a Holy God I beseech you Brethren consider of this God stands upon nothing more than to appear to all the world to be a Holy God there 's the glory of Gods Name in an eminent way God doth not so much stand upon this to appear to be a strong God to appear to be a powerful God to be a God of patience long suffering God doth not so much stand to be an Omniscient God though these Attributes are dear to God but that he may appear to be a Holy God that he stands upon Whatever glory of the Name of God that God shall be content to have ecclipsed in the world for a while yet he is resolved he will have the glory of his Holiness above all things and therefore the Angels when they are celebrating the glory of God they do not say Lord Almighty Almighty Almighty or Lord Omniscient Omniscient Omniscient but Holy Holy Holy Those three together the Holiness of God therein appears the glory of God above all God stands upon it that he will appear to be a Holy God Oh that those who profess themselves to be the Servants of God that they would especially endeavor to hold forth Gods Holiness you that are neer to God you that hope you are Gods Children and make profession of his Name labor you to hold forth the glory of his Holiness above all things in your holy lives and Conversations for God stands upon this To have his Name to be Sanctified I will be Sanctified saith God and I will be glorified so he doth interpret the glory of his Name by being Sanctified As if God should say That 's the glory that I look for That my Name may be extolled as Holy And therefore the very first Petition that Christ teaches us to pray in the Lords Prayer it is Hallowed be thy Name which is all one with this Sanctified be thy Name Oh let the Name of God appear to be holy in the World that 's another Note that these two are joyned together I 'le be Sanctified in those that draw nigh me and I will be glorifyed before the People Again observe That it is the part of true friendship to help friends in their distresses and seek to comfort them from the Word Though we our selves be in afflictions yet we should seek to comfort our friends that are in greater afflictions and to comfort them by the Word for so did Moses Moses comes to comfort Aaron and applies the Word This is that which the Lord hath said I will be Sanctified Now mark no question Moses was afflicted upon this heavy hand of God for he was their Uncle but though it was heavy upon the Uncle yet it was heavier upon the Father and therefore though Moses was troubled yet he knew that Aaron was more troubled and therefore he goes to Aaron and seeks to comfort him and he makes use of this Word in his comforting of him Learn this then to go and comfort your Brethren for Aaron was Moses brother Go and comfort them in their afflictions and think not because that you have some afflictions upon you that therefore you should not be a comfort to your brethren their affliction is greater than yours and when you come to comfort them come not in a meer carnal way and say Brother you must be content but you must come and apply somewhat of the Word of God to comfort them and say This is that which the Lord hath spoke and to that end you should labor to be exercised in the Word of God that so you may be able to go to your brethren and comfort them in any affliction for there is no particular affliction but there is some Word of God that is sutable to that particular affliction and those who are well exercised in the Word of God they can apply some word to every affliction And indeed this is an excellent friend and such a friend is worth his weight in gold that can come to another friend in any affliction and evermore hath somewhat of the Word of God to apply to that affliction The last Observation is this That Aaron held his peace From whence we may Note That there is no such way to quiet a gracious heart under any afflictions in the world as that God will fetch out His Honor by it It is grievous to me but God fetches out His Glory and Honor by it The applying of the Word and the consideration that God hath his way to fetch out his glory in our afflictions is the only way to quiet a gracious heart All these Points might take up a a great deal of time but I will let them pass and come to the main Point of all I will be Sanctified in those that come nigh me There are these Three Points in these words First That in the Worship of God men and women draw nigh to God Secondly That we ought to Sanctifie Gods Name in drawing nigh to him Thirdly That if we do not Sanctifie it God will Sanctifie his own Name upon us 1. That in Worshiping of God there is a drawing nigh to God Quest Why is not God in every place Answ Yes certainly we can never be in any place but we are nigh to God God stands by us and looks upon us It is not only when you are Worshiping of God that you are nigh Him but when you sin against Him when thou art swearing prophaning His Name His Day God stands and looks upon thee thou art nigh Him And it may be said or written upon every place what was said of the City in the last words of the Prophesie of Ezek. 48. 35. The name of the City was Jehovah Shamma that is The Lord is there the Lord Jehovah He is there He is present in this place Oh that you would remember when you are in any place that the Name of that place is Jehovah Shamma The Lord is there In him we live we move and have our being therfore we are alwaies nigh him yea but though we are alwaies nigh God in regard of that essential presence of his yet there is a more peculiar and special drawing nigh to God in the duties of his Worship and that the Scripture seems to hold forth unto you First I 'le shew you how the Scripture holds it forth and then in what respect the Creature may be said to draw nigh to God in holy duties of Worship for so it was here they were coming to offer Incense 1. That we do draw nigh to God in holy duties see Jam. 4. 8. Draw nigh to God so that you may be neerer God than you were that is by holy services and holy duties and hence it is in Psal 95. 2. Let us come before his presence with thanks giving so that there is a more peculiar coming before Gods presence when we come to worship him than at other times And Vers 6. O come let us Worship and how down let us kneel before the Lord our
maker So in Psal 100. 2. Let us come before his presence with singing for that 's one part of the Worship of God But the Scripture is plain that there is a special coming before God when we are coming to Worship him and in this respect the Servants of God in Psal 148. 14. are said to be a people neer to God It is a very remarkable expression and sets forth much the honor of the Saints of God There 's the commendation of the excellent estate of the Saints He also exalteth the horn of his people the praise of all his Saints even the children of Israel a people neer unto him The Saints of God the Children of Israel the Church of God are said to be a people neer to God Why neer him Because that they Worship God they are much exercised in the Worship of God This is one respect though there may be divers others mentioned yet in respect of their coming so much before God in his Worship therefore they are neer God Quest Neer him Why in what respects may a man be said to draw nigh to God when he Worships him Answ To that I Answer There are three respects in which a man when he is Worshiping God may be said to draw nigh to God First Because when we come to Worship God we come to tender up that homage and service unto him that is due from us as Creatures to the infinite Creator that 's the very end of Worship If you would know what it is to Worship God it is this You come to tender up that homage and respect that is due from the Creature to the Creator Now when a Subject comes to tender up his homage to his Prince he comes towards him when he doth it immediately So we have none to tender it up by but Jesus Christ and when we tender it up we must come our selves too for Christ doth nor take our service and tender it up to God and we be absent but we must come with Christ and Christ takes us by the hand and so tenders it up to the Father while we are in presence so that we are said to come nigh to God in that respect because of the immediate tendering up of that Worship of ours to God I call it immediate in respect of any creature But in respect of Christ indeed he is a Mediator to do it but yet he doth it in a spiritual way and we have to do with none but God through Jesus Christ in the tendering up of our Worship to him We may make use of an institution that God hath appointed but we do not tender up our Worship to God through that creature but in the use of that creature we do come to God and our souls are to tender up that respect we owe to God immediatly therefore in levit 21. 21. it is said of the Priests in their Sacrifices when they were to come to Worship God No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the Priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire So that when any come to offer any offerings of the Lord made by Fire it appears he came nigh to God he came to bring a Present to God therefore he comes nigh So when we come to offer our Spiritual sacrifices unto God we come nigh to God to offer it 's the offering of a sacrifice to God And that 's the first thing because the creature comes to bring a Present to God therefore he is said to draw nigh And secondly The soul is said to draw nigh to God in holy duties because it doth present its self before God in those waies through which God doth use to communicate his choice precious most excellent and glorious mercies to his people I say when we come to Worship God we come to set our selves before God in those waies that God doth use to communicate the choice most excellent and glorious rich mercies that he hath to communicate to his creature When we have to deal with creatures as meat and drink and our outward businesses we have to do with God in them but when we come to worship God we come to present our selves before him in those things that he doth use to let out himself through in a more special and glorious manner to the souls of his people What 's the reason why Heaven is said to be the presence of God and why those that are in Heaven are said to live with God There they behold the face of God and are before him in a special manner therefore when Christ teacheth us to pray he teacheth us to look up to Heaven and to say Our Father which art in Heaven c. Now certainly the essential presence of God is on Earth as truly and really as in Heaven and God is not so as to have one part in one place and another in another but All God is in every place but the reason why God is said to be in Heaven it is because the Lord makes known himself there in a more glorious manner than in any other place and therefore Heaven is the presence of God in a more special way Now then if the communication of God unto a creature be enough to make the presence of God more special if this be enough to make a creature to live with God and to be before his face because they are there where God doth most communicate himself then certainly when we come to worship God we come to be neer God and be with God because the duties of his Worship are those means that the Lord hath appointed for the letting out of himself in the glory of his goodness and mercy to his people You may expect other manner of communication of God goodness through the duties of his Worship than in any other way And that 's the second respect wherein you may be said to draw nigh to God in holy duties Thirdly You may be said to draw nigh to God because then we should and if we worship God as we ought we do act our faith and humility and all the graces of the Spirit We do act them as it were upon God when we come to worship him That 's required in every duty of worship that you should stir up the faculties of your souls and all the graces of the Spirit of God and you should act them upon God when you are worshiping of him 'T is not enough to come with grace when you come to worship God but there must be an acting of that grace upon God And so we find in Scripture that the acting of grace upon God it is a drawing neer to him therefore in Isa 29. 13. the Lord complains there This people draws neer to me with their lips but their hearts are far from me as if God should say Indeed they come and speak to me and therefore they think they draw nigh to me but I expect that their hearts should
