saints terrible to a guilty conscience ? How terrible is the presence of God in his Ordinances then ? Indeed those men and women whose consciences are not inlightened , but are ignorant and sottish , they can sin against God and go into his presence without any trouble ; you shall have men swear and be drunken over night and come to the Sacrament the next day , What 's the reason ? Because there is no light in their consciences , their consciences are in darknesse , they are besotted in their sin ; but I speak now of one who hath an inlightened conscience , the presence of God is terrible to such a one . A Third Use is this , Here is the Reason why Hypocrites do meet with such vengeance from God as they do : I confesse we shall meet with this more especially afterwards , only by the way take notice of it ; Hypocrites above all men may expect the severest judgements of God upon them , because they come so nigh God , for they come often to the duties of Gods Worship ; now they that will come so nigh Gods presence , and come with base and ungodly hearts , to cloak their villany , of all in the world they must expect to have the severe vengeance of God let out upon them ; they that stand nighest the bullet must expect to have the strength of it to be the more upon them ; so when the wrath of God proceeds out upon sinners , wicked men that stand nighest him they have the greatest strok of Gods wrath ; but of that more when I come to the Third Point , That God will be Sanctified in those that draw nigh him . The Fourth Use is this , If to Worship God be to draw nigh him , then to neglect Gods Worship is to depart from him , that must needs follow , and this is a dreadfull thing , it is the sentence that shall be at the last day of judgement , Depart from me . Thou now art willing to depart from God , Oh consider of this you that neglect Worship , the Worship of God in your families , and in your closets , and in the congregation , in the communion of the Saints , thou hast little minded or regarded the Worship of God it may be all thy daies , what hast thou been doing all this while ? thou hast been departing from God all this while , & when thy conscience shall be but inlightened and awakened to see how far thou art from God , how terrible will it be to thee ? Remember this you that have no mind to the duties of the Worship of God but love the Commission of sin , you neglect Gods Worship , you were wont to Worship him in a constant way in your closets and families , but now you grow more loose , and so you grow more dead every day then other , you go off from God more and more . Surely there can be no good to neglect Gods Worship . And those that are loth to Worship God because they cannot Worship him as they ought , from this Point it appears plainly , That there can be no good gotten by neglecting Gods Worship , for it is departing from God , whatsoever plea there may be by any temptation to neglect Gods Worship , certainly there is danger in it , and therefore never listen to any such temptation as shall draw your hearts from the duties of Gods Worship . There are a Generation of wantons in these times that make little matter of continuing the duties of Gods Worship , they were wont constantly to worship God , and to attend upon the Word , but now it is nothing to them , and they are even ready to thank God for it that they make not such conscience as they were wont to do in the duties of the Worship of God : It may be they will say , That heretofore some slavish terror did carry them on in the duties of Gods Worship more then the understanding of the freenesse of the grace of God would admit of : But shall the understanding of the freedom of the grace of God carry thee on lesse then thy slavish terrour did ? Oh blind and wanton spirit that knowest not the waies of God , nor the freenesse of the grace of God , nor the riches of it ! Oh what a dishonour art thou to Jesus Christ and to the freenesse of his grace , that now canst go up and down from day to day and never Worship God! Did Jesus Christ come into the world to that end for to cause thee to depart more from God ? 'T is plain out of the Word , That the duties of Gods Worship are those duties whereby the Soul comes to draw nigh to God : And I beseech you brethren observe these men , whither there be that holinesse in their lives , that spiritualnesse as there was wont to be ; no , you shall find them by degrees to grow loose , yea run sometimes into grose sins , grow many times to lying and deceiving , and to drunkenesse and company keeping ; yea to worse things by degrees : Perhaps they are at first ready to say , Is thy Servant a dead Dog that I should do this ? But by departing from God they grow dead to holy duties : We find it by experience , That the professors of Religion have not that holinesse , heavenlinesse , spiritualnesse , as they were wont to have in former times . And no marveile , for now they keep not so nigh to God as they were wont . You that are Sea-men and Travelours , sometimes you are neer the Sunne , and then you are hot but the further off the Sunne you go , you grow to be colder and colder : And so those that neglect the Worship of God , they go from the warm Sun , they go from the light of Gods countenance and from the presence of God and so they grow cold and chill , and by degrees they grow to prophanesse , and it is to be feared that many of them will grow to meer Athisme . Another Use is this , A Use of Exhortation , that we would be incouraged to Worship God , and to be much in the Worship of God. In Heb. 10. 22. Let us draw neer ( saith the Text ) Who would not draw neer to God ? Oh what a good thing is it to be in the presence of God! Is not the Lord the fountain of thy life ? Is it not a sweet thing to be in his presence ? We think it a sweet thing to be in the presence of godly men ; Oh ' that we might alwaies live with such men , and be nigh them ! That Martyr Doctor Taylor rejoyced in this , That ever he came into Prison to be acquainted with that Angel of God holy Master Bradford , and as I remember some among the heathens that profest they would rather be in prison with Ca●o then be in the greatest glory with some other : It is a blessed thing to be in the presence of God , to be with him that is the God of our lives , and the fountain of all good ; let us draw nigh to God often , let us know that it is a mercy that we may draw nigh to God ; wee might have been banished from the presence of the Lord long e're this time . This is that that the happinesse of the glorious Church is set out by in Rev. 22. 4. They shall see his face and his name shall be in their foreheads . This is the Priviledge of the Church . And that it is such a blessing to draw nigh to God you may see it by that in Eph. 2. 18. For through him we both have an accesse by one spirit unto the Father . Through him ] Through Christ we have accesse by one Spirit unto the Father , and now ( saith he ) Ye that were strangers and forreiners , are made fellow Citizens with the Saints , and of the houshold of God : and vers . 13. But now by Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were a far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ , and you have accesse through Christ : So our coming nigh to God is such a priviledge as cost the bloud of Christ ; and will not you improve it ? You were far off in your naturall condition , but now you are nigh through his bloud ; Lay but this text warm to your hearts this morning , That I that was far off am made nigh by the bloud of Christ , made nigh to God , it will be a means for ever to draw your hearts to all those waies whereby you may draw neerest to God. And by drawing nigh to God often , you will come to increate your graces abundantly : your graces how will they act the presence of God will draw forth the acts of grace as the presence of the fire draws forth our heat , so the presence of God will draw forth our graces . And by this means we come to live most holy lives . We read of Moses , he was upon the mountain forty daies with God , and when he came down his face did so shine , that the people were not able to bear it ; what 's the reason ? it was from hence , because he was so nigh to God : would you have your faces to shine in a holy conversation before men ? converse much with God , be often with God , be nigh to him , and that will make you shine as lights in the middest of a crooked and perverse generation . We find it so with some that converse much with God , there is a shine upon their very countenances . And further it is a speciall signe of our adoption to love to be nigh to God. What should a Child love most but to be in the presence of his Father ? Would you know whither you have received the Spirit of adoption yea or no ? I can hardly give you any one signe so clear as this , for to love to go into Gods presence , as David said , I was glad when they said , Come and let us go up unto the House of the Lord. You shall have many that love to be in Gods presence , so as they think on it over-night , and long for the time while it comes ; I never am better then when I am with God , me thinks when I get into Gods presence , either in Prayer or any duty of Gods Worship , I find my heart warmed and quickned , &c. They are ready to say with Peter , Master , it is good being here . And that 's another thing , It is that which will put us in mind of the life of heaven , it is the only thing in heaven to be in the presence of God. Why , the more thou art nigh God in the Duties of Worship , the more thou art in heaven , and doest not thou pray , That the will of God may be done in Earth as in Heaven ? Now the Saints and Angels are alwaies before God Worshipping of him ; then be as much as thou canst in the presence of God , If thou wouldest be in heaven , be there : Many of the Saints they find it so , It is not so with carnall hearts , they are weary presently , when they are in Prayer , or hearing the Word , it is not so to them : yea , that 's because thou hast not the presence of God , as in Mal. 1. what wearinesse is there ? thou canst be a gaming till one or two a clock at night , and though thou shouldest lose thy supper , or the work of thy family , it is not tedious to thee to be exercised in those things that pleaseth the flesh ; but when thou comest to Worship God , how quickly art thou tir'd now what wilt thou do in heaven where there is nothing else done to all eternity but Worshipping of God ? And then it must needs be delightful to God that thou shouldest come nigh him : There is nothing in the world more pleasant to God then to have his Saints come into his presence . What doth a Father more delight in then to have his Children about him ? never did any Father or Mother love to have their Children by them , so as God loves to have his Children come nigh him , and be often with him . And the truth is , one great reason that God suffers you to fall into afflictions so much is that you may come running to him : How doth the Child come running to the Father or Mother when it is afraid ? why , the Lord is willing to permit men to do you wrong that you may run to him , that he might have more of your presence : Thou that art such a poor creature , yet thou hearest this day that there is nothing in the world that God takes more pleasure in ( next to the presence of his own Son Jesus Christ , and his Saints and Angles that he hath with him in heaven ) then to have his Saints come nigh him , to have them alwaies to be under his wing . And then by coming often into Gods presence in his worship there will grow a sweet and blested familiarity between God and thy soul , for thou wilt be speaking to God , and God will be speaking to thee too : We know many times that dear friends who are very neerly linkt together , yet if they be long absent one from another there grows a strangenesse , and so by degrees their friendship is deaded ; but now when they are together every day , and there is an intercourse of love and friendship , then their friendship is kept active and quick , but now if they be absent long ; Indeed if they be absent in another Country when they cannot come together , that they are sure it is not through any neglect , then it will not damp their friendship ; but when they are neer and come not one to another , then they think it is out of neglect & so they grow strange . So it is with the Soul , if there were no possibility of a coming into Gods presence , then it would not hinder the sweetnes of the love of God to us . But now when we have those duties of Worship wherein we may draw nigh to God , if we neglect them our familiarity with God will quickly be lost , Acquaint thy self with God and be at peace . God is willing to be acquainted with his Servants ; the Lord loves to be familiar with the poorest of his Saints , and wilt not thou maintain that sweet familiarity with God ? These two benefits will follow upon thy familiarity with God. First , Those that are most familiar with God they are most potent with God ; As now a strnger cannot prevaile in any Petition so as a familiar friend can : Thus my brethren , when strangers come into Gods presence , God doth not so much regard them ; but when his familiars come into his presence , the Saints of God that keep close with him in constant communion and converse in the duties of his Worship , God doth take them as his familiar friends , and they will prevaile much with God. Secondly , By this means the terror of death will be taken away , there is no such way to take off the terror of the thoughts of death as by keeping familiarity with God , death then is joyfull to those that converse with him . That Reverend Divine that is now with God ( Doctor Preston ) when he was to die he had this speech , I shall but change my place , I shall not change my company ; whereas its otherwise if thou growest estranged from God , when death comes it will look with a terrible face , for then thou hast to deale with God , thou art then to go into the presence of the infinite dreadfull God , into whose presence thou never hadst any mind to go before , but saith death , I must now carry thee into the presence of God. As thy Body returns to the dust so thy Soul must return to God that gave it ; that is , to receive its eternall doome , &c. But now saith a Saint , what must my body return to dust and my Soul to God that gave it ? it is he which I have bin with every day , and can say as he said , My Soul go forth , go forth , why art thou unwilling to go forth to him that thou hast conversed with all thy daies ? And then what safety is there in being neer to God , especially in these dangerous times ? In the time wherein we live it is safe to be neer God ; in Psal . 22. 11. Be not far from me , for trouble is neer , saith David : Lord , trouble is neer me be not thou far from me ; It 's a blessed thing to have God neer is when trouble is neer us , trouble is neer many of you , perhaps there 's not a spans breadth between death and us , what a blessed thing is it then to have God to be neer us ? when the poor Chickin sees the Kite come neer it to seize upon it , and is like to be surprized , if the Hen be neer , it runs to the Hen , and the Hen covers it and keeps it safe ; so it should be with us , for so Christ saith of Jerusalem , How often would I have gathered thee as a Hen gathereth her Chickins ? There are a company of Kites abroad in the world , and we are poor shiftlesse creatures ; now how happy are we then if we can run under the shaddow of Gods wing ? there is a kind of shaddow in the presence of God in the injoyment of the creature ; but the shadow of God that we have in his Worship that is as the shadow of his wing . There is the shadow of a Tree , and that may help from some kind of troubles but there 's another manner of shadow under the shadow of the wing of the Hen , because that nourishes the Chickin : The men of the world they have the shadow of the Tree , as it were , Gods generall providence which is over all creatures ; but the Saints of God that draw nigh to God they have the shadow of Gods wing , like the shadow of the Hens wing to the Chickin , which doth comfort it and safeguard it ; let us by the duties of Worship thus draw nigh to God , and keep nigh unto him . SERMON III. LEVITICUS . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . I WILL onely adde one particular more to what we said the last day and then proceed . If in the duties of Worship we are nigh to God , then hence appears the great honour that God puts upon his Servants that do Worship him Certainly the Worshippers of God have great honour put upon them because the Lord vouchsafes them to draw nigh unto him , they are such as are precious and honourable in his eies . I will not inlarge my self in this , only give you three Scriptures that shew the great honour and respect that God puts upon those that he doth admit to come and Worship him . The first Scripture is in Deut. 4. 17. There Moses speaking of the People of Israel ; and the great respect that God shewed to them more then others ; for saith he , What nation is there so great , who hath God so nigh unto them , as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for ? What Nation is there so great as you are ? ( So great ) How doth it appear that the Nation of Israel is a greater Nation then other Nations are ? how ? That hath God so nigh unto them in all things that they call upon him for : herein any man or woman , or nation , may be said to be great , that is , greatly honoured by the Lord God , in that they have the Lord nigh to them and they are nigh to him , here 's the greatnesse of a nation ; you would think that if one would describe the greatnesse of a nation , it should be in their great wealth , their great trading and traffique that they have and the fertile place that they live in ; no , this is not the greatnesse of a nation , But what nation is there so great that hath the Lord God so nigh to them ? There 's the greatnesse of a nation , and so a spirituall heart would account greatesse to consist in having God to be nigh unto it . The Second Scripture is in Numb . 16. 9. There we have Moses speaking unto the Sons of Korah rebuking them for their sin , and he brings this aggravation to them of the greatnes of their sin , saith he , Seemeth it but a small thing unto you that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel to bring you neer to himself ? That is , That you should come to Worship him , is this a small thing to you ? is not this honour enough ? As if Moses should have said , Why do you contend for any more honour , the Lord hath separated you to bring you neer to himsef ? Object . This you will say was spoken to the Priests ? Answ . But it may be said of every gracious Soul , for every Beleever Christ hath made a King , Priest , and Prophet unto himself ; now there is no Beleever but Jesus Christ hath separated him or her from the rest of the world to be neer unto God. This is the dignity that God hath put upon thee that thou art separated by his grace to be one neer to him , whereas others of the world they depart from him , continually depart more and more from him ; but I say the Lord by his grace hath set thee a part for himself , as he saith in Psal . 4. 3. The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself : Thou art separated from the world , to what end ? It is that thou mightest be neer to him , this is thy priviledge , and thou shouldest account it thy great honour : thou hast not that honour and respect in the world as others have , but thou art one of Gods separated ones that thou art neer to him . A Third scripture is in Psal . 33. 28. There you may see how the Prophet David did highly esteeme of that great honour that the Lord did put upon him in this , in being neer to God : But it is good for me to draw neer to God. Mark how he speaks , But it is good for me : Why ? For loe , they that are far from thee shall perish : thou hast desiroyed all them that go a whoring from thee . As if he should say , There are some that did seeme to be neer unto thee heretofore , that were as the wife to the husband , but they are gone a whoring from thee ; base Hypocrites , base Apostates , they are gone a whoring from thee , their hearts being carnall they did not find that contentment and satisfaction in thy Worship as thy Saints do , and therefore they are gone a whoring from thee , but it is good for me to draw neer to thee : It is an excellent Scripture , do you see any young ones , or others that were very forward not many years agoe , and would speak of good things , and seem to rejoyce in the word , but now they are gone a whoring , they are departed from God and his wayes , and the pleasures of the flesh hath taken their hearts ? Thou wilt destroy them ( saith David ) that go a whoring from thee . So thou shouldest think with thy self ; Oh miserable is the condition of those who once were forward in the profession of Religion and now are gone a whoring from God , but it 's good for me to draw neer to God , they are gone from thee , and thou wilt destroy them , but it is good for me to draw neer to thee ; I blesse my self in drawing neer to thee the Lord , and blesse the time that ever I did draw neer to thee , and that ever I knew those waies wherein in my soul hath drawn neer to God. Such a Worship God aright , and do delight in the worship of God they are such as have a great honour put upon them , they do draw nigh to God ; And thus we have finished the First Point . The Second Point is that will hold us some time , and that is , The Sanctifying Gods Name in our drawing neer to God. When we Worship God we draw nigh to him , but let us take heed how we draw nigh , Heb. 10. 12. Let us draw neer with a true heart . Looke to thy feet when thou comest into the house of God , Eccle. 5. 1. Now for the Sanctifying of Gods Name in drawing nigh to him we shall indeavour to open it ; 1 First in shewing you wherein the Sanctification of Gods name consists , or what we should do that we might Sanctifie the Name of God in drawing nigh to him . 2 The Reason why God will have his name to be Sanctified in those that do draw nigh to him . How we should sanctifie the name of God in drawing nigh to him , it is under these two heads : First , There must be a due preparation unto the Worship of God that we exercise our selves in at any time . Secondly , A right behaviour of our souls in it : in these two things consists the Sanctifying of Gods Name in his worship . Now under these two heads all that I shall speak about the opening of the Sanctifying of Gods Name will be contain'd . At this time I shall only speak of the First : The due preparation of the Soul unto the duties of Gods Worship ; Therein consists a speciall part of the Sanctifying of Gods Name in drawing nigh to him . And that it is so , we find it in Scripture , That preparation for worship it is called the Sanctifying of our selves ; and by finding this in Scripture it hinted me upon this head , to speake of the preparation unto worship in our Sanctifying Gods Name , because I find in Scripture that the Sanctifying our selves for worship , and the preparation of our selves for worship are all one : I 'le give you these two texts ; In 1 Sam. 16. 5. you shall find there , that Samuel when he was sent by God to Anoint David in Bethlem , the text saith , I am come to Sacrifice unto the Lord , Sanctifie your selves and come with me to the Sacrifice , Do you come peaceably say they ? Yes ; what then ? Sanctifie your selves and come with me to the Sacrifice : That 's all one , as if he should have said , Prepare your selves and come with me to the Sacrifice : and so in Job . 1. 5. there you shall find that the holy man Joh when his sons had been feasting , he was some what afraid least there should be some miscarriage , and that they had sinned against God in their feasting ; as it is very hard to give liberty to please the flesh and not to sin , not to transgresse bounds ; therefore Job though he did not hear of any notorious abuse of their feasting , yet he was afraid least they should sin , he knew how dangerous it was to have so much satisfaction to the flesh and not to transgresse bounds , therefore it is said he sent to his sons and sanctified them . It was so ( saith the text ) when the daies of the feasting were gone about , that Job sent and Sanctified them : that Job sent unto them to prepare them to offer Sacrifice , to prepare them for the Worship of God : So that the Scripture holds forth this then , that to prepare for worship it is , to Sanctifie for Worship , and so it is one speciall thing that is required in our sanctifying of God , in our drawing nigh to God , to make a due preparation for his holy worship . Now for the orderly handling of things ; 1. First , I shal shew you , That we must prepare for the worship of God. 2 Secondly , I shall shew you , Wherein this preparation for the Worship of God doth consist . 3 Thirdly , The excellencie that there is in this , or what great good there is in preparation for Gods Worship . 4. Fourthly , I shall Answer a case of Conscience or two . 5. Fiftly , I will shew you what is the behaviour of the Soul in Sanctifying Gods Name . 6 Sixthly , The Reasons why God will be Sanctified in the duties of his Worship . First , That there must be preparation to the Worship of God. For First , that God that we come to Worship , is a great and glorious God , and we having to deal with such an infinite , glorious , dreadfull Majesty , it is fit that we should make preparation when we come nigh unto him : therefore in Exod. 19. 10. when God came among the people to give them his Law , he did require that they should be Sanctified to day and tomorrow , and that they should wash their cloaths and be ready against the third day , for the third day the Lord would come down upon mount Sinai in the sight of all the people . God did not so much stand upon their cloaths , but it was to signifie an inward washing . Now my brethren , if when God came to give the Law they were so to prepare , then certainly when we are to come to Worship God in the way of the Gospel , we are to prepare as well as they , because God is coming . For that that is observable is , why they were for two dayes together to make such preparation , the argument is because of the presence of God ; The Lord said to Moses , Go and Sanctifie the people to day and to morrow , and let them wash their cloaths and be ready against the third day , Why ? for the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai : The Lord will come down the third day and therefore let them be Sanctified . So when thou goest to Worship God , thou expectest or shouldest expect that God will come to thee , and that thy heart shall be drawn to God , and therefore thou shouldest make some preparation ( For the time of preparation we shall speak to afterward when we come to the cases of Conscience about preparation for Worship . ) And so in 1 Chr. 22. 5. 14. David makes preparation for the house of God because it was the house of God that he had to build , though he could not do it himself in his own time , yet being the house of God what great preparation was made by David ? The morral of which is this That the house of God being a Type of the Church and the worship of God , as well as of Christ ; it shewes that there should be much preparation when we have to deal with God in his Ordinances . Secondly , As God is great that we draw nigh to , so the duties of Gods worship are great duties , they are the greatest things that doth concern us in this world , and it is a sign of a very carnall heart to slight the duties of Gods Worship , to make account of them as little matters : Carnall hearts ordinarily the things that concern their businesses in the world they think great matters ; Oh I may not neglect that , I may not neglect that , I may not neglect such a businesse , or I may not neglect to visit or gratifie such a friend but now for the worship of God it is good indeed , but whither it be done or not it is no great matter , therefore they can put off prayer ; if they have any businesse the time of prayer must pay for it ; they can put off that upon any slight occasion , they do not account the duties of Gods worship great matters ; My brethren I beseech you learn this lesson this morning , to account the duties of Gods worship great matters , they are the greatest things that do concerne you here in this world ; for they are the homage that you tender up to the high God , as you heard , and those things wherein God communicats himself in his choise Mercies , now being such great matters there is cause that we should prepare . For that one thing of prayer , saith Luther , It is a great work , and a difficult work , and therefore there had need be preparation for it : Businesse of great consequence we make preparation for , indeed if a businesse be a slight businesse we can fall upon it on a sudden , you make not preparation to go in a Boat in the Thames , but to go a voyage you make great preparation . Now if men and women would but understand the duties of Gods worship to be great , they would see a necessity to make a preparation ; Many men for want of preparation to duties they lose a great part of the time , when they come to performe a duty of Worship in prayer they spend half the time that is convenient to be spent in prayer before they begin to pray ; and so in hearing the word , they are a long time before they can settle themselves to attend to the word , or in any other kind of Worship ; I say a great deal of time in the worship is spent ordinarily before we can get our hearts to close with the worship ; now that is a sore and a great evill to lose any part of the time of worship : Christians , I beseech you account highly of the time of your worship , you have bin so long time at prayer , yea but how much of it hath been lost because you have not prepared before hand for it ? perhaps you kneel'd upon your knees , but you were a long time before you could get your hearts warm at your work , why you should have been warm before you had come : It is so oftentimes with many men , when they meet together and there is no preparation for their businesse , they come together and they are a long time before they can buckle to the businesse that they came about , because there was no preparation , but if there be preparation made , that every man knows before hand what his work is , they can fall to it , and they can dispatch as much in one hour as others do in two or three ; but of that we shall speak more afterwards . Thirdly , There must be preparation because our hearts are naturally , exceedingly unprepared for every good work , we are all naturally even reprobate to every good work , the duties of Gods Worship are high and Spirituall , and holy things , but by nature our hearts grovell in the dirt , and we are carnal , sensual , drossie , dead , slight , sottish , and vain , altogether unfit to come into the presence of God : Oh that we were but apprehensive and senfible of the unfitnesse of our hearts to come into Gods presence ! Perhaps because thou knowest not God thou canst rush into his presence without any more adoe , but if thou knowest thy self , and God , thou couldest not but see thy self altogether unfit for his presence , and so as to wonder that the Lord should not spurn thee out of his presence every time thou comest unto him , there had need then be preparation because we are so unfit to come into his presence . Fourthly , There had need be preparation because of the great hinderances of the Worship of God. This businesse and the other businesse would hinder ; the intanglements , they would hinder ; the temptations of the Devill , they would hinder ; sometimes the indisposition of our bodies doth mightily hinder ; and the stirrings of the passions of our minds they hinder : if there be any businesse fals out amisle in the family , and any thing go but crosse , how are we put off the hinges & made unfit for holy duties ! There had need be preparation therefore because there are so many hinderances in the way , many of you will complain that you are much hindered , but do you do what you can to make preparation before hand ? Do the hinderances that you complain of put you on to be so much the more carefull to make due preparation for holy duties . Fiftly , We find that the heathens themselves by the light of nature when they did but worship their Idol gods , they would make some preparation , such as was suitable to those gods that the worshipped , therefore they would wash their flesh and purge themselves , but though their preparation was but very poor , yet they taught us thus much , That they were convinst in their consciences that when God was to be Worshipped , people should be prepared . The Sixt & last reason hath a great deal in it , which I beseech you consider of ; we find that the Scripture doth make the uprightnes of the heart much to consist in preparation for worship ; and doth make the falsenesse of the heart to consist in this , that men do not prepare . Perhaps you have not so much thought of this , but yet it is of excellent use unto you . We shall find the Scripture doth make the very uprightnesse of the heart to consist in the preparation for duty ; and the falsenesse of a mans heart to consist in this , that he makes not conscience to prepare his heart for God and his worship . And this I will shew unto you very plainly and cleerly , take these two examples . The first of Rehoboam , and the second of Jehoshaphat , one a wicked man whose heart was false , and the other a godly man whose heart was right with God. The falsenesse of the heart of the one is in 2 Chron. 12. 14. there you have what Gods thoughts of Rehoboam were in the verses before : but now he brings the reason of his sentence upon him , and saith the text , he did evill because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord ; there were many good things that Rehoboam did ; I might shew you some things ; as how he did obey the Prophet of God when he was seeking to avenge himselfe upon those that did rend themselves from his obedience : the Lord did but send his Prophet , and though he had an army ready to revenge himselfe upon those that in a way of Rebellion did rend themselves from under his government , & he obeyed the word of the Lord but for al that he did evil in the fight of the Lord God look'd upon him as a man that had no uprightnes in him , why ? for he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord , saith God , I look upon all Rehoboam did as nothing ; I look upon his waies as evil and himself as a wicked man , Why ? Because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord if his hart had bin upright with me he would have prepared his heart to seek me . I beseech you now lay this text to your hearts do you prepare your hearts to seek God ? when you go to prayer can you say that you take paines in preparing your hearts for it ? and in hearing the word , and so likewise for receiving the Sacrament . Now for Jehoshaphat a godly man in 2 Chron. 19. 3. there you may see what the Lord saith of Jehoshaphat that was godly . Neverthelesse , there are good things found in thee , in that thou hast taken away the greves out of the land , and hast prepared thine heart to seek God. Jehoshaphat was found guilty in joyning himself to wicked men too much , the Prophet comes and saith to him , Wouldest thou help the ungodly , and love them that hate the Lord ? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord. Jehoshaphat here we see was very faulty in joyning with those that were wicked , and is rebuked by the Prophet from the Lord ; What wilt thou joyne with the wicked ? the wrath of God is upon thee : Well , but for all that , ( I beseech you observe it ) That at that time when the Lord is most displeased against Jehoshaphat , and sends his Prophet in his name to pronounce this , that the wrath of God is out against him ; yet for all this , God cannot but take notice of this , that he had an upright heart , though he failed in that particular , yet there is some good found in thee , in that thou hast prepared thy heart to seek God. Indeed through some sudden temptations thou art drawn aside in this particular act ; Yea , but it hath been thy care to prepare thy heart to seek me , and in that regard I do look upon thee as having an upright heart : And thus you see how much the Scripture puts upon the preparation of the heart to seek God. And so in 1 Sam. 7. 3. you shall find that the Scripture makes the uprightnesse of the heart to consist in this , And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel saying , If ye do returne unto the Lord with all your hearts , what then ? why then , put away the strange gods , and Ashtaroth from among you , and prepare your hearts unto the Lord , and serve him only : As if Samuel should say , If you will return indeed to the Lord , if indeed your hearts be upright according to what you seeme to professe in turning to God , why then prepare your hearts to seek the Lord. You do not in truth turne to God except you make conscience to prepare your hearts : Therefore you that yet never knew what it was to make conscience to prepare your hearts for holy duties , know that you have not turned with all your heart unto the Lord , there hath not been the true turning of your hearts unto the Lord. Thus now you see there is much lies upon preparation to the duties of Gods worship : Well , you will say , seeing there lies so much in it , I pray open it wherein it doth consist . To that I Answer , It consists in these five things , which I shall but briefly name . First , In the possessing the heart with the right apprehension of that God before whom we come to tender our duties ; Then do we make conscience to prepare our hearts , when we labour upon our going to worship God , to get our hearts before hand possessed with right apprehensions of the Majesty of that God that we are going to Worship , and of the greatnesse , and weight of the duty that we are setting about the nature of it , the manner how it is to be performed , the rule by which we are to be guided , the end that we are to aime at : Meditation is a good preparation to holy duties . And these are the generall heads of our meditation for our preparation to duty . Viz. What God He is we have to deal with meditate of God in his Attributes and then meditate of the weight of our duties , and the nature of them and the rule of them , and the end of them ; get your hearts possessed with meditations of this nature , and in this as a speciall thing doth consist your preparation to holy dutie , and that 's the first thing . 2 The Second thing wherein the preparation to a duty consists , it is in this , In the taking off of the heart from every sinfull way , the indeavour at least , If there be iniquity in thine hand or heart labour to put it out : When thou are come into Gods presence , do not bring into the presence of God the love of any sin in thine heart , but labour to put it from thy heart : In 2 Chron. 29. 5. We find there what is required to preparation the Text saith , Hezekiah said unto them , Hear me , ye Levits , sanctifie now your selves , and sanctifie the house of the Lord God of your fathers , and carry forth the filthinesse out of the holy place : that is sanctifying a thing to carry forth the filthinesse out of that thing that we would sanctifie so the Sanctifying of our hearts it is by carrying forth the filthinesse out of our hearts , so as to be fit for a duty . And in Job . 11. 13 , 14. If thou prepare thine heart , and siretch out thine hand towards him : What then ? If iniquity he in thine hand , put it far away , and let not wickednessed well in thy tabernacles : These Two must be together . 3 A Third thing is this , The Preparation of the heart it is the disintangling of the heart from the world , and from all occasions and businesses in the world . I am to worship God , but how is my heart insnared and intangled in this and the other businesse ? Now when I come to worship God I must lay aside all , for there 's the preparation of the heart , the separating of it for such a work , for that 's the nature of Sanctification , the separating of a thing from a common use I am to worship God , now I must labour to separate my heart from a common use : At other times God gives me liberty to let out my heart to common uses ; but now when I come to worship him , I must separate my heart from all common uses , that my heart may be wholly for God. I remember it is said in the story of Cieil which was Lord treasurer , that when he went to read , he would lay his gown off and say , Lie there Lord Cieil : So when we go to duty , we should say , Lie by world : ( and by laying aside the world I mean , laying aside of all houshold affairs , or affairs in trading , &c. ) I must be as one that hath nothing to do in the world for that time : It is true , the time cannot be said to be holy for this , as the time of the Sabbath day is holy . You will say , Why may not any time be said to be holy that I spend in holy duties ? No , that is not enough to make time holy , for the time that God makes holy , it is not holy because of the duties that I perform in it , but the duties that I perform then are more acceptable because they are done in such a time , and so that makes a place holy , not because it is appointed for holy duties and uses , but because it is so appointed by God , and the performing a duty in that place is more acceptable to God then in another place : But now though we cannot make our time holy in that second sense , yet in the first , it is time set apart for a holy use , and in that regard it is holy , and so we should look upon it as not to have our outward businesse to devour that time that is holy in that regard , as Nehemiah When Tobiah and Sanballat sent to him to come and confer with them ; No , saith he , I cannot go for the work is great that I have to do : So we must not intangle our selves to meddle with other things when we are to come to worship God , for our work is great . The Fourth thing for Preparation is , To Watch and to Pray : We should watch over our hearts least they be made unfit for duties . So we should prepare for Prayer all day long in this sense , that is , we should watch over our hearts that they bee not let out so far as to hinder us in prayer when we come to do it . I remember that Tertullian saith , That the Christians did so sup as if that they were to pray , so when thou art in company thou shouldest watch unto Prayer ; Oh that you did so , you cannot but be conscious to your selves that oftentimes when you have bin in company your hearts have been put out of tune and frame , that you have been no way fit for prayer ; when you come home your house and family finds it so ; you that take such delight in company and fitting up late , I appeale to your consciences whither you can come home and find your selves fit either in your family or closet to go and open your hearts to God. This is one Note by the way wherby you may come to know whither you have been immoderate in company at any time ; God gives not men liberty to be busie in any outward occasions in the world so as to unfit them for his service . preparation consists in that , in watching over your hearts , that you may not be unfitted for any holy duty when God cals you to it , but that you may be ready even to every good work . The Fift is this , Preparation consists in the readinesse of the faculties of the soul and the graces of the spirit of God , presently to act upon the setting upon a holy duty . When a man or woman shall find the faculties of their soul and the graces that are in them , to be ready to act as soon as ever they fall upon duty , just as you see a company of Ringers when they have made all preparation for the raising of the bels , then in an instant when they begin to pull , all the bels go in that tune that according to their skil they set them in . And so it should be with our hearts , the faculties of our souls and graces , though now we are not upon duty , yet we should be so ready that as it were upon a pull , all the faculties of our souls and graces of Gods Spirit should work in a melodious way ; There are those that keep their hearts so prepared as at the very first moment that they set about the duty of Worship , all faculties and graces begin to act and to stir and are working towards God , as a fire , when all the matter is ready laid , presently it comes to be kindled and flame out ; and thus it should be with our hearts : So that now you see wherein preparation of our hearts to duty consist● . The next thing is the Excellency of the preparation ; and that may be in way of Application to you to make you to be in love with Preparation for holy duties . There is abundance of good in it . First , By this meanes we come to make every duty of worship easie to us , things are difficult when we come upon them unprepared , If you have a friend come to dinner or supper to you , and should come suddenly , and you have nothing prepared there would be a great deal of stir in the house , but it you have every thing prepared , it would be carried on in an easie way ; and the reason why people e●mplaine so much of difficulty in duty , it is because their hearts are not prepared . Indeed we have naturally many things to keep us off from God but now when the heart is prepared for a holy duty , it goes off as easie to God even into the infinite ocean of All mercy and goodnesse , as a ship goes off to be lansht when you have made preparation for it and the heart can go with a holy boldne e to God when you have made preparation for holy duties . In Job 11. the place which I quoted before for the work of preparation , do but consider a verse or two further , and you shall find what abundance of good there comes upon the keeping of the heart prepared in things that are good . Vers 13. If thou prepare th●ne heart , &c. And then Vers . 15. Then shalt thou life up thy face without spot , yea , thou shalt be steadf●st and shalt not fear : When the heart is prepared for that that is good , when it comes into the presence of God it is able to lift up its self without fear , in a steadfast comfortable way , and this will quit the cost of any labour . 2 Secondly , if the heart be prepared , it will do a great deal in a little time In 2 Chron. 29. 36 it is said , That Hezekiah rejoyced , and all the people , that God had prepared the people for the thing was done suddenly . The thing came off freely and suddenly when as that they were prepared : Hezekiah rejoiced and ble●ed God for such a mercy as this was it is a great mercy to have the hearts of people prepared unto a good work . And so in 2 Chr. 27. 6. the text saith , Joth●m became mighty because he prepared his waie● before the Lord his God. Joth●m , he grew mighty by this , and so certainly the way to grow to be very strong and mighty , to be able to do a great deal in a little time , it is to make preparation , there may be as much work done in one hour ●● , as in ten times to much time when the heart is not prepared for it . In Ezra 7. 10. you shall find that the reason is given why Ezra had such good successe in his journy , it was because he had prepared his heart . Make preparation for holy duties and you shall have success in holy duties There is a notable Scripture for that in Psal 10 17 where the holy Ghost saith , that God prepares the heart and what then ? when God doth prepare the heart , he doth then cause his eare to hear . There was never a prayer made wherin the heart was prepared for it but that praier was heard , they go both together , Lord thou wilt prepare their heart , and thou wilt cause thine eare to hear : it God hath once prepared thy heart , thou wilt be sure to be heard then : Is it not worth a world for to know ones self to be accepted of God in every duty of Wo-ship that we tender up to him ? this one Scripture Psal 10. 17. will shew it . Oh the excellency that there is in Preparation to duty ! There is one thing more that is very observable , and that is this , Where the heart is prepared to duties , there the Lord will passe by weaknesses and imperfections in duties . When thou comest to perform holy duties thou art troubled , will the Lord have regard to such a duty as this is ? thou mayest have certain assurance that the Lord will have regard if thou canst make this point good to thine own soul , that it was thy care to make preparation for this duty canst thou say , Lord I have indeavoured and done what I could to fit my heart for duty , but O Lord , I find when I am at it , wonderful distractions , much deadnesse and vanity , what shall I do ? Why canst thou make good the former and appeal to God that indeed it was thy care to make preparation ? I 'le give thee one cripture then for the quieting of thy heart in this : That the weaknesse of the duty shall be pardoned and past by , where there is care to prepare before hand the ●cripture is in 2 Chron. 30● 18 , 19. But Hezekiah prayed for them saying , The good Lord pardon every one , what every one ? every o●e that prepareth h●● heart to seek the Lord God of his fathers , though he be not cl●aused according to the purifie ●tion of the Sanctuary As if he should say , Oh Lord , there are many things amisse in this people , they are not in many regards purif●ed according to the order that thou hast set , but Lord , if thou doest but see any heart prepared to seek thee , though the● fail in such particulars , Lord heal them and pardon them : and did God hearken to his prayer ? Mark the following words , And the Lord hearkned to Hezekiah and hea●ed the people . Nay saith God , I will not stand so much upon the purification of the Sanctuary if they have prepared their hearts to seek me . Take this Scripture , know it 's written for thine instruction , and thou mayest make use of it to thine own soul this day , if thou canst appeale to God that thou art carefull to prepare thy heart , though thou shouldest not have that purenesse of thy heart as thou doest desire , the Lord will pardon thee and hea● thee , make conscience of Preparation to holy duties . Again furthe , by being carefull to make Preparation for duties , within some little time thou wilt bring thy heart to such a frame as it will alwaies he ready for duty without much adoe ; Indeed at first it is somewhat hard . You will say , Are we bound to spend sometime every time we go to prayer before hand , or every time we come to the Word ? That should have been one of the Cases of Conscience , but I cannot come to Answer that , but this we may say , Be carefull to prepare for duties , you that are young beginners , or you that have made profession a longer time , but yet have not had the weight of this duty upon your spirits ; now be carefull for a while to prepare for every duty of Gods Worship , that God calls you to , and I say within a little time thou mayest bring thy heart into such a temper as thou mayest be ready at all times to performe holy duties : because you shall be able to come to that temper and frame that the Apostle exhorts to , Pray continually , for indeed so it should be with us , we should be alwaies prepared either for Prayer ; hearing the Word , or receiving Sacraments . Now because Sacraments are so rare , those that have any inlightened conscience they think they dare not but prepare for Sacraments , but you should be alwaies in a preparation for the receiving of the Sacraments , as the Primitive Christians did . And thos that have been acquainted with this Point that I am upon , of preparing for duties , they have come to such a frame of Spirit , as that there is not so much time required of them as of others , for they are in a constant fitnesse , so that there is no instant of time in the whole day but if God cals them to Prayer they could presently fall down upon their knees and pray so as to Sanctifie Gods name in Prayer , that were an excellent temper indeed if you could find it so , that you walk so spiritually and holily before God as there could be never a quarter of an hour from morning to night , nor from the beginning of the week to the end , but if you were cald to pray , or to receive the Sacrament , you had your heart fitted , that you could come into Gods presence with a prepared heart , and were able to Sanctifie Gods Name in the duty . Acquaint your selves with this work of Preparation , and so you may have hearts ●itted to come into Gods presence at any time . SARMON IV. LEVITICUS . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . WEE proceed now to what remaines . There are onely for the perfecting of this point two Cases of conscience to be resolved : And then we are to proceed to other things . The first is , whither we ought at all times to set apart some time for preparation to every duty of Gods Worship ? Secondly suppose we do not find our hearts prepared as we do desire ; whither it were better to leave off the duty then performe it ? For the first of these , Viz. Whether we are alwaies bound to set some time apart for preparation to the duty that we are to performe . The answer to that is this ; we must distinguish of persons ; There are som that are exercised in the way of godlinesse , and do keep their hearts close with God in the waies of holinesse ; now for them it may be supposed that through their exercise in the waies of godlinesse , and keeping of their hearts constant with God in communion with him walking with God closely , that they are at all times prepared to every good work , and 〈◊〉 fulfil that command of the Apostle , pray continually , that is , in the disposition of their hearts , they are fit to pray at any time , there is no day in the week , nor no hour in the day but they ( if God call them to it ) could fal down to solemn ●raier . And indeed this is an exellent condition and a good evidence of the hearts walking close with God that there is no time but they are fit to pray , and fit for any Ordinance , yea to recive the Sacrament of the Lords upper . It is posible to keep the heart so close to God , as to be fit for praier , and for the hearing of the Word , and for receiving of the Sacrament every day , or any hour in the day but this needs a very close walking with God and communion with God and the truth is this is very rare ; most men let out their hearts so much to other things , as their consciences cannot but tel them , that if God call them to praier at such a time in the day , they are altogether unfit for it : If they were called to receive , the Sacrament , their consciences would fly in their faces and tel them , they are unfit for it but it is not so with those that walke close with God , though they be in the world . You will say if a man have businesse in the world how can this be ? Yes though they have bu●●ne●e in the world , yet they carry the heavenlinesse of their hearts along with them ; our conversation is in heaven saith the Apostle Phil. 3. Now the word that is translated our conversation , it is a word that signifies our City converse ; our trading is in heaven when we go to the City or the Exchange , or about any businesse ; yet our trading is alwaies in Heaven . But now there are other sorts of people that had need at all times to look to their hearts in way of preparation . As , First , those that first set upon the duties of Religion : young beginners , that begin at first to set their faces towards Heaven , to worship God they had need look to their hearts they should spend some time in Preparation when they come to holy duties , and the truth is , when the conscience of a man or woman is at first inlightened , and awakened , they will be very carefull in preparing to holy duties , the fear of God it is mighty upon their Spirits at first , and it should not be lesse afterwards the constancy of Gods fear should bring their hearts to such a holy temper as to make them fit for holy duties alwaies . Secondly , Those men and women that at any time shall sin against conscience , shall commit such sins as shall in a kind even lay wast Conscience , shall break their peace between God and their Souls ; they had need spend some time in preparation for holy duties , they cannot come into the presence of God to enjoy communion with God , but they had need before hand be very serious in the examination of their hearts , and to endeavour the working of their hearts into mourning for their sinne , and to labour to possesse their Souls with the presence of God even before they come . These two sorts of people , such as have not been acquainted with the waies of godlinesse , or such as have broken their peace with God by some evill carriage of theirs towards God in some vile way , I say it is required of them to bee more solemne in the worke of Preparation . 2 But now for the second case which indeed is the main ; Suppose when we come to duties , and begin to examine our hearts , and begin to bethink our selves whether we be prepared yea or no to holy duties , and we do not find our hearts prepared according to that that we do desire , whether then we may let the duty go for that time , and forbear the performance of it , as suppose Prayer , or receiving the Sacrament , or coming to the Word or any other holy duty ? And the reason of this doubt is , because when any man or woman is consciencious , they think with themselves that they must Sanctifie Gods Name in holy duties , now if they cannot find their hearts in a f●t disposition to Sanctifie the name of God in holy duties , they are ready to think thus , Were it not better to neglect this duty and lay it aside for the present , will God accept of a duty when I performe it , and am not fit for it ? Therefore for the Answer to this , because it is a temptation that sometimes carnal hearts have , and they are ready to take this temptation , and willing to neglect the duty upon such a thought as this , that they are not prepared : And the truth is , they are more glad to let the duty fall , then they are sorry for want of the preparation of their hearts for the duty . I beseech you consider of this , whether you have not found it so , that sometimes when you have not been fit to performe a holy duty , there hath not been a more secret willingnesse of the heart to let the duty go , then a sorrow of the heart because you are not it for the duty . This is a very evil sign that the heart is very much distempered . Those that are godly indeed when they find not their hearts prepar'd for the duty it is the trouble of their souls , it is that that goes neer to their hearts , when they think with themselves that they are now like to lose a duty of the worship of God , they are now like to lose their communion with God in a holy duty , they even look upon themselves in an evill case in regard of this ; and it makes them watchfull for time to come to take heed of those things that have put them in such an unpreparation as they find their hearts to be in at this time : Now if it be so with thee it is a good sign that thy heart may be upright with God though through infirmity it comes at such a time to be unprepared for the duty . But yet suppose I find I am not prepared , I am greiv'd and troubled at it , ( for that must be premised ) whether were I better to leave the duty for this time then to fall upon it in such an unpreparation as this is ? Now for the Answer to this Question . 1 First , That which I would Answer to it is this , The omission of a duty , or the laying of a duty aside , will never fit the Soul for a duty afterwards it is no way to make thy soul more fit afterwards because thou hast laid it aside now for the present ; do but observe your own hearts that way , and you will find this by experience : Such a time you have been busie in the world , and occasions have hindered you so as your heart is out of temper and frame for a duty , you lay it aside , now are you more fit the next day ? If you do neglect duty in the morning upon any businesse , are you fitter to perform duty at night because of it ? you will not find it to be so : the forbearing a duty now will not make the Soul fitter for a duty afterwards ; therefore is no wisdome to forbear a duty for want of preparation , because the forbearance will never help to further preparation , but will make the Soul more unfit for duty . It is an excellent speech that I read that Luther hath concerning himself , I have learned this by experience , that the oftener I do omit duty , the oftener do I make my self the more unfit for duty , and cause I have to abhorre my self . It is not the deferring that makes thee the more fit . 2 Therefore consider that this is but a temptation , and that is the Second thing that I would propound to those that shall omit a duty because they are not prepared , That this is but a Temptation to keep thee from it , to tell thee that thou art not prepared : and if thou shalt forbear it because thou art not prepared , in this thing thou doest gratifie the Devil , and the Devil hath what he would have , and so would be incouraged to tempt thee another time because he hath now what he would have in causing thee to forbear the duty ; First , he laboureth to unfit thee for it , and then he tempts thee to forbear it because thou art unfit , this is the subtilty of the Devil . From whence is it that thou art unfit but from the temptation of the Devil ? And I and Luther again , that was a man that had as much converse with God as any in his daies , and a man that had as much to draw his heart away , as many temptations , and as many businesses as any , for indeed the great Cause of Christ in all the Christian world in a great measure under God lay upon his shoulders , and yet saith he , If any one think that prayer must be defer'd till the Soul be purified from impure cogitations , he doth no other then help the Devil who is powerfull enough ; he thinks to be wise in deferring the duty because he is not fit , and he hath many ill thoughts and troubles in his Spirit , he doth nothing else saith Luther , but gratifie the Devil that is strong enough without this . Oh let us take heed of gratifying the Devil in his temptations , therefore remember it is a temptation for thee to omit a duty meerly because thou art not prepared for the duty . 3 In the Third place , that which I would Answer to this Question is this , If any one performe a duty of Worship in that sincerity and strength that he is able to do it , though he be not prepared as he ought , yet it is better to do it then to neglect it . It is true , some do performe a duty in a meer formall way , and to satisfie their consciences , or to cloak and cover their sins and the like : perhaps they may so performe it as it might be better to be unperformed then to performe it as they do , but if you do indeavour to the uttermost of your strength to do it , though you be not prepared as you do desire , yet it is better to do it then to omit the doing of it , and you will find it so , for one duty doth prepare for another . Though it be not done as I desire it should be done , yet the doing of it as well as I can at this time will help me to do it better at another time , that is certain as one sin doth prepare the heart for another sin , so one duty prepares the heart for another , as now , suppose a man commits a sinne , and he hath a conscience that is inlightened that doth hinder him from committing his sin with that full strength that he would do it many a man hath a mind to sin but through the inlightening of his conscience he cannot sinne with that delight as he would , because his conscience flies in his face and doth interrupt him , but yet for all this through the strength of his corruption he will break through to that sin : now though at first they cannot commit that sin with that delight and freedome as they do at other times yet if their corruptions be so strong as to break through the light of their consciences , the next time they come to the committing of that sin they will commit it with more freedome and ease a great deal . This is evident by experience , there is none of you but if you well observe your hearts you will find this , A Temptation comes to a sin , now you cannot do it with so much freedom as you would , but yet you break through it , you will find that the next time you will commit it with more freedom , and so one sin will prepare for another , and it may be you have some trouble of Conscience at first , but the next time you will have lesse trouble , till at length you can commit it freely without any trouble of Conscience at all . As it is in sinne , so it is in godlinesse many times in some degree at the first you have a motion to a holy duty , but through the stirrings of your corruptions you are not fit for it , now do you but break through that difficulty , and the next time you will be more fit , and the next time after that you will be more fit , and so still more and more fit as it is in sin , If a man when he hath some trouble of conscience would but listen to his conscience and would not commit that sin , his conscience would grow stronger upon him , and strengthen him against that sin , so if any man or woman listens to the temptation to deferre duty and put it off because they are not prepared , why after that the corruption will grow more strong , therefore set upon the duty , and the performance of one duty will prepare for another . 