name thereby through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour Amen You may also add this Prayer O Lord Holiness becometh thy House and dutifulness becometh me to go into thy Courts and wait upon thee and this is the great day of thy Service thou that hast given me to see the light of this day make me careful to do the duty of it timely to present my self unto thee and reverently to behave my self before thee that when I go hence I may return with fruit and favour from thee for Jesus Christ's sake Amen When you go to receive the Sacrament use this Prayer O Thou in whose Temple every man speaks of thine honour whose Glory no mortal man can sufficiently express whose Goodness no tongue is able to display whose Holiness transcends all the perfections we see here below overaw my Spirit when I go with the multitude to the House of God with the Voice of Joy and Praise O let me consider that it is the All-seeing God in whose presence I stand and that holy Angels are sent to observe my Devotion Give me sober Thoughts holy Affections devout Postures steadiness of Mind ardent Desires modest Looks and a grave Behaviour especially now I am going to receive the Sacrament Now let all that is within me turn into holy breathings banish from me all undecent thoughts and if thou dost not think fit to free me from temptations before they come give me Grace vigorously to resist them that I may show my Zeal to thy Glory by my abhorrence of all imaginations that exalt themselves against the obedience of Christ Jesus Amen CHAP. IV. Of Family-Duty ere we go to God's House AFter thou hast fitted thy Self for Church thy next care must be carefully and conscientiously to perform Family-Duties Jos 24.15 Let others do what they will I and my House saith he will serve the Lord. In order to the performance of which duty take along with you these following Rules 1. See that your Servants and Children waste not away the Morning in sleep and idleness 2. Cause them to join together in Prayer reading or any other Godly Exercise Gen. 18.19 3. Make them accompany you to Church command their Bodies though you cannot their Souls 4. Inform your selves and them what a great and glorious Majesty and Master you are to serve a God so glorious that the very Angels vail and cover their Faces not being able to behold the brightness of his Glory And if this lowly Reverence be performed by them who are in such nearness to God what posture is low enough for us who in comparison of those Heavenly Spirits are viler than the ground we tread on 5. Make them sensible what poor Worms and wretched Creatures they are Dust and Ashes their Hearts full of Putrefaction and a sink of Sin and therefore ought to come crawling crouching and trembling to the Throne of Grace 6. Examine what Preparation they have made for the Sabbath whether they have not spent more time and care to dress their Body for the Eye of Man than to deck their Soul for the Eye of God Whether they have prayed in private for a blessing on God's Ordinance 7. Inform them seriously of the great work they go about what a weighty work it is how that their Weeks Works are but toys and trifles in comparison of it What are Sheep Oxen or Shops to Grace Christ and Heaven Exhort them all to be careful and serious in God's work in Soul-Salvation-Work and therefore they ought to prepare themselves with all their might Remember the Fourth Commandment binds you to look to all within your care both Man-Servant and Maid-Servant c. Whosoever rides them unnecessary Journeys on that day the groans of the tired Beast will rise up in judgment against them and condemn them for breaking God's Command As Motives hereunto consider 1. That it is God in a Family not Man only that maketh it to prosper so that if thou wouldest have it go well with thy Family then oughtest thou to set up the worship of God in it The Lord blessed the House of Obed-Edom for the Arks sake so God will bless thy House if the Ark that is his worship be there Wouldst thou have thy Family flourish set up the worship of God in it Let no wicked Person remain in thine House He that will not pray and join in the worship of God with thee Let him not eat with thee Make Joshua's resolution As for me and my House we will serve the Lord. 2. Remember you must be accountable to God for those Souls he hath committed to your charge you ought therefore to take care that they be trained up in the fear of the Lord. See that none of your Family be given to any Vice viz. Swearing Drinking Lying or the like Make choice of such Servants as fear God chuse for him somewhat and not altogether for your self Enquire in the first place whether they will submit to his word if not let them not come under thy roof As thou wouldst not have the Devils Company in thine House so do not entertain any of his Friends and Servants but rather let it be an Harbour and Habitation of God's Children for so shalt thou be blessed You know that God blessed Laban for Jacob's sake so may you likewise expect a Blessing if you entertain such in your House A Family-Prayer before we go to Church O Lord encrease our Faith and by thy holy Spirit prepare our hearts to pray as we ought and for Christ's sake accept this Morning Sacrifice of Prayer though weak and imperfect which in his Name and by his Mediation and Intercession we offer up to Thee We humbly and heartily acknowledge thy infinite Wisdom tender Love and Fatherly Goodness