of our Duty it commands the Practice of the most necessary Precepts such as are those which are enjoyn'd in this and the preceding Chapters and leaves our Reason to work out what ought to be done upon particular and casual Emergencies to direct in some Cases what is lawful and in most what is prudent and expedient And for our greater Security has laid down some general Rules which if seriously consider'd and carefully attended to will be sufficient to direct our Reason in all its Judgments and Determinations Thus in Relation to the Duties of the first Table which principally concerns the Worship of God the Holy Gospel commands us Joh. 4.24 24. To Worship him in Spirit and in Truth to direct our Addresses to God alone through one Mediator our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and several other particular Precepts it gives us as to the necessary and Essential parts of Divine Worship But our Directions how to behave our selves as to the Circumstances of Worship are all referr'd to this general Rule 1 Cor. 14.40 Let all things be done decently and in order And thus in Relation to the Duties of the second Table which concern our Neighbour our Saviour has laid down many excellent Precepts in this admirable tho' short Epitome of Morality his Sermon on the Mount and then Closes all with this Rule of universal Influence Whatsoever ye would that Men should do unto you do ye so unto them for this is the Law and the Prophets The End and Design then of this Rule is to teach us how to behave our selves towards our Neighbour which is the most difficult and most neglected part of our Duty For we are generally so much byass'd by Self-Love that when any Controversie is started in which our own Interest is concern'd we are very nice and exact in Claiming what belongs to us and is our due but when the Scales are turn'd and 't is our Duty to weigh and consider what our Neighbour may justly expect from us then we make use of false Weights and Measures and too often determine directly contrary to the plain Rules of Justice and Honesty We are not so apt Scholars in learning this Lesson of Charity as we are severe Masters in exacting it from others And therefore II. I shall mark out the Bounds and Limitations of this Rule and consider the just extent and Latitude of these words Whatsoever ye would c. 1. 'T is evident that this Rule is determin'd to the Duties of the second Table for so 't is limitted in the very words of the Text. 'T is whatsoever ye would that Men should do unto you c. Some there are indeed who would have this Rule extend also to the Duties of the first Table and to be the measure of our Duty towards God but this without the support of any good Reason for though Religion may properly be said to be Justice towards God because all the Service which we owe and are able to pay unto God is highly just and reasonable and what is but our bounden Duty and Service yet the distance is so great between an infinitely perfect Being and us Poor vile Worms His Works are so wonderful and his ways past finding out that 't is utterly impossible and 't would be the highest Presumption for us to weigh our Actions in the same Balance with his These words are therefore limitted to the Duties of the second Table as may be plainly made out from that parallel Place where our Blessed Saviour being ask'd this Question Matt. 22.3 Master which is the great Commandment of the Law Returns this Answer Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind and this is the first and great Commandment and the second is like unto it Namely Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self And then adds on these two hang all the Law and the Prophets Where we may see that this Rule is made to be the Sum and Substance only of the second Table 2. This Rule is determin'd to those things which tend to the benefit and advantage of our Neighbour And therefore St. Austin reads the Words Quaecunque bona c. Whatsoever good things ye would that Men should do unto you do ye so to them For there are some Men of such envious and malicious Tempers that they would willingly undergo any severity themselves on Condition that their Enemy might endure the same and suffer their own Houses to be burnt that his might perish in the Flames nay lose one of their own Eyes that he might be depriv'd of the like Advantage Like the pretended Mother of the living Child would say 1 Kin. 3.26 Let neither of us have it but let it be divided Others there are of so proud and churlish a Disposition that they scorn to be oblig'd and had rather be without a Benefit than to be beholding for it to one they hate Such a Man as this would sooner die than owe his Life to an Enemy and in regard to these Men this Rule must be understood thus 3. Whatsoever ye would that any Man not this or that particular Person should do unto you do ye so unto them 4. If we would put the Case right we must suppose the Circumstances to be the same between our