his Ordinances carelesly and negligently they grieve God's Holy Spirit provoke him to leave and forsake them to give them up to hardness of Heart and a reprobate Mind Isa 29.13 14. Forasmuch as this People Says the Prophet draw near me with their mouth and with their lips do honour me but have remov'd their heart far from me therefore behold I will proceed to do a marvellous work and a wonder for the Wisdom of their wise Men shall perish and the understanding of their prudent Men shall be hid God doth not now always punish Prophaneness and Coldness in our Devotions with temporal Evils and sickness in the Body as formerly in the Primitive Church But he has exchang'd them for such as are far more dreadful such as endanger the Soul and take away the spiritual Life of a Christian Every unsanctify'd approach which we make unto him renders us more cold and indifferent in our Devotions till at last iâ— leads us by degrees into open Prophaneness and Atheism Let therefore every one who desires to receive the blessed Influences of God's holy Spirit and that his Soul may be a Temple fitted and prepared for him to dwell in Let him I say first cleanse his Heart by a due and strict Examination of himself and a serious and hearty Repentance for the Errors of his ways Let him thus keep his feet before he goes into the House of God i. e. observe what Paths he has walked in how the Affections of his Soul are fitted and dispos'd to partake of these holy Ordinances Lastly Whilst we are going towards the House of God let us entertain our selves with such Meditations as these Let us consider the Glorious Majesty of that God before whom we are going to appear that he is the great Creator Preserver and Governour of the World who humbles himself to look down upon the Sons of Men being exalted above all Praise and exceedingly Happy and Glorious above all that we can conceive and think 'T is this God who grants us Audience and vouchsafes us the Favour of making our Addresses unto him Let us consider also our own Vileness and Sinfulness how unworthy we are of so great Favours and hereby raise up in our Souls that humble Awe and devout Reverence of the Supream Being Levit. 26.2 which is requir'd of every one who Worships God Thus the devout Cornelius tells Peter That he and all the rest were present before God Acts 10.23 to hear all things which were commanded them by God i. e. they had considered with themselves who it was that was to speak to them and that the words they were to hear were not the words of Peter a frail sinful Man like themselves but the words of God Thus before we present our Petitions unto God we are commanded to consider that God is in Heaven and we on Earth i. e. that there is an infinite Distance between the Creator and his poor Creature that he is the most Perfect the most Glorious and the most Holy Being but we only dust and ashes vile Earth and miserable Sinners vile we are in our own Nature but we have made our selves much more so by our manifold Sins and repeated Transgressions When therefore we approach the Holy Temple of the Lord Let us say thus within our selves Gen. 28.17 How dreadful is this place this is certainly the place where the Lord dwells I am now going to the House of God to appear before the Lord Almighty who has my Soul in his hand and the breath of my Nostrils at his disposal in whom I live and move and have my Being I am drawing near to the King of Heaven and Earth to present my self before his Face to pay him my Homage and to make him the Tenders of my bounden Duty and Service Let me therefore put my Mind into such a devout Frame as he will accept of and take Care that I behave my self with Reverence Decency and Devotion And now having brought you to the Temple I proceed to shew 2. How we ought to demean our selves when we enter into the House of God and whilst we are performing the Duties of Religion And here I am to consider 1. The Frame and Disposition of our Souls Joh. 41.24 2. The Gesture of our Bodies God is a Spirit and will be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth i. e. requires principally and in the first place the Worship of our Souls and then that of our Bodies Now to a due worshipping God with our Souls there are requir'd these three things I. Attention of our Minds to the Duty we are about II. The Intention and Ardency of the Affectons III. The Consent of our Wills and their Conformity to the Divine Will and Pleasure 1. If we would offer up unto God an acceptable Service our Minds must be attentive to the Duty we are about whilst we are praying to God for those Blessings we stand in need of or praising him for those we have received we must either be meditating on the God we Worship or the thing we desire or praise him for For since Worship is the Acknowledgment of those Excellencies and Perfections which are in the Divine Nature 't is impossible we should have any serious Sense or make any due Acknowledgment of these Perfections unless we keep our Minds intent upon them We may as well commend the beauty of an Object we never saw and be taken with that Musick we never heard as admire and acknowledge those Excellencies we never thought on or consider'd For to serve God with our Mouths when our Thoughts are wandring some where else and employ'd about some