the heart prepared in things that are good vers 13. If thou prepare thine heart c. and then vers 15. Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot yea thou shalt be stedfast and shalt not fear When the heart is prepared for that that is good when it comes into the presence of God it is able to lift up it self without fear in a stedfast comfortable way and this will quit the cost of any labor Secondly If the heart be prepared it will do a great deal in a little time In a Chron. 29. 36. it is said That Hezekiah rejoyced and all the poeple that God had prepared the people for the thing was done suddenly The thing came off freely and suddenly when as that they were prepared Hezekiah rejoyced and blessed God for such a mercy as this was It is a great mercy to have the hearts of people prepared unto a good work And so in 2 Chron. 27. 6. the text saith Jotham became mighty because he prepared his waies before the Lord his God Jotham he grew mighty by this And so certainly the way to grow to be very strong mighty to be able to do a great deal in a little time it is to make preration there may be as much work done in one hour so as in ten times so much time when the heart is not prepared for it In Ezra 7. 10. you shall find that the reason is given why Ezra had such good success in his journey it was because he had prepared his heart Make preparation for holy duties and you shall have success in holy duties There is a notable Scripture for that in Psal 10. 17. where the holy Ghost saith that God prepares the heart And what then when God doth prepare the heart he doth then cause his ear to hear There was never a prayer made wherein the heart was prepared for it but that prayer was heard they go both together Lord thou wilt prepare their heart and thou wilt cause thine ear to hear if God hath once prepared thy heart thou wilt be sure to be heard then Is it not worth a world for to know ones self to be accepted of God in every duty of Worship that we tender up to him this one Scripture Psal 10. 17. will shew it Oh the excellency that there is in preparation to duty There is one thing more that is very observable and that is this Where the heart is prepared to Duties there the Lord will pass by weaknesses and imperfections in duties When thou comest to perform holy duties thou art troubled Will the Lord have regard to such a duty as this is Thou maiest have certain assurance that the Lord will have regard if thou canst make this point good to thine own soul that it was thy care to make preparation for this duty Canst thou say Lord I have endeavored and done what I could to fit my heart for duty but O Lord I find when I am at it wonderful distractions much deadness and vanity What shall I do Why canst thou make good the former and appeal to God that indeed it was thy care to make preparation I 'le give thee one Scripture then for the quieting of thy heart in this That the weakness of the duty shall be pardoned and past by where there is care to prepare beforehand the Scripture is in 2 Chron. 33. 18 19. But Hezekiah prayed for them saying The good Lord pardon every one what every one every one that prepareth his heart to seek the Lord God of his fathers though he be not clensed according to the purification of the Sanctuary As if he should say Oh Lord there are many things amiss in this People they are not in many regards purified according to the order that thou hast set but Lord if thou doest but see any heart prepared to seek thee though they fail in such particulars Lord heal them and pardon them and did God hearken to his prayer Mark the following words And the Lord hearkned to Hezekiah and healed the people Nay saith God I wil not stand so much upon the purification of the Sanctuary if they have prepared their hearts to seek me Take this Scripture know it 's written for thine instruction and thou mayest make use of it to thine own soul this day if thou canst appeal to God that thou art careful to prepare thy heart though thou shouldest not have that pureness of thy heart as thou doest desire the Lord will pardon thee and heal thee make conscience of preparation to holy duties Again further By being careful to make preparation for duties within some little time thou wilt bring the heart to such a frame as it will alwaies be ready for duty without much ado Indeed at first it is somewhat hard You will say Are we bound to spend some time every time we go to prayer beforehand or every time we come to the Word That should have been one of the Cases of Conscience but I cannot come to Answer that but this we may say Be careful to prepare for duties you that are yong beginners or you that have made profession a longer time but yet have not had the weight of this duty upon your spirits now be careful for a while to prepare for every duty of Gods Worship that God calls you to and I say within a little time thou mayest bring thy heart into such a temper as thou mayest be ready at all times to perform holy duties because you shall be able to come to that temper and frame that the Apostle exhorts to Pray continually for indeed so it should be with us we should be alwaies prepared either for Prayer hearing the Word or receiving Sacraments Now because Sacraments are so rare those that have any enlightened conscience they think they dare not but prepare for Sacraments but you should be alwaies in a preparation for the receiving of the Sacraments as the primitive Christians did And those that have been acquainted with this Point that I am upon of preparing for duties they have come to such a frame of spirit as that there is not so much time required of them as of others for they are in a constant fitness so that there is no instant of time in the whol day but if God calls them to prayer they could presently fall down upon their knees and pray so as to Sanctify Gods Name in prayer that were an excellent temper indeed if you could find it so that you walk so spiritually and holily before God as there could be never a quarter of an hour from morning to night nor from the beginning of the week to the end but if you were cal'd to pray or to receive the Sacrament you had your heart fitted that you could come into Gods presence with a prepared heart and were able to sanctify Gods Name in the duty Acquaint your selves with this work of Preparation and so you may have hearts fitted to come into
those that did offer it they did eat a great part of it themselves now they were very careful in those offerings that they were to partake of themselves to offer fat beasts you do not see that the holy Ghost takes any notice of fat beasts in their burnt offerings Now the Note from hence is this That in those things where men are interested themselves they will be very careful to have the best things But now the Lord rejected the fat beasts of their Peace-offerings saith God You were very careful to offer fat beasts in your Peace-offerings where you may feed your selves but for those offerings wherein I have all there you are not so careful and therefore I regard them not The third Scripture is in Zach. 7. 7. there they did keep many daies in seeking of God it is an observable Scripture for these times Speak unto all the People of the Land and to the Priests saying When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month even those seventy years Did ye at all fast unto me even unto me Mark the phrase You fasted in the fifth and seventh month and for seventy yeers together but saith the Lord Did you at all fast unto me and then mark how he doubled it To me even unto me Noting that when we fast or pray or do any thing in the Worship of God we should be sure to aim at God more than our selves that God may not say of us another day Do you do it to me even to me You may ask me this Question How may I know that I am acted by self-ends in holy Duties for it is a hard thing for one to know ones own heart when one is acted by principles of self and when we aim at God in holy Duties Now for that I will give you these Notes to try whether you be acted from your selves or no. The First is this If a man loves holy Duties though he finds no present good comes in by them because they are such things as God requires and therefore though I get nothing by them yet this is enough to carry me on and to carry me on readily and willingly in the Worship of God those that can delight in Gods Worship even at that time though they find nothing coming in to themselves But now when we find not that coming in that we do desire we begin to be weary of Worship and say Why have we fasted and thou seest it not This is an Argument that thou art acted by Self rather than by God Secondly To know whether we be acted by self-ends or rather by high ends for God Those men that can rejoyce in others that are able to honor God in holy duties more than themselves they may have a good evidence to their own souls that when they worship God they are acted by higher ends than Self but now such as are straightned themselves and when they see other more enlarged in the Worship of God they rather envy them are griev'd and troubled know that Self is a great ingredient in those duties that thou doest perform if thy heart were raised high to God though thou canst not thy self be enlarged in holy duties yet thy soul would be glad that any others are though I have a wretched and vile heart of my own yet blessed be God that there are any others that can worship God better than I can Thirdly A man that is acted by Self in holy duties he regards holy duties but little save in time of extremity in time of fear or in sickness or in danger But now one that hath high ends in holy duties makes the duties of Gods Worship to be the joy of his soul in the midst of his prosperity and that is an evident sign that thou art not acted by self ends but by higher ends Canst thou in the midst of thy abundance say Lord thou givest me all conveniences in this world and all outward things that I want but Lord this is that which is the joy of my soul this is that which makes my life comfortable even communion with thy self in the duties of thy worship that I have free access unto the Throne of thy Grace to worship Thee the Lord and there meet with thee when I am in the performance of holy duties O Lord thou that knowest all things knowest that this is the thing that makes my life comfortable It is not that I have a Table furnished with variety of dishes and that I can have liberty of time to go into company and spend according as I please but Lord those incomes of thy Spirit that I do find in the duties of thy Worship those are the things that makes my life blessed indeed unto me Such a man is able thus to appeal to God surely when he worships God he is acted by high ends and not by self-ends And that 's the Third thing that is necessary for sanctifying Gods Name in holy Duties thou must have a sanctified heart high thoughts of God and high ends In the fourth place There must be much reverence and much fear when thou comest into the presence of God to worship him thou doest not glorifie God as God except thou doest come into his presence with much fear reverence of his great Name Fear in worshiping of God it is so necessary that many times in Scripture we find that the very Worship of God is called The fear of God they are put both for one I might give you divers Scriptures for it and hence it was that the Name of God was called the Fear of Isaac Jacob did swear by the Fear of his father Isaac because Isaac being a great Worshiper of God kept his constant times to worship God and worshiped him in such a constant way as except David and Daniel we do not find mention of the constancy of any in the worshiping of God as we do of Isaac's for it is said that he walked but into the fields in the evening as he was wont to do to Meditate and to Pray and therefore God is called The fear of Isaac In Psal 89. 7. is a notable Scripture for this drawing nigh to God with fear God is greatly to be feared in the Assembly of the Saints and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him God is to be had in reverence of all them that are about him but in the Assembly of his Saints he is greatly to be feared he is daunting terrible so the words are in the Assembly of the Saints When thou comest nigh to God thou hadst need have thy heart possest with much fear So in Psal 2. 11. the Kings and Princes of the earth are called upon to serve the Lord with fear Let them be never so great yet when they come into Gods presence they must serve him with fear And so in Psal 5. 7. In thy fear will I worship toward thy holy Temple Now this fear of God it must not
