Page 61 In what manner duties are to be performed that Gods Name may be sanctified ibid 1 We must performe them so that we may glorifie God as a God Page 62 Which is done 1 When we offer all we have Page 63 2 When we greive that we can do no more Page 64 3 There is an impression of Gods infinitness on the duties of his Saints ibid 2 When the Soul follows after God as a God Page 66 3 When the Soul comes expecting the choicest mercies of God ibid How the heart must behave it self to sanctifie Gods Name in respect of his greatness and glory ibid 1 It must be a sanctified heart Page 67 1 Because the Lord accepts the person before he accepts the action Page 69 2 God looks more at the principle of the duty than at the duty ibid 3 According as the heart is so will the duty be Page 70 SERMON V 2 In sanctifying Gods Name in worship we must have high thoughts of God Page 71 3 We must have high ends in worshipping God Page 72 Several base low ends in worshipping of God 1 In subjecting his worship to our lusts ibid 2 Subjecting his worship to the praise of men Page 73 3 Making Self our end in his worship Page 74 Which we do 1 Whâ—â—â—e are weary of duties if we find not that we desire Page 76 2 When men are streightened in Worship and envy others that 〈◊〉 Page 77 3 W◠〈◊〉 regard holy duties 〈◊〉 in times of extremity ibid 4 There must be reverence and 〈◊〉 in 〈◊〉 worship Page 78 5 There must be strength in the dâ—â—es of Gods worship Page 80 Strength of Intention Page 81 Affection Page 82 Faculties Page 83 6 There must be a humble frame of Spirit Page 84 Which consists 1 In adâ—â—â—â—g Gods goodness that we are alive to come before him ibid 2 To have no thought of any excellency in our selves Page 85 3 To come without our own righteousness ibid 4 To take off our hearts from all abilitie of grace ibid 5 To wait Gods leasure in regard of the time Page 86 7 In Sanctifying Gods Name we must bring that which is his own ibid. 1 The matter must be that which he hath commanded ibid 2 We must be acted by the spirit Page 87 When duties are acted by natural parts and not the Spirit of God 1 If they change not the heart ibid 2 If they carry not through difficulties ibid 3 When men rejoyce in acting their parts ibid 4 When there is little enlargment in secret Page 88 5 When there is not constancy in duty ibid Duties acted by natural Conscience 1 It gives no strength to do them ibid 2 The 〈…〉 not the duty ibid 3 It doth not increase communion with God ibid SERMON VI 4 It makes not a duty strong to the soul Page 89 5 It limits it selfe in dutie ibid 6 It is satisfied with little Page 90 8 In the sanctifying Gods Name in Worship there must be a resignation of all to God ibid 9 All Worship must be tendered in the Name of Jesus Christ Page 91 How to Sanctifie Gods Name in reference to his Attributes 1 God is a Spirit and to be worshipped in Spirit Page 93 2 God is Eternall and how to worship him in that consideration Page 94 3. God is incomprehensible and therefore seeth us in every place Page 95 4 God is unchangeable what that should teach us in our worship Page 96 5 God is a living God and what we should learn thence ibid 6 God is Almighty what that should teach us in our worship Page 97 7 God is Omniscient and what that should teach us Page 98 8 God is a God of Wisdom and what that should teach us Page 99 9 God is Holy and what that should teach us in one worship ibid 10 God is Mercifull and what that should teach us Page 100 11 God is Just and what that should teach us Page 101 12 God is Faithfull and what we should learn thence Page 102 SERMON VII Reasons why God will be sanctified in all the duties of his Worship 1 God doth will himself the last End Page 104 2 The especial glory God hath in the world is to be actively honored Page 105 3 The duties of worship are the means to convey Gods choicest mercies ibid 4 We are not fitted to receive mercies but by sanctifying Gods Name ibid 5 Else we shall not hold out in duty Page 106 Application 1 We have no cause to rest on our duties Page 107 2 The work of Religion is hard to flesh and blood Page 109 3 We should be humbled that we have no more sanctified Gods Name Page 110 4 Exhortation to sanctifie Gods Name Page 113 1 To consider we have to deal with God in worship Page 114 2 Not to come in our own strength Page 115 3 Not to be satisfied with the duty done ibid 5 God is displeased with the duties of wiked men Page 116 1 God blasts such men Page 117 2 God opens their eyes on their death bed to see what they have done Page 118 6 Those that sanctifie Gods name he will Sanctifie it in a way of mercy Page 119 SERMON VIII Of sanctifying Gods name in hearing of the word Page 161 Hearing the word is a part of Gods worship Page 162 1 We profess our dependance upon God for the knowing of his mind Page 163 2 In hearing we wait on God in the way of an Ordinance ibid In hearing the word 1 There must be preparation Page 165 Which is 1 To hear the word as the word of God Page 166 2 To hear the word as Gods Ordinance for our good ibid 2 To plow up the fallow ground of the heart and what is meant by it Page 168 3 Resolution to yeild to all truths delivered Page 170 4 A desire after the word ibid 5 Prayer before we hear the word Page 171 The behaviour of the Soul in hearing the word 1 Careful attention to it ibid Means to help attention ibid 2 An opening of the heart to receive it Page 175 3 Careful applying of the word ibid 4 It must be mixed with faith Page 177 How the word is to be mixed with Faith ibid SERMON IX 5 The word must be received with meekness Page 179 6 It must be heard with a trembling heart Page 181 7 With humble subjection to the word Page 182 8 It must be received with love and joy Page 184 9 It must be received into an honest heart Page 186 10 We must hide the word in our hearts Page 189 11 We must turne the word into practice Page 192 SERMON X Why God will be glorified in them that hear the word Page 195 1 Because there is so much of God in it ibid 2 God hath appointed it to convey special mercies ibid 3 It is quick and lively in working Page 196 Use 1 Reproof of severall sorts of men concerning the Word neglected Page 197 The fearfull
see what the Lord saith of Jehoshaphat that was godly Nevertheless there are good things found in thee in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land and hast prepared thine heart to seek God Jehoshaphat was found guilty in joyning himself to wicked men too much the Prophet comes and saith to him Wouldest thou help the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord Therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord. Jehoshaphat here we see was very faulty in joyning with those that were wicked and is rebuked by the Prophet from the Lord What wilt thou joyne with the wicked the wrath of God is upon thee Well but for all that I beseech you observe it That at that time when the Lord is most displeased against Jehoshaphat and sends His Prophet in His Name to pronounce this that the wrath of God is out against him yet for all this God cannot but take notice of this that he had an upright heart though he failed in that particular yet there is some good found in thee in that thou hast prepared thy heart to seek God Indeed through some sudden temptations thou art drawn aside in this particular act Yea but it hath been thy care to prepare thy heart to seek me and in that regard I do look upon thee as having an upright heart And thus you see how much the Scripture puts upon the preparation of the heart to seek God And so in 1 Sam. 7.3 you shall find that the Scripture makes the uprightness of the heart to consist in this And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel saying If ye do returne unto the Lord with all your hearts what then Then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you and prepare your hearts unto the Lord and serve Him only As if Samuel should say If you will returne indeed to the Lord if indeed your hearts be upright according to what you seeme to professe in turning to God Then prepare your hearts to seek the Lord. You do not in truth turne to God except you make conscience to prepare your hearts Therefore you that yet never knew what it was to make conscience to prepare your hearts for holy duties know that you have not turned with all your heart unto the Lord there hath not been the true turning of your hearts unto the Lord. Thus you see there is much lies upon preparation to the duties of Gods Worship Wel you wil say seeing thâ—re lâ—es sâ— much in it I pray open it wherein it doth â—â—nâ—iâ— To that I Answer it consists in these five things which 〈◊〉 bâ—t sly â—ame First In the possessing the heart with the right apprehension of that God before whom we come to tender our duties Then do we make conscience to prepare our hearts when we labour upon our going to Worship God to get our hearts before hand possessed with right apprehensions of the Majesty of that God that we are going to Worship and of the greatness and weight of the duty that we are setting about the nature of it the manner how it is to be performed the rule by which we are to be guided the end that we are to aime at Meditation is a good preparation to holy duties And these are the general heads of our me ditation for our preparation to duty Viz. What God He is we have to deal with meditate of God n his Attributes and then meditate of the weight of our duties and the nature of them and the rule of them and the end of them get your hearts possessed with meditations of this nature and in this as a special thing doth consist your preparation to holy duties and that 's the first thing 2 The Second thing wherein the preparation to a duty consists it is in this In the taking off of the heart from every sinfull way the endeavour at least If there be iniquity in thine hand or heart labour to put it out When thou art come into Gods presence Do not bring into the presence of God the love of any sin in thine heart but labour to put it from thy heart In 2 Chron. 29.5 We find there what is required to preparation the Text saith Hezekiah said unto them Hear me ye Levites Sanctifie now your selves and sanctifie the house of the Lord God of your fathers and carry forth the filthiness out of the Holy place that is sanctifying a thing to carry forth the filthynesse out of that thing that we would sanctifie So the sanctifying of our hearts it is by 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 thy hand put it far away and let not wickedness dwel 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 other businesse 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 labour to seperate 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 reade 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 al 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 performe 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