4 In the Fourth place , while men and women are strugling with their souls and the corruption of their hearts , and do not fall upon seeking God , they by their very strugling to prepare themselves many times , do insnare themselves : It may be thou hast thoughts of Athisme or other wickednesse , the very strugling with those thoughts may insnare thy heart ; now the better way were to fall upon prayer , and to cry to God to help thee again them , for while thou art strugling and striving with those thoughts thou art striving with the corruption of thy heart and with the Devil all alone , but now when thou fallest to the duty thou callest in the help of God and of Jesus Christ , and that is a great deal better , while thou art musing , plodding , & troubling thy heart that way , I say thou art strugling alone but now when thou fallest upon the duty then thou callest in help from God and so thou art more able to the performance of the duty then thou wert before . And therefore it is the best way to fall upon a duty though thou canst not find thy heart prepared as thou doest desire the very falling upon it will fit thee for it . And thus much for the Answer unto those two Cases of Conscience . Now then we are to proceed further in the opening of the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties . Thus much for the preparation of the heart . But when the heart comes to it in what manner should the duty be performed so as the name of God may be sanctified in the duty or what is the behaviour of the Soul in the ●anctifying of Gods Name when it is in the very act of the duty ? To that ● Answer . First in generall thus , When the Soul labours to performe duties so as God may have such glory from the duty as is fit for a God to have in some measure : then do I Sanctifie Gods name . You will say this is a very hard thing to performe a duty so as that we should give God the glory that is fit for a God to have : Certainly this is not done by every manner of performance of a duty of Worship : yet you shall hear this opened to you , and I hope you shall have it made very plaine before you . First therefore I shall shew you , that when we are to perform a duty of worship , we should set our selves to glorifie God as a God , that is to do it in that manner that God may have that glory that is fit for a God to have . As now in the duty of Praise Psa . 66. 2. make his praise glorious , that is , do it so as you may lift up His Name in it , and that God may be glorious in your praise . And Rom. 1. 21. there the Apostle speaking of the Heathens ; he doth rebuke them ; For what ? It was for this , because that when they knew God , they glorified him not as God , neither were thankfull● now this is spoken especially of the worship of God : for he saith afterwards ver . 23. that they changed the glory of the incorruptible God , into an image made like to corruptible man &c. So that it 's spoken of the worship of God ; that they glorified not God as God. That is then to sanctifie Gods Name , to glorifie God as God : and therefore our Saviovr in the 4. of John when he spake to the woman of Samaria , he tels her that God is a Spirit , and must be worshipped in spirit and truth , that is we must labour to suite , our worship to what there is in God ; that our worship may be proportionable in some measure even to the nature of God himselfe ; And therefore God being a Spirit , his worship must be a Divine worship . I have read of some of the Heathens that did worship the Sun for a God , and they would offer to the Sunne somwhat sutable ; therefore because they did so admire at the swiftness of the motion of the Sunne , they would not offer a snaile to the sunne , but a flying horse , a horse with wings ; now a horse is one of the swiftest creatures , and the strongest creature to continue in motion for a long time together ; and they added wings to the horse , and they thought that sutable to be a sacrifice for the Sunne . So when we come to worship God , that is , to sanctifie his Name , we must behave our selves so as to give him the glory that is fit for a God to have . As now in those three particulars which I opened to you when I shewed you wherein wee draw nigh to God. This was one , I tould you that when we come to worship God , we come to tender up some present to God , now then we must tender up such a present as is sutable to Gods excellencie . If a man should come to a poor man to give a present , If it were not worth twelve pence , yet it may be taken well ; but if you were to tender up a present to a Prince , a Monarch , an Emperour , then you must tender a present that is fit for the qualitie of the person . Therefore Mal 1. 8. When the Lord rebukes them for their Sacrifices that they were such poore things : Go saith God and tender up this to your governour and see whether he wil accept of it or no. So certainly that which may be accepted of by a mean man , would be accounted a scorne , if you should tender it up to a Prince or an Emperour . Now when we are to worship God we must consider that we are to tender up our service to God , who is the great King of Kings , and Lord of Lords . But you wil say , is it possible for any creature when it comes to tender up it's worship to God , to tender up that which is fit for a God to have ? This may rather be a discouragement unto prayer or any other duty of worship , then an incouragement . To that I Answer thus , though we be very poore and mean , yet it doth not hinder but we may tender up that to God which God wil acknowledge to be suitable to his infinite excelencie , as First , if we tender up to God all that we have . Though we be never so poore and mean , yet if God hath the strength of our soules , God accepts it . For we are to know that God doth not stand in need of what we have , or of what we do ; but that we might shew our respect to him : Therefore if we give all that we have God accepts it . As a child if it puts forth all it's strength that it hath to do a busines which the father bids him , whether the busines be done or no , the father looks upon it and accepts it as sutable to the childs strength ; and it shewes the respect that the child hath to his father . And as it is storied of an Emperour that when a poore man had nothing to offer him but a little water that he had taken up with his hand , he haveing nothing else the Emperour accepts of it . So that 's that which God looks for , that the Creature should lift him above all . If therfore when thou comest to worship God , God hath more of thy heart then ever any creature in the world had , God accepts of that , and that you must look unto ; Can you say so , when you go to Worship God , Lord it is true there is much weakness in my spirit , but thou that knowest al things knowest , that thou hast more of my heart then ever any Creature in the World had . This is sutable to God : God will account this ( in the Covenant of grace ) to be a present sutable to himself . As in the Law , when they offered to the building of the Temple , every one could not offer gold and silver and precious stones , but some came and offered Badgers-skins , and some women did spin and offered Coats-hair to the building of the Temple , and so God accepted of that being the most they could do . 2 In the Second place , When we do not only offer unto God the most we can , but when we adde to this the grief of our Souls that we can do no more , when the Soul shall strive to the uttermost it can , and when it hath done all , saith , I am an unprofitable Servant , Oh that I could do more ! This is suitable to God. 3 Thirdly , The people of God though they be weak , yet the weakest Servant of God is able to offer up to God somewhat that is suitable to the infinite Majesty of God , upon this Third Ground , because that there is a kind of impression of Gods infinitnes in those services that a gracious heart doth tender unto God , and therefore suitable unto God. You will say , God is an Infinite Glorious God ? Be it so ; He is Infinite that 's certain but the duty of Worship that a gracious heart tenders unto God , it hath an impression of Gods infinitnesse upon it . How is that ? If that can be made out , then indeed we may be incouraged to worship God. Thus , That that a gracious heart tenders up to God hath an impression of his Infinitnesse in this regard , because as God hath no limits of his Being , so a gracious heart when it comes to worship God will not propound any limits or bounds , but in the desires of it would fain be inlarged infinitly if it could . If it were possible for a creature to be inlarged to God infinitly it would be . Here lies I conceive the maine difference betweene the most glorious Hypocrite in the world , and one that hath true Grace , yea that hath but the least degree of Grace : The most glorious Hypocrite in the world , who it may be for the outward act doth more then one that hath true Grace , yet such a one doth limit himself , he doth great things , but he doth it so , as he limits himself , that is , so much as may serve for such and such ends of his , so much as may serve his turn , either to satisfie his Conscience , or to get credit and esteeme , to be accounted eminent in such a way , so much he doth do , but his duty is alwaies limited within such bounds and if he could conceive that he might go to heaven , and that he might have as much credit and honor , and as much peace of conscience with doing lesse , he would do lesse . But now one that hath Grace , though but little though but the least dram of Grace , he goes farther : Indeed saith he , though through the little Grace that I have , I cannot do what another can do , yet this doth so inlarge my heart , that I would have no bounds set in what I do for God , but I would have it inlarged to the uttermost Latitude , if it were possible beyond what ever yet was done for God in the world ; and the more I do , the more I do desire to do . That 's now a kind of infinitnes that there is in the heart where Grace comes : I say , Grace inlarges the heart to a kind of infinitnesse that the more it doth , the more it would do : there is no Hypocrite but will have his periods , he will rise thus , and thus , and thus high ; ordinarily you shall find that if he lives in some company there he is high , but if he lives in other company , there he is lower ; Now there is nothing doth limit a gracious heart , but to all Eternity it would work and work more and more for God. Here now is a Worship that is some way suitable to the infinite excellencie that there is in God : Here 's a kind of proportion ( as I may so speak ) even between the creature and God himself in this thing , but it is the grace of God in the creature , here is the Image of God indeed , because grace doth so inlarge the heart even to an infinitnesse as it were for God. And thus you see in the generall what it is to Sanctifie Gods Name , to tender up to God that which is some way suitable to the glory of the infinite God. 2 You know there was a Second thing , viz. That then I do Sanctifie Gods Name when I come so to worship God as my heart works , and follows after God as a God , so as it doth beseem the soul of a Creature to follow the infinite Creator , and to work after the infinite Creator : So David in Psal . 63. 5. My Soul followeth hard after thee , O God , and ( mark it 's a very sweet Scripture ) thy right hand upholdeth me . Those whose hearts follow hard after the Lord , they have the right hand of God upholding of them : It is a mighty encouragement to put forth the heart to the uttermost , because when thou doest so the right hand of God upholds thee : so that thy heart must follow after God more then it followed after any creature . 3 When I come to draw nigh to God , I come to present my self for the Cōmunication of the choicest of his Mercies , so then I Sanctifie Gods Name when I labour to prepare and open my heart for God as for the choicest Mercies that God hath to bestow upon his Creature . When there is such a temper of heart that my conscience tels me it is suitable to that that is fit for a Soul to have that expects to receive the choicest Mercies from God : but that we spake too more in the opening of our drawing nigh to God Now we are to come more particularly to this , to open the Sanctifying of Gods Name . 1 First , In what particulars the behaviour of the heart may be discovered to be suitable to God in respect of Gods greatnesse and glory . 2 Secondly , What the behaviour of the heart should be as suitable to the severall Attributes of God. It will cost us some time to open the particular things in the behaviour of the heart as in reference to the Greatnesse and Majestie of God , considered more generally ; as in Psal . 48. 1. Great is the Lord , and greatly to be praised . And so in Mal. 1. 14. Cursed be the deceiver which hath in his f●ock a male , and voweth , and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing . Why ? for I am a great King saith the Lord , and therefore cursed is he that doth not offer a Sacrifice suitable to my Greatnesse ? And in 2 Chron 2. 5. we find that Solomon when he was preparing for the Temple , he would build a great Temple , why ? because God was a great God that he would build it too : So that the Worship of God must be some great thing because the Lord is a great God , and it must be suitable to his greatnesse . Now if you ask me in what particulars doth the behaviour of the Soul consist that is very suitable to the greatnesse of God in the generall ? there are many things in this : 1 The First is , You must be carefull to bring a Sanctified heart . You cannot tender up a worship suitable to his greatnesse except you bring a Sanctified heart with you , there must be holinesse in the heart : Under the Law you know , if any one came to offer a Sacrifice in his uncleannesse , he must be cut off : and so it must be here , we must look to it that we offer not to God in our uncleannesse : Wash you , and make you clean . in Isa . 1. and then come let us reason together : There is no comming to God without washing and making clean : in Psal 93. 5. Holinesse becometh thine house O Lord for ever : Holinesse becometh the presence of God for ever , we must look to get a Sanctified heart . Sanctification consists in those two parts , Mortification , and Vivification : there must be a mortifying of the lusts of the heart : We read in the Law , that every Sacrifice was to be salted with Salt ; that did signifie the mortification of our hearts when we come to offer up our selves as a Sacrifice to God the Salt did eat out the raw humors , and kept the flesh from putrifying ; so doth the Grace of God in mortifying our Lusts : In Heb 9. 14. you have a notable scripture for the clen●ng of our hearts when we come to offer any service to God , How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternall Spirit offered himself without spot to God , purge your Consciences from dead works to serve the living God : So that you cannot serve the living God untill your consciences be purged from dead works : And how comes your consciences to be purged from dead works ? It is through the blood of Christ , who through the eternall Spirit offered himself without spot to God , he must purge your consciences . So that here 's the way of Sanctifying Gods Name by applying of Jesus Christ who was offered to God without spot that our consciences might be purged from dead works , that we might be purged from that naturall filthinesse and uncleannesse in which we all were ; for the whole world doth lie in filth , as a carrion doth lie in his slyme . Now if we would worship God so as to Sanctifie him , we must apply Christ to our Souls , and get our consciences purged from dead works , and to have the Spirit of Christ in us to quicken up our hearts in the waies of holinesse ; to have the image of esus Chri●●in us , whereby we may be holy according to our proportion even as he himself is holy , this is the Sanctifying of the heart There must be an habituall Sanctification and an actuall Sanctification of the heart : An Habituall , that is that the heart must be changed through the work of Regeneration there must be a Regeneration in the heart , there must be Divine principles of the Graces of the Spirit of God in the heart . But you will say , May not an unregenerate man Pray ? To that I Answer ; It is true , it is his duty to pray , Poure forth thy wrath upon the Heathen , and upon the families that call not upon thy Name : But it 's as true , that they cannot Sanctifie Gods Name in doing of it : But if we would Sanctifie Gods Name in it there must be an Habitual holinesse in the heart , for every thing doth act according to its principles , in nature it is so ; and so doth the heart when it comes to Worship God , it doth act according to the principles that it hath . And then there must not only be Habitual Sanctification , but Actual Sanctification likewise , as in Exod. 19. 10 , 11. there you see what a doe there was to fit them for the hearing of the Law , because God was to come among them : God is to come among us , and we are to come to God when we are to performe holy duties ; therefore it is not enough to have Grace , but there must be an improving of Grace , there must be an acting of Grace not only when you come to receive the Sacrament , to think that then there must be an acting of Grace but every time you pray and hear there must be an acting of Grace ; A purging out of your corruptions and acting of Grace . So that one cannot Sanctifie Gods Name in holy duties unlesse he come thus far , to be able to say , Lord , thou that knowest all things , knowest , there is nothing that thou doest reveale to be contrary to thy will , but my heart is against it , that 's the least ; thou canst not have any peace of conscience in drawing nigh to God , untill thou come thus far , to have thy heart to work thus against sin , and to be set upon every good that God reveals to be his mind . You know when a man of quallity comes to your house what a deale of stir there is , not onely in sweeping , but in making all things as clean and tite and shining as possibly can be : Thus it should be when thou comest to God. And the Reason why there must be this Sanctifying of the heart is . 1 First , Because the Lord doth first accept of the person before he doth accept o● the Action : Men indeed do accept of the persons of men because they do good actions but God accepts of the actions of men because their persons are good If indeed we see a man do good , then we love him and accept of the person of the man , but God first will accept of the person before the Action : As the Lord accepted of Abe● first , and then he accepted his offering : So you must look to that , to have your persons first accepted of God before any duty can be accepted : You think though you be wicked and sinfull , yet if you amend your life God will accept of you , you go that way to work ; but certainly that is the wrong way ; you must first look after meanes of acceptation of your persons , which is through the Righteousnesse of Jesus Christ , and through the Sanctification of his Spirit , whereby you come to have his Image and life , and so are accepted , and then all that proceeds from you comes to be accepted . There is not any action which comes from you that comes to be accepted to eternall life , untill your persons be accepted before God , and therefore there must be a Sanctifying of the heart before there can be a Sanctifying the Name of God in the duties of his Worship : Therefore when you come to performe any duties of Gods Worship you should co●●der this , Is my heart Sanctified ? I must Sanctifie Gods Name , and how can I do that , except my heart be Sanctified ? 2 Secondly , Our hearts must be Sanctified because the Lord doth look more to the principle from whence a thing comes , then at the thing it self . As indeed were our hearts right as they should then all the good things that come to us , we would not so much regard what the things are , that we do injoy from God , as what the principle is from whence they come , that is , Whether what we do injoy from God is from the love of God in Jesus Christ or no ? Whether it be from the generall Bounty and Patience of God , or from the speciall ●oue of God in Jesus Christ ? ●ur hearts would regard that mo●● if we were Spirituall : now then look as a godly man is not satisfied with injoying any good thing from God except he knows it comes from a principle of love to him ●esus Christ ; So God is not pleased with any thing that comes from us , except he knows that it comes from a principle of Love , Grace , and Holinesse in our hearts . 3 Thirdly , According as the heart is , so will the Service be ; Certainly if the heart be unclean the duty will be unclean ; perhaps the words may be fine and brave , but if there be an unclean heart , the duty will be unclean : As it is with a man that hath the Plague , suppose he makes a brave Oration , yet his breath is infectious : so it is in our Services with God : If so be that our hearts within us have the plague , then certainly the breath that comes from us , all our duties will be unclean , and therefore that is the first thing that we are to look for in the Sanctifying Gods Name in holy duties : Look to have thy heart Sanctified , and consider from what principle it comes t is for want of this that thousands of our duties are cast aside and God never doth regard them : But this is the first Particular , there is many more to speak of . SERMON V. LEVITICUS . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . WEE proceed . The next thing therefore for the behaviour of the Soul in the Sanctifying Gods Name in Worship is this , When we come to Worship God , if we would Sanctifie Gods Name , we must have high thoughts of God ; we must look upon God as he is upon his Throne , in Ma●estie , and in Glory as in Isa 6. 1 , 2. you shall find that the Prophet saw the Lord upon his Throne : It is an excellent thing when all who come to Worship God , every time they come to Worship him , have their eyes darted up to heaven and behold the Lord God sitting in his Glory upon his Throne : So you shall find in Rev. 4. the 24 Elders that Worshipped God , they saw him upon his Throne in his Glory and so they Worshipped him they Worshipped God to purpose indeed when they saw the Lord in that Majestie as he was ; we should at all times have high thoughts of God : take heed of having low thoughts and apprehensions of the Infinite Majestie of God at any time , but especially when thou art to Worship the great God , then look upon the Lord in that infinite distance that there is between him and thy self , yea that infinite distance that there is between him and all Creatures in the world , look upon the Lord as lifted up in Glory , not only above all Creatures , but above all excellencies that all Angels and men , in heaven and earth are able to imagine : Look upon the Lord as having all excellencies in himself , joyned in one , and that immutably ; look upon him as the fountain of all excellencie , good , and glory that all Creatures in the world have . And look upon the ●ord every time thou comest to Worship him , as that God whom Angels do adore and before whom the Devils are forced to tremble : behold him in this his Glory and this will help thee to sanctifie his Name when thou comest to him . The great Reason why people come and Worship God in a slight way ; it is because that they do not see God in his glory , 't is a great Mercy for God to give unto us a sight of himself , a sight of his glory here in this world while we are Worshiping of him , this would keep our eyes and our thoughts from wandring , if we had a sight of the glory of God , and had high thoughts of God. What 's the reason why we wander so as we do ? but meerly because we see not God as now suppose you were in your house , and looking after every feather that were flying up and down if you should hear that the ●ing were come into the ●oom , or any great person , it would compose your spirits because you have ●igh thoughts of such as or those that are above you : So let us look upon God as in his excellencie , and his glory , and have high thoughts of him , and this is that whereby we are to Sanctifie Gods Name when we come before him in holy duties , And that is the Second thing : First a Sanctified heart and then high thoughts of God. 3. A Third thing is , High-ends , Raised-ends in the Worshipping of God : Prov. 15. 24. The way of life is above to the wife : it is on high in this respect , when he Worships God his heart is lifted up on high : there is a holy raising of the heart which is well pleasing to God : Our hearts should be on high in regard of the high ends that we aime at in holy duties : Lift up thy prayer saith Hezekiah to the Prophet in another case : so I may say lift up thy Soul when thou comest to Worship God in regard of the high ends that we aimest at : when we are Worshipping God we should have our hearts above al creatures , and above ourselves . Let not our hearts then be groveling upon the ground , mingled with base and drossie things , when we come to Worship the Lord indeed it is fit that we should have our hearts low ( as we shall shew hereafter ) in regard of humility , but not low in regard of any basenesse of Spirit to mix with any base and low ends : Now there are low and base ends in Worshipping of God , As. First , We must take heed we do not subject the Worship of God unto our lusts , that is a cursed thing , thou art far from Sanctifying Gods Name in Worshipping of him that shalt subject his Worship to thy base Lusts , this is an abominable and a cursed thing indeed : You will say , Who doth thus ? who is the man or where is he that will do this subject the Worship of God to his base lusts ! To that I Answer , Whosoever doth make use of any duty of Worship , as Prayer , Hearing the Word , or what ever it be , to cloak any kind of wickednesse , whosoever is conscious to himself of any kind of secret wickednesse , and yet shall think to cover it by the performance of duties , and shall reason in this manner , who will think me to be guilty of such a vile thing , when I pray so as I do , and am so carefull to hear the Word ? and I hope I shall cover some wickednesse this way : If there be any in this place whose conscience tels them that they subiect the Worship of God to such a base end as this is the Lord rebuke them this day , and speak to their hearts , If I knew any , I would set mine eyes upon them and say as the Apostle to Simon Magus , I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitternes●e and in the bond of iniquity ; and as he said to him that did seek to draw the Deputy from the Faith , O thou child of the Devil , and full of all subtilty , to damne and undo thy self eternally , that seekest to cloak any wicked way by any duty of Gods Worship ; Is it a great evill for a man or woman to make use of any of Gods creatures to be serviceable to their lusts as meat and drink &c. What a damnable thing is it then to make use of any duty of Gods Worship sometimes extraordinary worship , as Fasting and Prayer , to be a cloak to cover their wickednesse ! Thou art so far from Sanctifying Gods Name , that thou pollutest Gods Name : thou doest what in thee lies for to cast even dirt in the face of God himself that doest so . The Second Base end , is to subject the duties of Gods Worship to the praise of men , as to performe duties of Gods Worship for the esteem of men , and because we shall be well thought of ; take heed of this you young ones , and others , you would fain be e●eem'd well of by those that you live withall : It is a desireable thing to have a good esteem from those that are godly : but take heed that you do not subject the duties of Gods Worship to this . Indeed it may be an incouragement to you , as David saith , I sal . 52. 9. This is good before thy Saints : David did incourage himself to praise God , because it was good before Gods Saints ; and I confesse it may be an incouragement because holy duties are good before Gods Saints : but take heed that this be not thy highest end that thou aimest at , and that which carries thee on in the work , meerly to get the praise of men , and that they shall think that thou hast good gifts and parts , and therefore thou art inlarged in that regard take heed of that , know that now thou doest not Worship God , but thou Worshippest men , thou doest make the praise of men to be thy God , for whatsoever thou doest lift up in the highest place , that 's thy God , whatsoever it be : therefore if thou liftest up the praise of men and makest that thy end , thou makest that thy God , and so thou art a worshipper of men , but not a worshipper of God Thirdly , Take heed of making Self thy end there are some that are not so base & low in their hearts , as to make the praise of men their end , but they aime and look at themselves , that is , they aime at their own peace , and satisfying their own Consciences in the performance of duties ; now though it 's true , when we performe duties of Gods Worship , we may expect to receive some good to our selves , and we may be incouraged to the duties by the expectation of good to our selves ; yet we must look higher , we must look at the honour and praise of God , that the name of the blessed God may be honoured : Now I am going to Prayer , Oh that I may pray so as I may lift up Gods Name : I am going to Hear , Oh that I may hear so , as God may be honored by my hearing : t is this that carries me on to hearing the Word , and makes me rise readily and to go forth chearfully : I hope that God may have some honour by my hearing this day , & God knows that this is the thing that I aim at I do not come for company nor to be seen of men , neither do I come meerly to satisfie mine own Conscience : Others go and hear such Truths of God as do good to their Souls , and if I should neglect them meerly for mine own ease , my Conscience would not let me be quiet howsoever there are many whose Consciences will be quiet enough ; though they lose am opportunity in the Worship of God ; but yet there are others whose Consciences cannot do so their Consciences would tell them when they are lying and turning themselves upon their beds , how do you know but that God had some thing to speak to thy heart this morning , that may never be spoken to thy heart at any other time ? therefore they cannot be at quiet except they attend upon God in the duties of his Worship : but still this is not enough meerly to satisfie Conscience ; thy main end it must be that thou mayest this day know some part of the mind of God , that God may speak to thy heart , that so thou mayest be fitted to honour the Name of God that thou mayest be inabled to live to his honor the week following so much the better . As in this manner thy thoughts should be , Lord , I find a drossie carnall heart , I am busie in the world in the week time , and I find that my heart is fullied and defiled with the businesse of the World , and intangled but lord , thou hast appointed thy Sabbath , and Word , to be a means to Sanctifie my heart , and to clense it ; Oh Lord , communicate thy grace to my Soul through thy Ordinances upon this day , that so I may be inabled the week following the better to live to thine honour , Lord , I come into thy presence to that end , that I might know some part of thy Will , and that I might get thy Spirit to be conveyed through this Word of thine into my heart : this should be thy end when ever thou comest and not only Self . I will give you two or three Scriptures to shew that God regards little any duties where self is the highe● end ; the First is in Hos . 7. 14. They howled upon their beds , ( saith the Text there , ) but they cryed not to me : The Lord there did acknowledge that they were very much affected in their Prayers , but what was it ? it was but a howling upon their beds : and how so : it was because only they did cry for themselves , They have not cryed unto me ( saith the Lord ) with their heart , when they howled upon their beds : It was but meerly for Corn , and Wine , and Cyle , but not unto me , they aim'd at themselves and not at me : And in Amos 5. 22. there the Lord professes that he did reject the fat of their peace offerings : Though ye offer me saith he ) bur●●t offerings and your meat offerings I will not accept them , neither will I re●ard the peace offering of your fat beasts . They were carefull to offer their fattest beasts in their peace offerings , and will not God regard them ? It was in their peace offerings that they offered their fat beasts , and there they were to eate a grat part of it themselves : Indeed the burnt offering was wholly offered unto God , God had all that , but the peace-offering , those that did offer it , they did eat a great part of it themselves : now they were very carefull in those offerings that they should partake of themselves to offer fat beasts ; you do not see that the Holy Ghost takes any notice of fat beasts in their burnt-offerings . Now the Note from hence is this , That in those things where men are interested themselves , they will be very carefull to have the best things . But now the Lord rejected the fat beasts of their peace-offerings : saith God , you were very carefull to offer fat beasts in your peace-offerings where you may feed your selves , but for those offerings wherein I have all , there you are not so carefull , and therefore I regard them not . The Third Scripture is in Zach. 7. 5. there they did keep many daies in seeking of God , ( it is an observable Scripture for these times , ) Speak unto all the people of the land , and to the Priests saying , When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month , even those seventy years , did ye at all fast unto me ? even unto me ? Mark the phrase you fasted in the fifth and seventh month , and for seventy years together , but saith the Lord , Did you at all fast unto me ? and then mark how it is doubled , To me ? even unto me ? Noting that when we fast or pray , or do any thing in the Worship of God , we should be sure to aime at God more then our selves , that God may not say of us another day , Do you do it to me , even to me ? You may ask me this Question , How may I know that I am acted by self ends in holy duties ? for it is a hard thing for one to know ones own heart , when one is acted by principles of 〈◊〉 , and when we aime at God in holy duties . Now for that I will give you these notes to try whither you be acted from your selves or no. The First is this , If a man loves holy duties ( though he finde no present good comes in by them ) because they are such things as God requirs , and therefore though I get nothing by them , yet this is enough to carry me on , and to carry me on readily and willingly in the worship of God : those that can delight in Gods worship , even at that time , though they find nothing coming into themselves . But now when we find not that coming in that we do desire , we begin to be weary of worship ; and say , Why have we fasted , and thou seest it not ? This is an Argument that thou art acted by Self rather then by God. Secondly , To know whether we be acted by self ends , or rather by high ends for God : Those men that can rejoyce in others that are able to honour God in holy duties more then themselves , they may have a good evidence to their own Souls , that when they worship God , they are acted by higher ends then self , but now , such as are streightned themselves , and when they see others more inlarged in the worship of God , they rather envy them , are greiv'd and troubled ; know that Self is a great ingredient in those duties that thou doest performe : if thy heart were raised high to God , though thou canst not thy self be inlarged in holy duties , yet thy soul would be glad that any others are , though I have a wretched and vile heart of my own , yet blessed be God that there are any others that can worship God better then I can . Thirdly , A man that is acted by self in holy duties , he regards holy duties but little , save in time of extremity , in time of fear , or of sicknesse , or in dangers . But now , one that hath high ends in holy duties , makes the duties of Gods worship to be the joy of his soul in the middest of his prosperity , and that is an evident sign that thou art not acted by self ends but by higher ends Canst thou in the middest of thy abundance say , Lord , thou givest me all conveniencies in this world and all outward things that I want but Lord this is that which is the ●oy of my Soul , this is that which makes my life comfortable , even communion with thy self , in the duties of thy worship , that I have free accesse unto the Throne of thy Grace to worship thee the Lord , and there meet with thee when I am in the performance of holy duties . O Lord , thou that knowest all things , knowest that this is the ●hing that makes my life comfortable ; It is not that I have a Table furnished with variety of dishes , and that I can have liberty of time to go into company , and spend according as I please but Lord those incomes of thy Spirit that I do find in the duties of thy worship those are the things that makes my life ble●●ed indeed unto me ? Such a man as is able thus to appeale to God , surely when he worships God , he is acted by high-ends , and not by self ends : And that is the Third thing that is necessary for Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties , thou mu●● have a Sanctified heart , high thoughts of God , and high ends . In the Fourth place , There must be much reverence , and much fear when thou comest into the presence of God to worship him thou doest not glorifie God as God , except thou doest come into his presence with much fear & reverence of his great Name ; Fear in worshipping of God it is so necessary , that many times in Scripture we ●●nd that ●he very worship of God is called The fe●● of God , they are put both for one , I might give you divers Scriptures for it and hence it was that the Name of God was called the fear of Isaac , Jacob did swear by The fear of his father Isaac , because Isaac being a great worshipper of God , kept his constant times to worship God , and worshipped him in such a constant way , as except David and Daniel , we do not find mention of the constancy of any in the worshipping of God as we do of Isaacs ; for it is said , that he walked but into the fields in the evening as he was wont to do , to Meditate , and to Pray ; and therefore God is called , The fear of Isaac . In Psal . 89. 7. is a notable Scripture for this drawing nigh to God with fear : God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the Saints , and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him : God is to be had in reverence of all them that are about him , but in the assembly of his Saints he is greatly to be feared , he is daunting ●errible ( so the words are ) in the assembly of the Saints . When thou comest nigh to God , thou hadst need have thy heart possest with much fear . So in Psal . 2. 11. the Kings and Princes of the earth are cald upon to 〈◊〉 the Lord with fear : Let them be never so great , yet when they come into Gods presence , they must serve him with fear : And so in Psal . 5. 7. In thy fear will I worship toward thy holy Temple . Now this fear of God , it must not be a servile fear , But a ●liall and reverentiall fear ; For my brethren , there may be a great deal of savish fear , where God is not honoured ; there may be fear from some terrible apprehensions of God , which ●er is not owned by God to this grace of fear : He give you Two notable Scriptures for that , in Deut. 5. 23 , 24 compared with the 29. It came to passe ( saith the text vers . 23. ) when ye heard the voice out of the middes● of the darknes●e , for the mountain did burn with fire , that ye came neer unto me , even all the heads of your tribes , and your elders , And ye said , Behold the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatnesse , and we have heard his voice out of the middest of the fire : we have seen this day , that God doth talk with man , and he liveth , now therefore why should we die ? for this great fire will consume us : If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more , then we shall die . See with what a terrour they were struck at the apprehension of Gods appearance ; you would think surely these men did fear God much , but mark in vers . 29. O that there were such a heart in them that they would fear me . Why , did they not fear the Lord ? Were they not struck with such fear that they thought they should die ? they saw his presence so terrible that they were afraid they should die and yet , O that there were such a heart in them that they would fear me ! So that it appears by this , that one may be struck with much terrour in the apprehension of Gods presence , and yet have no true fear of the Name of God : So some of you it may be in time of thunder or danger , are filled with terrour ; but yet may it not be said presently after , O that there were the fear of God in the heart of this man or woman , this youth or maid : They are terrified sometimes , but yet there is not a filiall and reverential fear of God in them . And I find in 1 King. 19. ( where you have the story of Gods appearing in that most terrible manner unto the Prophet Elijah by Fire , by thunder , and in a mighty Wind ) the Prophet was not so struck with fear of Gods presence when he did appear in the mighty wind or earthquake or fire , as when God did appear in the small still voice , therefore in vers 13. it is said , And it was so when Elijah heard it : that is , the soft voice , after the fire and earthquake , and the mighty wind ) that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entring in of the Cave , and behold there came a voice unto him and said , What doest thou here Elijah ? Then his heart was more struck with fear where was most of Gods presence , ( though it was in a soft voice ) then when the fire and earthquake did appear : It is a good sign of a gracious fear when the soul can be struck with more fear from the word , and from the sight of God in injoying of communion with him in his Worship , then when God appears in the most terrible way of his works ; or when there is terrour in a mans conscience through fear of hell , when God appears as though he would send him down presently to hell , though God expects to be feared then , but when the Soul in injoying communion with God in holy duties , and the more communion he hath with God , the more is he struck with reverence and the fear of God , this is a sign of Sanctified fear , and then doth the heart Sanctifie the Name of God indeed when it is so possessed with fear in the duties of worship . Now this fear of God should be indeed in the Soul , and expressed outwardly when you are in the assembly , by such reverent carriage in prayer , as if a heathen should come in he may see Gods Name Sanctified , and may say , How great is this God that this people do worship ! And in your Families , a reverant carriage , not lying all a long in prayer , upon the elbows sleeping , but carrying your selves so that if a heathen should come into your families , they may say , O how great is this God that this people do worship ! And likewise this fear it must be an abiding fear , not only at that instant when you are worshipping of God , or speaking of any of Gods Titles and Names , but a fear that must abide upon your hearts after duty is over ; that is , after you are come out from your Closets one may perceive the fear of God upon you , and so walking all the day long in the fear of God , as it becomes those that have been solemnly setting themselves to worship him : Now this fear and reverence is contrary to the slightnesse , vanity , the boldnesse and presumptuousnesse that there is in the hearts of men and women when they are Worshipping of God. Fifthly , The duties of Gods worship must be full of strength , for they are not suitable to God else , because God is a God infinite in power and glory himself , therefore God cannot indure vain Worshipping . In Isa . 1. 13. I hate vain oblations : Vanity of Spirit in Worshipping of God is very hatefull to God , it doth defile the Name of God. God is dishonoured by the vanity of mens Spirits . Now this strength is Three fold : 1 First , The strength of Intention . 2 Secondly , The strength of Affection . 3 Thirdly , The strength of all the Faculties of the Soul , and the strength of Body too , as much as we are able should be put forth in the Worshipping of God. 1 First the strength of Intention . We must intend our work as if it were for our lives : If ever we were seriously Intentive or Attentive about any thing , it must be when we are worshipping of the Name of God. When you are coming to Pray , be Intent about it . You shall see some when they are going in the street when they have much intention about their businesse , their friends meet them , and they never mind them ; one may perceive as they are going , that they are mightily intent about their businesse . My Brethren , look upon every duty of worship as a great thing which you must be intent in your thoughts about , and not give way to the wandring of your thoughts . I have read of one Martyr , that when he was to die , and the fire a kindling , saith an Officer , What will not you speak when you see the fire kindling ? saith he , I am speaking to God : that is , he was praying , and he minded not at all what they were doing . O what little things do take our thoughts away from holy duties ! When every toye , every feather , every light matter cals them off ; Is this to Sanctifie Gods Name ? Would not we account it a dishonourable thing , if we were talking to one about serious businesse , and when we are talking , every one that comes by he should be looking after them , and turning aside to talk with them ? If a Superiour be talking with you , he doth expect that you should mind what he saith . But when God is speaking to you , and you are speaking to God , every vain thought that comes by , you are turning aside too : as if it were a greater thing to talk to vain thoughts and temptations , then to the great & glorious God. Therfore now that is the very time that the Devil chuses for to bring temptations when we are in holy duties , for the Devil knows then he doth two works at once : he doth disturb us in our duties and call off our hearts to that that is wicked , and doth aggravate our sin exceedingly . It may be thou wilt not dare to commit that sin that the temptation doth turn thy thoughts upon , yea but the Devil hath spoyled the duty by it . The Lord doth expect that there should be strength of Intention when thou art upon the duty : and there is no time to parlie with temptations now , what ever thoughts come in . The truth is , though they be good thoughts that should come into thy mind , and that time that thou art Praying , yet if they be not pertinent to the duty thou must cast them away as the temptation of the Devil . You will say , Can any thing that is good come from the Devil ? Certainly that that is materially good , and coming unseasonably , may be from the Devil ; the Devil may take advantage by what is in it self materially good , and bring in that in an unseasonable time , and so he may turn it to evil : As now when thou art hearing the Word , it may be the Devil thinks he cannot prevaile to cause thee to have thy heart running about uncleannesse ; yea , but saith the Devil , If I can inject good thoughts , I will put into their minds some place of Scripture that is no way pertinent to this , only to divert them : The Devil gets much by this ; therefore look to it , and know that God expects the strength of thy Spirit in duty : that is , strong intention ; thou art a worshipping of God , and therefore thou hadest need be intent about what thou art a doing . Indeed some-times before you are aware , evil thoughts will come into your minds as when a man is keeping of a door , and there is a croud of people without that would come in , perhaps the man doth open the door for some Gentleman that he hears is at the door , but when he opens it for one that is to come in , forty others wil crowd in : and so it is many times with the Soul , that when it opens the door for some good thought , a great many evill thoughts will crowd in : those people might come in if they would stay their time , but they should not now come in . So about worldly businesses that are not in themselves unlawfull , if they will stay the time they may come in ; but they must be bar'd out now at this time . There is required strength of Intention . 2 Secondly strength of Affection is required also : That is , the affections must work mightily after God striving with God in prayer : If ever thou hadest a heart inflam'd in any thing , it should be when thou art praying or attending upon the Word ; as the Heathens that worshipped the Sun sometimes I have told you that they would not have a Snail , but a f●ying Horse , they would offer that that was swift so when we come to the living God , we must have living affections , our affections boyling ; and that will be the way to cure vain thoughts ; as the flies will not come to the hony if it be boyling hot , but when it is cold : So if the heart be boyling hot , and the affections a working , it will keep out vain thoughts and temptations : It is a sign of the breath of life when it is warm , but artificiall breath you know it is cold ; as now , the breath that comes out of the body that is warm , but the breath that comes out of a pair of bellowes that is cold : So the breath of many people in prayer , it is discovered to be but artificiall breath , because it is so cold but if there were spirituall life then it would be warm . There must be strength of Affection . 3 Thirdly , There must be likewise the strength of all the Faculties : We should stir up what ever we are or have , or can do to work in prayer , then the bent of mind , and conscience , and will , and affection ; yea , and the body should be put to it too , and those that worship God to purpose , they spend their bodies in nothing so much as in the worshipping of God. It will be a sad thing another day when this shall be charged upon many , Thou hast spent the strength of thy body upon lusts , but when didest thou spend any strength of thy body about any holy duty ? What a riddle is this to most people , to tell them of spending the strength of their bodies in prayer , or hearing of the word , or Sanctifying a Sabbath ; they think the Sabbath is a time of rest , I confesse it is a time of rest from an outward labour , but it is a time of spending strength in a spirituall way ; and those that shall worship God aright on the Sabbath , will find it a spending of a great deal of strength , and blessed is that strength that is spent in the worship of God rather then in the waies of sin , as most spend their strength : If God gives thee a heart to spend thy strength in his worship , thou mayest think thus , Lord , thou mightest have left me to have spent my strength in sin , how much better is it spent in the worshipping of thy Name ? There is one notable Scripture in Jer. 8. 2. that shewes how much strength the Idolaters put forth in the worshipping of their Idol , they would not do it in a slight and vain way , but their hearts were much in that false worship , saith the text , And they shall spread them before the Sun , and the Moon , and all the host of Heaven , ( mark now ) whom they have loved , and whom they have served , and after whom they have walked , and when they have sought , and whom they have worshipped : All these are put together in reference to their Idols ; Oh that it could be said so of us in reference to God , when we come to worship him , whom we have loved , and whom we have served , and after whom we have walked , and whom we have sought , and whom we have worshipped ; there is all these severall expressions to shew the strength of their spirits in following after their Idols : And that is the Fift thing in our Sanctifying of Gods Name . 6 The Sixth is , If thou wilt Sanctifie Gods Name in Worship , there must be an humble frame of Spirit , worship him with much humility of Soul : Abraham did fall upon the ground before the Lord , and dust and ashes ( saith he ) hath begun to speak unto thee ; yea , we read of Jesus Christ groveling upon the earth , and the Angels they cover their faces in the presence of God , and so should we be humble when we come before the Lord : there is nothing more abases the Soul of man , then the sight of God ; and the great reason of the pride of all mens hearts , is because they never knew God : If thou didest but see God , thy heart must needs be abased ; and when doth the Soul see God if not when it comes to worship him ? In Job 42. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the eare , but now my eye seeth thee , wherefore I abhorre my self , and repent in dust and ashes . Now this humility must be in the sense of our own meanness and basenesse . Ps . 34. 6. This poor man cryed to God : They are poor Souls that come into Gods presence that Sanctifie Gods Name most ; even those Souls that do apprehend and are senseable of their own basenesse and meannesse before God. This poor man cryed to God : we use to say , Give that poor man some what . It doth affect the heart of God when he sees much poverty of Spirit : when we come before him we must be senseable of our Infinite dependance upon God. Come as the woman of Canaan , O Lord , even doggs do receive c●ums , and though I be a dogg , yet let me receive crums ; here is humility of Spirit . Now this humility of Spirit appears in these things . 1 First admiring Gods goodness that we do live at this time , and that we have liberty to come before him : we might have been past praying and worshipping of God : think thus , What a Mercy is it that we are not banished out of Gods presence that the Lord hath not spurnd us out of his sight as filth , and cast us out as an everlasting abhorring , while others have bin praying we might have bin yelling under the wrath of the eternal God : Come with this apprehension of thy self , and adorre Gods goodnesse , that thou art alive to pray , and alive to heare Gods word . And that it is not only a duty , but a rich priviledge and mercy that God will admit of thee to come into his presence . Againe , it is the goodnesse of God , that he will vouchsafe to look upon the things that are done in heaven , then if the Lord doth humble himself to behold the things that are done in heaven , then how doth the Lord humble himself to behold me a poor vile cative as I am in my self : and yet that God should not only behold me before him , but invite me to come into his presence ; What mercy and goodnesse is this ! 2 Our hearts must be taken off from the thoughts and apprehensions of all excellencies in our selves ; we must not come in the pride of our hearts , because we have abilities more then others , what do all thy parts commend thee to God ; thou hast ability in expressing of thy self in Prayer : why do thy parts commend thee to God ? What ever is natural in any of our duties is nothing to God , only that which is from his own Spirit , and therefore thou shouldest come in thine own thoughts as vile as if thou hadest no parts and abilities at all . Lay aside all such apprehensions of thy self , for the truth is , some poor broken hearted sinner that can but sigh out a few groans to God , and is not able to speak two or three sentences together in a right language , but only breath out his Soul to God , may be a thousand thousand times more acceptable to God then thou that art able to make great Orations when thou comest before him . 3 Thou must come without any righteousnesse of thy own , thou must never come into Gods presence , but as a poor worm ; and if there be any difference that is made between thee and others in outward respects , it is nothing to thee : when thou art in the presence of God , thou art as a base vile worm , though though beest a Prince or Emperour . 4 Thy heart must be taken off from what thou doest : If thou hast any abilities of grace yet thy heart must be taken off there , there may be pride not only from ones parts , but it may be God hath given me inlargements in Prayer , the Devil will come in and seek to puffe up thy heart even because of this But thy heart must be taken off there , and thou must deny thy self in all , when thou hast done the best service of all , yet thou must conclude , thou art an unprofitable servant , when thou hast prayed the best , yet rise with shame , and take heed of having thy heart puft up even through the assistance of the graces of the Spirit of God in holy duties . 5 Lastly , Thou must come with a humble resignation of thy self to God , to be content to wait upon God as long as he pleases , to wai● upon God in regard of the time , and of the measure , and of the manner of the Communication of himself , in regard of the meanes by which he will please to communicate himself , wait upon him ; Let me have mercy though at the last hour . This now is an humble heart in Prayer ; and when we come with such a poverty of Spirit as this is , we may expect that the Lord will accept of us , Give this poore man some what , will God say : This poore man cryed and the Lord heard him . In the Seventh place , we must bring that which is Gods own in Sanctifying Gods Name . I spake to this before in the point of Preparation , Viz. That in Gods Worship we must give him his own . I will only mention it here in the Sanctifying of Gods Name in two regards : 1 First , To give God his owne , for the matter of it . 2 Secondly , To give God his owne , that is , what comes from the work of his owne Spirit , or else we do not Sanctifie Gods Name . I will give you one text further about the matter of it , in Exod. 39. if you read the Chapter , you shall find that there is ten times said , that they did as God had commanded Moses : And then in the close of the Chapter , when they had done as God had commanded in his Worship ; the text saith , Moses blessed them . That people is a blessed people that do observe the Worship of God as God hath commanded them . But the main thing is , all that we do it must be acted by the Spirit of God ; it is not enough to have true silver and gold , but it must have the right stamp or else it cannot go for current coyn . And so it is not enough that the things we offer to God in his worship be Gods owne , be what we have warrant for out of Gods Word , but it must have the stamp of the Spirit of God. In the Worship of God there be Two Questions that he will ask ; First , Who required this at your hands ? But then if you can Answer thus , Thou O Lord , did'st require it : It is well , but then God hath another Question , Whose Image and Superscription is this ? If thou canst not give an Answer to that , it will be rejected too : Thou must be acted by Divine principles , in all that thou doest , there must be the stamp of the Spirit upon that which is tendered to God else it is nothing . To open this Point fully will ask some time . First , Therefore I will shew you how we may know when our duties are acted by our naturall parts rather then by the Spirit of God. Secondly how we may know whether our duties be acted by naturall Conscience rather then by the Spirit of God. 1 First , If thou art acted by naturall parts , they will not change thy heart : Men that do performe duties by the strength of naturall parts , they may be as large as others , and speak to the edification of others , but those duties do never change their hearts ; now if thou beest acted by the Spirit of God , thou wilt be changed into the very Image of his Spirit . 2 Secondly , If men are acted by naturall parts , they will not carry them through difficulties and discouragements , but now the Spirit of God if thou hast acted by him , though thou doest meet with never such difficulties & discouragements , thou wilt be carried through them all . 3 Thou mayest know it by this , wherein doest thou account the excellency of a duty to consist , either in thy self or others ? Thou performest a duty , now it may be thy parts do act very lively , and to thy credit , and yet thy conscience tels thee that thy heart was streightned : Now canst thou rise up with joy because thou hast thy ends ? At another time perhaps thy heart is more troubled , and broken : But thou doest not expresse thy self so much , then thou art discouraged . And when thou seest another performe a duty , if thou seest but any failing in their expressions , thou pitchest upon that , and lookest upon it as a poor thing : thou art not able to see an excellency in holy duties , except there be an excellency of naturall parts ; but those that have the Spirit of God , they can find the Spirit of God acting in others , though they have not such naturall parts . 4 Those that are acted by their naturall parts , in secret they are lesse inlarged , then they are before others a great deal . Their parts act much before others , but what is there between God and their own Souls ? 5 They that be so acted will not be very constant , you shall have young ones , that begin to look towards Religion , their parts are a little fresh , and they are mightily inlarged in holy duties , and the thing is good for them to make use of their parts ; but how ordinary is it , that after a few years they are deader and duller then they were before , and have lesse mind to the duties of Gods Worship then they had formerly ? Were this the Spirit of God , you would find as much savour and relish in them afterwards , as there was at that time . Secondly for naturall Consciences which sometimes puts men upon acting of duties , and indeed is better then meerly naturall parts . 1 If it be only naturall Conscience , it puts upon duties , but gives no strength to do them : but when the Spirit of God puts thee upon a duty , it gives thee some strength to performe it , some strength whereby thou gettest some communion with God. 2 If it be naturall Conscience it puts upon the duty , but makes not the heart glad of the duty , and to love the duty ; but if it be the Spirit of God , it makes thee to delight in it , and to love it . 3 Thirdly , If it be naturall Conscience , thou doest not by that increase thy communion with God , thou doest thy duties as in a round , but now when the Spirit of God puts thee upon holy duties , it is not a task done , but thou findest more and more increase in Communion with God ; thy heart more raised to God , and more closing with the Lord , and so still more and more in the course of thy life : I had a little converse with God at first when God began to acquaint my Soul with his waies , but through his mercy now I find more communion with him , and so thou canst blesse thy self in God , in that converse that thou hast in communion with him , thou wouldest not lose that Communion thou hast with God in holy duties for all the world ; others have their companions that they have their communion withall , much good may do them , but the Lord hath shewen me another manner of communion which my Soul can have with himself , in which it hath sweet satisfaction . And thus you have had Seven particulars for the Sanctifying of the Name of God in holy duties . SERMON VI. LEVITICUS . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . 4 AGAINE , as Naturall Conscience doth give no strength to do the duty , so it makes not the duty to be strong to the Soul ; that is thus , there 's no strength got by the duty , they are not by one duty prepared for another , But the way of the Lord is strength to the upright , that is , when a gracious heart is in the way of Gods worship , it finds the very duty of the worship of God to be strength to it , and so it fits it for another duty . 5 Further , A Naturall Conscience limits its self , and is bounded ; that is , so much as will serve the turn for its owne peace and quiet , so much it will do and no more : But when one is acted by the Spirit of God , one is inlarged without any limits at all , not bounded to ones own peace , for the more peace a gracious heart hath in duty , the more it is inlarged in duty : Now a Naturall Conscience , that puts to duty , and will act you when you want peace , when you are in trouble and fear , but when you are not in trouble and fear , then it puts not on the heart to performance of duty : but the Spirit of God puts on the Soule to duty , when there is most peace and comfort . 6 A little will serve the turn to satisfie a naturall conscience , so be it they performe the duty it is enough ; but one that is acted by the Spirit of God in duty , must meet with much of God or else he is not satisfied ; he goes mourning in the day time if he hath not met with much of God in the morning in the performance of duty . Thus you see there 's much difference between the Actings of naturall parts and conscience in duty , and the acting of the Spirit of God. There be only now Two things more for the Sanctifying of Gods Name in duty , and then we are to come to shew how we should Sanctifie Gods Name in duty in reference to the severall Attributes of God. But First for those Two Heads further . 8 The Eight thing is this , When you come to performe holy duties , if you would Sanctifie Gods Name ; you must consecrate your selves to God ; there must be a resignation of soul and body , estate , and liberty , name , and all you are , have , or can do unto God : This is to Sanctifie Gods Name , the consecration of your selves to God. And the professing of this in the performance of duty , when you are to pray , were a very good thing , actually to professe your selves to be Gods , to professe that you do give up all that you are , have , or can do to God : Lord , I am thy servant , take all Faculties of Soul and Members of body , and improve all , lay out all , to thine own praise , to the uttermost , to bring glory to thy great name . If every time you came to God in prayer you did this , this were to Sanctifie your selves to God : I spake before of a Sanctified heart , but now this is in a profession of your selves to God ; do it secretly at least in your own thoughts ; if you do not every time expresse it in words , yet in your own thoughts do it ; devote your selves to God every day : Of admirable use it would be if every day when men and women worship God , either in their closets or families , they did professedly devote and consecrate themselves to God ; and so likewise , every time they came to hear the Word , or to receive Sacraments , God would account his name to be Sanctified in such a work as this is . 