Neighbour and our selves For one different Circumstance will very much alter the Nature of an Action thus upon Supposition that I am stronger and more healthy than my Neighbour I may be willing that he may do some things to me which if I should do the same to him would tend very much to his Prejudice and Disadvantage A rich and wealthy Man may be willing that others should with-hold their hands from doing him good that he might have the same Excuse to deny his charitable Relief to the Poor Nay meer difference in Opinion may make it unreasonable that I should desire some things of such a Man which he might very reasonably demand of me and I should readily comply with 5. We must take Care in applying this Rule that our Desires be restrain'd to those things which we have just and reasonable cause to expect from our Neighbour and then this Rule will run thus Whatsoever ye have just and reasonable cause to desire that any Man in the same Circumstances should do unto you do ye so unto them For every Malefactor who is Sentenc'd to Punishment for his Evil Deeds would willingly have his Punishment remitted and the Judge himself would desire it if he was in the same Circumstances and a Criminal at the Bar But yet it is not just and reasonable that all Criminals should be pardon'd for this would make the Law it self uâ—eless by relaxing the co-ercive Power of it and render Magistrates cheap and contemptible when they are no longer ble to be a Terror to evil Doers Rom. 13.3 but only Encouragers of those who do well These are the most
our Ways as to turn our feet unto God's Testimonies Which God of his Mercy grant for the sake of our blessed Redeemer Jesus Christ our Lord. SERMON III. 2 TIM III. 5. Having a form of Godliness but denying the Power from such turn away THIS know saith St. Paul Ver. 1. That in the last days periolous times shall come because of the wickedness of Men as he goes on in the second Verse for Men shall be lovers of their own selves covetous proud boasters blasphemers and all which he comprehends under one Character in the words of the Text Having a Form of Godliness but denying the Power And this is the chief Reason why the times would be so perilous because the greatest part of these wicked Persons should conceal their Crimes under a Form and shew of Godliness Were they professedly and openly wicked there were some Ingenuity even in their Impudence because they could not be tax'd or upbraided with Hypocrisie Were they covetous proud blasphemers without a shew of Zeal and pretence of Religion then all Men might plainly discern and detect them Psal 55.12 and from an open Enemy I would have hid my self says David Shelves and Quicksands that have Lights always burning to discover them by are the more easily avoided and we are forewarn'd against the Dog that barks first But these Deceivers of whom St. Paul speaks have a fair and glorious outside tho' they are foul within These workers of Iniquity cry Lord Lord and are great Professors of Religion They put on the Form of Godliness tho' they deny the Power thereof and therefore they have the greater Sin From hence it is that they are the more dangerous Company and we have the greater Reason to observe the Caution laid down in the Text from such turn away Having a Form of Godliness but denying the Power from such turn away From these words I shall shew I. What is here meant by Godliness what by a Form and what by the Power of it II. That we may have a Form without the Power of Godliness III. How we may discover whether we have the Power of Godliness or else only the Form of it IV. And Lastly how far we must turn away from such as have only the Form but not the Power of Godliness 1. What is here meant by Godliness what by a Form and what by the Power of it Godliness in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a devout and sincere Worship of the only true God in Spirit and in Truth both inwardly and outwardly according to his Word Or to describe it more fully and expresly 1 Tim. 1.5 'T is an earnest Love of God out of a pure Heart and a good Conscience and Faith unfeigned whereby we are incited to glorifie God and to do good towards Men So that in this one word is imply'd our whole Duty towards God and Man This is express'd by St. 1 Tim. 2.2 Paul by leading a quiet and peaceable Life in all Godliness and Honesty 1 Tim. 4.8 This is that Godliness which is profitable unto all things and has the Promises of the Life that now is and that which is to come By a Form of Godliness is meant an outward Resemblance a colourable shew or likely appearance of Godliness when a Man puts on the Face and outside of Religion Acts and Mimicks it so well as to deceive and impose upon those who converse with him who judging according to the outward appearance believe him to be an honest holy and religious Man tho' in truth he is nothing less He may not only deceive others but delude himself also and be confidently perswaded that he is