or so fully understand but suppose it be not so you are to come to it as an Ordinance of God for the conveyance of Spirituall good to your souls You will say Cannot we fit at home and reade a Sermon But hath God appointed that the great Ordinance for the converting and the edifying of soules in the way of eternal life True there is some use of it but the great Ordinance is the preaching of the Word Faith comes by hearing the Scripture saith and never by reading So that though when you come to hear you do not hear that which you heard not before yet you come to attend upon this ordinance for the conveyance of some Spiritual good that it may be hath not bin conveyed before or in a further degree than it hath been conveyed before And so you should come to hear the Word with your hearts possest with that meditation That it is the Word of God and the great Ordinance that God hath appointed for the conveyance of Spiritual good So that I come now in obedience to God and in this do I testifie my respect to God that I wil attend upon this Ordinance of His for the conveyance of spiritual good to me and although I may think that this or the other means may do the deed as well yet because God hath appointed this to be His Ordinance therefore in obedience to Him I wil attend upon this means rather than upon other means as you know Naaman he thought the other waters would have been as good as the waters of Jordan to have heal'd him but if God will appoint him the waters of Jordan that they should heal him rather than other waters he must wash there No question but other waters had as much naturall vertue in them as they had but because the waters of Jordan were the ordinance that God for that time had appointed to cure his Leprosie withall he must come and wash in those waters rather than in any other So because preaching of the Word is the great Ordinance that God hath appointed for to convey Himself by therefore He doth require that thou shouldest shew thy respect to Him so far as to attend upon Him in this Ordinance 2 The Second thing that is to be done in way of preparation it is to plow up the fallow ground of your hearts and not to sow amongst thornes as you have it in Jer. 4.3 and so in Hos 10. The word of God you know is compared to seed in that Parable of Christ in Mat. 13. And an Auditory is compared to the ground I suppose you are all acquainted with that parable of the sower that it is to set out the Ministry of the Word and what fruit it hath upon the hearts of men a congregation is like the field and a Minister preaching is like the sower that sows the seed in the field He knows not which Truth whether that or the other will prosper the seed being sowed in some part of the ground it is lost and in another part it grows so in one Pew the seed of the Word is lost and in another Pew it grows up But now if people that are compared to the ground would so hear the Word as Gods Name may be Sanctified in it their hearts must be plowed as if one should sow seed upon green soil sow it in the fields upon green grass what would become of it The ground must first be plowed for the preparation of the seed But you will say What is the meaning of the plowing of our hearts for the preparation of the Word The meaning is nothing else but this The work of humiliation the humbling of the soul before the Lord when it doth come to heare Gods Word Humble it in these two regards First Be humbled for your Ignorance that you know so little of Gods mind as you do Secondly Be humbled for all the sinfulness of your hearts be sencible of the sinfulness and wretchedness of your hearts and the miserable conditon that you are in if you can get your hearts broken with the sence of your sin and misery and come so to hear the Word it is very like the Word may be of mighty use and Gods Name may be very much Sanctified in your hearing of the Word You will say Must we plow up our hearts before we come to hear It must be the word that must plow us the word is the plow and so the Ministers of God are compared to plowmen in the word He that puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of heaven It is true it cannot be expected that the heart should be throughly plowed as it ought but by the word therefore at the first coming to hear there is not hope that men will Sanctifie Gods Name till the word gets in to plow them and so by getting at one time into their hearts they come to be prepared for hearing at another time And yet somewhat may be done before by that natural knowledg that men have they may come to know themselves to be sinners and come to understand themselves to be very weak and ignorant by some knowledge that they may have by the works of God and by conference with others and by reading and the like and so they may in some measure come to have their hearts to be humbled And it is good to make use of there to humble the heart but now You that have heard the word often and yet have not Sanctified Gods Name there be truths that you have heard heretofore that if you had made use of in private to have plowed up your hearts they would have prepared your hearts for the next time in hearing of the word if therefore you would hear the word with a great deal more profit than formerly your hearts must be plowed by â—umiliation 2 Secondly tâ—â— heart must be plowed by labouring to get out those thorns that are in the heart those lusts that grow deep in the heart as thorns grow in the ground labour to pluck them out that is when thou comest to hear the word get thy heart into that frame as to be willing to profess against every known in that thou hast found in thy heart labour to find out those lusts that are in thy heart and then profess against them that thou art willing to have them to be roâ—tâ—d out of thy heart if men and women would but do thus when they come to bear that God might see this in them that they have before they come profest gâ—â—nâ—t every known sin This would be an execellent thing indeed 3 Again in the third place which will follow from hence When thou comest to hear the Word come with a Resolution to yeeld to what ever God shall reveal to be his mind I am now going to hear thy Word O Lord to wait upon thee to know what thou hast to say to me And thou that art the searcher
that the Lord should speak out of the clouds to us And I will give you a Scripture for that that the voice of God in His word should be as much regarded of you as if God should speak from heaven to you by an audible voice out of the clouds In 2 Pet. 1.18 19. This voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy Means But mark in vers 19. We have also a more sure Word of Prophesie whereunto ye do well that ye take heed Mark We heard a voice from heaven saith Peter yea but we have a more sure word of Prophesie whereunto ye do wel that ye take heed There was a voice from Heaven spake you will say If we had heard that voice we would have given heed to that saith the Apostle You have a more sure word of Prophesie Now Prophesie in Scripture is taken for Preaching Di pise not Pr phesie As if the Holy Ghost should say You must have regard to the word of Prophesie as you would have regard to any voice from Heaven Suppose an Angel should come and speak to you would not you attend to him then whatsoever thoughts you had they would be taken off for there is an Angel that is come down from Heaven to speak Now mark what is said in Heb. 1.1 God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past to the Fathers by the Prophets hath in these last daies spoken unto us by his Son whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the worlds And then in ver 3. He discribes His Son And being made so much better than the Angels as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent Name than they If a Prophet should come and spake that is not so much as if the Son of God comes no nor as if an Angel should come for Jesus Christ hath obtained a more excellent Name than the Angels and it is Christ that is the Ministry of His word He that heareth you heareth me 2 Secondly That which would cause attention is the greatnes of the matter propounded It is true if a man should speak of some slight and vain things there need not so much attention My Brethren the matters in the word are the great things of God it is the voice of God the great Mysteries of godlinesse those deep things that the Angels themselves desire to pry into Yea the Angels themselves by the Churches they come to have the knowledge of the Mysteries of God I make no question but in the Ministry of the Word among the Churches the Angels they attend and come to some knowledge in the Mysteries of godliness for so the Scripture saith That they have it by the Churches there the greatest things of Gods will the greatest Councels of God that were kept hid from all eternity are opened to you in the Ministry of the word We do not come to tell you tales and the conceits of men but to open the greaâ— Counsels of God wherein the depth of the wisdom of God comes to be revealed to the children of men and therefore this calls for attention 3 Thirdly Suppose they be great things yet if they do not so much concern us there is no such great reason of attention Therefore in the Third place That which we speak it is your life it is that that concerns your souls and eternal estates Your Souls and everlasting estates do lie upon the Ministery of the Word if that be made effectual to you you are sav'd if that be not made effectual to you you are damn'd and undone for ever If we should come to tell you of something whereby you might get some good bargain or of a way how to get great riches I make no question but you would rise though it were a cold or rainy morning But know when you are called to hear the Word you are called to hear that which may do you good forever that for which you may blesse God for to all eternity with the Angels and Saints in the highest Heavens If they be such things of so great concernment then there had need be a great attention You know what Christ said to Martha when â—e was troubled about His entertainment Luke 10.41 Martha Martha thou art carefull and troubled about many things but one thing is needâ—ull and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her What did Mary choose It was this That she did diligently attend upon Jesus Christ to hear the Word from His own mouth when Martha was busied in the house to provide for His entertainment but it is a better thing to attend upon the Word than to entertain Christ in your houses You that are of loving dispositions that if a good Minister shall come to your houses or a good Christian that you see but the Image of Christ in your hearts spring within you and you will do any thing to entertain them Well but what if Jesus Christ should come if you knew that such a man that came within your doors were the Son of God how would you beâ—â—r your selves to entertain him But know it is a more acceptable service to Jesus Christ to attend upon his Word then to provide for Him in your houses And there is great reason too that we should be diligent in drawing nigh to the Word give eare unto it because you find that the Lord doth expresse himself in the Scripture how he gives ear to us when we speak to him God is said to encline his ear sometimes to open his ear sometimes to bow his eare sometimes to cause his eare to hear and divers such expressions there are to that purpose Now if God when we that are poor wretches speak to him shall bow his ear bend his ear open his ear cause his ear to hear much more should we when we come to attend upon him 2 Secondly Aâ— there must be attending to the word of God so there must be an opening of the heart to receive what God speaks to you it is true it is the work of God to open the heart but God works upon men as upon rationall creatures and he makes you to be active in opening your hearts so that when you have any truth come to be revealed you should open your understandings your conscience and will and affections Oh Lord thy truth which thou art presenting here to my Soul at this time let it come in let me receive it as the expression is in Prov. 2.1 My Son if thou wilt receive my words and then in v. 10. When wisdom entereth into thy heart The words of wisdom the words of God they must enter into the heart get in it may be they get into thy eare but that 's not enough they must get into thy heart in Joh. 8.37 There Christ complains that his word had no place in them that 's a sad thing when the Word of