9 Lastly , That that must make all up , and without which all the other is nothing ; it is , that you must tender up all your worship in the name of Jesus Christ ; let a man or woman worship God never so well , yet when they have done all , if they do not tender it up in the Name of Jesus Christ , God will not account his Name to be Sanctified ; thou must by Faith look upon Jesus Christ as the glorious Mediator that is come into the world , by whom thou hast accesse unto the Father : And act thy Faith upon Christ , and give up thy duties into his hand , as the hand of a Mediator to be tender'd up to the Father by him ; though thou hast laboured what thou canst to performe duty as well as thou art able , yet thou must not think to tender it up by thine own hand unto God ; but thou must tender it up to the Father by the hand of Jesus Christ the Mediator , and so thou shalt Sanctifie the Name of God in holy duties . We read in Levit. 16. 13. that when Aaron was to tender up the Incense , he was to put the Incense on the fire before the Lord , that the cloud of the Incense may cover the Mercy Seat that is upon the testimony , that he die not : Mark , it is as much as his life is worth , whether he doth it , or doth it not : Now Incense it is in the NEW TESTAMENT called Prayer , and so in the OLD TESTAMENT too , it was a kind of emblem of Prayer : The offering up of our Prayers is the offering up of Incense to God , and the Mercy Seat it was a Type of Jesus Christ . Now the Incense should cover the Mercy Seat ; so our prayers must go up to Jesus Christ , must be upon him , and so must be accepted by the Father . And as we read in Judg. 13. 20. when Manoah offered a Sacrifice , the text saith , that the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame : This Angel of God here was Jesus Christ , as we might easily from this Scripture make it out , and he ascends up in the flame from the Altar , Now though we do not offer such kind of Sacrifices with Fire and Incense as they did in the time of the Law , yet when we are offering up of our Incense there must be a flame of Fervency and Zeal : But that is not enough , together with the fame of the Altar , the Angel of God Jesus Christ the great Angel of the New Covenant ( for Angel signifies nothing but messenger ) the great Messenger that is come into the world , about that great Errand of his , to reconcile the world to himself ; he must ascend up in the flame , and so God will account his Name to be Sanctified , the name of God is not Sanctified but through Jesus Christ . The Acting of our Faith upon Christ as mediator is a speciall ingredient to the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties ; as you know the Scripture saith , that the Altar doth Sanctifie the gift offered upon the Altar , Jesus Christ is the Altar upon whom all our Spirituall Sacrifices are to be offered , and this Altar doth Sanctifie the gift that is offered upon it , let never so great a gift be offered upon any other Altar , it was not accounted holy nor accepted ; so let men by their naturall strength , or power that they have , offer up the most glorious and speciousest Service to God. It is not accepted unlesse it be offered up upon the Altar Jesus Christ , we have an Altar now , ( not the Communion Table ) but Jesus Christ himself is our Altar upon whom we are to offer all our Sacrifices , and this Altar must Sanctifie the gift ; we can never have our gift sanctified , no nor Gods name sanctified in this gift except it be offered upon this Altar , and our Faith acted upon Jesus Christ . People little think of this , but of other things , viz. That when we worship God , we should worship him with fear , and reverence , and with humility , and with strength of Intention , such kind of things every one that hath any inlightening of conscience will think of at sometime or other ; but people do least think of this , which is the greatest ingredient of all that is required in the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties : that is , to come and tender up all to the Father in the Name of Jesus Christ : How many men and women that have been professors of Religion 20 or 30 years , and yet not acquainted with this great mysterie of godlinesse , to tender up all to God in the name of his Son. This is that that upon divers occasions I have spoken unto , and am willing upon every occasion as I meet with it to speak of , because it is a principall part of the great mysterie of the Gospel , without which all our duties are rejected of God and cast away . Now then put all these Nine things together and see by them what we ought to do that we may Sanctifie the Name of God in holy duties . But there is something further to be spoken that may help you to Sanctifie Gods Name in holy duties , and that is , severall , workings of heart , suitable to the severall Attributes of God , for that is to Sanctifie Gods Name , to have the duty to be such as is some way suitable to such a God as we are now worshipping . Now then let us consider what the Scripture saith of God , and then let us see what suitable dispositions we should have in us unto those things that the Scripture saith of God : 1 First , You know the Scripture saith , that God is a Spirit , in Joh. 4. 24. Then presently Christ saith , That he that worships him , must worship him in Spirit ; that is , there must be a suitablenesse in our worship to what God is : Is God a Spirit ? then all that worship him , must worship him in Spirit and Truth : that is thus , When I am to go to worship God , I must consider of him , as he is an infinite and glorious Spirit ; well then , surely bodily worship is not sufficient for me : Though I do kneel down in prayer , or do come and present my body to hear the Word , or my body to receive the Sacrament , this is not to worship God as a Spirit : If indeed that our God were as the Heathens , that were corporeall , then it were another matter , then bodily worship would serve the turne , but God being a Spirit , he must have Spirituall worship , therefore my soul and all that is within me , magnifie his name : saith David , my Soul magnifie his name , not my lips only , but my Soul : The Apostle in 1 Tim. 4. 8. saith , that bodily exercise profits little ; it is no great matter for the body , God looks but very little at bodily exercise ; but it is godlinesse that is profitable , it is the work of the Spirit ; when we come to pray , we must pray in the Spirit ; that is , we must pray with our Souls , we must poure forth our souls before God , and when we come to hear , our hearts must not go after our coveteousnesse , we must set our hearts to what we hear , we must hear with our hearts as well as with our ears , our Souls must be at work in hearing of the word , when you hear it is not enough for you to come and sit in a Pew , and have the sound of a mans voice in your eares , but your Souls must be at work : And so when you come to receive the Sacrament , your Souls must feed upon Jesus Christ : Bodily worship without Soul-worship is nothing , but Soul-worship may be accepted without bodily worship ; therefore it is the Soul that God doth principally look at in holy duties : If you be not able to worship God in your bodies , you may worship him in your Souls , and God regards that Bodily exercise in holy duties is little worth , some what it may be worth , I confesse sometime bodily exercise may further the soul , as a reverend carriage of the body and the like , but it is nothing in comparison , the great work is the work of the Soul , for God is a Spirit and must be worshipped in Spirit . And God is said to be a Spirit not only in that he is not of so thick a capitall substance , but it notes the simplicity of God , he is without any composition , whatsoever is in God is God himself , he is absolutely one , there are not divers things in God ; now then , those that come to worship him , must worship him in Spirit and in Truth : that is , there must not be a heart and a heart , there must not be a compounded heart , but you must bring simple hearts before God , without any composition of drofte in your selves , and of any kind of falsenesse , but in the simplicity of your hearts you must come to worship God , and thus you shall worship him with such worship as is some way suitable to him as he is a Spirit . 2 Further consider God as he is an eternall God , what suitable disposition doth this require of me when I am to look upon God as an eternall being ; it requires this only , That therefore thy heart must be taken off from all temporal good things , and set upon that eternall good , thou maiest indeed desire these outward good things but in order to thy eternal good . Then further , Thou art worshipping an eternal God : hence then whatsoever sin thou doest confesse although committed 20. or 40. years ago , thou must look upon it as if it were now presently committed , and be humbled as much before the Lord as if it were now committed at this present , you will say , Why so ? Because God is an Eternal God ? Yes : For if I understand Gods Eternity , I know that there is no succession in Gods being : therefore the sins that I committed in my youth , if I come to confesse them , they are before God as if they were now a doing in regard of time ; and therefore I must ( as much as I can ) look so upon them , and be humbled for them as if they were sins lately committed . Many people are troubled for their sins the very day after they commit them , but a little time wears off their trouble ; but if you did consider that you had to deal with an eternal God , then you would look upon your sins though a long time since committed as if they were now done . Likewise there will be this required from the consideration of Gods Eternity , you must come with such a disposition of heart as not to think much , though what you desired be defered and not granted in your time when you would have it . For if there be no time that alters with God , but a thousand years are with God as one day , then that that we account long before it s done , it is nothing with God ; and therefore we must have our hearts so work towards God as towards an Eternall God , as one with whom there is no alteration of time at all , with whom there is no succession of time . If we come to a man and seek any thing of him , if he doth not answer us presently , we will think that he will forget it , and other things will come into his mind : but when we come to worship God , we must look upon him as an Eternall being , and that time alters nothing with him : Thus understanding God in a right way will much help us in his worship , and so to Sanctifie his Name . We cannot Sanctifie Gods Name , without knowing his Name , without having serious thoughts about his Name ; and getting our hearts to work accordingly . 3 Thirdly , Look upon God when you come to worship him in his incomprehensible being ; that is , as a God that fils all places , his being is as reall in the room that we are praying in , the place that we are meeting in as it is in heaven . Now then when we come to worship him , we must consider that that infinite glorious being stands before us , looks upon us , is at our elbow ; and therefore especially when you worship in Secret consider this , it is good to consider it when you are with others , but especially I say , consider it when you are in Secret , and know that when you are most private , you have one that looks on you , and takes notice of you , who is more then if you had ten hundred thousand witnesses standing by you , and looking upon you : For it is the Lord that stands by you , and sees your behaviour , sees what you do in your worshipping of him ; take heed therefore that there be nothing done by you that is unbeseeming the presence of such a God as the Lord is : Suppose that some of you were praying , and there were some godly able Minister stood neer you , it would be some meanes to stir up your hearts to mind what you did ; but now the Lord he is not in the next room only , but in the same room , and stands by you : Let there be nothing done therefore unbeseeming the presence of that infinite holy God that stands by you : and hold this Truth forth , The Lord is present with me , I acknowledge it , and I owne it , and therefore I carry my self thus , and all because I would witnesse to Angels and men , that I do acknowledge that the Lord is present with me in this duty . 4 Fourthly , Consider God is an unchangable God , immutable . That is another Attribute of God , he is unchangeable . First , Therefore our hearts must be taken off from these mutable things , and set upon God as that unchangable good . Secondly , We must be humbled for our ●icklenesse , and unconstantnesse ; there is no shadow of change in God , and there is no shadow of con●tancy in us . Thirdly , When we come into the presence of a God who is unchangable , then we should look upon God as being the same now that ever he was heretofore he hath as much displeasure against sin now as ever he had , and that God that hath done such great things for his Church in former times , is the same God to do good to his people as ever he was , and make use of this ; When you read the Word , and there find how God hath made himself appear to be glorious for his people ; and now every time I am to Worship God , I should think that I am to deal with God that is the same that ever he was , as mercifull , and gracious , and just , and powerfull as ever he was , and so my heart is to worke towards him . 5 Fiftly , When I am to Worship God , I am to look upon him as the living God , as that God that hath life in himself , and gives life unto his creatures . Then what suitable behaviour doth become me ? I must come before his presence with fear ; It is a fearfull thing to fall into his hands that is the living God ; that hath my life under his feet , he hath the absolute dispose of my present and eternall condition , he gave me my life , he hath preserved my life , and so may take it away when he pleases , and bring death , eternall death unto me . These things may marveilously help your meditation when you are to come before him , you who are barren in your meditations , go over the Attributes of God thus , and consider what you may be able to draw from thence . God he is the living God : What behaviour then doth beseeme me towards this living God ? Oh let me be afraid least my Soul depart from the living God. Let me bring a living Service to him , I must not bring a dead heart ; let me take heed how I come before the living God with a dead heart , and with a dead service , to sacrifice that that is dead before it comes , it s like a carrion that lies dead in the ditch . Oh let us be humbled for our dead hearts , and dead sacrifices ; it is a living God that I am Worshipping , & therfore I must pray , Lord , turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity , and quicken my heart in thy Law. Ps . 1. 19. 37. Remember when thou comest to worship , that thou come with a quickned heart , for thou hast to deal with the living God : A man or Woman that is of an active spirit , cannot iudure a dull and heavie servant in the family ; but the Lord is a pure act , and nothing else but act , and therefore he doth expect that all his people should have quick active and lively spirits . 6 When you come to Worship God ; you are to look upon him as Almighty . And so are 1 To Feare his great power when you come before him And 2 , Then you are not to be discouraged by any difficulties . I come to seek for some great thing , and I come to seek to a great God , that hath all power in heaven and earth , and infinitly more power then there is in all creatures in heaven and earth ; I am praying to a God that can create peace , create help : My condition cannot be so desperate , but this infinite Almighty God is able to help me Let me make him the object of my Faith as he is so infinitly Almighty : What a full object of Faith is this God that hath all power in him ? Let me therefore come to him as a strong tower ; run to the name of God as a strong tower , that can help in all streights whatsoever . There would be much drawing forth of our Faith ; if we could present tht Lord before us as an infinite Almighty God : when we see outward helps and meanes neer at hand , then we can beleive that we may have some succour from him , but when all outward helps and meanes fail then we are discouraged ; we do not sanctifie Gods name , but we rather take this name of God in vain , when as our hearts are discouraged with any difficulties ; now the Lord expects that all his children that come to worship him , should worship him as the Almighty God , and so have their hearts working towards him ; there would be mighty workings of Spirit towards God , if we saw him by the eye of Faith as well as reason . 7 Looke upon God as an Omniscient God , as a God infinitly understanding all things . Now what doth this call for ? First if God be a God of infinite understanding , then let not me bring a blind sacrifice to God , then let not me bring an ignorant heart to God ; this is the excellency of an understanding Creature to know the rule and end of its own Actions ; now thou comest to worship an infinite God , of infinite understanding , then know the rule of what you do , and know the end of what you do , and come with understanding into his presence Secondly , If he be so understanding , come with a free open heart , to open whatsoever is in thine heart to God ; take heed of keeping any secret resolutions in thine own heart , God knows thee , and can tell how to find thee out ; God knows all that is in thine heart before ; all the secret basenesse that is in thine heart the Lord doth understand it , the Lords eye is a peircing eye , he sees through and through thy heart . It s a vaine thing for thee to come and conceale any thing before him . You will say , If God understand a mans heart , what need he come and confesse ? Yes , he requires it it as thy duty that thou shouldest come and open all before him : In spight of thy heart thou canst not cover any thing from the Lords eyes ; but the Lord will see whether thou beest willing of thy self that he should understand all : God doth not require us to come and confesse our sins , that so he might know that which he knew not before , but for this end , That there might be a testimony , that thou art willing that he should know all that is in thy heart ; therefore now when thou comest to worship him , ransack every corner of thy heart and confesse all before the Lord , and give glory to his name , as that God that is an All-seeing God , that knows all the windings and turnings of thy heart : Now meditate of these things that be presented to thee , and it will be a mighty means to help thee to Sanctifie his Name . 8 God is a God of infinite Wisdome , therefore when we come to worship God , let us be ashamed of our folly : When thou comest to have to deal with God , look upon him as a God of infinite wisedome , and I say be thou ashamed of thy folly then , and do thou exercise the grace of wisdom too when thou comest to God ; that is , by propounding right ends ( of which we spake before ) That is one part of wisdome to have right ends , and right meanes towards those ends , so that the meditation of the wisdome of God when we come to worship him will further us to Sanctifie his Name . And further ; This is to Santifie Gods Wisdome , when thou comest into Gods presence , in thy greatest streights , deny thy own wisdome , come with a resolution to be guided by the wisdome of God , in this manner , Lord , I know not how to order my steps , there is much folly and vanity in my heart , but thou art a God of infinite wisdome , I come to thee for direction , and I professe here , I am willing to give up my whole Soul to be guided by thy wisdome . If every time we come to worship God we came thus , Oh Lord whatsoever our thoughts have been heretofore , yet if thou shalt but reveale thy mind to us , we will hearken to thee , Lord , we beleeve that thy wisdome it is thy self , and therefore we professe to give up our selves to thy Wisdome . Now this is to Sanctifie the Name of God. 9 Consider the holinesse of God : God is a God infinitly pure from all sin , and therefore when we come to worship God , we must be ashamed of our unholinesse , as the Prophet in Isa 6. when he heard the Seraphins cry , Holy , holy , holy is the Lord of hosts , he fals down and saith , Wee is me for I am undone , because I am a man of unclean lips . And is God a holy God ? Then let me take heed when I come before him , that I bring not with me a love to any sin for the Lord hates it , and let me take heed that I do not cast dirt in the very face of Gods holinesse , but give up my Soul to be rul'd wholly by him : And labour that there may be a suitablenesse between the holinesse of thy heart and of the infinite God. Now this is to Sanctifie Gods Name , when the consideration of this Attribute of God hath such effect upon my heart , that I labour upon this to come with a suitable heart before God. 10 When thou comest before God , Consider that thou comest to a mercifull God : And what should this work ? First , It should make me come joyfully into his presence , as a God that is willing to do good to his poor Creatures that are in misery . Secondly , It should make me to come with a heart senseable of the need of this mercy ; O Lord , I have had my heart let out to other vain things heretofore , but now Lord , thy mercy it is that my Soul comes for , as that wherein my chief and only good consists . Thirdly , It should make me come with expectation of great things from God ; do not come unto God as unto an empty Vine , but as unto a full Vine , and the more thy Faith is raised to expect great things from God , the more acceptable art thou to God : Certainly the higher any ones faith is raised when they come into his presence , to expect the greatest things the more acceptable ; It is otherwise with God then men , if you come to men to begge a little thing , you may be welcome , but if you come to ask a great matter , they will look a skew upon you : but the truth is , the greater the things are that we come to God for , the more welcome are we into Gods presence and those that are acquainted with God they know it , and therefore they come the more fully . When they come to ask Jesus Christ himself and his Spirit that is more worth then ten thousand worlds they come with more freedom of Spirit then when they come to ask their healths and the like . Fourthly , It will be likewise another means of Sanctifying this Attribute of God when thou comest to him : If thou doest come with a mercifull heart towards thy brethren . Take heed whensoever you come to worship God , that you come not with a rugged and cruell heart towards any of your brethren ; therefore you find that Christ laies this upon you in teaching how to pray ; you must say , Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive our brethren that trespasse against us ; And you find it repeated again , If you forgive , then your heavenly Father will forgive , and not otherwise . As if Christ should say , When you come to begge mercy be sure you bring mercifull hearts . Fifthly , It is a good way to Sanctifie the Name of God in this Attribute , for the Soul to be solicitous with it self : What is that that will hinder me from the mercy of God , and let me avoid it ? It is otherwise , a taking of the name of God in vain , for me to come to professe what need I have of Gods mercy , and yet for al that , never regard to avoid those things that may hinder the work of his grace upon me . 11 Consider the Justice of God , ( that is another Attribute ) Consider that thou hast to deal with an Infinite , Righteous , and Just God : Do not think that if thou beest a beleever , that thou hast nothing to do with the Justice of God , for certainly thou art to Sanctifie the Justice of God. Now you will say , How should a beleever Sanctifie the Justice of God ? Thus ; First , He should be apprehensive senseable how by sin he hath put himself under Justice , and deserved the stroke of Justice to be upon him to eternity ; he should consider what he is in himself : It is true , that Jesus Christ hath come between a beleeving Soul and the justice of the Father , and hath taken the stroke of justice upon himself : yea but though he hath done it , it doth not hinder but that thou shouldest be apprehensive of what thou hast deserved thy self . Secondly , Here is a speciall thing in the Sanctifying of the justice of God : When we come before him , we should consider that we have to deal with an infinite just God , and therefore not to dare to come but through a mediator : Here you have the reason why we must tender up all in the name of Christ , because when we are to come before God , we are to Sanctifie the name of his justice : For thee to think thus , I have sinned , and God is mercifull ; and I will go and pray to him that he might be mercifull , and there 's an end . Is this all ? Oh no , God requires the Sanctifying of his Justice , and there is nothing that doth Sanctifie his Justice so much as this , That when a poor creature sees the infinite distance that sin hath made between that infinite God and it , it sees that through sin , it hath made its self liable to justice ; and when it sees that there is an absolute necessity that infinite justice must have satisfaction , and thinks the sinner , If it comes to me that I must satisfie the justice of God I am never able to do it , but there is a mediator , and therefore I 'le fly to him , and by Faith tender up to the Father all the merits of his Son as a full satisfaction to his infinite justice : When thou comest thus before the Lord , thou Sanctifie● his Name indeed . Many think that when they come to pray , they should look upon Gods Grace , and Mercy , and not upon his Justice ; but thou must look upon both . Another Attribute it is Gods Faithfulnesse : Consider thou hast to deal with a God of Infinite Truth , and Faithfulnesse , and therefore look upon him as an object of thy Faith to rest upon . And likewise thou must bring a faithful heart suitable some way to this faithfulnesse of God that is , a heart faithfull with him , to keep within the Covenant that thou hast entered into and to performe all the Vows that thou makest with God ; Remember thou hast to deal with a faithfull God , and as the Lord delights to manifest his Righteousnesse to poor Creatures that seek his face , so this God doth expect that thou should ● be faithful in all the Covenants that thou doest make with him , and this is to Sanctifie Gods Name . Now then put all these Attributes of God together and there you have his Glory , the infinitnesse of his Glory . The shine and lustre of all the Attributes together is Gods Glory . I have then to deal with a glorious God , and let me labour to perform such services as may have a spirituall glory upon them , that some image of the divine lustre that there is in God may be upon my services ; and let me look for glorious things seeing I have to deal with such a glorious God. You will say , Here is a great deal of doe in serving of God , how much is here that we must do ? I appeal to any gracious heart , what canst thou want of any of these , or what wouldest thou want ? Doest thou say , Here 's a great deal ? Can there be too much to make thee happy ? These things are not only thy duty , but thy happinesse glory and excellency consists in them : If any one should bring you a great many Jewels and Pearls , would you say , Here 's a great deal adoe ? Oh no , the more the merrier . So say I , this one meditation would take off the thoughts of a great deal , for in al these my happinesse consists , and the more I have of these , the more shall I injoy of God , the more happy shall I be both here and for ever . Now I had thought to have given you some Reasons why the Name of God must be Sanctified ; only I beseech you by all that hath been said go away with this thought , what little cause is there that any of us should rest upon any of our duties ; If this be required of us thus to Sanctifie the name of God in duty , I say we have little cause any of us to rest in any duties that we performe . There are many poor creatures that have no other Saviours to rest upon but their Prayers , and coming to Church , and taking the Communion ; Now if in all these the Lord expects that thou shouldest thus Sanctifie his Name : Thou hast little cause to rest upon any thing that thou hast done , thou hast cause rather to go alone and mourne for taking the Name of God in vain in the duties of his worship : Rest not in any of your performances ; labour to performe duties as well as you can , but when you have done , know that you are unprofitable servants after all , and renounce all as in the point of Justification , and rest upon something else , otherwise you are undone for ever . SERMON VII . LEVITICUS . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . WEE are coming now to the conclusion of this great Argument of Sanctifying Gods Name in holy duties for the generall . God expects that we should all in our drawings neer to him in the duties of worship , Sanctifie his Name . Now we are to consider of divers reasons why God will be Sanctified in all the duties of his worship . 1 The First Reason is this , It is the very nature of God to Will himself the last end , and all other things to work suitable to the lifting up of himself as the last end : I say it is as essentiall to him as any thing , for him to will himself as the highest end , and that all things should work so as to be suitable vnto that Glory of his for the furtherance of it : God should cease to be God , if so be he should not will himself asthe highest end , and so will that all things that have any being should some way or other work for himself : This is the very nature of God. It is that which I conceive the very nature of Gods holinsse consists in , the willing himself as the last end , and so to work all things as is suitable unto his own infinit excellencie . Now as this is Gods holinesse , so it is the holinesse that God requires in his Creatures ( that are capeable of holinesse ) that they should will him as the last end , and all things suitable to that infinit excellencie of his . Now if this be the nature of God , and this be his holinesse , then certainly it must needs be a necessarie duty in all those that would have communion with God and would honour God , to will as God himself doth will , that is that all things should work suitable to the infinite excellencie of God , that God may attain the glory of his infinit excellencie , and this makes it to be a necessary duty that when we come to worship him we should Sainct●fie his name : So that the first reason is taken from the very nature of God , it is the very being of God that all things should work to himself , and in such a suitable way as to lift up his excellencie and glory . 2 Secondly , We must Sanctifie God in the duties of his Worship , because it is the speciall glory that God hath in the world to be actively honoured ; for his passive glory , that is , to be glorified in a passive way , that he hath in hell , but the speciall glory that God would have it is that he might be glorified actively : Now there is no such way of glorifying the Name of God actively as by worshipping of him in a holy manner , and therefore God stands much upon this , That when we come to worship him we sanctifie his Name ; For saith God , If I be not sanctified in my worship , what active glory have I in the world ? It is the speciall active glory that God hath in the world , the Sanctifying of his Name in the duties of his worship . 3 Thirdly , That which we have intimated before , That the duties of Gods worship are the most precious things , the special conveyances of the choice mercies that he intends to bestow on his Saints , and therefore though he loses his glory in any thing else , he would not lose it in that wherein he doth especially convey his mercy and goodnesse to his people . But that we spake too in shewing how we draw nigh to God in holy duties and it may well come in here again as an Argument why we should sanctifie Gods name . 4 A Fourth Reason is this , Because there is no way for us to be fitted for the receiving of Mercy from God through those duties of worship , but by our Sanctifying of Gods name ; when thou comest at any time to worship God , what wouldest thou have ? there is some communion that thou wouldest injoy with God , now there is no way to make thee a fit subject of Mercy , or capable of the injoyment of Communion with God , but by such a behaviour of Soul as this is that hath been spoken of , to , Sanctifie the Name of God : thou wouldest be loath to lose those duties of worship that thou doest performe , therefore it is required of thee to sanctifie his Name lest thou doest lose all , for 't is this that makes thee the only capable subject of what good is to be had there . 5 We must Sanctifie Gods Name in holy duties , because otherwise we should certainly never hold out in duties , but vanish and come to nothing ; now God would be worshipped so by his creatures , as to be constantly worshipped , he would have those that do worship him , to worship him alwaies , to worship him for ever , and he would have this worship that we perform to him , but to be the beginning of that eternall worship that he shall have from us in heaven . And so the Saints do Worship God now , the worship which they performe , it is but as the beginning of that worship that hereafter in heaven they shall tender up to God , though there may be some difference in it , as there our prayers will be turned into praises , and it will not be in such outward Ordinances as now we worship God in there will be no Preaching , nor Sacraments : yet notwithstanding the Soul-worship that is now , will be in effect the same as it shall be in heaven . God would have us so to worship him , as to continue to worship him : Now I say , unlesse his Name be Sanctified in our worshipping of him we will certainly fall off ; and the truth is , this is the very ground of all Apostacie in Hypocrites ; Some that have been very forward in the worshipping of God when they were young ones , and afterwards they have fallen off , they were wont constantly in their families , and in secret in their chambers to be worshipping of God , and they accounted it the very joy of their lives for the present to be worshipping of God ; but it is not so with them now as it was yea they are fallen off it may be from their very profession of Religion , and turned lose : And now to be in vain company , to drink , or play , is better to them then any service or worship of God , they prize more to be in company with their sports then to hear a Sermon , or to be in Communion with the people of God in Prayer : Heretofore they would not have changed one short time of private communion with God , for the injoyment of a great deal of pleasures and content in the world ; but now it is otherwise with them . How comes it to passe that these are Apostatised thus from God ? Surely here is the ground of it , That they did not Sanctifie Gods name in holy duties , at the most it was but a work of conscience that put them upon them , and they had but some flashes , there was no reall sanctification of their hearts whereby they did sanctifie the name of God in holy duties , and upon this it is that they have left off . This I dare say , That there was never any soul that did know what it was to sanctifie Gods Name in worship , that ever was weary of worshipping God. It may be some of you may say , We have heard that there is much required in Sanctifying Gods Name in duties , and that is the only way to weary the Soul , and to make it fall off ; Oh no ( as we said the last day there is not any one thing that hath been opened for the Sanctifying of Gods name in duties that any gracious heart can tell how to misse , and the more we do Sanctifie his Name , the more we shall be in love with worship . For it is from hence that those that Sanctifie Gods name in worship will hold out , because they will find the sweetnesse of worship , they will meet with God in holy duties , and so they come to be incouraged in worship , but as for others who do worship God in a formall way , their worship will prove to be tedious to them , for they performe the duties , but do not find God in the duties in that Spirituall way as the Saints do ; If they think they meet with God , it is but an imagination rather then any reall meeting with him ; they do not find the influence of God in their souls in holy duties , so as those do that sanctifie Gods name in holy duties ; here then you see the Reasons why we are to Sanctifie Gods name in holy duties . Now then for the Application of all this . 1 If all this which you have heard be required of us for the Sanctifying of Gods Name : Hence we see how little cause we have to rest upon any duty of worship that we do performe , certainly the duties of worship that we performe are no such things as are fit to be rested upon for life and for salvation and yet for the most part there is scarce any thing that people have to rest upon , or to tender up to God for acceptation to eternall life but only their prayers , and their coming to hear , and receiving of the Communion , and such duties that they perform ; this is all they have to tender up for life and for salvation perhaps they may sometimes speak of Christ , but the truth is that which their hearts rest upon for acceptation to eternall life is this . And is it but this ? It is a weak prop , a rotten reed that thou hast to rest upon ; Let the duties of worship be performed never so well ; Suppose we did sanctifie Gods Name to the uttermost that is possible for any creature to do in this world , yet such duties are not to be rested upon : Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob , and the Apostles , the most holy men that ever did perform duties in the most holy manner , yet wo to them if they have nothing to rest upon but their duties ; consider therefore of this , that what thou must rest upon for acceptation to eternall life , it must be that that must have so much worth in it , as must satisfie for all thy sins that formerly thou hast committed ; yea and for all the sins that ever thou shalt commit . Now I appeal unto any ones conscience , is that which thou performest , is prayer , or receiving the Sacrament , or hearing of the word , such a work as in thy conscience thou canst think , it hath so much worth in it , as to satisfie God for all the sins that ever thou didest or shalt commit ? I am perswaded if people that have rested upon duties heretofore , would but seriously have this thought in their minds , That I must rest upon nothing for my acceptation for life and Salvation , but that that must have such worth in it , as to satisfie God for all my sins that ever have been committed , or shall be committed ; this would take them off for ever from resting in duties . Yea , and it must be such as must be the object of the infinite holinesse of God to take content in , Surely the duties that we performe are no such duties to rest upon : the truth is , If we would seriously consider what they are , as they come from us , we would even abhor our selves in dust and ashes , and account of them as the Prophet speaks of his own righteousnesse as menstruous cloaths , they are such as if God should deal with us , as justly he may do , he might cast them and us to the dogges , for they are ( as the Prophet saith ) torne and rent Sacrifices ; now if a man in the time of the Law should bring to the Lord a sacrifice that was all torne and rent before he brought it , would such a sacrifice have been accepted ? All the duties we performe as they come from us they are snch ; we read in Exod. 22. 31. concerning such things as were torne and rent , that they should cast them to the dogges . Ye shall be holy men unto we ( saith he verse ult ) neither shall ye eate any flesh that is ●orne of beasts in the field , ye shall cast it to the dogs , because ye are holy men unto me : Must the people of Israel manifest their holinesse in this , That they must eate nothing torne by beasts , but cast it unto dogs ? Or was the holinesse of the people of Israel such as God required them , that they must eate nothing that was torne by beasts ? What then is the holinesse of the infinite God ? our services that we performe are of themselves such as are torne by our beastly lusts many times : how many are there that bring sacrifices to God that are as a carrion that swine have been tearing before hand , and yet these are the Sacrifices that they bring to God , and not only think that God should accept of them , but they do rest upon them for their acceptation to eternall life . How infinitly are these people mistaken● how little do they know of God , or of the way of acceptation to eternall life ! That is the First Use . 2 Secondly , If all this be required for the Sanctifying of Gods Name in duties , That we cannot performe the duties of Worship without this behaviour of Soul ; hence we see that the work of Religion is a hard and difficult work to flesh & bloud . A main work of Religion is the work of worshipping of God , for indeed those that are not religious and godly , they never worship God to any purpose : then we come to worship God when we begin to be religious and godly . Now it must needs be a busie work to be a religious and a godly man , because there is so much required in the sanctifying of Gods name in holy duties : many people think it a very easie matter to worship God , and the worship that they tender up to God is an easie matter , there is little in it . If it were nothing else to worship God but meerly to go and say a few prayers , and come and hear a Sermon , and take a peice of Bread and Wine , then it were the easiest matter in the world to come and worship God ; but there is more required in the duties of Gods worship then thou hast been acquainted with ; there is a power of godlinesse in it . That Text of Scripture is a very famous one that shewes the difficulty that there is in the Worship of God , and how men are mistaken in thinking it such an easie and slight matter to worship God : It is in Josh . 24. 16. 19. where Joshua doth call upon the people to worship God , and they came off presently , and said , They would worship him ( so you shall find them professe , verse 16. ) But mark what the Text saith in verse 19. And Joshua said unto the people , Ye cannot serve the Lord , for he is an holy God , he is a jealous God , and he will not forgive your transgressions and your sins , As if he should say , You think it is nothing to serve the Lord , and that it is an easie matter to serve him , you think to put off God with any thing : Alas you cannot serve the Lord , for he is a holy God , and a jealous God and you must have other manner of hearts then yet you have , and you must understand his worship in another manner then yet you do , the Lord will be Sanctified in those that draw nigh him , and therfore untill you understand God , and his waies and worship , you cannot serve the Lord. Know that the work of Religon is a very hard and difficult work , for it requireth all this , and therfore the Soule had need be very diligent and laborious that would come to worship God in a right way . 3 Thirdly , hence is a use of humiliation to us all , even to the best of us ; oh how little , how little hath the best of us all Sanctified the name of God! how far have we all come short of the Sanctifying of Gods name in holy duties ! And when we look abroad in the world and see what poor service God hath generally from the Men and women of the earth , it should make our hearts bleed within us . Where almost is the man or woman that according to that text in Isa . Stirs up himself to take hold on God. And I verily beleeve that in the opening of this point of Sanctifying the name of God in holy duties , that I have bin in the bosoms of as many as in the opening of any point whatsoever ; and as many may have cause to lay their hands upon their hearts and say , Certainly I have come short of what is required here , and have not bin acquainted with this way , this mysterie of godlines in Sanctifying Gods name in holy duties as I ought to be : O be humbled for this , for all the uncleannesie of your hearts in the performance of duties In Exod 27 4 , 5. you read , that at the Altar where the ●acrifices we●e to be offered , the Lord required that there should be a grate made . Thou shalt make for it ( meaning the Altar ) a grate of net-work of brasse , and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof , and thou shalt put it under the compasse of the Altar beneath , that the net may be even to the middest of the Altar . There was as it were a grate for the ashes of the Altar to go through , as you have grates in your fires to make them burn cleer , and for the ashes to fal down , so the Lord would have such a grate for the ashes of the Altar to fall down : We had need of such a grate . Oh the ashes , and dirt , and filth , that there is in our services when we come to offer and tender them up to God! So that we have cause I say to be humbled for holy offerings . There be many godly people that through Gods mercy are able to keep from grosse sins , they do not find it any great matter to keep from company , swearing , drinking , uncleannesse , lying or wronging of others , and such kind of sins as those are , so that they see not such need of humiliation in this regard , unlesse it be for that their natures are as corrupt as any , though they break not forth into those actuall grosse sins , but the maine work of the humiliation of those that are godly , it is to be humbled for their thoughts , for the mispending of time , and for not sanctifying of Gods name in holy dnties , those are the maine things that are the subject of the humiliation of the Saints , beside the body of sin and death that they carry about with them . And it would be a good sign that thy heart hath some tendernesse in it when thou makest these to be the matter of thy humiliation : Carnall people little are troubled for these , if they fall into such sins , as their Consciences do fly in their faces , then they are troubled and humbled . But for such things as these are they are seldome humbled : To be humbled for thy holy offerings is a good sign of a gracious heart . We read of the Cherubims that they had six wings , and with two of their wings the text saith they covered their faces , so my brethren we had need have wings as it were to cover our best duties they had wings , and with two they covered their legs , and with two their faces : We had need , not only of a covering for our lower parts and meanner duties , but a covering of our holy duties , to cover our faces our best duties of all , the most heavenly duties we perform had need be purged by the bloud of Christ . In Levit. 16. 14. 16. we read of their holy things , that there was need of purging of them by bloud ; and so it should be in our holy duties : Let us be humbled for our best performance that ever we performed in our lives : The best had need be so , but then as for others that have made little or no conscience of Sanctifying of Gods name , how had they need be humbled ? Thou hast something more to repent of then thou thoughtest of ; for the truth is , those that have not made conscience of Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties , they never in all their lives did any service for the honour of God , thou hast lived perhaps 30. or 40. it may be 60. years or more , and didest never yet honour God in any one thing that ever thou didest in all thy life . You will say , God forbid : Have not I prayed , and heard the word much , and received the Communion often , and yet have I never honoured God ? If thou hast not bin aquainted with this mysterie of godlinesse in Sanctifying his name in these things , This is said from God to thee this morning , That thou hast never done any one action to the honour of God : Thou hadest need begin presently for thy time is not long , and wilt thou go out of this world and the name of God never to be honoured by thee ? Yea and further , Thou hast lost all thy duties , all the time hath bin lost that thou hast been in performance of duties , now it is an ill thing to idle away time in the things of the World : When a man hath an opportunity for to gain in the world , If so be he loses his time and neglects it , we account it a very sad thing to him , but now to lose our trading time for heaven ( for the times of the worshipping of God are our trading times for heaven ) that 's sad indeed : And yet thou that makest not conscience of Sanctifying the Name of God in holy duties , all the time thou hast spent is lost . And yet further , You that have been false in the performance of duties , and hypocrites , not only all your pains and labour is quite lost ( for if that were all it might be well with you ) but you have aggravated your sins by your holy duties . Those duties that others have injoyed communion with God in , and furthered their eternall life by , thou hast aggravated thy sins by them , yet it was thy duty to do them : but I say , by not sanctifying of Gods Name , thou hast aggravated thy sins so much the more . As those that are godly , they work out their salvation , even in their naturall actions they sanctifie Gods Name , in eating and drinking , and following their businesse ; they performe those actions in such a holy manner , as they honour God in them , and further their eternall peace ; but as they in their naturall and civill actions work out their salvation ; so thou in the very religious actions doest work out thy damnation : Certainly wicked men that are not acquainted with this work of godlinesse to sanctifie Gods name in holy duties , they work out their damnation even in the performance of them . You will say , Then they had better not do them . Yes , they are bound to do them ; but they are bound to do them in a right manner , as sometimes I have given you this instance , and it is a ful and a cleer one , to shew that men are bound to performe holy duties and not to leave them undone , and yet they may further their own damnation while they are doing of them : As for example , If so be that a Prince should appoint a man to come into his presence such a day to Petition for his life , which he hath forfeited by the Law , if he do not come he may be a dead man : But now if this man be drunk on that day , and come drunk into the Kings presence , he may be a dead man too , for presuming to come drunk before him ; so wicked and ungodly men , whether they worship or worship not , they are in danger to perish : But of this more when we come to shew that God will be Sanctified . In the Fourth place here is a use of Exhortation , that seeing we have this truth thus presented to us and opened before us ; O that we had hearts to apply our selves now to it with all our might , to seek to sanctifie the name of God when we draw nigh to him . The Lord hath shewen thee what it is that he requires of thee ; make conscience of it for time to come , thou doest not know what blessed Communion thou maiest have with God if thou doest make conscience of this , the truth is , If you have not been acquainted with this , you have not been acquainted with the way of a Christian in his injoyment of Communion with God , thou doest not know what the comfort of a Christian life meanes ; do but make tryall of this for time to come , and thou wilt find more comfort in the waies of godlinesse , and more thriving in them in one quarter of a year then thou hast done before in seaven years , one Christian that keeps close to God in holy duties and sanctifies the name of God in them , I say finds more comfort with God , and growes on in godlinesse more in one quarter of a year , then the other doth in seven years that goes on in an ordinary , dull , and formall way in the performance of the duties of Worship : Some there are in our time that cry out of duties , and what need we trouble our selves so much ? those that know not how to sanctifie Gods name they think lightly of them ; but now do you apply your selves fully as you are able to this that I am speaking of , and you will find yourselves to be as it were in another world , you will be able to say , Well , I have not yet understood what it was to injoy communion with God in Prayer , in Word , and in Sacraments before , this will make your faces shine in your conversations if you would do it ; and now to that end that you may do it , there are these two or three things that I would propound to you . 1 In the First place , Learn to know God more with whom you have to do , and present those things that you have heard before you in your meditations , when as you are to come to God in Prayer , or in any other duty , and when you are worshipping of God , remember that you have to do with God and none else . You are every time you come to performe holy duties to be as a man or woman separated from all things . Valerius Maximus tels a story of a young noble man that attended upon Alexander while he was sacrificing , this noble man held his Censer for Incense , and in the holding of it , there fell a coal upon his flesh and burnt it so as the very scent of it was in the nostrils of all that were about him , and because he would not disturb Alexander in his service , he resolutely did not stir to put of the fire from him ; but holds still his Censer : If heathens made such adoe in their sacrificing to their Idoll gods , that they would mind it so as no disturbance must be made what ever they induted : What care should we have then of our selves when we come to worship the high God ? And so Josephus he reports of the Preists that were sacrificing in the Temple when Pampey brake in to them with armed men , and though they might have fled and saved their lives , yet they would not leave off their sacrificing but were slain by the souldiers . They did so mind it as a matter of great consequence : Oh that we could mind the duties of Gods worship as matters of great moment , that so we might learn to Sanctifie the name of God in the performance of them more then ever we have done . 2 When thou comest to worship , take heed thou doest not come in thine own strength . For there is more required in sanctifying the name of God then thy strength is able to carry thee on in , and therefore act thy Faith upon Jesus Christ every time thou comest to worship God , not only as I said before , to tender up thy services in his name , but act thy faith upon Christ to give thee strength to do what thou hast to do . & what strength thou hast received from Christ be sure to stir it up many godly men & women have more strength then they know of themselves ; & if they would but stir up that strength that they have received , they might Sanctifie the Name of God a great deal more then they do . Therfore remember that text before mentioned , None stirs up himself to take hold on God : Quicken up thy heart , and rouze up thy Spirit when thou art to worship God. 3 When ever thou art worshipping of God , do not satisfie thy self meerly in the duty done , but consider , do I sanctifie Gods Name in the duty ? every time thou worshipest him , examine thy heart whether thou doest it yea or no. And if thou findest that thou hast not attained in some comfortable measure to this that hath been presented to thee● let the shame and the sorrow for that abide upon thy Spirit untill the next time thou comest to worship God ; at such a time I have been worshipping of God , and God knows I have been stirring up my heart in some measure● but I find my heart dead , wandering sluggish , and dull I say , when thou findest thou canst not do it according to what is required in any comfortable measure : Let the shame and sorrow of heart for it abide upon thee till the next time thou comest to worship God , and that will mightily help thee : Thou art now praying , and thou canst not now get up thy heart to what is required ; The next time thou comest to prayer , come in the shame and sorrow of thy heart for the want of sanctifying Gods name the last time ; And so for hearing of the Word , or receiving the Sacraments . And this will further thee mightily for the Sanctifying the Name of God in holy duties . But now that all may be sealed up unto you , and so that we may close the point , know that God will be sanctified in those that ●● draw nigh to him● And there are these Two things in the Point ; First , If we do not sanctifie Gods Name , God will sanctifie his Name in a way of justice . Secondly , If we do Sanctifie his Name , then he will sanctifie his Name in a way of mercy towards us . For the First , God will manifest that he is displeased with such duties that thou doest performe , he will manifest it one way or other that he is a holy God , and he doth not accept of such unholy things as thou doest tender up to him ; for the truth is , if God should accept of such unholy things from men , God may be said to be like unto themselves . As a man if he doth entertain any as his familiar friend that is naught and wicked , it is his disgrace and dishonour ; a man may sometimes imploy in some businesse those that are naught and wicked , and it may be no disgrace to him , but if he doth entertain one in his house that is wicked , it is a dishonour to him : So God may imploy the most wicked men in the world in some outward services , but if he should accept of them in his Worship , it would be a dishonour to God , and therefore God that he might sanctifie his own Name , he will manifest his displeasure at one time or other against such duties of worship you that performe worship in a formall manner , and with unclean vile hearts ; I say , it stands upon the honour of God if he will manifest himself a holy God , he must manifest some displeasure against that way of thy worshipping of him : This one meditation one would think , should mightily sink into the heart of any man that hath an inlightened conscience , to think thus , It stands upon the holinesse of God , And he cannot appear to be a holy God except he doth some way or other appear to be against me in such duties that I tender up unto him . Now you will say , How doth God appear , that he doth not accept of them ? He will appear in these three things : 1 First by blasting those that do worship him thus in a formall way : It shall at First be secret , but afterwards it will appear more apparantly , and we see it by experience , that such as have bin professors of Religion , and worship God in hypocris●e , and in formality , they have been blasted in their parts and common gifts . The judgement of God upon Nadab and Abihu that did not sanctifie Gods Name it was secret at first : It struck them dead , and though by fire , yet if you read the story you shall find that their cloathes were not burnt , and yet they were burnt in their bodies : So the Lord some times doth blast men inwardly in their Spirits , in their Souls , in their Parts , in their common Gifts ●he blasts them I say inwardly though it doth not appear outwardly , yet at length it will appear before men that they are blasted : and in these times of the Gospel the Lord doth come with spirituall judgments rather then with outward temporall judgements . In the time of the Law , those that did not sanctifie the Name of God in holy duties , the Lord did appear by some externall and visible way upon their bodies ; but now in the time of the Gospel there God comes with more spirituall judgements upon mens Souls , and those are the most terrible judgements : We have a notable Scripture for this in Isa . 29. 13. How God doth blast those that do not sanctifie his name in holy duties . Wherefore the Lord said , For asmuch as this People draw neer me with their mouth , and with their lips do honour me , but have removed their heart far from me , and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men : Mark what follows : Therefore behold I will proceed to do a marvelous work amongst this people , even a marvelous work and a wonder : for the wisdome of their wise men shall perish , and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid . What do they come and draw neer me with their lips and their hearts are far from me , and do they worship me in a formall way ? I le take away the wisdom from the wise , and the understanding from the prudent : And that is the reason why so many great scholars are blasted in their very parts , because they would worship God according to the precepts of men , in a formall way ; and so all hypocrites and formall worshippers the Lord doth blast them in one way or other , the judgements of God upon the spirits of men were sometimes in the time of the Law ; But in the times of the Gospel there we find generally the judgements of God to be more spirituall upon the hearts and consciences of men ; we find it by experience God doth discover that he doth not accept of such as those are ; and therefore when you see any that have made profession of Religion , that had excellent Parts at first , many common Gifts , and now are as we say , no body ; Remember this Text , That God will be sanctified in those that come nigh me . Secondly the Lord doth manifest that he will be Sanctified in those that draw nigh him , by awakeing their consciences many times upon their sick beds and death beds , the Lord doth force them to give glory to him , and there to acknowledge that they did not worship God in uprightnesse but in Formality . And now they are in horrour of conscience and cry out in the anguish of their soules upon the apprehension of the dreadfull wrath of God that is upon them : Take heed for the Lords sake of this thing , when you are performing of the duties of worship , do not rest in the outward duties for they will never comfort you upon your sick and death beds , you may perhaps put off your consciences a little for the present , but when you come upon your sick beds there will be no comfort unto you , and then you will be forced to say , well all this while I have but taken the name of God in vain , and now God hath rejected me and all my services and you will then speak to those that come about your beds side , and bid them take warning by you , take heed that when you worship God you worship him to purpose , I have spent time in prayer , and hearing but for want of this I find I have no comfort at all , but the Lord appeares to be terrible to my soule , and comes out against me as an enemy I say now Gods name is Sanctified ; what ever becomes of thee , he will force glory from thee one way or other , and it may be even here in this time of thy life , but however , at the great day , when the secrets of all hearts must be disclosed before men and Angels , then the Lord will apeare to be a holy God by rejecting all such services that thou didest tender unto him , and it will then be a great part of the work of the day of Judgment for God to be Sanctified in those that did worship him ; by declaring before men and Angels , how he did reject such formal and hypocritical worship that they did tender up unto him , Oh that God would strik this upon your hearts , that it may abide upon you every time you come to worship him , to think thus , let me look to it to Sanctifie his name now , for I hear that God will Sanctifie it himselfe if I do not do it . But then on the other side if so be that thou makest Conscience of Sanctifying Gods name in duties , then he will Sanctifie his name in a way of Mercy ; that is , he will manifest how he doth accept of the least degree of holines though there be much mixture : God hath a way to take a way the mixture by the bloud of his Son , and then to accept of any holinesse he sees in thee , he will Sanctifie his name by meeting with thee , and revealing his glory to thee when thou art worshiping of him : There is an excellent scripture for this , Exod : 29. 