that you should mind what he saith But when God is speaking to you and you are speaking to God every vain thought that comes by you are turning aside too as if it were a greater thing to talk to vain thoughts and temptations than to the great and glorious God Therfore now that is the very time that the Devil chuses for to bring temptations when we are in holy duties for the Devil knows then he doth two works at once he doth disturb us in our duties and call off our hearts to that that is wicked and doth agravate our sin exceedingly It may be thou wilt not dare to commit that sin that the temptation doth turn thy thoughts upon yea but the Devil hath spoiled the duty by it The Lord doth expect that there should be strength of Intention when thou art upon the duty and there is no time to parlie with temptations now whatever thoughts come in The truth is though they be good thoughts that should come into thy mind and that time that thou art Praying yet if they be not pertinent to the duty thou must cast them away as the temptation of the Devil You will say Can any thing that is good come from the Devil Certainly that which is materially good and coming unseasonably may be from the Devil the Devil may take advantage by what is in it self materially good and bring in that in an unseasonable time and so he may turn it to evil As now when thou art hearing the Word it may be the Devil thinks he cannot prevail to cause thee to have thy heart running about uncleanness yea but saith the Devil If I can inject good thoughts I will put into their minds some place of Scripture that is no way pertinent to this only to divert them The Devil gets much by this therefore look to it and know that God expects the strength of thy spirit in duty that is Strong intention thou art worshiping of God and therefore thou hadst need be intent about what thou art doing Indeed sometimes before you are aware evil thoughts will come into your minds As when a man is keeping of a door and there is a crowd of people without that would come in perhaps the man doth open the door for some Gentleman that he hears is at the door but when he opens it for one that is to come in fourty others will crowd in And so it is many times with the soul that when it opens the door for some good thought a great many evil thoughts will crowd in Those people might come in if they would stay their time but they should not now come in So about worldly businesses that are not in themselves unlawful if they will stay the time they may come in but they must be bard out now at this time There is required strength of Intention 2. Secondly Strength of Affection is required also That is The Affections must work mightily after God striving with God in Prayer If ever thou hadst a heart inflam'd in any thing it should be when thou art praying or attending upon the Word as the Heathens that worshiped the Sun sometimes I have told you that they would not have a Snail but a flying Horse they would offer that that was swift so when we come to the living God we must have living Affections our Affections boyling and that will be the way to cure vain thoughts as the Flies will not come to the Honey if it be boyling hot but when it is cold So if the heart be boyling hot and the affections a working it will keep out vain thoughts and temptations It is a sign of the breath of life when it is warm but artificial breath you know it is cold as now the breath that comes out of the body that is warm but the breath that comes out of a pair of bellows that is cold So the breath of many people in Prayer it is discovered to be but artificial breath because it is so cold but if there were spiritual life then it would be warm Ther must be strength of affection 3. Thirdly There must be likewise the strength of all the Faculties We should stir up whatever we are or have or can do to work in Prayer then the bent of Mind and Conscience and Will and Affection yea and the body should be put to it also and those that worship God to purpose they spend their bodies in nothing so much as in the worshiping of God It will be a sad thing another day when this shall be charged upon many Thou hast spent the strength of thy body upon lusts but when didst thou spend any strength of the body about any holy duty What a riddle is this to most people to tell them of spending the strength of their bodies in Prayer or hearing of the Word or Sanctifying a Sabbath they think the Sabbath is a time of rest I confess it is a time of rest from an outward labor but it is a time of spending strength in a spiritual way and those that shall worship God a right on the Sabbath will find it a spending of a great deal of strength and blessed is that strength that is spent in the Worship of God rather than in the waies of sin as most spend their strength If God gives thee a heart to spend thy strength in His Worship thou maiest think thus Lord thou mightest have left me to have spent my strength in sin how much better is it spent in the Worshiping of thy Name There is one notable Scripture in Jer. 8. 2. that shews how much strength the Idolaters put forth in the worshiping of their Idol they would not do it in a slight and vain way but their hearts were much in that false-worship saith the text And they shall spread them before the Sun and the Moon and all the host of Heaven mark now whom they have loved and whom they have served and after whom they have walked and whom they have sought and whom they have worshiped All these are put together in reference to their Idols Oh that it could be said so of us in reference to God when we come to worship him whom we have loved and whom we have served and after whom we have walked and whom we have sought and whom we have worshiped there is all these several expressions to shew the strength of their spirits in following after their Idols And that is the Fift thing in our Sanctifying Gods Name 6. The Sixth is If thou wilt Sanctifie Gods Name in Worship there must be an humble frame of spirit worship him with much humility of soul Abraham did fall upon the ground before the Lord and dust and ashes saith he hath begun to speak unto thee yea we reade of Jesus Christ groveling upon the earth and the Angels they cover their faces in the presence of God and so should we be humble when we come before the Lord there is nothing more abases the
therefore it was not an ordinary Fire it was some Coelestial Fire struck into them to slay them for so saith the text in the 4. ver Come neer carry away your Brethren from before the Sanctuary out of the Camp and so they went and carried them in their crats out of the Camp so that their cloathes and bodies were not consumed only they were kil'd by the Fire they were struck with a sudden death and that in the presence of the Lord such a death as God had never threatned in the Word before God had never threatned the Priests and said If you offer strange Fire you shall be consumed by Fire but yet God smites them with death by Fire they had not time to seek God no not so much as we use to say as to say Lord have mercy upon me they had no time to promise amendment at all now upon this heavy judgment the heart of Aaron could not possibly but be very much troubled yea and the spirit of Moses too for Moses was their Unkle and Aaron their father they could not but be exceedingly much grieved but Moses being the brother of Aaron seeing his spirit no question exceedingly troubled being under such a sad affliction and that such a Godly man even as Aaron was should have such a sad judgment befal his children Moses comes and speaks comfortably to him and labors to support his spirit and how doth he do it He comes not as ordinarily you use to visit your brethren Oh! you must be content with this no but he comes and applies the Word of God and shews how God must be sanctified and by that he comes to quiet the heart of his brother Aaron This is that which the Lord hath spoke saith Moses He seeks to stay the heart of his brother with that which God spake But where do we find that God spake this It 's hard to find in any Scripture these very words in terminis before this time and therefore Augustin thinks it was only the word God spake but not written and so they had it from hand to hand by tradition as many other things as the Prophesie of Enoch that the Apostle Jude speaks of you do not find it written in the Book of God and yet the Apostle speaks of it so that indeed it was from hand to hand yea and we find in the new Testament when Paul speaks of a thing that Christ should say how that our Lord saith It is a more blessed thing to give than to receive you find it not recorded in the Gospels that Christ said so So this is that which the Lord said though it was not written from the beginning of Genesis to this very place or otherwise though it be not recorded in express terms yet somthing is recorded to the same purpose and effect and so it may seem to have reference to that Scripture Exod. 29. 43. there we have a Scripture comes as neer to it as any I know And there wil I meet with the children of Israel and the tabernacle shal be sanctified by my glory that 's as much in effect as I will be sanctified in those that come nigh me in those that come to worship me in my Tabernacle I will be sanctified in all things that concern my Worship I will be sure to be sanctified there I will be sanctified I will be Hallowed for it is the very same that you have in the Lords Prayer Hallowed be thy Name only that 's the Greek word and this is the Hebrew but if you would translate this word into Greek you must translate it by the same word that Christ spake when he taught his Disciples to pray Hallowed be thy Name Hallowed and Sanctified is all one Lord let thy Name appear to be Holy so I will be Sanctified that is I will have my Name appear to be Holy I will be made known unto my People and to all the world that I am a Holy God that 's the meaning of I will be Sanctified I will be known to all the world that I am a Holy God And before all the people I will be Glorified so it is in the latter part of the verse as if God should say I account it to be my glory that I should be manifested to be Holy before all the world I will be Sanctified that is I will have my People to demean and carry themselves so as to hold forth their acknowledgment of my Holiness so as by their carriage I may appear to be a Holy God I will be sanctified by them or otherwise if they shall not in an active way Sanctifie my Name that is if they shall not demean themselves so as to hold forth the glory of my Holyness then I will be sanctified upon them I will demean and carry my self towards them so as by my actions upon them I will make it appear what a Holy God I am So God is Sanctified two waies either by the Holiness of his People in their carriage towards him holding forth the glory of Gods Holiness and so in that 1 Pet. 3. 15. Sanctifie the Lord God in your hearts the Saints do Sanctifie God in their hearts when they fear God as a Holy God and Reverence him and Love him as a holy God and so sanctifie him in their lives when their lives do hold forth the glory of Gods Holiness then God is Sanctified But then if we do not do so then God sanctifies himself that is in waies of Judgment upon those that do not in waies of Holiness sanctifie his Name And thus you have it Ezek. 28. 22. And say Thus saith the Lord God Behold I am against thee O Zidon and I wil be glorified in the midst of thee and they shal know that I am the Lord when I shall have executed judgment in her and shal be sanctified in her And this is al one with I wil be glorified in the midst of them And in the 38. of Ezek. 16. 23. you have to the same purpose And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel as a cloud to cover the Land it shal be in the latter daies and I wil bring thee against my Land that the Heathen may know me when I shall be sanctified in thee O Gog before their eyes And in the 23. ver Thus wil I magnifie my self and sanctifie my self and will be known in the eyes of many Nations and they shall know that I am the Lord in the way of the execution of Judgment thus I will sanctifie my self so I will be sanctified in those that draw nigh me In those that are nigh me Nigh ones so it may be read that is especially the Priests that did approach to God Ezek. 42. 13. they approach to God especially But it is meant generally of all those that shall have to deal in my Worship whosoever shall come to Worship me let them look to it they must sanctifie my Name they must so demean themselves in
