in the Church afterwards and certainly the want hereof is such a defect as doth more then spoile the Beauty of a Church it is a main cause of the decay of all true piety and therefore the ignorance and stubbornness of the Generality of this Nation is much to be lamented which discourage our Governours from Establishing this Dayly Worship of GOD in Towns Cities and other populous Places which I may confidently call a Necessary as well as a Reasonable Service But as we ought thus to hallow every Day by devoting some part thereof to the publick Service of GOD so we are oblidg'd to Sanctify for this end one whole Day in seven viz. the first day of the Week commonly called the Lord's Day partly because of its being peculiarly consecrate to the Service of GOD and partly because of that special Honour whiich the LORD IESUS CHRIST conferred on this Day by his Triumphant resurrection from the Dead which was the Reason for its consecration we should set a part one day of the seven not that this portion appears necessary by Natural Light but because 't was expresly exacted of the Iews and that we are unjust if our expressions of Piety and Devotion towards GOD be lesse then what was sought of them and what oblidgeth us to the observation of the first day particularly is the practice of the Holy Apostles who either had an expresse command for what they did themseves and enjoyned others in the Worship of GOD or were led thereto by the holy Ghost Now their practice in this particular is declared to us Act. 20. 7. 1. Cor. 16. 2. And is witnessed by a constant universal Tradition of the Church Besides the LORD'S Day no other is strictly necessary to be kept except in obedience to our Rulers Civil and Ecclesiastical who without all question may as well as the Iewish Church and State formerly appoint dayes for the publick Worship and service of GOD upon the account either of some particular emergency wherein Church or State is concerned or of some special Mercy granted them But they ought to be careful neither to burden People with too many such appointments nor yet to give them a disgust by ordering Solemn Dayes upon mean silly accounts if Men be not serious in these Solemn Addresses they are a meer Mockery and Dishonour to GOD and it is impossible to make them Serious when the cause and occasion of them is frivolous and unworthy to be made the matter of Divine Worship And so the Church of Rome has miserably transgressed for first she hath so multiplied her Fasts and Festivals that the number of them almost exceeds the dayes of the Year the year would need to be enlarg'd if all their Holy Dayes should be distinctly and exactly keept And though it be pretended that all are not required to observe each of them yet there be too many imposed upon every person and every place so that the French King was necessitate to deall with the Pope lately for the dispensing with a great many in his Kingdom Again the Church of Rome is not only to blame for enjoyning such an intollerable burden of dayes but also because the Reason of these injunctions for the most part are frivolous scarce worthy of a Man's serious attention much lesse of being the matter and occasion of solemn Devotions as for example the invention of some pitiful Relicts the dedication of Bells some ridiculous passage of their Legendary Saints c. and as most of their Holy-dayes are in honour of their Saints so the most of their Saints according to their own relation did nothing memorable their lives are more Foolish and impertinent then Old Wives Fables or the Tales of Children as we might shew by several instances did we not fear to be tedious But leaving this we come next to speak to the Nature of this Worship which should be payed unto GOD publickly and to shew the Particulars whereof it should consist which ought especially to be considered And First as to the General nature of this Worship it must first answer the end thereof which is the Glory of GOD the Celebration and Praise of his Greatness Wisdom Goodness and other Glorious perfections that the Souls of the Worshippers may be enflamed with the love of GOD and that they may be excited to Fear Trust and Obey Him 2ly It must be agreeable to the Will and Mind of GOD and altogether free of what he hath forbidden or signified his displeasure with otherwayes it will be so far from being acceptable that it will be very abominable 3ly It must not only contain all the parts of Natural Religion but besides carry Characters of the Gospel for it is not only Reasonable but Necessary that the Worship of GOD be Regulate by special dispensations of his Grace and made to expresse the particulars of such Dispensations the Iews were required to Worship God in a different Manner from what is discernable by Natural Light and so those who believe the Truth and Mysteries of the Christian Religion must have a Peculiar Worship that is distinct from such as own no Revelation or only that of the old Testament Fourthly from these considerations it follows that Christians must Worship GOD together in spirit and Truth For so our Saviour directed us Iohn 4. 