any of our Betters without saluting them or some way or other testifying our Respect to them tho' they had no way particularly obliged us But if we were beholding to them for our daily Bread to come into their Presence without taking notice of them or their Bounty to us would be intolerable How much more intolerable therefore must it be to pass by God Almighty day after day nay to be in his Presence continually as indeed we always are and yet neither to pay any Homage or Reverence to him as He is our Supreme Lord nor to make any Acknowledgments as He is our daily Preserver and Benefactor If we had any sense of Ingenuity we should blush to think of passing a Day without several times lifting up our Minds and doing our Respects to Almighty God tho' there was no other ill in the Neglect than only the horrible Rudeness and ill Manners that it discovers in us But Secondly The constant Exercise of Prayer is not only recommended to us under the notion of a very decent and reasonable thing but as an indispensable Duty God Almighty hath most strictly charged it upon us and we are Transgressors of his Laws if we do not practise it Nature it self speaks sufficiently plain in this matter And where-ever God hath to the Law of Nature super-added any Revelation of his Will this Duty we are speaking of fails not to make up a considerable part of it It would be endless to mention all that is said upon this Head by our Lord and his Apostles in the new Testament I have told you already that they oblige us to no less than Praying always Praying without ceasing They use likewise abundance of other Expressions to the like purpose They bid us every where to lift up holy hands In every thing to make our Supplications known unto God To pray in the Spirit with all Prayer and Supplication and and to watch thereunto with all perseverance If it be said there is no such express command for Prayer in that Revelation which was made to the Jews I answer It is a great Mistake The Prophets do over and over again injoin it as the Principal Part of the Worship of God And those that live without Praying are by those Inspired Writers rank'd among the Atheists Psalm 53.1.4 And as for the Law of Moses it self it is obvious to observe that the greatest part of it is concerning Sacrifices Now Sacrifices if we will understand them right were nothing else but that Form or Method of putting up Prayers to God that was in those times used in the World So that in truth so far was Prayer from being left as a Matter of Indifferency to the Jews that most of their Religion consisted in it And accordingly all the Devout Men of that Church spent much of their Time in this Exercise David's manner was to pray seven times a Day And Daniel took himself to be so much obliged to the frequent Practice of this Duty that rather than break his Custom of performing his Solemn Devotions three times a day he would expose himself to the Den of Lyons Nay Thirdly So great is our obligation to frequent Prayer that he acts against his Nature whosoever doth not practise it For in truth Prayer is the proper and peculiar Duty of Man as he is a Man That which constitutes the nature of Man and doth formally difference and distinguish him from all other Animals is not so much the power of Reason as the capacity of being Religious There are some Foot-steps of an obscure Reason to be observed in many Creatures besides Man But in none except Him is there found any sense of a Deity or Disposition towards Religion or any thing that looks like it That seems to be the Prerogative of Mankind God endowed them and them only with Spirits capable of Reflecting upon the Author of their Beings and of making acknowledgments and performing Religious Worship to him So that to Worship God to converse with him in the exercise of Devotion to Pray and give Thanks for his Benefits may be truly said to be the proper Office of a Man as Man The natural exercise of those Faculties that distinguish him from brute Creatures And consequently those that live in a continual neglect of this what must be said of them but that they act unsuitably to their Natures and are degenerated into a sort of Brutishness It appears then that our Obligations to this Duty are many and great and such as there is no possibility of evading But here is our unhappiness that those Duties which we are most strictly obliged to are not those that we are always most inclined to practise There may be something in the most indispensable Duties so harsh and unpleasant so disagreeing with our other Appetites or Interests They may be so hard to be performed so Laborious or so Expensive or upon some other account so ungratefull that we shall naturally put our selves upon the finding out Excuses for the ridding our hands of them and easily satisfy our minds for so doing But now which I desire in the Fourth place to be considered There are none of these pretences to be made against this Duty of Prayer none of these Inconveniencies do attend it But it is so naturally so easily performed and so inoffensively to all our other Appetites and Interests That one would think nothing but mere laziness or stupidity could hinder a Man from the daily Exercise of it It requires no great Parts or Learning or Study for the discharging it The meanest Capacity the most un-improved Vnderstanding if there be but an honest Heart may perform it as well as the learnedest Man in the World It requires no Labour or Toil. The feeblest and most dis-spirited Body that can but lift up eyes to Heaven and direct wishes thither doth it as effectually as the most vigorous Constitution It doth not go against the grain of any natural Inclination nor put the body to any pain or hardship Nor doth it contradict any appetite or affection that Nature hath implanted in us No Humour but either the Sottish or the Malicious the Brutish or the Devilish is distasted by it It puts us to no Charge or Expence in the World save that of our Thoughts yet that is the noblest way of spending them And if they be not employed thus it is ten to one but they will be employed much worse It is not at all consumptive of our Time For we may attend this work when we are a doing other business and there is no man so full of business but he hath abundance of vacant spaces which he will not know how to fill up to any good purpose unless he hath learned this Art of saving Time In a word there is no Objection against it it is one of the Easiest Naturalest Inoffensivest Duties in the World Nay so easie it is that the most Selfish Man if he was to make his own Terms with