43. There I will meet with the Children of Israel and the Tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory . Thou that hast a gratious heart and art worshiping of God in Sincerity , thou art as a Tabernacle of God , and God hath his service and worship from thee , thou art as the Temple of God , and there will I meet with thee ( saith God ) and I will Sanctifie my Tabernacle by my glory . God will Sanctifie thy heart by his glory if thou doest Sanctifie his name . Further ; thou shalt it may be not alwaies have such glorious comforts , the full beames of the Sun rising upon thee , but at one time or other the Lord will break in upon thee and manifest his glory to thee , and its like if thou hast not such full comforts now , yet upon thy sick bed , though God doth not then alwaies manifest himself fully , for somtimes the disease may be a hinderance , yet it is ordinary that those that in their constant way did Sanctifie Gods name in holy duties they do lie comfortably upon their sicke beds , and a glorious entrance is made for them into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ . And then againe all things are Sanctified unto them : as on the other side , those that do not Sannctifie Gods name all things are cursed to them , if thou doest not make Conscience of Sanctifying Gods name in duties , God cares not to Sanctifie any thing for thy good : But now , those that make conscience of Sanctifying Gods name in holy duties , the Lord takes care , that all things shall be Sanctified for their good , for the furtherance of their eternal good . And how ever it be here , yet hereafter at the great day of judgment it will be a part of the glory of God to manifest before men and Angels how he did accept of those holy services that thou didest tender up to him ; when hypocrites shall be cast away and abhorr'd , and thou who hadest an upright sincere heart shalt be owned before God , and before men and Angels at that great day ; and God shall say , well , it is a part of the glory of my holinesse to make it appeare , that I have accepted of these holy things , that these my poore servants have tendered up to me . And this now is of marveilous use for the comforting of a gracious heart ; those duties that thou doest now think thou hast lost , and there will nothing come of them , thou shalt certainly hear of them another day , God will make it appear , there is nothing that he stands more upon then the glory of his holinesse , and it is the glory of his holinesse that is thy strength in this thing and that makes it certain to thee that there must be a manifestation of thy acceptance ; and therefore take these truthes into thy heart about Sanctifying the name of God. You have had only the point in generall opened to you Oh that the Spirit of God would bring things unto your remembrance . SERMON VIII . LEVITICUS . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . WEE have as you may remember , Preached many SERMONS upon that point of Sanctifying the Name of God in the duties of his Worship : We have spoken unto the point in the generall , the last day we finished it : I do not intend to look back to any thing that was said , but we are to proceed to shew how the Name of God should be Sanctified in the particular duties of his Worship Now the Duties of Gods Worship are especially these three ; 1 The Hearing of the Word . 2 Receiving of the Sacrament . 3 And Prayer . Other things come under Worship , but yet these are the three chei● duties of Worship and I intend to speak to all these Three and to shew how we should Sanctifie the Name of God in drawing nigh unto him , in the Word , Sacrament , and Prayer . We might choose severall Texts for all these , but they fall full within the generall and therefore it shall be sufficient , for to ground the Sanctifying of Gods Name in these duties of worship upon this Text ; I OF SANCTIFYING THE NAME OF GOD IN THE HEARING OF THE WORD . That which we are to speak to this morning it is the Sanctifying of the Name of God in the Hearing of his Word● If you would have the ground of what we are to say concerning this in a particular Scripture , you may have it in Luk. 8. 18. take heed therefore how you hear : It is not enough to come to hear the word , that is good , and no question but God is pleased with the willingnesse of people to come to hear his word , but you must not rest barely in hearing , but take heed how you hear . Now this is a point of great consequence and I hope it may do good to help to make many Sermons to be profitable to you , & the point I hope is seasonable & will be very suitable unto you : For those that come to hear so soon in a morning , and are willing even in hard weather to come out of their beds , they give some good testimony that they do desire to honour God in their hearing , and to get good by their hearing ; and it is pity that labour and pains should be bestowed and no profit but hurt rather got by it , which God forbid : Therefore now I am to speak to a point that may help you so to hear , as may recompence all your labour and pains in hearing . In preaching to those that come to hear , that so they may get good and benefit by it ; there is a great deal more incouragement then to such as come in a formall way because they use to come ; therefore this Point being a great point ; I shall open it some what largely , and shall cast it into this Method : First , I shall shew you that the hearing of Gods word is a part of the Worship of God , for otherwise I could not ground it upon any text . Secondly , I shall shew you how we are to sanctifie Gods Name in the hearing of his word , either in regard of preparation unto it , or our behaviour in the hearing of the Word . Thirdly , Why it is that God will be Sanctified in this ordinance of his . Fourthly , How God will Sanctifie himself in such that do not sanctifie his name in the hearing of his Word . Fifthly , How God will Sanctifie his Name in waies of mercy to those that are carefull to Sanctifie his Name in the hearing of the Word . These are the Five Principall things that concern this Argument For the First , That the hearing of Gods word it is a part of Gods Worship . You heard in the opening of the worship of God in the generall what it was , I told you it was a tendering up of the creatures homage to God , a testimony of the respect that the creature did owe to God ; now if that be the nature of Worship , certainly the hearing of Gods word it is a part of the worship of God : for in the hearing of Gods word we 1 First do professe our dependance upon God for the knowing of his mind and the way to eternall life : Every time we come to hear the word , if we know what we do , we do thus much , we do professe that we do depend upon the Lord God for the knowing of his mind , and the way and rule to eternall life ; we do as much as if we should say , Lord , of our selves we neither know thee , nor the way & means how we should come to be saved , and therefore that we might testifie our dependance upon thee for this thing , we here present ourselves before thee , now this is a Testimony of the high respect wee owe to God. 2 Secondly , The hearing of Gods Word is a part of his worship , because in it we come to wait upon God in the way of an Ordinance , to have that good conveyed to us by way of an Ordinance beyond what the thing is able in it self to do , and therefore 't is worship . I wait upon God when I am hearing the word if I know what I do ) to have some spiritual good conveyed to me beyond what there is in the meanes it self , this makes it worship . When I am busied in natural and civil actions , there I must professe that these things can do me no good without God , but I do not wait upon God in an ordinance for the conveyance of naturall good beyond what God hath put into the creature ; t is his blessing with it , that God in the ordinary course of his providence doth convey such naturall or civill good in the use of those creatures . But now , when I come to hear his word , I here come to wait upon God in the way of an Ordinance for the conveyance of some spirituall good that this Ordinance hath not in its self , take it materially , but meerly as it hath an institution in it , and is appointed by God for the conveyance of such and such things . God doth appoint meat to nourish me , and together with his appointment he hath given a natural power to meat to nourish my body that in an ordinary course of providence is enough for the nourishment of my body ; but now when I come to hear the word , I must look upon that not only as a thing appointed to work upon my soul , and to save my soul by not as a thing that hath any efficacy put into it in a naturall way as the other hath ; it s not the nature of the thing that carries such a power in it , but it is the institution of God , and the Ordinance of God in it ; Now then , when I come to wait upon God in an ordinance for the spirituall good that is beyond the vertue of any creature to convey to me , certainly I worship God , that is a speciall part of worship to wait upon God in this way ; Therefore in these two respects the hearing of Gods word it is a part of the Worship of God , and I beseech you remember these two things every time you come to hear . I come now to give a testimony that I am not able to understand God and the way to eternall life of my self , but I do depend upon God for the knowledge of it . And here I come to wait upon God for the conveyance of that good to my soul that is not in the power of any creature to convey : Now I worship when I do these . But further ( you shall find it more plain when we come to open how we should sanctifie Gods Name in the hearing of his word ) This is divine service , as much as any service can be performed . Heretofore our Prelates and those kind of men , made all the Worship of God to be in their Divine Service ( as they call it ) which was of their own inventions , and made light of the preaching or hearing of the Word , but the Word is a great part of that divine service that God requires of us in his Worship , and in it you do tender up your homage to God ; You therefore must not only when you come to hear , think , I come to get something , I come to understand more then I did , and to hear such a mans parts , and the like , but remember you come to tender up your homage to God , to sit at Gods feet and there to professe your subjection to him : That is one end of your coming to hear sermons Now then you will say , What should be done in the hearing Gods Word , so as Gods Name may be Sanctified ? For that as we opened in the generall , that in the duties of Gods Worship there must be preparation , and then an answerable behaviour of the soul . So here there must first ●e a preparation of the soul to this work , and then an answerable behaviour of the soul in it . 1 There must be a preparation of the Soul , so as when you come to hear , you may with all readinesse receive the Word ; the soul must be made ready , in Act. 17. 11. there it is said , These were more noble then those of Thessalonica , in that they received the Word with all readinesse of mind : The word is , with all A●aerity , as well as readinesse : their minds were in a fit preparation to receive the word : and the text saith , They were more noble : The word that 's translated more noble , it signifie Better bred , for I do not take this scripture , as if it were meant only of men that were Earls or Lords , that did thus receive the Word with readinesse , but they were of a more noble disposition , They were well bred men , so the Greek word signifies . A man some times preaching to a company of rude people that never had any good breeding , they will behave themselves rudely , they slight the word , and like the Swine , regard Acorns rather then Pearls : And the word is seldome so profitable to a company of rude people that have no breeding at all ; but now there is more hopes to Preach to men that have breeding : Men that are exercised in Arts and Sciences , and have some understanding , and so some ingenuity in them , they will hearken to reason . Now there is a great deal of spiritual reason in the word , there is a great deal to convince men that are but rationall men ; let a man be but a rationall man and willing to attend to the word , I say there is a great deal of reason to convince him in it , and it is a sign of good breeding , of men of ingenuity to be willing to hear the Word , Who are those in a parish that so disregard the word as not to hear it , but the ruder sort ? There are many I confesse that are men of parts perhaps the word doth not prevaile with their hearts to convert them ; yet if they have any good breeding at all , if the Word be preached in a convincing way , so that they see there is pains taken , and preached as the word of God to them , they will vouch safe their presence at least : but the rude multitude that know nothing at all , they had rather be in Ale-houses drinking and swilling they never care to hear the word , as in such a place as this there are very few of your miserable poor people that come to hear the Word● What place is there fuller of miserable poor people then this place is and yet what a poor appearance is thereof such people at the hearing of the Word ? But now those that have any ingenuity in them at all , or any breeding ( for so the word is ) they will receive the word with readinesse : But this breeding here spoken of , was a little higher then naturall breeding ; They were spiritually noble , & so they had a readiness in their hearts in receiving the word . Now this readinesse of heart in receiving the Word consists in these particulars : First , When you come to hear the Word , if you would Sanctifie Gods Name , you must possesse your souls with what it is that you are going to hear , That what you are to hear is the Word of God , That it is not the speaking of a man that you are going to attend upon : but that you are now going to attend upon God , and to hear the word of the eternall God. Possesse your souls with this ; you will never sanctifie Gods Name else in the hearing of his Word ; therefore you find that the Apostle writing to the Thessalonians , he gives them the reason why the word did them so much good as it did : It was because they did hear it as the word of God 1 Thess . 2. 13. For this cause also ( saith he ) thank we God without ceasing , because when ye received the word of God , which ye heard of us , ye received it not as the word of men , but ( as it is in truth ) the word of God , which effectually worketh also in you that beleeve , Mark , so it came effectually to work , because they received it as the word of God ; many times you will say , Come , let us go hear such a man preach ; Oh no , let us go hear Christ preach , for as it doth concern the Ministers of God that they preach not themselves , but that Christ should preach in them : So it concerns you that hear , not to come to hear this man or that man , but to come to hear Jesus Christ . We as the Ambassadors of Christ do beseech you , saith the Apostle . 2 Possesse your hearts likewise with this consideration , that I come to heare the word as an ordinance appointed by God to convey spiritual good to my soule , and this is a very usefull consideration , and especially it concernes men of understanding and parts for the helping of them to heare . For men that are of understanding and parts , when they come to heare this temptation is ready to come upon them , that except they hear some new thing that they did not understand before wherefore should they come ? I am able to understand as much in such a point as can be said : And when I have come and heard many times , I have heard but that I knew before , and upon that they think there is no use of coming to hear : Now this is a great mistake , when you come to hear the word , you do not come alwaies to hear what you did not know , it may be sometimes God may dart in some thing that you did not think of before , or so fully understand , but suppose it be not so , you are to come to it as an ordinance of God for the conveyance of spirituall good to your soules . You will say . Cannot we sit at home and read a Sermon ? But hath God appointed that the great ordinance for the converting and the edifying of soules in the way to eternal life ? True , there is some use of it , but the great ordinance is the preaching of the word , faith comes by hearing , the Scripture saith , and never by reading , So that though when you come to hear , you do not hear that which you heard not before , yet you come to attend upon this ordinance for the conveyance of some Spirituall good that it may be hath not bin conveyed before , or in a further degree then it hath bin conveyed before , And so you should come to hear the word with your hearts possest with that meditation , that it is the word of God , and the great ordinance that God hath appointed for the conveyance of Spiritual good . So that I come now in obedience to God , and in this do I testifie my respect to God , that I will attend upon this ordinance of his for the conveyance of Spirituall good to me , and although I may think that this or the other means may do the deed as well , yet because God hath appointed this to be his ordinance , therefore in obedience to him I will attend upon this means rather then upon other means , as you know Naaman he thought the other waters would have bin as good as the waters of Jordan to have heal'd him , but if God will appoint him the waters of Jordan that they should heal him rather then other waters he must wash there ; No question but other waters had as much naturall vertue in them as they had , but because the waters of Jordan were the ordinance that God for that time had appointed to cure his Leprosie withall , he must come and wash in those waters rather then in any other , So because preaching of the word is the great ordinance that God hath appointed for to convay himselfe by , therefore he doth require that thou shouldest shew thy respect to him , so far as to attend upon him in this ordinance . 2 The Second thing that is to be done in way of preparation , it is to plow up the fallow ground of your hearts , and not to sowe amongst thornes , as you have it in Jer. 4. 3. and so in Ho● 10. The word of God you know is compared to seed in that parable of Christ in Mar. 13. And an Auditory is compared to the ground , I suppose you are al aquainted with that parable of the sower , that it is to set out the ministry of the word , and what fruit it hath upon the hearts of men , a congregation is like the field , and a minister preaching is like the sower that sows the seed in the field : He knows not which truth whether that or the other will prosper , the seed being sowed in some part of the ground it is lost , and in another part it grows ; so in one ●ew the seed of the word is lost , and in another ●ew it grows up : But now if people that are compared to the ground would so hear the word as Gods name may be sanctified in it , their hearts must be plowed ●as if one should sow seed upon green soil , sow it in the fields upon green grasse , what would become of it ? The ground must first be plowed for the preparation of the seed But you will say , what is the meaning of the plowing of our hearts for the preparation of the word ? The meaning is nothing else but this The work of humiliation , the humbling of the soul before the Lord when it doth come to hear Gods word . Humble it in these two regards . First be humbled for your ignorance that you know so little of Gods mind as you do . Secondly be humbled for all the sinfulnesse of your hearts , be senceable of the sinfulnesse and wretchednesse of your hearts and the miserable condition that you are in , if you can get your hearts broken with the sence of your sin and misery , and come so to hear the word , it is very like the word may be of mighty use , and Gods name may be very much Sanctified in your hearing of the word . You will say , Must we plow up our hearts before we come to hear ? It must be the word that must plow us , the word is the plow , and so the Ministers of God are compared to plowmen in the word , he that puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of heaven . It is true , it cannot be expected that the heart should be throughly plowed as it ought but by the word , therefore at the first coming to hear there is not hope that men will Sanctifie Gods name till the word gets in to plow them , and so by geting at one time into their hearts they come to be prepared for hearing at another time . And yet some what may be done before by that natural knowledg that men have they may come to know themselves to be sinners , and come to understand themselves to be very weak and ignorant by some knowledg that they may have by the works of God , and by conferrence with others , and by reading and the like , and so they may in some measure come to have their hearts to be humbled . And it is good to make use of these to humble the heart , but now , You that have heard the word often , and yet have not Sanctified Gods name , there be truths that you have heard heretofore , that if you had made use of in private to have , plowed up your hearts , they would have prepared your hearts for the next time in hearing of the word , If therefore you would hear the word with a great deal more profit then formerly , your hearts must be plowed by humiliation . 2 Secondly , the heart must be plowed by labouring to get out those thorns that are in the heart , those lusts that grow deep in the heart as thorns grow in the ground : labour to pluck them out , that is , when thou comest to hear the word get thy heart into that frame , as to be willing to professe against every known sin that thou hast found in thy heart , labour to find out those lusts that are in thy heart and then professe against them , that thou art willing to have them to be rooted out of thy heart , if men and women would but do thus when they come to hear , that God might see this in them , that they have before they come profest against every known sin , This would be an excellent thing indeed . 3 Again in the third place which will follow from hence , When thou comest to hear the word , come with a Resolution to yeeld to what ever God shall reveal to be his mind , I am now going to hear thy word oh Lord , to wait upon thee , to know what thou hast to say to me : And thou that art the searcher of the secrets of all hearts , Thou knowest that I go with such a resolution to yeeld up my self to every truth of thine , How would the name of God be Sanctified if you did thus come to hear the word . If you did come with such a resolution , Job . 32. 34. That which I know not teach th●u me , and if I have done iniquity , I will do no more . In Isa . 2. 3. you have a prophesie of the Centils how they should come to the word , And many people shall go and say , Comeye , and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob , and he will teach us of his waies , and we will walk in his paths : Here is a blessed disposition when you come to hear the word , Some of you come together in streets and lanes , and over the fields , when you come together , and meet one with another as you walk over the fields , make use of this text , Oh that this prophesie might be fulfilled in your coming over the fields every Lords day morning and at other times , that you would say one to another , or when you call one upon another to go to hear , Come let us go up to the house of the Lord and he will teach us of his waies and we will walk in his paths . We are resolved that whatever the Lord shall teach us to be his waies we will submit unto it . This is a due preparation of the heart for the Sanctifying of Gods name in the hearing of his word . 4 When you come to hear the word come with longing desires after the word , come with an appetite to it . As in 1 Pet. 2. 2. As new born babes desire the sincear milk of the word that you may grow thereby . Do it as new born babes , Now you know little babes they do not desire milk to play withall but only to nourish them : Children of three or four yeers old , they may desire milk to play with but new born babes never care for it but when they are hungry to nourish them , And so it is true , many come to hear the word to play with it , But now you should come to hear the word as new born babes , with a hungring desire after the word that your Souls may be nourished thereby . That were excellent if every Lords day , and at other daies you did come as hungry to the word as ever you went to your dinner or supper , The word of God should be to you more then your appointed food , And then you are like to grow by it and to Sanctifie Gods name in it . 5 Pray before hand , that God would open thine eyes , and open thine heart , and accompany his word , thus did David , Open mine eyes O Lord , that I may understand the wonders of thy Law. And you know what is said of Lydia , The Lord opened her heart to attend to the word that was spoken : Now seeing it is an Ordinance thou doest expect more good from , then what it self of its own nature is able to convey ; thou hadest need to Pray , Lord I go to such an Ordinance of thine , and I know there is no effi●acy in its self , it is not able to reach to such effects as I expect that is , to have my heart spoken too , and quickned , and to have mine eyes opened , but O Lord open mine eyes and open mine heart Lord my heart naturally is lockt up against thy Word , there are such wards in my heart , that except thou a●t pleased to put in a key that may fit my heart , it will never open ; Man he is not able to know my heart , and therefore he cannot fit a key to answer every ward , to resolve every doubt , to silence every objection but Lord thou canst do it : Do thou Lord therefore fit thy word this day that may meet with my heart Lord , I have gone often to thy Word , and the key hath stuck in it and it hath not opened ; but Lord , if thou wouldest but fit it and turn it with thine own hand , my heart would open . Oh come with such a praying heart to the Word , and thereby shalt thou sanctifie the Name of God in hearing his Word , this is to come to the Word , as to the Word of God , you must not come to the hearing of the Word as to hear a speech or an oration , but come in such a preparation as this is , and so I say God will be glorified , and you will be profited The next thing is , what should be the behaviour of the Soul in the Sanctifying Gods Name in the Word when it is come , Now to that there are these particulars : 1 First there must be a carefull attention unto the Word , you must set your hearts unto it , as Moses in Deut. 32. 46 he said unto the people . Set your hearts unto all the words which I testifie among you this day , which you shall command your Children to observe to do , for it is not a vain thing for you , because it is your life . Set your hearts to it , for it is not a vain thing , it is your life ; when you come to hear the word give diligent attention to what you hear . In Act. 3. 6. it is said , The people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake . They gate heed , The word is used often in Scripture , sometimes it is used for to beware of a thing , Beware of the leven of the Pharisees , Beware of them ; as a man when he sees an enemy and is aware of him , he is very diligent to observe how to avoid him ; So there should be as much diligence to get good by the Word , as one would be diligent to avoid any danger whatsoever , And the word signifies sometimes to give such heed as a Disciple gives unto his Master , so they gave heed to the Word . So in Prov. 2. 1 , 2. My Son , if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandments with thee , so that thou incline thine eare unto wisdome : We must diligently attend , and not to suffer our eyes & our thoughts to be wandring , but diligently attend to what is said : My Brethren , there is all things that may challenge attention in the Word . What would make you to attend to any thing ? First if he that speaks were much above you If it were a great Prince , or Lord that spake to you , then you would attend Now , though it is true , it is but a man , that it may be , is inferiour to most of you , that speaks , yet know in him it is the Lord of heaven and earth that speaks to you : And so you know what Christ saith , He that heareth you heareth me : So though you would not attend in respect of the Messenger so much , yet as it is the Son of God that is speaking to you , it may challenge your attention . This day if you should hear a voice out of the clouds from heaven speaking to you , would you not then listen ? the truth is , we should listen as much to the voice of God in the Ministery of his Word , as if so be that the Lord should spake out of the clouds to us . And I will give you a Scripture for that , that the voice of God in his Word should be as much regarded of you , as if God should speak from heaven to you by an audible voice out of the clouds . In 2 Pet. 1. 18 , 19. This voice which came from heaven we heard , when we were with him in the holy ●ount . But mark , in vers . 19. We have also a mere sure Word of Prophesie whereunto ye do well that ye take heed . Mark ; We heard a voice from heaven , saith Peter , yea but we have a more sure word of Prophesie whereunto ye do well that ye take heed . There was a voice from heaven spake , you will say , If we had heard that voice , we would have given heed to that , saith the Apostle , You have a more sure word of Prophesie : Now prophesie in Scripture is taken for preaching , Dispise not Prophesie : As if the Holy Ghost should say , You must have regard to the word of Prophesie as you would have regard to any voice from heaven : Suppose an Angel should come and speak to you , would not you attend to him ? then whatsoever thoughts you had , they would be taken off , for there is an Angel that is come down from heaven to speak : Now mark what is said in Heb. 1. 1. God who at sundry times , and in divers manners spake in times past to the Fathers by the Prophets , hath in these last daies spoken unto us by his Son , whom he hath appointed heir of all things , by whom also he made the worlds . And then in vers . 3. he describes his Son , And being made so much better then the Angels , as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name then they : If a Prophet should come and speak , that is not so much as if the Son of God comes ; no nor as if an Angel should come , for Jesus Christ hath obtained a more excellent name then the Angels , and it is Christ that is in the Ministry of his Word , He that heareth you heareth me . 2 Secondly , That which would cause attention , is the greatnes of the matter propounded : It is true , if a man should speak of some flight and vain things , there need not so much attention . My Brethren , the matters in the Word are the great things of God , it is the voice of God , the great Mysteries of godlinesse , those deep things that the Angels themselves desire to pry into ; Yea the Angels themselves by the Churches they come to have the knowledge of the Mysteries of God. I make no question but in the Ministery of the Word among the Churches the Angels they attend and come to some knowledge in the Mysteries of godlinesse ; for so the Scripture saith , That they have it by the Churches , there the greatest things of Gods will , the greatest Counsels of God that were kept hid from all eternity , are opened to you in the Ministry of the Word : We do not come to tell you tales , and the conceits of men , but to open the great counsels of God , wherein the depth of the wisdome of God comes to be revealed to the children of men , and therefore this cals for attention . 3 Thirdly , Suppose they be great things , yet if they do not so much concern us , there is no such great reason of attention , therefore in the Third place , That which we speak , it is your life ; it is that concerns your Souls and eternall estates : Your Souls and everlasting estates do lie upon the Ministery of the Word , if that be made effectuall to you , you are sav'd : if that be not made effectuall to you , you are damn'd and undone for ever . If we should come to tell you of something whereby you might get some good bargain , or of a way how to get great riches , I make no question but you would rise though it were a cold or rainy morning : But know when you are called to hear the Word you are called to hear that which may do you good for ever , that for which you may blesse God for to all eternity with the Angels and Saints in the highest heavens . If they be such things of so great concernment , then there had need be a great attention : You know what Christ said to Martha when she was troubled about his entertainment L●●k 10. 41. Martha Martha , thou art carefull and troubled al●o t●m●ry things , but one thing is needfull , and Mary hath 〈◊〉 that good part which shall not be taken away from her . What did Mary choose ? It was this , That she did diligently attend upon Jesus Christ to hear the word from his own mouth , when Martha was busied in the house to provide for his entertainment but it is a better thing to attend upon the word then to entertain Christ in your houses : You that are of loving dispositions , that if a good Minister shall come to your houses , or a good Christian , that you see but the Image of Christ in your hearts spring within you , and you will do any thing to entertain them : Well , but what if Jesus Christ should come , if you knew that such a man that came within your doors were the Son of God , how would you bestir your selves to entertain him ? But know , it is a more acceptable service to Jesus Christ to attend upon his word then to provide for him in your houses And there is great reason to , that we should be diligent in drawing nigh to the word , and give eare unto it ; because you find that the Lord doth expresse himself in the Scripture , how he gives eare to us when we speak to him . God is said to incline his eare , sometimes to open his eare , sometimes to bow his eare , sometimes to cause his eare to hear , and divers such expressions there are to that purpose . Now if God when we that are poor wretches speak to him , shall bow his eare bend his eare open his eare , cause his eare to hear , much more should we when we come to attend upon him . 2 Secondly as there must be attending to the word of God , so there must be an opening of the heart to receive what God speaks to you , it is true , it is the work of God to open the heart , but God works upon men as upon rationall creaturs and he makes you to be active in opening your hearts , so that when you have any truth come to be revealed , you should open your understandings , your conscience , and will , and affections , Oh Lord thy truth which thou art presenting here to my Soul at this time let it come in , let me receive it , as the expression is in Prov. 2 1. My Son , if thou wilt receive my words and then in v. 10. When wisdom entereth into thy heart : The words of wisdom the words of God , they must enter into the heart , get in ; it may be they get into thy eare , but that 's not enough , they must get into thy heart , in Joh 8. 37. There Christ complains that his word had no place in them , that 's a sad thing when the word of God shall have no place in the heart . If a temptation to sin comes , that hath a place in the heart , but when the Word comes that hath no place in the heart ; I say , it is a very sad thing that we can find no room for the Word ; we should get room for the Word , Open ye gates , Stand open ye everlasting doors , that the King of Glory may come in : Know that when you come to hear the Word , the Lord is knocking at the doors of your hearts ; have not you felt it sometimes ? Open , O open the doors , let all be opened to receive the Word into your hearts . That is the Second thing for the behaviour of the Soul in hearing . 3 The third thing is the carefull applying of the word , so in Pro. 2. 2. There must be an applying of the heart to the word , and an applying of the word unto the heart . All action is by an application of the thing that doth act unto the subject , there must be an application of the word to thy soul , as now , suppose thou comest to hear the word , and thou hearest of some sin , that it may be thou knowest thou art guilty of , take the word and lay it to thy heart and say , The Lord hath met with my soul this day , the Lord hath spoken to me , to the end that I might be humbled for this sin , and the other sin that my Conscience tels me I am guilty of , So , doth the Lord put thee upon a duty that concerns thee ? acknowledge this , the Lord hath spoken to me this day and put me upon the reformation of my family , and the reformation of my own heart . Is there a word presented ? apply that , and let not the trouble of thy heart cause thee to cast off that word that God hath spoken to thee ; The application of the word to the heart it is of marvelons use , and it concerns not only Ministers in general to lay before people the doctrine of the Gospel but to aply it , And know that it concerns you as well as Ministrs to apply it ; And not only when they come to that that is called use , but all the way in the opening of the word , it concerns you all to apply it to your own souls , and to consider how doth it concern me in particular ? My brethren there is no such way to honour God , or get good to your owne souls , as the application of the word unto your selves . As a man that is asleep if there be annoise made it will not awake him so soon , but come and call him by his name ( and say John , or Thomas , ) and that will awake him sooner then a greater noise will ; So , when the word makes a noise when it is delivered only in the general , men take little notice of it , but when the word comes particularly to the souls of men , and doth as it were call them by name , this awakens them ; now God many times doth speak to your hearts but you should apply it , you know the word is compared to meat , and it must be applyed to the body , Then do we worship God in a right way when as we take notice of Gods word as concerning us in particular , as that notable Scripture that you have in 1 Cor. 14. 25. Where there comes a poor man into the Church of God , and hears Prophesying , hears the word opened , and the text saith He is convinced of all , he is judged of all , and then in vers . 25 , Thus are the secrets of his heart manifest and so falling down on his face he worships God and reports that God is in you of a truth , that is , when the word comes and meets with his Soul in particular , that he finds himself to be aim'd at by the word , then he worships God , and saith that God certainly is in them , here 's the reason now that when you come to hear the word you do not worship God because you apply it not to your selves , you are ready to say , This was well spoken to such a one , and it concerns such a one , but how doth it concern thy soul in particular ? Sometimes the Lord doth even force men and women to apply it whether they will or no , for that they think the Minister speaks to them in particular , and that no body was spoken too in the Congregation but themselves ; This is a Mercy when the Lord doth it unto you ; but it is a greater Mercy when the Lord gives you a heart to apply it to your selves , and although it may trouble you a little for the present , yet be willing to apply it , and account it a great Mercy from the Lord , That the Lord will be pleased to speak in particular to your Souls . 4 Fourthly , We must mix Faith with the Word , or otherwise it will do us but little good ; Apply it and then beleeve it . In Heb. 4. 2. it is said , that The word preached did not profit them , not being mixed with Faith in them that heard it . Wherefore there must be a mixture of Faith , to beleeve the word that the Lord brings unto you . Now concerning that I le but propound these few particulars ; You will say , Must we beleeve every thing that is spoken ? sometimes there are some things spoken that we cannot tell how to beleeve ? I do not mean so , to beleeve every thing meerly being spoken , for you must take heed what you hear , as well as how you hear ; but do thus much at least . 1 In the First place , whatsoever comes in the name of God to you , ( except you know certainly it is not according to the written Word ) you owe so much respect to it , as to examine it , at least to try it whether it be so or no , as it is said of those Welbred men that I spake of , that they did examine whether things were so or no. Do not cast off any thing presently that comes in the Name of God : Now any thing that hath the broad Seal upon it , you must not disobey : You will say , It may be counterfeit : but do not disobey it till you be sure it be counterfeit . Oh that men would give but this respect to all things that they hear , never to cast them off till they have examined and tryed whether they be so or no. 2 Secondly , Do but grant this respect to the Word that is spoken to you , as to think thus , What if all that I hear spoken against my fin , which laies open the dangerous condition that my soul is in , prove to be true , what a case were I in then ? This hath been the beginning of the conversion of many Souls , the having but such a thought as this , It may be things are not so terrible as I hear , but what if they do prove so ? then I am undone for ever . Dare I venture my Soul and my eternal estate upon hopes that these things are not so bad as I hear ? I beleeve if you would put your selves to it , you would think it a bold adventure , and the comfort that any of you have grounded upon this , meerly hoping that things are not so bad as you hear ; it is a cursed comfort that hath no sure bottome : Grant that respect therefore to the word . 3 Thirdly consider this , It may be I do not see cleerly that these things are so which are delivered , I do not see enough to beleeve them now , but what if I were now dying ? What if I were now going to receive the sentence of my eternall doome ; would I not then beleeve these things ? Would I not then think what I hear out of the word to be true ? It is an easie matter for men to reject the word while they have their healths , and prosperity . But if you were to die , and upon your sick and death bed if you saw the infinite ocean of eternity before you , what would you say then ? were the word true yea or no ? would you give beleif unto the suggestions of the Devill then ? We find it by experience , That men that could easily cast off the word in their healths , yet when they have come to ly upon their sick bed , and death bed , they found the word true : Beleeve it now as well as then . 4 Consider , If thou doest not beleeve , what a case art thou in ? Am I worse then the Devils themselves ? The Scripture tels me , That the Devils beleeve and tremble ; Why Lord do I come to hear Sermons , and am I more hard to beleeve then the very devils themselves ? They do beleeve that word that I cast off , and they tremble at it , but my Soul is not at all stirred , as if there were no reallity in such things that have been spoken to me . There be other things which may further help us towards beleeving of the word of God , but these shall suffice : And certainly my brethren till we come to this to beleeve the word though we should sit under it many years , it will do us little good , and we shall never Sanctifie the Name of God in the hearing of it . SERMON IX . LEVITICUS . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . THE next thing for the right behaviour of the Soul for Sanctifying Gods Name is this , We must receive the Word with meeknesse of Spirit , that you have in Jam. 1. 21. Wherefore lay apart all filthinesse , and superfluity of naughtiness , and receive with meekness the ingrafted word which is able to save your souls . Receive with meekness ; The former part of this Scripture I confesse concerns some what that was before , about the preparation of the Soul , and we shall perhaps afterwards in the Application come to open the former part of this vers . Lay apart all filthiness & superfluity of naughtiness : But only now we quote the place for this , Receive with meekness the ingrafted word which is able to save your souls . Let there be a quietnesse in your Spirits in attending upon the word , no hurring ; There is a twofold distemper of passion in many people that is a great hinderance to the profit of the Word , and Sanctifying Gods Name in hearing it . 1 The First is a distemper of Passion in those that have some trouble of conscience in them , they are troubled for their fin , and their Spirits are in a discontented froward humour because they have not that comfort that they do desire , and therefore the Word of God when it comes to be preached to them , if it doth not every way suit with their hearts , and if they do not find present comfort by it , their Spirits are in a distemper and frowardnesse , and cast it off ; and if at any time there be never such comfortable things spoken in the word , yet there is an anger in their spirits because they are not able to apply the Word to themselves , and they think , This doth not concern me : now there should be meeknesse of Spirit in those that are in trouble of conscience above all ; they should quietly attend upon the Word , and wait for the time that God will speak peace to their consciences : And if I cannot find the Word suitable to me at this time , yet I may at another time : let me atend with meeknes , let me receive everything with meeknesse the Word is above me , and if ever I have good , it must be by the word at last . It doeth much concern those that are in trouble of Conscience to have meeke Spirits . 2 There is another distemper in others and that is worse ; that is , Such as when they find the word come neer unto them , relating those sins that their consciences tels them they are guilty of , their hearts rise against God , and his Word , and Ministers too : Because it would pluck away some beloved corruption , because it rebukes them for some haunt of evill , some distemper of heart that they have been or are guilty of , it puts a shame upon them , and therefore their hearts do rise against it . It is a dreadfull thing to have the heart rise against the Word . As we read of that froward Prince Jehoiakim in the Prophesie of Jeremiah , that when the Roll was read in his hearing , sitting in the winter time by a great fire , he tooke a penknife and cut it a pieces and threw it into the fire in anger ; and I have read that the Jewes kept a Fast every year to mourne for that great sin , & yet this Jehoiakim was the Son of Josiah whose heart did melt at the hearing of the Word , he had an humble and a meek heart when the Law was read , and yet see what a different Spirit Jehoiakim had either from his Father or grand-Father . It is a great dishonour to the name of God for men to give liberty to their Passions to rise against the Word ; take heed of Passion either while you are hearing the Word , or after the Word , as many of you when you are discontented with what is said . When you come in company , what a fury are many men in upon the hearing of some things in the word that comes close to their hearts ; Remember when you are a hearing of the Word that it is that which is above you , and it is not fit for one that is an inferiour to shew himself Passionate in the presence of a Superiour : It is true , the Ministers they may be in as low a condition as you , and in a lower ; but the word they speak , it is above all the Princes and Monarchs upon the face of the earth ; and it is fit therefore we having to deal with God that we should behave our selves in a meeke disposition . 6 The next thing for the Sanctifying Gods name in the hearing of the word is this , we must hear it with a trembling heart , with fear as well as meeknesse , and for that you have that famous Scripture in Isa . 66. begining . Thus saith the Lord , the Heaven is my Throne , and the Earth is my footstool wher is the house that ye build unto me , and where is the place of my rest ? For all those things hath my hand made , and all those things have been saith the Lord , but to this man will I look , even to him that is poor , and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my word . this is a most admirable Scripture . Marke how God lifts up himself in his glory , so great a God as the Heaven is my Throne , and the Earth is my footstool where is that house that ye will build unto me ? but then may a poor Soul say , how shall I be able to stand before this God that is so glorious ? Saith God , be not discouraged Poor Soul who doest tremble at my word , for I look to you ; And then this is a further thing observable that God hath a regard to that soul that trembles at his word , rather then to any that should build the most sumptuous buildings in the world for him , for saith God here , the Heaven is my Throne , and the Earth is my footstool , where is the house that ye build unto me and where is the place of my rest ? they have built a glorious Temple to God , but what do I regard that saith God ? I regard one that trembls at my word more then that great house that you have built unto me , it is a notable Scripture to shew what a high respect God hath to one that trembles at his word , he regards them more then this glorious Temple , that was built unto him , If you were able to build such a place as this was for the service of God , you would think it a great matter , it is not so much regarded as if you could bring a trembling heart to Gods word , that 's a special thing wherein the Sanctifying of the name of God consists , when we come to see the dreadfull authority that there is in the word of God , when we are able to see more glory of God in his word then in all the works of God besides , for there is more of his glory in the word then there is in the whole Creation of Heaven and Earth , take the Sun , and Moon and Stars , you that are Marriners you have seen much of the glory of God abroad that one would think might strik terrour into all your hearts , but know that there is more of the dreadfulnesse of Gods name in his word then in all his works ; In Psal . 138. 2. Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name , the word it is magnified above all the name of God whatsoever , and it is a very good sign of a Spirituall inlightened Soul that can see the name of God more magnified in his word then in all his works besides ; I appeal unto your consciences in this thing , have you ever seen the name of God to be more magnified in his word then in all his works ? I may with very good confidence affirm this that there is no godly Soul upon the face of the earth , that hath the weakest degree of grace but hath seen more of the glory of God revealed in his word , then he hath seen in all the works of God besides , and his heart hath been more taken with it , It requires therefore a trembling frame of heart when we hear it . And then further when this is considered that the word is that that bindeth the Soul over either to life or death , mens eternal estates are to be cast by the world , certainly then it requires a trembling heart to hear that by which the eternal estate of man is to be cast , we do not Sanctifie Gods name when we come to hear the word , except we come with trembling hearts , and they are the most likely of all men and women to understand the mind of God , as for such as come with conceited spirits that they understand as much before they come , and think their reach of wit or capacity is beyond the capacity of any that shall open the word unto them ( yet that were not so much if it did but only rest upon the man and not reflect upon the word it self ) Now these that are rich in their own thoughts and understandings are sent empty away , but those that come with trembling hearts to the word , they are the men that are like to understand Gods Counsels revealed in his word . In Ezra 10. 2 , 3. Shechaniah the Son of Iehiel one of the Sons of Elam answerd & said unto Ezra , we have transgressed against our God & have taken strange wives &c. Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing , now therefore let us make a covenant with our God according to the counsel of my lord and of those that tremble at the Commandment of our God ; so that those that tremble at Gods word are such as are fitest to counsel , they understand most of Gods mind ; and that 's another particular of the behaviour of the Soul in Sanctifiying Gods name in hearing his word . 7 The next is an humble subjection to the word that we hear , our hearts must bow to it , must lie under the word that we hear , it is a very remarkable Scripture that we have in 2 Chron. 36. 12. There it is said concerning a great King Zedekiah , He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord , his God , and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet , speaking from the mouth of the Lord● It it a very strange expression as any we have in the book of God , that Zedekiah a great King should be charged with this as a great sin that he did not humble himself , humble himself before whom you will say ? we are bound to humble our selves before God , but here it is that he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet ; Why before the prophet ? Because he spake from the mouth of the Lord. If it be any messenger that speaks from the mouth of the Lord , God expects that we should humble our selves , so that if any truth comes to be delivered unto you , the Lord expects that you should fal down and yeeld obedience to it , whatsoever your thoughts , your judgments , your opinions have heretofore been , if there come any thing in the word agianst it you must submit your judgments , submit your very consciences , you must submit your wills , whatsoever your hearts have been set upon , though it hath been never so contentfull to your spirits before , yet now submit , and yeeld though it go never so crosse unto your minds , your wils , your ends , yet all must be submitted , and laid down flat before the word , so as to be willing to deny your selves of any thing in the world . When a man or woman can say thus , Lord it is true , I confesse before I heard thy word opened in the evidence and demonstration of the spirit unto me , I was of such a mind , and my heart went after such and such contentments , and I though it was impossible that ever my heart should be taken from them , but Oh Lord thou hast been pleased plainly to shew to me by the opening of thy word in the evidence of thy spirit , what thy mind is ; Now whatsoever becomes of my name , of my comforts , of my contentments in this world , Lord here I cast down all before thee , I submit unto thy word ; this is a gracious frame . Now is the name of God extoll'd , and lifted up in hearing of the word , the name of God is Sanctified in such a work of spirit as this is . I have read of a Germain Divine writing to Oecolampadius another famous German Divine , he hath this expression , Oh let the word of God come , & though we had 600. necks we would al submit them unto the word of God saith he . So it should be the temper of such as hear the word and desire to Sanctifie Gods name in it , let the word of God come this morning , let God speak and we will submit had we 600. necks , we will submit all we are , or have , to this word of the Lord , it is the word of God , that we are willing should triumph over us : To have a congregation to lie down under the word of God that is preached to them is a most excellent thing , and Gods name is much Sanctified , we do not brethren desire you should lie under us , we are not only willing , but we are very desirous that you would examin what we speak to you , whether it be according to the word of God or no. But look to it , that if we do speak to you that which is the word from the mouth of the Lord , know then that God expects that you should submit your estates , your souls , your bodies , all that you are and have to this word , and that is another particular in the Sanctifying of the name of God in hearing the word ; there must be an humble submission of the soul unto it . 8 Another particular wherein the behaviour of the Soul for the Sanctifying of Gods name consists is this , The word it must be received with love , and with joy , it is not enough for you to be convinct of the authority of it , and to think thus , well I must yeeld to it , this is the word of God and if I do not yeeld to it I must expect the plagues and judgements of God to follow it that is not enough , but you must yeeld to it with love , and with joy , except you receive the word with love and with joy it is not Sanctified ; you do not Sanctifie Gods Name , nor is it sanctified unto you . You must receive the word not only as the true word of the Lord , but as the good word of the Lord. In Thessalon . 2. 10. we find it to be the cause of mens being given over to a spirit of delution , Because they received not the word of God in Love : It is spoken of Antichrist , that at his coming he shall come with all deceivablenesse , and he shall prevail with them that perish , who are they ? They that receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved . It is not enough my Brethren to receive the truth that we might be saved ; but we mnst receive the love of the truth if ever we would be saved ; Good is the word of the Lord to my soul . And we must receive it with joy too as well as with love ; Prov. 2. 10. When wisdome entereth into thy heart , and knowledge is pleasant unto thy Soul : Then discretion shall preserve thee , understanding shall keep thee , &c. That is a great matter , when the word reveals some truth to thy understanding , and thou canst so receive it as it should be pleasant to thy soul , that thy soul rejoyces in it ; it is a good word , it is that that doth me good at the heart , when a people can hear the word , and the word coming neer unto them , they can say , This word doth me good at the heart , it is pleasant to my soul , that is excellent . In Act. 2. 41. the godly are described , those that did receive the word so as to sanctifie Gods Name in it ; by this , that they gladly received the word and were baptized , and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls . There were three thousand in one day that did gladly receive the word ; What an auditory had Peter at this time ? Then the word it did them good , when they gladly received it . Quest . But it may be said , We read in Matt. 13. of the stony ground , the hearers that were not good and did not profit by the word so as to be saved , yet they received the word with joy . And Herod it is said of him , That he heard John Baptist gladly : It seems then that it is not enough to receive it with gladnesse ? Answ . To that I Answer First , There must be that that Hypocrites may have , if there be want of that , we cannot Sanctifie Gods Name . But you will say , We must go further or else Gods Name is not sanctified : That I confesse ; Therefore when I speak of gladnesse and joy , know that I mean another kind of joy then the stony ground had ; and so certainly the pleasantnesse that is spoken of in Prov. which I mentioned before ; And the gladnesse that the three thousand did receive the Word withall is different from the gladnesse of the stony ground . If you ask me wherein it differs ? I would Answer it differs thus , The gladnesse of an Hypocrite in receiving Gods Word , it ariseth either from the novelty of it , because it is a new thing , and he gets new notions that he had not before , or else he is joyful from some other carnal excellencies that he finds going together with the word , some esteem or honour that he shall get by it , some selvishnesse there is that makes his heart to be glad , for there is a great deal of natural and carnal excellency that goes along many times with the word . But now this gladnesse that is spoken of in the Acts and in the Proverbs , it is the gladnesse that ariseth from the apprehension of the spirituall excellencies that there are in the word , as that it is that word that reveals God and Christ to my soul ; that word that comes neerest to my soul to the mortifying of my Lusts , and the sanctifying of my heart : This is that which makes me rejoyce in the word , the holinesse and the spirituall excellencie that I see to be in the word : Thy word is pure ( saith David ) and therefore doth thy servant love it and rejoyce in it . This no Hypocrite can say ; I see the Image of God in his Word , I see the very glasse of Gods holinesse in his word , I feel that in the word that may bring my Soul to God , wherein my soul injoyes communion with God and Jesus Christ , and it is this that glads my soul . If we receive the word with joy thus , we shall come to Sanctifie the Name of God in the hearing of it ; And that is the Eight particular . 9 The Ninth Particular is this , If we would Sanctifie the Name of God in his word , we must receive the Word into honest hearts . This you have in Luk. 8. 15. in the Parable of the Sower ; you shall find there that there are divers grounds that do receive the seed ; and by those divers grounds are meant divers sorts of hearers : There is First the high-way ground , that is , such as hear the word and never regard what they hear , and as soon as ever they go out of the Congregation the seed of the Word is quite gone and is as if they had not heard at all . And then there is the stony ground , and the thorny ground , that is , those that hear with joy ( as was spoken of before ) but the cares of the world choak the seed of the word ; as soon as ever they are gone , they are upon their worldly businesse , and their thoughts and hearts runs that way . But then there is the good ground , that is , Those that receive the seed of the Word into a good and honest heart , a good and an honest heart they are both joyned together . By a good heart is meant a heart that hath not malice in it , a heart that doeth desire to empty it self of every thing that is against the Word , and which is not suitable to the spiritualnesse of the Word : A heart I say that entertaines nothing in it that any way makes against the word : A good heart is a heart which ( as the Apostle saith in Jam. 1. 21. and that place may very well come in here to be opened ) is clensed from all filthinesse and superfluity of naughtinesse . The word that is there translated filthinesse it signifies Excrements ; that which is unclean , that which comes from the body , such is the sinfulnesse of your hearts ; you come to hear the word , if it be with evil hearts you mingle that very filthinesse which is as vile before God as excrements are : And superfluity of naughtinesse ; by that I take is meant , as if the holy Ghost should say , Do not think it enough for to purge away filthinesse , that is notorious stinking evils , abominable sins , that you do not come with such filthy vile hearts , but whatsoever there is in your heart that is any way against the work of Grace , it is a superfluity of naughtinesse , all kind of evill thoughts , and evill affections that are more then needs . Look into your hearts and affections , and see whatsoever you find there that is more then ought to be , runing out unto any thing that they should not , labour to purge out that saith he , do not satisfie yourselves in any kind of evill whatsoever : It may be you are clensed from the notorious evils of the World ; but if there remaines any naughtinesse , any kind of drossinesse in your hearts that is not grace , it is to be purged out , for it is a superfluity : So then that is a good heart that entertaines no kind of evill in it . It may be there is some evill , but it doth desire to purge out not only that that is filthy , nastie , and abominable ; but if there be any thing that should not be there , a good heart is against it . And that is a good heart that is willing to receive any thing that God reveals ; As we use to say , Such a man is a good man , that is , you can propound nothing to him that is fit to be done but he is willing to hearken to you . A good man he hath no kind of evill ends in him , no evill designes at all , but he is willing to hearken to every thing that is good : So a good heart whatsoever is good he is ready to entertain , if it be a good thing his heart is sutable to it , and runs presently unto it ; having a good heart , it doth presently close with the good word of the Lord. But what is meant by an honest heart ? By honesty of heart , certainly there is more meant then such a one that we call an honest man , that is , a man that is honest in his dealings between man and man ; there is many a man that is accounted a very honest man in the world but hath not an honest heart : I beseech you observe it , That man that hath an honest heart to God , is one that receives the seed of the word , so as he goes beyond the high-way ground , the stony ground , or the thorny ground , he goes beyond those three sort of professors ; he is one that hath an eminency in profession of Religion beyond those three : now the world accounts many honest men that do not go beyond any of those three ; yea the world doth ordinarily account any of those three to be honest men , as the high-way ground : Are there not many honest men in the world , that regard not the word of God at all , but only come to hear a Sermon , and as soon as they have done , as it came in at one eare , so it goes out at the other ? I fear there are some men and women that are accounted honest men and women in the world that can hardly give an account of any one Sermon they have heard in all their lives : hardly I say , but the word which they heard is presently taken away from them , and yet these are accounted honest men in the world : But this is not the honest heart the Scripture speaks of . And many there are that goe further then these , that come to hear the word with joy , and yet they have not this honest heart : Yea they may hear the word so as to bring forth a Blade , and yet not have this honest heart . By this honest heart I take therefore to be meant this , A heart that deals squarely and truly with God , behaving it self in a beseeming manner sutable to that authority and excellency that there is in the Word of God. As now for example : 1 First , Amongst men he is accounted an honest man that deals squarely and truly with men in all actions ; such a man you will say is an honest man , as honest a man as ever broke bread ; that is , one that will deal squarely with men , not only in one thing , but turn him to any thing , and you shall find a proportion between one action and another : So this is an honest heart , not one that only will be forward for God in some one action wherein he may injoy himself as well as God ; but one that deals squarely with God , let God put him upon duty , upon any service , God shall find him still to be the same man : Put him upon an easie service ( as many will imbrace that ) or put him upon a difficult service , it is all one if it be the mind of God ; you shall find him square in every thing , though he be put upon that which he is like to suffer very much in , yet he goes on according to his principles . An honest heart is one that hath received gracious principles , and accordingly he acteth , all the world cannot take him off from his principles of godlinesse that the Lord hath put into his heart . 