now when it is meerly out of love to Jesus Christ that I might have more edification to my soule and still I retain love to the Saints that are there as they are in a Communion and so farre as they have any thing good among them I hold Communion with them in that onely I desire in humility and in meekenesse that I may be in such a place where my soule may be most edified where I may enjoy all those Ordinances that Christ hath appointed for his Church certainly that soule that can give this account to Iesus Christ for going from one place to another will be freed by Iesus Christ from such a sinne as this that the world cals Schisme but the truth is this word is in mens mouthes that understand not what it means and the devill alwayes will have some word or other cast upon them that are good for hee hath heretofore gained much by it so still he makes account to gaine much by words and Termes and therefore men should take heed of words and Termes that they do not understand and examine seriously what the meaning of these words and what is held forth in those words and thus much for that point that it must be in a holy Communion wherever there is the receiving of the Lords Supper it must be received in a holy Communion Now wee are to proceed to that which is the maine thing and that is What are the holy qualifications or dispositions of the soule together with the actings fit in the receiving of the Lords Supper what is required in the soule for the sanctifying of the name of God in this holy Sacrament there are many things required As first there is required knowledge I must know what I doe when I come to receive this holy Sacrament knowledge applyed to the worke that I am about when some of you have come to receive this Sacrament if God should have spoken from heaven and have said thus to you what are you doing now what do you go for what account had you been able to have given unto him you must understand what you doe when you come thither First you must bee able to give this account to God Lord I am now going to have represented to me in a visible and sensible way the greatest mysteries of godlinesse those great and deep Councels of thy will concerning my eternall estate those great things that the Angels desire to pry into that shall be the matter of eternall praises of Angels and Saints in the highest heavens that they may be set before my view Lord when I have come to thy word I have had in mine eares sounding the great mysteries of godlinesse the great things of the Covenant of grace and now I goe to see them represented before mine eyes in that Ordinance of thine that thou hast appointed Yea Lord I am now going to receive the Seales of the blessed Covenant of thine the second Covenant the new Covenant the Seales of the Testimony and will of thine I am going to have confirmed to my soule thine everlasting Love in Jesus Christ Yea Lord I am going to that Ordinance wherein I expect to have Communion with thy selfe and the communication of thy cheife mercies to my soule in Jesus Christ I am going to feast with thee to feed upon the body and bloud of Jesus Christ Yea I am now going to set to the Seale of the Covenant on my part to renew my Covenant with thee I am going to have Communion with thy Saints to have the bond of Communion with all thy people to be confirmed to me that there might be a stronger bond of union and love between me and thy Saints then ever these are the ends that I go for this is the work that I am now going about thus you must come in understanding you must come with understanding you must know what you are going about this is that which the Apostle speaks of when he speaks of the discerning the Lords Body he rebukes the Corinthians for their sin and shews them that they were guilty of the body and bloud of Christ because they did not discerne the Lords body they lookt only upon the outward elements but did not discerne what there was of Christ there they did not understand the institution of Christ they did not see how Christ was under those elements both represented and exhibited unto them that 's the first thing there must be knowledge and understanding And now for the knowledge and understanding of the nature of the Sacrament there need be knowledge in other points of Religion for we can never come to understand the nature of this Sacrament without knowing God and knowing our selves knowing in what estate we were by nature knowing our Fall knowing the way of Redemption knowing Jesus Christ what he was and what he hath done for the making of an Atonement the necessity of Jesus Christ and what the way of the Covenant is that God hath appointed to bring mens soules to eternall life by The maine points of Religion must be known but especially that that concernes the nature of a Sacrament Now this knowledge likewise must be actuall not meerly habituall knowledge but there must be a stirring up of this knowledge that is by meditation I must be meditating have actuall thoughts and meditations of what I doe know that ought to be the work of a Christian in comming to receive the Sacrament to quicken up his knowledge to have a renewed work of his knowledge by actuall thoughts and meditations of the maine points of Religion and especially of the nature and the end of this holy institution that is the first thing Secondly As wee must come understandingly without which wee cannot sanctifie Gods name so we must come with hearts sutable to the work that wee are about that is because the great thing that is here is the breaking of Christs body and the pouring forth his bloud A sutable disposition to this is brokennesse of heart sence of our sinne of that dreadfull breach that sin hath made between God and the soul our sin should be upon our hearts so as to break them But this brokennesse must be evangelicall it must be through the applying of the blood of Christ unto my soule I must come to be sensible of my sin but especially be sensible of it by what I see in the holy Sacrament that must make me sensible of my sinne There are a great many things to make me sensible of my sin The consideration of the great God that thou hast sinned against and the Curse of the Law that 's due to thee the wrath of God that is incensed against thee for thy sin and those eternall flames that are prepared for sinners those everlasting burnings But now those are not the things that will break the heart in an evangelicall way in a gracious way the maine thing by which the soule must come to break its heart must be the
compared to Leaven thou shouldest make a diligent search what sin there is in thy heart in any of the faculties of thy soule what sinne there is in thy thoughts in thy Conscience in thy understanding in thy will in any of thy affections what sinne there hath been in thy life what family sins what personall sins Thou shouldest make a diligent search to see whither there be not some Leaven some evill in thy heart and what ever sin thou shalt come to find out in thy heart there must be a casting of it out that is thy soule must be set against it to oppose it with all thy might whatever beloved sin whatever gainefull sin whatsoever become of thee thy soule must renounce that sinne of thine yea and in a kind of execration of thy selfe that 's thus Lord as ever I expect to receive any good by this body and blood of Christ that I come now to receive so Lord here I professe against every sin that I have found out in my heart I desire to find out all and professe against all and renounce all and would doe to the uttermost that I am able for delivering of my soule fully from every knowne or beloved sin oh that there might not be any remaining in my heart this must be the disposition of the soule comming hither and it must needs be thus or else we cannot sanctifie Gods name because there is nothing more sutable then this disposition unto the receiving of the Sacrament for we come here to professe that we doe acknowledge that sinne did cost so much as it did that it cost the blood of the Sonne of God now this cannot chuse but cause the heart to renounce sinne If indeed I doe beleeve that sinne hath cost the bloud of Christ that it cost him so deare as it did that it did trouble Heaven and earth that there must be such a mighty wonderfull way of satisfaction to God for my sinne committed against him certainly sinne hath a dreadfull evill in it oh let me never have to doe with such sin that was the cause of such sufferings to my Saviour that did shed his blood If so be that thou sawest a knife that had cut the throat of thy dearest child would not thy heart rise against that knife suppose you come to a Table and there is a knife laid at your Trencher and it was told you this is the knife that cut the throat of your childe or Father if you could use that knife as another knife would not any one say there was but little love to your Father or child So when there is a temptation comes to any sin this is the knife that cut the throat of Christ that pierct his sides that was the cause of all his sufferings that made Christ to be a curse now wilt not thou look upon that as a cursed thing that made Christ to be a curse oh with what detestation would a man or woman fling away such a knife and with the like detestation it is required that thou shouldest renounce sin for that was the cause of the death of Christ I remember it is reported of Anthony when Caesar was slaine he comes to stir up the people against those that had slaine Caesar and he takes the cloathes that were bloudy and holds them forth to the people and saith here is the bloud of your Emperour and upon that the people were inraged against those that had slaine him and went and pulld down their houses upon them so when thou comest to this Sacrament thou seest the bloud of Christ gushing out and for thy sin if ever thy sin be pardoned either thy soule must be eternally damn'd for thy sin or else thy sin cost the gushing out of the Blood of Christ now when thou seest this this should cause a holy rage in thy soule against sin that caused this surely the putting away sin the risings of the heart against sin must needs be a disposition sutable to such an Ordinance as this is And that 's the third thing required in the sanctifying of Gods name in this Ordinance the purging out of sin and rising of the heart against it 4. The fourth thing that is to be done for the sanctifying of Gods name here it is the hungering and thirsting of the soule after Jesus Christ whosoever coms hither he comes to a feast and the Lord expects that all his guests should come with stomacks unto this feast come with hungring and longing for Jesus Christ this should be the disposition of the soule oh that my soule might injoy Communion with Jesus Christ now this is the end that I am come for oh the Lord that knows the workings of my heart knowes that this is the great desire of my soule that I might enjoy Communion with Jesus Christ oh that I might have more of Christ that I might meet with Christ that I might have some further manifestation with Jesus Christ that I might have my soule further united to the Lord Christ and so have further influence of Christ to my soule I come with thirsting after the Lord Christ knowing my infinite need of him and the infinite excellency that there is in Jesus Christ my soule doth famish and perish for ever without Christ but in the injoyment of Christ there is a fulnesse for the satisfying of my soule that I have had of Christ sometimes in the word and sometimes in prayer that hath been sweet unto me but I expect a further Communion of Christ here for this is the grand Ordinance for Communion with Jesus Christ in deed the word in this respect it is beyond this Ordinance that is it is not only for the increase of grace but for the begetting this is only for the increase of grace and not appointed for the begetting now in that respect the Word is above the Sacrament but now this Sacrament is a more full Ordinance for Communion with Jesus Christ this is the Communion of the body of Jesus Christ and of his bloud and therefore there ought to be hungring and thirsting desires of the soule after Jesus Christ therefore you must take heed you doe not come with your Stomacks full of trash as children when they can get Plums and Peares and fill their stomacks with them when they come to your Tables though there be never so much wholsome diet they have no mind at all to it so it is with men of the world they fill their hearts with the trash of this world and with sensuall delights and hence it is that when they come to such a great Ordinance to enjoy Communion with Jesus Christ that then they feele no want at all of Christ only they come and take a little peece of bread and a draught of wine but for any strong pausing desires to meet with Jesus Christ there in the Ordinance to come so as they know not how to live without Christ even as a man that is an hungred
and with a holy cheerfulnesse with a holy freedome of Spirit not in a sullen way but as a child in the presence of his Father and not as a Servant with the Master Object You told us before that there should be brokennesse of Spirit and sence of our sin Answ That may be and joy we rejoyce with trembling therefore that brokennesse of Spirit that I meant must not bee slavish horrour and feare but a kindly melting of the soule from the aprehension of the love of God unto it in Jesus Christ that was willing to be at so great cost to purchase the pardon of sin such a gracious mourning as may stand with joy and the truth is that that sorrow for sin in the Sacrament that is not mixt with joy is a sorrow that doth not sanctifie Gods name godly sorrow and evangelicall joy may stand together very well And therefore know that this is not the time neither to give liberty to have your hearts sinke no there must be no sinking sorrow of heart but such a sorrow of heart as in the midst of it you may be able to look upon God as a reconciled Father to you and have a cheerfulnesse of Spirit as in the midst of it you must look upon your selves as Gods guest to be merry at his Table now this is a great mystery of godlinesse that there should be at the same time the sight of Christ crucified and yet at the same time a spirituall cheerfulnesse in the assurance of the love of God in Iesus Christ I say it is a Mystery and only those that are Beleevers are able to understand this mystery how to have their hearts break and yet how to rejoyce at the same time in that unspeakeable love of God that is here presented unto them in this Sacrament Seventhly In the next place there must be thankefulnesse therefore it is called the Eucharist and in one of the Evangelists where it is said Christ blest the bread in another it is said Christ gave thanks Christ when he instituted this Sacrament hee gave thanks he gave thanks for what he gave thanks to God the Father that he was pleased to send him into the world to die for poor soules now shall Iesus Christ give thanks unto God the Father for that that did cost him his life yea saith Christ I see that here is a way to save soules and let it cost me my life if it will yet I blesse thee O Father if soules may come to be sav'd though it cost me my life Christ rejoyced in his Spirit in thanking his Father for this then how should our hearts be inlarged with thankefulnesse when we come to this that the Ancients were wont to call the Eucharist that is a thanksgiving we are to give God thankes for every mercy you will not eate your owne bread without giving of thankes but when wee come to have this bread this bread of life here is matter of thankefulnesse here is matter of inlargement of soule thou that hast the deadest and dullest soule and straightest Spirit yet when thou comest hither and understandest what thou doest here thou canst not but see matter for the inlargement of thy heart and wish that thou hadst ten thousand thousand times more strength to expresse the praises of the Lord here is a thing that must be the subject of the Hallelujahs and doxologies that Angels and Saints must for ever sound out in the highest heavens dost thou know what the Lord presents to thee here it is more then if the Lord should say I will make ten thousand worlds for the sake of this creature and give all these worlds to him thou wouldest thinke that thou wert bound to blesse him then only when God in the Bread and wine reaches out to thee the body bloud of his Sonne here is more matter of praise then if ten thousand thousand worlds were given to thee and therefore God expects that thou shouldest say to thy soule my soul praise thou the Lord and all that is within me praise his holy name blesse the Lord O my soule and forget not all his benefits who forgiveth all thine iniquities who healeth all thy diseases O poor soule here is the foundation of all mercies dost thou praise God for justification for sanctification here is a glorious application of the mercy of God to the soules of sinners and therefore if ever thou wert thankfull be thankefull here The Sabbath my Brethren that is appointed to be the set constant day of thankesgiving for the great mercies of God in Christ and there are other dayes for nationall mercies now a speciall work of the Lords day is the celebration of this holy Sacrament and the Christians in former times were wont to do it every Lords day because that 's the day appointed by God for to be the day of thankesgiving for that great mercy the Lord Jesus Christ and that 's the reason why the Sabbath was changed the last day of the week was the Iewish Sabbath and that was to celebrate the memoriall of the Creation of the world and the first day now it is to be the day of thanksgiving for all the work of God in mans redemption Eightly A further thing is this if you would sanctifie Gods name you must be willing to renew your Covenant that 's the end of it there must be an actuall renewing of your Covenant with God that 's thus I come to receive this bread and this wine and this is to be as the Seale of the Covenant on Gods part now this will be emplyed in the nature of the thing that if I take the Seales of Gods Covenant that I must be willing to set to my Seale too to renew the Covenant that God calls me to now know all men and women that are sav'd they are sav'd by the vertue of the Covenant of grace and there God on his part promises and makes a Covenant that hee will bestow his Son life and salvation through him and thou must likewise come in on thy part and beleeve on his Son and repent which is the Tenour of the Gospel now every time thou comest to receive this Sacrament thou commest to renew this Covenant As if thou shouldest say Lord thou hast been pleased to make a Covenant of grace as the first Covenant was broken and all men were cast by that Covenant now thou hast made a Covenant of grace and callest thy servants whom thou intendest to save that they should renew their Covenant with thee in this Sacrament of thine Lord here I come and Lord here I renew it and set to my seale to promise and Covenant with thee that as ever I expect to receive any good from Christ so Lord here I will be thine I will give up my selfe for ever to thee as thou hast given me the Body and bloud of Christ for my salvation so Lord here I consecrate my body and bloud to thee the last drop of
you are not in trouble and fear then it puts not on the heart to performance of duty but the Spirit of God puts on the Soule to duty when there is most peace and comfort 6 A little will serve the turn to satisfie a naturall conscience so be it they performe the duty it is enough but one that is acted by the Spirit of God in duty must meet with much of God or else he is not satisfied he goes mourning in the day time if he hath not met with much of God in the morning in the performance of duty Thus you see there 's much difference between the Actings of naturall parts and conscience in duty and the acting of the Spirit of God There be only now Two things more for the Sanctifying of Gods Name in duty and then we are to come to shew how we should Sanctifie Gods Name in duty in reference to the severall Attributes of God But First for those Two Heads further 8 The Eight thing is this When you come to performe holy duties if you would Sanctifie Gods Name you must consecrate your selves to God there must be a resignation of soul and body estate and liberty name and all you are have or can do unto God This is to Sanctifie Gods Name the consecration of your selves to God And the professing of this in the performance of duty when you are to pray were a very good thing actually to professe your selves to be Gods to professe that you do give up all that you are have or can do to God Lord I am thy servant take all Faculties of Soul and Members of body and improve all lay out all to thine own praise to the uttermost to bring glory to thy great name If every time you came to God in prayer you did this this were to Sanctifie your selves to God I spake before of a Sanctified heart but now this is in a profession of your selves to God do it secretly at least in your own thoughts if you do not every time expresse it in words yet in your own thoughts do it devote your selves to God every day Of admirable use it would be if every day when men and women worship God either in their closets or families they did professedly devote and consecrate themselves to God and so likewise every time they came to hear the Word or to receive Sacraments God would account his name to be Sanctified in such a work as this is 9 Lastly That that must make all up and without which all the other is nothing it is that you must tender up all your worship in the name of Jesus Christ let a man or woman worship God never so well yet when they have done all if they do not tender it up in the Name of Jesus Christ God will not account his Name to be Sanctified thou must by Faith look upon Jesus Christ as the glorious Mediator that is come into the world by whom thou hast accesse unto the Father And act thy Faith upon Christ and give up thy duties into his hand as the hand of a Mediator to be tender'd up to the Father by him though thou hast laboured what thou canst to performe duty as well as thou art able yet thou must not think to tender it up by thine own hand unto God but thou must tender it up to the Father by the hand of Jesus Christ the Mediator and so thou shalt Sanctifie the Name of God in holy duties We read in Levit. 16. 13. that when Aaron was to tender up the Incense he was to put the Incense on the fire before the Lord that the cloud of the Incense may cover the Mercy Seat that is upon the testimony that he die not Mark it is as much as his life is worth whether he doth it or doth it not Now Incense it is in the NEW TESTAMENT called Prayer and so in the OLD TESTAMENT too it was a kind of emblem of Prayer The offering up of our Prayers is the offering up of Incense to God and the Mercy Seat it was a Type of Jesus Christ Now the Incense should cover the Mercy Seat so our prayers must go up to Jesus Christ must be upon him and so must be accepted by the Father And as we read in Judg. 13. 20. when Manoah offered a Sacrifice the text saith that the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame This Angel of God here was Jesus Christ as we might easily from this Scripture make it out and he ascends up in the flame from the Altar Now though we do not offer such kind of Sacrifices with Fire and Incense as they did in the time of the Law yet when we are offering up of our Incense there must be a flame of Fervency and Zeal But that is not enough together with the fame of the Altar the Angel of God Jesus Christ the great Angel of the New Covenant for Angel signifies nothing but messenger the great Messenger that is come into the world about that great Errand of his to reconcile the world to himself he must ascend up in the flame and so God will account his Name to be Sanctified the name of God is not Sanctified but through Jesus Christ The Acting of our Faith upon Christ as mediator is a speciall ingredient to the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties as you know the Scripture saith that the Altar doth Sanctifie the gift offered upon the Altar Jesus Christ is the Altar upon whom all our Spirituall Sacrifices are to be offered and this Altar doth Sanctifie the gift that is offered upon it let never so great a gift be offered upon any other Altar it was not accounted holy nor accepted so let men by their naturall strength or power that they have offer up the most glorious and speciousest Service to God It is not accepted unlesse it be offered up upon the Altar Jesus Christ we have an Altar now not the Communion Table but Jesus Christ himself is our Altar upon whom we are to offer all our Sacrifices and this Altar must Sanctifie the gift we can never have our gift sanctified no nor Gods name sanctified in this gift except it be offered upon this Altar and our Faith acted upon Jesus Christ People little think of this but of other things viz. That when we worship God we should worship him with fear and reverence and with humility and with strength of Intention such kind of things every one that hath any inlightening of conscience will think of at sometime or other but people do least think of this which is the greatest ingredient of all that is required in the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties that is to come and tender up all to the Father in the Name of Jesus Christ How many men and women that have been professors of Religion 20 or 30 years and yet not acquainted with this great mysterie of godlinesse to tender up all to God in the name of his Son This