the Child of God and one of the chief Favourites of Heaven when indeed he is a Servant of the Devil and a Firebrand of Hell And in truth the Form must be like the Pattern or else it is no Form at all for we do not say a Picture or Statue is such a Man's Picture or Statue unless it bears a lively Resemblance of his Looks and Person Thus a Form of Godliness must be such a shew and outside of Religion as is of the same hew and complection with true Religion and a lively Portraicture of it tho' in many Respects it falls short of the Power of Godliness which implies that Force and Efficacy that internal Principle and Spring of Action which is well express'd by the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereby a Man is made as St. 1 Tiâ—â— 41 8.12 Paul says An example of Believers in word in Conversation in Charity in Spirit in Faith in Purity and has the Grace of God which bringeth Salvation teaching him to deny ungodliness and worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world If a Man has Charity in Conversation Faith and Purity in Spirit so as to deny all worldly Lusts and to live soberly in himself and righteously towards others and godly towards his Maker and Redeemer Then is his Soul and Body entirely subject to the Cross of Christ then his Form of Godliness proceeds from the Power of it And this is that Power of Godliness which works mightily unto Salvation And this Power of God is most evidently seen in reducing the most Stiff-neck'd and Hard-hearted Sinners in prevailing with them to leave their beloved Sins and bosom Vices and in beating down and subduing the most stubborn and unruly Passions such as Pride Envy Malice and Revenge those Sins our corrupt Nature is most subject to and in making so great a Change in us that we do not seem to be the same Men. The Lyon becomes a Lamb and the Serpent a Dove a natural Man a Man wholly Spiritual and a Servant of the Devil a Child of God He aims at new ends Acts by new Principles and is ready to expose his Life by giving his Testimony to those Truths which before were foolishness unto him And therefore the Gospel is call'd Rom. 1.16 the Power of God unto Salvation to every one that believes This is that Power of Godliness which those Hypocrites mentioned by St. Paul in the Text are without here 't is they are defective which brings me to shew 2. That the Form of Godliness may be without the Power of it And this is confirm'd by many other Texts of Scripture We are forewarn'd that we do not look to the outward appearance 2 Cor. 11.14 for the Devil can transform himself into an Angel of Light and then 't is no wonder that his Servants can put on the guise and appearance of the Children of God There are numerous instances set down in the Holy Scripture sufficient to convince us of this Truth We are told that a Man may pretend to be sent from Heaven and yet Preach another Gospel than that which our Saviour reveal'd to the World and hereby deserve an Anathema Nay he may Preach the true Gospel with such force of Reason and wonderful Efficacy
Undertakings depends much on our right timing of them and in nothing more than in Administring Reproof God came to Adam in the cool of the day and the best time to advise a Man is when he is Sedate and Calm and at leisure to consider of the Counsel we give him Every Man has his mollia tempora fandi Seasons when he is willing and dispos'd to receive an Impression and the way to make our Advice successful and profitable to him is to lay hold on these Opportunities for as Solomon well observes A word spoken in due season Prov. 15.23 how good is it it is like Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver There must be also regard had to the place for the more private our Reproof is it is for the most part the better Matth. 18 15. If thy brother trespass against thee tell him his fault between thee and him alone Publick Correption is then only necessary when others are to be warn'd to leave the same Sin and avoid the same Snare Neither are all Persons to be treated after the same manner Inferiours must be very careful how they behave themselves towards their Superiours and Governours Is it fit to say to a King Job 34.18 thou art wicked and to Princes ye are ungodly Great Care must be had least what we think Zeal for God and the Good of our Neighbour should be justly interpreted Sawsiness and and Presumption And therefore when Nathan was sent by God himself to Reprove David he doth it after the most modest and submissive manner by representing his Case to him in a Parable and decently veiling his Reproof under the name of another Man With our Equals and Inferiours we may use greater Liberty and Freedom only taking Care that whilst we reprove the Vice we do not shew any distaste to the Person Many more Rules might be given but in this as in such like Cases much is to be left to Christian Prudence and he who carefully observes the first Rule I laid down with which I shall also