God and his Providence a lively Sense of our own Sinfullness and Weakness and manifold Necessities and an entire humble constant Dependence upon the Divine Goodness for the Supply of them In such a Frame of Soul as this I take That Spirit of Prayer and Supplication mentioned in the Scriptures to consist Secondly To pray always likewise imports that upon every solemn Occasion we should actually address our selves to God seeking help from him in all the straits and difficulties we happen into rendring our acknowledgments for every Good that arrives to us in our lives and imploring his Protection his Guidance his Blessing upon us in every Work of Moment that we go about Thirdly It imports farther that we should at least twice every day either in publick or in private offer up the Sacrifice of Prayer and Praise in a solemn manner unto God Less than this I think this Phrase of Praying always as likewise that other Expression of St. Paul 1 Thess v. 17. that we should pray without ceasing less than this I say they cannot signifie but how much more I now enquire not It is indeed very probable as Interpreters have noted that these Expressions are borrowed from and have respect to the daily Sacrifices among the Jews Every day twice that is to say in the Morning and in the Evening by the Appointment of God was offer'd up a Sacrifice in the Temple to which the Devout People resorted Which Sacrifice is in Scripture called by the Name of the continual Sacrifice the daily Sacrifice the never-ceasing Sacrifice and this in Contra-distinction to the occasional Sacrifices which pious Persons used to bring thither If now this be a true account of these Expressions we cannot be said to pray always to pray without ceasing to pray continually unless we do at least twice every day in the Morning and in the Evening offer up our solemn Sacrifice of Prayer to God But Fourthly To pray always and not to faint Implies great Earnestness and Importunity in our Prayers It imports that we should not faintly Address to God but with Affection and Fervour with a deep Sence of our Sins and of our Wants and a serious and fixed Attention to what we are about and with very ardent desires and hungring and thirsting after that Grace or that Pardon or that Blessing that we pray for And this is that kind of Prayer which St. James Styles the effectual fervent Prayer of a Righteous man which Ch. v. 16. he saith availeth much Lastly To pray always and not to faint imports Continuance and Perseverance in our Prayers That we do not pray by Fits and Starts and then intermit our Devotion but constantly keep up the Fervour of our Minds towards God Not giving over our Prayers Rom. 12.12 tho' we have not a Return of them so soon as we expect But continuing instant in Prayer as the Apostle speaks and watching thereunto with all perseverance Eph. 6.18 These are the chief things which are comprized in this Command of our Saviour Now to recommend the Practice hereof to you and to offer some Arguments to perswade every one thus to pray always and not to faint is that which I design in the remaining part of this Discourse I do not know how it comes to pass that Men have generally so great an Aversion to this Duty of Prayer They are very hardly got to it They are glad of any Pretence in the World to be excused from it And when they do come to perform their Devotions which among many is not oftner than the Laws or Customs of the Countrey oblige them to how soon are they weary of them How little do they attend to the siness they are about As if indeed Prayer was one of the greatest Burdens that God could lay upon Human Nature Whereas in truth if our Lusts and Passions were out of the way and Men could be brought to give themselves the Liberty of considering things equally we should be convinced that there is no Work that a Man can apply himself to no Action that he can perform to which there are greater Invitations greater Motives nay I was going to say greater Temptations of all sorts than to this of Prayer Suppose one would set himself to perswade any of us to the Practice of some particular thing which he hath a Mind to recommend to us what more effectual Method could he take for the carrying of his Point than to lay before us the common Heads of Arguments by which all Mankind are prevailed upon to undertake any Business or Action And then to convince us that the thing he would perswade us to is recommendable upon all these accounts As for instance That it is a thing fit and decent and reasonable to be done Nay 't is a thing we are oblig'd in duty to do even so far oblig'd that we act against our Natures if we do it not Nor have we any just Exception against it It is the most easie thing in the World It will put us to no manner of Trouble or Pains or Self-Denial So far from that that it is very pleasant and delightful And not only so but also highly creditable and honourable And which is the Top of all the Benefits and Advantages we shall receive from it are extremely great in all respects If now I say a Man can make all these things good of the Point he would perswade us to sure all the World must account us out of our Wits if we do not follow his Advice Yet all these things it may be evidently made to appear are true of Prayer and that too in a higher degree than of most things in the World What therefore can be desired in this Exercise to recommend the Practice thereof to us that it hath not And what must be concluded of us if notwithstanding all this we continue obstinate in our Neglects of it Give me leave to speak a little to these several Particulars First of all Doth it recommend any thing to our Practice that it is fit and decent and reasonable to be done Then certainly we must needs think our selves obliged to the constant Practice of this Point we are speaking of For there is nothing that doth more become us nor is any thing more undecent or more unreasonable than the Neglect of it Is it not fit that the Sovereign Lord of us and of the World should be acknowledged by us That we who do continually depend upon him should ever and anon be looking up to him and expressing that Dependence Is it not fit that we who every moment experience a thousand Instances of his Kindness partake of a thousand Mercies and Favours of his and must perish the next Minute unless they be continued to us Is it not highly fit and reasonable I say that we should take notice at least of these things to this our Benefactor We should think it very ill Manners to pass by our Prince or even