towards us thy unworthy Servants most vile and wretched Sinners in that it hath pleased thee not only to give us a liberal allowance of time to do our own Works and follow our own Callings and Recreations for the health of our Bodies and the necessities of this present Life but also to appoint us one day in seven to attend upon thee do thy Work and fit our selves to keep with thee an Everlasting Sabbath in the highest Heavens We know O Lord that we are bound in Conscience to serve and worship thee every day of the Week and every day to set apart some time for Spiritual and Heavenly Exercises yea and when we are in Earthly business to carry Heavenly minds about with us yet it hath pleased thee further to allow us one day in seven to attend wholly upon thee and more throughly to acquaint our selves with thee with thy ways and with our sinful and deceitful hearts to wean them from the Love of this World and set them upon Heavenly Joys And now O Lord as thou hast given us a day to serve thee fit and prepare every Soul to worship thee as we ought To this end give us the assistance of thy holy Spirit that we
and Family to an account for what you have read or heard and explain the same to them This is commended to us by the Practice and Example of our Lord himself who when he was come home said unto his Disciples Mat. 13.5 Have you understood all these things viz. that he had preached to the Multitude And Mark 4.34 When they were alone he expounded all things to his Disciples Whereupon one observeth That Christ by his Example doth instruct every Master of a Family how to carry himself in reference to those under his charge on the Lord's day after their departure from the publick Congregation A treble Benefit will follow hereupon 1. In respect to our selves for the more you build up others the more your selves are built up in Knowledge Faith and every Grace of God 2. In respect of your Children and Servants for it will make them to hearken more attentively to what is in publick delivered when they know they shall be called to an Account for the same at home 3. It will help much to the understanding and believing of what is heard if at home you repeat it conferr of it and examine the Proofs made use of for its Confirmation 2. Singing of Psalms is another Duty to be performed this day in our Families as well as in the Church Holy David that sweet Singer of Israel recommends it to us Psal 92. the Title of that Psalm is A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath and it begins thus It is good to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto thy name O thou most high For the manner of performing this Duty we have the Apostle's Direction in these words singing with grace in your hearts unto the Lord. 1. It must be in or with the heart that is our hearts must go with our Voices the one must be lift up as well as the other for God is a Spirit and must be worshipped in our Hearts and Spirits as well as with our Bodies Truly singing with the Voice without concurrence of the Heart and Spirit is no more pleasing to God than a sounding Brass and tinkling Cymball 2. As we must sing in the heart so with Grace in the heart i. e. we must exercise the Graces of God's Spirit as well as in praying labouring to express the same Affection in singing a Psalm as David in the penning of it If it be a Psalm of Prayers and Petitions then must our Affections be fervent if a Psalm of Praises and Thanksgiving then must our Affections be chearful Thus must the Affections of the Heart be suitable to the Quality of the Psalm 3. Another Family-Duty is Prayer for if this Duty ought to be performed every day twice at least viz. Morning and Evening then more especially on the Lord's day a day wholly dedicated to the Worship and Service of God CHAP. X. Of resorting to the Evening Sacrifice WHen it is now almost time to repair to the Evening Service call as many of your Servants as can be well spared that they may accompany you to the publick Assembly command their Bodies though you cannot their Souls And it may not be amiss but right edifying if some one Person read a Psalm suitable to the present undertaking of going to worship God such as the 84. Psal or the 119 th one or two parts of it being taken at a time as occasion shall serve to which reading all ought reverently to attend And this being done let the same Rules and Directions which were given touching going to Church in the Morning be observed in the Evening and let all as before resort to the publick worship where your carriage ought to be the same as was before directed Surely unless you and your House appear thus the second time before God you cannot be said duly to sanctify the Lord's Day but only to do it by halves And now to move you to this duty Consider you are bound in justice to God to do it Because God hath set a day not a piece of a day apart for himself and we should be more afraid to steal away God's time than to steal away Mans Goods the one is Theft but the other Sacriledge God Almighty hath consecrated to his own Service the seventh part of our time but if you come only in the Morning you give him but the 14 th part of it nay I fear too many spare him only that time which their Morning attendance takes up in our publick Assembly on the Lord's Day Now I appeal to thy own Conscience Christian Brother Whether it be a meet and fit thing that rational Persons Created by God redeemed by Christ should