23. Where he saith The hour cometh and now is when the true Worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and Truth For the Father seeketh such to Worship him GOD is a Spirit and they that Worship must Worship him in Spirit and Truth Which words whither we consider them abstractly in a general notion as delivering a certain Natural Truth or with a reference to the way of Worshipping GOD then usual in the World I say which way so ever we consider them they teach us that GOD will now be Worshipped not by a Multitude of carnal and external Observances or a number of Mysterious and almost unintelligible rites and Ceremonies as the Gentiles used to doe and as he thought fit for a time to impose upon the Iews But by actions of a Spiritual Nature and whose signification and use is Reasonable and easily understood The Law considered Men as in a weak Infant State and so prescribed a Worship sutable to such a State but the Gospel endeavours to bring us to the full Stature of perfect Men and considers us as such and therefore our way of worshipping GOD now must speak out more perfect Reason and understanding The worship required of Christians is not a Pompous shew of Ceremonies which may affect Children or Childish Persons but Real and Substantial expressions of Faith Love Fear Ioy and Confidence in GOD There must not be more or other Ceremonies used in the Worship of GOD then what is requisite for Order and Decency or necessary to Excite and Fix the inward attention of our minds for that is not True or proper Worship which is wholly External and doth not come
of GOD. Rom 12. 1 2. Now what is it to make a Sacrifice of our selves but only to Walk with GOD for who Walketh with GOD as we have shewed Sacrifices his understanding to God to Believe what he reveales and to Contemplate what he does he Sacrificeth his will to be entirely regulate by his Laws his Affections to be placed or displaced according to his Order and in a word his whole Life and all its Operations to set forward the purposes of his Counsel and the Glory of his Name Which indeed is a most Reasonable Service for what lesse can be payed to him who is the Authour and preserver of our Beeing and gives us whatever we enjoy It is also agreeable to his Word nay the very thing it calls for which perhaps is true meaning of the Apostles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the very scope of the Scripture is to teach us this and to obliege us thereto Finally it is most acceptable GOD is very well pleased with these Spiri tual Sacrifices they have an Odour of sweet Smell with him But if they be wanting that thing which is savoury if we do not walk closely and constantly with God as above though we would bring never so many Burnt Offerings and Calves of a Year old Thousand of Rams and ten thousand Rivers of Oyl yet He would not regard them Sacrifice and Offering thou didst not desire Burnt Offering and Sin Offering thou hast not required then said I Lo I come in the Volume of the Book it is written of Me I delight to do thy will O my GOD yea they Law is within my Heart Psal. 40. 6. 7. Let none think saith Lactantius that GOD requires Victims Incense Donations c. For if he be not capable of Hunger Thrist Cold neither hath the Desire of Earthly things he will not use thâ—…se and the like which are brought unto the Temples but as Corporeal Beings require things of the like Nature so a Spiritual Sacrifice is only necessary to be offered to a Spiritual Being What GOD hath given to Man for his use he himself needs not and besides the whole World is his and the fulness thereof he needs not a Temple who hath the World for his dwelling place nor an Image or Statue who is incomprehensible he stands not in need of Lamps and Earthly Lights who hath kindled the Sun and the rest of the Stars for Mans behoof what is it therefore saith he which GOD requireth of Man but the inward Worship of the mind seing He himself is pure and Holy for these things which are wrought by the Hands and which are without the Man is no true or proper Sacrifice neither that which is taken out of the Coffer but which cometh from the Heart nor what is offered by the Hand but by the Soul This is a true Sacrifice when the Soul offereth it self unto GOD For what signifieth other Sacrifices What doth inccnse what do Garments and Gold and Silver and Precious stones profit if the Worshippers mind be not holy and pure 'T is only Righteousness which GOD seeks after 'T is in this that the True Worship of GOD doth consist The true Worshippers of GOD saith CHRIST shall Worship him in Spirit and Truth for the Father seeketh such to Worship him And what is it to Worship GOD in Spirit and Truth but to worship him by a truly holy Life and an upright walking with him In this is his Delight and who taketh this way to please him shall be counted worthy of the Kingdom of GOD. Enoch walked with GOD and it 's said GOD took him that is he took him out of this wretched Life unto his Heavenly Glory And all who tread the same paths shall meet with the same Reward GOD will take every one to himself who walketh with GOD though not after the same manner Death puts a stop to our Walking with Men and forces us and them to part but it doth not break off our Walking with GOD it doth unite us more firmly to him this fellowship which we thus begin here results into an Eternal Friendship and Society in the other World CHAP III. Of these Words And this Stone which I