that Solomon when he was preparing for the Temple he would build a great Temple why Because God was a great God that he would build it too So that the Worship of God must be some great thing because the Lord is a great God and it must be sutable to his greatness Now if you ask me in what particulars doth the behavior of the soul consist that is very sutable to the greatness of God in the general There are many things in this The first is You must be careful to bring a sanctified heart You cannot tender up a worship sutable to his greatness except you bring a sanctified heart with you there must be holiness in the heart Under the Law you know if any one came to offer a sacrifice in his uncleanness he must be cut off and so it must be here we must look to it that we offer not to God in our uncleanness Wash you and make you clean in Isa 1. and then Come let us reason together There is no coming to God without washing and making clean in Psal 93. 5. Holiness becometh thy House O Lord for ever Holiness becometh the presence of God for ever we must look to get a sanctified heart Sanctification consists in those two parts Mortification and Vivification there must be a mortifying of the lusts of the heart We reade in the Law that every Sacrifice was to be salted with salt that did signifie the mortification of our hearts when we come to offer up our selves as a Sacrifice to God the salt did eat out the raw humors and kept the flesh from putrifying so doth the grace of God in mortifying our lusts In Heb. 9. 14. you have a notable Scripture for the clensing of our hearts when we come to offer any service to God How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your Consciences from dead works to serve the living God So that you cannot serve the living God until your consciences be purged from dead works And how comes your consciences to be purged from dead works It is through the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God he must purge your consciences So that here 's the way of sanctifying Gods Name by applying of Jesus Christ who was offered to God without spot that our consciences might be purged from dead works that we might be purged from that natural filthiness and uncleannness in which we all were for the whol world doth lie in filth as a carrion doth lie in his slime Now if we would worship God so as to Sanctifie him we must apply Christ to our souls and get our conscience purged from dead works and to have the Spirit of Christ in us to quicken up our hearts in the waies of holiness to have the Image of Jesus Christ in us whereby we may be holy according to our proportion even as he himself is holy this is the sanctifying of the heart There must be an habitual sanctification and actual sanctification of the heart An Habitual that is that the heart must be changed through the work of Regeneration there must be a Regeneration in the heart there must be Divine Principles of the Graces of the Spirit of God in the heart But you will say May not an unregenerate man Pray To that I answer It is true it is his duty to pray Powr forth thy wrath upon the Heathen and upon the families that call not upon thy Name But it 's as true that they cannot sanctifie Gods Name in doing of it But if we would sanctifie Gods Name in it there must be an Habitual holiness in the heart for every thing doth act according to its Principles in Nature it is so and so doth the heart when it comes to worship God it doth act according to the Principles that it hath And then there must not only be Habitual sanctification but Actual sanctification likewise as in Exod. 19. 10 11. there you see what ado there was to fit them for the hearing of the Law because God was to come among them God is to come among us and we are to come to God when we are to perform holy duties therefore it is not enough to have Grace but there must be an improving of Grace there must be an acting of Grace not only when you come to receive the Sacrament to think that then there must be an acting of Grace but every time you pray and hear there must be an acting of Grace A purging out of your corruptions and an acting of Grace So that one cannot sanctifie Gods Name in holy duties unless he come thus far to be able to say Lord thou that knowest all things knowest there is nothing that thou doest reveal to be contrary to thy Will but my heart is against it that 's the least thou canst not have any peace of conscience in drawing nigh to God until thou come thus far to have thy heart to work thus against sin and to be set upon every good that God reveals to be his mind You know when a man of quality comes to your house what a deal of stir there is not only in sweeping but in making all things as clean and tite and shining as possible can be Thus it should be when thou comest to God And the Reason why there must be this sanctifying of the heart is First Because the Lord doth first accept of the Person before he doth accept of the action Men indeed do accept of the persons of men because they do good actions but God accepts of the actions of men because thesr persons are good If indeed we see a man do good then we love him and accept of the person of the man but God first will accept of the person before the action As the Lord accepted of Abel first and then he accepted his offering So you must look to that to have your persons first accepted of God before any duty can be accepted You think though you be wicked and sinful yet if you amend your life God will accept of you you go that way to work but certainly that is the wrong way you must first look after means of acceptation of your persons which is through the Righteousness of Jesus Christ and through the sanctification of his Spirit whereby you come to have his Image and Life and so are accepted and then all that proceeds from you comes to be accepted There is not any action which comes from you that comes to be accepted to eternal life until your persons be accepted before God and therefore there must be a sanctifying of the heart before there can be a sanctifying the Name of God in the duties of his Worship Therefore when you come to perform any duties of Gods Worship you should consider this Is my heart Sanctified I must sanctifie Gods Name and how can I do that except my heart be sanctified
give up all that you are have or can do to God Lord I am thy servant take all Faculties of Soul and Members of Body improve all lay out all to thine own praise to the uttermost to bring glory to thy great Name If every time you came to God in Prayer you did this this were to sanctifie your selves to God I spake before of a sanctified heart but now this is in a profession of your selves unto God do it secretly at least in your own thoughts if you do not every time express it in words yet in your own thoughts do it devote yourselves to God every day Of admirable use it would be if every day when men and women worship God either in their closets or families they did professedly devote and consecrate themselves to God and so likewise every time they come to hear the Word or to receive Sacraments God would account his Name to be sanctified in such a work as this is 8. Lastly That that must make all up and without which all the other is nothing it is That you must tender up al your worship in the Name of Jesus Christ let a man or woman worship God never so well yet when they have done all if they do not tender it up in the Name of Jesus Christ God will not account his Name to be sanctified thou must by Faith look upon Jesus Christ as the glorious Mediator that is come into the world by whom thou hast access unto the Father And act thy Faith upon Christ and give up thy Duties into his hand as the hand of a Mediator to be tender'd up to the Father by him though thou hast labored what thou canst to perform Duty as well as thou art able yet thou must not think to tender it up by thine own hand unto God but thou must tender it up to the Father by the hand of Jesus Christ the Mediator and so thou shalt sanctifie the Name of God in holy Duties We reade in Levit. 16. 13. that when Aaron was to tender up the Incense he was to put the Incense on the fire before the Lord that the cloud of the Incense may cover the Mercy-seat that is upon the Testimony that he die not Mark it is as much as his life is worth whether he doth it or doth it not Now Incense it is in the New Testament called Prayer and so in the Old Testament too it was a kind of emblem of Prayer The offering up of our Prayers is the offering up of Incense to God and the Mercy-seat it was a Type of Jesus Christ Now the Incense should cover the Mercy-seat so our Prayers must go up to Jesus Christ must be upon him and so must be accepted by the Father And as we reade in Judg. 13. 