WORKS 
 
 of Tin; 
 
 ENGLISH PURITAN DIVINES 
 MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
i 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD; 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT ; THE SABBATH 
 
 THE PROMISES OF GOD; THE WORTH OF THE SOUL 
 
 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 BY / 
 
 MATTrtEW HENRY. 
 
 U/HI« OF AH MrOSlTlOK OK THE OLO AffO XEWT TKITAMBNT, »T«. 
 
 WI1H Lit H OF HBNBT BT 
 
 THE REV. JAMES HAMILTON, 
 
 lOOTOH CHURCH, B'S.KM' WJUAHK, LOKUOM. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 ROBERT CARTER, 58 CANAL ST 
 
 1848. 
 
10BIHT CK-klOHEAD. PRI!TT«B, 
 112 rULT05 8T1.XET 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 L Biographical Sketch, of Henry, 
 
 2 Funeral Sermons on the death, of the 
 
 Henry, .... 
 3. Daily Communion -with God, 
 4 Christianity no Sect, 
 
 5. A Church in the House • . 
 
 6. The Sahhath, 
 
 7. The promises of God. 
 a The worth of the Soul, 
 
 11 
 
 Rev. Matthew 
 
 % 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REV. MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. JAMES HAMILTON, LONDON, . 
 
 >UTHOR OV " LIFE IN EARNEST," " MOUNT OF OUTW," ETC. 
 
 The first Life of Matthew Henry was written by a friend 
 and cotemporary, the Rev. William Tong; and in the 
 present day, a collateral descendant has published in three 
 separate works, the Life of the Rev. Philip Henry, Memoirs 
 of the Rev. Matthew Henry, and Memoirs of his sisters, 
 Mrs. Savage and Mrs. Hulton. Never has biographer ful- 
 filled Ins task with more conscientious accuracy, more 
 affectionate enthusiasm, or a more delightful congeniality 
 of feeling, than Sir John Bickerton Williams. To his 
 volumes, or sources which he has indicated, we are indebted 
 for all our facts; and readers whose curiosity is in any 
 degree awakened by this slight notice, will find abundant 
 information in those faithful records, where the memory 
 of these worthies lives, and their very spirit breathes. 
 Their able and excellent biographer must accept our thanks 
 
12 
 
 LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 for the kind interest which he has shown, and the helj 
 he has rendered to the present undertaking. 
 
 In the reign of Charles I. there was an orchard at 
 Whitehall, and the keeper of it was John Henry, a Welsh- 
 man. His wife, Magdalen Rochdale, was a pious woman 
 w r ho took great pains with her children, and instructed them 
 carefully in " Perkins' Six Principles," and the other lesson- 
 books which preceded the Shorter Catechism. When dying, 
 she said, " My head is in heaven, and my heart is in heaven ; 
 it is but one step more, and I shall be there too." The 
 name of their only son was Philip. Having become a 
 thoughtful boy at Westminster school, and, at Oxford, under 
 such teachers as Owen and Goodwin, having grown into an 
 enlightened Christian and an accomplished divine, he became 
 a minister, and was settled in Worth enbury, a little parish 
 of Flintshire. 
 
 The playmate of princes — for Charles II. and James II. 
 were near his own age, and, when children, were often in his 
 father's house — a gainly suavity marked the demeanour 
 of Philip Henry all his days ; and the memories of his 
 boyhood mingled with the convictions of his manhood, 
 and, without diluting his creed, softened his spirit. When 
 a Presbyterian and a Puritan he still remembered White- 
 hall ; how he used to run and open the water-gate to 
 Archbishop Laud, and how his father took him to visit the 
 Primate in the Tower, and how the captive prelate gave him 
 some pieces of new money. He recollected the crowd which 
 assembled before the palace that dismal 30th of January, 
 when a king of England lost his head. And he treasured 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 13 
 
 up the keepsakes which the royal children had given him. 
 His father died a sturdy royalist ; and though he himself 
 loved the large Gospel and strict religion of the Common- 
 wealth, with a filial tenderness he always cherished these 
 personal recollections of the reign. 
 
 The people of Worthenbury were very few. Though a 
 popular preacher, Philip Henry never counted eighty com- 
 municants. And his parishioners were poor; they delved 
 and ploughed, and made the most of hungry little farms. 
 But though they were neither numerous nor learned, their 
 minister felt that they were sufficiently important to demand 
 his utmost pains. He visited and catechised them till he 
 diffused a goodly measure of Christian intelligence; he 
 took an affectionate and assiduous interest in all their 
 concerns, and by the amenity of his disposition as greatly 
 endeared himself as by the blameless elevation of his life 
 he commended the Gospel ; and, though destined for a small 
 and homely congregation, he laboured hard at his sermons. 
 Indeed this latter part of his work was hardly felt as a 
 labour. He had an instinct for sermon-making. To his 
 quaint and ingenious mind there was the same enjoyment 
 in a curious division, or a happy plan, which an enthusiastic 
 artist feels in sketching a novel subject or a striking group ; 
 and it was a treat to his methodical eye to see accumu- 
 lating in his cabinet piles of clear and evenly written 
 manuscript, and systems of pungent theology. 
 
 Few have surpassed Philip Henry in that trim anti- 
 thesis and exact alliteration which were so prized by our 
 ancestors. If it were asked, " What are the Promises ? " 
 the answer was, " Articles of the Covenant ; Breasts of Con- 
 
11 
 
 LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 solation ; Christian's Charter:" — and so on through all the 
 alphabet down to " Wells of Salvation ; 'Xceeding great and 
 precious ; Yea and Amen in Christ Jesus ; Zion's peculiar." 
 And even his common conversation shaped itself into 
 balanced sentences and proverbial maxims. " If I cannot 
 go to the house of God, I will go to the God of the 
 house." " Forced absence from God's ordinances, and forced 
 presence with wicked people, is a grievous burden to a 
 gracious soul." " Solitariness is no sign of sanctity. 
 Pest-houses stand alone, and yet are full of infectious 
 diseases." " There are two things we should beware of — 
 That we never be ashamed of the Gospel, and that we may 
 never be a shame to it." " There are three things, which, 
 if Christians do, they will find themselves mistaken: — If 
 they look for that in themselves which is to be had in 
 another, viz. righteousness; If they look for that in the law 
 which is to be had only in the Gospel, viz. mercy; If they 
 look for that on earth which is to be had only in heaven, 
 viz. perfection." In defiance of modern criticism, we own 
 a certain kindliness for this old-fashioned art; it has a 
 Hebrew look ; it reminds us of the alphabetic psalms, and 
 the " six things, yea seven" of Solomon. And we believe 
 that it has a deep root in nature — the love of alliteration 
 and antithesis being, in another form, the love of rhyme and 
 metre. We never see in an ancient garden, a box-tree 
 peacock, or a hemisphere of holly, but we feel a certain 
 pleasure; we cannot help admiring the obvious industry; 
 and we feel that they must have been a genial and gay- 
 hearted people who taught their evergreens to ramp like 
 lions, or flap their wings like crowing cocks. And, more 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 15 
 
 especially we feel that but for this grotesque beginning we 
 might never have arrived at the landscape gardens of later 
 times . Though they were the mere memorials of what amused 
 our fathers we could tolerate these conceits in Cyprus and yew, 
 but when we recollect that they were the first attempts at the 
 picturesque, and the commencement of modern elegance, we 
 view them with a deeper interest. Doubtless this alliterative 
 and antistrophic style was eventually overdone, and like 
 the Dutch gardener who locked up his apprentice in the 
 one summer-house because he had secured a thief in the 
 other, the later Puritans sacrificed everything to verbal 
 jingles and acrostic symmetry. But Philip Henry was a 
 scholar, and a man of vigorous intellect, and, in the sense 
 most signal, a man of God. Translated into the tamest 
 language his sayings would still be weighty ; but when we 
 reflect that to his peasant hearers their original terseness 
 answered all the purpose of an artificial memory, we not 
 only forgive but admire it. Many a good thought has 
 perished because it was not portable, and many a sermon 
 is forgotten because it is not memorable; but like seeds 
 with wings, the sayings of Philip Henry have floated far 
 and near, and like seeds with hooked prickles, his sermons 
 stuck to his most careless hearers. His tenacious words 
 took root, and it was his happiness to see not only scrip- 
 tural intelligence, but fervent and consistent piety spreading 
 amongst his parishioners. 
 
 When he had settled at Worthenbury, Mr. Philip Henly 
 sought in marriage the only daughter and heiress of Mr. 
 Matthews of Broad Oak. There was some demur on the 
 part of her father; he allowed that Mr. Henry was a 
 
16 
 
 LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 gentleman, a scholar, and an excellent preacher, but he was 
 a stranger, and they did not even know where he came from. 
 "True," said Miss Matthews, "but I know where he is 
 going, and I should like to go with him : " and she went. J 
 There is little recorded of her, except that she was very 
 kind-hearted, devout, and charitable, "and always well 
 satisfied with whatever God and her friends did for her." 
 Five of their six children grew up ; and when Bartholo- 
 mew-day banished Philip Henry from his pulpit and his 
 people, his wife's inheritance of Broad Oak supplied a 
 better home than was found by the families of most ejected 
 ministers. 
 
 Seldom has a scene of purer domestic happiness been 
 witnessed than the love of God and one another created 
 there. Ensconced in his well-furnished library, transcribing 
 into his folio common-place book choice sentences from 
 Cicero and Seneca, Augustine and Ambrose, Calvin and 
 Beza, Baxter and Caryl, or writing out courses of sermons 
 which he yet hoped to preach; the industrious divine 
 improved his abundant leisure. And whilst his partner 
 looked well to the ways of her household, the thriving 
 fields and tasteful garden proclaimed their united husbandry. 
 Standing hospitably by the way-side, their house received 
 frequent visits from the most renowned and godly men in 
 that vicinity, visits to which their children looked forward 
 with veneration and joy, and which left their long impres- 
 sion on youthful memories. And on all the inmates of the 
 family, the morning and evening worship told with hallow- 
 ing power. Seldom has this ordinance been observed so 
 sacredly, or rendered so delightful. Alluding to the words 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 17 
 
 chalked on plague-stricken houses, Philip Henry would say 
 " If the worship of God be not within, write ' Lord have 
 mercy upon us' on the door ; for a plague, a curse is there." 
 And as he deemed it so important, he laboured to make it 
 instructive and engaging to all. In the morning he arranged 
 it so that the bustle of the day should not infringe on it, and 
 in the evening so early that no little girl should be nodding 
 at the chapter, nor any drowsy servant yawning through the 
 prayer. " Better one away than all sleepy," he would say, \ 
 if occasionally obliged to begin before some absentee re- 
 turned ; but so much did the fear of God and affection for 
 the head of the household reign, that none were wilfully 
 missing. And with this " hem" around it the business of 
 each successive day was effectually kept from " ravelling." It 
 was his custom to expound a portion of Scripture, and he 
 encouraged his children to write notes of these familiar 
 explanations. Before they quitted the paternal roof each 
 of them had in this way secured in manuscript a copious 
 commentary on the Bible, which they treasured up as a 
 precious memorial of their happy early days, and their 
 heavenly-minded father. In the hands of his only son 
 these simple notes became the germ of the most popular 
 English commentary. — It is this son's history which we 
 ought to sketch ; but as the Broad Oak family was one, 
 and Matthew and his sisters not only loved one another 
 tenderly, but pursued the same solid and useful studies for 
 a long time together, we may for a few moments glance at 
 them. 
 
 Though younger than her brother, Sarah was the oldest 
 sister. When six or seven years of age her father taught 
 
 B 
 
L8 
 
 *-*B OF MATTHEW HEXRT. 
 
 her Hebrew, and among other good customs she early began 
 to take notes of sermons, so that before she reached her 
 threescore and ten she had many lair-written volumes — the 
 record of sweet Sabbaths and endeared solemnities. Married 
 to Mr. Savage, a substantial farmer, and a pious Tnsm } in 
 the abundance of a farm-house she found ample means for 
 indulging her charitable disposition, and whilst blessed by the 
 poor, to whose necessities she niinistered, she was beloved by 
 grateful friends, to whom her Christian composure and tender 
 sympathy made her a welcome visitor in seasons of anxiety 
 or sorrow. Through life she retained the bookish habits 
 which she acquired at Broad Oak, and found time to read a 
 great deal, and to copy for the use of her children many of 
 those Christian biographies which were then circulated in 
 manuscript, and not intended for the press. But her superior 
 understanding and elevated tastes did not disqualify her for 
 the more irksome duties of her station. She verified the 
 remark that " Educated persons excel in the meanest things, 
 and refined minds possess the most common sense." She 
 made all the better farmers wife for being Philip Henry's 
 daughter; and the main difference betwixt the cultivated 
 lady and the vulgar housewife was, that she did more things, 
 and did them better. In the morning she visited the dairy, 
 the kitchen, and the market, and then it seemed as if she 
 was all day alike in the parlour and the nursery. Besides 
 clothing her household she found time to make garments 
 for the poor ; and by lying down with a book beside her she 
 contrived to improve her mind, and read the works of 
 such theologians as Owen, and Flavel, and Howe. Like her 
 father, and most of the Puritans, she possessed a serene and 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 19 
 
 tranquil spirit, and during the forty years of her married 
 life was never known to lose her temper. Doubtless much 
 of her successful industry, as well as the quiet dignity of her 
 character, must he ascribed to this meek self-possession ; for 
 whilst her notable neighbours deemed it needful to screech 
 commands over all the house, and follow each blundering 
 menial in a perpetual fluster, the simplicity and forethought 
 of Mrs. Savage's directions saved a world of trouble, and all 
 things appeared to adjust and expedite themselves around 
 
 I her calm and gentle presence. Her new home was near her 
 parents, and, besides frequent visits, she was often getting a 
 word in season from the ready pen of her loving father. 
 "If you would keep warm in this cold season, (January 1692,) 
 take these four directions: — 1. Get into the Sun. Under 
 his blessed beams there are warmth and comfort. 2. Go 
 near the fire. ' Is not my Word like fire ? ' How many 
 cheering passages are there ! 3. Keep in motion and action 
 — stirring up the grace and gift of God that is in you. 
 
 | 4. And seek Christian converse and communion. 'How 
 can one be warm alone V " Along with the piety of her father 
 she inherited much of his observant eye and spiritual mind ; 
 and many of her remarks are not only striking in themselves, 
 but derive a charm from the little things which first sug- 
 gested them: — "Seeing other creatures clean and white in 
 the same place where the swine were all over mire, I 
 thought it did represent good and bad men in the same 
 place ; the one defiled by the same temptations which the 
 other escape through the grace of God and watchfulness. 1 ' 
 " I was affected lately when I saw our newly-sown garden, 
 which we had secured so carefully, as we thought, from 
 
20 LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 fowls, and had closely covered it, yet receive as much hurt 
 by the unseen mole, which roots up and destroys. Lord 
 ^rant this be not the case of my poor soul ! Many good 
 fceeds are sown. Line upon line. Daily hearing or reading 
 some good truths. And, by the grace of God, with my good 
 education, I have been kept from many outward sins ; but I 
 have great reason to fear the unseen mole of heart-corruption 
 pride, covetousness. These work secretly but dangerously , 
 Lord, do thou undertake for me." " The coals coming to the 
 fire with ice upon them at first seemed as though they would 
 put out the fire, but afterwards they made it burn more 
 fiercely : I had this meditation, — It is often so with me 
 That which seems against me is really for me. Have not 
 afflictions worked for my good ? Sometimes I have gone 
 to an ordinance, as these coals to the fire, all cold and 
 frozen, and there I have been melted. My love and 
 desire have been inflamed. That it hath not oftener been 
 so has been my own fault." But no extract from her jour- 
 nals can set in a more interesting light this admirable wo- 
 man than the following lines recording the death of her only 
 surviving son. — " 1721, Feb. 15. My dear Philip was seized 
 with the fatal distemper, the small-pox. Many, many 
 fervent prayers were put up for him, both in closets and 
 congregations ; but on Monday," Feb. 27, between one and 
 two o'clock, he breathed his last ;— the blessed spirit took 
 wing, I trust, to the world of everlasting rest and joy. The 
 desire of our eyes, concerning whom we were ready to say, 
 ' This son shall comfort us ;' once all our joy, now all our tears. 
 Near twenty-two years of age, he was just beginning to ap- 
 pear in public business, sober and pious. A true lover of 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 21 
 
 his friends, of whom he said on his death-bed, ' I lay them 
 down as I do my body, in hope to meet again every way 
 better.' ... I do not think the worse of God, or of prayer, for 
 this dispensation ; yet, sometimes I am much oppressed. I 
 find that deceit lies in generals. How often have I in word 
 and in tongue given up and devoted my all — yoke-fellow, 
 children, estate — and all without mental reservation. And 
 now, when God comes to try me in but one dear comfort, 
 with what difficulty can I part with him ! Oh this wicked 
 heart ! Lord, I am thine. Though thou shouldst strip me 
 of all my children, and of all my comforts here, yet if thou 
 give me thyself, and clear up to me my interest in the ever- 
 lasting covenant, it is enough. That blessed covenant has 
 enough in it to gild the most gloomy dispensation of Provi- 
 dence. I have condoling letters daily from my friends. 
 Their words, indeed, do reach my case, but cannot reach my 
 heart." 
 
 The second sister was Catharine, who became the wife 
 of Dr. Tylston, a pious physician in Chester ; but we have 
 failed in obtaining any farther information regarding her. 
 
 The third was Eleanor. Her gracious disposition was 
 easily seen through all the timidity and diffidence of her 
 retiring nature ; and after her death her private papers ex- 
 hibited the same anxiety to cultivate heart religion, and to 
 grow in knowledge, which distinguished all her family. 
 Like her youngest sister, she was married to a tradesman 
 in Chester, and then took the name of Radford. 
 Ij That youngest sister was Ann. The sweetness of her 
 \ temper, and her aptitude for learning, made her a special 
 I favourite with her father, and he used to call his Nancy 
 
22 LIFE OF MATTHEW HEXRY. 
 
 "the diamond in his ring." As she grew up, her early 
 dispositions took the form of a cheerful activity and oblig- 
 ingness, which exceedingly endeared her to her friends, 
 whilst her happy and contented piety was constantly re- 
 minding them that wisdom's ways are pleasantness. She 
 used to spend much of the Sabbath in singing psalms of 
 praise ; and the kindliness of her nature, and her loving con- 
 fidence in the goodness of the Lord, made her visits a pecu- 
 liar comfort in the house of mourning. And, lest God's 
 mercies should slip out of memory, she used to mark them 
 down. The following is one list of " Family Mercies." — 
 "The house preserved from fire, June 1690; the family 
 begun to be built up ; children preserved from the perils of 
 infancy. Two of my near relations' children taken oft 
 quickly by death; mine of the same age spared, March 
 1693. One child of a dear friend burnt to death; another 
 neighbour's child drowned lately ; yet mine preserved. One 
 of the children preserved from a dangerous fall down a pair 
 of stairs into the street ; the recovery of both of them from 
 the small-pox, May 1695. Both recovered from a malig- 
 nant fever when they had been given up ; at the same time 
 two servants brought low by it, yet raised up. Ourselves 
 preserved from the same distemper, when two dear relations, 
 mother and daughter, fell by it. Wonder of mercy not to 
 be forgotten." It was of this fever, and within a few weeks 
 of one another, that Mrs. Hutton and her sister Radford 
 died, in 1697. It was a time of heavy trial in a once happy 
 circle, for their venerated father had died the year before. 
 " Yet God is good," was the dying testimony of this 
 meek believer, and she entreated that none would think the 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 S3 
 
 worse of family religion for the afflictions which had fol- 
 lowed so fast on them. " I am not weary of living, but I 
 am weary of sinning. I would live as Christ lives, and 
 where Christ lives, and that I am sure will he heaven." 
 
 This was the pious family in which Matthew Henry 
 was born. Of these intelligent and affectionate sisters he 
 was the only brother, and of those godly parents he was the 
 eldest surviving child. He was born at Broad Oak, Oct. 
 18, 1662. 
 
 When three years old it is said that he could read the 
 Bible distinctly, and he early showed a strong passion for 
 books. Lest he should injurs his health by excessive ap- 
 plication; his mother was frequently obliged to drag the 
 little student from his closet, and chase him out into the 
 fields. He had for his tutor Mr. Turner, a young man who 
 then lived at Broad Oak, and who afterwards published a 
 folio volume of "Remarkable Providences;" but whether 
 Mr. Turner had then acquired his taste for extraordinary nar- 
 ratives, or whether the imagination of his pupil was inflamed 
 by their recital, we cannot tell. There is no love of the 
 marvellous in his writings. But in the formation of his 
 character, and the direction of his studies, by far the most 
 influential element was veneration for his learned and 
 saintly sire. The father's devotion and industry inspired 
 the son. And surely this was as it ought to be. Though 
 love to a pious father is not piety, yet with the children of 
 the godly the fifth commandment has often proved the 
 portico and gateway to the first ; and perhaps theirs is the 
 most scriptural devotion whose first warm feelings towards 
 their " Father who is in heaven," mingle with tender memo- 
 
24 
 
 LIFE OP MATTHEW HEXRT. 
 
 ries of their father that was on earth. No character could 
 be more impressive than Philip Henry's, no spirit more 
 impressible than that of Philip Henry's son. Till an up- 
 grown lad he was in his father's constant company. He 
 witnessed the holy elevation and cheerful serenity of his 
 blameless life. He was aware how much his father prayed 
 in secret, and besides occasional sermons, he heard his daily 
 expositions and exhortations at the worship of the family. 
 And from what he saw, as much as from what he heard, 
 the conviction grew with his growth, that of all things the 
 most amiable and august is true religion, and of all lives 
 the most blessed is a walk with God. A hallowed sunshine 
 irradiated Broad Oak all the week ; but like rays in a focus, 
 through the Sabbath atmosphere every peaceful feeling and 
 heavenly influence fell in sacred and softening intensity. 
 On these days of the Son of man, the thoughtful boy was 
 often remarkably solemnized ; and when the services of the 
 sanctuary were over, would haste to his little chamber to 
 weep and pray, and could scarcely be prevailed on to come 
 down and share the family meal. On one of these occa- 
 sions his father had preached on the grain of mustard-seed, 
 and, wistful to possess this precious germ, he took the op- 
 portunity of a walk with his father to tell his fears and 
 anxieties about himself, The conversation is not recorded, 
 but he afterwards told his confidante, his sister, that he 
 hoped he too had received a "grain of grace/' and that in time 
 it might come to something. With his young sisters he held 
 a little prayer-meeting on the Saturday afternoons; and 
 amid the sequestered sanctity of their peaceful home, and 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 25 
 
 under the loving eye and wise instruction of their tender 
 parents, these olive plants grew round about the table. 
 
 As we have already noticed, the learning and religious 
 experience of Philip Henry drew to his house many of his 
 most renowned cotemporaries ; such as the quaint and lively 
 Richard Steel ; the venerable Francis Tallents ; the accom- 
 plished but extremely modest John Meldrum of Newport, 
 after whose funeral Mr. Henry said, " The relics of so much 
 learning, piety, and humility, I have not seen this great while 
 laid in a grave ;" William Cook, " an aged, painful, faithful 
 minister," at Chester, so absorbed in study and in communion 
 with a better country that he scarce ever adverted to any of 
 the things around him ; and Edward Lawrence, whose em- 
 phatic counsels, e.g. " Tremble to borrow twopence," " Make 
 no man angry or sad," did not sink so deep into the memories 
 of his own motherless children as into those of their happier 
 companions at Broad Oak. On a mind so pious and rever- 
 erential as was that of the younger Henry, the sight and 
 conversations of so many distinguished ministers produced 
 a strong impression ; and, united to his natural gravity and 
 studiousness, predisposed himself for the ministry. It was 
 his great delight to be in their society, or in the company of 
 warm-hearted Christians, listening to their discourse, or 
 essaying to join in it. He inherited all his father's af- 
 fection for the Bible, doting over its every sentence with 
 curious avidity, and treasuring up its sayings in his heart. 
 And having long practised the transcription of sermons, 
 anon he began to make them. 
 
 At the age of eighteen his father took him to the academy 
 of Mr. Doolittl© at Hackney. The journey on horseback 
 
2G 
 
 LIFE OF MATTTIEW HENRY. 
 
 was effected in five days. On arriving at London he writes, 
 " I never saw so many coaches. If I should say we saw 
 somewhat above a hundred after we came into the town 
 I should speak within compass." The following extract from 
 his first letter to his sisters gives a glimpse of the state of 
 non- conforming churches in London in the year 1680, and 
 presents the young student in an interesting point of view. 
 
 " On Saturday my father went to Islington, and I went 
 to cousin Hotchkiss and Mr. Church's. Mr. Church came 
 with us to see first Bedlam and then the monument. The 
 monument is almost like a spire steeple, set up in the place 
 where the great fire began. It is 345 steps high, and thence 
 we had a sight of the whole city. Yesterday we went to 
 Mr. Doolittle's meeting-place ; his church I may call it, for 
 I believe there is many a church that will not hold so 
 many people. There are several galleries ; it is all pewed ; 
 and a brave pulpit, a great height above the people. They be- 
 gan between nine and ten in the morning, and after the sing- 
 ing of a psalm, Mr. Doolittle first prayed and then preached, 
 and that was all. His text was Jer. xvii. 9. In the afternoon 
 my father preached on Lam. iii. 22, at the same place. Indeed, 
 Mr. Lawrence told him at first he must not come to London 
 to be idle ; and they are resolved he shall not ; for he is to 
 preach the two next Sabbaths, I believe, at Mr. Steel's and 
 Mr. Lawrence's. On Sabbath-day night about five o'clock, 
 cousin Robert and I went to another place and heard, I can- 
 not say another sermon, but a piece of another, by a very 
 young man, one Mr. Shower, and a most excellent sermon 
 it was, on the evil of sin. The truth was we could scarce 
 get any room, it was so crowded. 
 
LIFE OP MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 27 
 
 " This morning we went to Islington, where I saw the 
 place we are like to abide in, and do perceive our rooms are 
 like to be very strait and little ; that Mr. Doolittle is very 
 studious and diligent, and that Mrs. Doolittle and her 
 daughter are very fine and gallant. 
 
 " Dear sisters, I am almost ever thinking of you and 
 home ; but dare scarce entertain a thought of returning, 
 lest it discompose me. I find it a great change. 
 
 " Pray do not forget me in your thoughts, nor in your 
 prayers, but remember me in both. So commending you 
 all to the care and protection of Almighty God, whose king- 
 dom ruleth over all, I rest, your ever loving and affec- 
 tionate brother, 
 
 " Matthew Henry." 
 
 They were troublous times, and it was not long before 
 Mr. Doolittle 's academy was dispersed. Matthew Henry 
 went back to Broad Oak, and the next time he returned to 
 London it was to study law. He had not abandoned his 
 original destination ; but as it was then very problematical 
 whether nonconformists would ever be allowed freely to ex- 
 ercise their ministry, it is possible that he may have wished 
 to secure to himself the alternative of an honourable pro- 
 fession. He never became an enthusiast in his legal studies ; 
 but he learned enough to add considerably to his store of 
 information, and he always looked back with pleasure to 
 friendships which he formed at Gray's Inn. 
 
 It was in 1687, when the penalties against dissent were 
 somewhat relaxed, that Matthew Henry was ordained a 
 minister. On the eve of this important event he devoted 
 
28 
 
 LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 a considerable time to self-examination ; and in the paper 
 in which he records its results, he writes — 
 
 " I think I can say with confidence that I do not design 
 to take up the ministry as a trade to live by, or to enrich 
 myself, out of the greediness of filthy lucre. No ! I hope I 
 aim at nothing but soids; and if I gain those, though I 
 should lose all my worldly comforts by it, I shall reckon 
 myself to have made a good bargain. 
 
 " I think I can say with as much assurance, that my de- 
 sign is not to get myself a name amongst men, or to be 
 talked of in the world as one that makes somewhat of a 
 figure. No ; that is a poor business. If I have but a good 
 name with God I think I have enough, though among men 
 I be reviled, and have my name trampled upon as mire in 
 the streets. I prefer the good word of my Master far before 
 the good word of my fellow-servants. 
 
 " I can appeal to God that I have no design in the least 
 to maintain a party, or to keep up any schismatical faction ; 
 my heart rises against the thoughts of it. I hate dividing 
 principles and practices, and whatever others are, I am for 
 peace and healing ; and if my blood would be a sufficient 
 balsam, I would gladly part with the last drop of it for the 
 closing up of the bleeding wounds of differences that are 
 amongst true Christians." 
 
 For five and twenty years Mr. Henry was minister of the 
 Presbyterian congregation at Chester, and many things com- 
 bined to make it a happy pastorate. Broad Oak was not 
 far from Chester, and till the year 1696, when Philip Henry 
 removed to the better country, many delightful visits were 
 exchanged between the father and the son. Wrenbury 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENKY. 
 
 29 
 
 Wood, the home of his elder sister, Mrs. Savage, was still 
 nearer ; and by their respective marriages his other three 
 sisters all settled in Chester, and with their families be- 
 came members of his flock. And his congregation increased. 
 Not only was it needful to enlarge the place of worship, but 
 many of his hearers were men of education and mental en- 
 largement, to whom it was animating to preach, and in 
 whose intelligent Christian fellowship it was pleasant to 
 spend his occasional hours. The number of communicants 
 was eventually 350, and Mr. Henry had the greatest joy 
 which an earnest minister can have — he knew of many to 
 whose salvation God had blessed his instructions and en- 
 treaties. And so long as he remained with them, he had 
 that other greatest joy — he saw his children walking in the 
 truth. 
 
 Like his father, Mr. Henry found great delight in study ; 
 and like that father, his turn of mind was systematic. His 
 sermons were a series. To the volatile auditories of modern 
 times there would be something appalling in a body of 
 divinity which occupied the Sabbaths of fourteen years. 
 But the later Puritans, especially, were lovers of order and 
 routine ; congregations were more stationary, and the world 
 had then a feeling of latitude and leisure which it can never 
 know again. And perhaps the regular recurrence of similar 
 services, and the weekly resumption of the stated subject, 
 and the placid distillation of scriptural lessons, were as con- 
 genial to Sabbath rest and spiritual growth as the endless 
 variety and turbulent excitement which our own genera- 
 tion, more languid or more mercurial, craves. And there 
 is no reason why method should produce monotony. In 
 
30 
 
 LIFE OP MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 the hands of Matthew Henry, besides its continuous in- 
 structiveness, method was often a stimulus to attention, and 
 an additional means of vivacity. On the subject, u Put off 
 the old man, put on the new," he gave a course of many 
 sermons in the following scheme : — 
 
 1 " Put off pride, and put on humility. 
 
 2 Put off passion, and put on meekness. 
 
 3 Put off covetousness, and put on contentment. 
 
 4 Put off contention, and put on peaceableness. 
 
 5 Put off murmuring, and put on patience. 
 
 6 Put off melancholy, and put on cheerfulness. 
 
 7 Put off vanity, and put on seriousness. 
 
 8 Put off uncleanness, and put on chastity. 
 
 9 Put off drunkenness, and put on temperance. 
 
 10 Put off deceitfulness, and put on honesty. 
 
 11 Put off hatred, and put on love. 
 
 12 Put off hypocrisy, and put on sincerity. 
 
 13 Put off bad discourse, and put on good discourse. 
 
 14 Put off bad company, and put on good company. 
 
 15 Put off security, and put on watchfulness. 
 
 16 Put off slothfulness, and put on diligence. 
 
 17 Put off folly, and put on prudence. 
 
 18 Put off fear, and put on hope. 
 
 19 Put off a life of sense, and put on a life of faith. 
 
 20 Put off self, and put on Jesus Christ." 
 
 At another time he gave a set of sermons on " Penitent 
 Reflections and Pious Resolutions," taking for his general 
 text, " I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto 
 thy testimonies," and selecting for particular reflections and 
 resolutions such antithetic texts as — 
 
 1 " I have sinned." — Ps. xli. 4. 
 
 " I will do so no more." — Job xxxiv. 32. 
 
 2 "I have done foolishly." — 2 Sam. ii. 10. 
 
 " I will behave myself wisely." — Ps. ci. 2. 
 
 3 " I have perverted that which is right." — Job xxxiii. 27. 
 " I will never forget thy precepts." — Ps. cxix, 93, &c. 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 31 
 
 Those who are acquainted with that beautiful work, 
 u Buchanan's Comfort in Affliction," will know where to find 
 a recent example akin to the foregoing, in which a leading 
 text is the subject, and other texts happily selected supply 
 the particular instances. 
 
 In those primitive days Mr. Henry's Sabbath-morning 
 congregation met at nine o'clock. The service usually be- 
 gan with singing the Hundredth Psalm ; and, after a short 
 prayer, Mr. Henry expounded a chapter of the Old Testa- 
 ment, having begun with Genesis, and continuing in regular 
 order. Then, after another psalm and a longer prayer, he 
 preached a sermon about an hour in length, and after 
 prayer and singing, the congregation was dismissed with 
 the blessing. The afternoon service was nearly the same, 
 except that it was a chapter of the New Testament which 
 was then expounded. On Thursday evening he gave a 
 lecture, which was well attended by his own people, and to 
 which some Episcopalians came, who did not choose to 
 forsake their own church on the Lord's day. For this 
 weekly lecture he found a subject which lasted twenty 
 years, in " Scriptural Questions." It was Oct. 1692 when 
 he began with Gen. iii. 9, " Adam, where art thou?" and 
 it was May 1712 when he arrived at Rev. xviii. 18, " What 
 city is like unto this great city 1 ?" 
 
 The solemnity with which Baptism was administered, 
 and the Lord's Supper celebrated, in Matthew Henry's 
 meeting-house, struck many at the time; and from the 
 fervour of his own spirit they proved eminently means of 
 grace. His " Communicant's Companion" is still well 
 known, and by its minute directions, shows how vital to 
 
32 
 
 LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 the believer, and how blessed to the affectionate disciple, ho 
 deemed a due commemoration of his dying Lord. His ori- 
 ginal biographer remarks, " His soul was formed for this 
 ordinance. He was full of love to Christ, and thankful- 
 ness to God for Christ." 
 
 His tender nature drew him towards the young, and his 
 playful simplicity made him their apt instructor. An hour 
 of every Saturday was devoted to public catechising, and 
 many young persons ascribed their first earnestness in reli- 
 gion to the close dealing and touching addresses with which 
 this exercise was frequently ended. 
 
 There were then no religious nor philanthropic societies ; 
 but the public spirit of Mr. Henry prompted him to efforts 
 beyond the bounds of his own congregation. When a series 
 of sermons "for the Reformation of Manners" was pro- 
 jected, he did his utmost to promote it, and contributed 
 four of his most able and important addresses. And moved 
 by the miserable case of the prisoners in Chester gaol, he 
 was in the habit of visiting them and preaching to them, 
 till the curate of St. Mary's prevailed on the governor to 
 discharge him. In the meanwhile his disinterested labours 
 had been the means of much good to the criminals. 
 
 The great business of Mr. Henry's life was the cultivation 
 of piety in himself and others. His religion was not the 
 less profound that it was mild and evenly ; nor is it the 
 less fitted for imitation that it adorned and cheered a life of 
 tranquil tenor. The present volume contains " Directions 
 for Daily Communion with God," and his own practice was a 
 constant effort to " begin and spend and conclude each day 
 with God." Besides the full and deliberate worship of God 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 33 
 
 in his family, he abounded in secret prayer. It was his re- 
 course in every undertaking. His sermons were begun, his 
 books were published, his journeys were commenced, and 
 the important steps of his history were taken with prayer. 
 "What incomes of grace," he wrote, "yea and outward 
 good things, as far as they are indeed good for us, have we 
 by an access to God in Christ. Such have a companion 
 ready in all their solitudes ; a counsellor in all their doubts ; 
 a comforter in all their sorrows ; a supply in all their 
 wants ; a support under all their burdens ; a shelter in all 
 their dangers ; strength for all their performances ; and 
 salvation ensured by a sweet undeceiving earnest. "What is 
 heaven but an everlasting access to God ? and present 
 access is a pledge of it." And as he had devout and con- 
 fident recourse to the throne of grace, so he was an alert 
 and thankful observer of those providences which answered 
 prayer. He would say that the good things of God's chil- 
 dren " are not dispensed out of the basket of common provi- 
 dence, but out of the ark of the covenant f and " those 
 mercies are the sweetest which are seen growing upon the 
 root cf a promise." Like his cotemporary in Scotland, 
 Thomas Boston, his diary is full of recognitions of God's 
 superintending care and kind interposing hand. Gratitude 
 for mercies was constantly irradiating his path and sweeten- 
 ing his spirit ; and if he sometimes sought the prayers of 
 his friends, he also sought the help of their praises. On 
 special occasions he invited them to his house to join in 
 thanksgiving for recent deliverances or distinguishing 
 favours. " 0 magnify the Lord with me ; let us exalt Ins 
 name together." 
 
34 
 
 LTFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 In a pre-eminent degree Mr. Henry possessed a spiritual 
 mind ; and of that spirituality one great secret was his 
 devout and delighted observance of the Lord's day. On it 
 he accumulated all the endearment and veneration of a 
 grateful and conscientious spirit, and in it he collected 
 patience and impulse for the days to come. To him the 
 Sabbath was like a reservoir on the summit of a hill. 
 He was sure that if this day were filled with heavenly 
 things it would send down its bright and refreshing streams 
 through all the week. 
 
 The better to "fix his heart," and help his memory, 
 he kept an occasional journal. As affording the most inti- 
 mate view of his character, we may give a few extracts 
 from it. 
 
 <£ June 23, 1696. — This afternoon about three o'clock, 
 my father's servant came for the doctor, with the tidings 
 that my dear father was taken suddenly ill. I had then 
 some of my friends about me, and they were cheerful 
 with me ; but this struck a damp upon all. I had first 
 thought not to have gone till the next day, it being some- 
 what late and very wet, and had written half a letter to 
 my dear mother, but I could not help going ; and I am 
 glad I did go, for I have often thought of that, 2 Kings 
 ii. 10. 'If thou see me when I am taken up from thee/ 
 &c. The doctor and I came to Broad Oak about eight 
 o'clock, and found him in great extremity of pain; nature, 
 through his great and unwearied labours, unable to bear 
 up, and sinking under the load. As soon as he saw me 
 he said, ' Oh son, you are welcome to a dying father ; I 
 am now ready to be offered up, and the time of my de- 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 35 
 
 parture is at hand.' A little after midnight, my mother 
 holding his hands as he sat in bed, and I holding the 
 pillow to his back, he very quietly and without any strug- 
 gling, groan, or rattling, breathed out his dear soul into 
 the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he had faith- 
 fully served." 
 
 " July 1. — There are some things I would more parti- 
 cularly engage myself to upon this providence. 
 "1. To be more grave and serious. 
 
 " 2. To be more meek and humble, cautious and candid, 
 because these were the graces that my dear father was 
 eminent for, and God owned him in them, and men 
 honoured him for them. 1 am sensible of too much 
 hastiness of spirit. I would learn to be of a cool, mild 
 spirit. 
 
 " 3. To be more diligent and industrious in improving my 
 time, for I see it is hasting off apace, and I desire to have 
 it filled up, because I see I must shortly put off this my 
 tabernacle, and there is no working in the grave." 
 
 H Oct. 18, 1697.— Through the good hand of my God upon 
 me I have finished my thirty-fifth year — one half of the 
 age of man. It is now high noon with me, but my sun may 
 go down at noon. I was affected this morning when alone, 
 in thinking what I was born — a rational creature, a help- 
 less creature, and a sinful creature. Where I was born — 
 in the church of God, in a land of light, in a house 
 of prayer. What I was born for — to glorify God my 
 Maker, and prepare to get to heaven." 
 
 "Jan. 1, 1701. — Being more and more confirmed in my 
 belief of the being and attributes of God, of the mediation 
 
36 
 
 LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ between God and man, and of 
 the reality and weight of invisible things ; and being more 
 and more satisfied that this is the true grace of God 
 wherein I stand ; I do solemnly resign and give up my 
 whole self to God in Jesus Christ. I commit my soul 
 and all the concerns of my spiritual state to the grace 
 of God, and to the word of his grace, subjecting myself 
 to the conduct and government of the blessed Spirit, and 
 to his influences and operations, which I earnestly desire 
 and depend upon for the mortifying of my corruptions, 
 the strengthening of my graces, the furnishing me for every 
 good word and work, and the ripening of me for heaven. 
 I commit my body and all the concerns of my outward 
 condition to the providence of God, to be ordered and 
 disposed by the wisdom and will of my Heavenly Father. 
 Not knowing the things which may befall me this year, 
 I refer myself to God. Whether it shall be my dying 
 year or no, I know not ; but it is my earnest expectation 
 and hope that the Lord Jesus Christ shall be magnified 
 in my body, whether it be by life or death, by health or 
 sickness, by plenty or poverty, by liberty or restraint, by 
 preaching or silence, by comfort or sorrow. Welcome, 
 welcome, the will of God, whatever it be." 
 
 "Oct. 18, 1701. — I have thought much this day what a 
 great variety of cross events I am liable to while in the 
 body, and how uncertain what may befall me in the next 
 year of my life ; pain, or sickness, or broken bones, loss in 
 my estate, death of dear relations, reproach, divisions in the 
 congregation, public restraints and troubles : my fortieth 
 year may be as Israel's was, the last of my sojourning in this 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HEXRY. 
 
 37 
 
 wilderness. The worst of evils would be sin and scandal. 
 The Lord keep me from that, and fit me for any other." 
 
 "Dec. 31, 1703. — Unfixedness of thought, a wretched 
 desultoriness, Some speak of time well spent in thinking ; 
 but I find unless in speaking, reading, or writing, my think- 
 ing doth not turn to much account. Though I have had 
 comfort in some broken good thoughts, yet I can seldom 
 fix my heart to a chain of them. Oh that the thought of 
 my heart may be forgiven ! 
 
 " I have oft bewailed my barrenness in good discourse, and 
 unskilfulness in beginning it, and coldness of concern for 
 the souls of others ; and in reflection on this year I find 
 it has not been much better. I bless God I love good dis- 
 course, and would promote it, but I want zeal." 
 
 "Jan. 1, 1705. — I know this is the will of God, even my , 
 sanctification. Lord, grant that this year I may be more holy, 
 and walk more closely than ever in all holy conversation. 
 I earnestly desire to be filled with holy thoughts, to be car- 
 ried out in holy affections, determined by holy aims and 
 intentions, and governed in all my words and actions by 
 holy principles. Oh that a golden thread of holiness may 
 run through the whole web of this year ! 
 
 " I know it is the will of God that I should be useful, and 
 • by his grace I will be so. Lord, thou knowest it is the 
 top of my ambition in this world to do good, and to be ser- 
 viceable to the honour of Christ and the welfare of precious 
 souls. I would fain do good in the pulpit, and good with 
 my pen ; and, which I earnestly desire to abound more in, 
 to do good by my common converse." 
 
 "Jan. 1, 1706. — I know not what the year shall brim 
 
38 
 
 LIFE OF 5IATTHEW KENRY. 
 
 forth ; but I know it shall bring forth nothing amiss 
 to me, if God be my God in covenant ; if it bring forth 
 death, that I hope shall quite finish sin and free me from 
 it. Lord, let thy servant depart in peace, according 
 to thy word. I commit my family to my heavenly 
 Father, to God, even my own God, my Father's God, 
 my children's God. Oh pour out thy Spirit upon my seed, 
 thy blessing, that blessing of blessings, upon my offspring, 
 that they may be praising God on earth when I am prais- 
 ing him in heaven." 
 
 "Dec. 31, 1707. — I begin to feel my journey in my bones, 
 and I desire to be thereby loosened from the world, and 
 from this body. The death of my dear and honoured mother 
 this year has been a sore breach upon my comfort ; for she 
 was my skilful faithful counsellor ; and it is an intimation 
 to me that now, in the order of nature, I must go next .... 
 As to my ministry here, Mr. Mainwaring's leaving me and 
 his wife has been very much my discouragement. But 
 Providence so ordered it that Mr. Harvey's congregation 
 are generally come into us, or else we began to dwindle, 
 so that I should have gone on very heavily." 
 
 "March 8, 1713, London. — I preached Mr. Rosewell's 
 evening lecture, Ps. 89. 16, 1 The joyful sound.' As I came 
 home I was robbed. The thieves took from me about ten 
 or eleven shillings. My remarks upon it were, — 1. What 
 reason have I to be thankful to God, who have travelled so 
 much, and yet was never robbed before. 2. What a deal 
 of evil the love of money is the root of, that four men would 
 venture their lives and souls for about half-a-crown a-piece. 
 3. See the power of Satan in the children of disobedience. 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 39 
 
 4. See the vanity of worldly wealth ; how soon we may be 
 stripped of it. How loose, therefore, we should sit to it." 
 
 As might easily be surmised from the extent of his 
 writings, Mr. Henry was a hard student. His plan was to 
 rise early : he was usually in his study at five o'clock, some- 
 times as early as four; and except the hour allowed for 
 breakfast and morning worship, remained there till noon, 
 often till four in the afternoon. Nothing more tried his 
 meek and patient spirit than intrusions on his studying 
 time. " I am always best when alone. No place is like 
 my own study : no company like good books, especially the 
 book of God." But with all his love of leisure and retire- 
 ment he was no hermit. He was rich in friends. He was 
 much consulted by them ; and besides an extensive corres- 
 pondence, he showed his interest in them by his minute 
 and affectionate intercessions. " How sweet a thing it is 
 to pray, minding a particular errand." That errand was 
 often some conjuncture in the history of a friend, or a friend's 
 family. And nothing leaves a softer halo round his memory 
 than his filial and fraternal piety. His conduct was a rever- 
 ential transcript from his father's bright example ; the best 
 tribute which love and veneration can render : and his own 
 life was a sermon on the text which he selected after his 
 beloved mother died, " Her children shall rise up, and call 
 her blessed." He and his sisters grew up together in the 
 holy atmosphere of their Broad Oak home; and though 
 they all eventually had houses of their own, they never 
 knew a suspicion or a quarrel, a dry word or a divided 
 interest. 
 
 When the first volumes of his Commentary had been 
 
40 
 
 LIFE OF MATTHEW HESRY. 
 
 published, and 3Ir. Henry's talents as a divine and an ex- 
 positor were known, he received repeated calls to come and 
 be a London minister. He was invited to succeed Dr. 
 Bates, then Mr. Xathanael Taylor, then Mr. Spademan ; but 
 all these invitations he resolutely and successfully refused. 
 At last the congregation at Hackney made an onset which 
 he could no longer withstand. After a year of hesitation 
 and painful anxiety he agreed to go. Among many con- 
 siderations which influenced him, the two following were 
 the most powerful : — " There is manifestly a much wider 
 door of opportunity to do good opened to me at London 
 than is at Chester, in respect to the frequency and 
 variety of week-day occasions of preaching, and the great 
 numbers of the auditors. The prospect I have of improving 
 these opportunities, and of doing good to souls thereby, is, 
 I confess, the main inducement to me to think of removing 
 thither. 
 
 * Though the people at Chester are a most loving people, 
 and many of them have had, and have an exceeding value 
 for me and my ministry, yet I have not been without my 
 discouragements, and those such as have tempted me to 
 think that my work in this place has been in a great mea- 
 sure done : many that have been catechised with us, have 
 left us, and very few have been added to us." 
 
 It was on the 18th of May, 1712, that Mr. Henry began 
 his labours at Hackney. He was in his fiftieth year, and 
 had been five and twenty years at Chester. He found 
 abundance of that occupation to which he had looked for- 
 ward with such desire, having opportunities of preaching 
 almost every day of the week, and sometimes twice or thrice 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW FIEXRY. 
 
 41 
 
 on the same day. And probably it was in this way that he 
 accomplished most ; for his Hackney congregation was not 
 large. He found only a hundred communicants. It was 
 not a lively period in the history of religion anywhere, and 
 the London churches widely shared the spiritual torpor 
 which soon after his decease transformed the Presbyterian 
 chapel at Chester into a Unitarian meeting-house. 
 
 On leaving his former flock Mr. Henry promised to visit 
 them once a year. In the summer of 1713 he fulfilled that 
 promise, and again in May, 1714, he quitted Hackney for the 
 same purpose. The two last Sabbaths of this visit were em- 
 ployed on the texts, " There remaineth a rest for the people 
 of God," and, " Let us fear lest a promise being left us of 
 entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short 
 of it." That rest was nearer than he knew. On Monday, 
 June 21, he set out on his return to London. He was 
 engaged to preach at Nantwich on the way. His horse 
 threw him, but he denied that he had sustained any injury. 
 Accordingly, he preached on Prov. xxxi. 18; but every one 
 noticed that he was not so lively as usual. He was short, 
 and afterwards very heavy and sleepy. He asked his friends 
 to pray for him, " for now I cannot pray for myself." He 
 remarked, " Sin is bitter," and said, " I bless God I have 
 inward supports." But he was soon seized with apoplexy, 
 and at eight on the following morning, June 22, he fell 
 asleep. 
 
 On the following day his eldest sister, Mrs. Savage, has 
 this entry in her journal : — 
 
 " Wednesday. June 23. — I went to the place to take leave 
 of the deal* earthen vessel, in which was lodged such a 
 
42 
 
 LIFE OF MATTHEW HEXRY. 
 
 treasure, and shall always remember there was nothing of 
 death to be seen in his face, but rather something of a smile. 
 How is the gold become dim, and the fine gold changed ! 
 That head, that hand so fitted for service, now cold and 
 moveless. Lord, what is man, the greatest, the best ? 
 When God bids Moses go up and die on Mount Nebo, it is 
 observable he adds, 1 As Aaron thy brother was gathered 
 to his people.' Sure this should mind me of my own dis- 
 solution, as sprung from the same good olive, and spending 
 our childhood together in much comfort and pleasure, under 
 that dear and benign shadow. I have reason to think he 
 loved me the best of all his sisters, and it is with satisfac- 
 tion I think of the love I had for him, and the great unity 
 that was amongst us then, so that I do not remember one 
 angry or unkind word betwixt us. Though I well remem- 
 ber that I have thought my dear mother had most tender- 
 ness and love for my brother, yet I was so far from envying 
 for his sake, that I complied with her, and loved him with 
 a pure heart fervently. I remember the many cares and 
 fears I had for him when he was ill of a fever at London, 
 at Mr. Doolittle's, and the strong cries and tears I offered 
 in secret to my heavenly Father, accompanied with a pur- 
 pose of a particular act of religion that I would be found 
 in, if God should hear prayer for him, and spare him to us, 
 greatly dreading how my dear parents could bear the stroke. 
 God was graciously pleased then to hearken to our petitions, 
 and give him to us again ; but, after a time, my good pur- 
 poses (to my shame) proved abortive." 
 
 u Friday, June 25. — We gathered up the mantle of this 
 dear Elijah, took the remains to Chester, lodged them in 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 43 
 
 the silent tomb, 1 the house appointed for all living.' We 
 laid him in Trinity Church, by his dear first wife, accom- 
 panied with a vast crowd desiring to pay their tribute to 
 his blessed memory." 
 
 In 1687 Mr. Henry married Miss Hardware, a young 
 lady remarkable for her beauty and piety ; but when they 
 had been only eighteen months united she was seized 
 with the small-pox, and died. His second wife was Miss 
 Warburton, of Grange, the virtuous daughter of a respected 
 family. By this marriage a son and five daughters sur- 
 vived him. The son inherited the estate of Grange, and 
 assumed the maternal name. It is feared that he did not 
 inherit his father's piety. For some time he represented 
 the city of Chester in Parliament. 
 
 By his sermons, and his abundant personal labours, 
 Matthew Henry served his generation ; by his industrious 
 and ingenious pen he has done a service to the world. 
 From time to time he published tracts and treatises, which 
 met with some attention even in that drowsy age, and 
 many of which have been highly valued since. The 
 " Pleasantness of a Religious Life" has been often repub- 
 lished, and no treatise on the Lord's Supper is better known 
 or prized than the "Communicant's Companion." The 
 present volume contains other specimens of his practical 
 theology, which, though they have not gone into oblivion, 
 have not got into the wide circulation to which their solid 
 worth and earnestness entitle them. In reading his " Direc- 
 tions for Daily Communion with God," the interest and 
 profit of the perusal will be augmented by remembering 
 that it was his own daily effort to " walk with God." 
 
44 
 
 LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 However, these and all his other treatises — enough to 
 engross the leisure hours of any other pastor, if not to im- 
 mortalize any other divine — were incidental efforts on the 
 part of this herculean student, and mere episodes in a 
 colossal undertaking. His industry, piety, and sanctified 
 genius, have left their peerless memorial in " An Exposition 
 of the Old and New Testament ; " and like the Penseroso, 
 and other poems, which are read with double interest be- 
 cause their author wrote " Paradise Lost," the following 
 tracts, if excellent themselves, should be read with keener 
 expectation by those who remember that their author wrote 
 Henry's Exposition. 
 
 It is with literary monuments as with architectural tro- 
 phies ; we like not only to know who reared them, but how 
 they went to work, and we would be glad to learn how far 
 they enjoyed their labour, and what were their emotions 
 when the task was done. Kennicott's process in collating 
 the Hebrew text, and Johnson's operations in compiling 
 his mighty Lexicon, are among the most interesting curiosi- 
 ties of literature, and few passages in autobiography are 
 more thrilling than those, for instance, in which Gibbon 
 records his moon-light musings when the "Decline and 
 Fall" was finished, and Pollok describes the rapture in 
 which he completed the " Course of Time." Few achieve- 
 ments can be so Vast as a continuous commentary on the 
 Bible. We are therefore grateful to Dr. Adam Clarke's 
 biographer for telling us how, during the forty years that 
 his book was m building, he would sometimes be so absorbed 
 that lie did not observe the knock at the study-door, but 
 was discovered on his bended knees with the pen in his 
 
LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 45 
 
 hand and the paper before him ; and how, when the last 
 sentence was written, he led his son into the library, and 
 surprised him by the new spectacle of the great table, 
 cleared of all its folios, and nothing but a Bible remaining. 
 " This, Joseph, is the happiest period I have enjoyed for 
 years. I have written the last word. I have put away the 
 chains that would remind me of my bondage. And there 
 have I returned the deep thanks of a grateful soul to the 
 God who has shown me such great and continued kind- 
 ness." And we can sympathize with his family, who, 
 sharing in his emancipation, testified their joy by present- 
 ing him with a silver vase. And it exceedingly enhances 
 our interest in Scott's Notes, when we remember the cir- 
 cumstances of bodily suffering and financial anxiety in 
 which they were written, and if we sometimes deem them 
 common-place or meagre, we rebuke our discontent by 
 asking, " llow could they be better when the press was 
 always clanking at his heels, and he often rose from a bed 
 of sickness to write them 1 " Matthew Henry did not live 
 to finish his great undertaking, but to the research of his 
 biographer, we are indebted for some interesting particu- 
 lars regarding the commencement and progress of the 
 work. It was a labour of love, and like the best produc- 
 tions of the pen, flowed from the abundance of the 
 author's mind. The commentary was all in Matthew 
 Henry before a word of it was written down. In his 
 father's house, as we have seen, the Bible was expounded 
 every day, and he and his sisters had preserved ample notes 
 of their father's terse and aphoristic observations. Then 
 during his own Chester ministry he went over more than 
 
4<3 
 
 LIFE OF MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 once the whole Bible in simple explanations to his peo pie. 
 Like the Spartan babe whose cradle was his father's shield, 
 it would be scarcely a figure to say that the Bible was the 
 pillow of his infant head, and familiar with it from his most 
 tender years, it dwelt richly in him all his days. It was 
 the pivot round which his meditations, morning, noon, and 
 evening, turned, and whatever other knowledge came in 
 his way, he pounced on it with more or less avidity as ii 
 served to elucidate or enforce some Bible saying. What 
 has been remarked of an enthusiast in Egyptian anti- 
 quities — that he had grown quite pyramidal — may be 
 said of the Presbyterian minister at Chester ; he had grown 
 entirely biblical. He had no ideas which had not either 
 been first derived from Scripture, or afterwards dissolved 
 in it. And as his shrewd sense, his kindly nature, his 
 devotional temperament, and his extensive information 
 were all thoroughly scripturalized, it needed no forcing nor 
 straining. It was but to draw the spigot, and out flowed 
 the racy exposition. " The work has been to me its own 
 wages, and the pleasure recompense enough for all the 
 pains." 
 
 Much was incidentally jotted down, and the materials 
 lay affluent about him, before he commenced writing for 
 the press. It was the advice of the Rev. Samuel Clarke 
 and other friends which moved him to begin, and the fol- 
 lowing entry in his journal announces the commencement 
 of the work. "Nov. 12, 1704. This night, after many 
 thoughts of heart, and many prayers concerning it, I began 
 my Notes on the Old Testament. It is not likely I shall 
 live to finish it, or if I should, that it should be of public 
 
LIFE OP MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 47 
 
 service, for I am not par negotio; yet in the strength of 
 God, and I hope with a single eye to his glory, I set about 
 it, that I may endeavour something and spend my time to 
 some good purpose, and let the Lord make what use he 
 pleaseth of me. I go about it with fear and trembling, lest 
 I exercise myself in things too high for me. The Lord help 
 me to set about it with great humility." Yes, — " Fear and 
 trembling," and " many prayers," — these are the secret of 
 its success. All the author's fitness, and all his fondness 
 for the work would have availed little, had not the Lord 
 made it grow. In September, 1706, he finished the Penta- 
 teuch, and on the 21st of November that year he writes: 
 " This evening I received a parcel of the Exposition of the 
 Pentateuch. I desire to bless God that he has given me to 
 see it finished. I had comfort from that promise, ' Thou 
 shalt find favour and good understanding in the sight of God 
 and man.' " That volume came out separately, and though 
 near her eightieth year, his mother lived to see it, and, 
 scarcely hoping to read all the volume, the good old lady 
 began with Deuteronomy. Every second year produced 
 another volume, till April 17th, 1714, he records: " Finished 
 Acts, and with it the fifth volume. Blessed be God that 
 ] has helped me and spared me. All the praise be to God." 
 Two months after he ceased from all his labours, and Dr. 
 Evans and others took up the fallen pen. They com- 
 pleted a sixth volume, but did not continue "Matthew- 
 Henry." 
 