sanctifie his Name in a way of mercy towards us For the First God will manifest that he is displeased with such duties that thou doest performe he will manifest it one way or other that he is a holy God and he doth not accept of such unholy things as thou doest tender up to him for the truth is if God should accept of such unholy things from men God may be said to be like unto themselves As a man if he doth entertain any as his familiar friend that is naught and wicked it is his disgrace and dishonour a man may sometimes imploy in some businesse those that are naught and wicked and it may be no disgrace to him but if he doth entertain one in his house that is wicked it is a dishonour to him So God may imploy the most wicked men in the world in some outward services but if he should accept of them in his Worship it would be a dishonour to God and therefore God that he might sanctifie his own Name he will manifest his displeasure at one time or other against such duties of worship you that performe worship in a formall manner and with unclean vile hearts I say it stands upon the honour of God if he will manifest himself a holy God he must manifest some displeasure against that way of thy worshipping of him This one meditation one would think should mightily sink into the heart of any man that hath an inlightened conscience to think thus It stands upon the holinesse of God And he cannot appear to be a holy God except he doth some way or other appear to be against me in such duties that I tender up unto him Now you will say How doth God appear that he doth not accept of them He will appear in these three things 1 First by blasting those that do worship him thus in a formall way It shall at First be secret but afterwards it will appear more apparantly and we see it by experience that such as have bin professors of Religion and worship God in hypocrisâ—e and in formality they have been blasted in their parts and common gifts The judgement of God upon Nadab and Abihu that did not sanctifie Gods Name it was secret at first It struck them dead and though by fire yet if you read the story you shall find that their cloathes were not burnt and yet they were burnt in their bodies So the Lord some times doth blast men inwardly in their Spirits in their Souls in their Parts in their common Gifts â—he blasts them I say inwardly though it doth not appear outwardly yet at length it will appear before men that they are blasted and in these times of the Gospel the Lord doth come with spirituall judgments rather then with outward temporall judgements In the time of the Law those that did not sanctifie the Name of God in holy duties the Lord did appear by some externall and visible way upon their bodies but now in the time of the Gospel there God comes with more spirituall judgements upon mens Souls and those are the most terrible judgements We have a notable Scripture for this in Isa 29. 13. How God doth blast those that do not sanctifie his name in holy duties Wherefore the Lord said For asmuch as this People draw neer me with their mouth and with their lips do honour me but have removed their heart far from me and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men Mark what follows Therefore behold I will proceed to do a marvelous work amongst this people even a marvelous work and a wonder for the wisdome of their wise men shall perish and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid What do they come and draw neer me with their lips and their hearts are far from me and do they worship me in a formall way I le take away the wisdom from the wise and the understanding from the prudent And that is the reason why so many great scholars are blasted in their very parts because they would worship God according to the precepts of men in a formall way and so all hypocrites and formall worshippers the Lord doth blast them in one way or other the judgements of God upon the spirits of men were sometimes in the time of the Law But in the times of the Gospel there we find generally the judgements of God to be more spirituall upon the hearts and consciences of men we find it by experience God doth discover that he doth not accept of such as those are and therefore when you see any that have made profession of Religion that had excellent Parts at first many common Gifts and now are as we say no body Remember this Text That God will be sanctified in those that come nigh me Secondly the Lord doth manifest that he will be Sanctified in those that draw nigh him by awakeing their consciences many times upon their sick beds and death beds the Lord doth force them to give glory to him and there to acknowledge that they did not worship God in uprightnesse but in Formality And now they are in horrour of conscience and cry out in the anguish of their soules upon the apprehension of the dreadfull wrath of God that is upon them Take heed for the Lords sake of this thing when you are performing of the duties of worship do not rest in the outward duties for they will never comfort you upon your sick and death beds you may perhaps put off your consciences a little for the present but when you come upon your sick beds there will be no comfort unto you and then you will be forced to say well all this while I have but taken the name of God in vain and now God hath rejected me and all my services and you will then speak to those that come about your beds side and bid them take warning by you take heed that when you worship God you worship him to purpose I have spent time in prayer and hearing but for want of this I find I have no comfort at all but the Lord appeares to be terrible to my soule and comes out against me as an enemy I say now Gods name is Sanctified what ever becomes of thee he will force glory from thee one way or other and it may be even here in this time of thy life but however at the great day when the secrets of all hearts must be disclosed before men and Angels then the Lord will apeare to be a holy God by rejecting all such services that thou didest tender unto him and it will then be a great part of the work of the day of Judgment for God to be Sanctified in those that did worship him by declaring before men and Angels how he did reject such formal and hypocritical worship that they did tender up unto him Oh that God would strik this upon your hearts that it may abide upon you every time you come to
It requires therefore a trembling frame of heart when we hear it And then further when this is considered that the word is that that bindeth the Soul over either to life or death mens eternal estates are to be cast by the world certainly then it requires a trembling heart to hear that by which the eternal estate of man is to be cast we do not Sanctifie Gods name when we come to hear the word except we come with trembling hearts and they are the most likely of all men and women to understand the mind of God as for such as come with conceited spirits that they understand as much before they come and think their reach of wit or capacity is beyond the capacity of any that shall open the word unto them yet that were not so much if it did but only rest upon the man and not reflect upon the word it self Now these that are rich in their own thoughts and understandings are sent empty away but those that come with trembling hearts to the word they are the men that are like to understand Gods Counsels revealed in his word In Ezra 10. 2 3. Shechaniah the Son of Iehiel one of the Sons of Elam answerd said unto Ezra we have transgressed against our God have taken strange wives c. Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing now therefore let us make a covenant with our God according to the counsel of my lord and of those that tremble at the Commandment of our God so that those that tremble at Gods word are such as are fitest to counsel they understand most of Gods mind and that 's another particular of the behaviour of the Soul in Sanctifiying Gods name in hearing his word 7 The next is an humble subjection to the word that we hear our hearts must bow to it must lie under the word that we hear it is a very remarkable Scripture that we have in 2 Chron. 36. 12. There it is said concerning a great King Zedekiah He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lordâ— It it a very strange expression as any we have in the book of God that Zedekiah a great King should be charged with this as a great sin that he did not humble himself humble himself before whom you will say we are bound to humble our selves before God but here it is that he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet Why before the prophet Because he spake from the mouth of the Lord. If it be any messenger that speaks from the mouth of the Lord God expects that we should humble our selves so that if any truth comes to be delivered unto you the Lord expects that you should fal down and yeeld obedience to it whatsoever your thoughts your judgments your opinions have heretofore been if there come any thing in the word agianst it you must submit your judgments submit your very consciences you must submit your wills whatsoever your hearts have been set upon though it hath been never so contentfull to your spirits before yet now submit and yeeld though it go never so crosse unto your minds your wils your ends yet all must be submitted and laid down flat before the word so as to be willing to deny your selves of any thing in the world When a man or woman can say thus Lord it is true I confesse before I heard thy word opened in the evidence and demonstration of the spirit unto me I was of such a mind and my heart went after such and such contentments and I though it was impossible that ever my heart should be taken from them but Oh Lord thou hast been pleased plainly to shew to me by the opening of thy word in the evidence of thy spirit what thy mind is Now whatsoever becomes of my name of my comforts of my contentments in this world Lord here I cast down all before thee I submit unto thy word this is a gracious frame Now is the name of God extoll'd and lifted up in hearing of the word the name of God is Sanctified in such a work of spirit as this is I have read of a Germain Divine writing to Oecolampadius another famous German Divine he hath this expression Oh let the word of God come though we had 600. necks we would al submit them unto the word of God saith he So it should be the temper of such as hear the word and desire to Sanctifie Gods name in it let the word of God come this morning let God speak and we will submit had we 600. necks we will submit all we are or have to this word of the Lord it is the word of God that we are willing should triumph over us To have a congregation to lie down under the word of God that is preached to them is a most excellent thing and Gods name is much Sanctified we do not brethren desire you should lie under us we are not only willing but we are very desirous that you would examin what we speak to you whether it be according to the word of God or no. But look to it that if we do speak to you that which is the word from the mouth of the Lord know then that God expects that you should submit your estates your souls your bodies all that you are and have to this word and that is another particular in the Sanctifying of the name of God in hearing the word there must be an humble submission of the soul unto it 8 Another particular wherein the behaviour of the Soul for the Sanctifying of Gods name consists is this The word it must be received with love and with joy it is not enough for you to be convinct of the authority of it and to think thus well I must yeeld to it this is the word of God and if I do not yeeld to it I must expect the plagues and judgements of God to follow it that is not enough but you must yeeld to it with love and with joy except you receive the word with love and with joy it is not Sanctified you do not Sanctifie Gods Name nor is it sanctified unto you You must receive the word not only as the true word of the Lord but as the good word of the Lord. In Thessalon 2. 10. we find it to be the cause of mens being given over to a spirit of delution Because they received not the word of God in Love It is spoken of Antichrist that at his coming he shall come with all deceivablenesse and he shall prevail with them that perish who are they They that receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved It is not enough my Brethren to receive the truth that we might be saved but we mnst receive the love of the truth if ever we would be saved Good is the word of the Lord to
the Covenant of grace both to have the Seale on his part and the Seale on ours surely this must needs call for a sanctifyed use of such a thing as is so holy as this is And that 's the first reason why we are to sanctifie Gods name in this because if we be in ordinary eating and drinking we must doe it then in this wherein there is so much of God wherein the Mysteries of Godlinesse are set before us wherein there is so much of the love of Christ wherein we are to have close Communion with Jesus Christ and wherein the Covenant of grace comes to be sealed on both sides there had need therefore be a sanctifying of Gods name in the use of it Secondly Consider this that there is no duty in all the book of God that I know of that is urged with more strength and severity then this is as that place in 1 Cor. 11. sheweth where you have required of every one that comes to receive the Bread and Wine in the Lords Supper That they should examine themselves and so eate and you have the most dreadfull expressions against those that doe not doe it that I know are mentioned against the neglect of any duty in all the Book of God there the holy-Ghost saith that whosoever eats and drinks unworthily First he is guilty of the body and bloud of Christ and then Secondly he eats and drinks his owne damnation These two expressions have as much dreadfulnesse in them as can be Imagined and we doe not find an exhortation to a duty backt with two such severe expressions in case we should neglect our duty as this exhortation What if wee doe not sanctifie Gods name in this duty wee come to be guilty of the body and bloud of Christ Bloud-guiltinesse is a terrible thing you know David cries out Lord deliver me from Bloud-guiltinesse to have but the bloud of an ordinary man to lie upon one to shed the bloud of the vildest Rogue that lives in a murderous way it would lie upon the Conscience and be very terrible it is impossible that such a man can be quiet all his dayes though he hath never such a seared Conscience A Heathen could not be at quiet if he hath the guilt of bloud lie upon him but to be guilty of the bloud of Christ whose bloud is ten thousand thousand times more worth then the bloud of all the men that ever lived upon the face of the earth must needs be a most dreadfull thing It is a fearefull expression guilty of the body and bloud of Christ that is he offers such an indignity to the body and bloud of Christ as the Lord will charge him of being guilty of it guilty of abusing of the body and bloud of Jesus Christ And then he doth eat and drinke his owne damnation but wee shall speake more to that when wee come to shew how God will sanctifie his name in those that doe not sanctifie it here in this holy Ordinance I will not therefore spend further time in those Scriptures for I bring them only now to shew that there is a necessity of it that we do sanctifie the name of God in this Ordinance Thirdly there is nothing that strikes more upon a mans conscience wee find it by experience even upon wicked mens consciences and especially upon such as begin to be enlightned in the holinesse of this Ordinance God hath put much honour upon it I confesse some men may use it superstitiously though it be an Ordinance of Christ yet God hath put a great deale of honour upon this Ordinance that men that are very wicked otherwise yet their Consciences tell them that when they come to this Ordinance then they must be good then they must not sinne but have good thoughts and good prayers at that time And many times they dare not come if their consciences tell them that they live in some sin I knew one my selfe once that was to be executed and he had never received this Ordinance in all his life though about fourty yeares of Age And being askt the reason why he confest he lived in some sin that hee was loth to leave and therefore would never come to that Ordinance all his life though herein the Devill gull'd and deceived him but I mention it to shew what a power there is in the consciences of men about this Ordinance this ordinarily is one of the first things that strikes upon the soules of men when they come to have their Consciences awakened Oh how have I prophaned the name of God in the Ordinance of the holy communion and have not sanctified his name in it That God should be sanctified in this Ordinance that 's cleer enough But now the great work is which is the third thing that I promised to shew how wee should sanctifie Gods name in this Ordinance Certainly the name of God hath bin much taken in vain there hath been a great deale of pollution in the use of this Ordinance and in mens Spirits when they have been exercising themselves in such an holy Ordinance as this is therefore I will open this to you and shall not be very large in it only to shew you the maine and principall things that may serve for the direction of us that the name of God may not be so taken in vaine and dishonored as heretofore and I shall cast what I intend to speak of into these particulars 1 That whosoever was to pertake of this must be holy himself none can sanctifie God but he must have a sanctified heart himselfe Secondly this Ordinance it must be received in a holy Communion There must be a Communion of Saints for this Ordinance and it cannot be received anywhere else but in a Communion of Saints Thirdly The holy disposition of soule particularly or the qualifications of soule that are required for the sanctifying of Gods name in this Ordinance Fourthly the manner of the explicite goings out of the soule that there are to bee at that very time of receiving Fifthly The keeping of the institution of Christ in our receiving These things are required for the sanctifying of the name of God in this Ordinance For the first Those that come must bee holy themselves This is an Ordinance not appointed for conversion to make holy others that are not converted may come to the word because the word it is appointed to worke conversion t is appointed to worke Grace to worke the first grace Faith comes by hearing but we doe not find in all the Scripture that this is appointed for conversion but it supposes conversion none are to come to receive this Sacrament but men and women that before are converted by the word the word first therefore is to be preached to men for their conversion and then this is an Ordinance appointed for to seale them therefore in the Primitive times they let all come to hearing of the word and then when the Sermon was done there was
cannot live without his meat and drinke and so for the soule to have such a disposition after Christ this is a rare thing but know that Gods name is not sanctifyed unlesse thou doest come in such a way unto this holy Sacrament that 's the fourth thing hungry and thirsty desires after Christ from a deepe sence of the need of him and the apprehension of the Excellencie in him 5. In the fift place there must be an exercise of Faith for the sanctifying of Gods name here Faith that is both the hand and the mouth for the taking of this spirituall meat and spirituall drink when thou comest to the Feast of the Lord Faith first is the eye and then the hand and mouth it is the eye of the soul to give a reall sight of what there is here you are not able to discerne the body of the Lord but by the eye of Faith if thou comest only with bodily eyes to look upon what is here thou seest nothing but a little bread and wine But now where the eye of Faith is there is a reall appearance of Jesus Christ to the soule as if Christ were bodily present and we need not have the bread turned into his body for Faith can see the body of Christ through the bread and the body of Christ gushing in the wine And it is a mighty thing to have Christ and such spirituall things made reall and not to be a fansie If one look upon the fire that is painted one cannot heat ones selfe in cold weather with that but fire that is really burning upon the hearth so those that come to receive the Sacrament and not come with Faith that have only the eye of their bodies they only see as it were a painted Christ they doe not see Christ really his body and bloud and those great Mysteries of the Gospel are not presented as reall things to their soules and hence it is that they go away and get nothing but now when the soule comes with the eye of Faith the soule sees the wonderfull things of God it is the most glorious sight in the world all the glory of God in the heavens and earth is not like this sight of Jesus Christ and the mysteries of the Gospell that do appeare to the eye of faith therefore you may by this know whether you have come with faith or no to the Sacrament whether you have seen the most glorious sight that ever your eyes did behold alas with our naturall eyes we behold a Minister comming with a peece of bread and a little wine but when the eye of faith is opened then wee behold the glorious things of the Gospell many times when you come to hear the word your hearts burne within you as they that went to Emaus but when you are breaking bread the eye of faith that must look upon Jesus Christ and in this sence those that have pierced Christ must look upon him that Scripture is fulfilled in Zach. 12. latter end they shall look on him whom they have pierced by their sins and then mourne and lament this eye of faith will cause mourning and lamenting for sinne And then as faith is the eye to make what is here reall so faith is the hand to take it when you come to a feast you must have something to take the meat to you so saith Christ he brake bread and gave it to his Disciples saying take eat this take it how shall we take it by reaching out of the hand if you sanctifie Gods name in this Ordinance as you reach out your hand to take the bread and wine so there must be an actuall reaching out of the soule by faith putting forth an act of faith to receive Jesus Christ unto the soule to apply the Lord Jesus Christ to thy soule with all his merits and good things that he hath purchased when the Minister doth give out that Ordinance you should look upon God the Father giving out his Sonne as if this were your condition I am now in the presence of the eternall Father who now doth actually give out his Sonne to my soule and saith soule here receive anew this day my Sonne with all that he hath purchased for thy good now then the soule acts upon this and by stirring up an act of faith comes and closes with this gift of the Father and casts its selfe upon Jesus Christ and saith as it were Amen to what the Father gives oh Lord here I come and imbrace thy Sonne as my life as my Saviour as the fountaine of all my good in whom I expect all the good I am like to have either here or to all eternity so that there must be a stirring up of the act of faith in an actuall taking of Christ if thou beest a beleever canst thou remember what thou didst when first thou didst take Jesus Christ when the Lord in the preaching of his word did reveale Jesus Christ to thy soule what didst thou then oh soule how did thy soule work in closing with Christ as thy soule did then in closing with Christ so it must now renew the work there must be a renewall of the worke at that time So that when you come to the Sacrament you must not thinke that it is then a time to listen to doubts feares and scruples no but it is a time that God cals for the exercise of faith the casting of the soule upon Christ and his merits for life and for salvation or else the name of God is not sanctified as it ought thou doest not sanctifie Gods name when thou art busying thy foule in doubts and scruples in thy receiving of the Sacrament And then faith is as the mouth when thou commest to eat and drinke how canst thou if thou hast not a mouth thou hast a bodily month to take in bread and wine but know that without faith thy soule cannot take in Christ faith is as it were the mouth that is by the act of faith the soule doth open it selfe for Jesus Christ and not only opens it selfe but takes in Christ to the soule and makes Christ and the soule as one as our bread and wine is made one with our body so faith takes in Christ and makes him as one with thee and turnes Christ into the nourishment of thy foule and thou and Christ by faith are made as truly one as the bread and wine that is put into thy body is made one with thy body This is the worke of faith without which wee cannot sanctifie the name of God Sixthly there must be spirituall joy that must be exercised here for it is a feast here we come to sit with Christ at his Table wee come as children to our Fathers Table and to sit there with Jesus Christ our elder Brother now as a Father doth not love to have his child set in a sullen and dogged way at his Table or to be crying but he would have the child set in comfort
