is preserved but a sense also of his Greatness and Magnificence as I may call it is also bred and nourished in mens minds Who joyning as one Man in the same service are taught not only that God is but what he is infinite in all perfections For when a multitude of people meet together even as many as a spatious place can contain to Worship the same Being it doth most naturally signifie and declare that He is exceeding great and glorious whom so many own for their Lord upon whom they depend for all they have or can have which is not signified nor represented when only one or two or a few pray to Him Therefore this is a reason both that we should hold publick Assemblies and that they should be as full as is possible and all who belong to them should croud unto them to testifie that they look upon him who is there Worshipped to be the great King over all the Earth as the Psalmist speaks xlvii 2. For great numbers meeting together to do their Homage to him it is the most natural sign that can be contrived which private Worship is not that we take him to be the Soveraign of the World the Lord of all above all good unto all in one word the common Parent of us all to whom we resort for his Blessing This is a demonstration that Publick Worship is to be preferred before all other because most sutable to his most excellent Majesty the best token of the high thoughts we have of him the utmost we are able to do to testifie how great and how good we believe him to be how able and willing to help us all as being equally related unto all And the more meet together for this end the better this is declared that he cannot be honoured and glorified enough but we stand in need of the united thoughts and affections of all Mankind could they be assembled at once to magnifie his incomparable perfections Nay If all Creatures in Heaven and in Earth as a very worthy Person observes could meet together in one Body to Worship Him at the same time and in the same place it would still be much better because more sutable to His Most Excellent Majesty being still a better signification of his Infinite perfections and of his vast Dominions which he governs with inconceiveable Wisdom and takes care of with a most provident goodness And though no one place here on Earth is big enough to contain so much as one Nation or Country or great City yet we meeting in several places of the same kind and set apart for the same purpose to Worship God at one and the same time it approaches something near unto this all the people that are under one and the same Government hereby setting forth God's praise together at the very same moment and in the like though not the very same individual place where they uniformly acknowledge him with joynt consent to be their common Preserver and Benefactor Which is far more agreeable to the perfection of his most excellent Nature than the single or private Applications that are made to him in which there is no sensible Declaration made what he is able to do for all but only what he is able to do for one or for a few For which reason the Universal Church anciently observed certain set hours of Prayers that all Christians throughout the World might at the same time joyn together to glorifie God and some of them * Origen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 N. 33 35. were of opinion that the Angelical Host being acquainted with those hours took that time to joyn their Prayers and Praises with those of the Church For common reason led them to this thought that those noble Creatures are highly concern'd to set forth to the utmost of their Power the glorious Honour of God's Majesty who as he is exalted above all Blessing and Praise so hath the utmost pitch of Praise to which Creatures can reach given unto Him when the whole Family of Heaven and Earth combine together at once to Worship Him Thence it was that the Psalms of David though many of them particularly concerned himself were directed to the Chief Musitian for the Publick Service as the way to make his Praise glorious So the Psalmist speaks in lxvi Psalm which begins with a desire that all Lands would make a joyful noise unto God and sing forth the honour of his Name and make his Praise glorious That is this was the way to do something sutable to the surpassing Glory of his Majesty For great saith he elsewhere is the Lord and therefore greatly to be praised in the City of our God xlviii Psal 1. He was not greatly praised sutably to his greatness unless it were in that place where they all met together to praise him No the very private Blessings bestowed on David he would have publickly celebrated by all the people And therefore doth not only say I will bless the Lord at all times his praise shall be continually in my mouth My Soul shall make her boast of the Lord c. but adds O magnifie the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together xxxiv Psal 1 2 3. And therefore much more were the