that here lies the great danger least while God is near in the mouth the World fill the heart and steal it from him There are three things in reference to the World which distract thousands of Hearts and cause millions of Duties to be in vain The one is Love to the World the other is care about it and another is Fear concerning it Of all these you are to beware with the greatest vigilancy and concernedness 1. Take heed of Love to the World If the World has your Love it will have your Thoughts at command and it will not fail to shew its power and to command your thoughts off from God when you attend upon him They that are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lovers of Pleasures more than lovers of God will think of Pleasures rather than of God That Rich Man in the Gospel while he was alive had Moses and the Prophets as well as his Brethren he was an Israelite in Name called himself a Child of Abraham and profest himself a Worshipper of the true God but all his worship was heartless his heart was intoxicated with sensual Delights and his Purple and fine Linen and sumptuous fare which every day was provided for him Luk. 16. 19. That which the Soul takes pleasure in how will it be revolved in the Mind Sports and Pastimes Garbs and Ornaments Journies for diversion and delight Feasts and Mirth and Musick if the Heart is foolishly fond of such sorry things as these how will they possess the Soul and that in the very House of God and when his Ordinances are administred They will be present to the imagination though really absent and an imaginary satisfaction will be taken in them and in the mean while the Lord himself will be forgotten and Communion with him slighted They that are greedy after gain their hearts will be upon their gain while their Bodies are before the Lord. Covetousness commands the Thoughts and extinguishes holy Desires while the Tongue is speaking heavenly words the Mind will be projecting and contriving how to get the Wealth of this World as if to be rich towards God were but a poor thing in comparison The earthly heart pleases it self with the Thoughts of what it has and with the Hopes of getting more of the World that for the flesh more abundant provision may be made Oh suffer not the World to have your love and friendship if you are friends to the World and over familiar with it it will have the more easie and ready access into your hearts at any time and that without the least check Familiar Friends you know make bold to come into your door without knocking for admission 2. Take heed of Care about the World How do these solicitous cares about earthly things distract and divide the Mind When the Kingdom of God and his righteousness should be sought there is a taking thought for Food and Raiment and things of that inferiour nature Our Lord knew the evil of these Cares and therefore uses a great many words to disswade from them He tells us that our heavenly Father clothes the Lillies of the Field and feeds the Fowls of the Air which have neither Storehouse nor Barn and much more will he provide Bread for his Children to eat and Raiment wherewith they may be clothed and they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of little Faith that make any doubt of it Mat. 6. 30. If Cares about such things prevail they may cause gross omissions of Duty or if Duties are done they may miscarry in the doing there may be such an anxious solicitousness about this earth and the affairs of it that Heaven and the God of Heaven may be hardly thought of Worldly care is one of the things that chokes the Word and it will choke Prayer also it will hinder the Word from being fruitful and Prayer from being successful You have leave to cast all your care upon God who cares for you 1 Pet. 5. 7. And if banishing distrust in God and eagerness after the the World you are careful for nothing in it you may then by Prayer and Supplication with thanksgiving make your request known unto God Phil. 4. 6. and he will make it known to you that this is the very best course you can take for all manner of supplies 3. Take heed of fear concerning the World Our Lord says why are ye so fearful O ye of little Faith There is great reason for Faith in God no reason for fear what the World can do to you Be not distracted by fear of worldly losses those shall not befal you but when God sees them best for you and they shall turn to your truest gain Be not distracted by fear of the Worlds hatred and the effects of it the Grace and Joy of the Holy Ghost can be an hundredfold better even at present than any worldly comfort that Man can deprive you of If an enraged World can keep you off from the Lord's Service he will have but little from you Be not afraid therefore of their terrour neither be troubled but sanctifie the Lord God in your hearts ◠Pet. 3. 