his Ordinances carelesly and negligently they grieve God's Holy Spirit provoke him to leave and forsake them to give them up to hardness of Heart and a reprobate Mind Isa 29.13 14. Forasmuch as this People Says the Prophet draw near me with their mouth and with their lips do honour me but have remov'd their heart far from me therefore behold I will proceed to do a marvellous work and a wonder for the Wisdom of their wise Men shall perish and the understanding of their prudent Men shall be hid God doth not now always punish Prophaneness and Coldness in our Devotions with temporal Evils and sickness in the Body as formerly in the Primitive Church But he has exchang'd them for such as are far more dreadful such as endanger the Soul and take away the spiritual Life of a Christian Every unsanctify'd approach which we make unto him renders us more cold and indifferent in our Devotions till at last iâ— leads us by degrees into open Prophaneness and Atheism Let therefore every one who desires to receive the blessed Influences of God's holy Spirit and that his Soul may be a Temple fitted and prepared for him to dwell in Let him I say first cleanse his Heart by a due and strict Examination of himself and a serious and hearty Repentance for the Errors of his ways Let him thus keep his feet before he goes into the House of God i. e. observe what Paths he has walked in how the Affections of his Soul are fitted and dispos'd to partake of these holy Ordinances Lastly Whilst we are going towards the House of God let us entertain our selves with such Meditations as these Let us consider the Glorious Majesty of that God before whom we are going to appear that he is the great Creator Preserver and Governour of the World who humbles himself to look down upon the Sons of Men being exalted above all Praise and exceedingly Happy and Glorious above all that we can conceive and think 'T is this God who grants us Audience and vouchsafes us the Favour of making our Addresses unto him Let us consider also our own Vileness and Sinfulness how unworthy we are of so great Favours and hereby raise up in our Souls that humble Awe and devout Reverence of the Supream Being Levit. 26.2 which is requir'd of every one who Worships God Thus the devout Cornelius tells Peter That he and all the rest were present before God Acts 10.23 to hear all things which were commanded them by God i. e. they had considered with themselves who it was that was to speak to them and that the words they were to hear were not the words of Peter a frail sinful Man like themselves but the words of God Thus before we present our Petitions unto God we are commanded to consider that God is in Heaven and we on Earth i. e. that there is an infinite Distance between the Creator and his poor Creature that he is the most Perfect the most Glorious and the most Holy Being but we only dust and ashes vile Earth and miserable Sinners vile we are in our own Nature but we have made our selves much more so by our manifold Sins and repeated Transgressions When therefore we approach the Holy Temple of the Lord Let us say thus within our selves Gen. 28.17 How dreadful is this place this is certainly the place where the Lord dwells I am now going to the House of God to appear before the Lord Almighty who has my Soul in his hand and the breath of my Nostrils at his disposal in whom I live and move and have my Being I am drawing near to the King of Heaven and Earth to present my self before his Face to pay him my Homage and to make him the Tenders of my bounden Duty and Service Let me therefore put my Mind into such a devout Frame as he will accept of and take Care that I behave my self with Reverence Decency and Devotion And now having brought you to the Temple I proceed to shew 2. How we ought to demean our selves when we enter into the House of God and whilst we are performing the Duties of Religion And here I am to consider 1. The Frame and Disposition of our Souls Joh. 41.24 2. The Gesture of our Bodies God is a Spirit and will be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth i. e. requires principally and in the first place the Worship of our Souls and then that of our Bodies Now to a due worshipping God with our Souls there are requir'd these three things I. Attention of our Minds to the Duty we are about II. The Intention and Ardency of the Affectons III. The Consent of our Wills and their Conformity to the Divine Will and Pleasure 1. If we would offer up unto God an acceptable Service our Minds must be attentive to the Duty we are about whilst we are praying to God for those Blessings we stand in need of or praising him for those we have received we must either be meditating on the God we Worship or the thing we desire or praise him for For since Worship is the Acknowledgment of those Excellencies and Perfections which are in the Divine Nature 't is impossible we should have any serious Sense or make any due Acknowledgment of these Perfections unless we keep our Minds intent upon them We may as well commend the beauty of an Object we never saw and be taken with that Musick we never heard as admire and acknowledge those Excellencies we never thought on or consider'd For to serve God with our Mouths when our Thoughts are wandring some where else and employ'd about some other Business is but Lip-Worship at the best a Sacrifice without an heart which God will utterly detest and abhor 'T is therefore one of the principal Devices of the Devil 2 Cor. 2.11 of which we ought not to be ignorant to excite and stir up vain Thoughts in our Minds during the time of Divine Worship to divert them upon worldly and sinful Objects and hereby to deprive us of that Benefit we might otherwise obtain by a due and conscientious performance of these Duties And therefore it ought to be the Care of all good Christians to stand continually upon their Guard to bear a strict Eye over their Hearts and as soon as ever they find any vain and sinful Thoughts spring up in their Minds to cast them out To restrain and bring back their wandering Thoughts and never to make them their own by consenting to them or dwelling upon them Some Men are more addicted to roving and volatile Thoughts than others are from their natural Temper and Constitution and therefore are not so blameable for that which they cannot help But 't is then only they are faulty when their Will closes with them when they do not make Use of the most proper means to prevent them i. e. A due and conscientious Preparation of their Hearts for Religious Duties then do
