Concionatorium a House of Preaching instead of Oratorium a House of Prayer We give unto each his place and acknowledge that in these two Ghostly exercises we have verified unto us that continual intercourse of Angels betwixt the throne of God in Heaven and his Church here militant on earth that the assembling of Gods people to hear is the receiving of Angels descended from above that their meeting to pray is the sending of Angels upwards his heavenly inspirations and our holy desires are as so many Angels ascending and descending in intercourse and commerce betwixt God and man Preaching brings us to know that God is our supream Truth as praying testifies that we acknowledge him our soveraign good As concerning the people we exhort with David to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness Psal 96.9 So with Solomon also When thou goest to the House of God appropinqua ut audias Eccl. 5.1 be ready to hear And concerning our selves as we say with Samuel God forbid that we should sin against the Lord and cease to pray for you 1 Sam. 12.23 So with S. Paul Vae mihi si non Evangelizavero 1 Cor. 9.16 a wo befall us if we preach not the Gospel We lessen not the necessity which is laid upon us to teach and upon you to learn Gods holy will out of his Word yet without prejudice to that or any other duties out of this place we would have no man think he is lesse bound to present himselfe to God in the Church though in the Church there be then no other Service than the Common-Prayer which the more Common by being common to more by more praying together the better There we are to be have our selves as in the sight of God and his holy Angels the one sitting there to here and the other attending to further our Suits for so the gravest of the Ancient Fathers were seriously perswaded Chryost Hom. 15. ad Heb. 24. in Act. and do oft times plainly teach that the House of Prayer is a Court beautified with the presence of Celestial powers that there we pray and praise God having his Angels intermingled as our Associates with reference whereunto the Apostle requires so great care to be had of Decency for the Angels sake 1 Cor. 11.16 They have their golden Censers and in them they offer up the sweet odours of our Prayers Incensa multa de orationibus sanctorum saies the Vulgate Edition Rev. 8.3 O let them not in vaine come hither with their Censers prepar'd and either not finde us here or finde us empty of any thing worthy their offring up to God when they see us in these places full of neglect or contempt or drowsinesse or vain wandring thoughts or idle unnecessary talk instead of Prayer they leave the place and us offended with that steam and ill scent that rises from us where they might justly expect the sweet odours of our Prayers grieved to see us commit Idolatry and sacrifice the calves of our lips the watchfulnesse of our eyes the firstlings of our thoughts and our whole minde also to him who has stoln away our hearts and set them upon some service of his instead of Gods Nolite facere saies Christ at his first cleansing of the Temple do not ye make my Fathers House a House of Merchandise do not Ye make it so as who should say if such it be 't is of your making such God ne'r intended it for such impertinent service a House of spirituall Merchandise he hath made it of traffique for our souls where in exchange for our Petitions we shall have His favours not a Ladies glance or glove or Ribband favors and Hers do some of ye call such as these in this place yea I 'le tell ye what and whose they are they are Baits and Satans 't is he who thus loosly makes this very place his Chappel to some which to other stricter some is indeed Gods House where he sells his Mercies his Grace his Glory his Heaven himselfe unto them at that cheap rate of their faithfull and humble and earnest supplications I would faine make as much haste as the time does and that I may do so Last part must presently throw my selfe upon the last part Vocabitur that it shall not only be but it shall be knowne to be it shall have Gods speciall Note of difference upon it it shall be called the House of Prayer As Prayer in it selfe is the proper vertue of Christians the Christian vertue that by which God does distinguish his People from all the people of the world the rest who live on the earth are earthly-minded have the hearts and the thoughts of them fix'd that way groveling downwards but Gods Children a new selected kind of men who have their life from Heaven and expect all their happinesse every good and perfect gift from above Jam. 1.17 Phil. 3.20 they have their conversation also in Heaven their eyes and hands and hearts heav'd up by dayly and hearty Prayer As Prayer does sever them from all other People so this title that it must be called so does distinguish Gods House of Prayer from all other Houses in which we ought also to pray to God Every servant of his whom he hath made Master of a House ought for the better testifying of his dutifull affection to have his heavenly Exercise so frequent in His House as to make it to be in an especial though not in an only sense a House of Paayer and that 's the next way to make it Gods House and so to be called too to be called so by Man who remembers from whom he had it Except the Lord build the House build and bestow it too Man must dwell without doors sub Deo Coelo Tegitur qui