14 15. and he has promised to be a Sanctuary to you The fear of the Lyons Den could not scare Daniel from the Throne of Grace but he prayed and gave Thanks as he was wont before his God If this present World cannot command your love nor care nor raise your fear you will be mightily fortified against one very great cause of Distraction in Religious Services 4. Another cause of Distraction which I must caution you against is Passion and Uncharitableness Passion has a strange and mighty force to transform the whole Soul into it self so that if this prevail not only Grace shall be under a dark Eclipse but even Judgment and Reason and common Prudence shall seem to be altogether banished Passion imbitters or rather invenoms the whole Heart of a Man diffusing it self all over so that all is under the power of it Passion has a monopoly of the thoughts and fixes them upon Injuries received nay though they are but imaginary injuries yet being supposed real how intent is the Mind upon them Perhaps Revenge though so contrary to the Nature of Christianity is wish'd for and meditated Patience indeed possesses the Soul but Passion catches the Soul away so that 't is possest no longer all the Powers and Faculties of the Soul are disturbed and most disorderly employed Passion rises and lies down with the Passionate Man and is a very bad Companion all the day long and when Duties of Religion come to be performed there is so much anger in the heart against Man that God's anger is not feared nor seriously deprecated neither is his love valued or with any earnestness desired As the furious Man abounds in transgression so his attendance upon God abounds in Distractions and these Distractions being the overflowings of wrath and bitterness and hatred how displeasing and abominable must they needs be unto
attendance upon God The Grace of God therefore should make you most to watch against and hate that sin which Nature did most of all delight in and love 7. Another cause of distraction is a zealous affection towards an erroneous way Errours are of several sorts some are praeter fundamentum off from the Foundation others are circa fundamentum about the Foundation a third sort are contra fundamentum against and rase the very Foundation of Religion these last are most dangerous The broachers and spreaders of them are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ravening Wolves that spare not the Flock and truly the propagators of lesser Errors do a great deal of harm they are called little Foxes and are often very prejudicial especially to young Converts and prove a great hindrance to the good work begun in them Therefore you read Cant. 2. 15. Take us the Foxes the little Foxes that spoil the Vines for our Vines have tender Grapes Errours how do they excite the zeal of the Soul And though they are but about smaller matters yet they so command the Tongue and Thoughts that they are more talk'd of and minded than the great things of Law and Gospel Erroneous Opinions do so possess the Heart that the main truths and things of Religion are little regarded and less improved They that are very fond of Errour when they are praying or hearing or engaged in other Ordinances Satan dresses up that error with a disguise of truth and so presents it to their Minds and their Minds are drawn away by the thoughts of it and Ordinances are ineffectual and lost to them No wonder that zealots for Errour are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jud. v. 13. wandring Stars they wander from the way of truth and this wandring makes them very much to wander from God in holy Duties whilst the eagerness of their Spirits is after their mistakes in which they are so very confident Beguiled Souls are called unstable 2 Pet. 2. 14. the Apostle tells us they are tost to and fro carried about with every wind of Doctrine The unsettledness of their Judgments and proneness to run from one errour to another mightily distracts their Thoughts and they are little if at all edisied by their Duties Errours are very apt to knock at the Door when you are attending upon God and Satan is very busie then to disturb and distract you with Thoughts about them The Lord would be served with greater intention if you did not trouble your Heads with doubtful Disputations which you are caution'd against Rom. 14. 1. and if you did follow that counsel 2 Pet. 3. 