sanctifie his Name in a way of mercy towards us For the First God will manifest that he is displeased with such duties that thou doest performe he will manifest it one way or other that he is a holy God and he doth not accept of such unholy things as thou doest tender up to him for the truth is if God should accept of such unholy things from men God may be said to be like unto themselves As a man if he doth entertain any as his familiar friend that is naught and wicked it is his disgrace and dishonour a man may sometimes imploy in some businesse those that are naught and wicked and it may be no disgrace to him but if he doth entertain one in his house that is wicked it is a dishonour to him So God may imploy the most wicked men in the world in some outward services but if he should accept of them in his Worship it would be a dishonour to God and therefore God that he might sanctifie his own Name he will manifest his displeasure at one time or other against such duties of worship you that performe worship in a formall manner and with unclean vile hearts I say it stands upon the honour of God if he will manifest himself a holy God he must manifest some displeasure against that way of thy worshipping of him This one meditation one would think should mightily sink into the heart of any man that hath an inlightened conscience to think thus It stands upon the holinesse of God And he cannot appear to be a holy God except he doth some way or other appear to be against me in such duties that I tender up unto him Now you will say How doth God appear that he doth not accept of them He will appear in these three things 1 First by blasting those that do worship him thus in a formall way It shall at First be secret but afterwards it will appear more apparantly and we see it by experience that such as have bin professors of Religion and worship God in hypocrisâ—e and in formality they have been blasted in their parts and common gifts The judgement of God upon Nadab and Abihu that did not sanctifie Gods Name it was secret at first It struck them dead and though by fire yet if you read the story you shall find that their cloathes were not burnt and yet they were burnt in their bodies So the Lord some times doth blast men inwardly in their Spirits in their Souls in their Parts in their common Gifts â—he blasts them I say inwardly though it doth not appear outwardly yet at length it will appear before men that they are blasted and in these times of the Gospel the Lord doth come with spirituall judgments rather then with outward temporall judgements In the time of the Law those that did not sanctifie the Name of God in holy duties the Lord did appear by some externall and visible way upon their bodies but now in the time of the Gospel there God comes with more spirituall judgements upon mens Souls and those are the most terrible judgements We have a notable Scripture for this in Isa 29. 13. How God doth blast those that do not sanctifie his name in holy duties Wherefore the Lord said For asmuch as this People draw neer me with their mouth and with their lips do honour me but have removed their heart far from me and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men Mark what follows Therefore behold I will proceed to do a marvelous work amongst this people even a marvelous work and a wonder for the wisdome of their wise men shall perish and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid What do they come and draw neer me with their lips and their hearts are far from me and do they worship me in a formall way I le take away the wisdom from the wise and the understanding from the prudent And that is the reason why so many great scholars are blasted in their very parts because they would worship God according to the precepts of men in a formall way and so all hypocrites and formall worshippers the Lord doth blast them in one way or other the judgements of God upon the spirits of men were sometimes in the time of the Law But in the times of the Gospel there we find generally the judgements of God to be more spirituall upon the hearts and consciences of men we find it by experience God doth discover that he doth not accept of such as those are and therefore when you see any that have made profession of Religion that had excellent Parts at first many common Gifts and now are as we say no body Remember this Text That God will be sanctified in those that come nigh me Secondly the Lord doth manifest that he will be Sanctified in those that draw nigh him by awakeing their consciences many times upon their sick beds and death beds the Lord doth force them to give glory to him and there to acknowledge that they did not worship God in uprightnesse but in Formality And now they are in horrour of conscience and cry out in the anguish of their soules upon the apprehension of the dreadfull wrath of God that is upon them Take heed for the Lords sake of this thing when you are performing of the duties of worship do not rest in the outward duties for they will never comfort you upon your sick and death beds you may perhaps put off your consciences a little for the present but when you come upon your sick beds there will be no comfort unto you and then you will be forced to say well all this while I have but taken the name of God in vain and now God hath rejected me and all my services and you will then speak to those that come about your beds side and bid them take warning by you take heed that when you worship God you worship him to purpose I have spent time in prayer and hearing but for want of this I find I have no comfort at all but the Lord appeares to be terrible to my soule and comes out against me as an enemy I say now Gods name is Sanctified what ever becomes of thee he will force glory from thee one way or other and it may be even here in this time of thy life but however at the great day when the secrets of all hearts must be disclosed before men and Angels then the Lord will apeare to be a holy God by rejecting all such services that thou didest tender unto him and it will then be a great part of the work of the day of Judgment for God to be Sanctified in those that did worship him by declaring before men and Angels how he did reject such formal and hypocritical worship that they did tender up unto him Oh that God would strik this upon your hearts that it may abide upon you every time you come to