non habet Aedes Lucan and therefore by a principall designation to make it a House of Prayer for the Family thereof Gal. 6.10 for the whole Houshold of the faithfull of Thanksgiving-Prayer for the House it selfe but still to remember and zealously to frequent that other House which God hath made and called The House of Prayer 1 Cor. 11.22 Jo. 6.35 1 Cor. 10.16 a House not to eat and to drink in unlesse the bread of life and the Cup of blessing a House onely for Divine Worship Many Sons did God vouchsafe to acknowledge as a dopted in Christ John 1.12 but of Christ himselfe his natural Son the Son of his Love that holy thing which shall be born of thee saies the Angel to the Virgin Mary shall be called the Son of God Luk. 1.35 Many were the Prophets of the Lord at sundry times to declare his wil to his people but John Baptist Christs forerunner a Prophet Mat. 11.9 yea I say unto you and more than a Prophet thou shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest Luk. 1.76 Many Houses in which it is lawfull I necessary to pray but of this saies God and his Christ It
not a different command yet the same because the second time uttered with a more intensive and forcible affection Many with me do observe here that the repetition of the Injunction does argue the earnestnesse of Christs Will and Law to have it take place for ever commonly an ingemination either of one and the same word again repeated or of sundry words bearing the same sence gives as 't were a double strength to the declaration of what is delivered Noct. Att. 13.23 as Phavorinus in A. Gellius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 War not any longer beloved yong men nor fight together where both the words signifie the same thing saith yet that the addition of the second word though adding nothing in signification to the former is not to make up the verse but as they continued in their strife so duplex eadem compellatio admonitionem facit instantiorem his second time urging the same manner of speech did give the more earnestnesse to his advice and though they were the same words in sence yet one might very well think them to be others quia aures animum saepius feriunt because they beat upon the ears and minde of a man more often therefore Suffer them to come I and beside that Forbid them not A repetition that one of us at first would think needlesse and that none would be so hard-hearted to repell such Innocents yet something sure there was that ministred occasion to this which seems so needlesse a behest and we need not look far for it the last words before the Text tell us that the Disciples rebuked them why they should do so would be enquired and it will be no hard matter to guesse at it for the best do no more than as probability of Reason leads them seeing it is not exprest in the Text of one thing they are all agreed they will not and we must not be too harsh in our censure upon the Disciples what was not the cause not envy in them or ill will toward the children or their friends that brought them And for what was the cause in the general there is no great difference a wrong-grounded zeal that they bare towards their Master such a one as S. Paul discovered to be in Israel Rom. 10.2 that they had a zeal but not according to knowledge S. Chrysostome saies 't was zeal of his Honour for they ran regardlesly to him and almost upon him and so Theophylact conjectures that the women came in disordered heaps thronging about him with their children for a blessing and this they thought some disparagement to the dignity and authority of his Doctrine that he should have any thing to do with Children S. Jerome is of opinion that they had regard to his ease in so doing that he should not be press'd too much and wearied with the throng and he there-hence argues the imperfection of their faith and with him agrees S. Ambrose in his Comment upon S. Luke that it was their observance toward their Master to avoid the trouble of the croud Again whereas the common causes of mens comming to him were either to receive the benefit of instruction from his Doctrine or the ease from some infirmity by the power of his Miracles these were not sick might the Disciples think and so not in need of the one they were Children and therefore not capable of the other But these were the thoughts of men who judged of Christ by their carnall sence and according to his outward appearance and yet not unlikely to be the Disciples errors especially the first of them which men are prone to run upon they are needlesly afraid to think too meanly of Christ and that has been the cause of too many superstitions in the Church this one amongst the rest that men become Suitors to the Saints in Heaven to mediate their Prayers to God because they think it dishonorable to Christ to be the common Advocate as also to fear to think too honorably of him and to deal too bountifully with him in his House and Houshold has been the cause of prophanations more than enow 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 betwixt both the Mean would do well Whatever was the ground Vse let us make this use of it to consider how God still orders every evil action to some good end how all things work together for good Rom. 8.28 to them that love God how from this very slip of his Disciples which he suffered them to fall into he is pleased to take occasion