had setled the Ark at Ierusalem and made that City the place of God's House and of Religious Worship and the Seat of Justice and Judgment There was the House of God verse 9. that is though the Temple was not yet built if this Psalm was composed by David as the Title of it signifies it was yet there was the Tabernacle and the Ark of God which formerly was in Shiloh and afterwards removed from one place to another till David setled it in Ierusalem Thither all the Tribes of Israel were to resort three times a year to worship God before the Ark of the Testimony 4 ver There was the Imperial Seat where David had built his Throne and Palace and where his Posterity were to dwell and govern Israel and therefore it was the Seat of Justice too as that must be where the Kings Throne and the House of God was placed There are set thrones of judgment the thrones of the house of David 5. ver These were the peculiar Privileges of Ierusalem above any other City in Iury. This was the reason of that peculiar affection and passionate concern which David had himself and exhorts all others to express for Ierusalem that he greatly rejoiced to go thither and to continue there I was glad when they said unto me Let us go into the house of the Lord our feet shall stand within thy gates Ó Ierusalem That he exhorts all people to pray for the peace and prosperity of Ierusalem and promises a Blessing to those who love it as it is in my Text Pray for the peace of Ierusalem they shall prosper that love thee peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces All this was not for the sake of the material Buildings the beauty of the place or the conveniency of its scituation but because it was the Center of Unity Which is builded as a City that is compact together whither the Tribes go up the Tribes of the Lord unto the Testimony of Israel to give thanks unto the name of the Lord 3. 4. ver Which shews in what respect he commends Ierusalem that it is built as a City which is compact together not with regard to the Uniformity and regular Order and Union of its material Buildings but that it was the Center of a Religious Unity and Order in Worship where all the Tribes of Israel met and united in the same Acts of Worship and Praise to God There was the House of God there were the set Thrones of Judgment So that to Love Ierusalem to Pray for the Peace and Prosperity of it is to love the House the Worship the Name of God to love and pray for the Unity Happiness and Prosperity of the Church for the flourishing State of Religion and the peaceful Opportunities of Worshipping God in his Holy Temple together with the equal and impartial Administration of Justice which is so much for the Publick Good to promote the Temporal and Eternal Happiness of Men that our Love to Mankind but especially our Love to the Brethren as well as our Zeal for God's Glory and Worship requires this of us For my Brethren and Companions sake I will now say Peace be within thee Because of the House of the LORD our GOD I will seek thy good v. 8 9. Thus I have given you a very plain and easy Exposition of this whole Psalm and therein have sufficiently Explained my Text. I have but one thing more to add to make way for my intended Discourse and that is to shew you that this Exhortation does directly and not merely by Accommodation and Analogy concern Us as well as it did the Iews For Ierusalem was but a Type of the Christian Church as the carnal Israel or the carnal Seed and Posterity of Abraham were of true and sincere Christians who are the Children of Abraham by Faith in Christ And therefore St. Paul expresly distinguishes between the earthly Ierusalem and the Ierusalem which descends from above 4. Gal. 25 26. For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to Ierusalem which now is and is in bondage with her Children but Ierusalem which is above or from above that is the Christian Church is free which is the Mother of us all Which in 12. Heb. 22. he calls Mount Sion the city of the living GOD the heavenly Ierusalem And 3. Rev. 12. it is called The city of GOD the new Ierusalem which cometh down out of heaven from GOD. And 21. Rev. 2. The new Ierusalem coming down out of heaven from GOD prepared as a bride adorned for her husband Which is a Description of the most reformed and purified state of the Christian Church on Earth So that this Exhortation To Pray for the Peace of Ierusalem does most properly belong to Christians because the Christian Church is the true Ierusalem the new the holy Ierusalem descending out of Heaven from GOD v. 10. By this time I suppose you understand the meaning of my Text and how much we are concerned in it and there are two parts observable in the words 1. The Duty to Pray for the Peace of Ierusalem or of the Christian Church Peace be within thy Walls and Prosperity within thy Palaces 2. The Encouragement to this They shall prosper that love thee It is the first of these I shall at present speak to The Duty to