my Worship as to hold forth my Name to be Holy or otherwise I will manifest my self against them in the waies of Judgment for I will appear to be a Holy God I will have the glory of my Holiness one way or other saith God in those that come neer Me As if God should say Though it 's otherwise with men they indeed will be ready to favor those that are neer them but I will not do so Men will sooner pass by the offences of those that are neer them than those that are not as suppose that a stranger commits an offence you would be severe towards him but suppose it were one of your own Children or Kinsmen what would you do then Do not we see that men will rather favor their own Kindred than strangers though the offence be the same But I will not do so saith God Suppose it be one of your own family wil not you be ready to excuse them Suppose it were your own child that should cōmit such an offence Oh! what friends would you make to take him off from punishment Though men would do so towards their own yet be bitter severe towards strangers Yet I wil not be so saith God Let those that are neer me look to it I will be sanctified by them I will be sanctified in those that draw neer me Now upon this when Moses said thus That God would be sanctified in those that draw neer him this was Moses scope to Aaron as if Moses should say Aaron though I confess the hand of God is heavy upon you this day Yet it is fit for you to submit to God 't is fit that God should be glorified what ever becomes of you you are dear to God but Gods Name is dearer to him than you are what ever the lives of your sons were yet it is fit that God should be honored and his Name Sanctified what ever become of your Sons or of your Comforts and therfore let your heart be quieted you have had a great loss and affliction upon you but God hath had glory God hath glorified himself How hath God glorified himself Very much by this way for God by this way hath done an act to make all the People of the Land fear before him to cause them to Worship him with al reverence All the people of the Land seeing such a Judgment as this and hearing of it they will learn for ever to fear and reverence this God they will say How shall we appear before this Holy God We had need take heed how we appear in his presence and Worship him according to the way that He Himself would be Worshiped As if Moses should say This Honor that God hath by this means in the hearts of his people it is that that you should account a greater good than the Lives of your Children what ever they are This is the scope of Moses speech to Aaron Now upon this the Text saith Aaron held his peace He was silenced It may be before He was expressing himself in grief and sorrow'd exceeding much in words but now he was quiet and had nothing to say he did by his silence acknowledge his Children were deer to him but it 's fit that God should be glorified what ever becomes of his Children and therefore Aaron holds his peace But the word that is here translated Holds his peace It hath more in it than meer silence for the Hebrews have another word that signifie meer silence of speech but this signifies a staying of the heart that it doth not further proceed in and trouble of spirit a silence in the very heart and staying of it a staying of the motions of the heart I find the same word to be used in Scripture when Joshua said to the Sun stand still stay thy self on Gibeon Jos 10. 12. It is the same word that is here translated and Aaron held his peace that is he was stayed from further vexing or troubling of himself or being disquieted whereas his heart was in a strong violent motion Now Moses speech did stop him and gave a stop to his heart to make it stand still in a wonderful manner As the Sun when Joshua spake to it to stand still As if the Lord should have spoken to his heart Aaron thy heart is in a mighty strong motion but consider that I must be sanctified in those that draw nigh me and let all those motions of thy heart be stopt and quiet Thus now you see the meaning of the Scripture and the Scope of it Now in this Scripture you have these Three special and notable Points 1 That in worshiping of God there is a drawing nigh unto Him 2 That when we do draw nigh to God we should take heed to our selves that we sanctifie Gods Name 3 If we do not sanctifie Gods Name in our drawings nigh to Him then certainly God will sanctifie his own Name upon us These are the Three Points that I intend to handle And especially the second to handle largely among you I confess upon another occasion in one Sermon I have spoke out of these words but now I intend not only in general to shew you how you should sanctifie Gods Name in Worship but likewise in the particular Acts of Worship As sanctifying His Name in Prayer in Receiving the Sacrament in hearing the Word in the several chief parts of the Worship of God how his Name should be sanctified For in all these you do draw night to God And for that end I have pitch'd my thoughts upon this Scripture But before I come to these Three great Points that are the principal Points in the words read unto you I shall take up divers other Notes of observation that lie up and down as it were scattered that are of great use and will help us further to make use of this Scripture in the other points that I shall come to afterward and handle more largely The first Note is this That in Gods Worship there must be nothing tendered up to God but what he hath commanded whatsoever we meddle with in the Worship of God it must be what we have a Warrant for out of the Word of God For this speech of Moses is upon occasion of the Judgment of God upon Aarons Sons for offering strange Fire They offered Fire that God had not commanded Hence I say that all things in Gods worship must have a warrant out of Gods word must be commanded It 's not enough that it is not forbidden I beseech you observe it it is not enough that a thing is not forbidden and what hurt is there in it But it must be commanded I confess in matters that are Civil and Natural there this may be enough If it be but according to the rules of prudence and not forbidden in the word we may make use of this in Civil and Natural things But now when we come to matters of Religion and the Worship of God we must either
have a command or some what out of Gods Word by some Consequence drawn from some command wherein God manifests his will either a direct command or by comparing one thing with another or drawing consequences plainly from the Words We must have a warrant of the Worship of God One would have thought that these Priests offering Incense to the true God what hurt was there in taking other Fire But there was no Command for it and therefore it was not accepted It 's true there are some things in the Worship of God that are Natural and Civil helps and there we need not have any Command As for instance when we come to worship God the Congregation meets they must have a convenient place to keep the air and weather from them now this is but a natural help and so far as I Use the place of Worship as a natural help I need have no Command But if I will put any thing in a Place beyond what it hath in its own nature There I must look for a Cammand For if I account one place more Holy than another or to think that God should accept of worship in one place rather than in aother This is to raise it above what it is in its own Nature So that when any creature is rased in a Religious way above what it hath in it by Nature if I have not Scripture to warrant me I am therein superstitious It 's a very useful rule for to help you If any Creature that you make any use of in a way of Religion beyond what it hath in its own Nature if you have not some warrant from the Word of God whatsoever specious shew there may be in it it is Superstition As now for the Place there was a place that was Holy but then it had an Institution from God And so for garments to use those that are decent the light of reason is enough but if I will put any thing upon them beyond what there is in them in their own Nature as heretofore in a Surplis what Had that any more decency in its own nature but only mans Institution Now when man shall put a Religious respect upon a thing by vertue of his own Institution when he hath not a warrant from God here 's superstition we must al be Willing worshipers but not Wil-worshipers We must come freely to worship God but we must not worship God according to our own wills and therefore what ever we do in the Worship of God if we have not a warrant for it when this is said Who requireth this at your hands It will stop our mouthes another day In Matthew 15. 9. In vain do they worship me teaching for Doctrin the Commandements of men In vain it is a vain thing to Worship God when there is nothing but a Commandement of man for this Worship If you would Worship God you must have a Commandement of God for the worship And in Isa 29. 13. there is a place to the same purpose that shews how the Lord is offended with any man that shal teach his fear by their own precepts Wherefore the Lord said Forasmuch as this people draw neer me with their mouth and with their lips do honor me but have removed their heart far from me and their fear towards me taught by the precepts of men Mark it Now if this be so the Lord have mercy upon us in this thing You have cause to be humbled every one of you I beleeve in some degree or other this Congregation very much and most Congregations that have had the fear of God taught them by the precepts of men How many things have there been in the Worship of God that you can shew no warrant in the Word for A great many things meerly mens inventions however they are now cast out because Authority came in and cast them out and so you submit to it but that is not enough for you to submit to it because Authority would have it so but you ought to be humbled before God for all your Will-worship for all your yieldings to any thing in the Worship of God that was taught by the precepts of men You see how severe God was to Nadab and Abihu for but taking other fire than that which God had appointed to offer up Incense though there was no direct Commandement against it If the Lord hath spared you and not manifested any displeasure upon you you have cause to acknowledg Gods mercy and to be humbled for all your false worship Certainly God doth expect it from this Land to be humbled for their Wil-worship or otherwise they sow among thorns All the Reformation that is among us if there be not a humiliation before for all our false-worship 't is not enough that we set up now the true Worship of God but we must be humbled for our false Worship And that 's the First Note That in the Worship of God there must be nothing but what God Commands The Second Note is In the matters of Worship God stands upon little things Such things as seem to be very small and little to us yet God stands much upon them in the matter of Worship For there is nothing wherein the Prerogative of God doth more appear than in Worship as Princes they stand much upon their Prerogatives Now God hath written the Law of natural Worship in our hearts as that we should love God fear God trust in God and pray to God this God hath written in our hearts But there are other things in the Worship of God that are not written in our hearts that only depend upon the Will of God revealed in his Word which were no duties except they were revealed in his Word And these are of such a nature as we can see no reason for but only this because God will have them As now There are many kinds of Ceremonies to manifest honor to Princes that there is no reason for them at all but meerly because it is a Civil Institution so appointed So God would have some waies for the honoring of him that the Creature should not see into the reason of them but meerly the Will of God to have them so Now God stands much upon little things though men would think it a little matter whether this Fire or that Fire and will not this burn as well as that But God stands upon it And so for the Ark when Vzza did but touch the Ark when it was ready to fall we would think it no great matter but one touch of the Ark cost him his life There is not any one minnim in the Worship of God but God stands mightily upon it In the matter of the Sabbath that 's His Worship for a poor man to gather a few sticks what great matter is it But God stands upon it And so when the men of Bethshemesh did but look into the Ark it cost the lives of Fifty thousand threescore and ten men If it be a