common Blessings poured on them all to be thus acknowledged and his praise sung in the Congregation of Saints as the words are cxlix Psal 1. that is by all the people of the Jews Nay by all the people on the face of the Earth as he speaks cxvii Psal O praise the Lord all ye Nations praise him all ye people c. Which St. Paul shows in the xv Rom. 11. was accomplished when the Gentiles submitted themselves to Christ and became Members of his Church therein to praise him continually in their publick Assemblies III. In which the sense of God will not only be preserved sutable to his most excellent greatness and goodness but preserved pure and sincere free from those dangerous mixtures which may sooner creep into it to corrupt and embase it if he should be Worshipped only in private Where every man may frame conceits of the Divine Majesty agreeable to his own inclinations and there is no such way to prevent or correct them as by attending upon the publick Offices of Religion Into which Errors are not so easily admitted because men are naturally careful about that which they expose to the publick view not being willing themselves to appear before others with such neglect as they are sometimes found in when they are alone Or if there be any thing dangerous admitted there it will soon be discovered and if not redressed yet opposed by good men as all corruptions have been at their first appearance though in process of time they have prevailed They began in private and from thence by degrees adventurnd to appear in publick where they would have appeared sooner if the common sense of Mankind or of Christian people had not been against them There
want â—â—thing yet the sense we have that we â—old all we call ours by the meer mercy 〈◊〉 God should powerfully move us to acknowledge him and to pay him our â—â—mage of Thanks and Praise and â—â—ble our selves before his Majesty as â—â—â—hing without him Yea it is an â—â—nour and singular Favour we should â—â—â—k to be admitted into his Sacred â—â—sence as I am sure we should â—eem it did we enjoy the same priâ—â—â—edge with earthly Princes Into â—â—ose presence we should not think â—e could come too oft if they would â—â—â—mit it but we should be ambitious wayes to stand in their sight and â—â—â—k upon our selves as highly dignified if they would be pleased to maâ—â— us their familiars Let us not then bâ— perverse as to live as we thought 〈◊〉 Lord of Heaven and Earth doth us injury or layes an heavy burden oâ— when he requires us to attend hiâ— that is when he bids us come to him 〈◊〉 first ask and then receive his Blessâ—â—â— Look upon our Blessed Saviour 〈◊〉 observe how constant and unweaâ— he was in this Holy Duty how â—â—â—…quently he went alone by himself 〈◊〉 give thanks to God and to impâ—â—… his continued presence with him 〈◊〉 diligently he went to the Temple 〈◊〉 he was at Jerusalem and to the Syâ—â—gogues when he was in the Countâ— how he acknowledged God in the 〈◊〉 common benefits how much timâ— spent publickly and privately inâ— company With what strong crieâ— called upon him in the dayes oâ— Flesh with what submission 〈◊〉 what reverence with what repeâ—â—… importunities and then think 〈◊〉 your selves are you in less want oâ— help of God than our Blessed Savâ—â—â—â— was Can you live well enough wâ—â—â—out praying to him when his only 〈◊〉 ten Son could not Why do you not 〈◊〉 go to Him with fervent desires â—y do you not imitate the Son of God the frequency of your Addresses To what purpose hath God given 〈◊〉 his Holy Spirit if you will not â—y its motions To what end is the â—â—d Jesus appointed to be your Interâ—or if you will send up no Prayers â—e presented by him in the Court of â—â—ven Why doth he call upon you â—ray alway if you need not pray at 〈◊〉 Consider all these Arguments 〈◊〉 again how naked you are withâ—â— this Divine Armour to defend you 〈◊〉 all Gods Graces languish and dye â—his do not continually maintain 〈◊〉 how good Men have thought it â—â—er not to live than not to pray and 〈◊〉 Thanks to the God of their life 〈◊〉 they will prevail with you not to be â—â—gers unto this Heavenly imployâ—t An imployment wherein you will 〈◊〉 much comfort and no less success â—â—u do not negligently discharge it 〈◊〉 God hath a love to souls and greatâ—esires their improvement He would â—e them advance even unto his likeâ—â— in Righteousness and Goodness and true Holiness Else he would 〈◊〉 invite them and call upon them 〈◊〉 doth to fix their eyes upon himâ— would not have given them suchâ— and assistance and discovered sâ— wonderful love unto them as he 〈◊〉 manifested in the Son of his Lâ— Christ Jesus The Heathen thought it sufficieâ— desire God to hear them out of love he bears to immortal Spirits 〈◊〉 they cry unto him So I find one 〈◊〉 ing in an Ancient Greek Poet â— words are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hearken unto me O Father thou 〈◊〉 wonder of Mankind who takest a sâ— care of an ever-living