my heart blood shall be given up to thee and so my strength and estate and name and whatever I am or have shall be thine Have you done thus when you have come to receive the Sacrament have you actually renewed your Covenant with God you that have taken the body of Christ have you given up your body to Christ what 's the reason then that you sinne so much with your bodies that you abuse your body with uncleannesse and drunkennesse and other wickednesse afterwards oh you prophane the name of God and the very body and blood of Christ in this except thou givest up thy body and soule to God in way of Covenant Ninthly In the last place for the sanctifying of Gods name there is required a renewing of Love the comming with lovely dispositions and the renewing of the grace of love not only towards God but towards our Brethren for it is the feast of the Lord and it is an act of Communion Communion not only with Christ but with his Churches with his Saints and as I have told you that there is a profession of our selves to be of the same body with Jesus Christ then the Lord requires that his children should not fall out that come to his Table but that there should be love and peace there 's a mighty bond upon thee when thou commest to the Sacrament and therefore first all heart burnings and heart grudges must bee laid aside and Secondly you must come with a willingnesse to be reconciled one to another willingnesse to passe by all infirmities in thy Brethren here I have the Seale of Gods willingnesse to passe by all my sins and therefore I must bee willing to passe by all infirmities in my Brethren I must now cast out all ill wishes towards others and come with a desire of all good unto them and with a heart ready to embrace any opportunity to do any good thou doest lye unto God except thou commest with such a heart as this is Lord thou knowest that I am willing to take all opportunities to doe good to those that I now doe communicate with for it is the nearest Communion that possibly can be in this world betweene one Creature and another and this is the reason why there should bee that Ordinance of Christ set up everywhere to cast out those that are unworthy because it is the greatest union and Communion that possibly can be for it is the Sacrament and Communion of the same body they are the same members of Christ now if thou doest not thinke such a one to be a member of Christ why doest not thou what thou canst to have him cast out but so long as thou hast done nothing in private to him or in telling the Church thou doest owne him to be a member of Iesus Christ if thou doest so take heed how thy heart be estranged from him take heed how thou behavest thy selfe to them take heed how thou livest in a jarring way and a contentious way with them and holdest them off at staves end or walking at a distance from them though they be never so poor and mean know that thou doest prophane this holy Ordinance every time thou commest to it when thou commest with such a heart as this is if thou dost not find this renewed love Lord there began to be a strangenesse between me and those that have communicated with me but Lord thou art pleased to vouchsafe us to come once more to this Ordinance and Lord here we do professe that this Ordinance shall unite our hearts together more then ever they were I will study to doe what good possibly I can to my brother that is we joyne here to the feast of the Lord with comfort so we may live together in peace and love as it becomes the Saints of God and the members of the Body of Iesus Christ oh how farre are people from any such worke of God as this is the Lord expects that this should be in you every time you come to the holy Communion here hath been nine particulars now mentioned for the sanctifying of the name of God when wee come to partake of the Sacrament but oh Lord what cause have we to lay our hands upon our hearts â— for if this be to sanctifie thy name then it hath been a riddle a mystery to us certainly my brethren these things are the truths of God that I have delivered and so farre as you have been wanting in any of these know so farre you have taken Gods name in vaine in this holy Ordinance you have not been worthy receivers of this Sacrament you have cause to look back to your former waies and spend much humilation for your sin herein and not to be so greedy of it as some are they must have the Communion but I put it to your Consciences have you repented you for the profaning of Gods name and that 's that that we should further have spoken of that God will be sanctified that 's thus if we doe not sanctifie Gods name it will quite turne to the contrary it is the proper end of the Sacrament to seale up our salvation but if wee sanctifie not Gods name it will seale up our condemnation if it hath not been thy endeavour to sanctifie the name of God so many times as thou hast received the Sacrament so many seales hast thou upon thee for the sealing up of thy condemnation many mens or womens condemnations are sealed with three or foure hundred seales it may be But yet for thy comfort while thou art alive it is possible that thse Seales may be broken open as wee read in the Revelations that John saw the Book that had seven seals upon it and none could be found that was able to open it at length the Lamb that was slaine he was found worthy to open the Book So I say thy condemnation is sealed up with many seales and there is no Creature that is able to cancel these seales only the Lamb Iesus Christ yea that Christ whose blood thou hast shed and been guilty of only he is worthy and he is willing to open these seales for as it was with those that did crucifie Christ yet they were sav'd by the same blood that they had shed as in Acts 2. so though thou hast been guilty of shedding the blood of Christ againe and againe by thy prophane coming to the Sacrament yet know seeing there is life in thee and the day of grace is continued it is possible that thy soul may be sav'd by that blood that thou hast crucified O how many are cut off that have thus prophan'd the name of God in this Sacrament and never came to understand this danger they are cut of and now are undone for ever why blesse God that thou art alive to heare more about this Sacrament and how Gods name should be sanctifyed that thou art alive and hast time to repent thee of this great evill of profaning the name
mixture among them thus wee should sanctifie the name of God in receiving this holy Sacrament you have had divers things propounded to you whereby you may come to know and easily to see that there hath been a great deale of dishonour done to this Sacrament and the beauty and glory of it hath been darkened and the sweet that the Saints might otherwise have received in plucking hath been exceedingly hindred There is but one thing more that I shall propound to you and that is the severall meditations that we should meditate on in receiving of the Sacrament the most concerning meditations are suggested in the holy Communion that are in any thing whatsoever more concerning more efficacious more various meditations wee have suggested here then in any thing and it is a great figne that men and women do not discerne the Lords body if so be their meditations be barren at that time I will therefore suggest some nine or ten meditations that that Ordinance of God may hold out very plainly and familiarly to every Communicant for the busying of their thoughts all the time that action is a doing Meditation 1. As first that the way of mans salvation it was by a Mediator it is not only by Gods mercy Gods saying that hee is offended by sin but he will be content to passe it by no but it is through a Mediator now this meditation is suggested thus when I see the bread and wine if I disceren what that signifyes it will hold forth this to me that the way of mans salvation it is not meerly from hence that God saith well I will pardon them and no more but there is required a great worke of God to make an aronement between sinners and himselfe this Sacrament doth hold forth thus much unto us wherefore else have we bread and wine but to signifie that the way of our rconciliation it must be through a Mediator Med. 2. The second Meditation is this that this Mediator that stands between God and us is verily and truely man hee hath taken our nature upon him the bread that puts us in mind of the body of Christ and the wine of his bloud and therefore we are to meditate of the humane nature of Iesus Christ and this is a meditation that hath abundance that might spring out of it what hath the Son of God taken our nature upon him hath hee body and bloud and humane nature upon him oh how hath God honoured humane nature then let me not abuse my body to lust to wickednesse seeing that Jesus Christ hath taken the body of man upon him humane nature upon him let me honour humane nature that is so neerly united to the divine nature that 's the second Meditation Meditation 3. Here 's presented unto us what this Mediator hath done for the reconciling of us unto God that his body was broken he hath subjected himself to the breaking of his body and to the pouring forth of his blood for the reconciling of us it is not meerly as before that God saith I le pardon them but Christ undertaking to make peace between his Father and us it cost him the breaking of his body and the pouring forth of his blood this is a usefull Meditation Oh what should we be willing to suffer for Jesus Christ in our bodies even to resist unto blood seeing Christ hath been content to have his precious body broken and his blood shed for us Meditation 4 Againe a fourth Meditation is this that here we come to see we have occasion of meditating of that the Scripture saith that we are by the blood of God saved it is the blood of God they crucified the Lord of glory that 's the Scripture phrase we should consider when we see the Wine poured out and so put in mind of blood whose blood and whose body is this It is no other but the body and blood of him that was truly God the second Person in Trinity This is the great Mystery of the Gospel and this is very needfull for us to be thinking of when we see the body broken and the blood poured out What will the breaking of the body and shedding of the blood of a meere creature be sufficient to make peace between God and Man surely no therefore you must meditate whose body this is and whose blood this is it is the body and blood of him that was God It s true God hath no body nor no blood but the same person that was God had a body and blood that body and blood was united unto the divine nature in a hypostaticall union and from thence it came to have an efficacie for to satisfie God for to reconcile God and us together this is the great mystery of godlinesse Med. 5. Another Meditation is this when you see Bread broken and Wine poured out oh the infinite dreadfulnesse of the justice of God! how dreadful is the justice of God that coming upon his own Son and requiring satisfaction from him that should thus break him and bruise him that should have his blood that should require such sufferings even from his Son dreadfull is Gods justice the justice of God it is to be feared and to be trembled at here we see what is required for the sinne of man and nothing would be bated to Jesus Christ himself Med. 6. Another Meditation is this here I see presented to me what every soul that shall be saved cost whoever shall have his soul sav'd he hath it sav'd by a ransom by a price paid that is more worth then ten thousand thousand worlds thou slightest thine owne soule but if it prove to be saved it cost more then if thousands of worlds had been given for thee even the shedding of the blood of Christ every drop of which was more precious then ten thousand worlds Meditation 7. Again from hence see what is the evill of sin how great it is that hath made such a breach between God and my soule that only such a way and such a means must take away my sinne I must either have laine under the burden of my sinne eternally or Jesus Christ that's God and man must suffer so much for it oh what Meditations are these to take up the hearts of men Meditation 8. Behold the infinite love of God to mankind and the love of Jesus Christ that rather then God would see the children of men to perish eternally he would send his Sonne to take our nature upon him and thus to suffer such dreadfull things herein God shows his love it is not the love of God so much in giving you a good voyage and prospering you outwardly in the world But so God loved the world that he gave his only begotten Sonne And it pleased the Father to break his Sonne and to poure out his blood here is the love of God and of Jesus Christ oh what a powerfull mighty drawing efficacious Meditation should this be unto us Med. 9. Those that are
because then we should and if we Worship God as we ought we do act our faith and humility and all the graces of the Spirit We do act them as it were upon God when we come to Worship him That 's required in every duty of Worship that you should stir up the faculties of your souls and all the graces of the Spirit of God and you should act them upon God when you are Worshipping of him T is not enough to come with grace when you come to Worship God but there must be an acting of that grace upon God And so we find in Scripture that the acting of grace upon God it is a drawing neer to him therefore in Isa 29. 13. the Lord complaines there This people draws neer to me with their lips but their hearts are far from me as if God should say Indeed they come and speak to me and therefore they think they draw nigh to me but I expect that their hearts should be acting upon me that 's the meaning And in Zeph. 3. 2. God complains there of his people that they did not draw neer to him as they should And it appears plainly it was from hence that their graces did not act so upon God as they ought She obeyed not the voice she received not correction she trusted not in the Lord she drew not neer to her God So that acting faith upon God is a drawing nigh to God and so acting any grace upon God is a drawing nigh to God Now when is there a time for the acting of our graces upon God so as when we come to worship God And therefore in Isa 64. 7. the Lord complains there That no man did stir up himself to take hold on him When we come to Worship God we should stir up our selves to take hold of God And thus you see in what respects the Soul may be said to draw nigh to God when it comes to worship him Now for the Application of this point and it is in divers particulars The First is this Hence learn what you do when you come to Worship God and consider of it every time you come to performe any act of Worship Truly this one thing would be of marveilous use and it would help forward to the next Point of Sanctifying of Gods Name This you are all convinced of That it is your duty to Worship God when you pray you come to Worship God when you come to hear his Word you come to Worship him and when you receive the Sacrament you Worship him Now if I should come from one end of the Congregation to the other and ask every one of you this Question It is your duty to Worship God is it not Yes that you will all be ready to answer And what do you do when you Worship God I fear that this Second Question would gravell many You will say We must pray to God and serve him and hear his Word and go to the Communion◠yea but what do your Souls do in this Work of Worshipping of God This should be the answer and so you should think with your selves and charge this upon your own hearts I am now going to Worship God either in Prayer Word or Sacraments I am now going to tender up that homage that is due from a creature to the infinite Creator so that I must so pray as I must manifest that high respect that I owe to God as my Creator but that I shall speak to more afterward only now remember this That you do professe every time you go to Prayer That you go to tender up that homage that you owe unto God and so every time you come to hear the Word there is a profession that you come to tender up that respect and homage that you owe to the infinite God And so likewise when you come to receive the Sacrament Now when we come to offer a present to men we know how we prepare and with what suitable presence we desire to offer but of that afterward when we come to speak of Sanctifying Gods Name 2 Secondly Remember when I come to Worship God I come to set my self before the Lord in those ways that God doth let out the choice of his mercies to his people in I have many mercies from God in the enjoyment of the creature but when I come to Worship him I expect the communication of his mercy in another way then through any creature in the World The duties of his Worship are the chief chānels that God doth let out the choicest of his mercies to the hearts of his people through and now I am going to Worship him I am going to present my self before God Indeed there is a little glimmering of the light of God through other creatures to me but the glorious beames of the light of God is through the duties of his Worship 3 And then Thirdly I am now going to act my Soul upon God so that if I have any abilities to close with God to act my Soul upon him it must be put forth now at this time I am indeed at all times to labour to injoy communion with God when I see the creatures the Sun and Moon and Stars to labour to lift up my heart to God and when I see the glory of God in the Sea and for my meat and drink I am to blesse God and to acknowledge God in all but now when I come to Worship God then all the strength of my Soul is to be acted upon God in a more speciall manner I must then above all labour to stir up whatsoever I have in my Soul to act upon God this is now to Worship God Secondly If to Worship God be to draw nigh to God hence we see the reasons why guilty consciences have little mind to the duties of Gods Worship When a man or woman hath given liberty to any licentious way sinned against their consciences if they have any light in their consciences it is one of the tediousest things in the World to come to the duties of Gods Worship they had rather do any thing then to come to holy dutys as to Prayer and especially to secret prayer A man or woman that hath an inlightened conscience and is under the guilt of sin the coming to God in holy duties is a very grievous burden to them Why Here 's the Reason Because to Worship God is to draw nigh to God and the guilt that is upon them hath made the presence of God terrible to them and therefore they had rather go into their company be merry eat drink sport or any thing rather then to come into Gods presence We know how it was with Adam when God appeared in the garden and called to him he ran to hide himself Why Because he had guiltinesse upon him Oh the evill that the guilt of sin brings upon the Soul it makes the presence of God terrible The presence of God it should be more
himself That is That you should come to Worship him is this a small thing to you is not this honour enough As if Moses should have said Why do you contend for any more honour the Lord hath separated you to bring you neer to himsef Object This you will say was spoken to the Priests Answ But it may be said of every gracious Soul for every Beleever Christ hath made a King Priest and Prophet unto himself now there is no Beleever but Jesus Christ hath separated him or her from the rest of the world to be neer unto God This is the dignity that God hath put upon thee that thou art separated by his grace to be one neer to him whereas others of the world they depart from him continually depart more and more from him but I say the Lord by his grace hath set thee a part for himself as he saith in Psal 4. 3. The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself Thou art separated from the world to what end It is that thou mightest be neer to him this is thy priviledge and thou shouldest account it thy great honour thou hast not that honour and respect in the world as others have but thou art one of Gods separated ones that thou art neer to him A Third scripture is in Psal 33. 28. There you may see how the Prophet David did highly esteeme of that great honour that the Lord did put upon him in this in being neer to God But it is good for me to draw neer to God Mark how he speaks But it is good for me Why For loe they that are far from thee shall perish thou hast desiroyed all them that go a whoring from thee As if he should say There are some that did seeme to be neer unto thee heretofore that were as the wife to the husband but they are gone a whoring from thee base Hypocrites base Apostates they are gone a whoring from thee their hearts being carnall they did not find that contentment and satisfaction in thy Worship as thy Saints do and therefore they are gone a whoring from thee but it is good for me to draw neer to thee It is an excellent Scripture do you see any young ones or others that were very forward not many years agoe and would speak of good things and seem to rejoyce in the word but now they are gone a whoring they are departed from God and his wayes and the pleasures of the flesh hath taken their hearts Thou wilt destroy them saith David that go a whoring from thee So thou shouldest think with thy self Oh miserable is the condition of those who once were forward in the profession of Religion and now are gone a whoring from God but it 's good for me to draw neer to God they are gone from thee and thou wilt destroy them but it is good for me to draw neer to thee I blesse my self in drawing neer to thee the Lord and blesse the time that ever I did draw neer to thee and that ever I knew those waies wherein in my soul hath drawn neer to God Such a Worship God aright and do delight in the worship of God they are such as have a great honour put upon them they do draw nigh to God And thus we have finished the First Point The Second Point is that will hold us some time and that is The Sanctifying Gods Name in our drawing neer to God When we Worship God we draw nigh to him but let us take heed how we draw nigh Heb. 10. 12. Let us draw neer with a true heart Looke to thy feet when thou comest into the house of God Eccle. 5. 1. Now for the Sanctifying of Gods Name in drawing nigh to him we shall indeavour to open it 1 First in shewing you wherein the Sanctification of Gods name consists or what we should do that we might Sanctifie the Name of God in drawing nigh to him 2 The Reason why God will have his name to be Sanctified in those that do draw nigh to him How we should sanctifie the name of God in drawing nigh to him it is under these two heads First There must be a due preparation unto the Worship of God that we exercise our selves in at any time Secondly A right behaviour of our souls in it in these two things consists the Sanctifying of Gods Name in his worship Now under these two heads all that I shall speak about the opening of the Sanctifying of Gods Name will be contain'd At this time I shall only speak of the First The due preparation of the Soul unto the duties of Gods Worship Therein consists a speciall part of the Sanctifying of Gods Name in drawing nigh to him And that it is so we find it in Scripture That preparation for worship it is called the Sanctifying of our selves and by finding this in Scripture it hinted me upon this head to speake of the preparation unto worship in our Sanctifying Gods Name because I find in Scripture that the Sanctifying our selves for worship and the preparation of our selves for worship are all one I 'le give you these two texts In 1 Sam. 16. 5. you shall find there that Samuel when he was sent by God to Anoint David in Bethlem the text saith I am come to Sacrifice unto the Lord Sanctifie your selves and come with me to the Sacrifice Do you come peaceably say they Yes what then Sanctifie your selves and come with me to the Sacrifice That 's all one as if he should have said Prepare your selves and come with me to the Sacrifice and so in Job 1. 5. there you shall find that the holy man Joh when his sons had been feasting he was some what afraid least there should be some miscarriage and that they had sinned against God in their feasting as it is very hard to give liberty to please the flesh and not to sin not to transgresse bounds therefore Job though he did not hear of any notorious abuse of their feasting yet he was afraid least they should sin he knew how dangerous it was to have so much satisfaction to the flesh and not to transgresse bounds therefore it is said he sent to his sons and sanctified them It was so saith the text when the daies of the feasting were gone about that Job sent and Sanctified them that Job sent unto them to prepare them to offer Sacrifice to prepare them for the Worship of God So that the Scripture holds forth this then that to prepare for worship it is to Sanctifie for Worship and so it is one speciall thing that is required in our sanctifying of God in our drawing nigh to God to make a due preparation for his holy worship Now for the orderly handling of things 1. First I shal shew you That we must prepare for the worship of God 2 Secondly I shall shew you Wherein this preparation for the Worship of God doth consist 3 Thirdly The excellencie that there is in