Pray for the Peace of Ierusalem wherein I shall consider two things 1. What we must Pray for 2. How necessary Prayer is to obtain these Blessings I. What we must pray for Peace and Prosperity Peace be within thy Walls and Prosperity within thy Palaces Now the Peace of the Church signifies two things 1. The Unity and Agreement of Christians among themselves 2. The Preservation of the Church from external Oppressions and Persecutions 1. The Unity and Agreement of Christians among themselves When they profess the same Faith and join in the same Worship when they love like Brethren and have a tender affection and sympathy for each other as Members of the same Body This all Christians confess to be a great and necessary Duty and pretend to lament the many scandalous Dissentions and Divisions of the Christian Church This I am sure that though Divisions and Dissentions are destructive to all Societies yet there is no Society suffers so much by it as the Christian Church This destroys Love and Charity which is the true Spirit of the Gospel and the Badge and Cognizance of our Profession By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye love one another This turns the Christian Church into a School of wrangling Disputes and makes men more concerned what they believe than how they live this gives great offence to the World representing the Christian Faith as very doubtful and uncertain and Christianity it self as a great Disturber of the Peace of Mankind this overthrows all Government and Discipline in the Church and makes its Censures despised and scorned when the most
signifies a gracious and favourable Acceptance and this no Man can promise himself who will not pray where God has promised to hear All the Promises of the Gospel are originally made to the Christian Church the Body of Christ and to particular Christians as Members of and in Communion with the Christian Church But those cannot pretend to be in Communion with the Church who never Communicate with it who though they form no Schism yet withdraw themselves from its Publick Assemblies and will either be no Christians which I fear is too often the Case or will be Christians by themselves Now if they know of any Promises made to them in this single Capacity let them take the Comfort of it for my part I know of none Those who live in Communion with the Church and serve God in his House as oft as Leisure and Opportunity will permit may expect a Gracious Return to their Private Prayers which are offered to God in the Name of Christ and in the Communion of the Church but this is no Encouragement to those who set up Private Devotions against Publick Worship 4thly Let us worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness that is when we approach the House of God let us take care to worship him This is the proper Work of the Place we have no other Business here and it is Prophaneness not to do it There is no Reverence due to the House as I observed before but there is to that God who dwells in it When Moses and Ioshua were commanded to put off their Shoes because the Ground was Holy it was not to worship the Ground but that God who was present there And for the same Reason if we believe the Presence of God in Christian Churches it will not only justifie but require all the visible Signs of a Religious Reverence that to uncover the Head and bow the Body may escape the Censure of Superstition or Idolatry And while we are in the House and Presence of God especially in time of Worship we must carefully abstain from all irreverent Behaviour Laughing Whispering Talking or any such Indecencies as unbecoming the Presence of a Prince or any Superiours much more the Presence of God And yet this is too familiar a Practice and that among some who if they have no sense of or Reverence for the Divine Presence themselves yet in good Manners and common Prudence ought not to affront Christian Assemblies nor set such a scandalous Example to others What St. Paul said to the Corinthians concerning their irreverent Behaviour at the Lord's Supper is very applicable to these Men Have ye not Houses to converse and talk and laugh in or despise ye the Church and Presence of God And when we approach the House of God let us heartily joyn in all the parts of Worship with Attention of Mind and fervent Passions This becomes the Place and the Presence we are in We come to worship God and not to worship him is a Contempt and a Contempt put upon him in his own Presence And truly I know not how to excuse those from this Contempt who turn their Backs upon any part of the Christian Worship You may easily guess what I mean Is Communicating at the Lord's Table any Part of the Christian Worship Nay is it not the principal Part of it How comes it to pass then that when our Churches are crowded at Prayers or Sermons the Table of the Lord is deserted Certainly if Christ be ever present with us it is in this Mysterious Supper Why then do we fly from the Presence of our Lord Why do we approach his House and refuse to eat and drink at his Table though he offers us the dearest Pledges of his Love his Flesh to eat and his Blood to drink To God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost be Honour Glory and Power now and for ever Amen SERMON XIV Preach'd at St. Paul's Cathedral November 22. 