 The zest with which he began lasted all along. So dear 
 was the employment that it was not easy to divert him 
 from it, and each possible moment was devoted to it. Even 
 
45 
 
 LITE OP MATTHEW HILSRY. 
 
 when routed from slumber by illness in the family, his eye 
 would brighten at the sight of it, and 1 he would draw in 
 his studying-chair - to do a little at the exposition." What 
 he says in the preface to the Prophecies— his least success- 
 ful volume — will awaken the fellow-feeling of the reader, 
 and remind him of Bishop Home's touching farewell to the 
 Book of Psalms. "The pleasure I have had in studying 
 meditating on those parts of these prophecies which are 
 plain and practical, and especially those that are evangelical, 
 has been an abundant balance to and recompense for the 
 harder tasks we have met with in other parts that are more 
 obscure. In many parts of this field the treasure must be 
 digged for. as that in the mines ; but in other parts the 
 surface is covered with rich and precious products, with 
 corn and flocks, and of which we may say, as was said of 
 Noah, 'These same have comforted us greatly concerning 
 our work, and the toil of our hands," and have made it very 
 pleasant and delightful God grant it may be no less so to 
 the readers." 
 
 It would be easy to name commentators more critical, 
 more philosophical, or more severely erudite ; but none so suc- 
 cessful in making the Bible understood. And the question 
 with sensible readers will always be, not. What did the com- 
 mentator bring to the Bible ! but. What did he bring out of 
 it ! And tried by this test, Henry will bear the perpetual 
 palm. His curious inferences, and his just though ingenious 
 "NoteTs, are such as could only have occurred to one 
 mighty in the Scriptures, and minute in the particular text ; 
 and to the eager Bible-student, they often present them- 
 selves with as welcome surprise as the basket of unexpected 
 
LIFE OP MATTHEW HEXRY. 
 
 49 
 
 ore which a skilful miner sends up from a deserted shaft. 
 Nor dare we admire them the less because detected in pas- 
 sages where our duller eye or blunter hammer had often 
 explored in Tain. On the other hand it is possible to name 
 some who have commented more fully on particular books ; 
 but most of them are something more than expositions. 
 They are homiletic notes and expositor}- dissertation 
 In the language of quaint old Berridge, a preacher is 
 a " Gospel-baker." In the same idiom, a commentator 
 should be a " Bible-miller." Bread-corn must be bruised ; 
 and it is the business of the skilful interpreter to give 
 nothing but the text transformed — bread-corn in the guise 
 of flour. This was what Matthew Henry did, and he left 
 it to u Gospel-bakers" to add the salt and leaven, or may- 
 hap the sugar and the laurel-leaf, and make a sermon or 
 an essay as the case might be. 
 
 To its author the exposition was a blessed toil; but 
 he could not foresee the wide acceptance and growing favour 
 which awaited it. He could not anticipate that the most 
 powerful minds of after-ages should be its most ardent ad- 
 mirers, or that the panegyrics should be passed on it which 
 we know that Ryland, and Hall, and Chalmers have pro- 
 nounced. Still less could it occur to him that t1Te kindness 
 with which cotemporaries received it should be a hundred- 
 fold exceeded by a generation so festidious an i boofc-sw- 
 feited as our own. But could its subsequent history have 
 been revealed to his benignant eye, the circumstance which 
 would have elicited the gladdest and most thankful sparkle 
 would have been to behold it in thousands '.in 
 families, the Sabbath-companion and the household book. 
 
 D 
 
50 
 
 LTFE OP MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 It is not only through the glass doors of stately book-cases 
 that its gilt folios shine, nor on the study-shelves of manses 
 and evangelical parsonages that its brown symbol of ortho- 
 doxy may be recognised ; but in the parlour of many a quiet 
 tradesman, and the cupboard of many a little farmer, and 
 on the drawers-head of many a mechanic or day-labourer, 
 the well-conned quartos hold their ancestral station, them- 
 selves an abundant library, and hallowed as the heirloom 
 of a bygone piety. In the words of a beloved friend, who 
 has done much for Henry's Commentary, " It has now 
 lasted more than one hundred and thirty years, and is at 
 this moment more popular than ever, gathering strength 
 as it rolls down the stream of time ; and it bids fair to be 
 The Comment for all coming time. True to God, true to 
 nature, true to common sense, and true to the text, how 
 can it ever be superseded 1 Waiting pilgrims will be read- 
 ing it when the last trumpet sounds, Come to judgment." 
 
FROM THE FUNERAL SERMONS 
 
 ON THB 
 
 DEATH OF THE REV. MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 BY 
 
 DANIEL WILLIAMS. D.D.. AND REV. W. TONG. 
 
 FROM SERMON BY D. WILLIAMS, I>.D. 
 ****** 
 All of you must die, " it is appointed." You shall die 
 when, and where, and how the Lord pleaseth, whether you 
 consent or not. But would you find death unstung, and 
 friendly? Would you have Christ receive your departing 
 souls, to fit them for, and admit them into, the heavenly 
 mansions? Would you find it a release from all that is 
 grievous, and to be a "joyful entrance into the everlasting 
 kingdom of your Saviour?" Then live unto the Lord. 
 These are inseparably joined by the gospel constitution. Oh 
 ask then, to whom do you live, is it to God or the devil % 
 After what do you walk, is it after the flesh or the Spirit ? 
 This is your seed-time ; " If you sow to the Spirit, you shall 
 reap life everlasting: if you sow to the flesh, you shall o£ 
 the flesh reap corruption." It is high time the youngest of 
 you should begin to live to the Lord, for you may die in 
 youth. It is truest wisdom in any of you who have begun, 
 
52 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF THE 
 
 to hold on to the end : for a life spent to the Lord, will at 
 death end in happiness to yourselves, and great comfort to 
 your godly friends. 
 
 This may afford some allay to our grief, when we reflect 
 on the very afflictive occasion of our present meeting, viz. 
 the death of the reverend, lahorious, and useful Mr. Matthew 
 Henry. I could not have chosen a fitter text, for it was 
 eminently exemplified in him. Few ministers so acknow- 
 ledged Christ's propriety in them, much fewer arrived to 
 an equal degree of activity in the Lord's service. 
 
 He was the son of two eminent saints, who were the 
 glory of Christ in their day ; and their character has emin- 
 ently survived in his life and temper, as in the account of 
 their lives which he published. As they took more than 
 ordinary pains in his education, when young, so they re- 
 ceived the highest pleasure in his probity and usefulness in 
 their aged years. Nor did God give a testimony to their 
 pious care in making it successful to him alone ; but gave 
 them the comfort of seeing all their grown children walk- 
 ing in their integrity. 
 
 God, to whom "all his works are known from the be- 
 ginning," oft lays a foundation for the service he designs, 
 by fitting persons from the womb, as to constitution and 
 genius, in great variety ; as we see in St. Paul, Luther, 
 Melancthon, &c. ; in like manner, having determined to do 
 great things by our deceased brother, gave him a very strong 
 body, without which his labours had wasted him in his 
 youth ; he also framed the organs of speech to the advantage 
 of his public performances ; his fancy was lively, his memory 
 retentive, and his judgment solid. 
 
 Such a natural capacity rendered him capable of uncom- 
 mon improvements, and being cultivated at home, and at 
 the Reverend Mr. Doolittle's, he soon signalized himself in 
 all the useful parts of learning proper to his designed em- 
 ployment, which was the ministiy. Having finished those 
 preparatory studies, and apprehending that the knowledge 
 of the laws might contribute to more distinct conceptions of 
 some subjects and terms in theology, he applied himself for I 
 
REV. MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 53 
 
 some time to that study, and made good use of that know- 
 ledge in several of his composures. 
 
 After he had attained what he proposed to himself in 
 the Inns of Court, he set himself toward entering upon the 
 ministerial work, though in a time of persecution! He 
 preferred this to all other employs, because, as himself 
 often suggested, the work was more pleasant, the subject 
 which still employed the mind, more helpful to promote 
 a heavenly life, and the power of religion in his own heart ; 
 it gave the best opportunity of serving Christ in his great- 
 est designs on earth, and of benefiting mankind in what 
 most concerned them, viz. the salvation of their souls. 
 
 In order to his undertaking this work he impartially 
 studied the controversy between the Established Church and 
 the Dissenters, and upon the maturcst thoughts he chose 
 to be a Presbyterian minister, being fully persuaded the 
 cause of Christ in the matters debated was in their hands, 
 and for this resolved to embark with them, notwithstand- 
 ing the reproach and hardships to which he might be ex- 
 posed ; for it was not egurch) but heaven, to which he directed 
 his course. Yet, with his' non-conformity, he highly es- 
 teemed all pious conformists, and kept up a Christian charity 
 towards such as differed from him. 
 
 Upon the evidence of his eminent gifts and graces, with 
 a strong propension to discharge the duties, and promote 
 the blessed ends, of that sacred oilce, he was regularly in- 
 vested in it by fasting and prayer, and the imposition of 
 the hands of Presbyters. 
 
 He always accounted the work of the ministry the most 
 honourable employment ; and was to his death a singular 
 honour to it, by his unwearied diligence and exemplary 
 conversation. From his undertaking the service of Christ 
 in this function, the business of his life was, both to im- 
 prove in meetness for it, and to " fulfil the ministry he had 
 received of the Lord.'" His " profiting appeared to all," by 
 being able on the sudden to perform so well upon any sub- 
 ject, and thereby he commended the close study of the 
 Scriptures ; for the whole Bible being fixed in his head, as 
 
5-1 
 
 ON THE DEATH OP THE 
 
 well as heart, facilitated his work on all occasions. Can 
 the most invidious point to the man alive, of whom it can 
 be more justly- said, he laboured much in the Lord ? If you 
 consider how oft he preached you must wonder how he 
 could write so much. But if you reckon how many books 
 he printed, could you imagine he preached so frequently ? 
 What time must be laid out in the five volumes on the 
 Bible, besides many other valuable books and printed 
 sermons ! 
 
 Whilst he continued pastor in Chester, which was two- 
 and-twenty years, he filled up that station ■with service on 
 Lord's days and week days : besides this, he laid out him- 
 self in the adjacent counties, as one who had upon him the 
 care of all the churches. How frequently did he preach 
 seven or eight times a week ! 
 
 Since his transplanting to this place, he spent himself 
 here and in the city, as if his strength were miraculously 
 supplied to do much, upon a foresight that his time was 
 short. And of this he seemed to have some presages when 
 he assigned it as an apology to a godly person who cautioned 
 him against over doing • and truly some such impulse was 
 the best reason he had to give. 
 
 Great was his acceptance, though his lot was to be in an 
 age wherein the office is so despised, that the same qualifi- 
 cations which commend all others can scarce preserve a 
 minister from contempt. But Providence peculiarly smiled 
 on our brother in this respect, though he neither courted 
 applause, nor sought his worldly interest by flattery, or 
 other unbecoming methods. What gave him esteem were 
 his integrity, affableness, the triumph of grace over his 
 passions, forwardness to speak well of all and ill of none, 
 savoury discourses readily fitted to all occasions, useful and 
 unwearied labours, and a readiness to serve all, with a 
 pleasant acknowledgment of what endowments or success 
 any others were blessed with. By these means the places 
 were full where he was employed, persons of all denomina- 
 tions greatly affected, and his surprising death is the sub- 
 ject of universal mourning. 
 
KLV. MATTHEW HEM4Y. 
 
 50 
 
 All must acknowledge the aptitude of liis performances 
 to common benefit. Tims he studied, and accommodated 
 his labours to persons of all ages. Young ones he cate- 
 chised in a way that exceedingly conduced to give light, 
 and beget an affection for gospel truths. Early religion he 
 warmly pressed, and meltingly invited youth to close with 
 Christ Jesus. Such as were converted he laboured to im- 
 prove to higher degrees of grace, and an exacter walking. 
 For this end he published tracts, wherein most of the heads 
 of practical religion are treated of with that judgment, as 
 shows his acquaintance with the power of godliness and 
 the hearts of men. His words were decent, though familiar, 
 and his proverbial sentences were contrived to affect, and 
 retain in the memory some important truth. If it be ob- 
 jected that he oft made use of Scripture phrases allusively, 
 rather than in their proper sense, yet it must be granted 
 some pious things were ever gravely expressed by those 
 words ; and I think that from his being so very conversant 
 in Scripture words, they first presented themselves to his 
 mind, when the matter he treated of would be aptly ex- 
 pressed thereby. 
 
 Whether he prayed or preached, it was with such a fer- 
 vour as declared his heart was in it, and that he was em- 
 ployed therein from the vigorous actings of his faith and 
 love. 
 
 As he earnestly implored the presence of God for success, 
 so through his blessing lie found it granted in a signal man- 
 ner. Many, very many, were converted and edified by his 
 ministerial labours. These are now his crown. 
 
 This is the person whom God has taken away with a 
 stroke, and so suddenly as not to allow us time to pray for 
 his life. You can hear him no more, nor see him any more, 
 till the general assembly. He is cut off, at the age of fifty- 
 two, when ripest for service. 
 
 Need I call you to lament this loss ? a loss so great that 
 I cannot aggravate it ; so extensive that I scarce know- 
 where to begin or end. A tender wife has lost a faithful 
 affectionate husband, filling up that relation to all good 
 
rfi DM THE 1'EATH OK THE 
 
 purposes. Hopeful children deprived of the kindest of 
 fathers ; one concerned to see * Christ formed in them," and 
 fitted to promote their welfare in every respect. You, his 
 people, are bereaved of a faithful, profitable pastor, whose 
 place is not easily filled up. We ministers have lost a 
 bright example, an affectionate brother, a general assistant, 
 as occasion offered; a man whose excessive pains must 
 put the slothful to many blushes. The loss is public, we 
 have one fewer to promote the kingdom of our Lord, and 
 stand in the gap tc avert impending judgments; yea, I fear 
 we may lament the tall of such a pillar in the church, as 
 u taken away from the evil to come." 
 
 "\Ye are stupid if we weep not for ourselves. But, as for 
 his part, his sudden death has no terror attending it, for 
 his Lord found him employed as the wise and faithful ser- 
 vants whom he declareth blessed. He had preached twice 
 on tiie Lord's day, he preached also on Monday, and had 
 appointed to do the same on Tuesday, but died that morn- 
 ing ; God, by death, released him from his labours. Sub- 
 mission to the divine will only could have reconciled his 
 active soul long to survive his work; this trial God pre- 
 vented, by not suffering him to live one day beyond Tiis 
 labours. But the rest in heaven after death was what he 
 longed for. and it seems that by some presage he appre- 
 hended he was not tar from this, for the last head in the 
 last book he published is this, '* Let us long for the perfec- 
 tion of those spiritual pleasures in the kingdom of glory." 
 And aids. " Our love to God in this world is a love in mo- 
 tion, in heaven it will be a love at rest ; Oh when shall that 
 sabbatism come," &c. 
 
 His present happiness yields some allay to our sorrow ; 
 but yet it is a greater relief under all losses, that our Lord 
 is the King eternal, his word endureth for ever; with him 
 is the residue of the Spirit ; he has wise ends in this sore 
 dispensation, and can make it work for good. 
 
 That this end may be attained, be all of you attentive 
 to the voice of God by this rebuke, and comply therewith. 
 
 Lit each impartially inquire, whether you have not a 
 
REV. MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 57 
 
 hand in removing this mercy, by your forfeiture. The 
 death of very useful ministers, especially when much 
 needed, is generally a punishment for some sins of those 
 who were most concerned in them. Wherein conscience 
 points to any guilt neglect not repentance ; and apply to 
 the blood of Christ by faith, lest even a worse thing come 
 unto you. Again, see you act as becomes Christians under 
 this providence. 
 
 Let the afflicted widow trust in God, as able to fill up 
 the place of the deceased, and the children walk worthy of 
 his name, and not depart from such a father's ways, as too 
 many have done in this degenerate age. How solemnly 
 would he have laid this charge if he had seen them about 
 him in his dying agonies S Oh may they find the return 
 of his many recorded prayers ! 
 
 You who here attended on his ministry, see you live the 
 truths he dispensed, for you are accountable for great ad- 
 vantages : Christ will not account them good servants who 
 gained but two talents when they received five. Nor is it 
 proper for you to overlook it ; that since the death of the 
 eminent Dr. Bates, you have lost two such worthy men, as 
 Mr. Billio and Mr. Henry, in the midst of their days, and 
 the greatest capacity for service. 
 
 Many observe you, and your influence on our public 
 interest, as Dissenters, is very considerable. Therefore it is 
 your concern, unanimously, to get a well-qualified pastor ; 
 but regard sincerely the real benefit of your souls in che 
 choice you make ; for if lower matters govern your inclina- 
 tions it discovers carnality of mind, and will grow more so 
 If indulged in this instance. 
 
 We ministers are hereby called to double our care in 
 serving the designs of our Lord ; we have fewer hands, and 
 may soon meet with harder work. The aspect of things 
 warns us to apply ourselves to get more wisdom, faith, and 
 fortitude ; that we may neither mistake our duty, nor trea- 
 cherously desert it, in the greatest trials. 
 
 Finally, It is incumbent on all to lay to heart the sudden- 
 ness of your pastor's death. When he left you he was 
 
58 
 
 01* THE DEATH OF THE 
 
 likelier to live than many of us, and no symptom of any 
 danger till within a very few hours before his dissolution. 
 We must be stupid unless it excite us to pray, " Lord, teach 
 us to know how frail we are ! " And to endeavour so to 
 know the frailty of your state as to be always ready. Oh 
 get oil in your lamps, and those lamps trimmed : he that 
 may die without warning has reason to see that he delay 
 not repentance, nor trifle in what eternity depends on. He 
 " who applies his heart to wisdom," must so number his 
 days as to finish the proper business of every day in its 
 day ; for the morrow is not ours, and if it come, its own 
 work is assigned with it. 
 
 It will be vain to wish we could recall past time, when 
 conscience represents the many abuses and neglects of a 
 past life now ending. The summons may be so hasty that 
 you have not many moments to set heart or house in 
 order. 
 
 Therefore take care that your pursuits of this world be 
 not excessive, lest you be arrested by that voice, " Thou 
 fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee." When 
 you are tempted, remember, you may be cut off in the very 
 act of sin, as Zimri was. Entertain every call to duty, and 
 opportunity for service and spiritual benefit, with this 
 thought, there is no working in the grave, where I must 
 soon be ; " the night cometh, wherein no man can work." 
 
 You must all confess that you cannot die safely unless 
 you have served your generation, are real converts, and in 
 temper of spirit meet for heaven : nor can you die comfort- 
 ably, unless your graces flourish, your fruit abound, and 
 have at least a grounded hope of your interest in Christ, 
 with a vital sense of his favour. 
 
 These are too great, too necessary, and too difficult, to 
 be postponed, or negligently applied to, by men who are 
 " crushed before the moth." The greatest haste, and the 
 utmost diligence, are scarce enough to quiet us, when we 
 realize how much depends upon a life subject to be cut oft" 
 in a moment, by a thousand accidents. Happiest he who 
 soonest enters into wisdom's paths, passeth the whole time 
 
EEV. MATTHEW HENRT. 
 
 59 
 
 of his sojourning here with the most solicitous care in dis- 
 charging all present duty, and improving all present helps. 
 This is the way to finish well. 
 
 This finishing well was a sentence oft made use of by 
 my deceased brother, and therefore I conclude with an im- 
 portunate desire that we may have a solemn regard there- 
 to in all our sacred and civil transactions. 
 
 FROM SERMON BY THE REV. W. TONG. 
 
 ■$(£■ "3fr ^ ^ 
 
 Let us live in the well-grounded hope of following our 
 godly friends to heaven, and meeting them there, and being- 
 together for ever with the Lord ; lay the ground-work of 
 such hope sure and strong, for the superstructure is to 
 reach as high as heaven ; and when you have done this, 
 then rejoice in hope. I know nothing that can better sup- 
 port your spirits under the loss of such excellent ones, 
 than a lively hope of a speedy meeting again in a better 
 world ; the time of separation is but short, yet a little while 
 and you shall see them again ; you parted in sorrow, you 
 shall meet in joy. Perhaps you had not the opportunity 
 of seeing some of them die, of closing their eyes, and bid- 
 ding them farewell: but that shall not hinder your joyful 
 meeting ; and how will you then welcome each other in a 
 world of bliss, and wonder to see how much you are all 
 changed for the better, since your last parting! How will 
 you congratulate each other in the favour of your blessed 
 Lord, who has washed your souls so clean, and made them 
 so glad! But I must stop my thoughts here, that are 
 ready to run out beyond bounds. Comfort yourselves and 
 one another with these things. 
 
 I know I speak to many this day who need such comforts. 
 Here is a great congregation, bereaved of a most faithful, 
 
GO 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF THI' 
 
 wise, laborious minister; here is a disconsolate family, 
 bereaved of one of the most exemplary and usefnl relations 
 that I ever knew any family blessed with. How is a great 
 blow given to us all! The death of Mr. Henry is an 
 universal loss! It is and will be universally lamented. 
 
 Expect not, sirs, that I should enter upon the particulars 
 of his excellent character; very much has been said of 
 him already in a little compass, by that worthy aged min- 
 ister, who first preached to you on this mournful occasion. 
 
 I hope this will be more fully done in an account of his 
 exemplary life : that constant diary he kept will furnish 
 out proper and excellent materials, besides what may be 
 added from the observation of others. 
 
 But that which chiefly restrains me now is, that it is 
 needless to do it in this place ; for though you have not 
 enjoyed him much above two years, yet in that time you 
 " have known his doctrine, his manner of life, his purpose, 
 faith, long-suffering, charity, and patience," 2 Tim. iii. 10. 
 
 And who has not known him 1 His works praise him 
 in the gates, and will do so; his great and good works 
 from the pulpit, from the press, his immense labours, 
 his incredible diligence in preaching, in expounding, in 
 writing, his care of all the churches : he, like " Demet- 
 rius, had a good report of all men, and of the truth 
 itself; and we also bear witness, and ye know that our 
 witness is true," 3 John 12. 
 
 He had in him that happy mixture of excellent gifts 
 and graces that seldom meet in the same person, and 
 they made him very amiable to all who knew him. 
 
 In him you had the happy mixture of great strength 
 of judgment and fervour of spirit. Some are very zea- 
 lous, but not so judicious; others judicious but not so 
 zealous: he was both a burning and a shining light. 
 
 In him you had a true greatness of soul, mixed with 
 exemplary modesty and humility; nothing in him ap- 
 peared sordid and abject, nothing vain and supercilious. 
 
 In him you had a most agreeable cheerfulness, with a 
 due temperament of solidity and seriousness. 
 
REV. MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 01 
 
 In him you might observe a strict regard to the dic- 
 tates of his own conscience, joined with a most candid 
 tenderness to those who differed from him. 
 
 In his preaching you had a veiy just and close way 
 of thinking, with the most plain, proper, natural, and easy 
 expression, and a great regard to the honour of Christ 
 and free grace, joined with a constant endeavour to beat 
 down sin, and revive the power and practice of godliness. 
 
 It was this happy conjunction of excellent gifts and 
 graces, that made him live so much desired, and die so 
 much lamented. 
 
 I am a witness of that tender and conscientious con- 
 cern with which he left his old and dear friends at 
 Chester, and of that comfort and satisfaction he had in 
 his acceptance and usefulness in this part of the vine- 
 yard. I am persuaded, these last two years of his life 
 and labours have been a great blessing to many souls in 
 and about the city of London. 
 
 My own interest in his acquaintance and friendship for 
 the space of above twenty-eight years, is a thing of too 
 private a nature to mention upon so solemn an occasion ; 
 but it must never be forgotten by me. I own it as a precious 
 talent put into my hand, and to be accounted for. He was 
 a most cordial, prudent, faithful, unalterable friend ; and if 
 a passionate affection does not deceive me, I think verily 
 I shall less value this life and world, since he is gone 
 from it, 
 
 The death of this faithful servant of Christ at this time 
 is a very dark and threatening providence : God calls us 
 to more than common sorrow by it; he expects we should 
 lay it to heart ; and all the circumstances of it considered, 
 both those of a private and public nature, we should lay 
 it nearer to our hearts than ordinary. We should not suffer 
 it to pass over us lightly ; we should feel our loss, and fear 
 the displeasure of our God, and tremble because of the 
 ark of God. 
 
 But yet we must not abandon ourselves to inconsolable 
 grief, or quarrel with God, nor despair of his mercy to us. 
 
62 
 
 ON THE DEATH OP THE 
 
 As for the broken family, I am persuaded there are great 
 mercies in store for them : the fatherless children are left 
 with God, and he will keep them alive ; and let the widow 
 trust in him. Though God in this sad providence seems to 
 have spoken against them. I believe he will earnestly and 
 affectionately remember. them still. 
 
 I know no ikniily in which the entail of the covenant 
 from one generation to another has more evidently appeared. 
 I know no family more enriched with a large stock of 
 treasure of prayers by religious predecessors on both 
 sides. And a family that is thus rich in prayer, is 
 rich in the promises too, while the present branches of 
 it adhere to the covenant, and live up to their education ; 
 and we rejoice to see that it is thus with them, and 
 daily pray for their growth and establishment in wisdom 
 and grace. 
 
 And for this afflicted broken congregation, though they 
 ought to be sensible what they have lost, a skilful guide, 
 and a faithful helper of their souls ; one who, they hoped, 
 would have been the happy instrument of great good, not 
 only to themselves, but to their families; one that was 
 wonderfully fitted to feed the lambs of the flock, and took 
 great delight in that part of his work. 
 
 Yet let them not distrust the care of the great Shepherd 
 and Bishop of their souls. This place and people have been 
 signally owned and favoured of God, from one time to 
 another. In the mount.it has been seen that God has pro- 
 vided; and we hope he will have the same care and con- 
 cern for you still. And the great respect you always had 
 for your faithful ministers while they were with you, and 
 the true Christian generosity with which you have treated 
 their families when they have been gone, gives us good en- 
 couragement that the presence of God shall be the glory in 
 the midst of you; and that you shall yet have a pastor 
 according to his own heart, who shall carry on the same 
 work, feed you with the same sincere milk of the word, and 
 be a great blessing to you, and the rising generation among 
 you. 
 
REV. MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 62 
 
 And though the church of God in general feels this loss, 
 and laments it greatly, that this your minister was taken 
 away before he had finished the great undertaking, his 
 noble, delightful task, the Exposition of the Bible; yet we 
 have all cause to bless God, who spared him so long, and 
 helped him to carry it on so far. 
 
 It is the observation of a worthy minister, on the death 
 of a person of great note in all the churches, who had a 
 heart enlarged for God, and bent upon doing more eminent 
 service, " that no one ever finished all the great designs he 
 had for the glory of God in this world, excepting the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. He indeed could say, 1 It is finished.' " As 
 for others, their good desires and purposes go beyond the 
 limits of their time and life; but they have finished all that 
 God designed to do by them; and he is able to cam- on his 
 own work by other hands, and thereby to make it evident 
 that he is to his people B all in all." 
 
 And I hope those who have attended long upon the 
 ministry of good Mr. Henry, and taken down his expositions 
 upon that part of the Bible that yet remains, whether in 
 the public assembly or in his family, will carefully gather 
 up those precious fragments, that none may be lost; and 
 w ill communicate them to the world in the best way they 
 can, that this great work may be finished, and be as much 
 as possible his own performance. 
 
 To conclude : We must flee to this as our last resort; 
 though ministers, the best of ministers, die, the gospel does 
 not die with them ; 1 Pet. i. 24, 25, " All flesh is as grass, 
 and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass 
 withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away : but the 
 word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word 
 which by the gospel is preached unto you." 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 The first two of these discourses were preached (that is, 
 the substance of them,) at the morning lecture at Bednal- 
 Green, the former August 13th, the other August 21st, 1712. 
 The latter of them I was much importuned to publish by- 
 many who heard it ; which I then had no thoughts at all of 
 doing, because in divers practical treatises we have excellent 
 directions given, of the same nature and tendency, by 
 better hands than mine. But upon second thoughts I 
 considered, that both those sermons of beginning and 
 spending the day with God, put together, might perhaps be 
 of some use to those into whose hands those larger treatises 
 do not fall. And the truth is, the subject of them is of 
 such a nature, that if they may be of any use, they may be 
 of general and lasting use; whereupon I entertained the 
 thought of writing them over, with very large additions 
 throughout, as God should enable me, for the press. Com- 
 municating this thought to some of my friends, they very 
 much encouraged me to proceed in it, but advised me to 
 add a third discourse of closing the day with God, which I. 
 thereupon took for my subject at an evening lecture, 
 September 3rd, and have likewise much enlarged and 
 altered that. And so this came to be what it is. 
 
 I am not without hopes, that something may hereby be 
 contributed among plain people, by the blessing of God 
 upon the endeavour, and the working of his grace with 
 it, to the promoting of serious godliness, which is the 
 thing I aim at ; and yet I confess that I should not have 
 
 £ 
 
66 
 
 TO THE READER. 
 
 published it, had I not designed it for a present to my 
 dearly beloved friends in the country, whom I have lately 
 been rent from. 
 
 And to them, with the most tender affection, and most 
 sincere respects, I dedicate it, as a testimony of my abid- 
 ing concern for their spiritual welfare ; hoping and praying 
 that their conversation may be in every thing as becomes 
 the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see them, 
 or else be absent, I may hear comfortably of their affairs, 
 that they stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving 
 together for the faith of the gospel. 
 
 I am, 
 
 Their cordial and affectionate Well-wisher, 
 Matt. Henry. 
 
 Sept 8, 1712. 
 
DIRECTIONS 
 
 DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 I —SHOWING HOW TO BEGIN EVERY DAY WITH GOD. 
 
 ".My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, 0 Lord; in the morning will I 
 direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." — Psalm v. 3. 
 
 You would think it a rude question, if I should ask you, 
 and yet I must entreat you seriously to ask yourselves, 
 what brings you hither so early this morning ? and what 
 is your business here? Whenever we are attending on 
 God in holy ordinances, (nay, wherever we are,) we should 
 be able to give a good answer to the question which God 
 put to the prophet, "What dost thou here, Elijah?" As 
 when we return from holy ordinances, we should be able 
 to give a good answer to the question which Christ put 
 to those who attended on John Baptist's ministry, " What 
 went ye out into the wilderness to see?" 
 
 It is surprising to see so many assembled together here ; 
 surely the fields are white unto the harvest ; and I am 
 willing to hope, it is not merely for a walk this pleasant 
 morning, that you are come hither; or for curiosity, 
 because the morning lecture was never here before; that 
 it is not for company, or to meet your friends here; but 
 that you are come with a pious design to give glory to 
 God, and to receive grace from him, and in both to keep 
 up your communion with him. And if you ask us, who 
 are ministers, what our business is, we hope we can truly 
 
68 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 say, it is (as God shall enable us) to assist and further 
 you herein. Comest thou peaceably ?" said the elders of 
 Bethlehem to Samuel ; and so perhaps you will say to us : 
 to which we answer, as the prophet did, K Peaceably;" we 
 come to sacrifice unto the Lord, and invite you to the 
 sacrifice. 
 
 While the lecture continues with you, you have an oppor- 
 tunity of more than doubling your morning devotions. 
 Besides your worshipping of God in secret, and in your 
 families, which this must not supersede, or justle out, you 
 here call upon God's name in the solemn assembly ; and it 
 is as much your business in all such exercises to pray a 
 prayer together, as it is to hear a sermon ; and it is said, the 
 original of the morning exercise was a meeting for prayer, 
 at the time when the nation was groaning under the dread- 
 ful, desolating judgment of a civil war. You have also an 
 opportunity of conversing with the word of God ; you have 
 " precept upon precept,'* and " line upon line : " Oh that as 
 the opportunity awakens you morning by morning, (so as 
 the prophet speaks,) your ears may be "wakened to hear as 
 the learned," Isa. 1. 4. 
 
 But this is not all ; we desire that such impressions may 
 be made upon you by this cluster of opportunities, as you 
 may always abide under the influence of; that this morning 
 lecture may leave you better disposed to morning worship 
 ever after ; that these frequent acts of devotion may so con- 
 firm the habit of it, as that henceforward your daily worship 
 may become more easy, and if I may so say, in a manner 
 natural to you. 
 
 For your help herein. I would recommend to you holy 
 David's example in the text, who having resolved in gen- 
 eral, ver. 2. that he would abound in the duty of prayer, and 
 abide by it, " Unto thee will I pray," here fixes one proper 
 time for it, and that is the morning ; " My voice shalt thou 
 hear in the morning." Not in the morning only ; David 
 solemnly addressed himself to the duty of prayer three 
 times a day, as Daniel did ; u Morning, and evening, and at 
 noon will I pray, and cry aloud," Ps. lv. 17: nay, he does 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 69 
 
 not think that enough, but " Seven times a-clay will I praise 
 thee," Ps. cxix. 164. But particularly in the morning. 
 
 Doct. It is our wisdom and duty to begin every dav with 
 God. 
 
 Let us observe in the text, 
 
 L The good work itself that we are to do. God must 
 hear our voice, we must direct our prayer to him, and we 
 must look up. 
 
 II. The special time appointed and observed for the doing 
 of this good work ; and that is in the morning, and again, 
 in the morning, that is, every morning, as duly as the 
 morning comes. 
 
 I. The good work which by the example of David we are 
 here taught to do is, in one word, to pray ; a duty dictated 
 by the light and law of nature, which plainly and loudly 
 speaks, " Should not a people seek unto their God ?" but 
 which the gospel of Christ gives us much better instructions 
 in, and encouragements to, than any that nature furnishes 
 us with ; for it tells us what we must pray for, in whose 
 name we must pray, and by whose assistance, and invites 
 us to come boldly to the throne of grace, and to enter into 
 the holiest by the blood of Jesus. This work we are to do, 
 not in the morning only, but at other times, at all times. 
 We read of preaching the word out of season, but we do not 
 read of praying out of season, for that is never out of season : 
 the throne of grace is always open, and humble supplicants 
 are always welcome, and cannot come unseasonably. 
 
 But let us see how David here expresses his pious reso- 
 lutions to abide by this duty. 
 
 1. " My voice shalt thou hear." Two ways David may 
 here be understood : either, 
 
 (1.) As promising himself a gracious acceptance with God. 
 " Thou shalt," that is, thou wilt, hear my voice, when in 
 the morning I direct my prayer to thee ; so it is the language 
 of his faith, grounded upon God's promise, that his ear dull 
 be always open to Ins people's cry. He had prayed, ver. 1, 
 "Give ear to my words, 0 Lord ;" and, ver. 2, u Hearken unto 
 the voice of my cry ;" and here he receives an answer to 
 
70 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 that prayer, " Thou wilt hear," I doubt not but thou wilt ; 
 and though I have not presently a grant of the thing I 
 prayed for, yet I am sure my prayer is heard, is accepted, 
 and comes up for a memorial, as the prayer of Cornelius 
 did ; it is put upon the file, and shall not be forgotten. If 
 we look inward, and can say by experience that God has 
 prepared our heart, we may look upright, may look for- 
 ward, and say with confidence that he will cause his ear to 
 hear. 
 
 We may be sure of this, and we must pray in the assur- 
 ance of it, in a full assurance of this faith, that wherever 
 God finds a praying heart, he will be found a prayer-hear- 
 ing God : though the voice of prayer be a low voice, a weak 
 voice, yet, if it come from an upright heart, it is a voice 
 that God will hear, that he will hear with pleasure, it is 
 his delight, and that he will return a gracious answer to ; 
 he has heard thy prayers, he has seen thy tears. "When, 
 therefore, we stand praying, this ground we must stand 
 upon, this principle we must stand to, nothing doubting, 
 nothing wavering, that whatever we ask of God as a Father, 
 in the name of Jesus Christ the Mediator, according to the 
 will of God revealed in the Scripture, it shall be granted us 
 either in kind or kindness ; so the promise is, John xvi. 23 ; 
 and the truth of it is sealed to by the concurring experience 
 of the saints in all ages, ever since man began to call upon 
 the name of the Lord, that Jacob's God never yet said to 
 Jacob's seed, " Seek ye me in vain," and he will not begin 
 now. When we come to God by prayer, if we come aright, 
 we may be confident of this, that notwithstanding the dis- 
 tance between heaven and earth, and our great unworthi- 
 ness to have any notice taken of us, or any favour showed 
 us, yet God does hear our voice, and will not turn away 
 our prayer, or his mercy. Or, 
 
 (2.) It is rather to be taken, as David's promising God a 
 constant attendance on him, in the way he has appointed. 
 " My voice shalt thou hear," that is, I will speak to thee : 
 because thou hast inclined thy ear unto me many a time, 
 therefore I have taken up a resolution to call upon thee at 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 71 
 
 all times, even to the end of my time ; not a day shall pass, 
 but thou shalt hear from me. Not that the voice is the 
 thing that God regards, as they seemed to think, who in 
 prayer made their voice to be heard on high, Isa. lviii. 4. 
 Hannah prayed and prevailed when her voice was not 
 heard ; but it is the voice of the heart that is here meant : 
 God said to Moses, " Wherefore criest thou unto me ?" when % 
 we do not find that he said one word, Exod. xiv. 15. 
 Praying is lifting up the soul to God, and pouring out the 
 heart before him ; yet, as far as the expressing of the devout 
 affections of the heart by words may be of use to fix the 
 thoughts, and to excite and quicken the desires, it is good 
 to draw near to God, not only with a pure heart, but with 
 an humble voice ; so must " we render the calves of our lips." 
 
 However, God understands the language of the heart, and 
 that is the language in which we must speak to God. 
 David prays here, ver. 1, not only " give ear to my words," 
 but " consider my meditation ;" and Ps. xix. 14, " Let the 
 words of my mouth, proceeding from the meditation of my 
 heart, be acceptable in thy sight." 
 
 This therefore we have to do in every prayer, — we must 
 speak to God, we must write to him ; we say we hear from 
 a friend whom we receive a letter from ; we must see to it 
 that God hears from us daily. 
 
 1. He expects and requires it. Though he has no need 
 of us or our services, nor can be benefited by them, yet he 
 has obliged us to offer the sacrifice of prayer and praise to 
 him continually. 
 
 (1.) Thus he will keep up his authority over us, and keep 
 us continually in mind of our subjection to him, which we 
 are apt to forget. He requires that by prayer we solemnly 
 pay our homage to him, and give honour to his name, that 
 by this act and deed of our own, thus frequently repeated, 
 we may strengthen the obligations we lie under to observe 
 his statutes, and keep Ins laws, and be more and more sen- 
 sible of the weight of them. " He is thy Lord, and worship 
 thou him," that by frequent humble adorations of his per- 
 fections, thou mayst make a constant humble compliance 
 
72 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 with his will the more easy to thee. By doing obeisance 
 we are learning obedience. 
 
 (2.) Thus he will testify his love and compassion towards 
 us. It would have been an abundant evidence of his con- 
 cern for us, and his goodness to us, if he had only said, 
 ft Let me hear from you as often as there is occasion ; call 
 upon me in the time of trouble or want, and that is enough :" 
 but to show his complacency in us, as a father does his af- 
 fection to his child when he is sending him abroad, he gives 
 us this charge, " Let me hear from you every day, by every 
 post, though you have no particular business ;" which shows 
 that the prayer of the upright is his delight ; it is music in 
 his ears. Christ says to his dove, " Let me see thy coun- 
 tenance, let me hear thy voice ; for sweet is thy voice, and 
 thy countenance is comely," Cant. ii. 14. And it is to the 
 spouse, the church, that Christ speaks in the close of that 
 song of songs, " 0 thou that dwellest in the gardens, (in the 
 original it is feminine,) the companions hearken to thy voice : 
 cause me to hear it." What a shame is this to us, that 
 God is more willing to be prayed to, and more ready to hear 
 prayer, than we are to pray ! 
 
 2. We have something to say to God every day. Many 
 are not sensible of this, and it is their sin and misery : ' they 
 live without God in the world ; they think they can live 
 without him, are not sensible of their dependence upon 
 him, and their obligations to him, and, therefore, for their 
 parts they have nothing to say to him ; he never hears from 
 them, no more than the father did from his prodigal son, 
 when he was upon the ramble, from one week's end to an- 
 other. They ask scornfully, " What can the Almighty do 
 for them ?" And then no marvel if they ask next, " What 
 profit shall we have if we pray unto him I" And the result 
 is, they say to the Almighty, " Depart from us," and so 
 shall their doom be. But I hope better things of you, my 
 brethren, and that you are not of those who cast oft* fear, 
 and restrain prayer before God. You are all ready to own 
 that there is a great deal that the Almighty can do for you, 
 and that there is profit in praying to him ; and therefore 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 73 
 
 resolve to draw nigh to God, that he may draw nigh to 
 you, 
 
 We have something to say to God daily : 
 
 (1.) As to a Friend we love, and have freedom with. 
 Such a friend we cannot go by without calling on, and never 
 want something to say to, though we have no particular 
 business with him ; to such a friend we unbosom ourselves, 
 we profess our love and esteem, and with pleasure com- 
 municate our thoughts. Abraham is called " tiie friend of 
 God," and this honour have all the saints : " I have not 
 called you servants, (says Christ,) but friends;" "his secret is 
 with the righteous." We are invited to acquaint ourselves 
 with him, and to walk with him, as one friend walks -with 
 another ; the fellowship of believers is said to be " with the 
 Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ ;" and have we no- 
 thing to say to him then ? 
 
 Is it not errand enough to the throne of his grace, to ad- 
 mire his infinite perfections, which we can never fully com- 
 prehend, and yet never sufficiently contemplate, and take 
 complacency in 1 to please ourselves in beholding the beauty 
 of the Lord, and' giving him the glory due to his name? 
 Have we not a great deal to say to him in acknowledgment 
 of his condescending grace and favour to' us, in manifesting 
 himself to us and not to the world ? and in profession of our 
 affection and submission to him ? " Lord, thou knowest all 
 things, thou knowest that I love thee." 
 
 God has something to say to us as a friend every day, by 
 the written word, in which we must hear his voice ; by his 
 providences, and by our own consciences : and he hearkens 
 and hears whether we have anything to say to him by way 
 of reply, and we are very unfriendly if we have not. When 
 he t>ays to us, "Seek ye my face," should not our hearts an- 
 swer as to one we love, "Thy face, Lord, will we seek?" When 
 he says to us, "Return, ye backsliding children," should not 
 we readily reply, "Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art 
 the Lord our God V If he speak to us by way of conviction 
 and reproof, ought not we to return an answer by way of 
 confession and submission? If he speak to us by way of 
 
74 
 
 DIRECTIONS I'OR 
 
 comfort, ought not we to reply in praise ? If you love God, 
 you cannot be to seek for something to say to him, something 
 for your hearts to pour out before him, which his grace has 
 already put there. 
 
 (2.) As to a Master we serve, and have business with. 
 Think how numerous and important the concerns are that 
 lie between us and God, and you will readily acknowledge 
 that you have a great deal to say to him. We have a con- 
 stant dependence upon him, all our expectation is from him ; 
 we have constant dealings with him,* he is the God with 
 whom we have to do, Heb. iv. 13. 
 
 Do we not know that our happiness is bound up in his 
 favour ; it is life, the life of our souls ; it is better than life, 
 than the life of our bodies : and have we not business with 
 God to seek his favour, to entreat it with our whole hearts, 
 to beg as for our lives that he would lift up the light of his 
 countenance upon us, and to plead Christ's righteousness, as 
 that only through which we can hope to obtain God's loving- 
 kindness ? 
 
 Do we not know that we have offended God, that by sin we 
 have made ourselves obnoxious to his wrath and curse, and 
 that we are daily contracting guilt ? And have we not then 
 business enough with him to confess our fault and folly, to 
 ask for pardon in the blood of Christ, and in him who is our 
 peace to make our peace with God, and renew our covenants 
 with him, in his own strength, to go and sin no more 1 
 
 Do we not know that we have daily work to do for God, 
 and our own souls, the work of the day that is to be done in 
 its day ? And have we not then business with God, to beg 
 of him to show us what he would have us to do, to direct us 
 in it, and strengthen us for it ? To seek to him for assistance 
 and acceptance, that he will work in us both to will and to 
 do that which is good, and then countenance and own his 
 own work ? Such business as this the servant has with his 
 __master. 
 
 Do we not know that we are continually in danger? Our 
 bodies are so, and their lives and comforts ; we are continu- 
 ally surrounded with diseases and deaths, whose arrows fly 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 75 
 
 at midnight and at noon day ; and have we not then busi- 
 ness with God, going out and coming in, lying down and 
 rising up, to put ourselves under the protection of his pro- 
 vidence, to he the charge of his holy angels ? Our souls 
 much more are so, and their lives and comforts ; it is those 
 our adversary the devil, a strong and subtile adversary, wars 
 against, and seeks to devour; and have we not then business 
 with God to put ourselves under the protection of his grace, 
 and clothe ourselves with his armour, that we may be able to 
 stand against the wiles and violences of Satan ; so as we may 
 neither be surprised into sin by a sudden temptation, nor 
 overpowered by a strong one 1 
 
 Do we not know that we are dying daily, that death is 
 working in us, and hastening towards us, and that death 
 fetches us to judgment, and judgment fixes us in our ever- 
 lasting state ? And have we not then something to say to 
 God in preparation of what is before us ? Shall we not say, 
 Lord, make us to know our end ? Lord, teach us to num- 
 ber our days ? Have we not business with God, to judge 
 ourselves that we may not be judged, and to see that our 
 matters be right and good ? 
 
 Do we not know that we are members of that body whereof 
 Christ is the head ? and are we not concerned to approve 
 ourselves living members? Have we not then business with 
 God upon the public account, to make intercession for his 
 church ? Have we nothing to say for Zion ? nothing in 
 behalf of Jerusalem's ruined walls 1 nothing for the peace 
 and welfare of the land of our nativity ? Are we not of the 
 family, or but babes in it, that we concern not ourselves in 
 the concerns of it ? 
 
 Have we no relations, no friends, who are dear to us, whose 
 joys and griefs we share in ? and have we nothing to say to 
 God for them ? no complaints to make, no requests to make 
 known? Are none of them sick or in distress? none of 
 them tempted or disconsolate ? And have we not errands, 
 at the throne of grace, to beg relief and succour for them 1 
 
 Now lay all this together, and then consider whether you 
 have not something to say to God every day ; and particu- 
 
7G 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOB 
 
 larly in days of trouble, when it is meet to be said unto God, 
 '•'I have bome chastisement;" and when, if you have any 
 sense of things, you will say unto God, "Do not condemn 
 me." 
 
 3. If you have all this to say to God, what should hinder 
 you from saying it ? from saying it every day 1 Why should 
 not he hear your voice, when you have so many errands to 
 him? 
 
 (1.) Let not distance hinder you from saying it. You 
 have occasion to speak with a friend, but he is a great way 
 off, you cannot reach him, you know not where to find him, 
 nor how to get a letter to him, and therefore your business 
 with him is undone: but tins needs not keep you from 
 speaking to God ; for though it is tiue, God is in heaven, 
 and we are upon earth, yet he is nigh to his praying people 
 in all that they call upon him for ; he hears their voice 
 wherever they are. "Out of the depths I have cried unto 
 thee," says David, Ps. cxxx. 1. "From the ends of the earth 
 I will cry unto thee," Ps. lxi. 2. Nay, Jonah says, "Out of 
 the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice." 
 Vndique ad ccdos tantundem est vice — "In all places we may 
 find a way open heavenward :" thanks be to Him who by his 
 own blood has consecrated for us a new and living way into 
 the holiest, and settled a correspondence between heaven and 
 earth. 
 
 (2.) Let not fear hinder you from saying what you have 
 to say to God. You have business with a great man it may 
 be ; but he is so far above you, or so stern and severe toward 
 all his inferiors, that you are afraid to speak to him, and you 
 have none to introduce you, or to speak a good word for you, 
 and therefore you choose rather to drop your cause : but 
 there is no occasion for your being thus discouraged in speak- 
 ing to God; you may come boldly to the throne of his 
 grace; you have there a Trapprjaia, "a liberty of speech," 
 leave to pour out your whole souls. And such are his com- 
 passions to humble supplicants, that even his terror need 
 not make them afraid. It is against the mind of God that 
 you should frighten yourselves, he would have you encourage 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 77 
 
 yourselves, for "you have not received the spirit of bondage 
 again to fear, but the spirit of adoption," by which you are 
 brought into this among the other glorious liberties of the 
 children of God. Nor is this all — we have one to introduce 
 us, and to speak for us, an Advocate with the Father. Did 
 ever children need an advocate with a father 1 But that by 
 those two immutable things, in which it is impossible for 
 God to lie, we might have strong consolation, we have not 
 only the relation of the Father to depend upon, but the in- 
 terest and intercession of an Advocate ; a "High Priest over 
 the house of God," in whose name we have access with con- 
 fidence. 
 
 (3.) Let not his knowing what your business is, and what 
 you have to say to him, hinder you ; you have business with 
 such a friend, but you think you need not put yourselves 
 to any trouble about it, for he is already apprized of it ; he 
 knows what you want, and what you desire, and therefore 
 it is no matter for speaking to him : it is true, all your desire 
 is before God, he knows your wants and burthens, but he 
 will know them from you ; he has promised you relief, but 
 his promise must be put in suit, and he will for this be in- 
 quired of by the house of Israel to do it for them, Ezek. 
 xxxvi. 37. Though we cannot by our prayers give him any 
 information, yet we must by our prayers give him honour. 
 It is true, nothing we can say can have any influence upon 
 him, or move him to show us mercy, but it may have an in- 
 fluence upon ourselves, and help to put us into a frame fit 
 to receive mercy. It is a very easy and reasonable condition 
 of his favours, "Ask, and it shall be given you." It wfs to 
 teach us the necessity of praying, in order to our receiving 
 favour, that Christ put that strange question to the blind 
 men, "What would ye that I should do unto you?" He 
 knew what they would have, but those that touch the top 
 of the golden sceptre must be ready to tell, "'what is their 
 petition," and "what is their request." 
 
 (4.) Let not any other business hinder our saying what 
 we have to say to God. We have business with a friend per- 
 haps, but we cannot do it because we have not leisure ; we 
 
78 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 have something else to do, Which we think more needful ; 
 but we cannot say so concerning the business we have to do 
 with God, for that is without doubt the one thing needful, 
 to which every thing else must be made to give way. It is 
 not at all necessary to our happiness that we be great in 
 the world, or raise estates to such a pitch; but it is absolutely 
 necessary that we make our peace with God, that we obtain 
 his favour, and keep ourselves in his love. Therefore no 
 business for the world will serve to excuse our attendance 
 upon God ; but, on the contrary, the more important our 
 worldly business, the more need we have to apply ourselves 
 to God by prayer for his blessing upon it, and so to take 
 him along with us in it. The closer we keep to prayer, and 
 to God in prayer, the more will all our affairs prosper. 
 
 Shall I pervail with you now to let God frequently hear 
 from you ? Let him hear your voice, though it be but the 
 voice of your breathing, Lam. iii. 56, that is a sign of life ; 
 though it be the voice of your groanings, and those so weak 
 that they cannot be uttered, Rom. viii. 26. Speak to him, 
 though it be in a broken language, as Hezekiah did, "Like 
 a crane, or a swallow, so did I chatter," Isaiah xxxviii. 14. 
 Speak often to him; he is always within hearing. Hear 
 him speaking to you, and have an eye to that in everything 
 you say to him ; as when you write an answer to a letter of 
 business you lay it before you. God's word must be the 
 guide of your desires, and the ground of your expectations 
 in prayer ; nor can you expect that he should give a gracious 
 ear to what you say to him, if you turn a deaf ear to what 
 he safys to you. 
 
 You see that you have frequent occasion to speak with 
 God, and therefore are concerned to grow in your acquain- 
 tance with him, to take heed of doing anything to displease 
 him, and to strengthen your interest in the Lord Jesus, 
 through whom alone it is that you have access with bold- 
 ness to him. Keep your voice in tune for prayer, and let 
 all your language be a pure language, that you may be fit 
 to call on the name of the Lord. And in every prayer re- 
 member you are speaking to God, and make it to appear you 
 
DAILT OOMMUNIOS WITH GOD. 
 
 79 
 
 have an awe of him upun your spirits : let us not be rash 
 with our mouth, nor hasty to utter anything before God, 
 but let every word be well weighed, because "God is in 
 heaven, and we upon earth." Eccl. v. 2. And if he had not 
 invited and encouraged us to do it, it had been unpardon- 
 able presumption for such sinful worms as we are to speak 
 to the Lord of glory, Gen. xviii. 27. And we are concerned 
 to speak from the heart, heartily, for it is for our lives, and 
 for the lives of our souls, that we are speaking to him. 
 
 2. We must direct our prayer unto God. He must not 
 only hear our voice, but we must with deliberation and 
 design address ourselves to him. In the original it is no 
 more but, "I will direct unto thee;" it might be supplied, 
 " I will direct my soul unto thee/' agreeing with Ps. xxv. I, 
 * Unto thee, 0 Lord, do I lift up my soul." Or, " I will 
 direct my affection to thee ;" having set my love upon thee, 
 I will let out my love to thee. Our translation supplies it 
 very well, " I will direct my prayer unto thee." That is, 
 
 (1.) When I pray unto thee I will direct my prayers; 
 and then it denotes a fixedness of thought, and a close 
 application of mind, to the duty of prayer. We must go 
 about it solemnly, as those who have something of moment 
 much at heart, and much in view therein, and therefore 
 dare not trifle in it. When we go to pray we must not give 
 i he sacrifice of fools, who think not either what is to be 
 done, or what is to be gained, but speak the words of the 
 wise, who aim at tome good end in what they say, and suit 
 it to that end ; we must have in our eye God's glory, and 
 our own true happiness ; and so well-ordered is the covenant 
 of grace, that God has been pleased therein to twist interests 
 with us, so that in seeking his glory we really and effectu- 
 ally seek our own true interests. This is directing the 
 prayer, as he that shoots an arrow at a mark directs it, and 
 with a fixed eye and steady hand takes aim right. This is 
 engaging the heart to approach to God, and in order to that 
 disengaging it from everything else. He who takes aim 
 with one eye shuts the other ; if we would direct a prayer 
 to GSd we must look off- all other things, must gather in 
 
80 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOB 
 
 our wandering thoughts, must summon them all to draw- 
 near and give their attendance, for here is work to be done 
 that needs them all, and is we!d worthy of them all ; thus 
 we must be able to say with the psalmist, 0 God, " my heart 
 is fixed, my heart is fixed." 
 
 £2.) When I direct my prayer I will " direct it to thee." 
 And so it speaks, 
 
 [1.] The sincerity of our habitual intention in prayer. 
 We must not direct our prayer to men, that we may gain 
 praise and applause with them, as the Pharisees did, who 
 proclaimed their devotions as iliey did their alms, that they 
 might gain a reputation, which they knew how to make a 
 hand of: " Verily they have their reward," men commend 
 them, but God abhors their pride and hypocrisy. We must 
 not let our prayers run at large, as they did who said, " Who 
 will show us any good?" nor direct them to the world, 
 courting its smiles, and pursuing its wealth, as those who 
 are therefore said not to " cry unto God with their hearts," 
 because they " assembled themselves for corn and wine," 
 Hos. vii. 14. Let not self, carnal self, be the spring and 
 centre of your prayers, but God ; let the eye of the soul be 
 fixed upon him as your highest end in all your applications 
 to him ; let this be the habitual disposition of your souls, to 
 be to your God for a name and a praise ; and let this be your 
 design in all your desires, that God may be glorified, and by 
 this let them all be directed, determined, sanctified, and, 
 when need is, overruled. Our Saviour has plainly taught 
 us this, in the first petition of the Lord's prayer ; which is, 
 " Hallowed be thy name : " in that we fix our end, and other 
 things are desired in order to that ; in that the prayer is 
 directed to the glory of God in all that whereby he has 
 made himself l^nown, the glory of his holiness ; and it is with 
 an eye to the sanctifying of Ins name that we desire his 
 kingdom may come, and his will be done, and that we may 
 be fed, and kept, and pardoned. A habitual aim at God's 
 glory is that sincerity winch is our gospel perfection, that 
 single eye,, which where it is, the whole body, the whole soul, 
 is full of light. Thus the prayer is directed to God. 
 
DAILY COMMUXIOX WITH GOD. 
 
 61 
 
 [2.] It speaks the steadiness of our actual regard to God 
 in prayer. We must direct our prayer to God, that is, we 
 must continually think of him, as one with whom we have 
 to do in prayer. We must direct our prayer, as we direct 
 our speech, to the person we have business with. The 
 Bible is a letter God has sent to us, prayer is a letter we 
 send to him ; now you know it is essential to a letter that 
 it be directed, and material that it be directed right ; if it 
 be not, it is in danger of miscarrying, which may be of ill 
 consequence. You pray daily, and therein send letters to 
 God ; you know not what you lose if your letters miscarry ; 
 will you therefore take instructions how to direct to him ? 
 
 Give him his titles, as you do when you direct to a person 
 of honour ; address yourselves to him as the great Jehovah, 
 God " over all, blessed for evermore;" the "King of kings, 
 and Lord of Lords;" as "the Lord God, gracious and mer- 
 ciful;" let your hearts and mouths be filled with holy 
 adorings and admirings of him, and fasten upon those titles 
 of his which are proper to strike a holy awe of him upon 
 your minds, that you may worship him with reverence and 
 godly fear. Direct your prayer to him as the God of glory, 
 with whom is terrible majesty, and whose greatness is 
 unsearchable, that you may not dare to trifle with him, or 
 to mock him in what you say to him. 
 
 Take notice of your relation to him, as his children, and 
 let not that be overlooked and lost in your awful adorations 
 of his glories. I have been told of a good man, among 
 whose experiences, which he kept a record of, after his death, 
 this among other things was found ; that such a time at 
 secret prayer, Ins heart at the beginning of the duty was 
 much enlarged, in giving to God those titles which are awful 
 and tremendous, in calling him the Great, the Mighty, and 
 the Terrible God ; but going on thus he checked himself 
 with this thought, "And why not mjt Father?" Christ 
 has both by his precept and by his pattern taught us to 
 address ourselves to God as " our Father ;" and the Spirit of 
 adoption teaches us to cry " Abba, Father." A son, though 
 a prodigal, when he returns and repents, may go to his 
 
 p 
 
82 
 
 DIKECTI0JS8 TOK 
 
 father, and say unto him, "Father, I have sinned;" and 
 though no more worthy to be called a son, yet humbly 
 bold may call him "Father." When Ephraim bemoans 
 himself "as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke," God 
 bemoans him as a "dear son," as a "pleasant child," 
 Jer. xxxi. 18, 20 ; and if God is not ashamed, let us not 
 be afraid to own the relation. 
 