And here it may be seasonable to take notice of a dangerous Mistake which many of the Professors of Christianity are guilty of They pretend to have a deep and serious Sense what a weighty and solemn Duty the receiving the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is and 't is for this Reason that they forbear it because they think they are not sufficiently prepared for it and yet at the same time these very Men presume to come to the Church to address themselves unto God's Throne and hear his Holy Word without any Preparation at all as if the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was the only Duty of Religion which required Care in the performance of it Thus they are too nice and scrupulous on the one hand whilst they are too negligent and prophane on the other they wholly omit one Ordinance of God because they do not think themselves sufficiently prepared for it and lose the benefit of all the rest because they will not Prepare themselves at all For what other Reason can be given why Men who live so long under the most powerful Preaching of the Word of God Edifie so little by it why their Understandings are so little improv'd in Spiritual Matters and their Lives and Conversations so little better'd thereby but because they do not bring prepared Minds and good Dispositions along with them their Thoughts are taken up with worldly Affairs their Hearts are fill'd with corrupt Affections and many wicked and impure Spirits have taken Possession of their Souls and then no wonder that the Holy Spirit of God doth not take up his abode with them when they are not in a Capacity to give him any suitable Entertainment Some Preparation therefore is absolutely necessary to be made before we attend on the Publick Worship of God Which may be perform'd after this or such like manner Upon the Lord's Day or any other day Dedicated to the Publick Service of God and set apart from our private Employments to the more solemn Worship of our Creator as soon as ever we awake let our Souls be season'd with some holy and devout Meditation Let us consider that at the same time the Sun salutes our Eyes and refresheth our Bodies with his comfortable Beams Mal. 4.2 The sun of Righteousness doth arise with healing in his wings and makes us the Overtures of some peculiar Favours That this Day is set apart by the great God of Heaven and Earth to receive the Homage of his Vassals and to give them the Liberty of entring his Courts appearing before his Throne admiring his Excellencies adoring his Perfections celebrating his Praises and laying open their Wants before him and begging Supplies and that therefore 't is both our Duty and Interest to improve these Seasons of Grace to Prepare our selves to meet our God and not only to put our Bodies into a Decent and becoming Dress but to adorn our Souls with such Qualifications and Dispositions as are requisite for Poor sinful Men when they appear before the great Creator and Governour of the World And because the Preparations of the heart are from the Lord Prov. 16.1 it will be necessary to prostrate our selves before the Throne of his Grace and to beseech God Jam. 1.17 Who is the Author and Giver of every good and perfect Gift that he will inspire our Hearts with holy Dispositions and afford us the Assistance of his Holy Spirit to enable us to cast out of our Minds all vain and worldly Thoughts to subdue all Carnal and corrupt Affections and to offer up to him our Bodies and Souls a pure undefiled and acceptable Sacrifice That we may spend this day especially that part of it which iâ—â—edicated to God's immediate Service â—â—ter so Holy and Devout a manner as may promote our Spiritual Welfare and hereby Glorifie our Father which is in Heaven Matth. 5.16 Let us beseech Almighty God that his good Spirit may go along with us through all the Duties of the day and incite strengthen and confirm us in every good Work That he would teach us to Pray with Fervency and an holy Assurance that all our Requests which are conformable to the Will of God shall be granted us to hear his Word with Attention and firm Resolutions of performing whatsoever we are convinc'd is our Duty and to Praise him with gladness and cheerfulness of Soul with Hearts fill'd with the grateful Resentments of his Benefits and Loving kindness towards us In the next place let us read some Portion of the Holy Scripture and make this the Subject of our Meditation till the hour approaches when we are call'd upon to joyn with the Congregation in our Devotions and we hear the Summons to attend God's Publick Worship It will then be time to enter upon a more particular Consideration how we have pass'd the last Week how well we have perform'd those Resolutions which we have formerly taken up what Sins we have since been guilty of what good Duties we have omitted and that we should be sorry for these our Neglects and bewail our Mis-carriages and resolve that we will amend our Lives and