20. when Monah offered a Sacrifice the text saith that the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame This Angel of God here was Jesus Christ as we might easily from this Scripture make it out and he ascends up in the flame from the Altar Now though we do not offer such kind of Sacrifices with Fire and Incense as they did in the time of the Law yet when we are offering up of our Incense there must be a flame of Fervency and Zeal But that is not enough together with the flame of the Altar and the Angel of God Jesus Christ the great Angel of the new Covenant for Angel signifies nothing but Messenger the great Messenger that is come into the world about that great Errend of his To Reconcile the World to Himself He must ascend up in the flame and so God will account his Name to be sanctified the Name of God is not sanctified but through Jesus Christ The acting of our Faith upon Christ as Mediator is a special ingredient to the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy Duties as you know the Scripture saith That the Altar doth Sanctifie the Gift offered upon the Altar Jesus Christ is the Altar upon whom all our Spiritual Sacrifices are to be offered and this Altar doth sanctifie the Gift that is offered upon it let never so great a gift be offered upon any other Altar it was not accounted holy nor accepted So let men by their natural strength or power that they have offer up the most glorious and speciousest Service to God it is not accepted except it be offered up upon the Altar Jesus Christ We have an Altar now not the Communion Table but Jesus Christ himself is our Altar upon whom we are to offer al our Sacrifices and this Altar must sanctifie the Gift we can never have our Gift Sanctified no nor Gods Name sanctified in this Gift except it be offered upon this Altar and our Faith acted upon Jesus Christ People little think of this but of other things viz. That when we worship God we should worship him with Fear and Reverence and with Humility and with strength of Intention such kind of things every one that hath any enlightening of conscience will think of at some time or other but people do least think of this which is the greatest ingredient of all in the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties that is To come and tender up all to the Father in the Name of Jesus Christ How many men and women that have been Professors of Religion twenty or thirty years and yet not acquainted with this great Mystery of Godliness To tender up all to God in the Name of his Son This is that that upon divers occasions I have spoken unto and am willing upon every occasion as I meet with it to speak of because it is a principal part of the great Mystery of the Gospel without which all our duties are rejected of God and cast away Now then put all these Nine things together and see by them what we ought to do that we may sanctifie the Name of God in holy Duties But there is something further to be spoken that may help you to sanctifie Gods Name in holy duties and that is Several workings of heart sutable to the several Attributes of God for that is to sanctifie Gods Name to have the duty to be such as is some way sutable to such a God as we are now worshiping Now then let us consider what the Scripture saith of God and then let us see what sutable dispositions we should have in us unto those things that the Scripture saith of God 1. First You know the Scripture saith that God is a Spirit in Joh. 4. 24. Then presently Christ saith That he that worships him must worship him in Spirit that is there must be a sutableness in our worship to what God is Is God a Spirit then all that worship him must worship him in Spirit and Truth that is thus When I am to go to worship God I must consider of him as he is an infinite and glorious Spirit well then surely bodily worship is not sufficient for me Though I do kneel down in prayer or
do come and present my body to hear the Word or my body to receive the Sacrament this is not to worship God as a Spirit If indeed that our God were as the Heathens that were corporeal then it were another matter then bodily worship would serve the turn but God being a Spirit he must have Spiritual Worship therefore my soul and all that is within me magnifie his Name saith David my Soul magnifie his Name not my lips only but my soul The Apostle in 1 Tim. 4. 8. saith that bodily exercise profits little it is no great matter for the body God looks but very little at bodily exercise but it is godliness that is profitable it is the work of the Spirit when we come to pray we must pray in the Spirit that is we must pray with our souls we must powr forth our souls before God and when we come to hear our hearts must not go after our covetousness we must set our hearts to what we hear we must hear with our hearts as well as with our ears our souls must be at work in hearing of the Word when you hear it is not enough for you to come and sit in a Pew and have the sound of a mans voice in your ears but your souls must be at work And so when you come to receive the Sacrament your souls must feed upon Jesus Christ Bodily-worship without Soul-worship is nothing but soul-worship may be accepted without bodily-worship therefore it is the Soul that God doth principally look at in holy duties If you be not able to worship God in your bodies you may worship him in your souls and God regards that bodily exercise in holy duties is little worth somewhat it may be worth I confess sometime bodily exercise may further the soul as a reverend carriage of the body and the like but it is nothing in comparison the great work is the work of the soul for God is a Spirit and must be worshiped in Spirit And God is said to be a Spirit not only in that he is not of so thick a Capital substance but it notes the simplicity of God he is without any composition whatsoever is in God is God Himself He is absolutely One there are not divers things in God now then those that come to worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth that is there must not be a heart and a heart there must not be a compounded heart but you must bring simple hearts before God without any composition of dross in your selves and of any kind of falsness but in the simplicity of your hearts you must come to worship God and thus you shall worship him with such worship as is some way sutable to him as he is a spirit 2. Further consider God as he is an eternal God what sutable disposition doth this require of me when I am to look upon God as an eternal Being it requires this only That therefore thy heart must be taken off from all temporal good things and set upon that eternal good thou mayest indeed desire these outward good things but in order to thy eternal good Then further Thou art worshiping an eternal God hence then whatsoever sin thou doest confess although committed 20. or 40. yeers ago thou must look upon it as if it were now presently committed and be humbled as much before the Lord as if it were now committed at this present You will say Why so Because God is an Eternal God Yes For if I understand Gods Eternity I know that there is no succession in Gods Being therefore the sins that I committed in my youth if I come to confess them they are before God as if they were now a doing in regard of time and therefore I must as much as I can look so upon them and be humbled for them as if they were sins lately committed Many people are troubled for their sins the very day after they commit them but a little time wears off their trouble but if you did consider that you had to deal with an eternal God then you would look upon your sins though a long time since committed as if they were but now done Likewise there will be this required from the consideration of Gods eternity You must come with such a disposition of heart as not to think much though what you desired be deferred and not granted in your time when you would have it For if there be no time that alters with God but a thousand yeers are with God as one day then that that we account long before it s done it is nothing with God and therefore we must have our hearts so work towards God as towards an Eternal God as one with whom there is no alteration of time at all with whom there is no succession of time If we come to a man and seek any thing of him if he doth not answer us presently we will think that he will forget it and other things will come into his mind but when we come to worship God we must look upon him as an Eternal Being and that time alters nothing with him Thus understanding God in a right way wil much help us in his Worship and to Sanctifie his