have set for a Pillar shall be GODS House The Reason and Meaning of them GOD is to be Worshipped not only in Private but in Publick he is not only to be Owned and Acknowledg'd a part by our selves in Secret but ought to be professed openly before all the World by the Performance of such things as Reason and the universall Consent of Mankind hath established to be publick Testimonies of our Alleagiance to him He who doth not this Last can never â—…e very sincere in the First neither will GOD own such to be true Worshippers of him who do not avowedly professe him before Men according to that of our Saviour whosoever shall confesse me before Men him shall the Son of Man also confesse before the Angels of God but he that denyeth me before Men shall be denyed before the Angels of God Luke 12. 8. The very Light of Nature teacheth this and therefore it is that when Iacob here did Solemnly take the LORD to be his GOD he did not only engage himself to that Inward Spiritual Worship which is acted within a Man 's own self whereof we have spoken already but also he binds Himself to that Outward and Visible Worship which is transacted by things without the Man that it may be manifest to alâ—… the World that he Honoured and Adored this GOD. This stone saith he which I have here set up for a Pillar shall be GOD'S house that is here in this place where I erect this Stone when I come back I will build and consecrat a House to my GOD for the Honour of his Name and the Celebrating of his Worship where I will Call upon him and Pray unto him The Reason why he pitched upon this particular place was because GOD had made it eminent by so signal an appearance unto him as we read before and what moved him to build a house to GOD was because this was universally agreed to as an Act of Honour due unto GOD and as an proper instance whereby men signify their Homage to him This which Iacob Vowed here gives us Occasion to speak of Churches or consecrated places of Prayer and of publick Worship SECTION I. Of Churches or Places Consecrat to GOD the Origine and Necessity thereof what Regard and Reverence should be payed them AND First as it is an universal Custome all the World over to erect Temples and to Consecrat places for the Honour and Service of GOD So this custome is most Ancient At present there are not only Churches throughout all the Christian World but Mahumetans and Pagans also have Temples and Religious houses of one sort or another and it was so from the very beginning It would seem that even our First Parents in Paradise had some more peculiar place for presenting themselves before
very proper and convenient to set apart one particular Room of our House for this end that we may perform our Devotions with the greater freedom and be less lyable to disturbance and those interruptions which persons usually meet with who want this conveniency But to leave the circumstance of the place and to come to the thing it self Prayer is a speciall part of Divine Worship enjoined by clear precepts recommeded by the example of all holy Men and so necessary that who prayeth not at all or but seldome cannot be said to Worship GOD whatever elâ—…e they doe For their other Acts cannot be properly referred to GOD if they be not accompanied with Prayers Our obligation to Prayer ariseth not from one but from all the Divine Attributes and by Prayer there is an acknowledgement of all of them He who prayeth declareth GOD'S Omnipresence His Omniscience His Omnipotence and All sufficiency and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him But who neglecteth Prayer doth not believe these Divine Perfections or doth not seriously consider them he maketh no actuall acknowledgment of them nay he lives in open defiance of them and arrogates to himself an independency and self-sufficiency which are GOD'S prerogative Again there can be no Intercourse with GOD but by the means of Prayer Without Prayer we can never arrive at he end of Religion viz. Union with GOD and participation of the Divine Nature He who is not exercised in Prayer hath his Heart alienat from GOD and is wholly indisposed for receiving the Spirit of GOD and the impression thereof without which there is no advancing towards perfection Prayer is by some compared to Breathing and not unfitly for what that is to the Body Prayer is to the Soul respiration is no more necessary to our NaturallLi'e then Prayer to the Spirituall Life for hereby it â—…s preserved as the stiffling our breath ends our Life so the ceasing to pray destroyes the life of God in the Soul The bâ—…dy which breaths not has no sense or feeling nor is it capable of motion even so the man who prayeth not is without all due sense of GOD neither maketh he any motion towards him Prayer is a sign of Spirituall Life and shews a desire and capacity to receive what is necessary to growth and perfection and as the want of such a desire and capacity obstructs the communication of GOD'S Spirit so where this is he will certainly manifest his Lâ—…ve and bestow his Grace To him who hath the desire and capacity shall be given He who asketh shall receive he who seeketh shall find and who knockâ—…th it shall be opened unto him Mat. 11. But to make Prayer acceptable to GOD and thus profitable to our selves it must be rightly