 Direct your prayer to him in heaven ; this our Saviour 
 has taught us in the preface to the Lord's prayer, " Our 
 Father which art in heaven." Not that he is confined 
 to the heavens, or as if the heaven, or the heaven of 
 heavens, could contain him ; but there he is said to have 
 prepared his throne, not only Ins throne of government, 
 by which his kingdom ruleth over all, but his throne of 
 grace, to which we must by faith draw near. "We must 
 eye him as God in heaven, in opposition to the gods of 
 the heathens, which dwelt in temples made with hands. 
 Heaven is a high place, and we must address ourselves to 
 him as a God infinitely above us; it is the fountain of 
 light, and to him we must address ourselves as the Father 
 of lights ; it is a place of prospect, and we must see his 
 eye upon us, from thence beholding all the children of 
 men ; it is a place of purity, and we must in prayer eye 
 him as a holy God, and give thanks at the remembrance 
 of his holiness ; it is the firmament of his power, and we 
 must depend upon him as one to whom power belongs. 
 When our Lord Jesus prayed he lifted up his eyes to 
 heaven, to direct us whence to expect the blessings we 
 need. 
 
 Direct this letter to be left with the Lord Jesus, the 
 only Mediator between God and man ; it will certainly mis- 
 carry if it be not put into his hand, who is that other angel 
 who puts much incense to the prayers of saints, and so 
 perfumed presents them to the Father, Rev. viii. 3. What 
 we ask of the Father must be in his name; what we 
 expect from the Father must be by his hand ; for he is the 
 High Priest of our profession, who is ordained for men, 
 to offer their gifts, Heb. v. 1. Direct the letter to be left 
 
DAILY 0OHMUNIOS WITH GOD. 
 
 83 
 
 with him. and he will deliver it with care and speed, 
 and will make our service acceptable. Mr. George Her- 
 bert, in his poem called " The Bag," having pathetically 
 described the wound in Christ's side as he was hanging 
 on the cross, makes him speak thus to all believers as 
 he was going to heaven : 
 
 If you have any thing to send or write, 
 
 I have no hag hut here is room, 
 Unto my Father's hands and sight, 
 
 Believe me, it shall safely come; 
 That I shall mind what you impart, 
 Look, you may put it very near my heart 
 Or if hereafter any of my friends 
 
 Will use me in this kind, the door 
 Shall still be open, what he sends 
 
 I will present, and something more, 
 Not to his hurt ; sighs wfiU convey 
 Anything to me; hark, despair, away. 
 
 3. We must look up. That is, 
 
 (1.) We must look up in our prayers, as those who 
 speak to one above us, infinitely above us, the " High and 
 Holy One that inhabiteth eternity;" as those who expect 
 every good and perfect gift to come from above, from the 
 Father of lights; as those who ofesire in prayer to enter 
 into the holiest, and to draw near with a true heart. 
 With an eye of faith we must look above the world and 
 everything in it, must look beyond the tilings of time. 
 What is this world, and all things here below, to one that 
 knows how to put a due estimate upon spiritual blessings 
 in heavenly things by Jesus Christ? The spirit of a man 
 at death goes upward, Eccl. iii. 21, for it returns to God who 
 gave it ; and therefore, as mindful of its original, it must 
 in every prayer look upward toward its God, toward its 
 home, as having set its affections on things above, wherein 
 it has laid up its treasure. Let us, therefore, in prayer lift 
 up our hearts with our hands unto God in the heavens. It 
 was anciently usual in some churches for the minister to stir 
 up the people to pray with this word, Sursum Corda, — Up 
 with your hearts; u unto thee, 0 Lord, do we lift up our 
 bouls." 
 
84 
 
 D1KJSCTI0NS Jb'OK 
 
 (2.) We must look up after our prayers, 
 
 [1.] With an eye of satisfaction and pleasure ; looking up 
 is a sign of cheerfulness, as a down-look is a melancholy 
 one. We must look up as those who, having by prayer 
 referred ourselves to God, are easy and well pleased, and 
 with an entire confidence in his wisdom and goodness 
 patiently expect the issue. Hannah, w T hen she had prayed, 
 looked up, looked pleasant ; she went her way, and did eat, 
 and her countenance was no more sad, 1 Sam. i. 18. Prayer 
 is heart's-ease to a good Christian ; and when we have prayed 
 we should look up, as those who through grace have found 
 it so. 
 
 [2.] With an eye of observation, what returns God makes 
 to our prayers. We must look up, as one who has shot an 
 arrow looks after it to see how near it comes to the mark ; 
 we must look within us, and observe what the frame of our 
 spirits is after we have been at prayer, how well satisfied 
 . they are in the will of God, and how well disposed to ac- 
 commodate themselves to it ; we must look about us, and 
 observe how Providence works concerning us, that if our 
 prayers be answered, we may return to give thanks ; if not, 
 that we may remove what hinders, and may continue wait- 
 ing. Thus we must .set ourselves upon our watch-tower, to 
 see what God will say unto us, and must be ready to hear 
 it, Ps. lxxxv. 8, expecting that God will give us an answer 
 of peace, and resolving that we will return no more to folly. 
 Thus must we keep up our communion with God ; hoping 
 that whenever we lift up our hearts unto him, he will lift 
 up the light of his countenance upon us. Sometimes the 
 answer is quick, " While they are yet speaking, I will 
 hear ; ; ' quicker than the return of any of your posts ; but if 
 it be not, when we have prayed \Ve must wait. 
 
 Let us learn thus to direct our prayers, and thus to look 
 up ; to be inward with God in every duty, to make heart- 
 work of it, or we make nothing of it. Let us not worship 
 in the outward court, when we are commanded and en- 
 couraged to enter within the vail. 
 
 II. The particular time fixed in the text for this good 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 85 
 
 work is the morning ; and the Psalmist seems to lay an 
 emphasis upon this, in the morning, and again, in the morn- 
 ing : not then only, but then to begin with ; let that be one 
 of the hours of prayer. Under the law we find that every 
 morning there was a lamb offered in sacrifice, Exod. xxix. 
 39 ; and every morning the priests burned incense, Exod. 
 xxx. 7 ; and the singers stood every morning to thank the 
 Lord, 1 Chron. xxiii. 30. And so it was appointed in 
 Ezekiel's temple, Ezek. xlvi. 13-15. By which an intima- 
 tion was plainly given, that the spiritual sacrifices should 
 be offered by the spiritual priests every morning, as duly as 
 the morning comes. Every Christian should pray in secret, 
 and every master of a family with his family, morning by 
 morning ; and there is good reason for it. 
 
 1. The morning is the first part of the day, and it is fit 
 that He that is first should have the first, and be first served. 
 The heathen could say, A Jove principium — " Let your be- 
 ginning be with Jupiter." Whatever you do, begin with 
 God. The world had its beginning from him, we had ours, 
 and therefore whatever we begin, it concerns us to take him 
 along with us in it. The days of our life, as soon as ever 
 the sun of reason rises in the soul, should be devoted to 
 God, and employed in his service ; " Fr,om the womb of the 
 morning let Christ have the dew of thy youth," Ps. ex. 3. 
 The first-fruits were always to be the Lord's, and the first- 
 lings of the flock. By morning and evening prayer we give 
 glory to him who is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and 
 the last ; with him we must begin and end the day, begin 
 and end the night, who is the beginning and the end, the 
 first cause, and the last end. 
 
 Wisdom has said, " Those that seek me early shall find 
 me ;" early in their lives, early in the day ; for hereby we 
 give to God that which he ought to have, the preference 
 above other things. Hereby we show that we are in care to 
 please him, and to approve ourselves to him, and that we 
 seek him diligently. What we do earnestly we are said in 
 Scripture to do early, Ps. ci. 8. Industrious men rise be- 
 times. David expresseth the strength and warmth of his 
 
86 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 devotion, when he says, " 0 God, thou art my God, early 
 will I seek thee," Ps. lxiii. 1. 
 
 2. In the morning we are fresh and lively, and in the 
 best frame ; when our spirits are revived with the rest and 
 sleep of the night, and we live a kind of new life ; and the 
 fatigues of the day before are forgotten. The God of Israel 
 neither slumbers nor sleeps, yet, when he exerts himself 
 more than ordinary on his people's behalf, he is said to 
 " awake as one out of sleep," Ps. lxxviii. 65. If ever we be 
 good for anything it is in the morning ; it is therefore be- 
 come a proverb, Aurora musis arnica — " The morning is a 
 Mend to the muses ;" and if the morning be a friend to the 
 muses, I am sure it is no less so to the graces. As he that 
 is the first should have the first, so he that is the best 
 should have the best ; and when we are fittest for business, 
 we should apply ourselves to that which is the most needful 
 business. 
 
 Worshipping God is work that requires the best powers 
 of the soul, when they are at the best ; and it well deserves 
 them ; how can they be better bestowed, or so as to turn to 
 a better account? Let "all that is within me bless his 
 holy name," says David, and all little enough. If there be 
 any gift in us by which God may be honoured, the morning 
 is the time to stir it up, 2 Tim. i. 6, when our spirits are 
 refreshed, and have gained new vigour ; then " Awake, my 
 glory, awake psaltery and harp, for I myself will awake 
 early," Ps. lvii. 8. Then let us stir up ourselves to take hold 
 on God. 
 
 3. In the morning we are most free from company and 
 business, and ordinarily have the best opportunity for soli- 
 tude and retirement ; unless we be of those sluggards who 
 lie in bed, with " yet a little sleep, a little slumber," till 
 the work of their calling calls them up with, " How long 
 wilt thou sleep, 0 sluggard ?" It is the wisdom of those who 
 have much to do in the world, that they have scarce a 
 minute to themselves of all day, to take time in the morn- 
 ing, before business crowds in upon them, for the business 
 of their religion ; that they may be entire for it, and there- 
 fore the more intent upon it. 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 87 
 
 As we are concerned to worship God when we are least 
 burthened with deadness and dullness within, so also when 
 we are least exposed to distraction and diversion from with- 
 out ; the apostle intimates how much it should be our care 
 to attend upon the Lord without distraction, 1 Cor. vii. 35. 
 And therefore that one day in seven, (and it is the first day 
 too, the morning of the week,) which is appointed for holy 
 work, is appointed to be a day of rest from other work. 
 Abraham leaves all at the bottom of the hill when he goes 
 up into the mount to worship God. In the morning, there- 
 fore, let us converse with God, and apply ourselves to the 
 concerns of the other life, before we are entangled in the 
 affairs of this life. Our Lord Jesus has set us an example 
 of this, who, because his day was wholly filled up with 
 public business for God and the souls of men, rose up in the 
 morning a great while before day, and before company came 
 in, and went out into a solitary place, and there prayed, 
 Mark i. 35. 
 
 4. In the morning we have received fresh mercies from 
 God, which we are concerned to acknowledge with thank- 
 fulness to his praise. He is continually doing us good, 
 and loading us with his benefits. Every day we have rea- 
 son to bless him, for every day he is blessing us ; in the 
 morning particularly ; and therefore, as he is giving out to 
 us the fruits of his favour, which are said to be " new T every 
 morning," Lam. iii. 23, because though the same we had 
 the morning before, they are still forfeited, and still needed, 
 and upon that account may be called still new ; so we should 
 be still returning the expressions of our gratitude to him, 
 and of other pious and devout affections, which, like the 
 fire on the altar, must be new every morning, Lev. vi. 12. 
 
 Have we had a good night ? and have we not an errand 
 to the throne of grace to return thanks for it ? IIoav many 
 mercies concurred to make it a good night ! distinguishing 
 mercies, granted to us, but denied to others ! Many have 
 not where to lay their heads, our Master himself had not ; 
 " The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, 
 but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head ;" but 
 
S8 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 we have houses to dwell in, quiet and peaceable habitations, 
 perhaps stately ones ; we have beds to lie in, warm and easy 
 ones, perhaps beds of ivory, fine ones, such as they stretched 
 themselves upon who were at ease in Zion ; and are not put 
 to wander in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of 
 the earth, as some of the best of God's saints have been 
 forced to do, of whom the world was not worthy. Many 
 have beds to lie on, yet dare not, or cannot, lie down in 
 them, being kept up either by the sickness of their friends, 
 or the fear of their enemies. But we have laid us down, 
 and there has been none to make us afraid ; no alarms of 
 the sword, either of war or persecution. Many lay them 
 down and cannot sleep, but are full of tossings to and fro 
 until the dawning of the day, through pain of body, or 
 anguish of mind. Wearisome nights are appointed to them, 
 and their eyes are held waking ; but we have laid us down 
 and slept without any disturbance, and our sleep was sweet 
 and refreshing, the pleasant parenthesis of our cares and 
 toils. It is God who has given us sleep, has given it us as 
 he gives it to his beloved. Many lay them down and sleep, 
 and never rise again, they sleep the sleep of death, and 
 their beds are their graves ; but we have slept and waked 
 again, have rested, and are refreshed ; we shake ourselves, 
 and it is with us as at other times, because the Lord has 
 sustained us ; and if he had not upheld us, we had sunk 
 with our own weight when we fell asleep, Ps. iii. 5. 
 
 Have we a pleasant morning 1 Is the light sweet to us, the 
 light of the sun, the light of the eyes, do these rejoice the 
 heart 1 and ought we not to own our obligations to him who 
 opens our eyes, and opens the eyelids of the morning upon 
 us 1 Have we clothes to put on in the morning, garments 
 that are warm upon us, Job xxxvii. 17, change of raiment, 
 not for necessity only, but for ornament 1 We have them 
 from God; it is his wool and his flax that is given to cover 
 our nakedness, and the morning when we dress ourselves is 
 the proper time of returning him thanks for it ; yet, I doubt, 
 we do it not so constantly as we do for our food when we 
 sit down to our tables, though we have as much reason to 
 
DAILY COMMUMOX WITII GOD. 
 
 89 
 
 do it. Are we in health and at ease ? Have we been long 
 so 1 We ought to be thankful for a constant series of mer- 
 cies, as for particular instances of it, especially considering 
 how many are sick and in pain, and how much we have 
 deserved to be so. 
 
 Perhaps we have experienced some special mercy to our- 
 selves or our families, in preservation from fire or thieves, 
 from dangers we have been aware of, and many more un- 
 seen; weeping perhaps endured for a night, and joy came 
 in the morning ; and that calls aloud upon us to own the 
 goodness of God. The destroying angel perhaps has been 
 abroad, and the arrow that flies at midnight, and wastes in 
 darkness, has been shot in at others' windows, but our 
 houses have been passed over. Thanks be to God for the 
 blood of the covenant, sprinkled upon our door-posts ; and 
 for the ministration of the good angels about us, to which 
 we owe it that we have been preserved from the malice ot 
 the evil angels against us, those rulers of the darkness of 
 this world, who, perhaps, creep forth like the beasts of prey, 
 when he makes darkness and it is dark. All the glory be 
 to the God of the angels. 
 
 5. In the morning we have fresh matter ministered to us 
 for the adoration of the greatness and glory of God. We 
 ought to take notice, not only of the gifts of God's bounty 
 to us, which we have the comfort and benefit of, they are 
 little narrow souls that confine their regards to them ; but 
 we ought to observe the more general instances of his wis- 
 dom and power in the kingdom of providence, which re- 
 dound to his honour, and the common good of the universe. 
 The 19th Psalm seems to have been a morning meditation, 
 in which we are' directed to observe how "the heavens de- 
 clare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his 
 handy work ;" and to own not only the advantage we re- 
 ceive from their light and influence, but the honour they 
 do to him who stretched out the heavens like a curtain, 
 fixed their pillars, and established their ordinances, accord- 
 ing to which they continue to this day, for they are all his 
 servants. " Day unto day utters this speech, and night unto 
 
90 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 night skoweth this knowledge ;" even the eternal power and 
 godhead of the great Creator of the world, and its great 
 Ruler. The regular and constant succession and revolution 
 of light and darkness, according to the original contract 
 made between them, that they should reign alternately, 
 may serve to confirm our faith in that part of divine reve- 
 lation which gives us the history of the creation, and the 
 promise of God to Noah and his sons. Gen. viii. 22. His 
 " covenant with the day and with the night," Jer. xxxiii. 20. 
 
 Look, up in the morning, and see how exactly the day- 
 spring knows its place, knows its time, and keeps them : 
 how the morning light takes hold of the ends of the earth, 
 and of the air which is turned to it as clay to the seal, in- 
 stantly receiving the impressions of it, Job xxxviii. 12-14. 
 I was pleased with an expression of a worthy good minister 
 I heard lately, in his thanksgivings to God for the mercies 
 of the morning : " How many thousand miles," said he, 
 " has the sun travelled tins last night to bring the light of 
 the morning to us poor sinful wretches, that justly might 
 have been buried in the darkness of the night!" Look up 
 •and see the sun as a bridegroom richly dressed, and greatly 
 pleased, coming out of his chamber, and rejoicing as a strong 
 man to run a race : observe how bright his beams are, how 
 sweet his smiles, how strong his influences : and, if there be 
 no speech or language where their voice is not heard, the 
 voice of these natural preachers, proclaiming the glory of 
 God, it is pity there should be any speech or language where 
 the voice of Ins worshippers should not be heard, echoing 
 to the voice of those preachers, and ascribing glory to him 
 who thus makes the morning and evening to rejoice. But 
 whatever others do, let him hear our voice to this purpose 
 in the morning, and in the morning let us direct our praises 
 unto him. 
 
 6. In the morning we have, or should have, had fresh 
 thoughts of God, and sweet meditations on his name, and 
 those we ought to offer up to him in prayer. Have we 
 been, according to David's example, "remembering God 
 upon our beds, and meditating upon him in the night- 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 01 
 
 watches V When we awake can we say as he did, " We are 
 still with God V If so, we have a good errand to the 
 throne of grace by the words of our mouths, to offer up to 
 God the meditations of our hearts, and it will he to him a 
 sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour. If the heart has been 
 inditing a good matter, let the tongue be as the pen of a 
 ready writer, to pour it out before God, Ps. xlv. L 
 
 We have the Word of God to converse with, and we ought 
 to read a portion of it every morning : by it God speaks to 
 us, and in it we ought to meditate day and night, which if 
 we do, that will send us to the throne of grace, and furnish 
 us with many a good errand there. If God in the morning 
 by his grace direct- his word to us, so as to make it reach 
 our hearts, that will engage us to direct our prayer to him. 
 
 7. In the morning, it is to be feared, we find cause to re- 
 flect upon many vain and sinful thoughts that have been 
 in our minds in the night season ; and upon that account it 
 is necessary that we address ourselves to God by prayer in 
 the morning, for the pardon of them. The Lord's prayer 
 seems to be calculated primarily in the letter of it for the 
 morning ; for we are taught to pray " for our daily bread 
 this day :*' and yet we are then to pray,'"' Father, forgive us 
 our trespasses ;" for as in the hurry of the day we contract 
 guilt by our irregular words and actions, so we do in the 
 solitude of the night, by our corrupt imaginations, and the 
 wanderings of an unsanctified ungoverned fancy. It is cer- 
 tain, " The thought of foolishness is sin," Prov. xxix. 9. 
 Foolish thoughts are sinful thoughts ; the first-born of the 
 old man, the first beginnings of all sin ; and how many of 
 these vain thoughts lodge within us wherever we lodge ? 
 Their name is Legion, for they are many ; who can under- 
 stand these errors ! They are more than the hairs of our 
 head. We read of those who work evil upon their beds, 
 because there they devise it ; and when the morning is light 
 they practise it, Mic. ii. 1. How often in the night season 
 is the mind disquieted and distracted with distrustful care- 
 ful thoughts; polluted with unchaste and anton thoughts ; 
 intoxicated with proud aspiring thoughts; soured and 
 
92 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 leavened with malicious, revengeful thoughts; or, at the 
 best, diverted from devout and pious thoughts by a thousand 
 impertinences : out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, which 
 lie down with us, and rise up with us, for out of that cor- 
 rupt fountain, which, wkerever we go, we carry about with 
 us, these streams naturally flow. Yea, and in the multitude 
 of dreams, as well as in many words, they are also divers 
 vanities, Eccl. v. 2. 
 
 And dare we go abroad till we have renewed our repent- 
 ance, which we are every night, as well as every day, thus 
 making work for ? Are we not concerned to confess to him 
 who knows our hearts, their wanderings from him, to com- 
 plain of them to him as revolting and rebellious hearts, and 
 bent to backslide ; to make our peace with the blood ot 
 Christ, and to pray that the thought of our heart may be 
 forgiven us ? We cannot with safety go into the business 
 of the day under the guilt of any sin unrepented of, or un- 
 pardoned. 
 
 8. In the morning we are addressing ourselves to the 
 work of the day, and therefore are concerned by prayer to 
 seek unto God for his presence and blessing. "We come, and 
 are encouraged to come boldly, to the throne of grace, not 
 only for mercy to pardon what has been amiss, but for grace 
 to help in every time of need : and what time is it that is 
 not a time of need with us ? And, therefore, what morning 
 should pass without morning prayer ? We read of that 
 which the duty of every day requires, Ezra iii. 4, and in 
 reference to that we must go to God every morning to pray 
 for the gracious disposal of his providence concerning us, 
 and the gracious operations of liis Spirit upon us. 
 
 We have families to look after, it may be, and to provide 
 for, and are in care to do well for them; let us then every 
 morning by prayer commit them to God, put them under 
 the conduct and government of his grace, and then we ef- 
 fectually put them imder the care and protection of his 
 providence. Holy Job rose up early in the morning to offer 
 burnt-offerings for his children, and we should do so to 
 offer up prayers and supplications for them, according to 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 93 
 
 the number of them all, Job i. 5. Thus we cause the 
 blessing to rest on our houses. 
 
 We are going about the business of our callings perhaps, 
 let us look up to God in the first place, for wisdom and 
 grace to manage them well, in the fear of God, and to abide 
 with him in them ; and then we may in faith beg of him to 
 prosper and succeed us in them, to strengthen us for the 
 services of them, to support us under the fatigues of them, 
 to direct the designs of them, and to give us comfort in the 
 gains of them. We have journeys to go, it may be ; let us 
 look up to God for his presence with us, and go no whither, 
 where we cannot in faith beg of God to go with us. 
 
 We have a prospect, perhaps, of opportunities of doing or 
 getting good, let us look up to God for a heart to every 
 price in our hands, for skill, and will, and courage to im- 
 prove it, that it may not be a price in the hand of a 
 fool. Every day has its temptations too; some perhaps 
 we foresee, but there may be many more that we think 
 not of, and are therefore concerned to be earnest with 
 God, that we may not be led into any temptation, but 
 guarded against every one ; that whatever company we 
 come into, we may have wisdom to do good and no hurt 
 to them, and to get good and no hurt by them. 
 
 We know not what a day may bring forth ; little think 
 in the morning what tidings we may hear, and what 
 events may befall us before night; and should therefore 
 beg of God grace to carry us through the duties and 
 difficulties which we do not foresee, as well as those which 
 we do ; that, in order to our standing complete in all the 
 will of God, as the day is, so the strength may be. We 
 shall find, that sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof, 
 and that, therefore, as it is folly to take thought for 
 to-morrow's event, so it is wisdom to take thought for 
 to-day's duty, that sufficient unto tins day, and the duty 
 of it, may be the supplies of the divine grace, thoroughly to 
 furnish us for every good word and work, and thoroughly 
 to fortify us against every evil word and work ; that we 
 may not think, or speak, or do anything in all the day, 
 
94 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 which we may have cause upon any account to wish un- 
 thought, unspoke, and undone at night. 
 
 THE APPLICATION. 
 
 1. Let this word put us in mind of our omissions; for 
 omissions are sins, and must come into judgment. How 
 often has our morning worship been either neglected or 
 negligently performed ! The work has been either not 
 done at all, or done deceitfully ; either no sacrifice at all 
 brought, or it lias been the torn, and the lame, and the 
 sick ; either no prayer, or the prayer not directed aright, nor 
 lifted up. We have had the morning's mercies, God has 
 not been wanting in the compassion and care of a Father 
 for us, yet we have not done the morning's service, but 
 have been shamefully wanting in the duty of cliildren to 
 him. 
 
 Let us be truly humbled before God this morning for 
 our sin and folly herein, that we have so often robbed 
 God of the honour, and ourselves of the benefit, of our 
 morning worship. God has come into our closets, seek- 
 ing this fruit, but has found none, or next to none ; has 
 hearkened and heard, but either we spake not to him at 
 all, or spake not right. Some trifling thing or other has 
 served for an excuse to put it by once, and when once the 
 good usage has been broken in upon, conscience has been 
 wounded, and its bonds weakened, and we have grown more 
 and more cool to it, and perhaps by degrees it has been 
 quite left off. 
 
 2. I beseech you, suffer a word of exhortation concerning 
 this. I know what an influence it would have upon the 
 prosperity of your souls, to be constant and sincere in your 
 secret worship, and therefore, give me leave to press it upon 
 you with all earnestness; let God hear from you every 
 morning, every morning let your prayer be directed to him, 
 and look up. 
 
 (1.) Make conscience of your secret worship; keep it up, 
 not only because it has been a custom you have received by 
 
DAILY COMMUNION 'WITH GOD. 
 
 05 
 
 tradition from your fathers, but because it is a duty, con- 
 cerning which you have received commandments from the 
 Lord. Keep up stated times for it, and be true to them. 
 Let those who have hitherto lived in the total neglect, or in 
 the frequent omission, of secret prayer, be persuaded 
 henceforward to look upon it as the most needful part of 
 their daily business, and the most delightful part of their 
 daily comfort, and do it accordingly with a constant care, 
 and, yet, with a constant pleasure. 
 
 No persons who have the use of their reason can pretend 
 to an exemption from this duty ; what is said to some is 
 said to all, ;£ Pray, pray, continue in prayer, and watch in 
 the same." Rich people are not so much bound to labour 
 with their hands as the poor, poor people are not so much 
 bound to give alms as the rich, but both are equally bound 
 to pray. The rich are not above the necessity of the duty, 
 nor the poor below acceptance with God in it. It is not 
 too soon for the youngest to begin to pray; and those 
 whom the multitude of years has taught wisdom, yet at 
 their end will be fools, if they think they have no further 
 occasion for prayer. 
 
 Let none plead they cannot pray ; for if you are ready 
 to perish with hunger, you could beg and pray for food ; 
 and if you see yourselves undone by reason of sin, can 
 you not beg and pray for mercy and grace ? Art thou a 
 Christian ? Never for shame say, thou canst not pray, for 
 that is as absurd as for a soldier to say, he knows not 
 how to handle a sword, or a carpenter an axe. What 
 are you called for into the fellowship of Christ, but that 
 by him you may have fellowship with God ! You cannot 
 pray so well as others, pray as well as you can, and God will 
 accept of you. 
 
 Let none plead that they have not time in a morning for 
 prayer. I dare say you can find time for other things that 
 are less needful. You had better take time from sleep than 
 want time for prayer. And how can you spend time better, 
 and more to your satisfaction and advantage ? All the 
 
96 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 business of the day will prosper the better, for your begin- 
 ning it thus with God. 
 
 Let none plead that they have not a convenient place to 
 be private m for this work : Isaac retired into the field to 
 pray: and the Psalmist could be alone with God in a 
 corner of the house top. If you cannot perform it with so 
 much secrecy as you would, yet perform it ; it is doing it 
 with ostentation that is the fault, not doing it under obser- 
 vation, when it cannot be avoided. I remember, when I 
 was a young man coming up hither to London in the stage 
 coach, in King James's time, there happened to be a gentle- 
 man in the company, who then was not afraid to own 
 himself a Jesuit. Many rencounters he and I had upon 
 the road, and this was one : He was praising the custom in 
 popisli countries of keeping the church doors always open, 
 for people to go into at any time to say their prayers. I told 
 him it looked too much like the practice of the Pharisees, 
 that prayed in the synagogues; and did not agree with 
 Christ's command, " Thou, when thou pray est" thyself, enter 
 not into the church with the doors open, but "into thy 
 closet and shut thy doors." When he was pressed with that 
 argument, he replied with some vehemence, " I believe you 
 Protestants say your prayers nowhere ; for," said he, " I 
 have travelled a great deal in the coach in company with 
 Protestants, have often lain in inns in the same room with 
 them, and have carefully watched them, and could never 
 perceive that any of them said his prayers night or morning 
 but one, and he was a Presbyterian." I hope there was 
 more malice than truth in what he said: but I mention it 
 as an intimation, that though we cannot be so private as we 
 would be in our devotions, yet we must not omit them, lest 
 the omission should prove not a sin only, but a scandal. 
 
 (2.) Make a business of your secret worship, and be not 
 slothful in this business, but fervent in spirit, serving the 
 Lord. Take heed lest it degenerate into a formality, and 
 you grow customary in your accustomed services. Go about 
 the duty solemnly ; be inward with God in it ; it is not 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 97 
 
 enough to say your prayers, but you must pray your prayers, 
 must pray in praying, as Elijah did, Jam. v. 17. Let us 
 learn to labour fervently in prayer, as Epaphras did, Col. iv. 
 12, and w* shall find that it is the hand of the diligent in 
 this duty that makes rich. God looks not at the length of 
 your prayers, nor shall you be heard for your much speak- 
 ing or fine speaking ; but God requires truth in the inward 
 part, and it is the prayer of the upright that is his delight. 
 When you have prayed, look upon yourselves as thereby 
 engaged and encouraged, both to serve God and to trust in 
 him ; that the comfort and benefit of your morning devo- 
 tions may not be as the morning cloud which passes away, 
 but as the morning light which shines more and more. 
 
 PAET II 
 
 SHOWING HOW TO SPEND THE DAY WITH GOD. 
 
 " On thee do I wait all the day."— Psalm xxv. 5. 
 
 Which of us is there that can truly say this ? Who 
 lives this life of communion with God, which is so much 
 our business, and so much our blessedness ? How far short 
 do we come of the spirit of holy David, though we have 
 much better assistances for our acquaintance with God than 
 the saints then had, by the clearer discoveries of the medi- 
 ation of Christ. Yet, that weak Christians, who arc sincere, 
 may not therefore despair, be it remembered, that David 
 himself was not always in such a frame that he could say so ; 
 he had his infirmities, and yet was a " man after God's own 
 heart;" we have ours, which, if they be sincerely lamented 
 and striven against, and the habitual bent of our souls be 
 toward God and heaven, we shall be accepted through Christ, 
 for we are not under the law, but under grace. 
 
 However, David's profession in the text, shows us what 
 should be our practice, On God we must wait all the day 
 
98 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 That denotes two things, a patient expectation, and a con- 
 stant, attendance. 
 
 I. It speaks a patient expectation of liis coming to us 
 in a way of mercy ; and then, all the day must be taken 
 figuratively, for all the time that the wanted and desired 
 mercy is delayed. David, in the former part of the verse 
 prayed for divine conduct and instruction, " Lead me in 
 thy truth and teach me." He was at a loss, and veiy 
 desirous to know what God would have him to do, and 
 was ready to do it ; but God kept him in suspense, he was 
 not yet clear what was the mind and will of God, what 
 course he should steer, and how he should dispose of 
 himself; will he therefore proceed without divine direc- 
 tion ? No, " On thee I will wait all the day," as Abraham 
 attended on the sacrifice from morning till the sun went 
 down, before God gave him an answer to Iris inquiries 
 concerning Ins seed, Gen. xv. 5, 12, and as Habakkuk stood 
 upon his watch-tower to see what answer God would give 
 him, when he consulted his oracle ; and though it do not 
 come presently, yet at the end it shall speak, and not lie. 
 
 David, in the words before the text, had called God 
 " The God of his salvation," the God on whom he depended 
 for salvation, temporal and eternal salvation ; from whom 
 he expected deliverance out of his present distresses, those 
 troubles of his heart that were enlarged, ver. 17, and out 
 of the hands of those enemies who were ready to triumph 
 over him, ver. 2, and who hated him with a cruel hatred, 
 ver. 19. Hoping that God will be his Saviour, he resolves 
 to wait on him all the day, like a genuine son of Jacob, 
 whose dying profession was, Gen. xlix. 18, " I have waited 
 for thy salvation, 0 Lord." Sometimes God precedes his 
 people with the blessings of his goodness, before they call 
 he answers them, is in the midst of his church, to help 
 her, and that right early, Ps. xlvi. 5. But at other times 
 he seems to stand afar off, he delays the deliverance, and 
 keeps them long in expectation of it, nay, and in suspense 
 about it; the light is neither clear nor dark, it is day, 
 and that is all ; it is a cloudy and dark day, and it is net 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 99 
 
 till evening time that it is light, that the comfort comes 
 which they have been kept all the day waiting for ; nay, 
 perhaps it comes not till far in the night, it is at mid- 
 night that the cry is made, " Behold the bridegroom 
 comes." The deliverance of the church out of her troubles, 
 the success of her struggles, and rest from them, a 
 rescue from under the rod of the wicked, and the accom- 
 plishment of all that which God has promised concern- 
 ing it, is what we must continue humbly waiting upon God 
 for, without distrust or impatience ; we must wait all the day, 
 
 (1.) Though it be a long day; though we be kept 
 waiting a great while, quite beyond our own reckoning; 
 though, when we have waited long, we are still obliged 
 to wait longer, and are bid with the prophet's servant to 
 " go yet seven times," 1 Kings xviii. 43, before we perceive 
 the least sign of mercy coming. "We looked that this 
 and the other had been he that should have delivered 
 Israel," but are disappointed ; " The harvest is past, the 
 summer is ended, and we are not saved," Jer. viii. 20. 
 The time is prolonged, nay, the opportunities are let slip, 
 the summer time, and harvest time, when we thought to 
 have reaped the fruit of all our prayers, and pains, and 
 patience, is past and ended, and we are as far as ever 
 from salvation. The time that the ark abode in Kirjath- 
 jearim was long, much longer than it was thought it would 
 have been when it was first lodged there ; it was twenty 
 years, so that the whole house of Israel lamented after the 
 Lord, and began to fear it would abide for ever in that 
 obscurity, 1 Sam. vii. 2. 
 
 But though it be a long day, it is but a day, but one day, 
 and it is known to the Lord, Zech. xiv. 7. It seems long 
 while we are kept waiting, but the happy issue will enable 
 us to reflect upon it as short, and but for a moment. It is 
 no longer than God has appointed, and we are sure his time 
 is the best time, and his favours are worth waiting for. The 
 time is long, but it is nothing to the days of eternity, when 
 those who had long patience shall be recompensed for it 
 with an everlasting salvation. 
 
100 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 (2.) Though it be a dark day, yet let us wait upon God 
 all the daj-. Though while we are kept waiting for what 
 God will do, we are kept in the dark concerning what he is 
 doing, and what is best for us to do, yet, let us be content 
 to wait in the dark. Though we see not our signs, though 
 there is none to tell us how long, yet let us resolve to wait, 
 how long soever it be ; for though what God does we know 
 not now, yet we shall know hereafter, when the mystery of 
 God shall be finished. 
 
 Never was man more at a loss concerning God's dealings 
 with him than poor Job was : " I go forward, but he is not 
 there ; backward, but I cannot perceive him ; on the left 
 hand, on the right hand, but I cannot see him," Job xxiii. 
 8, 9 ; yet he sits down, ver. 10, resolving to wait on God all 
 the day with a satisfaction in this, that though he know not 
 the way that he takes, " he knows the way that I take, and 
 when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold," approved 
 and improved. He sits by as a refiner, and will take care 
 that the gold be in the furnace no longer than is needful 
 for the refining of it. When God's way is in the sea, so 
 that he cannot be traced, yet we are sure his way is in the 
 sanctuary, so that he may be trusted, Ps. lxxvii. 13, 19. 
 And when " clouds and darkness are round about him," yet 
 even then "justice and judgment are the habitation of his 
 throne." 
 
 (3.) Though it be a stormy day, yet we must wait upon 
 God all the day. Though we are not only becalmed, and do 
 not get forward, but though the wind be contrary, and drive 
 us back, nay, though it be boisterous, and the church be 
 tossed with tempests, and ready to sink, yet we must hope 
 the best ; yet we must wait, and weather the storm by 
 patience. It is some comfort that Christ is in the ship ; the 
 church's cause is Christ's cause, he has espoused it, and he 
 will own it ; he is embarked in the same vessel with his 
 people, and therefore, " Why are you fearful ? " Doubt not 
 but the ship will come safe to land ; though Christ seem for 
 the present to be asleep, the prayers of his disciples will 
 awake him, and he will rebuke the winds and the waves ; 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 101 
 
 though the bush burn, if God be in it, it shallr not be con« 
 sumed. Yet this is not all, Christ is not only in the ship, 
 but at the helm ; whatever threatens the church is ordered 
 by the Lord Jesus, and shall be made to work for its good. 
 It is excellently expressed by Mr. George Herbert : 
 
 Away despair, my gracious God doth hear, 
 When winds and waves assault my keel, 
 
 He doth preserve it, he doth steer, 
 E'en when the boat seems most to reel. 
 
 Storms are the triumph of his ar* 
 
 Well may he close his eyes, but not his heart. 
 
 It is a seasonable word at this day What God will do 
 with us we cannot tell ; but this we are sure of, that he is 
 a God of judgment, infinitely wise and just, and therefore, 
 " Blessed are all they that wait for him," Isa. xxx. 18. He 
 will do his own work in his own way and time ; and though 
 we be hurried back into the wilderness, when we thought 
 we had been upon the borders of Canaan, we suffer justly 
 for our unbelief and murmurings, but God acts wisely, and 
 will be found faithful to his promise ; his time to judge for 
 his people, and to repent himself concerning his servants, 
 is when he sees that their strength is gone. This was seen 
 of old in the mount of the Lord, and shall be again. And 
 therefore let us continue in a waiting frame. Hold out faith 
 and patience, for " It is good that a man should both hope 
 and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." 
 
 2. It speaks a constant attendance upon him in a way of 
 duty. And so we understand the day literally; it was 
 David's practice to wait upon God all the day. It signifies 
 both every day, and all the day long; it is the same with 
 that command, Prov. xxiii. 17, "Be thou in the fear of the 
 Lord all the day long." 
 
 Doct. It is not enough for us to begin every day with 
 God, but on him we must wait every day, and all the day 
 long. 
 
 For the opening of this I must show, I. What it is to 
 wait upon God : II. That we must do this every day, and 
 all the day long. 
 
102 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 I. Let us inquire what it is to wait upon God. You have 
 heard how much it is our duty in the morning to speak to 
 him, in solemn prayer. But have we then done with him 
 for all day ? No, we must still be waiting on him ; as one 
 to whom we stand very nearly related, and very strongly 
 obliged. To wait on God, is to live a life of desire toward 
 him, delight in him, dependence on him, and devotedness 
 to him. 
 
 1. It is to live a life of desire toward God ; to wait on 
 him as the beggar waits on his benefactor, with earnest 
 desire to receive supplies from him ; as the sick and sore in 
 Bethesda's pool waited for the stirring of the water, and 
 attended in the porches with desire to be helped in and 
 healed. When the prophet had said, " Lord, in the way of 
 thy judgments we have waited for thee," he explained him- 
 self thus in the next words, " The desire of our soul is to thy 
 name, and to the remembrance of thee ; and with my soul 
 have I desired thee," Isa. xxvi. 8, 9, Our desire must not 
 be only toward the good things that God gives, but toward 
 God himself, lire favour and love, the manifestation of his 
 name to us, and the influence of his grace upon us. Then 
 we wait on God, when our souls pant after him, and his 
 favour, when we thirst for God, for the living God ; Oh that 
 I may behold the beauty of the Lord ! Oh that I may 
 taste his goodness ! Oh that I may bear his image, and be 
 entirely conformed to his will ! for there is none in heaven 
 or earth that I can desire in comparison of him. Oh that 
 I may know him more and love him better, and be brought 
 nearer to him, and made fitter for him. Thus upon the 
 wings of holy desire should our souls be still soaring upward 
 toward God, still pressing forward, forward toward heaven. 
 
 We must not only pray solemnly in the morning, but 
 that desire which is the life and soul of prayer, like the fire 
 upon the altar, must be kept continually burning, ready for 
 the sacrifices that are to be offered upon it. The bent and 
 bias of the soul, in all its motions, must be toward God, the 
 serving of him in all we do, and the enjoying of him in all 
 we have. And this is principally intended in the com- 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 103 
 
 mauds given us to pray alway, to pray witho\it ceasing, to 
 continue in prayer. Even when we are not making actual 
 addresses to God, we must have habitual inclinations toward 
 him ; as a man in health, though he is not always eating, 
 yet has always a disposition in him toward the nourishment 
 and delights of the body. Thus must we be always w r aiting 
 on God, as our chief good, and moving toward him. 
 
 2. It is to live a life of delight in God, as the lover waits 
 on his beloved. Desire is love in motion, as a bird upon 
 the wing ; delight is love at rest, as a bird upon the nest ; 
 now though our desire must still be so toward God, that we 
 must be wishing for more of God, yet our delight must be 
 so in God, that w T e must never wish for more than God. 
 Believing him to be a God all-sufficient, in him we must be 
 entirely satisfied ; let him be mine, and I have enough. Do 
 we love to love God ? Is it a pleasure to us to think that 
 there is a God 1 that he is such a one as he has revealed 
 himself to be ? that he is our God by creation, to dispose of 
 us as he pleases ? our God in covenant, to dispose of all for 
 the best to us ? This is waiting on our God, always looking 
 up to him with pleasure. 
 
 Something or other the soul has that it values itself by, 
 something or other that it reposes itself in ; and w r hat is it? 
 God or the world ? What is it that we pride ourselves in, 
 which we make the matter of our boasting? It is the 
 character of worldly people that they boast themselves in 
 the multitude of their riches, Ps. xlix. 6, and of their 
 own might, and the power of their own hands, which they 
 think have gotten them this wealth ; it is the character of 
 godly people, that " in God they boast all the day long," Ps. 
 xliv. 8. That is waiting on God ; having our eye alway 
 upon him with a secret complacency, as men have upon 
 that which is their glory, and which they glory in. 
 
 What is it that we please ourselves with, which we em- 
 brace with the greatest satisfaction, in the bosom of which 
 we lay our heads, and in having which we hug ourselves, as 
 having all we would have ? The worldly man, when his 
 barns are full of corn, says, " Soul, take thine ease, eat, 
 
104 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 drink, and be merry ; " the godly man can never say so till 
 he finds his heart full of God, and Christ, and grace ; and 
 then, "Return unto thy rest, 0 my soul;" here repose 
 thyself. The gracious soul dwells in God, is at home in 
 him, and there dwells at ease, is in him perpetually 
 pleased; and whatever he meets with in the world to 
 make himself uneasy, he finds enough in God to balance it. 
 
 3. It is to live a life of dependence, on God, as the child 
 waits on his father, whom he has a confidence in, and 
 on whom he casts all his care. To wait on God, is to 
 expect all good to come to us from him, as the worker 
 of all good for us, and in us, the giver of all good to us, 
 and the protector of us from all evil. Thus David ex- 
 plains himself, Ps. lxii. 5, " My soul, wait thou only upon 
 God," and continue still to do so, for " my expectation is 
 from him ; " I look not to any other for the good I need ; for 
 I know that every creature is that to me, and no more 
 than he makes it to be, and from him every man's judg- 
 ment proceeds. Shall we lift up our eyes to the hills'? 
 Does our help come thence? Does the dew that waters 
 the valleys come no further than from the tops of the 
 hills ? Shall we go higher, and lift up our eyes to the 
 heavens, to the clouds? Can they of themselves give 
 rain? No, if God hear not the heavens, they hear not 
 the earth ; we must therefore look above the hills, above 
 the heavens, for all our help cometh from the Lord. It 
 was the acknowledgment of a king, and no good one neither, 
 " If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee, 
 out of the bam floor, or out of the wine-press?" 
 
 And our expectations from God, as far as they are guided 
 by, and grounded upon, the word which he has spoken, ought 
 to be humbly confident, and with a full assurance of faith. 
 We must know and be sure that no word of God shall fall to 
 the ground, that the expectation of the poor shall not perish. 
 Worldly people say to their gold, " Thou art my hope ; " and 
 to the fine gold, " Thou art my confidence," and the rich 
 man's wealth is his strong city : but God is the only refuge 
 and portion of the godly man here in the land of the living : 
 
DAILY COMMUSIOM WITH GOD. 
 
 105 
 
 it is to him ouly that he says, and he says it with a holy 
 boldness, " Thou art my hope and my confidence." The 
 eyes of all things wait on him, for he is good to all ; but the 
 eyes of his saints especially, for he is in a peculiar manner 
 good to Israel, good to them. They know his name, and 
 therefore will trust and triumph in him, as those who know 
 they shall not be made ashamed of their hope. 
 
 4. It is to live a life of devotedness to God, as the servant 
 waits on Kis master, ready to observe his will, and do his 
 work, and in everything to consult his honour and interest. 
 To wait on God is entirely and unreservedly to refer our- 
 selves to his wise and holy directions and disposals, and 
 cheerfully to acquiesce in them, and comply with them. 
 The servant that waits on his master chooses not his own 
 way, but follows his master, step by step : thus must we 
 wait on God, as those who have no will of our own, but 
 what is wholly resolved into his ; and must therefore study 
 to accommodate ourselves to his. It is the character of the 
 redeemed of the Lord, that they follow the Lamb whereso- 
 ever he goes, with an implicit faith and obedience. As the 
 eyes of a servant are to the hand of his master, and the 
 eyes of a maiden to the hand of her mistress, so must our 
 eyes wait on the Lord, to do what he appoints us, to take 
 what he allots us; "Father, thy will be done;" Master, 
 thy will be done. 
 
 The servant waits on his master, not only to do him ser- 
 vice but to do him honour ; and thus must we wait on God, 
 that we may be to him for a name, and for a praise. His 
 glory must be our ultimate end, to which we, and all we 
 are, have, and can do, must be dedicated; we wear his 
 livery, attend in his courts, and follow his motions as his 
 servants, for this end, that he may in all things be glorified. 
 
 To wait on God is to make his will our rule. 
 
 (1.) To make the will of his precept the rule of our 
 practice, and to do every duty with an eye to that. We 
 must wait on liim to receive his commands, with a resolu- 
 tion to comply with them, how much soever they may con- 
 tradict our corrupt inclinations or secular interests. We 
 
106 
 
 mbbcudm ron 
 
 most wait on him as the holy angels do, who always heboid 
 the face of their Father, as those who are at his beck, and 
 are ready to go upon the least intimation of his will, though 
 but by a wink of his eye, wherever he sends them. Thus 
 must we do the will of God. as the angels do it who are in 
 heaven, those ministers of his that do his pleasure, and are 
 always about his throne in order to it, and never out of 
 the way. 
 
 David here prays, that God would show him his way, and 
 lead him. and teach him. and keep him, and forward him, 
 in the way of his duty ; and so the text comes in as a plea 
 to enforce that petition, for c on thee do I wait all the day;** 
 ready to receive the law from thy mouth, and in everything tr 
 observe thy orders. And then it intimates this, that those, 
 and those only, can expect to be taught of God, who are 
 ready and willing to do as they are taught. If any man 
 will do his will, be sted&stly resolved in the strength of his 
 grace to comply with it. he shall know what his will is. 
 David prays. Lord. "*give me understanding."* and then promises 
 himself. "I shall keep thy law, yea, I shall observe it," 1 as the 
 servant that waits on his master. They that go up to the 
 bouse of the Lord, with an expectation that he will teach 
 themhisways.it must be with an humble resolution, that they 
 will walk in his paths. Isa. iL 3. Lord, lei the pillar of cloud 
 and fire go before me. for I am determined with full purpose 
 of heart to follow it. and thus to wait on my God all the 
 day. 
 
 (2.) To make the will of his providence the rule of our 
 patience, and to bear every affliction with an eye to that. 
 "We are sure it is God who performs all things for us, and he 
 performs the thing that is appointed for us ; we are as sure 
 that all is well that God does, and shall be made to work 
 for good to all that love him : and in order to that we 
 ought to acquiesce in. and accommodate ourselves to, the 
 whole will of God. To wait on the Lord is to say. It is the 
 Lord, let him do to me as seemeth good to him, because no 
 thing seemeth good to him but what is really good ; and so 
 we shall see when God's work appears in a roll light. It 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD„ 
 
 107 
 
 is to say, "Not as I will, but as thou wilt,/or should it be ac- 
 cording to my mind ?" It is to bring our mind to our condi- 
 tion in everything, so as to keep it calm and easy, whatever 
 happens to make us uneasy 
 
 And we must therefore bear the affliction, whatever it is, 
 because it is the will of God ; it is what he has allotted us, 
 who does all according to the counsel of his own will. This 
 is Christian patience ; I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, 
 not because it was to no purpose to complain, but because 
 thou didst it, and therefore I had no reason to complain. 
 And this will reconcile us to every affliction, one as well as 
 another, because, whatever it is, it is the will of God, and in 
 compliance with it we must not only be silent, because of 
 the sovereignty of his wiH, "Woe unto him that strives with 
 his Maker;" but we must be satisfied because of the wisdom 
 and goodness of it. Whatever the disposals of God's provi- 
 dence may be concerning those who wait on him, we may 
 be sure that as he does them no wrong, so he means them 
 no hurt : nay, they may say as the Psalmist did, even when 
 he was plagued all the day long, and chastened every morn- 
 ing, however it be, yet God is good, and therefore, "though 
 he slay me, yet will I trust in him, yet will I wait on him." 
 
 I might open this duty of waiting on God by other scrip- 
 ture expressions which speak the same thing, and are, as 
 this, comprehensive of a great part of that homage which 
 we are bound to pay to him, and that communion which it 
 is our interest to keep up with him. "Truly our fellowship 
 is with the Father, and with the Son Jesus Christ." 
 
 It is to set God always before us, Ps. xvi. 8. To look upon 
 liim as one always near us, always at our right hand, and 
 who has his eye upon us wherever we are, and whatever we 
 are doing ; nay, as one in whom we live and move, and have 
 our being, with whom we have to do, and to whom we are 
 accountable. This is pressed upon us as the great principle 
 of gospel obedience, "Walk before me, and be thou upright ;" 
 herein qpnsists that uprightness which is our evangelical per- 
 fection, in walking at all times as before God, and studying 
 to approve ourselves to him. 
 
108 
 
 D1UECTIOKS ?OR 
 
 It is to have our eyes ever toward the Lord, as it follows 
 here, Ps. xxv. 15. Though we cannot see him by reason of 
 our present distance and darkness, yet we must look toward 
 him, toward the place where his honour dwells ; as those 
 who desire the knowledge of him and his will, and direct all 
 to his honour as the mark we aim at, labouring in this, that 
 whether present or. absent we may be accepted of him. To 
 wait on him, is to follow liim with our eye in all those things 
 wherein he is pleased to manifest himself, and to admit the 
 discoveries of his being and perfections. 
 
 It is to acknowledge God in all our ways, Prov. iii. 6. In 
 all the actions of life, and in all the affairs of life, we must 
 walk in his hand, and set ourselves in the way of his steps. 
 In all our undertakings we must wait upon him for direc- 
 tion and success, and by faith and prayer commit our way 
 to him to undertake for us, and him we must take with us 
 wherever we go ; " If thy presence go not up with us, carry 
 us not up hence." In all our comforts we must see his hand 
 giving them out to us, and in all our crosses we must see the 
 same hand laying them upon us, that we may learn to receive 
 both good and evil, and to bless the name of the Lord both 
 when he gives and when he takes. 
 
 It is to follow the Lord fully, as Caleb did, Numb. 14. 24. 
 It is to "fulfil after the Lord," so the word is ; to have respect 
 to all his commandments, and to study to stand complete 
 in his whole will. Wherever God leads us, and goes before 
 us, we must be followers of him as dear children, must follow 
 the Lamb whithersoever he goes, and take him for our guide 
 whithersoever we go. 
 
 This is to wait on God, and those who do so may cheer- 
 fully wait for him, for he will without fail appear in due time 
 to their joy; and that word of Solomon shall be made good 
 to them, "He who waits on his master shall be honoured," for 
 Christ has said, "Where I am, there shall also my servant 
 be," Prov. xxvii. 18. 
 
 II. Having showed you what it is to wait on Gfcd, I come 
 next to show, that this we must do every day, and all the 
 day long. 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 109 
 
 1. We must wait on our God, omni die — every day, so 
 some. This is the work of every day which is to be done 
 in its day, for the duty of every day requires it. Servants 
 in the courts of princes have their weeks or months of wait- 
 ing appointed them, and are obliged to attend only at cer- 
 tain times. But God's servants must never be out of wait- 
 ing ; all the days of our appointed time, the time of our work 
 and warfare here on earth, we must be waiting, Job xiv. 14, 
 and not desire or expect to be discharged from this attend- 
 ance, till we come to heaven, where we shall wait on God, 
 as angels do, more nearly and constantly. 
 
 We must wait on God every day. 
 
 (1.) Both on sabbath days, and on week days. The Lord's 
 day is instituted and appointed on purpose for our attendance 
 on God in the courts of his house, there we must wait on 
 him to give glory to him, and to receive both commands and 
 favours from him. Ministers must then wait on their min- 
 istry, Rom. xii. 7, and people must wait on it too, saying, as 
 Cornelius for himself and his friends, "Now We are all here 
 ready before God, to hear all things that are commanded 
 thee of God," Acts x. 33. It is for the honour of God, to help 
 to fill up the assemblies of those who attend at the footstool 
 of his throne, and to add to their number. The whole sab- 
 bath time, except what is taken up in works of necessity and 
 mercy, must be employed in waiting on our God. Christians 
 are spiritual priests, and as such it is their business to wait 
 in God's house at the time appointed. 
 
 But that is hot enough ; we must wait upon our God on 
 week days too, for every day of the week we want mercy 
 from him, and have work to do for him. Our waiting upon 
 him in public ordinances on the first day of the week, is de- 
 signed to fix us to, and fit us for, communion with him all 
 the week after ; so that we answer not the intentions of the 
 sabbath, unless the impressions of it abide upon us, and go 
 with us into the business of the w r eek, and be kept always 
 in the imagination of the thought of our heart. Thus from 
 one sabbath to another, and from one new moon to another, 
 we must keep in a holy gracious frame ; must be so in the 
 
110 DIliECTJONS FOR 
 
 Spirit on the Lord's day, as to walk in the Spirit all the 
 week. 
 
 (2.) Both on idle days and busy days we must be found 
 waiting on God. Some days of our lives are days of labour 
 and hurry, when our particular calling calls for our close 
 and diligent application ; but we must not think that will 
 excuse us from our constant attendance on God. Even 
 when our hands are working about the world our hearts 
 may be waiting on our God, by an habitual regard to him ; 
 to his providence as our guide, and his glory as our end, in 
 our worldly business ; and thus we must abide with him in 
 them. Those who rise up early and sit up late, and eat the 
 bread of carefulness, in pursuit of the world, yet are con- 
 cerned to wait on God, because otherwise all their care and 
 pains will signify nothing ; it is labour in vain, Ps. cxxvii. 
 1, 2 ; nay, it is labour in the fire. 
 
 Some days of our lives we relax from business, and take 
 our ease. Many of you have your time for diversion ; but 
 then when you lay aside other business, this of waiting upon 
 God must not be laid aside. When you prove your- 
 selves with mirth, as Solomon did, and say, you will enjoy 
 pleasure a little, yet let this wisdom remain with you, Eccles. 
 ii 1/3; let your eye be then up to God, and take heed of 
 dropping your communion with him, in that which you" call 
 an agreeable conversation with your friends. Whether it be 
 a day of work, or a day of rest, we shall find nothing like 
 waiting upon God, both to lighten the toil of our work, and 
 to sweeten the comfort of our repose. So that whether we 
 have much to do or little to do in the world, still we must 
 wait upon God, that we may be kept from the temptation 
 that attends both the one and the other. 
 
 (3.) Both in days of prosperity, and in days of adver- 
 sity, we must be found waiting upon God. Does the world 
 smile upon us and court us? yet let us not turn from attend- 
 ing on God to make our court to it. If we have ever so 
 much of the wealth of the world, yet we cannot say we have 
 no need of God, no further occasion to make use of him, as 
 David was ready to say, when in his prosperity he said he 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 Ill 
 
 should never be moved ; but soon saw his error when God 
 hid his face, and he was troubled, Psalm xxx. 6. "When 
 our affairs prosper, and into our hands God brings plenti- 
 fully, we must wait upon God as our great Landlord, and 
 own our obligations to him; must beg his blessing on "what 
 we have, and his favour with it, and depend upon him both 
 for the continuance and for the comfort of it. We must 
 wait upon God for wisdom and grace, to use what we have 
 in the world for the ends for which we are intrusted with 
 it, as those who must give account, and know not how soon. 
 And how much soever we have of this world, and how richly 
 soever it is given us to enjoy it, still we must wait upon 
 God for better things, not only than the world gives, but 
 than he himself gives in this world. " Lord put me not off 
 with this for a portion." 
 
 And when the world frowns upon us, and things go very 
 cross, we must not so fret ourselves at its frowns, or so 
 frighten ourselves with them, as thereby to be driven off 
 from waiting on God, but rather let us thereby be driven to 
 it. Afflictions are sent for this end, to bring us to the 
 throne of grace, to teach us to pray, and to make the word 
 of God's grace precious to us. In the day of our sorrow we 
 must wait upon God, for those comforts which are sufficient 
 to balance our griefs ; Job, when in tears, fell down and 
 worshipped God taking away, as well as giving. In the 
 day of our fear we must wait upon God, for those encour- 
 agements that are sufficient to silence our fears ; Jehosha- 
 phat in his distress waited upon God, and it was not in vain, 
 his heart was established by it ; and so was David's often, 
 which brought him to this resolution, which was an anchor 
 to his soul, u What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." 
 