frame Now is the Name of God extol'd and lifted up in hearing of the Word the Name of God is Sanctified in such a work of spirit as this is I have read of a German Divine writing to Oecolampadius another famous German Divine he hath this expression Oh let the Word of God come and though we had 600. necks we would all submit them unto the Word of God saith he So it should be the temper of such as hear the Word and desire to Sanctifie Gods Name in it let the Word of God come this morning let God speak and we will submit had we 600. necks we will submit all we are or have to this Word of the Lord it is the Word of God that we are willing should triumph over us To have a Congregation to lie down under the Word of God that is preached to them is a most excellent thing and Gods Name is much Sanctified we do not brethren desire you should lie under us we are not only willing but we are very desirous that you would examin what we speak to you whether it be according to the Word of God or no. But look to it that if we do speak to you that which is the Word from the mouth of the Lord know then that God expects that you should submit your estates your souls your bodies all that you are and have to this word and that is another particular of the Sanctifying of the Name of God in hearing the Word there must be an humble submission of the soul unto it 8 Another particular wherein the behaviour of the Soul for the Sanctifying of Gods Name consists is this The word it must be received with love and with joy it is not enough for you to be convinc'd of the authority of it to think thus well I must yeeld to it this is the Word of God and if I do not yeeld to it I must expect the plagues and judgements of God to follow it that is not enough but you must yeeld to it with love and with joy except you receive the Word with love and with joy it is not Sanctified you do not Sanctifie Gods Name nor is it Sanctified unto you You must receive the Word not only as the true Word of the Lord but as the good Word of the Lord. In Thessalon 2.10 we find it to be the cause of mens being given over to a spirit of delusion Because they received not the Word of God in Love It is spoken of Antichrist that at his coming he shall come with all deceivableness and he shall prevail with them that perish who are they They that receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved It is not enough my Brethren to receive the truth that we might be saved but we must receive the love of the truth if ever we would be saved Good is the word of the Lord to my soul And we must receive it with joy too as well as with love Prov. 2.10 When wisdom entereth into thy heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy Soul Then discretion shall preserve thee understanding shall keep thee c. That is a great matter when the Word reveals some truth to thy understanding and thou canst so receive it as it should be pleasant to thy soul that thy soul rejoyces in it it is a good word it is that that doth me good at the heart when a people can hear the word and the word coming neer unto them they can say This word doth me good at the heart it is pleasant to my soul that is excellent In Act. 2.41 the godly are discribed those that did receive the Word so as to sanctifie Gods Name in it by this that they gladly received the Word and were baptized and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls There were three thousand in one day that did gladly receive the word What an auditory had Peter at this time Then the word it did them good when they gladly received it Quest But it may be said We reade in Mat. 13. of the stony ground the hearers that were not good and did not profit by the word so aâ— to be saved yet they received the word with j y And Herod it is said of him That he heard John Baptist gladly It seems then that it is not enough to receive it with gladness Answ To that I Answer First There must be that that Hypocrites may have if there be want of that we cannot Sanctifie Gods Name But you will say We must go further or else Gods Name is not Sanctified That I confess Therefore when I speak of gladness and joy know that I mean another kind of joy then the stony ground had and so certainly the pleasantness that is spoken of in Prov. which I mentioned before And the gladness that the three thousand did receive the Word withal is different from the gladness of the stony ground If you ask me wherein it differs I would Answer it differs thus The gladness of an Hypocrite in receiving Gods Word it ariseth either from the novelty of it because it is a new thing and he gets new notions that he had not before or else he is joyful from some other carnal excellencies that he finds going together with the Word some esteem or honor that he shall get by it some selvishnesse there is that makes his heart to be glad for there is a great deal of natural and carnal excellency that goes along many times with the Word But now this gladness that is spoken of in the Acts and in the Proverbs it is the gladness that ariseth from the apprehension of the Spiritual excellencies that there are in the Word as that it is that word that reveals God and Christ to my soul that word that comes neerest to my soul to the mortifying of my Lusts and the Sanctifying of my heart This is that which makes me rejoyce in the Word the holiness and the spiritual excellency that I see to be in the Word Thy Word is pure saith David and therefore doth thy servant love it and rejoyce in it This no Hypocrite can say I see the Image of God in his Word I see the very glass of Gods holiness in his Word I feel that in the word that may bring my Soul to God wherein my soul enjoyes communion with God and Jesus Christ and it is this that glads my soul If we receive the Word with joy thus we shall come to Sanctifie the Name of God in the hearing of it And that is the Eight particular 9 The Ninth Particular is this If we would Sanctifie the Name of God in his Word we must receiue the Word into honest hearts This you have in Luk. 8.15 in the Parable of the Sowerâ— you shall find there that there are divers grounds that do receive the seed and by those divers groundâ— are meant divers sorts of hearts There is First the high way
But now ill hearers that do not Sanctifie Gods Name in His Word they are like ground that receive the rain as much as the other hear as many Sermons as the other but they bring forth nothing but thorns and briers and mark what a dreadful expression is against them First It is rejected Secondly It is nigh to cursing Thirdly Whose end is to be burned Thou rejectest the word doest thou The Lord rejecteth thy soul If thou hast no need of the word the word hath no need of thee it is a dreadful thing to be rejected of God And then thou art nigh unto cursing It may be the Lord may for the time withdraw Himself from the soul and manifest that it is as it were rejected but yet the soul hath not the curse of God upon it to say Well let this soul perish for ever but some there are that are under an actual curse and saith God Well My word shall never do good to this soul such a one hath sate under it thus long and hath rejected it My word shall never do good to him Like as in Luk. 14. where those that made excuses when they were bidden to the Supper the text saith at length That the Master of the feast was angry which was God Himself that invited them by the Gospel to partake of His Son and when men would not come in but make excuses and refused the offer of the Gospel Verily saith he none of those men that were bidden shall tast of my Supper They shall never partake of any good of the Gospel This is a dreadful Curse Now the Lord deliver you from having this curse pronounced against you but yet I beseech you tremble at this Scripture in the Hebrews They are nigh to cursing Who knows how nigh some soul in this place may be to this curse for God to say This soul hath been often invited and yet hath made excuses and put off all he shall never taste of my Supper of the good things in Jesus Christ the word that hath been so rejected shall never do them good more you had better never been born than to have this curse actually upon you Oh fear and tremble lest your condition be such as to be nigh to cursing Who knows what a day a week may bring forth It may be the Lord may spare and be willing to passe by the neglect of former Sermons but who knows what the next actuall rebellion against the Lord in His word may do to bring the curse upon thee And then if so the next part of the verse will prove to be thy portion Whose end is to be burned Oh! It is a dreadfull thing to sin against the Word God stands much upon it 8 Eightly Know that if Gods Name be not Sanctified in it the end that God hath appointed it for will be turned quite contrary to thee The proper end that God hath appointed His Word for it is to save souls but now where Gods Name is not Sanctified it is turned quite contrary so the Aposte in 2 Cor. 2.16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death and to the other the savour of life unto life It is a dreadful thing that the good word of God in which there is such treasures of Gods mercy wherein the councels of God concerning mans eternal estate comes to be revealed that this should prove to be the savour of deah unto death unto any soul that is to have such an efficacy in it as to kill them by the very scent of it as it were As some things have such a poyson in them as the very scent is enough to poyson one So saith the Apostle to some our word hath that efficacy being turned quite to the contrary end some souls are sav'd and are and shal be blessing God to al eternity for the Word and thy soul is damn'd by the Word so as thou wilt hereafter curse the time that ever thou camest to hear it That will be a dreadful thing that the same word that others shal be blessing of God eternally in heaven for that thou shalt be cursing eternally in hell for it wil be turned to the quite contrary end If it works not in the right way it will work the other the truth is it hardens mens hearts if it brings them not to God there is nothing that doth harden the hearts of men more than the Ministry of the Word yet by accident not by it's self there is no men in the world have such hard hearts as those that are wicked under the Ministry of the word It is not only an argument that their hearts are hard but they are hardened by it That in Isa 6.9 10. is remarkable for this and the rather because I find it so often quoted by Christ I think it is quoted three or four times in the Gospel And he said Go and tell this people hear ye indeed but understand not and see yee indeed but perceive not Make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and convert and be healed This is a strange Scripture what must a Prophet go to them to make their hearts fat and to shut their eyes Why the word is appointed to open mens eyes but here the Prophet is sent to shut their eyes that they may not be converted this is dreadfull this is for the punishment of some former neglect of the word of God sent unto this People above all Judgments you should be afraid of this It is not so much that a fire should be upon your houses as that God should make His word to be a means to harden your hearts In Ezek. 14. we have a dreadful expression to this purpose by the Prophet there where the Lord saith that the people did come to enquire of him with setting up their Idols in their hearts but saith God I will answer them according to their Idol If men come to the Ministry of the Word with their beloved sins and resolve they will not part with them the Lord many times in His just judgement suffers some things in the Word to be accidentally a means to harden them in that sin of theirs I will answer them according to their Idoll those men are in a dreadful estate whose hearts come to be hardned by the word 9 Ninthly If thou doest not Sanctifie Gods Name in the hearing of the Word what comfort canst thou ever have by the Word in the day of thy affliction Certainly when the day of thy affliction comes then there is nothing can comfort thee but the word Vnless thy Law had been my delight saith David I should then have perished in mine affliction but thou having been exercised in the word so much and Gods Name not Sanctified thou must not expect to have thy soul comforted in the day of thy affliction No marveil then
comes to a place and there 's only good seed sown and is a means of the conversion of many but together with the conversion of some there are others that do hear the Gospel Preached and the truth is they being mingled among the hearers of the Word in stead of bringing forth good fruit according to the Gospel they bring forth the Tares now saith the servant Lord how comes it to pass that we preach such excellent truths in this place and yet there are so many wicked men that bring forth such wicked fruit Lord is it thy mind that we should be wholly separated from them and have nothing to do with them that there should be a full separation while we live in this world no saith Christ not so for then the truth is if all godly men should wholly withdraw from wicked men and beleeve that they may not live among them they could not live in the world If you did beleeve it were your duty not so much as to live neer a wicked man nor to have any thing to do in any kind of converse with him there would be no Wheat growing in this field of the world here and therefore you must be content when you live where the Preaching of the Gospel is and the seed brings forth good fruit in some and in others it brings forth Tares you must not be offended by this that here in this world God doth not by some visible stroke of judgement come and strike them dead or that God doth not take some course that there should be a full separation here but that they might live together till the day of judgment here I say you shall not have such a full separation so that you see it carries a very fair sense to take the field to be the world and the kingdome of Heaven thereto be the Preaching of the Gospel in any place and so we must be content while we live in this world to be where wicked and ungodly men are But it doth not follow from this place that we are to have converse in the closest communion in Church-commmnion with wicked men to be made one body by eating the same bread and drinking the same wine it holds not forth such close communion as this is so that there 's little strength can