never be guilty of the same Sins for the time to come but that we will walk more uprightly and more exactly in Obedience to all the Commands of God This is that Preparation of Soul which every one ought to make before he enters into the House of God For God will not be serv'd with unclean hands and an unsanctify'd heart he abhors even the most solemn Fasts of those Men who smite with the Fists of wickedness Isa 58.4 he expects that the sprinkling water should be sprinkled upon us 2 Cor. 7.1 and that we should cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit when we draw near unto him And wash our hands in innocency Psal 26.6 before we compass God's Altar Let us therefore never omit this Examination of our selves before we enter into God's House when we have time and opportunity so to do For tho' upon some sudden Emergencies all this Precaution is not to be us'd this Exactness of Preparation may be omitted and a general and habitual Preparation of Mind will suffice yet this will in no wise excuse the constant Neglect of this Duty nor take off the blame from those Men who live in the constant Omission of it for 't is highly reasonable to believe that Self-Examination is a Duty in some Degree as absolutely necessary to be perform'd before we attend God's Publick Worship as 't is before the receiving the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper Which Sacrament was anciently an Essential part of the Publick Worship of God tho' of late years it has been scandalously neglected And therefore as when Men come to the Table of the Lord without due Preparation 1 Cor. 11.29 they trample under feet Christ's holy Body and Blood and eat and drink Condemnation to themselves So when they frequent the House of God and attend upon
dii Charior est illis homo quam sibi Which is as much as to say Commit thy self and all thy Concerns to Divine Providence let him determine what is most convenient for thee what is most requisite in the Course of thy Affairs for God loves Man better than Man loves himself and doth him good oftentimes against his Will and though he denies him those things which are grateful and acceptable to his fleshly Appetites and Desires to his carnal Lusts and inordinate Passions yet he gives him other Blessings which are more wholsome and more profitable to him Thus a careful Physician prescribes safe and beneficial though unpalatable Medicines to his diseas'd Patient and thus God deals with Mankind mercifully and bountifully and frequently denies his Requests and Prayers out of Kindness to him that he may furnish him with those things which are more safe and more convenient for him This is an useful Lesson and to be learn'd from St. Paul's Experience as 't is contain'd in the Text and the two preceding Verses Least says he I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of Revelation there was given unto me a thorn in the Flesh the Messenger of Satan to buffet me lest I should be exalted above measure For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me And he said unto me my Grace is sufficient for thee So that the words of the Text are an Answer to St. Paul's Prayer wherein God instead of delivering him from the buffeting of Satan which was the thing he pray'd for Promises to give him his Grace to endure it which would be far more commodious and advantageous to him My Grace is sufficient for thee That I may Discourse with the greater Profit upon these words I shall consider I. What it is which God Promises His Grace II. The measure and proportion of it Such as should be sufficient III. The Person to whom it was promis'd to the Apostle St. Paul My Grace is sufficient for thee As if God should have said thus unto him I will not answer thy Requests in exempting thee from thy manifold Troubles and Afflictions but least thou shouldest be opprest by them I will give thee what is more expedient for thee to wit my Grace which is sufficient for thee 1. What it is which God Promises viz. his Grace Which taken in the general denotes the Power and Efficacy of the Holy Spirit renewing the Soul to the Image of God and continually strengthning and guiding it in Obedience to his Will Now from the same Spirit proceeds Diversity of Grace there is Gratia gratis data or the miraculous Unction of the Holy Ghost whereby to one is given the Gift of Miracles to another speaking with Tongues to a third Prophecying but this is not the Grace meant in the Text 1 Cor. 10.12 for this was communicated to wicked as well as to good Men to Balaâ—â— and Saul and Caiphas and Judas as well as to the rest of the Apostles this was the occasion of tempting St. Paul to the Sin of Pride of which he speaks in the Verses before the Text. And those excellent Gifts and Endowments with which this Apostle was furnish'd tended to puff him up and expos'd him to the Buffettings and Temptations of the Devil But that Grace which upheld and strengthned him and was sufficient for him was what the School-men call Gratia gratum faciens or the Grace of Life Such as are all the saving Gifts and Graces of the Spirit which are wrought by his Help and Assistance in the hearts of Believers such as Faith Hope Charity Purity Humility and all other gracious Habits of the Mind which the Apostle calls the fruit of the Spirit and wherein the Image of God the Power of Godliness and the Spirit of Christianity do truly consist Eph. 1.6 This is that Grace which renders us acceptable unto God and is in effect eternal Life unto us This is that Grace which is best describ'd by its Effects Rom. 6.23 Which illuminates our Vnderstandings teaches us those things we know not 1 Joh. 2.27 and brings us to the Knowledge of the Truth this renews the Image of God in our Souls governs our perverse