Soul But we have a great deal moâ— build our hopes upon and may 〈◊〉 Hear us O Father of our Lord 〈◊〉 Christ who hast astonished us witâ— wonders of thy love in him Hear us of the love thou bearest unto the Son 〈◊〉 love Hear us for his sake whoâ— down his life to redeem our imâ—â— Souls who lives for ever to make 〈◊〉 â—ession for us Thou who hast bestowed alâ—â—ady so surprising a gift without our askâ—ng hear us and give us what we ask of â—ee when we ask it in his name who gave â—imself for us and hath assured us that â—ith him thou wilt give us all things CHAP. VI. The Honour God doth us in admitting us into his presence AMong other false conceits which men have of this Duty of Prayâ—â—o God these two are very prejudiâ—al to its performance First They look upon it only as a â—y laid upon them by God's mere â—ill and Pleasure which might be â—â—red there being no real need of it it were not for this that God will we it and hath ordained it Secondly They imagine thereupon â—â—t he is beholden to them for what â—ey do and that they have perforâ—ed such a great piece of service to â—m when they have prayed a while â—â—t they thereby obtain a dispensation to do their own Will when 〈◊〉 have satisfied his To rectifie the first of theseâ— stakes I have shown this to be a 〈◊〉 ral Duty and not merely bound 〈◊〉 us by a positive Law A Duty sâ— sed by our Lord and Saviour 〈◊〉 than commanded for it arises 〈◊〉 our being God's Creatures whâ— therefore bound to acknowledge 〈◊〉 and to wait upon him continuallâ— the supply of our necessities froâ— bounty And now I shall proceâ— correct the second mistake and 〈◊〉 by also further confirm what 〈◊〉 said concerning the necessity oâ— Duty by showing that this is 〈◊〉 from being a burden laid upon 〈◊〉 his mere will and pleasure or anâ— service whereby we oblige him oâ— cure an indulgence or connivanâ— what we do contrary to his Wâ— other things that in truth the 〈◊〉 is done intirely to our selves 〈◊〉 Righteousness cannot profit Him 〈◊〉 intends hereby to make us really 〈◊〉 nay excellent Creatures whose 〈◊〉 it is to look upon our selves as infâ— ly beholden to him that he will 〈◊〉 us to come into his presence upon all occasions and call him Our Father This I shall demonstrate by representing first how honourable and excellent an employment this is Secondly How comfortable and truly delightful when performed as it ought Thirdly How beneficial both to make and preserve us such as we ought to desire above all things to be Of the first of these I shall give a brief account in this Chapter wherein I shall endeavour to make the Reader sensible that this Duty which our own necessities call for and exact of us is in it self a most Noble and Excellent Imployment For it is the Ascent of our mind to God as the Ancient Christians describe it a familiar conâ—erse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. an holy discourse with the Lord of all the withdrawing of our minds from this World and all things in it above which it raises our thoughts and lifts them up unto the first and chiefest Good into whose company it brings us and sets us in his Blessed presence that he may lift up the light of his countenance upon us For though it be the expressioâ— our deepest humility yet therebyâ— are lifted up above the highest top of
to tell him our thoughts but is acquainted with the very beginning of them before they are formed and therefore hath bestowed upon us the faculty of speaking that we may tell our thoughts unto others and make them understand that we are Religiously affected towards him Who if he had intended Religion should be only a private business might have made us without Tongues because he needs no Language to acquaint him with our desires but hears our very thoughts and perceives the most inward motions of our Souls VVhich we have power to express in words not that he may understand us but for the benefit of others that they may understand our sense and know that we are lovers of God and be stirred up by our Prayers and Praises and Thanksgivings to the same Devotion towards him Whence David calls his Tongue his glory lvii Psal 8. because therewith he glorified God and as it there follows ver 9. Praised God among the people and sung unto him among the Nations This St Paul supposes when he saith Prayers ought not to be made in an unknown Tongue because if they were he that was not learned in that Tongue would not be able to say Amen 1 Corinth xiv 16. which word Amen was then it seems pronounced at the end of every Prayer by the whole company for whom the publick Minister spake to God and was as it were their mouth in what he said But though it was thus ordered to avoid confusion and that it might be distinctly known by every body what was said in the Church which had been impossible if they had all spoken together yet they thought themselves bound to signifie and declare that he spake their sense by saying Amen at the conclusion