conclude cannot do very much amiss Which is That we make the Glory of God and the good of our Neighbour the End and Aim of our Reproof as well as of our other Actions SERMON V. PREACH'D When the CHAPEL was newly Furnish'd and Beautify'd PSALM XCVI 9. O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness 'T IS agreed on by the whole Current of Interpreters that the inspir'd Pen-man of this Psalm sets forth the Kingdom of the Messiah and the blessed Effects of it the Conversion of the Jews and the Salvation of all Nations and hereby shews us not only how God was worship'd under the Law but points out to us how he expects to be worship'd under the Gospel The beginning of this Psalm contains an Exhortation to all the People of the World as well Heathens as Jews to praise God for that wonderful Blessing of sending a Saviour to preach the Gospel unto them and revealing the Doctrine of Remission of Sins and therefore he commands his Worshippers To declare his Glory among the Heathen and his wonders among all the People that all the Earth should sing unto the Lord and that they should shew forth his Salvation from day to day so that their Praise might be as extensive as his Benefits and in some measure bear Proportion with his Blessings which were to be shed upon all the Nations of the world and to continue for ever Ver. 1 2 3. In the following Verses he inforces this Duty of praising God by some Arguments drawn from the Consideration of his glorious and wonderful Attributes his Majesty Glory Power and Wisdom which were after an extraordinary manner display'd and manifested in the Incarnation of our Blessed Saviour and from thence he concludes Ver. 7 8 9. That it was the Duty of all Men to frequent the place of God's Publick Worship to Prostrate themselves before him and to admire reverence and adore his Holy Name Honour and Majesty are before him Strength and Beauty are in his Sanctuary Give unto the Lord Glory and Strength give unto the Lord the Glory due unto his name bring an Offering and come into his Courts And having in these words describ'd the Worship of God after the manner of worshipping him under the Law by approaching his Temple and bringing a Sacrifice in the words of the Text he explains himself that he doth not mean that these Sacrifices should continue under the Gospel and that those who liv'd under the Reign and Kingdom of the Messiah should worship as the Jews did but that it would be their Duty to worship God in the Beauty of Holiness i. e. with such a pure and devout Frame of Mind such suitable Affections such becoming decent and orderly Behaviour as were typify'd and denoted to them by the Rites and Ceremonies of the Jewish Law O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness In which words we have these two plain Lessons taught us I. That all Christians are oblig'd frequently to meet together for the Publick Worship of God II. That the Publick Worship of God ought to be perform'd in the most decent and solemn manner imaginable 1. That all Christians are oblig'd frequently to meet together for the performance of God's Publick Worship By Worship I mean that immediate Worship which is offer'd up to God in his Sanctuary that Publick Acknowledgment of his Government and Soveraignty over us by the performance of those Duties which are enjoyn'd us in the first Table such as are praying to him magnifying his Holy Name hearing his Word and receiving his Sacraments which Duties are in a peculiar manner call'd the Worship of God because they have God for their immediate Object they are address'd to him and terminate in him The Will of God is the Reason why they are perform'd and his Honour and Glory ought to be the ultimate End of the performance of them So that the Worship here meant may be defin'd that religious Adoration which is offer'd up unto God in the Publick Assemblies of Christians The Command of worshipping God in the Text was Originally given to the Jews but hereby was denoted and typify'd to us that more pure and spiritual Worship which was to succeed that of the Jews and was to be offer'd up unto God under the Gospel For there is a rich Vein of Gospel Truths which runs through the Old Testament and particularly the Book of the Psalms of which one of the Principal is this Command of Worshipping God in Publick which is as obliging to us Christians as ever it was to the Jews As may be made appear from these following Considerations 1. Because God has instituted and commanded this sort of Worship 'T is not only a branch of the Law of Nature but also a Principal part of instituted and reveal'd Religion The Light of Nature will teach us that there is one first Cause of all things who contains in himself all those Perfections