be taken from that place but still it holds that wheresoever there is the Sacrament of the Lords Supper there must be a holy communion of Saints Object The Scripture only saith Let us examine our selves Answ I grant for the benefiâ— to mine own soul I must look to examine my self more especially but now for another I am but onely so farre bound to looke to him as to keepe my selfe clean it is true I am not bound to go and pry into his life and all his waies so as to force him to give an account of things that are secret but I am bound to keep a watch and if any thing be done that offends me then I am bound to go to him according to the former Rule of Christ and if he appears to be wicked then I am bound to see him purged from the Congregation for take but that other text in 1 Cor. 5.6 know you not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump If I do not do so much as concerns my duty then I am defiled by it So as that you must not think that it is nothing to you how many wicked men come to the Lords Table and that it belongs only to the Ministers and they are to look to it the truth is that every one in his place is to look to it and every one may be defiled if he doth not performe this duty that God requires of him do not say what have I to doe with my Brother am I my Brothers keeper it was the speech of Cain if thou beest of the same body you are to have a care of your Brother do not ye judge those that are within there is some kind of judgment that every one may passe upon such as do joyne with them in the same Body surely it concerns me much what shall I do in such an action as to joyne with them to eat bread whereby I must professe that I do beleeve my selfe to be of the same body that this drunkard is of that this Whoremaster is of that this swearer is of whenever you receive the Communion with any company you do professe your selves to be of the same body with that Company only in this case If I have discovered any and can particularly professe against any one then I do not professe my self to be of the same body with him but now when I come in an ordinary way and I know such to be wicked vile and prophane and I professe nothing against them nor take any course at all I do then by partaking with them professe my selfe to be of the same body that they are of Thou doest as it were openly declare Lord here we come and professe that we are all of the body of Jesus Christ now when thou knowest such and such as are notoriously wicked and prophane and dost nothing in the world to help to purge them out dost not thou think that Gods Name is taken in vain is not Gods Name prophaned here therefore it concerns us very much to look unto it that it be a holy communion that we receive the Bread and Wine in I beseech you therefore understand things a right that I have spoken of I have laboured to satisfie men that there is a way that we may partake of the Sacrament though wicked men be mixt with us But this is that that is required of you for doing your duty to keep your selves clean that you may not be accessory any way to any wicked mans coming to partake of this holy mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ there are divers things further about this and the special thing I thought of was to shew you the holy qualifications that there ought to be but this I conceived to be necessary and I should not have had peace in mine own conscience as being faithful to you in what I am speaking of sanctifying the Name of God in this Ordinance if I should not have mentioned this that I have spoken unto you and there 's an error on both sides that I desire to meet withall either those that come hand over head and think it concerns them not at all with whom they come to the Sacrament but to look to their own hearts and there 's an error on the other side that if they do what they can to keep them away and yet if they should be suâ—â—ered to come they may not come to partake of those things now it is very usefull for us to know what we should doe in this case SERMON XII LEVITICUS 10.3 I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me I Shall adde something to one particular that I had the last day concerning
Prayer and so in the OLD TESTAMENT too it was a kind of emblem of Prayer The offering up of our Prayers is the offering up of Incense to God and the Mercy Seat it was a Type of Jesus Christ Now the Incense should cover the Mercy Seat so our prayers must go up to Jesus Christ must be upon him and so must be accepted by the Father And as we read in Judg. 13.20 when Manoah offered a Sacrifice the text saith that the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame This Angel of God here was Jesus Christ as we might eaâ—â—ly 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 the Angel of God Jesus Christ the great Angel of the New Covenant for Angel signifies nothing but Messenger the great Messenger that is come into the world about that great Errand of his to reconcile the world to himself he must ascend up in the flame and so God will account his Name to be Sanctified the Name of God is not Sanctified but through Jesus Christ The Acting of our Faith upon Christ as Mediator is a 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 naturall strength or power that they have offer up the most glorious and speciousest Service to God It is not accepted unless it be offered up upon the Altar Jesus Christ we have an Altar now not the communion Table but Jesus Christ himself is our Altar upon whom we are to offer all our Sacrifices and this Altar must Sanctifie the gift we can never have our gift sanctifâ—ed 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 that is required in the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties that is to come and tender up all to the Father in the Name of Jesus Christ How many men and women that have been Professors of Religion 20 or 30 yeers 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 principle 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 hearts suitable to the several Attributes of God for that is to Sanctifie Gods Name to have the duty to be such as is some way suitable to such a God as we are now worshipping Now then let us consider what the Scrip ure saith of God and then let us see what suitable 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 suitableness 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 poure forth our souls before God and when we come to hear our hearts must not go after our coveteousness 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 fit in a Pew and have the sound of a mans voice in your eares 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 worshipped in Spirit And God is said to be a Spirit not only in that he is not of so thick a Corporal 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
for the conveyance of that good to my soul that is not in the power of any creature to convey Now I worship when I do these But further you shall find it more plain when we come to open how we should Sanctifie Gods Name in the hearing of his Word This is Divine Service as much as any service can be performed Heretofore our Prelates and those kind of men made all the Worship of God to be in their Divine Service as they call it which was of their own inventions and made light of the preaching or hearing of the Word but the Word is a great part of that Divine Service that God requires of us in his Worship and in it you do tender up your homage to God You therefore must not only when you come to hear think I come to get something I come to understand more than I did and to hear such a mans parts and the like but remember you come to tender up your homage to God to sit at Gods feet and there to profess your subjection to him That is one end of your coming to hear Sermons Now then you will say What should be done in the hearing Gods Word so as Gods Name may be Sanctified For that as we opened in the general that in the duties of God Worship there must be preparation and then an answerable behaviour of the soul So here there must first be a preparation of the soul to this work and then an answerable behaviour of the soul in it 1 There must be a preparation of the Soul so as when you come to hear you may with all readiness receive the Word the soul must be made ready in Act. 17.11 there it is said These were more noble than those of Thessalonica in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind The word is with all Alacriâ—y as well as readiness their minds were in a fit preparation to receive the Word and the text saith They were more noble The word that 's translated more noble it signifies Better bred for I do not take this Scripture as if it were meant only of men that were Earls or Lords that did thus receive the Word with readiness but they were of a more noble disposition They were well bred men so the Greek word signifies A man sometimes preaching to a company of rude people that never had any good breeding they will behave themselves rudely they slight the Word and like the Swine regard Acorns rather than Pearls And the Word is seldome so profitable to a company of rude people that have no breeding at all but now there is more hopes to Preach to men that have breeding Men that are exercised in Arts and Sciences and have some understanding and some ingenuity in them they will hearken to reason Now there is a great deal of spiritual reason in the word there is a great deal to convince men that are but rational men let a man be but a rational man and willing to attend to the Word I say there is a great deal of reason to convince him in it and it is a sign of good breeding of men of ingenuity to be willing to hear the Word Who are those in a Parish that so dis-regard the Word as not to hear it but the ruder sort There are many I confess that are men of parts perhaps the Word doth not prevail with their hearts to convert them yet if they have any good breeding at all if the Word be preached in a convincing way so that they see there is pains taken and preached as the Word of God to them they will vouchsafe their presence at least but the rude multitude that know nothing at all they had rather be in Ale-houses drinking and swilling they never care to hear the Word as in such a place as this There are very few of your miserable poor people that come to hear the Word What place is there fuller of miserable poor people than this place is and yet what a poor appearance is there of such people at the hearing of the Word But now those that have any ingenuity in them at all or any breeding for so the word is they will receive the Word with readiness But this breeding here spoken of was a little higher than natural breeding They were spiritually noble and so they had a readiness in their hearts in receiving the word Now this readiness of heart in receiving the word consists in these particulars First When you come to hear the Word if you would Sanctifie Gods Name you must possess your souls with what it is that you are going to hear That what you are to hear is the Word of God That it is not the speaking of a man that you are going to attend upon but that you are now going to attend upon God and to hear the Word of the eternal God Possess your souls with this you will never Sanctifie Gods Name else in the hearing of his Word therefore you find that the Apostle writing to the Thessalonians he gives them the reason why the Word did them so much good as it did It was because they did hear it as the Word of God 1. Thess 2.13 For this cause also saith he thank we God without ceasing because when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us ye received it not as the word of men but as it is in truth the Word of God which effectually worketh also in you that beleeve Mark so it came effectually to work because they received it as the Word of God many times you will say Come let us go hear such a man preach Oh no let us go hear Christ preach for as it doth concern the Ministers of God that they preach not themselves but that Christ should preach in them So it concerns you that hear not to come to hear this man or that man but to come to hear Jesus Christ We as the Ambassadors of Christ do beseech you saith the Apostle 2 Possesse your hearts likewise with this consideration that I come to hear the Word as an ordinance appointed by God to convey spiritual good to my soul and this is a very usefull consideration and especially it concerns men of understanding and parts for the helping of them to hear For men that are of understanding and parts when they come to hear this temptation is ready to come upon them that except they hear some new thing that they did not understand before wherefore should they come I am able to understand as much in such a point as can be said And when I have come and heard many times I have heard but that I knew before and upon that they think there is no use of coming to hear Now this is a great mistake when you come to hear the Word you do not come alwaies to hear what you did not know it may be sometimes God may dart in some thing that you did not think of before