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 principall part of the great mysterie 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 severall workings of heart suitable to the severall 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 Scripture 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 suitablenesse 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 corporeall then it were another matter then bodily worship would serve the turne but God being a Spirit he must have Spirituall 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 godlinesse 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 coveteousnesse we must set our hearts to what we hear we must hear with our hearts as well as with our ears our Souls must be at work in hearing of the word when you hear it is not enough for you to come and sit in a Pew and have the sound of a mans voice in your 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 some what it may be worth I confesse 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 capitall substance but it notes the simplicity of God he is without any composition whatsoever is in God is God himself he is absolutely one there are not divers things in God now then those that come to worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth that is there must not be a heart and a heart there must not be a compounded heart but you must bring simple hearts before God without any composition of drofte in your selves and of any kind of falsenesse but in the simplicity of your hearts you must come to worship God and thus you shall worship him with such worship as is some way suitable to him as he is a Spirit 2 Further consider God as he is an eternall God what suitable disposition doth this require of me when I am to look upon God as an eternall being it requires this only That therefore thy heart must be taken off from all temporal good things and set upon that eternall good thou maiest indeed desire these outward good things but in order to thy eternal good Then further Thou art worshipping an eternal God hence then whatsoever sin thou doest confesse although committed 20. or 40. years ago thou must look upon it as if it were now presently committed and be humbled as much before the Lord as if it were now committed at this present you will say Why so Because God is an Eternal God Yes For if I understand Gods Eternity I know that there is no succession in Gods being therefore the sins that I committed in my youth if I come to confesse them they are before God as if they were now a doing in regard of time and therefore I must as much as I can look so upon them and be humbled for them as if they were sins lately committed Many people are troubled for their sins the very day after they commit them but a little time wears off their trouble but if you did consider that you had to deal with an eternal God then you would look upon your sins though a long time since committed as if they were now done Likewise there will be this required from the consideration of Gods Eternity you must come with such a disposition of heart as not to think much though what you desired be defered and not granted in your time when you would have it For if there be no time that alters with God but a thousand years are with God as one day then that that we account long before it s done it is nothing with God and therefore we must have our hearts so work towards God as towards an Eternall God as one with whom there is no alteration of time at all with whom there is no succession of time If we come to a man and seek any thing of him if he doth not answer us presently we will think that he will forget it and other things will come into his mind but when we come to worship God we must look upon him as an Eternall being and that time alters nothing with him Thus understanding God in a right way will much help us in his worship and so to Sanctifie his Name We cannot Sanctifie Gods Name without knowing his Name without having serious thoughts about his Name and getting our hearts to work accordingly 3 Thirdly Look upon God when you come to worship him in his incomprehensible
man doth not accomplish the Righteousnesse of God there are some other particulars which being laid down we shall come to the 3 main points SERMON II. LEVITICUS 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me WEE began these words the last day and shewed the scope of them and opened the meaning of them and spake of divers Notes of Observation that we gathered from this story of Nadab and Abihu and of Gods dealing with them From the general story of it there were many Points of notable Observation that were drawn from thence I le adde some few now and so come to the main Doctrinal Point in the Text. A further Note of Observation is this That many times even the dear Saints of God do meet with very sore and grievous afflictions in their Children That the most eminent Saints of God are not freed from very grievous afflictions even in their Children It was one of the sorest afflictions that almost ever any Saint of God met withall in his Children this affliction of Aaron at this time That two of his Sons and as I told you the last day renowned men in Israel newly consecrated to the Office of Priesthood that the very first day they came to offer in their office they were strucke before all the people with fire from heaven and consumed Oh what a sad affliction was it to Aaron