of the Prayer he made Which was as much in effect as if they had said every word of it themselves for it was as much as to say they approved of and consented to the whole And this every one did so audibly that a great multitude being gathered together in a Church it imitated the voice of Thunder as St. Hierom tells us And verily it is a great fault that we do not all thus joyn in the Publick Prayers at this day not only by our bodily presence but with our tongues which ought to express our consent to those Petitions and Thanksgivings which are offered up to God in the name of us all III. And there is a further reason for common Prayer beâ—â—â—â— the Blessings we enjoy in common together are far greater than those we enjoy singly and distinct one from another We all breath in one common Air and enjoy the comfort of one common Light The Heavens drop their fatness in common upon every mans Fields and Pastures And which is more than all the rest the great Blessings of order and Government the benefits of which we all enjoy by being knit in the same Society undeâ— the same Governour make it highâ— reasonable that we should joyn or selves together as one man to acknowledge these common Blessings which make us all happy For being made for society and enjoying innumerable benefits thereby which this is not a place to mention particularly we have lost all sense of what we are and what we have if we do not thiâ—â— our selves bound to give God thanâ— for them in one Body begging 〈◊〉 pardon for their abuse and beseeching their continuance I name not now the greatest Blesing of all which is the Redemptionâ— mankind by Jesus Christ in whiâ—â— not a few particular persons but aâ—â— in general are concerned it being thâ— common Salvation as St. Jude calls 〈◊〉 because it belongs to the next head where we shall consider mankind aâ— Church bound to bless God above a things for his Grace in the Lord Jesâ— Let us look at present only to the visible Heavens which incircle us aâ—â— and proclaim aloud as the Psalâ—â— speaks the Glory of God throughout the World Behold the Sun that great Minister of God which preaches as I may say every where and publishes not to one place or Country but to the whole Earth the Praises of the Lord. It is not a private Whisper but a publick Cry which the Heavenly Bodies make there is neither Speech nor Language but their voices are heard among them Their sound is gone out into all Lands and their words into the ends of the World which tell us what we should do and call upon us to make the voice of his Praise to be heard as much and as far as we are able who hath appointed such illustrious Creatures to do us perpetual service Which is the meaning of the Holy Pslamist when he calls upon all Creatures in Heaven and in Earth both visible and invisible to praise the Lord. Psal cxlviii That is he excites himself and others to give God Thanks for them and to acknowledge the Praises which they continually give him His most Glorious perfections that is which they declare and set forth in the most publick manner For they speak to all as much as they do to one the most excellent immense greatness and goodness of the Lord who in Wisdom also hath made them all and this we ought as publickly to declare it being all that we can do for the Honour of his Name but only live accordingly which this also teaches us and makes absolutely necessary that we may eternally praise him There is an excellent Discourse 〈◊〉 remember in St. Chrysostome to this purpose in his ix Homily upon Genesis where showing how God hath preferred Mankind above all other Creatures he concludes with this exhortation Let us therefore give him Thanks for all these benefits he hath heaped on us This is no grievous no burdensome thing which he expects from us for what trouble is there in testifying our sense of his loving kindness in confessing out obligations in returning our thankful acknowledgments for them 〈◊〉 Which He who is all-sufficient iâ— himself stands in no need of but we ought to learn thereby to love the Author of all good and not to be ungrateful but study to live sutable to such a careful Providence over us Let us not I beseech you be negligent in this but think with our selves continually both what the common benefits are we all enjoy and the private ones which he hath conferred upon any of us both those which are manifest and confessed by all and those which are concealed perhaps and proper to our selves alone And by all let us excite our selves to give him Thanks which is the greatest Sacrifice the most perfect Oblation Especially when we all joyn together I may add to confess his Goodness and declare the Wonders he doth for the Children of Men. And whosoever he is that hath these things continually in mind and reflects upon his own meanness as well as the immenseness of the Divine Mercy how he governs us and dispenses his Blessings to us not regarding what our sins deserve but what is becoming his