Name We cannot Sanctifie Gods Name without knowing his Name without having serious thoughts about his Name and getting our hearts to work accordingly 3. Thirdly Look upon God when you come to Worship Him in His comprehensible Being that is as a God that fils all places His being is real in the room that we are praying in the place that we are meeting in as it is in Heaven Now then when we come to worship Him we must consider that that infinite glorious Being stands before us looks upon us is at our elbow and therefore especially when you worship in secret consider this it is good to consider it when you are with others but especially I say consider it when you are in secret and know that when you are most private you have one that looks on you and takes notice of you who is more than if you had ten hundred thousand witnesses standing by you and looking upon you For it is the Lord that stands by you and sees your behavior sees what you do in your worshiping of Him take heed therefore that there be nothing done by you that is unbeseeming the presence of such a God as the Lord is Suppose that some of you were praying and there were some godly able Minister stood neer you it would be some means to stir up your hearts to mind what you did but now the Lord He is not in the next room only but in the same room and stands by you Let there be nothing done therefore unbeseeming the presence of that infinite holy God that stands by you and hold this truth forth The Lord is present with me I acknowledg it and I own it and therefore I carry my self thus and all because I would witness to
Angels and Men that I do acknowledg that the Lord is present with me in this duty 4. Fourthly Consider God is an unchangable God immutable That is another Attribute of God He is unchangeable First Therefore our hearts must be taken off from these mutable things and set upon God as that unchangable good Secondly We must be humbled for our fickleness and unconstantness there is no shadow of change in God and there is no shadow of constancy in us Thirdly When we come into the presence of a God who is unchangable then we should look upon God as being the same now that ever He was heretofore He hath as much displeasure against sin now as ever he had and that God that hath done such great things for his Church in former times is the same God to do good to His people as ever he was And make use of this When you reade the Word and there find how God hath made Himself appear to be glorious for His people and now every time I am to worship God I should think that I am to deal with God that is the same that ever he was a merciful and gracious and just and powerful as ever he was and so my heart is to work towards him 5. Fiftly When I am to Worship God I am to look upon Him as the Living God as that God that hath life in Himself and gives life unto his Creatures Then what sutable behavior doth become me I must come before His presence with fear It is a fearful thing to fall into his hands that is the living God that hath my life under his feet He hath the absolute dispose of my present and eternal condition He gave me my life he hath preserved my life and so may take it away when he pleases and bring death eternal death unto me These things may marvelously help your meditation when you are to come before Him you who are barren in your meditations go over the Attributes of God thus and consider what you may be able to draw from thence God He is the living God What behavior then doth beseem me towards this living God Oh let me be afraid lest my soul depart from the living God Let me bring a living Service to Him I must not bring a dead heart let me take heed how I come before the living God with a dead heart and with a dead service to sacrifice that which is dead before it comes it 's like a carrion that lies dead in the ditch Oh let us be humbled for our dead hearts and dead sacrifices it is a living God that I am worshiping and therefore I must pray Lord turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity and quicken my heart in thy Law Psal 119. 37. Remember when thou comest to worship that thou come with a quikned heart for thou hast to deal with a living God A man or woman that is of an active spirit cannot endure a dull and heavy servant in the family but the Lord is a pure act and nothing else but act and therefore he doth expect that all his people should have quick active and lively spirits 6 When you come to worship God you are to look upon Him as Almighty And so are First To fear his great Power when you come before Him And Secondly Then you are not to be discouraged by any difficulties I come to seek for some great thing and I come to seek to a great God that hath all Power in Heaven and Earth and infinitely more power than there is in all creatures in Heaven and Earth I am praying to a God that can create peace create help My condition cannot be so desperate but this Infinite Almighty God is able to help me Let me make him the object of my faith as he is so infinitely Almighty What a full object of faith is this God that hath all power in Him Let me therefore come to him as a strong Tower Run to the Name of God as a strong Tower that can help in all straights whatsoever There would be much drawing forth of our Faith if we could present the Lord before us as an infinite Almighty God when we see outward helps and means neer at hand then we can beleeve that we may have some succour from him but when all outward helps and means fail then we are discouraged we do not sanctifie Gods Name but we rather take this Name of God in vain when as our hearts are discouraged with any difficulties now the Lord expects that all his Children that come to worship him should worship him as the Almighty God and so have their hearts working towards him there would be mighty workings of Spirit towards God if we saw him by the eye of Faith as well as Reason 7. Look upon God as an Omniscient God as a God infinitely understanding all things Now what doth this call for First If God be a God of infinite understanding then let not me bring a blind Sacrifice to God then let not me bring an ignorant heart to God this is the excellency of an understanding creature to know the rule and end of its own Actions now thou comest to worship an infinite God of infinite understanding then know the rule of what you do and know the end of what you do and come with understanding in His presence Secondly If He be so understanding come with a free open heart to open whatsoever is in thine heart to God take heed of keeping any secret resolutions in thine own heart God knows thee and can tell how to find thee out God knows all that is in thine heart before all the secret baseness that is in thine heart the Lord doth understand it the Lords eye is a piercing eye He sees thorow and thorow thy heart It 's a vain thing for thee to come and conceal any thing before Him You will say If God understand a mans heart what need he come and confess Yes He requires it as thy duty that thou shouldest come and open all before him In spight of thy heart thou canst not cover any thing from the Lords eyes but the Lord will see whether thou beest willing of thy self that He should understand al God doth not require us to come and confess our sins that so he might know that which he knew not before but for this end That there might be a testimony that thou art willing that he should know all that is in thy heart therefore now when thou comest to worship him ransack every corner of thy heart and confess all before the Lord and give glory to his Name as that God that is an All-seeing God that knows all the windings and turnings of thy heart Now meditate of these things that be presented to thee and it will be a mighty means to help thee to sanctifie his Name 8. God is a God of infinite Wisdom therefore when we come to worship God let us be ashamed of our folly When thou comest