afford to the Worship and Service of Christ and the great Concern of their immortal Souls but two hours at the most on the Lord's day and that time perhaps spent in a formal customary cold heartless Worship of the infinitely holy and just Deity the tremendous impartial Judge both of Angels and Men. The Jews kept a whole day holy in a grateful Memory of the lesser benefit of the Creation and their Deliverance out of Aegypt and shall we grudge to spend a whole day in remembrance of our Deliverance from Hell and Death eternal We have not only greater Motives but we have greater Means they had only Moses and the Prophets but we have Christ and the Gospel they had the Shadow we the Substance And shall we that have more Means and Helps put God off with less Duty smaller Service and shorter Performances Nay the very Heathens guided by the Light of Nature gave whole Days to their Dunghill Deities and shall we Christians refuse it to a true God You give your Bodies two Meals a-day and will you feed your Souls but once It was a rational Discourse of Joseph to his Mistress Gen. 39.9 My Master hath kept nothing from me but thee because thou art his Wife how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against my God God hath kept no Days in the Week from us but only the First Day because it is his Sabbath how can we do this great Wickedness then and sin against him Nathan's Parable to David may be applied to thee O thou most prophane Sabbath-breaker Hath God only one Day which he hath kept to himself and sanctified to his Service and laid as it were in his Bosom and shall Men be so unworthy when their Hearts tempt them to Vanity even to take this day to please and gratifie their own corrupt hearts in When they are rich in time and have six days for themselves To entrench upon the Lord's Day it is something too much Nay as it is unreasonable so is it plainly contradictory to our own Prayers that day for upon every Lord's Day Morning as we make it our open Confession so likewise a publick Prayer after the reading of the Fourth Commandment Lord have mercy upon me and incline my heart to keep this Law As much as to say Lord we
endeavour by your own good Works to let your Light so shine before Men that they may see your Works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven As thou art putting on thy Apparel remember some of them were at first given as coverings of shame being the effect of Sin and that they are made of the Excrements and Offals of dead Beasts so that thou hast very little cause to be proud of them Nay indeed thou hast great cause to be humbled at the sight thereof seeing the richest Apparel are but the fine covers of the foulest shame Therefore as thou art Cloathing thy Body endeavour to Cloth thy Soul with Christ's Righteousness as with a Garment Lest while thou art richly apparelled in the sight of Men thy Soul be found to walk naked in the sight of God Before thou betakest thy Self to thy Closet breath forth thy Soul to God at thy first awaking in this or the like short Ejaculation O Lord God as thou hast awakened my Body from last Nights sleep so by thy Grace awaken my Soul from the Lethargy of Sin that at the general Resurrection I may arise to Eternal Glory Amen CHAP. III. Of Closet-Prayer and the Preparations to it HAving thus fitted thy Self for thy Closet before thou prayest take the wise Man's Counsel Ecclus 18.5.23 Prepare thy Self and be not as one that tempteth God Now for thy better preparation observe these few Rules 1. You are to remember when you settle your self in Prayer you then place your self in the presence of God whose Eyes indeed are upon all Men but in a more especial manner upon those that call upon him in Prayer 2. The consideration of his presence is to put you in mind with what humble reverence both of Soul and Body you ought to appear before so great a Majesty 3. Lay aside all wrath and malice against your Neighbour I will saith the Apostle that men lift up holy hands without wrath 1 Tim. 2.8 St. Hierom confesseth this of himself that when he was angry he durst not enter into the Church but totum animo corpore contremuisse He trembled very much both in Body and Mind The Spouse of Christ is compared to a Dove which some say is sine felle without Gall. The very Heathens when they offered Sacrifice threw the Gall of the Beast away and wilt thou offer to God the Gall of wrath bitterness and revenge with the Sacrifice of Prayer 4. Banish all Worldly thoughts out of your Heart Our Saviour when he taught us to pray by the Preface to the Petitions telleth us where our affections in Prayer should be viz. in Heaven Our Father which art in Heaven Therefore before you begin to pray you are to resolve within your self seriously to intend the Duty you are about that your heart may not wander but go along with your Prayers Or if through weakness it happens to stray to call it back again and ask Pardon for it in some such Prayer as this Lord strengthen me and restrain me and lay not this weakness to my charge Having entred thy Oratory propose these few Questions to thy Soul and engage thy self to an Answer O my Soul Wherefore art thou now retired into this place What is thy design What are thy Pretensions Where is thy God whom thou comest to treat with Is he present Doth he hear thee Is he merciful Will he help thee What is the business thou art to negotiate Is it the saving thy Soul or the satisfaction of Earthly