2 Secondly , An honest man is one that provides things honest before men , that doth all things in a seemly way in all those relations that he hath unto others , that we account honesty : So when a mans behaviour towards the word is such as doth beseem the word of that God with whom he hath to deal , That look what excellency , what glory , there is in the word of God , such a sutable behaviour there is in the heart of a man to it , this is an honest heart . So that there are those two things , when a man is square with God in one thing as wel as another , and when there is a sutablenesse in the behaviour of the Soul to what excellency there is in the word , when the heart of man will not abuse the word at all , but behaves its self honestly , according unto the gravity , holinesse , and weight that there is in the word . And thus now with such a good and honest heart we are to receive the word if we will Sanctifie Gods Name in it . 10 A tenth particular is this , If we will Sanctifie Gods name in the word we must hide the word in our hearts , we must not only heart the word but keep it , preserve it , and then do we declare that we account the word of God to be worth something indeed ; For what is it to Sanctifie God ( as we have opened before in the general ) but such a behaviour towards him as may testifie the excellency of the name of God , so the behaviour of the Soul in hearing the word must be such as may give a testimony to the excellency of the word and manifest the high esteem I have of it . Now if I received a thing that is of great value , if I slight it , and let any body take it from me I do not give a testimony to the excellency of that thing , but if I take it and lock it up , and so keep it under lock and key I do thereby give a testimony of the esteem that I have of the excellency of that thing , so now , When I come to hear the word , and meet with truths that have gotten into my Soul I close with them , and am resolved within my heart as I am hearing of them , well this truth I will keep through Gods grace , this concerns me , and I will make much of it , and although I forget other things , yet I hope I shall remember this to Sanctifie Gods name in hearing of the word , In Isa . 42. 23. Hear ( saith the holy Ghost there ) for the time to come ? When we come to the word we must not only hearken for the present , as many of us while we are hearing , our hearts are stirr'd for the present , Oh that we could but have that affection of heart alwaies as we have when we are hearing of the word , how many of you have said when you have been hearing such a sermon , Oh then me thought I could have gone through fire and water for God ? I but mark it , you must hear for afterwards . And in Psa . 119. 11. There the prophet David profest that he did hide the word in his heart , the word was sweet unto him , Thy word saith he have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee . You that come and hear those truths upon the Lords day if you would hide them thus in your hearts and keep them all the week , they would help you against the many temptations that you meet withall , you go abroad on the week daies into company , and there you meet with a temptation and it overcomes you , and you complain , Alas I am weak , I have met with a temptation and it hath foyld me ? But had you hid the word that you heard on the Lords day in your heart , it would have kept you from the strength of your temptation that it should not have overcome you , those that are truly godly they have a care to hide the word in their hearts , when they hear it , they think , this word shall help me against such and such sins which I am prone to by nature , and when a temptation comes to that sin I hope I shall have use of the word that I have heard this day ; As now suppose you hear a word against passion , then you should hide that word in your hearts against that time that temptation comes to passion , And you hear a word against sensuallity and abuse of the creatures you should hide that word , against that temptation cometh , And you hear a word against unrighteousnesse and unjust dealings , when a temptation comes to that sin you should hide that word against that time , So you hear a word that speaks of obedience to parents , and servants duties to governors , now you should hide that word in your hearts against that time , I have hid thy word in my heart that I might not sin against thee . You say that you would fain withstand and not be overcome with temptations ? why here is the way , hide the word within thee that thou mayest not sin against him ; And so in Pro. 2. 1. you have a Scripture to the same purpose , about hiding the commandements within us . And then in 1 Joh. 2. 14. I write unto you young men because you are strong , and the word of God abideth in you and ye have overcome the wicked one . I have written to you young men , you are youug , you have strong natures , and so strength of nature for God , But how comes this to passe ? You are strong and the word of God abideth in you ; here is an excellent Scripture for all young men , you have your memories fresh , and if you will exercise your memories about any thing it should be in the word of God , it is a comely and an excellent thing to see young ones to have the word of God abiding in them , that if you come to them , not only a week but a month after they have heard the word they are able to give you an account of it : I am verily perswaded that there are many young ones in this place , that are able to give you old ones , If you ask them , an account of what it is to Sanctifie Gods name in the duties of worship and why ? because the word of God abideth in them , It is the honour of young men to have the word of God to abide in them , and hereby they overcome the wicked one . And on the other side many young people that do come to hear the word , it may be they are drawn to it by others , or it may be they love to have a walk in the morning , but the word of God abideth not in them , and therefore when the wicked one comes with temptations the week after they are overcome by him , but those that have the word of God abiding in them they overcome the wicked one . And so in Job . 8. 31. you have a very remarkable Scripture for this purpose of keeping the word after we have heard it . Then said Jesus to those which beleeved on him , if you continue in my word then are you my Disciples indeed . I beseech you observe it , It is said that the Jewes did beleeve in Christ , and yet saith Christ If ye continue in my word then are you my Disciples , why , were they not the Disciples of Christ that did beleeve in him ? By this beleeving therefore we must understand some kind of general notion that they had of Christ , they began to think that Christ might be the true Messias , some kind of imperfect beleeving they had , but they were not throughly brought off , now saith Christ , If you continue in my word , you are my Disciples . As if he should say , Do not you think it enough that you come to hear me , and that you are taken by what I say ; you must continue in my word , and then you are my Disciples : Christ will not own that man or woman to be his Disciple that doth not continue in his word . O that you would consider of this , you that satisfie your selves in having some flashes of your affections when you are hearing the word , but do not think that you are the Disciples of Christ because of them , In Tit. 1. 9. Holding fast the faithfull word as you have been taught , that is the thing you should labour for , to hold fast the faithful word , hold it fast , that it may not be taken from you , and so you shall come to Sanctifie the name of God in the hearing of his word . 11 The last that I shall speak to is this , If thou wouldest Sanctifie the Name of God in hearing his word , turn it into practice , or otherwise the Name of God is blasphemed , or at least is taken in vain by thee if thou doest not turn what thou hearest into practice : So you have it in Jam. 1. 22. He that is not a forgetfull hearer but a doer of the word , this man ( saith he ) shall be blessed in his deed . And vers . 22. Be ye doers of the word , and not hearers only deceiving your own selves . The word here that is translated Deceiving your own selves , it s a word taken from Logicians , and signifies to make a false Sylogisme . A man that hears the Word and doth not do it , he doth as it were reason thus , Those that do come to Church ( as we use to say ) those surely are Religious people , but I come to Sermons and therefore I am Religious : Now this is a false reasoning , and thou doest but cozen thy self . Be not a hearer only , but a doer of the word , that thou maiest not deceive thine own soul . So in Rom. 2. 3. Thinkest thou this O man that judgest them that do such things , & doest the same , that thou shalt escape the judgement of God ? As if he should say , You have the word , and you are able to judge thereby what you hear , but yet still you are wicked in your lives ; this is dispising of the riches of the goodnesse of God towards you . And in Phillipians 2. 16. you have a remarkable text where the holy Ghost saith of the Philipians , That he would have them hold forth the word of Life . It were a most excellent thing if it might be said of this Congregation , that as they come diligently to hear , and are willing to take pains to get out of their beds so earely in the mornings , so all the week after they hold forth the word of God. You that are servants it may be your masters are naught , and the families naught from whence you come : now when you go home , though it may be they will not let you repeate the Sermon , yet you are to hold forth the Sermon in your practice and conversation : How is the Name of God glorified when we hold forth his word ! this is to let , not only your light shine , but the light of the word shine before men that they may behold it and glorifie your Father which is in heaven . So that now put all these Eleaven Particulars together , and then you have made good that expression we find in Act. 13. 48. That the word of God was glorified . And to the same purpose we have another expression in 2 Thess . 3. 1. Finally , brethren , Pray for us , that the word of the Lord may have free course , and be glorified even as it is with you . This is the commendation of a people , that they do glorifie the word of God : I beseech you brethren , in the Name of Jesus Christ this morning that you that are hearers of the Word would glorifie the Word , and glorifie the Name of God in the word ; Oh that not one of you would be a disgrace or shame to the word of God ; this is the charge that God this morning laies upon you , as ever you expect to receive any good from the word , or to look upon the face of God with comfort whose word this is : do not be a shame to his Word , and to the Ministers of his word . Put all these things together , I say , and learn to make conscience of Sanctifying Gods Name in hearing the Word , that so there may be none of you that may give any just occasion to others to say , Is this to hear Sermons ? Do you get nothing else but this by hearing Sermons ? If you should open the mouths of men to say so of you , the Word of God as much as lies in you would be disgraced by you ; you should rather think thus , It were better for me that I should die , and that I were under the ground and rotting there , then that the Word of God should ever be disgraced by me : Let me hold forth the glory of the Word , the Word is that that hath done good to my soul ; the Word is that that I would not for ten thousand worlds but have heard it , and shall I disgrace this Word ? shall I give any occasion that this word of the Lord should be spoken ill of by reason of me ? O God forbid . Therefore if you regard not your selves and your own honour , yet regard the honour of the Word ; If ever you have got any good by the Word you should go away with this resolution , Well , I will labour all the daies of my life to honour this Word of God that I have got so much good by : If this were but the resolution of every one of your hearts this morning , it would be a blessed mornings work . SERMON X. LEVITICUS . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . NOW follow the Reasons why God stands so much upon it that he will have his Name Sanctified in this Ordinance of Hearing his Word . 1 First , It is because there is so much of God in his Word , and therefore we should Sanctifie Gods Name . If it were possible there could be sin in heaven , that sin would be greater then sin committed here ; therefore the sin of the Angels when they were in Gods presence in a more especial manner was the greater : The name of God being in any thing , the greater will be the evill if we do not sanctifie Gods Name in it ; now there is very much of God in his word , more of God there , then in all his works of Creation and Providence . In Ps . 138. 2. Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name : There being therefore so much of God in his word , we must Sanctifie the Name of God in it . 2 Secondly , God hath appointed his Word to be the great Ordinance to convey the special mercies that he intends for the good of his people . That we spake to before in the generall , in shewing how the duties of Gods Worship are as a channel for the conveyance of speciall good to the Saints : But none more then the Word , that 's the Ordinance to convey the First Grace to those that belong to Gods election . The Sacrament is for frengthning , and therefore there is rather more in the Word then in the Sacrament , and yet every one thinks in conscience that he is bound to come carefully to the Sacrament , and to look to Sanctifie Gods Name there . It is an easier matter to convince men and women , that they are bound to Sanctifie the name of God when they come to receive the holy Communion , then for the hearing of the Word : they think not so much of that , but certainly the Word is appointed to be an Ordinance . of conveying more blessing then the Sacrament , because it is appointed to convey the first Grace , and to convey strength of Grace as well as the Sacrament : Now being appointed to convey such great things to the souls of the elect , both the first grace and strengthning of grace , and comfort , and assistance thereof , the Lord expects to have his Name Sanctified in it . 3 Thirdly , The Name of God must be sanctified in the Word , because the word is very quick and lively , it works men or women to life or death , to salvation or damnation . In Heb. 4. 12. The word of God is quick and powerfull , and sharper then any two edged sword , peircing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit , &c. It is very quick of opperation the text saith ; that is , when God hath to deal with men by his word , he will not stand dallying and trifling with them , but he is very quick with them , either to bring their souls to life , or to cast them away . The time of mens ignorance God winks at , but now he cals all men to repent . Let them look to it now , God did forbear in the time of ignorance , but he will not forbear so when the word comes , Now is the Ax laid to the root of the tree : And when was that ? When John Baptist came to preach repentance because the kingdom of heaven is at hand . Though the tree were barren before , and did not bring forth good fruit , yet it might stand still and not be cut down ; but when the powerfull ministration of the Word comes , then the Ax is laid to the root of the Tree ; either now come in and be saved , or resist the word and perish : And therfore that is very observable when Christ sends out his Disciples to preach , in Mark 16. 15 , 16. saith he , Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature , and he that beleeveth and is Baptized shall be saved ; but he that beleeveth not shall be damned . As if he should say , There shall be quick work made with them , go and preach , & those that belong to my election shall be brought in to beleeve and be saved , and the others shall be damned : As if God should say , If they will come in and imbrace the Gospel they shall be saved , If they will not , they shall be damned , and there is an end of them : So that I say , we have need to look to it that we sanctifie the Name of God in his Word upon these Three Grounds . Because there is so much of God in his word . Because he hath appointed it to convey the greatest Mercies to his Saints . And because God is very quick in his Word , one way or other . We shall now proceed to the Application of this Point : And , First by way of reprehension to all those that do not Sanctifie Gods name in hearing the word , and herein we shall shew their fearful condition , and how God will Sanctifie his name upon them in waies of judgement , and then when we come to the use of exhortation , to exhort you to Sanctifie the name of God , there we shall shew you likewise how God will Sanctifie his name in waies of mercy upon those that do Sanctifie him in waies of obedience in hearing of his word . 1 For the first : Certainly if that be to Sanctifie the name of God that we have spoken of ; Gods name is but very little Sanctified by people that do come to hear his word , and we have no cause to wonder that there is so little good got by the word , because there are so few that make conscience to Sanctifie Gods name in hearing it ; Some there are that are so far from Sanctifying Gods name in it , as they altogether neglect it , and make it a matter of nothing whither they come to hear it or no : Saith Christ in Joh. 8. 47. He that is of God heareth my word , ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God. Certainly he that hath the knowledge of God and any interest in God , and that belongs unto him , nothing is more sweet to him then the hearing of his word , but because ye are not of God ( saith Christ ) therefore you hear not his word . Those men and women that have no interest in God , but live without God in this world , they regard not to hear his word . O how many have we that belong to this place that do so ! How many live without God in the world , and do declare to all the world that they are not of God ? they have no part nor portion in God in that they hear not his word . Some there are that come to hear it , but they come to hear it as a meer matter of indifferency , in a meer formall and customary way , or for companies sake , or to give content to others : These are poor and low ends , thou shouldest come to hear the word as expecting God should speak to thy Soul for the furtherance of thy eternal good , but your consciences may tell you what vain and wandring hearts you have , when you come to hear it . The eies of the fool ( saith Solomon ) are in all the corners of the earth , up and down wandring , little minding that you are come to hear God himself speak to you in the Ministry of man. And if so be that it be minded , yet ordinarily the hearts of men do put off the word , and if it come any thing neer to them they think to shift it from themselves to others . We have a notable Scripture in Heb. 12. 25. for such men as shift off Gods word when it comes many times very neer to them : See that ye refuse not him that speaketh : for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth , much more shall not we escape , if we turn away from him which speaketh from heaven : See that ye refuse not him that speaks the word , see that you do not put him off : And that that is the signification of it : If you compare it with Luke , 12. 18. you shall find that there is the same word used , where speaking of those that were invited to the supper , it is said , They all with one consent began to make excuse , they began to shift it off , that is the same word : O take heed of this that when you are hearing the word and Christ comes and speaks to your hearts , and you begin to think that it may concern you , and your consciences begin to stir , take heed that you do not shift him off , take heed that you do not put away the word from you by any kind of pretence whatsoever . It may be you will say , If I were certain it were the word of God , and that God spake to me , God forbid but that I should submit unto it . But though it may be the hearts of men are not so notoriously rebellious as to resolve to sin against the word , which they will acknowledge to be the word of God , yet this is the deceit of the heart , when the heart hath no mind to obey , it will shift off the word , and have pretences , and put offs , O take heed that you do not shift oft him that speaks from heaven by making any kind of excuse whatsoever , but when thou hearest , if the word of God come to thy conscience , do not listen to vain reasonings that are against it . Others there are that cannot tell how to shift off the word but it will come upon them when they are hearing , it may be they are a little stirr'd , but it is presently gone , so that they are far from houlding the word , far from keeping it in their hearts . Oh how many of you have been stirr'd when you have been hearing the word , and how happy had it been for you if you had hid those words in your heart that the Lord hath spoken to you in the Ministry of it . If you had but the Invitations of the Spirit now that sometimes you have had , how happy were it for you ? But it is with many in hearing the word , just as with you Marriners when you are to go aboard , your friends come with you , take their leaves of you , and then you see them stand upon the shore a while , but when you sail a little further your friends are out of sight , and then you see only the shore , you sayl on a little further , and then you see only the houses , you sayl a little further and then you see only the steeples and such high places , and you sayl yet a little further and then you see nothing but the Ocean : So it is in hearing the word ; It may be when you go home there are some things fresh in your minds , but on the munday morning you have lost some , but then there are some others that do yet present themselves before you , and then you loose more and more until you have lost the sight of all : all truthes are gone , you see no more of the word , as if you had never heard it ; this is not to Sanctifie Gods name , you should treasure up the word as the most rich treasure that may be . Another sort to be rebuked are those , who are so far from falling down before the Lord to receive the word with meeknesse , as they can blesse themselves in their wicked waies , notwithstanding the word comes and meets with them . I only name this because of that notable Scripture we have , In Deut. 29 , 18 , 19. saith Moses there to them , Take heed , lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood , ( what 's that root that beareth gall and wormwood ? ) And it come to passe when he heareth the words of this curse , that he blesse himself in his heart , saying , I shall have peace , though I walk in the imagination of my heart , &c. Take heed there be not among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood ; This is a bitter root in mens hearts , when they can hear the word of God , and have their hearts rise aganst it , and think with themselves that there is no such matter , these are but meer words , but meer wind , let the Minister say what he will , and talk as long as he will , I will go on in my way , I shall do well enough , that which he saith it is but his opinion , I say when men can blesse themselves thus in their way , and when there are such tumultuous and rebellious thoughts rising in their hearts , this is a root of gall and wormwood , and take heed of it , it will bring forth bitter fruit one day . But I should quickly be prevented if I should lanch into this argument , to reprove the several waies of sinning against God in the hearing of his word . And therefore I leave those and come to shew what a fearful thing it is for men and women not to Sanctifie the name of God in the hearing of his word , that so you may see that God will have his name Sanctified upon them . And they are these ; 1 In the first place , You that do not Sanctifie Gods name in hearing his word in those waies that have been opened to you , first you loose the greatest and happiest opportunity of good that ever creatures had , for an outward opportunity : indeed when God moves by his Spirit if that be neglected , that opportunity is more then meerly hearing the word , but otherwise except it be at such a time when God adds his Spirit together with his word ; I say you that are cast by the providence of God in such a place where the word of the Gospel is preached to you , applied and urged upon you , if you Sanctifie not the name of God , to hear as you ought and to profit by it , I say you lose the greatest opportunity for good that is in the world ? Oh what hast thou lost that hast lived many yeers under the Ministry of the Gospel , and yet hast not been acquainted with this mystery of godliness in sanctifying Gods name in the word . There are many thousand souls that are and shall be blessing God to all eternity for what of God they have met with all in the word , but thou hast fifteen under it stupid as a block , dead and barren , and no good hath been done ; Wherefore is there a prize in the hand of a fool , and he hath no heart to get wisedome ? this will lie upon thee heavy one day , the losse of such an opportunity , and that is the first . 2 In the Second place , know that this word that is appointed by God for the conveyance of so much mercy to his elect , it will prove to be the greatest aggravation of thy sin that can be : This is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men love darknesse rather then light : This is [ The ] condemnation . If so be that light had not come among you , then the condemnation had not been so great your sin had not bin so great , & your punishment had not bin so great . In Mat. 10. 14 , 15. where speaking of those that did injoy the word , and yet did not sanctifie Gods Name in it . Whosoever shall not receive you ( saith Christ to his Disciples ) nor hear your words , when ye depart out of that house or City , shake off the dust of your feet ; Verely I say unto you , it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorah in the day of judgement then for that City . It is a most dreadfull Scripture ; their very dust must be shaken off in token of indignation , and it shall be more easie for the Land of Sodom and Gomorah in the day of judgment , then for that place : You would be very loth to be in a worse condition then Sodom and Gomorah that was consumed by fire from heaven , And now suffer the vengeance of eternall fire , Jude 7. Certainly they shall not be so deep in judgments as those that live under the Ministry of the word and sanctifie not the Name of God in it . Your sin is of a deeper dye , then the sin of the Heathens , yea and in some respects then the sin of the Devils , they never had the word of the Gospel sent to be preached to them and therefore this will aggravate your sin not only beyond heathens but beyond devils . Look to it then , that Gods Name be Sanctified in the hearing of his Word . 3. Thirdly , Know that so much as the word is rejected , Jesus Christ is rejected : Luk. 10. 16. He that despiseth you despiseth me , and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me . It is Christ himself that is rejected when the word is rejected , thou hast not to do with man so much as with Jesus Christ in the hearing of the word : And the power of Jesus Christ is to be put forth either to do the good by the word , or to avenge thy neglect of the word : Therefore in Matt. 28. 18 , 19. when Christ sends forth his Disciples to preach , he makes this preface , All power is given unto me in heaven and earth , go ye therefore and teach : As if he should say , I having received all power in heaven and earth , through the power I received I send you to preach , and I 'le be with you to the end of the world : that is , All power in heaven and earth shall go along with you to assist your Ministry , either for the good of those that shall imbrace it , or for the Misery of those that shall reject it ; So that whosoever stands out against the Ministry of the Word , stands out against all the power in heaven and earth that is given to Christ : Do not think that thou doest resist a poor weak mortall man , but thou doest resist all the power in heaven and earth . And is not this a dreadfull thing then , to be guilty of not sanctifying of Gods Name ? 4 Fourthly , It is an Argument of extreame hardnesse of heart not to be wrought upon by the word . Luk. 16. 31. If they hear not Moses and the Prophets , neither will they be perswaded though one rose from the dead , saith Abraham . Certainly that man or woman that shall not be wrought upon by the word so as to Sanctifie Gods Name in it , I say to such , If one should rise from the dead they would not have their hearts wrought upon , and therefore much lesse are they like to be wrought upon by afflictions . It may be some of you think when you are upon your sick beds then you will repent ; no surely , if this that is the great Ordinance to bring men to God shall not work upon you so as God shall be honoured in it ; you cannot expect that sicknesse and affliction should do it , no if one should come from the dead to tell you of all the miseries that were there , certainly if the word work not upon you , that will not do it . But you will say , One would think that there should be more power to work upon the heart : truly no , because that is not such an Ordinance appointed by God for working such great works upon the hearts and consciences of men , as the word is : It is true , the word is but a weak thing in it self , but here lies the strength , that it is an Ordinance of God appointed for to work upon the hearts of men therefore if this work not upon you to give God glory in the hearing it ; there is no other means is like to do it . 5 Fiftly , When the word works not upon men , it is a dreadful sign of Reprobation If our Gospel be hid ( saith the Apostle in 2 Cor. 4. 3. ) it is hid to those that are lost . It is a dreadfull Argument that here is a lost creature , one that God intends no good to . One the Lord works upon , perhaps he lets passe another , one in a family and not in another . Now where it is so that the word worketh not , I say , there is no such dreadfull brand of Reprobation as this is . It is true , we cannot give any certain sign of Reprobation ; therefore I cannot say of any man , he hath now such a mark upon him as doth evidently prove that he is a Reprobate ; we cannot tell that , because we know not what God may do afterwards , but we may say this , That it is as dreadfull a sign as any . There are not any more dreadfull signs then these two . First , For a man to be suffered to prosper in a sinful course ; For God to let men go on and have their hearts desire satisfied in an ungodly way . And then Secondly , For the Lord to leave them to themselves , so as the Ministry of the word shall not work upon them , that they shall be by Gods providence so disposed of , as to live under a faithfull and powerful Ministry , and that it should not work upon them : These are the two blackest signs of Reprobation : and therefore it is a most dreadfull thing to sit under the Ministry of the word and not to sanctifie Gods Name in it . 6 In the next place , Surely there can be nothing Sanctified to thee who doest not sanctifie Gods Name in his word . The Scripture saith , That every thing is sanctified by the Word and Prayer . And how canst thou expect that the word should sanctifie any thing to thee , seeing that thou doest not make conscience of Sanctifying Gods name in the word ? The godly think thus , 'T is the word that must Sanctifie all things to my Soul , and I had need then sanctifie Gods name in that from which I expect the sanctified use of all blessings . You therefore that can fit under it , and make not conscience of sanctifying Gods name in it , I say you cannot expect no sanctified use of any thing that you have in this world . 7 Such as do not sanctifie Gods name in the word , are very nigh to a curse : There is a notable Scripture for this in Heb. 6. 7 , 8. where the Apostle compares the word to the rain that fals upon the ground , For the earth that drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it , and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed , receiveth blessing from God : But ( saith he ) that which beareth thorns and briers , is rejected and is nigh unto cursing , whose end is to be burned . The meaning is this plainly . The rain here is the word , and the good hearers they are like the ground that receive the rain and bring forth fruit , and receive a blessing : But now ill hearers that do not sanctifie Gods name in his word , they are like ground that receive the rain as much as the other , hear as many Sermons as the other , but they bring forth nothing but thorns and briers ; and mark what a dreadfull expression is against them ; First , It is rejected . Secondly , It is nigh to cursing . Thirdly , Whose end is 〈◊〉 burned . Thou rejectest the word , doest thou ? The Lord rejecteth thy Soul. If thou hast no need of the word , the word hath no need of thee it is a dreadfull thing to be rejected of God. And then , thou art nigh unto cursing : It may be the Lord may for the time withdraw himself from the Soul , and manifest that it is as it were rejected ; but yet the Soul hath not the curse of God upon it , to say , Well , let this Soul perish for ever : but some there are that are under an actual curse , and saith God , Well , my Word shall never do good to this ●oul , such a one hath sate under it thus long , and hath rejected it , my word shall never do good to him : Like as in Luk. 14. where those that made excuses when they were bidden to the Supper , the text saith at length , That the Master of the feast was angry , ( which was God himself that invited them by the Gospel to partake of his Son ; and when men would not come in but make excuses , and refused the offer of the Gospel , ) Verily ( saith he ) none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my Supper . They shall never partake of any good of the Gospel . This is a dreadfull curse . Now the Lord deliver you from having this curse pronounced against you , but yet I beseech you tremble at this Scripture in the Hebrews , They are nigh to cursing . Who knows how nigh some soul in this place may be to this curse , for God to say , This soul hath been often invited , and yet hath made excuses and put off all , he shall never taste of my Supper , of the good things in Jesus Christ , the word that hath been so rejected shall never do them good more ; you had better never been born then to have this curse actually upon you . Oh fear and tremble lest your condition be such as to be nigh to cursing : Who knows what a day , a week may bring forth ? It may be the Lord may spare and be willing to passe by the neglect of former Sermons ; but who knows what the next actuall rebellion against the Lord in his word may do to bring the curse upon thee ? And then if so , the next part of the verse will prove to be thy portion , Whose end is to be burned . Oh! It is a dreadfull thing to sin against the Word : God stands much upon it . 8 Eightly , Know that if Gods name be not Sanctified in it , the end that God hath appointed it for , will be turned quite contrary to thee ; The proper end that God hath appointed his word for , it is to save souls , but now , where Gods name is not Sanctified it is turned quite contrary , so the Apostle in 2 Cor. 2. 16. To the one we are the savour of death unto death , and to the other the savour of life unto life : It is a dreadful thing that the good word of God in which there is such treasures of Gods mercy , wherein the counsels of God , concerning mans eternal estates comes to be revealed , that this should prove to be the favour of death unto death , unto any soul , that is , to have such an efficacy in it , as to kill them by the very scent of it as it were ; As some things have such a poyson in them , as the very scent is enough to poyson one . So saith the Apostle , to some our word hath that efficacy being turned quite to the contrary end some souls are sav'd , and are and shal be blessing God to al eternity for the word , and thy soul is dam'd by the word , so as thou wilt hereafter curse the time that ever thou camest to hear it : That will be a dreadful thing that the same word that others shall be blessing of God eternally in heaven for ; that thou shalt be cursing eternally in hell for , it will be turned to the quite contrary end , If it works not in the right way it will work the other , the truth is , it hardens mens hearts if it brings them not to God ; there is nothing that doth harden the hearts of men more then the Ministry of the word : yet by accident , not by its self , there is no men in the world have such hard hearts as those that are wicked under the Ministry of the word ; It is not only an argument that their hearts are hard , but they are hardened by it : That in Isa . 6. 9. 10. is remarkable for this , and the rather because I find it so often quoted by Christ , I think it is quoted three or four times in the Gospel , And he said go and tell this people , hear ye indeed , but understand not , and see ye indeed but perceive not ; Make the heart of this people fat , and make their eares heavy , and shut their eyes , lest they see with their eyes , and hear with their eares , and understand with their heart , and convert and be healed . This is a strange Scripture , what must a Prophet go to them , to make their hearts fat , and to shut their eyes , why , the word is appointed to open mens eyes , but here the Prophet is sent to shut their eyes that they might not be converted , this is dreadful , this is for the punishment of some former neglect of the word of God sent unto this people , above all Judgements you should be afraid of this ; It is not so much that a fire should be upon your houses , as that God should make his word to be a means to harden your hearts . In Ezek. 14. we have a dreadful expression to this purpose by the Prophet there , where the Lord saith , that the people did come to inquire of him , with setting up their Idols in their hearts , but saith God , I will answer them according to their Idoll . If men come to the Ministry of the word with their beloved sins , and resolve that they will not part with them , the Lord many times in his just judgment suffers some things in the word to be accidentally a means to harden them in that sin of theirs , I will answer them according to their Idoll , those men are in a dreadful estate whose hearts come to be hardened by the word . 9 Ninthly , If thou doest not Sanctifie Gods name in the hearing of the word , what comfort canst thou ever have by the word in the day of thy affliction ? certainly when the day of thy affliction comes , then there is nothing can comfort thee but the word . Vnlesse thy law had been my delight ( saith David ) I should then have perished in mine affliction , but thou having been exercised in the word so much and Gods name not Sanctifed , thou must not expect to have thy soul comforted in the day of thy affliction . No marvail then though the word hath been applied again and again to your hearts , and nothing would stick : I remember it was an expression of one in a great deal of terror of conscience many came to apply comfortable Scriptures to him , and he himself for a while did take those Scriptures and lay them upon his heart to passifie his troubled conscience , but a little before he dyed , he cries out with a most fearful terror , there is a fair plaister made but it will 〈◊〉 on , it will not stick on , so dyed despairing ; so there is in the word such a plaister as may help a wounded and troubled conscience , but 〈◊〉 thou expect that hast not Sanctified Gods name in thy life time that it shall stick upon thy soul in the day of thy affliction ? never expect it , for the Lord hath said otherwise , Prov. 1. Because when I cryed and call'd ye would not hear , you shall cry and call and I will not hear ; The Lord in his word cries to thee , Oh thou sinful soul who art going on in the waies of sin and eternal destruction , Return , return , that is the way that will bring thee to eternal miseries , but here is the way that will bring thee to life and eternal salvation : Thus the Lord cries and cals to day to day , and thou stoppest thy eare , Oh how just is it with God to stop his eare from thy crying and calling in the day of thy affliction . 10 Further , Know that thou that doest not Sanctifie the name of God in his word , that all the word of God will be made good one day upon thee , God hath his time to magnifie his Law and to make it honorable Isa . 42. 21. You sight Gods Law , you slight his word , and despise it , but God will magnifie it and make it honorable , there is not any sentence that thou hast heard in the word , but it shall be made good , whatsoever becomes of thy soul , Thou thinkest that God is a merciful God & he will not damn thee ; but though God be merciful & hath regard to his creatures , yet the Lord hath ten thousand times more regard to his word then to all the souls of men and women in the world , and God will stand to make that good , he will not have such regard to that wretched vile sinful soul of thine as not to honour his word , he will honour his word whatsoever becomes of thee , and all that thou hast heard and rejected shall be made good upon thee one day . 11 Again the word that thou doest reject and sin against , it shall be the word that shall judge thee , Joh. 12. 48. Look to it as well as you will : this book of God out of which we preach , and those truths that we delivered to you from this word , they must be called over again at the great day to judge your souls by , the sentence of every one of your eternall estates must be tryed out of this book : Oh look upon it as the word that must judge your Souls at the last day , and then you will see it a dreadfull thing not to sanctifie Gods Name in it . And then when the word doth judge you , you shall obey it whether you will or no. Now the word convinces you and you will not obey it ; but when God comes to judge you by the word , then you shall obey it : Then when God comes to read that sentence out of the word , Go ye cursed into everlasting fire : then I say you shall be forced to obey it . 12 Lastly , There is yet one thing more ( which should have been mentioned before ) which is very remarkable ; That those men which do not sanctifie Gods Name in his word , they will be blasted , even here while they live their parts and common gifts that they yet have will be blasted , wither , and come to nothing . We find it ordinarily , that many that are young , had very good beginnings , and very good parts , that were very hopefull , and would speak very favourly where they came , afterwards beginning by degrees to neglect the Word , the Lord hath blasted them , their gifts have withered , the common gifts of the Spirit have been taken from them . I will give you one Text for that in Luk. 8. 18. Take heed therefore how ye hear . ( It is an Exhortation that follows upon the parable of the Sower that went out to sow ) because it is so that when the word is sowen as seed , there is so little of it doth prosper , and most hearers do not Sanctifie Gods name in it , therefore look to your selves : Why ? For whosoever hath , to him shall be given ; and whosoever hath not , from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have . You had need look to your selves how you hear , for the truth is , all depends upon it under God , have you got any common gifts of the Spirit of God , or any abilities to do any service for God ? do not be proud of them , neither be jolly , nor think that you are able to do better then others , and that those are but ordinary things that the Minister speaks , and you are gotten into a higher forme . Look to your selves , take heed you come not to the word with a proud Spirit , be not offended at the plainnesse of the word , take heed how you hear ; for if you do not , that that you seem to have shall be taken from you saith Christ : You seem to have excellent gifts yea you seem to have grace too , but take heed how you hear for all this , whatsoever parts you have got , though you be highly esteemed in the company where you come , and you are able to do things more then others , yet I say , Take heed how you hear , for otherwise that that you have will be taken away from you : have have we not seen this in our own experience ? and it is apparent that they began to be withered and to be blasted by neglecting of the Word . And therefore I beseech you look to this , that you do Sanctifie the name of God in his word , and let your hearts bow unto it as unto the Ordinance of God , and waite upon it in the Ministry of it , lest you wither and be blasted and come to nothing . And thus I have shewen the great evill of not Sanctifying Gods Name , and how God will be Sanctified . I shall be very brief in the Use of Exhortation . Oh that the Lord by this would cause some thing to stick upon your hearts , that what hath been preached in this point may be made usefull for many Sermons afterwards ! that it might be said of you in this place as it was said of them in Act. 13. 48. When the Gentiles heard this they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord , and as many as were ordained to eternall life beleeved ! Oh that God would make every one of you to be a means to glorifie the word of God! That should be our care that the word of God may be glorified by us ; we come to hear the word , but take heed that the word of God be not dishonoured by us , In 2 Thess . 3. 1. Finally Brethren pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free course , and be glorified , even as it is with you ; Oh that we were able to say so ! and yet through Gods mercy in some degree we hope we can say so and I could heartily pray that the word of God might be glorified in all places as it hath been with many of you ; but yet go on in this , and labour every one of you that it may be more glorified , that you may manifest the power of the word in your conversations , that all that do behold you may glorifie the word and say , Oh what hath the Lord wrought in such a place , in such families , families that were wretched , vild , carnal , and liv'd without God in the world , Prophane , Swearers , foul-mouth'd , Unclean ; Now since they have attended upon the word , how hath it wrought upon them ! what a change is there in such men and women ! That the carnal husband may say , since such time as my wife hath attended upon the word I have seen a Beauty in her conversation , shee is more holy , more gentle , and meek ; and so my servant , more submissive and faithful , and so my children more obedient then before ; Oh that the word may be thus glorified ! Take heed I beseech you that the word be not blasphemed by any of you : In Tit. 2. 5. there the Apostle gives divers exhortations , and among others to wives , and to servants : To be 〈◊〉 chast● keepers at home , good , obedient to their own husbands , that the 〈◊〉 God be not blasphemed , you must perform your duties unto your husbands , and why ? that so the word of God be not blasphemed , that is , that neither your husbands , nor any of your friends may blasphem the word , and say , what , do you get this by going to sermons ? Oh it should peirce your hearts when as your consciences tell you that you have given cause whereby the word of God should be blasphemed : and so he exhorts servants and others , and all in the strength of this argument , that the word of God be not blasphemed : you get up early in a morning to hear the word , that 's good , but take heed you give no occasion that the word be blasphemed : Now , I shall shew what an excellent thing it is so to Sanctifie Gods name in the hearing of his word , as to honour it , and how God will Sanctifie his owne name in mercy to you . 1 First , All the good in the word is thine if thou doest Sanctifie Gods name . There is aboundance of good in this word that we preach , it is the word of the Gospel , and to have all the good in that to be thine , that must needs be an excellent thing ; you will say , some times I read and hear such things in the word that if I were but sure that these things were my portion how happy should I be ? Here 's one sign by which thou mayest be assured that they are all thy portion : Is it thy unfained care to Sanctifie Gods name in the hearing of his word ? Oh peace be to thee , all the good in the word is thine : And here we might fall into a comendation of the word of the Gospel , and if I should give way to that a great deal of time would quickly be gone , I will only give you one Scripture for your encouragement to Sanctifie Gods name in the hearing of his word by way of comendation of it . It is Rom. 10. 5. ( a place I am afraid you have not had the sweetnesse of it for the want of understanding it ) It is quoted out of Deut. For Moses describeth the Righteousness which is of the Law , that the man which doth those things shall live by them . But the Righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise ; Say not in thine heart who shall ascend into heaven , that is , to bring Christ down from above , or who shall descend into the deep , that is , to bring Christ again from the dead ? But what saith it ? the word is nigh thee , even in thy mouth and in thy heart , that is the word of faith which we preach . The text hath some difficulty and yet exceeding sweet to us to know it ; I confesse if the Apostle Paull had not quoted this place out of Deut. and thus interpreted it , who could ever have thought in reading of Deut. that by the one had been ment the word of the Law , and by the other the word of the Gospel , therefore the meaning is this , here is a comparison between the word of the Law , and the word of the Gospel , Concerning the word of the Law , there is two things wherein that comes short of the word of the Gospel . First , It is not so nigh thee . Secondly , It is not so certain to assure thy Soul what shall become of thee to all eternity : The word of the Law saith who shall ascend into heaven , &c. But the word of the Gospel is nigh thee even in thy mouth and in thy heart : You will say , Why is not the word of the Law as nigh one as the word of the Gospel ? I Answer , The word of the Law you hear it in your eares , but it is not written in the heart as the word of the Gospel is : The Law cannot work savingly upon the heart of a man to bring salvation : those that are meerly Legall they can hear the duties that are required , but that word hath no power to write in their hearts what they do hear : But now when you come to hear the word of the Gospel , that is nigh you , even in your very hearts as well as in your eares , God speaks in it , and it comes into your hearts and there it works efficaciously , which the Law cannot . The Law is but as a dead Letter in comparison of the word of the Gospel . If you come meerly to hear the Law preached , and not in an Evangellicall way , you may hear it a hundred times and it will never be written in your hearts , But when you come to hear the Gospel in an Evangellicall way , that will come to be written in your hearts : So that the word of the Gospel is nigh you : But what is the meaning of the other , Say not , who shall ascend up into heaven , & c ? The meaning is this , As if the Apostle should say , The truth is , while you have no other but the righteousnesse of the Law , you are at an infinit uncertainty about your eternal estates . The Law saith , Do and live : but you can never know when you have done enough so as to be certain that you are well for eternity . That saith , Who shall ascend into heaven to know the mind of God concerning me ? whether he will accept of me , and of that obedience and worship that I tender up to him ? Who shall go down into the deep ? Who shall go down to Hell to know there , whether that place be prepared for him or not ? It is a phrase that only expresseth an uncertainty that one cannot be satisfied about his eternall estate , except he could go to heaven and there see and read Gods book and so discover Gods mind concerning him ; or go down to hell , and so know whether that place be appointed for him or not except I can do one of these , I can not certainly tell , ( meerly by the Law ) whether I shall go to heaven or hell . As you that are Merchants and dealers abroad , you are at a great deal of uncertainty what shall become of your estates . Indeed if I could send one over to the Indies to tell me how my Ship prospered , then I could be at a certainty , then I should hear whether I were a rich man yea or no , but except I could do such a thing I am at an uncertainty : Such is the expression here . As if a poor soul should say , I would fain be saved , and loth to perish eternally ; But all the while the soul remains under the Law , it remains in an uncertain condition ; but now saith he , The Word of the Gospel is nigh thee even in thine heart ; And that is the Word that we preach , that saith , Rom. 10. 9. If thou shalt confesse with thy mouth the Lord Jesus , and shalt beleeve in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead , thou shalt be saved . As if he should say , This word of the Gospel that is come into thine heart doth assure thy soul of thy eternall estate , so that though thou canst not go up to heaven , nor go down to hell , yet thou hast that in thine heart , that doth as it were assure thee that thou shalt be eternally saved , as if thou wert able to go up to the highest heavens and fetch newes from thence . Oh now the good word of the Gospel how should we prize it , and keep it in our hearts ? for that 's in our hearts that wil assure us of our salvation to all eternity , & of Gods eternal purpose to do the good in heaven . You would account it a great happines if there could be any art to send abroad to the Straits or to other place , to know how things fare with you : but now if thou hast the word of the Gospel within thee , if that prevails in thy Soul , thou hast alwaies got something in thy heart that will tel thee how things are with thee in heaven , and what shall become of thee for all eternity . Oh who would not sanctifie the Name of God in hearing of his word , seeing it is such a blessed word wherein the Gospel is opened with more clearnesse then it hath been to many of our fore-fathers . 2 It is a certain evidence of your election , in Thess . 1. 3 , 4 , 5. Remembring without ceasing your work of Faith , and labour of love , and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ , in the sight of God and our Father ; Knowing Brethren , beloved , your election of God. Why ? For our Gospel came not to you in word only , but also in power , and in the holy Ghost , and in much assurance . And know this excellency there is in sanctifying Gods name in hearing the word , I beseech you mark it , that it is a more blessed thing , then if you did bear Jesus Christ in your wombes ; You that are women , would not you have accounted it a great happines if Christ had been borne in your wombes ? Now if thou comest to the hearing of the word , and sanctifiest Gods name in it , thou art in a better condition , and hast a greater blessing upon thee , then if thou hadest borne Jesus Christ in thy womb . In Luk. 11. 27. 28. And it came to passe as he spake these things , that a certain woman of the company lift up her voice and said unto him , Blessed is the womb that bare thee , and the paps which thou hast sucked . Seeing Christ and what gracious things came from him , she spake so ; But he said , Yea , rather blessed are they that hear the word of God & keep it . That is , Labour to sanctifie my name , ( as hath been opened in the particulars ) rather is that women blessed that do so , then the woman that bare Christ : Me thinks this one scripture should be such a scripture for women , to cause them to sanctifie Gods name in hearing of the word , instead of a hundred scriptures ; certainly thou maiest be so blessed , if thou wilt beleeve the word that comes from Christs mouth . 3 Do you sanctifie the name of God in the Word , that wil sanctifie you , by that your souls come to be sanctified , & it wil comfort you in the day of your affliction , & it will save you at last . 4 You that do sanctifie Gods name in the hearing of his Word , you will be the glory of the Ministers of God at the great day of judgement . You will be an honour to them , before the Lord , and his Saints , and Angels . In Phil. 2. 16. Holding forth ( saith the text ) the word of life . This is the duty of all the hearers of the word that they must hold forth the word of life ; when you go home , you must hold forth the power of the word you hear , well what will become of that ? That I may rejoyce in the day of Christ , that I have not runne in vain , neither laboured in vain ; Let that be one motive among the rest , saith the Apostle , this will be such a glory to me , that I in the day of Jesus Christ shall rejoyce that I have not laboured in vain , I shall blesse God for all my studies and care , and all the pains that ever I have taken , and ventring my self for this People , I shall blesse God in the day of Jesus Christ . Would it not be a comfortable thing to you , that all the Ministers of God that come to preach the word faithfully to you , If at the day of Jesus Christ you should hear them blessing God that ever he did send them to preach the Gospel in such a place , and you should hear them saying , Oh Lord , it may be had I been sent to another place I should have spent all my strength in vain , but through thy mercy I was sent to a teachable people that were ready to imbrace thy word , Oh this is my crown and glory . Would it not do good to any whose hearts are faithful to think this , that their holding forth the word of life will not only be a glory to God , which is the cheif , but it will be a glory to the Ministers , to recompence all their labours , that you shall not only be saved your selves in the day of Jesus Christ , but you shall adde to the glory of his faithful Ministers likewise when they do appear before Christ ? 5 I shall adde one particular more , There is a time coming when God shall magnifie his word before men and Angels : In I●● . 22. 21. He will magnifie his Law and make it honorable , What a joy shal it be to thee when the Lord before men and Angels shall come to magnifie his word , and make it honorable , for thee then to think ; This is the word that spoke to my heart at such and such a time , this is that word that I did reverence , that I did obey , that I did love , that I made to be the joy of my heart , this word the Lord now doth magnifie and make to be honorable ? This will be comfortable to thy Soul. The Eleventh SERMON . The Eleventh SERMON . LEVITICUS . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . THE last day we finished the point of Sanctification of the name of God in the hearing of his Word ; and now wee will proceed to the Sanctification of the name of God in receiving the Sacrament ; that 's the next duty of worship . Now first for the word Sacrament , I confesse wee have not that word in all the Scripture , as neither have we the word Trinitie , and divers other words that Ministers make use of , to set forth the Mysteries of Religion by , but yet it is usefull to consider the meaning why Ministers in the Church have given this name , unto those signes and seals that the Church receives ; Sacrament , is to hallow a thing , or to dedicate , because in the Sacraments there are outward things , that are made holy , for holy and spirituall ends . Secondly , wee our selves do as it were hallow , or dedicate our selves unto God in the use of these Ordinances ; that 's one reason from whence it hath the name . Or otherwise as some will have it Sacramentum , because it is to be received Sacramente with a holy mind , and therefore cald the Sacrament . The Churches have used it a long time ; in Tertullians time ( which was above fourteen hundred years agoe ) he was the first that we find used this word , and most that would open the word unto us , say , that especially it was taken from the practise of Souldiers , who when they came and listed themselves , bound themselves in a solemne oath to be faithful to their Captaine , and to the Cause that they did undertake ; and the oath , they were wont to call Sacramentum , A Sacrament . Now in regard that Christians when they come to this Ordinance , they come to seale a Covenant with God , and though they doe not formally and explicitely take an oath , yet they bind themselves in a holy Covenant , which hath the strength even of an oath in it ; ( For a solemne Promise to the high God hath the strength of an oath in it ) and from thence they were cald by these names , Sacraments : but that for the word , that you may understand it . But the word the Scripture useth to set out this Sacrament , by that now I am speaking of , is the Communion of the body and bloud of Christ ; so you have it in 1 Cor. 10. 6. The Cup of blessing which we blesse , is it not the Communion of the bloud of Christ ? The bread which we break , is it not the Communion of the body of Christ ? I say we are now treating about this point , how wee are to sanctifie the name of God in that which the Scripture cals the Communion of the body and bloud of Christ ; And now for the opening of that . First , We must know that this is a part of the Worship of God , and we draw nigh to God in this , or otherwise it will not come up to our point . And then wee shall shew that God is to be sanctifyed in this duty of worship . And then thirdly how . First , Wee doe in this draw nigh to God ; We worship God ; For when we are comming to receive these holy Signes and Seals , we come to present our selves before God ; and we have to deal with God himselfe in a service that hee himselfe requires of us , in a holy , in a divine service : wee come to present our selves to God for blessing , for Communication of some higher good unto us , then possibly those Creatures that we have to deale with , are able of themselves to convey to us , come for a higher good then to tast a peece of bread , or to drink a draught of wine , we come I say to present our selves to God ; that wee might have Communion with him , and that we might have the blessin of the Covenant of grace conveyed unto us through these things ; now certainly this is a drawing nigh to God ; for to present our selves , for the Conveyance of the blessing of the Covenant of grace through these Creatures , yea , that we might have Communion with God himselfe in them , this is drawing nigh to him , when we come to his Table ; therefore we draw nigh to God ; had not God instituted and appointed these Creatures , Bread and Wine and the actions about them to be the meanes of Conveyance of blessing unto us , it had been Will-worship for us to have expected any further presence of God in such Creatures , then there is in the nature of them . It is true , God is present with every Creature , when we eat and drinke at our Tables God is present there ; but we cannot be said to draw nigh to God , and worship God there ; for we there looke for no further presence of God with us in them , to convey further good then the Lord hath put into the nature of those things : onely when godly people take them , and receive them as blessings sanctified by the word , they take them as the blessings of God that come out of love to them . But now when we come to receive that which is cald the Communion , there we expect things that are beyond the nature of these Creatures to convey that that is by an institution of God set apart for supernatural uses and ends , not to convey in any naturall way such and such things but in a supernaturall way , through the institution of God , and so it comes to bee worship . Had we not I say a command for this , it were superstition and Idolatry for us to make use of such Creatures for such ends . If any man in the world should have appointed a peece of Bread , or a draougth of wine to have signified and , sealed the body and blood of Christ it hath been superstition in any , and Wil-worship , and sinfull and abominable to you ; but we are to look upon God setting apart these Creatures for such holy and solemne ends , and , therefore when we come to be exercised in them , we come to worship God ; and wee come likewise to tendes up our homage to God when wee come to attend upon him in such Ordinances as these are to tender up that homage that is 〈◊〉 poor Creatures unto 〈◊〉 as infinite and glorious God , and the 〈◊〉 we draw nigh to 〈◊〉 in these . Secondly , Wee must sanctifie Gods name in drawing nigh to him : whatsoever we doe , whether we eat or drinke we must do all to the glory of God ; Now if in our common eating and drinking we must do all to the glory of God , then certainly in this spirituall eating and drinking there must be some special thing done for the glory of God in this . 