the preparation and that may be in way of Application to you to make you to be in love with Preparation for holy duties There is abundance of good in it First By this meanes we come to make every duty of worship easie to us things are difficult when we come upon them unprepared If you have a friend come to dinner or supper to you and should come suddenly and you have nothing prepared there would be a great deal of stir in the house but it you have every thing prepared it would be carried on in an easie way and the reason why people eâ—mplaine so much of difficulty in duty it is because their hearts are not prepared Indeed we have naturally many things to keep us off from God but now when the heart is prepared for a holy duty it goes off as easie to God even into the infinite ocean of All mercy and goodnesse as a ship goes off to be lansht when you have made preparation for it and the heart can go with a holy boldne e to God when you have made preparation for holy duties In Job 11. the place which I quoted before for the work of preparation do but consider a verse or two further and you shall find what abundance of good there comes upon the keeping of the heart prepared in things that are good Vers 13. If thou prepare thâ—ne heart c. And then Vers 15. Then shalt thou life up thy face without spot yea thou shalt be steadfâ—st and shalt not fear When the heart is prepared for that that is good when it comes into the presence of God it is able to lift up its self without fear in a steadfast comfortable way and this will quit the cost of any labour 2 Secondly if the heart be prepared it will do a great deal in a little time In 2 Chron. 29. 36 it is said That Hezekiah rejoyced and all the people that God had prepared the people for the thing was done suddenly The thing came off freely and suddenly when as that they were prepared Hezekiah rejoiced and bleâ—ed God for such a mercy as this was it is a great mercy to have the hearts of people prepared unto a good work And so in 2 Chr. 27. 6. the text saith Jothâ—m became mighty because he prepared his waieâ— before the Lord his God Jothâ—m he grew mighty by this and so certainly the way to grow to be very strong and mighty to be able to do a great deal in a little time it is to make preparation there may be as much work done in one hour â—â— as in ten times to much time when the heart is not prepared for it In Ezra 7. 10. you shall find that the reason is given why Ezra had such good successe in his journy it was because he had prepared his heart Make preparation for holy duties and you shall have success in holy duties There is a notable Scripture for that in Psal 10 17 where the holy Ghost saith that God prepares the heart and what then when God doth prepare the heart he doth then cause his eare to hear There was never a prayer made wherin the heart was prepared for it but that praier was heard they go both together Lord thou wilt prepare their heart and thou wilt cause thine eare to hear it God hath once prepared thy heart thou wilt be sure to be heard then Is it not worth a world for to know ones self to be accepted of God in every duty of Wo-ship that we tender up to him this one Scripture Psal 10. 17. will shew it Oh the excellency that there is in Preparation to duty There is one thing more that is very observable and that is this Where the heart is prepared to duties there the Lord will passe by weaknesses and imperfections in duties When thou comest to perform holy duties thou art troubled will the Lord have regard to such a duty as this is thou mayest have certain assurance that the Lord will have regard if thou canst make this point good to thine own soul that it was thy care to make preparation for this duty canst thou say Lord I have indeavoured and done what I could to fit my heart for duty but O Lord I find when I am at it wonderful distractions much deadnesse and vanity what shall I do Why canst thou make good the former and appeal to God that indeed it was thy care to make preparation I 'le give thee one cripture then for the quieting of thy heart in this That the weaknesse of the duty shall be pardoned and past by where there is care to prepare before hand the â—cripture is in 2 Chron. 30â— 18 19. But Hezekiah prayed for them saying The good Lord pardon every one what every one every oâ—e that prepareth hâ—â— heart to seek the Lord God of his fathers though he be not clâ—aused according to the purifie â—tion of the Sanctuary As if he should say Oh Lord there are many things amisse in this people they are not in many regards purifâ—ed according to the order that thou hast set but Lord if thou doest but see any heart prepared to seek thee though theâ— fail in such particulars Lord heal them and pardon them and did God hearken to his prayer Mark the following words And the Lord hearkned to Hezekiah and heaâ—ed the people Nay saith God I will not stand so much upon the purification of the Sanctuary if they have prepared their hearts to seek me Take this Scripture know it 's written for thine instruction and thou mayest make use of it to thine own soul this day if thou canst appeale to God that thou art carefull to prepare thy heart though thou shouldest not have that purenesse of thy heart as thou doest desire the Lord will pardon thee and heaâ— thee make conscience of Preparation to holy duties Again furthe by being carefull to make Preparation for duties within some little time thou wilt bring thy heart to such a frame as it will alwaies he ready for duty without much adoe Indeed at first it is somewhat hard You will say Are we bound to spend sometime every time we go to prayer before hand or every time we come to the Word That should have been one of the Cases of Conscience but I cannot come to Answer that but this we may say Be carefull to prepare for duties you that are young beginners or you that have made profession a longer time but yet have not had the weight of this duty upon your spirits now be carefull for a while to prepare for every duty of Gods Worship that God calls you to and I say within a little time thou mayest bring thy heart into such a temper as thou mayest be ready at all times to performe holy duties because you shall be able to come to that temper and frame that the Apostle exhorts to Pray continually for indeed so it should be with us we should be alwaies
CoÌ„munication of the choicest of his Mercies so then I Sanctifie Gods Name when I labour to prepare and open my heart for God as for the choicest Mercies that God hath to bestow upon his Creature When there is such a temper of heart that my conscience tels me it is suitable to that that is fit for a Soul to have that expects to receive the choicest Mercies from God but that we spake too more in the opening of our drawing nigh to God Now we are to come more particularly to this to open the Sanctifying of Gods Name 1 First In what particulars the behaviour of the heart may be discovered to be suitable to God in respect of Gods greatnesse and glory 2 Secondly What the behaviour of the heart should be as suitable to the severall Attributes of God It will cost us some time to open the particular things in the behaviour of the heart as in reference to the Greatnesse and Majestie of God considered more generally as in Psal 48. 1. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised And so in Mal. 1. 14. Cursed be the deceiver which hath in his fâ—ock a male and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing Why for I am a great King saith the Lord and therefore cursed is he that doth not offer a Sacrifice suitable to my Greatnesse And in 2 Chron 2. 5. we find that Solomon when he was preparing for the Temple he would build a great Temple why because God was a great God that he would build it too So that the Worship of God must be some great thing because the Lord is a great God and it must be suitable to his greatnesse Now if you ask me in what particulars doth the behaviour of the Soul consist that is very suitable to the greatnesse of God in the generall there are many things in this 1 The First is You must be carefull to bring a Sanctified heart You cannot tender up a worship suitable to his greatnesse except you bring a Sanctified heart with you there must be holinesse in the heart Under the Law you know if any one came to offer a Sacrifice in his uncleannesse he must be cut off and so it must be here we must look to it that we offer not to God in our uncleannesse Wash you and make you clean in Isa 1. and then come let us reason together There is no comming to God without washing and making clean in Psal 93. 5. Holinesse becometh thine house O Lord for ever Holinesse becometh the presence of God for ever we must look to get a Sanctified heart Sanctification consists in those two parts Mortification and Vivification there must be a mortifying of the lusts of the heart We read in the Law that every Sacrifice was to be salted with Salt that did signifie the mortification of our hearts when we come to offer up our selves as a Sacrifice to God the Salt did eat out the raw humors and kept the flesh from putrifying so doth the Grace of God in mortifying our Lusts In Heb 9. 14. you have a notable scripture for the clenâ—ng of our hearts when we come to offer any service to God How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternall Spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your Consciences from dead works to serve the living God So that you cannot serve the living God untill your consciences be purged from dead works And how comes your consciences to be purged from dead works It is through the blood of Christ who through the eternall Spirit offered himself without spot to God he must purge your consciences So that here 's the way of Sanctifying Gods Name by applying of Jesus Christ who was offered to God without spot that our consciences might be purged from dead works that we might be purged from that naturall filthinesse and uncleannesse in which we all were for the whole world doth lie in filth as a carrion doth lie in his slyme Now if we would worship God so as to Sanctifie him we must apply Christ to our Souls and get our consciences purged from dead works and to have the Spirit of Christ in us to quicken up our hearts in the waies of holinesse to have the image of esus Chriâ—â—in us whereby we may be holy according to our proportion even as he himself is holy this is the Sanctifying of the heart There must be an habituall Sanctification and an actuall Sanctification of the heart An Habituall that is that the heart must be changed through the work of Regeneration there must be a Regeneration in the heart there must be Divine principles of the Graces of the Spirit of God in the heart But you will say May not an unregenerate man Pray To that I Answer It is true it is his duty to pray Poure forth thy wrath upon the Heathen and upon the families that call not upon thy Name But it 's as true that they cannot Sanctifie Gods Name in doing of it But if we would Sanctifie Gods Name in it there must be an Habitual holinesse in the heart for every thing doth act according to its principles in nature it is so and so doth the heart when it comes to Worship God it doth act according to the principles that it hath And then there must not only be Habitual Sanctification but Actual Sanctification likewise as in Exod. 19. 10 11. there you see what a doe there was to fit them for the hearing of the Law because God was to come among them God is to come among us and we are to come to God when we are to performe holy duties therefore it is not enough to have Grace but there must be an improving of Grace there must be an acting of Grace not only when you come to receive the Sacrament to think that then there must be an acting of Grace but every time you pray and hear there must be an acting of Grace A purging out of your corruptions and acting of Grace So that one cannot Sanctifie Gods Name in holy duties unlesse he come thus far to be able to say Lord thou that knowest all things knowest there is nothing that thou doest reveale to be contrary to thy will but my heart is against it that 's the least thou canst not have any peace of conscience in drawing nigh to God untill thou come thus far to have thy heart to work thus against sin and to be set upon every good that God reveals to be his mind You know when a man of quallity comes to your house what a deale of stir there is not onely in sweeping but in making all things as clean and tite and shining as possibly can be Thus it should be when thou comest to God And the Reason why there must be this Sanctifying of the heart is 1 First Because the Lord doth first accept of the person before he doth accept oâ— the Action Men indeed do accept of the persons of
ends that we aimest at when we are Worshipping God we should have our hearts above al creatures and above ourselves Let not our hearts then be groveling upon the ground mingled with base and drossie things when we come to Worship the Lord indeed it is fit that we should have our hearts low as we shall shew hereafter in regard of humility but not low in regard of any basenesse of Spirit to mix with any base and low ends Now there are low and base ends in Worshipping of God As. First We must take heed we do not subject the Worship of God unto our lusts that is a cursed thing thou art far from Sanctifying Gods Name in Worshipping of him that shalt subject his Worship to thy base Lusts this is an abominable and a cursed thing indeed You will say Who doth thus who is the man or where is he that will do this subject the Worship of God to his base lusts To that I Answer Whosoever doth make use of any duty of Worship as Prayer Hearing the Word or what ever it be to cloak any kind of wickednesse whosoever is conscious to himself of any kind of secret wickednesse and yet shall think to cover it by the performance of duties and shall reason in this manner who will think me to be guilty of such a vile thing when I pray so as I do and am so carefull to hear the Word and I hope I shall cover some wickednesse this way If there be any in this place whose conscience tels them that they subiect the Worship of God to such a base end as this is the Lord rebuke them this day and speak to their hearts If I knew any I would set mine eyes upon them and say as the Apostle to Simon Magus I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitternesâ—e and in the bond of iniquity and as he said to him that did seek to draw the Deputy from the Faith O thou child of the Devil and full of all subtilty to damne and undo thy self eternally that seekest to cloak any wicked way by any duty of Gods Worship Is it a great evill for a man or woman to make use of any of Gods creatures to be serviceable to their lusts as meat and drink c. What a damnable thing is it then to make use of any duty of Gods Worship sometimes extraordinary worship as Fasting and Prayer to be a cloak to cover their wickednesse Thou art so far from Sanctifying Gods Name that thou pollutest Gods Name thou doest what in thee lies for to cast even dirt in the face of God himself that doest so The Second Base end is to subject the duties of Gods Worship to the praise of men as to performe duties of Gods Worship for the esteem of men and because we shall be well thought of take heed of this you young ones and others you would fain be eâ—eem'd well of by those that you live withall It is a desireable thing to have a good esteem from those that are godly but take heed that you do not subject the duties of Gods Worship to this Indeed it may be an incouragement to you as David saith I sal 52. 9. This is good before thy Saints David did incourage himself to praise God because it was good before Gods Saints and I confesse it may be an incouragement because holy duties are good before Gods Saints but take heed that this be not thy highest end that thou aimest at and that which carries thee on in the work meerly to get the praise of men and that they shall think that thou hast good gifts and parts and therefore thou art inlarged in that regard take heed of that know that now thou doest not Worship God but thou Worshippest men thou doest make the praise of men to be thy God for whatsoever thou doest lift up in the highest place that 's thy God whatsoever it be therefore if thou liftest up the praise of men and makest that thy end thou makest that thy God and so thou art a worshipper of men but not a worshipper of God Thirdly Take heed of making Self thy end there are some that are not so base low in their hearts as to make the praise of men their end but they aime and look at themselves that is they aime at their own peace and satisfying their own Consciences in the performance of duties now though it 's true when we performe duties of Gods Worship we may expect to receive some good to our selves and we may be incouraged to the duties by the expectation of good to our selves yet we must look higher we must look at the honour and praise of God that the name of the blessed God may be honoured Now I am going to Prayer Oh that I may pray so as I may lift up Gods Name I am going to Hear Oh that I may hear so as God may be honored by my hearing t is this that carries me on to hearing the Word and makes me rise readily and to go forth chearfully I hope that God may have some honour by my hearing this day God knows that this is the thing that I aim at I do not come for company nor to be seen of men neither do I come meerly to satisfie mine own Conscience Others go and hear such Truths of God as do good to their Souls and if I should neglect them meerly for mine own ease my Conscience would not let me be quiet howsoever there are many whose Consciences will be quiet enough though they lose am opportunity in the Worship of God but yet there are others whose Consciences cannot do so their Consciences would tell them when they are lying and turning themselves upon their beds how do you know but that God had some thing to speak to thy heart this morning that may never be spoken to thy heart at any other time therefore they cannot be at quiet except they attend upon God in the duties of his Worship but still this is not enough meerly to satisfie Conscience thy main end it must be that thou mayest this day know some part of the mind of God that God may speak to thy heart that so thou mayest be fitted to honour the Name of God that thou mayest be inabled to live to his honor the week following so much the better As in this manner thy thoughts should be Lord I find a drossie carnall heart I am busie in the world in the week time and I find that my heart is fullied and defiled with the businesse of the World and intangled but lord thou hast appointed thy Sabbath and Word to be a means to Sanctifie my heart and to clense it Oh Lord communicate thy grace to my Soul through thy Ordinances upon this day that so I may be inabled the week following the better to live to thine honour Lord I come into thy presence to that end that I might know some part of thy Will and that
I might get thy Spirit to be conveyed through this Word of thine into my heart this should be thy end when ever thou comest and not only Self I will give you two or three Scriptures to shew that God regards little any duties where self is the higheâ— end the First is in Hos 7. 14. They howled upon their beds saith the Text there but they cryed not to me The Lord there did acknowledge that they were very much affected in their Prayers but what was it it was but a howling upon their beds and how so it was because only they did cry for themselves They have not cryed unto me saith the Lord with their heart when they howled upon their beds It was but meerly for Corn and Wine and Cyle but not unto me they aim'd at themselves and not at me And in Amos 5. 22. there the Lord professes that he did reject the fat of their peace offerings Though ye offer me saith he burâ—â—t offerings and your meat offerings I will not accept them neither will I reâ—ard the peace offering of your fat beasts They were carefull to offer their fattest beasts in their peace offerings and will not God regard them It was in their peace offerings that they offered their fat beasts and there they were to eate a grat part of it themselves Indeed the burnt offering was wholly offered unto God God had all that but the peace-offering those that did offer it they did eat a great part of it themselves now they were very carefull in those offerings that they should partake of themselves to offer fat beasts you do not see that the Holy Ghost takes any notice of fat beasts in their burnt-offerings Now the Note from hence is this That in those things where men are interested themselves they will be very carefull to have the best things But now the Lord rejected the fat beasts of their peace-offerings saith God you were very carefull to offer fat beasts in your peace-offerings where you may feed your selves but for those offerings wherein I have all there you are not so carefull and therefore I regard them not The Third Scripture is in Zach. 7. 5. there they did keep many daies in seeking of God it is an observable Scripture for these times Speak unto all the people of the land and to the Priests saying When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month even those seventy years did ye at all fast unto me even unto me Mark the phrase you fasted in the fifth and seventh month and for seventy years together but saith the Lord Did you at all fast unto me and then mark how it is doubled To me even unto me Noting that when we fast or pray or do any thing in the Worship of God we should be sure to aime at God more then our selves that God may not say of us another day Do you do it to me even to me You may ask me this Question How may I know that I am acted by self ends in holy duties for it is a hard thing for one to know ones own heart when one is acted by principles of 〈◊〉 and when we aime at God in holy duties Now for that I will give you these notes to try whither you be acted from your selves or no. The First is this If a man loves holy duties though he finde no present good comes in by them because they are such things as God requirs and therefore though I get nothing by them yet this is enough to carry me on and to carry me on readily and willingly in the worship of God those that can delight in Gods worship even at that time though they find nothing coming into themselves But now when we find not that coming in that we do desire we begin to be weary of worship and say Why have we fasted and thou seest it not This is an Argument that thou art acted by Self rather then by God Secondly To know whether we be acted by self ends or rather by high ends for God Those men that can rejoyce in others that are able to honour God in holy duties more then themselves they may have a good evidence to their own Souls that when they worship God they are acted by higher ends then self but now such as are streightned themselves and when they see others more inlarged in the worship of God they rather envy them are greiv'd and troubled know that Self is a great ingredient in those duties that thou doest performe if thy heart were raised high to God though thou canst not thy self be inlarged in holy duties yet thy soul would be glad that any others are though I have a wretched and vile heart of my own yet blessed be God that there are any others that can worship God better then I can Thirdly A man that is acted by self in holy duties he regards holy duties but little save in time of extremity in time of fear or of sicknesse or in dangers But now one that hath high ends in holy duties makes the duties of Gods worship to be the joy of his soul in the middest of his prosperity and that is an evident sign that thou art not acted by self ends but by higher ends Canst thou in the middest of thy abundance say Lord thou givest me all conveniencies in this world and all outward things that I want but Lord this is that which is the â—oy of my Soul this is that which makes my life comfortable even communion with thy self in the duties of thy worship that I have free accesse unto the Throne of thy Grace to worship thee the Lord and there meet with thee when I am in the performance of holy duties O Lord thou that knowest all things knowest that this is the â—hing that makes my life comfortable It is not that I have a Table furnished with variety of dishes and that I can have liberty of time to go into company and spend according as I please but Lord those incomes of thy Spirit that I do find in the duties of thy worship those are the things that makes my life bleâ—â—ed indeed unto me Such a man as is able thus to appeale to God surely when he worships God he is acted by high-ends and not by self ends And that is the Third thing that is necessary for Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties thou muâ—â— have a Sanctified heart high thoughts of God and high ends In the Fourth place There must be much reverence and much fear when thou comest into the presence of God to worship him thou doest not glorifie God as God except thou doest come into his presence with much fear reverence of his great Name Fear in worshipping of God it is so necessary that many times in Scripture we â—â—nd that â—he very worship of God is called The feâ—â— of God they are put both for one I might give you divers Scriptures for it and hence it was that the