their Father when he saw his Sonnes in such a manner destroyed by God himself Consider of this you that have Children and are ready to murmur and complain of every little affliction that is upon you in respect of your Children If so be that your Children be but a little sick or there be any miscarriage of them you think it is a heavy hand of God But especially if God take away your Children by death then you mourn and will not be comforted Yea but though God have taken away your Children by death yea perhaps it may be by a violent death as being drowned c. yet they have not been strucken with fire from heaven by God and they have not been of such publick use These here were renowned men and taken away in their very sin too your Children which have gone upon their lawfull imployments and God hath taken away their lives there 's no such cause of murmuring here but when God takes away Children in their sins and in such a way as by fire from heaven thus God took away Aarons Children and he was as dear to God as you are And yet thus God deals with his Saints with Aaron in regard of his Children and with his Elder Children and with two of them together This example may be enough to still and quiet the hearts of men and women that are afflicted in respect of any calamity befals their Children You see what a hand of God is against the very Children of Aaron A further Note is this That Gods judgements we see sometimes though the effect of them be visible yet they come in an invisible way For you shall find if you read on in this story That they were smote with fire from heaven but it did not appear what fire for it did not so much as consume their cloaths nor their bodies but went through and struck them dead and no body could tell how Gods judgements do come in a way that is invisible if it had been in a visible flame of fire all would have seen it and it would have burnt their cloaths or their bodies but you shall find in the 5 verse That they were carried away from the Sanctuary in their cleaths they were not burnt Another Note is this That though the lives of men be dear and precious to God yet they are not so precious as his glory The Glory of his Name is a thousand thousand times more dear unto God then the lives of thousand thousands of people the lives of Nadab and Abihu must go that God may be â—anctified If it comes so in the way as I may so say he lives of men and the Sanctifying of Gods Name the Glory of God must passe on and mast have its course let the lives of men go which way they will We think much to have the lives of men taken away but if we know 〈◊〉 Glory of God meant and what infinite reason there is that God should be gâ—â—ned we would not think it much that the lives of never so many men should go for the Glory of God 〈◊〉 'T is mercy that our lives have not gone many times for Gods glory How often might God have glorified himselfe in taking away our lives Wee have cause to blesse him that our lives have been preserved so long as they have Again Note That the neerer any men are to God the more they had need take heed that they glorifie him for they must expect to be spared the lesse if they sin against him Nadab and Abihu the Priests of God and they came neer to God yet by their transgression though I told you We do not find in any place of Scripture directly in words that this fire is forbidden but they should have gathered Gods mind by consequence And therefore by the way I only Note That we must not think to urge upon men in all things strict commands in very words but if it be commanded so as we may draw it by any consequence it 's a command as now here for the Negative they had not a Negative prohibition in words yet they had it by Consequence So for the Affirmative though we have not the affirmative in expresse words yet if we may have it by consequence it is an affirmative as well as the negative when we have it by consequence But now the Note of Observation is That the neerer any comes to God if they sin against him they must not expect to be spared Do not think that God will spare you the more because you are professors of Religion or because you do often worship him I suppose you that are acquainted with Scripture know that place in Amos 3. 2. You only have I known of all the families of the earth therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities Another Note is this That when a judgement is exemplary then we should have recourse to the Word of God to see how God doth make his Word good in that judgement So Moses doth This is that which the Lord hath said Do you see any remarkable hand of God in the execution of a judgement upon one have recourse to Gods Word and presently begin to think this What is there in Gods Word against that sin that this man hath been guilty of If you see a judgement of God upon a Drunkard remember the threats in the Word of God against drunkennesse and so the judgements of God upon unclean Persons swearers Sabbath breakers lyars or any prophane and ungodly persons have recourse to the judgements of God threatned