desires What words wilt thou use to move God to hear thee What humble Gesture What profound Reverence Dost thou know who thou art before Is not Gods Eye upon all to observe Head and Heart Lip and Life Darest thou suffer thy thoughts then to wander Will he be pleased with that Sacrifice he hath accursed of drawing nigh to him with our Lips when our Hearts are far from him Answer thy self briefly to every one of these Interrogatories as thy own Conscience dictates to thee for by this Discourse made to thy self thou shalt be better prepared to discourse with God Having thus prepared thy self for Prayer thou maist then fall down on thy Knees and to thy ordinary Prayers which must not on this Day by any means be omitted add these following Heads of Prayers suitable in some measure to the solemnity of the Day 1. You are to pray for the Minister that God would give him the door of utterance that he may open his mouth boldly to publish the mysteries of the Gospel that he may speak the word truly sincerely powerfully and profitably delivering that which is sutable and seasonable to your condition 2. You are to pray for your selves that he would banish out of your Head all wandring worldly thoughts which may distract your minds in the hearing of the word and so choak that Heavenly Seed make it Fruitless and that he would give unto you as attention to hearken so Understanding to conceive Wisdom to apply Judgment to discern Faith to believe Memory to retain and Grace to practise what you shall hear So that the word may prove unto you not a Savour of Death unto Death but of Life unto Life all which you may do in this following Prayer O Lord God from whom alone are the Preparations of the heart the day is now come which being holy unto thee I am to spend in thy more solemn Worship many Sins there are by me not duly repented of which may justly bring upon me a Curse instead of a Blessing especially my crying Sins Here mention thy particular Sins which thou hast found thy Self guilty of and also the Sins committed by thee the last Week that may make my Prayer an Abomination to thee Accept O Lord this my Confession and at least desired sorrow for them turn my heart from them for the future and through the blood of my Saviour so remove the guilt of them that they may not hinder good things from me Let the effusions of thy Grace both upon me and all the Congregations of thy People be ever plentiful Let my heart be fixed that no vain or worldly thoughts harbour there while I am in thy House Quicken me with thy holy Spirit that I may draw near unto thee with a true Heart that I may be fervent in Spirit serving thee and that receiving thy word with an honest and good heart I may understand and keep it and bring forth fruit with patience and to perfection Remember thou thy Servants which are to dispence thy mysteries unto thy People and especially him upon whose teaching I wait Pardon their Sins and Frailties open their Mouths guide their Minds and Tongues that they may deliver thy truths in the demonstration of thy Spirit and let thy Work so prosper in their hands that they may both save themselves and them that hear them that both may be built up in our most holy Faith to the perfecting thy Church and Eternal Glory of thy
may learn to redeem time and number all our days our Sabbaths more especially that so we may apply our hearts unto Wisdom that we may now get wise religious believing and Repenting Hearts O Lord give us Grace to consecrate this day as a day of delight holy and honourable to thee not doing our own Works nor following our own Pleasures nor speaking our own words but exercising our selves in duties of Piety and Mercy publickly and privately in thy House and in our own So that we may make this Season a day not only of reconciliation for the Sins of the Week past but also a day of Preparation and spiritual Provision furnishing our selves for the better performance of the duties of the Week to come And now O Heavenly Father we are going to thy House to partake of thy Ordinances we beseech thee to go with us thither and stand by us there and bring us back again rejoicing when we shall find our Faith encreased our Hope quickned our Zeal kindled our Hearts inflamed with the Love of thee and our Brethren Let us not we beseech thee make thy House which is an House of Prayer and Spiritual Exercises to be a Den of Thieves but let us look to our Feet that so we may be more ready to hear than to offer up the Sacrifice of Fools It is a fearful thing when this word which should he a Savour of Life unto Life does prove a Savour of Death unto Death as it does to many who regard not what they hear Grant therefore O Lord that we may take diligent heed what we hear and how we hear keep us we humbly pray thee that we be not like unto them that be compared unto the high way who do not so much as bend their minds to regard what is taught nor to them who are compared to the stony ground who do it but shallowly and superficially nor to them that be compared to the thorny ground that do choak and smother it with minding their ease pleasure gain and profit over much But give us Grace to be like the good ground who coming to the word with honest and good hearts bring forth good Fruit with Patience and in good Season So that keeping this day as we ought to do we may be translated to keep an Everlasting Sabbath in the highest Heaven Amen CHAP. V. Of the great obligation that lies