carrying forth the filthiness out of our hearts so as to be fit for a duty And in Job 11. 13 14. If thou prepare thine heart and stretch out thine hand towards him What then If iniquity be in thine hand put it far away and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles These Two must be together 3. A Third thing is this The preparation of the heart it is The dis-intangling of the heart from the world and from all occasions and businesses in the world I am to worship God but how is my heart insnared and intangled in this and the othere business Now when I come to worship God I must lay aside all for there 's the preparation of the heart the separating of it for such a work for that 's the nature of Sanctification the separating of a thing from a common use I am to worship God now I must labor to separate my heart from a common use At other times God gives me liberty to let out my heart to common uses but now when I come to worship him I must separate my heart from all common uses that my heart may be wholly for God I remember it is said in the story of Cicil which was Lord Treasurer that when he went to read he would lay his gown off and say Lie there Lord Cicil So when we go to duty we should say Lie by world and by laying aside the world I mean laying aside of all houshold affairs or affairs in trading c. I must be as one that hath nothing to do in the world for that time It is true the time cannot be said to be holy for this as the time of the Sabbath day is holy You will say Why may not any time be said to be holy that I spend in holy duties No that is not enough to make time holy for the time that God makes holy it is not holy because of the duties that I perform in it but the duties that I perform then are more acceptable because they are done in such a time and so that makes a place holy not because it is appointed for holy duties and uses but because it is so appointed by God and the performing a duty in that place is more acceptable to God than in another place But now though we cannot make our time holy in that second sense yet in the first it is time set apart for a holy use and in that regard it is holy and so we should look upon it as not to have our outward business to devour that time that is holy in that regard as Nehemiah When Tobiah and Sanballat sent to him to come and confer with them No saith he I cannot go for the work is great that I have to do So we must not intangle our selves to meddle with other things when we are to come to worship God for our work is great The Fourth thing for preparation is To Watch and to Pray We should watch over our hearts lest they be made unfit for duties So we should prepare for Prayer all day long in this sense that is we should watch over our hearts that they be not let out so far as to hinder us in prayer when we come to do it I remember that Tertullian saith That the Christians did so sup as if they were to pray So when thou art in company thou shouldest watch unto prayer Oh that you did so you cannot but be conscious to your selves that oftentimes when you have bin in company your hearts have been put out of tune and frame that you have been no way fit for prayer when you come home your house and family finds it so You that take such delight in company and sitting up late I appeal to your consciences whether you can come home and find your selves fit either in your family or closet to go and open you hearts to God This is one Note by the way wherby you may come to know whether you have been immoderate in company at any time God gives not men liberty to be busie in any outward occasions so as to unfit them for his Service Preparation consists in that in watching over your hearts that you may not be unfitted for any holy duty when God calls you to it but that you may be ready even to every good work The Fifth Note is this Preparation consists in the readiness of the faculties of the Soul and the Graces of the Spirit of God ' presently to act upon the setting upon an holy Duty When a man or woman shall find the faculties of their soul and the graces that are in them to be ready to act assoon as ever they fall upon duty Just as you see a company of Ringers when they have made all preparation for the raising of the Bells then in an instant when thy begin to pul all the Bels go in that tune that according to their skil they set them in And so it should be with our hearts the faculties of our souls and graces though now we are not upon duty yet we should be so ready that as it were upon a pul all the faculties of our souls and the graces of Gods Spirit should work in a melodious way There are those that keep their hearts so prepared as at the very first moment that they set about the duty of Worship all faculties and graces begin to act and stir and are working towards God As a fire when all the matter is ready laid presently it comes to be kindled and flame out and thus it should be with our hearts So that now you see wherein preparation of our hearts to Duty consists The next thing is The Excellency of this Preparation and that may be in way of Application to you to make you to be in love with preparation for holy duties There is abundance of good in it As First By this means we come to make every Duty of Worship easie to us Things are difficult when we come upon them unprepared If you have a friend come to dinner or supper to you and should come suddenly and you have nothing prepared there would be a great deal of stir in the house but if you have every thing prepared it would be carried on in an easie way And the reason why people complain so much of difficulty in duty it is because their hearts are not prepared Indeed we have naturally many things that keep us off from God but when the heart is prepared for a holy duty it goes off as easie to God even into the infinite Ocean of all mercy and goodness as a Ship goes off to be lancht when you have made preparation for it so the heart can go with an holy holdness to God when you have made preparation for holy duties In Job 11. the place which I quoted before for the work of preparation do but consider a verse or two further and you shall find what abundance of good there comes upon the keeping of
soul of man than the sight of God and the great reason of the pride of all mens hearts is because they never knew God If thou didest but see God thy heart must needs be abased And when doth the soul see God if not when it comes to worship him In Job 42. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now my eye seeth thee wherefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes Now this humility must be in the sense of our own meanness and baseness Ps 34. 6. This poor man cryed to God They are poor souls that come into Gods presence that sanctifie Gods Name most even those souls that do apprehend and are sensible of their own baseness and meanness before God This poor man cried to God we use to say Give that poor man somewhat It doth affect the heart of God when he sees much poverty of spirit when we come before Him we must be sensible of our infinite dependance upon God Come as the woman of Canaan O Lord even dogs do receive crums and though I be a dog yet let me receive crums here is humility of spirit Now this humility of Spirit appears in these things 1. First admiring Gods goodness that we do live at this time and that we have liberty to come before him we might have been past praying and worshiping of God think thus What a mercy is it that we are not banished out of Gods presence that the Lord hath not spurn'd us out of his sight as filth and cast us out as an everlasting abhorring while others have been praying we might have bin yelling under the wrath of the eternal God Come with this apprehension of thy self and adore Gods goodness that thou art alive to pray and alive to hear Gods Word And that it is not only a duty but a rich priviledg and mercy that God will admit of thee to come into His Presence Again it is the goodness of God that He will vouchsafe to look upon the things that are done in Heaven then if the Lord doth humble Himself to behold the things that are done in Heaven then how doth the Lord humble Himself to behold me a poor vile captive as I am in my self and yet that God should not only behold me before Him but invite me to come into His presence What mercy and goodness is this 2. Our hearts must be taken off from the thoughts and apprehensions of all excellencies in our selves we must not come in the pride of our hearts because we have abilities more than others what do all thy parts commend thee to God thou hast ability in expressing of thy self in prayer why do thy parts commend thee to God Whatever is natural in any of our duties is nothing to God only that which is from his own Spirit and therefore thou shouldest come in thine own thoughts as vile as if thou hadst no parts and abilities at all Lay aside all such apprehensions of thy self for the truth is some poor broken hearted sinner that can but sigh out a few groans to God and is not able to speak two or three sentences together in a right language but only breath out his soul to God may be a thousand thousand times more acceptable to God than thou that art able to make great Orations when thou comest before Him 3. Thou must come without any righteousness of thy own thou must never come to Gods presence but as a poor worm and if there be any difference that is made between thee and others in outward respects it is nothing