the more to manifest his love to little Children and to leave this sweet and comfortable saying amongst the rest of his Monuments as a Testimony of it to all posterity Suffer little Children to come unto me so much the rather forbid them not But is there no more required on our part Baptism only to suffer them not to forbid them Yes That was specially directed to those whom it chiefly concerns to admit them to him his Disciples and their Successors the Ministers of his Word and Sacraments the rest must do more help them forward lend them feet to bring them when they cannot run with their own feet saies S. Serm. 10. De verbis Apostoli Austin they run by the help of others Accommodat illis Mater Ecclesia aliorum pedes ut veniant And 't is no more than that which was so long since foretold by the Prophet Isaiah in his Prophecy of the ample Restauration of the Church chap. 49.22 They shall bring thy Sons in their arms and thy Daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders But whither so fast with these Sons and these Daughters that are carried why to Christ no question thither the Text calls them True but the way to him No other left us by his direction for our first entrance but Baptism to that our Church Liturgy applies this Text nor is there any of our Ancient Writers but does so yea in a manner appropriate it thereto and wheresoever they treat of Baptism ever this verse comes in that has made some of them call Baptism Introitum ad Regnum Coelorum Heavens entry Some the Sacrament of Initiation Some the Door Some the Gate of Heaven For whereas no man can come to Christ except he be a New man and we are all born with the corruption of the Old man upon us Quod natum ex carne caro John 3.6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh Conceived in sin and born in iniquity Psal 51.5 and therefore Natura filii irae S. Paul assures us Sons of wrath by nature Eph. 2.3 Not filioli here grown Sons of great wrath Therefore of necessity we must be renewed regenerate born once again Nisi quis Renatus fuerit John 3.3 Except a man be born again he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God born of the spirit if we will leave to be flesh Quod natum ex spiritu spiritus That which is born of the spirit is spirit he is the
was not afraid to say nor need we scruple to learn of him I have surely built thee an House to dwell in a setled place for thee to abide in for ever 1 Kings 8.13 Let them take and stand to Calvins exposition of their misunderstood Text that indeed God is not lockt up in these Temples nor fastned to the Pillars of them as those whom they made their gods in the Church of Rome his presence is not bounded here nor his favour so cemented within these walls that it no where else shines upon his people but yet here he is in a more extraordinary manner in a larger and fuller manifestation of his presence than elsewhere Our blessed Redeemer is every where but where a few are gathered together in his name and this is the place for that He will be in the midst of them Mat. 18.20 more near to them by the special gifts and graces of his Holy Spirit which he will pour out amongst them Jacob was not such a Novice in Religion at seventy yeares of age but that he knew God was present every where notwithstanding when God vouchsafed him the Vision of himselfe and his holy Angels and that he had a more speciall enjoying of his presence in that place than elsewhere O then How dreadfull is this place this is Bethel this is none other but the House of God and the Gate of Heaven surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware Gen. 28.17 And we are not aware oft times that the Lord is in this place if we were we would come into it as into his presence we would demean our selves in it as before God Solomon should not lose the labour of his good Councel we would take heed to our feet those of our body too and especially to our affections the feet of our soul when we entered into the House of God Eccles 5.1 Ecclesiam ut Coelum Nilus ade I have much esteemed that direction of an Ancient and wish it ingraven upon the Porch that when we bring our bodies into the Church we would by the remembrance of the Church whose House it is of the very Doore the very Porch of it send our Souls our couversations up to Heaven 't is the Gate of Heaven Jacob tels us the very Door of it is so and 't is holy ground God tels us where he shews himselfe Exod. 3 5. and they who put off the shooes from their feet who lay aside all earthly respects and cogitations and have their souls fitted for the entertaining the tender of of his gracious presence which he makes unto them in this place they feele themselves for the time in Heaven and the heavenly joy that thereby they conceive does thenceforth fasten such an impression in their mindes as breâ—ds an awfull respect in them and nourishes a reverent affection towards 〈◊〉 very place wherein they were parâ—aker of so great a benefit O how the Priests of Dagon and all tâ—â— men of Aâ—â—ded shame us in their zâ—â—â—â— Their false Idol-God fell in his â—oâ—â—e before the Ark of the Lord with his 〈◊〉 and hands upon the Threshold and aâ—â—er that so religious are their thougâ—â—â— to the place once touch'd by any part of him of It so far from a God it was that it was not a He They never tread on the Threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day 