Wills and Affections Counsels and Actions God's holy Spirit leading guiding and directing us in all our ways Rom. 8.14 this unites us unto Christ our Head Comforts us in all our Affliction and Distress whether of Body or Soul and therefore the holy Spirit is call'd the Comforter Joh. 15.26 Psal 45.8 and the Oyl of Gladness And lastly It helps us in all our Streights and Supports us in times of the greatest Distress and Extremity it keeps us from despairing of God's Mercy when we consider our manifold Sins and Transgressions or from questioning his Providence because of our Miseries and from back-sliding and falling off from Christ for fear of Danger or any other worldly Respects In short it enables us to do all things Phil. 4.13 which God requires of us through Christ that strengthens us Which brings me to the 2. Observable in the Text. The measure and proportion of this Grace 't is such as is sufficient to enable us to undergo whatsoever God shall please to lay upon us My Grace is sufficient for thee 1 Thes 5.23 For since that God who gives this Grace is in himself All-sufficient therefore there is no question but that the Assistance which he affords will be sufficient to bring about those Ends for which he gave it God's Grace sanctifies all the Faculties of our Souls all the Powers of our Body it is sufficient in every State and Condition of Life it cheers us in Adversity it restrains us in Prosperity not suffering us either to be puft up with the one or to droop under the Burthen of the other It is a sufficient Remedy against all Temptations and fortifies our Souls against all sorts of Batteries Eph. 6.12 When we are afflicted it tells us That our Sufferings here are not worthy to be compar'd with that eternal weight of Glory Rom. 8.18 which shall be reveal'd in us or if we abound in Blessings or in Gifts natural or supernatural it tells us from whence they came and to what end they were bestowed upon us that we must not hide these Talents in a Napkin or abuse the Grace of God unto Wantonness but promote as much as in us lies the Glory of God the good of our Neighbour and the eternal Welfare of our own Souls Tho' we offer up our Prayers to God without present Returns or apparent Success it tells us That God forbears to give us those good things we ask for that he may try our Patience and Perseverance and since he doth not see it expedient to grant them therefore 't is our Duty to wait the Determination of his good Pleasure Again God's Grace is sufficient for all Persons our heavenly Father is so merciful that he shines
nearer we resemble him the more we shall enjoy of him in which the Happiness of our future State doth consist 'T is a State of perfect Purity and Holiness and consists in repeated Acts of Love and Zeal and Devotion and therefore the better fitted and prepar'd we are in this World by furnishing our Souls with vertuous Habits and those Divine Qualities of Humility Meekness Charity c. the more capable we shall be of partaking of those heavenly Pleasures Psal 16.11 Which are at Gods right hand for evermore Our time in this World was given us for this very Purpose that we might furnish our selves with such Vertues and Graces those wedding Garments which will render us fit Guests for the Marriage of the Lamb. 'T was easie for me to demonstrate that every Vertue has an influence upon our future Happiness and is a necessary Qualification which we must obtain before we are capable of enjoying it but this would take up too much time at present Dr. Scot in his Christian Life Part. 1. and has been already largely treated on by an excellent hand I shall therefore only remark That nothing can be more absurd than to frame a Notion of our future State from the Pleasures and Delights of our present Condition Or to take those figurative Descriptions of it which we meet with in the Holy Scripture in a literal Sence Our Saviour Christ has plainly told us That in Heaven we shall neither eat nor drink Mark 12.25 nor marry nor be given in marriage A sensual Paradise might reasonably be expected by a Turk or Pagan but not by a Christian whose Religion teaches him to Crucifie the Flesh with the sinful Lusts and Desires of the same It permits him indeed the moderate use of the good things of this World to render his Pilgrimage more easie and his Journey to Heaven more comfortable But yet it teaches him that his chief Happiness ought not to be plac'd in transitory Delights that they are Joys of a more Sublime Nature Such as neither eye hath seen 1 Cor. 2.9 nor ear heard neither hath it enter'd into the heart of man to understand which God hath prepared for those who love and serve him such Blessings as are agreeable to our immortal part such as the blessed Society of Saints and Angels and the Spirits of just Men made perfect the Vision of God in which our Souls being transform'd into his Image will be continually delighted and transported in admiring and adoring the Perfections of their Creator If therefore we hope to be Happy hereafter Heb. 12.14 we must practise Holiness in this Life For without Holiness no man can see God We must make it the business of our Lives to keep our Passions within their due Bounds and under the Government of our Reason to mortifie our immoderate Appetites and exercise our Graces such as Faith Hope Patience and Charity This is that Godliness which has the Promises of the Life that now is and that which is to come And now what remains but that every one who hears me this day be perswaded to embrace this pleasant Course of Life And methinks there should need no more Arguments to prevail with you presently to enter upon it since I have already prov'd that it is unquestionably both for your temporal and eternal Interest For what doth