in the most eminent Degree which he is pleas'd to communicate to inferiour Beings and is infinitely more excellent than the Workmanship of his own hands And since 't is natural for us to proportion our Esteem and Veneration of things according to that Worth and Dignity we apprehend to be in them it will from hence follow that the Contemplation of these infinite Perfections will require and ought to raise our Praise and Adoration For we receive all that we have from him and therefore we ought in the most solemn manner imaginable to return him the Praise and Glory due unto his Holy Name So that whether we contemplate the Excellencies of the Divine Nature in the general or the Effects of his Goodness deriv'd down to us in particular either of them will afford sufficient Motives to oblige us to frequent the Publick Worship of God For to what end can we imagine our reasonable Soul is plac'd in us Why were our Bodies enlightned with this Ray of Divinity But that we might be in a Capacity of considering and contemplating the wonderful works of God's Creation and Providence To what end have we a Power given us of communicating our Thoughts one to another but that we might joyn together in celebrating the Praises of our great Creator And 't is for this Reason that the Psalmist calls the Tongue man's Glory Psal 57.8 because the first and chief End of our Speech was to Praise and Glorifie God From these and such like Reflections the generality of Vertuous and thinking Men have given their Assent to this Truth That the Publick Worship of God is absolutely necessary and our indispensible Duty And therefore how wide soever Men of different Perswasions are from one another in their Way and Manner of worshipping God which proceeds from their different Notions of the Perfections of God yet all Religions in the World centre and agree in this common Truth and Principle that the Worship of God ought to be Publick and Solemn Publick Worship therefore is the Dictate of Nature a Precept of universal and eternal Obligation But besides 't is our declar'd Duty by positive Institution The Jews we know had a set and Solemn Worship dictated to them by God himself they were under his immediate Guidance and Government he was their God and their King too their Civil and Religious Sanctions were blended together and their Worship so truly Publick That we do not find any expresly Commanded by the Law of Moses which was not so And this I the rather mention because 't is on all hands agreed that the Jewish Worship was a Type of the Christian and tho' the Ritual part of it was no longer obliging than till the coming of the Messiah who was typify'd thereby yet all those Duties which were founded upon Moral and eternal Reasons as Publick Worship is confess'd to be were to continue to the end of the World And therefore our Saviour tells us That he did not come to destroy the Law Matth. 5.17 but to fulfil it i. e. he came to perform those things which were represented by the Types and Ceremonies of the Law which having had their Completion in him we might reasonably expect should pass away But he came to confirm and establish Moral Duties to place them in a clearer Light and to give Mankind juster Notions of them and to engage us to perform them by more powerful Motives To this end he made it his first and principal Care to establish the Publick Worship of God and to refine it from its Dross and to reform it from all those Superstitions and Abuses which in a long Tract of time were crept into it Because the Purity of Divine Worship is the Foundation of all Religion the Cement of Society and the Sourse and Original of all Moral Vertue To this end our Saviour instituted an Evangelical Priesthood a particular Order of Men invested with Authority to preach the Gospel to the whole World to offer up Publick Prayers and Thansgivings unto God and to unite Men into Societies for the Publick and more solemn Performance of the Duties of Religion and to gather him a Kingdom or Church through the whole World i. e. A Society of Men who enter into Covenant by Baptism to obey the Authority of our Saviour Christ and to live by those Laws which he has instituted and appointed in his Holy Gospel He therefore who neglects the Publick Worship of God which is one of the Principal Institutions of the Christian Religion doth in effect disown God's Authority denies his Saviour and casts himself out of his Protection And therefore the Apostle so earnestly exhorts the Hebrews Not to forsake the assembling of themselves together Heb. 10.25 as being one effectual Means to engage them to hold fast the Profession of their Faith and to secure them from the Commission of that heinous and dangerous Sin of Apostatizing from the Christian Religion 2. If we consider the Nature of Divine Worship it will from thence appear that to Worship God Publickly is absolutely necessary and our indispensible Duty For since Worship is an Acknowledgment of the Excellencies and Perfections of that Being whom we adore 't is evident that the more Publick this Acknowledgment is the more perfect and acceptable is the Worship in the sight of God because 't is more conducive and answerable to those