17. Beware lest ye being led away with the errour of the wicked fall from your own stedfastness 8. The sloth and loziness of the Heart in refusing to take pains with it self to keep close to God is another cause of distraction a cause it is which most commonly prevails there is therefore need of caution against it The Work of the Heart with its own self is very hard Work indeed in the doing of this to purpose lies both the difficulty and also the truth of Religion To be wicked and deceitful are the two bad properties of the Heart which are natural to it the wickedness of the Heart makes it backward to come to God the deceitfulness of the Heart makes it very ready to start aside like a deceitful Bow and to fly off from him Great pains and labour is absolutely necessary to engage the Heart to approach to the Lord and to abide with him These accesses to God are against nature like rowing a Boat against a swift Stream or rolling a Stone up a steep Hill If the Oar be not plyed the Stream carries the Boat back let the Stone but a little alone to it self and how presently and how far will it run downward The Poet observed the strength of Natures inclination Naturam expellas furcâ licet usque recurret Use greatest force ' gainst Natures Will It shall recoyl upon you still There is need of constant care and industry and the aid of supernatural Grace else the Heart will never be brought to acquaint it self with God or to delight in Communion with him Take heed of sloth in holy Duties and carelesness of Spirit which makes Men indifferent and unconcerned what frame their Hearts are in as if in these distractions there were no great sin or harm The Psalmist tells us The Lord is in his holy Temple the Lord's Throne is in Heaven his Eyes behold his Eyelids try the Children of Men Psal 11. 4. with a pleased Countenance he does behold the upright Heart but he frowns upon all careless Servants Take heed of imagining there is no need of striving again vain Thoughts in the Lord's Service If these are allowed of know that God allows not of them and if they have place in you what may they come to at last The greatest sin that ever was committed began with a Thought and if the first Thought had been utterly banished the sinful desire had not been kindled nor the Deed done I have spoken of the causes of distraction with great heed you are all of you to beware of them for if you give way to these they will corrupt all your Duties I read in the old Law that nothing that had a blemish was to be offer'd to God in Sacrifice this shews that Christ the great Sacrifice was without blemish and without spot and 't is an intimation what our Duties ought to be But if Distractions and the causes of them are not taken heed of your Services will be no better than a Sacrifice would have been that had all the forbidden blemishes Lev. 22. 22. Blind broken maimed with Wens Scurvy and Scabbed which must needs have been very hateful if it had been offer'd to the Lord. USE II. By way of expostulation I shall expostulate the matter with you about these distractions in your Religious Performances 1. Without distraction you can mind your Secular Affairs and why should you not be more intent and serious about your eternal concerns What is a small Cypher to the whole Circle of the Heavens What is Time which is ended almost as soon as begun to Eternity that will never end at all Temporal Afflictions are light and burthens only for a moment 2 Cor. 4. 17. Temporal felicity is but a pleasant and short Dream and is chased away as a night Vision But eternal Woes and Joys are Woes and Joys indeed they are perfectly possessed all at once altogether and as to the Woes there can be no hope of any release as to the Joys there is no room for any fear of deprivation 2. Without distraction you can hear or read News or a pleasant History and is not a Religious Duty of far greater importance to you Shall the pleasing of the fancy be minded more than the securing of the Soul Shall the State of Affairs in this World be asked after and will you not seriously
Christ's Righteousness and is so presented to the Father The Apostle tells us of the Glory of the Grace of God wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved Eph. 1. 6. When Christ was upon Earth the satisfaction he made was sufficient to make reconciliation for all sins and defects And now he is in Heaven he ceases not to intercede for Believers a thousand faults may be found in their best Duties but how absolutely faultless and prevailing is this Intercession of their Advocate 4. Many of those Duties which doubting Saints have thought to be nothing but Sin and Distraction God sees and owns the actings of Grace in He sees some Fire in the smoaking Flax which he will not quench though there is much that is offensive with it he sees some greenness in the bruised Reed though there is much that is dead and he will not break it Matt. 12. 20. His Eyelids try the Children of Men and he has a gracious regard to the actings of Grace and Faith though it be but as a grain of Mustard seed Christ Jesus is said to be quick of understanding in the fear of the Lord Isa 11. 3. He knows what Key will open every Heart and when he will open none can keep shut he can bring the most fearless and stupid to the fear of God And where the fear of God is in truth though it be in a lower degree he easily discerns it When a Well of Water is muddy at the top there is purer Water working up from the Spring at the bottom When the Heart is very much discomposed and distracted in Duty if under all these Infirmities there is a working and stirring of the Grace of God he will both observe and be well pleased with it He will not utterly reject a Duty when there is an hearty desire to do it well and an hearty grief 't is done no better 5. The Lord is ready to give a Blessing to those means which himself has appointed for the cure of these Distractions These means are effectual when the Spirit makes them so And is the Spirit of the Lord straitned Mic. 2. 