1699. Being the Anniversary Meeting of the Lovers of Musick Psalm LXXXI 1 2. Sing aloud unto God our strength make a joyful noise unto the God of Iacob Take a Psalm and bring hither the Timbrel the pleasant Harp with the Psaltery TO Praise God is acknowledged by all men to be the most Excellent part of Divine Worship it is the Religion of happy Creatures and the Natural Homage due to Infinite Goodness which is the most Glorious Perfection of the Deity It exercises the best Passions of our Souls in the most perfect manner Love Ioy Reverence Admiration which are the proper Passions of Devotion made for God who is their last Object and made for the praise of God which is their most perfect Exercise We cannot well conceive what other Acts of Religion can be proper for Heaven when we shall be advanced to the utmost perfection of our Natures when we shall have put of Mortality and Corruption and all other wants with them when a Complete and Consummate Happiness shall leave no more place for Desire when we shall have nothing more to ask of God nothing more to expect but the secure Possession and Enjoyment of those Pleasures which fill but never satiate which are Eternally repeated and are Eternally New and Fresh I say in such a State as this as Faith will be turned into Sight and Hope into Enjoyment so Prayer also which is so great a part of the Worship of Sinners and indigent Creatures will be all turned into Thanksgiving and Praise Now as for this reason St. Paul prefers Charity before Faith and Hope because though they are admirable Graces for the state of Christians in this World and absolutely necessary to carry us to Heaven yet they cannot enter into Heaven themselves where Charity attains its greatest Glory and Perfection so by the same Reason it appears that Praise and Thanksgiving is the most excellent part of Worship because this is the Religion of Heaven and therefore ought to be the chief Delight and Entertainment of those who hope to go to Heaven But what is it to praise God Is it only to sing aloud and to make a joyful noise to God Does it consist meerly in the Harmonious Melody of Voices and Musical Instruments Does he praise God best who composes the best Anthems or sings them best Or do we think that we then praise God best when we feel our selves the most transported and ravished with excellent Musick performed by the best Voices the choicest Instruments and the greatest Masters This is a very easy and a pleasant way of praising God if this would carry us to Heaven but this is only to praise the Musick the Composition or the Performance when we think of nothing else come for no other end and mean no more by it I would not have you mistake me I do not appear in this place at this time to decry or disparage the use of Musick in the Worship of God which would neither become this Presence nor my own Character
that can be made concerning the Presence of an omnipresent Being God is present in Heaven in Earth and in Hell but he manifests himself very differently in each and these different Manifestations are a different kind of presence As to keep to my present Subject God is present in all the Earth as the Supreme Lord Governour and Preserver of all things but in some Places he was peculiarly present to reveal his Will to Men and to receive their Homage and Adorations And this is that which is peculiarly called the Presencâ—… of God in Scripture as is evident froâ—… all the instances which I have already given But is not God present in all placeâ—… to hear the Prayers of good Men whâ—… call upon him Yes most certainly and so he was both before and under thâ—… Law and yet we see that he sanctifieâ—… some places with his more peculiar preâ—… sence for the Publick and Solemn Acts of Worship A Prince may receive 〈◊〉 private Petition from a private Hand 〈◊〉 wherever he is present but yet may think it very fitting to appoint a Presence of State to receive the publicâ—… Homage and Addresses of his Subjects 〈◊〉 thus in fact it was in the Iewish Temple and was as reasonable as the publick Solemnities of worship are without which Religion it self would be banished the World For did Men once believe that they could worship God as well at home as at Church that God is no more present in religious Assemblies than in their private Closets there were an end of Publick Worship and of Religion with it This is too visible in those who have entertained this Opinion they eitâ—… quite desert the Publick Worship and grow careless and unconcerned for Religion or if they do sometimes come to Church it is to comply with Popular Custom and Opinion or only to gratifie