so farre bound to looke to him as to keepe my selfe clean it is true I am not bound to goe 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 goe 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 doe not do so much as concerns my duty then I am defiled by it So as that you must not thinke 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 hee 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 doe not yee judge those that are within there is some kind of judgement that every one may passe upon such as do joyne with them in the same Body surely it concernes me much what shall I do in such an action as to joyne with them to eat bread whereby I must professe that I doe 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 doe 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 anyone then I doe not professe my selfe 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 doe 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 profane and dost nothing in the world to helpe to purge them out dost not thou thinke that Gods name is taken in vaine 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 understands things aright 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 comming to partake of this holy mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ there are divers things further about this and the speciall 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 faithfull 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 suffered to come they may not come to partake of those things now it is very usefull for us to know what wee 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 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 doe 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 confesse so long as there is hope that I may enjoy it and that they are in a way for injoyment I thinke 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 towards a Church much more but I say if I cannot enjoy neither doth there appeare any hope of the injoyment of all Ordinances certainly it were but a cruelty to force men to stay there when as otherwhere 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 soule he may as well remove from one to another as he may remove if his trading bee betterin one place then another Christ would have all his people look to the edification of their soules and should I account that Schisme when a man or woman meerly out of tendernesse and a desire to enjoy Jesus Christ in all his Ordinances for the benefit of their soules they find such want to their soules of all Ordinances that though they may have some in one place yet if they cannot have all their soules doe not so thrive now if this be all the end why they remove that they might have more edification to their soules injoying the Ordinances of Christ more fully God forbid that this should ever be accounted such a sin that the Scripture is to brand no thats Schisme when there is a violent rending out of malice for the want of love for as Apostafie is a rending from the head So Schisme from the Body that is when it is out of an evill Spirit from envie or from malice from want of love or from any base sinister ends and upon no just Ground but
beholding of the evil of sin in the red glasse of the blood of Jesus Christ the beholding him broken and truely 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 sinne cost what a price was made for my soule when I see the hatred of God against sinne and the justice of God in not sparing his Sonne but in breaking his Sonne for my sinne and in shedding the blood of his Sonne for my sinnes I see here that the making of my peace which God did cost more then ten thousand worlds is worth I see that by my sin such a breach was made between God and my soule that all the Angels in heaven and men in the world could never make up this breach only the Sonne of God hee 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 wee come to this holy Communion we are to look upon Christ as if we saw him hanging upon the Crosse 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 bee that thou shouldest have beheld him in the Garden and there sweating drops of water and blood and lie groveling upon the ground crying if it be possible let this cup passe from me and shouldest have followed him to the crosse and their have seen his hands and feet nailed and his side pierced and the bloud trickling downe and have heard him crying out my God my God why hast thou forsaken mee would not such a sight as this is have broken thy heart for thy sinne the truth is there is more I won't say only so much but I say there is more in this Sacrament to breake the heart for sin then 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 fight and it is as great an aggravation of the hardnesse of thy heart if it hath not broken at this sight as it would be if it should not break at that fight We read 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 among you hee doth not meane 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 reall evident and sensible setting 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 then that other sight and the reason that I give is this Because you doe 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 naturalnesse 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 sacramentall way in the use of an Ordinance appointed by Iesus Christ to set forth his sufferings and all the riches of the Covenant of grace to the soule there may be expected here a further blessing then in the other though its true the other might worke mightily upon the heart but yet this being a great Ordinance of Christ in the church a great institution of Iesus Christ for the setting out of his sufferings it hath a more special blessing that goes along with it every Ordinance hath a promise and a more speciall blessing then any other thing that is not an Ordinance So when you come here to behold Christ crucified before you you cannot see Christ naturally crucified as upon the Crosse but you have Christ crucified before you in the way of a Sacrament in the way of a solemne institution of Iesus Christ that hath a speciall Blessing which goes along with it therefore if the heart be not broken here there is an aggravation of the hardnesse of the heart as great as if we should behold Iesus Christ upon the Crosse and our hearts not broken there and indeed this is a special reason why those are said to be guilty of the body and bloud of Christ that receive unworthily as if a man had been then alive and had been before the Crosse and there have seen how the blood of Iesus Christ was shed for sinne and should not have been affected with it but should have acounted it as a common thing this man in some regard might have been said to be guilty