God require of you which is not highly just and reasonable What doth he command you But to do Justice to love Mercy Micah 6.8 and to walk humbly with your God i. e. to live up to the Dignity of your Natures and to Act as becomes reasonable and dependent Beings Consider what can you wish for which is not to be obtain'd by observing the Precepts of Religion Length of days are in her right hand and in her left hand riches and honour she shall give thy head an ornament of Grace Pror 3.16 and a Crown of Glory Exalt her and she shall promote thee and bring thee to Honour it shall be an Ornament of Grace to thy head and as a Chain about thy neck What Allurement can there be in the Pleasures of Sin which are but for a Season and perish even in the Enjoyment that you should prefer them before those which flow from a vertuous and religious Life And now may not God justly expostulate with us as he did with the People of Israel and Judah Isa 5.4 What could I have done to my Vineyard which I have not done unto it What more probable and more rational Methods could God have taken to perswade us to be Good and by consequence Happy than he has made use of He has address'd himself both to our Hopes and Fears he has plac'd eternal Happiness on one hand and eternal Misery on the other And moreover has strow'd our way to Heaven with the good things of this Life And now if notwithstanding all that God has done for us we resolve to be miserable and to take even Hell by force we have nothing to blame but our own stupendious Folly We can't sure be so silly as to imagine that God reaps any benefit by our Service or that our Praises make any addition to his Glory Job 35.6 for as Elihu very well argues If thou sinnest what dost thou against him or if thy transgressions be multiply'd what dost thou unto him if thou be righteous what givest thou him or what receiveth he at thy hand thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art and thy righteousness may profit the son of man And therefore 't is evident that 't is only our Welfare God seeks 't is our Good he is so sollicitous for and as he made us at first with a Design to communicate Happiness unto us so he still retains the same gracious Intentions towards us And shall not we be wise for our selves Shall we willfully and obstinately go on to defeat all the gracious Purposes of his Mercy and Goodness to trample under feet the Blood of his dear Son and grieve his Holy Spirits Shall not these Cords of a Man be able to move us Shall neither our eternal nor our temporal Interest have any influence upon us This would certainly be such unaccountable Folly and monstrous Ingratitude as no considering Person can be Guilty of Let me therefore beseech you by the Mercies of God Rom. 12.1 that you present your Bodies a living Sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which is but your reasonable Service Let me beg and entreat of you in the name and for the sake of your blessed Lord and Redeemer that you would so far consult your own Interest as to lead a pure holy and devout Life which is the only way to pass your time chearfully and comfortably in this World And to make sure of everlasting Happiness in the world to come SERMON II. PSALM CXIX 59. I thought on my Ways and turned my Feet unto thy Testimonies THERE is nothing which with greater Reason hath
our Ways as to turn our feet unto God's Testimonies Which God of his Mercy grant for the sake of our blessed Redeemer Jesus Christ our Lord. SERMON III. 2 TIM III. 5. Having a form of Godliness but denying the Power from such turn away THIS know saith St. Paul Ver. 1. That in the last days periolous times shall come because of the wickedness of Men as he goes on in the second Verse for Men shall be lovers of their own selves covetous proud boasters blasphemers and all which he comprehends under one Character in the words of the Text Having a Form of Godliness but denying the Power And this is the chief Reason why the times would be so perilous because the greatest part of these wicked Persons should conceal their Crimes under a Form and shew of Godliness Were they professedly and openly wicked there were some Ingenuity even in their Impudence because they could not be tax'd or upbraided with Hypocrisie Were they covetous proud blasphemers without a shew of Zeal and pretence of Religion then all Men might plainly discern and detect them Psal 55.12 and from an open Enemy I would have hid my self says David Shelves and Quicksands that have Lights always burning to discover them by are the more easily avoided and we are forewarn'd against the Dog that barks first But these Deceivers of whom St. Paul speaks have a fair and glorious outside tho' they are foul within These workers of Iniquity cry Lord Lord and are great Professors of Religion They put on the Form of Godliness tho' they deny the Power thereof and therefore they have the greater Sin From hence it is that they are the more dangerous Company and we have the greater Reason to observe the Caution laid down in the Text from such turn away Having a Form of Godliness but denying the Power from such turn away From these words I shall shew I. What is here meant by Godliness what by a Form and what by the Power of it II. That we may have a Form without the Power of Godliness III. How we may discover whether we have the Power of Godliness or else only the Form of it IV. And Lastly how far we must turn away from such as have only the Form but not the Power of Godliness 1. What is here meant by Godliness what by a Form and what by the Power of it Godliness in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a devout and sincere Worship of the only true God in Spirit and in Truth both inwardly and outwardly according