upon every one of us to worship God in Publick NEglect not publick Ordinances upon pretence of serving God in private that God Almighty gives his Blessing both to private and Family-Duties is most certain but to put God off with these and neglect publick Worship is to rob him of a greater summ and pay him with a less It is worth our Observation that the Sabbath and publick Worship of God are by him joined together therefore let no Man put them asunder Ye shall keep my Sabbath and reverence my Sanctuary I am the Lord your God They then that despise God's Sanctuary cannot observe God's Sabbath Do but consider David's Tears for the want and his Prayers for the fruition of Publick Ordinances even then when he had opportunity for private Performances and surely then thou wilt esteem the Ministry of the word no mean mercy See his sorrow for the want of them I was driven saith he from the Sanctuary when I did but think of it my Soul was poured out like water for I had gone with the multitude I went with them to the House of God Psal 42.3 My Soul was poured out that is was over-whelm'd with grief and even ready to dye when I compare my present condition with my former happiness in the fruition of religious Assemblies How bitterly and passionately doth he plead with Saul If the Lord hath stirred thee up against me let him accept an Offering but if men Cursed be they before the Lord for they have driven me out this day from the inheritance of the Lord. 1 Sam. 16.19 How pathetically does he bemoan his own Soul Woe is me for I dwell in Meseck and have my habitation in the Tents of Kedar The loss of his Father Mother Wives Children Lands Liberty nay life it self would not have gone so near his Heart as the loss of the publick Ordinances As his sorrow was great for the want so was his Soul most earnest for the fruition of them How many Prayers does he put up for the liberty of the Tabernacle Psal 43.3 4. and Psal 27.4 One thing have I desired of the Lord which I will seek after viz. That I might dwell in the Tabernacle of the Lord and visit his holy Temple And Verse 8. When thou saidst seek my face my heart said unto thee thy face Lord will I seek David at this time was banished the Temple and he among other reasons useth this argument to restore him to his happiness as if he had said O God thou hast commanded me to worship thee in the Temple To appear before thee is my delight my heart desires to seek and see thy face there Thus he prays to God for the performance on his side that he might be enabled to obey God's Precept Peter and John went up to the Temple at the hour of Prayer Acts 3.1 and St. Paul reasoned in the Synagogue every Sabbath day Acts 13.14 those that by their practices contemn publick worship have neither Christ nor the Apostles for their Pattern One of the Jewish Rabbies hath a saying he that dwells in a City where there is a Synagogue and cometh not to Prayers merito dicitur vicinus malus if thou forsakest the Assembly of God how useful thou maist be to others Bodies I know not but I am sure thou art neither to thine own Soul or theirs in neglecting God's service Consider the condition of Primitive Christians who were forced to serve the Lord with fear and attend his Ordinances with trembling who built Churches under ground rather than they would want the opportunity of serving God in Publick Consider also how David bemoan'd himself counting Swallows and Sparrows in this much better than he because they could build their Nests in the Temple while he was banished from it Psa 84.1 2 3. How amiable are thy Tabernacles O Lord My Soul longeth yea even fainteth for the Courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh cryeth out for the living God Yea the Sparrow hath found an House and the Swallow a Nest for her self where she may lay her young even thine Altars O Lord of Hosts my King and my God Did David being abridged thereof thus bemoan himself Surely then we should count it a great Mercy that we have Publick Churches and Oratories to go unto without any lett or molestation that we have no Tyrants no Foreign Enemies no Rods no Axes no noise of War to affright us from God's publick Ordinances what cause of rejoicing is here But yet if this liberty of ours make us wanton and the plenty God gives us tempts us to
Licentiousness if instead of growing better we grow worse if the Manna we have do not make us to hunger and thirst after righteousness we may have just reason to fear God will remove our Candlestick from us and give it to a Nation that bringeth forth better fruit than we have done Perhaps you say you spend your time as religiously at home as you do at Church that you Read Pray Catechise and the like but I must tell you you do all this out of Season you mis-time and misplace duty and you should not use one Ordinance or Duty in plain contempt and neglect of another you cannot expect God's Presence nor look for the gift of God's Grace in a way of Disobedience to his Command and neglect of his appointed means When God sets up the Ministry of the word in any place his Spirit then opens his School and expects that all that should be taught should come thither Now saith the Learned Mr. Gurnal whether is it most fitting that a Scholar should wait of his Master at School or that the Master should run after his Truant Scholar at play in the Field to teach him there And again put Case saith the Reverend Dr. Sherlock any of you were a Father