 (4.) Both in the days of youth, and in the days of old 
 age, we must be found waiting on God. Those who are 
 young cannot begin their attendance on God too soon : the 
 child Samuel ministered to the Lord, and the Scripture 
 story puts a particular mark of honour upon it ; and Christ 
 was wonderfully pleased with the hosannas of the children 
 who waited on him, when he rode in triumph into Jerusa- 
 
112 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 lem : when Solomon in his youth, upon his accession to the 
 throne, waited upon God for wisdom, it is said, " The saying 
 pleased the Lord." " I remember thee, (says God to Israel,) 
 even the kindness of thy youth, when thou wentest after 
 me, and didst wait upon me in a wilderness," Jer. ii. 2. 
 To wait upon God is to be mindful of our Creator, and 
 the proper time for that is in the days of our youth, Eccl. 
 xii. 1. Those who would wait upon God aright, must 
 learn betimes to do it ; the most accomplished courtiers are 
 those who are brought up at court 
 
 And may the old servants of Jesus be dismissed from 
 waiting on him ? No, their attendance is still required, 
 and shall be still accepted ; they shall not be cast off by 
 their Master in the time of old age, and, therefore, let not 
 them desert his service. When through the infirmities of 
 age they can no longer be working servants in God's family, 
 they may be waiting servants. Those who like Barzillai 
 are unfit for the entertainments of the courts of earthly 
 princes, may relish the pleasures of God's courts as well as 
 ever. The Levites, when they were past the age of fifty, 
 and were discharged from the toilsome part of their minis- 
 tration, yet still must wait on God, must be quietly waiting 
 to give honour to him, and to receive comfort from him. 
 Those who have done the will of God, and their doing work 
 is at an end, have need of patience to enable them to wait 
 till they inherit the promise : and the nearer the happiness 
 is which they are waiting for, the dearer should the God be 
 they are waiting on, and hope shortly to be with, to be with 
 eternally. 
 
 2. We must wait on our God, toto die — all the day, so we 
 read it. Every day from morning to night we must con- 
 tinue waiting on God ; whatever change there may be of 
 our employment, this must be the constant disposition of 
 our souls, we must attend upon God, and have our eyes 
 ever toward him ; we must not at any time allow ourselves 
 to wander from God, or to attend on any thing beside him, 
 but what we attend on for him ; in subordination to his 
 will, and in subserviency to Ins glory. 
 
DAILY COXMC.VIO.V WITH GOD. 
 
 113 
 
 (1.) We must cast our daily cares upon him. Every day 
 brings with it its fresh cares, more or less ; these awake 
 with us every morning, and we need not go so far forward 
 as to-morrow to fetch in care. ** Sufficient unto the day is 
 the evil thereof." You who are great dealers in the world, 
 have your cares attending you all the day ; though you 
 keep them to yourselves, yet they sit down with you. and 
 rise up with you ; they go out and come in with you, and 
 are more a load upon you than those you converse with are 
 aware 6£ Some, through the weakness of their spirits, 
 can scarce determine any thing but with fear and trembling. 
 
 Let this burthen be cast upon the Lord, believing that 
 his providence extends itself to all your affairs, to all events 
 concerning you, and to all the circumstances of them, even 
 the most minute and seemingly accidental : that your times 
 are in his hands, and all your ways at his disposal. Believe 
 his promise, that all things shall be made to work for good 
 to ihose that love him, and then refer it to him in every 
 thing, to do with you and yours as seemeth good in his 
 eyes, and rest satisfied in having dune so. and resolve to 
 be easy. Bring your cares to God by prayer in the morn- 
 ing, spread them before him, and then make it to appear all 
 the day. by the composedness and cheerfulness of your 
 spirits, that you left them with him, as Hannah did, who, 
 when she had prayed, went her way and did eat, and her 
 countenance was no more sad, 1 Sam. i. IS. Commit your 
 way to the Lord,. and then submit to his disposal of it, 
 though it may cross your expectations ; and bear up your- 
 selves upon the assurances God has given you, that he will 
 care for you as the tender father for the child. 
 
 i We must manage our daily business for him, with 
 an eye to his providence, putting us into the calling and 
 employment wherein we are ; and to his precept, making 
 diligence in our duty ; with an eye to his blessing, as 
 that which is necessary to make it comfortable and suc- 
 cessful ; and to his glory, as our highest end in all. This 
 sanctifies our common actions to God, and sweetens them, 
 and makes them pleasant to ourselves. If Gaius brings 
 
 / . H 
 
114 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 Ills friends whom he is parting with a little way on their 
 journey, it is but a piece of common civility ; but let him 
 do it after a godly sort ; let him in it pay respect to 
 them, because they belong to Christ, and for Ins sake ; 
 let him do it that he may have an opportunity of so much 
 more profitable communication with them, and then it 
 becomes an act of Christian piety, 3 John 6. It is a general 
 rule by which we must govern ourselves in the business of 
 every day, " Whatever we do in word or deecf, to do all in 
 the name of the Lord Jesus," Col. iii. 17; and, thus, in 
 and by the Mediator we wait on our God. 
 
 This is particularly recommended to servants, though 
 their employments are but mean, and thej T are under the 
 command of their masters according to the flesh, yet let 
 them do their servile work as the servants of Christ, as 
 unto the Lord, and not unto men ; let them do it with 
 singleness of heart as unto Christ, and they shall be ac- 
 cepted of him, and from him shall receive the reward of 
 the inheritance, Eph. vi. 5 — 8 ; Col. iii. 22, 24. Let them 
 wait on God all the day, when they are doing their day's 
 wort, by doing it faithfully and conscientiously, that they 
 may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour, by aiming at 
 his glory even in common business : they work that they 
 may get bread, they would live not that they may live to 
 themselves, and please themselves, but that they may live 
 to God, and please him. They work that they may fill up 
 time, and fill up a place in the world, and because that God 
 who made and maintained us, has appointed us with 
 quietness to work and mind our own business. 
 
 (3.) We must receive our daily comforts from him ; we 
 must wait on him as our Benefactor, as the eyes of all 
 tilings wait upon him to give them their food in due sea- 
 son, and what he gives them that they gather. To him 
 we must look as to our Father for our daily bread, and 
 from him we are appointed to ask it, yea, though we have 
 it in the house, though we have it upon the table. We 
 must wait upon him for a covenant right to it, for leave 
 to make use of it, for a Hosting upon it, for a nourish- 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 115 
 
 ment by it, and for comfort in it. It is in the word and 
 prayer that we wait on God, and keep up communion with 
 him, and by these every creature of God is sanctified to us, 
 1 Tim. iv. 4, 5, and the property of it is altered, " To the 
 pure all things are pure ;" they have them from the cove- 
 nant, and not from common providence, which makes a 
 little that the righteous man has . better than the riches of 
 many wicked, and much more valuable and comfortable. 
 
 No inducement can be more powerful to make us see 
 to it, that what we have we get honestly, and use it 
 soberly, and give God his due out of it, than this considera- 
 tion, that we have our- all from the hand of God, and are 
 intrusted with it as stewards, and consequently are ac- 
 countable. If we have this thought as a golden thread 
 running through all the comforts of every day ; these are 
 God's gifts, even* bit we eat, and every drop we drink, is his 
 mercy ; every breath we draw, and every step we take, his 
 mercy ; tins will keep us continually waiting upon him, as 
 the ass on his master's crib, and will put a double sweetness 
 into all our enjoyments. God will have his mercies taken 
 fresh from. his compassions, which for this reason are said to 
 be -new every morning ; and, therefore, it is not once a week 
 that we are to wait upon him, as people go to market to 
 buy provisions for the whole week, but we must wait on 
 him every day, and all the day, as those who live from 
 hand to mouth, and yet live very easy. 
 
 (4.) We must resist our daily temptation, and do our 
 daily duties in the strength of his grace. Every day brings 
 its temptation with it ; our Master knew that when he 
 taught us, as duly as we pray for our daily bread, to pray, 
 "Lead us not into temptation." There is no business we 
 engage in, no enjoyment we partake of, but it has its snares 
 attending it ; Satan by it assaults us, and endeavours to 
 draw us into sin : now sin is the great evil we should be 
 continually upon our guard against, as Nehemiah was, 
 ch. vi. 13, "That I should be afraid, and do so, and sin." 
 And we have no way to secure ourselves, but by waiting on 
 God all the day, we must not only in the morning put our- 
 
116 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOE 
 
 selves under the protection of his grace, but we must all the 
 day keep ourselves under the shelter of it ; must not only- 
 go forth, but go on in dependence upon that grace which he 
 has said shall be sufficient for us, that care which will not 
 suffer us to be tempted above what we are able. Our wait- 
 ing upon God will furnish us with the best arguments to 
 make use of in resisting temptations, and with strength ac- 
 cording to the day. " Be strong in the Lord, and in the 
 power of his might," and then we wait on the Lord all the 
 day. 
 
 We have duty to do, many an opportunity of speaking 
 good words, and doing good works, and we must see and 
 own that we are not sufficient of ourselves for any thing 
 that is good, not so much as to think a good thought ; we 
 must therefore wait upon God, must seek to him, and depend 
 upon him, for that light and fire, that wisdom and zeal, 
 which is necessary to the due discharge of our duty ; that 
 by his grace we may not only be fortified against every evil 
 word and work, but furnished for every good word and 
 work. From the fulness that is in Jesus Christ, we must 
 by faith be continually drawing " grace for grace;" grace for 
 all gracious exercises ; grace to help in every time of need : 
 we must wait on his grace, must follow the conduct of it, 
 comply with the operations of it, and must be turned to it 
 as wax to the seal. 
 
 (5.) We must bear our daily afflictions with submission 
 to his will. We are bid to expect trouble in the flesh, 
 something or other happens every day that grieves us, 
 something in our relations, something in our callings, events 
 concerning ourselves, our families, or friends, that are causes 
 of sorrow : perhaps, we have every day some bodily pain or 
 sickness ; or, some cross and disappointment in our affairs ; 
 now, in these we must wait upon God. Christ requires it of 
 all his disciples, that they take up their cross daily, Matt, 
 xvi. 24. We must not wilfully pluck .the cross down upon 
 ns, but must take it up when God lays it in our way, and 
 not go a step out of the way of duty, either to meet it, or 
 to miss it. It is not enough to bear the cross, but we must 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 117 
 
 take it up, we must accommodate ourselves to it, and ac- 
 quiesce in the will of God in it. Not, " This is an evil, and 
 I must bear it," because I cannot help it, but, " This is an 
 evil, and I will bear it," because it is the will of God. 
 
 We must see every affliction allotted us by our heavenly 
 Father, and in it must discover his correcting hand, and, 
 therefore, must wait on him to know the cause wherefore he 
 contends with us ; what the fault is for which we are in 
 this affliction chastened ; what the distemper is which is to 
 be by this affliction cured ; that we may answer God's end 
 in afflicting us, and so may be made partakers of his holi- 
 ness. We must attend the motions of Providence, keep our 
 eye upon our Father when he frowns, that we may discover 
 what his mind is, and what the obedience is which we are 
 to leam by the things that we suffer. 
 
 We must wait on God for support under our burthens ; 
 must put ourselves into, and stay ourselves upon, the ever- 
 lasting arms, which are laid under the children of God to 
 sustain them, when the rod of God is upon them. And 
 him we must attend for deliverance; must not seek to 
 extricate ourselves by any sinful indirect methods, nor look 
 to creatures for relief, but still wait on the Lord until he 
 have mercy on us ; well content to bear the burthen till 
 God ease us of it, and ease us in mercy, Ps. cxxiii. 2. If 
 the affliction be lengthened out, yet we must wait upon the 
 Lord, even when he hides Ins face, Isa. viii. 1 7, hoping it is 
 but in a little wrath, and for a small moment, Isa. liv. 7, 8. 
 
 (6.) We must expect the tidings and events of every day, 
 witli a cheerful and entire resignation to the divine Provi- 
 dence. While we are in tins world we are still expecting, 
 hoping well, fearing ill ; we know not what a day, or a night, 
 or an hour will bring forth, Prov. xxvii. 1, but it is big with 
 something, and we are too apt to spend our thoughts in vain 
 about things future, which happen quite differently from 
 what we imagined. Now in all our prospects we must wait 
 upon God. 
 
 Are we in hopes of good tidings, a good issue ? Let us 
 wait on God as the giver of the good we hope for, and be 
 
118 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 ready to take it from his hand : and to meet him with suit- 
 able affections when he is coming toward us in a way of 
 mercy. Whatever good we hope for. it is God alone, and 
 his wisdom, power, and goodness, that we must hope in. 
 And therefore our hopes must be humble and modest, and 
 regulated by his will ; what God has promised us we may 
 with assurance promise ourselves, and no more. If thus we 
 wait on God in our hopes, should the hope be deferred, it 
 would not make the heart sick ; no, nor if it should be dis- 
 appointed, for the God we wait on will overrule all for the 
 best : but when the desire comes, in prosecution of which 
 we have thus waited on God, we may see it coming from his 
 love, and it will be '* a tree of life,*' Prov. xiii. 12. 
 
 Are we in fear of evil tidings, of melancholy events, 
 and a sad issue of the depending affairs ? Let us wait on 
 God to be delivered from all our fears, from the things 
 themselves we are afraid of, and from the amazing torment- 
 ing fears of them, Ps. xxxiv. 4. When Jacob was with good 
 reason afraid of his brothei Esau, he waited on God, brought 
 his fears to him, wrestled with him, and prevailed for 
 deliverance. K What time I am afraid," says David, " I will 
 trust in thee," and wait on thee. And that shall establish 
 the heart, shall fix it. so as to set it above the fear of evil 
 tidings. 
 
 Are we in suspense between hope and fear? sometimes 
 one prevails, and sometimes the other ? Let us wait on God, 
 the God to whom belong the issues of life and death, 
 good and evil, from whom our judgments, and even - man's, 
 proceed, and compose ourselves into a quiet expectation of 
 the event, whatever it may be, with a resolution to accom- 
 modate ourselves to it, hope the best, and get ready for the 
 worst, and then take what God sends. 
 
 THE APPLICATION. 
 
 L Let me further urge upon you this duty of waiting 
 upon God all the day, in some more particular instances, 
 according to what you have to do all the day in the ordinary 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 119 
 
 business of it. We are weak and forgetful, and need to be 
 put in mind of our duty in general, upon every occasion for 
 the doing of it ; and therefore I choose to be thus particular, 
 that I maybe your "remembrancer. 
 
 (1.) When you meet with your families in the morning, 
 wait upon God for a blessing upon them, and attend him 
 with your thanksgivings for the mercies you and yours 
 have jointly received from God the night past ; you and 
 your houses must serve the Lord, must "wait on him. See it 
 owing to his goodness, who is the Founder and Father of the 
 families of the righteous, that you are together, that the 
 voice of rejoicing and salvation is in your tabernacles, and 
 therefore wait upon him to continue you together, to make 
 you comforts to one another, to enable you to do the duty 
 of every relation, and to lengthen out the days of your 
 tranquillity. In all the conversation we have with our 
 families, the provision we make for them, and the orders we 
 give concerning them, we must wait upon God, as the God 
 of all the families of Israel, Jer. xxxi. 1, and have an eye 
 to Christ, as he in whom all the families of the earth 
 are blessed. 
 
 Every member of the family sharing in family mercies, 
 must wait on God for grace to contribute to family duties. 
 Whatever disagreeableness there may be in any family 
 relation, instead of having the spirit either burthened 
 with it, or provoked by it, let it be an inducement to wait 
 on God, who is able either to redress the grievance, or to 
 balance it, and give grace to bear it. 
 
 (2.) When you are pursuing the education of your 
 children, or the young ones under your charge, wait upon 
 God for his grace to make the means of their education 
 successful. When you are yourselves giving them instruc- 
 tion in things pertaining either to life or godliness, their 
 general or particular calling, when you are sending them 
 to school in a morning, or ordering them the business of 
 the day, wait upon God to give them an understanding, 
 and a good capacity for their business; especially their 
 main business, for it is God that giveth wisdom. If they 
 
120 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 are but slow, and do not come on as you could wish, yet 
 wait on God to bring them forward; and to give them 
 Iris grace in his own time; and while you are patiently 
 waiting on him, that will encourage • you to take pains 
 with them, and will likewise make you patient and gentle 
 towards them. 
 
 And let children and young people wait on God in all • 
 their daily endeavours, to fit themselves for the service of 
 God and their generation. You desire to be comforts to 
 your relations, to be good for something in this world ; do you 
 not ? Beg of God then a wise and an understanding heart, 
 as Solomon did, and wait upon him all the day for it, that 
 you may be still increasing in wisdom, as you do in stature, 
 and in favour with God and man. 
 
 (3.) "When you go to your shops, or apply yourselves to 
 the business of your particular calling, wait upon God for 
 his presence with you. Your business calls for your con- 
 stant attendance every day, and all the day ; keep the shop, 
 and thy shop will keep thee ; but let your attendance on 
 God in your callings be as constant as your attendance on 
 your callings. Eye God's providence in all the occurrences 
 of them. Open shop with this thought, I am now in the 
 way of my duty, and I depend upon God to bless me in it. 
 When you are waiting for customers, wait on God to find 
 you something to do in that calling to which he has called 
 you; those you call chance customers, you should rather 
 call providence customers, and should say of the advantage 
 you make by them, " The Lord my God brought it to me." 
 
 When you are buying and selling, see God's eye upon 
 you, to observe whether you are honest and just in your 
 dealings, and do no wrong to those you deal with ; and let 
 your eye then be up to him, for that discretion to which 
 God does instruct not only the husbandman, but the trades- 
 man, Isa. xxviii. 26 ; that prudence which directs the way, 
 and with which it is promised the good man shall order his 
 affairs ; for that blessing which makes rich, and adds no 
 sorrow with it ; *br that honest profit which may be ex- 
 pected in the way of honest diligence. 
 
DAILY C03IMUNI0N WITH GOD. 
 
 121 
 
 Whatever your employments be, in country-business, city- 
 business, or sea-business, or only in the business of the house, 
 go about them in the fear of God, depending upon him to make 
 them comfortable and successful, and to prosper the work of 
 your hands unto you. And hereby you will arm your- 
 selves against the many temptations you are compassed about 
 with in your worldly business ; by waiting on God you will 
 be freed from the care and cumber which attends much ser- 
 ving, will have your minds raised above the little things of 
 sense and time, will be serving God when you are most 
 busy about the world, and will have God in your hearts 
 when your hands are full of the world. 
 
 (4.) "When you take a book into your hands, God's book, 
 or any other useful good book, wait upon God for his grace 
 to enable you to make a good use of it. Some of you spend 
 a deal of time every day in reading, and I hope none of you 
 let a day pass without reading some portions of Scripture, 
 either alone or with your families ; take heed that the time 
 you spend in reading be not lost time ; it is so if you read 
 that which is idle and vain and unprofitable; it is so if you 
 read that which is good, even the word of God itself, and 
 do not mind it, or observe it, or aim to make it of any ad- 
 vantage to you ; wait upon God, who gives you those helps 
 for your souls, to make them helpful indeed to you. The 
 eunuch did so, when he was reading the book of the pro- 
 phet Isaiah in his chariot, and God presently sent him one 
 who made him understand what he read. 
 
 You read perhaps now and then the histories of former 
 times. In acquainting yourselves with them you must 
 have an eye to God, and to that wise and gracious providence 
 which governed the world before we were born, and pre- 
 served the church in it, and therefore may be still depended 
 upon to do all for the best, for he is Israel's King of old. 
 
 (5.) When you sit down to your tables wait on God ; 
 see his hand spreading and preparing a table before you in 
 despite of your enemies, and in the society of your friends ; 
 often review the grant which God made to our first father 
 Adam, and in him to us, of the products of the earth ; Gen. 
 
122 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 i. 29, " Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed,*' 
 bread corn especially, " to you it shall be for meat ;" and 
 the grant he afterwards made to Noah, our second father, 
 and in him to us ; Gen. ix. 3, " Every moving thing that 
 liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb ;" and 
 see in those what a bountiful Benefactor he is to mankind, 
 and wait upon him accordingly. 
 
 We must eat and drink to the glory of God, and then we 
 wait on liim in eating and drinking. "We must receive 
 nourishment for our bodies, that they may be fitted to serve 
 our souls in the service of God, to his honour in this world. 
 We must taste covenant love in common mercies, and enjoy 
 the Creator while we are using the creature. We must de- 
 pend upon the word of blessing from the mouth of God. to 
 make our food nourishing to us ; and if our provisions be 
 mean and scanty, we must make up the want of them by 
 faith in the promise of God, and rejoice in him, as the " God 
 of our salvation, though the fig-tree doth not blossom, and 
 there is no fruit in the vine." 
 
 (6.) When you visit your friends, or receive their visits, 
 wait upon God. Let your eye be to him with thankfulness 
 for your friends and acquaintance that you have comfort 
 in; that the wilderness is not made your habitation, and the 
 solitary and desert land your dwelling ; that you have com- 
 fort not only in your own houses, but v in those of your 
 neighbours with whom you have freedom of converse ; and 
 that you are not driven out from among men, and made 
 a burthen and terror to all about you. That you have 
 clothing not only for necessity but for ornament, to go 
 abroad in, is a mercy, which, that we may not pride our- 
 selves in, we must take notice of God in, " I decked thee 
 with ornaments," says God, "and put earrings in thine 
 ears," Ezek. xvi. 11, 12. That you have houses, furniture, 
 and entertainment, not only for yourselves but for your 
 friends, is a mercy in which God must be acknowledged. 
 
 And when we are in company, we must look up to God 
 for -wisdom to carry ourselves so that we may do much 
 good to, and get no harm by. those with whom we converse. 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 123 
 
 Wait on God for that grace with which our speech should 
 be always seasoned, by which all corrupt communication 
 may be prevented, and we may abound in that which is 
 good, and to the use of edifying, and which may minister 
 grace to the hearers, that our lips may feed many. 
 
 (7.) When you give alms, or do any act of charity, wait 
 on God ; do it as unto him, give to a disciple in the name of 
 a disciple, to the poor because they belong to Christ ; do it 
 .not for the praise of men, but for the glory of God, with a 
 single eye, and an upright heart ; direct it to him, and then 
 your alms as well as your prayers, like those of Cornelius, 
 come up for a memorial before God, Acts x. 4. Beg of God 
 to accept what you do for the good of others, that your alms 
 may indeed be offerings, Acts xxiv. 1 7, may be an " odour 
 of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God," 
 Phil. iv. 18. 
 
 Desire of God a blessing upon what you give in charity, 
 that it may be comfortable to those to whom it is given, 
 and that though what you are able to give is but a little, 
 like the widow's two mites, yet that by God's blessing it 
 may be doubled, and made to go a great way, like the 
 widow's meal in the barrel, and oil in the cruse. 
 
 Depend upon God to make up to you what you lay out 
 in good works, and to recompense it abundantly in the 
 resurrection of the just; nay, and you are encouraged to 
 wait upon him for a return of it even in this life; it is 
 bread cast upon the waters, which you shall find again after 
 many days. And you should carefully observe the provi- 
 dence of God, whether it do not make you rich amends for 
 your good works according to the promise, that you may 
 understand the loving-kindness of the Lord, and his faith- 
 fulness to the word which he has spoken. 
 
 (8.) ( When you inquire after public news, in that wait 
 upon God ; do it with an eye to him ; for this reason, be- 
 cause you are truly concerned for the interests of his king- 
 dom in the world, and lay them near your hearts ; because 
 you have a compassion for mankind, for the lives and souls 
 of men, and especially of God's people; ask " What news'?" 
 
124 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 not as the Athenians, only to satisfy a vain curiosity, and 
 to pass away an idle hour or two, but that you may know 
 how to direct your prayers and praises, and how to balance 
 your hopes and fears, and may gain such an understanding 
 of the times, as to learn what you and others ought to do. 
 
 If the face of public affairs be bright and pleasing, wait 
 upon God to carry on and perfect his own work ; and de- 
 pend not upon the wisdom or strength of any instruments. 
 If it be dark and discouraging, wait upon God to prevent 
 the fears of his people, and to appear for them when he sees 
 that their strength is gone. In the midst of the greatest 
 successes of the church, and the smiles of second causes, we 
 must not think it needless to wait on God ; and in the midst 
 of its greatest discouragements, when its affairs are reduced 
 to the last extremity, we must not think it fruitless to 
 wait upon God; the creatures cannot help without him, 
 but he can help without them. 
 
 (9.) When you are going journeys wait on God, put your- 
 selves under his protection, commit yourselves to his care, 
 and depend upon him to give his angels a charge con- 
 cerning you, to bear you up in their arms when you move, 
 and to pitch their tents about you where you rest. See 
 how much you are indebted to the goodness of his provi- 
 dence, for all the comforts and conveniences you are sur- 
 rounded with in your travels. It is he who has cast our 
 lot in a land where we wander not in wildernesses, as in 
 the deserts of Arabia, but have safe and beaten roads; 
 and that through the terrors of war the highways are not 
 unoccupied. To him we owe it that the inferior creatures 
 are serviceable to us, and that our going out and coming 
 in are preserved ; that when we are abroad we are not in 
 banishment, but have liberty to come home again; and 
 when we are at home, we are not under confinement, but 
 have liberty to go abroad. 
 
 We must, therefore, have our eyes up to God at our set- 
 ting out, Lord, go along with me where I go ;" under his 
 shelter we must travel, confiding in his care of us, and en- 
 couraging ourselves with that in all the dangers we meet 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD 
 
 125 
 
 with ; and in our return must own his goodness ; all our 
 bones must say, " Lord, who is like unto thee," for he 
 " keepeth all our bones, not one of them is broken." 
 
 (10.) When we retire into solitude, to be alone walking in 
 the fields, or alone reposing ourselves in our closets, still we 
 must be waiting upon God ; still we must keep up our commu- 
 nion with him, when we are communing with our own hearts. 
 When we are alone we must not be alone, but the Father 
 must be with us, and we with him. We shall find temp- 
 tations even in solitude, which we have need to guard 
 against ; Satan set upon our Saviour when he was alone in a 
 wilderness ; but there also we have opportunity, if we know 
 but how to improve it, for that devout, for that divine, 
 contemplation, which is the best conversation, so that we 
 may never be less alone than when alone. If when we sit 
 alone and keep silence, withdrawn from business and con- 
 versation, we have but the art, I should say the heart, to 
 rill up those vacant minutes with pious meditations of God 
 and divine things, we then gather up the fragments of time 
 which remain, that nothing may be lost, and so are we 
 found waiting on God a 1 ! the day. 
 
 2. Let me use c ome motives to persuade you thu*, to live 
 a life of communion with God, by waiting on him all the 
 the day. 
 
 (1.) Consider, the eye of God is always upon you. When 
 we are with our superiors, and observe them to look upon 
 us, that engages us to look upon them ; and shall we not 
 then look up to God, whose eyes always behold, and whose 
 eyelids try, the children of men ? He sees all the motions 
 of our hearts, and sees with pleasure the motions of our 
 hearts towards him, which should engage us to set him al- 
 ways before us. 
 
 The servant, though he be careless at other times, yet, 
 when he is under his master's eye, will wait in his place 
 and keep close to his business ; we need no more to engage 
 us to diligence, than to do our work with eye service while 
 our master looks on, and because he does so, for then we 
 shall never look off. 
 
126 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 (2.) The God you are to wait on is one with whom you 
 have to do, Heb. iv. 13. " All things," even the thoughts 
 and intents of the heart, "are naked and open unto the 
 eyes of him with whom we have to do;" Trpos 6v rjfuv 6 
 Aoyos — : * with whom we have business," or word ; who hath 
 something to say to us, and to whom we have something- 
 to say : or, as some read it, u To whom for us there is an 
 account ;" there is a reckoning, a running account between 
 us and him ; and we must every one of us shortly give ac- 
 count of ourselves to him, and of everything done in the 
 body ; and therefore are concerned to wait on him, that all 
 may be made even daily, between us and him, in the blood 
 of Christ, which balances the account. Did we consider 
 how much we have to do with God every day, we would be 
 more diligent and constant in our attendance on him. 
 
 (3.) The God we are to wait upon continually waits to 
 be gracious to us ; he is always doing us good, precedes us 
 with the blessings of his goodness, daily loads us with his 
 benefits, and slips no opportunity of showing his care of us 
 when we are in danger, his bounty to us when we are in 
 want, and his tenderness for us when we are in sorrow. 
 His good providence waits on us ail the day, to preserve 
 our going out and our coming in, Isa. xxx. 18 ; to give us 
 relief and succour in due season, to be seen in the mount 
 of the Lord. Nay, his good grace waits on, us all the day, 
 to help us in every time of need ; to be strength to us ac- 
 cording as our day is, and all the occurrences of the day. 
 Is God thus forward to do us good, and shall we be back- 
 ward and remiss in doing him service ? 
 
 (4.) If we attend upon God, his holy angels shall have a 
 charge to attend upon us. They are all appointed to be 
 ministering spirits, to minister for the good of them who 
 shall be heirs of salvation, and more good offices they do 
 us even* day than we are aware of. "W hat an honour, what 
 a privilege, is it to be waited on by holy angels, to be borne 
 up in their arms, to be surrounded by their tents ! What 
 a security is the ministration of those good spirits against 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 12*7 
 
 the malice of evil spirits ! This honour have all they that 
 wait on God all the day. 
 
 (5.) This life of communion with God, and constant at- 
 tendance upon him, is a heaven upon earth. It is doing 
 the work of heaven, and the will of God, as they do it who 
 are in heaven ; whose business it is always to behold the 
 face of our Father. It is an earnest of the blessedness of 
 heaven ; it is a preparative for it, and a preludium to it ; it 
 is having our conversation in heaven, whence we look for 
 the Saviour. Looking for him as our Saviour, we look to 
 him as our director ; and by this we make it to appear that 
 our hearts are there, which will give us good grounds to 
 expect that we shall be there shortly. 
 
 3. Let me close all with some directions, what you must 
 do, that you may thus wait on God all the day. 
 
 (1.) See much of God in every creature; of his wisdom 
 and power in the making and placing of it, and of his good- 
 ness in its serviceableness to us. Look about you, and see 
 what a variety of wonders, what an abundance of comforts, 
 you are surrounded with ; and let them all lead you to liim 
 who is the fountain of being, and the giver of all good ; all 
 our springs are in him, and from him are all our streams ; 
 this will engage us to wait on him, since every creature is 
 that to us that he makes it to be. Thus the same things 
 which draw a carnal heart from God, will lead a gracious 
 eoul to him ; and since all his w r orks praise him, his saints 
 will thence take continual occasion to bless him. 
 
 It was (they say) the custom of the pious Jews of old, 
 whatever delight they took in any creature, to give to God 
 the glory of it. When they smelled a flower, they said, 
 " Blessed be he that made this flower sweet ;" if they ate a 
 morsel of bread, " Blessed be he that appointed bread to 
 strengthen man's heart." If thus we taste in every thing 
 that the Lord is gracious, and suck all satisfaction from the 
 breasts of his bounty, (and some derive his name from 
 mamma — a breast,) we shall thereby be engaged constantly 
 to denend on him, as the child is said to hang on the 
 mothers breast. 
 
128 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 (2.) See every creature to be nothing without God. The 
 more we discern of the vanity and emptiness of the world, 
 and all our enjoyments in it, and their utter insufficiency 
 to make us happy, the closer we shall cleave to God, and 
 the more intimately we shall converse with him, that we 
 may find that satisfaction in the Father of spirits which we 
 have in vain sought for in the things of sense. What folly 
 is it to make our court to the creatures, and to dance 
 attendance at their door, whence we are sure to be sent 
 away empty, when we have the Creator himself to go to, 
 who is rich in mercy to all that call upon him ; is full, and 
 free, and faithful ? What can we expect from lying 
 vanities 1 Why then should we observe them, and neglect 
 our own mercies ? Why should we trust to broken reeds, 
 when we have a " Rock of Ages," to be the foundation of our 
 hopes ? And why should we draw from broken cisterns, 
 when we have the " God of all consolation," to be the foun- 
 tain of our joys ? 
 
 (3.) Live by faith in the Lord J esus Christ. We cannot 
 with any confidence wait upon God but in and through a 
 Mediator, for it is by his Son that God speaks to us, and 
 hears from us ; all that passes between a just God and pool 
 sinners must pass through the hands of that blessed "Days- 
 man, who has laid his hand upon them both ;" every prayer 
 passes from us to God, and every mercy from God to us, by 
 that hand. It is in the face of the Anointed that God looks 
 upon us ; and in the face of Jesus Christ that we behold 
 the glory and grace of God shining. It is by Christ that 
 we have access to God, and success with him in prayer, and, 
 therefore, must make mention of his righteousness, even of 
 his only. And in that habitual attendance we must be all 
 the day living upon God, we must have an habitual de- 
 pendence on him, who always appears in the presence 
 of God for us ; always gives attendance to be ready to 
 introduce us. 
 
 (4.) Be frequent and serious in pious ejaculations. In 
 waiting upon God we must often speak to him, must take 
 all occasions to speak to liiin ; and when we have n^ 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 129 
 
 opportunity for a solemn address to him, he will accept 
 of a sudden address, if it come from an honest heart. In 
 these David waited on God all day, as appears by ver. 1 . 
 " Unto thee, 0 Lord, do I lift up my soul to thee do I 
 dart it, and all its -gracious breathings after thee. "We 
 should in a holy ejaculation ask pardon for this sin, 
 strength against this corruption, victory over this tempta- 
 tion, and it shall not be in vain. This is to pray always, 
 and without ceasing. It is not the length or language 
 of the prayer that God looks at, but the sincerity of the 
 heart in it ; and that shall be accepted, though the prayer 
 be very short, and the groanings such as cannot be uttered. 
 
 (5.) Look upon every day, as those who know not but 
 it may be your last day. At such an hour as we think 
 not the Son of man comes ; and therefore we cannot any 
 morning be sure that we shall live till night ; we hear of 
 many lately who have been snatched away very suddenly ; 
 " What manner of persons therefore ought we to be in all 
 holy conversation and godliness I" Though we cannot say, 
 we ought to live as if we were Btrre this day would be our 
 last, yet it is certain, we ought to live as those who do not 
 know but it may be so ; and the rather, because we know 
 the day of the Lord will come first or last : and, therefore, 
 we are concerned to wait on him ; for on whom should 
 poor dying creatures wait, but on a living God ? 
 
 Death will bring us all to God, to be judged by him ; it 
 will bring all the saints to him, to the vision and fruition of 
 him ; and one we are hastening to, and hope to be for ever 
 with, we are concerned to wait upon, and to cultivate an 
 acquaintance with. Did we think more of death, we would 
 converse more with God. Our dying daily is a good reason 
 for our worshipping daily ; and, therefore, wherever we are, 
 we are concerned to keep near to God, because we know 
 not where death will meet us. This will alter the property 
 of death ; Enoch, who walked with God, was translated 
 that he should not see death ; and this will furnish us with 
 that which will stand us in stead on the other side death 
 and the grave. If we continue waiting on God every day. 
 
 I 
 
130 
 
 DIRECTlUxNS FOit 
 
 and all the day long, we shall grow more experienced, and 
 consequently more expert in the great mystery of commu- 
 nion with God ; and thus our last days will become our 
 best days, our last works our best works, and our last com- 
 forts our sweetest comforts ; in consideration of which take 
 the prophet's advice, Hos. xii. 6, " Turn thou to thy God ; 
 keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God con- 
 tinually." 
 
 PART III. 
 
 SHOWING HOW TO CLOSE THE DAY WITH GOD. 
 
 " I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep : for thou, Lord, only makest 
 
 me to dwell in safety." — Psalm iv. 8. 
 
 This may be understood, either figuratively, of the re- 
 pose of the soul, in the assurances of God's grace ; or 
 literally, of the repose of the body, under the protection 
 of his providence : I love to give Scripture its full latitude, 
 and therefore take in both. 
 
 1. The psalmist having given the preference to God's 
 favour above any good, having chosen that, and portioned 
 himself in that, here expresses his great complacency in 
 the choice he had made. While he saw many making 
 themselves perpetually uneasy with that fruitless inquiry, 
 " Who will show us any good ?" wearying themselves for 
 very vanity ; he had made himself perfectly easy, by 
 casting himself upon the divine good will, "Lord, lift 
 thou up the light of thy countenance upon us." Any 
 good, short of God's favour, will not serve our turn, but 
 that is enough, without the world's smiles. The moon, 
 and stars, and all the fires and candles in the world, will 
 not make day without the sun ; but the sun will make 
 day without any of them. These are David's sentiments, 
 and all the saints agree with him. Finding no rest, there- 
 fore, like Noah's dove in a deluged, defiled world, he flies to 
 
DAILY COMMr.VIO.V WITH GOD. 
 
 131 
 
 the ark, that type of Christ, " Return unto thy rest, unto 
 thy Noah, (so the word is in the original, for Noah's 
 name signifies rest,) 0 my soul," Ps. cxvi. 7. 
 
 If God lift up the light of his countenance upon us, as 
 it fills us with a holy joy, it puts gladness into the heart 
 more than they have whose corn and wine increase, ver. 
 7 ; so it fixes us in a holy rest, I will lay me down and 
 sleep. God is my God, and I am pleased, I am satisfied, 
 I look no further, I desire no more, I dwell in safety, 
 or in confidence; while I walk in the light of the Lord, 
 as I want no good, nor am sensible of any deficiency, so 
 I fear no evil, nor am apprehensive of any danger. The 
 Lord God is to me both a sun and a shield; a sun to 
 enlighten and comfort me, a shield to protect and de- 
 fend me. 
 
 Hence learn, that those who have the assurances of God's 
 favour toward them, may enjoy, and should labour after, 
 a holy serenity and security of mind. We have both 
 these put together in that precious promise, Isa. xxxii. 
 1 7, " But the work of righteousness shall be peace ;" there 
 is a present satisfaction in doing good ; and in the issue, 
 " the effect of righteousness shall be quietness and assur- 
 ance for ever;" quietness in the enjoyment of good, and 
 assurance in a freedom from evil. 
 
 (1.) A holy serenity is one blessed fruit of God's favour : 
 " I will now lay me down in peace and sleep." While 
 we are under God's displeasure, or in doubt concerning 
 his favour, how can we have any enjoyment of ourselves. 
 While this great concern is unsettled the soul cannot but 
 be unsatisfied. Has God a controversy with thee ? Give 
 not sleep to thy eyes, nor slumber to thy eye-lids, till 
 thou hast got the controversy taken up. Go, humble 
 thyself, and make sure thy Friend, thy best Friend, and 
 when thou hast made thy peace with him, and hast some 
 comfortable evidence that thou art accepted of him, then 
 say wisely and justly, what that carnal worldling said 
 foolishly and without ground, " ^oul, take thine ease," for 
 in God, and in the covenant of grace, "thou hast goods 
 
132 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 laid up for many years," goods laid up for eternity, Luke 
 xii. 19. Are thy sins pardoned ] Hast thou an interest in 
 Christ's mediation ? Does God now in him accept thy 
 works ? " Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink 
 thy wine with a merry heart," Eccles. ix. 7. Let this still 
 every storm, and command, and create a calm in thy soul. 
 
 Having God to be our God in covenant, we have enough, 
 we have all ; and though the gracious soul still desires 
 more of God, it never desires more than God ; in him it 
 reposes itself with ji perfect complacency ; in him it is at 
 home, it is at rest. If we be but satisfied of his loving- 
 kindness, we may be satisfied with his loving-kindness, 
 abundantly satisfied. There is enough in this to satiate the 
 weary soul, and to replenish every sorrowful soul, Jer. xxxi. 
 25 ; to fill even the hungry with good things, with the 
 best things ; and being filled they should be at rest, at rest 
 for ever, and their sleep here should be sweet. 
 
 (2.) A holy security is another blessed fruit of God's 
 favour. Thou, Lord, makest me to dwell in safety ; when 
 the light of thy countenance shines upon me I am safe, and 
 I know I am so, and I am therefore easy, for u with thy 
 favour wilt thou compass me as with a shield," Ps. v. 12. 
 Being taken under the protection of the divine favour, 
 though an host of enemies should encamp against me, yet 
 my heart shall not fear, in this I will be confident, Ps. 
 xxvii. 3. "Whatever God has promised me I can promise 
 myself, and that is enough to indemnify me, and save me 
 harmless, whatever difficulties and dangers I may meet 
 with in the way of my duty. "Though the earth be 
 removed, yet will not we fear," Ps. xlvi. 2 ; not fear any 
 evil, no not in the valley of the shadow of death, in the 
 territories of the king of terrors himself ; for there thou art 
 with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. What the 
 rich man's wealth is to him, in his own conceit, a strong 
 city and a high wall, that the good man's God is to him, 
 Prov. xviii. 10, 11. " The Almighty shall be thy gold, thy 
 defence," Job xxii. 25. niarg. 
 
 Nothing is more dangerous than security in a sinful 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 133 
 
 way, and men crying peace, peace, to themselves, while 
 they continue under the reigning power of a vain and car- 
 nal mind. Oh that the sinners that are at ease were made to 
 tremble ! Nothing is more foolish than a security built 
 upon the world and its promises, for they are all vanity and 
 a lie ; but nothing more reasonable in itself, or more advan- 
 tageous to us, than for good people to build with assurance 
 upon the promises of a good God ; for those who keep in 
 the way of duty, to be quiet from the fear of evil ; as 
 those who know no evil shall befall them, no real evil, 
 no evil but what shall be made to work for their good ; 
 as those who know, while they continue in their allegiance 
 to God as their King, that they are under his protec- 
 tion, under the protection of Omnipotence itself, which 
 enables them to bid defiance to all malignant powers ; " If 
 God be for us, who can be against us ?" This security even 
 the heathen looked upon every honest virtuous man to be 
 entitled to, that is, 
 
 Integer vitce, scelerisque purus 
 He whose life was upright and free from iniquity. 
 And thought that 
 
 Et sifraclus illabatur orbis, 
 Impavidum ferient mince. 
 
 If the wond should fall in pieces about his ears, he needed 
 not fear being lost in the desolations of it. 
 
 Much more reason have Christians, who hold fast their in- 
 tegrity, to lay claim to it ; for who is he, or what is it, that 
 shall harm us, if we be followers of him that is good, in his 
 goodness ? 
 
 [1.] It is the privilege of good people, that they may be 
 thus easy and satisfied. This holy serenity and security of 
 mind is allowed them, God gives them leave to be cheerful; 
 nay, it is promised them, " God will speak peace to his people 
 and to his saints;" he will fill them with joy and peace in 
 believing ; his peace shall keep their hearts and minds, keep 
 them safe, keep them calm. Nay, there is a method appointed 
 
134 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOB 
 
 for their obtaining this promised serenity and security. The 
 Scriptures are written to them that their joy may be full, 
 and that through patience and comfort of them they may 
 have hope. Ordinances are instituted to be wells of salvation, 
 out of which they may draw water with joy. Ministers are 
 ordained to be their comforters, and the helpers of their joy. 
 Thus willing has God been to show the heirs of promise the 
 immutability of his counsel, that they might have strong con- 
 solation, Heb. vi. 17, 18. 
 
 [2.] It is the duty of good people to labour after this holy 
 security and serenity of mind, and to use the means ap- 
 pointed for the obtaining it. Give not way to the disquieting 
 suggestions of Satan, and to those tormenting doubts and 
 fears that arise in your own souls. Study to be quiet, chide 
 yourselves for your distrusts, charge yourselves to believe, 
 and to hope in God, that you shall yet praise him. You are 
 in the dark concerning yourselves, do* as Paul's mariners 
 did, cast anchor and wish for the day. Poor trembling 
 Christian, that art tossed with tempests and not comforted, 
 try to lay thee down in peace and sleep ; compose thyself 
 into a sedate and cvpii frame. In the name of him whom 
 winds and seas obey, command down thy tumultous thoughts 
 and say, " Peace, be still." Lay that aching trembling head 
 of thine where the beloved disciple laid his, in the bosom 
 of the Lord Jesus; or, if thou hast not yet attained such 
 boldness of access to him, lay that aching trembling heart of 
 thine at the feet of the Lord Jesus, by an entire submission 
 and resignation to him, saying, "If I perish, I will perish 
 here:" put it into his hand by an entire confidence in him; 
 submit it to his operation and disposal, who knows how to 
 speak to the heart. And if thou art not yet entered into 
 this sabbatism, as the word is, Heb. iv. 9, this present rest 
 that remaineth for the people of God, yet look upon it to be 
 a land of promise, and therefore, though it tarry, wait for it, 
 for the vision is for an appointed time, and at the end it 
 shall speak, and shall not lie. " Light is sown for the right- 
 eous," and what is sown shall come up again at last in a 
 harvest of joy. 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 135 
 
 2. The Psalmist having done his day's work, and perhaps 
 fatigued himself with it, it being now bed-time, and having 
 given good advice to those to whom he had wished a good 
 night, to commune with their own hearts upon their beds, 
 and to offer the evening sacrifices of righteousness, ver. 4, 5, 
 now retires to his chamber with this word, "I will lay me 
 down in peace and sleep." That which I chose this text for 
 will lead me to understand it literally, as the disciples under- 
 stood their Master, when he said, "Lazarus sleepeth, of 
 taking rest in sleep," John xi. 12, 13. And so we have here 
 David's pious thoughts when he was going to bed. As when 
 he awakes he is still with God, he is still so when he goes 
 to sleep, and concludes the day as he opened it, with medi- 
 tations on God, and sweet communion with him. 
 
 It should seem David penned this psalm when he was 
 distressed and persecuted by his enemies ; perhaps it was 
 penned on the same occasion with the foregoing psalm, 
 when he fled from Absalom his son ; without were fightings, 
 and then no wonder that within were fears ; yet then he 
 puts such a confidence in God's protection, that he will go 
 to bed at his usual time, and, with his usual quietness and 
 cheerfulness, will compose himself as at other times. He 
 knows that his enemies have no power against him, but 
 what is given them from above ; and they shall have no 
 power given them but what is still under the divine check 
 and restraint ; nor shall their power be permitted to exert 
 itself so far as to do him any real mischief; and therefore 
 he retires into the secret place of the Most High, and abides 
 under the shadow of the Almighty, and is very quiet in his 
 own mind. That will break a worldly man's heart which 
 will not break a godly man's sleep. Let them do their worst, 
 says David, " I will lay me down and sleep : the will of the 
 Lord be done." Now observe here, 
 
 (1.) His confidence in God. "Thou, Lord, makest me to 
 dwell in safety;" not only makest me safe, but makest me 
 know that I am so; makest me to dwell with a good assurance. 
 It is the same word that is used concerning him who walks 
 uprightly, that he walks surely, Prov. x. 9. He goes boldly 
 
136 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 in his way, so David here goes boldly to his bed. He does 
 not dwell carelessly, as the men of Laish, Judg. xviii. 7. 
 but dwells at ease in God, as the sons of Zion, in the city of 
 their solemnities, when their eyes see it a quiet habitation, 
 Isa. xxxiii. 20. 
 
 There is one word in this part of the text that is observable; 
 thou, Lord, only dost secure me. Some refer it to David; 
 " even when I am alone, have none of my privy -counsellors 
 about me to advise me, none of my life-guards to fight for 
 me, yet I am under no apprehension of danger while God is 
 with me." The Son of David comforted himself with this, 
 that when all his disciples forsook him, and left him alone, 
 yet he was not alone, for the Father was with him. Some 
 weak people are afraid of being alone, especially in the dark, 
 but a firm belief of God's presence with us in all places, and 
 that divine protection which all good people are under, would 
 silence those fears, and make us ashamed of them. Nay, 
 our being alone a peculiar people, whom God has set apart 
 for himself, (as it is here, ver. 3,) will be our security. A 
 sober singularity will be our safety and satisfaction, as Noah's 
 was in the old world. Israel is a people that shall dwell 
 alone, and not be reckoned among the nations, and there- 
 fore may set them all at defiance, till they foolishly mingle 
 themselves among them ; "Israel shall then dwell in safety 
 alone," Deut xxxiii. 28. The more we dwell alone, the 
 more safe we dwell. But our translation refers it to God ; 
 "Thou alone makest me to dwell safely ;" it is done by thee 
 only. God in protecting his people needs not any assistance, 
 though he sometimes makes use of instruments ; the earth 
 helped the woman, yet he can do it without them; and, 
 when all our refuges fail, his own arm works salvation; "so 
 the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god 
 with him," Deut. xxxii. 12. Yet that is not all, I depend 
 on thee only to do it ; therefore I am easy, and think myself 
 safe, not because I have hosts on my side, but purely because 
 I have the Lord of hosts on my side. 
 
 " Thou makest me to dwell in safety. It may look either 
 backward or forward, or rather, both. Thou hast made me 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 137 
 
 to dwell in safety all day, so that the sun has not smitten me 
 by day ; and then it is the language of his thankfulness for 
 the mercies he had received ; or, thou wilt make me to dwell 
 in safety all night, that the moon shall not smite me by 
 night ; and then it is the language of his dependence upon 
 God for further mercies. And both these should go together ; 
 and our eye must be to God as ever the same, who was, and 
 is, and is to come ; who has delivered, and does, and will. 
 
 (2.) His composedness in himself inferred hence, Simul, 
 or, pariter in pace cubabo — " I will both lay me down and 
 sleep." They who have their corn and wine increasing, who 
 have abundance of the wealth and pleasure of this world, 
 lay them down and sleep contentedly, as Boaz at the end of 
 the heap of corn, Ruth iii. 7. But though I have not what 
 they have, I can lay me down in peace, and sleep as well as 
 they. We make it to join, his lying down and his sleeping: 
 I will not only lay me down, as one that desires to be com- 
 posed, but will sleep as one that really is so. Some make it 
 to intimate his falling asleep presently after he had laid 
 him down : so well wearied was he with the work of the day, 
 and so free from any of those discounting thoughts which 
 would keep him from sleeping. 
 
 Now these are words put into our mouths, with which to 
 compose ourselves when we retire at night to our repose ; 
 and we should take care so to manage ourselves all day, 
 especially when it draws towards night, that we may not be 
 disfitted, and put out of frame, for our evening devotions ; 
 that our hearts may not be overcharged, either on the one 
 hand with surfeiting and drunkenness, as theirs often are 
 who are men of pleasure ; or on the other hand with the 
 cares of this life, as theirs often are who are men of busi- 
 ness ; but that we may have such a command both of our 
 thoughts and of our time, that we may finish our daily work 
 well ; which will be an earnest of our finishing our life's 
 work well; and all is well indeed that ends everlastingly 
 well. 
 
 Doct. As we must begin the day with God, and wait upon 
 him all the day, so we must endeavour to close it with him. 
 
138 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 This duty of dosing the day with God, and in a good 
 frame, I know not how better to open to you, than by going 
 over the particulars in the text in their order, and recom- 
 mending to you David's example. 
 
 I. Let us retire to lay us down. Nature calls for rest as 
 well as food ; "man goes forth to his work and labour," and 
 goes to and fro about it, but it is only till evening, and then 
 it is time to lie down. We read of Ishbosheth, that he lay 
 on his bed at noon, but death met him there, 2 Sam. iv. 5, 
 6 ; and of David himself, that he came off from his bed at 
 evening-tide, but sin, a worse thing than death, met him 
 there. We must work the works of him that sent us while 
 it is day, it will be time enough to lie down when the night 
 comes, and no man can work ; and it is then proper and 
 seasonable to lie down. It is promised, Zeph. ii. 7, "They 
 shall lie down in the evening ; and with that promise we 
 must comply, and rest in the time appointed for rest ; and 
 not turn day into night, and night into day, as many do 
 upon some ill account or other. 
 
 1. Some sit up to do mischief to their neighbours ; to kill, 
 and steal, and to destroy : " In the dark they dig through 
 houses which they had marked for themselves in the day- 
 time," Job xxiv. 16. David complains of his enemies that 
 at evening they go round about the city, Ps. lix. 6. They, 
 that do evil hate the light. Judas the traitor was in quest 
 of his Master, with his band of men, when he should have 
 been in his bed. And it is an aggravation of the wicked- 
 ness of the wicked, when they take so much pains to com- 
 pass an ill design, and have their hearts so much upon 
 it, that they " sleep not except they have done mischief," 
 Prov. iv. 16. It is a shame to those who profess to make it 
 their business to do good, that they cannot find in their 
 hearts to intrench upon any of the gratifications of sense in 
 pursuance of it ; 
 
 Utjugulent homines surgunt de nocte Latrones; 
 
 Tuque ut te serves non expergisceris? 
 Robbers arise in the night that they may slay men; 
 And will not you awake that you may preserve yourself? 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 139 
 
 Say then, while others sit up for an opportunity to be 
 mischievous, " I will lay me down" and be quiet, and do 
 nobody any harm. 
 
 2. Others sit up in the pursuit of the world, and the 
 wealth of it. They not only rise up early, but they sit up 
 late, in the eager prosecution of their covetous practices, 
 Ps. cxxvii. 2, and, either to get or save, deny themselves 
 then most necessary sleep ; and this their way is their folly, 
 for hereby they deprive themselves of the comfortable 
 enjoyment of what they have, which is the end, under 
 pretence of care and pains to obtain more, which is but the 
 means. Solomon speaks of those who " neither day nor 
 night see sleep with their eyes," Eccl. viii. 16, who make 
 themselves perfect slaves and drudges to the world, than 
 which there is not a more cruel task-master : and thus, they 
 make that which of itself is vanity, to be to them vexation 
 of spirit, for they weary themselves for very vanity, Heb. 
 iv. 3, and are so miserably in love with their chain, that 
 they deny themselves not only the spiritual rest God has 
 provided for them, as the God of grace, but the natural 
 rest, which, as the God of nature, he has provided ; and it 
 is a specimen of the wrong sinners do to their own bodies, 
 as well as their own souls. Let us see the folly of it, 
 and never labour thus for the meat that perisheth, and 
 that abundance of the rich which will not suffer him to 
 sleep ; but let us labour for that meat which endureth 
 unto eternal life, that grace which is the earnest of glory, 
 the abundance of which will make our sleep sweet to us. 
 
 3. Others sit up in the indulgence of their pleasures. 
 They will not lay them down in due time, because they 
 cannot find in their hearts to leave their vain sports and 
 pastimes ; their music, and dancing, and plays, their cards 
 and dice ; or, which is worse, their rioting and excess ; for 
 they that are drunk are drunk in the night. It is bad 
 enough when these gratifications of a base lust, or at least 
 of a vain mind, are suffered to devour the whole evening, 
 and then to engross the whole soul, as they are apt enough 
 to do insensibly ; so that there is neither time nor heart 
 
140 
 
 I>IRECTIOSS FOR 
 
 for the evening devotions, either in the closet, or in the 
 family: but it is much worse when they are suffered to 
 go far into the night too, for then of course they tres- 
 pass upon the ensuing morning, and steal away the time 
 that should then also be bestowed upon the exercises of 
 religion. Those who can of choice, and with so much 
 pleasure, sit up till I know not what time of night, to 
 make, as they say, w a merry night of it," to spend their 
 time in filthiness and foolish talking and jesting, which 
 are not convenient, would think themselves hardly dealt 
 with, if they should be kept one half hour past their 
 sleeping time, engaged in any good duties; and would 
 have called blessed Paul himself a tedious preacher, and 
 have censured him as very indiscreet, when, upon a par- 
 ticular occasion, he continued his speech till midnight, 
 Acts xx. 7. And how loath would they be, with David, at 
 midnight to rise and give thanks to God ; or. with their 
 Master, to continue all night in prayer, to Go<L 
 
 Let the corrupt affections which run out thus and trans- 
 gress, be mortified and not gratified. Those who have 
 allowed themselves in such irregularities, if they have 
 allowed themselves an impartial reflection, cannot but have 
 found the inconvenience of them, and they have been a 
 prejudice to the prosperity of the soul, and should therefore 
 deny themselves for their own good. One rule for the 
 closing of the day well is to keep good hours ; a Everything 
 is beautiful in its season." I have heard it said long since, 
 and I beg leave to repeat it now, that 
 
 w Early to bed. and early to rise. 
 Is the way to be healthy, and -wealthy, and wise. 
 
 We shall now take it for granted, that unless some 
 necessary business, or some work of mercy, or some more 
 than ordinary act of devotion, keep you up beyond your 
 usual time, you are disposed to lay you down. And let 
 us lay us down with thankfulness to God, and with 
 thoughts of dying ; with penitent reflections upon the sins 
 
DAILY COMMUNION "WITH GOD. 
 
 141 
 
 of the day, and with humble supplications for the mercies of 
 the night. 
 
 (1.) Let us lie down with thankfulness to God. "When 
 we retire to our bed-chambers or closets we should lift up 
 our hearts to God, the God of our mercies, and make him 
 the God of our praises ; whenever we go to bed I am sure 
 we do not want matter for praise, if we did not want a 
 heart. Let us therefore address ourselves then to that 
 pleasant duty, that work which is its own wages. The 
 evening sacrifice was to be a sacrifice of praise. 
 
 [l.j We have reason to be thankful for the many mercies 
 of the day past, which we ought particularly to review, and 
 to say, "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with 
 benefits." Observe the constant series of mercies, which 
 has not been interrupted or broken in upon any day. Ob- 
 serve the particu ] ar instance of mercy with which some 
 days have been signalized and made remarkable. It is he 
 who has granted us life and favour; it is his visitation that * 
 preserves our spirits. Think how many are the calamities 
 which we are every day preserved from ; the calamities 
 which we are sensibly exposed to, and perhaps have been 
 delivered from the imminent danger of ; and those which 
 we have not been apprehensive of; many of which we have 
 deserved, and which others, better than we are, groan under. 
 All our bones have reason to say, " Lord, who is like unto 
 thee?" For it is God who keepeth all our bones, not one 
 of them is broken ; it is of his mercies that we are not 
 consumed. 
 
 Think how many are the comforts we are every day 
 surrounded with, all which we are indebted to the bounty of 
 the divine Providence for; every bit we eat, and every 
 drop we drink, is mercy ; every step we take, and every 
 breath we draw, mercy. All the satisfaction we have in 
 the agreeableness and atfections of our relations, and in the 
 society and serviceableness of our friends ; all the success 
 we have in our callings and employments, and the pleasure 
 we take in them; all the joy which Zebulun has in his 
 
142 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 going out, and Issachar in his tents,- is what we have reason 
 to acknowledge with thankfulness, to God's praise. 
 
 Yet it is likely that the day has not passed without some 
 cross accidents, something or other has afflicted and disap- 
 pointed us, and if it has, yet that must not indispose us for 
 praise ; however it be, yet God is good ; and it is our duty 
 in everything to give thanks, and to bless the name of the 
 Lord when he takes away, as well as when he gives ; for 
 our afflictions are but few, and a thousand times deserved ; 
 our mercies are many, and a thousand times forfeited. 
 