Name There is one notable Scripture in Jer. 8. 2. that shewes how much strength the Idolaters put forth in the worshipping of their Idol they would not do it in a slight and vain way but their hearts were much in that false worship saith the text And they shall spread them before the Sun and the Moon and all the host of Heaven mark now whom they have loved and whom they have served and after whom they have walked and when they have sought and whom they have worshipped All these are put together in reference to their Idols Oh that it could be said so of us in reference to God when we come to worship him whom we have loved and whom we have served and after whom we have walked and whom we have sought and whom we have worshipped there is all these severall expressions to shew the strength of their spirits in following after their Idols And that is the Fift thing in our Sanctifying of Gods Name 6 The Sixth is If thou wilt Sanctifie Gods Name in Worship there must be an humble frame of Spirit worship him with much humility of Soul Abraham did fall upon the ground before the Lord and dust and ashes saith he hath begun to speak unto thee yea we read of Jesus Christ groveling upon the earth and the Angels they cover their faces in the presence of God and so should we be humble when we come before the Lord there is nothing more abases the Soul of man then the sight of God and the great reason of the pride of all mens hearts is because they never knew God If thou didest but see God thy heart must needs be abased and when doth the Soul see God if not when it comes to worship him In Job 42. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the eare but now my eye seeth thee wherefore I abhorre my self and repent in dust and ashes Now this humility must be in the sense of our own meanness and basenesse Ps 34. 6. This poor man cryed to God They are poor Souls that come into Gods presence that Sanctifie Gods Name most even those Souls that do apprehend and are senseable of their own basenesse and meannesse before God This poor man cryed to God we use to say Give that poor man some what It doth affect the heart of God when he sees much poverty of Spirit when we come before him we must be senseable of our Infinite dependance upon God Come as the woman of Canaan O Lord even doggs do receive câ—ums and though I be a dogg yet let me receive crums here is humility of Spirit Now this humility of Spirit appears in these things 1 First admiring Gods goodness that we do live at this time and that we have liberty to come before him we might have been past praying and worshipping of God think thus What a Mercy is it that we are not banished out of Gods presence that the Lord hath not spurnd us out of his sight as filth and cast us out as an everlasting abhorring while others have bin praying we might have bin yelling under the wrath of the eternal God Come with this apprehension of thy self and adorre Gods goodnesse that thou art alive to pray and alive to heare Gods word And that it is not only a duty but a rich priviledge and mercy that God will admit of thee to come into his presence Againe it is the goodnesse of God that he will vouchsafe to look upon the things that are done in heaven then if the Lord doth humble himself to behold the things that are done in heaven then how doth the Lord humble himself to behold me a poor vile cative as I am in my self and yet that God should not only behold me before him but invite me to come into his presence What mercy and goodnesse is this 2 Our hearts must be taken off from the thoughts and apprehensions of all excellencies in our selves we must not come in the pride of our hearts because we have abilities more then others what do all thy parts commend thee to God thou hast ability in expressing of thy self in Prayer why do thy parts commend thee to God What ever is natural in any of our duties is nothing to God only that which is from his own Spirit and therefore thou shouldest come in thine own thoughts as vile as if thou hadest no parts and abilities at all Lay aside all such apprehensions of thy self for the truth is some poor broken hearted sinner that can but sigh out a few groans to God and is not able to speak two or three sentences together in a right language but only breath out his Soul to God may be a thousand thousand times more acceptable to God then thou that art able to make great Orations when thou comest before him 3 Thou must come without any righteousnesse of thy own thou must never come into Gods presence but as a poor worm and if there be any difference that is made between thee and others in outward respects it is nothing to thee when thou art in the presence of God thou art as a base vile worm though though beest a Prince or Emperour 4 Thy heart must be taken off from what thou doest If thou hast any abilities of grace yet thy heart must be taken off there there may be pride not only from ones parts but it may be God hath given me inlargements in Prayer the Devil will come in and seek to puffe up thy heart even because of this But thy heart must be taken off there and thou must deny thy self in all when thou hast done the best service of all yet thou must conclude thou art an unprofitable servant when thou hast prayed the best yet rise with shame and take heed of having thy heart puft up even through the assistance of the graces of the Spirit of God in holy duties 5 Lastly Thou must come with a humble resignation of thy self to God to be content to wait upon God as long as he pleases to waiâ— upon God in regard of the time and of the measure and of the manner of the Communication of himself in regard of the meanes by which he will please to communicate himself wait upon him Let me have mercy though at the last hour This now is an humble heart in Prayer and when we come with such a poverty of Spirit as this is we may expect that the Lord will accept of us Give this poore man some what will God say This poore man cryed and the Lord heard him In the Seventh place we must bring that which is Gods own in Sanctifying Gods Name I spake to this before in the point of Preparation Viz. That in Gods Worship we must give him his own I will only mention it here in the Sanctifying of Gods Name in two regards 1 First To give God his owne for the matter of it 2 Secondly To give God his owne that is what comes from the
work of his owne Spirit or else we do not Sanctifie Gods Name I will give you one text further about the matter of it in Exod. 39. if you read the Chapter you shall find that there is ten times said that they did as God had commanded Moses And then in the close of the Chapter when they had done as God had commanded in his Worship the text saith Moses blessed them That people is a blessed people that do observe the Worship of God as God hath commanded them But the main thing is all that we do it must be acted by the Spirit of God it is not enough to have true silver and gold but it must have the right stamp or else it cannot go for current coyn And so it is not enough that the things we offer to God in his worship be Gods owne be what we have warrant for out of Gods Word but it must have the stamp of the Spirit of God In the Worship of God there be Two Questions that he will ask First Who required this at your hands But then if you can Answer thus Thou O Lord did'st require it It is well but then God hath another Question Whose Image and Superscription is this If thou canst not give an Answer to that it will be rejected too Thou must be acted by Divine principles in all that thou doest there must be the stamp of the Spirit upon that which is tendered to God else it is nothing To open this Point fully will ask some time First Therefore I will shew you how we may know when our duties are acted by our naturall parts rather then by the Spirit of God Secondly how we may know whether our duties be acted by naturall Conscience rather then by the Spirit of God 1 First If thou art acted by naturall parts they will not change thy heart Men that do performe duties by the strength of naturall parts they may be as large as others and speak to the edification of others but those duties do never change their hearts now if thou beest acted by the Spirit of God thou wilt be changed into the very Image of his Spirit 2 Secondly If men are acted by naturall parts they will not carry them through difficulties and discouragements but now the Spirit of God if thou hast acted by him though thou doest meet with never such difficulties discouragements thou wilt be carried through them all 3 Thou mayest know it by this wherein doest thou account the excellency of a duty to consist either in thy self or others Thou performest a duty now it may be thy parts do act very lively and to thy credit and yet thy conscience tels thee that thy heart was streightned Now canst thou rise up with joy because thou hast thy ends At another time perhaps thy heart is more troubled and broken But thou doest not expresse thy self so much then thou art discouraged And when thou seest another performe a duty if thou seest but any failing in their expressions thou pitchest upon that and lookest upon it as a poor thing thou art not able to see an excellency in holy duties except there be an excellency of naturall parts but those that have the Spirit of God they can find the Spirit of God acting in others though they have not such naturall parts 4 Those that are acted by their naturall parts in secret they are lesse inlarged then they are before others a great deal Their parts act much before others but what is there between God and their own Souls 5 They that be so acted will not be very constant you shall have young ones that begin to look towards Religion their parts are a little fresh and they are mightily inlarged in holy duties and the thing is good for them to make use of their parts but how ordinary is it that after a few years they are deader and duller then they were before and have lesse mind to the duties of Gods Worship then they had formerly Were this the Spirit of God you would find as much savour and relish in them afterwards as there was at that time Secondly for naturall Consciences which sometimes puts men upon acting of duties and indeed is better then meerly naturall parts 1 If it be only naturall Conscience it puts upon duties but gives no strength to do them but when the Spirit of God puts thee upon a duty it gives thee some strength to performe it some strength whereby thou gettest some communion with God 2 If it be naturall Conscience it puts upon the duty but makes not the heart glad of the duty and to love the duty but if it be the Spirit of God it makes thee to delight in it and to love it 3 Thirdly If it be naturall Conscience thou doest not by that increase thy communion with God thou doest thy duties as in a round but now when the Spirit of God puts thee upon holy duties it is not a task done but thou findest more and more increase in Communion with God thy heart more raised to God and more closing with the Lord and so still more and more in the course of thy life I had a little converse with God at first when God began to acquaint my Soul with his waies but through his mercy now I find more communion with him and so thou canst blesse thy self in God in that converse that thou hast in communion with him thou wouldest not lose that Communion thou hast with God in holy duties for all the world others have their companions that they have their communion withall much good may do them but the Lord hath shewen me another manner of communion which my Soul can have with himself in which it hath sweet satisfaction And thus you have had Seven particulars for the Sanctifying of the Name of God in holy duties SERMON VI. LEVITICUS 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me 4 AGAINE as Naturall Conscience doth give no strength to do the duty so it makes not the duty to be strong to the Soul that is thus there 's no strength got by the duty they are not by one duty prepared for another But the way of the Lord is strength to the upright that is when a gracious heart is in the way of Gods worship it finds the very duty of the worship of God to be strength to it and so it fits it for another duty 5 Further A Naturall Conscience limits its self and is bounded that is so much as will serve the turn for its owne peace and quiet so much it will do and no more But when one is acted by the Spirit of God one is inlarged without any limits at all not bounded to ones own peace for the more peace a gracious heart hath in duty the more it is inlarged in duty Now a Naturall Conscience that puts to duty and will act you when you want peace when you are in trouble and fear but when
heart to God take heed of keeping any secret resolutions in thine own heart God knows thee and can tell how to find thee out God knows all that is in thine heart before all the secret basenesse that is in thine heart the Lord doth understand it the Lords eye is a peircing eye he sees through and through thy heart It s a vaine thing for thee to come and conceale any thing before him You will say If God understand a mans heart what need he come and confesse Yes he requires it it as thy duty that thou shouldest come and open all before him In spight of thy heart thou canst not cover any thing from the Lords eyes but the Lord will see whether thou beest willing of thy self that he should understand all God doth not require us to come and confesse our sins that so he might know that which he knew not before but for this end That there might be a testimony that thou art willing that he should know all that is in thy heart therefore now when thou comest to worship him ransack every corner of thy heart and confesse all before the Lord and give glory to his name as that God that is an All-seeing God that knows all the windings and turnings of thy heart Now meditate of these things that be presented to thee and it will be a mighty means to help thee to Sanctifie his Name 8 God is a God of infinite Wisdome therefore when we come to worship God let us be ashamed of our folly When thou comest to have to deal with God look upon him as a God of infinite wisedome and I say be thou ashamed of thy folly then and do thou exercise the grace of wisdom too when thou comest to God that is by propounding right ends of which we spake before That is one part of wisdome to have right ends and right meanes towards those ends so that the meditation of the wisdome of God when we come to worship him will further us to Sanctifie his Name And further This is to Santifie Gods Wisdome when thou comest into Gods presence in thy greatest streights deny thy own wisdome come with a resolution to be guided by the wisdome of God in this manner Lord I know not how to order my steps there is much folly and vanity in my heart but thou art a God of infinite wisdome I come to thee for direction and I professe here I am willing to give up my whole Soul to be guided by thy wisdome If every time we come to worship God we came thus Oh Lord whatsoever our thoughts have been heretofore yet if thou shalt but reveale thy mind to us we will hearken to thee Lord we beleeve that thy wisdome it is thy self and therefore we professe to give up our selves to thy Wisdome Now this is to Sanctifie the Name of God 9 Consider the holinesse of God God is a God infinitly pure from all sin and therefore when we come to worship God we must be ashamed of our unholinesse as the Prophet in Isa 6. when he heard the Seraphins cry Holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts he fals down and saith Wee is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips And is God a holy God Then let me take heed when I come before him that I bring not with me a love to any sin for the Lord hates it and let me take heed that I do not cast dirt in the very face of Gods holinesse but give up my Soul to be rul'd wholly by him And labour that there may be a suitablenesse between the holinesse of thy heart and of the infinite God Now this is to Sanctifie Gods Name when the consideration of this Attribute of God hath such effect upon my heart that I labour upon this to come with a suitable heart before God 10 When thou comest before God Consider that thou comest to a mercifull God And what should this work First It should make me come joyfully into his presence as a God that is willing to do good to his poor Creatures that are in misery Secondly It should make me to come with a heart senseable of the need of this mercy O Lord I have had my heart let out to other vain things heretofore but now Lord thy mercy it is that my Soul comes for as that wherein my chief and only good consists Thirdly It should make me come with expectation of great things from God do not come unto God as unto an empty Vine but as unto a full Vine and the more thy Faith is raised to expect great things from God the more acceptable art thou to God Certainly the higher any ones faith is raised when they come into his presence to expect the greatest things the more acceptable It is otherwise with God then men if you come to men to begge a little thing you may be welcome but if you come to ask a great matter they will look a skew upon you but the truth is the greater the things are that we come to God for the more welcome are we into Gods presence and those that are acquainted with God they know it and therefore they come the more fully When they come to ask Jesus Christ himself and his Spirit that is more worth then ten thousand worlds they come with more freedom of Spirit then when they come to ask their healths and the like Fourthly It will be likewise another means of Sanctifying this Attribute of God when thou comest to him If thou doest come with a mercifull heart towards thy brethren Take heed whensoever you come to worship God that you come not with a rugged and cruell heart towards any of your brethren therefore you find that Christ laies this upon you in teaching how to pray you must say Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive our brethren that trespasse against us And you find it repeated again If you forgive then your heavenly Father will forgive and not otherwise As if Christ should say When you come to begge mercy be sure you bring mercifull hearts Fifthly It is a good way to Sanctifie the Name of God in this Attribute for the Soul to be solicitous with it self What is that that will hinder me from the mercy of God and let me avoid it It is otherwise a taking of the name of God in vain for me to come to professe what need I have of Gods mercy and yet for al that never regard to avoid those things that may hinder the work of his grace upon me 11 Consider the Justice of God that is another Attribute Consider that thou hast to deal with an Infinite Righteous and Just God Do not think that if thou beest a beleever that thou hast nothing to do with the Justice of God for certainly thou art to Sanctifie the Justice of God Now you will say How should a beleever Sanctifie the Justice of God Thus First He should be apprehensive senseable
salvation and yet for the most part there is scarce any thing that people have to rest upon or to tender up to God for acceptation to eternall life but only their prayers and their coming to hear and receiving of the Communion and such duties that they perform this is all they have to tender up for life and for salvation perhaps they may sometimes speak of Christ but the truth is that which their hearts rest upon for acceptation to eternall life is this And is it but this It is a weak prop a rotten reed that thou hast to rest upon Let the duties of worship be performed never so well Suppose we did sanctifie Gods Name to the uttermost that is possible for any creature to do in this world yet such duties are not to be rested upon Abraham Isaac and Jacob and the Apostles the most holy men that ever did perform duties in the most holy manner yet wo to them if they have nothing to rest upon but their duties consider therefore of this that what thou must rest upon for acceptation to eternall life it must be that that must have so much worth in it as must satisfie for all thy sins that formerly thou hast committed yea and for all the sins that ever thou shalt commit Now I appeal unto any ones conscience is that which thou performest is prayer or receiving the Sacrament or hearing of the word such a work as in thy conscience thou canst think it hath so much worth in it as to satisfie God for all the sins that ever thou didest or shalt commit I am perswaded if people that have rested upon duties heretofore would but seriously have this thought in their minds That I must rest upon nothing for my acceptation for life and Salvation but that that must have such worth in it as to satisfie God for all my sins that ever have been committed or shall be committed this would take them off for ever from resting in duties Yea and it must be such as must be the object of the infinite holinesse of God to take content in Surely the duties that we performe are no such duties to rest upon the truth is If we would seriously consider what they are as they come from us we would even abhor our selves in dust and ashes and account of them as the Prophet speaks of his own righteousnesse as menstruous cloaths they are such as if God should deal with us as justly he may do he might cast them and us to the dogges for they are as the Prophet saith torne and rent Sacrifices now if a man in the time of the Law should bring to the Lord a sacrifice that was all torne and rent before he brought it would such a sacrifice have been accepted All the duties we performe as they come from us they are snch we read in Exod. 22. 31. concerning such things as were torne and rent that they should cast them to the dogges Ye shall be holy men unto we saith he verse ult neither shall ye eate any flesh that is â—orne of beasts in the field ye shall cast it to the dogs because ye are holy men unto me Must the people of Israel manifest their holinesse in this That they must eate nothing torne by beasts but cast it unto dogs Or was the holinesse of the people of Israel such as God required them that they must eate nothing that was torne by beasts What then is the holinesse of the infinite God our services that we performe are of themselves such as are torne by our beastly lusts many times how many are there that bring sacrifices to God that are as a carrion that swine have been tearing before hand and yet these are the Sacrifices that they bring to God and not only think that God should accept of them but they do rest upon them for their acceptation to eternall life How infinitly are these people mistakenâ— how little do they know of God or of the way of acceptation to eternall life That is the First Use 2 Secondly If all this be required for the Sanctifying of Gods Name in duties That we cannot performe the duties of Worship without this behaviour of Soul hence we see that the work of Religion is a hard and difficult work to flesh bloud A main work of Religion is the work of worshipping of God for indeed those that are not religious and godly they never worship God to any purpose then we come to worship God when we begin to be religious and godly Now it must needs be a busie work to be a religious and a godly man because there is so much required in the sanctifying of Gods name in holy duties many people think it a very easie matter to worship God and the worship that they tender up to God is an easie matter there is little in it If it were nothing else to worship God but meerly to go and say a few prayers and come and hear a Sermon and take a peice of Bread and Wine then it were the easiest matter in the world to come and worship God but there is more required in the duties of Gods worship then thou hast been acquainted with there is a power of godlinesse in it That Text of Scripture is a very famous one that shewes the difficulty that there is in the Worship of God and how men are mistaken in thinking it such an easie and slight matter to worship God It is in Josh 24. 16. 19. where Joshua doth call upon the people to worship God and they came off presently and said They would worship him so you shall find them professe verse 16. But mark what the Text saith in verse 19. And Joshua said unto the people Ye cannot serve the Lord for he is an holy God he is a jealous God and he will not forgive your transgressions and your sins As if he should say You think it is nothing to serve the Lord and that it is an easie matter to serve him you think to put off God with any thing Alas you cannot serve the Lord for he is a holy God and a jealous God and you must have other manner of hearts then yet you have and you must understand his worship in another manner then yet you do the Lord will be Sanctified in those that draw nigh him and therfore untill you understand God and his waies and worship you cannot serve the Lord. Know that the work of Religon is a very hard and difficult work for it requireth all this and therfore the Soule had need be very diligent and laborious that would come to worship God in a right way 3 Thirdly hence is a use of humiliation to us all even to the best of us oh how little how little hath the best of us all Sanctified the name of God! how far have we all come short of the Sanctifying of Gods name in holy duties And when we look abroad in the world and see what poor
of men but to open the great counsels of God wherein the depth of the wisdome of God comes to be revealed to the children of men and therefore this cals for attention 3 Thirdly Suppose they be great things yet if they do not so much concern us there is no such great reason of attention therefore in the Third place That which we speak it is your life it is that concerns your Souls and eternall estates Your Souls and everlasting estates do lie upon the Ministery of the Word if that be made effectuall to you you are sav'd if that be not made effectuall to you you are damn'd and undone for ever If we should come to tell you of something whereby you might get some good bargain or of a way how to get great riches I make no question but you would rise though it were a cold or rainy morning But know when you are called to hear the Word you are called to hear that which may do you good for ever that for which you may blesse God for to all eternity with the Angels and Saints in the highest heavens If they be such things of so great concernment then there had need be a great attention You know what Christ said to Martha when she was troubled about his entertainment Lâ—â—k 10. 41. Martha Martha thou art carefull and troubled alâ—o tâ—mâ—ry things but one thing is needfull and Mary hath 〈◊〉 that good part which shall not be taken away from her What did Mary choose It was this That she did diligently attend upon Jesus Christ to hear the word from his own mouth when Martha was busied in the house to provide for his entertainment but it is a better thing to attend upon the word then to entertain Christ in your houses You that are of loving dispositions that if a good Minister shall come to your houses or a good Christian that you see but the Image of Christ in your hearts spring within you and you will do any thing to entertain them Well but what if Jesus Christ should come if you knew that such a man that came within your doors were the Son of God how would you bestir your selves to entertain him But know it is a more acceptable service to Jesus Christ to attend upon his word then to provide for him in your houses And there is great reason to that we should be diligent in drawing nigh to the word and give eare unto it because you find that the Lord doth expresse himself in the Scripture how he gives eare to us when we speak to him God is said to incline his eare sometimes to open his eare sometimes to bow his eare sometimes to cause his eare to hear and divers such expressions there are to that purpose Now if God when we that are poor wretches speak to him shall bow his eare bend his eare open his eare cause his eare to hear much more should we when we come to attend upon him 2 Secondly as there must be attending to the word of God so there must be an opening of the heart to receive what God speaks to you it is true it is the work of God to open the heart but God works upon men as upon rationall creaturs and he makes you to be active in opening your hearts so that when you have any truth come to be revealed you should open your understandings your conscience and will and affections Oh Lord thy truth which thou art presenting here to my Soul at this time let it come in let me receive it as the expression is in Prov. 2 1. My Son if thou wilt receive my words and then in v. 10. When wisdom entereth into thy heart The words of wisdom the words of God they must enter into the heart get in it may be they get into thy eare but that 's not enough they must get into thy heart in Joh 8. 37. There Christ complains that his word had no place in them that 's a sad thing when the word of God shall have no place in the heart If a temptation to sin comes that hath a place in the heart but when the Word comes that hath no place in the heart I say it is a very sad thing that we can find no room for the Word we should get room for the Word Open ye gates Stand open ye everlasting doors that the King of Glory may come in Know that when you come to hear the Word the Lord is knocking at the doors of your hearts have not you felt it sometimes Open O open the doors let all be opened to receive the Word into your hearts That is the Second thing for the behaviour of the Soul in hearing 3 The third thing is the carefull applying of the word so in Pro. 2. 2. There must be an applying of the heart to the word and an applying of the word unto the heart All action is by an application of the thing that doth act unto the subject there must be an application of the word to thy soul as now suppose thou comest to hear the word and thou hearest of some sin that it may be thou knowest thou art guilty of take the word and lay it to thy heart and say The Lord hath met with my soul this day the Lord hath spoken to me to the end that I might be humbled for this sin and the other sin that my Conscience tels me I am guilty of So doth the Lord put thee upon a duty that concerns thee acknowledge this the Lord hath spoken to me this day and put me upon the reformation of my family and the reformation of my own heart Is there a word presented apply that and let not the trouble of thy heart cause thee to cast off that word that God hath spoken to thee The application of the word to the heart it is of marvelons use and it concerns not only Ministers in general to lay before people the doctrine of the Gospel but to aply it And know that it concerns you as well as Ministrs to apply it And not only when they come to that that is called use but all the way in the opening of the word it concerns you all to apply it to your own souls and to consider how doth it concern me in particular My brethren there is no such way to honour God or get good to your owne souls as the application of the word unto your selves As a man that is asleep if there be annoise made it will not awake him so soon but come and call him by his name and say John or Thomas and that will awake him sooner then a greater noise will So when the word makes a noise when it is delivered only in the general men take little notice of it but when the word comes particularly to the souls of men and doth as it were call them by name this awakens them now God many times doth speak to your hearts but you should apply it you know