which the Kingdom is laid and it can neither be erected or being erected cannot stand when this is gone Now as Religion is necessary to uphold States and Kingdoms so the Publick exercise of it is as necessary to uphold Religion Let the Publick Assemblies cease and Religion will not long stand But we shall soon lose it if we do not meet together to joyn in the common Offices of it and we shall soon be tempted to have the less concern for one anothers safety and happiness when we are not tied together by the bond of one and the same Religion In which when we heartily joyn to serve God it makes us look upon one another as Brethren dear to the same God and Father of us all and therefore dear to one another This the Psalmist represents when he cryes out in the beginning of cxxxiii Psal Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity He would have all the Israelites to look upon themselves as Brethren being all descended from one and the same stock and having also the same God for their Father And then they dwelt together in unity not merely when they lived lovingly and unanimously pursued the same common Interest for the common good but then especially when they all met in one and the same place to Worship God together with one heart and with one Soul which linkt them closer than any other bond could do and provided best for their common security For it appears by what follows he chiefly aims at this assembling themselves unanimously together as the words are in the Hebrew O how good and pleasant is it for Brethren to dwell even together i. e. to meet all at God's house as common to them all Nothing more delightful than to behold such a general Assembly which he illustrates by two similitudes First Of the pretious Oyntment which ran down from the Head of the High Priest to the very skirt of his Garment And then by the Dew of Heaven which made the Hill of Hermon and the Mountain of Zion nigh to which the Temple stood exceeding fruitful And then in conclusion he adds the reason why this was so joyful a sight and so beneficial for there the Lord commanded the Blessing even Life for ever more He pours down his Blessings of all sorts as the Heavens do the Dew and as the pretious Oyntment ran down from Aaron's head upon a people that are thus unanimously joyned together in the Worship and Service of God who only can make them happy that 's meant by Life and can make them so for evermore In order to which He took care his Divine Service should be perpetually performed in the Temple whither they were to resort to do their Duty to him and to implore his Grace and Favour towards them And I cannot think it fell out by chance that next to the Psalm now mentioned is immediately placed a solemn Exhortation in the cxxxiv. Ps unto the Ministers of God to attend constantly upon their Duty in the Sanctuary there to praise the Lord who made Heaven and Earth and to give a Blessing to his people and pray for their prosperity out of Sion as that Psalm concludes I end this with the observation of a wise man that we being Members of a publick Body ought to serve it the best we can Now all the Service we do as Members of it is publick Service which is far more worthy than what we act for our selves privately and distinctly as much as a whole Society exceeds the worth of any one Man in it And what service is there we can do it like to that of maintaining God's true Religion by serious attendance with due care and frequency upon the publick Offices thereof whereby we shall exceedingly promote the common good of all and maintain Society it self by which we are kept and preserved in safety and prosperity For by doing publick honour to God we shall draw down publick Blessings upon our selves God himself will bless us as the Psalmist speaks He will bless them that fear the Lord both small and great The Lord shall increase you more and more you and your Children Ye are the Blessed of the Lord that made Heaven and Earth CXV Psal 13 14 15. Observe the Title he gives himself The Lord that made Heaven and Earth and you will not think it sutable to his super-excellent and transcendent Majesty to have his Worship confined to your Closets or to your private Houses but make it as publick as the Heaven and the Earth are which are exposed to the view of all In that spatious Temple of his as the Ancients were wont to call the World of which the Temple at Jerusalem was an imitation he is to be magnified and praised as openly and with as great multitudes as can possibly meet together that we may not seem to Worship some little petty Deity but the Universal Lord of all Thus I am faln upon the Argument wherewith I begun which cannot be too often pressed and hath a close connexion with this other which I have now handled For he having formed us to live together in Society and to keep closely United in one Body for our common safety and preservation teaches us thereby to own