 [2.] We have reason to be thankful for the shadows of 
 the evening, which call us to retire and lie down. The 
 same wisdom, power, and goodness which make the morning, 
 make the evening also, to rejoice; and give us cause to be 
 thankful for the drawing of the curtains of the night about 
 us in favour to our repose, as well as for the opening of the 
 eye-lids of the morning upon us in favour to our business. 
 When God divided between the light and the darkness, and 
 allotted to both of them their time successively, he saw that 
 it was good it should be so ; in a world of mixtures and 
 changes, nothing more proper. Let us therefore give thanks 
 to that God who forms the light and creates the darkness ; 
 and believe, that as in the revolutions of time, so in the 
 revolutions of the events of time, the darkness of affliction 
 may be as needful for us in its season, as the light of pros- 
 perity. If the hireling longs till the shadow comes, let him 
 be thankful for it when it does come, that the burthen and 
 heat of the day is not perpetual. 
 
 [3.] We have reason to be thankful for a quiet habitation 
 to lie down in ; that we are not driven out from among 
 men as Nebuchadnezzar, to lie down with the beasts of the 
 field ; that though we were born like the wild ass's colt, yet 
 we have not with the wild ass the wilderness for our habita- 
 tion, and the desolate and barren land for our dwelling ; 
 that we are not put to wander in deserts and mountains, in 
 dens and caves of the earth, as many of God's dear saints 
 and servants have been forced to do, of whom the world was 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 143 
 
 not worthy : but the good Shepherd makes us to lie down 
 in green pastures. That we have not, as Jacob, the cold 
 ground for our bed, and a stone for our pillow, which yet 
 one would be content with, and covet, if with it one could 
 have his dream. 
 
 [4.] We have reason to be thankful that we are not forced 
 to sit up ; that our Master not only gives us leave to lie 
 down, but orders that nothing shall prevent our lying down. 
 Many go to bed, but cannot lie down there, by reason of 
 painful and languishing sicknesses, of that nature, that if 
 they lie down they cannot breathe ; our bodies are of the 
 same mould, and it is of the Lord's mercies that we are 
 not so afflicted. Many are kept up by sickness in their 
 families; children are ill, and they must attend them. If 
 God takes sickness away from the midst of us, and keeps 
 it away, so that no plague comes near our dwellings, a 
 numerous family, perhaps, and all w r ell, it is a mercy we are 
 bound to be very thankful for, and to value in proportion 
 to the greatness of the affliction where sickness prevails. 
 Many are kept up by the fear of enemies, of soldiers, of 
 thieves. The good man of the house watches that his house 
 may not be broken through ; but our lying down is not 
 prevented or disturbed by the alarms of war, we are 
 delivered from the noise of archers in the places of our 
 repose; there therefore should we rehearse the righteous 
 acts of the Lord, even his righteous acts toward the inhabi- 
 tants of Ins villages in Israel, which under his protection 
 are as safe as walled cities with gates and bars. When we 
 lie down, let us thank God that we may lie down. 
 
 (2.) Let us lie down with thoughts of death, and of that 
 great change which at death we must pass under. The 
 conclusion of every day should put us in mind of the 
 conclusion of all our days ; when our night comes, our long 
 night, which will put a period to our work, and bring the 
 honest labourer both to take his rest, and receive his penny. 
 It is good for us to think frequently of dying, to think of 
 it as often as we go to bed ; it will help to mortify the cor- 
 ruptions of our own hearts, which are our daily burthens ; 
 
144 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 to arm us against the temptations of the world, which are 
 our daily snares ; it will wean us from our daily comforts, 
 and make us easy under our daily crosses and fatigues. It 
 is good for us to think familiarly of dying, to think of it as 
 our going to bed, that by thinking often of it, and thinking 
 thus of it, we may get above the fear of it. 
 
 [I.] At death we shall retire, as we do at bed-time ; we 
 shall go to be private for a while, till the public appearance 
 at the great day ; " Man lieth down, and riseth not till the 
 heavens be no more ;" till then " they shall not awake, nor be 
 raised out of their sleep," Job xiv. 12. Now we go abroad 
 to see and be seen, and to no higher purpose do some spend 
 their day, spend their life ; but when death comes there is 
 an end of both, we shall then see no more in this world ; 
 I u shall behold man no more," Isa. xxxviii. 11 ; we shall 
 then be seen no more ; " The eye of him that hath seen 
 me, shall see me no more," J ob vii. 8 ; we shall be hid in the 
 grave, and cut off from all living. To die is to bid good 
 night to all our friends, to put a period to our conversation 
 with them. We bid them farewell, but, blessed be God, it 
 is not an eternal farewell ; we hope to meet them again in 
 the morning of the resurrection, to part no more. 
 
 [2.] At death we shall put off the body, as we put off our 
 clothes when we lie down. The soul is the man, the 
 body is but the clothes. At death we shall be unclothed, 
 the earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved, 
 the garment of the body shall be laid aside. Death strips 
 us. and sends us naked out of the world, as we came 
 into it ; strips the soul of all the disguises wherein it 
 appeared before men, that it may appear naked and open 
 before God. Our grave-clothes are night-clothes. 
 
 When we are weary and hot our clothes are a bur- 
 then, and we are very willing to throw them off ; are 
 not easy till we are undressed ; thus " we that are in 
 this tabernacle do groan, being burthened;" but when 
 death frees the soul from the load and encumbrance of 
 the body, which hinders its repose in its spiritual 
 satisfactions, how easy will it be ! Let us think then of 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 145 
 
 putting off the body at death, with as much pleasure as 
 we do of putting off our clothes at night ; be as loose 
 to them as we are to our clothes ; and comfort ourselves 
 with this thought, that though we are unclothed at death, 
 if we be clothed with Christ and his grace, Ave shall not be 
 found naked, but be clothed upon with immortality. We 
 have new clothes a-making, which shall be ready to put on 
 next morning ; a glorious body like Christ's, instead of a 
 vile body like the beasts. 
 
 [3.] At death we shall lie down in the grave, as on our 
 bed, shall lie down in the dust, Job xx. 11. To those who 
 die in sin, and impenitence, the grave is a dungeon ; their 
 iniquities which are upon their bones, and which lie down 
 with them, make it so ; but to those who die in Christ, who 
 die in faith, it is a bed, a bed of rest, where there is no toss- 
 ings to and fro until the dawning of the day, as sometimes 
 there are upon the easiest beds wchave in this wcrld ; where 
 there is no danger of being scared with dreams, and terrified 
 with visions of the night ; there is no being chastened with 
 pain on that bed, or the multitude of the bones with strong 
 pain. It is the privilege of those who, while they live, walk 
 in their uprightness, that when they die they enter into 
 peace, and rest in their beds, Isa. lvii. 2 Holy Job comforts 
 himself with this, in the midst of his agonies, that he shall 
 shortly make his bed in the darkness, and be easy there. 
 It is a bed of roses, a bed of spices, to all believers ever since 
 he lay in it who is the " Rose of Sharon, and the Lily of 
 the Valleys." 
 
 Say then of thy grave, as thou dost of thy bed at night, 
 " There the weary are at rest ;"' with this further consola- 
 tion, that thou shalt not only rest there, but rise thence 
 shortly, abundantly refreshed ; shalt be called up to meet 
 the Beloved of thy soul, and to be for ever with him ; shalt 
 rise to a day which will not renew thy cares, as every day on 
 earth does, but secure to thee unmixed and everlasting joys. 
 How comfortably may we lie down at night if such 
 thoughts as these lie down with us ; and how comfortably 
 
 K 
 
146 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 may we lie down at death if we have accustomed ourselves 
 to such thoughts as these. 
 
 (3.) Let us lie down with penitent reflections upon the 
 sins of the day past. Praising God and delighting ourselves 
 in him is such pleasant work, and so much the work ot 
 angels, that methinks it is a pity that we should have any 
 thing else to do ; but the truth is, we make other work for 
 ourselves by our own folly, that is not so pleasant, but abso- 
 lutely needful, and that is, repentance. While we are at 
 night solacing ourselves in God's goodness, we must inter- 
 mix therewith the afflicting of ourselves for our own vile- 
 ness ; both must have their place in us, and they will very 
 well agree together ; for we must take our work before us. 
 
 [1.] We must be convinced of it, that we are still con- 
 tracting guilt; we carry corrupt natures about with us, 
 which are bitter roots that bear gall and wormwood, and 
 all we say or do is imbittered by them. " In many things 
 we all offend," insomuch "that there is not a just man 
 upon earth that doeth good and sins not." We are in the 
 midst of a defiling world, and cannot keep ourselves per- 
 fectly unspotted from it. If we say we have no sin, or that 
 we have passed a day and have not sinned, we deceive our- 
 selves ; for if we know the truth by ourselves, we shall see 
 cause to cry, " Who can understand his errors 1 Cleanse us 
 from our secret faults ;" faults which we ourselves are not 
 aware of. We ought to aim at a sinless perfection ; with as 
 strict a watchfulness as if we could attain it : but, after all, 
 must acknowledge, that we come short of it ; that we have 
 not yet attained, neither are already perfect : we find it by 
 constant sad experience, for it is certain that we do enough 
 every day to bring us upon our knees at night. 
 
 [2.] We must examine our consciences, that we may 
 find out oiii particular transgressions of the day past, Let 
 us every night search and try our ways, our thoughts, 
 words, and actions ; compare them with the rule of the 
 word, examine our faces in that glass, that we may see our 
 spots, and may be particular in the acknowledgment of 
 them. It will be good for us to ask, What have we done 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. ' 
 
 147 
 
 this day ? What have we done amiss 1 What duty have 
 we neglected ? What false step have we taken 1 How 
 have we carried it in our callings, in our converse ? Have 
 we done the duties of our particular relations, and accom- 
 modated ourselves to the will of God in every event of pro- 
 vidence 1 By doing this frequently, we shall grow in our 
 acquaintance with ourselves, than which nothing will con- 
 tribute more to our soul's prosperity. 
 
 [3.] We must renew our repentance for whatever we 
 find has been amiss in us, or has been said or done amiss by 
 us ; we must be sorry for it, and sadly lament it, and take 
 shame to ourselves for it, and give glory to God by making 
 confession. If any tiling appear to have been wrong more 
 than ordinary, that must be particularly bewailed ; and in 
 general, we must be mortified for our sins of daily infirmity, 
 which we ought not to think slightly of, because they are 
 returning daily, but rather be the more ashamed of them, 
 and of that fountain within, which casts out these waters. 
 
 It is good to be speedy in renewing our repentance, be- 
 fore the heart be hardened by the deceitfulness of gin. De- 
 lays are dangerous; green wounds may soon be cured, if 
 taken in time, but if they are corrupt, as the Psalmist com- 
 plains, Ps. xxxviii. 5, it is our fault and folly, and the cure 
 will be difficult. Though through the weakness of the flesh 
 we fall into sin daily, if we get up again by renewed re- 
 pentance at night, we are not, nor ought we to think our- 
 selves, utterly cast down. The sin that humbles us shall 
 not ruin us. 
 
 [4.] We must make a fresh application of the blood of 
 Christ to our souls, for the remission of our sins, and the 
 gracious acceptance of our repentance. We must not think 
 that we have need of Christ only at our first conversion to 
 God ; no, we have daily need of him as our Advocate with 
 the Father, and therefore, as such, he always appeal's in the 
 presence of God for us, and attends continually to tins very 
 thing. Even our sins of daily infirmity would be our ruin, 
 if he had not made satisfaction for them, and did not still 
 make intercession for us. He who is washed, still needs to 
 
148 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 wash his feet from the filth he contracts in every step ; and, 
 blessed be God, there is a fountain opened for us to wash 
 in, and it is always open. 
 
 [5.] We must apply ourselves to the throne of grace for 
 peace and pardon. Those who repent must pray that the 
 thought of their heart may be forgiven them, Acts viii. 22. 
 And it is good to be particular in our prayers for the par- 
 don of sin; that, as Hannah said concerning Samuel, " For 
 this child I prayed ;" so we may be able to say, " For the 
 forgiveness of this I prayed." However, the publican's 
 prayer, in general, is a very proper one for each of us to lie 
 down with, " God be merciful to me a sinner." 
 
 (4.) Let us lie down with humble supplications for the 
 mercies of the night. Prayer is as necessary in the evening 
 as it was in the morning, for we have the same need of the 
 divine favour and care, to make the evening out-goings to 
 rejoice, that we had to beautify those of the morning. 
 
 [1.] "We must pray that our outward man may be under 
 the care of God's holy angels, who are the ministers of his 
 providence. God has promised that he will give his angels 
 charge concerning those who make the Most High their 
 refuge, and that they shall pitch their tents round about 
 them, and deliver them ; and what he has promised we may 
 and must pray for. Not as if God needed the service of the 
 angels, or as if he did himself quit all the care of his people, 
 and turn it over to them ; but it appears by abundance of 
 scripture proofs, that they are employed about the people 
 of God, whom he takes under his special protection, though 
 they are not seen, both for the honour of God, by whom 
 they are charged, and for the honour of the saints, with 
 whom they are charged. It was the glory of Solomon's 
 bed, that threescore valiant men were about it, of the valiant 
 in Israel, all holding swords, because of fear in the night, 
 Cant. iii. 7, 8. But much more honourably and comfort- 
 ably are all true believers attended ; for though they lie 
 ever so meanly, they have hosts of angels surrounding their 
 beds, and by the ministration of good spirits are preserved 
 from malignant spirits. But God will for this be inquired 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 149 
 
 of by the house of Israel ; Christ himself must pray the 
 Father, and he will send to his relief legions of angels, 
 Matt. xxvi. 53. Much more reason have we to ask, that it 
 may be given us. 
 
 [2.] We must pray that our inward man may be under 
 the influences of his Holy Spirit, who is the author and 
 fountain of his grace. As public ordinances are opportuni- 
 ties in which the Spirit works upon the hearts of men, and, 
 therefore, when we attend on them, we must pray for the 
 Spirit's operations ; so are private retirements, and, there- 
 fore, we must put up the same prayer, when we enter upon 
 them. We find that in slumbering upon the bed, God opens 
 the ears of men, and seals their instruction, Job xxxiii. 15, 
 16. And with this David's experience concurs. He found 
 that God visited him in the night, and tried him, and so 
 discovered him to himself, Ps. xvii. 3. And that God gave 
 him counsel, and his reins instructed him in the night sea- 
 son, and so he discovered himself to him, Ps. xvi. 7. He 
 found that was a proper season for remembering God, and 
 meditating upon him ; and in order to our due improvement 
 of this proper season for conversing with. God in solitude, 
 we need the powerful and benign influences of the blessed 
 Spirit, which, therefore, when we lie down we should ear- 
 nestly pray for, and humbly put ourselves under, and sub- 
 mit ourselves tq. How God's grace may work upon us 
 when we are asleep we know not ; the soul will act in a 
 state of separation from the body, and how far it does act 
 independent of the body, when the bodily senses are all 
 locked up, we cannot say, but are sure, that the Spirit of 
 the Lord is not bound. We have reason to pray, not only 
 that our minds may not be either disturbed or polluted by 
 evil dreams, in which, for aught we know, evil spirits some- 
 times have a hand, but may be instructed and quieted by 
 good dreams ; which Plutarch reckons among the evidences 
 of increase and proficiency in virtue, and on which the 
 good Spirit has an influence. I have heard of a good man 
 that used to pray at night for good dreams. 
 
 II. When we lay us down, our care and endeavour must 
 
150 
 
 1>1K£CTI0.\S FOU 
 
 be to lay us down in peace. It is promised to Abraham 
 tbat he should go to his grave in peace, Gen. xv. 15, and 
 this promise is sure to all Ins spiritual seed, for " the end 
 of the upright man is peace;" Josiah dies in peace though 
 he is killed in a battle : now, as an earnest of this, let us 
 every night lie down in peace. It is threatened to the 
 wicked, that they shall lie down in sorrow, Isa. 1. 11. It is 
 promised to the righteous, that they shall lie down, and 
 none shall make them afraid, Lev. xxvi. 6; Job xi. 19. 
 Let us then enter into this rest, this blessed sabbatism, and 
 take care that we come not short of it. 
 
 1. Let us lie down in peace with God; for without this 
 there can be no peace at all ; " There is no peace, saith my 
 God, to the wicked," whom God is at war with. A state of 
 sin is a state of enmity against God ; they who continue in 
 that state are under the wrath and curse of God, and cannot 
 lie down in peace; what have they to do with peace? 
 Hasten therefore, sinner, hasten to make thy peace with 
 God in J esus Christ, by repentance and faith ; take hold on 
 his strength, that thou mayst make peace with him ; and 
 thou shalt make peace, for fury is not in him. Conditions 
 of peace are offered, consent to them ; close with him who 
 is our peace ; take Christ upon his own terms, Christ upon 
 any terms. Defer not to do this ; dare not to sleep in that 
 condition in which thou darest not die. " Escape for thy 
 life, look not behind thee." Acquaint now thyself with 
 him, now presently, and be at peace, and thereby this good 
 shall come unto thee, thou shalt lie down in peace. 
 
 Sin is ever and anon making mischief between God and 
 our souls, provoking God against us, alienating us from 
 God; we therefore need to be every night making peace, 
 reconciling ourselves to him and to his holy will, by the 
 agency of his Spirit upon us, and begging of him to be re- 
 conciled to us, through the intercession of his Son for us ; 
 that th re may be no distance, no strangeness, between us 
 and God, no interposing cloud to hinder his mercies from 
 coming down upon us, or our prayers from coming up unto 
 him.. Being justified by faith," we have tins " peace with 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH UUD. 
 
 151 
 
 God, through our Lord Jesus Christ;" and then we may 
 not only lie down in peace, hut we rejoice in hope of the 
 glory of God- Let this be our first care, that God have no 
 quarrel with us, nor we with him. 
 
 2. Let us lie down in peace with all men ; we are con- 
 cerned to go to sleep, as well as to die, in charity. Thoso 
 who converse much with the world can scarcely pass a day 
 but something or other happens that is provoking, some 
 affront is given them, some injury done them, at least they 
 think so ; when they retire at night and reflect upon it, they 
 are apt to magnify the offence, and while they are musing 
 on it the fire burns, their resentments rise, and they begin 
 to say, " I will do so to him as he has done to me," Prov. 
 xxiv. 29. Then is the time of ripening the passion into a 
 rooted malice, and meditating revenge ; then, therefore, let 
 wisdom and grace be set on work, to extinguish this fire 
 from hell before it get head ; then let this root of bitterness 
 be killed and plucked up, and let the mind be disposed to 
 forgive the injury, and to think well of, and wish well to, 
 him that did it. If others incline to quarrel with us, yet 
 let us resolve not to quarrel with them. Let us resolve, 
 that whatever the affront or injury was, it shall neither 
 disquiet our spirits nor make us to fret, which Peninnah 
 aimed at in provoking Hannah, 1 Sam. i. 6, nor sour or im- 
 bitter our spirits, or make us peevish and spiteful ; but that 
 we still love ourselves, and love our neighbours as ourselves, 
 and therefore not, by harbouring malice, do any wrong to 
 ourselves or our neighbour. And we shall find it much 
 easier in itself, and much more pleasant in the reflection, to 
 forgive twenty injuries, than to avenge one. 
 
 That it should be our particular care at night to recon- 
 cile ourselves to those who have been injurious to us, is inti- 
 mated in that charge, Eph. iv. 26, " Let not the sun go 
 down upon your wrath." If your passion has not cooled 
 before, let it be abated by the cool of the evening, and quite 
 disappear with the setting sun. You are then to go to bed, 
 and if you lie down with these unmortihed passions boiling 
 in your breasts, your soul is among lions, you lie down in a 
 
152 
 
 DIRECTIONS k\iR 
 
 bed of thorns, in a nest of scorpions. Nay, some have ob- 
 served from what follows immediately, " neither give place 
 to the devil," ver. 27, that those who go to bed in malice 
 have the devil for their bed-fellow. We cannot lie down at 
 peace with God unless we be at peace with men ; nor in 
 iaitb pray to be forgiven unless we forgive. Let us there- 
 fore study the things that make for peace, for the peace of 
 our own spirits, by living, as much as in us lies, peaceably 
 with all men. I am for peace, yea, though they are for 
 war. 
 
 3. Let us lie down in peace with ourselves, with our own 
 minds, with a sweet composure oi spirit and enjoyment of 
 ourselves ; " Return unto thy rest, 0 my soul," and be easy, 
 let nothing disturb my soul, my darling. 
 
 But when may we lie down in peace at night ] 
 (1.) If we have by the grace of God in some measure 
 done the work of the day, and filled it up with duty, we 
 may then lie down in peace at night. If we have the testi- 
 mony of our consciences for us, that " in simplicity and 
 godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace 
 of God," we have this day " had our conversation in the 
 world ;" that we have done some good in our places, some- 
 thing that will turn to a good account ; if our hearts do not 
 reproach us with a diem perdidi, alas! " I have lost a day;" 
 or with that which is worse, the spending of that time in 
 the service of sin which should have been spent in the ser - 
 vice of God ; but i£ on the contrary, we have abode with 
 God, have been in his fear, and waited on him all the day 
 long, we may then lie down in peace, for God says, K "Well 
 done, good and faithful servant and the sleep of the la- 
 bouring man, of the labouring Christian, is sweet, is very 
 sweet, when he can say, As I am a day's journey nearer my 
 end, so I am a day's work fitter for it. Nothing will make 
 our bed-chambers pleasant, and our beds easy, like the wit- 
 ness of the Spirit of God with our spirits, that we are going 
 forward for heaven ; and a conscience kept void of offence, 
 which -will be not only a continual feast, but a continual 
 rest. 
 
DAILY COMMUMOX WITH GOD. 
 
 153 
 
 (2.) If we have by faith and patience, and submission to 
 the divine will, reconciled ourselves to all the events of the 
 day, so as to be uneasy at nothing that God has done, we 
 may then lie down in peace at night. Whatever has fallen 
 out cross to us, it shall not fret us, but we will kiss the rod, 
 tr.ke up the cross, and say, " All is well that God does." 
 Thus we must in our patience keep possession of our own 
 souls, and not suffer any affliction to put us out of the pos- 
 session of them. We have met with disappointments in 
 husbandry perhaps, in trade, at sea, debtors prove insolvent, 
 creditors prove severe, but this and the other proceed from 
 the Lord ; there is a providence in it, every creature is what 
 God makes it to be, and therefore I am dumb, I open not 
 my mouth ; that which pleases God ought not to displease 
 me. 
 
 (3.) If we have renewed our repentance for sin, and made 
 a fresh application of the blood of Christ to our souls for the 
 purifying of our consciences, we may then lay us down in 
 peace. Nothing can break in upon our peace but sin ; that 
 is it which troubles the camp ; if that be taken away there 
 shall no evil befall us. The inhabitant, though he be far 
 from well, yet shall not say, I am sftk, shall not complain 
 of sickness, for the people that dwell therein shall be for- 
 given their iniquity, Isa. xxxiii. 24. The pardon of sin has 
 enough in it to balance all our griefs, and therefore to 
 silence all our complaints. A man sick of the palsy has 
 yet reason to be easy, nay, and to be of good cheer, if Christ 
 says to him, " Thy sins are forgiven thee ;" and " I am thy 
 salvation." 
 
 (4.) If we have put ourselves under the divine protection 
 for the ensuing night, we may then lay us down in peace. 
 If by faith and prayer we have run into the name of the 
 Lord as our strong tower, have fled to take shelter under 
 the shadow of his wings, and made the Lord our refuge and 
 habitation, Ave may then speak peace to ourselves, for God 
 in his Word speaks peace to us. If David has an eye to 
 the cherubim, between -which God is said to dwell, when he 
 says, Pf. hriL 1, "In the shadow of thy wings will I make 
 
154 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 my refuge ;" yet, certainly, he has an eye to the similitude 
 which Christ makes use of, of a hen gathering her chickens 
 under her wings, when he says, Ps. xci. 4, " He shall cover 
 thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou 
 trust ;" and the chickens under the wings of the hen are 
 not only safe, but warm and pleased. 
 
 (5.) If we have cast all our cares for the day following 
 upon God, we may then lay us down in peace. Taking 
 thought for the morrow is the great hinderance of our peace 
 in the night ; let us but learn to live without disquieting 
 care, and to refer the issue of all events to that God who 
 may and can do what he will, and will do what is best, for 
 those that love and fear him ; " Father, thy will be done," 
 and then we make ourselves easy. Our Saviour presses 
 this very much upon his disciples, not to perplex themselves 
 with thoughts what they shall eat and what they shall 
 drink, and wherewithal they shall be clothed, because their 
 heavenly Father knows that they have need of these things, 
 and will see that they be supplied. Let us, therefore, ease 
 ourselves of this burden, by casting it on him who careth 
 for us ; what need he care and we care too ] 
 
 III. Having laid ouftelves down in peace, we must com- 
 pose ourselves to sleep ; " I will lay me down and sleep." 
 The love of sleep for sleeping sake is the character of the 
 sluggard, but as it is nature's physic for the recruiting of 
 its weary powers, it is to be looked upon as a mercy equal 
 to that of our food, and in its season to be received with 
 thankfulness. 
 
 And with such thoughts as these we may go to sleep. 
 
 1. What poor bodies are these we carry about with us, 
 that call for rest and relief so often, that are so soon tired, 
 even with doing nothing, or next to nothing. It is an 
 honour to man above the beasts, Os homini sublime dedit — 
 " that he is made so erect ;" it was part of the serpent's 
 curse, "On thy belly shalt thou go;" yet we have little 
 reason to boast of this honour, when we observe how little 
 a while we can stand upright, and how soon we are bur- 
 thened with our honour, and are forced to lie down. The 
 
DAILY COiMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 155 
 
 powers of the soul, and the senses of the body, are our 
 honour, but it is mortifying to consider, how after a few 
 hours' use they are all locked up under a total disability of 
 acting, and it is necessary they should be so. " Let not the 
 wise man glory in his wisdom," or the " strong man in his 
 strength," since they both lie for a fourth part of their time 
 utterly bereft of strength and wisdom, and on a level with 
 the weak and foolish. 
 
 2. What a sad thing it is to be under the necessity of 
 losing so much precious time as we do in sleep. That we 
 should lie so many hours out of every four and twenty, in 
 no capacity at all of serving God or our neighbour, of doing 
 any work of piety or charity ! Those who consider how 
 short our time is, and what a great deal of work we have to 
 do, and how fast the day of account hastens on, cannot but 
 grudge to spend so much time in sleep, cannot but wish to 
 spend as little as may be in it ; cannot but be quickened by 
 it to redeem time when they are awake, and cannot but 
 long to be there where there shall be no need of sleep, but 
 they shall be as the angels of God, and never rest day or 
 night from the blessed work of praising God. 
 
 3. What a good Master do we serve, that allows us time 
 for sleep, and furnishes us with conveniences for it, and 
 makes it refreshing and reviving to us. By this it appears, 
 the Lord is for the body, and it is a good reason why we 
 should present our bodies to him as living sacrifices, and 
 glorify him with them. Nay, sleep is spoken of as given 
 by promise to the saints, Ps. cxxvii. 2, " So he giveth his 
 beloved sleep." The godly man has the enjoyment of that 
 in a quiet resignation to God, which the worldly man labours 
 in vain for, in the eager pursuit of the world. What a dif- 
 ference is there between the sleep of a sinner, who is not 
 sensible of his being within a step of hell, and the sleep of 
 a saint, that .has good hopes through grace of his being 
 within a step of heaven : that is the sleep God gives to his 
 beloved. 
 
 4. How piteous is the case of those from whose eyes sleep 
 departs, through pain of body, or anguish of mind, and to 
 
156 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 whom wearisome nights are appointed ; who, when they lie 
 doVn, say, " When shall we arise ?" and who are thus made 
 a terror to themselves. It was said, that of all the inhuman 
 tortures used by those whom the French King employed to 
 force his Protestant subjects to renounce their religion, none 
 prevailed more than keeping them by violence long waking. 
 When we find how earnestly nature craves sleep, and how 
 much it is refreshed by it, we should think with compas- 
 sion of those, who upon any account want that and other 
 comforts which we enjoy, and pray for them. 
 
 5. How ungrateful we have been to the God of our mer- 
 cies, in suffering sleep, which is so great a support and com- 
 fort to us, to be our hinderance in that which is good. As 
 when it has been the gratification of our sloth and laziness, 
 when it has kept us from our hour of prayer in the morn- 
 ing, and disfitted us for our hour of prayer at night; or 
 when we have slept unseasonably in the worship of God, 
 as Eutychus, when Paul was preaching ; and the disciples, 
 when Christ was in his agony at prayer. How justly might 
 we be deprived of the comfort of sleep, and upbraided with 
 this as the provoking cause of it ! " What ! could ye not 
 watch with me one hour?" Those who would sleep, and 
 cannot, must think how often they should have kept awake 
 and would not. 
 
 6. We have now one day less to live than we had in the 
 morning. The thread of time is winding off apace, its sands 
 are running down, and as time goes eternit}' - comes ; it is 
 hastening on. Our days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle ; 
 which passes and repasses in an instant. And what do we 
 of the work of time? Oh that we could always go to sleep 
 *vith death upon our thoughts, how would it quicken us to 
 improve time ! It would make our sleep not the less de- 
 sirable, but it would make our death much the less for- 
 midable. 
 
 7. To thy glory, 0 God, I now go to sleep ; whether we 
 eat or drink, yea, or sleep, for that is included in whatever 
 we do, we must do it to the glory of God. Why do I go to 
 sleep now, but that my body may be fit to serve my soul, 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 157 
 
 and able for a while to keep pace with it in the service of 
 God to-morrow. Thus common actions, by being directed 
 toward our great end, are done after a godly sort, and 
 abound to our account ; and thus the advantages we have 
 by them are sanctified to us. " To the pure all things are 
 pure ;" and " whether we wake or sleep, we live together 
 with Christ," 1 Thess. v. 10. 
 
 8. To thy grace, 0 God, and to the word of thy grace, I 
 now commend myself. It is good to fall asleep with a fresh 
 surrender of our whole selves, body, soul, and spirit, to God : 
 now, " Return to God as thy rest, 0 my soul ; for he has 
 dealt bountifully with thee ;" thus we should commit the 
 keeping of our souls to him, falling asleep, as David did, 
 Ps. xxxi. 5, with, " Into thy hands I commit my spirit ;" 
 and as Stephen did, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Sleep 
 does not only resemble death, but is sometimes an inlet to 
 it ; many go to sleep and never wake, but sleep the sleep of 
 death ; which is a good reason why we should go to sleep 
 with dying thoughts, and put ourselves under the protec- 
 tion of a living God, and then sudden death will be no sur- 
 prise to us. 
 
 9. Oh that when I awake I may be still with God ! that 
 the parenthesis of sleep, though long, may not break off 
 the thread of my communion with God, but that as soon as 
 I awake I may resume it. Oh that when I wake in the 
 night I may have my mind turned to good thoughts ! may 
 remember God upon my bed, who then is at my right hand, 
 and to whom the darkness and the light are both alike ; and 
 that I may sweetly meditate upon him in the night watches, 
 that thus even that time may be redeemed, and improved 
 to the best advantage, which otherwise is in danger not 
 only of being lost in vain thoughts, but misspent in ill ones. 
 Oh that when I awake in the morning, my first thoughts 
 may be of God, that with them my heart may be seasoned 
 for all day ! 
 
 10. Oh that I may enter into abetter rest than that which 
 I am now entering upon ! The apostle speaks of a rest 
 we that have believed do enter into, even in this world, as 
 
168 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 well as of a rest which in the other world remains for the 
 people of God, Heb. iv. 3-9. Believers rest from sin and 
 the world ; they rest in Christ, and in God through Christ ; 
 they enjoy a satisfaction in the covenant of grace, and their 
 interest in that covenant ; " This is my rest for ever, here 
 will I dwell." They enter into this ark, and there are not 
 only safe but easy. Now, oh that I might enjoy this rest 
 while I live, and when I die might enter into something 
 more than rest, even the joy of my Lord, a fulness of joy ! 
 
 IV. We must do all this in a believing dependence upon 
 God, and his power, providence, and grace. Therefore " I 
 lay me down in peace," and compose myself to sleep, be- 
 cause thou, Lord, keepest me, and assurest me that thou 
 dost so ; " Thou, Lord, makest me to dwell in safety." 
 David takes notice of God's compassing his path, and his 
 lying down, as his observer, Ps. cxxxix. 3. He sees his eye 
 upon liim when he is retired into his bed-chamber, and 
 none else sees him ; when he is in the dark, and none else 
 can see him. Here he takes notice of him, compassing his 
 lying down as his preserver ; and sees his hand about him 
 to protect him from evil, and keep his safe ; feels his hand 
 under liim to support him, and to make him easy. 
 
 1. It is by the power of God's providence that we are kept 
 safe in the night, and on that providence we must depend 
 continually. It is he that preserveth man and beast, Ps. 
 xxxvi. 6, that upholds all things by the word of Ins power. 
 That death, which by sin entered into the world, would 
 soon lay all waste, if God did not shelter his creatures from 
 its arrows, which are continually flying about, we cannot 
 but see ourselves exposed to in the night. Our bodies carry 
 about with them the seeds of all diseases. Death is always 
 working in us ; a little thing would stop the circulation 
 either of the blood or the breath, and then we are gone ; 
 either never awake, or awake under the arrests of death. 
 Men by sin are exposed to one another ; many have been 
 murdered in their beds, and many burned in their beds. 
 And our greatest danger of all is from the malice of evil 
 spirits, that go about seeking to devour. 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 159 
 
 We are veiy unable to help ourselves, and our friends 
 unable to help us ; we are not aware of the particulars of 
 our danger, nor can we foresee which way it will arise ; and 
 therefore know not where to stand upon our guard ; or if we 
 did, we know not how. When Saul was asleep he lost his 
 spear and his cruse of water, and might as easily have lost 
 his head, as Sisera did when he was asleep, by the hand of 
 a woman. What poor helpless creatures are we, and how 
 easily are we overcome when sleep has overcome us ! Our 
 friends are asleep too, and cannot help us. An illness may 
 seize us in the night, which, if they be called up and come 
 to us, they cannot help us against ; the most skilful and 
 tender are " physicians of no value." 
 
 It is therefore God's providence that protects us night 
 after night, his care, his goodness. That was the hedge 
 about Job, about hhn and his house, and all that he had 
 round about, Job i. 10, a hedge that Satan himself could 
 not break through, nor find a gap in, though he traversed 
 it round. There is a special protection which God's people 
 are taken under, they are hid in his pavilion, in the secret 
 of his tabernacle, under the protection of his promise, Ps. 
 xxvii. 5 ; they are his own, and dear to him, and he keeps 
 them as the apple of his eye, Ps. xvii. 8. He is round 
 about them from henceforth and for ever, as the mountains 
 are round about Jerusalem, Ps. cxxv. 2. He protects their 
 habitations, as he did the tents of Israel in the wilderness ; 
 for he has promised to create upon every dwelling-place of 
 Mount Zion " a pillar of cloud by day," to shelter from 
 heat, "and the shining of a flaming fire by night," to 
 " shelter from cold," Isa. iv. 5. Thus he blesseth the habi- 
 tation of the just, so that no real evil shall befall it, nor 
 any plague come nigh it. 
 
 The care of the divine Providence concerning us and our 
 families we are to depend upon, so as to look upon no pro- 
 vision we make for our own safety sufficient, without the 
 blessing of the divine Providence upon it ; " Except the 
 Lord keepeth the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."' 
 Be the house ever so well built, the doors and windows ever 
 
160 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 so well barred, the servants ever so careful, ever so watch- 
 ful, it is all to no purpose, unless he that keeps Israel, and 
 neither slumbers nor sleeps, undertake for our safety ; and 
 if he be thy Protector, " at destruction and famine thou 
 shalt laugh," and "shalt know that thy tabernacle is in 
 peace," Job v. 22-24. 
 
 2. It is by the power of God's grace that we are enabled 
 to think ourselves safe, and on that grace we must con- 
 tinually depend. The fear of danger, though groundless, is 
 as vexatious as if it were ever so just. And therefore, to 
 complete the mercy of being made to dwell safely, it is re- 
 quisite that, by the grace of God, we be delivered from our 
 fears, Ps. xxxiv. 4, as well as from the things themselves 
 that we were afraid of ; that shadows may not be a terror 
 to us, no more than substantial evils. 
 
 If, by the grace of God, we are enabled to keep conscience 
 void of offence, and still to preserve our integrity ; if iniquity 
 be put far away, and no wickedness suffered to dwell in our 
 tabernacles, then shall we lift up our faces without spot, we 
 shall be steadfast, and shall not need to fear, Job xi. 14, 15 ; 
 for fear came in with sin, and goes out with it. " If our hearts 
 condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God," and 
 man too, and are made to dwell securely, for we are sure 
 nothing can hurt us but sin : and whatever does harm us, 
 sin is the sting of it ; and, therefore, if sin be pardoned and 
 prevented, we need not fear any trouble. 
 
 If, by the grace of God, we be enabled to live by faith ; 
 that faith which sets God alway before us ; that faith which 
 applies the promises to ourselves, and puts them in suit at 
 the throne of grace ; that faith which purifies the heart, 
 overcomes the world, and quenches all the fiery darts of the 
 wicked one ; that faith which realizes unseen things, and is 
 the substance and evidence of them : if we be actuated and 
 governed by this grace we are made to dwell safely, and 
 to bid defiance to death itself, and all its harbingers and 
 terrors : " 0 death, where is thy sting 1 " This faith will 
 not only silence our fears, but will open our lips in holy 
 triumphs, " If God be for us, who can be against us?" 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH OOD. 
 
 161 
 
 Let us lie down in peace, and sleep, not in the strength 
 of a natural resolution against fear, nor merely of rational 
 arguments against it, though they are of good use, but in a 
 dependence upon the grace of God to work faith in us, and 
 to fulfil in us the work of faith. This is going to sleep like 
 a Christian under the shadow of God's wings, going to sleep 
 in faith ; and it will be to us a good earnest of dying in 
 faith ; for the same faith that will carry us cheerfully 
 through the short death of sleep, will carry us through the 
 long sleep of death. 
 
 THE APPLICATION. 
 
 1. See how much it is our concern to carry our religion 
 about with us wherever we go, and to have it always at our 
 right hand ; for at every turn we have occasion for it, lying 
 down, rising up, going out, coming in ; and tho^e are Chris- 
 tians indeed, who confine not their religion to the new 
 moons and the sabbaths, but bring the influences of it into 
 all the common actions and occurrences of human life. We 
 must sit down at our tables and rise from them, lie down 
 in our beds and arise from them, with an eye to God's pro- 
 vidence and promise. Thus we must live a life of com- 
 munion with God, even while our conversation is with the 
 world. 
 
 And in order to this, it is necessary that we have a living 
 principle in our hearts, a principle of grace, which, like a 
 well of living water, may be continually springing up to life 
 eternal, John iv. 14. It is necessary likewise that we have 
 a watchful eye upon our hearts, and keep them with all dili- 
 gence, that we set a strict guard upon their motions, and 
 have our thoughts more at command than I fear most 
 Christians have. See what need we have of the constant 
 supplies of divine grace, and of a union with Christ, that by 
 faith we may partake of the root and fatness of the good 
 olive continually. 
 
 2. See what a hidden life the life of good Christians is, 
 and how much it lies from under the eye and observation 
 
 h 
 
162 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOB 
 
 of the world. The most important part of their business 
 lies between God and their own souls, in the frame of their 
 spirits, and the workings of their hearts, in their retirements 
 which no eye sees but his, that is all eye. Justly are the 
 saints called God's hidden ones, and his secret is said to be 
 with them, for they have meat to eat, and work to do, which 
 the world knows not of; and joys, and griefs, and cares 
 which a stranger does not intermeddle with. " Great is the 
 mystery of godliness." 
 
 And this is a good reason why we should look upon our- 
 selves as incompetent judges one of another, because we 
 know not each other's hearts, nor are witnesses to their 
 retirements. It is to be feared there are many whose reli- 
 gion lies all in the outside ; they make a fair show in the 
 flesh, and perhaps a great noise, and yet are strangers to 
 this secret communion with God, in which consists so much 
 of the power of godliness. And on the other hand it is to 
 be hoped, there are many who do not distinguish themselves 
 by anything observable in their profession of religion, but 
 pass through the world without being taken notice of, and 
 yet converse much with God in solitude, and walk with him 
 in the even, constant tenor of a regular devotion and con- 
 versation. " The kingdom of God comes not with observa- 
 tion." Many merchants thrive by a secret trade that make 
 no bustle in the world. It is fit, therefore, that every man's 
 judgment should proceed from the Lord, who knows men s 
 hearts and sees in secret. 
 
 3. See what enemies they are to themselves who continue 
 under the power of a vain and carnal mind, and live without 
 God in the world. Multitudes I fear there are, to whom 
 all that has been said of secret communion with God is 
 accounted as a strange thing, and they are ready to say of 
 their ministers when they speak of it, "Do they not 
 speak parables?" They lie down and rise up, go out and 
 come in, in the constant pursuit either of worldly profits, 
 or of sensual pleasures ; but God is not in all their thoughts, 
 not in any of them. They live upon him, and upon the 
 gifts of his bounty from day to day, but they have no regard 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD 
 
 163 
 
 to him, never own their dependence on him, nor are in any 
 care to secure his favour. 
 
 Those who live such a mere animal life as this, do not 
 only put a great contempt upon God, but do a great deal of 
 damage to themselves ; they stand in their own light, and 
 deprive themselves of the most valuable comforts that can 
 be enjoyed on this side heaven. What peace can they have 
 who are not at peace with God ? What satisfaction can 
 they take in their hopes who build them not upon God, 
 the everlasting foundation? or in their joys, who derive 
 them not from him, the fountain of life and living waters ? 
 Oh tliat at length they would be wise for themselves, and 
 remember their Creator and Benefactor ! 
 
 4. See what easy, pleasant lives the people of God might 
 live, if it were not their own faults. There are those who 
 fear God and work righteousness, and are accepted of the 
 Lord, but go drooping and disconsolate from day to day, are 
 full of cares, and fears, and complaints, and make themselveE 
 always uneasy ; and it is because they do not live that life 
 of delight in God, and dependence on him, that they might 
 and should live. God has effectually provided for their 
 dwelling at ease, but they make not use of that provision 
 he has laid up for them. 
 
 Oh that all who appear to be conscientious, and are afraid 
 of sin, would appear to be cheerful, and afraid of nothing 
 else ; that all who call God Father, and are in care to please 
 him, and keep themselves in his love, would learn to cast all 
 their other care upon him, and commit their way to him as 
 to a Father. He shall choose our inheritance for us, and 
 knows what is best for us, better than we do for ourselves. 
 " Thou shalt answer, Lord, for me." It is what I have often 
 said, and will abide by, " That a holy, heavenly life, spent 
 in the service of God, and in communion with him, is the 
 most pleasant, comfortable life any body can live in this 
 world." 
 
 5. See in this what is the best preparation we can make 
 for the changes that may be before us in our present state ; 
 rind that is, to keep up a constant acquaintance and com- 
 
164 
 
 DIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 munion with God, to converse with him daily, and keep up 
 stated times for calling on him, that so when trouble comes, 
 it may find the wheels of prayer a-going. And then may 
 we come to God with a humble boldness and comfort, and 
 hope to speed when we are in affliction, if we have been no 
 strangers to God at other times, but in our peace and pros- 
 perity had our eyes ever toward him. 
 
 Even when we arrive to the greatest degree of holy 
 security and serenity, and lie down most in peace, yet, still, 
 we must keep up an expectation of trouble in the flesh. 
 Our ease must be grounded not upon any stability in the 
 creatine ; if it be, we put a cheat upon ourselves, and trea- 
 sure up so much the greater vexation for ourselves. No, 
 it must be built upon the faithfulness of God, which is 
 unchangeable. Our Master has told us, " In the world you 
 shall have tribulation," much tribulation, count upon it, it 
 is only in me that you shall have peace. But if every day 
 be to us, as it should be, a sabbath of rest in God, and com- 
 munion with him, notlring can come amiss to us any day, 
 be it ever so cross. 
 
 6. Sec in this what is the best preparation we can make 
 for the unchangeable world that is before us. We know 
 God will bring us to death, and it is our great concern 
 to get ready for it. It ought to be the business of every 
 day, to prepare for our last day, and what can we do better 
 for ourselves in the prospect of death, than, by frequent 
 retirements for communion with God, to get more loose 
 from that world which at death we must leave, and better 
 acquainted with that world winch at death we must remove 
 to. By going to our beds as to our graves we shall make 
 death familiar to us, and it will become as easy to us to 
 close our eyes in peace and die, as it used to be to close our 
 ey*6 in peace and sleep. 
 
 We hope God will bring us to heaven ; and by keeping 
 up daily communion with God, we grow more and more 
 meet to partake of that inheritance; and have our conver- 
 sation in heaven. It is certain all that will go to heaven 
 hereafter, begin their heaven now, and have their hearts 
 
Y COMMVXION WITII GOD. 
 
 165 
 
 there. If we thus enter into a spiritual rest every night, 
 that will be a pledge of our blessed repose in the embraces 
 of divine love in that world wherein day and night come 
 to an end, and we shall not rest day or night from praising 
 him who is, and will be, our eternal rest. 
 
 HYMN FOR THE MORNING 
 
 Awake, my soul ! Awake mine eyes, 
 
 Awake, my drowsy faculties; 
 
 Awake, and see the new-born light 
 
 Spring from the darksome womb of night. 
 
 .Look up and see th' unwearied sun, 
 
 Already lias his race begun ; 
 
 The pretty lark is mounted high, 
 
 And sings her matins in the sky. 
 
 Arise, my soul, and thou my voice, 
 
 In songs of praise early rejoice. 
 
 0 Great Creator, Heavenly King 
 
 Thy praises let me ever sing ! 
 
 Thy power has made, thy goodness kept, 
 
 This fenceless body while I slept ; 
 
 Yet one day more hast given me, 
 
 From all the powers of darkness free 
 
 Oh keep my heart from sin secure, 
 
 My life unblamable and pure ; 
 
 That when the last of all my days is come, 
 
 Cheerful and fearless I may wait my doom. 
 
 Flatmajl 
 
 ANTHEM FOR THE EVENING. 
 
 Sleep, downy sleep ! come close mine eyes, 
 
 Tir'd with beholding vanities ! 
 
 Sweet slumbers come and chase 
 
 The toils and follies of the day. 
 
 On your soft bosom will I lie, 
 
 Forget the world and learn to die. 
 
166 
 
 JDIRECTIONS FOR 
 
 0 Israel's watchful Shepherd, spread 
 Tents of angels round my bed. 
 Let not the spirits of the. air 
 While I slumber me ensnare ; 
 But save thy suppliant free from harms 
 Clasp'd in thine everlasting arms. 
 
 Clouds and darkness is thy throne, 
 Thy wonderful pavilion ; 
 Oh dart from thence a shining ray, 
 And then my midnight shall be day : 
 Thu? when the morn, in crimson drest, 
 Breaks through the windows of the east, 
 My hymns of thankful praises shall arise, 
 Like incense on the morning sacrifice. 
 
 Flatmah. 
 
 MORNING HYMN. 
 
 •.XO.6,8; lxxlii.24,26. 
 
 1 GrOD of the morning, at whose voice 
 The cheerful sun makes haste to rise, 
 And like a giant doth rejoice, 
 
 To run his journey through the skies. 
 
 2 From the fair chambers of the east 
 The circuit of his race begins ; 
 And without weariness or rest 
 
 Bound the whole earth he flies and shines. 
 
 Oh like the sun may I fulfil 
 Th' appointed duties of the day, 
 With ready mind and active will 
 March on, and keep my heavenly way ! 
 
 4 But I shall rove and lose the race, 
 If God my sun should disappear, 
 
 And leave me in this world's wide maze 
 To follow every wand'ring star. 
 
 5 Lord, thy commands are clean and pure, 
 Enlight'ning our beclouded eyes, 
 
 Thy threat'nings just, thy promise sure, 
 Thy gospel makes the simple wise. 
 
DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 167 
 
 6 Give me thy counsels for my guide, 
 And then receive me to thy hliss ; 
 All my desires and hopes beside 
 Are faint and cold compar'd with this. 
 
 Watts. 
 
 EVENING HYMN. 
 
 Pi.lv. 8; iii. 5,6; oBJi 8. 
 
 1 Thus far the Lord has led me on, 
 Thus far his power prolongs my days ; 
 And every evening shall make known 
 Some fresh memorial of his grace. 
 
 2 Much of my time has run to waste, 
 And I perhaps am near my home; 
 But he forgives my follies past 
 
 He gives me strength for days to come. 
 
 3 I lay my body down to sleep, 
 Peace is the pillow for my head, 
 While well-appointed angels keep 
 Their watchful stations round my bed. 
 
 4 In vain the sons of earth or hell 
 Tell me a thousand frightful things, 
 My God in safety makes me dwell 
 Beneath the shadow of his wings. 
 
 5 Faith in his name forbids my fear : 
 Oh may thy presence ne'er depart I 
 And in the morning make me hear 
 The love and kindness of thy heart. 
 
 6 Thus when the night of death shall com 
 My flesh shall rest beneath the ground, 
 And wait thy voice to rouse my tomb» 
 With sweet salvation in the sound. 
 
DIRECTIONS FOB DAILY COMMUNION WITH GOD. 
 
 A SONG FOR MORNING OR EVENING. 
 
 Lun. lii.28; la. jdr. T. 
 
 1 Mr God, how endless is thy love 
 Thy gifts are every evening new, 
 And morning mercies from ahove 
 Gently distil like early dew. 
 
 2 Thou spreadst the curtains of the night, 
 Great guardian of my sleeping hours ; 
 Thy sovereign word restores the light, 
 And quickens all my drowsy powers. 
 
 3 I yield my powers to thy command, 
 To thee I consecrate my days ; 
 Perpetual hlessings from thine hand 
 Demand perpetual songs of praise. 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SEC 
 
 AND YET EVERY WHERE SPOKEN AGAINST. 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO 
 
 SECT, 
 
 AKD YET EVERY WHERE SPOKEN AGAINST. 
 
 "For as concerning this sect, we may know that every where it is spoken 
 against." — Acts xxviii. 22. 
 
 Would you think that such a false and invidious repre- 
 sentation as this should ever be given of the Christian religion, 
 that 1 piue religion and undefiled, which came into the world 
 supported by the strongest evidences of truth, and recom- 
 mended by the most endearing allurements of grace and 
 goodness, the 2 sayings whereof are so faithful, and so well 
 worthy of acception ; that sacred institution which scatters 
 the brightest rays of divine light and love that ever were 
 darted from heaven to earth? That it is which is here so 
 invidiously called a sect, and is said to be "every where spoken 
 against." 
 
 It will be worth while to observe, 
 
 1. Who they were that said this, they were the chief of 
 the Jews who were at Rome, ver. 17. The Jews were 
 looked upon, at least they looked upon themselves, as a 
 very knowing people ; the J ews at Rome, a place of learning 
 and inquiry, thought themselves more knowing than the 
 other Jews. St Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, ch. 
 ii. 17 — 20, takes notice of it: "Thou art called a Jew, and 
 ttake^t *.hy boast of God, and knowest his will, — and art 
 
 Jam. L 27. 
 
 « 1 Tim 
 
172 
 
 CHRISTAN" IT Y >'0 SECT. 
 
 confident that thou thyself art a guide to the blind, a light 
 of them which are in darkness," &c. And we have reason 
 to suppose, that the chief of the Jews there, who had the 
 greatest advantages of education and correspondence, were 
 the most intelligent. It might also be justly expected, that 
 upon the first notices of the gospel, the Jews should have 
 been, of all people, most ready to acquaint themselves with a 
 religion which was so much the honour and perfection of 
 their own ; and yet, it seems, the Jews, the chief of the Jews 
 at Rome, knew no more of Christanity than this, that it was 
 "a sect every where spoken against." This we know, say 
 they, and it was all they knew concerning it. 
 
 The Jews were of all other the most bitter and inveterate 
 enemies to the Christians. "While the Roman emperors to- 
 lerated them, as they did till Nero's time, 1 the Jews with 
 an unwearied malice persecuted them from city to city, and 
 were the first wheel in most of the opposition that the gos- 
 pel met with when it was first preached. Now one would 
 think they would not have been so vigorous and indus- 
 trious to suppress Christanity, if they had not very well ac- 
 quainted themselves with it, and known it to deserve such 
 opposition : but it seems by this, they knew little or nothing 
 of the religion they so much maligned, had never searched 
 into the merits of its cause, nor weighed the proofs of its 
 divine authority ; but, against all law and reason, condemned 
 it, 8ia T)]v cj>r)fxrjv — "merely upon common feme," as Justin 
 Martyr complains ; a and followed the cry to run it down, be- 
 cause it was "every where spoken against." 
 
 2. Upon what occasion they said this. They were now 
 appointing a time to discourse with St. Paul upon the grand 
 question in debate, whether Jesus of Nazareth were the 
 true Messiah or no ? And they seemed willing to hear what 
 that great man had to say in defence of the religion he 
 
 1 Tcrtullian confidently asserts, Primum Xeronem in hanc Sectam tummaxime 
 Ronue orientem Ccesariano gladioferocisse. — That Xero was the first who raged 
 with the imperial sword against this sect rising at that time into general notice 
 at Home. — Apol. c 5. 
 
 2 Inquisitioneetagnitione neglecfa nomen detinetur, notnen expugnatur— vox sola 
 pradamnat. — All inqniry into the merits of the case is omitted; the name 
 only is attacked, the name only consigns to condemnation. — Tert. Ap. c 3. 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 173 
 
 preached : " We desire," say they, " to hear of thee what 
 thou thinkest." Now, one would expect that so good a 
 cause, managed by such a skilful advocate, could not but 
 carry the day, and be victorious, and that they would all 
 have been brought over to the belief of Christianity; but 
 we find, ver. 24, that it proved otherwise. After all there 
 were those that believed not, and the text intimates the 
 reason of their infidelity, they came to hear the word under 
 a prejudice ; they had already imbibed an ill opinion of the 
 way, which, right or wrong, they resolved to hold fast : and 
 though some of them, by the help of divine grace, got over 
 this stumbling-block, that like the Bereans were more 
 noble than the rest, and of freer thought, yet many of 
 them continued under the power of those prejudices, and 
 were sealed up under unbelief, ver. 26, 27. Thus is the 
 power of the word in many baffled by the power of preju- 
 dice: they do not believe because they are resolved they 
 will not : they conclude that no good tiring can 1 come out 
 of Nazareth, and will not be persuaded to come and see. 
 Thus do they prejudge the cause, 2 u answering the matter 
 before they hear it," and it will prove folly and shame to 
 them. 
 
 Now in the account they here give of their knowledge of 
 the Christian religion, we may observe, 
 
 (1.) That they looked upon it to be a sect, and we will 
 prove that to be false. 
 
 (2.) A sect " every where spoken against," and we will 
 grant that to be true, that it is generally spoken against, 
 though it is most unreasonable and unjust it should be so. 
 
 (1.) The Christian religion is here called (but miscalled) 
 a 3 sect, atpeo-ts — a heresy. " After the way which they 
 call heresy," says St. Paul, Acts xxiv. 14, " so worship I 
 the God of my fathers." " The sect of the Nazarenes;" 
 so Tertullus calls it in his opening the indictment against 
 Paul, Acts xxiv. 5. It is called " this way," Acts ix. 2, 
 
 1 John i. 46. 2 Prov. xviii. 13 ; John vii. 51. 
 
 3 Electw, optio. An opinion not forced upon us by the evidences of truth 
 hut chosen by us with some foreign design. 
 
174 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 and "that way," Acts xix. 9, as if it were a bye-path 
 out of the common road. The practice of serious godli- 
 ness is still looked upon by many as a sect, that is, a 
 party-business, and a piece of affected singularity in opinion 
 and practice, tending to promote some carnal design, by 
 creating and supporting invidious distinctions among men. 
 This is the proper notion of a sect, and therefore the 
 masters and maintainers of sects are justly in an ill name, 
 as enemies to the great corporation of mankind ; but there 
 is not the least colour of reason to put this invidious 
 and scandalous character on the Christian religion; how- 
 ever it may be mistaken and misrepresented, it is very 
 far from being really a sect. There were sects of religion 
 among the Jews; we read of the sect of the Sadducees, 
 Acts v. 17, which was built on peculiar notions, such as 
 overturned the foundation of natural religion, by denying a 
 future state of rewards and punishments. There was also 
 the sect of the Pharisees, Acts xv. 5, the " straitest sect of 
 their religion," Acts xxvi. 5, which was founded in the 
 observance and imposition of singular rites and customs, 
 with an affected separation from, and contempt of, all 
 mankind. These were sects ; but there is nothing of the 
 spirit and genius of these in the Christian religion as it 
 was instituted by its great author. 
 
 [1.] True Christianity establishes that which is of com- 
 mon concern to all mankind, and therefore is not a sect. 
 The truths and precepts of the everlasting gospel are 
 perfective of, and no way repugnant to, the light and law 
 of natural religion. Is that a sect which gives such 
 mighty encouragements and assistances to those that "in 
 every nation fear God, and work righteousness?" Acts x. 
 35. Is that a sect which tends to nothing else but to 
 reduce the revolted race of mankind to their ancient 
 allegiance to their great Creator, and to renew that image 
 of God upon man which was his primitive rectitude and 
 felicity? Is that a sect which proclaims God in Christ, 
 1 " reconciling the world unto himself," and recovering it 
 
 '? C<«r. v 19. 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 175 
 
 from that degenerate and deplorable state into which it 
 was sunk ? Is that a sect which publishes 1 good-will to- 
 wards men, and Christ the 2 " Lamb of God, taking away 
 the sins of the world?" Surely that which concurs so 
 much with the uncorrupted and unprejudiced sentiments, 
 and conduces much more to the true and real happiness of 
 all mankind, cannot be thought to take its rise from such 
 narrow opinions, and private interests, as sects owe their 
 original to. 
 