other Business is but Lip-Worship at the best a Sacrifice without an heart which God will utterly detest and abhor 'T is therefore one of the principal Devices of the Devil 2 Cor. 2.11 of which we ought not to be ignorant to excite and stir up vain Thoughts in our Minds during the time of Divine Worship to divert them upon worldly and sinful Objects and hereby to deprive us of that Benefit we might otherwise obtain by a due and conscientious performance of these Duties And therefore it ought to be the Care of all good Christians to stand continually upon their Guard to bear a strict Eye over their Hearts and as soon as ever they find any vain and sinful Thoughts spring up in their Minds to cast them out To restrain and bring back their wandering Thoughts and never to make them their own by consenting to them or dwelling upon them Some Men are more addicted to roving and volatile Thoughts than others are from their natural Temper and Constitution and therefore are not so blameable for that which they cannot help But 't is then only they are faulty when their Will closes with them when they do not make Use of the most proper means to prevent them i. e. A due and conscientious Preparation of their Hearts for Religious Duties then do
dii Charior est illis homo quam sibi Which is as much as to say Commit thy self and all thy Concerns to Divine Providence let him determine what is most convenient for thee what is most requisite in the Course of thy Affairs for God loves Man better than Man loves himself and doth him good oftentimes against his Will and though he denies him those things which are grateful and acceptable to his fleshly Appetites and Desires to his carnal Lusts and inordinate Passions yet he gives him other Blessings which are more wholsome and more profitable to him Thus a careful Physician prescribes safe and beneficial though unpalatable Medicines to his diseas'd Patient and thus God deals with Mankind mercifully and bountifully and frequently denies his Requests and Prayers out of Kindness to him that he may furnish him with those things which are more safe and more convenient for him This is an useful Lesson and to be learn'd from St. Paul's Experience as 't is contain'd in the Text and the two preceding Verses Least says he I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of Revelation there was given unto me a thorn in the Flesh the Messenger of Satan to buffet me lest I should be exalted above measure For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me And he said unto me my Grace is sufficient for thee So that the words of the Text are an Answer to St. Paul's Prayer wherein God instead of delivering him from the buffeting of Satan which was the thing he pray'd for Promises to give him his Grace to endure it which would be far more commodious and advantageous to him My Grace is sufficient for thee That I may Discourse with the greater Profit upon these words I shall consider I. What it is which God Promises His Grace II. The measure and proportion of it Such as should be sufficient III. The Person to whom it was promis'd to the Apostle St. Paul My Grace is sufficient for thee As if God should have said thus unto him I will not answer thy Requests in exempting thee from thy manifold Troubles and Afflictions but least thou shouldest be opprest by them I will give thee what is more expedient for thee to wit my Grace which is sufficient for thee 1. What it is which God Promises viz. his Grace Which taken in the general denotes the Power and Efficacy of the Holy Spirit renewing the Soul to the Image of God and continually strengthning and guiding it in Obedience to his Will Now from the same Spirit proceeds Diversity of Grace there is Gratia gratis data or the miraculous Unction of the Holy Ghost whereby to one is given the Gift of Miracles to another speaking with Tongues to a third Prophecying but this is not the Grace meant in the Text 1 Cor. 10.12 for this was communicated to wicked as well as to good Men to Balaâ—â— and Saul and Caiphas and Judas as well as to the rest of the Apostles this was the occasion of tempting St. Paul to the Sin of Pride of which he speaks in the Verses before the Text. And those excellent Gifts and Endowments with which this Apostle was furnish'd tended to puff him up and expos'd him to the Buffettings and Temptations of the Devil But that Grace which upheld and strengthned him and was sufficient for him was what the School-men call Gratia gratum faciens or the Grace of Life Such as are all the saving Gifts and Graces of the Spirit which are wrought by his Help and Assistance in the hearts of Believers such as Faith Hope Charity Purity Humility and all other gracious Habits of the Mind which the Apostle calls the fruit of the Spirit and wherein the Image of God the Power of Godliness and the Spirit of Christianity do truly consist Eph. 1.6 This is that Grace which renders us acceptable unto God and is in effect eternal Life unto us This is that Grace which is best describ'd by its Effects Rom. 6.23 Which illuminates our Vnderstandings teaches us those things we know not 1 Joh. 2.27 and brings us to the Knowledge of the Truth this renews the Image of God in our Souls governs our perverse Wills and Affections Counsels and Actions God's holy Spirit leading