Him as the common Parent of us all and to contrive the best wayes we can whereby we may acknowledge him so to be And there is no way like this of meeting together in the greatest multitude that can assemble to magnifie and praise Him with one voice for his Goodness and declaring the Wonders he doth for the Children of Men commend our selves and all our concerns unto his most powerful protection By whom Kings Raign and Princes decree Justice and therefore he ought to be sought for their Guidance and Direction Protection and Safety and to be acknowledged as it is in the Collect for our King to be the High and Mighty King of kings Lord of lords the only Ruler of Princes who from his Throne beholds all that dwell on the Earth And they are all as the Prophet most admirably expresses it as Nothing less than Nothing and Vanity in comparison with his incomprehensible Greatness Who as that great King Nebuchadnezzar publickly acknowledged and desired all Nations and Kingdoms should take notice of it is the High God whose Kingdom is an Everlasting Kingdom and his Dominion is from Generation to Generation So he begins the Proclamation he caused to be made of his humble Devotion to the Divine Majesty by whom he had been abased as low as the Beasts of the Earth Dan. iv 2 3. After which he tells all the World I Blessed the Most High and I Praised and Honoured Him that liveth for ever whose Dominion is an Everlasting Dominion and his Kingdom is from Generation to Generation And all the Inhabitants of the Earth are reputed as Nothing and he doth according to his Will in the Army of Heaven and among the Inhabitants
of it is an Assembly of Men and Women called to meet together and therefore the Christian Church is such an Assembly called to joyn together in Worshipping God by Christ Jesus who himself hath supposed this in the Prayer he gave his Disciples and hath promised his special Presence in such Assemblies which the Apostles constantly held and there received the first and best Fruits of his Love in the descent of the Holy Ghost which drew all Converts every where into the same Blessed conjunction for which Holy Places were appointed where they constantly Assembled and where the extraordinary Gift of Prayer was to be made common or else lookt upon as of little value where God hath appointed his Ministers to attend and there offer up the Prayers of his people and bless them in his Name where the Angels also are present and delight to see us assembled that we may maintain the Communion of Saints here on Earth and be fitted for the company of the Blessed in Heaven who all joyn together in giving Blessing and Praise and Honour unto him whom we Worship who is far Exalted above all Blessing and Praise either of ours on Earth or of theirs in Heaven Consider I say all this and then think what an errour they live in who make little or no account of the Publick Assemblies but imagine they can pray and serve God as well by themselves alone This is a most unchristian thought directly contrary to the very frame of our Holy Religion which therefore ought with all diligence to be exploded out of every one of our minds As for those who do not barely neglect the Publick Service but refuse to joyn in it they are still in a far worse condition having broken themselves off from the Body of Christ which the Ancient Church thought so heinous a crime that they lookt upon their Prayers as an abomination For so I find in the Council of Antioch * Canon 2. that such Christians were condemned as going into any private House prayed together with those who would not joyn in the Prayers of the Church None of the Church were to joyn in their Prayers if any did they thought it equal to the crime of communicating with Excommunicated Persons The like I find in the Council of Laodicea And the Canons ascribed to the Apostles speak to the same purpose Can. 33. Can. 10. And this Sentence of those Councils is very conformable to the sense of the Ancient Jews whose Maxime this was as Mr. Thorndike * Relig. Assembl p. 173. observes He that dwells in a City where there is a Synagogue and prays not there with the Congregation this is he who is called a BAD NEIGHBOVR And well may he be called bad who will have no Society in the best things who cuts himself off by his own act from the Congregation of the Lord who will not afford his Neighbours the help of his Prayers who lives as if the World could be Governed without taking any notice of God the Supreme Governour who directly overthrows the Christian Religion and destroys the very notion of a Church who hath no regard to Holy places and slights God's Ministers who withdraws himself from God's special presence and protection and defies all the Blessed company of Heaven Among whom he can never hope to find any entertainment nor to be received into the Coelestial Habitations having shut himself here out of the Society of Saints and the place where God's Honour