 [2.] True Christianity has a direct tendency to the. uniting 
 of the children of men, and the gathering of them together 
 in one, 3 and therefore is far from being a sect, which is sup- 
 posed to lead to a division, and to sow discord among 
 brethren. The preaching of the gospel did indeed prove 
 the occasion of contention. Our Saviour foresaw and fore- 
 told, Luke xii. 51-53, that his disciples and followers would 
 be "men of strife," in the same sense that the prophet 
 Jeremiah was, Jer. xv. 10; not men striving, but men 
 striven with : but the gospel was by no means the cause of 
 this contention, for it was intended to be the cure of all 
 contention. If there be any who, under the cloak and 
 colour of the Christian name, cause divisions, and propagate 
 feuds and quarrels among men, let them bear their own 
 burthen ; but it is certain that the Christian religion, as far 
 as it obtains its just power and influence upon the minds of 
 men, will make them meek and quiet, humble and peace- 
 able, loving and useful, condescending and forgiving, and 
 every way easy, and acceptable, and profitable one to 
 another. Is that a sect which was introduced with a 
 proclamation of "peace on earth?" That which beats 
 swords into ploughshares, and spears into pruning hooks ? 
 Or was he the author of a sect who is the great centre of 
 unity, and who died to break down 4 " partition walls," and 
 to " slay all enmities," that he might 5 " gather together in 
 one the children of God that were scattered abroad ? " Was 
 
 1 Luke ii. 14. 2 John i. 29, iii 16; 1 John ii. 2. 
 
 3 Secta dicitur a Secando — It is called a sect from secando— to be separated. 
 
 4 Eph. ii. 14-16. 5 John xi. 52 
 
176 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT 
 
 he the author of a sect who came into the world 1 " not to 
 destroy men's lives but to save" them ; and who taught his 
 followers not only to love one another, but to love their 
 enemies, and to count every one their Neighbour to whom 
 they could be any way serviceable ? 
 
 [3.] True Christianity aims at no worldly benefit or 
 advantage, and therefore must by no means be called a sect. 
 Those who espouse a sect are supposed to be governed in it 
 by their secular interest, and to aim at wealth, or honour, or 
 the gratification of some base lust. The Pharisees proved 
 themselves to be a sect, by their thirst after the praise of 
 men, and their greedy devouring of widows' houses : but 
 the professors of Christianity have not only been taught, by 
 the law of their religion, to live above this world, and to 
 look upon it with a holy contempt, but have been exposed 
 by their profession to the loss and ruin of all their secular 
 comforts and enjoyments. Are those to be accounted politic 
 and designing sectaries who have for Christ cheerfully 
 3 "suffered the loss of all things?" Is that a sect, which, 
 instead of preferring a man to honour, or raising him to an 
 estate, lays him open to disgrace and poverty, renders him 
 obnoxious to fines and forfeitures, banishments and im- 
 prisonments, racks and tortures, flames and gibbets, which 
 were the common lot of the primitive Christians. Cajsar 
 Vaninus, a sworn enemy to the Christian religion, and one 
 who was industrious in searching out objections against it, 
 owed that he could find nothing in it that savoured of a 
 carnal and worldly design : no, it has always approven itself 
 a 4 " heavenly calling," and the strictest professors of it, even 
 their enemies themselves being judges, have had 5 "their 
 conversation in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, 
 not with fleshly wisdom." Very unjustly therefore is it 
 called a sect. 
 
 As to this, therefore, suffer a word caution and exhor- 
 tation : 
 
 First, Let us take heed lest our profession of religion 
 
 i Luke ix. 56. 
 « Heb. iii. I. 
 
 2 Luke x. 36, 37. 
 * 2 Cor. i. 12. 
 
 3 Phil. iii. 8. 
 
CHRISTIx\NITY NO SECT. 
 
 177 
 
 degenerate into anything which may make it look like a 
 sect. Christianity, as it was instituted by Christ, is not a 
 sect ; let not Christians then be sectaries. We make our 
 profession of religion a sect, when we monopolize the church 
 and its ministry and sacraments, and spend that zeal in 
 matters of doubtful disputation which should be reserved 
 for the weightier matters of the law ; when we place our 
 religion in lu meats and drinks," which should be placed in 
 "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost;" 
 when we profess religion with a conceit of ourselves, and a 
 contempt of others, and with any worldly design ; when we 
 sacrifice the common interests of Christ's kingdom to the 
 particular interests of a party ; and, in a word, when our 
 profession is tainted with the 2 "leaven of the Pharisees," 
 which is both souring and swelling ; then it degenerates into 
 a sect. Let us therefore adhere to the sure and large foun- 
 dations, and be actuated by a principle of love to, and so 
 maintain communion with, 3 "all that in every place," and 
 under every denomination, '' call on the name of Jesus 
 Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." Let us be modest 
 in our opinions, charitable and candid in our censures, self- 
 denying in all our converse; acting always under the 
 influence of that " wisdom that is from above," which is 
 " first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, 
 full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and hypoc- 
 risy;" that by this well-doing we may 4 "put to silence the 
 ignorance of " those who call religion a sect. 
 
 Secondly, Let us not be deterred from serious godliness, 
 or any of the requirements of it, by the invidious name of 
 a sect, which is put upon it. If a strict, and sober, and cir- 
 cumspect conversation, a conscientious government of our 
 tongue, praying and singing psalms in our families, a 
 religious observation of the Lord's day, a diligent attendance 
 upon the means of grace, joining in religious societies for 
 prayer and Christian conference, and endeavouring, in our 
 places, the suppression of profaneness and immorality; if 
 these, and the like, be called and counted the marks and 
 
 ■ Rom. xiv. 17, 18. - Luke xii. L 3 1 Coj. i. 2. * 1 Tet ii. 15. 
 
 M 
 
178 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 badges of a sect, let us not be moved at it, but say as David 
 did, 2 Sam. vi. 22, " If this be to be vile, I will be yet more 
 vile." If the practice of piety be branded as a sect, it 
 is better for us to come under the reproaches of men for 
 following it, than under the curse of God for neglecting it. 
 It is a 1 " very small thing to be judged of man's judgment, 
 but he that judgeth is the Lord:" let us therefore be more 
 afraid of being sectaries than of being called so. 
 
 (2.) The Christian religion is here said to be "every 
 where spoken against." That it was spoken against was 
 evident enough; but that it was "every where" spoken 
 against, was more than they could be sure of : they did not 
 know all places, nor had they correspondence with, or intel- 
 ligence from, every country ; but we must not wonder if 
 those who oppose the truth as it is in Jesus make no 
 conscience of transgressing the laws of truth in common 
 conversation. But we will suppose that the acquaintance and 
 converse of those Jews at Rome lay mostly with those 
 who were enemies to Christianity, and spoke against it, and 
 they therefore concluded it every where spoken against, 
 because they found it spoken against m all places that they 
 came to, or had advice from. Thus apt are we to embrace 
 that as a general sentiment and observation which w T e find 
 received by those that we usually associate with, and so we 
 run ourselves into mistakes which larger and more impar- 
 tial inquiries will soon rectify. 
 
 But we will take it for granted, however, that what they 
 said was true, not because they said it, but because the 
 experience of all ages does confirm it, and concur with it : so 
 that a little acquaintance with books and the world will 
 prove the observation which we ground upon the text. 
 
 Doct. That it is, and always has been, the lot of Christ's 
 holy religion to be every where spoken against. Or thus: 
 
 That true Christianity has all along met with a great deal 
 of opposition and contradiction in this world. 
 
 I propose not to enter into a particular disquisition of 
 that which has been, and is, spoken against religion, nor do 
 
 1 1 Cor. iv. 3, 4. 
 
CHRISTIANITY No SECT. 
 
 179 
 
 I undertake at. present to show how false and unreasonable 
 it is ; that has been done many a time by the best hands, 
 and so effectually, that every impartial eye must needs look 
 upon the cause of the adversaries of religion to be a baffled 
 cause : but I shall only make some improvement of this 
 general observation, which cannot be unseasonable in an age 
 wherein the gates of hell seem to be making their utmost 
 efforts against the church ; and the devil, as the calumniator 
 and false accuser, to be 1 more wroth than ever with the 
 woman the church, and to push on the war with an unusual 
 vigour against the " remnant of her seed, which keep the 
 commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jcsqb 
 Christ." 
 
 I shall therefore, I. Inquire what it is in Christianity 
 that is spoken against. And, II. Show you why so holy and 
 excellent a religion is spoken against; and then, III. Draw 
 some inferences from this observation. 
 
 I. Who and what it is that is spoken against. 
 
 1. Jesus Christ, the author of our religion, is every where- 
 spoken against. When the First-begotten was brought into 
 the world, old Simeon, among other great things, pronounced 
 this concerning him, that he was a sign which should be 
 spoken against, and by that means was set " for the fall of 
 many," Luke ii. 34. When he was here upon earth he 
 was spoken against. 8 The stone which was designed to be 
 the head of the corner was rejected, and set at nought by 
 the builders. It was not the least of his sufferings in the 
 days of his flesh that he " endured the contradiction of sin- 
 ners against himself," Heb. xii. 3. They spoke against his 
 person, as mean and contemptible, and one that had 3 " no 
 form nor comeliness :" they spoke against his preaching, as 
 false and deceiving, John vii. 12 ; as factious and seditious, 
 Luke xxiii. 2 ; as senseless and ridiculous, for the Pharisees 
 derided him for it, Luke xvi. 14. They spoke against his 
 miracles, as done in confederacy with Beelzebub the prince 
 of the devils, Matt. xii. 24. They spoke against his morals, 
 charging him with blasphemy against God, profanation of 
 1 Rev. xii. 17. 2 Ps. cxviil "22. 3 Isa. liii 2, ? 
 
180 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 the sabbath-day, and all the instances of debauchery which 
 were usually met with in a gluttonous man, a wine-bibber, 
 and a friend of publicans and sinners, Matt. xi. 19. They 
 spoke against his followers as a company of ignorant despi- 
 cable people, John vii. 48, 49. Pass through all the steps 
 and stages of his sufferings, and you will find him every 
 where spoken against. They reproached him in all his 
 offices ; in his office of teaching, when they challenged him 
 to tell who smote him ; in his office of saving, when they 
 challenged him to save himself as he had saved others ; in 
 his office of ruling, when they challenged him to prove 
 himself the King of the Jews, by coming down from the 
 cross. The common people spoke against him, even they 
 that passed by reviled him. The Pharisees and chief priests, 
 the grandees of the church, were as severe as any in their 
 reflections on him. Princes also did sit and speak against 
 him. 2 Herod and his men of war set him at nought, 
 e&v&vrjcras — made nothing of him that made all things. 
 
 Nay, even now that he is set down at the right hand of 
 the Majesty on high, "far above all principalities and 
 poAvers,'" 3 that is, both good and evil angels, so as to be no 
 more hurt by the contradictions of the one, than he is bene- 
 fited by the adorations of the other, yet still he is spoken 
 against. Besides the contempt cast upon him by the Jews 
 and Mahometans, are there not with us, even with us, those 
 who daringly speak against him 1 Arians and Socinians are 
 daily speaking against him as a mere man, thinking that a 
 robbery in him, which he thought none, to be 4 equal with 
 God. Quakers and enthusiasts speak against him as a mere 
 name, setting up I know not what Christ within them, 
 while they explode that Jesus that was crucified at Jeru- 
 salem. Athiests and deists speak against him as a mere 
 cheat, accounting the religion he established a great im- 
 posture, and his gospel a jest. Profane and ignorant people 
 speak slightly of him, as if our ^beloved were no more than 
 another beloved; and some speak scornfully of him, as 
 
 1 Matt, xxvii. 39. 
 4 Phil iL 6. 
 
 2 Luke xxiii. 11. 
 5 Cant v. 9. 
 
 » Epli. L 20, 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 181 
 
 Julian the apostate did, that called him in disdain the 
 Galilean, and the carpenter's son. Such as these are the 
 hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against 
 him : the Lord rebuke them, even the Lord that has chosen 
 Jerusalem, rebuke them. 
 
 2. God himself, the great object of our religious regards, 
 is every where spoken against. It is not only the Christian 
 revelation that is thus attacked by virulent and blasphemous 
 tongues, but even natural religion also. The glorious and 
 blessed God, the great Creator and Benefactor of the uni- 
 verse, that does good to all, and whose " mercies are over 
 all his works," even he is every where spoken against. 
 Some deny his being ; though his existence be so necessary, 
 so evident, that if he be not, it is impossible any thing else 
 should be, yet there are fools who "say in their hearts," 
 what they dare not speak out, that " there is no God," Ps. 
 xiv. 1. And he that says there is no God, wishes there were 
 none, and if he could help it there should be none. Others 
 blaspheme the attributes of God, who charge the all-seeing 
 eye with blindness, saying, " The Lord shall not see," Ps. 
 xciv. 7; that charge the eternal mind with forgetfulness, 
 saying, '"'God hath forgotten." Ps. x. 11 ; that charge the 
 Almighty arm with impotency, saying, " Can God furnish a 
 table in the wilderness?" which is there called "speaking 
 against God," Ps. lxxviii. 19, 20. Those speak against God 
 that promise themselves impunity in sin, saying, 1 " They 
 shall not surely die," and, 2 " God will not require it." And 
 those that boldly avow their impiety and irreligion, saying 
 to the Almighty, " Depart from us," Job xxi. 14, 15. Some 
 speak meanly of God, though he is infinitely great and 
 glorious ; others speak hardly of him, though he is infinitely 
 just and good. The name of God is spoken against by the 
 profane using of it; so it is construed, Ps. cxxxix. 20, 
 " They speak against thee wickedly, thine enemies take 
 thy name in vain." Can there be a greater slight put upon 
 the eternal God, than for men to use his sacred and blessed 
 name as a by-word, with which they give vent to their ex- 
 1 Gen. iii. 4. 2 Ps. x. 13. 
 
182 
 
 CHRISTIANIT £ NO SECT. 
 
 orbitant passions, or fill up the vacancies of their other idle 
 words ? The name of God is thus abused, not only by those 
 who utter dreadful oaths and curses, which make the ears 
 of every good man to tingle, but by those who mention the 
 name of God slightly and irreverently in their common 
 conversation, in whose 1 mouths he is near when he is " far 
 from their reins." To use those forms of speech which 
 properly signify an acknowledgment and adoration of God's 
 being, as " 0 God ! " or " 0 Lord ! " or an appeal to his om- 
 niscience, as " God knows ;" or an invocation of his favour, 
 as " God bless me," or " God be merciful to me :" I say, to 
 use these or the like expressions impertinently, and in- 
 tending thereby to express only our wonder or surprise, or 
 our passionate resentments, or any thing but that which is 
 their proper and awful signification, is an evidence of a vain 
 mind, that wants a due regard to that glorious and fearful 
 name, 2 " The Lord our God." I see not that the profana- 
 tion of the ordinance of praying is any better than the pro- 
 fanation of the ordinance of swearing. The serious con 
 sideration of this, I hope, will prevent much of that dis- 
 honour which is done to God, and to his holy name, by 
 some that run not, with others, to an excess of riot. 
 
 The providence of God is likewise every where spoken 
 against by 3 murmurers and complainers, who quarrel with 
 it, and find fault with the disposal of it, and, when they are 
 
 hardly bestead, curse their king and their God." Thus is 
 the mouth of the ungodly 5U set against the heavens, and 
 their tongue walketh through the earth." 
 
 3. The Word of God, the great rule of our religion, is 
 every where spoken against. So it was when it was first 
 preached ; wherever the apostles went preaching the doc- 
 trine of Christ they met with those that " spake against it, 
 contradicting and blaspheming," Acts xiii. 45. So it is now 
 that it is written. Atheists speak against the Scripture as 
 not of authority ; papists speak against it as dark and un- 
 certain, further than it is expounded and supported by the 
 
 1 Jer. xii. 2. 
 * Isa. Tiii. 21. 
 
 2 Deut. xxviii. 58. 
 5 Ts. Ixxiii. 9. 
 
 3 Jude x\1. 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 183 
 
 authority of their church, which receives Unwritten tradi- 
 tions pari pietatis affectu ac reverentia — " with the same 
 pious affection and reverence" that they receive the Scrip- 
 tures ; nay, and if we judge by their practice, with much 
 more. Thus is the word of God blasphemed by them who 
 call themselves " The Temple of the Lord." But if we take 
 away revelation, as the deists do, all revelation will soon 
 be lost; and if we derogate from the Scriptures, as "he 
 papists do, all revelation is much endangered. 
 
 Those also speak against the Scriptures who profanely 
 jest with them ; and that they may the more securely rebel 
 against scripture laws, make themselves and their idle com- 
 panions merry with the scripture language ■ " The word of 
 the Lord is unto them a reproach," as the prophet complains, 
 Jer. vi. 10. And another prophet found it so, whose serious 
 word of the necessity of " precept upon precept" was turned 
 into an idle song, as Grotius understands it, Isa. xxviii. 
 13, " The word of the Lord was unto them precept upon 
 precept." Very likely it was done by the drunkards of 
 Ephraim, spoken of, ver. 1, and it gave occasion to that 
 caution, ver. 22, " Be ye not mockers, lest your bands be 
 made strong." Profligate and debauched minds relish no 
 wit like that which ridicules the sacred text, and exposes 
 that to contempt ; as of old the insulting Babylonians must 
 be humoured with the 2 "songs of Sion;" and no cups can 
 please Belshazzar in his drunken frolic, but the sacred Ves- 
 sels of the temple. Thus industrious are the powers of 
 darkness to vilify the Scriptures, and make them contemp- 
 tible : but He that sits in heaven shall laugh at them ; for 
 in spite of all the little efforts of their impotent malice, 
 " He will magnify the law, and make it honourable," ac- 
 cording to the word which he has spoken, Isa. xlii. 21 
 
 4. The people of God, the professors of this religion, are 
 every where spoken against. Not only those of some par- 
 ticular persuasion or denomination, but, without regard to 
 that, such as have been zealous in fearing God and working 
 righteousness, have been, in many places, very much spoken 
 
 i Trident. Cone. Ses. 4. 
 
 2 Ps. exxxvii. 3. 
 
 3 Dan. v. 2. 
 
184 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 against. Our blessed Saviour has told his disciples what 
 treatment of this kind they must expect, that they should 
 be reviled, and have " all manner of evil said against them 
 falsely," Matt. v. 11, 12; that they and their names should 
 be " cast out as evil," Luke vi 22. And if they called our 
 Master Beelzebub, no nick-names fastened on his followers 
 can seem strange. Mocking was an old way of persecuting 
 the covenant seed, for thus "he that was after the flesh, 
 betimes persecuted them that were after the Spirit." Com- 
 pare Gen. xxi. 9, with Gal. iv. 29. God's heritage has al- 
 ways been as a x speckled bird, that all the birds are against, 
 Jer. xii. 9, and his children " for signs and for wonders in 
 Israel," that every one has a saying to, Isa. viii. 18. Even 
 Wisdom's children have been called and counted fools, and 
 their life madness; the quiet in the land represented as 
 enemies to the public peace, and those who are the greatest 
 blessings of the age, branded as the troublers of Israel. The 
 primitive Christians were painted 2 out to the world under 
 the blackest and most odious characters that could be, as 
 men of the most profligate lives and consciences, and that 
 even placed their religion in the grossest impieties and im- 
 moralities imaginable. Their enemies found it necessary 
 for the support of the kingdom of the devil, the father of 
 lies and slanders, fortiter calumniari — "to characterize them 
 as the worst of men," to whom they were resolved to give 
 the worst and most barbarous treatment. It had not been 
 possible to have baited them if they had not first dressed 
 them up in the skins of wild beasts. And as then, so ever 
 since, more or less, in all ages of the church, reproach has 
 been entailed upon the most serious and zealous professors 
 of Christian religion and godliness. 
 
 5. The ministers of Christ, the preachers of this religion, 
 are with a distinguishing enmity every where spoken 
 against. Under the Old Testament God's messengers and 
 his prophets were generally mocked and misused, and it 
 was Jerusalem's measure-filling sin, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16. 
 
 1 Zech. iii. 8. 
 
 3 See this at large, represented by CaxUius in Minucius Felix. 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 185 
 
 It was one of the devices they devised against Jeremiah, 
 " to smite him with the tongue," because they would not, 
 and they desired that others might not, " give heed to any 
 of his words," Jer. xviii. 18. Those to whom the prophet 
 Ezekiel was a very lovely song, and with their mouths 
 showed much love to him, yet were still " talking against 
 him by the walls, and in the doors of their houses," and 
 God lets him know it, Ezek. xxxiii. 30 — 32. And then it 
 is not strange if the ministers of the New Testament, in 
 winch truth shines with a stronger light, be with no less 
 enmity spoken against by those that love darkness rather 
 than light. The apostles, those prime ministers of state in 
 Christ's kingdom, were so loaded with reproach, that they 
 were made a spectacle to the world, a spectacle of pity to 
 those that have either grace or good-nature, but a spectacle 
 of scorn to those that had neither. They were trampled 
 upon as the filth of the world ; and whereas the off- 
 scouring of any tiling is bad enough, they were looked upon 
 as the " off-scouring of all things, even unto this day ;" after 
 they had in so many instances approved themselves well, 
 and could not but be made manifest in the consciences of 
 their worst enemies, 1 Cor. iv. 9, 13. And it has all along been 
 the policy of the church's enemies, by all means possible to 
 bring the ministry into contempt, and to represent the 
 church's Nazarites, even those that were u purer than snow, 
 whiter than milk, and more ruddy than rubies," with a 
 u visage blacker than a coal," so that they " have not been 
 known in the streets." I allude to that complaint. Lam. 
 iv. 7, 8. Marvel not if the standard-bearers be most struck 
 at. 
 
 6. The Christian religion itself has been, and still is, 
 " every where spoken against." The truths of it contra- 
 dicted as false and groundless, the great doctrines of the 
 mediation of Christ, and the resurrection of the dead, were 
 ridiculed by the Athenian philosophers. The laws of it 
 described as grievous and unreasonable, as hard sayings. 
 which could not be borne by those who bid open defiance to 
 the obligation of them, and say, "Let us break their bands 
 
186 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 asunder, and cast away their cords from us," Ps. ii. 3- The 
 ordinances of it despised as mean, and having no form nor 
 comeliness. Sabbaths mocked at. as of old. Lam. L 7/ and 
 the sanctincation of them represented as only a cloak for 
 idleness. Sacraments reproached, and the sacred memorial 
 of Christ's death and sufferings, by the persecutors of the 
 primitive Christians, represented to the world, as the bloody 
 and 3 inhuman killing and eating of a child ; and their love- 
 feasts, and holy kiss, which were then in use, as only 
 introductions to the most abominable nncleanness. Primi- 
 tive Christianiry was industriously put into an ill name ; it 
 was called emphatically ■ The Atheism," because it over- 
 threw idolatry, and undermined the false gods and worships 
 that had so long obtained. This was the outcry at Ephesus, 
 that if Paul's doctrine took place, the li temple of the great 
 goddess" would be despised, Acts xix. 26, 27. It was also 
 branded as a novelty, and an upstart doctrine, because it 
 took people off from that 'vain conversation which they 
 had " received by tradition from their fathers." It was 
 called at Athens a 4 " new doctrine," and industriously re- 
 presented in all places as a mushroom sect, that was but 
 of yesterday. 5 It was looked upon as nearly allied to 
 Judaism, because it was so much supported by the Scrip- 
 tures of the Old Testament, and nothing was more despic- 
 able among the Romans than the Jews and their religion. 
 The professors of Christianity were looked upon as unlearned 
 and ignorant men. Acts iv. 13, the very dregs and refuse of 
 the p»eople* Julian forbad the calling of them Christians, 
 and would have them called nothing but Galileans, thereby 
 to expose them to the contempt of those who are, as indeed 
 most people are, governed more by a sound of words than 
 by the reason of things. Thus when the devil was silenced 
 
 Cui&ptima q\*zqw not lux 
 
 WLc made every seventh <L»t a dav of idleness.— Jwrtmal. 
 3 Dirimur sai<-rciissi."hi dt Sacramento usfcKtiddii, ft paimk> inde ft pott am- 
 rict*m titrate.— We are charged with murdering and eating our children at 
 the sacrament, and we are represented as incssmous. <sc. — TertmO. ApoL c I 
 
 * 1 Pet. L IS- ■ Acts xriL 18, 19. 
 
 * See Dr. Cave's Pttatttae Christianity. lib. L <*ap. L 
 
 * Greg Xarian. Jmrtet. in Julian. Grot. L p. (mini) 4i 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 187 
 
 in his oracles, as it is well known he was upon the setting 
 np nf Christianity in the world, his mouth was opened in 
 lies and slanders ; and being forced to quit his pretensions 
 to a deity, he appears barefaced, as a devil, (Sia/?oAos) a 
 false accuser. 
 
 The reformed religion in these latter ages has been in 
 like manner spoken against. Though it maintains all that 
 (and only that) doctrine which Christ and his apostles 
 preached, and was before Luther there, where popery, as 
 such, never was before or since, that is, in the Holy Scrip- 
 tures; yet the professors and preachers of it have been 
 called and counted heretics and schismatics, 1 and by all pos- 
 sible artifices exposed to the odium of the people, that 
 " none might buy or sell," that is, have the benefit and 
 comfort of civil society and commerce, that 2 " had not the 
 mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 
 
 Nay, even among some that profess the Christian and 
 reformed religion, the practice of serious godliness is very 
 much spoken against. The power of religion is not only 
 disliked and denied, but contradicted and condemned, by 
 those who rest in the form. They that call the evil good 
 will call the good evil ; 3 and it is not strange if they 
 who abandon themselves to work all -uncleanness with 
 greediness, speak ill of such as run not with them " to the 
 same excess of riot," 4 where the "wicked walk on every 
 side, 5 he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey." 8 
 The old enmity between the seed of the woman and the 
 seed of the serpent is still working, and the old game 
 every day played over again. 7 " The truth as it is in 
 Jesus," and the " truth which is according to godliness," 
 will be contradicted by those that " lie in wait to deceive." 
 Bigots on all sides will have something to say against 
 Catholic charity and moderation : they that are " fervent 
 in spirit, serving the Lord," and " forward to every good 
 work," must expect to be evil spoken of by such as affect a 
 
 1 Lollards from folium— tares : so rny Lord Coke from Mr. Fox. 
 
 2 Rev. xiii. 17. 3 Isa. v. 20. * 1 Pet. iv. 3, 4. 
 5 Psalm xil. 8. 6 Isa. lix. 15. 
 
 7 Eph. iv. 21. compared with Tit. i. 1. 
 
155 
 
 CHRISTIANITY 50 SECT. 
 
 lukewarmness and indifferency in religion : nor can those 
 who "walk circumspectly, not as fools, bnt as wise," 
 escape the lash of their tongues who lire at large, and 
 walk loosely, and at all adventures as the "fools in 
 Israel." 
 
 IL I come now. in the second place, to inquire what 
 is the reason that so holy and excellent a religion as 
 Christianity is. meets with such hard usage, and is thus 
 spoken against, ■ every where spoken against/' When we 
 hear such an outcry as this made against Christianity, it is 
 natural for us to inquire, as Pilate did. when such a clamour 
 was raised against its author. ■ Why, what evil hath it 
 done r Truly we may say concerning it, as Pilate did 
 concerning him. ■ We find no fault in it." Which of all 
 its opposers convinces it of sin or error ? It invades no 
 man's right, breaks in upon no man's property, is no dis- 
 turbance of the peace, no enemy to the welfare of fami- 
 lies and societies, is no prejudice at all to the interests 
 of states and princes, but to all these highly beneficial 
 and advantageous : why then is it thus accused, con- 
 demned, and spoken against ! We will endeavour to find 
 out the true reason of it, though it is impossible to assign 
 a justifiable reason for that which is most unreasonable. 
 
 1. The adversaries of religion speak against it because 
 they do not know it Sound knowledge has not a greater 
 enemy in the world than ignorance. Our Lord Jesus was 
 therefore despised and hated by the world, because the 
 world knew him not, John L 10. If they had known 
 the dignity of his person, the excellency of his doctrine, 
 and the gracious design and purpose of his coming into 
 the world, certainly they ** would not have crucified the 
 Lord of glory," 1 Cor. iL 8. 1 They that d:d it. did it through 
 ignorance, and knew not what they did. Thus they who 
 say to the Almighty. s ~ Depart from us.** could not say so if 
 they did not at the same time studiously decline the know- 
 ledge of his ways. Xo man will speak against religion and 
 
 ' Acts iiL 15. IT: Lake xxai Si. - « Jok xxL 14. 
 
CHBI6TIANIVX NO SECT. 
 
 189 
 
 the power of it, that has either seriously weighed the proofs 
 and evidences of it, or impartially tried the comfort and 
 benefit of it. 1 H they knew this gift, this inestimable gift 
 of God, instead of speaking against it, they would covet it 
 earnestly as the best gift. " He that looks at a distance 
 upon men dancing, would think them to be mad ;" (it was 
 Peter Martyr's comparison, in a sermon which had so good 
 an influence upon the conversion of the Marquis of Vico ;) 
 " but let him come nearer them, and observe the regularity 
 and harmony of all their motions and postures, and he will 
 not only admire their order, but find in himself an inclina- 
 tion to join with them. So he that contents himself with a 
 distant and transient view of the practice of piety, will per- 
 haps take up hard thoughts of it ; but a better acquaintance 
 will rectify the mistake/' When the spouse in the Canti- 
 cles had given a description of her beloved to the daughters 
 of Jerusalem, the same who before had scornfully asked, 
 3 " What is thy beloved more than another beloved ?" now as 
 seriously inquire, " Whither is thy beloved gone, that we 
 may seek him with thee ?" The people of God are called 
 his 3 " hidden ones," and their life is a 4 "hidden life," their 
 6 " way above and therefore it is that the world speaks 
 evil of them, because it " knows them not," 1 John iii. 1. 
 They who " speak evil of these dignities, speak evil of those 
 things which they know not," as the apostle speaks, Jude 
 8, 10. How unjust then and unreasonable is the enmity 
 and malice of the adversaries of religion, to condemn what 
 they never inquired into, 6 and to load that with the '.ilest 
 reproaches, which, for ought they know, merits the highest 
 encomiums ! And how excellent then are the ways of God, 
 which none speak ill of but those that are unacquainted 
 with them ! while those that know them, witness to the 
 goodness of them, and " Wisdom is justified of her children," 
 Matt. xi. 19. 
 
 1 John iv. 10. . 2 Cant. v. 9. vi. 1. 3 PsaL lxxxiii. 3. 
 
 * Col. iii. 3. 5 Prov. xv 24 ; Psalm x. 5. 
 
 6 Quid iniquius quarn ut oderint homines quod ignorant? Tunc enim meretur, 
 quando cognoscitur an mereaiur. — Whac is more unjust than for men to hate 
 what they are ignorant of? First, let the merits of a cause be known, and then 
 let sentence be pronounced. — Tertul. Aj>ol. s. 1. 
 
190 
 
 CHBISTIANITY BO SECT. 
 
 2. They speak against it because they do not like it ; and 
 we know that ill-will never speaks well. Though they have 
 little acquaintance with religion, yet they know this con- 
 cerning it in general, that it is not agreable 1 with the way 
 of their hearts, which they are resolved to walk in, nor with 
 the course of this world, which is the chart and compass 
 they steer by, and from which they take their measures. 
 They know this, that it lays a restraint on their appetites 
 and passions, and consists much in the mortifying their 
 beloved lusts and corruptions; and therefore they have a 
 secret antipathy to it ; s the carnal mind, which is enmity 
 against God, is so against all who bear the image of God. 
 Christ has bid his disciples to expect the hatred of the world, 
 and not to marvel at it, John xv. IS, <fcc They who hate 
 to be themselves reformed will never love those that are 
 reformed : out of the abundance therefore of the heart, and 
 the malignity that is there, it is no marvel if the mouth 
 speak ; where the root of bitterness is, it will bear gall and 
 wormwood. The daring sinner that stretches out his hand 
 against God, finds it too short to reach him ; but, 3 " say they, 
 with our tongue we will prevail, our lips are our own." 
 The beast that made war with heaven, in the apocalyptic 
 vision, though he had ten horns, and those crowned, yet is 
 not described doing mischief with them, but " opening his 
 mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, 
 and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven," Rev. 
 xiii. 5, 6. The poison of the serpent's seed is under their 
 tongue, Rom. iii. 13. 
 
 3. They speak against religion because it speaks against 
 them. They who have fellowship with the unfruitful works 
 of darkness hate the light which discovers them: nor do 
 any curse the rising sun but those who are scorched by it 
 Why were the Pharisees so exasperated against our fSaviour 
 but because he spake his parables against them, and laid 
 
 * AnU no$ incipiunt ©<f«se qyam rnvsar. r.e coanitos <nC imiiari potsixt atU 
 datnitare won poesiiti.— They commence their hatred before they commence 
 their acquaintance, lest, should they comnmience an acquaintance with us, they 
 should either be constrained to imitate us, or, at best, forbear condemnation 
 - Min.Felp. (mOti) 30. 
 
 * Bom viiL 7; 1 John iii. 13. 3 pi 4. 4 Matt, xxi 45 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 191 
 
 them open in their own colours ? Why did the world hate 
 him who so loved the world, 1 but because he "testified of it 
 that its works are evil?" "Why had Joseph's brethren such 
 a spleen against him, but 2 because he was a witness against 
 them, and brought to his father their evil report ? Why did 
 Ahab hate Micaiah, and call Elijah his enemy, 3 but because 
 they were the faithful reprovers of his wickedness, and 
 "never prophesied good concerning him, but evil ? " Why did 
 the inhabitants of the earth rejoice when the witnesses were 
 slain, 4 but because those two prophets, by their plain and 
 powerful preaching, " tormented them that dwelt upon the 
 earth?" 
 
 The everlasting gospel is a testimony, either to us to con- 
 vince us, or against us to condemn us ; and then, no wonder 
 if those speak against it who hate to be convinced by it, and 
 dread to be condemned by it. 5 The prophet complains of 
 those that laid "snares for him that reproveth in the gate ;" 
 and why is it that faithful ministers are so much hated, but 
 because their 6 business is to show people their transgressions ? 
 If they would natter sinners that natter themselves in a sin- 
 ful way, and cry peace to them to whom the God of heaven 
 does not speak peace, they might avoid a great deal of 
 reproach and censure ; but they dare not do it. They are 
 not to make a new law and gospel, but to preach that which 
 is made ; they have their rule in that caution given to the 
 prophet, Jer. xv. 19, "Let them return unto thee, but 
 return not thou unto them." The hearts and lives of men 
 must be brought to comply with the word of God; the 
 word of God can never be made to comply with the humours 
 and fancies of men. Ministers, as they would not for the 
 world make the way to heaven any straighter or narrower 
 than Christ has made it; so they dare not make it any 
 broader or easier, nor offer life and salvation on any other 
 terms than the gospel has already settled. If they aim at 
 
 1 John vii. 7. 2 Gen. xxxvii. 2. 3 1 Kings xxii. 8; xxL 20. 
 
 4 Rev. xi. 10. 5 Isa. xxix. 21; lviii. L 
 
 '• Naturale est et odisse quern times; et quern metueris, infestare si possis.— It is 
 natura) for us to hate, and if possible, to injure, the person whom we fear. 
 —Min. Fel 
 
192 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 1 pleasing men ; they cannot approve themselves the servants 
 of Christ ; and therefore are they so much spoken against. 
 And the same is the reason why the most strict and serious 
 Christians «are so much spoken against, because their piety 
 and devotion, their justice and sobriety, their zeal and 
 charity, are standing reproofs to the wicked world, and con- 
 demn it, 2 as the faith and holy fear of Noah condemned the 
 infidelity and security of the old world. The Sodomites 
 were vexed at Lot's godly conversation, as much as he was 
 at their filthy conversation. 3 "Wherefore does the blood- 
 thirsty hate and revile the upright, while the just seek his 
 soul I but for the same reason for which Cain hated Abel, 
 because ''his own works were evil, and his brothers righte- 
 ous." 
 
 III. Now, for the application of this doctrine, 
 Let us see what good use we may make of this observa- 
 tion concerning the wickedness of the wicked, in speaking so 
 much against religion and godliness, and what is our duty 
 in reference hereunto. 
 
 1. Let us admire the patience and forbearance of the God 
 of heaven, in that he bears so much and so long with those 
 who thus speak against liim and liis holy religion. The 
 affront hereby given him is very great, and, we would think, 
 intolerable ; even hard speeches that reflect upon an infinite 
 majesty have in them a kind of infinite malignity. He 
 hears and knows all that which is said against him, and 
 against his truth and ways, and as a jealous God resents it. 
 He has always power in his hands to punish the proudest of 
 his enemies ; nor would their immediate ruin be any loss to 
 him: and yet, 5 sentence against these evil words and works 
 is not executed speedily. Be astonished, 0 heavens ! at this, 
 and wonder, 0 earth ! that these wretches who rebel against 
 the beams of such light and glory, who spurn at the bowels 
 of such love and grace, are not immediately made the 
 visible monuments of divine wrath and vengeance ; and, like 
 Sodom and Gomorrah, set forth for an example ! That 
 the blasphemers and scoffers of these last days are not 
 
 » GaL 1. 10. - Heb. xL 7. » Prov. yr^ 10. 
 
 4 1 John IfL 12. 5 EccL viii. 11. 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 193 
 
 instantly struck dumb, struck dead. That he, who has so 
 much said against him does himself keep' silence, and 
 does not answer all these reproaches and contradictions, as 
 he easily could, in thunder and lightning. Though his 
 silence and forbearance are turned to his reproach, even by 
 those that have the benefit of it, who, therefore, think him 
 altogether such an one as themselves, and take occasion 
 from his patience to question Ins faithfulness, and challenge 
 his justice, saying, 1 "Where is the. promise of his coming ?" 
 yet he bears, and his patience is stretched out even to long- 
 suffering, because he is 2 not willing that any should perish, 
 nor that any means should be left untried to prevent their 
 perishing. Therefore he bears with sinners, because this is 
 the day of his patience, and of their probation, The 3 wrath 
 of God is revealed from heaven in the word of God, that we 
 might be awed by faith more than in present providences, 
 which would be an awe to sense. But there is a day coming, 
 a dreadful day, when our 4 "'•'God shall come" and shall no 
 longer "keep silence a day foretold in the early ages of the 
 world, by 6 Enoch, the seventh from Adam; when judgment 
 shall be executed upon ungodly sinners, " for all their hard 
 speeches," which day he will not anticipate, for "he knows it 
 is coming," Ps. xxxvii. 13. It is agreable to the regular 
 course of justice, that all judgments be adjourned to the 
 judgment-day, and all executions deferred till execution- 
 day ; and, therefore, now he condescends to reason with 
 those that speak against him, for their conviction, as he 
 does by the prophet. Ezek. xviii. 25, &c. where he fairly 
 debates the case with those who said, " The way of the Lord 
 is not equal ; " that every mouth may be stopped with an 
 unanswerable argument before it be stopped with an irre- 
 versible sentence, and those who have spoken against him 
 may be sent 6 speechless to hell. He keeps silence now, 
 because, when he does speak, he will be justified. When 
 our Lord Jesus was here upon earth, with what an invin- 
 cible patience did he endure the contradiction of sinners ! 
 
 >2Pet. iii. 3, 4. 2 2 Pet. iii. 9. 3 Rom . j. 8 . *Ps.La 
 
 6 Jude 14, 15. « Matt. xxii. 12; Matt. xxvi. C3. 
 
194 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 When so many ill things were witnessed against him he was 
 silent to admiration, 1 answered not a word to all their unjust 
 calumnies and accusations ; but at the same time he bound 
 them over to the judgment of the great day, by that awful 
 declaration, Matt. xxvi. 64, " Hereafter ye shall see the Son 
 of man sitting on the right hand of the power," 2 and still he 
 bears with us in expectation of that same day. He does not 
 take vengeance presently, because he has an eternity before 
 him for the doing of it. 
 
 And, by the way, we may infer hence, that those who 
 would be like their heavenly Father must bear reproach 
 and contradiction patiently. When any thing is said against 
 us, reflecting ever so little disparagement upon us, or our 
 families, our resentments of it are very sensible, and we are 
 apt to take it improperly ; nay, and to say we do well to be 
 angry, for it is not a thing to be endured. Not to be 
 endured ? Oh think how much God bears with the contempt 
 and reproach cast upon his great name, and that will surely 
 qualify our resentments of any indignity done to our little 
 names ! Who are we that we must not be spoken against ? 
 or what are our sayings, that we must not be contradicted ? 
 Such affronts as these we should learn to bear, as David did 
 when Shimei cursed him, 3 So let him curse ; and as the Son 
 of David did when his enemies reviled him, " blessing them 
 that curse us, and praying for them that thus persecute us, 
 that we may be the children of our Father who is in heaven." 
 God adjourns his vindication to the great day, and then 
 surely we may adjourn ours to that day, as St. Paul does 
 his, 1 Cor. iv. 5. 
 
 2. Let us acknowledge the power of divine grace, in 
 keeping up the Christian religion in the world, notwith- 
 standing the universal contradiction and opposition it has 
 met with. One would think that a way thus spoken 
 against every where should have been long ere this lost 
 and ruined, and the Christian name cut off, to be no more 
 in remembrance ; Vhich its adversaries have so industri- 
 
 1 John xix 9. 
 3 2 Sam. xvi. 10. 
 
 2Heb. x. 13. 
 « Ps. lxxxiii 3, 4 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 195 
 
 ously endeavoured : *if it had been of men, it had certainly- 
 come to nought quickly, though they had let it alone ; but 
 being of God, it was to admiration victorious over all oppo- 
 sition. A sect, a cheat, could never have supported itself 
 against so much contradiction ; no human power or policy 
 could have kept it up, nor anything less than an almighty 
 arm. The continuance of the Christian religion in the 
 world to this 2 day, is a standing miracle for the conviction 
 of its adversaries, and the confirmation of the faith of those 
 that adhere to it. When we consider what a mighty force 
 was raised by the powers of darkness against Christianity 1 
 when it was in its infancy ; how many they were who spoke 
 against it, learned men, great men; books were written, 
 laws were made, against it ; those that spoke for it, how few 
 were they ! and how mean and despicable ! the foolish 
 things of the world, and the weak ; 3 and yet, we see the 
 word of God mightily growing and prevailing ; must we not 
 needs say, " This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in 
 our eyes?" The several false religions of the heathens, 
 with their various superstitions and idolatries, though they 
 gave very little opposition one to another, but agreed 
 together well enough ; yet having no foundation in truth, 
 they all withered away, and dwindled to nothing: and 
 after the mighty sway they had borne, and all means 
 possible were used to support them, at length their day came 
 to fall, their oracles were silenced, their altars were de- 
 serted, and the gods themselves were famished, Zeph. ii. 
 11, and perished from the earth; according to that pre- 
 diction, Jer. x. 11, which is put into the mouths of the 
 captive Jews, to retort upon their insulting enemies, and 
 for that purpose is originally in the Chaldec dialect. We 
 may ask triumphantly, not only, 4 " Where are the gods 
 of Hamath and Arpad ? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, 
 Henah, and Ivah," those obscure and petty deities? But 
 where are the gods of Babylon and Egypt, Greece and 
 
 1 Acts v. 38. 
 
 2 See this excellently enlarged upon by the learned Grotius, de V. R. C. I. 2. 
 
 3 Acts xix. 20. * 2 Kings xviii. 34. 
 
196 
 
 CHRISTIANITY SO SECT. 
 
 Rome ? the illustrious names of Saturn and Jupiter, Juno 
 and Diana ? Where are the gods which our British and 
 Saxon ancestors worshipped before they received the light 
 of the glorious gospel / Are they not all forgotten, as 
 dead men out of mind, and their names written in the 
 dust ? But Christ's holy religion, though for some ages 
 it was utterly destitute of all secular supports and advan- 
 tages, and was assaulted on all hands by the most vigorous 
 attacks of its daring and most implacable enemies, yet 
 it has strangely weathered its point, and is in being ; and, 
 thanks be to God, in seme places in a flourishing slate 
 to this day ; its cause is an opposed, but never a baffled, 
 cause. J Let us turn aside now, and see this great sight, 
 a bush burning, and yet not consumed ; and say, the Lord 
 is in it of a truth ; come and see the Captain of our sal- 
 vation riding forth in the chariot of the everlasting gos- 
 pel, 2 with his crown upon his head, and his bow in his 
 hand, "conquering and to conquer." That which was 
 every where spoken against Christianity was like the viper 
 which fastened upon St. Paul's hand ; 3 it gave people 
 occasion to think very ill concerning it. arid to look for 
 its speedy fall; as the barbarous people concerning him 
 whom they concluded to be a murderer, and expected that 
 he should have swollen, or fallen down dead. But it has 
 in all ages shaken those venomous beasts into the fire, 
 and taken no harm, and so has proved its own divine 
 original. Let us herein acknowledge the wisdom and 
 power of our Lord Jesus, who has so firmly built his 
 church 4 upon a rock, that the gates of hell, that is, all its 
 powers, and policies, and numbers, could never prevail 
 against it. Mahoruet. though he industriously adapted his 
 religion to the sensual appetites of men, whose reason only, 
 and not their lusts. 5 could object against it ; yet he obtained 
 no strength nor interest at all. till by a thousand artifices 
 he had got the power of the sword, and with it forbad 
 
 1 Exod. iii. 3. 4. - Rev. vL 2. 
 
 3 Acts xxviii. 3. 4 Matt. xvL 18. 
 
 5 S - e the learned Dr. Humphrey Prideaux's excellent History of the Life of 
 ■then 
 
CIiniSTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 197 
 
 any, upon pain of death, to speak against him or his doc- 
 trine ; charging his first followers, who were to propagate 
 his religion, if they met with any that objected against 
 it, not to dispute with them, hut to kill them immediately 
 by which means that grand imposture, in a little time, 
 got some footing in the world, and by the same barbarous 
 and inhuman methods it has been supported now above 
 a thousand years. And in like manner that great enemy 
 of the church, represented in St. John's vision, maintains 
 his interest, by causing that " as many as would not wor- 
 ship the image of the beast, should be killed,'' Rev. xiii. 
 15. Thus are errors and false religions propagated ; strip 
 them of these supports and they fall to the ground of 
 course: but, on the contrary, the Christian religion was 
 planted and preserved not only without, but against, secular 
 force, recommended and upheld by its own intrinsic truth and 
 excellency, and that divine power which accompanied it. 
 The preachers and professors of it u every where spoken 
 against," and yet every where getting ground, and strangely 
 victorious, merely by the word of their testimony, and by 
 not loving their lives unto the death. lu Thus is come 
 salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and 
 the power of his Christ." 
 
 3. Let us greatly lament the folly and wickedness of 
 those who speak against Christ and his holy religion, and 
 if we can do anything, have compassion upon them, and 
 help to undeceive them, and rectify their mistakes. Surely 
 this is one of the abominations committed among us, for 
 which we should be found among those that "sigh and 
 cry," Ezek. ix. 4 ; one of those instances of the pride of 
 sinners for which our souls should " weep in secret," Jer. 
 xiii. 17. This is that reproach of the solemn assembly 
 which is such a burthen to all good men, Zeph. iii. 18. Our 
 ears should tingle, and our hearts tremble, to hear the 
 reproach and contempt cast upon Christ and his religion, or 
 to hear of it ; and looking upon ourselves as nearly con- 
 
 » Rev. xii. 10, 11. 
 
198 
 
 CHTUSTIAMTr >0 SECT. 
 
 cerned in sacred things, we should be sensibly touched with 
 the profanation of them. 
 
 To affect us herewith, let us consider, 
 
 (1.) The great dishonour hereby done to our God in the 
 world. They that reflect upon his truths and ways, his word 
 and ordinances, reflect upon him ; he that touches these, 
 touches the apple of his eye ; if, therefore, we have any love 
 to God, or concern for his honour, and have cordially 
 espoused the interests of his kingdom, what is an affront to 
 him will surely be a grief to us. It cannot but be a very 
 melancholy thought to every sensible soul, that the God 
 who made the world is made so light of in the world ; that 
 he who does so much good to the children of men has so 
 little honour from them ; nay, and has so much dis- 
 honour done him by them every day, x and "his name 
 continually blasphemed;" that the Lord Jesus, who so 
 loved the world, is so much hated and despised by the 
 world. 2 The reproaches of them who thus reproach our 
 Master, if we be his faithful servants, we should feel as 
 falling upon us. 3 And if he take what is said and done 
 against his people, as said and done against himself, 
 much more reason have they to find themselves aggrieved 
 in that which is said and done against him. If we pray 
 heartily that God's name may be hallowed, as we should do 
 every day, we should grieve heartily that his name is dis- 
 honoured, as we see it is every day. And our resentments 
 of the reproach cast upon God and religion, we should make 
 an humble and pious remonstrance of before God in prayer, 
 as king Hezekiah spread Rabshakeh's blashemous letter 
 before the Lord, with that tender and affectionate request, 
 "Lord, bow down thine ear and hear; open, Lord, thine 
 eyes and see," 2 Kings xix. 16. How pathetically does 
 Joshua plead, ch. vii. 9, " What wilt thou do unto thy 
 great name?" And with what a concern does the psalmist, 
 in the name of the church, insist upon this, Ps. lxxiv. 10, 
 u 0 God, how long shall the adversary reproach ? Shall the 
 
 I Isa. lii. 5. 
 
 2 P?. lxix. 9. 
 
 3 Matt. xxv. 45. 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 199 
 
 enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?" And, ver. 18, 
 " Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, 0 Lord, 
 and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name." And 
 how earnestly does he beg, ver. 22, " Arise, 0 God, plead 
 thine own cause." Thus should the honour of God and 
 religion lie nearer our hearts than any other concern what- 
 soever. 
 
 (2.) Consider the miserable condition of those who pre- 
 sumptuously speak against God and religion. Though they 
 may do it with an air of assurance, as if they ran no hazard, 
 yet, he that rolls this stone, it will certainly return upon 
 him sooner or later. They that speak against religion speak 
 against their own heads, *and their own tongues will at last 
 fall upon them. We have reason to bewail their madness, 
 and to pity and pray for them, for they know not what they 
 do. Miserable souls ! How will they be deceived at last 
 when they shall find that 3 "God is not mocked!" And 
 that while they were studying to put contempt on religion 
 they were but preparing eternal shame and confusion for 
 themselves! The Lord is a jealous God, and will not hold 
 them guiltless that thus profane his name : their wit, and 
 learning, and figure in the world, may imbolden them in 
 their sin, and bear them up a while in an open defiance of 
 all that is sacred, but nothing can prevent their utter ruin 
 except a serious and sincere repentance ; which is an un- 
 saying, with shame and self-loathing, of all that which they 
 have proudly spoken against God and godliness. They that 
 pervert the right ways of the Lord will certainly 3 fall there- 
 in ; 4 and they that wrest the Scriptures do it to their own 
 destruction. Religion's motto is, Nemo me impune lacessit. 
 ■ — " He who injures me, injures himself," " It is dangerous 
 playing with edge-tools." 5 Jerusalem will certainly be a 
 burthensome stone to all people that burthen themselves 
 with it. They that spurn at the Rock of Salvation, will not 
 only be unable to remove it, but will find it 8 ""a stone of 
 stumbling," and a " rock of offence." And we find those 
 
 i Ps. Lxiv. 8. 2 Gal. vi. 7. 3 Hos. xiv. 9. 
 
 * 2 Pet. iii. 16. 5 Zech. xii. 3. 6 1 Pet. ii. 8. 
 
200 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 who ridiculed the word of the Lord, 1 " broken, and snared, 
 and taken." Let all those, therefore, that mourn in Sion, 
 weep over those that will not weep for themselves : and look 
 with pity and compassion upon those who look upon them 
 with scorn and contempt. 
 
 (3.) Consider the mischief that is hereby done to the 
 souls of others. They who thus err, their error remains 
 not with themselves, but this poisonous and malignant 
 breath infects others. Words spoken against religion a " eat 
 as doth a canker and they who speak them seldom perish 
 alone in their iniquity, for 3 "many follow their pernicious 
 ways." Unwary souls are easily beguiled, and brought to 
 conceive rooted prejudices against that which they hear 
 every where spoken against ; and few have consideration 
 and resolution enough to maintain a good opinion of that 
 which they who set up for wits make it their business to 
 cry down. 1 Sei*gius Paul us was a prudent man, and yet 
 St. Paul saw him in danger of being turned away from the 
 faith by the subtle suggestions of Elymas the sorcerer, 
 which, therefore, the apostle resented with more than ordi- 
 nary keenness. It is sad to think how many young people, 
 who, perhaps, were well educated and hopeful, when they 
 go abroad into the world, by conversing with those who lie 
 in wait to deceive, have their minds insensibly vitiated and 
 debauched, and, perhaps, they are made seven times more 
 the children of hell than those that first seduced them. 
 Under pretence of free thought and fashionable conversa- 
 tion, and a generous disdain of preciseness and singularity, 
 atheistical principles are imbibed, the restraints of con- 
 science shaken off, brutish lusts not only indulged, but 
 pleaded for, and serious godliness and devotion looked on 
 with contempt ; and thus the heart is impregnably fortified 
 for Satan against Christ and his gospel, u wrath is treasured 
 up against the day of wrath," and those who might have 
 been the blessing, prove the plague, of their age ; which is 
 a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation, to all who 
 
 I Isa. xxviii. 13. 
 3 -2 Pet il 2. 
 
 * I Tim. ii. 17. 
 
 * Acts xiii. 7-ltt 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 201 
 
 wish well to the souls of men, and to those especially who 
 are desirous of the welfare of the rising generation. 
 
 4. Let us take heed that none of us do at any time, 
 directly or indirectly, speak against the ways of religion 
 and godliness, or make a confederacy with those that do 
 so. 1 Submit to divine instructions, given with a strong 
 hand, not to walk in the way of those people who speak ill 
 of religion. Take heed of embracing any notions which 
 secretly tend to derogate from the authority of the Holy 
 Scriptures, or to diminish the honour of religion in t^e 
 soul ; or of accustoming yourselves to such expressions as 
 treat not sacred things with that awful regard which is due 
 to them. Those were never reckoned wise men who would 
 rather lose a friend than a jest ; much less are they to be 
 accounted so who will rather lose the favour of their God. 
 How can it be expected that those, who in their common 
 converse make themselves merry with serious things, should 
 at any time be serious in them, or experience the influence 
 and comfort of them ? It is not likely that those who make 
 the word of God the subject of their jests should ever make 
 it the guide of their way, or find it the spring of their joys. 
 Let us not choose to associate with those who have light 
 thoughts of religion, and are ready upon all occasions to 
 speak against it. It is not without good reason, that among 
 the many words with which St. Peter exhorted his new 
 converts, this only is recorded, "save yourselves from this 
 untoward generation," Acts ii. 40. 3 Those that listen to the 
 "counsel of the ungodly, and stand in the way of sinners, as 
 willing to walk with them, will come at length, if almighty 
 grace prevent not, to "sit in the seat of the scornful." Let 
 us therefore abide by that which Job and Eliphaz, even in 
 the heat of dispute, were agreed on, that "the counsel of 
 the wicked shall be far from us;" which protestation we 
 have, Job xxi. 16; xxii. 18. It is dangerous making 
 friendship with those who have an enmity to serious godli- 
 ness, lest we learn their way, and get a snare to our souls. 
 
 There are two common pretences, and seemingly plausible 
 
 > Iaa. viiL 11, 12. " Ps. i. 1. 
 
202 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 ones, under which those who speak against religion shelter 
 themselves; but they are neither of them justifiable. 
 
 (1.) They pretend that it is only for argument sake that 
 they object against religion, and pick quarrels with it, and, 
 so little esteem they have of the thing called sincerity, they 
 will not be thought to mean as they say. And are the great 
 principles of religion become such moot points, such matters 
 of doubtful disputation, that it is indifferent which side of 
 the question a man takes, and upon which he may argue, 
 pro or con — "for or against," at his pleasure? That grave 
 and weighty 1 saying of a learned heathen is enough to 
 silence this pretence, Mala enim et impia consuetudo est, 
 contra Deos disputandi, sive ex animo id sit, sive simulate; 
 "It is an evil thing to talk against religion, whether a 
 man means as he says or no," or, in the language of our age, 
 whether he speak seriously, or only banter. Julian the 
 apostate, who, before he threw off his disguise, frequently 
 argued against Christanity, pretended it was only for dis- 
 putation sake. But " out of the abundance of the heart the 
 mouth speaks," and whence can such evil things come, but 
 from an evil treasure there 
 
 (2.) They pretend that it is not religion that they ridi- 
 cule and expose to contempt, but some particular forms and 
 modes of religious worship which they do not like. And 
 this is one ill effect of the unhappy divisions among Christians, 
 that while one side has laboured to make the other con- 
 temptible, religion in general has suffered on all sides. To 
 reprove what we think amiss with prudence and meekness, 
 is well ; but to reproach and make a jest of that which our 
 fellow-Cliristians look upon as sacred, and make a part of 
 their religion, cannot be to any good purpose at alL To 
 scoff at the mistakes or weaknesses of our brethren is the 
 way to provoke and harden them, but not to convince and 
 reform them. They who think to justify this way of ridi- 
 culing those that differ from them, by the instance of Elijah's 
 jeering the priests of Baal, perhaps, 1,; know not what manner 
 of spirit they are of, no more than those disciples did who 
 
 i Cic de Sat. Deor. lib. 2, ad fin. 2 Luke ix. 55. 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 203 
 
 would have their intemperate heats countenanced by the 
 example of that great prophet. 
 
 5. Let us who profess the Christian religion be very 
 cautious that we do not give occasion to any to speak against 
 it. If there are those, in all places, who are industrious to 
 cast reproaches upon religion, then we have need to walk 
 circumspectly, and to look well to our goings, that those 
 who watch for our halting may have no occasion given them 
 to blaspheme. It is certain, that though in religion there 
 is nothing which may be justly spoken against, yet among 
 those who profess it there is too often found that which de- 
 serves to be taxed, and which cannot pass without just 
 and severe reflections. — Pudet hcec opprobria nobis — "These 
 reproaches are a disgrace to us." — Are there not those within 
 the pale of the church through whom the name of God and 
 his doctrine are blasphemed, *and "by reason of whom the 
 way of truth is evil spoken of ? Are there not those who 
 wear Christ's livery, but are a 2 scandal to his family, 3 spots 
 in the love-feasts, and a standing reproach to that worthy 
 name by which they are called ? Now, though it is certainly 
 very unjust and unfair to impute the faults of professors to 
 the religion they profess, and to reproach Christianity be- 
 cause there are those that are called Christians who expose 
 themselves to reproach ; yet it is, without question, the sin 
 of those who give men occasion to do so. This was the 
 condemnation in David's case, and entailed the sword upon 
 his house, though the sin was pardoned by which he had 
 'given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blas- 
 pheme/' 2 Sam. xii. 14. Let us therefore double our diligence 
 and care to give no offence either to Jew or Gentile ; that 
 religion, which has so often been wounded in the house of 
 her friends, may never be wounded through our misconduct. 
 