of the secrets of all hearts Thou knowest that I go with such a resolution to yeeld up my self to every truth of thine How would the Name of God be Sanctified if you did thus come to hear the Word If you did come with such a resolution Job 32.34 That wich I know not teach thou me and if I have done iniquity I will do no more In Isa 2.3 you have a prophesie of the Gentils how they should come to the Word And many people shall go and say Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his waies and we will walk in his paths Here is a blessed disposiâ—ion when you come to hear the Word Some of you come together in streets and Ianes and over the fields when you come together and meet one with another as you walk over the fields make use of this text Oh that this prophesie might be fulfilled in your coming over the fields every Lords day morning and at other times that you would say one to another or when you call one upon another to go to hear Come let us go up to the house of the Lord and he will teach us of his waies and we will walk in his paths We are resolved that whatever the Lord shall teach us to be his waies we will submit unto it This is a due preparation of the heart for the Sanctifying of Gods Name in the hearing of his word 4 When you come to hear the word come with longing desires after the word come with an appetite to it As in 1 Pet. 2.2 As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word that yee may grow thereby Do it as new born babes Now you know little babes they do not desire milk to play withal but only to nourish them Children of three or four yeers old they may desire milk to play with but new born babes never care for it but when they are hungry to nourish them And so it is true many come to hear the word to play with it But now you should come to hear the word as new born babes with a hungring desire after the word that your Souls may be nourished thereby That were excellent if every Lords day and at other daies you did come as hungry to the Word as ever you went to your dinner or supper The Word of God should be to you more than your appointed food And then you are like to grow by it and to Sanctifie Gods Name in it 5 Pray before-hand That God would open thine eyes and open thine heart and accompany His Word thus did David Open mine eyes O Lord that I may understand the wonders of thy Law And you know what is said of Lydia The Lord opened her heart to attend to the Word that was spoken Now seeing it is an Ordinance thou doest expect more good from than what it self of of it's own nature is able to convey thou hadest need to Pray Lord I go to such an Ordinance of thine and I know there is no efficacy in it's self it is not able to reach to such effects as I expect that is to have my heart spoken too and quickened and to have mine eyes opened but O Lord open mine eyes and open mine heart Lord my heart naturally is lockt up against thy Word there are such wards in my heart that except thou art pleased to put in a key that may fit my heart it will never open Man he is not able to know my heart and therefore he cannot fit a key to answer every ward to resolve every doubt to silence every objection but Lord thou canst do it Do thou Lord therefore fit thy Word this day that may meet with my heart Lord I have gone often to thy Word and the key hath stuck in it and it hath not opened but Lord if thou wouldest but fit it and turn it with thine own hand my heart would open Oh come with such a praying heart to the Word and thereby shalt thou Sanctifie the Name of God in hearing His Word this is to come to the Word as to the Word of God you must not come to the hearing of the word as to hear a Spech or an Oration but come in such a preparation as this is and so I say God will be glorified and you will be profited The next thing is What should be the behaviour of the Soul in tht Sanctifying Gods Name in the word when it is come Now to that there are these particulars 1 First There must be a carefull attention unto the Word you must set your hearts unto it as Moses in Deut. 32.46 he said unto the people Set your hearts unto all the words which I testifie among you this day which you shall command your Children to observe to do for it is not a vain thing for you because it is your life Set your hearts to it for it iâ— not a vain thing it is your life when you come to hear the word give diligent attention to what you hear In Acts 8.6 it is said The people with one accord gave heed unto 〈◊〉 things which Philip spake They gave heed The word is used often in Scripture sometimes it is used for to beware of a thing Beware of the leven of the Pharisees Beware of them As a man when he sees an enemy and is aware of him he is very diligent to observe how to avoid him So there should be as much diligence to get good by the word as one would be diligent to avoid any danger whatsoever And the word signifies somtimes to give such heed as a disciple gives unto his master so they gave need to the word So in Pro. 2.1 2. My son if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandements with thee so that thou encline thine eaâ—e unto wisdome We must diligently attend and not to suffer our eyes and our thoughts to be wandring but diligently attend to what is said my brethren there is all things that may challenge attention in the word What would make you to attend to any thing First If he that speaks were much above you If it were a great Prince or Lord that spake to you then you would attend Now though it is true it is but a man that it may be is inferiour to most of you that speaks yet know in him it is the Lord of Heaven and Earth that speaks to you And so you know what Christ saith Hee that heareth you heareth me So though you would not attend in respect of the Messenger so much yet as it is the Son of God that is speaking to you it may challenge your attention This day if you should hear a voice out of the clouds from Heaven speaking to you would you not then listen the truth is we should listen as much to the voice of God in the Ministry of His Word as if so be
God shall have no place in the heart If a temptation to sin comes that hath a place in the heart but when the Word comes that hath no place in the heart I say it is a very sad thing that we can find no room for the Word we should get room for the Word Open ye gates Stand open ye everlasting doors that the King of Glory may come in Know that when you come to hear the Word the Lord is knocking at the doors of your hearts have not you felt it sometimes Open Oh open the doors let all be opened to receive the Word into your hearts That is the Second thing for the behaviour of the Soul in hearing 3 The third thing is the careful applying of the Word so in Pro. 2.2 There must be an applying of the heart to the word and an applying of the word unto the heart All action is by an application of the thing that doth act unto the subject there must be an application of the word to thy soul as now Suppose thou comest to hear the Word and thou hearest of some sin that it may be thou knowest thou art guilty of take the Word and lay it to thy heart and say The Lord hath met with my soul this day the Lord hath spoken to me to the end that I might be humbled for this sin and the other sin that my Conscience tels me I am guilty of So doth the Lord put thee upon a duty that concerns thee acknowledge this the Lord hath spoken to me this day and put me upon the reformation of my family and the reformation of my own heart Is there a word presented apply that and let not the trouble of thy heart cause thee to cast off that word that God hath spoken to thee The application of the word to the heart it is of marveilous use and it concerns not only Ministers in general to lay before people the Doctrine of the Gospel but to apply it And know that it concerns you as well as Ministers to apply it And not only when they come to that that is called use but all the way in the opening of the Word it concerns you all to apply it to your own souls and to consider How doth it concern me in particular My brethren there is no such way to honour God or get good to your own souls as the application of the Word unto your selves As a man that is asleep if there be annoise made it will not awake him so soon but come and call him by his name and say John or Thomas and that will awake him sooner than a greater noise will So when the Word makes a noise when it is delivered only in the general men take little notice of it but when the Word comes particularly to the souls of men and doth as it were call them by name thi awakens them now God many times doth speak to your hearts but you should apply it you know the word is compared to meat and it must be applyed to the body Then do we worship God in a right way when as we take notice of Gods Word as concerning us in particular as that notable Scripture that you have in 1 Cor. 14.25 Where there comes a poor man into the Church of God and hears Prophesying hears the Word opened and the text saith He is c nvinced of all 〈…〉 and then in verse 25. Thus are the secrets of his heart manifes◠and 〈◊〉 falling down on his face he worship◠God and reports that God is in you of a truth that is when the Word comes and meets with his Soul in particular that he finds himself to be aim'd at by the Word then he worships God and saith that God certainly is in them here 's the reason now that when you come to hear the word you do not worship God because you apply it not to your selves you are ready to say this was well spoken to such a one and it concerns such a one but how doth it concern thy soul in particular Sometimes the Lord doth even force men and women to apply it whether they will or no for that they think the Minister speaks to them in particular and that no body was spoken too in the Congregation but themselves This is a Mercy when the Lord doth it unto you but it is a greater Mercy when the Lord gives you a heart to apply it to your selves and although it may trouble you a little for the present yet be willing to apply it and account it a great Mercy from the Lord That the Lord will be pleased to speak in particular to your Souls 4 Fourthly We must mix Faith with the Word or otherwise it will do us but little good Apply it and then beleeve it In Heb. 4.2 it is said that The Word preached did not profit them not being mixed with Faith in them that heard it Wherefore there must be a mixture of Faith to beleeve the word that the Lord brings unto you Now concerning that I 'le but propound these few particulars You will say Must we beleeve every thing that is spoken sometimes there are some things spoken that we cannot tell how to beleeve I do not mean so to beleeve every thing meerly being spoken for you must take heed what you hear as well as how you hear but do thus much at least 1 〈◊〉 the First place Whatsoever comes in the Name of God to you except you know certainly it is not according to the written Word you owe so much respect to it as to examine it at least to try it whether it be so or no as it is said of those Wel-bred men that I spake of that they did examine whether things were so or no. Do not cast off any thing presently that comes in the Name of God Now any thing that hath the broad Seal upon it you must not disobey You will say It may be counterfeit but do not disobey it till you be sure it be counterfeit Oh that men would give but this respect to all things that they hear never to cast them off till they have examined and tryed whether they be so or no. 2 Secondly Do but grant this respect to the Word that is spoken to you as to think thus What it all that I hear spoken against my sin which laies open the dangerous condition that my soul is in prove to be true what a case were I in then This hath been the beginning of the conversion of many Souls the having but such a thought as this It may be things are not so terrible as I hear but what if they do prove so then I am undone for ever Dare I venture my Soul and my eternal estate upon hopes that these things are not so bad as I hear I beleeve if you would put your selves to it you would think it a bold adventure and the comfort that any of you have grounded upon this meerly hoping that things are