1. Because there is so much of God in it , for here there is a presenting before us the great yea the greatest mysteries of salvation , and the deep Counsels of God concerning eternall life , are presented before us in these outward Elements of the bread and wine , and the action thereof ; now when we come to eat and to drinke those things that are appointed to set forth the greatest mysteries of salvation , and the deepest of the Councels of God concerning mans eternall good , wherein especially God will glorifie himselfe ; we had need there sanctifie the name of God , for the things are very great and glorious that are presented unto us . 2. This Ordinance of the Lords Supper , or the Communion it is an Ordinance that Christ hath left to his Church , out of the abundance of his love , and therefore you shall find if you read the institution of it , in the 25. of Matth. that the same night wherein Christ was betrayed , he took bread and brake it ; though Christ was to die the next day , and to encounter with the wrath of God , yea that very night he was to be in an agonie , and to sweat drops of water and blood , and the next day to die and to have these Tryals of wrath poured upon him , so as to put him to cry out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me : Yet he busies his thoughts that very night to institute this Supper ; surely it must be a great Ordinance , and there is a great deale of the love of Christ in it . Christ saw that his Church had need of it , that he should that night when he was betrayed have his thoughts busied about such a thing as this is . One would thinke at that time , that he had enough to take up his thoughts concerning himselfe , being to encounter with the Law , and with the wrath of God for mans sinne ; but for all that great worke Christ had to encounter with , yet his thoughts are bulied about this great Ordinance of the institution of the Supper , and therefore there was great love in it , Christ saw that it was a matter of great moment ; now if it is so , than there is great cause why we should sanctifie Gods name in such an Ordinance as this is , and not to account it as a common and ordinary thing . 3. We must sanctifie Gods name in this ; because it is the Sacrament of our Communion with Christ ; wherein we come to have such a neer union and communion with him as to eath's flesh and to drinke his blood , and to sit at his table . We come to have Communion with Christ even in all our Sences ; now Christ comming so fully to us , that cals upon us to sanctifie his name when we come before him . 4. In this the Covenant of grace is sealed , the Covenant of grace comes to be sealed in both the parts of it ; now when wee come to have to deale with God in the way of the Covenant of grace , both to have the Seale on his part , and the Seale on ours , surely this must needs call for a sanctifyed use of such a thing as is so holy as this is . And that 's the first reason why we are to sanctifie Gods name in this , because if we be in ordinary eating and drinking we must doe it , then in this , wherein there is so much of God , wherein the Mysteries of Godlinesse are set before us , wherein there is so much of the love of Christ , wherein we are to have close Communion with Jesus Christ , and wherein the Covenant of grace comes to be sealed on both sides : there had need therefore be a sanctifying of Gods name in the use of it . Secondly , Consider this ; that there is no duty in all the book of God that I know of , that is urged with more strength and severity then this is ; as that place in 1 Cor. 11. sheweth where you have required of every one that comes to receive the Bread and Wine in the Lords Supper , That they should examine themselves and so eate , and you have the most dreadfull expressions against those that doe not doe it , that I know are mentioned against the neglect of any duty in all the Book of God ; there the holy-Ghost saith , that whosoever eats and drinks unworthily , First , he is guilty of the body and bloud of Christ , and then Secondly , he eats and drinks his owne damnation ; These two expressions have as much dreadfulnesse in them as can be Imagined , and we doe not find an exhortation to a duty backt with two such severe expressions , in case we should neglect our duty , as this exhortation . What if wee doe not sanctifie Gods name in this duty ? wee come to be guilty of the body and bloud of Christ . Bloud-guiltinesse is a terrible thing ; you know David cries out , Lord deliver me from Bloud-guiltinesse ; to have but the bloud of an ordinary man to lie upon one , to shed the bloud of the vildest Rogue that lives , in a murderous way , it would lie upon the Conscience and be very terrible ; it is impossible that such a man can be quiet all his dayes though he hath never such a seared Conscience . A Heathen could not be at quiet , if he hath the guilt of bloud lie upon him ; but to be guilty of the bloud of Christ , whose bloud is ten thousand thousand times more worth then the bloud of all the men that ever lived upon the face of the earth , must needs be a most dreadfull thing ; It is a fearefull expression ; guilty of the body and bloud of Christ , that is , he offers such an indignity to the body and bloud of Christ , as the Lord will charge him of being guilty of it , guilty of abusing of the body and bloud of Jesus Christ . And then he doth eat and drinke his owne damnation ; but wee shall speake more to that , when wee come to shew how God will sanctifie his name in those that doe not sanctifie it here in this holy Ordinance . I will not therefore spend further time in those Scriptures , for I bring them only now to shew that there is a necessity of it , that we do sanctifie the name of God in this Ordinance . Thirdly , there is nothing that strikes more upon a mans conscience ; wee find it by experience ; even upon wicked mens consciences , and especially upon such as begin to be enlightned in the holinesse of this Ordinance , God hath put much honour upon it ; I confesse some men may use it superstitiously though it be an Ordinance of Christ , yet God hath put a great deale of honour upon this Ordinance , that men that are very wicked otherwise , yet their Consciences tell them that when they come to this Ordinance then they must be good , then they must not sinne , but have good thoughts , and good prayers at that time . And many times they dare not come , if their consciences tell them that they live in some sin . I knew one my selfe once that was to be executed , and he had never received this Ordinance in all his life , though about fourty yeares of Age , And being askt the reason why , he confest he lived in some sin that hee was loth to leave , and therefore would never come to that Ordinance all his life , though herein the Devill gull'd and deceived him ; but I mention it to shew what a power there is in the consciences of men about this Ordinance ; this ordinarily is one of the first things that strikes upon the soules of men , when they come to have their Consciences awakened , Oh how have I prophaned the name of God in the Ordinance of the holy communion and have not sanctified his name in it . That God should be sanctified in this Ordinance , that 's cleer enough . But now the great work is ( which is the third thing that I promised to shew ) how wee should sanctifie Gods name in this Ordinance . Certainly the name of God hath bin much taken in vain , there hath been a great deale of pollution in the use of this Ordinance , and in mens Spirits when they have been exercising themselves in such an holy Ordinance as this is ; therefore I will open this to you , and shall not be very large in it , only to shew you the maine and principall things that may serve for the direction of us , that the name of God may not be so taken in vaine and dishonored as heretofore , and I shall cast what I intend to speak of into these particulars . 1 That whosoever was to pertake of this must be holy himself ; none can sanctifie God , but he must have a sanctified heart himselfe . Secondly , this Ordinance it must be received in a holy Communion ; There must be a Communion of Saints for this Ordinance ; and it cannot be received anywhere else but in a Communion of Saints . Thirdly , The holy disposition of soule particularly , or the qualifications of soule that are required for the sanctifying of Gods name in this Ordinance . Fourthly , the manner of the explicite goings out of the soule , that there are to bee at that very time of receiving . Fifthly , The keeping of the institution of Christ in our receiving . These things are required for the sanctifying of the name of God in this Ordinance . For the first , Those that come must bee holy themselves . This is an Ordinance not appointed for conversion , to make holy ; others that are not converted may come to the word , because the word it is appointed to worke conversion ; t is appointed to worke Grace , to worke the first grace , Faith comes by hearing ; but we doe not find in all the Scripture that this is appointed for conversion , but it supposes conversion ; none are to come to receive this Sacrament but men and women that before are converted by the word ; the word first therefore is to be preached to men for their conversion ; and then this is an Ordinance appointed for to seale them ; therefore in the Primitive times they let all come to hearing of the word , and then when the Sermon was done , there was an Officer stept up and cried holy things for holy men , and then all others were to goe out , and therefore it was called missa ( though the Papists did corrupt it and so called it the masse afterwards , by mixing their own inventions in stead of the Supper of the Lord , but it had that name at first ) I say this holy Communion was calld by the name of missa , because that all others were sent away , and only such as were of the Church , and accounted godly staid ; holy things to holy men . And this must needs be so , because that the nature of it being the Seal of the Covenant of grace requires it ; it must be supposed that all that come hither must be in Covenant with God , they must be such as have been brought to submit to the Condition of the Covenant . Now the Condition of the Covenant of grace is , Beleeve and be saved ; it is therefore appointed for beleevers ; And as the nature of it being a Seal supposeth a Covenant , so none can have this Covenant sealed to them , but those that doe first submit to it , and are brought into Covenant ; when you make an Indenture , and put to the Seale , certainly the Seale belongs only to those that have their names in the Indenture : Now t is true though mens names are not mentioned in the word , yet the condition is to those that are brought in to beleeve in Jesus Christ ; saith God I come now to seale all my mercies in Christ to their soules . We abuse God if we come to take the Seal to a blanke , it is to make this Ordinance a ridiculous thing ; therefore there must be some transactions between God and your souls before you come to the Seale ; if a man should say to you come set to your seale to such a thing , and there were never any kind of transactions between this man and you before , you would account it ridiculous ; after there hath been agreements between you , you use then to seale . So it must be here ; I would appeal to many of your Consciences that have come to the Lords Supper , what transactions have there been between God and your soules ? canst thou say the Lord was pleased to reveale himselfe to mee ; to make known to mee my wretched condition , and the way of grace and salvation , and shewed me that upon my comming in to receive his Son , he would be mercifull to me and pardon my sins ; and I have found the Spirit of God working my heart to Jesus Christ , the Lord from heaven speaking to me , and I sending an Answer to heaven againe , how willing my soule was to accept of the Covenant , which the Lord hath made with poor Creatures in the word of his Gospell ? canst thou say this in the uprightnesse of thy heart ? if not , know that this Seale belongs not to thee : untill the Lord hath by his word subdued thy heart to this agreement first with him . Secondly , This Ordinance , it is the Ordinance of spiritual nourishment , of eating the flesh of Christ and drinking his bloud in a spirituall way . Now it must needs suppose that first there must be life before there can be any nourishment received in . If it be appointed to nourish and increase grace , then surely there must be grace before ; what nourishment can a dead child take ? the very first thing that is to be done is nourishment here , The word hath power to convey life and then to nourish , but we read of no such thing here , but that which is to be done here is presently to feed , to eat , and to drinke , that 's the end of the Sacrament ; therefore it must be supposed that thou must have spiritual life , there must come no dead Soule to this Ordinance , but those who are quickned by the Spirit of Jesus Christ , they must come for nourishment . Thirdly , the act here required doth note that only those that are holy and godly can receive this Sacrament ; we are required by the Apostle to examine our selves . To examine our selves of what ? it must be of our godlinesse , examine what worke of God hath been upon the soule , how God hath brought the soule to himselfe , and what Graces of the Spirit of God are there , And how we have been brought into Covenant with God now if only those can receive worthily , and are to come that first examine themselves , then certainly such only as are godly are to come , for they only can performe those acts that are required . Fourthly , It s a Sacrament of Communion with God , and Communion with the Saints ; now what Communion hath Light and Darknesse ? or what fellowship hath Christ with Belial , If it be a Sacrament of Communion , of coming to the Table of God will God have his enemies to come to his Table ? you will invite no enemies to your Tables , but your children and friends , so they must be the children of God and the friends of God , these that are reconciled to God in the bloud of his Son , and those that are his children that must sit at his Table , therefore they must be holy . Now this may suffice for that first thing , that this is not an Ordinance for all sorts of people , but such as have submitted to the condition of the Covenant before . Such as have grace , and abilitie to examine themselves of their graces , and such as are children and reconciled to God , and so are fit to sit at the Table of God , and to enjoy Communion with him and with his Son , and with the Saints ; for we are one body sacramentally when we come to this holy Ordinance ; all others therefore certainly are to be kept from this Sacrament but such . 2 The second thing will make it out more fully , and that is , it is not enough that wee be holy our selves ; ( and so all ignorant , prophane and scandalous , yea all that are meerly civil , that can not make out any work of Godlinesse upon their hearts in bringing them to Christ , are excluded . ) But 1 It is to be done in a holy Communion , and is cleer out of that place in 1 Cor. 10. 16 , 17. The Cup of blessing which wee blesse , is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ ? the bread which wee break , is it not the Communion of the body of Christ ? and then saith the Apostle in the 17. verse , for we being many are one bread and one body ; therefore all that come to receive the Sacrament , they must so come as they must be one body , one spiritual Corporation ; this very consideration , that those with whom we receive the Sacrament are one body with us , it hath a great deale in it , for the helping of us to sanctifie Gods Name ; this Ordinance I say , it is to be received only in a holy Communion ; one Christian cannot receive the Sacrament alone ; there must be a Communion wheresoever it is to be administered ; it is not enough there is one Godly man there , but there must be a Communion of Saints , and in that communion it is to be received . Quest . You will say , must it be received in a communion of Saints ? what if wicked men doe come there ? will that hinder us from sanctifying Gods name in partaking of the Sacrament with them ? doe not wee finde in Scripture that the Church had alwayes wicked men among them ? there are alwayes tares growing up with the wheat : If you read even in the Corinthians , you shall find that there were some in that Church that were wicked , yea and its thought that Judas himselfe did receive the Sacrament too ; therefore what if wicked men be there , doth that hinder ? Answ . I answer , first it is true , that in the Church of God there have been wicked men , and is like there will be wicked men to the end of the World ; but yet wheresoever there is a right communion of Saints , there ought to be the power of Christ exercised to cast out those wicked men , or at least to withdraw from them . This is the Law of Christ , that if there be any that have communion with you , if any of them doe appear to be wicked , you are bound in conscience to goe and tell them ; if they do not reforme , you are bound to take two or three , and if they doe not yet reforme , then you are bound to tell the Church , to tell the Assembly of the Saints when they meet together ; for so the word Church doth signifie , and wee find in the 1 Cor. 5. chap. that when there was an incestuous person to bee cast out , it was done in the presence of the congregation : Thus farre you are bound to doe , otherwise you cannot say that it is nothing to you if wicked men bee there , for you have not discharged your conscience , and so you come to be defiled , and you doe not sanctifie Gods Name in this Ordinance , because you have not done to the uttermost of your duty for the casting out of those wicked men . And marke in 2 Cor. 5. 7. there the Apostle writing to the Church , bids them that they should purge out the old leven , Know yee not saith he , that a little leven leveneth the whole lump ? the Apostle doth not speak there of sin , but of the wicked incestuous person , saith he , you must look to it that this man be purged out from you , or otherwise you are all levened by it , that is , the whole Church would be levened by it , if there were not care taken to purge out that one man. You will say , shall we be the worse for one wicked mans coming ? no , if we be no way faulty of it , then we cannot be said to be worse and it cannot leven us ; but now when it is our duty to purge him out and we doe not doe it , as in all communion of Saints there is a duty , and there is not any one but may do something towards it ; thus far every communicant in every communion of Saints must goe ; if there be a wicked man there , if you come to know it , and doe not goe thus far as I have spoken , you art defiled by him , you are not defiled by the meer presence of wicked men , ( for that 's a meer deceit and gall that some would put upon men that differ from them otherwise ; ) but thus now you are defiled by their presence , if you doe not doe your duty , and the uttermost that you are able to purge them out ; yea , then the whole congregation is defiled , if they doe not doe their duty ; now this is the duty of every one in the congregation , to tell their brother , or to take two or three , and after that to tell the Church , and so come to professe against them , or if the Church will not doe their duty as they ought , yet then to free their own soules , as to professe , here is one that is so and so guilty , and may be proved thus and thus , and so for my part I to free my own soule professe that this man or woman ought nor to have communion here ; and thus you come to free your own soules , and when you have done thus , though wicked men be there you may there eate and drink and not be defiled by their presence , for you cannot be said properly to eate with them now , not to have communion with them , no more than if a dog should come and skip upon the Table , and take a peece of bread ; you cannot have communion with him because he takes it , no more have you with those wicked men when once you have dealt so far with them , you for your selves professe against them that you for your own particular cannot have cōmunion with them herein ; this is not to eat with them : The Apostle in 1 Cor. 5. latter end , he doth there require , in the 11. v. that If any man that is called a Brother be a fornicator , or covetous , or an Idolater , or a Raylor , or a Drunkard , or an Extortioner , with such a one no not to eate ; for what have I to doe to judge them also that are without ? that is , the Heathens , and those that were in no communion with them , I have nothing to do to judge them ; but doe not yee judge them that are within ? When wee have so far freed our selves as professing against their sin , then we cannot be said to have communion with them , and then wee do withdraw from those that walk disorderly , when wee doe our duty thus far . 1 Thess . 3. 14. If any man obey not our word by this Epistle , note that man , and have no company with him , that hee may be ashamed ; and in the sixt verse of that Chapter hee commands them in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that they should withdraw themselves from every Brother that walked disorderly . So that till we do our duty we come to be defiled ; but now , if we do our duty , then it is not the mixture of a Congregation that is enough to hinder any from receiving the Sacrament there : and this will tend much to satisfie men about the receiving in mixt congregations where any are cast into them and are actuall Members there . But now on the other side , if we be in a place where either this Congregation will not take upon them any such power to cast out unworthy ones , or are not convinc'd of this power , then there is no rule that Christ hath set , that we must be forced all our dayes to continue to be in such a congregation as denies one of the Ordinances of Jesus Christ ; if so be there be any such that are wicked , and we do first what we can to have them cast out , and we waite with patience in such a congregation for to have them cast out , and yet we see that either the congregation doth not understand that they have any such power , or doe deny such a power that they have , and so upon that all people are left in a mixt way , I say then there is no rule in all the Book of God that should force men to continue to bee members of such a communion where they cannot enjoy one Ordinance of Jesus Christ , which is the Ordinance of Separating the pretious from the vile , the Ordinance of casting out the wicked and ungodly . It were a very diseased body and in danger quickly of the losse of life , to take in every thing into it , and to have no expulsive faculty to purge any thing out again ; so a congregation that is altogether without such an Ordinance as that is of expelling such as are wicked and ungodly ; I say , I find no Scripture that doth force people , and require them as bound in conscience to continue there where they may not enjoy all the Ordinances of Jesus Christ , and the right understanding of what I say now , will help us to answer all those Scriptures that are brought . As if it be that of Judas , first it is hard to make it out cleer whether it were the Lords Supper that he received yea or no : but suppose it be granted that he did , yet I make no question but such as Judas was , that shall continue to make such an outward profession as he did , and could not be discovered in the Church-way , but that we may receive with such as are close hypocrites . You will say Jesus Christ knew him to be faulty , and he told John that lay in his bosome what he was ; but though he knew him as he was God , yet he deals with him in his Ministeriall way , and he had appointed before that none were to be cast out but were to be dealt withall in such a Ministeriall way ; so that it is not enough though I knew by Revelation from God that such a man were an hypocrite ; suppose God should reveale from heaven to me that such a man were an hypocrite , I think I might communicate with him still , when he doth not so farre discover himself that I can by witnesses prove his evill ; therefore though men be wicked , yet it doth not defile the communion where they are if there hath been that way used that Christ hath appointed for to be observed in his Church . And when that is done then I am to withdraw from him , and to professe against communion with him , so that its enough to answer the case . We read likewise that there were divers wicked men among the Corinthians , and of Tares that grew in the Wheat . It 's true , there were wicked men among them , but they were enjoyned by the Apostle to cast out those wicked men , and if they did not do it , it was their sin , and they were defiled by it . And for Tares that were among the Wheat , take it that this is meant concerning the Church , suppose it were ( and yet Christ saith plainly that the field is the World , and 't is the godly and the wicked living together in the World , and so I find many interpreters take it ; but howsoeuer take it that it is meant of the Church-communion ; yet thus far is clear that it was through the fault of the officers that there should be any Tares among the Wheat ; for so the text saith plainly that while the servants slept there did Tares spring up ; therefore there should have been none . Secondly , they were not such Tares as would spoyle the Wheat , but as Jerom saith in those countries the Tares did grow much like Wheat all the while it was in the blade , so that they were hardly to be distinguished , though some that were of more understanding were able to discern them from the Wheat ; therefore though such as do grow up like unto the Wheat may be suffered , and yet in this case only , that is , in case that it will prejudice the Wheat , that is , when they are so close to the Wheat as there will be danger by plucking them up to pluck up the Wheat too , then they must be let alone ; Mark , first it was through the negligence of the officers ; they should have been kept out . Secondly , if they do get in , yet while they grow so close to the Wheat as there will be danger that when you pluck out them , to pluck out the wheat too , only in that case it must be forborne ; but this gives no liberty that therefore all sorts may be let into the Church , and there should be no kind of Ordinance to cast out those that are venomous weeds that will do hurt and mischiefe . But if you understand it ( as many do ) concerning the World , then the meaning is thus , the Preaching of the Gospell that comes to a place , and ther 's only good seed sown , and is a means of the conversion of many , but together with the conversion of some , there are others that do heare the Gospel Preached , and the truth is , they being mingled among the hearers of the Word , in stead of bringing forth good fruit according to the Gospel , they bring forth the Tares ; now saith the servant , Lord , how comes it to passe that we preach such excellent truths in this place , and yet there are so many wicked men that bring forth such wicked fruit ? Lord , is it thy mind that we should be wholly separated from them and have nothing to do with them , that there should be a full separation while we live in this world ? no saith Christ , not so ; for then the truth is , if all godly men should wholly withdraw from wicked men , and beleeve that they may not live among them , they could not live in the world . if you did beleeve it were your duty not so much as to live near a wicked man , nor to have any thing to do in any kind of converse with him , there would be no Wheat growing in this field of the world here ; and therefore you must be content , when you live where the Preaching of the Gospel is , and the seed brings forth good fruit in some , and in others it brings forth Tares , you must not be offended by this , that here in this world God doth not by some visible stroke of judgement come and strike them dead , or that God doth not take some course that there should be a full separation here , but that they might live together till the day of judgement ; here I say you shall not have such a full separation ; so that you see it carries a very faire sense to take the field to be the world , and the kingdome of Heaven there to be the Preaching of the Gospel in any place , and so we must bee content while we live in this world to bee where wicked and ungodly men are . But it doth not follow from this place that we are to have converse in the closest communion , in Church-communion with wicked men , to be made one body by eating the same bread , and drinking the same wine ; it holds not forth such close communion as this is ; so that ther 's little strength can be taken from that place , but still it holds that wheresoever there is the Sacrament of the Lords Supper , there must be a holy communion of Saints . Object . The Scripture only saith let us examine our selves . Answ . I grant for the benefit to mine own soule , I must look to examine my selfe more especially ; but now for another I am but onely so farre bound to looke to him as to keepe my selfe clean ; it is true I am not bound to goe and pry into his life and all his waies , so as to force him to give an account of things that are secret , but I am bound to keep a watch , and if any thing be done that offends me , then I am bound to goe to him according to the former Rule of Christ , and if he appears to be wicked , then I am bound to see him purged from the Congregation ; for take but that other text in 1 Cor. 5. 6. know you not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump ? If I doe not do so much as concerns my duty , then I am defiled by it . So as that you must not thinke that it is nothing to you how many wicked men come to the Lords Table , and that it belongs only to the Ministers and they are to look to it ; the truth is that every one in his place is to look to it , and every one may be defiled if hee doth not performe this duty that God requires of him ; do not say what have I to doe with my Brother ; am I my Brothers keeper ? it was the speech of Cain ; if thou beest of the same body , you are to have a care of your Brother ; doe not yee judge those that are within ? there is some kind of judgement that every one may passe upon such as do joyne with them in the same Body ; surely it concernes me much ; what shall I do in such an action as to joyne with them to eat bread , whereby I must professe that I doe beleeve my selfe to be of the same body , that this drunkard is of , that this Whoremaster is of , that this swearer is of ? whenever you receive the Communion with any company , you doe professe your selves to be of the same body with that Company ; only in this case , If I have discovered any , and can particularly professe against anyone , then I doe not professe my selfe to be of the same body with him ; but now when I come in an ordinary way , and I know such to be wicked , vile , and prophane , and I professe nothing against them , nor take any course at all , I doe then by partaking with them , professe my selfe to be of the same body that they are of . Thou doest as it were openly declare , Lord , here we come and professe that we are all of the body of Jesus Christ ; now when thou knowest such and such as are notoriously wicked and profane , and dost nothing in the world to helpe to purge them out , dost not thou thinke that Gods name is taken in vaine ? is not Gods name prophaned here ? therefore it concerns us very much to look unto it , that it be a holy communion that we receive the Bread and Wine in ; I beseech you therefore understands things aright that I have spoken of ; I have laboured to satisfie men that there is a way that we may partake of the Sacrament though wicked men be mixt with us : But this is that that is required of you for doing your duty , to keep your selves clean that you may not be accessory any way to any wicked mans comming to partake of this holy mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ , there are divers things further about this , and the speciall thing I thought of was to shew you the holy qualifications that there ought to be ; but this I conceived to be necessary , and I should not have had peace in mine own conscience as being faithfull to you in what I am speaking , of sanctifying the Name of God in this Ordinance , if I should not have mentioned this that I have spoken unto you , and there 's an error on both sides , that I desire to meet withall ; either those that come hand over head , and think it concerns them not at all with whom they come to the Sacrament , but to look to their own hearts : and there 's an error on the other side , that if they do what they can to keep them away , and yet if they should be suffered to come , they may not come to partake of those things , now it is very usefull for us to know what wee should doe in this case . SERMON XII . LEVITICUS . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . I Shall adde something to one particular that I had the last day , concerning peoples withdrawing from such a Congregation where they could not receive all the Ordinances of Jesus Christ . As now , if I were in a Church where I could have but a piece of the Sacrament , suppose they dealt with me as the Papists doe with the people , that is , they will give them the bread and not the wine , Certainly I were not bound to stay with them then , but I were bound to goe where I might have the whole Sacrament . So if a Church will give me some one Ordinance and not another , I confesse so long as there is hope that I may enjoy it , and that they are in a way for injoyment , I thinke there should be a great forbearance to a Church as well as to a particular person ; as I must not withdraw from a particular man , where there is hope still of his reformation , and that there may come good of my forbearance , so towards a Church much more ; but I say , if I cannot enjoy , neither doth there appeare any hope of the injoyment of all Ordinances , certainly it were but a cruelty to force men to stay there , when as otherwhere they may enjoy all Ordinances for the good of their souls . And this cannot be Schisme thus to do ; as now is this Schisme ? suppose a man were in a place and joyned in such a Communion , for his outward benefit he may remove his dwelling from one place to another , if he can have better trading in another place ; then certainly if he may have more Ordinances for the edification of his soule , he may as well remove from one to another , as he may remove if his trading bee betterin one place then another . Christ would have all his people look to the edification of their soules ; and should I account that Schisme ? when a man or woman meerly out of tendernesse and a desire to enjoy Jesus Christ in all his Ordinances for the benefit of their soules , they find such want to their soules of all Ordinances , that though they may have some in one place , yet if they cannot have all , their soules doe not so thrive ; now if this be all the end why they remove that they might have more edification to their soules injoying the Ordinances of Christ more fully , God forbid that this should ever be accounted such a sin , that the Scripture is to brand ; no thats Schisme when there is a violent rending out of malice , for the want of love ; for as Apostafie is a rending from the head , So Schisme from the Body , that is , when it is out of an evill Spirit , from envie , or from malice , from want of love , or from any base sinister ends , and upon no just Ground ; but now when it is meerly out of love to Jesus Christ , that I might have more edification to my soule , and still I retain love to the Saints that are there as they are in a Communion , and so farre as they have any thing good among them , I hold Communion with them in that ; onely I desire in humility , and in meekenesse that I may be in such a place , where my soule may be most edified , where I may enjoy all those Ordinances that Christ hath appointed for his Church , certainly , that soule that can give this account to Iesus Christ for going from one place to another , will be freed by Iesus Christ from such a sinne , as this that the world cals Schisme ; but the truth is , this word is in mens mouthes that understand not what it means , and the devill alwayes will have some word or other cast upon them that are good ; for hee hath heretofore gained much by it , so still he makes account to gaine much by words , and Termes , and therefore men should take heed of words and Termes that they do not understand , and examine seriously what the meaning of these words , and what is held forth in those words ; and thus much for that point , that it must be in a holy Communion ; wherever there is the receiving of the Lords Supper , it must be received in a holy Communion . Now wee are to proceed to that which is the maine thing , and that is , What are the holy qualifications or dispositions of the soule , together with the actings fit in the receiving of the Lords Supper , what is required in the soule , for the sanctifying of the name of God in this holy Sacrament ; there are many things required . As first , there is required knowledge ; I must know what I doe when I come to receive this holy Sacrament ; knowledge applyed to the worke that I am about ; when some of you have come to receive this Sacrament , if God should have spoken from heaven and have said thus to you , what are you doing now , what do you go for , what account had you been able to have given unto him , you must understand what you doe when you come thither . First you must bee able to give this account to God , Lord , I am now going to have represented to me in a visible and sensible way the greatest mysteries of godlinesse , those great and deep Councels of thy will concerning my eternall estate , those great things that the Angels desire to pry into , that shall be the matter of eternall praises of Angels and Saints in the highest heavens , that they may be set before my view ; Lord , when I have come to thy word , I have had in mine eares sounding the great mysteries of godlinesse , the great things of the Covenant of grace , and now I goe to see them represented before mine eyes in that Ordinance of thine that thou hast appointed . Yea Lord , I am now going to receive the Seales of the blessed Covenant of thine , the second Covenant , the new Covenant , the Seales of the Testimony and will of thine ; I am going to have confirmed to my soule thine everlasting Love in Jesus Christ . Yea Lord , I am going to that Ordinance wherein I expect to have Communion with thy selfe , and the communication of thy cheife mercies to my soule in Jesus Christ . I am going to feast with thee , to feed upon the body and bloud of Jesus Christ . Yea I am now going to set to the Seale of the Covenant on my part , to renew my Covenant with thee , I am going to have Communion with thy Saints , to have the bond of Communion with all thy people to be confirmed to me , that there might be a stronger bond of union and love between me and thy Saints then ever ; these are the ends that I go for , this is the work that I am now going about , thus you must come in understanding ; you must come with understanding , you must know what you are going about ; this is that which the Apostle speaks of , when he speaks of the discerning the Lords Body ; he rebukes the Corinthians for their sin , and shews them that they were guilty of the body and bloud of Christ , because they did not discerne the Lords body , they lookt only upon the outward elements , but did not discerne what there was of Christ there , they did not understand the institution of Christ ; they did not see how Christ was under those elements , both represented , and exhibited unto them , that 's the first thing , there must be knowledge and understanding . And now for the knowledge and understanding of the nature of the Sacrament ; there need be knowledge in other points of Religion , for we can never come to understand the nature of this Sacrament , without knowing God , and knowing our selves , knowing in what estate we were by nature , knowing our Fall , knowing the way of Redemption , knowing Jesus Christ what he was , and what he hath done for the making of an Atonement , the necessity of Jesus Christ , and what the way of the Covenant is that God hath appointed to bring mens soules to eternall life by . The maine points of Religion must be known , but especially that that concernes the nature of a Sacrament . Now this knowledge likewise must be actuall , not meerly habituall knowledge , but there must be a stirring up of this knowledge , that is , by meditation , I must be meditating , have actuall thoughts and meditations of what I doe know ; that ought to be the work of a Christian in comming to receive the Sacrament , to quicken up his knowledge , to have a renewed work of his knowledge by actuall thoughts and meditations of the maine points of Religion , and especially of the nature and the end of this holy institution , that is the first thing . Secondly , As wee must come understandingly , without which wee cannot sanctifie Gods name , so we must come with hearts sutable to the work that wee are about , that is , because the great thing that is here , is the breaking of Christs body , and the pouring forth his bloud . A sutable disposition to this is brokennesse of heart , sence of our sinne , of that dreadfull breach that sin hath made between God and the soul ; our sin should be upon our hearts so as to break them ; But this brokennesse must be evangelicall ; it must be through the applying of the blood of Christ unto my soule ; I must come to be sensible of my sin ; but especially be sensible of it by what I see in the holy Sacrament , that must make me sensible of my sinne : There are a great many things to make me sensible of my sin : The consideration of the great God that thou hast sinned against , and the Curse of the Law that 's due to thee , the wrath of God that is incensed against thee for thy sin , and those eternall flames that are prepared for sinners , those everlasting burnings . But now those are not the things that will break the heart in an evangelicall way , in a gracious way ; the maine thing by which the soule must come to break its heart , must be the beholding of the evil of sin in the red glasse of the blood of Jesus Christ , the beholding him broken ; and truely there is nothing in the world , that hath that power to break the heart for sin , as the beholding of that which is to be beheld in the holy Sacrament ; and that heart is a hard heart that can see what is there to be seen , and not break in the apprehension of sin ; when I here see what my sinne cost , what a price was made for my soule , when I see the hatred of God against sinne , and the justice of God in not sparing his Sonne , but in breaking his Sonne for my sinne , and in shedding the blood of his Sonne for my sinnes , I see here that the making of my peace which God did cost more then ten thousand worlds is worth ; I see that by my sin such a breach was made between God and my soule , that all the Angels in heaven , and men in the world could never make up this breach ; only the Sonne of God , hee that was God and man , that was thus broken by the burden of the wrath of his Father , for my sins , could do this . The truth is , when wee come to this holy Communion , we are to look upon Christ as if we saw him hanging upon the Crosse ; suppose thou hadst lived at the time when Christ was crucifyed , and hadst understood as much concerning the death of Christ as now thou doest , and what Christ was , if so bee that thou shouldest have beheld him in the Garden , and there sweating drops of water and blood , and lie groveling upon the ground , crying if it be possible let this cup passe from me : and shouldest have followed him to the crosse , and their have seen his hands and feet nailed , and his side pierced , and the bloud trickling downe , and have heard him crying out my God , my God , why hast thou forsaken mee , would not such a sight as this is , have broken thy heart for thy sinne ; the truth is there is more , I won't say only so much , but I say there is more in this Sacrament to breake the heart for sin then such a sight as that . You will say if you should have Christ to be crucified again before your eyes , if you should see the body of Christ hanging upon the Crosse , and there behold him crucified , and hearing of him cry out , my God , my God , why hast thou forsaken me , you would think if your hearts did not break for sin then , that they were desperately hard ; know every time that thou hast come to receive the Sacrament , thou hast come to see such a fight , and it is as great an aggravation of the hardnesse of thy heart if it hath not broken at this sight , as it would be if it should not break at that fight ; We read in Gal. 3. 1. of Pauls speaking of the preaching of the Gospel , he saith that Christ was crucified before those that did hear the word ; and , foolish Galatians , who hath bewitched you , that you should not obey the truth , before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth , crucified among you ? hee doth not meane that Christ was crucified in Galatia , but that where the word was preached he was evidently set forth , and crucified among them ; but now my brethren , the crucifying of Christ in the word , is not such a reall , evident , and sensible setting forth of Christ crucified , as when he is set forth in this Sacrament , and t is that which works with more efficacie to break the heart , then that other sight ; and the reason that I give is this . Because you doe never find that God did set that apart as an Ordinance , an institution appointed to that end that they should come to look upon that for the breaking of their hearts ; there was indeed a naturalnesse in it , that if they did behold Christ , it might break their hearts , but it was not such an Ordinance , it was not a Sacrament as this is ; now this being in a sacramentall way in the use of an Ordinance appointed by Iesus Christ to set forth his sufferings , and all the riches of the Covenant of grace to the soule , there may be expected here a further blessing then in the other , though its true , the other might worke mightily upon the heart ; but yet this being a great Ordinance of Christ in the church , a great institution of Iesus Christ , for the setting out of his sufferings , it hath a more special blessing that goes along with it ; every Ordinance hath a promise , and a more speciall blessing then any other thing that is not an Ordinance . So when you come here to behold Christ crucified before you , you cannot see Christ naturally crucified as upon the Crosse : but you have Christ crucified before you in the way of a Sacrament , in the way of a solemne institution of Iesus Christ , that hath a speciall Blessing which goes along with it ; therefore if the heart be not broken here , there is an aggravation of the hardnesse of the heart as great as if we should behold Iesus Christ upon the Crosse and our hearts not broken there ; and indeed this is a special reason why those are said to be guilty of the body and bloud of Christ that receive unworthily ; as if a man had been then alive , and had been before the Crosse , and there have seen how the blood of Iesus Christ was shed for sinne , and should not have been affected with it , but should have acounted it as a common thing ; this man in some regard might have been said to be guilty of his death ; that is , to have joyned and consented with those that did crucifie him ; for if a man sees another commit a sin , if he bee not affected with that sinne , and it does not stirre his heart , he may come to be partaker of his Sinne ; so those that shall come to see Jesus Christ crucifyed , and have not their hearts at all stir'd with the crucifying of Christ , they are in some regard truly said to be guilty of the body and blood of Iesus Christ ; and that 's the second thing , brokennesse of Spirit is suitable to the light of a broken Christ . 3. The third thing that is here to be done in the sanctifying of Gods name , is the purging and cleansing of the heart from sinne ; an actuall cleansing and purging the heart from sinne there ought to be . The Iews in their Passeover were to cast out all leaven , and those that write of the custome of the Jews , say that they were wont to doe three things in the casting out of their Leven . 1. They made diligent search for Leaven ; they lighted Candles to look into every Corner least there should be any bit of Leaven left in the house . 2. When they found it they cast it out . 3. They used an execration , they did curse themselves if they should willingly keepe any Leaven in the house . So my brethren , when we come to partake of this holy Ordinance , there should be a diligent inquisition for sin , for Sin in Scripture is compared to Leaven ; thou shouldest make a diligent search what sin there is in thy heart , in any of the faculties of thy soule , what sinne there is in thy thoughts , in thy Conscience , in thy understanding , in thy will , in any of thy affections , what sinne there hath been in thy life , what family sins , what personall sins . Thou shouldest make a diligent search to see whither there be not some Leaven , some evill in thy heart ; and what ever sin thou shalt come to find out in thy heart , there must be a casting of it out ; that is , thy soule must be set against it to oppose it with all thy might ; whatever beloved sin , whatever gainefull sin , whatsoever become of thee , thy soule must renounce that sinne of thine ; yea and in a kind of execration of thy selfe ; that 's thus , Lord , as ever I expect to receive any good by this body and blood of Christ , that I come now to receive , so Lord , here I professe against every sin that I have found out in my heart ; I desire to find out all , and professe against all , and renounce all , and would doe to the uttermost that I am able for delivering of my soule fully , from every knowne or beloved sin ; oh that there might not be any remaining in my heart ; this must be the disposition of the soule comming hither , and it must needs be thus or else we cannot sanctifie Gods name , because there is nothing more sutable then this disposition unto the receiving of the Sacrament ; for we come here to professe that we doe acknowledge that sinne did cost so much as it did , that it cost the blood of the Sonne of God ; now this cannot chuse but cause the heart to renounce sinne ; If indeed I doe beleeve that sinne hath cost the bloud of Christ , that it cost him so deare as it did , that it did trouble Heaven and earth , that there must be such a mighty wonderfull way of satisfaction to God for my sinne committed against him , certainly sinne hath a dreadfull evill in it ; oh , let me never have to doe with such sin that was the cause of such sufferings to my Saviour , that did shed his blood . If so be that thou sawest a knife that had cut the throat of thy dearest child , would not thy heart rise against that knife ? suppose you come to a Table , and there is a knife laid at your Trencher , and it was told you , this is the knife that cut the throat of your childe , or Father , if you could use that knife as another knife , would not any one say , there was but little love to your Father or child ? So when there is a temptation comes to any sin , this is the knife that cut the throat of Christ , that pierct his sides , that was the cause of all his sufferings , that made Christ to be a curse ; now wilt not thou look upon that as a cursed thing , that made Christ to be a curse ; oh with what detestation would a man or woman fling away such a knife ! and with the like detestation it is required that thou shouldest renounce sin , for that was the cause of the death of Christ ; I remember it is reported of Anthony when Caesar was slaine , he comes to stir up the people against those that had slaine Caesar , and he takes the cloathes that were bloudy and holds them forth to the people , and saith , here is the bloud of your Emperour , and upon that the people were inraged against those that had slaine him , and went and pulld down their houses upon them ; so when thou comest to this Sacrament , thou seest the bloud of Christ gushing out , and for thy sin , if ever thy sin be pardoned ; either thy soule must be eternally damn'd for thy sin , or else thy sin cost the gushing out of the Blood of Christ ; now when thou seest this ; this should cause a holy rage in thy soule against sin that caused this , surely the putting away sin , the risings of the heart against sin must needs be a disposition sutable to such an Ordinance as this is . And that 's the third thing required in the sanctifying of Gods name in this Ordinance , the purging out of sin , and rising of the heart against it . 4. The fourth thing that is to be done for the sanctifying of Gods name here , it is the hungering and thirsting of the soule after Jesus Christ ; whosoever coms hither , he comes to a feast , and the Lord expects that all his guests should come with stomacks unto this feast , come with hungring and longing for Jesus Christ ; this should be the disposition of the soule , oh that my soule might injoy Communion with Jesus Christ ; now , this is the end that I am come for ; oh , the Lord : that knows the workings of my heart , knowes that this is the great desire of my soule , that I might enjoy Communion with Jesus Christ ; oh that I might have more of Christ , that I might meet with Christ , that I might have some further manifestation with Jesus Christ , that I might have my soule further united to the Lord Christ , and so have further influence of Christ to my soule ; I come with thirsting after the Lord Christ knowing my infinite need of him , and the infinite excellency that there is in Jesus Christ ; my soule doth famish and perish for ever without Christ ; but in the injoyment of Christ there is a fulnesse for the satisfying of my soule ; that I have had of Christ sometimes in the word , and sometimes in prayer , that hath been sweet unto me , but I expect a further Communion of Christ here , for this is the grand Ordinance for Communion with Jesus Christ ; in deed the word in this respect it is beyond this Ordinance , that is , it is not only for the increase of grace , but for the begetting ; this is only for the increase of grace and not appointed for the begetting ; now in that respect the Word is above the Sacrament ; but now this Sacrament is a more full Ordinance for Communion with Jesus Christ , this is the Communion of the body of Jesus Christ , and of his bloud , and therefore there ought to be hungring and thirsting desires of the soule after Jesus Christ , therefore you must take heed you doe not come with your Stomacks full of trash , as children when they can get Plums and Peares and fill their stomacks with them , when they come to your Tables , though there be never so much wholsome diet , they have no mind at all to it ; so it is with men of the world , they fill their hearts with the trash of this world , and with sensuall delights , and hence it is that when they come to such a great Ordinance to enjoy Communion with Jesus Christ , that then they feele no want at all of Christ , only they come and take a little peece of bread and a draught of wine , but for any strong pausing desires to meet with Jesus Christ there in the Ordinance , to come so as they know not how to live without Christ , even as a man that is an hungred cannot live without his meat and drinke , and so for the soule to have such a disposition after Christ , this is a rare thing ; but know that Gods name is not sanctifyed , unlesse thou doest come in such a way unto this holy Sacrament ; that 's the fourth thing , hungry and thirsty desires after Christ , from a deepe sence of the need of him , and the apprehension of the Excellencie in him . 