guiding and directing us in all our ways Rom. 8.14 this unites us unto Christ our Head Comforts us in all our Affliction and Distress whether of Body or Soul and therefore the holy Spirit is call'd the Comforter Joh. 15.26 Psal 45.8 and the Oyl of Gladness And lastly It helps us in all our Streights and Supports us in times of the greatest Distress and Extremity it keeps us from despairing of God's Mercy when we consider our manifold Sins and Transgressions or from questioning his Providence because of our Miseries and from back-sliding and falling off from Christ for fear of Danger or any other worldly Respects In short it enables us to do all things Phil. 4.13 which God requires of us through Christ that strengthens us Which brings me to the 2. Observable in the Text. The measure and proportion of this Grace 't is such as is sufficient to enable us to undergo whatsoever God shall please to lay upon us My Grace is sufficient for thee 1 Thes 5.23 For since that God who gives this Grace is in himself All-sufficient therefore there is no question but that the Assistance which he affords will be sufficient to bring about those Ends for which he gave it God's Grace sanctifies all the Faculties of our Souls all the Powers of our Body it is sufficient in every State and Condition of Life it cheers us in Adversity it restrains us in Prosperity not suffering us either to be puft up with the one or to droop under the Burthen of the other It is a sufficient Remedy against all Temptations and fortifies our Souls against all sorts of Batteries Eph. 6.12 When we are afflicted it tells us That our Sufferings here are not worthy to be compar'd with that eternal weight of Glory Rom. 8.18 which shall be reveal'd in us or if we abound in Blessings or in Gifts natural or supernatural it tells us from whence they came and to what end they were bestowed upon us that we must not hide these Talents in a Napkin or abuse the Grace of God unto Wantonness but promote as much as in us lies the Glory of God the good of our Neighbour and the eternal Welfare of our own Souls Tho' we offer up our Prayers to God without present Returns or apparent Success it tells us That God forbears to give us those good things we ask for that he may try our Patience and Perseverance and since he doth not see it expedient to grant them therefore 't is our Duty to wait the Determination of his good Pleasure Again God's Grace is sufficient for all Persons our heavenly Father is so merciful that he shines
not all the presumptuous Sins you ever committed in your Life-time begin in your Heart were they not forg'd and contriv'd there And how can you tell but that the Allowance of one wicked Thought may be the Rise of the most villanous Act No Man was ever wicked all of a sudden The Sinner at first is timorous and bashful and goes on by Degrees till at last he arrives at the highest Pitch of hardness and Impenitency Many a Man there is who thinks it can be no heinous Offence to cast a covetous Eye on other Mens Goods or a wanton Look on his Neighbours Wife and yet whosoever doth not restrain these evil Affections of his Mind will soon lie under an unavoidable Temptation to commit the grosser Acts of Theft and Adultery for if we allow our selves in the lighter Breaches of our Duty we shall soon come to think every Sin to be so and wicked Thoughts harbour'd and encouraged will produce wicked Actions Had David at first suppress'd his lustful Thoughts after the Wife of Vriah he had never added the Murder of the Husband to Adultery with the Wife but when once he gave way to sinful Thoughts this Man after God's own Heart this holy Prophet as well as great King was born down the Stream of his vicious Inclinations and committed the vilest Acts of the most presumptuous Sins Consider therefore with thy self that though a vain and wicked Thought is a Sin of Infirmity when it enters into our Mind without our Consent and Approbation yet we shall very much encrease the Guilt when we allow our selves in it and it may prove very dangerous to our eternal Welfare 4. If sinful Thoughts still press into our Minds divert them to some holy Meditation and take this hint of bending your Thoughts to the contrary Duty Thus if you are tempted to plot and contrive the Commission of any Sin make this the Occasion of fortifying and strengthning your Resolutions against the Commission of that very Sin of considering its evil Nature and dangerous Consequences and hereby encrease your Hatred and Detestation of it Are the sinful Pleasures which you have formerly enjoy'd represented to your Fansie Let the Remembrance of them renew your Sorrow and Repentance for your disobedience to God's Law and the Breach of his Commandments and put you upon begging God's Grace and Assistance that for the time to come you may live more uprightly and unblameably Are you perplex'd and troubled with blasphemous and Atheistical Thoughts Fall presently on the Contemplation of the wonderful Works which he has made and the curious Operations of his hands consider this stupendious Fabrick of the World the infinite Variety and yet exact Order and due Subordination of Beings contained in it ask thy self what Power it was which first created it and still continues to preserve it which has furnish'd irrational Creatures