any miscarriage for do not think that because your duties are very good and holy that by doing thereof you may venture upon mixture take heed of mixing any evil any miscarriage in any holy thing though you have performed a thousand holy duties yet it will not bear you out in the miscarriage of them The Eleventh Note is this That the Lord is very terrible out of his holy places The Note is the same that you have in Psal 68. 35. The Lord is terrible out of his holy places When we have to deal with God who can stand before this holy God our God is a consuming fire The Lord manifests himself here most dreadfully to strike with Fire these two Priests as in Ezek. 9. 6. Begin at my Sanctuary saith God God is terrible terrible towards those that shall dare to approach unto him and yet are wicked and ungodly in their approaching he is terrible to those that are neer unto him God would have us all to tremble at his presence In the Twelfth place Gods Judgments are often very sutable to mens sins Here they sinned by fire and they are consumed by fire They offended by strange fire and God strikes them by a strange fire The Judgments of God are very sutable to the sins of men oftentimes As here by fire so another time we find it by water Pharaoh he sins by drowning the Infants of the people of Israel in the waters and God drowns him in the Sea If you will be drowning by water you shall have water enough saith God And so here if you will be medling with strange Fire you shall have strange Fire saith God God doth many times proportion Judgments to sinners that his righteousness might the more appear those very creatures in which we sin many times God makes them or others of the same kind to be the Executioners of his Wrath. So it was with the Jews they would sell Christ for 30. pieces of silver and they were sold 30. of them for a penny afterwards And so the story of Adoni-bezek in the first of Judges that was so cruel in such a way to cut off Thumbs and Toes of Kings even so he was served in the like kind and it 's ordinary for men that are of cruel fiery spirits to meet with cruel fiery spirits likewise And I would apply it in this particular You that are stout Children to your Parents if God lets you live you many times meet with the very same in your Children and when you that are Parents meet with stubborn Children you should reflect Doth not God come righteously upon me And so you that are Servants you are stout to your Masters and afterwards when you come to have Servants they will be so to you and perhaps you were unfaithful to your Governors afterwards when you come to have servants it 's a thousand to one but they will be so to you Now you should strike your hand upon your heart and say It 's just with God that it should be so and that He should come upon me in my own kind Another Note is this They offered strange fire Let 's take heed all of us how we bring strange fire into Gods Service Bring strange fire into Gods Service What 's that I find diverse Writers speaking upon this saith Ambrose Lusts and Covetousness are this strange Fire That which I would have you consider of is this Above all strange fire take heed of the strange Fire of passion and anger and especially in the Worship of God and at any time when you find your hearts heated and fired with Anger when you are about to worship God remember this Scripture Nadab and Abihu were consumed by God with fire from God for coming into Gods presence with strange fire Now O Lord how often have we come into thy presence with strange Fire Perhaps your hearts have been burning hot with passion when you have been coming into Gods presence You are to pray with fervency for so the Scripture saith we are indeed to be heat in prayer by the holy Ghost in our hearts but certainly not to come with the fire of passion and anger Lift up your hands without wrath and doubting If you have been passionate and your hearts have been heat that way be sure you get your hearts cold before you go to Prayer And so when you come to hear the Word if your hearts have been heat with passion be sure you get them cold before you come to hear the Word Receive with meekness the ingrafted Word that may save your souls And so when you come to the Lords Supper Take heed of coming with wrath and malice for then you come but to offer strange Fire It is a special Consideration for Ministers that come to preach they should take heed of bringing strange fire into ther Pulpits that is of venting their own passions That hath been ever a rule that I have been convinced of since I knew any thing of Preaching That that man that is appointed to reveal Gods wrath had need to conceal his own wrath that 's certainly a rule for all Preachers for the Lord sends his Preachers to make known his wrath against mens sins but now the more they make known his wrath the more they should conceal their own and so by that means when they come in the openest way to manifest Gods wrath the more their preaching would be accepted Now it 's true a carnal heart would be ready to think That when a Preacher speaks out of true zeal to God he will be ready to say That he hath aiming at himself Take heed of that I beleeve you have had but little occasion of such a temptation in this place but however this I know it is the duty of the Ministers of God to be sure to bring nothing but the Fire of the Spirit of God the Fire that they have from the Alter their tongues being touch'd with one of these Coals and not that they should come with their own passions to further the Righteousness of God no The wrath of man doth not accomplish the Righteousness of God There are some other particulars which being laid down we shall come to the Three 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 ad 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 grevous offlictions in their Children That the most eminent Saints of God are not freed from very grievous afflictions even
are most potent with God As now a stranger cannot prevail in any Petition so as a familiar friend can Thus my brethren when strangers come into Gods presence God doth not so much regard them but when his familiars come into his presence the Saints of God that keep close with him in constant communion and converse in the duties of his Worship God doth take them as His familiar friends and they will prevail much with God Secondly By this means the teror of death will be taken away there is no such way to take off the terror of the thoughts of death as by keeping familiarity with God death then is joyful to those that converse with him That Reverend Divine that is now with God Docter Preston when he was to die he had this speech I shall but change my place I shall not change my company whereas its otherwise if thou growest-estranged from God when death comes it will look with a terrible face for then thou hast to deal with God thou art then to go into the presence of the infinite dreadful God into whose presence thou never hadst any mind to go before but saith death I must now carry thee into the presence of God As thy Body returns to the dust so thy soul must return to God that gave it that is to receive its eternal doom c. But now saith a Saint what must my boby return to dust and my soul to God that gave it it is he which I have been with every day and can say as he said My soul go forth go forth why art thou unwilling to go forth to him that thou hast conversed with all thy daies And then what safety is there in being neer to God especially in these dangerous times In the times wherein we live it is safe to be neer God in Psal 22. 11. Be not far from me for trouble is neer saith David Lord trouble is neer me be not thou far from me It 's a blessed thing to have God neer us when trouble is neer us Trouble is neer many of you perhaps there 's not a spans breadth between death and us what a blessed thing is it then to have God to be neer us When the poor Chickin sees the Kite come neer to seize upon it and is like to be supprized if the Hen be neer it runs to the Hen and the Hen covers it and keeps it safe So it should be with us for so Christ saith of Jerusalem How often would I have gathered thee as a Hen gathereth her Chickens There are a company of Kites abroad in the world and we are poor shiftless Creatures now how happy are we then if we can run under the shadow of Gods wing There is a kind of shadow in the presence of God in the enjoyment of the creature but the shadow of God that we have in his Worship that is as the shadow of his Wing There is the shadow of a Tree and that may help from some kind of troubles but there 's another manner of shadow under the shadow of the wing of the Hen because that nourishes the Chicken The men of the world they have the shadow of the Tree as it were Gods general providence which is over all creatures but the Saints of God that draw nigh to God they have the shadow of Gods Wing like the shadow of the Hens wing to the Chicken which doth comfort it and safe-guard it Let us by the duties of Worship thus draw nigh to God and keep nigh unto Him SERMON III Leviticus 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me I WILL only add one Particular more to what we said the last day and then proceed If in the duties of Worship we are nigh to God then hence appears the great Honor that God puts upon His Servants that do Worship him Certainly the Worshipers of God have great Honor put upon them because the Lord vouchsafes them to draw nigh unto Him they are such as are precious and honorable in his eyes I will not enlarge my self in this only give you three Scriptures that shew the great honor and respect that God puts upon those that he doth admit to come and worship him The first Scripture is in Deut. 4. 17. There Moses speaking of the people of Israel and the great respect that God shewed to them more than others for saith he What Nation is there so great who hath God so Nigh unto them as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for What Nation is there so great as you are So great How doth it appear that the Nation of Israel is a greater Nation than other Nations are How That hath God so Nigh unto them in all things that they call upon him for herein any man or woman or Nation may be said to be great that is greatly honored by the Lord God in that they have the Lord nigh unto them and they are nigh unto him here 's the greatness of a Nation You would think that if one would describe the greatness of a Nation it should be in their great Wealth their great Trading and Traffick that they have and the Fertile place that they live in No this is not the greatness of a Nation But what Nation is there so great that hath the Lord God so nigh to them There 's the greatness of a Nation and so a spiritual heart would account greatness to consist in having God to be nigh unto it The second Scripture is in Numb 16. 9. There we have Moses speaking unto the sons of Korah rebuking them for their sin and he brings this aggravation to them of the greatness of their sin saith he Seemeth it but a small thing unto you that the God of Israel hath separated you from the Congregation of Israel to bring you neer to Himself That is That you should come to worship him Is this a small thing to you Is not this honor enough As if Moses should have said Why do you contend for any more Honor the Lord hath separated you to bring you neer to himself Object This you will say was spoken to the Priests Answ But it may be said of every gracious soul for every Beleever Christ hath made a King Priest and Prophet unto himself now there is no Beleever but Jesus Christ hath separated him or her from the rest of the world to be neer unto God This is the dignity that God hath put upon thee that thou art separated by His grace to be one neer to Him whereas others of the world they depart from Him continually depart more and more from Him but I say the Lord by his grace hath set thee apart for Himself as he saith in Psal 4. 3. The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself Thou art separated from the world To what end It is that thou mightest be neer to Him this is thy priviledg and thou shouldest account it