to thee when thou art in the presence of God thou art as a base vile worm though thou beest a Prince or Emperor 4. Thy heart must be taken off from what thou doest If thou hast any abilities of grace yet thy heart must be taken off there there may be pride not only from ones parts but it may be God hath given me enlargements in Prayer the Devil will come in and seek to puff up thy heart even because of this But thy heart must be taken off there and thou must deny thy self in all when thou hast done the best service of all yet thou must conclude thou art an unprofitable servant when thou hast prayed the best yet rise with shame and take heed of having thy heart puft up even through the assistance of the graces of the Spirit of God in holy Duties 5. Lastly Thou must come with a humble resignation of thy self to God to be content to wait upon God as long as he pleases to wait upon God in regard of the time and of the measure and of the manner of the Communication of himself in regard of the means by which he will please to communicate himself wait upon him Let me have mercy though at the last hour This now is an humble heart in Prayer and when we come with such a poverty of spirit as this is we may expect that the Lord will accept of us Give this poor man somewhat will God say This poor man cryed and the Lord heard him In the Seventh place We must bring that which is Gods own in sanctifying Gods Name I spake to this before in the Point of Preparation Viz. That in Gods Worship we must give him his own I will only mention it here in the sanctifying of Gods Name in two regards 1. First To give God His own for the matter of it 2. Secondly To give God His own that is what comes from the work of His own Spirit or else we do not sanctifie Gods Name I will give you one text further about the matter of it in Exod. 39. if you reade the Chapter you shall find that there is ten times said that they did as God had commanded Moses And then in the close of the Chapter when they had done as God had commanded in His Worship the text saith Moses blessed them That people is a blessed people that do observe the Worship of God as God hath commanded them But the main thing is all that we do it must be acted by the Spirit of God it is not enough to have true silver and gold but it must have the rigbt stamp or else it cannot go for current coyn And so it is not enough that the things that we offer to God in His Worship be Gods own be what we have warrant for out of Gods Word but it must have the stamp of the Spirit of God In the Worship of God there be two Questions that He will ask First Who required this at your hands But then if you can answer thus Thou O Lord didst require it It is well But then God hath another Question Whose Image and Superscription is this If thou canst not give an Answer to that it will be rejected too Thou must be acted by Divine Principles in all that thou doest there must be the stamp of the Spirit upon that which is tendered to God else it is nothing To
to lie upon one to shed the blood of the vilest Rogue that lives in a murderous way it would lie upon the conscience and be very terrible it is impossible that such a man can be quiet all his daies though he hath never such a seared conscience An Heathen could not be at quiet if he hath the guilt of Blood lie upon him but to be guilty of the blood of Christ whose blood is ten thousand thousand times more worth than the blood of all the men that ever lived upon the face of the earth must needs be a most dreadful thing It is a fearful expression Guilty of the body and blood of Christ that is he offers such an indignitie to the body and blood of Christ as the Lord will charge him of being guiltie of it guiltie of abusing the body and blood of Jesus Christ And then he doth eat and drink his own damnation but we shall speak more to that when we come to shew how God will sanctifie his Name in those that do not sanctifie it here in this holy Ordinance I will not therfore spend further time in those Scriptures for I bring them only now to shew that there is a necessity of it that we do sanctifie the Name of God in this Ordinance Thirdly There is nothing that strikes more upon a mans conscience we find it by experience even upon wicked mens consciences and especially upon such begin to be enlightned in the holiness of this Ordinance God hath put much honor upon it I confess some men may use it superstitiously though it be an Ordinance of Christ yet God hath put a great deal of honor upon this Ordinance that men that are very wicked otherwise yet their consciences tell them that when they come to this Ordinance then they must be good then they must not sin but have good thoughts and good prayers at that time And many times they dare not come if their consciences tell them that they live in some sin I knew one my self once that was to be executed and he had never received this Ordinance in all his life though about fourtie yeers of age And being askt the reason why he confest that he lived in some sin that he was loth to leave and therefore would never come to that Ordinance all his life though herein the Devil gul'd and deceived him but I mention it to shew what a power there is in the consciences of men about this Ordinance this ordinarily is one of the first things that strikes upon the souls of men when they come to have their consciences awakened Oh how have I prophaned the Name of God in the Ordinance of the holy communion and have not sanctified his name in it That God should be sanctified in this Ordinance that 's cleer enough But now the great work is which is the third thing which I promised to shew how we should sanctifie Gods Name in this Ordinance Certainly the Name of God hath been much taken in vain there hath been a great deal of pollution in the use of this Ordinance and in mens spirits when they have been exercising themselves in such an holy Ordinance as this is therefore I will open this to you and shall not be very large in it only to shew you the main and principall things that may serve for the direction of us that the Name of God may not be taken in vain and dishonored as heretofore and I shall cast what I intend to speak of into these particulars 1. That whosoever was to partake of this must be holy himself none can sanctifie God but he must have a sanctified heart himself Secondly This Ordinance it must be received in a holy communion There must be a Communion of Saints for this Ordinance and it cannot be received any where else but in a Communion of Saints Thirdly The holy disposition of soul particularly or the qualifications of the soul that are required or the sanictfying of Gods Name in this Ordinance Fourthly The manner of the exiplcite going out of the soul that there are to be at the very time of receiving Fifthly The keeping of the institution of Christ in our receiving These things are required for the sanctifying of the Name of God in this Ordinance For the first Those that come must be holy themselves This is an Ordinance not appointed for Conversion to make holy others that are not converted may come to the Word because the Word is appointed to work Conversion 't is appointed to work Grace to work the first Grace Faith comes by hearing we do not find in all the Scripture that this is appointed for Conversion but supposes Conversion none are to come to receive this Sacrament but men and women that before are converted by the Word the Word therefore is first to be preached to â—en for their Conversion and then this is an Ordinance appointed for to seal them therefore in the Primitive times they let all come to hearing of the Word and then when the Sermon was done there was an Officer stept up and cried Holy things for holy men and then all others where to go out and therefore it was called Missa though the papists did corrup it and so called it the Mass afterwards by mixing there own inventions instead of the Supper of the Lord but it had that name at first I say this holy Communion was called by the name of Missa because that all others were sent away and only such as were of the Church and accounted godly staid holy things to holy men And this must needs be so because that the nature of it being the Seal of the Covenant of Grace requires it it must be supposed that al that comes hither must be in Covenant with God they must be such as have been brought to submit to the Condition of the Covenant Now the Condition of the Covenant of Grace is Beleeve and be saved it is therefore appointed for Beleevers And as the nature of it begin a Seal supposeth a Covenant so none can have his covenant sealed to them but those that do first submit to it and are brought into Covenant When you make an Indenture and put to the Seal certainly the Seal belongs only to those that have their names in the Indenture Now t is true though mens names are not mentioned in the word yet the condition is to those that are brought in to beleeve in Jesus Chrst saith God I come now to seal all my mercies in Christ to their souls We abuse God if we come to take the seal to a blank it is to make this Ordinance a rediculous thing therefore there must be some transactions between God and your souls before you come to the Seal If a man should say to you Come set to your seal to such a thing and there were never any kind of transactions between this man and you before you would account it rediculous after there hath been agreements between you