to his Word Or to describe it more fully and expresly 1 Tim. 1.5 'T is an earnest Love of God out of a pure Heart and a good Conscience and Faith unfeigned whereby we are incited to glorifie God and to do good towards Men So that in this one word is imply'd our whole Duty towards God and Man This is express'd by St. 1 Tim. 2.2 Paul by leading a quiet and peaceable Life in all Godliness and Honesty 1 Tim. 4.8 This is that Godliness which is profitable unto all things and has the Promises of the Life that now is and that which is to come By a Form of Godliness is meant an outward Resemblance a colourable shew or likely appearance of Godliness when a Man puts on the Face and outside of Religion Acts and Mimicks it so well as to deceive and impose upon those who converse with him who judging according to the outward appearance believe him to be an honest holy and religious Man tho' in truth he is nothing less He may not only deceive others but delude himself also and be confidently perswaded that he is the Child of God and one of the chief Favourites of Heaven when indeed he is a Servant of the Devil and a Firebrand of Hell And in truth the Form must be like the Pattern or else it is no Form at all for we do not say a Picture or Statue is such a Man's Picture or Statue unless it bears a lively Resemblance of his Looks and Person Thus a Form of Godliness must be such a shew and outside of Religion as is of the same hew and complection with true Religion and a lively Portraicture of it tho' in many Respects it falls short of the Power of Godliness which implies that Force and Efficacy that internal Principle and Spring of Action which is well express'd by the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereby a Man is made as St. 1 Tiâ—â— 41 8.12 Paul says An example of Believers in word in Conversation in Charity in Spirit in Faith in Purity and has the Grace of God which bringeth Salvation teaching him to deny ungodliness and worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world If a Man has Charity in Conversation Faith and Purity in Spirit so as to deny all worldly Lusts and to live soberly in himself and righteously towards others and godly towards his Maker and Redeemer Then is his Soul and Body entirely subject to the Cross of Christ then his Form of Godliness proceeds from the Power of it And this is that Power of Godliness which works mightily unto Salvation And this Power of God is most evidently seen in reducing the most Stiff-neck'd and Hard-hearted Sinners in prevailing with them to leave their beloved Sins and bosom Vices and in beating down and subduing the most stubborn and unruly Passions such as Pride Envy Malice and Revenge those Sins our corrupt Nature is most subject to and in making so great a Change in us that we do not seem to be the same Men. The Lyon becomes a Lamb and the Serpent a Dove a natural Man a Man wholly Spiritual and a Servant of the Devil a Child of God He aims at new ends Acts by new Principles and is ready to expose his Life by giving his Testimony to those Truths which before were foolishness unto him And therefore the Gospel is call'd Rom. 1.16 the Power of God unto Salvation to every one that believes This is that Power of Godliness which those Hypocrites mentioned by St. Paul in the Text are without here 't is they are defective which brings me to shew 2. That the Form of Godliness may be without the Power of it And this is confirm'd by many other Texts of Scripture We are forewarn'd that we do not look to the outward appearance 2 Cor. 11.14 for the Devil can transform himself into an Angel of Light and then 't is no wonder that his Servants can put on the guise and appearance of the Children of God There are numerous instances set down in the Holy Scripture sufficient to convince us of this Truth We are told that a Man may pretend to be sent from Heaven and yet Preach another Gospel than that which our Saviour reveal'd to the World and hereby deserve an Anathema Nay he may Preach the true Gospel with such force of Reason and wonderful Efficacy
they corrupt their most Holy Offerings and turn the Sacrifices of their Prayers and Thanksgivings into sin Let it therefore be our first and principal Care to fix our thoughts and keep them attentive to the Duties we are about and we shall soon find that he who has thus well begun has half finished his work If we can but once bring our selves to be serious and attentive to apply our Minds to the Worship of God this will naturally produce 2. The Intention and Ardency of our Affections Rom. 12.1 For the Duties of Religion are in themselves so reasonable a Service so excellently fitted to bring about those Ends for which they were appointed and so agreeable to the Faculties of our Soul that there is requir'd little more to recommend them to our liking and delight than a sober and serious Application of our Minds and a daily and constant accustoming our selves to them It will be tedious and irksome to us at the first to spend our time in Religious Duties to pray and hear God's word and meditate upon it but when we have once got the Victory over our corrupt and stubborn Natures by a daily Practice of these Duties nothing will yield us so much Pleasure and Delight on this side Heaven as the pouring out our Prayers before God the laying open our Wants and begging Supplies the magnifying his Name for Benefits bestow'd upon us and communicating to others the grateful Resentments of our Souls These are the Employments of Saints and Angels above and will create a kind of Heaven in every good Man's breast whose Mind is taken up with such glorious Conceptions and joyful Resentments as these Psal 19.10 These as David tells us are sweeter than the honey and the honey comb