the word is compared to meat and it must be applyed to the body Then do we worship God in a right way when as we take notice of Gods word as concerning us in particular as that notable Scripture that you have in 1 Cor. 14. 25. Where there comes a poor man into the Church of God and hears Prophesying hears the word opened and the text saith He is convinced of all he is judged of all and then in vers 25 Thus are the secrets of his heart manifest and so falling down on his face he worships God and reports that God is in you of a truth that is when the word comes and meets with his Soul in particular that he finds himself to be aim'd at by the word then he worships God and saith that God certainly is in them here 's the reason now that when you come to hear the word you do not worship God because you apply it not to your selves you are ready to say This was well spoken to such a one and it concerns such a one but how doth it concern thy soul in particular Sometimes the Lord doth even force men and women to apply it whether they will or no for that they think the Minister speaks to them in particular and that no body was spoken too in the Congregation but themselves This is a Mercy when the Lord doth it unto you but it is a greater Mercy when the Lord gives you a heart to apply it to your selves and although it may trouble you a little for the present yet be willing to apply it and account it a great Mercy from the Lord That the Lord will be pleased to speak in particular to your Souls 4 Fourthly We must mix Faith with the Word or otherwise it will do us but little good Apply it and then beleeve it In Heb. 4. 2. it is said that The word preached did not profit them not being mixed with Faith in them that heard it Wherefore there must be a mixture of Faith to beleeve the word that the Lord brings unto you Now concerning that I le but propound these few particulars You will say Must we beleeve every thing that is spoken sometimes there are some things spoken that we cannot tell how to beleeve I do not mean so to beleeve every thing meerly being spoken for you must take heed what you hear as well as how you hear but do thus much at least 1 In the First place whatsoever comes in the name of God to you except you know certainly it is not according to the written Word you owe so much respect to it as to examine it at least to try it whether it be so or no as it is said of those Welbred men that I spake of that they did examine whether things were so or no. Do not cast off any thing presently that comes in the Name of God Now any thing that hath the broad Seal upon it you must not disobey You will say It may be counterfeit but do not disobey it till you be sure it be counterfeit Oh that men would give but this respect to all things that they hear never to cast them off till they have examined and tryed whether they be so or no. 2 Secondly Do but grant this respect to the Word that is spoken to you as to think thus What if all that I hear spoken against my fin which laies open the dangerous condition that my soul is in prove to be true what a case were I in then This hath been the beginning of the conversion of many Souls the having but such a thought as this It may be things are not so terrible as I hear but what if they do prove so then I am undone for ever Dare I venture my Soul and my eternal estate upon hopes that these things are not so bad as I hear I beleeve if you would put your selves to it you would think it a bold adventure and the comfort that any of you have grounded upon this meerly hoping that things are not so bad as you hear it is a cursed comfort that hath no sure bottome Grant that respect therefore to the word 3 Thirdly consider this It may be I do not see cleerly that these things are so which are delivered I do not see enough to beleeve them now but what if I were now dying What if I were now going to receive the sentence of my eternall doome would I not then beleeve these things Would I not then think what I hear out of the word to be true It is an easie matter for men to reject the word while they have their healths and prosperity But if you were to die and upon your sick and death bed if you saw the infinite ocean of eternity before you what would you say then were the word true yea or no would you give beleif unto the suggestions of the Devill then We find it by experience That men that could easily cast off the word in their healths yet when they have come to ly upon their sick bed and death bed they found the word true Beleeve it now as well as then 4 Consider If thou doest not beleeve what a case art thou in Am I worse then the Devils themselves The Scripture tels me That the Devils beleeve and tremble Why Lord do I come to hear Sermons and am I more hard to beleeve then the very devils themselves They do beleeve that word that I cast off and they tremble at it but my Soul is not at all stirred as if there were no reallity in such things that have been spoken to me There be other things which may further help us towards beleeving of the word of God but these shall suffice And certainly my brethren till we come to this to beleeve the word though we should sit under it many years it will do us little good and we shall never Sanctifie the Name of God in the hearing of it SERMON IX LEVITICUS 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me THE next thing for the right behaviour of the Soul for Sanctifying Gods Name is this We must receive the Word with meeknesse of Spirit that you have in Jam. 1. 21. Wherefore lay apart all filthinesse and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the ingrafted word which is able to save your souls Receive with meekness The former part of this Scripture I confesse concerns some what that was before about the preparation of the Soul and we shall perhaps afterwards in the Application come to open the former part of this vers Lay apart all filthiness superfluity of naughtiness But only now we quote the place for this Receive with meekness the ingrafted word which is able to save your souls Let there be a quietnesse in your Spirits in attending upon the word no hurring There is a twofold distemper of passion in many people that is a great hinderance to the profit of the Word and
Sanctifie Gods Name in it I say to such If one should rise from the dead they would not have their hearts wrought upon and therefore much lesse are they like to be wrought upon by afflictions It may be some of you think when you are upon your sick beds then you will repent no surely if this that is the great Ordinance to bring men to God shall not work upon you so as God shall be honoured in it you cannot expect that sicknesse and affliction should do it no if one should come from the dead to tell you of all the miseries that were there certainly if the word work not upon you that will not do it But you will say One would think that there should be more power to work upon the heart truly no because that is not such an Ordinance appointed by God for working such great works upon the hearts and consciences of men as the word is It is true the word is but a weak thing in it self but here lies the strength that it is an Ordinance of God appointed for to work upon the hearts of men therefore if this work not upon you to give God glory in the hearing it there is no other means is like to do it 5 Fiftly When the word works not upon men it is a dreadful sign of Reprobation If our Gospel be hid saith the Apostle in 2 Cor. 4. 3. it is hid to those that are lost It is a dreadfull Argument that here is a lost creature one that God intends no good to One the Lord works upon perhaps he lets passe another one in a family and not in another Now where it is so that the word worketh not I say there is no such dreadfull brand of Reprobation as this is It is true we cannot give any certain sign of Reprobation therefore I cannot say of any man he hath now such a mark upon him as doth evidently prove that he is a Reprobate we cannot tell that because we know not what God may do afterwards but we may say this That it is as dreadfull a sign as any There are not any more dreadfull signs then these two First For a man to be suffered to prosper in a sinful course For God to let men go on and have their hearts desire satisfied in an ungodly way And then Secondly For the Lord to leave them to themselves so as the Ministry of the word shall not work upon them that they shall be by Gods providence so disposed of as to live under a faithfull and powerful Ministry and that it should not work upon them These are the two blackest signs of Reprobation and therefore it is a most dreadfull thing to sit under the Ministry of the word and not to sanctifie Gods Name in it 6 In the next place Surely there can be nothing Sanctified to thee who doest not sanctifie Gods Name in his word The Scripture saith That every thing is sanctified by the Word and Prayer And how canst thou expect that the word should sanctifie any thing to thee seeing that thou doest not make conscience of Sanctifying Gods name in the word The godly think thus 'T is the word that must Sanctifie all things to my Soul and I had need then sanctifie Gods name in that from which I expect the sanctified use of all blessings You therefore that can fit under it and make not conscience of sanctifying Gods name in it I say you cannot expect no sanctified use of any thing that you have in this world 7 Such as do not sanctifie Gods name in the word are very nigh to a curse There is a notable Scripture for this in Heb. 6. 7 8. where the Apostle compares the word to the rain that fals upon the ground For the earth that drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed receiveth blessing from God But saith he that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected and is nigh unto cursing whose end is to be burned The meaning is this plainly The rain here is the word and the good hearers they are like the ground that receive the rain and bring forth fruit and receive a blessing But now ill hearers that do not sanctifie Gods name in his word they are like ground that receive the rain as much as the other hear as many Sermons as the other but they bring forth nothing but thorns and briers and mark what a dreadfull expression is against them First It is rejected Secondly It is nigh to cursing Thirdly Whose end is 〈◊〉 burned Thou rejectest the word doest thou The Lord rejecteth thy Soul If thou hast no need of the word the word hath no need of thee it is a dreadfull thing to be rejected of God And then thou art nigh unto cursing It may be the Lord may for the time withdraw himself from the Soul and manifest that it is as it were rejected but yet the Soul hath not the curse of God upon it to say Well let this Soul perish for ever but some there are that are under an actual curse and saith God Well my Word shall never do good to this â—oul such a one hath sate under it thus long and hath rejected it my word shall never do good to him Like as in Luk. 14. where those that made excuses when they were bidden to the Supper the text saith at length That the Master of the feast was angry which was God himself that invited them by the Gospel to partake of his Son and when men would not come in but make excuses and refused the offer of the Gospel Verily saith he none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my Supper They shall never partake of any good of the Gospel This is a dreadfull curse Now the Lord deliver you from having this curse pronounced against you but yet I beseech you tremble at this Scripture in the Hebrews They are nigh to cursing Who knows how nigh some soul in this place may be to this curse for God to say This soul hath been often invited and yet hath made excuses and put off all he shall never taste of my Supper of the good things in Jesus Christ the word that hath been so rejected shall never do them good more you had better never been born then to have this curse actually upon you Oh fear and tremble lest your condition be such as to be nigh to cursing Who knows what a day a week may bring forth It may be the Lord may spare and be willing to passe by the neglect of former Sermons but who knows what the next actuall rebellion against the Lord in his word may do to bring the curse upon thee And then if so the next part of the verse will prove to be thy portion Whose end is to be burned Oh! It is a dreadfull thing to sin against the Word God stands much upon it 8 Eightly Know that if Gods name
be not Sanctified in it the end that God hath appointed it for will be turned quite contrary to thee The proper end that God hath appointed his word for it is to save souls but now where Gods name is not Sanctified it is turned quite contrary so the Apostle in 2 Cor. 2. 16. To the one we are the savour of death unto death and to the other the savour of life unto life It is a dreadful thing that the good word of God in which there is such treasures of Gods mercy wherein the counsels of God concerning mans eternal estates comes to be revealed that this should prove to be the favour of death unto death unto any soul that is to have such an efficacy in it as to kill them by the very scent of it as it were As some things have such a poyson in them as the very scent is enough to poyson one So saith the Apostle to some our word hath that efficacy being turned quite to the contrary end some souls are sav'd and are and shal be blessing God to al eternity for the word and thy soul is dam'd by the word so as thou wilt hereafter curse the time that ever thou camest to hear it That will be a dreadful thing that the same word that others shall be blessing of God eternally in heaven for that thou shalt be cursing eternally in hell for it will be turned to the quite contrary end If it works not in the right way it will work the other the truth is it hardens mens hearts if it brings them not to God there is nothing that doth harden the hearts of men more then the Ministry of the word yet by accident not by its self there is no men in the world have such hard hearts as those that are wicked under the Ministry of the word It is not only an argument that their hearts are hard but they are hardened by it That in Isa 6. 9. 10. is remarkable for this and the rather because I find it so often quoted by Christ I think it is quoted three or four times in the Gospel And he said go and tell this people hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not Make the heart of this people fat and make their eares heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear with their eares and understand with their heart and convert and be healed This is a strange Scripture what must a Prophet go to them to make their hearts fat and to shut their eyes why the word is appointed to open mens eyes but here the Prophet is sent to shut their eyes that they might not be converted this is dreadful this is for the punishment of some former neglect of the word of God sent unto this people above all Judgements you should be afraid of this It is not so much that a fire should be upon your houses as that God should make his word to be a means to harden your hearts In Ezek. 14. we have a dreadful expression to this purpose by the Prophet there where the Lord saith that the people did come to inquire of him with setting up their Idols in their hearts but saith God I will answer them according to their Idoll If men come to the Ministry of the word with their beloved sins and resolve that they will not part with them the Lord many times in his just judgment suffers some things in the word to be accidentally a means to harden them in that sin of theirs I will answer them according to their Idoll those men are in a dreadful estate whose hearts come to be hardened by the word 9 Ninthly If thou doest not Sanctifie Gods name in the hearing of the word what comfort canst thou ever have by the word in the day of thy affliction certainly when the day of thy affliction comes then there is nothing can comfort thee but the word Vnlesse thy law had been my delight saith David I should then have perished in mine affliction but thou having been exercised in the word so much and Gods name not Sanctifed thou must not expect to have thy soul comforted in the day of thy affliction No marvail then though the word hath been applied again and again to your hearts and nothing would stick I remember it was an expression of one in a great deal of terror of conscience many came to apply comfortable Scriptures to him and he himself for a while did take those Scriptures and lay them upon his heart to passifie his troubled conscience but a little before he dyed he cries out with a most fearful terror there is a fair plaister made but it will 〈◊〉 on it will not stick on so dyed despairing so there is in the word such a plaister as may help a wounded and troubled conscience but 〈◊〉 thou expect that hast not Sanctified Gods name in thy life time that it shall stick upon thy soul in the day of thy affliction never expect it for the Lord hath said otherwise Prov. 1. Because when I cryed and call'd ye would not hear you shall cry and call and I will not hear The Lord in his word cries to thee Oh thou sinful soul who art going on in the waies of sin and eternal destruction Return return that is the way that will bring thee to eternal miseries but here is the way that will bring thee to life and eternal salvation Thus the Lord cries and cals to day to day and thou stoppest thy eare Oh how just is it with God to stop his eare from thy crying and calling in the day of thy affliction 10 Further Know that thou that doest not Sanctifie the name of God in his word that all the word of God will be made good one day upon thee God hath his time to magnifie his Law and to make it honorable Isa 42. 21. You sight Gods Law you slight his word and despise it but God will magnifie it and make it honorable there is not any sentence that thou hast heard in the word but it shall be made good whatsoever becomes of thy soul Thou thinkest that God is a merciful God he will not damn thee but though God be merciful hath regard to his creatures yet the Lord hath ten thousand times more regard to his word then to all the souls of men and women in the world and God will stand to make that good he will not have such regard to that wretched vile sinful soul of thine as not to honour his word he will honour his word whatsoever becomes of thee and all that thou hast heard and rejected shall be made good upon thee one day 11 Again the word that thou doest reject and sin against it shall be the word that shall judge thee Joh. 12. 48. Look to it as well as you will this book of God out of which we preach and those truths that we delivered to you from this word
read and hear such things in the word that if I were but sure that these things were my portion how happy should I be Here 's one sign by which thou mayest be assured that they are all thy portion Is it thy unfained care to Sanctifie Gods name in the hearing of his word Oh peace be to thee all the good in the word is thine And here we might fall into a comendation of the word of the Gospel and if I should give way to that a great deal of time would quickly be gone I will only give you one Scripture for your encouragement to Sanctifie Gods name in the hearing of his word by way of comendation of it It is Rom. 10. 5. a place I am afraid you have not had the sweetnesse of it for the want of understanding it It is quoted out of Deut. For Moses describeth the Righteousness which is of the Law that the man which doth those things shall live by them But the Righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise Say not in thine heart who shall ascend into heaven that is to bring Christ down from above or who shall descend into the deep that is to bring Christ again from the dead But what saith it the word is nigh thee even in thy mouth and in thy heart that is the word of faith which we preach The text hath some difficulty and yet exceeding sweet to us to know it I confesse if the Apostle Paull had not quoted this place out of Deut. and thus interpreted it who could ever have thought in reading of Deut. that by the one had been ment the word of the Law and by the other the word of the Gospel therefore the meaning is this here is a comparison between the word of the Law and the word of the Gospel Concerning the word of the Law there is two things wherein that comes short of the word of the Gospel First It is not so nigh thee Secondly It is not so certain to assure thy Soul what shall become of thee to all eternity The word of the Law saith who shall ascend into heaven c. But the word of the Gospel is nigh thee even in thy mouth and in thy heart You will say Why is not the word of the Law as nigh one as the word of the Gospel I Answer The word of the Law you hear it in your eares but it is not written in the heart as the word of the Gospel is The Law cannot work savingly upon the heart of a man to bring salvation those that are meerly Legall they can hear the duties that are required but that word hath no power to write in their hearts what they do hear But now when you come to hear the word of the Gospel that is nigh you even in your very hearts as well as in your eares God speaks in it and it comes into your hearts and there it works efficaciously which the Law cannot The Law is but as a dead Letter in comparison of the word of the Gospel If you come meerly to hear the Law preached and not in an Evangellicall way you may hear it a hundred times and it will never be written in your hearts But when you come to hear the Gospel in an Evangellicall way that will come to be written in your hearts So that the word of the Gospel is nigh you But what is the meaning of the other Say not who shall ascend up into heaven c The meaning is this As if the Apostle should say The truth is while you have no other but the righteousnesse of the Law you are at an infinit uncertainty about your eternal estates The Law saith Do and live but you can never know when you have done enough so as to be certain that you are well for eternity That saith Who shall ascend into heaven to know the mind of God concerning me whether he will accept of me and of that obedience and worship that I tender up to him Who shall go down into the deep Who shall go down to Hell to know there whether that place be prepared for him or not It is a phrase that only expresseth an uncertainty that one cannot be satisfied about his eternall estate except he could go to heaven and there see and read Gods book and so discover Gods mind concerning him or go down to hell and so know whether that place be appointed for him or not except I can do one of these I can not certainly tell meerly by the Law whether I shall go to heaven or hell As you that are Merchants and dealers abroad you are at a great deal of uncertainty what shall become of your estates Indeed if I could send one over to the Indies to tell me how my Ship prospered then I could be at a certainty then I should hear whether I were a rich man yea or no but except I could do such a thing I am at an uncertainty Such is the expression here As if a poor soul should say I would fain be saved and loth to perish eternally But all the while the soul remains under the Law it remains in an uncertain condition but now saith he The Word of the Gospel is nigh thee even in thine heart And that is the Word that we preach that saith Rom. 10. 9. If thou shalt confesse with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt beleeve in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved As if he should say This word of the Gospel that is come into thine heart doth assure thy soul of thy eternall estate so that though thou canst not go up to heaven nor go down to hell yet thou hast that in thine heart that doth as it were assure thee that thou shalt be eternally saved as if thou wert able to go up to the highest heavens and fetch newes from thence Oh now the good word of the Gospel how should we prize it and keep it in our hearts for that 's in our hearts that wil assure us of our salvation to all eternity of Gods eternal purpose to do the good in heaven You would account it a great happines if there could be any art to send abroad to the Straits or to other place to know how things fare with you but now if thou hast the word of the Gospel within thee if that prevails in thy Soul thou hast alwaies got something in thy heart that will tel thee how things are with thee in heaven and what shall become of thee for all eternity Oh who would not sanctifie the Name of God in hearing of his word seeing it is such a blessed word wherein the Gospel is opened with more clearnesse then it hath been to many of our fore-fathers 2 It is a certain evidence of your election in Thess 1. 3 4 5. Remembring without ceasing your work of Faith and labour of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the