an itching Ear and Athenian like to hear some new thing But when God who has his Throne in Heaven has his Footstool and Presence on Earth where he commands us to pay our Homage this preserves the Sense of God and of Religion alive in the World and gives a just awe and reverence for God when we approach his Presence This is a very Sensible Reason for appropriated places of Worship where God vouchsafes his more peculiar Presence if this were not originally a Divine Institution as the Instances I have already given fairly intimate it was then meer natural Reason taught it all Mankind for there never was any Nation which worshipped any God but they erected Temples for their Worship The Poverty and persecuted State of the Christian Church for the three first Centuries have made some think that they had no Churches or appropriated Places of Worship but a learned Man of our own Mr. Mede has proved beyond all contradiction that this is a mistake and the Zeal oâ—… Christians in building Magnificent Churches in the Reign of Constantine the firsâ—… Christian Emperor shews plainly whaâ—… their Sense was of this matter And it is as evident that all Nations did believe that the Gods they worshipped were peculiarly present in their Temples The Pagans did not believâ—… their Gods to be Omnipresent and therefore endeavoured by Magical Spellâ—… and Charms to shut them up in theiâ—… Images and Temples that they mighâ—… know where to find them and in thiâ—… Notion the ancient Christians abominated the thoughts of Temples and Images since they worshipped a God whâ—… fills Heaven and Earth with his Presence this indeed was a corruption oâ—… Natural Religion as Polytheism and 〈◊〉 dolatry was but shews how necessary they thought a Divine Presence to 〈◊〉 place of Worship The Iews understood better thaâ—… God could not be confined to any placeâ—… that the Heaven and Heaven of Heavenâ—… could not contain him as Solomon owns in his Prayer of Dedication but yet begs that God would be graciously pleased to be present to hear and answer the Prayers and Supplications which should be made to him in that House which is all the peculiar Presence he prays for which is necessary to make a House of Prayer the name God himself gives to the Iewish Temple My House shall be called a House of Prayer Now if this be the proper notion of God's House that it is a House of Prayer a House where God is peculiarly present to hear our Prayers we must own that every Christian Church is as much the House of God as the Temple at Ierusalem was unless we will deny that God is as present in Christian Assemblies and in places dedicated to Christian Worship as he was in the Iewish Temple which is to make Christianity a more imperfect Dispensation than Iudaism for that is certainly the most perfect state of the Church where God is most peculiarly present There is indeed a great difference between the Iewish Temple and Christian Churches but as to the Presence of God which only makes a Temple the advantage is greatly on the Christian side The Ark of the Covenant the Tabernacle and Temple contained many Types and Figures of Christ but these Types were not the Presence of God nor the Object of their Religious Worship which had been Idolatry against the Second Commandment but for the sake of these Types God chose that place for his peculiar Presence Now instead of these Types we have the Antetype it self the Son of God made Flesh who though ascended into Heaven has promised his peculiar Presence in all the Assemblies of Christians which is such a Presence of God as never filled the Iewish Temple till Christ appeared for which Reason God tells them that the Second Temple though it fell vastly short of the External Beauty and Magnificence of the First yet should excel in Glory by the personal Appearance of Christ in it Haggai 2. 3 7. Malach. 3. 1. So that Christ having promised that wherever two or three are gathered together in his Name he will be in the midst of them every Christian Church has a Divine Presence greater than the Temple For though we should grant that this Promise extends to all the occasional Meetings of Christians whatever the Place be yet it much more extends to all the Solemn and Publick Places and Acts of Worship Thus there was but one Temple in the whole Land of Canaan God for Mystical Reasons confining his more peculiar Presence to that House where he had placed the Types and Figures of Christ through whom only we have Access to God but now this blessed Jesus who is greater than the Temple is in all Christian Assemblies and makes every Christian Church greater than the Temple In this Sense our Saviour told the Woman of Samaria Woman believe me the Hour cometh when ye shall neither in this Mountain nor yet at Ierusalem worship the Father Iohn 4. 21. which does not signifie that hereafter there should be no peculiar and appropriate Places of Worship but that the Presence and Worship of God should no longer be confined to any