of his death that is to have joyned and consented with those that did crucifie him for if a man sees another commit a sin if he bee not affected with that sinne and it does not stirre his heart he may come to be partaker of his Sinne so those that shall come to see Jesus Christ crucifyed and have not their hearts at all stir'd with the crucifying of Christ they are in some regard truly said to be guilty of the body and blood of Iesus Christ and that 's the second thing brokennesse of Spirit is suitable to the light of a broken Christ 3. The third thing that is here to be done in the sanctifying of Gods name is the purging and cleansing of the heart from sinne an actuall cleansing and purging the heart from sinne there ought to be The Iews in their Passeover were to cast out all leaven and those that write of the custome of the Jews say that they were wont to doe three things in the casting out of their Leven 1. They made diligent search for Leaven they lighted Candles to look into every Corner least there should be any bit of Leaven left in the house 2. When they found it they cast it out 3. They used an execration they did curse themselves if they should willingly keepe any Leaven in the house So my brethren when we come to partake of this holy Ordinance there should be a diligent inquisition for sin for Sin in Scripture is
other way or one taking up one end and the other the other end that is the meaning of it he helpes our infirmities the poore foule is pulling and tugging with its own heart and finds his heart heavy and dull like a logge in a ditch and have not many of you found your hearts so but now then when you are tugging with your hearts and would faine lift up your hearts to God in prayer there comes the Spirit of God at the other end and takes the heaviest end of the burden and helpes you to lift it up if a child were at one end of the logge and that were but light and the other end very heavy if one come and take up the heaviest end a little strength will serve for the lighter end so the Spirit comes and takes up the heavier end in duty and so helps our infirmities helpes together and then the other word is The Spirit that is together with the acting of the graces of the Spirit in our hearts you must not say so alasse what can I doe it must be the Spirit of God that must doe all it is true hee doth all First he gives converting and habituall grace and assisting and actuating grace but now when the Spirit hath wrought grace so as to convert the heart and hath given habituall grace in thy heart why then when the Spirit comes to assist it doth expect that thou shouldest stirre up all the gifts and graces of the Spirit and the very strength of thy body the Spirit of God expects that thou shouldest act to the uttermost thou art able what power hath been given thee by God and when thou art in acting then the Spirit comes and helpes together with us noting that we are to put forth what strength we have and thus Gods name will be sanctified when as wee putting forth the graces of the Spirit in us then the Spirit comes and helpes and what comes from us now comes from the breathings of the holy-Spirit in us and then God who knowes the meaning of the Spirit will know now the meaning of our sighs and groanes therefore when thou art going to prayer thou art to eye the Spirit of God thou art by the eye of faith to looke upon the Spirit of God and to cast thy soule upon the assistance of the Spirit of God thou art to looke upon the holy-Ghost as appointed by the Father and the Son to that office to bee a helper to his poore servants in the duties of worship and especially in that great duty of prayer now upon the reading of this text and having it thus opened this is one good helpe for thee in prayer read this text and then exercise thy faith upon it Lord hast thou not said that thy Spirit helpes our infirmities when we know not what to pray for nor how to pray for any thing as we ought but the Spirit will come now Lord make good this word of thine to my soule at this time and let mee have the breathings of the Spirit of God in me alasse the breaths of men if it come from gifts and parts I know thou wilt never regard it except there be the breathings of the holy-Ghost in mee in prayer now if you would know whether the Spirit of God doth come in or no you may know it by this the Spirit of God carries unto God and it makes the prayer sweet and delightfull so much of the Spirit of God as is there it comes to the soule in the duty and it leaves a savour behind it a gratious savour is alwaies left behind when the Spirit of God comes to breath O the breath of the Spirit of God is a sweet breath and it makes prayers sweet it never comes into the Soule but after it hath done any worke it came for it leaves a sweet sent after that the soule finds a sweetnesse in that prayer now many of you have been in the morning at prayer but I appeal to you what sweet savour of the Spirit of God is left behind certainly if the Spirit hath been there it is like civil that is put into a little box though you should take out the civit yet there will be a sweet savour left behind so though the Spirit of God in respect of the present assistance withdraws it self yet it leaves a sweet savour behind The fourth thing is purity of heart pure heart and hands in Heb. 10. 22. Rev. 5. 8. having every one of them harpes and golden vials full of odours which are the prayers of Saints mark the prayers of the Saints are odours in golden vials the golden vials I may compare to the heart the hearts of the Saints must be as golden vials and then their prayers will be as odours in 1 Tim. 2. 8. the holy-Ghost giving directions how wee should pray it is with this qualification I will therefore that men pray every where lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting the outward conversation must be pure and the heart pure in Job 22. 