performed and duely qualified true Prayer is alwayes acceptable as incense and never failes to bring down a Blessing but many deceive themselves with a meer shew they are contented that they seem to Pray but do not Pray really some Pray much but yet are never a whit nearer GOD nor move more forward in Holinesse which is both the undoubted Sign and the certain Effect of true Prayer We ought then not only to Pray but to pray aright else all the Labour we bestow this way is in vain Ye ask saith St. Iames and ye have not why because ye ask amiss Now that our Prayers may be proper Prayers and effectuall first We must take heed that they be the Work of the Spirit and not the Labour of the Lips For GOD is a Spirit and will be Worshipped in Spirit and Truth That is by free and proper Acts of the Mind and not by empty shews which have no Solidity or Reality in them If our Hearts be removed he cares not for our drawing near with our mouth or the honouring him with our Lips as we learn from Isa 29. 1â—… To prostrate our Bodies before GOD and to let our Minds â—…ove and wander is to offer a dead Sacrifice which is no Reasonable or acceptable Service to utter words which we do not understand or whose meaning we attend not to is not to pray but to prat it is to bable without sense to make a sound which signifies nothing and deserves no more to be regarded then the pronunciation of Puppets and Mechanicall Engines which is performed by Wheels and Springs without understanding Our Prayers are but bruitish gruâ—…tlings if they come not from the Heart and be not performed by the understanding Wherefore when we are to Pray we should first fix our Spirits and compose our Minds to a serious Attention and should endeavonr to wind up our Souls to that fervour and earnestness which is Sutable to the weight and importance of Prayers And to this purpose â—… will be necessary to bestow some time in Meditation and Reading of the Seriptures or some other devout book Having thus reduced our Minds to a due Attention and secured as much as possible against wandering thoughts in the next place we must consider the several parts of Prayers the Nature and Property of each and the Affections sutable thereto and frame our Prayers accordingly For they cannot be acceptable if lame and defective nor though they have all necessary parts if each part be not rightly Adjusted and Properly qualified To clear this better we will touch a little on them The first part of Prayer is Adoration and Invocation This we should alwayes begin with for as in our addresses to Kings and great Personages we use first to do them reverence and to testify their dignity before we present our requests So in our addresses to GOD we should first adore his Majesty and invocate his Audience Now the right way to do this is not to be accoast him with a heap of bigge tittles but to call to mind his incomprehensible Nature and Adorable perfections visible in his manifold Works And if our apprehensions of GOD be worthy of him we will be abashed at our selves as unfit for so great a presence and most unworthy to be regarded by one so highly exalted above all our thoughts To expresse which and to cherish it too 't is requisite to throw our selves in some humble posture Thus the Publican to signify his own vileness and GODS greatness he stood a far off and would not lift up his eyes as one ashamed of himself But lest the reflecting upon GODS Majesty and Greatness should take away the hopes of Acceptance and rather fill us with dread then confidence in him we must remember his Goodness his Love his Mercy and how that he is reconciled to us in his Son IESUS CHRIST Therefore our Saviour hath taught us to draw near to GOD as in a sense of his Ineffable Greatness whose throne is in the Heavens so under the notion of a Father who is alwayes ready and easie to be entreated When ye pray saith he say Our Father which art in Heaven c. Confession is another part of Prayer This
our deeds and actions if our knowledge of God doth not lead and excite us to the honouring of him it will prove much to our hurt and dammage as we may learn from Rom 1. where we see what plagues and judgements God gave them up to who when they knew God did not glorifie him as God neither were thankful It is said he gave them up to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient that they all might be dâ—…mn'd who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousnesâ—… as we have it 2Thes 2. 12 Seing therefore we have found out the True GOD and that he hath revealed himself to us let us not slight or neglect him and be careless to please him But let us with all Readiness and Cheerfulness pay that Homage Worship and Service which is due unto him To shew which was the third Particular we promised to speak to and we shall treat thereof in the following Sections SECTION IV. Shewing what Worship and Service is due to GOD and how we may come to know the same THE Knowledge of this is most necessarie for it is not enough that we find out who is the True GOD unless we also own and acknowledge him which is not done unless we pay him that Homage and Worship which is due unto Him For as He is our Master whom we serve and Obey and as He is our Soveragin to whom we swear Loyalty and pay the proper Acts