1 Sam. 5.5 How farâ—esse effect â—oes a far greater and better cause work with us in the Houses of our true God we are so afraid to prophane them oâ—â—â— one side with superstition and Idolatry and false worship that we dash upon that other impious prophanation of neglecting contemning them giving occasion to men that make a mock at Religion men as false as Dagon was a false god to account no more of them than as of an Out-room about their house Dum vitant stulti vitia Horat. in contraria currunt Is this the Holiness which becommeth Gods House for ever Psa 93.5 I have seene and my soule has grieved to see it a pissing-Channel built up against a Church-wall Jer. 5.30 A wonderfull and horrible thing is committed in the land posuerunt offendicula Jer. 7.30 they have set their abominations in my House which is called by my Name to pollute it If we dare tell Rome of their too much superstition in this kinde to stop our mouth they hit us in the teeth with our cold and carelesse regard when they tell us of Pater Noster's building many Churches and how much a do we have to mend up one notwithstanding the great charge and devout care of one of our Fathers we shame and sorrow to hear Et doci potuisse Horat. non potuisse refelli Sure God sees we use it not well not this and other his Houses as we should else he would warm all our hearts with King David's affection Quam dilecta Tabernacula O how amiable how beloved are thy dwellings Psal 84.1 The zeal of Gods House would if not eat us yet so affect us that we would love the habitatation of it decorem Domus tuae in the Latine the beauty the comelinesse the decency of thine House and the place where thine honour dwelleth Psal 26.8 I am too long in this first part I hope I am and that verbum sapienti one word to the wisest in this Auditory in this Nation in this World would be enough nor dare I now spend time in bootlesse complaint that so many Houses of God in our Land are dis-inherited like those of decay'd Gentry without Revenues that his servants in them being defrauded of their Masters allowance do live on Alms small grudg'd Alms that especially in the most populous places where the Tradesman abounds the Minister suffers want Arise O God maintain thine own cause Ps 74.23 Maintaine those thy poore painfull Servants who lack maintenance Mat. 5.14 as thou hast call'd them the light of the World so do thou pour Oyle into their Lamps pour thy grace into the hearts of thy people to give earthly Oyle to those from whom they expect heavenly light not to account it a great thing if they who sow unto them spirituall things reap their carnall things 1 Cor. 9.11 thus to buy the Gospel is a lawfull a charitable a holy Simony holy though a Heathen hath said it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 One word more from Domus mea That this is Gods House I would fain have you tell them who will not come into Gods House to hear it from me that they wrong the right Owner of it by giving his possession to so many other Deities for no lesse than Deities they make their Saints Martial when they invoke them Deos qui colit ille facit and they do no lesse than give them possession when they inshrine them in so many Temples built for and dedicated to God alone I cry them mercy perhaps the blessed Virgin amongst them and the
there is the exercise of Common-Prayer and joint praising in a more peculiar respect whereto it is termed called the House of Prayer Prayer and praise too saies the Psalmist wayteth for God in Sions Praise waiteth for thee O thou that hearest prayer Psal 65.1 2. It cannot be small comfort to enjoy are such consolations of God Vid. Hier. in Ps 31. p. 306. ad finem as these small with any Job 15.11 or small losse to be deprived of the fruition of these things By the want of publick Prayer to omit the other inconveniencies a man is destitute of that quickening which the children of God receive by being provok'd edified and inflam'd with one anothers forwardness and hath lesse interest in that blessing which the joynt Prayers of more of the Faithfull with a united force do bring down in a full measure upon those by whom they are offer'd up and presented to the Throne of Grace And however a man in his own reason may imagine he does well enough with the private use of Prayer though he enjoy not the publick yet this alone that there is no such promise of blessing to the single as to the concurrent nay none at all to the private if the publick be not waited upon and desired this cuts off all solatary contentment and grounded satisfaction therein and confirms the wo still upon those Eccl. 4.10 who not onely are alone but will be sequestred from the presence of God in the holy Assemblies Alas we do not generally understand our owne happinesse herein and as Christ said to the Woman of Samaria John 4.10 we do not know the gift of God else with what cheerfulnesse would men call upon themselves and out-call the Bell Come let us go to the Mountain of the Lord to the House of the God of Jacob and he will teach us his wayes Isa 2.3 How glad would they be with David when any should say unto them we will go into the House of the Lord Psal 122.1 Vp let us go and pray to the Lord of Hosts I will go also Zach. 8.21 Thus would it be if we had Davids heart Poore wofull miserable men they in the mean while who do even wilfully