ardent Love and Charity set our selves not to seek his own but every man another's good as the Apostle exhorteth 1 Cor. 10.24 Secondly if the doing good be so necessary a duty as hath been represented what must we say of those Men that frame to themselves Models of Christianity without putting this duty into its notion There is a sort of Christianity which hath obtained in the world that is made up of Faith and knowledge of the Gospel Mysteries without any respect to Charity and good works Nay have we not heard of a sort of Christianity the very perfection of which seems to consist in the disparaging this duty of doing Good as much as is possible crying it down as a heathen Vertue a poor blind piece of Morality a thing that will no way further our salvation nay so far from that that it often proves a hindrance to it by taking us off from that full relyance and recumbency that we ought to have on the Righteousness of Jesus Christ only in order to our Salvation But O how contrary are these Doctrines to the Doctrine of Christ and his Apostles How widely different a thing do they make Christianity to be from what it will appear if we take our notions of it from their Sermons and Practices Is it possible that he that went about doing Good himself made it his meat and drink the business and employment of his life should set so light by it in us that are his followers Is it possible that they that so often call upon us to do Good 1 Tim. 6.18 1 Pet. 4.8 1 Cor. 13.2.13 to be rich in good works above all things to have fervent charity among our selves telling us that all faith is nothing all knowledge of mysteries is nothing all gifts of Prophecy and Miracles are nothing but that Charity is all in all I say is it possible that they should think doing Good so insignificant so unprofitable nay so dangerous a thing as these I spoke of do represent it But I need not farther reprove these Opinions because I hope they find but few Patrons but this seriously ought to be reproved among us viz. that we do not generally lay that stress upon this duty we are speaking of that we ought to do Many are ready enough to acknowledge their Obligations to do Good and count it a very commendable thing and a work that God will bless them the better for yet they are loth to make it an essential ingredient of their Religion they think they may be Religious and serve God without it If they be but sober in their lives and just in their dealings and come to Church at the usual times they have Religion enough to carry them to Heaven though in the mean time they continue covetous and hard and uncharitable without bowels of pity and compassion and make no use of their wealth or their power and interest or their parts and industry or their other Talents committed to them for the doing good in the World Far be it from any Man to pretend to determine what Vertues or degrees of them are precisely necessary to Salvation and what Vertues or degrees of them a man may safely be without But this is certain that Charity and doing Good are none of those that can be spared The Scripture hath every where declared these qualities to be as necessary in order to our Salvation as any condition of the Gospel Nay if we will consult St. Matth. 25. where the Process of the General Judgment is described we shall find these to be the great points that at the last day Men shall be examined upon and upon which the whole case of their eternal state will turn So that if we take the Scripture for our Guide these Men at last will be found to be much mistaken and to have made a very false judgment both of Religion and of their own condition Thirdly From what hath been said about doing Good we may gather wherein that Perfection of Christianity which we are to aspire after doth consist It has been much disputed which is the most perfect life to live in the World as other Men do and to serve God in following our employments and taking care of our families and doing Good offices to our neighbours and discharging all other Duties that our relation to the publick requires of us or to retire from the World and to quit all our secular concernments and wholly to give up our selves to Prayer and Meditation and those other exercises of Religion properly so called This latter kind of life is so magnified by the Romanists in comparison of the other that it hath engrossed to it self the name of Religious None among them are thought worthy to be stiled Religious persons but those that Cloyster up themselves in a Monastery But whatever excellence may be pretended in this course of life it certainly falls much short of that which is led in a publick way He serves God best that is most serviceable to his Generation And no Prayers or Fasts or Mortifications are near so acceptable a Sacrifice to our Heavenly Father as to do Good in our lives It is true to keep within doors and to attend our devotions though those that are in appearance most abstracted from the world are not always the most devout persons I say this kind of life is the most easie and the safer A man is not then exposed so much to temptations he may with less difficulty preserve his innocence but where is the praise of such a Vertue Vertue is then most glorious and shall be most rewarded when it meets with most trials and oppositions And as for the bravery of contemning the world and all the Pomps of it which they so magnifie in this kind of life alas it is rather an effect of pusillanimity and love of our ease and a desire to be free from cares and burthens than of any true nobleness of mind If we would live to excellent purpose indeed if we would shew true bravery of Spirit and true piety towards God let us live as our blessed Lord and his Apostles did Let us not fly Temptations but overcome them let us not sit at home amusing our selves with our pleasing contemplations when we may be useful and beneficial abroad Let us so order our devotions towards God that they may be a means of promoting our worldly business and affairs and doing Good among men Let us take our fit times of retirement and abstraction that we may the more freely converse with God and pour out our souls before him but let this be only to the end that we may appear abroad again more brisk and lively in vanquishing the Temptations that come in our way and more prompt and readily disposed to every good work This is to imitate our Lord Jesus to walk as we have him for an example This is a life more suitable to the contrivance and the genius of his Religion