with unerring Instincts that teaches the Bird to build its Nest the Spider to weave its Web look into the curious Frame and Composition of that lesser World thy own Body Psal 139.14 and behold there how fearfully and wonderfully thou art made And by such Contemplations as these affect thy Mind with a humble Awe and devout Reverence of God's Power and Majesty Are you tempted to Envy the Prosperity of your Neighbour Consider how many Gifts of God's Bounty you have receiv'd how much you enjoy more than you deserve and how unthankful and ungrateful you have been for those good things God has already given into your hands Are you given to lustful Thoughts Turn this strange Fire into a Holy Zeal for God's Glory Do presumptuous Thoughts rise up in your Heart Consider your former Sins and repeated Provocations against God and take occasion from hence to exercise your Humility Are you overwhelm'd with Despair Call to mind God's gracious Promises and admire his infinite Goodness who has given his only begotten Son and sent him into the World on Purpose to atone for your Sins and to accomplish the great Work of your Salvation and still makes you the Proffers of Pardon and Forgiveness by such Meditations as these you will imitate your heavenly Father in drawing Good out of Evil and make the Temptations of the Devil the occasion of promoting your eternal Welfare Nay if you thus resist the Devil he will flee from you James 4.7 his Assaults will be neither so frequent nor so furious when he finds they serve only to exercise your Graces and make you more watchful 5. Season thy Heart every Morning with some Holy Meditation Dedicate the First-fruits of thy Thoughts unto God How precious are thy Thoughts unto me O God says the Psalmist how great is the sum of them Psal 139.17 18. If I should count them they are more in number than the Sand When I wake I am still with thee The constant and serious Meditation on those great Motives to a Holy Life the Example of our Blessed Saviour the Torments of Hell the Joys of Heaven the certainty of Death the Terrors of Judgment if made the Subject of our Morning Meditations would be a Spring and Source of good Thoughts all the day long and produce in our Minds suitable Desires and Affections and to this End let us constantly read some Portion of the Holy Scripture This will be a Lamp to our feet Psal 119.115 and a light to our Paths it will both inform our Judgments what we ought to do and incline us to walk in the Way of God's Commandments 6. And lastly Let us beseech Almighty God that he would give us his Grace and enable us with the Assistance of his Holy Spirit to Keep our Hearts and govern our Desires and Affections And though this Duty is too difficult to be perform'd by our own Strength yet we may be assur'd that God will enable us to go through with it because he requires nothing of us which is not in our Power to perform He has promis'd Isa 42.3 That he will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking Flax but that he will encourage every Effort that we make towards a good and vertuous Life His Grace was never deny'd to any one who did but sincerely desire it and endeavour to render himself capable of receiving of it Luk. 6.38 To him that asks it shall be given not only what he prays for but also the larger Effusions of his Holy Spirit he often prevents our Prayers and is more ready to give than we are either to desire or receive And now what remains but that we being furnish'd with these Helps and assur'd of the Assistance of God's Holy Spirit immediately set upon the Practice of this Duty and endeavour with all Care and Diligence imaginable to keep a strict Watch over the Thoughts and Affections of our Hearts 'T is true this cannot be perform'd without much Pains and Industry but what Design which is either great and glorious useful and honourable can be compass'd
And here it may be seasonable to take notice of a dangerous Mistake which many of the Professors of Christianity are guilty of They pretend to have a deep and serious Sense what a weighty and solemn Duty the receiving the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is and 't is for this Reason that they forbear it because they think they are not sufficiently prepared for it and yet at the same time these very Men presume to come to the Church to address themselves unto God's Throne and hear his Holy Word without any Preparation at all as if the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was the only Duty of Religion which required Care in the performance of it Thus they are too nice and scrupulous on the one hand whilst they are too negligent and prophane on the other they wholly omit one Ordinance of God because they do not think themselves sufficiently prepared for it and lose the benefit of all the rest because they will not Prepare themselves at all For what other Reason can be given why Men who live so long under the most powerful Preaching of the Word of God Edifie so little by it why their Understandings are so little improv'd in Spiritual Matters and their Lives and Conversations so little better'd thereby but because they do not bring prepared Minds and good Dispositions along with them their Thoughts are taken up with worldly Affairs their Hearts are fill'd with corrupt