 If we inquire, as we are concerned to do, what it is that 
 gives occasion of reflection upon religion, we shall find that 
 
 > 2 Pet. ii. 2. 
 
 2 The foulest reproaches of the primitive Christians took rise from the vile 
 practices of the Gnostics, and other Pseudo-christians. Of which, Vid. Euseb. 
 EccL Hist. L 4. C.7. 
 
 3 Jude lfc. 
 
204 
 
 CHRISTIANITY SO SECT. 
 
 thei mprudenee of those that profess it gives some occasion, 
 but their immoralities much more. 
 
 (1.) The imprudence of Christians often turns to the le- 
 proach of Christianity. There may be such over-doing, even 
 in well-doing, as may prove undoing. When more stress is 
 laid than ought to be upon some instances of religion, to the 
 exclusion of others, and the exercises of devotion are either 
 mistimed, or misplaced, or misproportioned, religion is hereby 
 misrepresented, or looked upon to disadvantage. Rash and 
 indiscreet zeal may give occasion to those who seek occasion 
 to speak against all religious zeal. Therefore 1 "walk in 
 wisdom toward them that are without." Religion is a most 
 sweet, and pleasant, and amiable thing: let not us, by our 
 indiscretion, make it a task to ourselves, and a terror to 
 others. The more the children of God 2 are children of wis- 
 dom, the more they justify it, and its ways. Christian pru- 
 dence is very much the beauty and strength of Christian 
 piety. Though it will secure the welfare of our own souls 
 if we walk in our integrity, yet it is necessary, for the pre- 
 serving the credit of our profession, that we walk in wisdom, 
 that 3 "wisdom of the prudent" which is to " understand 
 his way," that *" wisdom which is profitable to direct." 
 'And " if any man lack this wisdom, let him ask it of God, 
 who gives liberally, and upbraids us not" with our folly. 
 Pray with David, Ps. xxvii. 11, "'Teach me thy way, 0 
 Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies." 
 (Hebr. because of mine observers.) Our enemies are our 
 observers, and will be ready to reproach our way, for the 
 sake of the false steps we take in it ; and therefore we have 
 need to ponder the path of our feet, and let discretion guide 
 and govern our zeal. 
 
 (2.) The immoralities of those who profess Christianity 
 turn much more to the reproach of that holy religion, when 
 those who are called Christians are griping and covetous, 
 and greedy of the world ; when they are false and deceitful 
 and unjust in their dealings; sour and morose, and unna 
 
 i Col. iv. 5. 
 * Eccl. x. 10 
 
 2 Luke vii. 35. 
 5 Jam. i. B. 
 
 3 Prov. xiv. 8. 
 
CHRISTIANITY >'0 SECT. 
 
 205 
 
 tural to their relations; turbulent and unquiet in societies; 
 when they are fro ward and passionate, proud and haughty, 
 hard-hearted and oppressive, loose and intemperate ; when 
 they are found guilty of lying and cheating, drunkenness 
 or uncleanness ; when it appears that they keep up some 
 secret haunts of sin, under the cloak and covert of a spe- 
 cious profession ; when they who profess the Christian faith 
 indulge themselves in those things that are contrary to the 
 light and law even of natural religion : this is that which 
 opens the mouths of the adversaries to speak reproachfully 
 of that religion, the profession of which is made to consist 
 with such vile practices, which cannot possibly consist with 
 the power of it. This makes people ready to say, as that 
 Mahometan prince did when the Christians had broken 
 their league with him, " 0 Jesus ! are these thy Christians ?" 
 Or, as the complaint was upon another occasion, ami hoc rum 
 evangelium, cut hi non evangelium — " Either this is not 
 gospel, or these are not to be called professors of the gospel." 
 2 If ministers " give offence in any thing," not they only, 
 but their ministry, will be blamed. Nay, if servants, and 
 Christians of the lowest rank and figure be unfaithful and 
 disobedient to the government they are under, the a "name 
 of God, and his doctrine," is likely to be blasphemed. Let 
 us, therefore, who profess relation to the eternal God, and 
 dependence upon the blessed Jesus, and a regard to the 
 Holy Scriptures, as we value the reputation of our religion, 
 3 " walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing." Let us 
 order our conversation so in every thing, that we may 
 4 "adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour." "While we are 
 called by so good a name let us not dare to do an evil 
 thing. The disciples of Christ are as a s " city upon a hill," 
 and have many eyes upon them, and therefore have need to 
 behave themselves with a great deal of caution, and to 
 •"abstain from all appearance of evil." Let us not do any- 
 thing that is unjust, or unbecoming us j nor allow ourselves 
 in that which wc know the gospel we profess does by no 
 
 i 2 Cor. vi. 3. * 1 Tim. vi. 1. ' Col. i. 10. 
 
 * Tit. ii. 10. « Matt v. 14. « Thess. v. 22. 
 
206 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT, 
 
 means allow of, lest we be to answer another day for all the 
 reproach of religion which we have occasioned. How light 
 soever we may make of this now, we shall find that it will 
 greatly inflame the reckoning shortly, when God will assert 
 the honour of his own name, and will be glorified upon those 
 by whom he was not glorified. In consideration of this, let 
 us see to it, that we 1 have our conversation honest among the 
 adversaries of our religion, that they who speak against us as 
 evil-doers, may, by our good works which they shall behold, 
 be brought to glorify God, and to entertain good thoughts of 
 religion; or at least, 2 that "we may with well doing put to 
 silence the ignorance of foolish men." Our religion, I am 
 sure, is an honour to us ; let not us then be a dishonour to it. 
 
 6. If there be those every where that speak against religion 
 and godliness, let us then as we have opportunity be ready 
 to speak for it. Every Christian should be both a witness 
 and an advocate for his religion, and the rather because it is 
 so much opposed and contradicted ; next to our care not to be 
 a shame to the gospel, should be our resolution not to be 
 ashamed of the gospel ; you are subpoenaed by the King of 
 kings to appear for him in the world ; " Ye are my witnesses 
 saith the Lord," Isa. xliii. 10. Do not betray this cause 
 then by declining your testimony, how much soever you 
 may be brow-beaten and confronted. Say with a holy bold- 
 ness, as Elihu, Job xxxvi. 2, "Suffer me a little, and I will 
 show you that I have yet to speak on God's behalf." You 
 hear what is daringly said against God, how his holy name 
 is trampled upon and abused, his truths contradicted, his 
 word and ordinances vilified, and have you never a word to 
 say for him 1 Is our Lord Jesus appearing for us in heaven, 
 pleading our cause there, pleading it with his own blood, and 
 shall not we be ready to appear for him on earth, and plead 
 his cause, though it were with the hazard of our blood 1 As 
 it is then a time to keep silence when we ourselves are 
 spoken against, 3 1 as a deaf man heard not; so it is then 4 a 
 time to speak when God is spoken against, and the honour 
 of our religion lies at stake : at such a time we must take 
 
 1 1 Pet ii. 12. 2 1 Pet. ii. 15. 3 Ps. xxxviii. 13. * Eccl. iii. 7. 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 207 
 
 heed, lest by a cowardly silence we wrong so just a cause, as 
 if we were either ashamed or afraid to own it. Wisdom's 
 children should take all occasions to justify wisdom, and 
 vindicate her from the aspersions that are cast upon her. 
 Read the doom of him that is ashamed of Christ and of his 
 words in this adulterous generation, Mark viii. 38, " Of him 
 shall the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in the glory 
 of his Father." Not confessing Christ when we are called 
 to it, is in effect denying him, and disowning relationship to 
 him ; *and they who do so, except they repent as Peter did, 
 will shortly be denied and disowned by him. If we should, 
 with an 2 angry countenance at least, drive away a backbiting 
 tongue that reproaches our brother, much more a blasphe- 
 mous tongue that reproaches our Maker. Should we hear a 
 near relation, or a dear friend, in whose reputation it is 
 natural for us to reckon ourselves sharers, spoken against 
 and slandered, we would readily appear in his vindication ; 
 and have we no resentments of the contempt and contumely 
 cast on religion X Can we sit by contentedly to hear God 
 and Christ, and the Scripture and serious godliness, reflected 
 en, and have we nothing to say in their behalf? Common 
 equity obliges us to be the patrons of a just, but wronged 
 cause. And that we may not think ourselves discharged 
 from this duty, by our inability to defend the truths and 
 ways of God, and so make our ignorance and unskilfulness 
 in the word of righteousness an excuse for our cowardice 
 and want of zeal, we ought to take pains to furnish ourselves 
 with a clear and distinct knowledge of the 3 " certainty of 
 those things wherein we have been instructed." We must 
 labour to understand not only the truths and principles, but 
 the grounds and evidences, of our religion, that we may be 
 able to 4 give an answer ((nroXoyiav, an apology,) to every 
 man that asks us a reason of the" hope that is in us. How 
 industrious are the profane wits of the age to find out some- 
 thing to say against religion ! and should not that quicken 
 lis to provide ourselves with the ""armour of righteousnes.' 
 
 » Lukp xii. 9; 2 Tim. iL 10 ^Pror ixv. 23. i. 3 Luke i. 4. 
 *lPetiil5. 6 2Coj.vL 7 
 
208 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 both on the right hand and onthG left," aiming at the 1 "riches 
 of the full assurance of understanding?" And if we do, as 
 there is occasion, with humility and sincerity, and from a 
 principle of zeal for God and his honour, appear in defence 
 of religion and its injured cause, we may doubtless take 
 encouragement from that promise, Matt. x. 19, "It shall be 
 given you in that same hour what ye shall speak." God will 
 own those that own him, and will not fail to furnish his 
 faithful advocates with needful instructions, and many times 
 ordains such s " strength out of the mouth of babes and suck- 
 lings," as strangely "stills the enemy and avenger." 
 
 7. Let none of us ever think the worse of the way of 
 religion and godliness for its being "every where spoken 
 against," nor be frightened hereby from walking in that way. 
 The contempt cast on the practice of piety is with many an in- 
 vincible objection against it ; their good impressions, good pur- 
 poses, and good overtures, are hereby crushed and brought to 
 nothing: they have that within them which tells them that the 
 way of sobriety and serious godliness is a very good way, and 
 they sometimes hear that word behind them saying, '"This is 
 the way, walk ye in it ; " but they have those about them that 
 tell them otherwise, and thus the convictions of conscience are 
 overruled and baffled by the censures and reproaches of men, 
 whose praise they covet more than the praise of God. 
 
 But to take off the force of this objection let us consider 
 these four things : 
 
 (1.) Consider who they are that speak against religion and 
 godliness. Not only they who are mortal men, whom the 
 4 "moth shall eat up like a garment; men that shall die," 
 and the " sons of men, which shall be made as grass," all 
 whose thoughts will shortly perish with them, and therefore 
 why should we " fear their reproach, or be afraid of their 
 revilings ? " Not only they who are fallible men, who may 
 be mistaken, and whose judgment is by no means decisive ; 
 nor such as will bear us out ; shall we put what men say in 
 the scale against what God says ? " Let God be true, and 
 
 1 CoL ii. 2. 2 Ps . yiu. 2 . 
 
 3 Isa. xxx. 21. < Isa. li. 7, 8, 12. 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 209 
 
 every man a liar." We must not be judged hereafter, and 
 therefore should not be ruled now, by the sentiments and 
 opinions of men. Those who speak against religion are also 
 for the most part bad men, men of unsettled heads, debauched 
 consciences, and profligate lives. It is the fool, and none but 
 he, that says in his heart, "There is no God." The scoffers 
 of the last days are men that walk after their own lusts, 
 whose carnal fleshly interest retains them on that side. 
 David was abused by the abjects, Ps. xxxv. 15, and the 
 Christians at Thessalonica, by " certain lewd fellows of the 
 baser sort," Acts xvii. 5. Such as those are the men that 
 make a mock at religion ; and shall we be swayed and 
 influenced in the greatest concerns of our immortal souls by 
 such men as these ? Shall those have the government of 
 us that have so little government of themselves ? Shall the 
 cavils and vain scoffs of those who know not what it is to 
 be serious, carry the day against the deliberate sentiments 
 of all wise and good men, who have with one consent sub- 
 scribed to the equity and goodness of religion's ways ? If 
 we choose such as these for our leaders, surely the " blind 
 lead the blind ; " and we know the consequence. 
 
 (2.) Consider how trifling and frivolous that is which is 
 commonly said against religion and godliness. The devil 
 made his first fatal assault upon mankind by lies and 
 slanders, suggesting hard thoughts of God, and promising 
 impunity in sin ; and by the same wretched methods he 
 still supports and carries on his interest in the world. They 
 who speak against religion, make lies their refuge, and 
 under falsehood they hide themselves. All those bold and 
 daring things which are spoken against religion, are either 
 groundless and unproved calumnies, or very unjust and un- 
 fair representations. Hence the enemies of religion are said 
 to be 1 "absurd and unreasonable men;" men who, while 
 they cry up the oracles of reason, rebel against all the light 
 and laws of it. Put all that together which is spoken 
 against godliness, and weigh it in the balance of right reason, 
 and you will write "Tekel" upon it, "weighed in the balance 
 I 2 Thesa. iii. 2. 
 
 o 
 
210 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 and found wanting." And, as if an overruling Providence 
 had forced the scoffers of these last days to confess their own 
 infatuation, some of those who have been most sharp in 
 their invectives against religion, have been no less free 
 in their satires against reason itself, as if they were resolved 
 to answer the character of Solomon's fool, whose 1 "wisdom 
 fails him" so far, that "he saith to every one that he is a 
 fool." 
 
 (3.) Consider how much is to be said for religion, notwith- 
 standing it is "every where spoken against." Religion has 
 reason on its side, its cause is a good cause ; and it is the 
 right way, whoever speaks against it. 2 " It is no disparage- 
 ment (as that excellent pen expresses it) to be laughed at, 
 but to deserve to be so." You have heard religion reproached, 
 but did you ever find that it deserved to be so ? Nay. on 
 the contrary, have you not found that it very well deserves 
 your best affections and services'^ Inquire of those who 
 have made trial of it, consult the experiences of others : 
 3 "Call now, if there be any that will answer thee, and to 
 which of the saints wilt thou turn ?" 4 "Ask thy father and 
 he will show thee; thine elders, and they will tell 8 thee 
 that the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart 
 from evil, that is- understanding." They will tell thee, 6 that 
 religion's ways are "ways of pleasantness, and all her paths 
 are peace," and that all the wealth and pleasure in this 
 world is not worth one hour's communion with God in 
 Jesus Christ. They will tell thee that there are no truths 
 so certain and weighty as divine truths, and that no statutes 
 and judgments are so righteous as the divine law, which is 
 holy, just, and good. They will tell thee that real holiness 
 and sanctification is the perfection of the human nature, as 
 well as the participation of the divine nature ; that a firm 
 belief of the principles of religion is the greatest improve- 
 ment of our intellectual powers, a strict adherence to its 
 rules our surest guide in all our ways, and a cheerful 
 dependence upon its promises, the fountain of better joys, 
 
 Eccl x. 3. 2 Archbp. Tillotson's Sermon on 2 Pet ii. 3. 3 Jot. v. 1. 
 
 * Deut xxxii. 7. 5 Job xxviii. 28. ■ Prov. iii. 17. 
 
CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 211 
 
 and the foundation of better hopes, than any we can be 
 furnished with in the things of sense and time. They will 
 tell thee, that a life of serious godliness is incomparably the 
 most sublime and honourable, the most sweet and comfort- 
 able, life a man can live in this world ; and that nothing 
 does more answer the end of our creation, better befriend 
 society, or conduce more to our true interest in both worlds, 
 than that holy religion which is "every where spoken 
 against." 
 
 (4.) Consider that the cause of religion and godliness, 
 however it be spoken against and opposed, will infallibly be 
 the prevailing cause at last. We are sensible of a mighty 
 struggle in the world between the " seed of the woman and 
 the seed of the serpent;" Michael and his angels on the 
 one side, and the dragon and his angels on the other. Many 
 there are who speak against religion, and are very vigorous 
 in opposing it, and some, though but a few, who are speak- 
 ing for it, contending for the faith, and striving against sin. 
 Now it is desirable to know which of these contesting in- 
 terests will be victorious ; and we may be assured that the 
 cause of God and religion will certainly carry the day. 
 Contradicted truths will be effectually cleared and vindi 
 cated ; despised holiness will be honoured ; mistakes recti- 
 fied ; reproaches rolled away ; and every tlung set in a true 
 light. lu Then you shall return and discern" between truth 
 and falsehood, right and wrong, which now it is not always 
 easy to do. The day of the Lord is said to be in the " valley 
 of decision," Joel iii. 14, because then and there will this 
 great cause be decided, which has been so long depending ; 
 and a definitive sentence given, from which there will be no 
 appeal, and against which there will be no exception. 2 " Our 
 God will then come, and will not keep silence :" whoever 
 now speaks against religion, he will then speak for it, and 
 will undoubtedly be 3 " justified when he speaks," and " clear 
 when he judgeth." Particular parties and interests, as such, 
 will wither and come to nothing, but Catholic Christianity, 
 that is, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and living 
 
 1 Mai. iii. 18. 2 Ps. L 3. 3 p s . & 4 
 
212 
 
 CHRISTIANITY NO SECT. 
 
 soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, in ex- 
 pectation of the blessed hope ; this is good, and the goodness 
 of it being founded on the unchangeable will of the Eternal 
 Mind, it is eternally good, and no doubt will be eternally 
 glorious, whatever is said against it. This, this is that gold 
 and silver, and those precious stones, which will stand the 
 test of the fire that shall " try every man's work," 1 Cor. 
 iii. 12, 13; and will be lu found unto praise, and honour, 
 and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." 
 
 Assure yourselves, Christians, there is a 2 " day of recom- 
 pence for the controversy of Sion coming," and it is at hand ; 
 3 " Behold, the Judge standeth before the door," Then vice 
 and wickedness, which now appear so daring, so threatening, 
 will be effectually and irrecoverably crushed ; and such a 
 fatal and incurable blow given to the serpent's head, that 
 he shall never hiss, shall never spit his venom any more : 
 then shall the u upright have the dominion," Ps. xlix. 14, 
 and all the faithful soldiers of the Lord Jesus shall be called 
 to 4 set their tt feet upon the necks" of principalities and 
 powers. Then atheists and blasphemers, the debauchees 
 and profane scoffers of the age, will have their mouths 
 stopped with an irresistible conviction ; will have all their 
 vile calumnies visibly confuted, their hearts filled with un- 
 speakable horror, and their faces with everlasting shame: 
 their refuge of lies will then be swept away, and rocks 
 and mountains" called upon in vain to shelter them ; 6 then 
 shall the righteous, who are now trampled upon and de- 
 spised, " shine as the sun in the firmament of their Father." 
 Wisdom and her children shall be first justified, and then 
 glorified, before all the world: and they who through grace 
 have 7 " gotten the victory over the beast, and over his 
 image," shall solace themselves, and praise their Redeemer 
 with everlasting songs of triumph. The dust that is now 
 unjustly tlirown upon them will not only be wiped off, but 
 will add to their glory, 8 and even* reproach for the testi- 
 mony of Jesus will be a pearl in their crown. The right- 
 
 1 1 Pet L 7. - isa. s. * Jam. v. 9. « Josh. x. 24. 
 
 * Eev. ri 16. 6 Matt. BL 43. ' Eev. xv. t « Malt x. 11, 12. 
 
CHRISTIANITY KO SECT. 
 
 213 
 
 eous Judge of heaven and earth 1<< will shortly render to 
 every man according to his work : To them who by patient 
 continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honour, and 
 immortality" in the other world, and, in pursuit of that, 
 patiently bear disgrace and contempt in this, to them he 
 will render eternal life, which will make them as happy as 
 they can desire, far more happy than they can conceive. 
 But to them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, 
 but contradict it, and rebel against the light and laws of it, 
 being resolved to obey unrighteousness, to them he will 
 render, with a just and almighty hand, indignation and 
 wrath; the effect of which will be such tribulation and 
 anguish to the soul, as will make them feel eternally, what 
 now they will not be persuaded to believe, that 3 " it is a 
 fearful tiling to fall into the hands of the living God ;" for 
 never any hardened their hearts against him and prospered. 
 Brethren, 3 " these are the true sayings of God," on the cer- 
 tainty of which we may venture our immortal souls. 
 
 They who speak and act so much against religion, design 
 to run it down, and extirpate it, that the 4 " name of it may 
 be no more in remembrance," and perhaps you hear them 
 sometimes boast of their success herein; if they can but 
 handsomely, as they think, ridicule the sacred text, or ban- 
 ter any of the divine mysteries, or hector over a good man, 
 they are ready to triumph, as if they had run down religion. 
 Run down religion ! In the name of my great Master, I 
 defy all the powers of nell and earth to run it down : 5 they 
 may sooner run down the flowing tide, or the sun when he 
 goes forth in his strength, than run down the least of the 
 dictates of eternal truth, not one 6 iota or tittle of which 
 shall fall to the ground. Dagon will certainly fall before 
 the Ark of the Lord ; 7 and the rod of Aaron will swallow up 
 the rods of the magicians. Do they talk of running down 
 religion, and the Scriptures, and the ordinances of Christ ? 
 " The virgin, the daughter of Sion, hath despised them, 
 and laughed them to scom; the daughter of Jerusalem hath 
 
 i Rom. ii. 6-9. 2 Heb. x. 31. 3 Rev. xix. 9. * Ps. ixxxiii. 4. 
 5 Magna est Veritas et prcevakbit — Great is the truth, and it will prevail 
 c Matt. v. 18. 7 Exod. vii. 12. 8 Isa. xxxvil 22. 
 
214 
 
 CHRIST I AMITY NO SECT. 
 
 shaken her head at them ;" and has therefore * put them to 
 shame, because God hath despised them," as it is said, Ps. 
 liii. 5. x He that "sits in the heavens" enjoying himself, 
 2 "and rides upon the heavens" for the help of his people, 
 derides their attempts against the kingdom of his Son, as 
 vain and fruitless. " The Lord shall laugh at them, for he 
 sees that his day is coming." They have their day now, it 
 is their hour and the power of darkness; but God will 
 have his day shortly,. and a glorious day it will be, when 
 our Lord Jesus shall appear in all the power and grandeur 
 of the upper world, to the everlasting terror and confusion 
 of all his adversaries, and the everlasting joy and honour of 
 all his faithful servants and soldiers: with the believing 
 hopes and prospects of which day, let all those who heartily 
 espouse and plead religion's righteous cause, comfort them- 
 selves and one another. 
 
 iPa.ii.4 Deut. xx 
 
4 CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 A SERMON CONCERNING* FAMILY I'ELIGION 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 A SERMON CONCERNING FAMILY RELIGION. 
 
 "With the church that is in their house."— 1 Cor. xvi. 19. 
 
 Some veiy good interpreters, I know, understand this of 
 a settled, stated, solemn meeting of Christians at the house 
 of Aquila and Priscilla, for public worship ; and they were 
 glad of houses to meet in where they wanted those better 
 conveniences which the church was afterwards, in her pros- 
 perous days, accommodated with. "When they hacT not 
 such places as they could wish they thankfully made use 
 of such as they could get. 
 
 But others think it is meant only of their own family, 
 and the strangers within their gates, among whom there 
 was so much piety and devotion that it might well be 
 called a church or religious house. Thus the ancients 
 generally understood it. Nor was it only Aquila and 
 Priscilla, whose house Avas thus celebrated for religion, 
 here and Rom. xvi. 5, -but Nymphas also had a church in 
 his house, Col. iv. 15, and Philemon, ver. 2. Not but that 
 others, to whom and from whom salutations are sent in 
 St. Paul's epistles, made conscience of keeping up religion 
 in their families ; but these are mentioned, probably be- 
 cause their families were more numerous than most of 
 those other families were ; which made their family devo- 
 tions more solemn, and consequently more taken notice of. 
 
218 
 
 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 In this sense I shall choose to take it ; hence to recom- 
 mend family religion to you under a notion of a church in 
 the house. When we see your public assemblies so well 
 filled, so well frequented, we cannot but thank God, and 
 take courage ; your diligent attendance on the ministry of 
 the word and prayers is your praise, and I trust, through 
 grace, it redounds to your spiritual comfort and benefit. 
 But my subject at this time will lead me to inquire into 
 the state of religion in your private houses, whether it 
 flourish or wither there ? whether it be on the throne, or 
 under foot there ? Herein I desire to deal plainly and 
 faithfully with your consciences, and I beg you will give 
 them leave to deal so with you. 
 
 The pious and zealous endeavours both of magistrates 
 and ministers for the reformation of manners, and the 
 suppression of vice and profaneness, are the joy and en- 
 couragement of ail good .people in the land, and a happy 
 indication that God has yet mercy in store for us : " If the 
 Lord had been pleased to kill us, he would not have 
 showed us such things as these.'' Now I know not any 
 thing that will contribute more to the furtherance of this 
 good work than the bringing of family religion more into 
 practice and reputation. Here the reformation must begin. 
 Other methods may check the disease we complain of, but 
 this, if it might imiversally obtain, would cure it. Salt 
 must be cast into these springs, and then the waters would 
 be healed. 
 
 Many a time, no doubt, you have been urged to this 
 part of your duty ; many a good sermon perhaps you 
 have heard, and many a good book has been put into 
 your hands with this design, to persuade you to keep up 
 religion in your families, and to assist yon therein : but 
 I hope a further attempt to advance this good work, by 
 one who is a hearty wellwisher to it, and to the pros- 
 perity of your souls and families, will not be thought 
 altogether needless, and that by the grace of God it will 
 not be wholly fruitless : at least it will serve to remind 
 you of what you have receive! and heard to this pur 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 219 
 
 pose, that you may hold fast what is good, and repent 
 of what is amiss, Rev. iii. 3. 
 
 The lesson then which I would recommend to you from 
 this text, is this ; 
 
 That the families of Christians should be little churches ; 
 or thus, That wherever we have a house, God should 
 have a church in it. 
 
 Unhappy contests there have been, and still are, among 
 wise and good men about the constitution, order, and 
 government of churches. God by his grace heal these 
 breaches, lead us into all truth, and dispose our minds 
 to love and peace ; that while we endeavour herein to walk 
 according to the light God has given us, we may charitably 
 believe that others do so too ; longing to be there where we 
 shall be all of a mind. 
 
 But I am now speaking of churches concerning which 
 there is no controversy. All agree that masters of families 
 who profess religion and the fear of God themselves, 
 should, according to the talents they are intrusted with, 
 maintain and keep up religion and the fear of God in their 
 families, as those who must give account ; and that families, 
 as such, should contribute to the support of Christianity 
 in a nation, whose honour and happiness it is to be a 
 Christian nation. As nature makes families little king- 
 doms, and perhaps economics were the first and most 
 ancient politics, so grace makes families little churches ; 
 and those were the primitive churches of the Old Testament, 
 before " men began to call upon the name of the Lord" in 
 solemn assemblies, and " the sons of God came together 
 to present themselves" before him. 
 
 Not that I would have these family churches set up and 
 kept up in competition with, much less in contradiction to, 
 public religious assemblies, which ought always to have the 
 preference : " The Lord loves the gates of Sion more than 
 all the dwellings of Jacob," Ps. lxxxvii. 2, and so must we ; 
 and must not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, 
 under colour of exhorting one another daily at home. Far 
 be it from us to offer any thing that may countenance the 
 
A CHTRCH I2T THE HOUSE. 
 
 invading of the office of the ministry, or laying it in com- 
 mon, and the usurping or superseding of the administration 
 of sacraments. No, but these family churches, wnich are 
 but figuratively so, must be erected and maintained in 
 subordination to those more sacred and solemn establish- 
 ments. 
 
 Now. that I may the more distinctly open to you, and 
 press upon you, this great duty of family religion, from the 
 example of this and other texts, of a "church in the 
 house/* I shall endeavour, I. To show what this church in 
 the house is, and when our families may be called churches. 
 And. II. To persuade you by some motives thus to turn 
 your families into churches. And then, III. To address 
 you upon the whole matter by way of application. 
 
 I. I am in the first place to tell you what that family 
 religion is which will be as a church in the house, and 
 wherein it consists, that you may see what it is we are per- 
 suading you to. 
 
 Churches are sacred societies, incorporated for the honour 
 and service of God in Christ, devoted to God, and employed 
 for him ; so should our families be. 
 
 1. Churches are societies devoted to God. called out of the 
 world, taken in out of the common to be enclosures for God ; 
 he has set them apart for himself : and because he hath 
 chosen them, they also have chosen him. and set themselves 
 apart for him. The Jewish church was separated to God 
 for a a peculiar people, a kingdom of priests." 
 
 Thus our houses must be churches ; with ourselves we 
 must give up our houses to the Lord, to be to him for a 
 name and a people. All the interest we have, both in our 
 relatiuns and in our possessions, must be consecrated to God ; 
 as under the law all that the servant had was his master's 
 for ever, after he had consented to have his ear bored to the 
 door-pcs:. When God effectually called Abram cut of Ur of 
 the Chaldees. his family assumed the appearance of a par- 
 ticular church ; for, in obedience to God's precept, ai d in 
 dependence on God's promise, they took all the substance 
 they had gathered, and the souls they had gotten, and put 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 221 
 
 themselves and their all under a divine conduct and govern- 
 ment, Gen. xii. 5. His was a great family, not only 
 numerous, but very considerable ; the father of it was the 
 father of all them that believe ; but even little families, 
 jointly and entirely given up to God, so become churches. 
 When all the members of the family yield themselves to 
 God, subscribe with their hands to be the Lord's, and sur- 
 name themselves by the name of Israel, — and the master of 
 the family, with himself, gives up all his right, title, and 
 interest, in his house, and all that belongs to it, unto God, 
 to be used for him, and disposed of by him ; here is a 
 church in the house. 
 
 Baptism was ordained for the discipline of nations, Matt, 
 xxviii. 19, that the kingdoms of the world, as such, might, 
 by their conversion of the people to the faith of Christ, and 
 the consecration of their powers and governments to the 
 honour of Christ, become his kingdoms, Rev. xi. 15. Thus 
 by baptism bouseholds likewise are discipled, as Lydia's and 
 the jailer's, Acts xvi. 15, 33, and in their family capacity 
 are given up to him who is in a particular manner the 
 God of all the families of Israel, Jer. xxxi. 1. Circumcision 
 was at first a family ordinance, and in that particular, 
 as well as others, baptism somewhat symbolizes with it. 
 When the children of Christian parents are by baptism ad- 
 mitted members of the universal church, as their right to 
 baptism is grounded upon, so their communion with the 
 universal church is, during their infancy, maintained and 
 kept up chiefly by their immediate relation to these 
 " churches in the house ;" to them, therefore, they are, 
 first, given back, and in them they are deposited, — under 
 the tuition of them, to be trained up till they become 
 capable of a place and a name in particular churches of 
 larger figure and extent. So that baptized families, who 
 own their baptism, and adhere to it, and in their joint and 
 relative capacity make profession of the Christian faith, may 
 so far be called little churches. 
 
 More than once in the Old Testament we read of the 
 dedication of private houses. It is spoken of as a common 
 
222 
 
 A CHURCH a THE HOUSE. 
 
 practice. Dent. xx. 5, " What man is there that hath built 
 a new house, and hath not dedicated it ? " that is, taken 
 possession of it; in the doing of which it was usual to 
 dedicate it to God by some solemn acts of religious worship. 
 The 30th Psalm is entitled, " A Psalm or Song at the 
 Dedication of the house of David."' It is a good thing 
 when a man has a house of his own, thus to convert it into 
 a church, by dedicating it to the service and honour of God, 
 that it may be a Bethel, a house of God, and not a Bethaven, 
 a house of vanity and iniquity. Every good Christian who 
 is a householder no doubt does this habitually and virtually ; 
 having first given his own self to the Lord, he freely sur- 
 renders all he has to him : but it may be of good use to 
 do it actually and expressly, and often to repeat this act of 
 resignation ; a This stone winch I have set for a pillar shall 
 be God's house," Gen. xxviii. 22. Let all I have in my 
 house, and all I do in it, be for the glory of God; I own 
 him to be my great Landlord, and I hold all from and under 
 him ; to him I promise to pay the rents, the quit rents, of 
 daily praises and thanksgivings ; and to do the services, the 
 easy services, of gospel obedience. Let " Holiness to the 
 Lord" be written upon the house, and all the furniture of 
 it, according to the word which God has spoken. Zech. xiv. 
 20, 21, that '* every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be 
 Holiness to the Lord of Hosts." Let God by his providence 
 dispose of the affairs of my family, and by his grace dispose 
 the aflectiona of all in my family, according to his will, to 
 his own praise. Let me and mine be only, wholly, and for 
 ever his. 
 
 Be persuaded, brethren, thus to dedicate your houses to God, 
 and beg of him to come and take possession of them. If you 
 never did it, do it to-night with all possible seriousness and 
 sincerity. K Lift up your heads. 0 ye gates, and be ye lift 
 up ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come 
 in." Bring the ark of the Lord into the tent you have 
 pitched, and oblige yourselves, and all yours, to attend 
 it. Look upon your houses as temples for God, places 
 for worship, and all your possessions as dedicated things, to 
 
A OEVfLGH IH THE HOUSE. 
 
 223 
 
 be used for God's honour, and not to be alienated or pro- 
 faned. 
 
 2. Churches are societies employed for God, pursuant to 
 the true intent and meaning of this dedication. 
 
 There are three things necessary to the well-being of a 
 church, and which are most considerable in the constitution 
 of it. Those are doctrine, worslnp, and discipline. Where 
 the truths of Christ are professed and taught, the ordinances 
 of Christ administered and observed, and due care taken to 
 put the laws of Christ in execution among all who profess 
 themselves his subjects, and this under the conduct and 
 inspection of a gospel ministry ; there is a church. And 
 something answerable hereunto there must be in our 
 families, to denominate them little churches. 
 
 Masters of families, who preside in the other affairs of 
 the house, must go before their households in the things of 
 God. They must be as prophets, priests, and kings, in their 
 own families ; and as such they must keep up family doc- 
 trine, family worship, and family discipline ; then is there 
 a church in the house, and this is the family religion that I 
 am persuading you to. 
 
 (1.) Keep up family doctrine. It is not enough that you 
 and yours are baptized into the Christian faith, and profess 
 to own the truth as it is in Jesus, but care must be taken, 
 and means used, that you and yours be well acquainted with 
 that truth, and that you grow in that acquaintance, to the 
 honour of Christ and his holy religion, and the improve- 
 ment of your own minds, and theirs who are under your 
 charge. You must deal with your families "as men of 
 knowledge," 1 Pet. iii. 7, that is, as men who desire to grow 
 in knowledge yourselves, and to communicate your know- 
 ledge for the benefit of others, which are the two good 
 properties of those who deserve to be called "men of 
 knowledge." 
 
 That you may keep up family doctrine, 
 
 [1.] You must read the Scriptures to your families, in a 
 solemn manner, requiring their attendance on your reading, 
 and their attention to it ; and inquiring sometimes whether 
 
224 
 
 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 they understand what you read. I hope you are none, of 
 you without Bibles in your houses, store of Bibles, every 
 one a Bible. Thanks be to God we have them cheap and 
 common in a language that we understand. The book of 
 the law is not such a rarity with us as it was in Josiah's 
 time. We need not fetch tliis knowledge from afar, nor 
 send from sea to sea, and froni the river to the ends of the 
 earth, to seek the word of God ; no, the Word is nigh us. 
 When Popery reigned in our land English Bibles were 
 scarce things; a load of hay, it is said, was once given for 
 one torn leaf of a Bible. But now Bibles are every one's 
 money. You know where to buy them j or if not able to 
 do that, perhaps in this charitable city you may know where 
 to beg them. It is better to be without bread in your 
 houses than without Bibles, for the words of God's mouth 
 are and should be to you more than your necessary food. 
 
 But what will it avail you to have Bibles in your houses 
 if you do not use them ? to have the great things of God's 
 law and gospel written to you, if you count them as a 
 '* strange thing?" You look daily into your shop-books, 
 and perhaps converse much with the news-books, and shall 
 your Bibles be thrown by as an almanac out of date ? It 
 is not now penal to read the Scriptures in your families, as 
 it was in the dawning of the day of reformation from 
 Popery, when there were those who were accused and pro- 
 secuted for reading in a certain great heretical book, called 
 an Knglis^ Bible. The Philistines do not now stop up these 
 wells, as Gen. xxvi. IS, nor do the shepherds drive away 
 your llocks from them, as Exod. ii. 17, nor are they as a 
 spring shut up, or a fountain sealed ; but the gifts given to 
 men have been happily employed in rolling away the 
 stone from the mouth of these wells. You have great 
 Encouragements to read the Scripture ; for notwithstanding 
 the malicious endeavours of atheists to vilify sacred things, 
 the knowledge of the Scripture is still in reputation with 
 all wise and good men. You have also a variety of ex- 
 cellent helps to understand the Scripture, and to improve 
 your reading of it ; so that if you or yours perish for lack 
 
A CHURCn IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 225 
 
 of this knowledge, as you certainly will if you persist in the 
 neglect of it, you may thank yourselves, the guilt will lie 
 wholly at your own doors. 
 
 Let me, therefore, with all earnestness press it upon you 
 to make the solemn reading of the Scripture a part of your 
 daily worship in your families. When you speak to God 
 by prayer, be willing to hear him speak to you in his 
 word, that there may be a complete communion between 
 you and God. This will add much to the solemnity of 
 your family worship, and will make the transaction the 
 more awful and serious, if it be done in a right manner ; 
 which will conduce much to the honour of God, and your 
 own and your family's edification. It will help to make 
 the word of God familiar to yourselves, and your children 
 and servants, that you may be ready and mighty in the 
 Scriptures, and may thence be thoroughly furnished for 
 eveiy good word and work. It will likewise furnish you 
 with matter and words for prayer, and so be helpful to 
 you in other parts of the service. If some parts of Scrip- 
 ture seem less edifying, let those be most frequently read 
 that are most so. David's psalms are of daily use in 
 devotion, and Solomon's proverbs in conversation ; it will 
 be greatly to your advantage to be well ve^ed in them. 
 And I hope I need not press any Christian to the study 
 of the New Testament, nor any Christian parents to the 
 frequent instructing of their children in the pleasant and 
 profitable histories of the Old Testament. When you only 
 hear your children read the Bible, they are tempted to 
 look upon it as no more than a school-book ; but when they 
 hear you read it to them in a solemn, religious manner, 
 it comes, as it ought, with more authority. Those mas- 
 ters of families who make conscience of doing this daily, 
 morning and evening, reckoning it part of that which the 
 duty of every day requires, I am sure they have comfort 
 and satisfaction in so doing, and find it contributes much 
 to their own improvement in Christian knowledge, and 
 the edification of those who dwell under their shadow; 
 and the more, if those who arc ministers expound, them- 
 
 p 
 
226 
 
 A CHURCH I>* THE HOUSE. 
 
 selves, and other masters of families read some plain and 
 profitable exposition of what is read, or of some part of it. 
 
 It is easy to add under this head, that the seasonable 
 reading of other good books will contribute very much to 
 family instruction. In helps of this kind we are as happy 
 as any people under the sun. if we have but hearts to use 
 the helps we have, as those who must give an account 
 shortly of them among other talents which we are intrusted 
 with. 
 
 [2.] You must also catechise your children and servants, 
 so long as they continue in that age of life which needs this 
 ''milk."' Oblige them to learn some good catechism by 
 heart, and to keep it in remembrance ; and by familiar dis- 
 course with them help them to understand it, as they 
 become capable. It is an excellent method of catechising 
 which God himself directs us to, Deut. vi. 7, to teach our 
 children the tilings of God, by talking of them as we sit in 
 the house, and go by the way, when we lie down, and when 
 we rise up. It is good to keep up stated times for this 
 service, and be constant to them, as those who know how 
 industrious the enemy is to sow tares while men sleep. If 
 this good work be not kept going forward, it will of itself 
 go backward. Wisdom also will direct you to manage your 
 catechising, as well as the other branches of family religion, 
 so as not to make it a task and burthen, but as much as 
 may be a pleasure to those under your charge, that the 
 blame may lie wholly upon then- own impiety, and not at all 
 upon your imprudence, if they should say, " Behold what a 
 weariness is it ! " 
 
 This way of instruction by catechising does in a special 
 manner belong to the " church in the house for that is 
 the nursery in which the trees of righteousness are reared, 
 that afterwards are planted in the courts of our God. Pub- 
 lic catechising will turn to little account without family 
 catechising. The labour of ministers in instructing youth, 
 and feeding the lambs of the flock, therefore, proves to many 
 labour in vain, because masters of families do not do their 
 duty in preparing them for public instruction, and examin- 
 
A CHUKCil l.V THE ItfOUSi:. 
 
 227 
 
 ing their improvement by it. As mothers are children's 
 best nurses, so parents are, or should be, their best teachers. 
 Solomon's father was his tutor, Prov. iv. 3, 4, and he never 
 forgot the lessons his mother taught him, Prov. xxxi. 1. 
 
 The baptism of your children, as it laid a strong and 
 lasting obligation on them to live in the fear of God, so it 
 brought you under the most powerful engagements imagin- 
 able to bring them up in that fear. The child you gave 
 up to God to be dedicated to him, and admitted a mem- 
 ber of Christ's visible church, was in God's name given 
 back to you, with the same charge that Pharaoh's daughter 
 gave to Moses's mother, "Take this child and nurse it 
 for me;" and in nursing it for God you nurse it for 
 better preferment than that of being called the son of 
 Pharaoh's daughter. It is worth observing, that he to 
 whom God first did the honour of entailing the seal of 
 the covenant upon his seed, was eminent for this part of 
 family religion: "I know Abraham," says God, "that he 
 will command his children and his household after him 
 to keep the way of the Lord," Gen. xviii. 19. Those, 
 therefore, who would have the comfort of God's covenant 
 with them and their seed, a ad would share in that blessing 
 of Abraham which comes upon the Gentiles, must herein 
 follow the example of faithful Abraham. The entail of the 
 covenant of grace is forfeited and cut off, if care be not 
 taken, with it, to transmit the means of grace. To what 
 purpose were they discipled if they be not taught 1 Why 
 did you give them a Christian name, if you will not give 
 them the knowledge of Christ and Christianity ? God has 
 owned them as his children, and born unto him, Ezek. xvi. 
 20, and therefore he expects that they should be brought 
 up for him; you are unjust to your God, unkind to your 
 children, and unfaithful to your trust, if, having by baptism 
 entered your children in Christ's school, and enlisted them 
 under his banner, you do not make conscience of training 
 them up in the learning of Christ's scholars, and under the 
 discipline of his suluiers. 
 
 Consider what your children are now capable of, even in 
 
228 
 
 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 the days of their childhood. They are capable of receiving 
 impressions now which may abide upon them while they 
 live ; they are turned as clay to the seal, and now is the 
 time to apply to them the seal of the living God. They 
 are capable of honouring God now, if they be well taught ; 
 and by their joining, as they can, in religious services 
 with so much reverence and application as their age will 
 admit, God is honoured, and you in them present to him 
 living sacrifices, holy and acceptable. The Hosannas even 
 of children well taught will be the perfection of praise, and 
 highly pleasing to the Lord Jesus. 
 
 Consider what your childien are designed for, we hope, 
 in this world ; they must be a seed to serve the Lord, which 
 shall be accounted to him for a generation. They are 
 to bear up the name of Christ in their day, and into 
 their hands must be transmitted that good thing which is 
 committed to us. They are to be praising God on earth, 
 when we are praising him in heaven. Let them then 
 be brought up accordingly, that they may answer the end 
 of their birth and being. They are designed for the 
 service of their generation, and to do good in their day. 
 Consult the public Aveliare then, and let nothing be wanting 
 on your parts to qualify them for usefulness, according as 
 their place and capacity is. 
 
 Consider especially what they are designed for in another 
 world : they are made for eternity. Every child thou hast 
 has a precious and immortal soul, that must be for ever 
 either in heaven or hell, according as it is prepared in this 
 present state ; and, prehaps, it must remove to that world of 
 spirits very shortly: and will it not be very mournful, i£ 
 through your carelessness and neglect, your children should 
 It-am the ways of sin, and perish eternally in those ways ? 
 Give them warning, that, if possible, you may deliver their 
 souls, at least, that you may deliver your own, and may not 
 bring their curse and God's too, their blood and your own 
 too, upon your heads. 
 
 I know you cannot give grace to your children, nor is a 
 religious conversation the constant consequent of a religious 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 229 
 
 education ; " The race is not always to the swift, nor the 
 battle to the strong :" but if you make conscience of doing 
 your duty, by keeping up family doctrine ; if you teach them 
 the good and the right way, and warn them of by-paths ; i£ 
 you reprove, exhort, and encourage them as there is occa- 
 sion ; if you pray with them, and for them, and set them a 
 good example, and at last consult their souls welfare in the 
 disposal of them, you have done your part, and may com- 
 fortably leave the issue and success with God. 
 
 (2.) Keep up family worship. You must not only as 
 prophets teach your families, but as priest must go before 
 them, in offering the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise. 
 Herein likewise you must tread in the steps of faithful Abra- 
 ham; whose sons you are while thus you do dwell; you 
 must not only like him instruct your household, but like 
 him you must with them call on the name of the Lord, the 
 everlasting God, Gen. xxi. 33. Wherever he pitched his tent, 
 there he built an altar unto the Lord, Gen. xii. 7, 8 ; xiii. 4, 
 18, though he was yet in an unsettled state, but a stranger 
 and a sojourner; though he was among jealous and envious 
 neighbours, for the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then 
 in the land,- yet, wherever Abraham had a tent God had an 
 altar in it, and he himself served at that altar. Herein he 
 has left us an example. 
 
 Families, as such, have many errands at the throne of 
 grace, which furnish them with matter and occasion for 
 family prayer every day ; errands which cannot be done so 
 well in secret, or public, but are fittest to be done by the 
 family, in consort, and apart from other familes. And it is 
 good for those who go before the rest in family devotions, 
 ordinarily to dwell most upon the concerns of those who 
 join in their family capacity, that it may be indeed a family 
 prayer, not only offered up in and by the family, but suited 
 to it. In this and other services we should endeavour not 
 only to say something, but something to the purpose. 
 
 Five things especially you should have upon your heart in 
 your family prayer, and should endeavour to bring something 
 of each, more or less, into every prayer with your families. 
 
A CITBACH I* THE HOFEE. 
 
 [l.j Yon ought to make family acknowledgments of tout 
 dependence upon Gtad and his providence, as yon are a 
 fwaily. Our great business in all acts of religions •worship, 
 is to give xmto the Lord the glory dne unto his name ; and 
 this we must do in our family worship. Give honour to 
 God as the founder of families by his ordinance, because " it 
 was not good for man to be alone ;"" as the founder of your 
 families by his providence, for he it is " who buildeth the 
 house, and setteth the solitary in families." Give honour 
 to hrm as the Owner and Ruler of families ; acknowledge 
 that you and yours are his, under his government, and at 
 his disposal, " as the sheep of his pasture." Especially adore 
 him as the u God of all the families of Israel, 7 " in covenant 
 relation to them, and having a particular concern for them 
 above others, Jer. xxxi 1. Give honour to the great Redeemer 
 as the head of all the churches, even those in your houses ; 
 call him the Master of the family, and the great upholder 
 and benefactor of it ; for he it is in whom all the families 
 of the earth are blessed, Gen. xii. 3. AH family blessings 
 are owing to Christ, and come to us through his hand by 
 his blood: Own your dependence upon God, and your obli- 
 gations to Christ, for all good things pertaining both to life 
 and godliness ; and make conscience of paying homage to 
 your chief Lord, and never set up a title to any of your en- 
 joyments in competition with his. 
 
 [£.] You ought to make family confessions of your sins 
 against God ; those sins you have contracted the guilt of in 
 your family capacity. We read in Scripture of the "iniquity 
 of the house," as of Eli's, 1 Sam. iii. 13, 14. Iniquity 
 visited upon the children ; sins that bring wrath upon 
 families, and a curse that enters into ihe house to consume 
 it. with the timber thereof, and the stones thereof, Zech. v. 
 4. How sad is the condition of those -families who nn 
 together, and never pray together ! who. by concurring in 
 frauds, quarrels, and excesses, by strengthening one another"*, 
 hands in impiety and profaneness. fill the measure of family 
 guilt, and never agree together to do any thing to empty it ! 
 And e~en religious families, that are not polluted .vitb 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 231 
 
 gross and scandalous sins, yet have need to join every day 
 in solemn acts and expressions of repentance before God for 
 their sins of daily infirmity. Their vain words and unprofit- 
 able conversation among themselves ; their manifold de- 
 fects in relative duties, provoking one another's lusts and 
 passions, instead of provoking one another ■ to love and to 
 good works : these ought to be confessed and bewailed by 
 the family together, that God may be glorified, and what 
 has been amiss may be amended for the future. It was not 
 only in a time of great and extraordinary repentance that 
 families mourned apart, Zech. xii. 11, but in the stated 
 returns of the day of expiation the priest was particularly 
 to make atonement for his household, Lev. xvi. 17. In 
 many things we, all, offend God, and one another ; and a 
 penitent confession of it in prayer together, will be the most 
 effectual way of reconciling ourselves both to God and to 
 one another. The best families, and those in which piety 
 and love prevail most, yet in many things come short, and 
 do enough every day to bring them upon their knees at 
 night. 
 
 [3.] You ought to offer up family thanksgivings for the 
 blessings which you, with your families, receive from God. 
 Many are the mercies which you enjoy the sweetness and 
 benefit of in common ; which if wanting to one, all the 
 family would be sensible of it. Has not God made a hedge 
 of protection about you and your houses, and all that you 
 have ? Job i. 10. Has he not created a defence upon 
 every " dwelling place" of Mount Zion, as well as upon 
 her assemblies 1 Isa. iv. 5. The dreadful alarms of a 
 storm, and the desolations made, as by a fire, once in an 
 age, should make us sensible of our obligations to the 
 Divine Providence for our preservation from tempests and 
 fire every day and every night. " It is of the Lord's mer- 
 cies that we are not consumed," and buried in the ruins of 
 our houses. When the whole family comes together safe in the 
 morning from their respective retirements, and when they 
 return safe at night from their respective employments, there 
 having been no disaster, no "adversary," no evil occurrence, 
 
232 
 
 A CHURCH LN THE HOUSE. 
 
 — it is so reasonable, and as I may say, so natural, for them 
 to join together in solemn thanksgivings to their great 
 Protector, that I wonder how any who believe in a God, and 
 a providence, can omit it. Have you not health in your 
 family, sickness kept or taken from the midst of you ? Does 
 not God bring plentifully into your hands, and increase your 
 substance ? Have you not your table spread, and your 
 cup running over, and manna rained about your tents ? and 
 does not the whole family share in the comfort of all this ? 
 Shall not then the voice of thanksgiving be in those taber- 
 nacles where the voice of rejoicing is? Ps. cxviii. 15. Is 
 the vine by the house-side fruitful and flourishing, and the 
 olive plants round the table green and growing ? Are 
 family relations comfortable and agreeable, not broken or 
 imbittered, and shall not that God be acknowledged herein 
 who makes every creature to be that to us that it is ? Shall 
 not the God of your mercies, your family mercies, be the 
 God of your praises, your family praises, and that daily ? 
 
 The benefit and honour of your being Christian families, 
 your having in God's house, and within Ins walls, a place 
 and a name better than that of sons and daughters, and the 
 salvation this brings to your house, furnishes you with 
 abundant matter for joint thanksgivings. " You hath he 
 known above all the families of the earth," and, therefore, 
 he expects in a special manner to be owned by you. Of all 
 houses, the house of Israel, the house of Aaron, and the 
 house of Levi, have most reason to bless the Lord, and to 
 say, " His mercy endureth for ever." 
 
 [4.] You ought to present your family petitions for the 
 mercy and grace which your families stand in need of. 
 Daily bread is received by families together, and we are 
 taught not only to pray for it every day, but to pray 
 together for it, saying, " Our Father," give it "us." There 
 are affairs and employments which the family is jointly 
 concerned in the success of, and, therefore, should jointly 
 ask of God wisdom for the management of them, and pros- 
 perity therein. There are family cares to be cast upon God 
 by prayer, family comforts to be sought for, and family 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 233 
 
 crosses which they should together beg for the sanctitication 
 and removal of. Hereby your children will be more effec- 
 tually possessed with a belief of, and regard to, the Divine 
 Providence, than by all the instructions you can give them ; 
 which will look best in their eye when thus reduced to 
 practice, by your daily acknowledging God in all your ways. 
 
 You desire that God will give wisdom and grace to your 
 children, you " travail in birth again till you see Christ 
 formed in them," you pray for them ; it is well, but it is 
 not enough ; you must pray with them ; let them hear you 
 pray to God for a blessing upon the good instructions and 
 counsels you give them ; it may perhaps put them upon 
 praying for themselves, and increase their esteem both of 
 you, and of the good lessons you teach them. You would 
 have your servants diligent and faithful, and this perhaps 
 would help to make them so. Masters do not give to their 
 servants that which is just and equal if they do not con- 
 tinue in prayer with them. They are put together, Col. iv.l, 2. 
 
 There are some temptations which families, as such, lie 
 open to. Busy families are in temptation to worldliness, and 
 neglect of religious duties ; mixed families are in temptation 
 to discord, and mutual jealousies; decaying families are in 
 temptation to distrust, discontent, and indirect courses to 
 help themselves ; they should therefore not only watch, but 
 pray together, that they be not overcome by the temptations 
 they are exposed to. 
 
 There are family blessings which God has promised, and 
 for which he will be sought unto, such as those on the 
 house of Obed-edom for " the ark's sake ; " or the mercy 
 which St. Paul begs for the house of Oncsiphorus, 2 Tim. 
 i. 16. These joint blessings must be sued out by joint 
 prayers. There is a special blessing which God commands 
 upon families that dwell together in unity, Ps. exxxiii. 1, 3, 
 which they must seek for by prayer, and come together to 
 seek for it, in token of that unity which qualifies for it.- 
 Where God commands the blessing, we must beg the bless- 
 ing. God by promise blesses David's house, and, therefore, 
 David by prayer blesses it too, 2 Sam. vi. 20. 
 
234 
 
 A CHURCH IN THE HOUBJB. 
 
 [5.] You ought to make family intercessions for others 
 also. There are families you stand related to, or which by 
 neighbourhood, friendship, or acquaintance, you become 
 interested in and concerned for ; and these you should recom- 
 mend in your prayers to the grace of God, and your family 
 that are joined with you in the alliances should join with 
 you in those prayers. Evil tidings perhaps are received 
 from relations at a distance, which are the grief of the 
 family ; God must then be sought unto by the family for 
 succour and deliverance. Some of the branches of the 
 family are, perhaps, in distant countries, and in dangerous 
 circumstances, and you are solicitous about them ; it will 
 be a comfort to yourselves, and perhaps of advantage to 
 them, to make mention of them daily in your family 
 prayers. The benefit of prayer will reach far, because he 
 who hears prayer can extend his hand of power and mercy 
 to the utmost corners of the eartn, and to them that are 
 afar off upon the sea. 
 
 In the public peace likewise we and our families have 
 peace ; and therefore, if we forget thee, 0 J erusalem, we 
 are unworthy ever to stand in thy courts, or dwell within 
 thy walls. Our families should be witnesses for us that 
 we pray daily for the land of our nativity, and the pro- 
 sperity of all its interests; that praying eveiy where we 
 make supplication for the Queen, and all in authority, 
 1 Tim. ii. 2, 8. That we bear upon our hearts the con- 
 cerns of God's church abroad, especially the suffering parts 
 of it. Thus keeping up a spiritual communion with all 
 the families that in every place call on the name of the 
 Lord Jesus. 
 
 In a word, let us go by this rule in our family devo- 
 tions; whatever is the matter of our care, let it be the 
 matter of our prayer; and let us allow no care which 
 we cannot in faith spread before God. And whatever is 
 the matter of our rejoicing, let it be the matter of our 
 thanksgiving ; and let us withold our hearts from all those 
 joys which do not dispose us for the duty of praise. 
 
 Under this head of family worship. I must not omiv tc 
 
A CHUK( id IX THE LioUSE. 
 
 235 
 
 recommend to you the singing of psalms in your families, 
 as a part of daily worship, especially sabbath worship. 
 This is a part of religious worship which participates both 
 of the word and prayer ; for therein we are not only to 
 give glory to God, but to teach and admonish one another; 
 it is, therefore, very proper to make it a transition from the 
 one to the other. It will warm and quicken you, refresh 
 and comfort you ; and, perhaps, if you have little children 
 in your houses, they will sooner take notice of it than 
 of any other part of your family devotion ; and some good 
 impressions may thereby be fastened upon them insensibly. 
 
 (3.) Keep up family discipline, that so you may have a 
 complete church in your house, though in little. Reason 
 teaches us that every man should bear rule in his own 
 house, Esth. i. 22. And since that as well as other power 
 is of God, it ought to be employed for God; and they 
 who so rule must be just, ruling in his fear. Joshua 
 looked further than the acts of religious worship when 
 he made that pious resolution, "As for me and my house 
 we will serve the Lord," Josh. xxiv. 16. For we do not 
 serve him in sincerity and truth, which is the service he 
 there speaks of, ver. 14, if we and ours serve him only on 
 our knees, and do not take care to serve him in all the 
 instances of a religious conversation. Those only who have 
 clean hands, and a pure heart, are accounted the genera- 
 tion of them that seek God, Ps. xxiv. 4, 6. And without 
 this those who pretend to seek God daily, do but mock 
 him, Isa. lviii. 2. 
 
 The authority God has given you over your children 
 and servants is principally designed for this end, that you 
 may thereby engage them for God " and godliness. If you 
 use it only to oblige them to do your will, and so to serve 
 your pride ; and to do your business, and so to serve your 
 wm'ldliness; you do not answer the great end of your 
 being invested with it; you must use it for God's honour, 
 by it to engage them, as far as you can, to do the will 
 of God, and mind the business of religion. Holy David 
 not only blessed his household, but took care to keep good 
 
236 
 
 A CHUKCH IB THE HOUSE. 
 
 order in it. as appears by that piac of his family discipline, 
 which we have in the 101st Psalm, a psalm which Mr. 
 Fox tells us that blessed many Bishop Ridley often read 
 to his family, as the rule by which he resolved to govern it. 
 