of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my Word This is a most admirable Scripture Mark how God lifts up Himself in His Glory so great a God as the Heaven is my Throne and the Earth is my foot-stool where is that house that ye will build unto me But then may a poor soul say How shall I be able to stand before this God that is so glorious Saith God Be not discouraged poor soul who doest tremble at my Word for I look to you And then this is a further thing observable that God hath a regard to that soul that trembles at His Word rather than to any that should build the most sumptuous buildings in the world for Him for saith God here The Heaven is my Throne and the Earth is my foot-stool where is the house that ye build unto me and where is the place of my rest They have built a glorious Temple to God but what do I regard that saith God I regard one that trembls at my word more than that great house that you have built unto me It is a notable Scripture to shew what a high respect God hath to one that trembls at His word He regards them more than this glorious Temple that was built unto Him If you were able to build such a place as this was for the service of God you would think it a great matter it is not so much regarded as if you could bring a trembling heart to Gods word that 's a special thing wherein the Sanctifying of the Name of God consists when we come to see the dreadful Authority that there is in the word of God when we are able to see more glory of God in His Word than in all the works of God besides for there is more of his glory in the word than there is in the whole Creation of Heaven and Earth take the Sun and Moon and Stars you that are Marriners you have seen much of the glory of God abroad that one would think might strike terrour into all your hearts but know that there is more of the dreadfulness of Gods Name in His word than in all His works In Psal 138.2 Thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy Name the Word it is magnified above all the Name of God whatsoever and it is a very good signe of a Spiritual enlightened Soul that can see the Name of God more magnified in His Word than in all His works besides I appeal unto your Consciences in this thing Have you ever seen the Name of God to be more magnified in His Word than in all His works I may with very good confidence affirm this that there is no godly soul upon the face of the earth that hath the weakest degree of grace but hath seen more of the glory of God revealed in His word than he hath seen in all the works of God besides and his heart hath bin more taken with it It requires therefore a trembling frame of heart when we hear it And then further When this is considered that the Word is that which bindeth the soul over either to life or death mens eternal estates are to be cast by the Word certainly then it requires a trembling heart to hear that by which the eternal estate of man is to be cast we do not Sanctifie Gods Name when we come to hear the Word except we come with trembling hearts and they are the most likely of all men and women to understand the mind of God as for such as come with conceited spirits that they understand as much before they come and think their reach of wit or capacity is beyond the capacity of any that shall open the Word unto them yet that were not so much if 〈◊〉 did but only rest upon the man and not reflect upon the word it self Now these that are rich in their own thoughts and understandings are sent empty away but those that come wiâ—h trembling hearts to the Word they are the men that are like to understand Gods Counsels revealed in His word In Ezra 10.2 3. Shechaniah the Son of Jehiel one of the Sons of Elam answered said unto Ezra we have transgressed against our God have taken strange wives c. Yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing now therefore let us make a covenant with our God according to the counsel of my Lord and of those that tremble at the Commandement of our God So that those that tremble at Godâ— Word are such as are fitest to counsel they understand most of Gods mind and that 's another particular of the behaviour of the Soul in Sanctifying Gods Name in hearing his Word 7 The next is a humble subjection to the Word that we hear our hearts must bow to it must lie under the word that we hear it is a very remarkable Scripture that we have in 2 Chron. 6.12 There it is said concerning a great King Zedekiah He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the Prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. It is a very strange expression as any we have in the Book of God that Zedekiah a great King should be charged with this as a great sin that he did not humble himself Humble himself before whom you will say We are boud to humble our selves before God but here it is that he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the Prophet Why before the Prophet Because he spake from the mouth of the Lord. If it be any messenger that speaks from the mouth of the Lord God expects that we should humble our selves so that if any truth comes to be delivered unto you the Lord expects that you should fall down and yeeld obedience to it whatsoever your thoughts your judgements your opinions have heretofore been it there come any thing in the word against it you must submit your judgments submit your very consciences you must submit your wills whatsoever your hearts have been set upon though it hath been never so contentful to your spirits before yet now submit and yeeld though it go never so cross unto your minds your wils your ends yet all must be submitted and laid down flat before the Word so as to be willing to deny your selves of any thing in the world When a man or woman can say thus Lord it is true I confess before I heard thy word opened in the evidence and demonstration of the Spirit unto me I was of such a mind and my heart went after such and such contentments and I thought it was impossible that ever my heart should be taken from them but O Lord thou hast been pleased plainly to shew to me by the opening of thy Word in the evidence of thy Spirit what thy mind is Now whatsoever becomes of my name of my comforts of my contentments in this world Lord here I cast down all before thee I submit unto thy Word this is a gracious
in the word of God such a sutable behaviour there is in the heart of a man to it this is an honest heart So that there are those two things when a man is square with God in one thing as wel as another and when there is a sutableness to the behaviour of the Soul to what excellency there is in the Word when the heart of man will not abuse the Word at all but behaves it self honestly according unto the gravity holiness and weight that there is in the Word And thus now with such a good and honest heart we are to receive the Word if we will Sanctifie Gods Name in it 10 A tenth particular is this If we will Sanctifie Gods Name in the word we must hide the Word in our hearts we must not only hear the Word but keep it preserve it and then do we declare that we account the word of God to be worth something indeed For what is it to Sanctifie God as we have opened before in the general but such a behaviour towards Him as may testifie the Excellency of the Name of God so the behaviour of the soul in hearing the word must be such as must give a testimony to the Excellency of the word and manifest the high esteem I have of it Now if I received a thing that is of great value if I flight it and let any body take it from me I do not give a testimony to the excellency of that thing but if I take it and lock it up and keep it under lock and key I do thereby give a testimony of the esteem that I have of the excellency of that thing So now When I come to hear the Word and meet with truths that have gotten into my soul I close with them and am resolved within my heart as I am hearing of them well this truth I will keep through Gods grace this concerns me and I will make much of it and although I forget other things yet I hope I shall remember this to Sanctifie Gods Name in hearing of the word In Isa 42.23 Hear saith the holy-Ghost there for the time to come When we come to the word we must not only hearken for the present as many of us while we are hearing our hearts are stir'd for the present Oh that we could but have that affection of heart alwaies as we have when we are hearing of the word How many of you have said when you have been hearing such a Sermon Oh then me thought I could have gone through fire and water for God I but mark it you must hear for afterwards And in Psalm 119.11 There the Prophet David profest that he did hide the word in his heart the word was sweet unto him Thy Word saith he have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee You that come and hear those Truths upon the Lords day if you would hide them thus in your hearts and keep them all the week they would help you against the many temptations that you meet withall you go abroad on the week daies into company and there you meet with a temptation and it overcomes you and you â—omplain Alas I am weak I have met with a temptation and it hath foil'd me But had you hid the word that you heard on the Lords day in your heart it would have kept you from the strength of your temptation that it should not have overcome you those that are truly godly they have a care to hide the word in their hearts when they hear it they think this word shall help me against such and such sins which I am prone to by nature and when a temptation comes to that sin I hope I shall have use of the word that I have heard this day As now suppose you hear a word against passion then you should hide that word in your hearts against that time that temptation comes to passion And you hear a word against sensuallity and abuse of the creatures you should hide that word against that temptation cometh And you hear a word against unrighteousnesse and unjust dealings when a temptation comes to that sin you should hide that word against that time So you hear a word that speaks of obedience to parents and servants duties to governors now you should hide that word in your hearts against that time I have hid thy word in my heart that I might not sin against thee You say that you would fain withstand and not be overcome with temptations why here is the way hide the Word within thee that thou mayest not sin against him And so in Pro. 2.1 you have a Scripture to the same purpose about hiding the commandements within us And then in 1 Joh. 2.14 I write unto you young men because you are strong and the Word of God abideth in you and ye have overcome the wicked one I have written to you young men you are young you have strong natures and so strength of nature for God But how comes this to pass You are strong and the Word of God abideth in you here is an excellent Scripture for all young men you have your memories fresh and if you will exercise your memories about any thing it should be in the Word of God it is a comely and an excellent thing to see young ones to have the Word of God abiding in them that if you come to them not only a week but a month after they have heard the word they are able to give you an account of it I am verily perswaded that there are many young ones in this place that are able to give you old ones If you ask them an account of what it is to Sanctifie Gods Name in the duties of Worship and why because the Word of God abideth in them It is the honour of young men to have the Word of God to abide in them and hereby they overcome the wicked one And on the other side many young people that do come to hear the Word it may be they are drawn to it by others or it may be they love to have a walk in the morning but the Word of God abideth not in them and therefore when the wicked one comes with temptations the week after they are overcome by him but those that have the Word of God abiding in them they overcome the wicked one And so in Joh. 8.31 you have a very remarkable Scripture for this purpose of keeping the Word after we have heard it Then said Jesus to those which beleeved on him if you continue in my Word then are you my Disciples indeed I beseech you observe it It is said that the Jewes did beleeve in Christ and yet saith Christ If ye continue in my Word then are you my Disciples why were they not the Disciples of Christ that did beleeve in him By this beleeving therefore we must understand some kind of general notion that they had of Christ they began to think that