of the covetous that God abhorreth them Psal 10.3 which implies the utmost aversion that the Divine nature is capable of to any sort of Men or things The uncharitable and hard hearted Men God hath declared he will have no mercy on Jam. 2.13 but they shall have judgment without mercy that have shewed no mercy Fourthly and lastly a necessity there is that those that are rich in this World should do good and be rich in good works c. upon their own account Though there were no other tye upon them yet self-love and self-preservation would oblige them to it I meddle not here how far in point of worldly interest they are concerned to be charitable though even the motives drawn from hence are very considerable For certainly Charity is a means not only to preserve and secure to them what they have and to make them enjoy it more comfortably but also to increase their store No Man is ever poorer for what he gives away in useful Charity but on the contrary he thrives better for it God seldom fails in this World amply to repay what is thus lent to him besides the other Blessings that accompany his store and go along with it to hs Children after him This I am sure is solemnly promised and in the ordinary dispensations of Providence we see it generally made good whereas to the greedy and penurious Man all things fall out quite contrary he may have Wealth but he hath little comfort in it for a curse generally attends it of which he feels the sad effects in a variously miserable and vexatious life and often in either having none or an unfortunate Posterity But this is not the thing that I mean to insist on This World lasts but for a while and it is no great matter how we fare in it but we have Souls that must live for ever If therefore Men have any kindness for them if they mean not to be undone to all eternity it is absolutely necessary they should do good with what they have O that uncharitable rich Men would think upon that woe that our Saviour pronounceth against them Luke 6.24 Wo unto you that are rich for ye have received your consolation O that they would seriously consider and often remember those words of Abraham to the rich Man in Hell Luk. 16.25 Son saith he remember that thou in thy life receivedst thy good things and Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted and thou art tormented Not that it is a crime to be rich or to have good things in our life no it is the inordinate love of their Wealth to which those that have it are too frequently prone and their not imploying it to those purposes of doing good for which it was given it is these things that bring these curses upon them and really make it easier without an Hyporbole for a Camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Luke 18.25 Certain it is there is no one sin that can be named doth more fatally exclude from Salvation than this we are speaking of We never find the Prophets or the Apostles giving a list of those black crimes that will involve all that are guilty of them in inevitable destruction but we are sure to meet with Covetousness and all the attendants of it among them as many instances might be given Nay so great is this sin of Uncharitableness and not doing good with our Wealth that God in the final sentence that he shall pass upon wicked Men to their condemnation at the last day seems to take no notice of the other sins and crimes of their life but only to censure them for this Matth. 25.31 c. Thus we find that when the King having gathared all Nations before him comes to pronounce the sentence upon those on his left hand who are those that are doomed to everlasting fire there is no mention made of their criminal actions they are not condemned for fraud and oppression for unbelief and irreligion for lewdness and debauchery though any of these be enough to damn a Man but merely for their not doing good for their not relieving the necessitous and excercising other acts of Charity when it was in their power Since now from these Considerations it doth appear how necessary how indispensable a Duty it is to do good with what we have to be rich in good works to be ready to distribute and willing to communicate let me at this time charge all of you that are rich in this world as you would not be unthankful to your great Benefactor nor unjust to your Neighbours as you have any piety towards God or any care of your own Souls that you put it in practice And two instances of this great Duty the present occasion and the exigence of things doth oblige me more particularly to recommend to you The first is the business of the Hospitals the encouraging and promoting that Charity which the piety of our Ancestors begun and whose examples their Successors have hitherto worthily followed and of which we see excellent effects at this day for this we need no better proof than the Report given in of the great number of poor Children and other poor people maintained in the several Hospitals under the pious care of the Lord Mayor Commonalty and Citizens of London the year last past For these so great instances of Charity what have we to do but with all Gratitude to commemorate those noble and publick Spirits that first began them and with all devotion to put up our prayers to God for all those now alive that have been promoters and encouragers of such good works and lastly with all chearfulness and diligence to follow these Patterns by liberally contributing to their Maintenance and Advancement These are th Publick Banks and Treasuries in which we may safely lodge that Money which we lend out to God and may from him expect the Interest O what comfort will it be to us when we come to die to be able to say to our selves That portion of goods that God hath in his Providence dispensed to me I have neither kept unprofitably in a Napkin nor squander'd it away upon my lusts but part of it I have put out towards the restoring my miserable Brethren to to the right use of their reason and understanding part of it to the amending Mens manners and from idle and dissolute persons redeeming them to vertue and sobriety and making them some way profitable to the Publick part of it for the healing the sick and curing the wounded and relieving the miserable and necessitous and lastly another part of it towards the Educating poor helpless Children in useful Arts for their Bodies and in the Principles of True Religion for their Souls that so both in their Bodies and Spirits they may be in a capacity to glorifie God and to serve their Country These are all