excommunicate and banish themselves from Gods House so as do not onely some Separatists who as if our Church because perhaps she wants some beauty and is certainly not altogether so faire here as she shall be in Heaven had therefore utterly lost her face flie from our Congregations as if they were so many Cages of unclean Birds or else Market-Cages of men more uncleane than they and our Recusants who because they see not their Breaden and Wooden gods amongst us refuse all society with us in holy things I must onely say to the former Can we not be holy at all unlesse we are more holy than all holy beyond the state of militarinesse Nulla fides pietasque viris Lucan qui castra sequuntur they have no faith no holiness who delight in war in a secular war Ps 68.30 and their holinesse is but imperfect their faith but a growing faith who are banded in a spirituall warfare and to the latter Can we not be holy unlesse we are unholy too not serve God unless him onely Mat. 4.10 Mat. 6.24 2 King 5.18 we do not serve unlesse we serve Mammon as well as God unlesse we bow in the House of Rimmon as well as in Gods House unlesse we bow to the God of the King of Syria as well as to Elisha's God the God of Israel unlesse we have our severall sorts of holy waters those of Abana and Pharpar Vers 12. as well as holy Baptismal water that one of Jordan But too many others there are who will have no House and in a manner no God too who caring only for their purses that they may not pay for their abscence and a little for their reputation that they may not be thought plain Atheists do otherwise almost wholly cast themselves out of the presence of God in their carnall lazinesse they cannot rise time enough and loose prophanenesse they have somewhat else to do than to take care for Heaven passing over many of these dayes wherein the service of God in these Houses can have no attendance from them they have no love to the preaching of the Word no respect nor appetite to the Sacraments no delight to the duties of Invocation and Prayer Not in this place that 's the point we stand upon from this Text further we cannot judge They will say they pray at home perhaps they do so but shall God appoint a House for the Prayer of the Church and shall not the Church in gratitude as well as obedience appoint Prayer for the House of God Because no man hath hitherto been so impious as plainly directly to condemn Prayer therefore the best stratagem Satan has who knows his Kingdome to be no way more shaken than by the publick devout Prayers of Gods Church in Gods Church is by traducing the dignity of the place yea Gen. 3.1 has God said that his House is a House of Prayer and the necessity of the number to bring both of them into contempt and so to slack the fervency of mens devotion towards them he has made some in this case wiser in their generation than he could hope to make either David Luk. 16.8 who notwithstanding the one of his suggestions would still worship God in the beauty of holinesse Psal 96.9 or S. Paul who should be likely to prevail with God as much as one and yet he not yielding to that other temptation thought it much more both for Gods glory and his own good if Prayers might be made and thanks given in his behalfe by a number of men by many persons 2 Cor. 1.11 O the true judgement of the Ancient Church in this point Lib. de Ponit delivered to us by the Fathers by S. Ambrose Multi minimi dum congregantur sicut nives sunt magni multorum preces impossibile est conteri ones single prayer like one feather of Snow soon melts away whereas many of both these littles grow to much so much that God cannot slight the Prayers which come from the consent of his many Apolog. 1.39 by Tertullian we come by troops to the place of Assembly that being banded as it were together we may be supplicants enow to besiege God with our Prayers by more than these but I am weary of this cavil and your trouble The Lord of his infinite mercy give us such a due respect to these publick Devotions that he may not in his wrath Psal 95. ult Ps 51.11 take away both the place of his Rest and his holy Spirit from us that he may not leave us to our owne Styes to our owne Spirits to nothing else but a bare pretence to his Holy Ghost Psal 106.48 and let all the most deluded of his People say Amen A
presence is the fulnesse of joy and they who are plac'd on his right hand shall have pleasures for evermore Psal 16.11 I shall have no time at all to speak of that which all time and all the tongues and pens of the most ready Writers imployed all that time can never expresse the excellency and dignity of this place so high seated which we may in some sort measure by the stars each of which being so huge a bulk does therefore only seem so small to us because it is so high above us But this Holy City far above them so large in extent that we can never name the height and largenesse of it S. Johns twelve thousand furlongs Rev. 21. and his hundred forty four cubits by the Angels measure was but of that City which descended out of Heaven a small Epitome of this All the several Dominions of all the Princes in the world put all together are not so much as one star there and yet how numberlesse to us are they and what another infinite number of them could it contain O Israel how great is the House of God! and how large is the place of his possession Great and