you use then to seal So it must be here I would appeal to many of your consciences that have come to the Lords Supper what transactions have there been between God and your souls Canst thou say the Lord was pleased to reveal Himself to me to make known to me my wretched condition and the way of grace and salvation and shewed me that upon my coming in to receive His Son he would be merciful to me and pardon my sins and I have found the Spirit of God working my heart to Jesus Christ the Lord from Heaven speaking to me and I sending an Answer to Heaven again how willing my soul was to accept of the Covenant which the Lord hath made with poor creatures in the word of His Gospel canst thou say this in the uprightness of thy heart if not know that this Seal belongs not to thee untill the Lord hath by His word subdued thy heart to this agreement first with him Secondly This Ordinance it is the Ordinance of spiritual nourishment of eating the flesh of Christ and drinking blood in a spiritual way Now it must needs suppose that first there must be life before there can be any nourishment received in If it be appointed to nourish and encrease grace then surely there must be grace before what nourishment can a dead child take The very first thing that is to be done is nourishment here The word hath power to convey life then to nourish but we reade of no such thing here but that which is to be done here is presently to feed to eat and to drink that is the end of the Sacrament therfore it must be supposed that thou must have Spiritual life there must come no dead soul to this Ordinance but those who are quickned by the Spirit of Jesus Christ they must come for nourishment Thirdly the act here required doth note That only those that are holy and godly can receive this Sacrament we are required by the Apostle examine our selves To examine our selves of what It must be of our godliness examine what work of God hath been upon the soul how God hath brought the soul to Himself and what Graces of the Spirit of God are there And how we have been brought into Covenant with God Now if only those can receive worthily and are to come that first examine themselves then certainly such only as are godly are to come for they only can perform those acts that are required Fourthly It is a Sacrament of Communion with God and Communion with the Saints now what Communion hath Light with Darkness what fellowship hath Christ with Belial If it be a Sacrament of Communion of coming to the Table of God Will God have enemies to come to his Table you will invite no enemies to your Tables but your children and friends so they must be the Children of God and the Friends of God those that are reconciled to God in the blood of his Son and those that are his Children that must sit at his Table therfore they must be holy Now this may suffice for that first thing that this is not an Ordinance for al sorts of people but such as have submitted to the condition of the Covenant before Such as have grace and ability to examin themselves of their graces and such as are children and reconciled to God and so are fit to sit at the Table of God and to enjoy Communion with him and with his Son and with the Saints for we are one body sacramentally when we come to this holy Ordinance all others therfore certainly are to be kept from this Sacrament but such 2 The Second thing wil make it out more fully and that is It is not enough that we be holy our selves and so al ignorant prophane and scandalous yea al that are meerly civil that cannot make out any work of godliness upon their hearts in bringing them to Christ are excluded But 1 It is to be done in a holy communion and is cleer one of that place in 1 Cor. 10. 16 17. The Cup of blessing which we bless it is not the Communion of the blood of Christ the bread which we break is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ And then saith the Apostle in the 17. verse for we being many are one bread and one body therefore all that come to receive the Sacrament thay must so come as they must be one body one spiritual Corporation this very consideration That those with whom we receive the Sacrament are one body with us it hath a great deal in it for the helping of us to sanctifie Gods Name this Ordinance I say it is to be received only in a holy Communion one Christian cānot receive the Sacrament alone there must be a Communion wheresoever it is to be administred it is not enough there is one godly man there but there must be a Communion of Saints and in that Communion it is to be received Quest You wil say Must it be received in a Communion of Saints what if wicked men do come there will that hinder us from sanctifying Gods Name in partaking of the Sacrament with them Do not we find in Scripture that the Church had alwaies wicked men among them there are alwaies tares growing up with the wheat If you reade even in the Corinthians you shall find that there were some in that Church that were wicked yea and it 's thought that Iudas himself did receive the Sacrament therefore what if wicked men be there doth that hinder Answ I answer First it is true That in the Church of God there have been wicked men and 't is like there will be wicked men to the end of the world but yet wheresoever there is a right Communion of Saints there ought to be the power of Christ exercised to cast out those wicked men or at least to withdraw from them This is the Law of Christ That if there be any that have Communion with you if any of them do appear to be wicked you are bound in conscience to go and tell them if they do not reform you are bound to take two or three and if they do not yet reform then you are bound to tell the Church to tell the Assembly of the Saints when they meet together for so the word Church doth signifie and we find in the 1 Cor. 5. chap. that when there was an incestuous person to be cast out it was done in the presence of the Congregation Thus far you are bound to do otherwise you cannot say that it is nothing to you if wicked men be there for you have not discharged your conscience and so you come to be defiled and you do not sanctifie Gods Name in this Ordinance because you have not done to the utternost of your duty for the casting out of those wicked men And mark in 2 Cor. 5. 7. there the Apostle writing to the Church bids them that they should purge out the old leaven
corruption that was in thy soul before the working of thy corruptions will discover much evil in thy heart that thou didst not think was there before when the corruptions of men and women lie still they think there is no such thing in their souls as your civil men what 's the reason that they bless themselves and think they are in a good condition it 's because their corruptions lie still in them and do not stir they cannot beleeve what abundance of wickedness there is in their hearts if God should open the wickedness that there is in the hearts of men naturally and so all unregenerate men they would think you spake strange riddles whereas they bless themselves they bless God they know no such thing in their hearts No yes there are such things only they are not stir'd but they lie quiet as mud in the bottom of a pond there it is yet you cannot see it till it be stir'd at first conversion I say the Lord suffers thy corruption thus to stir that he may discover to thee what an evil heart thou hast what abundance of sin there is in thy heart and therefore your yong converts they look upon themselves as more loathsom and vile than ever they thought they had been And besides The Devil sees it a vain thing to tempt a yong Convert to any gross act of sin when conscience hath life and power in it he shall never prevail that way but now he thinks he may prevail to disturb them with vain thoughts and therefore he laies his strength most that way therefore let not such be discouraged that find their spirits anoyed and pestred with them if they make them to be the burden of their souls notwithstanding much vanity of thoughts the Lord will accept of any desire that they have to sanctifie his Name in holy Duties And I shal give you these three or four Rules to help you against these wandring and vain thoughts in holy Duties and especially in Prayer First When thou goest to prayer account it to be a great work set a high price upon thy prayer not as having any excellency in it as it comes from thee but set an high price upon it as a great Ordinance of God wherein there is communion with God to be enjoyed and the influence of the grace of God to be conveyed through it so set an high price upon prayer at every time thou art going to prayer Lord I am now setting upon a work that is of very great consequence and much lies upon it and I would account it to be a sore and a great evil to me if I should lose but this prayer this would be a special means to compose thy spirit and to keep thee from wandring as Nehemiah in Nehem. 