26. marke what 's said concerning that holy man there 's a promise made to him for the lifting up of his face to God putting away iniquitie from his Tabernacle that by putting away evill from our Tabernacles and so from our hearts we may be able to lift up our hearts with joy to goe and that 's the fift thing purity of heart and hands The sixt thing is in truth when we come to call upon God we must call upon him in truth Psal 145. 18. the Lord is nigh unto all to all that call upon him in truth you will say what is the meaning of that to that I answer First there must be inward dispositions answerable to the expressions as for instance when I come to expresse the greatnesse of the majestie of God then I must have an inward disposition sutable to this expression I must have a feare and reverence of the infinite majestie of God Secondly When I come to confesse my sin to judge my selfe for my sin there must be an inward disposition sutable to such a confession O how many men and women will come and speak great things against themselves for their sins and judge themselves for their sins and yet there is no such disposition in their hearts sutable to their words you shall have some in praying with others they will be a meanes to break the hearts of others they will so follow their sin and take such shame and confusion upon themselves for their sin and yet God knows their hearts not stird all this while and then they will call upon God for pardon of sin and for power against their sin and yet God knowes that their hearts do close with their sin and are loath to part with their sin in the mean time this is falsenesse of heart when the inward disposition is not answerable to outward expressions I beseech you my brethren consider of the prayers you have made and especially
now when it is meerly out of love to Jesus Christ that I might have more edification to my soule and still I retain love to the Saints that are there as they are in a Communion and so farre as they have any thing good among them I hold Communion with them in that onely I desire in humility and in meekenesse that I may be in such a place where my soule may be most edified where I may enjoy all those Ordinances that Christ hath appointed for his Church certainly that soule that can give this account to Iesus Christ for going from one place to another will be freed by Iesus Christ from such a sinne as this that the world cals Schisme but the truth is this word is in mens mouthes that understand not what it means and the devill alwayes will have some word or other cast upon them that are good for hee hath heretofore gained much by it so still he makes account to gaine 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 wee are to proceed to that which is the maine thing and that is What are the holy qualifications or dispositions of the soule together with the actings fit in the receiving of the Lords Supper what is required in the soule 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 doe when I come to receive this holy Sacrament knowledge applyed to the worke 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 doe when you come thither First you must bee 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 godlinesse those great and deep Councels of thy will concerning my eternall estate those great things that the Angels desire to pry into that shall be the matter of eternall 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 godlinesse the great things of the Covenant of grace and now I goe 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 Seales of the blessed Covenant of thine the second Covenant the new Covenant the Seales of the Testimony and will of thine I am going to have confirmed to my soule thine everlasting Love in Jesus Christ Yea Lord I am going to that Ordinance wherein I expect to have Communion with thy selfe and the communication of thy cheife mercies to my soule in Jesus Christ I am going to feast with thee to feed upon the body and bloud of Jesus Christ Yea I am now going to set to the Seale 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 then 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 bloud of Christ because they did not discerne the Lords body they lookt only upon the outward elements but did not discerne 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 soules to eternall life by The maine points of Religion must be known but especially that that concernes the nature of a Sacrament Now this knowledge likewise must be actuall not meerly habituall knowledge but there must be a stirring up of this knowledge that is by meditation I must be meditating have actuall thoughts and meditations of what I doe know that ought to be the work of a Christian in comming to receive the Sacrament to quicken up his knowledge to have a renewed work of his knowledge by actuall thoughts and meditations of the maine points of Religion and especially of the nature and the end of this holy institution that is the first thing Secondly As wee must come understandingly without which wee cannot sanctifie Gods name so we must come with hearts sutable to the work that wee are about that is because the great thing that is here is the breaking of Christs body and the pouring forth his bloud A sutable disposition to this is brokennesse of heart sence of our sinne of that dreadfull breach that sin hath made between God and the soul our sin should be upon our hearts so as to break them But this brokennesse must be evangelicall it must be through the applying of the blood of Christ unto my soule 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 sinne 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 eternall flames that are prepared for sinners those everlasting burnings But now those are not the things that will break the heart in an evangelicall way in a gracious way the maine thing by which the soule must come to break its heart must be the