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honoured.

V. We should fet the Lord always before us; we must take all poffible care to imitate him, as farache propofes God must be himfelf to our imitation: Which is a regard we owe to God upon account of his fupreme excellence. It was the original glory of our natures, to be made after the image of God; and therefore the more we recover his likenefs again, the more we come back to ourselves; and this difpofeth us to ferve God in spirit and in truth, in all the ways of his appointed worship. Prayer, and praife, and the confeffion of fin, reading and hearing God's word, and the celebration of the facraments, are fervices wherein he requires us to be employed; by publick worship to pay him a vifible obedience; and both in publick and private devotions to exercise the feveral inward pious difpofitions, of fear, and love, and truft, and fubmiffion. In thefe we are to draw near to God, and then may expect him to draw near to us. Godliness will engage us to walk in all the ordinances and commandments of the Lord blameless, and to love the habitation of his house, and all the exercises wherein he appoints us to honour him, and allows us to converse with him. But then piety will not fuffer us to reft in the mere outward fervices, but will make us efpecially careful of the inward part, that they be truly fpiritual facrifices in which our fpirits are earneftly engaged, pious and devout affections offered up; and that they may be acceptable to God through the mediation of his Son.

For which reason the worship of God by man By different is both of the body and foul, who made them to be partakers of his holiness.

methods.

In his houfe.

VI. We must honour God in his houfe, fo called upon the account of it's peculiar relation to him, being folemnly dedicated and fet apart for his publick worfhip and fervice, and upon the account of God's peculiar prefence, in the administration of his word and facraments. The dedication of it to facred ufes, makes it properly his own, the praying to him, praising him, and celebrating the holy myfteries, according to his appointment, are demonstrations of his peculiar prefence. And confequently

In what manner.

and

We ought to reverence God's house, by building and erecting fuch places where they are want

ing, and furnishing them with all decency for the worship of God: By repairing and adorning them, when age, or the iniquity of times hath made them ruinous: by keeping them from profane and common use, and applying them wholly to the business of religion: by offering up our prayers in them with fervour and frequency; by hearing God's word with attention and refolutions of obeying it; and by celebrating the holy mysteries with humility and devotion: By ufing all fuch outward teftimonies of refpect as the church enjoins, and are established by the cuftom of the age we live in, as marks of honour and reverence. This bodily worship is recommended by Solomon, when he charges us to look to our feet when we go to the house of God: This will correct any whispering or talking about worldly affairs, any negligent or light carriage: This will fupprefs any provocations to laughter, or any critical and nice obfervation of others. And, on the contrary, excite in us fincere intentions of glorifying God, and making his honour and praise known among men; acknowledging hereby our entire dependence upon his bounty, both for what we enjoy, and what we farther expect: And promote hearty endeavours of performing his bleffed will, and of being that in our lives and actions, which we beg to be made in our prayers, which we are enjoined in his holy word, and which we solemnly promise in the holy facrament: And teach us to govern our outward behaviour by fuch measures as the church prescribes, viz. to kneel, ftand, bow, or fit, as the rubrick hath enjoined to be complied with in publick, though in our private devotions, I think, we are left at liberty to chufe fuch postures as may most tend to the fixing our minds. And all the different postures ought to be used with fuch gravity and seriousness, as may fhew how intent we are when engaged in the worship of God, and yet without fuch behaviour as may. be apt to disturb those that are near us, and to give occafion to others to fufpect us, as acting a formal hypocritical part.

If we come to church before the service begins, which we should always endeavour to do, after we have performed our private devotions, we fhould in filence recollect ourselves, and difpofe our minds by ferious thoughts to a due discharge of the enfuing duties; for the difcourfes of news and bufinefs are im

proper

proper upon fuch occafions; God's houfe being never defigned for the carrying on of worldly concerns. And it is still more unbecoming while we are at our prayers, to obferve those rules of ceremony, which in other places are fit to be practised toward one another; because when we are offering our requests to the great God of heaven and earth, our attention should be fo fixed, that we should have no leisure to regard any thing else. To this end, when we put our bodies into a praying pofture, with which I think leaning and lolling feem very inconfiftent, we should do well to fix our eyes downward, that we may not be diverted by any objects near us; at the same time refolving not to fuffer them to gaze about, whereby they do but fetch in matter for wandring thoughts.