Ends for which he at first instituted and design'd it Now the Reason why we are oblig'd thus Publickly to acknowledge the Excellencies and Perfections of God is that we may hereby express the Sense of our poor indigent and necessitous Condition and the infinite Majesty Power and Goodness of God that we receive every thing we possess from this Fountain of Goodness and depend on him for all that we enjoy And therefore since we can make him no other Returns we ought not to with-hold that of a verbal Acknowledgment and the natural Expressions of a grateful Mind And since God is Good not only to every one of us in particular but to all the whole Race of Mankind and since his most valuable tho' most unregarded Favours are bestow'd upon us in Common therefore we ought to joyn together in celebrating his Praises and to express our Thankfulness with the greater Veneration and Solemnity 3. Consider the Benefits which accrue both to our selves and others from the Publick Worship of God We are Creatures naturally addicted to Imitation and rather inclin'd to do as others do than to take their Advice and believe what they say Example has a strange influence upon us in matters Spiritual as well as Temporal our Passions are wonderfully rais'd when by a Holy kind of Emulation we as it were contend in the Fervency of our Devotion For as Fire kindles Fire and turns all other Materials into its own Nature So a Holy and Christian Zeal will produce its like in the Breasts of all who behold it A Man may go on a long time
in the neglect of God's Worship in private and too many there are who feel little or no Remorse in the Omission of their Closet Devotions but who can behold the Pious and Devout Soul prostrate before God repeating the Prayers of the Church with Fervency and Devotion and a Congregation united together both in Heart and Voice but he must needs be affected with it Psal 39.3 While he thus muses the Fire will kindle in his breast and he cannot forbear speaking with his tongue the Praises of God How often have prophane and wicked Wretches who came to the Publick Worship of God either out of Fashion or Custom to look and gaze about them or on some worse Design been touch'd by a Coal from the Altar how often have their Hearts glow'd within them and they have taken up serious and Solemn Resolutions of serving and worshipping God better for the future And I am perswaded were but these good Resolutions seconded did not Men divert those good Thoughts and put them out of their Minds by Business or Pleasure they would not fail of having a lasting influence on their Lives and Conversations Innumerable are the Benefits which we receive by joyning together in the Publick Offices of Religion which every Pious and Devout Person is sensible of tho' 't is a Difficult matter to form in others a sutable Notion or Idea of them Who can declare the wonderful Blessings which God bestows on all such as delight in his Sanctuary Here are those living waters which allay the Thirst after sensual Enjoyments that Bread which is the natural Food and Nourishment of our Souls By by these Ordinances our Faith is strengthned our Hope confirm'd our Charity enlarg'd our Devotions render'd more fervent and by the Force of our united Prayers we take even Heaven it self God pours out a double Portion of his Holy Spirit upon such as frequent his Ordinances Matth. 18.20 and our Saviour Christ has promis'd that when two or three are gathered together he will be in the midst of them Who then would omit one opportunity of serving God in Publick who would neglect to joyn himself to the Congregation of God's People one Lord's Day when he knows not but he loses that Season of Grace which would be most beneficial to his immortal Soul Let us therefore neglect no opportunity of serving God for we know not when the Spirit of God will work most powerfully on our Hearts The poor impotent Man had lain a long while at the Pool of Bethesda and yet had he been absent but that one time when our Saviour came thither 't is highly probable he had never been cur'd And therefore let no excuse Serve let no Business divert us from making our constant Approaches unto God's Altar For the Spirit blows when as well as where it listeth and we must blame our selves if thro' our own neglect we lose the Benefit of his Operations Some indeed pretend that tho they are not so frequent at the Church yet they make it up in their Closets but God will not thus be compounded with Our private Devotions are unquestionably our Duty our particular Wants call for our private Prayers and our particular Mercies for our private Thanksgivings but we shall not reap any Benefit by them when they occasion the neglect of our Duty in Publick When two Duties stand in Competition one with another we ought to apply our Minds to that Duty whereby most Glory will accrue to God most Benefit to our Neighbour and which will best serve to promote the good of our own Souls And since all