thy great Honor thou hast not that Honor and respect in the world as others have but thou art one of Gods separate Ones that thou art neer to Him A third Scripture is in Psal 33. 28. There you may see how the Prophet David did highly esteem of that great Honor that the Lord did put upon him in this in being neer to God But it is good for me to draw neer to God Mark how he speaks But it is good for me Why For loe they that are far from thee shall perish thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee As if he should say There are some that did seem to be neer unto thee heretofore that were as the Wife to the Husband but they are gone a whoring from thee base Hypocrites base Apostates they are gone a whoring from thee their hearts being carnal they did not find that Contentment and satisfaction in thy Worship as thy Saints do and therefore they are gone a whoring from thee but it is good for me to draw neer to thee It is an excellent Scripture Do you see any yong ones or others that were very forward not many yeers ago and would speak of good things and seem to rejoyce in the Word but now they are gone a whoring they are departed from God and His Waies and the pleasures of the flesh hath taken their hearts Thou wilt destroy them saith David that go a whoring from thee So thou shouldest think with thy self Oh miserable is the condition of those who once were forward in the profession of Religion and now are gone a whoring from God But it is good for me to draw neer to God they are gone from thee and thou wilt destroy them but it is good for me to draw neer to thee I bless my self in drawing neer to thee the Lord and bless the time that ever I did draw neer to thee and that ever I knew those waies wherein my soul hath drawn neer to God Such as worship God aright and do delight in the Worship of God they are such as have a great honor put upon them they do draw nigh to God And thus we have finished the first Point The second Point is that will hold us some time and that is The Sanctifying Gods Name in our drawing neer to God When we worship God we draw nigh to Him but let us take heed how we draw nigh Heb. 10. 12. Let us draw neer with a true heart Look to thy feet when thou comest into the house of God Eccles 5. 1. Now for the Sanctifying of Gods Name in drawing nigh to Him we shall endeavor to open it 1. In shewing you wherein the Sanctification of Gods Name consists or what we should do that we might sanctifie the Name of God in drawing nigh to Him 2. The Reason why God will have his Name to be Sanctified in those that do draw nigh to Him How we should sanctifie the Name of God in drawing nigh to Him it is under these two Heads First There must be a dew preparation unto the Worship of God that we exercise our selves in at any time Secondly A right behavior of our souls in it in these two things consists the Sanctifying of Gods Name in His Worship Now under these Two Heads all that I shall speak about the opening of the Sanctifying of Gods Name will be contain'd At this time I shall only speak to the First The due preparation of the Soul unto the Duties of Gods Worship Therein consists a special part of the Sanctifying of Gods Name in drawing nigh to him And that it is so we find it in Scripture That preparation for Worship it is called the Sanctifying of our selves and by finding this in Scripture it hinted me upon this Head to speak of the preparation unto worship in our sanctifying Gods Name because I find in Scripture that the sanctifying of our selves for Worship and the preparation of our selves for Worship are al one I 'le give you these two texts In 1 Sam. 16. 5. you shall find there that Samuel when he was sent by God to anoint David in Bethlem the text saith I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord sanctifie your selves and come with me to the sacrifice Do you come peaceably say they Yes what then Sanctifie your selves and come with me to the Sacrifice That 's all one as if he should have said Prepare your selves and come with me to the Sacrifice and so in Job 1. 5. there you shall find that the holy man Job when his sons had been feasting he was somewhat afraid lest there should be some miscarriage and that they had sinned against God in their feasting as it is very hard to give liberty to please the flesh and not to sin not to transgress bounds therefore Job though he did not hear of any notorious abuse of their feasting yet he was afraid lest they should sin he knew how dangerous it was to have so much satisfaction to the flesh and not to transgress bounds therefore it is said he sent to his sons and sanctified them It was so saith the text when the daies of the feasting were gone about that Job sent and sanctified them that Job sent unto them to prepare them to offer sacrifice to prepare them for the Worship of God So that the Scripture holds forth this then that to prepare for Worship it is to sanctifie for worship and so it is one special thing that is required in our sanctifying of God in our drawing nigh to God to make a due preparation for his holy Worship Now for the orderly handling of things First I shal shew you That we must prepare for the Worship of God Secondly I shall shew you Wherein this preparation for the Worship of God doth consist Thirdly The excellency that there is in this or what great good there is in preparation for Gods Worship Fourthly I shall Answer a case of Conscience or two Fifthly I will shew you What is the behavior of the soul in Sanctifying Gods Name Sixthly The Reasons why God will be sanctified in the duties of his Worship First That there must be preparation to the Worship of God For first That God that we come to worship is a great and glorious God and we having to deal with such an infinite glorious dreadful Majesty it is fit that we should make preparation when we come nigh unto him therefore in Exod. 19. 10. when God came among the people to give them his Law he did require that they should be sanctified to day and to morrow and that they should wash their cloaths and be ready against the third day for the third day the Lord would come down upon mount Sinai in the sight of the people God did not so much stand upon their cloaths but it was to signifie an inward washing Now my breathren if when God came to give the Law they were so to prepare then certainly when we are come to worship
The sixt and last reason hath a great deal in it which I beseech you consider of we find that the Scripture doth make the uprightness of the heart much to consist in preparation for worship and doth make the falsness of the heart to consist in this that men do not prepare Perhaps you have not so much thought of this but yet it is of excellent use unto you We shall find the Scripture doth make the very uprightness of the heart to consist in the preparation for duty and the falsness of a mans heart to consist in this That he makes not conscience to prepare his heart for God and His Worship And this I will shew unto you very plainly and cleerly take these two Examples The first of Rehoboam and the second of Jehoshaphat one a wicked man whose heart was false and the other a godly man whose heart was right with God The falsness of the heart of the one is in 2 Chron. 12. 14. there you have what Gods thoughts of Rehoboam were in the verses before but now he brings the reason of his sentence upon him and saith the text he did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord there were many good things that Rehoboam did I might shew you some things as how he did obey the Prophet of God when he was seeking to avenge himself upon those that did rend themselves from his obedience the Lord did but send his Prophet and though he had an Army ready to revenge himself upon those that in a way of rebellion did rend themselves from under his government and he obeyed the Word of the Lord but for all that he did evil in the sight of the Lord God looked upon him as a man that had no uprightness in him Why For he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord Saith God I look upon all Rehoboam did as nothing look upon his waies as evil and himself as a wicked man why Because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord if his heart had been upright with me he would have prepared his heart to seek me I beseech you now lay this text to your hearts Do you prepare your hearts to seek God when ye go to prayr Can you say that you take pains in preparing your hearts for it and in hearing the Word and so likewise for receiving the Sacrament Now for Jehoshaphat a godly man in 2 Chron. 19. 3. there you may see what the Lord saith of Jehoshaphat that was godly Nevertheless there are good things found in thee in that thou hast taken way the groves out of the land and hast prepared thine heart to seek God Jehoshaphat was found guilty in joyning himself to wicked men too much the Prophet comes and saith to him Wouldest thou help the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord Therfore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord. Jehoshaphat here we see was very faulty in joyning with those that were wicked and is rebuked by the Prophet from the Lord What wilt thou joyn with the wicked the wrath of God is upon thee Well but for all that I beseech you observe it That at that time when the Lord is most displeased against Jehoshaphat and sends his Prophet in his Name to pronounce this that the wrath of God is out against him yet for all this God cannot but take notice of this that he had an upright heart though he failed in that particular yet there is some good found in thee in that thou hast prepared thy heart to seek God Indeed through some sudden temptations thou art drawn aside in this particular act Yea but it hath been thy care to prepare thy heart to seek me and in that regard I do look upon thee as having an upright heart And thus you see how much the Scripture puts upon the preparation of the heart to seek God And so in 1 Sam. 7. 3. you shall find that the Scripture makes the uprightness of the heart to consist in this And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel saying If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts what then Then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you and prepare your hearts unto the Lord and serve him only As if Samuel should say If you will return indeed to the Lord if indeed your hearts be upright according to what you seem to profess in turning to God Then prepare your hearts to seek the Lord. You do not in truth turn to God except you make conscience to prepare your hearts Therefore you that never yet knew what it was to make conscience to prepare your hearts for holy duties know that you have not turned with all your heart unto the Lord there hath not been the true turning of your hearts unto the Lord. Thus you see there is much lies upon preparation to the duties of Gods Worship Well you will say seeing there lies so much in it I pray open it wherein it doth consist To that I answer It consists in these Five things which I shall briefly name First In the possessing the heart with the right apprehension of that God before whom we come to tender our duties Then do we make conscience to prepare our hearts when we labor upon our going to worship God to get our hearts before-hand possessed with right apprehensions of the Majesty of that God that we are going to worship and of the greatness and weight of the duty that we are setting about the nature of it the manner how it is to be performed the rule by which we are to be guided the end that we are to aim at Meditation is a good preparation to holy duties And these are the general Heads of our Meditation for our Preparation to Duty Viz. 1. What God he is we have to deal with Meditate of God in his Attributes and then meditate of the weight of our Duties and the nature of them and the rule of them and the end of them get your hearts possessed with meditations of this nature and in this at a special thing doth consist your preparation to holy duties 2. The Second thing wherein the preparation to a duty consists it is this The taking off of the heart from every sinful way the endeavor at least If there be iniquity in thine hand or heart labor to put it out When thou art to come into Godâ— presence do not bring into the presence of God the love of any sin in thy heart but labor to put it from thy heart in 2 Chron. 29. 5. we find there what is required to preparation the text saith Hezekiah said unto them Hear me ye Levites sanctifie now your selves and sanctifie the house of the Lord God of your fathers and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place That is sanctifying a thing to carry forth the filthiness out of that thing that we would sanctifie So the sanctifying of our hearts it is by