This attention will be much improved by filence; therefore we should never pray aloud with the minifter but where it is enjoyned, endeavouring to make it our own by a hearty amen. Great care must be taken not to repeat after the minifter, what peculiarly relates to his office; which I mention the rather, becaufe I have frequently obferved fome devout people following him that officiates in the exhortation and abfolution, as well as the confeffion; which, if thoroughly confidered, must be judged a very abfurd and improper expreffion of the peoples devotion, because a diftinguishing part of the priest's office. Therefore the best preparation of mind for our joining in the publick prayers, is to abstract our thoughts as much as we can from our worldly business and concerns, that we may call upon God with attention and application of foul: to keep our paffions in order and fubjection, that none of them may interrupt us when we approach the throne of Grace: to posfefs our minds with fuch an awful fenfe of God's prefence, that we may behave ourfelves with gravity and reverence; to work in ourselves fuch a fenfe of our own weakness and infufficiency, as may make us earneft for the fupplies of divine grace; fuch a forrow for our fins, fuch humiliation for them, and fuch a readiness to forgive others, as may prevail upon God for the fake of Chrift's fuffering to forgive us. To recollect thofe many bleffings which we have received, that we may fhew forth his praife, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving

up

up ourselves to his fervice. In which service, prayer is first to be considered to be our duty. For,

VII. The foul addreffes itself to God, and the mind raises itfelf towards heaven by prayer; which receives dif

ferent names according to thofe various fubjects the By prayer. mind is employed about in fuch addreffes. When we bewail our particular fins with forrow, and full purposes of amendment, it is called confeffion; when we implore God's mercy, and defire any favour from him, petition; when for the averting any evil, fupplication; when we express a grateful fense of benefits received, thanksgiving; when we acknowledge and adore the divine perfections, praise; when we beg any thing for others, 'tis ftyled interceffion. So that in all these acts, we have the great honour to be admitted into God's prefence, and to treat with him about those things which chiefy concern our own happiness, or that of our neighbour. And in God's temple, in all these fenfes, may every one be faid to fpeak of his honour.

fary.

And it is neceffary, as it is one of the highest acts of religious worship, whereby we acknowledge God's infinite perfections, and own our entire dependence upon Why necefhim; that he is the fountain of all goodness, and that we are nothing but weakness and imperfection. Besides God hath established it as a means, whereby we are to obtain whatever we want in relation to our fouls and bodies; we are to ask before it shall be given, we must seek before we shall find, we must knock before it will be opened unto us. And he hath promised the affiftance of his Holy Spirit to help us in the performance of our prayers; and Acceptable hath appointed his Son to intercede by virtue of his merits for their admiffion.

the

to God.

nations.

Hence a man must be very atheistical, that forbears paying great creator this obedience that is due to him; or very careless of his falvation, that neglects fuch Ufed by all admirable means for the effecting it. The most barbarous nations, as they have owned the being of a God, fo have they always expreffed their refpect and reverence of a deity, in making addreffes to him. And thus much was imported by their offering facrifices, that God was the fo

great

vereign

vereign of the univerfe, that all good things came from above, and that from his bounty alone they could expect a fupply of their wants. In all ages good men have in this manner constantly exercised their devotion, and have exposed themselves to the utmost dangers and hazards, rather than neglect this duty; nay, the bleffed Jefus thus teftified his obedience and fubmiffion, his love and humility; he often went into the places of publick worship, and frequently retired all alone, and spent whole nights in the exercise of prayer; and not only exhorted his difciples to watch and pray; but has alfo taught and commanded us fo to do, and promises that whatever we ask in his name shall be granted *. And,

VIII. As we honour God in prayer, fo the AlIn his mini- mighty is alfo honoured in his minifters, by that

fters.

How.

love which is due unto them as the stewards of the myfteries of God, and those that watch over our fouls. Therefore we ought to fhew our love to fuch as administer to us in holy things, in being ready to affist them in all difficulties, and in vindicating their reputations from thofe afperfions which bad men are apt to load them with. In covering their real infirmities, and interpreting all their actions in the best sense; never picking out the faults of a few, and making them a reproach to the whole facred order. And as minifters are in a peculiar manner fervants of the great God of heaven and earth, to whose bounty we owe all that we enjoy; therefore we should dedicate a part of what we receive to his immediate fervice, as an acknowledgment of his fovereignty and dominion over all. And what makes this duty further reasonable is, that in order to be inftruments in God's hands in procuring our eternal welfare, they renounce all ordinary means of advancing their fortunes; they furrender up their pretenfions to worldly interefts; and therefore

It is highly fit that their laborious and difficult Why. employment, purely for God's glory and our falva

tion, should receive from us the encouragement of a comfortable and honourable fubfiftence upon these and the like confiderations; that parents may be encouraged to devote their children of good parts to the service of the altar; for it is not probable

See the Title Of prayer hereafter.

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