5. In the fift place , there must be an exercise of Faith for the sanctifying of Gods name here ; Faith , that is both the hand and the mouth for the taking of this spirituall meat , and spirituall drink ; when thou comest to the Feast of the Lord , Faith first is the eye , and then the hand and mouth ; it is the eye of the soul to give a reall sight of what there is here , you are not able to discerne the body of the Lord but by the eye of Faith ; if thou comest only with bodily eyes to look upon what is here , thou seest nothing but a little bread and wine ; But now where the eye of Faith is , there is a reall appearance of Jesus Christ to the soule , as if Christ were bodily present , and we need not have the bread turned into his body ; for Faith can see the body of Christ through the bread , and the body of Christ gushing in the wine . And it is a mighty thing to have Christ and such spirituall things made reall and not to be a fansie . If one look upon the fire that is painted , one cannot heat ones selfe in cold weather with that , but fire that is really burning upon the hearth ; so those that come to receive the Sacrament , and not come with Faith , that have only the eye of their bodies , they only see as it were a painted Christ , they doe not see Christ really : his body and bloud and those great Mysteries of the Gospel are not presented as reall things to their soules ; and hence it is that they go away and get nothing ; but now when the soule comes with the eye of Faith , the soule sees the wonderfull things of God , it is the most glorious sight in the world ; all the glory of God in the heavens and earth is not like this sight of Jesus Christ and the mysteries of the Gospell that do appeare to the eye of faith ; therefore you may by this know whether you have come with faith or no to the Sacrament ; whether you have seen the most glorious sight that ever your eyes did behold , alas , with our naturall eyes , we behold a Minister comming with a peece of bread and a little wine : but when the eye of faith is opened , then wee behold the glorious things of the Gospell ; many times when you come to hear the word , your hearts burne within you , as they that went to Emaus ; but when you are breaking bread , the eye of faith that must look upon Jesus Christ ; and in this sence , those that have pierced Christ must look upon him ; that Scripture is fulfilled in Zach. 12. latter end , they shall look on him whom they have pierced by their sins , and then mourne and lament ; this eye of faith will cause mourning and lamenting for sinne . And then as faith is the eye to make what is here reall , so faith is the hand to take it ; when you come to a feast , you must have something to take the meat to you ; so saith Christ he brake bread and gave it to his Disciples ; saying , take eat this , take it ; how shall we take it ? by reaching out of the hand ; if you sanctifie Gods name in this Ordinance , as you reach out your hand to take the bread and wine , so there must be an actuall reaching out of the soule by faith , putting forth an act of faith to receive Jesus Christ unto the soule , to apply the Lord Jesus Christ to thy soule with all his merits and good things that he hath purchased ; when the Minister doth give out that Ordinance , you should look upon God the Father giving out his Sonne , as if this were your condition . I am now in the presence of the eternall Father , who now doth actually give out his Sonne to my soule , and saith soule , here receive anew , this day my Sonne with all that he hath purchased for thy good ; now then the soule acts upon this , and by stirring up an act of faith , comes and closes with this gift of the Father , and casts its selfe upon Jesus Christ , and saith as it were Amen to what the Father gives , oh Lord , here I come and imbrace thy Sonne as my life , as my Saviour as the fountaine of all my good , in whom I expect all the good I am like to have either here or to all eternity ; so that there must be a stirring up of the act of faith in an actuall taking of Christ , if thou beest a beleever ; canst thou remember what thou didst , when first thou didst take Jesus Christ ? when the Lord in the preaching of his word did reveale Jesus Christ to thy soule , what didst thou then oh soule ? how did thy soule work in closing with Christ ; as thy soule did then in closing with Christ , so it must now renew the work , there must be a renewall of the worke at that time . So that when you come to the Sacrament , you must not thinke that it is then a time to listen to doubts , feares , and scruples ; no , but it is a time that God cals for the exercise of faith , the casting of the soule upon Christ , and his merits for life and for salvation , or else the name of God is not sanctified as it ought ; thou doest not sanctifie Gods name , when thou art busying thy foule in doubts and scruples in thy receiving of the Sacrament . And then faith is as the mouth ; when thou commest to eat and drinke , how canst thou if thou hast not a mouth ? thou hast a bodily month to take in bread and wine ; but know that without faith thy soule cannot take in Christ ; faith is as it were the mouth ; that is , by the act of faith the soule doth open it selfe for Jesus Christ , and not only opens it selfe , but takes in Christ to the soule , and makes Christ and the soule as one , as our bread and wine is made one with our body , so faith takes in Christ , and makes him as one with thee , and turnes Christ into the nourishment of thy foule , and thou and Christ by faith are made as truly one , as the bread and wine that is put into thy body , is made one with thy body . This is the worke of faith , without which wee cannot sanctifie the name of God. Sixthly , there must be spirituall joy ; that must be exercised here ; for it is a feast ; here we come to sit with Christ at his Table , wee come as children to our Fathers Table , and to sit there with Jesus Christ our elder Brother ; now as a Father doth not love to have his child set in a sullen and dogged way at his Table , or to be crying , but he would have the child set in comfort , and with a holy cheerfulnesse with a holy freedome of Spirit ; not in a sullen way , but as a child in the presence of his Father , and not as a Servant with the Master . Object . You told us before that there should be brokennesse of Spirit and sence of our sin . Answ . That may be and joy ; we rejoyce with trembling ; therefore that brokennesse of Spirit that I meant , must not bee slavish horrour and feare , but a kindly melting of the soule from the aprehension of the love of God unto it in Jesus Christ , that was willing to be at so great cost to purchase the pardon of sin : such a gracious mourning as may stand with joy , and the truth is that that sorrow for sin in the Sacrament that is not mixt with joy , is a sorrow that doth not sanctifie Gods name ; godly sorrow and evangelicall joy may stand together very well . And therefore know that this is not the time ; neither to give liberty to have your hearts sinke ; no , there must be no sinking sorrow of heart , but such a sorrow of heart as in the midst of it , you may be able to look upon God as a reconciled Father to you , and have a cheerfulnesse of Spirit as in the midst of it , you must look upon your selves as Gods guest , to be merry at his Table ; now this is a great mystery of godlinesse , that there should be at the same time , the sight of Christ crucified , and yet at the same time a spirituall cheerfulnesse in the assurance of the love of God in Iesus Christ . I say it is a Mystery and only those that are Beleevers are able to understand this mystery , how to have their hearts break , and yet how to rejoyce at the same time in that unspeakeable love of God that is here presented unto them in this Sacrament . Seventhly , In the next place there must be thankefulnesse ; therefore it is called the Eucharist , and in one of the Evangelists where it is said , Christ blest the bread , in another it is said , Christ gave thanks ; Christ when he instituted this Sacrament , hee gave thanks ; he gave thanks ; for what ? he gave thanks to God the Father , that he was pleased to send him into the world to die for poor soules ; now shall Iesus Christ give thanks unto God the Father for that that did cost him his life ? yea saith Christ I see that here is a way to save soules ; and let it cost me my life if it will , yet I blesse thee O Father , if soules may come to be sav'd though it cost me my life . Christ rejoyced in his Spirit in thanking his Father for this ; then how should our hearts be inlarged with thankefulnesse when we come to this that the Ancients were wont to call the Eucharist , that is a thanksgiving ? we are to give God thankes for every mercy , you will not eate your owne bread without giving of thankes ; but when wee come to have this bread , this bread of life , here is matter of thankefulnesse , here is matter of inlargement of soule ; thou that hast the deadest and dullest soule , and straightest Spirit , yet when thou comest hither and understandest what thou doest , here thou canst not but see matter for the inlargement of thy heart , and wish that thou hadst ten thousand thousand times more strength to expresse the praises of the Lord ; here is a thing that must be the subject of the Hallelujahs and doxologies , that Angels and Saints must for ever sound out in the highest heavens ; dost thou know what the Lord presents to thee here ? it is more then if the Lord should say , I will make ten thousand worlds for the sake of this creature , and give all these worlds to him , thou wouldest thinke that thou wert bound to blesse him then ; only when God in the Bread and wine , reaches out to thee the body & bloud of his Sonne , here is more matter of praise , then if ten thousand thousand worlds were given to thee , and therefore God expects that thou shouldest say to thy soule , my soul praise thou the Lord , and all that is within me praise his holy name ; blesse the Lord O my soule , and forget not all his benefits ; who forgiveth all thine iniquities , who healeth all thy diseases ; O poor soule , here is the foundation of all mercies ; dost thou praise God for justification , for sanctification ? here is a glorious application of the mercy of God to the soules of sinners , and therefore if ever thou wert thankfull , be thankefull here . The Sabbath my Brethren , that is appointed to be the set constant day of thankesgiving for the great mercies of God in Christ , and there are other dayes for nationall mercies ; now a speciall work of the Lords day is the celebration of this holy Sacrament , and the Christians in former times were wont to do it every Lords day , because that 's the day appointed by God for to be the day of thankesgiving for that great mercy , the Lord Jesus Christ : and that 's the reason why the Sabbath was changed ; the last day of the week was the Iewish Sabbath , and that was to celebrate the memoriall of the Creation of the world ; and the first day now , it is to be the day of thanksgiving for all the work of God in mans redemption . Eightly , A further thing is this , if you would sanctifie Gods name , you must be willing to renew your Covenant , that 's the end of it ; there must be an actuall renewing of your Covenant with God , that 's thus , I come to receive this bread and this wine , and this is to be as the Seale of the Covenant on Gods part ; now this will be emplyed in the nature of the thing , that if I take the Seales of Gods Covenant , that I must be willing to set to my Seale too , to renew the Covenant that God calls me to ; now know , all men and women that are sav'd , they are sav'd by the vertue of the Covenant of grace ; and there God on his part promises and makes a Covenant , that hee will bestow his Son , life and salvation through him ; and thou must likewise come in on thy part , and beleeve on his Son and repent , which is the Tenour of the Gospel ; now every time thou comest to receive this Sacrament , thou commest to renew this Covenant ; As if thou shouldest say , Lord , thou hast been pleased to make a Covenant of grace ; as the first Covenant was broken , and all men were cast by that Covenant , now thou hast made a Covenant of grace , and callest thy servants whom thou intendest to save that they should renew their Covenant with thee in this Sacrament of thine ; Lord here I come ; and Lord here I renew it and set to my seale , to promise and Covenant with thee , that as ever I expect to receive any good from Christ , so Lord here I will be thine , I will give up my selfe for ever to thee ; as thou hast given me the Body and bloud of Christ for my salvation , so Lord , here I consecrate my body and bloud to thee , the last drop of my heart blood shall be given up to thee , and so my strength and estate , and name , and whatever I am or have shall be thine . Have you done thus when you have come to receive the Sacrament ? have you actually renewed your Covenant with God ? you that have taken the body of Christ , have you given up your body to Christ ? what 's the reason then that you sinne so much with your bodies ? that you abuse your body with uncleannesse ? and drunkennesse ? and other wickednesse afterwards ? oh you prophane the name of God ; and the very body and blood of Christ in this , except thou givest up thy body and soule to God in way of Covenant . Ninthly , In the last place for the sanctifying of Gods name , there is required a renewing of Love ; the comming with lovely dispositions and the renewing of the grace of love , not only towards God , but towards our Brethren ; for it is the feast of the Lord and it is an act of Communion ; Communion , not only with Christ , but with his Churches ; with his Saints ; and as I have told you that there is a profession of our selves to be of the same body with Jesus Christ , then the Lord requires that his children should not fall out that come to his Table , but that there should be love and peace ; there 's a mighty bond upon thee when thou commest to the Sacrament ; and therefore , first , all heart burnings , and heart grudges , must bee laid aside ; and Secondly you must come with a willingnesse to be reconciled one to another , willingnesse to passe by all infirmities in thy Brethren ; here I have the Seale of Gods willingnesse to passe by all my sins , and therefore I must bee willing to passe by all infirmities in my Brethren ; I must now cast out all ill wishes towards others ; and come with a desire of all good unto them ; and with a heart ready to embrace any opportunity to do any good ; thou doest lye unto God except thou commest with such a heart as this is ; Lord thou knowest that I am willing to take all opportunities to doe good to those , that I now doe communicate with , for it is the nearest Communion that possibly can be in this world , betweene one Creature and another , and this is the reason why there should bee that Ordinance of Christ set up everywhere , to cast out those that are unworthy , because it is the greatest union and Communion that possibly can be , for it is the Sacrament and Communion of the same body ; they are the same members of Christ now if thou doest not thinke such a one to be a member of Christ , why doest not thou what thou canst to have him cast out ? but so long as thou hast done nothing in private to him , or in telling the Church , thou doest owne him to be a member of Iesus Christ ; if thou doest so , take heed how thy heart be estranged from him , take heed how thou behavest thy selfe to them ; take heed how thou livest in a jarring way , and a contentious way with them , and holdest them off at staves end , or walking at a distance from them , though they be never so poor and mean , know that thou doest prophane this holy Ordinance every time thou commest to it when thou commest with such a heart as this is ; if thou dost not find this renewed love , Lord , there began to be a strangenesse between me , and those that have communicated with me , but Lord thou art pleased to vouchsafe us to come once more to this Ordinance , and Lord here we do professe that this Ordinance shall unite our hearts together more then ever they were ; I will study to doe what good possibly I can to my brother ; that is we joyne here to the feast of the Lord with comfort , so we may live together in peace and love as it becomes the Saints of God , and the members of the Body of Iesus Christ ; oh how farre are people from any such worke of God as this is ; the Lord expects that this should be in you every time you come to the holy Communion ; here hath been nine particulars now mentioned , for the sanctifying of the name of God when wee come to partake of the Sacrament ; but oh Lord what cause have we to lay our hands upon our hearts ● for if this be to sanctifie thy name then it hath been a riddle , a mystery to us ; certainly my brethren these things are the truths of God that I have delivered , and so farre as you have been wanting , in any of these , know so farre you have taken Gods name in vaine , in this holy Ordinance , you have not been worthy receivers of this Sacrament , you have cause to look back to your former waies , and spend much humilation for your sin herein , and not to be so greedy of it as some are ; they must have the Communion , but I put it to your Consciences , have you repented you for the profaning of Gods name , and that 's that that we should further have spoken of ; that God will be sanctified ; that 's thus , if we doe not sanctifie Gods name , it will quite turne to the contrary ; it is the proper end of the Sacrament , to seale up our salvation ; but if wee sanctifie not Gods name , it will seale up our condemnation ; if it hath not been thy endeavour to sanctifie the name of God , so many times as thou hast received the Sacrament , so many seales hast thou upon thee for the sealing up of thy condemnation ; many mens or womens condemnations are sealed with three or foure hundred seales it may be . But yet for thy comfort , while thou art alive , it is possible that thse Seales may be broken open ; as wee read in the Revelations that John saw the Book that had seven seals upon it , and none could be found that was able to open it ; at length the Lamb that was slaine he was found worthy to open the Book ; So I say , thy condemnation is sealed up with many seales , and there is no Creature that is able to cancel these seales , only the Lamb , Iesus Christ , yea that Christ whose blood thou hast shed , and been guilty of , only he is worthy ; and he is willing to open these seales ; for as it was with those that did crucifie Christ , yet they were sav'd by the same blood that they had shed , as in Acts 2. so though thou hast been guilty of shedding the blood of Christ againe and againe by thy prophane coming to the Sacrament , yet know , seeing there is life in thee , and the day of grace is continued , it is possible that thy soul may be sav'd by that blood that thou hast crucified ; O how many are cut off , that have thus prophan'd the name of God in this Sacrament , and never came to understand this danger ! they are cut of and now are undone for ever ; why blesse God that thou art alive to heare more about this Sacrament , and how Gods name should be sanctifyed ; that thou art alive , and hast time to repent thee of this great evill , of profaning the name of God in this holy Sacrament . SERMON XIII . LEVITICUS . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . THere is one thing more about the sanctifying the name of God in the Sacrament which cleerly concernes us : and that is , To keep to the institution of the Sacrament ; for this is such a worship of God , as depends meerly upon institution ; that is , upon a positive Law , upon the will of God ; there are some duties of worship which are naturall , that we may know by the light of nature they are due to God : but the Sacrament is a duty of worship that is onely by institution ; and if God had not revealed it , we had not been bound to it ; therefore in these duties of institution , God stands very punctuall upon them ; we must be very exact , neither to erre on the right hand nor the left ; to make any alteration in the points of institution ; Now therefore for the institution of this Sacrament we find it in divers of the Evangelist ; in Matth. 26. 26. there you shall find that Christ and his Disciples they eat the Sacrament together ; and this was the way of it ; they were together sitting at the same Table ; so it is called the Table of the Lord sometimes in Scripture ; therefore that 's the first thing that is according to the institution , that those that doe communicate must come to the Table as neer as they can ; as many as can set about it , and all to come as neer as they can , and the reason is , because that otherwise you will not be able to attain the end why God would have you come to receive ; the end is to remember the death of Christ ; now except you be able to see the sight , to see what is done , to have your eye as well as your eare exercised , you do not fully accomplish the end that is appointed ; for this is a Sacrament , that doth present to our eyes the death of Christ , and the great mysteries of salvation , and therefore it is according to the institution , that every Communicant must be where hee may behold what is done , he must be where he may see the breaking of the bread , and the powring forth of the wine ; certainly it hath been a disorderly way therefore for people to set up and downe in their pews everywhere in the Congregation ; and for the Minister to goe up and downe after them ; so that they could see nothing , nor scarce hear any thing ; it is much for the attaining to the end of the institution for all Communicants to look upon the breaking of the bread , and the pouring forth of the wine in the Sacrament ; and therefore all should come together ; and there as many as can sit at his Table , or those that cannot , neer to it ; and the rather because this is not only from the example of Christ , that he did so , though that 's somwhat ; but because it hath a spirituall significancie in it , and that 's the reason that it should be done ; we find in Luke 22. 26. the institution of the Sacrament ; now marke upon their comming and being with Christ , at the Table , saith Christ in the 29. and 30. verses , and I appoint unto you a Kingdome as my father hath appointed unto mee , that you may eat and drinke at my Table in my Kingdome , and sit on Thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel ; he spake it upon that occasion of the Disciples sitting with him at the Table ; when they did eat bread , and when they tooke the Cup ; upon that occasion Christ spoke to his Disciples , and said I appoint to you a Kingdome , and so sit on Thrones judging at my Table in my Kingdome , and so sit on Thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel ; as if Christ should say , you can sit with mee at my Table here ; and know that this sitting with me at my Table it is but as it were a praeludium , a foresignification of the Communion that you shall have with me in my Kingdome : you shall have that familiar Communion with me when I come unto my Kingdome , there to sit as it were with mee , to joyne with me in my Kingdome judging the twelve Tribes of Israel : even as you doe now in that holy fellowship joyne with me in sitting at my Table ; this is the meaning of Christ , so that the Gesture in the Sacrament is not a meer indifferent thing ; heretofore it hath been thought unreasonable to contend for what Gesture wee should use . Now that that hath been the Institution of Christ , and hath a spirituall significancie in it , is not indifferent ; for not only the eating the bread and drinking the wine is significative , but the gesture whereby we have fellowship with Jesus Christ here , to signifie that fellowship we shall have with him in the Kingdome of Heaven ; so that the people of God were depriv'd of a great deale of comfort , and of one speciall benefit of this holy Sacrament , whereas they might not receive it fitting ; whereas Christ saith that your sitting with me here is a signification of your sitting with me when I come into the Kingdome of heaven ; some say they must kneele because they may receive it with more reverence ; certainly were it a thing as some say indifferent , it were another matter ; but for to say it is not reverence to sit , in that they accuse Christ himselfe for want of reverence , as if he would appoint a way , or would have his Disciples use any such way as were not reverent ; saith Christ I intend by your very gesture to have this signified unto you , that though you be poore wretched wormes , yet even such is my love to you , as you shall sit with me when I come to my Kingdome , and judge the twelve Tribes of Israel ; and every time you come to my Table , and there sit at it , or about it , then you should be put in mind that there is a time , that though you be poore unworthy creatures , worthy to be among the dogges , yet the mercy of God is such unto us , as he hath appointed us to have a familiar fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ when we come in his Kingdome to sit with him , and even to judge the twelve tribes of Israel , yea to judge the whole world ; for so saith the Scripture , shall not the Saints judge the world ? now this hinders spirituall meditation and comfort , that the Saints have ; therefore we are to look to the institution and to follow it ; that 's the first thing in setting with Christ at his Table . The second thing in the institution is , that the Bread being taken by the Minister is to be blessed , broken , and then to bee given ; Christ took it , and blessed it , and brake it , and gave it : and the people they are to look upon all this : to look upon the Ministers taking , blessing , breaking , and giving ; and then the cup by its selfe , wee find Christ in Matth. 26. 27. hee first blest the bread , and then he blest the cup distinctly by its selfe saying , this is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many , for the remission of sinnes ; and you shall observe that the text saith he drank it , and said , drink yee all of it ; so that this is not according to the institution for a Minister to goe up and downe , and to give it into every mans hand ; certainly this was not so from the beginning ; this is a way of mans own devising ; for the bread and the cup to be given into every bodies hand by the Minister : Christ did but give it once , hee gave it to them all , and said , drink yee all of this , so it was done . Quest . But you will say , is it not better for it to be given into every ones hand ? Answ . No , because that the giving of it once for all , doth signifie more fully the fellowship and communion that they have together ; as at a Table it were a strange thing that every bit of meat must be given to every one particularly ; no , but the dishes must bee set before them and they must take it themselves : Indeed , if they be children you cut every peice of meat , and give it into their hands or mouths ; but that 's sutable to a fellowship at Table , and communion , to have the meat set before them , being blest , and then for all to partake of it . And besides this , giving it into every ones hand , certainly , it came to us from a Popish and superstitious conceit of the Papists ; for the Papists will give it into their mouths , because the people must not defile it with their hands . And it was to bring more reverence to the Sacrament ; now there 's a great deale of danger , for to bring in mens devices for to cause more reverence ; we are to look to the Ordinance of Christ , hee gave it once , and said , drink yee of it , in General to them all ; and so the Ministers should do . And besides there is this in it more , and one would wonder that Ministers should give it in particular and not in generall to the Church : for by this meanes Ministers might abundantly ease themselves of a great deale of charge and guilt ; for upon this ground it will appeare , that a Minister , though as an eminent officer he is to look to his Congregation that they be fit , yet the truth is , it concernes the Church as well to look who comes there , and likewise the Minister I say , to look about him that he doth not say , The body of the Lord Jesus Christ was given to thee , when he knowes they are prophane and wicked ; it concerns the Minister to look that he doth not tell a lie ; but now when the Minister gives it generally to the Church , Take , eate , and Take drinke , he gives it particularly to no body ; Now then his charge is divided to the Church , and if there be any body that is unworthy , let the Church look to it as well as he : though he as an eminent Officer , it s more especially in particular his duty then any others ; heretofore the charge would lie much upon the Minister , but the Minister according to the institution , should give the Sacrament to no particular ; but in generall to the Church , and therefore if there were but any particular , that the Minister upon a particular knowledge did know to be naught , he might in great part discharge himselfe , as professing against this or that particular man ; for it is not in his power alone to keep any from the Sacrament , but if so be that he shall professe against such and such men , the Church must joyne with him to labour to keep them from the Sacrament , and that is the next thing for the institution , Christ gave it not into any particular mens hands ; but he gave it to all , saying , Drinke , and eat yee all of it . A third thing that is to be observed for the institution of this ; that all the while the Communicants are taking , eating , and drinking the bread and wine ; they should all of them that while have their thoughts exercised about the death of Jesus Christ ; for that 's the institution ; do this in remembrance of mee ; there should be no action intermingled , in the time of the receiving of the Sacrament ; nothing but minding the work that you are about , that is , to remember the death of Iesus Christ ; and to discerne the body of the Lord , not only when you take your selves the bread and wine ; but when you see the bread and wine , broken or powred forth , and you see others taking the bread and wine , all that while , you should be thinking of the death of Christ , and discerning the Lords body ; and consider what these outward elements do signifie , and that they doe seale the great benefit of the Covenant of grace ; therefore it is not according to the institution , to be singing of Psalmes in the mean time while the Sacrament is receiving and so to have your thoughts about other things : singing of Psalmes in its due time is a good thing ; but for you to doe it at that time when as the death of Christ is presented before you , and Christ calls you to look upon his body , and to thinke upon what he hath done and suffered ; this is no seasonable time of singing ; and if you read the institution , you shall find , that Christ , after all was done ( the text saith ) they sung an hymne ; so that according to the institution , it is after the action is done of eating and drinking , then for the Church to joyne together and sing a Psalme in the praise of God ; and then they must mind all the same thing together ; for that 's the thing to be done in the Sacrament ; that look what one doth all must mind together ; for when one part sings , and the other are waiting for the bread and wine , this is not sutable to the holy Table action , and that Communion that God requires of us ; though the things in themselves are both good that are doing ; yet when we are about this holy Ordinance , being it is an Ordinance for Communion , all are to be doing the same thing at the same time ; and so when all have done eating and drinking , then for all to joyne together in singing to the praise of God. Now it may be , this at first seems strange to many ; yet certainly observe this ; doe but keepe to the institution in the Sacrament , though you may thinke it a more mean way , yet you will find a greater beauty in this Ordinance , then ever you found in all your lives ; for the more wee keep to Christs institution and mingle nothing of our owne , the more glory , and beauty , and excellency doth appeare in the Ordinances of Iesus Christ ; but when any man shall mix any of his owne inventions , though he may do it to a good end , and think to adde to and put a greater lustre upon the Sacrament : the truth is , that which he thinks to be a greater lustre , reverence , or honour put upon it , it doth rather take off the lustre and glory of the Sacrament ; then are the institutions of Christ glorious when there is no mixture among them ; thus wee should sanctifie the name of God , in receiving this holy Sacrament ; you have had divers things propounded to you whereby you may come to know and easily to see that there hath been a great deale of dishonour done to this Sacrament , and the beauty and glory of it hath been darkened , and the sweet that the Saints might otherwise have received in plucking hath been exceedingly hindred . There is but one thing more that I shall propound to you , and that is the severall meditations that we should meditate on in receiving of the Sacrament ; the most concerning meditations are suggested in the holy Communion that are in any thing whatsoever , more concerning , more efficacious , more various meditations wee have suggested here then in any thing , and it is a great figne that men and women , do not discerne the Lords body if so be their meditations be barren at that time . I will therefore suggest some nine or ten meditations that that Ordinance of God may hold out very plainly , and familiarly to every Communicant , for the busying of their thoughts all the time that action is a doing . Meditation 1. As first , that the way of mans salvation it was by a Mediator , it is not only by Gods mercy , Gods saying that hee is offended by sin , but he will be content to passe it by ; no , but it is through a Mediator ; now this meditation is suggested thus , when I see the bread and wine , if I disceren what that signifyes it will hold forth this to me , that the way of mans salvation , it is not meerly from hence that God saith , well , I will pardon them , and no more , but there is required a great worke of God to make an aronement , between sinners and himselfe ; this Sacrament doth hold forth thus much unto us ; wherefore else have we bread and wine , but to signifie that the way of our rconciliation it must be through a Mediator ? Med. 2. The second Meditation is this , that this Mediator that stands between God and us , is verily and truely man ; hee hath taken our nature upon him ; the bread that puts us in mind of the body of Christ , and the wine of his bloud , and therefore we are to meditate of the humane nature of Iesus Christ ; and this is a meditation that hath abundance that might spring out of it ; what hath the Son of God taken our nature upon him ? hath hee body and bloud and humane nature upon him ? oh how hath God honoured humane nature ? then let me not abuse my body to lust , to wickednesse , seeing that Jesus Christ hath taken the body of man upon him , humane nature upon him , let me honour humane nature that is so neerly united to the divine nature ; that 's the second Meditation . Meditation . 3. Here 's presented unto us what this Mediator hath done for the reconciling of us unto God , that his body was broken ; he hath subjected himself to the breaking of his body , and to the pouring forth of his blood for the reconciling of us ; it is not meerly ( as before ) that God saith , I le pardon them ; but Christ undertaking to make peace between his Father and us , it cost him the breaking of his body , and the pouring forth of his blood ; this is a usefull Meditation ; Oh what should we be willing to suffer for Jesus Christ in our bodies , even to resist unto blood , seeing Christ hath been content to have his precious body broken , and his blood shed for us ! Meditation 4 Againe , a fourth Meditation is this , that here we come to see we have occasion of meditating of that the Scripture saith , that we are by the blood of God saved , it is the blood of God , they crucified the Lord of glory , that 's the Scripture phrase ; we should consider when we see the Wine poured out , and so put in mind of blood , whose blood and whose body is this ; It is no other but the body and blood of him that was truly God , the second Person in Trinity . This is the great Mystery of the Gospel , and this is very needfull for us to be thinking of when we see the body broken and the blood poured out : What will the breaking of the body and shedding of the blood of a meere creature be sufficient to make peace between God and Man ? surely no ; therefore you must meditate whose body this is , and whose blood this is , it is the body and blood of him that was God ; It s true , God hath no body nor no blood , but the same person that was God , had a body and blood ; that body and blood was united unto the divine nature in a hypostaticall union , and from thence it came to have an efficacie for to satisfie God , for to reconcile God and us together , this is the great mystery of godlinesse . Med. 5. Another Meditation is this , when you see Bread broken and Wine poured out , oh the infinite dreadfulnesse of the justice of God! how dreadful is the justice of God , that coming upon his own Son , and requiring satisfaction from him , that should thus break him and bruise him , that should have his blood , that should require such sufferings even from his Son ! dreadfull is Gods justice , the justice of God , it is to be feared and to be trembled at ; here we see what is required for the sinne of man , and nothing would be bated to Jesus Christ himself . Med. 6. Another Meditation is this , here I see presented to me what every soul that shall be saved cost ; whoever shall have his soul sav'd he hath it sav'd by a ransom , by a price paid that is more worth then ten thousand thousand worlds ; thou slightest thine owne soule ; but if it prove to be saved , it cost more then if thousands of worlds had been given for thee ; even the shedding of the blood of Christ , every drop of which was more precious then ten thousand worlds . Meditation 7. Again , from hence see what is the evill of sin , how great it is that hath made such a breach between God and my soule , that only such a way , and such a means must take away my sinne ; I must either have laine under the burden of my sinne eternally , or Jesus Christ that's God and man must suffer so much for it ; oh , what Meditations are these to take up the hearts of men ! Meditation 8. Behold the infinite love of God to mankind , and the love of Jesus Christ , that rather then God would see the children of men to perish eternally , he would send his Sonne to take our nature upon him , and thus to suffer such dreadfull things ; herein God shows his love ; it is not the love of God so much in giving you a good voyage , and prospering you outwardly in the world ; But , so God loved the world that he gave his only begotten Sonne ; And it pleased the Father to break his Sonne , and to poure out his blood , here is the love of God and of Jesus Christ ; oh , what a powerfull , mighty , drawing , efficacious Meditation should this be unto us ! Med. 9. Those that are beleevers they shall be nourished to eternall life , so that there is no feare that ever a beleever should quite fall off from God , and die in his sin ; Why ? Because the body and blood of Christ is given unto him for his spirituall nourishment : though a beleever be never so weak , yet seeing God hath appointed the body and blood of his Sonne for him to feed upon and to drink in a spirituall way , surely then the weakest in the world will be strengthned to goe through all the hazzards , and dangers that there are in the world ; t is this that strengthens beleevers to encounter with all kind of dangers , it s this that preserves the weakest grace in a beleever , namely the spirituall nourishment that God the Father hath appointed to them , even the feeding upon the body , and drinking the very blood of his Son ; this is meat indeed , and drinke indeeed that will nourish to eternall life . Med. 10. the last Meditation is this , when you come to this , seeing the bread broken , and the wine powred out , you have an occasion to meditate of the whole new Covenant , the Covenant of grace that God hath made with sinners ; for so the words of institution are , This is the Cup of the new Testament : the new Testament which is all one with the new Covenant , only different in this particular ; it containes the substance of the new Covenant , but calld Testament in this regard ; to shew that the Lord doth do all in the new Covenant , that is , he doth not only promise such and such mercies upon condition of our beleeving and repenting , but he doth work beleeving and repenting , and works grace , and therefore the same thing that is sometime cald a Covenant , is calld a Testament ; that is the will of God wherein the Lord doth bequeath his rich legacies to his Children , to those that shall be eternally saved , so that all the good things in the Covenant of grace they are bequeathed by way of Testament as well as Covenant , and this is a mighty comfortable meditation to the Saints ; for indeed when they look upon the way of the Gospell as in a way of Covenant , why then they thinke this , this requires somewhat of our parts to be done , and indeed God will keep Covenant on his part , but it may be we shall not keep Covenant on ours , and so we may faile at last ; but now when thou lookest upon all the good things in the Gospel dispensed in the way of a Testament , that is the will of God , the legacies that God doth bequeath to his servants , this is a mighty comfort to the soule , that all the precious things of the Gospel come to mee in the way of a Testament , and that 's the meaning of the new Testament , that is , the mercies of God in Christ comming now in the way of another administration , then they did before ; t is not only new in respect of the Covenant of workes that God made with Adam , but new in respect of the administration ; our forefathers , the Patriarchs , they had the same thing in substance , but administred in a darker way , and many differences there are ; but now when wee heare of the new Testament , there is presented unto us all the riches of the Covenant of grace in the way of a legacie and in the administration of it with cleernesse , and with a great deal of mercy and goodnesse of God , the terrour and harshnesse of the old administration being taken away . Now these are the meditations , by which wee should labour to sanctifie our hearts , when we are receiving of the Sacrament ; and in the working of these meditations upon our hearts ; wee shall come to sanctifie the name of God , when we are drawing nigh to him in that holy Ordinance of his ; thus for meditation . The next thing when wee are there , must be an actuating of these holy dispositions that before wee spoke of ; t is not enough for a Christian to bring grace to the Sacrament : but there must be a stirring of that grace at that time ; or otherwise the name of God is not sanctifyed in the receiving of the Sacrament , and above all graces the actuating of the grace of faith ; t is not enough that thou beest a beleever , but thy faith must act at that very instant , as thus . First , when thou hearest the Minister in the name of Christ say thus , this is the body of Iesus Christ which was given for you , take , eat , thou shouldest have thy faith so acting upon the mercy of God , in giving Iesus Christ , for the nourishment of thy foule to eternall life , as if thou didst heare a voice from heaven saying , here is the body of my Sonne given for thee particularly , take it and eat , apply it to thee , and so make Christ one with thee by faith , as the bread is made one with thy body when thou doest eat it . And then when thou commest to take hold of the bread , thou art to put forth an act of faith , faith being as the hand of the soule , and at that instant , when thou takest the bread and puttest it into thy mouth to eat , thou shouldest stirre up the act of faith afresh , laying more hold upon Jesus Christ ; look as once thou didst in thy first conversion , when Christ was presented to thee in the word or in any other way , there was an act of faith drawne forth whereby thy soule did cast it selfe , and roule it selfe upon Jesus Christ ; so shouldest thou renew it ; renew the same work of faith that thou didst find in thy very first conversion ; and thereby thou shalt come to have renewed comfort in the renewing of that act ; I might name thee other graces and dispositions ; how there should be a stirring and an acting of them ; onely remember I leave all this point with this note , that grace is not enough for partaking the Sacrament of the Lords supper , except there be an actuating , and a stirring up of that grace ; many Christians are carefull to prepare , and examine before whether they have grace or no ; but at that time when they come to receive , then there is not a lively working and stirring of that grace , and so they come to lose the comfort & benefit of that Ordinance . Thus much shal suffice for this point of sanctifying Gods name in receiving the holy Communion ; I shall now come to the last point , which is the sanctifying the name of God in prayer . Sanctifying the name of God in Prayer . NOw this argument might take us up many Sermons ; but upon occasion of the dayes of prayer and humiliation , I have preached divers Sermons about the point of prayer ; therefore I shall be breife , and only now reckon up together , and set before your view , the severall things that are to bee done for the sanctifying of the name of God in prayer . First , for prayer in that wee draw nigh to God , and its a duty of Gods worship , that I suppose all of you cannot but acknowledge ; and that it is a naturall duty of worship ; the other was instituted , but this is naturall ; its naturall for the creature to draw nigh to God in prayer , wherein the creature tenders up his homage to God , and manifests his profession of his dependance upon God for all good that he hath , and acknowledges God as the Author of all good , therefore this is worship , and its a great part of worship , prayer it is such a part of worship as sometimes in Scripture it s put for the whole worship of God , Hee that calls upon the name of God shall be sav'd , that is , hee that worships God aright , Jerem. 10. 25. and , Pour out thy wrath upon the Heathen that know thee not , and on the families that call not on thy name , that do not pray , that is , that do not worship thee ; there one part of worship is put for the whole , as being a principall part of the worship of God. Surely we must sanctifie Gods name in prayer , for it is that that sanctifies all things to us ; 1 Tim. 4. 5. every thing is sanctifyed by the word of God and prayer ; And if the argument of Christ was right , as no question but it was , that the Temple was greater then the gold upon the Temple , because the Temple did sanctifie the gold ; and the Altar was greater then the offering that was offered upon it , because it did sanctifie the offering ; then prayer must needs be a mighty great Ordinance ; a greater thing then any other ; because that it sanctifies all things . The word sanctifies the creatures ; but prayer sanctifies the very word unto our use ; and therefore when wee read the word we are to pray for a sanctified use of the word ; Prayer is a great Ordinance ; a great duty of worship that sanctifies all ; prayer hath a casting voice ( as I may say ) in all the great works of God in the world , the great affaires of the Kingdome of God , the Kingdome of his power , and the Kingdome of Christ , I say prayer hath a kind of a casting voice , and doth order under God the great things of the world , they are according to the prayers of the Saints , they bring down blessings upon the godly , they poure forth judgements on the wicked ; the prayers of the Saints , they are the vyalls that are poured forth in a speciall manner upon the heads of the wicked ; therefore Gods name is to bee sanctifyed in Prayer . It is to be sanctifyed first in preparation ; Psalme 10. 17. Thou wilt prepare their heart ; thou wilt cause thine ear to hear ; it is the Lord that prepareth the heart ; and then he causes his eare to hear ; and therefore in 1 Pet. 5. 7. we are there required to watch unto prayer ; men and women should keep a narrow watch over their hearts and minds , that they may not be hindred in their prayers , that they may be alwaies in a fit posture to pray ; watch unto prayer , it s that that would helpe us against many temptations to evill ; if I give way to such and such temptations it , will hinder my prayers ; I shall not have that freedome and inlargement in prayer as otherwise , if I give way to such and such things , therefore let me take heed of this , for it will hinder my prayers . As if the Apostle should say , this should be the care of Christians ; then they are like to sanctifie the name of God in prayer , if this be their great care that there is nothing in the world that shall hinder their prayers ; O let me take heed I doe nothing to hinder my prayers ; if I goe abroad into company , and am merry and jocond , and there game and drinke , and sport my selfe in company ; will not this hinder my prayers ? will not this hinder the spiritualnesse of my heart in Communion with God in prayer , when I come home at night ? I appeal to you , have you had that freedome in prayer , afterwards ? surely no , therefore watch unto prayer . Now for the preparation of the heart to prayer , wee must understand either , First , what is to be done in the course of ones life , or Secondly , What 's to be done just when one comes to prayer . For the first , the course of ones life : labour to keepe all things even and cleare between God and your soules ; that so you may not come with shakels , about your legs ; with guiltinesse ( I mean ) upon your consciences ; men that have given way to any base sinfull way , when they come to prayer , the guilt of their hearts doth even sink them ; but those that can keepe their peace with God in the course of their lives , they have other manner of freedome in prayer , then you that walke loosely and contract guiltinesse upon your Spirits . And then the second thing is to keep our hearts sensible of our continuall dependance upon God ; sensible how wee depend upon God , for whatsoever we are , whatsoever we have , whatsoever we do ; for the blessing of all is from God. The beames of the Sun do not so depend upon the Sun , as we upon God ; that if he doth but withdraw himselfe never so little from us , wee all sinke downe to nothing and perish for ever ; that soule that every day and houre is sensible of the infinite dependance it hath upon God for its present and eternall estate ; will be fit for prayer ; and that should be our care for to carry our selves , as any houre in the day , or minute in the houre , we might be fit to go to prayer ; & that 's one meaning of that place in the Thessalonians , pray continually ; not that every moment wee should be praying ; but that we should keepe our hearts in a praying frame ; some of you when you have let out your passions and are in a distemper , what will you goe to prayer now ? your conscience will tell you that you are not fit to go to prayer at that time , certainly if you be not fit to pray , you are not fit to live ; you are in an ill condition at any time if you be not fit to pray ; and there can be no excuse whatever that can be sufficient to plead for your selves why you should not be fit to pray at any time ; there is that continuall dependance upon God for all , and that need you have of the blessing of God for every thing , that there is reason you should bee in a fit condition for praying at all times ; but now when you come to prayer at the set time , then there should be a speciall preparation . First , you should prepare your selves by getting fresh and powerfull apprehensions of the glory of God , before whom you goe ; prepare by meditation about the glory of that infinite God that you are now addressing your selfe unto ; possesse yourselves with thoughts and meditations of the glory of the great God ; that 's the first . Secondly , labour to get your hearts sensible of what you go for . I am now going to God ; for what ? for pardon of sin , or for assurance of his love ; or for power against sin ; or for such and such mercies ; let me by meditation work my heart to be sensible of these things that I am going to God for , to set a due prior upon those mercies that I am praying for , and to get my heart affected with them . Thirdly , labour to get your hearts separated from the world , and from all things that are here below in the world ; and that should have been a third thing in the course of your lives , you should never let out you hearts to any creature , either to businesses or pleasures in the world so , but that you may have command of your hearts to call them when you will ; to call them in to God in prayer ; and then when you come to prayer there should be an actuall separation of your hearts from all things in the world ; dedicating yourselves to God for this time , as one that hath nothing to do with the world , nothing to do with any thing but this duty that now you are about ; this is the preparation of your hearts to prayer in the course of your lives . Now then for the prayer its selfe . First we must consider of the matter of prayer . And Secondly of the manner of it . First for the matter of it , we must look to it that it be according to Gods will 1 John. 5. 14. this is the confidence that wee have in him , that if wee ask any thing according to his will hee heareth us ; therefore for the matter we must be sure it must be good that we pray for ; it must bee for the glory of God ; for the good of our selves and the good of our Brethren . First , for the glory of God , that should be the cheife matter that we are to pray for ; so Christ when he teaches us to pray , he begins the very first petition , Matth. 6. 9 , 10. hallowed be thy name ; thy Kingdome come ; thy will be done ; first begin with the the glory of God , mind that in the cheife place , above all other things . God gives you leave to pray for outward things ; but first for the glory of God , minding that before your own benefit ; before the pardon of sin and your daily bread ; how few doe sanctifie Gods name in this ? people have little mind to pray , but when they are in outward afflictions , when they are upon their sick beds then they will pray ; or at sea in stormes then they will pray , then it seemes that the maine matter of your prayer is onely for your selves ; but how hath the matters of the glory of the great God , and the good of the Churches taken your hearts all this while ? how have your hearts been affected with this , that the name of God hath been so little sanctifyed in the world , and that the Kingdome of God hath not come , and that the will of God hath not been done , have these things taken up your hearts in prayer , the matters of the glory of God and the good of the Churches , though your selves have not any particular interest in them ? if these things did but take up your hearts in prayer , then , when you are at sea you would remember the cause of the Churches , as much as your selves ; the Church is as it were in the midst of the sea , tost up and downe and in a great storme ; now why do not you pray as earnestly for the Kingdome of Christ among his Churches , as for your selves when you are in a storme at sea ? yea and spirituall things should be the cheife matter of your prayer ; for they are the neerest to the glory of God ; though God hath his glory from other things , yet spirituall things are neerest the glory of God ; now in these dayes of prayer , many will come to pray , that they might be freed from danger , that they might have outward peace ; this is good ; but spirituall things are the cheife things ; and therefore the strength of your spirits should be thus powred forth to God ; O that I could get my heart to God , and the assurance of the love of God! O that I could get the shine of his face ! O that I could get power over such and such corruptions . And I beseech you observe this , that spirituall things may be prayed for absolutely ; but outward things must be prayed for conditionally . I may pray ( and never put any condition in at all ) that the Lord would pardon my sins , and help me against my corruptions , &c. But when I pray for the health of my body , I ought to pray , if this bee according to thy will , then restore mee to the health of my body , or the health of my husband , or the health of my wife ; but thou mayst pray , Lord convert the soule of my husband or the soule of my wife , without any condition at all ; when your estates at Sea are in danger , when you pray for them , you must make conditions , Lord , as thou seest best for me so do thou deale with me ; this shewes the excellencie that there is in spirituall things above outward things , surely spirituall things are more to be desired , for they are to be prayed for absolutely , and the other to be prayed for only conditionally ; that 's for the first . In the second place we are to pray for our own good , God doth give us leave so to doe ; only here comes in a question . Quest . Whether it be sinfull to pray for afflictions , as sometimes some will be ready to do . Answ . To that I answer , first , take it absolutely considered , we may not pray that God would afflict us , because affliction is in its selfe materially an evill thing , and a fruit of the curse , therefore we may not ( I say ) absolutely pray for it : but thus farre wee may pray for afflictions , disjunctively , conditionally , comparatively . Disjunctively thus , Lord , either grant unto me a sanctified use of such a mercy , or otherwise let me rather be without it ; let me have a sanctified use of my sicknesse , or otherwise let my sicknesse be continued to mee ; thus now you may pray for continuing in sicknesse . Or thus , conditionally , Lord , if thou seest that my heart be so vile and wretched that I will abuse ( through my corruption ) such and such mercies , Lord rather take them from mee , and let mee be without them ; if thou seest that there be no way to break this proud heart of mine , but such a way , Lord let that be thy way to break it , if thou seest it according to thy will as the fittest way . Then comparatively thus , Lord rather let mee have any affliction then sin , rather let me suffer losse of my estate then sin against thee , then depart from thee : any thing Lord rather then sin . Thus you may pray for afflictions , but not absolutely . You must not pray that God would send you afflictions absolutely , for you doe not know your hearts ; it may bee if afflictions should come , your hearts may be as stubborne under your afflictions as they are now ; for affliction hath no power in it selfe to do us any good . And then for the good of others , for Christ teaches us to pray , Our Father . There comes in here a rebuke of the wicked practice of divers in cursing , and then a question about it . It is a wicked thing to use curses ; but it s a most wicked thing to wish evill to others in a way of prayer ; yet how many doe so ? though it may be they doe not think it , they speak to God , and desire him to bring such and such evils upon their neighbours ; yea , sometimes parents , upon their children ; this is a wicked practise of men ; what , is it not wickednesse enough for thee to have any desire that there should any evill befall thy brother , but wilt thou dare to presume to call God to be an instrument of the execution of thy base sinfull wrath , that God must be a drudge as it were to thy wrath and to thy passion ? this is abominable wickednesse . Any of you that ever have been guilty of this sinne of cursing others , wives , children , servants , or friends the Lord rebuke you for this sin ; how far hast thou been from sanctifying Gods Name in prayer ? whereas , in stead of sanctifying the holy Name of God , thou hast called God to be a servant , and a drudge to thy passion , God must be cal'd to help the venting of thy passion : oh , remember this you that have been at sea , and have been angry , and things not going according to your mind , have fallen a cursing , and a wishing such and such evills might come upon those you are angry with ; that 's a kind of prayer , but it is a most fearfull taking the name of God in vaine in the highest degree , and certainly God will not hold him guiltlesse that shall so take his Name in vaine ; therefore be humbled for this sinne . Object . But you will say , do not wee read in the book of the Psalmes , where many times the Prophet David doth curse the enimies of God and wishes evill to come upon them . Answ . To that I answer , first , that the Prophets , and those that pen'd the Psalmes they had a prophetical spirit ; and those places that you read that are in way of cursing , they are rather propheticall predictions of evill then direfull imprecations , they are rather foretelling what shall be in a way of prophecie then wishing what should be . Secondly , if they be wishing what should be , then I answer , that those that were indued with such a propheticall spirit , they did know who were the implacable enemies of God , and who were not , as David prayed against Judas , so many hundred years before hee was borne ; by a propheticall spirit , he knew that he was the childe of perdition ; indeed if we could certainly know a man that were to be a cast-away eternally from God , it were another matter ; as the Church in the time of Julian , because of his Apostasie being so abominable , it was determined almost generally by them that he had committed the sinne against the holy Ghost , and upon that they curst him . Now I say , those that had an extraordinary spirit that did know who these were , they might do it ; but this is no example for us in an ordinary way to wish evill and curses upon others . But thus far wee may do with the enemies of the Church . First , we may curse them disjunctively , Lord , either take them out of the way , or keep them that they may not doe such mischiefe in the Church : or thus , conditionally , if thou seest Lord that they be implacable , thou knowest them , if so , let thy wrath and curse pursue them ; Lord thou seest what evill they are set upon , and therefore rather then they should attaine their mischievous designes , let thy wrath and curse persue them ; so we may do it , but not absolutely to curse any , though they should do us never so much wrong , we are called to blessing ; but now in zeale to God , take heed that we be not carried on in our own passion . But being sure it is in a zeale to God , we may wish the curses of God to pursue those that God knowes to be implacable ; this is but an appealing to God , and not at all fastning it upon any particular persons that wee know , but leaving it unto God for the execution of it , and so in a zeale to the glory of God , we may doe it , and we are warranted so to doe by the second Petition , Thy Kingdome come : for that petition that requires us to pray for the comming of the Kingdome of Jesus Christ , doth also require that we should pray against all meanes that hinder the comming of the Kingdome of Jesus Christ , so that every time that the Church prayes thy Kingdome come or any prayes thy Kingdome come , they doe as much as say , O Lord , do thou set thy selfe against all the enemies of thy Kingdome ; if they belong to thy election , Lord convert them , but otherwise Lord confound them . Now thus we see how we are to sanctifie the Name of God in prayer , in regard of the matter of the prayer ; but now for the manner of prayer . The most things I confesse are there . First , when we come to prayer , we must be sure to pray with understanding , 1 Cor. 14. 15. What is it then ? I will pray with the spirit , and will pray with understanding also , God doth not love the sacrifice of fooles ; we must not come babling to God in prayer to speak wee know not what , and to multiply words we know not wherefore , but God doth require that those that come to prayer , come with understanding , that they offer to God a rationall , a reasonable , an understanding sacrifice ; God is a Spirit , and he will be worshipped in spirit and in truth ; now as it belongs to all other duties of worship , so especially in prayer , to know what we doe when we pray , not to think to put off God with a meere empty sound ; that 's the first thing . The second thing in the manner of prayer , it is the giving up all the faculties of our soules in it ; I spake to that in the worship of God in generall , wee shall apply it now particularly to prayer , the giving up , not only out understandings , but wills , thoughts , affections , strength in prayer , in 2 Chron. 20. 3. it is said of Jehosaphat , that he set himselfe to seek the Lord , he did give his whole selfe to seeke the Lord ; we are to give our whole selfe , and not to divide in prayer . Now this were an argument that indeed might well take up a whole Sermon , in shewing the evill of the wandring of our spirits in prayer ; wee should take heed of the wandring of our spirits in hearing of the Word , and receiving the Sacraments , and so in prayer ; the people of God are much troubled with the wandring of their thoughts both in Word and Sacrament , and it is their great burthen , and should be so , but I never hear any more complainings of the wandring of their spirits then in the time of prayer , the people of God are much pestered in their spirits with this evill , it is very grievous unto them , and many of them goe under it as a grievous burthen all their dayes ; the chiefest burthen that is upon their spirits is their wandring in prayers ; so that if God should speak to them as he spake unto Solomon , and bade him aske what he should give him , I verily beleeve there are many in this Congregation , that have already good assurance of Gods love in Christ , if they had not that , that would be the maine thing that they would aske , but having attained that , if God would speak from heaven and say , what shall I give you for your selves , if he should aske you in the Generall , it may be you would aske something for the Churches ; but if it be for your selves , you would put up this petition , oh Lord that I may be delivered from a wandring spirit in holy duties , and especially in the duty of prayer , that I may thereby come to enjoy more holy communion with thy selfe then ever yet I enjoyed , and they would account this to be a greater mercy then if God should give them to be Kings or Queens over the whole World ; if God should put these two into the balance , either the whole world to possesse or otherwise to have more free hearts in comming to God in prayer , and to be delivered from that that hath so much hindred their communion with God in prayer , they would despise and scorne the world in comparison of such a mercy as this is : howsoever carnall hearts they think little of it , but those that are the servants of God they finde it to be very grievous to them ; but being the time is past , I shall reserve that to speak yet a little more largely for the helpe of those that are under the burthen of it . I 'le only speak one thing further now , and that shall be to those that are wicked and vile , that not only have vaine wandring thoughts in prayer , but even in the very duty of prayer many times have wicked and ungodly thoughts ; how horrible are they ? unclean thoughts , murderous thoughts it may bee , and most abominable . I confesse even those that are godly may sometimes have some blasphemous thoughts cast into them , for the devill is never more busie then at the time of prayer ; but they rather come from the devill then from the stream and corruption of their own hearts , which may be we may make out more cleerely afterward ; but now I speak to such as have most wicked abominable thoughts , rising from the stream and corruption of their hearts , such thoughts as their hearts doe close withall in prayer , and they can roule those thoughts about in their minds as a child will roule a piece of sugar in its mouth ; and this is the wickednesse of many men and womens hearts . Take but this one note with you , that all those dreadfull , vile , unclean , covetous thoughts of thine in prayer , they have been to God as if you had spoken them in words ; thoughts to God , are all one with him as words are to men ; for God is a spirit , and the spirit doth converse with God in thoughts , as well as men doe converse with men in words ; and what a wofull guiltines would have been upon you , had you spoken such vile and wicked things to men as some times hath been in your minds , even when you have been praying to God , how would the company have even spit in your faces , and kickt you from them ? none that have any face of godlinesse would have indured you in their company ; and yet here 's the evill of it , your hearts are not troubled , but you rise off your knees and away you go ; thou hast a cauterised conscience , a seared conscience , that canst entertain such vile thoughts at any time without having thy spirit afflicted , and going away with shame and confusion , as if the greatest evill had befalne thee ; therefore take heed of this . SERMON XIIII . LEVITICUS . 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me . WEE are first to sanctifie Gods Name in regard of the matter of our prayers . And Secondly , in regard of the manner . For the first , we made an end of it the last day , and came unto the manner , and there were two things mentioned . First , that wee must pray with understanding . Secondly , wee must give up our selves to prayer . Now in the close of the exercise wee had occasion to fall upon that Argument about the wandring of our thoughts in prayer , and by that we come to take Gods name in vaine , in stead of Sanctifying of his Name ; God expects that we should have our thoughts , and wills , and affections , our whole soules acting upon him in the duty of prayer , or ese we doe not pray to God as unto a God ; vaine thoughts in prayer do pick up the sacrifice like the birds that Abraham drove away from the Sacrifice , that they should not peck it . Wicked lusts in mens hearts are like swine to take the meat and all to hale it in the dirt , so their prayers are filthy and dirty with their lusts ; but those that are otherwise godly , yet by their vaine thoughts the beauty and excellencie of their prayers is taken away ; as wine and beer that have the spirits of them gone , so the life and spirit of our duties are gone by our vaine thoughts , and therefore vaine thoughts do dead the heart very much . So saith David in the 119. Turne away mine eyes from beholding vanity , and quicken mee in thy Law : while our eyes look upon vanity , there will be no quicknesse in our hearts in any service that we tender up to God ; now many of Gods people have experience of the evill of this , and they groan under the burden of this , and as I said the last time , if so be that the Lord should speak from heaven to them and aske them what they would have , they having already the assurance of his love in Christ , they would aske the deliverance from a vain spirit in the performance of holy duties , Bring no vaine Oblations saith God in Isa . 1. 13. Oh what vain oblations doe wee bring by the vanity of our thoughts in prayer ! t is true , the best of all will have vaine thoughts sometimes ; but yet , as one compares the vaine thoughts of men in prayer , like unto a spaniel that goes out with a man , he walks perhaps but halfe a mile , but the spannel will be running up and down , this way and that way , and if all the space of ground which the spaniel hath gone over should be measured , it may be while you are walking halfe a mile , the spaniel fetching compasses here and there would be halfe a dozen miles , so our fancies are like a spaniel which will have fetches about this way and that way , in a thousand vaine thoughts ; but thus now it is with a godly man ; as a spaniel though running from his master , yet if he give him a call , he is able to call him to him presently ; and it were well if it were so with us , though our fancies be wild yet if we were able to call in our fancies and to have them at command it were well with us : And I find it very much that those that are new commers they complaine much of the vanity of their thoughts , they were wont to pray before , and they never had such vaine thoughts as now they have ; the reason why there is so much vanity of thoughts , or at least so much taken notice of , It is first because there is but a little grace in the midst of a great deale of corruption in young converts , like a spark of fire in the middest of a great deale of ashes ; now if there lies a heap of ashes and nothing else , ●ou do not stirre them ; but if there be ashes and some fire , then you will stir them and be blowing those sparkes to kindle another fire by . Now when you come to make any motion , then the ashes will fly about , whereas before they lay still ; so it is here ; before God wrought upon thy heart , there was nothing else but ashes upon thy soule , and then they lay still , but now God hath kindled some sparks of grace in thy heart , and God is blowing them up to a greater heat , and is bringing of them to a flame ; upon this motion that is in thy heart , aud the stirring to kindle those sparks further in thy heart , it is that the ashes of thy corruptions do as it were fly about thine eares , and that there is such stirrings of corruption more then there was before , 't is not because there is more corruption then there was formerly , but before there being nothing else but corruption it lay still , and now because there is something else , therefore it is that corruption doth so stirre ; and besides you know a man that was wont to keep lewd company , if God turne him that he will keep that company no more , at first he shall be more troubled with them then he was before ; and they will keep oftener knocking at his doore , and labouring to get him to them againe ; so 't is here , when the soule , vanity and lusts were as friends together there was no disturbance , and taking notice of any thing then , but now when the soule is casting out those sinfull distempers , and will have no more of them , they for the present will be more importunate , active and stiring then they were before . And besides , the Lord doth this to humble thy heart the more , that thereby thou maiest come to see the great corruption that was in thy soule before ; the working of thy corruptions will discover much evill in thy heart , that thou didest not think was there before ; when the corruptions of men and women lie still , they think there is no such thing in their soules , as your civill men , what 's the reason that they blesse themselves and think they are in a good condition , it s because their corruptions lie still in them and doe not stirre , they cannot beleeve what abundance of wickednesse there is in their hearts , if God should open the wickednesse that there is in the hearts of men naturally , and so all unregenerate men they would thinke you speak strange riddles , whereas they blesse themselves ; they blesse God ; they know no such thing in their hearts ; not yes there are such things , only they are not stird , but they lie quiet as mudde in the bottome of a pond , there it is , yet you cannot see it till it be stird ; at first conversion I say the Lord suffers thy corruption thus to stir , that hee may discover to thee what an evill heart thou hast , what abundance of sin there is in thy heart , and therefore your young converts , they look upon themselves more loathsome and vile then ever they thought they had been . And besides the Devil sees it a vaine thing to tempt a young convert to any grosse act of sin ; when conscience hath life and power in it , he● shall never prevaile that way ; but now hee thinks he may prevail to disturbe them with vaine thoughts , and therefore he layes his strength most that way ; therefore let not such be discouraged , that find their Spirits anoyed and pestered with them , if they make them to be the burden of their Soules ; notwithstanding much vanity of thoughts , the Lord wil accept of any desire that they have to sanctifie his name in holy dutyes , and I shall give you these three or four rules to helpe you against these wandering and vaine thoughts in holy dutyes , and especially in prayer . First , when thou goest to prayer , account it to be a great worke ; set a high price upon thy prayer ; not as having any excellencie in it as it comes from thee ; but set a high price upon it as a great Ordinance of God , wherein there is Communion with God to be enjoyed , and the influence of the grace of God to be conveyed through it ; so set a high price upon prayer , at every time thou art going to prayer ; Lord , I am now setting upon a worke that is of very great consequence , and much lies upon it , and I would account it to be a sore and a great evill to me , if I should lose but this prayer : this would bee a speciall meanes to compose thy Spirit ; and to keep thee from wandering , as Nehemiah , in Nehem. 