have not set down Rules about the particular measures and proportions of it in that case it is advisable rather to do more than we are perhaps precisely bound to do that so we may be sure we have performed our Duty than by being scanty in our obedience to run the hazard of falling short of our Duty Thus for instance Our Lord in the New Testament hath often and solemnly commanded us to pray But neither he nor his Apostles have any where told us how often we are to pray only they have bid us pray frequently In this Case now a Man that makes a Conscience of performing his Duty will take all occasions and opportunities of listing up holy hands and devout affections to his heavenly Father However he will not fail at least once every time he riseth and once every time he goes to rest to offer up a solemn Sacrifice of Prayer and Praise Less than this I say he must not do for fear he break the Commandment of praying frequently praying continually But more than this it will become him to do in order to the giving himself satisfaction that he hath fully performed it Thus again To give Alms to the poor is an indispensable Duty of our Religion But what proportion of our substance we are to give away in Alms and Charity is no where set down but is wholly left to our discretion Now in this case it is certainly much more advisable to give liberally and largely and plentifully even as much as our condition in this World and the necessities of our Families can allow though by so doing we shall prove to have given in greater abundance than we were strictly obliged to Than by giving stingily and pinchingly now and then a little pocket money or so to run the hazard of being Trangressors of the Commandment and having our Portion among the covetous and unmerciful There is no damage comes to a Man by doing the former but on the contrary a great deal of good For God never fails bounteously to reward the bountiful hand But there is both damage and infinite danger in the latter And thus we are to practise in all other Duties Only this caution we must take along with us That we are always so to proportion the measures of every single Duty as to render it consistent with the performance of the other Duties of our lives As for instance we must not spend so much time in Prayer as to hinder the pursuit of our Callings and necessary business We must so give Alms as yet to leave our selves enough to pay every one their own and to make a competent provision for our Families But let us but take care to secure this and then we cannot easily exceed in the measures of any Duty The more we pray and the more we give alms still the better And so in all other instances of Duty But now in the second place the quite contrary to this are we to practise in matters of Liberty There the rule is rather to take less than is allowed us than to take all Rather to abridge our selves of our lawful Liberties than by doing all that we may lawfully do indanger our falling into sin There is no harm at all in departing from our Rights and Privileges which God hath indulged us But there is a great harm in extending them beyond their bounds There is no evil in not gratifying our desires and appetites in all the things they crave which are allowable and which we are permitted to gratifie them in But there is an infinite evil in gratifying them in unlawful forbidden instances And therefore every wise and good Man will be sure to keep on the safe side and to prevent the danger of doing more than he should do he will not always do all that he may do The truth is that Man that makes no scruple of using his Liberty to the utmost stretch and extent of it upon all occasions and regards nothing more in his Actions than just that he do not fall into some direct sin That Man cannot always be innocent but will be drawn into a hundred irregularities and miscarriages Thus for Example he that useth himself to eat or to drink to the utmost pitch that can be said to be within the limits of Temperance it is impossible but such a one will now and then be unavoidably overtaken in the sin of Gluttony or Drunkenness He that will use all the liberties that the Law allows him for the making advantages to himself in his Trade or his Dealings with other Men Such a one will not be able to avoid the just imputation of being in many instances an Oppressor or a hard Conscienced Man The safest way therefore if we mean to preserve our Vertue amidst the multitude of Snares and Temptations that we meet with in the World is to set bounds even to our Lawful Liberties to keep our actions within such a compass as not to come even near the Confines of Vice and Sin Though it is but a point and that often an undiscernable one that distinguisheth between what is lawful and what is unlawful Yet there is a great latitude in what is lawful That is if I gratify my Appetites but a little I do that which is lawful and if I gratifie them more I may do that which is lawful likewise But he shews the most Honest and Vertuous Mind that in his actions takes but a little of this latitude and by that means keeps himself at a good distance from that which is vicious and criminal III. But thirdly and lastly To what degree soever we may think fit to make use of our liberty yet at all times As soon as we begin to doubt or fear we have gone as far as we lawfully can go it is then high time to break off and to proceed no farther This is the last Rule I have to offer upon this occasion And thus also