6. 3. a place which I have sometimes quoted upon such an occasion when the enemies of Nehemiah that would hinder the building of the Temple sent to him that they might talk together no saith he I am doing a great work to that I cannot come down so when the Devil and the vanity of thine own heart would send to thee to parly and talk as it were with thee give an answer I cannot stand parlying with these things the work that I am about is a great work there are verie few people that do account the work of prayer a great work if thou didst it would help thee much against the vanitie of thy thoughts Secondly Every time thou goest to prayer thou that art most troubled with such vain thoughts renew thy resolutions against them I have been troubled with vain thoughts heretofore and am afraid if I look not to it that I shall lose this Prayer also and therefore O Lord here I renew my resolutions to set against them in this prayer with all my might it is very much that may be done with strong resolutions and especially if thy strong resolutions be renewed resolutions for an old resolution begins to grow weak a man that hath resolved upon a thing a great while ago it hath little power over him but now when a man hath resolved upon a thing but this morning and just at the time when he is going about it now he doth resolve upon it and set himself upon it and doth resolve through the Grace of God that whatsoever difficultie he meets withal whatsoever it cost him that he will go through this work I say that resolutions renewed have a great deal of power and you cannot imagine what a great deal of power the renewing of resolution against vain thoughts will have if they were renewed everie time thou goest to prayer until thou gettest power over thy thoughts do but make trial of this thou hast lost many a prayer by vain thoughts and thou hast been troubled for them and yet they come again do but trie for this week as I remember I said in the point of passion and anger that we should resolve with our selves well whatsoever falls out this morning I am resolved I will bear it so bethink thy self how many Prayers thou hast lost by vain thoughts and now renew thy resolutions and Covenant with God that for this Prayer I will set my self against them whatsoever pains I take I will be sure yet withal to look up to Gods Grace to assist me I will be sure this prayer to keep my heart close to what I am about and perhaps that will help you a little but yet some vain thoughts wil come for all that then the next night renew them again and the next morning renew them again and that till thou comest to a habit of keeping thy heart close to the dutie though now thou feelest thy heart so wild that thou thinkest it is impossible to bring it into order but certainly by such a means thy heart will be brought into order Thirdly Be sure to set the presence of God before you in prayer have a real sight of the infinite Greatness Majestie and Glorie of that you present your selves unto when you are calling upon him if so be that thou canst be a real sight of God in his Glorie it will keep thy heart close to the dutie as if a man be wandring with his eyes and looking after everie feather if the King or some great person come into the room all his thoughts would be about the King or the great person that were coming in so if you would present the Lord in his Glorie and Greatness Excellencie Majestie and Power before you and what a dreadful God he is in himself and yet what a merciful God he is to us in his Son this would mightily compose our hearts certainly men and women that are so wandring in their prayers it is because their eyes are not open to look upon God in his Glorie they are as it were dreaming and do not apprehend that God stands and looks upon them and observes them and that God takes notice of everie wandring thought that comes from them
they do not consider that God doth converse with the thoughts of men as well as men do with the words of men that 's the third Rule Fourthly Take heed thou beest not deceived because that those thoughts thou hast in prayer do not appear to be verie evil in themselves This is a great deceit and hinders manie in the sanctifying of Gods Name in Prayer there is sometimes darted in some vain thoughts now because the thought hath no great evil in it self therefore they think they may play with it and their hearts close with it and so run along with it as the fish doth with the bait if the Devil casts in a thought of blasphemie that makes thee quake and shake but if thy thoughts have no great evil in them but they are slight things matters of no moment one way or other upon that thy heart begins to be dandling and playing with them therefore remember this Rule That in the time of prayer whatsoever thoughts be in thy mind that do not concern the present dutie they are sinful before God though the thoughts for the matter of them be never so good yet thou art to abandon them as sinful at that time Therefore never be deceived with this that the thoughts are not verie sinful that 's another Rule In the last place observe this Rule If ever God hath helped thee at any time in prayer that thy heart hath been kept close to a dutie and thou hast had communion with him bless God for that bless God for that help 't is a Rule of verie great use for us to get further assistance from God in any thing if so be our hearts be enlarged to bless God for any assistance we have had heretofore and the reason why we gain and prosper so little in our Christian course it is because we do not take notice of what God hath done for us to give God glorie for mercies formerly received and therefore God takes little or no delight in coming in with further mercies to us as if you had a yong Nurserie of Trees and they began to thrive very well but there comes a companie of Caterpillars and spoils almost all the yong Trees that are set only two or three are kept from the Caterpillars a man goes into his Orchard and looks upon his Trees and this is spoiled and that is spoiled but he sees two or three and these flourish fairly and these are full of Buds and are like to come to something and he rejoyces mightily in those because they are sav'd when so manie others are spoil'd and so do thou view thy Prayers and consider how many nie hath been spoiled as it were by these Caterpillars for I compare wandring vain thoughts in Prayer unto Caterpillars that are upon the trees and we see that if stormy rainy weather comes the Caterpillars will fall and one would think that these blustering storms and the hand of God that hath been out against us should have clensed our thoughts and souls from these Caterpillars that have been upon our duties but manie duties have been spoiled yet thou maiest say that through Gods mercie such a morning in my closet the Lord hath preserved a prayer to himself and I have gotten power over this vain heart of mine bless God for this and so the Spirit of God will be more readie to come in and help thee another time But thus much shall suffice to speak to this That 's the second thing we must give up our selves wholly to this dutie The third thing for the sanctifying of Gods Name in Prayer is this There must be the breathings of the Spirit of God otherwise Gods Name is not sanctified that in Rom. 8. 