hath no end high and unmeasurable Baruch 3.24 we may a little guesse and but guesse at the surpassing beauty and magnificent structure of it by comparison with this place where we now dwell this Stabulum Pecudum as one cals it this Ox-stall in respect this place of exile this Vale of miseries and fears yet this hath that great Work-master builded of so famous a frame such a goodly aspect to our sense has the large Theatre of this World the roofe of Heaven over us so fairly adorned gilded enamel'd the Pavement of earth under us so spread with Natures Carpets of all colours pleasing to the eye such spacious Seas such sweet Springs and gliding Rivers the Mountains so stately without pride the Valleyes so low without envy the Woods so pleasant with their shade the Fields and Meadows so delightsome and profitable at this Spring time chiefly when the clearnesse of the Sky and the warmth of the Air helps our old Grandam Earth to spin and weave her Tapestry and all Trees to spread forth their Hangings not to speak of the erected Townes the sumptuous Cities and majestical Palaces the artificiall workes of mens hands if there be a meer Worldling that has mistaken his way and is by chance got to Church such a description as this is enough to make him mistake his Heaven too and take this World for it to make him wonder why Christ should ever go from such a Paradise of pleasure to prepare any other place why he is so taken with the shew of these that he could be content to set up his rest here to conclude with Peter Bonum est esse hic these delights do so possesse his heart that he sticks in the gay mire of them lifts not up his thoughts above them But know O thou man of this World all this which is wealthy enough to be thy Heaven is so poor and contemptible for Christs sake that it is scarce worthy to be the Christians Dung-hill however Phil. 3.8 one of the best of them S. Paul will at best bestow no better a name upon it we must learne by these to meditate what far better cost and more unmatchable worke our God and Father has bestowed upon his owne heavenly habitation the Palace of the great King the New Jerusalem the outside of it we can see and that we see bedeckt with so many thousands of thousands of glittering spangles of rich Gems the inside of it the blessed Saints onely and Angels in Heaven behold with God and we cannot immagine the beauty of it Eye hath not seen nor eare heard neither hath entred into the heart of man to conceive the things that God hath prepared there for them that love him 1 Cor. 2.9 'T is but Humanum loquor that which mans Reason is capable of the description which S. John gives of it the Jasper and pure gold those precious stones the Saphire and Emerald and Sardonix and Sardius and Chrysolite Rev. 21. O quam dilecta Tabernacula O how amiable are thy Dwellings thou Lord of hosts Psal 84.1 Blessed are they that dwell in thy House they will be alwayâ—s praising thee v. 4. And shall we beloved who know there is such a place there whose excellency we cannot know here shall we still so over-please our selves with the Gawds of this lower World as to keep back our Conversation from being in Heaven Shall we spend our time in striving for place here Matth. 23.6 for the uppermost Rooms at Feasts and the cheefe Sears in Synagogues till we shuffle our selves out of this place this uppermost room and great Feast the Supper of the Lamb the Supper of the great God Rev. 19.9 17. This Kingdome if that will inflame our hearts with a longing for it I appoint unto you a Kingdome Luke 22.29 not an earthly Kingdome such as the Mother of Zebedees children dream'd of Matth. 20. No his Kingdome is not of this World v. 20 21. but such as his Father had appointed unto him Joh. 18.36 so are all they who are wash'd from their sins in his bloud made Kings unto God and to his Father Rev. 1.5 not a temporary but an everlasting Kingdome of his Kingdome saies Daniel shall be no end Dan. 4.3 The word Mansion here intimates the durance the perpetuity of it a manendo no fear no danger of the losse of it of trouble in it such a glorious Kingdom saies Solomon and such a beautifull crowne is there to be received at the Lords hands Wisd 5.16 And if this will not I know not what outward expression can make us pray heartily every day Adveniat Regnum tuum adveniat nobis Let thy Kingdome come to us that holy passionate desire which David had to enter into these courts of the Lord Psal 84.2 This place which Christ is gone to prepare for us The Preparation of the place is another branch of this second Generall part Vado parare Vado parare he goes upon an Errand for all his Disciples to prepare this place for them But if this be all the occasion to draw Christ from them one would think he should not need to make such haste for them for if we remember this place needs not now preparing 't was prepared long since What saies Christ to the Guests of it Mat. 25.34 Come ye blessed inherit the Kingdom Paratum vobis à constitutione mundi prepared for you when even from the beginning of the world Surely Man was borne to no lesse than a Kingdome from the begining In the very begining see it Let us make Man Gen. 1.26 saies God in our Image after our likenesse what then why presently in the next words Let them have dominion over the Fish of the Sea and over the Fowle of the Air and over all the Cattell and over all