sight of God and our Father Knowing Brethren beloved your election of God Why For our Gospel came not to you in word only but also in power and in the holy Ghost and in much assurance And know this excellency there is in sanctifying Gods name in hearing the word I beseech you mark it that it is a more blessed thing then if you did bear Jesus Christ in your wombes You that are women would not you have accounted it a great happines if Christ had been borne in your wombes Now if thou comest to the hearing of the word and sanctifiest Gods name in it thou art in a better condition and hast a greater blessing upon thee then if thou hadest borne Jesus Christ in thy womb In Luk. 11. 27. 28. And it came to passe as he spake these things that a certain woman of the company lift up her voice and said unto him Blessed is the womb that bare thee and the paps which thou hast sucked Seeing Christ and what gracious things came from him she spake so But he said Yea rather blessed are they that hear the word of God keep it That is Labour to sanctifie my name as hath been opened in the particulars rather is that women blessed that do so then the woman that bare Christ Me thinks this one scripture should be such a scripture for women to cause them to sanctifie Gods name in hearing of the word instead of a hundred scriptures certainly thou maiest be so blessed if thou wilt beleeve the word that comes from Christs mouth 3 Do you sanctifie the name of God in the Word that wil sanctifie you by that your souls come to be sanctified it wil comfort you in the day of your affliction it will save you at last 4 You that do sanctifie Gods name in the hearing of his Word you will be the glory of the Ministers of God at the great day of judgement You will be an honour to them before the Lord and his Saints and Angels In Phil. 2. 16. Holding forth saith the text the word of life This is the duty of all the hearers of the word that they must hold forth the word of life when you go home you must hold forth the power of the word you hear well what will become of that That I may rejoyce in the day of Christ that I have not runne in vain neither laboured in vain Let that be one motive among the rest saith the Apostle this will be such a glory to me that I in the day of Jesus Christ shall rejoyce that I have not laboured in vain I shall blesse God for all my studies and care and all the pains that ever I have taken and ventring my self for this People I shall blesse God in the day of Jesus Christ Would it not be a comfortable thing to you that all the Ministers of God that come to preach the word faithfully to you If at the day of Jesus Christ you should hear them blessing God that ever he did send them to preach the Gospel in such a place and you should hear them saying Oh Lord it may be had I been sent to another place I should have spent all my strength in vain but through thy mercy I was sent to a teachable people that were ready to imbrace thy word Oh this is my crown and glory Would it not do good to any whose hearts are faithful to think this that their holding forth the word of life will not only be a glory to God which is the cheif but it will be a glory to the Ministers to recompence all their labours that you shall not only be saved your selves in the day of Jesus Christ but you shall adde to the glory of his faithful Ministers likewise when they do appear before Christ 5 I shall adde one particular more There is a time coming when God shall magnifie his word before men and Angels In Iâ—â— 22. 21. He will magnifie his Law and make it honorable What a joy shal it be to thee when the Lord before men and Angels shall come to magnifie his word and make it honorable for thee then to think This is the word that spoke to my heart at such and such a time this is that word that I did reverence that I did obey that I did love that I made to be the joy of my heart this word the Lord now doth magnifie and make to be honorable This will be comfortable to thy Soul The Eleventh SERMON The Eleventh SERMON LEVITICUS 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me THE last day we finished the point of Sanctification of the name of God in the hearing of his Word and now wee will proceed to the Sanctification of the name of God in receiving the Sacrament that 's the next duty of worship Now first for the word Sacrament I confesse wee have not that word in all the Scripture as neither have we the word Trinitie and divers other words that Ministers make use of to set forth the Mysteries of Religion by but yet it is usefull to consider the meaning why Ministers in the Church have given this name unto those signes and seals that the Church receives Sacrament is to hallow a thing or to dedicate because in the Sacraments there are outward things that are made holy for holy and spirituall ends Secondly wee our selves do as it were hallow or dedicate our selves unto God in the use of these Ordinances that 's one reason from whence it hath the name Or otherwise as some will have it Sacramentum because it is to be received Sacramente with a holy mind and therefore cald the Sacrament The Churches have used it a long time in Tertullians time which was above fourteen hundred years agoe he was the first that we find used this word and most that would open the word unto us say that especially it was taken from the practise of Souldiers who when they came and listed themselves bound themselves in a solemne oath to be faithful to their Captaine and to the Cause that they did undertake and the oath they were wont to call Sacramentum A Sacrament Now in regard that Christians when they come to this Ordinance they come to seale a Covenant with God and though they doe not formally and explicitely take an oath yet they bind themselves in a holy Covenant which hath the strength even of an oath in it For a solemne Promise to the high God hath the strength of an oath in it and from thence they were cald by these names Sacraments but that for the word that you may understand it But the word the Scripture useth to set out this Sacrament by that now I am speaking of is the Communion of the body and bloud of Christ so you have it in 1 Cor. 10. 6. The Cup of blessing which we blesse is it not the Communion of the bloud of Christ The bread which we break is it
an Officer stept up and cried holy things for holy men and then all others were to goe out and therefore it was called missa though the Papists did corrupt it and so called it the masse afterwards by mixing their own inventions in stead of the Supper of the Lord but it had that name at first I say this holy Communion was calld by the name of missa because that all others were sent away and only such as were of the Church and accounted godly staid holy things to holy men And this must needs be so because that the nature of it being the Seal of the Covenant of grace requires it it must be supposed that all that come hither must be in Covenant with God they must be such as have been brought to submit to the Condition of the Covenant Now the Condition of the Covenant of grace is Beleeve and be saved it is therefore appointed for beleevers And as the nature of it being a Seal supposeth a Covenant so none can have this Covenant sealed to them but those that doe first submit to it and are brought into Covenant when you make an Indenture and put to the Seale certainly the Seale belongs only to those that have their names in the Indenture Now t is true though mens names are not mentioned in the word yet the condition is to those that are brought in to beleeve in Jesus Christ saith God I come now to seale all my mercies in Christ to their soules We abuse God if we come to take the Seal to a blanke it is to make this Ordinance a ridiculous thing therefore there must be some transactions between God and your souls before you come to the Seale if a man should say to you come set to your seale to such a thing and there were never any kind of transactions between this man and you before you would account it ridiculous after there hath been agreements between you you use then to seale So it must be here I would appeal to many of your Consciences that have come to the Lords Supper what transactions have there been between God and your soules canst thou say the Lord was pleased to reveale himselfe to mee to make known to mee my wretched condition and the way of grace and salvation and shewed me that upon my comming in to receive his Son he would be mercifull to me and pardon my sins and I have found the Spirit of God working my heart to Jesus Christ the Lord from heaven speaking to me and I sending an Answer to heaven againe how willing my soule was to accept of the Covenant which the Lord hath made with poor Creatures in the word of his Gospell canst thou say this in the uprightnesse of thy heart if not know that this Seale belongs not to thee untill the Lord hath by his word subdued thy heart to this agreement first with him Secondly This Ordinance it is the Ordinance of spiritual nourishment of eating the flesh of Christ and drinking his bloud in a spirituall way Now it must needs suppose that first there must be life before there can be any nourishment received in If it be appointed to nourish and increase grace then surely there must be grace before what nourishment can a dead child take the very first thing that is to be done is nourishment here The word hath power to convey life and then to nourish but we read of no such thing here but that which is to be done here is presently to feed to eat and to drinke that 's the end of the Sacrament therefore it must be supposed that thou must have spiritual life there must come no dead Soule to this Ordinance but those who are quickned by the Spirit of Jesus Christ they must come for nourishment Thirdly the act here required doth note that only those that are holy and godly can receive this Sacrament we are required by the Apostle to examine our selves To examine our selves of what it must be of our godlinesse examine what worke of God hath been upon the soule how God hath brought the soule to himselfe and what Graces of the Spirit of God are there And how we have been brought into Covenant with God now if only those can receive worthily and are to come that first examine themselves then certainly such only as are godly are to come for they only can performe those acts that are required Fourthly It s a Sacrament of Communion with God and Communion with the Saints now what Communion hath Light and Darknesse or what fellowship hath Christ with Belial If it be a Sacrament of Communion of coming to the Table of God will God have his enemies to come to his Table you will invite no enemies to your Tables but your children and friends so they must be the children of God and the friends of God these that are reconciled to God in the bloud of his Son and those that are his children that must sit at his Table therefore they must be holy Now this may suffice for that first thing that this is not an Ordinance for all sorts of people but such as have submitted to the condition of the Covenant before Such as have grace and abilitie to examine themselves of their graces and such as are children and reconciled to God and so are fit to sit at the Table of God and to enjoy Communion with him and with his Son and with the Saints for we are one body sacramentally when we come to this holy Ordinance all others therefore certainly are to be kept from this Sacrament but such 2 The second thing will make it out more fully and that is it is not enough that wee be holy our selves and so all ignorant prophane and scandalous yea all that are meerly civil that can not make out any work of Godlinesse upon their hearts in bringing them to Christ are excluded But 1 It is to be done in a holy Communion and is cleer out of that place in 1 Cor. 10. 16 17. The Cup of blessing which wee blesse is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ the bread which wee break is it not the Communion of the body of Christ and then saith the Apostle in the 17. verse for we being many are one bread and one body therefore all that come to receive the Sacrament they must so come as they must be one body one spiritual Corporation this very consideration that those with whom we receive the Sacrament are one body with us it hath a great deale in it for the helping of us to sanctifie Gods Name this Ordinance I say it is to be received only in a holy Communion one Christian cannot receive the Sacrament alone there must be a Communion wheresoever it is to be administered it is not enough there is one Godly man there but there must be a Communion of Saints and in that communion it is to be received Quest You will say must it be received in
the pretious from the vile the Ordinance of casting out the wicked and ungodly It were a very diseased body and in danger quickly of the losse of life to take in every thing into it and to have no expulsive faculty to purge any thing out again so a congregation that is altogether without such an Ordinance as that is of expelling such as are wicked and ungodly I say I find no Scripture that doth force people and require them as bound in conscience to continue there where they may not enjoy all the Ordinances of Jesus Christ and the right understanding of what I say now will help us to answer all those Scriptures that are brought As if it be that of Judas first it is hard to make it out cleer whether it were the Lords Supper that he received yea or no but suppose it be granted that he did yet I make no question but such as Judas was that shall continue to make such an outward profession as he did and could not be discovered in the Church-way but that we may receive with such as are close hypocrites You will say Jesus Christ knew him to be faulty and he told John that lay in his bosome what he was but though he knew him as he was God yet he deals with him in his Ministeriall way and he had appointed before that none were to be cast out but were to be dealt withall in such a Ministeriall way so that it is not enough though I knew by Revelation from God that such a man were an hypocrite suppose God should reveale from heaven to me that such a man were an hypocrite I think I might communicate with him still when he doth not so farre discover himself that I can by witnesses prove his evill therefore though men be wicked yet it doth not defile the communion where they are if there hath been that way used that Christ hath appointed for to be observed in his Church And when that is done then I am to withdraw from him and to professe against communion with him so that its enough to answer the case We read likewise that there were divers wicked men among the Corinthians and of Tares that grew in the Wheat It 's true there were wicked men among them but they were enjoyned by the Apostle to cast out those wicked men and if they did not do it it was their sin and they were defiled by it And for Tares that were among the Wheat take it that this is meant concerning the Church suppose it were and yet Christ saith plainly that the field is the World and 't is the godly and the wicked living together in the World and so I find many interpreters take it but howsoeuer take it that it is meant of the Church-communion yet thus far is clear that it was through the fault of the officers that there should be any Tares among the Wheat for so the text saith plainly that while the servants slept there did Tares spring up therefore there should have been none Secondly they were not such Tares as would spoyle the Wheat but as Jerom saith in those countries the Tares did grow much like Wheat all the while it was in the blade so that they were hardly to be distinguished though some that were of more understanding were able to discern them from the Wheat therefore though such as do grow up like unto the Wheat may be suffered and yet in this case only that is in case that it will prejudice the Wheat that is when they are so close to the Wheat as there will be danger by plucking them up to pluck up the Wheat too then they must be let alone Mark first it was through the negligence of the officers they should have been kept out Secondly if they do get in yet while they grow so close to the Wheat as there will be danger that when you pluck out them to pluck out the wheat too only in that case it must be forborne but this gives no liberty that therefore all sorts may be let into the Church and there should be no kind of Ordinance to cast out those that are venomous weeds that will do hurt and mischiefe But if you understand it as many do concerning the World then the meaning is thus the Preaching of the Gospell that comes to a place and ther 's only good seed sown and is a means of the conversion of many but together with the conversion of some there are others that do heare the Gospel Preached and the truth is they being mingled among the hearers of the Word in stead of bringing forth good fruit according to the Gospel they bring forth the Tares now saith the servant Lord how comes it to passe that we preach such excellent truths in this place and yet there are so many wicked men that bring forth such wicked fruit Lord is it thy mind that we should be wholly separated from them and have nothing to do with them that there should be a full separation while we live in this world no saith Christ not so for then the truth is if all godly men should wholly withdraw from wicked men and beleeve that they may not live among them they could not live in the world if you did beleeve it were your duty not so much as to live near a wicked man nor to have any thing to do in any kind of converse with him there would be no Wheat growing in this field of the world here and therefore you must be content when you live where the Preaching of the Gospel is and the seed brings forth good fruit in some and in others it brings forth Tares you must not be offended by this that here in this world God doth not by some visible stroke of judgement come and strike them dead or that God doth not take some course that there should be a full separation here but that they might live together till the day of judgement here I say you shall not have such a full separation so that you see it carries a very faire sense to take the field to be the world and the kingdome of Heaven there to be the Preaching of the Gospel in any place and so we must bee content while we live in this world to bee where wicked and ungodly men are But it doth not follow from this place that we are to have converse in the closest communion in Church-communion with wicked men to be made one body by eating the same bread and drinking the same wine it holds not forth such close communion as this is so that ther 's little strength can be taken from that place but still it holds that wheresoever there is the Sacrament of the Lords Supper there must be a holy communion of Saints Object The Scripture only saith let us examine our selves Answ I grant for the benefit to mine own soule I must look to examine my selfe more especially but now for another I am but onely
I am going to God for to set a due prior upon those mercies that I am praying for and to get my heart affected with them Thirdly labour to get your hearts separated from the world and from all things that are here below in the world and that should have been a third thing in the course of your lives you should never let out you hearts to any creature either to businesses or pleasures in the world so but that you may have command of your hearts to call them when you will to call them in to God in prayer and then when you come to prayer there should be an actuall separation of your hearts from all things in the world dedicating yourselves to God for this time as one that hath nothing to do with the world nothing to do with any thing but this duty that now you are about this is the preparation of your hearts to prayer in the course of your lives Now then for the prayer its selfe First we must consider of the matter of prayer And Secondly of the manner of it First for the matter of it we must look to it that it be according to Gods will 1 John 5. 14. this is the confidence that wee have in him that if wee ask any thing according to his will hee heareth us therefore for the matter we must be sure it must be good that we pray for it must bee for the glory of God for the good of our selves and the good of our Brethren First for the glory of God that should be the cheife matter that we are to pray for so Christ when he teaches us to pray he begins the very first petition Matth. 6. 9 10. hallowed be thy name thy Kingdome come thy will be done first begin with the the glory of God mind that in the cheife place above all other things God gives you leave to pray for outward things but first for the glory of God minding that before your own benefit before the pardon of sin and your daily bread how few doe sanctifie Gods name in this people have little mind to pray but when they are in outward afflictions when they are upon their sick beds then they will pray or at sea in stormes then they will pray then it seemes that the maine matter of your prayer is onely for your selves but how hath the matters of the glory of the great God and the good of the Churches taken your hearts all this while how have your hearts been affected with this that the name of God hath been so little sanctifyed in the world and that the Kingdome of God hath not come and that the will of God hath not been done have these things taken up your hearts in prayer the matters of the glory of God and the good of the Churches though your selves have not any particular interest in them if these things did but take up your hearts in prayer then when you are at sea you would remember the cause of the Churches as much as your selves the Church is as it were in the midst of the sea tost up and downe and in a great storme now why do not you pray as earnestly for the Kingdome of Christ among his Churches as for your selves when you are in a storme at sea yea and spirituall things should be the cheife matter of your prayer for they are the neerest to the glory of God though God hath his glory from other things yet spirituall things are neerest the glory of God now in these dayes of prayer many will come to pray that they might be freed from danger that they might have outward peace this is good but spirituall things are the cheife things and therefore the strength of your spirits should be thus powred forth to God O that I could get my heart to God and the assurance of the love of God! O that I could get the shine of his face O that I could get power over such and such corruptions And I beseech you observe this that spirituall things may be prayed for absolutely but outward things must be prayed for conditionally I may pray and never put any condition in at all that the Lord would pardon my sins and help me against my corruptions c. But when I pray for the health of my body I ought to pray if this bee according to thy will then restore mee to the health of my body or the health of my husband or the health of my wife but thou mayst pray Lord convert the soule of my husband or the soule of my wife without any condition at all when your estates at Sea are in danger when you pray for them you must make conditions Lord as thou seest best for me so do thou deale with me this shewes the excellencie that there is in spirituall things above outward things surely spirituall things are more to be desired for they are to be prayed for absolutely and the other to be prayed for only conditionally that 's for the first In the second place we are to pray for our own good God doth give us leave so to doe only here comes in a question Quest Whether it be sinfull to pray for afflictions as sometimes some will be ready to do Answ To that I answer first take it absolutely considered we may not pray that God would afflict us because affliction is in its selfe materially an evill thing and a fruit of the curse therefore we may not I say absolutely pray for it but thus farre wee may pray for afflictions disjunctively conditionally comparatively Disjunctively thus Lord either grant unto me a sanctified use of such a mercy or otherwise let me rather be without it let me have a sanctified use of my sicknesse or otherwise let my sicknesse be continued to mee thus now you may pray for continuing in sicknesse Or thus conditionally Lord if thou seest that my heart be so vile and wretched that I will abuse through my corruption such and such mercies Lord rather take them from mee and let mee be without them if thou seest that there be no way to break this proud heart of mine but such a way Lord let that be thy way to break it if thou seest it according to thy will as the fittest way Then comparatively thus Lord rather let mee have any affliction then sin rather let me suffer losse of my estate then sin against thee then depart from thee any thing Lord rather then sin Thus you may pray for afflictions but not absolutely You must not pray that God would send you afflictions absolutely for you doe not know your hearts it may bee if afflictions should come your hearts may be as stubborne under your afflictions as they are now for affliction hath no power in it selfe to do us any good And then for the good of others for Christ teaches us to pray Our Father There comes in here a rebuke of the wicked practice of divers in cursing and then a question