wherever we have a just ground of suspition or doubt whether a thing be lawful or no this doubt or suspicion is of it self reason enough to make us forbear that thing Unless indeed there be a Necessity or a great Charity to be served by the doing of it which may in reason over-balance the suspicion of its lawfulness Thus in matters of Recreation If we have the least doubt whether this or the other Pleasure or Divertisement be innocent and lawful why that is Argument enough without more ado to make us forbear it though perhaps we see others use it without scruple Thus in matters of Temperance when we first begin to suspect that we have drunk as much as is convenient for us Let us by all means leave off and break from the Company Thus in matters of Sobriety when we have reason to doubt that we are come up to the full bounds of the Christian gravity and modesty and that any degree more of pomp or bravery in our garb or in our attendance or in our equipage will
Religious posture of mind but upon the plain natural frame and temper of your Souls as they constantly stand inclined to Virtue and Goodness A Man that seriously endeavours to live honestly and religiously may come to the Sacrament at an hour's warning and be a Worthy Receiver On the other side a Man that lives a careless or a sensual Life may set apart a whole Week or a whole Month for the exercising Repentance and preparing himself for the Communion and yet not be so worthy a Receiver as the other And yet he may be a worthy Receiver too provided he be really honest and sincere in the matter he goes about and provided that he remember his Vows afterward and do not sink again into his former state of carelesness and sensuality But to return to my point I do verily think that most of the doubts and fears and scruples that are commonly entertained among us about receiving the Sacrament are without ground or reason and that every well disposed Person that hath no other design in that action but to do his Duty to God and to express his belief and hopes in Jesus Christ and his thankfulness to God for him may as safely at any time come to the Lord's Table as he may come to Church to say his Prayers And if the case be so as I believe it is then of what a mighty privilege and benefit do they deprive themselves who when they have so many opportunities do so seldom join in that solemn Institution of our Lord which as I said was designed for no other purpose but to be the means of our growing in Grace and Virtue in Love to God and to all the Word O therefore my Brethren let me beg of you not to be strangers at the Lord's Table But I need not beg it of you for I am sure you will not whensoever it shall please God to put it into your hearts seriously to mind the concernments of your Souls and to be heartily sensible of the need you stand in of the Grace of Christ for the leading a holy and pure Life I have but one thing more in the Sixth place to leave with you and I have done It is not indeed of the nature of those things I have last recommended to you that is a means or instrument of growing more Virtuous But it is a principal Virtue it self And I do therefore recommend it to you because it is at all times useful at all times seasonable but more especially it seems to be so now And that is That you would walk in Love and study Peace and Unity and live in all dutiful subjection to those whom God hath set over you and endeavour in your publick stations to promote the publick Happiness and Tranquillity as much as is possible But by no means upon any pretence whatsoever to disturb the publick Peace or to be any way concerned with them that do by no means ever to ingage in any Party oâ— Faction and least of all any Faction in Religion which is grounded upon a State-point I am sorry the posture of things among us gives me occasion to mention this matter but it is too visible to what a height our animosities and discontents are grown and what the consequences of them may be unless there be a timely stop put to them I tremble to think With Mens differences as to their notions about the Politicks I am not concerned let Men frame what Hypotheses they please about Government though I do not like them yet I do not think my self bound to Preach against them But when these differences are come to that pass that they threaten both the Civil and Ecclesiastical Peace there I think no Minister should be silent Church-Divisions God knows we have and have always had too many but it is very grievous that those who have always declared themselves the Friends of our Church and Enemies to Schism should at this time of Day set a helping hand to promote a Separation And yet it seems to this height are our differences come Some People among us that formerly were very zealous for the Established Worship of the Church are now all of a sudden so distasted with it that they make a scruple of being present at our Service Nay some have proceeded so far as to declare I know not upon what grounds open War against us and set up Separate Congregations in opposition to the Publick What is the meaning of this Hath Schism and Separation from the established Worship which heretofore was branded as so heinous a sin and deservedly too so changed its nature all of a sudden that it is become not only innocent but a Duty Have we not the same Government both in Church and State that we formerly had Have we not the same Articles and Doctrines of Religion publickly owned and professed and taught without the least alteration Have we not the same Liturgy the same Offices and Prayers used every day that have always been What is there then to ground a Separation upon Yes But the names in the Prayers are changed and we cannot Pray for those that are now in Authority as we could for those that were heretofore But how unreasoanble is this when St. Paul has bid us to put up Prayers and Supplications and Intercessions for all Men especially for Kings and all that are in Authority Doth he make any restriction any distinction what Kings or what persons in Authority we are to pray for and what not Doth he not expresly say we must pray for all Men and for all that are in Authority And doth not the the reason of his exhortation imply as much if his words did not Namely that we may lead quiet and peaceable Lives in all Godliness