didest or shalt commit I am preswaded if people that have rested upon duties heretofore would but seriously have this thought in their minds That I must rest upon nothing for my acceptation for life and salvation but that that must have such worth in it as to satisfie God for all my sins that ever have been committed or shall be committed this would take them off for ever from resting in duties Yea and it must be such as must be the object of the Infinite holiness of God to take content in Surely the duties that we perform are no such duties to rest upon the truth is If we would seriously consider what they are at they come from us we would even abhor our selves in dust and ashes and account of them as the Prophet speaks of his own righteousness as menstruous cloathes they are such as if God should deal with us as justly he may do he might cast them and us to the dogs for they are as the Prophet saith torn and rent sacrifices now if a man in the time of the Law should bring to the Lord a Sacrifice that was all torn and rent before he brought it would such a sacrifice have been accepted All the duties we preform as they come from us they are such we reade in Exod. 22. 31. concerning such things as were torn and rent that they should cast them to the dogs Ye shall be holy men unto me saith he verse ult neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field ye shall cast it to the dogs because ye are holy men unto me Must the People of Israel manifest their holiness in this That they must eat nothing torn by beasts but cast it unto dogs Or was the holiness of the People of Israel such as God required them that they must eat nothing that was torn by beasts What then is the holiness of the infinite God Our services that we perform are of themselves such as are torn by our beastly lusts many times How many are there that bring Sacrifices to God that are as Carrion that Swine have been tearing beforehand and yet these are the Sacrifices that they bring to God and not only think that God should accept of them but they do rest upon them for their acceptation to eternal life How infinitely are these people mistaken how little do they know of God or of the way of acceptation to eternal life That is the first Use Secondly If all this be required for the Sanctifying of Gods Name in Duties that we cannot perform the Duties of Worship without this behavior of Soul Hence we see that the work of Religion is a hard and difficult work to flesh and blood A main work of Religion is the work of worshiping of God for indeed those that are not Religious and Godly they never worship God to any purpose then we come to worship God when we begin to be Religious and godly Now it must needs be a busie work to be a religious and a godly man because there is so much required in the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties Many people think it a very easie matter to worship God and the worship that they tender up to God is an easie matter there is little in it If it were nothing else to worship God but meerly to go and say a few Prayers and come and hear a Sermon and take a piece of Bread and Wine then it were the easiest matter in the world to come and worship God but there is more required in the Duties of Gods Worship than thou hast been acquainted with there is a power of godliness in it That Text of Scripture is a very famous one that shews the difficulty that there is in the Worship of God and how men are mistaken in thinking it such an easie and slight matter to worship God it is in Josh 24. 16. 19. where Joshua doth call upon the people to worship God and they came off presently and said They would worship him so you shall find them profess verse 16. But mark what the Text saith in verse 19. And Joshua said unto the People Ye cannot serve the Lord for he is an holy God he is a jealous God and he will not forgive your transgressions and your sins As if he should say You think it is nothing to serve the Lord and that it is an easie matter to serve him you think to put off God with any thing Alas you cannot serve the Lord for he is a holy God and is a jealous God and you must have other manner of hearts than yet you have and you must understand his Worship in another manner than yet you do The Lord will be sanctified in those that draw nigh him and therefore until you understand God and his waies and Worship you cannot serve the Lord. Know that the work of Religion is a very hard and difficult work for it requireth all this and therefore the soul had need to be very diligent and laborious that would come to Worship God in a right way Thirdly Hence it is an Use of humiliation to us all even to the best of us Oh how little how little hath the best of us all sanctified the Name of God! how far have we all come short of the sanctifying of Gods Name in holy Duties And when we look abroad in the world and see what poor service God hath generally from the Men and Women of the Earth it should make our hearts bleed within us Where almost is the man or woman that according to that text in Isaiah stirs up himself to take hold on God And I verily beleeve that in the opening of this Point Of Sanctifying of the Name of God in holy Duties that I have been in the bosoms of as many as in the opening of any Point whatsoever and as many may have cause to lay their hands upon their hearts and say Certainly I have come short of what is required here and have not been acquainted with this way this mystery of Godliness Of Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy Duties as I ought to be Oh be humbled for this for all the uncleaness of your hearts in the performance of holy duties Exod. 27. 4 5. you reade that at the Altar where the Sacrifices were to be offered the Lord required that there should be a grate made Thou shalt make for it meaning the Altar a grate of net-work of brass and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof and thou shalt put it under the compass of the Altar beneath that the net may be even to the middest of the Altar There was as it were a grate for the ashes of the Altar to go thorow As you have grates in your fires to make them burn cleer and for the ashes to fall down so the Lord would have such a grate for the ashes of the Altar to fall down We had need of such a
2. 1. you have a Scripture to the same purpose about hiding the Commandements within us And then in 1 John 2. 14. I write unto you yong men because you are strong and the Word of God abideth in you and ye have overcome the wiched one I have written unto you yong men you are yong you have strong natures and so strength of nature for God But how comes this to pass You are strong and the Word of God abideth in you Here is an excellent Scripture for all yong men you have your memories fresh and if you will exercise your memories about any thing it should be in the word of God it is a comly and an excellent thing to see yong ones to have the word of God abiding in them that if you come to them not only a week but a month after they have heard the word they are able to give you an account of it I am verily perswaded that there are many yong ones in this place that are able to give you old ones if you ask them an account of what it is to sanctifie Gods Name in the Duties of worship And why Because the word of God abideth in them It is the honor of yong men to have the Word of God to abide in them and hereby they overcome the wicked one And on the other side many yong people that do come to hear the Word it may be they are drawn to it by others or it may be they love to have a walk in the morning but the Word of God abideth not in them and therefore when the wicked one comes with temptations the week after they are overcome by him but those that have the Word of God abiding in them they overcome the wicked one And so in Job 8. 31. you have a very remarkable Scripture for this purpose of keeping the Word after we have heard it Then said Jesus to those which beleeved on Him if you continue in my Word then are you my Disciples indeed I beseech you observe it It is said that the Jews did beleeve in Christ and yet saith Christ If you continue in my Word then are you my Disciples why were they not the Disciples of Christ that did beleeve in him By this beleeving therefore we must understand some kind of general notion that they had of Christ they began to think that Christ might be the true Messias some kind of imperfect beleeving they had but they were not throughly brought off now saith Christ If you continue in my Word you are my Disciples As if he should say Do not you think it enough that you come to here me and that you are taken by what I say you must continue in my Word and then you are my Disciples Christ will not own that man or woman to be his Disciple that doth not continue in His Word O that you would consider of this you that satisfie your selves in having some flashes of your affections when you are heating the Word but do not think that you are the Disciples of Christ because of them In Tit. 1. 9. Holding fast the faithful Word as you have been taught that is the thing you should labor for to hold fast the faithful Word hold it fast that it may not be taken from you and so you shall come to Sanctifie the Name of God in the hearing of his Word 11. The last that I shall speak to is this If thou wouldest Sanctifie the Name of God in hearing His Word turn it into practice or otherwise the Name of God is blasphemed or at least is taken in vain by thee if thou doest not turn what thou hearest into practice So you have it in Jam. 1. 22. He that is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the Word this man saith he shall be blessed in his deed And vers 22. Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves The word here that is translated Deceiving your own selves it 's a word taken from Logicians and signifies to make a false Sylogisme A man that hears the Word and doth not do it he doth as it were reason thus Those that do come to Church as we use to say those surely are Religious people but I come to Sermons and therefore I am Religious Now this is a false reasoning and thou doest but cozen thy self Be not a hearer only but a doer of the Word that thou maiest not deceive thine own soul So in Rom. 2. 3. Thinkest thou this O man that judgest them that do such things doest the same that thou shalt escape the Judgment of God As if he should say You have the word and you are able o judg thereby what you hear but yet still you are wicked in your lives this is despising of the riches of the goodness of God towords you And in Philippians 2 16. you have a remarkable text where the holy Ghost saith of the Phylippians That he would have them hold forth the Word of Life It were a most excellent thing if it might be said of this Congregation that as they come deligently to hear and are willing to take pains to get out of their beds so early in the mornings so all the week after they hold forth the word of God You that are servants it may be your masters are naught and the families naught from whence you come now when you go home though it may be they will not let you repeat the Sermon yet you are to hold forth the Sermon in your practice and conversation How is the Name of God glorified when we hold forth His Word this is to let not only your light shine but the light of the word shine before men that they may belold it and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven So that now put all these Eleven Particulars together and then you have made good that expression we find in Act. 13. 48. That the Word of God was glorified And to the same purpose we have another expression in 2 Thess 3 1. Finally bretheren Pray for us that the Word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified even as it is with you This is the commendation of a people that they do glorifie the Word of God I beseech you brethren in the Name of Jesus Christ this morning that you that are hearers of the Word would glorifie the Word and glorifie the Name of God in the Word Oh that not one of you would be a disgrace or shame to the Word of God this is the charge that God this morning laies upon you as ever you expect to receive any good from the Word or to look upon the face of God with comfort whose Word this is do not be a shame to His Word and to the Ministers of His Word Put all these things together I say and learn to make conscience of sanctifying Gods Name in hearing the Word that so there may be none of you that may give