these Ends are best obtain'd by the Publick Worship of God 't is but reasonable that our Private Devotions should give place to it And yet there is no necessity that either of them should be neglected every good Christian will find convenient Times and Opportunities for both of them But when there is a necessity that one of them should be omitted we may assure our selves God will be best pleas'd when we make the most Publick Acknowledgments of his Goodness and joyn together to implore his Mercy These are some few of those many Obligations which ought to prevail with us to give a constant Attendance on the Publick Worship of God I proceed to shew II. That this Worship ought to be perform'd in the most solemn and decent manner imaginable in that Beauty of Holiness which becomes every devout Worshipper and which the Text requires of us That we may understand the full import of this Expression it will be useful to consider that the words in the Original are differently render'd by Interpreters Some will have them translated in ornatu Sanctitatis and then they denote that true Faith and those Holy Affections of Soul with which every devout Worshipper ought to approach the Throne of God Others chuse rather to render them cum decenti Sanctimonio which more plainly denotes That Reverence and Decency of Behaviour which certainly becomes every one who speaks to the great Creator and Governour of the World The Septuagint following the literal Sence of the Words reads it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with reference to the Place in which God was worship'd amongst the Jews denoting to us that the fittest Place for the Publick Worship of God is that which is Consecrated and Dedicated to that Purpose That God will afford his more immediate Presence in that Place Ezra 6.12 In which he has chosen to set his Name and will there dispence to us the larger Effusions of his Grace For tho' God is present at all Times and in all Places and hearkens even to the Sighs of the Prisoner who lies in the deepest Dungeon Yet the Church is as it were his Throne from whence he gives Publick Audience where we have most reason to expect a speedy Answer to our Petitions And therefore the Psalmist so often repeats that Exhortation of comming and appearing before God in his Courts And Strength and Beauty are in his Sanctuary The 6th and 8th Verses of this Psalm I shall take in all these different Versions and then they will give us the meaning of worshipping God in the Beauty of Holiness in its utmost Latitude Which consists in these three things I. In the good Disposition of our Souls II. In the becoming and suitable Behaviour of our Bodies III. In the Decency and Solemnity of those Circumstances which attend our Worship 1. The Beauty of Holiness consists in the good Disposition of our Souls when our Understandings are fill'd with gloriour Ideas of God's Power Majesty and Goodness our Wills resign'd to his Divine Will and our Affections drawn out after him when the Consideration of his Majesty produces an Holy Awe and Reverence in our Souls his Truth and Fidelity Trust and Reliance on him his Goodness Gratitude and Thankfulness for his Mercies Love and Charity towards all Men in short when the Contemplation on God's glorious Attributes begets in our Souls Affections
suitable to the Divine Nature then are our Minds duly qualified and prepared to perform that Spiritual Worship which God is best pleas'd with and takes most delight in John 4.24 For God is a Spirit and will be worshipp'd in Spirit and in Truth And therefore 't is no wonder that of so many who frequent the Publick Worship of God so few reap Benefit by it because the Generality of Worshippers render themselves uncapable of receiving those Blessings which God offers them in his Holy Ordinances They come into God's Courts carelesly and negligently without a due Sence of the importance of those Duties they are going to perform their Minds are full of vain worldly and sinful Thoughts polluted with carnal Desires and Affections and then no wonder that they take so little delight in the Service of God and reap no more Benefit by it 2. If we would worship God in the Beauty of Holiness we must comport our selves after such a manner as is sutable to the Duty we are about and express the Zeal and Fervency of our Souls by becoming and expressive Gestures of our Bodies Did we consider That the place we tread is holy ground Exod. 3.5 that God and his Holy Angels look down upon us and behold us the House of God would strike a greater Awe and Reverence on our Minds than the Throne of any temporal Prince which will not fail of exacting from us the worship of our Bodies Gen. 28.17 How dreadful is this place says Jacob This is no other but the House of God this is the gate of Heaven A due Sense also of the importance of the Business we are about would have the same Effect for were we begging of God some temporal Blessing which we might well be without