Which made him chuse rather to spend one day in God's Courts Psal 84.10 than a thousand else-where Let us therefore Worship the Lord our God with all our heart and all our mind and all our soul Let us embrace his Truth with our Understandings treasure it up in our Memories and caress it with our Affections Let us pray unto him with Faith Zeal and Fervency and praise him with a due Admiration of his Goodness and grateful Resentments of his Mercy and Loving-kindness and then nothing will remain but that 3. We close with it by our Wills and conform them to his Divine Will and Pleasure That we resolve to amend our Lives in every particular wherein we have done amiss and to yield a sincere Obedience to the Laws of God in every known Instance of our Duty that we may not perform our Devotions only that we may be thought to be Religious but that we may be really so and not only be wiser Men but better Christians For the end of all the Devotional parts of Religion is chiefly to lead us unto Practice they are enjoyn'd us as helps and means to assist us To direct our Conversations aright and that hereby we may be the better enabled to live up to the Rules of Reason and Religion Do but take any particular Duty into your Consideration and you will find that it has a necessary influence upon our Lives and a direct Tendency to assist us in a due performance of our Duty For Instance would it not be absurd to imagine that God has commanded us to Repent of our Sins because he takes delight in the Sighs and Tears of the Penitent Sinner For he who is a Being of infinite Goodness is never better pleas'd than when he is doing us good and communicating his Blessings unto us But the Reason why he commands us to Repent is that he may make us sensible of the Evil Nature of our Sins and the Misery and Ruin which our Vices betray us into and that hereby we may be deterr'd from those Actions which are so dishonourable to God and so prejudicial to our selves Nor would it be more reasonable to Fancy that our Prayers and Praises make any addition to his Glory or increase his Happiness for he is infinitely and therefore perfectly happy in the Enjoyment of himself but these Duties are enjoyn'd us that by the performance of them our Souls may be more seriously affected with a humble Sense of our own weakness and a grateful Resentment of God's Goodness whereby we may be inclin'd to yield the readier Obedience to his Commands and be drawn by these cords of a man to obey his Laws I might instance in all the other Duties of instituted Religion Hosea 11.4 but from what I have already said it plainly appears That all the parts of Publick Worship do directly tend to make Men more Holy in this Life in order to make them more Happy in that which is to come and that then it doth obtain the End for which it was appointed when we take up Resolutions of living better and of conforming our Wills to the Divine Will and Pleasure Thus I have shew'd what that Worship of our Souls is which God requires of us that it consists in the Attention of our Thoughts the Intention of our Minds and the Harmony of our Wills with God's Divine Will I come to consider 2. How we ought to Worship God with our Bodies For since our Bodies as well as our Souls were the Workmanship of his hands 't is but highly reasonable we should pay him the Homage of them and serve him also with our Bodies which are his That we should dispose our selves during the time of Divine Worship to such Decent becoming and reverential Gestures that we may make it evident to all Men that our whole Man is dedicated to his Service And this will be best perform'd by bearing in mind this general Rule That we put on that Gravity and seriousness of Looks and Behaviour and deport our selves after such a manner as the belief of God's immediate Presence and the solemnity of his Worship requires from us For though Irreverence and Indecency in the Publick Worship of God is by too many esteem'd a light and trivial Offence and hardly worth taking notice of which proceeds from this false Notion they are prepossessed with That if they serve God with their Minds and Spirits 't is no matter what their bodily Behaviour is Yet this will be found to be a gross Mistake and of dangerous and pernicious Consequence if weigh'd in the Balance of the Sanctuary and of unprejudic'd Reason for 1. Why should we believe those Men will Worship God with their Souls and Spirits who will not Worship him with their Bodies If they will not do so easie a thing as to comport their selves decently and affectionately during the time of Divine Service 't is not probable that they should perform that which is far more difficult to Worship him with Intention of Soul and Ardency of Affection It requires their utmost Diligence and Application to keep their Minds attentive and to go along with the Congregation in all the parts of Publick Worship which these Men will