hearing of his Word you will be the glory of the Ministers of God at the great day of Judgment You will be an honor to them before the Lord and his Saints and Angels In Phil. 2. 16. Holding forth saith the text the Word of Life This is the duty of all the hearers of the Word that they must hold forth the Word of Life When you go home you must hold forth the power of the Word you hear well what wil become of that That I may rejoyce in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain neither labored in vain Let that be one Motive amongst the rest Saith the Apostle This will be such a glory to me That I in the day if Iesus Christ shall rejoyce that I have not labored in vain I shal bless God for all my studies and care and all the pains that ever I have taken and venturing my self for this people I shall bless God in the day of Jesus Christ Would it not be a comfortable thing to you that all the Ministers of God that come to preach the Word saithfully to you if at the day of Christ you should hear them blessing God that ever he did send them to preach the Gospel in such a place and you should hear them saying O Lord it may be had I been sent to another place I should have spent all my strength in vain but through thy mercy I was sent to a teachable people that were ready to imbrace thy Word Oh! this is my crown and glory Would it not do good to any whose hearts are faithful to think this That their holding froth the Word of Life will not only be a glory to God which is the chief but it will be a glory to the Ministers to recompence all their labors that you shall not only be saved your selves in the day of Jesus Christ but you shall add to the glory of his faithful Ministers likwise when they do appear before Christ 5. I shall add one particular more There is a time coming when God shall magnifie his word and make it honorable What a joy shall it be to thee when the Lord before Men and Angels shall come to magnifie his Word and make it honorable for thee then to think This is the Word that spoke to my heart at such and such a time this is that Word that I did reverence that I did obey that I did love that I made to be the joy of my heart this Word the Lord now doth magnifie and make to be honorable This will be comfortable to thy soul THE ELEVENTH SERMON Leviticus 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me THE last day we finished the Point fanctification of the Name of God in the hearing of his Word and now we will proceed to the sanctification of the Name of God in receiving the Sacrament That 's the next duty of Worship Now first for the word Sacrament I confess we have not that word in all the Scripture as neither have we the word Trinity and divers other words which Ministers make use of to set forth the Mysteries of Religion by but yet it is usefull to consider the meaning why Ministers in the Church have given this name unto those sings and seals that the Church receives Sacrament is to hallow a thing or to dedicate because in the Sacraments there are outward things that are made holy for holy and spirituall ends Secondly We our selves do as it where hallow or dedicate our selves unto God in the vse of these Ordinances That one reason from whence it hath the name Or otherwise as some will have it Sacramentum because it is to be received sacrament with a holy mind and therefore caled the Sacrament The Churches have vsed it a long time in Tertulliar's time which was above fourteen hundred years since he was the first that we find vsed this word and most that would open the word unto us say that especially it was taken from the practice of Solders who when they came listed themselves bound themselves in to a solemn Oath to be faithfull to their Captain and to the cause that they did undertake and the Oath they were wount to call Sacramentum A Sacrament Now in regard that Christians when they come to this Ordinance they come to seale a Covenant with God and though they do not formally and explicitely take an Oath yet they bind themselves in a holy Covenant which hath the strength even of an Oath in it For a solemn Promise to the high God hath the strength of an Oath in it and from thence they were call'd by these names Srcraments but that for the Word that you may understand it But the word the Scripture useth to set out this Sacrament by that that now I am speaking of is the communion of the body and blood of Christ so you have it in 1 Cor. 10. 6. The cup of blessing which we bless is it not Communion of the blood of Christ The bread which we break is it not the Communion of the body of Christ I say we are now treating about this point how we are to sanctifie the Name of God in that which the Scripture cals the Communion of the body and blood of Christ And now for the opening of that First we must know that this is a part of the Worship of God and we draw nigh to God in this or otherwise it will not come up to our point And then we shall shew that God is to be sanctified in this duty of worship And then thirdly how First We do in this draw nigh to God We worship God For when we are coming to receive these holy Signs and Seals we come to present our selves before God and we have to deale with God Himself in a service that He Himself requires of us in a Holy in a Divine service we come to present our selvess to God for blessing for communication of some higher good unto us than pobssily those Creatures that we have to deal with are able of themselves to convey to us we come for a higher good than to tast a pece of bread or to drink a draught of wine we come I say to present our selves to God that we might have Communion with him and that we might have the blessing of the Covenant of grace conveyed unto us through these things now certainly this is a drawing nigh to God for to present our selves for the conveyance of the blessing of the Covenant of Grace through these Creatures yea that we might have communion with God himself in them this is drawing nigh to him when we come to his Table therefore we draw nigh to God had not God instituted and appointed these Creatures Bread and Wine and the actions about them to be the means of conveyance of blessing unto us it had been Will-worship for us to have expected any further presence of God in such creatures than there is in the
keep Covenant on his part but it may be we shall not keep Covenant on ours and so we may fail at last but now when thou lookest upon all the good things in the Gospel dispensed in the way of a Testament that is the Will of God the Legacies that God doth bequeath to his Servants this is a mighty comfort to the foul that all the precious things of the Gospel come to me in the way of a Testament and that 's the meaning of the new Testament that is the mercies of God in Christ coming now in the way of another administration than they did before 't is not only new in respect of the Covenant of Works that God made with Adam but new in respect of the administration our fore-fathers the Patriarchs they had the same things in substance but administred in a darker way and many differences there are but now when we hear of the new Testament there is presented unto us all the riches of the Covenant of grace in the way of a Legacy and in the administration of it with cleerness and with a great deal of mercy and goodness of God the terror and harshness of the old administration being taken away Now these are the meditations by which we should labor to sanctifie our hearts when we are receiving of the Sacrament and in the working of these meditations upon our hearts we shal come to sanctifie the Name of God when we are drawing nigh to him in that holy Ordinance of his thus for Meditation The next thing when we are there must be an actuating of these holy dispositions that before we spake of 't is not enough for a Christian to bring grace to the Sacrament but there must be a stirring of that Grace at that time or otherwise the Name of God is not sanctified in receiving of the Sacrament and above al graces the actuating of the grace of faith 't is not enough that thou beest a Beleever but thy faith must act at that very instant as thus First When thou hearest the Minister in the Name of Christ say thus This is the Body of Jesus Christ which was given for you take eat thou shouldest have thy faith so acting upon the mercy of God in giving Jesus Christ for the nourishment of thy soul to eternal life as if thou didst hear a voyce from Heaven saying Here is the Body of my Son given for thee particularly take it and eat apply it to thee and so make Christ one with thee by faith as the Bread is made one with thy Body when thou doest eat it And then when thou comest to take hold of the Bread thou art to put forth the act of faith faith being as the hand of the soul and at that instant when thou takest the Bread and puttest it into thy mouth to eat thou shouldest stir up the act of faith afresh laying more hold upon Jesus Christ look as once thou didst in thy first conversion when Christ was presented to thee in the Word or in any other way there was an act of faith drawn forth whereby thy soul did cast it self and roul it self upon Jesus Christ so shouldest thou renew it renew the same work of faith that thou didst find in the very first conversion and therby thou shalt come to have renewed comfort in the renewing of that act I might name thee other graces and dispositions how there should be a stirring and an acting of them only remember I leave all this Point with this Note That grace is not enough for partaking the Sacrament of the Lords Supper except there be an acting and a stirring up of that grace many Christians are careful to prepare and examine before whether they have grace or no but at that time when they come to receive then there is not a lively working and stirring of that grace and so they come to lose the comfort and benefit of that Ordinance Thus much shall suffice for this point of sanctifying Gods Name in receiving the holy Communion I shall now come to the last Point which is the Sanctifying the Name of God in Prayer Sanctifying the Name of God in Prayer NOW this Argument might take us up many Sermons but upon occasion of the Daies of Prayer and Hmiliation I have preached divers Sermons about the Point of Prayer therefore I shall be brief and only now reckon up together and set before your view the several things that are to be done for the Sanctifying of the Name of God in Prayer First for Prayer in that we draw nigh to God and it 's a duty of Gods Worship that I suppose all of you cannot but acknowledg that it is a natural duty of Worship the other was instituted but this is natural it 's natural for the creature to draw nigh to God in Prayer wherein the creature tenders up his homage to God and manifests his profession of his dependance upon God for all good that he hath and acknowledges God as the Author of all good therefore this is Worship and it 's a great part of Worship Prayer it is such a part of Worship as sometimes in Scripture it 's put for the whol Worship of God He that calls upon the Name of God shall be saved that is He that worships God aright Jer. 10. 25. And Powr out thy wrath upon the Heathen that know thee not and on the Families that call not on thy Name that do not pray that is that do not worship thee There one part of Worship is put for the whol as being a principal part of the Worship of God Surely we must sanctifie Gods Name in Prayer for it is that which sanctifies all things to us 1 Tim. 4. 5. Every thing is sanctified by the Word of God and Prayer And if the Argument of Christ was right as no question but it was That the Temple was greater than the Gold upon the Temple because the Temple did sanctifie the Gold And the Altar was greater than the Offering that was offered upon it because it did sanctifie the Offering then Prayer must needs be a mighty great Ordinance a greater than any other because that it sanctifies all things The Word sanctifies the Creatures but Prayer sanctifies the very Word unto our use and therefore when we reade the Word we are to pray for a sanctified use of the Word Prayer is a great Ordinance a great Duty of Worship that sanctifies all Prayer hath a casting voyce as I may so say in all the great works of God in the world the great affairs of the Kingdom of God the Kingdom of his Power and the Kingdom of Christ I say Prayer hath a kind of a casting voyce and doth order under God the great things of the world they are according to the prayers of the Saints they bring down blessings upon the godly they powr forth judgments upon the wicked the prayers of the Saints they are the viols that are powred forth in a special manner