and Honesty But I pray consider what this Doctrine leads to If this Principle be admitted to be good Divinity then farewell all the Obligations to Ecclesiastical Communion among Christians For what Government is there in the World that will not meet with such Subjects as are not satisfied with it And if that dissatisfaction be a just reason to break Communion with the Established Church what Ligaments have we to tye Christians together What will become of holding the Vnity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace What is the consequence of this but endless Schisms and Separations But further I wish these Persons would consider what an unaccountable humour it is to make a Rent and Schism in the Church upon a meer point of State Great Revolutions have happened in all Ages and in all Countries and we have frequent instances of them in story But I believe it will not be easily found that ever any Christians separated from the Church upon account of them Still they kept unanimously to their Doctrine and their Worship and never concerned themselves farther in the Turns of State how great soever they were than peaceably to submit to the Powers in being and heartily to pray to God so to
is thereby made a Blessing of God which without it perhaps might have been a Cross and an Affliction It is Prayer by which every Thing and every Action is sanctified to Believers I might name several other Benefits and Advantages to be reap'd from the conscientious Practice of this Duty But those that I have mention'd may I think if they be considered be sufficient to recommend it to any Man whatsoever that hath the least Kindness for himself And therefore I will not burthen your Memories with heaping up more Motives Only one thing I desire leave to press a little more earnestly and particularly than I have yet done and that is The Absolute Necessity of Constant Prayer in order to a Holy and Vertuous Life Do any of you here present in good earnest mean to live as you should do Do you really intend or desire to endeavour after such a Pitch of Vertue and Holiness as will be available for the saving your Souls everlastingly If you do not 't is in vain to attempt the perswading you to any thing of this Nature If you do then give me leave to tell you that it is absolutely necessary that you should live in the constant Exercise of Prayer otherwise you will never do your Business And on the other side I dare assure you if you do thus practise you will not fail of attaining the End you aim at These three things I dare lay down for Truth in this Matter First It is impossible for any Man to be good that lives without constant Praying Secondly Whoever is good at the present yet if he disuse himself in this Point he will not continue good long And Lastly Whoever makes a Conscience of Praying frequently and heartily and continues so to do tho' he cannot at present be said to be a good Man yet it is impossible for him long to continue bad he will certainly at last get the Victory over his Lusts and evil Habits So that Prayer is both the Means without which Vertue cannot be attained And the Means that never fails of attaining it And the Security of it when it is attained Of these three things very briefly and I have done First I say No Man can be a vertuous Man that lives without Praying I do not deny that some who make no great Conscience of this Duty but live in an habitual Neglect of it may so far retain the Notions of good and evil and those Notions may to far influence their Actions as that they shall not be notoriously and scandalously vicious It may be they will not lie nor cheat nor oppress any one It may be they do not live in a Course of Lewdness and Debauchery nor will be engag'd in any Design or Action that is apparently base or dishonourable But all this while these Men are far from being vertuous in the Sense we now speak of For we speak of such a Vertue as recommends us to God such a Vertue as will be effectual for our Salvation in the other World Now to such a Vertue as this there goes nothing less than an Universal Care over all our Actions a Serious Endeavour to frame all our Conversation suitably and conformably to the Laws of our Saviour But how can any Man think he takes Care of this that knowingly and willingly lives in a constant Contradiction to one of the principal Duties of our Saviour's Religion Our whole Duty is made up but of Three Things That a Man live soberly with respect to himself righteously with respect to his Neighbour and piously with respect to God Supposing now that a Man take care of the two former that is of doing his Duty to himself and his Neighbour which yet I believe never any Man did that made no Conscience of neglecting his Prayers But suppose a Man could satisfie himself as to these two Points of his Duty yet if he make no Conscience of the third that is of Piety towards God as no Man can make Conscience of that who makes it no matter of Conscience whether he says his Prayers or no in what Sense or Notion can this Man be said to have done his Duty or to lead a vertuous Life Certainly in no Sense at all For as to one third part of his Duty which is indeed as considerable at least if not more than either of the other he is a notorious Transgressour And tho' he be not unjust tho' he be not debauched yet wanting Piety towards God he is Impious And that will as certainly damn him as either of the other Either therefore one of these two things must be made appear that is to say that there may be Vertue such Vertue as will recommend us to God without Piety Or that there may be Piety without ever Praying or worshipping God neither of which I believe will be easily affirmed Or it will follow That where there is no Praying there is no Vertue and consequently no Salvation But besides We all know there is no Possibility of Living a Holy and Vertuous Life such a Life as our Religion requires of us and which alone will stand us in stead in the Day of Judgment without the Grace of God and the Assistances of his Holy Spirit And we all know likewise that these are no way to be come by but by earnest and affectionate and constant Prayer How therefore is it possible that any Man who is not very serious and frequent in the Exercise of Devotion should ever be able to live a Holy Life He may indeed by his