take heed of this that when you are hearing the Word and Christ comes and speaks to your hearts and you begin to think that it may concern you and your consciences begin to stir take heed that you do not shift Him off take heed that you do not put away the Word from you by any kind of pretence whatsoever It may be you will say If I were certain it were the Word of God and that God spake to me God forbid but that I should submit unto it But though it may be the hearts of men are not so notoriously rebellious as to resolve to sin against the Word which they will acknowledge to be the Word of God yet this is the deceit of the heart when the heart hath no mind to obey it will shift of the Word and have pretences and put-offs Oh take heed that you do not shift off him that speaks from Heaven by making any kind of excuse whatsoever but when thou hearest if the Word of God come to thy conscience do not listen to vain reasonings that are against it Others there are that cannot tell how to shift off the word but it will come upon them when they are hearing it may be they are a little stir'd but it is presently gone so that they are far from holding the Word far from keeping it in their hearts Oh how many of you have been stirrâ—d when you have been hearing the Word and how happy had it beeen for you if you had hid those words in your heart that the Lord hath spoken to you in the Ministry of it If you had but the Invitations of the Spirit now that sometimes you have had how happy were it for you but it is with many in hearing the Word Just as with you Marriners when you are to go abroad your friends come with you take their leaves of you and then you see them stand upon the shore a while but when you sail a little further your friends are out of sight and then you see only the shore you sail on a little further and then you see only the houses you sail a little further and then you see only the steeples and such high places and you sail yet a little further and then you see nothing but the Ocean So it is in hearing the Word It may be when you go home there are some things fresh in your minds but on the munday morning you have lost some but then there are some others that do yet present themselves before you and then you loose more and more untill you have lost the fight of all all truths are gone you see no more of the Word as if you had never heard it this is not to Sanctifie Gods Name you should treasure up the Word as the most rich treasure that may be Another sort to be rebuked are those who are so far from falling down before the Lord to receive the word with meekness as they can bless themselves in their wicked waies notwithstanding the word comes and meets with them I only name this because of that notable Scripture we have In Deut. 29.18 19. saith Moses there to them Take heed lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood what 's that root that beareth gall and wormwood And it come to pass when he beareth the words of this curse that he bless himself in his heart saying I shall have peace though I walk in the imagination of my heart c. Take heed there be not among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood This is a bitter root in mens hearts when they can hear the word of God and have their hearts rise against it and think with themselves that there is no such matter these are but meer words but meer wind let the Minister say what he will and talk as long as he will I will go on in my way I shall do well enough that which he saith it is but his opinion I say when men can bless themselves thus in their way and when there are such tumultuous and rebellious thoughts rising in their hearts this is a root of gall and wormwood and take heed of it it will bring forth bitter fruit one day But I should quickly be prevented if I should lanch into this argument to reprove the several waies of sinning against God in the hearing of his Word And therefore I leave those and come to shew what a fearful thing it is for men and women not to Sanctifie the Name of God in the hearing of his Word that so you may see that God will have his Name Sanctified upon them And they are these 1 In the First place You that do not Sanctifie Gods Name in hearing his word in those waies that have been opened to you First you loose the greatest and happiest opportunity of good that ever creatures had for an outward opportunity indeed when God moves by his Spirit if that be neglected that opportunity is more than meerly hearing the word but otherwise except it be at such a time when God adds his Spirit together with his Word I say you that are cast by the providence of God in such a place where the word of the Gospel is preached to you applied and urged upon you if you Sanctifie not the Name of God to hear as you ought and to profit by it I say you lose the greatest opportunity for good that is in the world Oh what hast thou lost that hast lived many yeers under the Ministry of the Gospel and yet hast not been acquainted with this mystery of godliness in sanctifying Gods name in the word There are many thousand souls that are and shall be blessing God to all eternity for what of God they have met withall in the word but thou hast sitten under it stuped as a block dead and barren and no good hath been done Wherefore is there a prize in the hand of a fool and he hath no heart to get wisdom This will lie upon thee heavy one day the loss of such an opportunity and that is the first 2 In the Second place Know that this word that is appointed by God for the conveyance of so much mercy to his elect it will prove to be the greatest aggravation of thy sin that can be This is the condemnation that light is come into the world and men love darkness rather than light This is The condemnation If so be that light had not come among you then the condemdation had not been so great your sin had not been so great your punishment had not bin so great In Mat. 10.14 15. where speaking of those that did enjoy the word and yet did not Sanctifie Gods Name in it Whosoever shall not receive you saith Christ to his Disciples nor hear your words when ye depart out of that house or City shake off the dust of your feet Verily I say unto you it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom
though the word hath been applied againe and againe to your hearts and nothing would stick I remember it was an expression of one in a great deal of terror of conscience many came to apply comfortable Scriptures to him and he himself for a while did take those Scriptures and lay them upon his heart to pacifie his troubled conscience but a little before he dyed he cries out with a most fearful terror There is a fair plaister made but it will not stick on it will not stick on so dyed dispairing So there is in the word such a plaister as may help a wounded and troubled conscience but canst thou expect that hast not Sanctified Gods Name in thy life time that it shall stick upon thy soul in the day of thy affliction never expect it for the Lord hath said otherwise Prov. 1. Because when I cryed and call'd ye would not hear you shall cry and call and I will not hear The Lord in his Word cries to thee Oh thou sinful soul who art going on in the waies of sin and eternal destruction Return return that is the way that will bring thee to eternal miseries but here is the way that will bring thee to life and eternal salvation Thus the Lord cries and call to day to day and thou stoppest thy eare Oh how just is it with God to stop his eare from thy crying and calling in the day of thy affliction 10 Further Know that thou that doest not Sanctifie the Name of God in his Word that all the Word of God will be made good one day upon thee God hath his time to magnifie his Law and to make it honourable Isa 42.21 You slight Gods Law you slight his Word and dispise it but God will magnifie it and make it honourable there is not any sentence that thou hast heard in the word but it shall be made good whatsoever becomes of thy soul Thou hinkest that God is a merciful God and he will not damn thee but though God be merciful hath regard to his creatures yet the Lord hath ten thousand times more regard to his word than to all the souls of men and women in the world and God will stand to make that good he will not have such regard to that wretched vile sinful soul of thine as not to honour his Word he will honour his Word whatsoever becomes of thee and all that thou hast heard and rejected shall be made good upon thee one day 11 Again the word that thou doest reject and sin against it shall be the word that shall judge thee Joh. 12.48 Look to it as well as you will this Book of God out of which we preach and those truths that we delivered to you from this word they must be called over again at the great day to judge your souls by the sentence of every one of your eternal estates must be tryed out of this book Oh look upon it as the word that must judge your Souls at the last day and then you will see it a dreadful thing not to Sanctifie Gods Name in it And then when the Word doth judge you you shall obey it whether you will or no. Now the word convinces you and you will not obey it but when God comes to judge you by the word then you shall obey it Then when God comes to reade that sentence out of the word Go ye cursed into everlasting fire then I say you shall be forced to obey it 12 Lastly There is yet one thing more which should have been mentioned before which is very remarkable That those men which do not Sanctifie Gods Name in his Word they will be blasted even here while they live their parts and common gifts that they yet have will be blasted wither and come to nothing We find it ordinarily that many that are young had very good beginnings and very good parts that were very hopeful and would speak very savourly where they came afterwards beginning by degrees to neglect the Word the Lord hath blasted them their gifts have withered the common gifts of the Spirit have been taken from them I will give you one Text for that in Luk. 8.18 Take heed therefore how ye hear It is an Exhortation that follows upon the parable of the Sower that went out to sow because it is so that when the word is sowen as seed there is so little of it doth prosper and most hearers do not Sanctifie Gods Name in it therefore look to your selves Why For whosoever hath to him shall be given and whosoever hath not from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have You had need look to your selves how you hear for the truth is all depends upon it under God have you got any common gifts of the Spirit of God or any abilities to do any service for God do not be proud of them neither be jolly nor think that you are able to do better than others and that those are but ordinary things that the Minister speaks and you are gotten into a higher forme Look to your selves take heed you come not to the word with a proud Spirit be not offended at the plainness of the word take heed how you hear for if you do not that that you seem to have shall be taken from you saith Christ You seem to have excellent gifts yea you seem to have grace too but take heed how you hear for all this whatsoever parts you have got though you be highly esteemed in the company where you come and you are able to do things more than others yet I say Take heed how you hear for otherwise that that you have will be taken away from you have have we not seen this in our own experience and it is apparent that they began to be withered and to be blas ed by neglecting of the Word And therefore I beseech you look to this that you do Sanctifie the Name of God in his Word and let your hearts bow unto it as unto the Ordinance of God and wait upon it in the Ministry of it lest you wither and be blasted and come to nothing And thus I have shewen the great evil of not Sanctifying Gods Name and how God will be Sanctified I shall be very brief in the Use of Exhortation Oh that the Lord by this would cause some thing to stick upon your hearts that what hath been preached in this point may be made useful for many Sermons afterwards that it might be said of you in this place as it was said of them in Act. 13.48 When the Gentiles heard this they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord and as many as were ordained to eternal life beleeved Oh that God would make every one of you to be a means to glorifie the word of God! That should be our care that the word of God may be glorified by us we come to hear the word but take heed that the word of God be not