Thoughts were not sinful unless immediately Blasphemous against God and therefore they did not blame the Intention of the Heart to commit Murder or Adultery unless 't was actually put in Execution which we have the less reason to wonder at because there are so many amongst us who maintain this absurd Opinion and Fansie their Thoughts are so free that they shall never be call'd to Account for them if they can but Act so cunningly as to escape the Censures of Men Psal 55.21 if they can but speak words smoother than Oil they are not at all sollicitous how their Hearts stand affected But let these Men consider Rom. 2.15 that at the last day when God shall judge the secrets of Men we shall be call'd to an Account for all the Thoughts and Intents of our Heart as well as for the loudest Words and most publick Actions in God's Book not only the Members of our Body but the Thoughts of our Mind are written and therefore we are commanded not to make Provision for the Lust of the Flesh Rom. 13.14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to contrive before-hand how we may fulfil our sinful Appetites and Desires Solomon tells us That the Thought of Foolishness is sin i. e. Prov. 2.4 9. a foolish Thought and that a Man of wicked Devices or Thoughts God will condemn Prov. 12.2 And St. John affirms 1 Joh. 3.15 That whosoever hates his Brother or retains any Rancour or Malice in his Heart is a Murderer Now as on the one hand God will accept of the sincere Intention of those Persons who fail in their Obedience only for want of Power and Ability to perform what he has commanded them So on the other our Thoughts may be sinful in the sight of God though we have neither Will nor Power to put them in Execution Abraham only intended to Sacrifice his Son Isaac Heb. 11.17 and this holy Purpose of his Heart was imputed to him for Righteousness Gen. 18.12 and when Sarah dis-believ'd the Promise of God and derided it in her Heart she is said to laugh within her self and God resents the Provocation And though 't is true that when a wicked Thought is put into Execution and breaks out into a wicked Act Jam. 1.15 when Lust has conceiv'd and brought forth Sin 't is of a far more heinous Nature and deeper Dye than when it was only an Embryo or in the Birth yet in many Respects our Thoughts may be more wicked than either our Words or Actions can be For 1. Our Thoughts are more numerous than our Actions There must be many Preparatory Motions of the Mind many Thoughts twisted together to produce one deliberate sinful Action How many Plottings and Contrivings Desires and Hopes Wishes and Complacencies must go before the Commission of every evil Deed There must be first a Scheme erected in our Minds the Means and Methods must be resolv'd on the Instruments must be chosen and the thing frequently acted over in our Thoughts before any notorious sinful Action can be committed 2. The same Sin may be acted over a thousand times in the Mind which can only be once perform'd in the outward Action We may take a great deal of Pleasure and Delight in recalling the Sins we have formerly committed in representing them in our Fancies and re-acting them over in our Imaginations and hereby draw down a fresh Guilt upon our selves Nay 3. We may be guilty of those Sins by contriving them in our Minds which can never possibly be really acted thus the Covetous Man may rob his Neighbour of his Wealth though he never obtain the Possession of it the Malicious and Revengeful may murder his Enemy when out of his reach and the Cruel and Blood-thirsty may imagine all Mankind to have but one Neck and then cut it off Psal 14.1 and the Atheist may say in his Heart there is no God and fancy him excluded out of the World From these and such other Considerations 't is obvious to conclude That we are not left at liberty to think as we please but that the Government of our Thoughts is a necessary and indispensable Duty Nay so absolutely necessary is it to our eternal Welfare to keep our Hearts that no Word or Action can be good or acceptable unto God which doth not proceed from a sanctify'd Heart A wicked Man may perform many Acts of Justice and Charity but if they do not proceed from a good Disposition of Mind they are only splendida peccata counterfeit Vertues and therefore the Apostle tells us 1 Cor. 13.1 That if we give our Goods to feed the Poor and have not Charity i. e. a sincere Love to God and our Neighbour which is seated in the Heart all those good Deeds will profit us nothing 2. The Keeping of our Hearts is conducive to our eternal Happiness because the maintaining our Communion with God depends on it Now our Communion with God is maintain'd by our offering up Prayers and Praises unto him and his Acceptance of them and bestowing on us the blessed Influences of his Holy Spirit and if so then what Sacrifice of Prayer and Thanksgiving can be acceptable unto God which is offer'd up from a Heart full of impure Desires and Affections reeking with Lust or Anger or Revenge He is a pure and holy Spirit and delights to dwell in a humble and contrite Heart Isa 57.15 and if our Hearts are infected with Envy Malice Pride or Lust we shall grieve him and he will depart from us and then the Devils those impure Spirits will take Possession of our Souls they will become a Cage of these unclean Birds a fit Habitation for these Legions to dwell in 3. A right Frame of Heart is a Qualification absolutely necessary to render us capable of enjoying eternal Happiness in the Life to come For our Happiness in the other World will in a great measure depend on the Preparations we have made for it in this Our Life here is a State of Probation and Trial a small Span of time allotted us to furnish our selves with vertuous Habits and Divine Qualities those wedding Garments which will render us welcome Guests at the Marriage of the Lamb. And therefore if we would have any well-grounded Hopes of Happiness in the other World we must make it our Employment here to restrain our Passions moderate our Affections enflame our Hearts with Zeal and Devotion and accustom our selves to holy Meditation these are Qualifications absolutely necessary to make us relish the Pleasures of another Life For we may with as good Reason hope to satisfie our Hunger with precious Stones and Diamonds or our Thirst with the sight of stately Buildings or goodly Apparel as that a malicious envious lustful or covetous Person whilst he continues so should take delight in the Beatifical Vision and in singing Praises and Hallelujahs unto God So necessary is it that we cleanse and purifie our