26. is cleer for this Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered If any of you should say How can we sanctifie Gods Name we are poor and weak we can do little Mark it is said here That the Spirit helpeth our infirmities to pray and the word is exceeding emphatical in the original in your books it is but meerly helping our infirmities but the meaning of the word is In these two things the Spirit helps that is look how a man that is taking up an heavie piece of Timber at one end he alone cannot get it up but there comes another and takes it up at the other end and so helps him the word signifies such a kind of helping as when a man takes a thing at the other end or on the other side one standing the one way and the other standing the other way or one taking up one end and the other the other end that is the meaning of it he helps our infirmities the poor soul is pulling and tugging with its own heart and finds his heart heavie and dull like a log in a ditch And have not many of you found your hearts so but now when you are tugging with your hearts and would fain lift up your hearts to God in prayer there comes the Spirit of God at the other end and takes the heaviest end of the burden and helps you to lift it up If a Child were at one end of the log and that were but light and the other end very heavie if one come and take up the heaviest end a little strength will serve for the lighter end So the Spirit comes and takes up the heavier end in duty and so helps our infirmities helps together And then the other word is The Spirit that is together with the acting of the graces of the Spirit in our hearts you must not say so Alas what can I do it must be the Spirit of God that must do it It 's true he doth all First he gives converting and habitual grace and assisting and actuating grace but now when the Spirit hath wrought grace so as to convert the heart and hath given habitual grace in thy heart why then when the Spirit comes to assist it doth expect that thou shouldest stir up all the gifts and graces of the Spirit and the very strength of thy body the Spirit of God expects that thou shouldest act to the uttermost thou art able what power hath been given thee by God and when thou art in acting then the Spirit comes and helps together with us noting that we are to put forth what strength we have and thus Gods Name will be sanctified when as we putting forth the graces of the Spirit in us then the Spirit comes and helps and what comes from us now comes from the breathings of the holy Spirit in us and then God who knows the meaning of the Spirit will know now the meaning of our sighs and groans therfore when thou art going to prayer thou art to eye the Spirit of God thou art by the eye of faith to look upon the Spirit of God and to cast thy
soul upon the assistance of the Spirit of God thou art to look upon the holy Ghost as appointed by the Father and the Son to that Office to be a helper to his poor servants in the duties of Worship and especially in that great duty of prayer now upon the reading of this text and having it thus opened this is one good help for thee in prayer reade this text and then exercise thy faith upon it Lord hast thou not said that thy Spirit helps our infirmities when we know not what we pray for nor how to pray for any thing as we ought but the Spirit will come now Lord make good this Word of thine to my soul at this time and let me have the breathings of the Spirit of God in me alas the breaths of men if it comes from gifts and parts I know thou wilt never regard it except there be the breathings of the holy Ghost in me in prayer now if you would know whether the Spirit of God doth come in or no you may know it by this the Spirit of God carries unto God and it makes the Prayer sweet and delightful so much of the Spirit of God as is there it comes to the soul in the duty and it leaves a savour behind it a gracious savour is alwaies left behind when the Spirit of God comes to breath O the breath of the Spirit of God is a sweet breath and it makes prayers sweet it never comes into the soul but after it hath done any work it came for it leaves a sweet scent after that the soul finds a sweetness in that prayer now many of you have been in the morning at prayer but I appeal to you what sweet savor of the Spirit of God is left behind certainly if the Spirit hath been there it is like Civit that is put into a little box though you should take out the Civit yet there will be a sweet savor left behind so though the Spirit of God in respect of the present assistance withdraws it self yet it leaves a sweet savor behind The fourth thing is puritie of heart pure hearts and hands in Heb 10 22. Rev. 5. 8. having every one of them harps and golden vials ful of odors which are the prayers of Saints mark the prayers of Saints are odours in golden vials the golden vials I may compare to the heart the hearts of the Saints must be as golden vials and then their prayers will be as odours in 1 Tim. 2. 8. the holy Ghost giving directions how we should pray it is with this qualification I will therefore that men pray every where lifting up holy handes without wrath and doubting the outward conversation must be pure and the heart pure in Job 22. 26. mark what 's said concerning that holy man there 's a promise made to him for the lifting up of his face to God putting away iniquitie from his Tabernacle that by putting away evil from our Tabernacles and from our hearts we may be able to lift up our hearts with joy to go and that 's the fourth thing puritie of heart and hands The fift thing is in truth when we come to call upon God we must call upon him in truth Psalm 145. 18. vers the Lord is nigh unto all to all that call upon him in truth you will say What is the meaning of that to that I answer First There must be inward dispositions answerable to the expressions as for instance when I come to express the greatness of the Majestie of God then I must have an inward disposition sutable to this expression I must have a fear and reverence of the infinite Majestie of God Secondly When I come to confess my sin to judg my self for my sin there must be an inward disposition sutable to such a confession O how many men and women will come and speak great things against themselves for their sins and judg themselves for their sins and yet there is no such disposition in their hearts sutable to their words you shall have some in praying with others they will be a means to break the hearts of others they will so follow their sin and take such shame and confusion upon themselves for their sin and yet God knows their hearts not stir'd all this while and then they will call upon God for pardon of sin and for power against their sin and yet God knows that their hearts do close with their sin and are loth to part with their sin in the mean time this is falsness of heart when the inward disposition is not answerable to outward expressions I beseech you my brethren consider of the prayers you have made and especially you that pray much with others look what expressions you have made and see whether there be answerable dispositions to the expressions you have made and how that the Lord doth remember every expression that you have made Thirdly We must call upon God in truth that is Conscionably to performe the engagements of prayer prayer puts an engagement upon the heart now those that call upon him in truth are conscionable to perform the engagements as now do I pray for any good thing I am engaged to endeavour in the use of al means for the attaning of the good thing When you confess a sin why you are engaged by that means to endeavour all your might against that sin and when you pray for my grace you are engaged to make use of all means you can for the attaining of that grace and then besides in prayer there is much profession unto God for our sinceritie and uprightness and of our willingness to be at his dispose perform these engagments that thou makest to God in prayer if God should present to us all our professions that We have made to him in prayer and tell us how we have come short of them it would make us be in shame and confusion in our own thoughts Another thing in prayer must be faith pray without doubting as in the former Scripture the prayer of faith prevails much James 1. 6 7. a man that wavereth and doubteth must not think to obtaine any thing of God But I should have opened what that faith is that we should have in prayer we must have faith to beleeve that the thing that we do pleaseth God and faith in Gods promises and faith in Gods providence this should be exercised in the time of our prayers And therefore after we have done to go away beleeving as Hannah in 1 Sam. 1. 18. we read of her that after she had been praying she went away and lookt no more sad the text saith noting that after we have been powring forth our souls to God we should beleeve and exercise faith and not go in as drooping a way as ever we did Object You will say Yea if we knew certainly that God would hear us Answ The way to be assured that God will hear you is by casting your selves upon God