peoples withdrawing from such a Congregation where they could not receive all the Ordinances of Jesus Christ As now If I were in a Church where I could have but a piece of the Sacrament suppose they dealt with me as the Papists do with the people that is they will give them the bread and not the wine Certainly I were not bound to stay with them then but I were bound to goe where I might have the whole Sacrament So if a Church will give me some one Ordinance and not another I confess so long as there is hope that I may enioy it and that they are in a way for enjoyment I think there should be a great forbearance to a Church as well as to a particular person as I must not withdraw from a particular man where there is hope still of his reformation and that there may come good of my forbearance so toward a Church much more but I say if I cannot enjoy neither doth there appear any hope of the enjoyment of all Ordinances certainly it were but a cruelty to force men to stay there when as other where they may enjoy all Ordinances for the good of their souls And this cannot be Schisme thus to do as now is this Schisme suppose a man were in a place and joyned in such a Communion for his outward benefit he may remove his dwelling from one place to another if he can have better trading in another place then certainly if he may have more Ordinances for the edification of his soul he may as well remove from one to another as he may remove if his trading be better in one place than another Christ would have all his people look to the edification of their souls and should I account that Schisme when a man or woman meerly out of tenderness and a desire to enjoy Jesus Christ in all his Ordinances for the benefit of their souls they find such want to their souls of all Ordinances that though they may have some in one place yet if they cannot have all their souls do not so thrive now if this be all the end why they remove that they might have more edification to their souls enioying the Ordinances of Christ more fully God forbid that this should ever be accounted such a sin that the Scripture is to brand no that's Schisme when there is a violent rending out of malice for the want of love for as Apostasie is a rending from the Head So Schism from the Body that is when it is out of an evil Spirit from envy or from malice from want of love or from any base sinister ends and upon no just Ground but now when it is meerly out of love to Jesus Christ that I might have more edification to my soul and still I retain love to the Saints that are there as they are in a Communion and so far as they have any thing good among them I hold Communion with them in that only I desire in humility and in meekness that I may be in such a place where my soul may be most edified where I may enjoy al those Ordinances that Christ hath appointed for his Church certainly that soul that can give this account to Jesus Christ for going from one place to another will be freed by Jesus Christ from such a sin as this that the world cals Scisme but the truth is this word is in mens mouthes that understand not what it means and the Devil alwaies will have some word or other cast upon them that are good for he hath heretofore gained much by it so still he makes account to gain much by words and Termes and therefore men should take heed of words and Termes that they do not understand and examine seriously what the meaning of these words and what is held forth in those words and thus much for that point that it must be in a holy Communion wherever there is the receiving of the Lords Supper it must be received in a holy Communion Now we are to proceed to that which is the main thing and that is What are the holy qualifications or dispositions of the soul together with the actings fit in the receiving of the Lords Supper what is required in the soul for the sanctifying of the Name of God in this holy Sacrament There are many things required As first there is required knowledge I must know what I do when I come to receive this holy Sacrament knowledge applyed to the work that I am about when some of you have come to receive this Sacrament if God should have spoken from heaven and have said thus to you what are you doing now what do you go for what account had you been able to have given unto him you must understand what you do when you come thither First You must be able to give this account to God Lord I am now going to have represented to me in a visible and sensible way the greatest mysteries of godliness those great and deep Councels of thy will concerning my eternal estate those great things that the Angels desire to pry into that shall be the matter of eternal praises of Angels and Saints in the highest heavens that they may be set before my view Lord when I have come to thy Word I have had in mine eares sounding the great mysteries of godliness the great things of the Covenant of grace and now I go to see them represented before mine eyes in that Ordinance of thine that thou hast appointed Yea Lord I am now going to receive the Seals of the blessed Covenant of thine the second Covenant the new Covenant the Seals of the Testimony and Will of thine I am going to have confirmed to my soul thine everlasting Love in Jesus Christ Yea Lord I am going to that Ordinance wherein I expect to have Communion with thy self and the communication of thy cheif mercies to my soul in Jesus Christ I am going to feast with thee to feed upon the body and blood of Jesus Christ Yea I am now going to set to the Seal of the Covenant on my part to renew my Covenant with thee I am going to have Communion with thy Saints to have the bond of Communion with all thy people to be confirmed to me that there might be a stronger bond of union and love between me and thy Saints than ever these are the ends that I go for this is the work that I am now going about thus you must come in understanding you must come with understanding you must know what you are going about this is that which the Apostle speaks of when he speaks of the discerning the Lords Body he rebukes the Corinthians for their sin and shews them that they were guilty of the body and blood of Christ because they did not discern the Lords body they lookt only upon the outward elements but did not discern what there was of Christ there they did not understand the institution of Christ they did
not see how Christ was under those elements both represented and exhibited unto them that 's the first thing there must be knowledge and understanding And now for the knowledge and understanding of the nature of the Sacrament there need be knowledge in other points of Religion for we can never come to understand the nature of this Sacrament without knowing God and knowing our selves knowing in what estate we were by nature knowing our Fall knowing the way of Redemption knowing Jesus Christ what he was and what he hath done for the making of an Atonement the necessity of Jesus Christ and what the way of the Covenant is that God hath appointed to bring mens souls to eternal life by The main points of Religion must be known but especially that that concerns the nature of a Sacrament Now this knowledge likewise must be actual not meerly habitual knowledge but there must be a stirring up of this knowledge that is by meditation I must be meditating have actual thoughts and meditations of what Ido know that ought to be the work of a Christian in coming to receive the Sacrament to quicken up his knowledge to have a renewed work of his knowledge by actual thoughts and meditations of the main points of Religion and especially of th nature and the end of this holy institution that is the first thing Secondly As we must come understandingly without which we cannot sanctifie Gods Name so we must come with hearts sutable to the work that we are about that is because the great thing that is here is the breaking of Christs body and the powring forth his blood A sutable disposition to this is brokenness of heart sence of our sin of that dreadful breach that sin hath made between God and the soul our sin should be upon our hearts so as to break them But this brokenness must be Evangelical it must be through the applying of the blood of Christ unto my soul I must come to be sensible of my sin but especially be sensible of it by what I see in the holy Sacrament that must make me sensible of my sin There are a great many things to make me sensible of my sin The consideration of the great God that thou hast sinned against and the Curse of the Law that 's due to thee the wrath of God that is incensed against thee for thy sin and those eternal flames that are prepared for sinners those everlasting burnings But now those are not the things that will break the heart in an Evangelical way in a gracious way the main thing by which the soul must come to break it's heart must the beholding of the evil of sin in the red glass of the blood of Jesus Christ the beholding him broken and truly there is nothing in the world that hath that power to break the heart for sin as the beholding of that which is to be beheld in the holy Sacrament and that heart is a hard heart that can see what is there to be seen and not break in the apprehension of sin when I here see what my sin cost what a price was made for my soul when I see the hatred of God against sin and the justice of God in not sparing his Son but in breaking his Son for my sin and in shedding the blood of his Son for my sins I see here that the making of my peace with God did cost more than ten thousand worlds is worth I see that by my sin such a breach was made between God and my soul that all the Angels in heaven and men in the world could never make up this breach only the Son of God he that was God and man that was thus broken by the burden of the wrath of his Father for my sins could do this The truth is when we come to this holy Communion we are to look upon Christ as if we saw him hanging upon the Cross suppose thou hadst lived at the time when Christ was crucifyed and hadst understood as much concerning the death of Christ as now thou doest and what Christ was if so be that thou shouldest have beheld him in the Garden and there sweating drops of water and blood lie goveling upon the ground crying if it be possible let this cup pass from me and shouldest have followed him to the Cross and there have seen his hands and feet nailed and his side pierced and the blood trickling down and have heard him crying out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me would not such a sight as this is have broken thy heart for thy sin the truth is there is more I won't say only so much but I say there is more in this Sacrament to break the heart for sin than such a sight as that You will say if you should have Christ to be crucified again before your eyes if you should see the body of Christ hanging upon the Crosse and there behold him crucified and hearing of him cry out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me you would think if your hearts did not break for sin then that they were desperately hard know every time that thou hast come to receive the Sacrament thou hast come to see such a sight and it is as great an aggravation of the hardness of thy heart if it hath not broken at this sight as it would be if it should not break at that sight We reade in Gal. 3.1 of Pauls speaking of the preaching of the Gospel he saith that Christ was crucified before those that did hear the word and foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified amomg you he doth not mean that Christ was crucified in Galatia but that where the word was preached he was evidently set forth and crucified among them but now my brethren the crucifying of Christ in the word is not such a real evident and sensible letting forth of Christ crucified as when he is set forth in this Sacrament and 't is that which works with more efficacie to break the heart than that other sight and the reason that I give is this Because you do never find that God did set that apart as an Ordinance an institution appointed to that end that they should come to look upon that for the breaking of their hearts there was indeed a naturalness in it that if they did behold Christ it might break their hearts but it was not such an Ordinance it was not a Sacrament as this is now this being in a sacramental way in the use of an Ordinance appointed by Jesus Christ to set forth his sufferings and all the riches of the Covenant of grace to the soul there may be expected here a further blessing than in the other though its true the other might work mightily upon the heart but yet this being a great Ordinance of Christ in the church a great institution of Jesus Christ