of allegiance so He is our GOD to whom we give the Worship due to GOD which can never be rightly performed unless we know well what it is Now to find out this we must proceed Warrily and take right Measures otherways we cannot choose but fall into gross Mistakes we ought not to follow at random the Devices and Imaginations of our own Hearts for what pleaseth us may Displease GOD be unsuitable to his Majesty and improper for the advancing his Honour and Glory Nor will it justifie and warrand any way of Worshipping GOD that the same is observed by others for whither we view the old or the present World we shall find that the generality of man-kind have deviated much from the true way of worshipping God they have set up various forms of Religion and Worship which are not acceptable to God because in modelling these they have studied more their own several humours and dispositions then what was proper in it self or sutable to the Divine Majesty Thus for example the manner after which the Heathens worshipped God was an abomination unto him for how could he who is a spirit be but displeased with empty outward shewes with sensless insignificant actions How could it but offend his unspoted puritie to be worshipped by debauchery and acts of filthiness and impurity How odious to his infinite wisdom that Foolish and ridiculous Gestures should be thought his Honour and delight and how unsutable to his goodness and mercy to be courted with Cruelty and Barbarity As Lucian saith they rather deserve the name of Impious then Religious who think God takes pleasure to be worshipped after that manner The practices of the Heathen in their Worship destroy the very Ideâ—… of GOD and chock these Sentiments of him which we have by Nature for they were the occasion of these Poetical fables which made their Gods guilty of theft murder adultery and the like vices which Fables were again necessarly keept up that they might the better defend and support that Foolish and unreasonable Worship which was so far from holding forth the Glory of GOD that it did only serve to beget mean and unworthy thoughts of him The practices of men therefore is a very uncertain rule to walk by as well as our own Fancy and seing men have differed about nothing more then the way and manner of worshipping GOD it would be a tedious task to examine their various sentiments The surest and nearest way to be informed wherein the true and acceptable Worship of God consists is to apply our selves to the consideration of the Divine Nature and â—…o search out his will and pleasure concerning us for as when we are about to make presents and to offer gifts we do not so much consider what we our selves would be taken with as what will be gratefull and acceptable to the person whose favour we are seeking so the worship of God being design'd to please him we ought not to seek therein the satisfaction of our own humors inclinations as what will find acceptance in his sight And nothing will find acceptance with him but what is agreeable to his Nature conform to his will and which doth properly express the glory of his Attributes and perfections So none can shew us these things but God and if he doe not declare them we cannot be sure not to erre an expresse particular Revelation therefore is necessary to determine the Worship of God for who besides himself should presume to order it It is our part to set about the service of God but it belongs to him only to prescribe it 'T is true something of GOD'S mind and will and consequently part of his true Worship may be learn'd by Natural light for the will of GOD is founded upon his Nature which never varies but is still the same Wherefore a due and serious consideration of the Divine Nature and Attributes might bring us to the knowledge of His will and of what is acceptable to him the Dictates also of Reason and Conscience being from GOD they do teach us his Will But though Natural light may thus teach us part yet it can not shew all that is necessary it is good and usefull so far and ought not to be slighted but it is not full or sufficient neither so very certain now by Reason of that darknesse which Sin hath raised which is too thick to be dispelled by Natural Light yea Sin hath so mingled it self with our very Nature and Constitution that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish betwixt the Dictates of right Reason and Conscience and the erroneous sentiments of that Sinfull contagion And farther seing wee have not kept our First state but are become Sinners some other Homage and Worship is requisite then if it had not been so For it is not Reasonable to think that such as have offended GOD should do no more then if they had still retained their uprightnesse another acknowledgement is due from Traitors and Rebels then from these who have been always Loyal els it will not be accepted But what Homage Sinners should pay or how they should Address themselves to GOD cannot be known unlesse he declare it Natural Reason doth not teach this for though it were cleared of its present incumbrances it is only adapted to the State in which we were Created that is a State of Innocency and doth not serve to direct our behaviour if we fall from that state Thus it is evident that some new Revelation is necessary to