Affections and many wicked and impure Spirits have taken Possession of their Souls and then no wonder that the Holy Spirit of God doth not take up his abode with them when they are not in a Capacity to give him any suitable Entertainment Some Preparation therefore is absolutely necessary to be made before we attend on the Publick Worship of God Which may be perform'd after this or such like manner Upon the Lord's Day or any other day Dedicated to the Publick Service of God and set apart from our private Employments to the more solemn Worship of our Creator as soon as ever we awake let our Souls be season'd with some holy and devout Meditation Let us consider that at the same time the Sun salutes our Eyes and refresheth our Bodies with his comfortable Beams Mal. 4.2 The sun of Righteousness doth arise with healing in his wings and makes us the Overtures of some peculiar Favours That this Day is set apart by the great God of Heaven and Earth to receive the Homage of his Vassals and to give them the Liberty of entring his Courts appearing before his Throne admiring his Excellencies adoring his Perfections celebrating his Praises and laying open their Wants before him and begging Supplies and that therefore 't is both our Duty and Interest to improve these Seasons of Grace to Prepare our selves to meet our God and not only to put our Bodies into a Decent and becoming Dress but to adorn our Souls with such Qualifications and Dispositions as are requisite for Poor sinful Men when they appear before the great Creator and Governour of the World And because the Preparations of the heart are from the Lord Prov. 16.1 it will be necessary to prostrate our selves before the Throne of his Grace and to beseech God Jam. 1.17 Who is the Author and Giver of every good and perfect Gift that he will inspire our Hearts with holy Dispositions and afford us the Assistance of his Holy Spirit to enable us to cast out of our Minds all vain and worldly Thoughts to subdue all Carnal and corrupt Affections and to offer up to him our Bodies and Souls a pure undefiled and acceptable Sacrifice That we may spend this day especially that part of it which iâ—â—edicated to God's immediate Service â—â—ter so Holy and Devout a manner as may promote our Spiritual Welfare and hereby Glorifie our Father which is in Heaven Matth. 5.16 Let us beseech Almighty God that his good Spirit may go along with us through all the Duties of the day and incite strengthen and confirm us in every good Work That he would teach us to Pray with Fervency and an holy Assurance that all our Requests which are conformable to the Will of God shall be granted us to hear his Word with Attention and firm Resolutions of performing whatsoever we are convinc'd is our Duty and to Praise him with gladness and cheerfulness of Soul with Hearts fill'd with the grateful Resentments of his Benefits and Loving kindness towards us In the next place let us read some Portion of the Holy Scripture and make this the Subject of our Meditation till the hour approaches when we are call'd upon to joyn with the Congregation in our Devotions and we hear the Summons to attend God's Publick Worship It will then be time to enter upon a more particular Consideration how we have pass'd the last Week how well we have perform'd those Resolutions which we have formerly taken up what Sins we have since been guilty of what good Duties we have omitted and that we should be sorry for these our Neglects and bewail our Mis-carriages and resolve that we will amend our Lives and never be guilty of the same Sins for the time to come but that we will walk more uprightly and more exactly in Obedience to all the Commands of God This is that Preparation of Soul which every one ought to make before he enters into the House of God For God will not be serv'd with unclean hands and an unsanctify'd heart he abhors even the most solemn Fasts of those Men who smite with the Fists of wickedness Isa 58.4 he expects that the sprinkling water should be sprinkled upon us 2 Cor. 7.1 and that we should cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit when we draw near unto him And wash our hands in innocency Psal 26.6 before we compass God's Altar Let us therefore never omit this Examination of our selves before we enter into God's House when we have time and opportunity so to do For tho' upon some sudden Emergencies all this Precaution is not to be us'd this Exactness of Preparation may be omitted and a general and habitual Preparation of Mind will suffice yet this will in no wise excuse the constant Neglect of this Duty nor take off the blame from those Men who live in the constant Omission of it for 't is highly reasonable to believe that Self-Examination is a Duty in some Degree as absolutely necessary to be perform'd before we attend God's Publick Worship as 't is before the receiving the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper Which Sacrament was anciently an Essential part of the Publick Worship of God tho' of late years it has been scandalously neglected And therefore as when Men come to the Table of the Lord without due Preparation 1 Cor. 11.29 they trample under feet Christ's holy Body and Blood and eat and drink Condemnation to themselves So when they frequent the House of God and attend upon