of a numerous Off-Spring and that without any express Command most of your Children should agree by common consent to visit you together to ask your Blessing and pay their thankful acknowledgment to you for your care of their Education and the liberal provision you have made for them but one or two of them should chuse to come in private when no body sees them and obstinately refuse to come with their Brethren though they were censured by them for undutifulness and ingratitude Now if Man would not accept of such a private acknowledgment shall we expect that God should God is a publick Benefactor and upon that account may challenge publick Worship at our hands nay indeed God himself instituted it In the Jewish Church the Sacrifices were publickly offered up by the Priest He likewise appointed a publick place for Worship viz. The Tabernacle at Jerusalem which would have been of no use if there had been no obligation to publick Worship and this is enough I should think to satisfy any reasonable Man of their obligation hereunto CHAP. VI. Of our going to our Parish-Church HAving thus fitted thy Family for God's House repair with them to thy own Parish-Church otherwise you will discourage your Minister and set your Neighbours an ill Example Remove all prejudices against thy Pastor especially these two which because most common I shall therefore instance in them As 1. Against his Parts 2. Against his Life I confess it is a mercy to sit under a Pastor that hath both Parts and Piety Gifts and Grace too and wert thou to chuse thy Dwelling I would advise thee to bear with many outward Conveniencies to sit under such a Ministry but suppose thy Teacher be at least in thy thoughts a Man of mean Parts and his pains will yield thee little profit that is no excuse for thy not hearing of him Shall the Divine Herbert be Umpire in the case Consult his Church-Porch and Page 15 th he speaks excellently to our purpose Judge not the Preacher for he is thy Judge If thou mistake him thou conceiv'st him not God calleth Preaching Folly Do not grudge To pick out Treasures from an Earthen Pot. The worst speak something good if all want sense God takes a Text and Preacheth Patience He that gets Patience and the Blessing which Preachers conclude with hath not lost his pains He that by being at Church escapes the Ditch Which he might fall in by Companions gains He that loves God's abode and to combine With Saints on Earth shall one day with them shine Jest not at Preachers Language or Expression How know'st thou but thy Sins made him miscarry Then turn thy faults and his into Confession God sent him whatsoe'r he be Oh tarry And love him for his Master his condition Though it be ill makes him no ill Physician A Condemn'd Person will esteem a Beggar when he brings a Pardon How beautiful then are not only the Lips but the hands of those that bring glad tidings or Peace Dear Christian Brother I pray resolve me Do the efficacy of the Ordinances depend on the parts of a Man or on the power of God May not a costly treasure be brought to thee in an Earthly Vessel Thou maist light a Candle as well by a Brimstone Match as by a great Fire A small Damsel was instrumental for Naaman's recovery both of his corporal and spiritual Leprosy And who art thou that none must instruct thee but such an one that like Saul is higher than others in gifts and abilities I wish it proceed not from the Pride of thy Spirit a picking Stomach argues a Diseased Body and an itching Ear cannot argue a sound Soul The industrious Bee sucks Honey from the Thyme an harsh and dry Herb. The Meat is as good in a Pewter as Silver-Dish If thou goest to the Table only for Sawce and the Church for Stile and Elegancy I dare be bold to tell thee that thy heart is not right towards God 2. As to thy prejudice against his Life which gives the lye to his Lips I must needs confess the night ushers in more Stars than the day opens Eyes to behold a Ministers Actions Ears to listen to their deportment and Mouths to proclaim their actions through all Provinces and they that forget their Sermons will remember their faults to Patronize their own But if the Providence of God should place thee under such a Minister which is no small unhappiness yet is he not to be rejected God Almighty fed Elijah by a Raven and so may he feed thee with Heavenly Manna by a sinful Minister who may convert thy Soul The reason is as before because the operation of the Word does not depend on the Piety of the Preacher but upon the free Grace and Power of God A blind Man may hold a Candle and give light to others while he himself remains in the dark The Scribes and Pharisees were many of them vicious Persons yet sitting in Moses's Chair Christ commands his Disciples to hear them He did not forbid them to hear their Doctrine but to forbear their doings CHAP. VII The Souls Soliloquy as it walks to God's House and behaviour there ORder thy business to come before the Prayers for many and mischievous are the consequences of coming late 1. You rob your self of the opportunity of private Prayers for a blessing upon the publick 2. You lose the benefit of publick Confession and Absolution which are of huge esteem and value to all that are wisely Religious 3. You willingly deprive your selves of part of God's publick Worship which is both a Sin and a loss of so great account as cannot easily be expressed nor ordinarily believed As you are going to Church you may make use