indifferency in our Behaviour would better become us but when the eternal Welfare of our Souls lies at stake when we are Candidates for an everlasting Inheritance we cannot be too earnest we cannot be too Devout had we a thousand hands and a thousand tongues they might all of them be employ'd to express the Devotion of our Souls and the Fervency of our Affections 'T is not a bare joyning in the Prayers of the Church a repeating the Responses and putting our selves in that Posture the Rubrick enjoyns 't is not the avoiding the Indecencies of a prophane or clownish Worshipper I am now pleading for this the Custom of the place good Manners and gentile Education will exact from us But that we go farther and by the Humility Gravity and Composedness of our Behaviour stir up Holy Affections in our own Minds and encourage others to imitate our Example Lastly the Beauty of Holiness doth also consist in the Decency and Solemnity of those Circumstances which Accompany our Worship Which tho' they consist of Rites and Ceremonies in their own Nature indifferent yet are ordain'd to an excellent end and are of admirable use for the promoting Devotion and Uniformity in the Service of God The Generality of Mankind are very much influenc'd by the shews and appearances of things and whatsoever is pleasing to the Eye has an easier Admission and makes a deeper Impression on the Mind And therefore it has been the Care of Holy and Devout Christians in all Ages of the World when Religion had the Countenance of Publick Authority and was in a flourishing Condition to build Churches for the Publick Worship of God to keep them in good Repair to furnish them with such Ornaments that the Worship of God may be perform'd orderly decently and solemnly and appear regular and beautiful in the Eyes of the Beholders and hereby raise up in their Minds awful and reverent Thoughts of that God who is there worshipped For 't is a Sign that Religion is vile and cheap in the Eyes of those Men who as the Prophet speaks can suffer the house of the Lord to lie wast whilst they dwell in ceiled roofs They spare no Cost to raise beautifie and adorn their own Houses They ceile them with Cedar Jer. 22.14 and paint them with Vermilion and yet will not contribute the least Mite to the Service of the Temple Quorsum perditio haec is their usual demand To what end is all this Cost and Charges were it not better that all this Money was spar'd and given to the Poor To whom I answer in the words of a Learned Knight which probably will give better Satisfaction Sir Edwin Sands in his Speculum Europae than if spoken from the mouth of a Clergy-man Tho' the Ornaments says he of such places as are Dedicated to God's Service ought to be rather Grave than Pompous yet it could never sink into my Heart to imagine that the allowance for furnishing them out should be measur'd by the Scanty Rule of meer Necessity a Proportion so low that Nature it self has gone beyond it even in the most ignoble Creature or that God has enrich'd this lower World with such wonderful Variety of things Beautiful and Glorious that they might serve only for the pampering mortal Man in his Pride and that to the immediate Service of the great Creator Lord and Giver of them only baser cheaper and less Beautiful things ought to be employ'd Especially seeing that as in Princes Courts so in the Service of God this outward State and Glory being well dispos'd doth beget encrease quicken and nourish the inward Reverence and respectful Devotion which is due to so Sovereign a Majesty Thus this truly Pious and Devout as well as excellently Learned Person To whom Assents the voice of all Antiquity 't is well known what Care was taken that the Tabernacle of Moses should be as rich and as Beautiful as Art could make it in what Glory Splendour and Beauty the Temple of Solomon was built how desirous David was to have been the Founder of it But since that Honour was reserv'd for his Son Solomon he made it his business to provide Materials and tells us Moreover because I have set my Affection to the house of my God 1 Chron. 29.3 I have of my own proper Goods of gold and silver which I have given to the house of my God over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house even three thousand talents of gold of Ophir and seven thousand talents of refin'd silver And when this House was destroy'd a second Temple was built which tho' much inferour to the former yet for Beauty and Magnificency was the wonder of the whole World And thus 't was not only under the Law but from the first planting of Christianity as soon as ever the Christian Religion was tolerated by the Civil Magistrate their great Care was to build Churches for the more Decent and Solemn Worship of God And when those Churches which were overthrown in the Dioclesian Persecution were re-edified adorn'd and Beautified under Maximinus The Historian tells us Euseb lib. 10. cap. 2. That the Hearts of all Men were fill'd with a