7. What infirmity is too great for him to help What Heart too roving and unruly for him to settle The means must be used Cry for help that you may be helpt to cry hear the word with a desire to feel its power that you may hear it to better purpose Take encouragement from the mighty Spirit who is so ready to accompany God's Institutions He can fit you for your Duty and fix your Hearts in it and crown the doing of it with the Blessings which are promised And when your Hearts are fixed 't is but reason your Mouths should sing and give praise 6. When Militant Saints come to be triumphant their Distractions and Complaints because of them will be at a perpetual end In Heaven they shall be out of Satan's reach he shall resist them no more this World they will have left which so often troubled both their heads and hearts and will have exchanged it for a World that 's infinitely better their perfected Spirits will be perfect in their Operations nothing of imperfection will cleave to what the glorified Saints above are doing The Vision of God Face to Face will fix the Mind and Thoughts upon him eternally having once looked on they will never care to look off more Perfection of Holiness Love Delight and Joy must needs for ever hinder all even the least wandring None can in the least be weary of the Work that is done in Heaven it is so full of pleasure Rev. 4. 8 They rest not Day and Night saving Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come and full glad may they well be that such a pleasant Employment must never come to an end If all this Congregation with their Pastour can but get safe into the House not made with Hands eternal in the Heavens Oh what Thoughts and Apprehensions shall we have How shall we be fill'd with Joy and Wonder at what we shall then behold Being entred and swallowed up in the Joy of our Lord shall we not then cry out Ah! Ah! What a difference is there between this Heavenly Country and the most desirable earthly Inheritance The Sun is but a small Spark to that Light which we now see When we lookt upward we admired Heavens outside the Firmament with all its shining Luminaries but now we plainly see that Heaven is much more glorious within What an excellent Society is this innumerable Company of Angels that we are among How does every glorified Saint and Member of Christ resemble his Head being all fair and no spot remaining How pleasant is the Harmony where there is no Sin no Sorrow no Defect or Discord These Hallelujahs which we now joyn in how ravishing and transporting are they not like the distracted Services which we used to perform together in the Sanctuary We are all now fixt in this glorious place and shall go no more out Our Complaints are quite ended and never again shall we do in the least amiss We are indeed without fault before the Throne of God and we shall Live and Reign Triumph and Magnifie the Lord for ever Thus have I finished my Discourse concerning Distraction in attending upon God a fault whereof all are guilty most make nothing or very light of and very few mind to have it mended My design herein has been to do some Service to the Church of Christ that their Worship may be more pure and Spiritual being freed from those wandring Thoughts which both distract and defile it and that the Best of Lords may still have better and more acceptable Service from all of you and from my self also Whilst we are in this World truly this World is too much in us 't is suitable to our Senses and apt to intice and draw away our Hearts Let the Eye of Faith pierce through the Clouds and see Heavens Joy and Glory and then this Worlds Vanity will be the more apparent and how vain a thing 't is for you to be so thoughtful about it and eager after it When Faith has seen how God is attended upon by Saints and Angels above it may help to kindle in you an holy zeal and a vehement desire more to resemble those excellent Attendants and to serve the Lord more gladly and seriously here below Oh cry to have the Cure of Distractions carried on further towards compleatness Live as Strangers and Sojourners here on Earth not concerned about the things of it as others are Declare plainly that you are born from above and let your Hearts and Thoughts more and more ascend thither Carry your selves as fellow Citizens with the Saints and as those that are of the Houshold of God Let there be more of God more of Grace in all you do and speak in all the Powers of your Souls in all the Duties you perform And think with gladness and