6. 3. a place that I have sometimes quoted upon such an occasion , when the enemies of Nehemiah that would hinder the building of the Temple , sent to him that they might talke together , no saith hee ; I am doing a great worke so that I cannot come downe ; so when the Devill and the vanity of thine owne heart , would send to thee to parly , and talke as it were with thee , give an Answer , I cannot stand parlying with these things ; the worke that I am about is a great worke ; there are very few people that do account the worke of prayer a great worke ; if thou didst , it would helpe thee much against the vanity of thy thoughts . Secondly , Every time thou goest to prayer , thou that art most troubled with such vaine thoughts , renew thy resolutions against them ; I have been troubled with vain thoughts heretofore , and am afraid , if I looke not to it , that I shall lose this prayer also ; and therefore O Lord , here I renew my resolutions to set against them in this prayer with all my might ; it is very much that may be done by strong resolutions , and especially if thy strong resolutions be renewed resolutions ; for an old resolution begins to grow weak ; a man that hath resolved upon a thing a great while agoe , it hath little power ever him ; but now when a man hath resolved upon a thing but this morning , and just at the time when he is going about it , now hee doth resolve upon it , and set himselfe upon it , and doth resolve through the grace of God , that whatsoever difficultie he meets with all , whatsoever it cost him , that he will goe through this worke , I say that resolutions renewed have a great deale of power ; and you cannot imagine what a great deale of power the renewing of resolution against vaine thoughts will have , if they were renewed every time thou goest to prayer , untill thou gettest power over thy thoughts , do but make tryall of this ; thou hast lost 〈◊〉 prayer by vaine thoughts ; and thou hast been troubled for 〈◊〉 , and yet they come againe ; do but try for this weeke ; as I remember I said in the point of passion and anger , that we should resolve with our selves , well , whatsoever fals out this morning , I am resolved I will beare it ; so bethink thy selfe how many prayers thou hast lost by vaine thoughts ; and now 〈◊〉 thy resolutions , and Covenant with God , that for this prayer , I will 〈◊〉 my selfe against them , whatsoever paines I take , I will be sure yet withall to look up to Gods grace to assist one , I will be sure this prayer to keep my heart close to what I am about ; & perhaps that will helpe you a little ; but yet some vain thoughts will come for all that ; then the next night renew them again ; and the next morning renew them again ; and that till thou commest to a habit of keeping thy heart close to the duty , though now thou feelest thy heart so wild , that thou thinkest it is impossible to bring it into order , but certainly by such a means , thy heart will be brought into order . Thirdly , Be sure to set the presence of God before you in prayer , have a reall light of the infinite greatnesse , Majestie , and glory of that you present your selves unto , when you are are calling upon him ; if so be that thou canst have a reall fight of God in his glory , it wil keep thy heart close to the duty , as if a man be wandring with his eyes , and looking after every feather , if the King or some great person come into the Room , all his thoughts would be about the King , or the great person that were comming in : so if you would present the Lord in his glory and greatnesse , excellencie , majestie , and power , before you , and what a dreadfull God he is in himselfe , and yet what a mercifull God hee is to us in his Sonne : this would mightily compose our hearts , certainly men and women that are so wandring in their prayers ; it is because their eyes are not open to look upon God in his glory , they are as it were dreaming and do not apprehend that God stands and looks upon them , and observes them , and that God takes notice of every wandring thought that comes from them ; they doe not consider that God doth converse with the thoughts of men , as well as men do with the words of men ; that 's a third rule . Fourthly , Take heed thou beest not deceived ; because that those thoughts thou hast in prayer , doe not appeare to be very evill in themselves . This is a great deceit and hinder many in the sanctifying of Gods name in prayer ; there is sometimes damed in some vain thoughts ; now because the thought hath no great evill in it selfe , therefore they thinke they may play with it ; and their hearts close with it , and so 〈◊〉 along with it as the fish doth with the bait ; if the Devill casts in a thought of blasphemie , that makes thee quake and shake ; but if thy thoughts have no 〈◊〉 evill in them , but they are slight things ; matters of no moment one way or other , upon that thy heart begins to be dandling , and playing with them ; therefore remember this rule , that in the time of prayer , whatsoever thoughts be in thy mind that doe not concerne the present duty , they are sinfull before God , though the thoughts for the matter of them be never so good , yet thou art to abandon them as sinfull at that time . Therefore never be deceived with this , that the thoughts are not very sinfull , that 's another rule . In the last place observe this rule , if ever God hath helped thee at any time in prayer , that thy heart hath been kept close to a duty , and thou hast had Communion with him , blesse God for that , blesse God for that helpe ; t is a rule of very great use for us to get further assistance from God in any thing , if so bee our hearts be inlarged to blesse God for any assistance wee have had heretofore ; and the reason why we gaine and prosper so little in our Christian course , it is because we do not take notice of what God hath done for us , to give God glory for mercyes formerly received , and therefore God takes little or no delight in comming in with further mercyes to us ; as if you had a young nursery of trees , and they began to thrive very well , but there comes a company of Caterpillars and spoiles almost all the young Trees that are set , only two or three are kept from the Caterpillars ; a man goes into his orchard , and looks upon his Trees , and this is spoild , and that is spoiled ; but he sees two or three and these flourish fairly , and these are full of buds , and are like to come to something , and he rejoyces mightily in those , because they are sav'd when so many others are spoil'd ; and so doe thou view thy prayers , and consider how many hath been spoiled as it were by these Caterpillars ; for I compare wandring vaine thoughts in prayer unto Caterpillars that are upon the trees ; and we see that if stormy rainy weather comes the Caterpillars will fall ; and one would thinke that these blustering stormes and the hand of God that hath been out against us , should have clensed our thoughts and soules from these Caterpillars that have been upon our dutyes , but many duties have been spoiled ; yet thou maist say , that through Gods mercy such a Morning in my closet , the Lord hath preserved a prayer to himselfe , and I have gotten power over this vaine heart of mine , blesse God for this , and so the Spirit of God will be more ready to come in and help thee another time ; but thus much shall suffice to speak to this , that 's the second thing , we must give up our selves wholly to this duty . The third thing for the sanctifying of Gods name in prayer is this , there must be the breathings of the Spirit of God , otherwise Gods name is not sanctifyed ; that in Rom. 8. 26. is cleere for this , likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities , for we know not what we should pray for as we ought , but the Spirit it selfe maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered ; if any of you should say how can wee sanctifie Gods name , we are poore and weak , we can doe little ? marke , it is said here , that the Spirit helpeth our infirmities to pray , and the word is exceeding emphaticall in the originall ; in your books t is but meerly helping our infirmities , but the meaning of the word is , in these two things , the Spirit helpes ; that is , look how a man that is taking up a heavy peece of Timber at one end , he alone cannot get it up , but there comes another and takes it up at the other end and so helps him ; The word signifies such a kind of helping , as when a man takes a thing at the other end , or on the other side , one standing the one way , and the other standing the other way , or one taking up one end , and the other the other end , that is the meaning of it ; he helpes our infirmities , the poore foule is pulling and tugging with its own heart , and finds his heart heavy and dull , like a logge in a ditch , and have not many of you found your hearts so ? but now then when you are tugging with your hearts , and would faine lift up your hearts to God in prayer , there comes the Spirit of God at the other end , and takes the heaviest end of the burden and helpes you to lift it up ; if a child were at one end of the logge , and that were but light , and the other end very heavy , if one come and take up the heaviest end , a little strength will serve for the lighter end ; so the Spirit comes and takes up the heavier end in duty , and so helps our infirmities ; helpes together , and then the other word is The Spirit ; that is together with the acting of the graces of the Spirit in our hearts , you must not say so ; alasse , what can I doe ? it must be the Spirit of God that must doe all ; it is true , hee doth all . First , he gives converting and habituall grace , and assisting and actuating grace ; but now when the Spirit hath wrought grace so as to convert the heart , and hath given habituall grace in thy heart , why then when the Spirit comes to assist it , doth expect that thou shouldest stirre up all the gifts and graces of the Spirit , and the very strength of thy body ; the Spirit of God expects that thou shouldest act to the uttermost thou art able , what power hath been given thee by God , and when thou art in acting , then the Spirit comes and helpes together with us ; noting that we are to put forth what strength we have , and thus Gods name will be sanctified , when as wee putting forth the graces of the Spirit in us , then the Spirit comes and helpes ; and what comes from us now , comes from the breathings of the holy-Spirit in us , and then God who knowes the meaning of the Spirit , will know now the meaning of our sighs and groanes ; therefore when thou art going to prayer , thou art to eye the Spirit of God ; thou art by the eye of faith to looke upon the Spirit of God , and to cast thy soule upon the assistance of the Spirit of God , thou art to looke upon the holy-Ghost , as appointed by the Father and the Son to that office , to bee a helper to his poore servants in the duties of worship , and especially in that great duty of prayer ; now upon the reading of this text , and having it thus opened , this is one good helpe for thee in prayer ; read this text , and then exercise thy faith upon it ; Lord hast thou not said that thy Spirit helpes our infirmities , when we know not what to pray for , nor how to pray for any thing as we ought ? but the Spirit will come , now Lord make good this word of thine to my soule at this time , and let mee have the breathings of the Spirit of God in me ; alasse the breaths of men , if it come from gifts and parts , I know thou wilt never regard it , except there be the breathings of the holy-Ghost in mee in prayer ; now , if you would know whether the Spirit of God doth come in or no , you may know it by this ; the Spirit of God carries unto God , and it makes the prayer sweet and delightfull , so much of the Spirit of God as is there , it comes to the soule in the duty , and it leaves a savour behind it ; a gratious savour is alwaies left behind , when the Spirit of God comes to breath ; O the breath of the Spirit of God is a sweet breath , and it makes prayers sweet ; it never comes into the Soule but after it hath done any worke it came for , it leaves a sweet sent , after that , the soule finds a sweetnesse in that prayer ; now many of you have been in the morning at prayer , but I appeal to you ; what sweet savour of the Spirit of God is left behind ? certainly if the Spirit hath been there it is like civil that is put into a little box , though you should take out the civit , yet there will be a sweet savour left behind ; so though the Spirit of God , in respect of the present assistance , withdraws it self , yet it leaves a sweet savour behind . The fourth thing is , purity of heart ; pure heart and hands , in Heb. 10. 22. Rev. 5. 8. having every one of them harpes , and golden vials full of odours which are the prayers of Saints ; mark , the prayers of the Saints are odours in golden vials , the golden vials I may compare to the heart ; the hearts of the Saints must be as golden vials , and then their prayers will be as odours ; in 1 Tim. 2. 8. the holy-Ghost giving directions how wee should pray , it is with this qualification , I will therefore that men pray every where lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting ; the outward conversation must be pure , and the heart pure ; in Job 22. 26. marke what 's said concerning that holy man ; there 's a promise made to him for the lifting up of his face to God , putting away iniquitie from his Tabernacle , that by putting away evill from our Tabernacles , and so from our hearts , we may be able to lift up our hearts with joy to goe ; and that 's the fift thing , purity of heart and hands . The sixt thing is , in truth , when we come to call upon God , we must call upon him in truth , Psal . 145. 18. the Lord is nigh unto all , to all that call upon him in truth ; you will say what is the meaning of that ? to that I answer ; First , there must be inward dispositions answerable to the expressions ; as for instance , when I come to expresse the greatnesse of the majestie of God , then I must have an inward disposition sutable to this expression , I must have a feare and reverence of the infinite majestie of God. Secondly , When I come to confesse my sin , to judge my selfe for my sin , there must be an inward disposition sutable to such a confession ; O how many men and women will come and speak great things against themselves for their sins , and judge themselves for their sins , and yet there is no such disposition in their hearts sutable to their words ; you shall have some in praying with others , they will be a meanes to break the hearts of others , they will so follow their sin ; and take such shame and confusion upon themselves for their sin , and yet God knows their hearts not stird all this while ; and then they will call upon God for pardon of sin , and for power against their sin , and yet God knowes that their hearts do close with their sin , and are loath to part with their sin in the mean time , this is falsenesse of heart ; when the inward disposition is not answerable to outward expressions ; I beseech you my brethren consider of the prayers you have made , and especially you that pray much with others , look what expressions you have made , and see whether there be answerable dispositions to the expressions you have made , and how that the Lord doth remember every expression that you have made . Thirdly , wee must call upon God in truth ; that is , conscionably to performe the ingagements of prayer , prayer puts an ingagement upon the heart ; now those that call upon him in truth are conscionable to performe the ingagements ; as now , do I pray for any good thing , I am ingaged to endeavour in the use of all meanes for the attaining of the good thing ? when you confesse a sin , why , you are ingaged by that meanes to endeavour all your might against that sin ; and when you pray for my grace , you are ingaged to make use of all means you can for the attaining of that grace ; and then besides , in prayer there is much profession unto God of our sincerity and uprightnesse , and of our willingnesse to be at his dispose , performe these ingagements that thou makest to God in prayer ; if God should present to us all our professions that we have made to him in prayer , and tell us how we have come short of them , it would make us be in shame and confusion in our owne thoughts . Another thing in prayer must be faith ; pray without doubting as in the former Scripture , the prayer of faith prevailes much ; James 1. 6 , 7. a man that wavereth and doubteth must not thinke to obtaine any thing of God. But I should have opened what that faith is that wee should have in prayer , wee must have faith to beleeve that the thing that we doe pleaseth God , and faith in Gods promises , and faith in Gods providence , this should be exercised in the time of our prayers ; And therefore after we have done , to goe away beleeving , as Hannah in 1 Sam. 1. 18. wee read of her , that after shee had been praying she went away , and lookt no more sad ; the text faith , noting that after wee have been powring forth our soules to God , wee should beleeve and exercise faith and not go in as drooping a way as ever we did . Object . You will say , yea , if wee knew certainly that God will hear us . Answ . The way to be assured that God will hear you , is by casting your selves upon God , how can you know that he will hear , but by resting upon him ? I have been with God , and I have been doing the duty of a poore creature , and for the successe I leave it to God , and therefore it must bee with faith . But I have so many sins mixt with my prayers , how can I beleeve ? You have an excellent Scripture for that to helpe a soule , to exercise faith in prayer , notwithstanding there hath been many infirmities ; in Psal . 65. 2 , 3. O thou that hearest prayers , unto thee all flesh shall come ; Thou hearest prayers , but I have a great many sins that hinders ; no , marke , what though iniquity prevailes against me , as for our transgressions , thou shalt purge them away ? O make use of this Scripture , though you remember not other things ; yet you that have dejected hearts and are afraid that God will not hear your prayers , see what the text saith , Thou hearest prayer Lord , but will not my sins hinder ? no saith David , iniquity prevailes against me , as for our transgressions thou shalt purge them away ; exercise faith in this ; and know that God doth not heare prayer because thou art not sinfull , because of thy worthinesse , but meerly for his free grace . Another holy disposition in prayer should be this ; the soul should come with a holy freedome , with the Spirit of adoption to God , crying Abba Father ; if thou comest to God meerly as to a Judge , though its true , those that doe not know that God loves them , yet are bound as Creatures to pray , but thou canst never sanctifie the name of God , till thou hast a child-like Spirit , the Spirit of adoption ; the Lord loves to have his Children come with freedome of Spirit to himselfe in prayer , to come as children , and not to come with dejected countenances , and discouraged hearts ; but come freely to open thy heart to God , as any child would open his heart to a gracious and loving Father . Another disposition is fervencie in prayer ; the effectuall fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much , and that will be a meanes to help against vain thoughts too , as when the honey is scalding hot then the flyes will not come to it ; if thy heart were as it were scalding hot in prayer thou wouldest not have such vain thoughts . Next there must be constancie in prayer ; in 1 Thess . 5. 17. by that I mean this never to give over untill we have that wee pray for , or something else in lieu of it ; it may be thou hast prayed and nothing is come of it ; be not discouraged , thou hast to deal with a great God , and therefore pray again and again , and again , and pray with this resolution , well , let God doe with mee what he will , I will as long as I live call upon him , and if God shall cast mee away yet he shall cast me away calling upon him , as the poore woman of Canaan when Christ call'd her dogge , and discouraged her , yet still she would pray ; I but dogges may have crums , that heart is in an ill condition that is discouraged in prayer , because it doth not get what it would , and therefore to thinke with themselves I had as good not pray at all , take heed of any such thoughts . Againe , if you would pray to God indeed , so as to sanctifie his name in prayer , there should be humility in your hearts so as to be sensible of your own unworthinesse ; I spake somwhat about being sensible of the distance between God and us , when I spake about sanctifying of Gods name in general . The last that I shall speak of is this , when you have done all , this all , these qualifications will not sanctifie Gods name , except all be tendred up in the name of Jesus Christ , and in the power of his merits ; let a man or woman pray with as much fervencie , zeale , constancie , purity , in truth and sincerity ; yet except hee puts up all in the name of Christ , I say hee cannot be accepted ; our spirituall offerings must be tendered up in his name ; but I have Preached much about that , but now put all that hath been said together , and this it is to pray . That is , when as I pray understandingly : when I give my self to prayer : when there are the breathings of the holy Ghost in my prayer : when there is purity of heart like a golden viall : together with sincerity , when it is in truth of heart , when it is in faith , when it comes from a spirituall Adoption , when it s in fervencie , when in constancie , reverence , humility , and all put up in the name of Jesus Christ ; now a man prayes , as it is said of Saul , behold hee prayeth ; so I may say of those that are instructed in this Art , behold they pray ; you see now that prayer is more then to read in a book , more then to say a few words ; yee see it is a very hard thing to pray , a work of great difficultie , and no marvell though we have lost so many of our prayers as we have done ; we must not charge prayer and God with it , but look to our selves ( I mean not charge the Ordinance of prayer ) but the vilenesse of our carriage in our prayers ; and let us for time to come know what a Christian life meanes , it is said of Christ in Luke 9. 29. that as hee was praying the fashion of his countenance was changed . Oh that 's an excellent thing , that when wee have been in our closets at prayer , to come away with our faces shining ; my Brethren could we but pray in such a manner as this is , the very fashion of our countenances would be changed , as Moses when he came from the presence of God upon the Mount , or as Christ that had the fashion of his countenance changed . Prayer , it is the sweet ease of ones spirit , it s the help at a dead lift , it s the great Ordinance of our Communion with God in this world ; and therefore let us learne this Art of sanctifying Gods name in Prayer . I shall conclude all in this , you have heard the mystery of the sanctifying the name of God in worshipping God ; now I beseech you , you that have been a long time in the school of Christ , as it were Apprentices to Christ to learn Christianity ; be ashamed that you have understood so little of this art in Sanctifying the name of God in prayer ; It is an art and a mystery that you must be instructed in , and you are not Christians till you are instructed in this , as in an art and mystery : And that man and woman that shall be instructed truly in this art and mystery in Sanctifying Gods name now in the worshiping of him , such a man and woman shall be to all eternity Sanctifying the name of God in praysing of him . There is a time coming when all the Saints must be in the presence of God , and be alwaies praising of him , and they shall then Sanctifie Gods name for ever ; let us now learn this art of Sanctifying Gods name in praying , that we may eternally Sanctifie his name in praising of him . FINIS . ERRATA . PAge 94. line 9. for capitall , read corporeall . Pag. 182. l. 25. for world , r. word . Pag. 226. l. 36. f. come , r. we come . Pag. 247. l. 3. f. which , r. with . Pag. 251. l. 21. f. with , r of . Pag. 252. l. 34. f. body , r. blood . Pag. 259. l. 20. f. is , r. as , Pag. 263. l. 9. f. whereas , r. when . Pag. 267. l. 3. f. plucking , r. partaking . FINIS . AN EXACT ALPHABETICAL TABLE OF ALL THE PRINCIPAL TRUTHS IN THE FOREGOING SERMONS . A Absolutly . SPirituall things to be prayed for absolutly 277 Accept , Acceptation Acceptation of our persons the means of it 69 God accepts not the duties of wicked men 116 The services of the Saints accepted 120 Act , Actuall , Action , see Grace . Actuall sanctification 68 The Lord accepts the person before the action 69 God is a pure act and requires actuall service 97 Adoption . Sign of adoption to desire to be oft in Gods presence 36 We must pray in the spirit of adoption 294 Affections . Affections the strength of them required in Gods worship 82 Aggravation . Aggravation of sin to neglect due hearing the word 200 Afflictions , see Honour . They that sanctifie not God in hearing the word , can have no comfort from it in afflictions 206 Whether it be lawfull to pray for afflictions 277 Afflictions in themselves materially evill 278 All All that we have must be given to God 63 All things sanctified to the godly 119 Altar . Christ is the Altar upon which 〈◊〉 offer all our sacrifices 92 Angel. Angel what it signifieth 91 Angels the aggravation of their sin 195 Anger . Anger not to be brought into Gods service 19 Apply . We must apply the word in hearing it . 175 Apostacie , see Schisme . Apostacie the ground of it , 206 Assurance . The Gospel gives assurance of salvation 212 Attention . Attention must be given in hearing of the word 171 B Beginners . Beginners in Religion to be carefull of preparation 56 Beleeving . Beleeving the condition of the Covenant of Grace 232 Birds . Wandring thoughts in prayer as the birds to Abrahams sacrifice 283 Blast God blasts those men that sanctifie him not in worship 117 God will blast those that neglect his word 208 Blesse . Many blesse themselves in evill wayes 198 To blesse God for helping us against wandring thoughts in prayer 289 Blind Blind sacrifice not to be offered to God 98 Bloud A fearfull thing to be guilty of Christs bloud 230 Breathing , see Spirit Broken , see Heart What kind of broken heart is required in receiving the Lords Supper 255 Christs Body broken for us 268 C Children Gods Saints may meet with afflictions in their Children 20 Ground of contentment in afflictions upon our Children 21 Church Church what it signifieth 235 Church defiled by wicked men uncastout 236 Civill , see Worship Christ All worship must be tendered in the Name of Christ 91 All must be tendered in Christ because of Gods justice 101 They that reject the word , reject Christ 201 All our prayers must be tendered in the Name of Christ 296 Command Nothing must be tendered to God in worship but what he hath Commanded 8 No expresse Command for many things in the New Testament 15 Comfort , see Word Communion Communion with God not increased by the duties done with naturall conscience 88 The Sacrament the Ordinance of our Communion with Christ 229 The Sacrament must be received in a holy Communion 234 How far the presence of wicked men hinder this Communion 235 No close Church Communion with wicked men 240 More Communion with Christ in the Sacrament then in the word 251 Confession Ground of confession to God 98 Conscience Sinners against conscience need great preparation to duties 57 Duties acted by naturall Conscience 88 Naturall Conscience limits it self in duties 89 Trouble of Conscience should make men meekly hear the word 180 Consciences of wicked men troubled about the Sacrament 230 Constant Men acted by naturall parts are not constant in duties 88 There must be constancy in our prayers 295 Contrary The word will be made good on the contrary , to those that abuse it 205 Conversion Conversion not wrought by the Sacrament 232 Covenant In the Sacrament we make a solemn Covenant 226 Covenant of Grace sealed in the Sacrament 229 Those that receive the Sacrament must be in the Covenant of Grace 232 Condition of that Covenant , ibid Renewing of Covenant in the Sacrament . 257 Crucified Christ crucified in the Sacrament 248 Curse They that neglect the word , are nigh to a curse 203 Cursing of others , sinfull 278 How farre we may curse the enemies of the Church 280 D Danger , see Dignity . Dark , see Mind Dead , Death . Fear of death taken away , how 38 Wee must not bring dead services and hearts to the living God 97 Consciences of carnall men opened upon their death bed 118 Death of Christ to be meditated on in the Sacrament 165 Dear , see Glory . Delight . God delights in our drawing nigh to him 37 Depart To neglect GODS Worship , is to depart from him , 33 Dependance . We should continually be sensible of our dependance on God , 274 Desire . We must hear the word with a desire after it 170 Devill Devill gratified by omission of duties 59 Vnseasonable motions though materially good come from the Devill 82 Wandering thoughts in prayer suggested by the Devill , 286 Difficulty . Naturall parts in performance of duties will not carry thorow difficulties 87 Not to be discouraged in difficultes considering Gods power 97 The work of Religion difficult , 109 Dignity , see Prerogative . The more dignity the more danger 12 Dishonour . It were a dishonour to God to accept the services of wicked men 116 Disposition Inward disposition in prayer 292 Divine , see Service . Doubt . The time of receiving the Sacrament no time for doubting 254 We must pray without doubting 293 Duty . The holinesse of a duty will not bear men out in their miscarriage in it 17 Omission of duty will not fit for duty 58. 113 The doing of one duty prepares for another 60 Duties not to be rested on 103. 107. 115 To be humbled for our best duties 111 All duties of carnall worshippers lost 112 Sin of Hypocrites aggravated by holy duties ibid E Easie . Preparation makes duties easie 52 Election . Evidence of election 213 End , see Extremity . Our ends must be high in the worship of God 72 Base ends of men in Gods worship ibid To have right ends apart of wisdom 99 It is the nature of God to will himself the last end 104 Engagement . Engagements of prayer to be performed 293 Envie , see Mean. Eternity . Eternity of God how to be considered in our worship 94 Excellency . Thoughts of our own excellency to be cast off in our worship 85 Exemplary . Exemplary judgements should make us look into the word how God makes it good 23 Extremity . Men that regard duties only in extremity make themselves their end . 77 Examination Examination required in partaking of the Sacrament , 233 Eye Faith as an eye to see Christ in the Sacrament 252 F Faith , Faithfulnesse . Faithfulnesse of God , what it should teach us 102 Faith must be mixed in hearing the word 177 Faith exercised in receiving the Sacrament 252 Faith how to act it in the Sacrament 271 We must pray in Faith 293 Faculties All the faculties of the Soul to be given up in Prayer , 281 Familiarity , see Potent Drawing nigh to God breeds familiarity 37 Benefit of familiarity with God 38 Falling away Falling away the ground of it 34 Fear , see Publick What fear we must have in Gods worship 78 In fear naturall Conscience puts in to duty 89 Fervency Fervency required in prayer , 295 Fire Fire from Heaven Two fold , 2 Fire that slew Aarons Sons what 3 Strange fire what 19 Folly To be ashamed of our follie when we come to GOD , 99 Follow The Soul is to follow after God as a God 65 Free , see Grace Friend , see Word Friends , who are the best 25 G Gesture Gesture in the Sacrament not meerly indifferent 262 Guilty , see Bloud Guilty consciences flee the worship of God , why 31 Guilt to be removed when we come to pray 274 God Duties must be performed to God as a God 62 When duties are offered to God as a God 63 The word to be heard as the word of God 166 We are reconciled by the blood of that person that is God 268 Good Good heart what 187 The word will be made good on the abusers of it 207 We are to pray for our own good 277 Gospel Gospel the tenour of it 257 Glory Glory of God dear to him 7 Glory of God dearer to him then the lives of men 22 Glory of God is the lustre of all his attributes together 102 The active Glory of God is the especiall honour he hath 105 Glory of God in his word the greatest 182 Why God will be glorified in them that hear the word 209 Those that will obey the word will be the Glory of the Ministers 214 We should have apprehensions of Gods Glory in prayer 275 The Glory of God is the chiefe thing we should pray for 276 Spirituall things nearest the Glory of God 277 Grace Grace to be acted especially in Gods worship 29 Grace the freenesse of it should make us more diligent in the worship of God 34 Graces increased by drawing nigh to God 35 Graces to be acted and stirred up in the Sacrament 271 We must act our own Graces in prayer together with the spirit 291 See Covenant . Great A people are great that have God nigh them 40 We should prepare to Gods worship because he is great 43 The duties of Gods worship are great 44 How to sanctifie Gods name in respect of his greatnesse 67 Great things to be expected from God 100 We must hear the word with attention because of the greatnesse of him that sends it 172 We must be attentive because the matters delivered are great 173 H Habituall Habituall sanctification 68 Harden Nothing doth harden the heart more then the word by accident 205 Hand Faith is a Hand to take Christ in the Sacrament 253 The Cup in the Sacrament not to be delivered into every particular hand 264 Heart Our hearts naturally unprepared for duty 46 The heart in preparation to be taken from every sinfull way 49 As the heart is so are the duties 70 The heart is not changed by the acting of naturall parts 87 Good heart what 187 The word of the Law not in the heart 211 A broken heart required in receiving the Sacrament 246 Hearing Of sanctifying Gods Name in hearing the word 161 Hearing the word a part of Gods worship 162 How to know that God hears our prayers 294 Heathen . Heathens attend to worship their Idolls 46 Heaven Being oft in Gods presence minds us of heaven 36 The worship of God here the beginning of that in heaven 106 Hide We must hide the word in our hearts 189 Highest What we lift highest in our worship that is our God 74 See Thoughts , Ends. Hindrance Hindrances to Gods worship many 46 Holy , Holinesse . Holinesse the greatest honour of Gods Name 23 Holinesse of God to be held forth by his servants 24 Drawing nigh to God makes us holy 36 Time , and Place said to be holy , how 50 God infinitly holy 99 Those that receive the Lords Supper must be holy 232 Honest . We must receive the word into honest hearts 186 Honest heart what 188 Honest amongst men who 189 Honour . To quiet the heart in affliction is to know that God will have honour by it 25 Humble , Humbled , Humility . Humility of Spirit requisite in the worship of God 84 To be humbled for not sanctifying the Name of GOD aright Humiliation in preparing to hear the word 168 Wandring thoughts in prayer suffered by God to humble us 285 Humility required in our prayers 295 See Worship . Hungring There must be hungring after Christ in the Sacrament 251 I Incense Incense what it signifieth 91 Incomprehensible Incomprehensiblenesse of God what it should teach us in our worship 95 Infinite There is an impression of Gods infinitnesse upon the duties of his servants 64 Infirmities Infirmities of others to be passed by of those that receive the Sacrament 258 Infirmities how helped by the spirit 290 Institution Institution of the Sacrament to be kept close to 261 Intention Strength of intention required in the worship of God 81 Joy The mercy of God should make us come to him with joy 100 The word to be received with joy 184 Difference in the joy of hypocrites and true Christians 186 Spirituall joy required in receiving the Sacraments 255 A broken spirit may consist with spiritual joy ibid Judge , Judgement . Sinners may meet with judgements 〈…〉 in the word 10 God is quick with same in the way way of his judgements 17 Judgements many times sutable to the sins 18 Gods judgements many times invisible 21 The word of God shall judge those that abuse it 207 Justice Justice of God seen in the death of Christ 268 K Knowledge Knowledge required in receiving the Lords Supper 244 Knowledge in other points necessary to them that receive the Sacrament 245 Knowledge actuall required in receivers 246 L Leaven Leaven how cast out by the Jewes 249 Life , Living . Gods goodness in sparing our lives to worship him 84 That God is a living God , what it should teach us 96 The things delivered in the word concern our lives 174 Beleevers nourished to eternall life 269 Limitted . The duties of Gods Children not limitted 65 Little. In matters of worship God stands upon little things 11 Lose . The ground why we lose so many prayers 296 Love. Naturall conscience makes not the heart love a duty 88 The word must be received with love 184 The Sacrament ordained by Christ out of love 228 Love to be renewed in the receiving the Sacrament 258 The infinite love of God seen in the death of Christ 269 Lust . The worship of God not to be subjected to our lusts 72 Who they be that subject it to their lusts 73 M Man. The Mediator between God and man is man 276 Mean. Mean men not to envy great ones why 13 Mediator The way of mans salvation is by a Mediator 267 Meditation Meditation in preparing the heart to holy duties 49 Meditations in the receiving the Sacrament 267 Meeknesse The word must be received with meeknesse 179 Mercy , Mercifull . God is mercifull 100 Mercy of God should teach us to be mercifull to others 101 The duties of worship the way to convey Gods choice Mercies 105 The word a means to convey speciall Mercies 195 Mercie-Seat . Mercie-Seat a Type of Christ 91 Mind . We should pick out Gods mind from dark expressions 14 We come to know the mind of God when we come to hear the word 163 Mysterie . The greatest Mysteries of Salvation presented in the Sacrament 228. 255. Mixture . Mixture of mans inventions with Gods Ordinances unlawfull , 266 Mortification . Mortification requisite to the sanctifying Gods name 67 Mouth Faith , the mouth of the soul to receive Christ 254 N Name . No way to enjoy mercies but by sanctifying Gods Name 105 See Sanctifie . Nature , Naturall . Some duties of worship are naturall 261 Christ bath honoured humane nature by taking it 267 Neer , Nigh . God wil be sanctified in those that come neer him 6 Those that are neerest God should be most carefull 22 In worshipping God we draw nigh to him 26 In what respects we draw nigh to God in worship 27 The word of the Gospel nigh 211 See Grace , Delight , Adoption Neglect . Severall sorts that neglect to sanctifie Gods Name in heating the word 197 Nourishment . The Lords Supper an Ordinance for Spirituall nourishment , 233 Beleevers are nourished to eternall life 269 O Omniscient . What we should learn that God is Omniscient 98 Opening Ground of opening the heart to God 98 The heart must be opened to hear the word 175 Opportunity The happiest opportunity to sanctifie Gods Name is in hearing his word 200 Ordinance An Ordinance of God what 163 The word an Ordinance of God to convey good to us 166 Men are not to be forced to Congregations where any of Christs Ordinances are wanting , 237 The Lords Supper the great Ordinance appointed to set forth Christ sufferings 348 Own We must bring to God in his service that which is his own , 86 P Parts How to know when men are acted by naturall parts in Gods worship 87 Passion Passion hinders the right hearing of the word 179 Wicked men in passion rise against God 180 Peace-Offering Difference between Peace-Offerings and Burnt-Offerings 75 Person God accepts the person before he accepts the offering 69 Place The Lord is very terrible out of his holy places 18 God in his essentiall presence in every place 26 See Holy. Plowing Plowing of the fallow ground of the heart , what 168 Men may do somewhat toward the plowing of their hearts 169 See Word . Potent Familiarity with God makes us potent with him 38 Prayer Prayer a great duty that needs preparation 45 Prayer required in preparation to duties 50 Vnregenerate men cannot sanctifie GODS Name in prayer , 68 We should pray before we hear the word 171 Of sanctifying the Name of God in prayer 272 Prayer put for the whole worship of God 273 See Preparation , Wandring . Praise Gods worship must not be subjected to the praise of men , 73 Preparation Preparation of the soul in the duties of Gods worship 42 Preparation and sanctification all one 43 Preparation to Gods worship why ibid Preparation , 5 things wherein it consists 48 Preparation , the excellency of it , in severall things 52 Those that walk closely with God are in continuall preparation 56 Preparation , a speciall duty of young beginners ibid Good men greived for want of preparation 58 Where there is sincerity , duties should be done though there want preparation 59 Preparation required in hearing the word 165 Preparation to be made to prayer 273 See Prayer , Great , &c. Prerogative Gods Prerogative appears most in his worship 11 No Prerogative can secure from Gods stroke 12 Presence Presence of God even in the godly , terrible to wicked men 32 Presence of godly men comfortable 35 To set Gods presence before us in prayer 288 See Guilty . Present When we worship God we tender a present to him 63 Sin committed long since to be looked on as present 94 Principle God looks more at the principle of the duty then at the duty , 69 Good men looke at the principle of the things they enjoy from God 70 Prize To prize those mercies we beg in prayer 275 Prayer to bee highly priz'd , 286 Promise Every Ordinance of Christ hath a speciall promise 248 Publick Those that are in publick place have especially need of the fear of God 13 Pure We must lift up pure hands in prayer 292 Q Questions Two questions God will ask his worshippers 87 Quick God is quick in way of judgement with some 17 The word of God is quick in working 196 Quiet The best way to quiet the heart in affliction 25 R Ready What will make the heart ready for duty 54 Readinesse to hear the word , wherein it consists 166 Reading Reading not to be preferr'd before hearing 167 Reprobation Not to sanctifie Gods Name in hearing the word a sign of Reprobation 202 Two fearfull signs of Reprobation 203 Resign In Gods worship we must resign all to God 90 Resolution We must hear the word with resolution to yeild to it 170 resolution against wandring thoughts in prayer 287 S Sabbath Sabbath , see Strength Sacrament . Sacrament , the meaning of the word 225 Sacrament a part of Gods worship 226 We must sanctifie Gods name in receiving the Sacrament , 228 Vnworthy receiving the Sacrament severely threatned 229 How we sanctifie Gods Name in receiving the Sacrament , 291 Whether Judas received the Sacrament of the Lords Supper , 238 Safety Safety wherein it consists 38 Salt Salt of the Sacrifice what it signifieth 67 Sanctifie Sanctifie , what it signifieth 5 Gods name Sanctified two waies ibid Gods name to be Sanctified when we draw nigh to him 42 How Gods Name is Sanctified in drawing nigh to him ibid How duties must be performed that Gods name may be Sanctified 62 The heart must be Sanctified in regard of Gods greatnesse 67 Sanctification the parts of it , ibid Sanctification of the heart double 68 Sanctifying of Gods Name the only way to fit us for mercies , 105 Exhortation to Sanctifie Gods Name 113 Nothing Sanctified to them that do not Sanctifie God in his word 203 See Sacrament . Satisfied Naturall Consciences is satisfied with a little duty 90 See Sin Schisme No Schisme to depart from a Church that hath not al Christs Ordinances 243 Schisme , what ibid Difference between Schisme and Apostacie ibid Secret. Men acted by naturall parts are not enlarged in secret 88 See The Sacrament so to be delivered as all may see what is done , 262 Self Self not to be our end in our duties 74 Where self is the highest end God regards not the duties 75 Service Hearing the word is Divine Service 164 Shadow Shadow of Gods wing what 39 Shift Of those that shift off the word closely applyed 199 Silence Silence , what 7 Sin The committing of one sin prepares for another 60 No salvation without satisfying for sin 108 The heart must be purged from sin to receive the Sacrament 249 Motives in the Sacrament to abhor sin 250 Sin , the great evill of it 269 Singing Singing Psalmes in the time of the Sacrament unfit 265 Singing after the Sacrament requisite 266 Sitting Sitting at the Sacrament the fittest gesture 263 Soul The price of the salvation of a Soul 269 Spirit , Spirituall . We must be acted by the Spirit in our worship 87 God must be worshipped in Spirit 93 Spirituall things may be absolutly prayed for 277 How to know when the Spirit helps our prayers 291 See Glory , Sweet . Strange , see Fire . Strength Strength required in Gods worship 80 Strength required to spend the Sabbath 83 Naturall conscience gives not Strength to duty 88 We must not come to duties in our own Strength 115 Strugling Strugling alone against corruption oft times en snares us 61 Subjection Subjection required in hearing the word 182 Sufferings The Sufferings of Christ chiefly represented in the Sacrament 246 Ground of suffering for Christ , 268 Superstition Superstition what 9 Sutable , see Judgement Sweet Breathings of the Spirit sweet , 292 T Table Those that come to the Sacrament should come neer the table , 261 Tares Tares what meant by them 238 Temptation Time of temptation the time of worship 81 We must hide the word in our hearts against temtation , 191 Terrible , see Place . Thankfulnesse Thankfulnesse required in receiving the Sacrament 255 Motives , to thankfulnesse 256 Time Preparation makes us do much in a little time 52 See Holy. Thornes Thornes must be plucked out of the heart when we hear the word 169 Thoughts In the worshipping of God we must have high thoughts of God 71 Wicked men have many times wicked thoughts in prayer , 282 Thoughts are to God as words are to men ibid See Wandring . Tremble We should tremble at hearing the word 181 Truth We must pray in truth 292 Truth what meant by it ibid V Vain Where wicked men are willingly admitted to the sacrament Gods name is taken in vain 241 Unchangeable God is unchangeable 96 Understanding We must pray with understanding 280 Uncertainty The righteousnes of the law leaves at uncertainty 212 W Wait We must wait Gods leasure in regard of time 86 Ground of waiting from Gods eternity 95 Wandring Wādring thoughts in prayer 281 Directions against wandring thoughts in prayer 286 All wandring thoughts in prayer sinfull 288 See Birds , Humble , Devil , &c. Warrant , see Command . Watching Watching required in preparation to duty 50 Weaknesse God passeth by weaknes where the heart is prepared to duty 53 Weary A man that makes himself his end will be weary of duty 76 Wicked Wicked men are to be cast out or with drawn from in the sacrament 235 Every man in the congregation to look to the ca●ing out of wicked men 241 Ground of excluding wicked men 258 Will Willing We must he willing not will worshippers 10 Things in Gods worship depend only upon his will 11 God requires that we will as he willeth 104 Our prayers must be according to Gods will 276 Wisdom Wisdom of God , what to learn from it 99 Wisdom of God to be our guid ib. Womb Those that sanctifie Gods name in hearing the word , it is a greater blessing then to bear him in their womb 213 Word To comfort afflicted friends from Gods word 24 The heart must be plowed by the word 196 The word must be glorified 194 Word what should make us esteem it 186 Word hath much of God in it 195 The word a means to convey speciall merices ibid. The word wherein the strength of it lies 202 All the good in the word for whom 210 The devil gets advantag by fastening il words upon the good 244 The word in what respect above the Sacrament 251 The word sanctified by prayr 273 Worship Difference between civil things & Gods Worship 9 Natural helps in Gods worship ibid We should be humbled for false worship 11 Worship of God what 27 Worship of God the means to convey his choice mercies 28 To heed what we do in worship 32 Exhortation to be much in the worship of God 34 Hearing the word a Part of Gods worship 162 What makes hearing the word a worship 163 Prayer put for the whole worship of God 273 See Command , Little , &c. World In preparation the heart must be taken from the world 49 In Prayer the heart must be taken from the world 275 Wrath Preachers that reveal Gods wrath should conceal their own 19 FINIS . THE CONTENTS OF THE SEVERALL ENSUING SERMONS . SERMON I THE occasion of the Words page 1 The words opened 5 Observation 1 There must be nothing in Gods worship but what he hath commanded . 8 Observation 2 God stands upon little things in matters of his worship 11 Observ . 3 No priviledge can secure from Gods stroak 12 Observ . 4 The more dignity , the more danger Ibid Observ . 5 The beginnings of great matters meet with difficulties 13 Observ . 6 Those that enter into publick places have need of the fear of God ibid Observ . 7 We should pick out Gods meaning from dark expressions in his word 14 Observ . 8 Sinners may meet with judgements never threatned in the word 16 Observ . 9 God is very quick with some in the way of judgement 17 Observ . 10 The holinesse of a duty will not bear a man out in his miscariage in it ibid Observ . 11 The Lord is terrible out of his holy places 18 Observ . 12 Gods judgements are oft sutable to mens sins ibid Observ . 13 We should take heed of bringing strange fire to Gods service 19 SERMON II Observ . 14 Gods saints many times meet with afflictions in their children 20 Observ 15 Gods judgments many ●nes come in an invisible way 21 Observa 16. Gods glory more precious to him then mens lives 22 Observ . 17 The neerer any are to God the more carefull they should be to glorifie him ibid Observ . 18 When judgements are exemplarie we should look to the word how God makes it good 23 Observ . 19 The great honour of Gods Name in the making it holy ibid Observ . 20 True friendship to comfort friends in distresse from the word 24 Observ . 21 The way to quiet the heart in affliction is to think God will have honour by it 25 Doct. 1 In worshipping God we draw nigh to him 26 In what respect we are said to draw nigh God in worship 27 Use 1 To take heed what we do when we worship God 30 Use 2 Why guilty consciences fly from the worship of God 31 Use 3 Why Hypocrites meet with such severe judgments 32 Use 4 To neglect Gods worship is to depart from him 33 Use 5 Exhortation to be much in Gods worship 34 SERMON III Use 6 The honour of Gods servants to draw nigh him 39 Doct. 2 We must sanctifie Gods Name in drawing nigh to him 42 First in preparation to his Worship ibid 1 Because he is a great God 43 2 The duties of Gods worship are great 44 3 Our hearts are naturally unprepared 46 4 The hinderances of Gods worship are many ibid 5 The Heathen prepared to worship their Idolls ibid 6 Preparation shewes sincerity of heart 47 5 Things wherein preparation consists 48 1 A right apprehension of God 49 2 Taking the heart from finfull waies ibid 3 Taking off the heart from the world ibid 4 In watching and prayer 50 5 In acting the Faculties and Graces 51 4 Things of the excellency of Preparation 52 1 It will make duties easie ibid 2 Wee shall do much in a little time ibid 3 The Lord will passe by weaknesse in duties 53 4 It will make the heart alway ready for duty 45 SERMON IV Cases of Conscience . 1 Whether we be alway bound to set some time apart for preparation to duties 55 2 Whether being not prepared the duty may be omitted 57 Answered in 4 particulars . 1 The omission of duty will not fit the Soul for duty 58 2 It is but a temptation to keep from duty 59 3 If the duty be done in sincerity , though there be not due preparation it is better then to omit it ibid 4 While people struggle with their corruptions , and seek not God , they fall into snares 61 In what manner duties are to be performed that Gods Name may be sanctified ibid 1 We must performe them so that we may glorifie God as a God 62 Which is done , 1 When we offer all we have 63 2 When we greive that we can do no more 64 3 There is an impression of Gods infinitnesse on the duties of his Saints ibid 2 When the Soul follows after God as a God 66 3 When the Soul comes expecting the choicest mercies of God ibid How the heart must behave it self to sanctifie Gods Name in respect of his greatnesse and glory ibid 1 It must be a sanctified heart 67 1 Because the Lord accepts the person before he accepts the action 69 2 God looks more at the principle of the duty then at the duty ibid 3 According as the heart is , so will the duty be 70 SERMON V 2 In sanctifying Gods Name in worship we must have high thoughts of God 71 3 We must have high ends in worshipping God 72 Several base low ends in worshipping of God 1. In subjecting his worship to our lusts ibid 2 Subjecting his worship to the praise of men 73 3 Making Self our end in his worship 74 which we do 1 When we are weary of duties if we find not that we desire 76 2 When men are streightned in Worship , and envy others that are enlarged 77 3 When men regard holy duties onely in times of extremity ibid 4 There must be reverence and fear in Gods worship 78 5 There must be strength in the duties of Gods worship 80 Strength of Intention 81 Affection 82 Faculties 83 6 There must be a humble frame of Spirit 84. Which consists 1 In admiring Gods goodnesse that we are alive to come before him ibid 2 To have no thought of any excellency in our selves , 85 3 To come without our own righteousnesse ibid 4 To take off our hearts from all abilities of grace ibid 5 To wait Gods leasure in regard of the time 86 7 In Sanctifying Gods Name we must bring that which is his own ibid 1 The matter must be that which he hath commanded ibid 2 We must be acted by the spirit 87 When duties are acted by naturall parts , and not the spirit of God 1 If they change not the heart ibid 2 If they carry not through difficulties ibid 3 When men rejoyce in acting their parts ibid 4 When there is little enlargment in secret 88 5 When there is not constancy in duty ibid Duties acted by naturall Conscience 1 It gives no strength to do them ibid 2 The heart loves not the duty ibid 3 It doth not increase communion with God ibid SERMON VI 4 It makes not a duty strong to the soul 89 5 It limits it selfe in dutie ibid 6 It is satisfied with little 90 8 In the sanctifying Gods Name in Worship , there must be a resignation of all to God ibid 9 All Worship must be tendered in the Name of Jesus Christ 91 How to Sanctifie Gods Name in reference to his Attributes 1 God is a Spirit , and to be worshipped in Spirit 93 2 God is Eternall , and how to worship him in that consideration 94 3 God is incomprehensible , and therfore seeth us in every place 95 4 God is unchangeable , what that should teach us in our worship 96 5 God is a living God , and what we should learn thence ibid 6 God is Almighty , what that should teach us in our worship 97 7 God is Omniscient , and what that should teach us 98 8 God is a God of Wisdom , and what that should teach us 99 9 God is Holy , and what that should teach us in our worship ibid 10 God is Mercifull , and what that should teach us 100 11 God is just , and what that should teach us 101 12 God is Faithfull , and what we should learn thence 102 SERMON VII Reasons why God will be sanctified in all the duties of his Worship 1 God doth will himself the last End 104 2 The especiall glory God hath in the world is to be actively honoured 105 3 The duties of worship are the means to convey Gods choicest mercies ibid 4 We are not fitted to receive mercies , but by sanctifying Gods Name ibid 5 Else we shall not hold out in duty 106 Application . 1 We have no cause to rest on our duties 107 2 The work of Religion is hard to flesh and blood 109 3 We should be humbled that we have no more sanctified Gods Name 110 4 Exhortation to sanctifie Gods Name 113 1 To consider we have to deal with God in worship 114 2 Not to come in our owne strength 115 3 Not to be satisfied with the duty done ibid 5 God is displeased with the duties of wicked men 116 1 God blasts such men 117 2 God opens their eyes on their death bed to see what they have done 118 6 Those that sanctifie Gods name he will sanctifie it in a way of mercy 119 SERMON VIII Of sanctifying Gods name in hearing of the word 161 Hearing the word is a part of Gods worship 162 1 We professe our dependance upon God for the knowing of his mind 163 2 In hearing we wait on God in the way of an Ordinance ibid In hearing the word 1 There must be preparation 165 Which is 1 To hear the word as the word of God 166 2 To hear the word as Gods Ordinance for our good ibid 2 To plow up the fallow ground of the heart , and what is meant by it 168 3 Resolution to yeild to all truths delivered 170 4 A desire after the word ibid 5 Prayer before we hear the word 171 The behaviour of the Soul in hearing the word 1 Carefull attention to it ibid Means to help attention ibid 2 An opening of the heart to receive it 175 3 Carefull applying of the word ibid 4 It must be mixed with Faith 177 How the word is to be mixed with Faith ibid SERMON IX 5 The word must be received with meeknesse 179 6 It must be heard with a trembling heart 181 7 With humble subjection to the word 182 8 It must be received with love and joy 184 9 It must be received into an honest heart 186 10 We must hide the word in our hearts 189 11 We must turne the word into practice 192 SERMON X Why God will be glorified in them that hear the word 195 1 Because there is so much of God in it ibid 2 God hath appointed it to convey speciall mercies ibid 3 It is quick and lively in working 169 Use 1 Reproof of severall sorts of men concerning the word neglected 197 The fearfull estate of those that do not sanctifie God in his word 200 1 They lose the choicest opportunity ibid 2 The word will be a great aggravation of sin ibid 3 They that reject the word , reject Christ 201 4 It is an argument of hardnesse of heart 202 5 It is a sad sign of Reprobation ibid 6 To such there can be nothing sanctified 203 7 They are nigh to a curse ibid 8 It will turn to their damnation 205 9 It will not comfort them in afflictions 206 10 God will make his word good upon them 207 11 The word shall judge them ibid 12 God will blast them that sanctifie not his name in his word 208 Use 2 Exhortatio to glorifie the word of God 209 God will sanctifie his Name in mercy upon those that sanctifie it in hearing the word 210 1 All the good in the word is theirs ibid 2 It is a certain evidence of their election 213 3 God will sanctifie them by the word 214 4 They will be the glory of the Ministers at the day of Christ ibid 5 It will rejoyce them hereafter when God shall magnifie his word 215 SERMON XI . Of Sanctifying the Name of God in receiving the Sacrament 225 1 Receiving the Sacrament is a part of Gods worship 226 2 Gods Name must be sanctified in our receiving the sacrament 228 1 Because there are presented the greatest Mysteries of salvation ibid 2 It is an Ordinance that Christ hath left out of his love ibid 3 It is the Sacrament of our Communion with Christ 229 4 The Covenant of Grace is sealed in it ibid 2 No duty is urged with more strength and severity ibid 3 Nothing striks more upon mens Consciences 230 How many are to Sanctifie Gods Name in the Sacrament 231 1 Those that receive it must be holy 232 1 Because it is the seal of the Covenant ibid 2 It is an Ordinance of spirituall nourishment 233 3 Because we are required to examine our selves ibid 4 It is a Sacrament of Communion with God and the Saints 234 2 It must be received in a holy Communion ibid Wicked men not to be admitted to this Communion 235 SERMON XII Addition to the former conerning holy Communion 242 The qualifications in the Soul to fit it for receiving the Lords Supper 244 1 Knowledge ibid 2 A broken heart 246 3 Actuall purging the heart from sin 249 4 Hungring , and thirsting after Jesus Christ 251 5 Exercise of Faith 252 6 Exercise of Spirituall joy 255 7 Thankfulnesse ibid 8 Renewing of Covenant 257 9 Renewing of love towards God and our brethren 258 SERMON XIII We must keep to the institution in the Sacrament 261 1 For the gesture 262 2 Delivering it to all in generall and not into every particular mans hand 264 3 That the Communicants be all the while exercised in their thoughts about the death of Christ 265 Mediations in receiving the Sacrament 267 1 That the way of mans salvation it is through a Mediator ibid 2 This Mediator between God and man is true man ibid 3 That his body was broken and his blood shed for us 268 4 It was the body and blood of that person that is God that reconciles us ibid 5 To consider the dreadfulnesss of Gods justice ibid 6 The price of saving a Soul 269 7 The greatness of the evill of sin ibid 8 The infinite love of God to mankind ibid 9 That beleevers shall be nourished to eternall life ibid 10 To meditate upon the Covenant of grace to beleevers 270 Holy disposition to be actuated in receiving the Sacrament 271 Of Sanctifying the name of God in Prayer . 272 What preparation we are to make to Prayer 274 1 Concerning the matter of Prayer 276 2 Concerning the manner of prayer 280 Concerning wandring thoughts in Prayer 281 SERMON XIV A further enlargement concerning wandring thoughts in Prayer 283 5 Rules to help against wandring thoughts 286 1 Set a high price upon the duties of Prayer ibid 2 To renew resolutions against wandring thoughts 287 3 To set the presence of God before us 288 4 To account all wandring thoughts evill ibid 5 To bless God if at any time he did help us against them , 289 3 For sanctifying Gods name in Prayer , there must be the breathings of the spirit 290 4 There must be pure hearts and hands 292 5 We must call upon God in truth ibid What it is to call upon God in truth ibid 6 We must pray in faith 293 7 In the spirit of adoption 294 8 We must pray with constancy 295 9 We must pray in humility ibid 10 We must tender up al our prayers in the name of Christ 296 Conclusion of all 297 FINIS . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A77988-e260 1 Observ . 2 Observ . Observ . Observ . 5 Observ . 6 Observ . 7 Observ . 8 Observ . 9 Observ . 10 Obser . 11 Obser . 12 Obser . 13 Obser . Stepney , Nov. 16. 1645. 14 Obser . 15 Obser . 16 Obser . 17 Obser . 18 Obser . 19 Obser . 20 Obser . 21 Obser . That we draw nigh to God in Holy Duties . What it is to worship God. The Second respect wherein the Soule is said to draw nigh to God in holy duties . Applic. 1 Applic. 2 Applic. 3 Applic. 4 Applic. 5 By drawing nigh to God often we incre●se 〈◊〉 gr●●ts . We come to live holy lives A special signe of our adoption . We come to be put in mind of the life of heaven Our drawing nigh to God delightfull to him , By coming into Gods presence there is a blessed familiarity betweē God and the soul . Our familarity with God makes us to be potent with him . By our communion with God the terror of death wil be taken away . Safety in being neer to God. Stepney , Nov. 30. 1645. Applic. 6 Great honour God puts upon his servants . Doct. 2. Reason 1 Reason 2 Reason 3 Reason 4 Reason 5 Reason 6 Stepney Decem. 7. 1645. Stepney Dec. 14 1645. Stepney , Dec. 21 1645. Stepney , Janu. 4. 1645. Stepney , Janu. 11 1645. Stepney , Janu. 25. 1645. Stepney Febr. 1. 1645.