dwelleth Would to God such things as these were seriously and deeply considered by us all that our minds might be awaked to a diligent and constant attendance upon the Publick Assemblies Which our Lord hath taken the greatest care to establish and unto which he hath also granted very high Priviledges lest they should fall into contempt or neglect through Mens Idleness or Covetousness or Conceitedness or by any other means whatsoever Certain it is if we had an hearty Love to our Religion and understood it we could not but be so in Love with the Publick Exercises of it as every day if it lay in our power to go into God's house and there recommend our selves and his whole Church to his Grace and Mercy For there is no way it is evident from what hath been said to uphold and support the Church like to this we being a Church by meeting together to have communion in the same Prayers Which the oftner we have the more we look like a Church and act like Members of the Body of Christ who are combined and knit together for mutual preservation As on the contrary the seldomer we meet the less there is of the face of a Church among us which cannot be preserved from ruin when the Publick Assemblies are generally neglected because the Church falls to decay by that very neglect Let us therefore set our selves to maintain the Church of which we are Members by maintaining Publick Assemblies and suffering no day to pass without a solemn meeting in as full a Body as we can make for the duties of our Religion This would be both an Ornament and a Strength and Establishment to our Religion The Truth which we profess would hereby be both honoured and confirmed and appear with greater Authority as well as Beauty in the Eyes of all its Adversaries when they beheld the Multitude the Unanimity and the Order and Constancy of those that assert it The better and gentler sort of them would be the more easily won to joyn with us and they whose hearts are alienated from us would be the less inclin'd to set themselves against us And for the Grace and Favour of God which is the chief thing of all Christians may promise it to themselves for their protection against all their Adversaries when they constantly and earnestly seek it with their joynt Prayers and Supplications Which will be powerful also for the setling such as are wavering in their Religion whom the constant Authority likewise of a great Number of faithful people cannot but be of much moment to contain in their Duty for Men are ashamed to forsake a multitude when they easily desert small Numbers The Ancient Christians were so possessed with this sense that they lookt upon their Prayers as the impregnable Bulwark of the Church an unshaken Garrison terrible to the Devils and salutary to God's pious Worshipppers a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Chrysost Tom. 1. p. 757. Edit Fr. D. In so much that St. Basil speaking of God's gathering the Waters together which he called Seas and saw it was good Gen. i. 16. falls into a pious Meditation how much more acceptable to him such a Collection or gathering together of the Church must needs be b in Hexameron Hom. iv sub fin in which the mixed sound of Men Women and Children making a noise like the Waves dashing against the Shore is sent up to God in Prayers A profound Calm and Tranquillity shall preserve such
assembled and to pour down his Blessings on such as cannot but would be with them And all this it becomes us to do in the humblest manner according to the invitation and direction of the Psalmist which is recited every day at Morning Prayer O come let us Worship and fall down and kneel before the Lord our Maker The Christian Church hath never been acquainted with any other posture but this of kneeling in their Prayers to God saving only between Easter and Whitsuntide when in memory of Christ's Resurrection they were wont to stand Which was the common posture of Prayer among the Jews except in time of trouble and distress when they also fell upon their knees Dan. ix 20. Nay when they would express the greatest Submission Lowliness Reverence and Fear they fell upon their Faces as our Saviour did just before his Agony Matth. xxvi 39. A posture far more remote from theirs who sit at their Prayers which no man dare do who is possessed with an awful sense of his distance from God and considers how mean a Creature he is and how unworthy to receive the smallest favour from his hands In short we may say to such Men as Malachi doth to those who brought vile Offerings unto the Altar with a little alteration Go now to thy Governour and petition him in this posture Will he be pleased with thee or accept of thy person No Man hath the face to present himself unto his Prince in this saucy manner especially when he comes to beg Mercy of him and pray him to spare his Life which he hath forfeited to him And therefore let none of us venture to approach thus into the presence of the Great King