own Study and for his own Interest possess himself of such good Qualities as may make a fair Shew in the World and recommend him to all about him But the inward Principle of Goodness and Holiness he cannot have Because he doth not practise the Means of obtaining the Grace and Spirit of God by which alone that Principle is to be wrought in him But Secondly Let a Man at present be in a good State of Soul yet it is impossible to preserve himself in that State without the constant Exercise of Devotion If a Man once begin to neglect his Prayers or to grow more dull and remiss in them or more averse to them it is a certain Argument that he is in a declining Condition as to Vertue and Goodness And as that Neglect or that Dulness or that Aversion increases in the same Degree doth the Goodness of his Condition abate also And when once it is come to that pass with him that the Flame of Devotion is quite extinguished in his Heart so that he can live and enjoy himself without any Converse or Intercourse with God in Prayer He may from that Period date the Loss of his Spiritual Life He is reduced to the State of a sensual natural Man Alive to the World and to his Lusts but perfectly dead to God The plain English is Prayer and Devotion is as necessary a Means to preserve the Union between the Soul and God in which
our Spiritual Life consists as Meat and Drink is to preserve the Union between our Souls and Bodies in which our natural Life consists And we may every whit as reasonably expect to keep our Bodies alive without the constant and daily use of Eating and Drinking As we can expect to keep our Souls alive to God without the constant and daily Exercise of Devotion This may to some appear strange Doctrine But I do believe I may appeal to experience for the Truth of it Nay I dare put the Question to any one that ever took any serious Care of his Soul and sincerely endeavoured to live vertuously and to please God whether he hath not found the Matter to be so as I have represented Have not such always found that so long as they kept up the Fervour and Vigour of their Devotion so long as they were constant and diligent in their Prayers and other Holy Exercises So long nothing could hurt them So long they have always maintained their Post and rather grown better than worse And though they have sometimes been foully overtaken by some Sin that they resolved against yet that Relapse hath done them no Mischief Their Continuance in their Prayers hath been an Antidote against the Malignity of the Sin And they have presently weather'd it out and suffered no ill Consequence by it But it has rather made them more watchful over themselves and more careful of their Actions afterward But on the other side have they not always found that when once they began to abate of the Fervour of their Devotions when once they began to pray seldomer or with more Coldness and Indifference They then began to live more loosely and carelesly to be more dull and sluggish towards every good Work Till perhaps by degrees the true Sense of God and Religion hath been in a great measure worn off from their Spirits and they in a manner have returned to a Worldly and Sensual Life Nay have they not often found that when it has been their Misfortune to break loose from their Duty and sink for some time into a State of Carelesness and Forgetfulness of God and of their own Vows and Resolutions as it hath sometimes hap'ned to very good Men I say Have they not often found that this their going backwards in Goodness was occasioned purely and solely by the Intermission of their Devotions That there was no visible Reason or Account to be given of this their Fall but only that through Sluggishness or some other Cause they have neglected to pray to God so earnestly and so frequently as they used to do I am confident a great many can say this out of their own Experience So that it concerns every Man that is at present in a good Disposition of Mind and hath good Hopes towards God It concerns him as he loves his Soul As he would not lose all the Fruits of his past Labours and Endeavours in the Service of God By all means possible to keep his Heart in a devout Frame And whatever comes of it not to grow cold or languid in his Prayers Or to omit or disuse them either in publick or private upon any pretence whatsoever But Thirdly and Lastly to conclude all there is this farther to be said for the Encouragement of all sorts of Persons to persevere in the Practice of this Duty namely That whoever makes Conscience of Saying his Prayers frequently and heartily and continues so to do tho' he be not good at the present yet it is impossible for him long to continue bad He will at last certainly get the Victory over all his Lusts and evil Habits and attain to the Favour of God and the Salvation of his own Soul This necessarily follows from what hath been said A Course of Prayer and a Course of Sin cannot consist together One will necessarily destroy the other Praying will either make a Man leave Sinning as a pious Man of our own used to say or Sinning will make a Man leave Praying But this is to be understood of Prayer that is put up to God with great Seriousness and Heartiness and out of a Sense of Duty and Conscience For as for those formal Prayers that are made out of Custom or upon the account of Education or for the serving some Worldly Ends of Interest or Reputation or the like God respects them no more than the impertinent Tattle of Fools All those of us therefore that mean and design to be good though we are not so already Let us above all things take care to mind our Prayers Let us pray to God in Private Let us pray to God with our Families And let us join as oft as we can with the Prayers of the Publick Assemblies This I am sure is the best Method we can take for the reforming our Lives and for the gowing in all Vertue and Goodness And the more we practise it the better we shall like it And if we persevere therein we shall find the Comfort of it both in the Grace and Assistance we shall receive from the Holy Spirit for the vanquishing all our Lusts and Corruptions And in the Blessings we shall procure from God both to our Selves and our Families and all our Affairs and Concernments And lastly in the Everlasting Salvation of our Souls in the Day of the Lord Jesus To whom c. FINIS