complaine much of the vanity of their thoughts they were wont to pray before and they never had such vaine thoughts as now they have the reason why there is so much vanity of thoughts or at least so much taken notice of It is first because there is but a little grace in the midst of a great deale of corruption in young converts like a spark of fire in the middest of a great deale of ashes now if there lies a heap of ashes and nothing else â—ou do not stirre them but if there be ashes and some fire then you will stir them and be blowing those sparkes to kindle another fire by Now when you come to make any motion then the ashes will fly about whereas before they lay still so it is here before God wrought upon thy heart there was nothing else but ashes upon thy soule and then they lay still but now God hath kindled some sparks of grace in thy heart and God is blowing them up to a greater heat and is bringing of them to a flame upon this motion that is in thy heart aud the stirring to kindle those sparks further in thy heart it is that the ashes of thy corruptions do as it were fly about thine eares and that there is such stirrings of corruption more then there was before 't is not because there is more corruption then there was formerly but before there being nothing else but corruption it lay still and now because there is something else therefore it is that corruption doth so stirre and besides you know a man that was wont to keep lewd company if God turne him that he will keep that company no more at first he shall be more troubled with them then he was before and they will keep oftener knocking at his doore and labouring to get him to them againe so 't is here when the soule vanity and lusts were as friends together there was no disturbance and taking notice of any thing then but now when the soule is casting out those sinfull distempers and will have no more of them they for the present will be more importunate active and stiring then they were before And besides the Lord doth this to humble thy heart the more that thereby thou maiest come to see the great corruption that was in thy soule before the working of thy corruptions will discover much evill in thy heart that thou didest not think was there before when the corruptions of men and women lie still they think there is no such thing in their soules as your civill men what 's the reason that they blesse themselves and think they are in a good condition it s because their corruptions lie still in them and doe not stirre they cannot beleeve what abundance of wickednesse there is in their hearts if God should open the wickednesse that there is in the hearts of men naturally and so all unregenerate men they would thinke you speak strange riddles whereas they blesse themselves they blesse God they know no such thing in their hearts not yes there are such things only they are not stird but they lie quiet as mudde in the bottome of a pond there it is yet you cannot see it till it be stird at first conversion I say the Lord suffers thy corruption thus to stir that hee may discover to thee what an evill heart thou hast what abundance of sin there is in thy heart and therefore your young converts they look upon themselves more loathsome and vile then ever they thought they had been And besides the Devil sees it a vaine thing to tempt a young convert to any grosse act of sin when conscience hath life and power in it heâ— shall never prevaile that way but now hee thinks he may prevail to disturbe them with vaine thoughts and therefore he layes his strength most that way therefore let not such be discouraged that find their Spirits anoyed and pestered with them if they make them to be the burden of their Soules notwithstanding much vanity of thoughts the Lord wil accept of any desire that they have to sanctifie his name in holy dutyes and I shall give you these three or four rules to helpe you against these wandering and vaine thoughts in holy dutyes and especially in prayer First when thou goest to prayer account it to be a great worke set a high price upon thy prayer not as having any excellencie in it as it comes from thee but set a high price upon it as a great Ordinance of God wherein there is Communion with God to be enjoyed and the influence of the grace of God to be conveyed through it so set a high price upon prayer at every time thou art going to prayer Lord I am now setting upon a worke that is of very great consequence and much lies upon it and I would account it to be a sore and a great evill to me if I should lose but this prayer this would bee a speciall meanes to compose thy Spirit and to keep thee from wandering as Nehemiah in Nehem. 6. 3. a place that I have sometimes quoted upon such an occasion when the enemies of Nehemiah that would hinder the building of the Temple sent to him that they might talke together no saith hee I am doing a great worke so that I cannot come downe so when the Devill and the vanity of thine owne heart would send to thee to parly and talke as it were with thee give an Answer I cannot stand parlying with these things the worke that I am about is a great worke there are very few people that do account the worke of prayer a great worke if thou didst it would helpe thee much against the vanity of thy thoughts Secondly Every time thou goest to prayer thou that art most troubled with such vaine thoughts renew thy resolutions against them I have been troubled with vain thoughts heretofore and am afraid if I looke not to it that I shall lose this prayer also and therefore O Lord here I renew my resolutions to set against them in this prayer with all my might it is very much that may be done by strong resolutions and especially if thy strong resolutions be renewed resolutions for an old resolution begins to grow weak a man that hath resolved upon a thing a great while agoe it hath little power ever him but now when a man hath resolved upon a thing but this morning and just at the time when he is going about it now hee doth resolve upon it and set himselfe upon it and doth resolve through the grace of God that whatsoever difficultie he meets with all whatsoever it cost him that he will goe through this worke I say that resolutions renewed have a great deale of power and you cannot imagine what a great deale of power the renewing of resolution against vaine thoughts will have if they were renewed every time thou goest to prayer untill thou gettest power over thy thoughts do but make
other way or one taking up one end and the other the other end that is the meaning of it he helpes our infirmities the poore foule is pulling and tugging with its own heart and finds his heart heavy and dull like a logge in a ditch and have not many of you found your hearts so but now then when you are tugging with your hearts and would faine lift up your hearts to God in prayer there comes the Spirit of God at the other end and takes the heaviest end of the burden and helpes you to lift it up if a child were at one end of the logge and that were but light and the other end very heavy if one come and take up the heaviest end a little strength will serve for the lighter end so the Spirit comes and takes up the heavier end in duty and so helps our infirmities helpes together and then the other word is The Spirit that is together with the acting of the graces of the Spirit in our hearts you must not say so alasse what can I doe it must be the Spirit of God that must doe all it is true hee doth all First he gives converting and habituall grace and assisting and actuating grace but now when the Spirit hath wrought grace so as to convert the heart and hath given habituall grace in thy heart why then when the Spirit comes to assist it doth expect that thou shouldest stirre up all the gifts and graces of the Spirit and the very strength of thy body the Spirit of God expects that thou shouldest act to the uttermost thou art able what power hath been given thee by God and when thou art in acting then the Spirit comes and helpes together with us noting that we are to put forth what strength we have and thus Gods name will be sanctified when as wee putting forth the graces of the Spirit in us then the Spirit comes and helpes and what comes from us now comes from the breathings of the holy-Spirit in us and then God who knowes the meaning of the Spirit will know now the meaning of our sighs and groanes therefore when thou art going to prayer thou art to eye the Spirit of God thou art by the eye of faith to looke upon the Spirit of God and to cast thy soule upon the assistance of the Spirit of God thou art to looke upon the holy-Ghost as appointed by the Father and the Son to that office to bee a helper to his poore servants in the duties of worship and especially in that great duty of prayer now upon the reading of this text and having it thus opened this is one good helpe for thee in prayer read this text and then exercise thy faith upon it Lord hast thou not said that thy Spirit helpes our infirmities when we know not what to pray for nor how to pray for any thing as we ought but the Spirit will come now Lord make good this word of thine to my soule at this time and let mee have the breathings of the Spirit of God in me alasse the breaths of men if it come from gifts and parts I know thou wilt never regard it except there be the breathings of the holy-Ghost in mee in prayer now if you would know whether the Spirit of God doth come in or no you may know it by this the Spirit of God carries unto God and it makes the prayer sweet and delightfull so much of the Spirit of God as is there it comes to the soule in the duty and it leaves a savour behind it a gratious savour is alwaies left behind when the Spirit of God comes to breath O the breath of the Spirit of God is a sweet breath and it makes prayers sweet it never comes into the Soule but after it hath done any worke it came for it leaves a sweet sent after that the soule finds a sweetnesse in that prayer now many of you have been in the morning at prayer but I appeal to you what sweet savour of the Spirit of God is left behind certainly if the Spirit hath been there it is like civil that is put into a little box though you should take out the civit yet there will be a sweet savour left behind so though the Spirit of God in respect of the present assistance withdraws it self yet it leaves a sweet savour behind The fourth thing is purity of heart pure heart and hands in Heb. 10. 22. Rev. 5. 8. having every one of them harpes and golden vials full of odours which are the prayers of Saints mark the prayers of the Saints are odours in golden vials the golden vials I may compare to the heart the hearts of the Saints must be as golden vials and then their prayers will be as odours in 1 Tim. 2. 8. the holy-Ghost giving directions how wee should pray it is with this qualification I will therefore that men pray every where lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting the outward conversation must be pure and the heart pure in Job 22. 26. marke what 's said concerning that holy man there 's a promise made to him for the lifting up of his face to God putting away iniquitie from his Tabernacle that by putting away evill from our Tabernacles and so from our hearts we may be able to lift up our hearts with joy to goe and that 's the fift thing purity of heart and hands The sixt thing is in truth when we come to call upon God we must call upon him in truth Psal 145. 18. the Lord is nigh unto all to all that call upon him in truth you will say what is the meaning of that to that I answer First there must be inward dispositions answerable to the expressions as for instance when I come to expresse the greatnesse of the majestie of God then I must have an inward disposition sutable to this expression I must have a feare and reverence of the infinite majestie of God Secondly When I come to confesse my sin to judge my selfe for my sin there must be an inward disposition sutable to such a confession O how many men and women will come and speak great things against themselves for their sins and judge themselves for their sins and yet there is no such disposition in their hearts sutable to their words you shall have some in praying with others they will be a meanes to break the hearts of others they will so follow their sin and take such shame and confusion upon themselves for their sin and yet God knows their hearts not stird all this while and then they will call upon God for pardon of sin and for power against their sin and yet God knowes that their hearts do close with their sin and are loath to part with their sin in the mean time this is falsenesse of heart when the inward disposition is not answerable to outward expressions I beseech you my brethren consider of the prayers you have made and especially
is more then to read in a book more then to say a few words yee see it is a very hard thing to pray a work of great difficultie and no marvell though we have lost so many of our prayers as we have done we must not charge prayer and God with it but look to our selves I mean not charge the Ordinance of prayer but the vilenesse of our carriage in our prayers and let us for time to come know what a Christian life meanes it is said of Christ in Luke 9. 29. that as hee was praying the fashion of his countenance was changed Oh that 's an excellent thing that when wee have been in our closets at prayer to come away with our faces shining my Brethren could we but pray in such a manner as this is the very fashion of our countenances would be changed as Moses when he came from the presence of God upon the Mount or as Christ that had the fashion of his countenance changed Prayer it is the sweet ease of ones spirit it s the help at a dead lift it s the great Ordinance of our Communion with God in this world and therefore let us learne this Art of sanctifying Gods name in Prayer I shall conclude all in this you have heard the mystery of the sanctifying the name of God in worshipping God now I beseech you you that have been a long time in the school of Christ as it were Apprentices to Christ to learn Christianity be ashamed that you have understood so little of this art in Sanctifying the name of God in prayer It is an art and a mystery that you must be instructed in and you are not Christians till you are instructed in this as in an art and mystery And that man and woman that shall be instructed truly in this art and mystery in Sanctifying Gods name now in the worshiping of him such a man and woman shall be to all eternity Sanctifying the name of God in praysing of him There is a time coming when all the Saints must be in the presence of God and be alwaies praising of him and they shall then Sanctifie Gods name for ever let us now learn this art of Sanctifying Gods name in praying that we may eternally Sanctifie his name in praising of him FINIS ERRATA PAge 94. line 9. for capitall read corporeall Pag. 182. l. 25. for world r. word Pag. 226. l. 36. f. come r. we come Pag. 247. l. 3. f. which r. with Pag. 251. l. 21. f. with r of Pag. 252. l. 34. f. body r. blood Pag. 259. l. 20. f. is r. as Pag. 263. l. 9. f. whereas r. when Pag. 267. l. 3. f. plucking r. partaking FINIS AN EXACT ALPHABETICAL TABLE OF ALL THE PRINCIPAL TRUTHS IN THE FOREGOING SERMONS A Absolutly SPirituall things to be prayed for absolutly 277 Accept Acceptation Acceptation of our persons the means of it 69 God accepts not the duties of wicked men 116 The services of the Saints accepted 120 Act Actuall Action see Grace Actuall sanctification 68 The Lord accepts the person before the action 69 God is a pure act and requires actuall service 97 Adoption Sign of adoption to desire to be oft in Gods presence 36 We must pray in the spirit of adoption 294 Affections Affections the strength of them required in Gods worship 82 Aggravation Aggravation of sin to neglect due hearing the word 200 Afflictions see Honour They that sanctifie not God in hearing the word can have no comfort from it in afflictions 206 Whether it be lawfull to pray for afflictions 277 Afflictions in themselves materially evill 278 All All that we have must be given to God 63 All things sanctified to the godly 119 Altar Christ is the Altar upon which 〈◊〉 offer all our sacrifices 92 Angel Angel what it signifieth 91 Angels the aggravation of their sin 195 Anger Anger not to be brought into Gods service 19 Apply We must apply the word in hearing it 175 Apostacie see Schisme Apostacie the ground of it 206 Assurance The Gospel gives assurance of salvation 212 Attention Attention must be given in hearing of the word 171 B Beginners Beginners in Religion to be carefull of preparation 56 Beleeving Beleeving the condition of the Covenant of Grace 232 Birds Wandring thoughts in prayer as the birds to Abrahams sacrifice 283 Blast God blasts those men that sanctifie him not in worship 117 God will blast those that neglect his word 208 Blesse Many blesse themselves in evill wayes 198 To blesse God for helping us against wandring thoughts in prayer 289 Blind Blind sacrifice not to be offered to God 98 Bloud A fearfull thing to be guilty of Christs bloud 230 Breathing see Spirit Broken see Heart What kind of broken heart is required in receiving the Lords Supper 255 Christs Body broken for us 268 C Children Gods Saints may meet with afflictions in their Children 20 Ground of contentment in afflictions upon our Children 21 Church Church what it signifieth 235 Church defiled by wicked men uncastout 236 Civill see Worship Christ All worship must be tendered in the Name of Christ 91 All must be tendered in Christ because of Gods justice 101 They that reject the word reject Christ 201 All our prayers must be tendered in the Name of Christ 296 Command Nothing must be tendered to God in worship but what he hath Commanded 8 No expresse Command for many things in the New Testament 15 Comfort see Word Communion Communion with God not increased by the duties done with naturall conscience 88 The Sacrament the Ordinance of our Communion with Christ 229 The Sacrament must be received in a holy Communion 234 How far the presence of wicked men hinder this Communion 235 No close Church Communion with wicked men 240 More Communion with Christ in the Sacrament then in the word 251 Confession Ground of confession to God 98 Conscience Sinners against conscience need great preparation to duties 57 Duties acted by naturall Conscience 88 Naturall Conscience limits it self in duties 89 Trouble of Conscience should make men meekly hear the word 180 Consciences of wicked men troubled about the Sacrament 230 Constant Men acted by naturall parts are not constant in duties 88 There must be constancy in our prayers 295 Contrary The word will be made good on the contrary to those that abuse it 205 Conversion Conversion not wrought by the Sacrament 232 Covenant In the Sacrament we make a solemn Covenant 226 Covenant of Grace sealed in the Sacrament 229 Those that receive the Sacrament must be in the Covenant of Grace 232 Condition of that Covenant ibid Renewing of Covenant in the Sacrament 257 Crucified Christ crucified in the Sacrament 248 Curse They that neglect the word are nigh to a curse 203 Cursing of others sinfull 278 How farre we may curse the enemies of the Church 280 D Danger see Dignity Dark see Mind Dead Death Fear of death taken away how 38 Wee must not bring dead services and hearts to
my soul And we must receive it with joy too as well as with love Prov. 2. 10. When wisdome entereth into thy heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy Soul Then discretion shall preserve thee understanding shall keep thee c. That is a great matter when the word reveals some truth to thy understanding and thou canst so receive it as it should be pleasant to thy soul that thy soul rejoyces in it it is a good word it is that that doth me good at the heart when a people can hear the word and the word coming neer unto them they can say This word doth me good at the heart it is pleasant to my soul that is excellent In Act. 2. 41. the godly are described those that did receive the word so as to sanctifie Gods Name in it by this that they gladly received the word and were baptized and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls There were three thousand in one day that did gladly receive the word What an auditory had Peter at this time Then the word it did them good when they gladly received it Quest But it may be said We read in Matt. 13. of the stony ground the hearers that were not good and did not profit by the word so as to be saved yet they received the word with joy And Herod it is said of him That he heard John Baptist gladly It seems then that it is not enough to receive it with gladnesse Answ To that I Answer First There must be that that Hypocrites may have if there be want of that we cannot Sanctifie Gods Name But you will say We must go further or else Gods Name is not sanctified That I confesse Therefore when I speak of gladnesse and joy know that I mean another kind of joy then the stony ground had and so certainly the pleasantnesse that is spoken of in Prov. which I mentioned before And the gladnesse that the three thousand did receive the Word withall is different from the gladnesse of the stony ground If you ask me wherein it differs I would Answer it differs thus The gladnesse of an Hypocrite in receiving Gods Word it ariseth either from the novelty of it because it is a new thing and he gets new notions that he had not before or else he is joyful from some other carnal excellencies that he finds going together with the word some esteem or honour that he shall get by it some selvishnesse there is that makes his heart to be glad for there is a great deal of natural and carnal excellency that goes along many times with the word But now this gladnesse that is spoken of in the Acts and in the Proverbs it is the gladnesse that ariseth from the apprehension of the spirituall excellencies that there are in the word as that it is that word that reveals God and Christ to my soul that word that comes neerest to my soul to the mortifying of my Lusts and the sanctifying of my heart This is that which makes me rejoyce in the word the holinesse and the spirituall excellencie that I see to be in the word Thy word is pure saith David and therefore doth thy servant love it and rejoyce in it This no Hypocrite can say I see the Image of God in his Word I see the very glasse of Gods holinesse in his word I feel that in the word that may bring my Soul to God wherein my soul injoyes communion with God and Jesus Christ and it is this that glads my soul If we receive the word with joy thus we shall come to Sanctifie the Name of God in the hearing of it And that is the Eight particular 9 The Ninth Particular is this If we would Sanctifie the Name of God in his word we must receive the Word into honest hearts This you have in Luk. 8. 15. in the Parable of the Sower you shall find there that there are divers grounds that do receive the seed and by those divers grounds are meant divers sorts of hearers There is First the high-way ground that is such as hear the word and never regard what they hear and as soon as ever they go out of the Congregation the seed of the Word is quite gone and is as if they had not heard at all And then there is the stony ground and the thorny ground that is those that hear with joy as was spoken of before but the cares of the world choak the seed of the word as soon as ever they are gone they are upon their worldly businesse and their thoughts and hearts runs that way But then there is the good ground that is Those that receive the seed of the Word into a good and honest heart a good and an honest heart they are both joyned together By a good heart is meant a heart that hath not malice in it a heart that doeth desire to empty it self of every thing that is against the Word and which is not suitable to the spiritualnesse of the Word A heart I say that entertaines nothing in it that any way makes against the word A good heart is a heart which as the Apostle saith in Jam. 1. 21. and that place may very well come in here to be opened is clensed from all filthinesse and superfluity of naughtinesse The word that is there translated filthinesse it signifies Excrements that which is unclean that which comes from the body such is the sinfulnesse of your hearts you come to hear the word if it be with evil hearts you mingle that very filthinesse which is as vile before God as excrements are And superfluity of naughtinesse by that I take is meant as if the holy Ghost should say Do not think it enough for to purge away filthinesse that is notorious stinking evils abominable sins that you do not come with such filthy vile hearts but whatsoever there is in your heart that is any way against the work of Grace it is a superfluity of naughtinesse all kind of evill thoughts and evill affections that are more then needs Look into your hearts and affections and see whatsoever you find there that is more then ought to be runing out unto any thing that they should not labour to purge out that saith he do not satisfie yourselves in any kind of evill whatsoever It may be you are clensed from the notorious evils of the World but if there remaines any naughtinesse any kind of drossinesse in your hearts that is not grace it is to be purged out for it is a superfluity So then that is a good heart that entertaines no kind of evill in it It may be there is some evill but it doth desire to purge out not only that that is filthy nastie and abominable but if there be any thing that should not be there a good heart is against it And that is a good heart that is willing to receive any thing that God reveals As we use to say Such a