over all the Earth the Soveraign of the World But cast down our selves with such lowly Reverence before him as may testifie that we Worship the Most High It is not to be expected indeed that a Man should bow his knees to God when he is lame of the Gout or lies sick of a Feavour or some other Disease c. but setting such cases aside bending of the knees is necessary saith Origen * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2. pars N 20. whose words these are when a Man comes to accuse himself of his sins to God and humbly to ask pardon for them and to desire to be cured of them Nature inclines us to it if we have any sense of our condition though we had no instructions about it no Examples to move us to it And therefore I may truly say that we divest our selves even of Humanity when we are so rude as to sit at Prayer unless we be in such a condition as not to be able either to fall on our knees or stand before the Divine Majesty Then indeed we may be confident he will not reject our Prayers whatsoever the posture of our Body be but hear them as he did St. Paul when he prayed and praised God in Prison with his feet in the stocks and Hezekiah who lay on his Bed by reason of his infirmity and cryed to him and the Thief who prayed as he hung on the Cross and found favour with him They are the words of St. Chrysostome in the place now named I will conclude this Chapter with the judgment of Mr. Calvin who expresly determines That the Precepts of Praying alwaies and without ceasing have not respect to our own private Prayers only L. iii. Instit cap. xx Sect. 29. but to the publick Prayers of the Church also With which he that refuseth to joyn we may conclude him not to know what it is to pray alone either secretly or at home As on the other side he that neglects to pray alone and privately may be thought to put up vain Prayers though he frequent the publick Assemblies because he respects more the Opinion of Men than the secret Judgment of God In the mean time lest the Common Prayers of the Church should fall into contempt God hath adorned them with splendid Elogies especially when he calls the Temple an house of Prayer Isa lvi 7. For by this Speech he instructs us that the principal part of his Worship is the Office of Prayer in which that the faithful might exercise themselves with one consent the Temple was erected and lifted up to them like a Banner that they might all resort unto it Psal lxv 2. Where there is also a famous promise added ver 1. Praise expecteth thee O God in Sion and unto thee shall the Vow be performed in Jerusalem In which words the Prophet admonishes That the Prayers of the Church are never in vain because God perpetually administers to his people matter of singing his Praise with joy Which things if they were well weighed they would be sufficient to stir up the zeal of those who now languish and have no concern at all for the publick exercise of our Religion Especially if they would observe and mark First With what earnest Longings Holy Men desired to come to the Publick Assemblies when by any impediment they were kept from them read Psal lxxxiv 1 2. c. and David's passionate breathings xxvii 4. One thing have I desired of the Lord c. And Secondly With what joyful hearts they received all invitations to them Psal cxxii 1 2. I was glad when they said unto me Let us go into the House of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy Gates O Jerusalem CHAP. XX. Some Objections removed WHen I reflect upon the conclusion of the foregoing Chapter I cannot but fear that they are void of the love of God or very defective in it who have so little regard to his Honour as not to love the place where his Honour dwelleth and where Praise waiteth for him as the Psalmist speaks in the place now named that is where his Glorious Majesty is extolled his wonderful Works are magnified his Benefits acknowledged and Psalms sung in Honour of him which is the greatest business of our solemn Assemblies For Men hear nothing more willingly than the Praises of their Parents There they delight to be and are never weary of their attendance there where the noble acts of their Ancestors are recited with Songs or Speeches in their Commendation And therefore with much more diligence should we run thither without ceasing where Men speak of the glorious Honour of his Majesty and of the wondrous Works of our Heavenly Father and declare the love of our Blessed Saviour making known his mighty Acts and the Glorious Majesty of his Kingdom uttering abundantly the Memory of his great Goodness and singing of his Righteousness Though alas Who can utter the mighty Acts of the Lord Who can shew forth all his Praise As the Psalmist speaks elsewhere His benefits towards us are immensely great and cannot worthily be praised by us But it is our Duty to do what we can that we may pursue what we ought And therefore if we have any respect to God let us say and sing again with