 You are made keepers of the vineyard, be faithful to 
 your trust, and carefully watch over those who are under 
 your charge, knowing you must give account. 
 
 [1.] Countenance every thing that is good and praise- 
 worthy in your children and servants. It is as much your 
 duty to commend and encourage those in your family 
 who do well, as to reprove and admonish these who do 
 amiss : and if you take delight only in blaming that which 
 is culpable, and are backward to praise that which is 
 laudable, you give occasion to suspect something of an ill 
 nature, not becoming a good man, much less a good Chris- 
 tian. It should be a trouble to us when we have a reproof 
 to give, but a pleasure to us to say, with the apostle, 1 
 Cor. xi. 2. Xow I praise you." 
 
 Most people will be easier led than driven, and we all 
 love to be spoken fair to : when you see anything that is 
 hopeful and promising in your inferiors, anything of a 
 towardly and tractable disposition, much more anything of 
 a pious affection to the things of God. you should contrive 
 to encourage it. Smile ujen them when you see them 
 set their faces heavenwards, and take the first opportunity 
 to let them know you ohseiv,. it. and are well pleased with 
 it and do ne t despise the day of small things. This will 
 quicken them to continue and abound in that which is good, 
 it will hearten them against the difficulties they see in their 
 way; and, perhaps, may turn the wavering, trembling scale 
 the right way. and effectually deteimine their resolutions 
 to cleave to the Lc>rd. W hen you see them forward to 
 come to family worship, attentive to the word, devout in 
 prayer, industrious to get kn- wiedge, afraid of sin, end 
 careful to do their duty, let them have the j raise of it, for 
 you have the comfort of it, and God must have all the 
 glory. Draw them with the cords of a man. hold them 
 with the bands of love; so shall your rebukes, when they 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 237 
 
 are necessary, be the more acceptable and effectual. The 
 great Shepherd gathers the lambs in his arms, and carries 
 them in his bosom, and gently leads them ; and so should 
 you. 
 
 [2.] Discountenance every thing that is evil in your 
 children and servants. Use your authority for the prevent- 
 ing of sin, and the suppressing of every root of bitterness, 
 lest it spring up, and trouble you, and thereby many be 
 defiled. Frown upon every thing that brings sin into your 
 families, and introduces any ill words, or ill practices. 
 Pride and passion, strife and contention, idleness and intem- 
 perance, lying and slandering ; these are sins which you 
 must not connive at, nor suffer to go without a rebuke. If 
 you return to the Almighty, this among other things is 
 required of you, that you " put away iniquity," all iniquity, 
 these and other the like iniquities, ' f far from your taberna- 
 cle," Job xxii. 23. Make it to appear, that in the govern- 
 ment of your families you are more jealous for God's 
 honour, than for your own authority and interest ; and show 
 yourselves more displeased at that which is an offence to 
 God, than at that which is only an affront or damage to 
 yourselves. 
 
 You must indeed be careful not to provoke your children 
 to wrath, lest they be discouraged ; and as to your servants, 
 it is your duty to "forbear, or moderate, threatening:" yet 
 you must also, with holy zeal and resolution, and the meek- 
 ness of wisdom, keep good order in your families, and set 
 no wicked thing before their eyes, but witness against it. 
 " A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Be afraid of 
 having wicked servants in your houses, lest your children 
 learn their way, and get a snare to their souls. Drive away 
 with an angry countenance all that evil communication 
 which corrupt good manners, that your houses may be 
 habitations of righteousness, and sin may never find shelter 
 in them. 
 
 I come now, II. to offer some motives to persuade you 
 thus to turn your families into little churches. And oh 
 that I could find out acceptable words with which to reason 
 
238 
 
 A CHURCH IN THE nOUSE. 
 
 with you, so as to prevail ! " Suffer me a little, and I will 
 show you" what is to be said "on God's behalf," which is 
 worth your consideration. 
 
 I. If your families be little churches, God will come to 
 you, and dwell with you in them ; for he has said concern- 
 ing the church, "This is my rest for ever, here will I dwell." 
 It is a very desirable thing to have the gracious presence of 
 God with us in our families, that presence which is promised 
 where two or three are gathered together in his name. This 
 was it that David was so desirious of, Ps. ci. 2, "0 when 
 wilt thou come unto me !" His palace, his court, would be 
 as a prison, as a dungeon to him, if God did not come to 
 him, and dwell with him in it; and cannot your hearts 
 witness to this desire, you who have houses of your own, 
 would you not have God come to you, and dwell with you in 
 them 1 Invite him then, beg his presence, court his stay. 
 Nay, he invites himself to your houses by the offers of his 
 favour and grace; "Behold he stands at your door and knocks:" 
 it is the voice of your beloved, open to him, and bid him 
 welcome; meet him with your "Hosannas, blessed is he 
 that cometh," He comes peaceably, he brings a blessing 
 with him, a blessing which he will cause to rest upon the 
 habitations of the righteous, Ezek. xliv. 30* He will com- 
 mand a blessing, which shall amount to no less than "life 
 for evermore," Ps. exxxiii. 3. This presence and blessing 
 of God will make your relations comfortable, your affairs 
 successful, your enjoyments sweet; and behold, by it all 
 things are made clean to you. This will make your family 
 comforts double comforts, and your family crosses but half 
 crosses ; it will turn a tent into a temple, a cottage into a 
 palace. "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth," 
 are the houses in which God dwells. 
 
 Now the way to have God's presence with you in your 
 houses, is to furnish them for his entertainment. Thus the 
 good Shunammite invited the prophet Elisha to the chamber 
 she had prepared for him, by accommodating him there with 
 a bed and a table, a stool and a candlestick, 2 Kings iv. 10 
 Would you funush your houses for the presence of God, i f 
 
A CHURCH IS THE HOUSE. 
 
 239 
 
 is not expected that you furnish them as his tabernacle was 
 of old furnished, with blue, and purple, and scarlet, and 
 fine linen; but set up and keep up for him a throne and an 
 altar, that from the altar you and yours may give glory to 
 him, and from the throne he may give law to you and yours; 
 and then you may be sure of his presence and blessing, and 
 may solace yourselves from day to day in the comfort of it. 
 God will be with you in a way of mercy while you are with 
 him in a way of duty ; " If you seek him he will be found 
 of you." The secret of God shall be in your tabernacle, as 
 it was in Job's, ch. xxix. 4 ; as it is with the righteous, Ps. 
 xxv. 14; Prov. iii. 32, 33. 
 
 2. If you make your houses little churches, God will make 
 them little sanctuaries; nay, he will himself be to you as a 
 little sanctuary, Ezek. xi. 16. The way to be safe in your 
 houses, is to keep up religion and the fear of God in your 
 houses; so shall you dwell on high, and "the place of your 
 defence shall be the munition of rocks," Isa. xxxiii. 16. The 
 law looks upon a man's house as his castle, religion makes 
 it truly so. If God's grace be the "glory in the midst" of 
 the house, his providence will make a wall of fire round 
 about it, Zech. ii. 5. Satan found it to his confusion, that 
 God made a hedge about pious Job, about his house, and 
 about all that he had on every side, so that he could not 
 find one gap by which to break in upon him, Job i. 10. Every 
 dwelling place of Mount Sion shall be protected as the taber- 
 nacle was in the wilderness, for God has promised to create 
 upon it a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a 
 flaming fire by night, which shall be a defence upon all the 
 glory, Isa. iv. 5. If we thus dwell in the house of the Lord 
 all the days of our life, by making our houses his houses, 
 we shall be hid in his pavilion, in the secret of his tabernacle 
 shall he hide us, Ps. xxvii. 4, 5. 
 
 Wherever we encamp, under the banner of Christ, the 
 angels of God will encamp round about us, and pitch their 
 tents where we pitch ours ; and we little think how much 
 we owe to the ministration of the good angels, that we and 
 ours are preserved from the malice of evil angels, who are 
 
240 
 
 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 continually seeking to do mischief to good people. There 
 are terrors that fly by night and by day. which they only 
 who abide under the shadow of the Almighty can promise 
 themselves to be safe from, Ps. xci. 1, 5. Would you in- 
 sure your houses by the best policy of insurance, turn them 
 into churches, and then they shall be taken under the spe- 
 cial protection of him who keeps Israel, and neither slum- 
 bers nor sleeps ; and if any damage come to them, it shall 
 be made up in grace and glory. The way of duty is with- 
 out doubt the way of safety. 
 
 Praying families are kept from more mischiefs than they 
 themselves are aware of. They are not always sensible of 
 the distinction which a kind Providence makes between 
 -them and others ; though God is pleased sometimes to make 
 it remarkable, as in the story which is credibly related of 
 a certain village in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland, con- 
 sisting of ninety houses, which in the year 1584, were all 
 destroyed by an earthquake, except one house, in which 
 the good man and his family were at that time together 
 praying. That promise is sure to all the seed of faithful 
 Abraham, " Fear not, I am thy shield," Gen. xv. ] . Wis- 
 dom herself has passed her word for it, Prov. i. 33, " Whoso 
 hearkeneth to me," wherever he dwells, he " shall dwell 
 safely, and shall be quiet from" all real evil itself, and from 
 the amazing, tormenting " fear of evil." Nothing can hurt, 
 nothing needs frighten, those whom God protects. 
 
 3. If you have not a church in your house, it is to be 
 feared that Satan will have a seat there. If religion do 
 not rule in your families, sin and wickedness will rule there. 
 " I know where thou dwellest," says Christ to the angel of 
 the church of Pergamos, Rev. ii. 13, " even where Satan's 
 seat is ; that was his affliction : but there are many whose 
 sin it is ; by their irreligion and immorality they allow Satan 
 a seat in their houses, and that seat a throne. They are 
 very willing that the strong man armed should keep his 
 palace there, and that his goods should be at peace; and 
 the surest way to prevent this, is by setting up a church in 
 the house. It is commonly said, that where God has a 
 
A CHURCH iy THE HOUSE. 
 
 241 
 
 church, the devil will have his chapel : but it may more truly 
 be said in this case, where God has not a church, the devil 
 will have his chapel. If the unclean spirit find the house 
 in this sense empty, empty of good, though it be swept and 
 garnished, he " taketh to himself seven other spirits more 
 wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there/' 
 
 Terrible stories have been told of houses haunted by the 
 devil, and of the fear people have had of dwelling in such 
 houses ; verily those houses in which rioting and drunken- 
 ness reign, in which swearing and cursing are the language 
 of the house, or in which the more spiritual wickedness of 
 pride, malice, covetousness, and deceit have the ascendancy, 
 may truly be said to be haunted by the devil, and they are 
 most uncomfortable houses for any man to live in; they are 
 holds of foul spirits, and cages of unclean and hateful birds, 
 even as Babylon the great will be when it is fallen, Rev. 
 xviii. 2. 
 
 Now the way to keep sin out of the house, is to keep up 
 religion in the house, which will be the most effectual anti- 
 dote against Satan's poison. When Abraham thought con- 
 cerning Abimelech's house, " Surely the fear of God is not 
 in this place," he concluded no less but " they will slay me 
 for my wife's sake," Gen, xx. 11. Where no fear of God is, 
 no reading, no praying, no devotion, what can one expect 
 but all that is bad ? Where there is impiety there will bo 
 immorality ; they who restrain prayer cast off' fear, Job xv. 
 4. But if religious worship have its place in the house, it 
 may be hoped that vice will not have a place there. There 
 is much of truth in that saying of good Mr. Dod, " Either 
 praying will make a man give over sinning, or sinning will 
 make a man give over praying." There remains some hope 
 concerning those who are otherwise bad, as long as they 
 keep up prayer. Though there be a struggle between 
 Christ and Belial in your houses, and the insults of sin and 
 Satan are daring and threatening, yet as long as religion 
 keeps the field, and the weapons of its warfare are made 
 use of, we may hope the enemy will lose ground. 
 
 4. A church in the house will make it very comfortable 
 Q 
 
242 
 
 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 to yourselves. Nothing more agreeable to a gracious soul 
 than constant communion with a gracious God ; it is the 
 " one thing" it desires, to " dwell in the house of the Lord ;" 
 here it is as in its element, it is its rest for ever. If there- 
 fore our houses be houses of the Lord, we shall for that 
 reason love home, reckoning our daily devotion the sweetest 
 of our daily delights, and our family worship the most 
 valuable of our family comforts. This will sanctify to us 
 all the conveniences of our houses, and reconcile us to the 
 inconveniences of it. What are Solomon's gardens, and 
 orchards, and pools of water, and other delights of the sons 
 of men, Eccl. ii. 5, 6, 8, in comparison with these delights 
 of the children of God 1 
 
 Family religion will help to make our family relations 
 comfortable to us, by promoting love, preventing quarrels, 
 and extinguishing heats that may at any time happen. A 
 family living in the fear of God, and joining daily in religious 
 worship, truly enjoys itself; "Behold how good and how 
 pleasant a tiling it is for brethren" thus to dwell "together;" 
 it is not only like ointment and perfume which rejoice the 
 heart, but like the holy ointment, the holy perfume, wherewith 
 Aaron the saint of the Lord was consecrated ; not only like 
 the common dew to the grass, but like the dew which de- 
 scends upon the mountains of Sion, the holy mountains, Ps. 
 cxxxiii. 1 — 3. The communion of saints jn that which is 
 the work of saints, is without doubt the most pleasant com- 
 munion here on earth, and the liveliest representation, and 
 surest pledge, of those everlasting joys which are the happi- 
 ness of the spirits of just men made perfect, and the hopes 
 of holy souls in this imperfect state. 
 
 Family religion will make the affairs of the family suc- 
 cessful; and though they may not in every tiring issue to 
 our mind, yet we may by faith forsec that they will at last 
 issue to our good. If this beauty of the Lord our God be upon 
 us and our families, it will prosper the work of our hands unto 
 us, yea, the work of our hands it will establish ; or, however, 
 it will establish our hearts in that comfort which makes 
 every thing that occurs easy, Ps. xc. 17; cxii. 8. 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 243 
 
 We cannot suppose our mountain to stand so strong but 
 that it will be moved ; trouble in the flesh we must expect, 
 and affliction in that from which we promise ourselves most 
 comfort ; and when the Divine Providence makes our houses 
 houses of mourning, then it will be comfortable to have them 
 houses of prayer, and to have had them so before. When sick- 
 ness, and sorrow, and death come into our families, (and 
 sooner or later they will come,) it is good that they should 
 find the wheels of prayer going, and the family accustomed 
 to seek God ; for if we are then to begin this good work 
 when distress forces us to it, we shall drive heavily in it. 
 They who pray constantly when they are well, may pray 
 comfortably when they are sick. 
 
 5. A church in the house will be a good legacy, nay, it 
 will be a good inheritance, to be left to your children after 
 you. Reason directs us to consult the welfare of posterity, 
 and to lay up in store a good foundation for those who shall 
 come after us to build upon ; and we cannot do this better 
 than by keeping up religion in our houses. A family altar 
 will be the best entail ; your children will for this rise up 
 and call you blessed, and it may be hoped they will be 
 praising God for you, and praising God like you, here on 
 earth, when you are praising him in heaven. 
 
 You will hereby leave your children the benefit of many 
 prayers put up to heaven for them, which will be kept, as it 
 were, upon the file there, to be answered to their comfort 
 when you are silent in the dust. It is true of prayer, what 
 we say of winter, " It never rots in the skies." The seed of 
 Jacob know they do not seek in vain, though perhaps they 
 live not to see their prayers answered. Some good Christians, 
 who have made conscience of praying daily with and for 
 their children, have been encouraged to hope that the 
 children of so many prayers should not miscarry at last : and 
 thus encouraged, Joseph's dying word has been the language 
 of many a dying Christian's faith, " I die, but God will surely 
 visit you," Gen. I. 24. I have heard of a hopeful son, who said 
 he valued his interest in his pious father's prayer far more 
 than his interest in his estate, though a considerable one. 
 
244 
 
 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 You will likewise hereby leave your children a good 
 example, which you may hope they will follow when they 
 come into houses of their own. The usage and practice of 
 your families is commonly transmitted from .one generation 
 to another; bad customs are many times thus entailed. 
 They who burnt incense to the queen of heaven learnt it of 
 their fathers, Jer. xliv. 17. And a vain conversation was 
 thus received by tradition, 1 Pet. i. 18. And why may not 
 good customs be in like manner handed down to posterity ? 
 Thus we should make known the ways of God to our 
 children, that they may arise and declare them to their 
 children, Ps. Ixxviii. 6, and religion may become an heir- 
 loom in our families. Let your children be able to say, 
 when they are tempted to sit loose to religion, That it was 
 the way of their family, the good old way, in which their 
 fathers walked, and in which they themselves were educated 
 and trained up ; and with this they may answer him who 
 reproaches them. Let family worship, besides all its other 
 pleas for itself, be able in your houses to plead prescription. 
 And though to the acceptableness of the service it is 
 requisite that it be done from a higher and better principle 
 than purely to keep up the custom of the family, yet better 
 so than not at all : and the form of godliness may by the 
 grace of God at length prove the happy vehicle of its power ; 
 and dry bones, whilst unburied, may be made to live. Thus 
 " a good man leaves an inheritance to his children : " and 
 " the generation of the upright shall be blessed." 
 
 6. A church in the house will contribute very much to 
 the prosperity of the church of God in the nation. Family 
 religion, if that prevail, will put a face of religion upon the 
 land, and very much advance the beauty and peace of our 
 English Jerusalem. This is that which I .hope we are all 
 hearty well-wishers to; setting aside the consideration of 
 parties, and separate interests, and burying all names of 
 distinction in the grave of Christian charity, we earnestly 
 desire to see true catholic Christianity, and serious godliness 
 in the power of it, prevailing and flourishing in our land ; to 
 see knowledge filling the land, as the waters cover the sea ; 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 245 
 
 to see holiness and love giving law, and triumphing over sin 
 and strife ; we would see cause to call your city, " A city of 
 righteousness, a faithful city, its walls salvation, and its 
 gates praise." Now all this would be effected if family 
 religion were generally set up and kept up. 
 
 When the wall was to be built about Jerusalem, it was 
 presently done by this expedient, every one undertook to 
 repair over against his own house, Neh. iii. 10, &c. And 
 if ever the decayed walls of the gospel Jerusalem be built 
 up, it must be by the same method. Every one must sweep 
 before his own door, and then the street will be clean. If 
 there were a church in every house, there would be such a 
 church in our land as would make it a praise throughout 
 the whole earth. We cannot better serve our country than 
 by keeping up religion in our families. 
 
 Let families be well catechised, and then the public 
 preaching of the word will be the more profitable, and the 
 more successful. For want of this, when we speak ever so 
 plainly of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, to 
 the most we do but speak parables. " The book " of the 
 Lord is delivered to them who are not catechised, saying, 
 "Read this," and they say, "We are not learned;" learned 
 enough in other things, but not in the one thing needful, 
 Isa. xxix. 12. But our work is easy with those who from 
 their childhood have known the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 If every family were a praying family, public prayers 
 would be the better joined in, more intelligently, and more 
 affectionately ; for the more we are used to prayer, the 
 more expert we shall be in that holy and divine art of 
 "entering into the holiest" in that duty. And public 
 reproofs and admonitions would be as a "nail in a sure 
 place," if masters of families would second them with their 
 family discipline, and so clench those nails. 
 
 Religious families are blessings to the neighbourhood they 
 live in, at least by their prayers. A good man thus becomes 
 a public good, and it is his ambition to be so. Though he 
 see his children's children, he has small joy of that if he do 
 not see peace upon Israel, Ps. exxviii. 5, 6. And therefore 
 
246 
 
 A CHUECH IN THE HOtTBB- 
 
 postponing all his own interests, and satisfactions, lie sets 
 himself to seek the good of Jerusalem all the days of his 
 life. Happy were we if we had many such. That which 
 now remains, is to address myself to you upon the whole 
 matter by way of exhortation ; and I pray you let my counsel 
 be acceptable to you ; and while I endeavour to give every 
 one his portion, let your consciences assist me herein, and 
 take to yourselves that which belongs to you. 
 
 EEL THE APPLICATION. 
 
 L Let those masters of families who have hitherto lived 
 in the negleet of family religion be persuaded now to set it 
 up, and henceforward to make conscience of it. I know it 
 is hard to persuade people to begin even a good work that 
 they have not been used to ; yet, if God by his grace apply 
 this word, who can tell but some may be wrought upon to 
 comply with the design of it ? We have no ill design in 
 urging you to this part of your duty ; we aim not at the 
 advantage of a party, but purely at the prosperity of your 
 families. We are sure we have reason on our side, and if 
 you will but suffer that to rule you, we shall gain our point; 
 and you will all go home firmly resolved, as Joshua was, 
 that whatever others do themselves, and whatever they say 
 of you, " You and your houses will serve the Lord." God 
 put it into, and keep it in, the imagination of the thought of 
 your heart, and establish your way therein before him ! 
 
 Proceed in the right method ; first set up Christ upon the 
 throne in your hearts, and then set up a church for Christ 
 in your house. Let Christ dwell in your hearts by faith, 
 and then let him dwell in your houses ; you do not begin at 
 the right end of your work if you do not first give your own 
 selves unto the Lord ; God had respect first to Abel, and 
 then to his offering. Let the fear and love of God rule in 
 your hearts, and have a commanding sway and empire there, 
 and then set up an altar for God in your tents ; for you can- 
 not do that acceptably till you have first consecrated your- 
 selves as spiritual priests to God, to serve at that altar. 
 
 And when your hearts, like Lydia's, are opened to Christ, 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 247 
 
 let your house, like hers, be opened to him too, Acts xvi. 
 14, 15. Let there be churches in all your houses ; let those 
 who have the stateliest, richest, and best furnished houses, 
 reckon a church in them to be their best ornament: let 
 those who have houses of the greatest care and business, 
 reckon family religion their best employment ; and not 
 neglect the one thing needful, while they are careful and 
 cumbered about many things ; nor let those who hare 
 close and mean habitations be discouraged ; the ark of God 
 long dwelt in curtains. Your dwelling is not so strait, but 
 you may find room for a church in it. Church work is 
 often chargeable, but you may do this church work cheap : 
 you need not make silver shrines as they did for Diana, nor 
 lavish gold out of the bag, as idolaters did in the service of 
 their gods, Isa. xlvi. 6, no, "An altar of earth shall you make 
 to your God," Bxod. xx. 24, and he will accept it. Church 
 work is accustomed to be slow work, but you may do this 
 quickly. Put on resolution, and you may set up this 
 tabernacle to-night, before to-morrow. 
 
 Would you keep up your authority in your family ? You 
 cannot do it better than by keeping up religion in your 
 family. If ever a master of a family looks great, truly great, 
 it is when he is going before his house in the service of God, 
 and presiding among them in holy things. Then he shows 
 himself worthy of double honour, when he teaches them the 
 good knowledge of the Lord, and is their mouth to God in 
 prayer, blessing them in the name of God. 
 
 Would you have your family relations comfortable, your 
 affairs successful, and give an evidence of your professed 
 subjection to the gospel of Christ ? Would you live in God's 
 fear, and die in his favour, and escape that curse which is 
 entailed upon prayerless familes 1 Let religion in the power 
 of it have its due place, that is, the uppermost place in your 
 houses. 
 
 Many objections your own corrupt hearts will make 
 against building these churches, but they will all appear 
 frivolous and trifling to a pious mind that is steadfastly re- 
 solved for God and godliness : you will never go on in your 
 
248 
 
 A CHUKCH IB THE HOUSE. 
 
 way to heaven if you will be frightened by lions in the 
 street. Whatever is the difficulty you dread, the discourage- 
 ment you apprehend in it, I am confident it is not insuper- 
 able, it is not unanswerable. But '"he that observes the wind 
 shall not sow, and he that regards the clouds shall not reap." 
 
 Be not loath to begin a new custom, if it be a good custom, 
 especially if it be a duty, as certainly this is, which, while 
 you continue in the neglect of, you live in sin ; for omissions 
 are sins, and must come into judgment. It may be that 
 you have been convinced that you ought to worship God in 
 your families, and that it is a good thing to do so ; but you 
 have put it off to some more convenient season. Will you 
 now at last take occasion from this sermon to begin it i 
 And do not defer so good a work any longer. The present 
 season is without doubt the most convenient season. Begin 
 this day ; let this be the day of your laying the foundation 
 of the Lord's temple in your house ; and then consider from 
 this day and upward — as God by the prophet reasons with 
 the people who neglected to build the temple, Hag. ii. 18, 
 19, take notice — whether God do not from this day remark- 
 ably bless you in all that you have and do. 
 
 Plead not your own weakness and inability to perform 
 family worship ; make use of the helps that are provided for 
 you ; do as well as you can when you cannot do so well as 
 you would, and God will accept of you. You willingly write 
 what is necessary for the carrying on of your trade, though 
 you cannot write so fine a hand as some others can ; and 
 will you not be as wise in the work of your Christian calling 
 to do your best, though it be far short of the best, rather 
 than not do it at all ? To him who has but one talent, and 
 trades with that, more shall be given ; but from him who 
 buries it, it shall be taken away. Be at some pains to make 
 the Scriptures familiar to you, especially David's Psalms, 
 and then you cannot be to seek for a variety of apt expres- 
 sions proper to be used in prayer, for they will be always at 
 your right hand. " Take with you " those " words, words 
 which the Holy Ghost teaches," for you cannot find more 
 acceptable words. 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 249 
 
 And now shall I prevail with you in this matter 1 I am 
 loath to leave you unresolved, or but almost persuaded ; I 
 beg of you, for God's sake, for Christ's sake, for your own 
 precious souls' sake, and for the children's sake of your own 
 bodies, that you will live no longer in the neglect of so 
 great, and necessary, and comfortable a duty as this of family 
 worship is. When we press upon you the more inward 
 duties of faith and love, and the fear of God, it cannot be so 
 evident that we succeed in our errand as it may be in this. 
 It is certain that you get no good by this sermon — but it is 
 wholly lost upon you— if after you have heard it, or read it, 
 you continue in the neglect of family religion ; and if still 
 you " cast off fear, and restrain prayer before God." Your 
 families will be witnesses against you that this work was 
 undone ; and this sermon will witness against you, that it 
 wa? not for want of being called to do it, but for want of a 
 heart to do it when you were called. But I hope better 
 things of you, my brethren, and things that accompany 
 salvation, though I thus speak. 
 
 2. Let those who have kept up family worship formerly, 
 but of late have loft it off, be persuaded to revive it. This, 
 perhaps, is the case of some of you ; you remember the 
 kindness of your youth, and the love of your espousals ; 
 time was when you sought God daily, and delighted to 
 know his ways, as families who did righteousness, and for- 
 sook not the ordinances of your God ; but now it is other- 
 wise. The altar of the Lord is broken down and neglected, 
 the daily sacrifice is ceased ; and God has kept an account 
 how many days it has ceased, whether you have or no, Dan. 
 viii. 13, 14. Now God comes into your houses seeking 
 fruit, but he finds none, or next to none : you are so eager 
 in your worldly pursuits that you have neither hearts nor 
 time for religious exercises. You began at first frequently 
 to omit the service, and a small matter served for an excuse 
 to put it by, and so by degrees it came to nothing. 
 
 Oh that those who have thus left their first love, would 
 now remember whence they are fallen, and repent, and do 
 their first works ! Inquire how this good work came to be 
 
▲ CHTSv H 15 THE HOrSJE. 
 
 Kg,1fftf i ; to it not because toot lore to God cooled, ad 
 the lore of the world prevailed ? Have you not found a 
 manifest decay in the prosperity of your souls since you let 
 &U this good werk ? Has not sin got ground in your 
 hearts and in your houses ? And though, when you drop* 
 your family worship, you promised yourselves that you 
 wuid make h up in secret worship, because you were not 
 willing to allow yourselves time for both, yet have you not 
 declined in that also ! Are you not grown less frequent, 
 and less fervent, in your closet devotions too ! Where is 
 now the hfea wm a m you have formerly spoken off I be- 
 seech you to lay out yourselves to retrieve it in time. Say 
 as that pcnhent adulteress. Hos. iL 7. ~ I will go and return 
 to my nrst husband, for then it was better with me than 
 now." Ckanse the sanctuary, and put away the strange 
 god. Is money the god. or the belly the god, that has 
 sained possession of thy heart and house ! Whatever it is, 
 cast it out. Repair the altar of the Lord, and begin again 
 the dairy sacrifice and oblation. Light the lamps again, 
 and burn the incense. Bear up the tabernacle of David 
 which is Mien down, lengthen its cords and strengthen its 
 stakes, and resolve it shall never be neglected again as it 
 has been. Perhaps you and your iamflaw have bean mani- 
 fest y under the rebukes of Providence since you left off 
 your duty. — and Jacob was while he neglected to pay his 
 "vow : I beseech you. hear at length the voice of the rod, 
 and of him who has appointed it. for it reminds yam o£your 
 ingot: en vows, saying. ~ Arise, go up to BetheL and dwell 
 there," Gen. xxxv. L Let the place thou dweilest in ever 
 ht a Bethel so shall God dwell with thee there. 
 
 3. let those who are remiss and negligent in their 
 bmily worship be awakened to more zeal and constancy. 
 Some of you perhaps have a church in your house, but it is 
 not a flourishing church ; it is like the church of Laodkca, 
 neither cold nor hot : or hke the church of Sardis, in which 
 the things that remain are ready to die ; so that it hath 
 linle more than a name to live. Something of this work of 
 the Lord is done *or fashion sake, but it is daw deceit 
 
A CHUKCII IS THE HOUSE. 
 
 251 
 
 fully : you have in your flock a male, but you vow and 
 sacrifice unto the Lord a corrupt thing ; you grow "cus- 
 tomary" in your accustomed services, and bring the torn 
 and the blind, the lame and the sick, for sacrifice ; and 
 you offer that to your God which you would scorn to 
 offer to your governor ; and though it is but little you 
 do for the church in your house, you think that too 
 much, and say, "Behold what a weariness is it!" You 
 put it off with a small and inconsiderable scantling of 
 your day, and that the dregs and refuse of it. You can spare 
 no time at all for it in the morning, nor any in the evening, 
 till you are half asleep. It is thrust into a corner, and 
 almost lost in a crowd of worldly business and carnal con- 
 versation. When it is done, it is done so slightly, in so 
 much haste, and with so little reverence, that it makes no 
 impression upon yourselves or your families. The Bible 
 lies ready, but you have no time to read ; your servants are 
 otherwise employed, and you think it is no matter for call- 
 ing them in ; you yourselves can take up with a " word or 
 two of prayer," or rest in a lifeless, heartless tale of words. 
 Thus it is every day, and perhaps little better on the Lord's 
 day ; no repetition, no catechising, no singing of psalms, or 
 none to any purpose. 
 
 Is it thus with any of your families ? Is this the present 
 state of the church in your house ? My brethren, " These 
 things ought not to be so." It is not enough that you do 
 that which is good, but you must do it well. God and 
 religion have in effect no place in your hearts or houses if 
 they have not the innermost and uppermost place. Christ 
 will come no whither to be an underling ; he is not a guest 
 to be set behind the door. What comfort, what benefit can 
 you promise to yourselves from such trifling services as 
 these ; from an empty form of godliness without the power 
 of it 1 
 
 I beseech you, sirs, make a business of your family reli- 
 gion, and not a by -business. Let it be your pleasure and 
 Relight, and not a task and drudgery. Contrive your affairs 
 so that the most convenient time may be allotted both 
 
252 
 
 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE 
 
 morning and evening for your family worship, so that you 
 may not be unfit for it, or disturbed and straitened in it ; 
 herein wisdom is profitable to direct. Address yourselves 
 to it with reverence and seriousness, and a solemn pause ; 
 that those who join with you may see and say, that God 
 is with you of a truth, and may be struck thereby into 
 a like holy awe. You need not be long in the service, 
 but you ought to be lively in it ; not slothful in this 
 business, because it is the business for God and your 
 souls, but " fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." 
 
 4. Let those who have a church in their house be 
 very careful to adorn and beautify it in their conversa- 
 tion. If you pray in your families, and read the Scrip- 
 tures, and sing psalms, and yet are passionate and fro- 
 ward with your relations, quarrelsome and contentious 
 with your neighbours, unjust and deceitful in your deal- 
 ings, intemperate and given to tippling, or allow your- 
 selves in any other sinful way, you pull down with one 
 hand what you build up with the other. Your prayers 
 will be an abomination to God, and to good men too, if they 
 be thus polluted. "Be not deceived, God is not mocked;' 
 
 See that you be universal in your religion, that it may 
 appear that you are sincere in it. Show that you be- 
 lieve a reality in it, by acting always under the com- 
 manding power and influence of it. Be not Christians 
 upon your knees, and Jews in your shops. While you 
 seem saints in your devotions, prove not yourselves sin- 
 ners in your conversations. Having begun the day in 
 the fear of God, be in that fear all the day long. Let 
 the example you set your families be throughout good, 
 and by it teach them not only to read and pray, for that 
 is but half their work, but by it teach them to be meek 
 and humble, sober and temperate, loving and peaceable, 
 just and honest ; so shall you adorn the doctrine of God 
 our Saviour ; and those who will not be won by the word, 
 shall be won by your conversation. Your family worship 
 is an honour to you, see to it that neither you nor yours be 
 in any thing a disgrace to it. 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 253 
 
 5. Let those who are setting out in the world set up 
 a church in their house at first, and not defer it. Plead 
 not youth and bashfulness ; if you have confidence 
 enough to rule a family, I hope you have confidence 
 enough to pray with a family. Say not, " The time is not 
 come, the time that the Lord's house should be built," as 
 they did who " dwelt in their ceiled houses," while God's 
 house lay waste, Hag. i. 2, 4. It ought to be built imme- 
 diately ; and the longer you put it off, the more difficulty 
 there will be in the doing of it, and the more danger that 
 it will never be done. 
 
 Now you are beginning the world, as you call it, is it not 
 your wisdom as well as duty to begin with God ? Can you 
 begin better ? or can you expect to prosper if you do not 
 begin thus ? The fuller your heads are of care about set- 
 ting up house, and setting up shop, and settling in both, 
 the more need you have of daily prayer, that by it you 
 may cast your care on God, and fetch in wisdom and direc- 
 tion from on high. 
 
 6. In all your removals be sure you take the " church 
 in your house" along with you. Abraham often removed 
 his tent, but wherever he pitched it, there the first 
 thing he did was to build an altar. It is observable con- 
 cerning Aquila and Priscilla, of whose pious family my 
 text speaks, that when St. Paul wrote his epistle to the Ro- 
 mans they were at Rome ; for he sends salutations to them 
 thither, and there it is said they had a church in their 
 house, Rom. xvi. 5. But now, when he wrote this epistle 
 to the Corinthians, they were at Ephesus, for thence it 
 should seem this epistle bore date, and here he sends salu- 
 tations from them ; and at Ephesus also they had a 
 church in their house. As wherever we go ourselves we 
 must take our religion with us ; so wherever we take 
 our families, or part of them, we must take our family 
 religion with us ; for in all places we need divine pro- 
 tection, and experience divine goodness. " I will therefore 
 that men pray every where." 
 
 When you are in your city-houses, let not the business 
 
254 
 
 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 of them crowd out your family religion ; nor let the diver- 
 sions of your country-houses indispose your minds to these 
 serious exercises. That care and that pleasure are unsea- 
 sonable and inordinate which leave you not both heart and 
 time to attend the service of the church in your house. 
 
 Let me here be an advocate also for those families whose 
 masters are often absent from them, for their health or 
 pleasure, especially on the Lord's day, or long absent upon 
 business. And let me beg these absent masters to consider 
 with whom they leave those few sheep in the wilderness, 
 1 Sam. xvii. 28, and whether they do not leave them 
 neglected and exposed. Perhaps there is not a just cause 
 for your absence so much, nor can you give a good answer 
 to that question, " What dost thou here, Elijah ?" But if 
 there be a just cause, you ought to take care that the 
 church in your house be not neglected when you are 
 abroad, but that the work be done when you are not at 
 home to do it. 
 
 7. Let inferior relatives help to promote religion in the 
 families where they are. If family worship be not kept up in 
 the houses where you live, let so much the more be done 
 in your closets for God and your souls : if it be, yet think 
 not that will excuse you from secret worship. All is little 
 enough to keep up the life of religion in your hearts, and 
 help you forward toward heaven. 
 
 Let the children of praying parents, and the servants of 
 praying masters, account it a great privilege to live in 
 houses that have churches in them, and be careful to 
 improve that privilege. Be you also ready to every good 
 work ; make the religious exercises of your family easy and 
 pleasant to those who perform them, by showing yourselves 
 forward to attend on them, and careful to attend to them ; 
 for your backwardness and carelessness will be their greatest 
 discouragement. Let your lives also be a credit to good 
 education, and make it appear to all with whom you con- 
 verse, that you are every way the better for living in 
 religious families. 
 
 8. Let solitary people, who are not engaged in families, 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 255 
 
 have churches in their chambers, churches in their closets. 
 When every man repaired the wall of Jerusalem over 
 against his own house, we read of one that repaired over 
 against his chamber, Neh. iii. 30. Those who live alone, 
 out of the way of family worship, ought to take so much 
 the more time for their secret worship, and, if possible, 
 add the more solemnity to it. You have not families to 
 read the Scriptures to, read them so much the more to 
 yourselves. You have not children and servants to cate- 
 chise, nor parents or masters to be catechised by ; catechise 
 yourselves then, that you may hold fast the form of sound 
 words which you have received. " Exhort one another ; " 
 so we read it, Heb. iii. 13, irapaKaXtiTt eavrovs — exhort 
 yourselves, so it might as well be read. You are not made 
 keepers of the vineyards, and therefore the greater is your 
 shame if your own vineyard you do not keep. When you 
 are alone, yet you are not alone, for the Father is with 
 you, to observe what you do, and to own and accept you 
 if you do well. 
 
 9. Let those who are to choose a settlement consult 
 the welfare of their souls in the choice. If a church in 
 the house be so necessary, so comfortable, then be ye not 
 unequally yoked with unbelievers, who will have no incli- 
 nation for the church in the house, nor assist in the sup- 
 port of it, but instead of building this house, pluck it down 
 with their hands, Prov. xiv. 1. Let apprenticeships and 
 other services be chosen by this rule, that "that is best 
 for us which is best for our souls;" and therefore it is 
 our interest to go with those, and be with those, with 
 whom God is, Zech viii. 23. When Lot was to choose a 
 habitation he was determined therein purely by secular 
 advantages, Gen. xiii. 11, 13, and God justly corrected his 
 sensual choice, for he never had a quiet day in the Sodom 
 he chose till he was fired out of it. The Jewish writers 
 tell of one of their devout rabbins, who being courted to 
 dwell in a place which was otherwise well accommodated, 
 but had no synagogue near, he utterly refused to accept 
 the invitation, and gave that text for his reason, Ps. cxix. 
 
£56 
 
 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 72, " The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands 
 of gold and silver." 
 
 10. Let religious families keep up friendship and fellow- 
 ship with each other, and as they have opportunity assist 
 one another in doing good. The communion of churches 
 has always been accounted their beauty, strength, and com- 
 fort, and so is the communion of these domestic churches. 
 We find here, and in other of St. Paul's epistles, kind 
 salutations sent to and from the houses that had churches 
 in them. Religious families should greet one another, visit 
 one another, love one another, pray for one another, and, as 
 becomes households of faith, do all the good they can ore 
 to another; forasmuch as they all meet daily at the same 
 throne of grace, and hope to meet shortly at the same throne 
 of glory, to be no more, as they are now, divided in Jacob, 
 and scattered in Israel. 
 
 Lastly, let those houses that have churches in them, 
 flourishing churches, have comfort in them. Is religion in 
 the power of it uppermost in your houses ? And are you 
 and yours serving the Lord, serving him daily ? Go on and 
 prosper, for the Lord is with you while you be wivh him. 
 See your houses under the protection and blessing of heaven, 
 and be assured that all things shall work together for good 
 to you. Make it to appear by your holy cheerfulness that 
 you find God a good master, Wisdom's ways pleasantness, 
 and her paths peace ; and that you see no reason to envy 
 those who spend their days in carnal mirth, for you are 
 acquainted with better pleasures than any they can pre- 
 tend to. 
 
 Are your houses on earth God's houses 1 Are they dedi- 
 cated to him, and employed for him ? Be of good comfort, 
 his house in heaven shall be yours shortly : " In my Father's 
 house are many mansions ; " and there is one, you may be 
 sure, for each of you, who thus " by a patient continuance 
 in well-doing, seek for glory, honour, and immortality. 
 
THE SABBATH; 
 
 A SERIOUS ADDRESS TO THOSE WHO PROFANE THE LORD'S DAY. 
 
THE SABBATH; 
 
 A SERIOUS ADDRESS TO THOSE WHO PROFANE THE LORD'S DAY. 
 
 TnosE I reckon guilty of profaning the Lord's day, and 
 to them in the name of God direct this paper, who neglect 
 the appointed work of that day, and who violate the pre- 
 scribed rest of that day. 
 
 1. It is a profanation of the Lord's day, and a breach of 
 the law of it, to neglect and omit the proper duty and busi- 
 ness of that day, which is the immediate service and wor- 
 ship of our God. If we leave undone that which on this 
 day ought to be done, we are transgressors ; for omissions 
 are sins, and must come into judgment. 
 
 That the eternal God is to be solemnly and religiously 
 adored by the children of men, and that we are all bound, 
 by acts of piety and devotion, to give unto him the glory 
 due unto his name, and pay our homage to him, none 
 will question who really believe that there is a God, 
 who is a being infinitely perfect and blessed, and the 
 fountain of all being and blessedness, our Creator, Owner, 
 Ruler, and Benefactor, on whom we have a necessary and 
 constant dependence, and to whom we lie under the high- 
 est obligations imaginable. Never did reasonable creatures 
 speak more unreasonably than they did who said, " What 
 is the Almighty that we should serve him ?" Job xxi. 15. 
 
260 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 Something of this work ought to be done every day ; no 
 day must pass without some solemn acts of religious 
 worship, both morning and evening ; when we address 
 ourselves to the work of the day, and when we compose 
 ourselves to the rest of the night, we ought actually to 
 acknowledge God, both by our prayers and praises, as our 
 Protector, Guide, and Benefactor. " Six days shalt thou 
 labour and do all thy work ;" and is this no part of our 
 work ? Is it not the most needful and excellent work we 
 have to do ? Those who live without daily worship live 
 without God in the world. As God allows us time for 
 works of necessity and mercy out of his day, so we ought 
 to allow time for works of piety and devotion out of our 
 days, else we are not only undutiful, but very ungrateful. 
 
 But besides the morning and evening sacrifice, which the 
 duty of every day requires, the wisdom of God, for the 
 preserving and securing of divine worship in the world, has 
 instituted and appointed a particular time for the special 
 solemnities of it, which is one day in seven. The body of a 
 seventh day, that is, the working hours of it, are by this 
 institution appointed to be spent in the acts of religion and 
 devotion, as the other days of the week are intended for 
 secular business, and the works of our particular calling. 
 
 Now this instrumental part of religion, (give me leave to 
 call it so,) though it be not equally necessary with the 
 essentials of it, the love of God, and faith in Christ, yet it is 
 undoubtedly necessary, both as a duty in obedience to the 
 divine law, which requires us thus to consecrate a seventh 
 day to the services of religion, and as a means of keep- 
 ing up communion with God in holy ordinances, and pre- 
 paring ourselves, by his grace, for the vision and fruition 
 of him. It is so necessary, that revealed religion, and 
 with it all religion, would in all probability have been 
 lost and forgotten long ere this if it had not been kept up 
 by the observation of Sabbaths. 
 
 Now, forasmuch as it is the work of the Lord's day to 
 worship God, not only in public solemn assemblies, which 
 we ought conscientiously to attend upon both the former 
 
T1IE SABBATH. 
 
 261 
 
 and the latter part of the day, but in secret and in our 
 families, morning, evening, and at noon, those do certainly 
 profane the day who do not spend the best part of it, and 
 much more those who scarce spend any part of it, in pious 
 exercises ; either not attending on them at all, or with 
 such a constant and allowed carelessness and indifference 
 as discovers a great contempt of the God they pretend to 
 honour. 
 
 Those profane this sacred day who waste the precious 
 hours of its morning in sleep and sloth, and proud and 
 needless dressing, and the rest of the day in idle chat and 
 perfect sauntering, as if Sabbath time hung upon their 
 hands and they knew not what to do with it, nor how 
 to idle it away and pass it off fast enough, till they have 
 that which is their heart's desire, " When will the Sabbath 
 be gone ?" 
 
 Such as these, how innocent soever they may think 
 themselves, are to be counted Sabbath-breakers, who, in- 
 stead of keeping the Sabbath day, lose it, and throw it 
 away, and wilfully suffer it to run waste ; and instead 
 of sanctifying it, and advancing it above other times, 
 vilify it, and make it the most idle, insignificant, and 
 unprofitable day of the week ; for the days that are spent 
 in worldly business serve to some purpose, but this, that 
 should be spent in the business of religion, being trifled 
 away, and the work of it undone, serves to no purpose. 
 
 2. It is a profanation of the Lord's day to violate and 
 break in upon the holy rest of that day, and to do that 
 from which we are bound up and restrained by the law of 
 the day, in order to our more close application to that 
 which is the work of the day. On that day we are to rest 
 both from those worldly employments of our particular 
 callings which on other days are our duty, and the work of 
 the day, and from those sports and recreations which on 
 other days are lawful, as the entertainment of our spare 
 hours, and the preparatives for our busy ones ; from both 
 we are to rest on the Lord's day ; for certainly carnal plea- 
 sure is as great an enemy to spiritual joy as the sorrow of 
 
262 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 the world is, and sport is as inconsistent with the Sabbath 
 rest as labour is. 
 
 Rest from worldly business on the Sabbath day was, 
 under the Old Testament, more primarily required as a 
 duty, and a great stress laid upon it, according to the 
 nature of that dispensation ; to all the purposes of this 
 rest we are not now so strictly tied up as the Jews then 
 were : but it is still secondarily requisite as a means, in 
 order to the due performance of the work of the day ; 
 and so far it is a duty. 
 
 Then, when the more solemn worship of God was ap- 
 propriated to one place, where the ark was, the place 
 which God chose to put his name there, which the peo- 
 ple were appointed generally to attend but thrice a year, 
 the rest of those who were at a distance was required 
 and accepted as a tacit joining with the temple service 
 on the Sabbath day ; by a strict cessation from other 
 work they testified an implicit concurrence in that work. 
 But now, under the gospel, we are not so confined to one 
 place as they then were ; it is God's will that men pray every 
 where, and that in every place the spiritual incense be 
 offered ; we have now larger opportunities and better helps 
 for doing the work and enjoying the comforts of that day 
 than they then had ; and therefore, now the bare rest from 
 worldly labour is not in itself so much a sanctification of 
 the Sabbath as it was then. Yet we cannot think ourselves 
 less obliged than they were to rest from worldly employ- 
 ments and recreation, as far as that rest will contribute 
 to our attendance on the work of the day with more 
 solemnity, and with greater freedom and closeness of ap- 
 plication, and without distinction. 
 
 Those, therefore, undoubtedly profane the Lord's day, 
 who absent themselves from the public worship of God, 
 either the former or the latter part of the day, that they 
 may underhand follow their callings, settle their accounts, 
 drive bargains, push on journeys, make visits, or the like, 
 unless when the occasion is urgent, and mercy comes to take 
 place of sacrifice. 
 
THE SABBATH. 
 
 263 
 
 Yet, not they only are guilty of the breach of the Sabbath 
 rest, who spend that part of the day, which we call u church 
 time,'' in worldly employments and recreations ; but they 
 also who st end the time before, between, and after public 
 worship, so as either to intrench upon that full scope of 
 time that they ought to take on that day, for their secret 
 and family worship, and to abridge themselves of that, or so 
 as to unfit themselves and put themselves out of frame for 
 holy duties, or obstruct their profiting by them, do violate 
 the Sabbath rest. Works of necessity, which yet ought not 
 to be a self-created necessity, we are allowed time for, the 
 body must be fed, and clothed, and rested, that it may be fit 
 to serve the soul in the service of God on this day. But no 
 more of the time than is convenient for these must be 
 alienated from the business of the day ; if it be, we break in 
 upon the appointed rest. 
 
 Those who go to their shops and exercise their trades 
 openly or secretly on the Lord's day, thereby show that 
 they mind the world more than God, and that they are 
 more solicitous for the meat that perishes, than for that 
 which endures to eternal life ; and those who go to the 
 ale-house, or follow their sports, and divert themselves or 
 others with idle walking and talking, show that they 
 mind the flesh more than God, and that they are wholly 
 taken up with the mere animal life, and wretchedly 
 estranged from the principles, powers, and pleasures of the 
 spiritual and divine life. 
 
 If any pretend that they can perform the work of the 
 Lord's day well enough, though they do not observe the rest 
 of the day, they suppose themselves wiser than God. who 
 has instituted the Sabbath rest in order to the better and 
 more solemn management of the Sabbath work, both public 
 and private. 
 
 We find now who are chargeable with the sin of profaning 
 the Lord's day ; let the conscience of every one that is 
 guilty herein deal faithfully with him in the reading of this, 
 and say, i; Thou art the man ;" thou art the man, the 
 woman, that makest the day of the Lord either a day of 
 
264 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 idleness, or a day of worldly business, and dost not spend it 
 in the service of God and communion with him. Either 
 thou dost not diligently attend the public worship in its 
 season, or but one part of the day, or without any just 
 cause stayest at home, or walkest abroad, when thou 
 shouldst be in the holy convocation ; or, if thou go to church 
 for fashion sake, thou thinkest when that service is over 
 thou hast no more to do, and dost not spend the remaining 
 part of the day as thou oughtest, in prayer, reading, medi- 
 tation, and other religious exercises, alone and with thy 
 family. God's time, which is devoted to him, and should 
 be employed for him, thou givest to the world, and thy 
 worldly business, or, which is perhaps more common, to the 
 body, and to the ease and pleasure of it, and to the enter- 
 tainments of a vain and foolish conversation. Art thou 
 verily guilty in these or any of these things ? This paper 
 comes with an humble request to thee, that thou wouldst 
 consider thy ways and amend them. 
 
 This is one of those sins which the public attempts for 
 the reformation of manners at this day are levelled against, 
 at least in some instances of it; and justly, for the profana- 
 tion of God's Sabbaths, which he is very jealous for the 
 honour of, is a sin that brings judgments upon a land per- 
 haps as soon as any other. It is a sin that " kindles fires 
 in the gates of Jerusalem," Jer. xvii. 27, a sin that 6 brings 
 yet more wrath upon Israel," Neh. xiii. 17, 18. And 
 therefore all who wish well to the public peace, and those 
 especially who are intrusted with the preservation of it, 
 are concerned in interest, as well as duty, to take care of 
 the due sanctification of the Sabbath, as far as it falls within 
 their cognizance, so that whatever guilt of this kind par- 
 ticular persons may contract, it may not become national. 
 
 Now, in our dealing with this sin, as we have this advan- 
 tage, that we are not struggling with the violent impetus 
 of a particular lust, appetite, or passion, which is commonly 
 deaf to reason and expostulation, so, on the other hand, we 
 labour under this difficulty, that they who are guilty of this 
 sin, are commonly more ready to insist upon their own jus- 
 
THE SABBATH. 
 
 265 
 
 tification, than any other sort of sinners. It is a way that 
 seems right, and they who walk in it say, " They have done 
 no wickedness ; ! ' and not only so, but they are forward to 
 censure and condemn those who allow not themselves the 
 same latitude, as needlessly and superstitiously precise. 
 
 I should transgress the designed limits of this paper if I 
 should enter into the dispute concerning the perpetual ob- 
 ligation of the fourth commandment, which, as to the sub- 
 stance of it, the keeping of one day in seven holy to God, 
 is, I hope, no dispute with us, since we are all agreed to pray 
 to God to " have mercy upon us," and " incline our hearts 
 to keep this law." 
 
 I shall therefore only in a few lines, that I may hasten 
 to what I principally intend, endeavour to make out the 
 divine appointment of the Christian Sabbath, as a day of 
 holy rest in order to holy work, by these three steps : — 
 
 (1.) It appears by the light of nature that there must 
 be some such day observed. If God is to be worshipped 
 by us solemnly and in comfort, there must be some fixed 
 and stated times for the doing of it, the designation of which 
 is necessary both to preserve the thing itself, and to put a 
 solemnity upon it. 
 
 The Gentiles had days set apart to the honour of their 
 gods, which they spent, accordingly, in rest from worldly 
 labour, and, by the solemnities of their religion, look- 
 ing upon those as peculiar days, distinguished from and 
 dignified above other days. Does not even nature teach 
 men thus to own God the Lord of time, and to constitute 
 opportunities for the public solemn worship of him 1 Now, 
 if all people will thus walk in the name of their god, should 
 not we walk in like manner in the name of the Lord our 
 God ] Mic. iv. 5. 
 
 (2.) It appears by the Old Testament that one day in 
 seven should be thus religiously observed. It is plain that 
 a Sabbath was instituted from the beginning, it was a posi- 
 tive institution in paradise, as marriage was ; the former 
 necessary to the preserving of the church and sacred fellow- 
 ship, as the latter to the support of families and human 
 
266 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 fellowship, Gen. ii. 2, 3; when the Scripture says ex- 
 pressly there, " that God rested on the seventh day," and 
 that " he blessed and sanctified it because he so rested," we 
 wrest the Scripture if we suppose it recorded there as a 
 thing done long after. By this management the plainest 
 evidence of Scripture may be turned off and evaded. To 
 suppose that Sabbaths were not kept in the patriarchal age, 
 because no mention is made of them in the history of that 
 age, is absurd ; since we have a record of the institution of 
 the Sabbath in the beginning, and an account of the reli- 
 gious observation of a Sabbath before the giving of the law 
 upon Mount Sinai, viz. when the manna was given, Exod. 
 xvi. 23, 26. As at the first planting of religion in the 
 world, so now at the revival of it out of its ruins in Egypt, 
 one of the first things taken care of is the Sabbath, and it 
 is spoken of, not as a new institution, but as an old law, 
 which, when Moses had notified the day to them, they 
 having lost their reckoning in Egypt, they are sharply re- 
 buked for the violation of, ver. 28, " How long refuse ye to 
 keep my commandments and my laws?" 
 
 The first word of the fourth commandment, " Remember 
 the Sabbath day," plainly shows that it was the revival of 
 an old commandment, which had been forgotten, viz. That 
 one day in seven should be sanctified to God. It is the 
 solemn declaration of an ancient institution, and is of per- 
 petual obligation, that the seventh day, not the seventh 
 from the creation, which in the revolution of so many ages, 
 we cannot be infallibly certain of, but the seventh day, after 
 six days worldly labour, is the " Sabbath of the Lord our 
 God," and is so to be sanctified. And though God rested 
 the seventh day from the creation, yet in the fourth com- 
 mandment it is not said he blessed the seventh day, or a 
 Sabbath day, in that proportion of time, and sanctified it : 
 and this part of the blessing of Abraham's seed comes upon 
 the Gentiles through faith. 
 
 Very much stress was laid, in the times of the Old Testa- 
 ment, upon the observation of the Sabbath, more than on 
 any institution purely ceremonial : and the Old-Testament 
 
THE SABBATH. 
 
 267 
 
 prophecies, that point at gospel times, make it part of the 
 description of converted strangers, that they make con- 
 science of keeping the Sabbath from polluting it, Isa. lvi. 6. 
 
 (3 ) It appears by the New Testament that the first day 
 of the week should be observed and sanctified as a Christian 
 Sabbath. It is evident to any who read the New Testament 
 without prejudice. 
 
 [1.] That a weekly Sabbath is to be religiously observed 
 in the Christian church. We not only find no repeal of the 
 fourth commandment in the New Testament, nor any rea- 
 son for the repeal of it ; but, on the contrary, we find it ex- 
 pounded by our Saviour, and vindicated from the corrupt 
 glosses of the Scribes and Pharisees, who, as in other things 
 they were profanely loose, so in this they were superstitiously 
 strict. Several occasions Christ took to show that works 
 of necessity and mercy are no violations of the Sabbath rest ; 
 as Luke xiii. 14; John v. 18; ix. 14; and especially Matt, 
 xii. 1, &c. Had the law of the fourth commandment been 
 to expire presently our Saviour would not have been so 
 careful to explain it ; but it is plain he designed to settle a 
 point which would afterwards be of use to his church, and 
 to teach us that our Christian Sabbath, though it is under 
 the direction of the fourth commandment, yet, it is not 
 under the arbitrary injunctions of the Jewish elders. 
 
 Our Saviour has likewise told us that the Sabbath was 
 made for man, and not for the Jews only ; and that he him- 
 self was " Lord of the Sabbath day," that is, that it should 
 be in a special manner his day, and devoted to him. He 
 likewise supposed the continuance of a Sabbath, to be so 
 religiously observed by his disciples, at the very time of 
 the destruction of Jerusalem, which put a final period to 
 all the peculiarities of the Jewish economy, that he bids 
 them pray that their then flight might not be in the win- 
 ter, nor on the Sabbath day, Matt. xxiv. 20. And the apostle, 
 Heb. iv. 9, plainly speaks of a Sabbath, or day of rest, which 
 believers have now under the gospel, like that day of rest 
 which God instituted when he had finished the work of 
 creation. 
 
68 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 [2.] It is likewise evident that the day which the Chris- 
 tian church has in all ages observed, and does still, which 
 is commonly reckoned the first day of the week, is the day 
 which it is the will of Christ we should observe as our 
 Christian Sabbath. It is certain that the apostles were 
 authorised and appointed to teach the churches of Christ 
 those things pertaining to the kingdom of God wherein he 
 had instructed them ; the Spirit was poured out upon them 
 to enable them rightly and duly to execute their commis- 
 sion, so as to answer all the great ends of it. Now, it is 
 plain that the apostles and first Christians did religiously 
 observe the first day of the week as the day of their solemn 
 assemblies for divine worship, Acts xx. 7 ; 1 Cor. xvi." 1, 2, 
 and that with a regard to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
 This they called " The Lord's day," Rev. i. 10, as a day 
 that answers all the intentions of a weekly Sabbath ; as such 
 it has been received and observed by the churches of Christ. 
 " It is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice 
 and be glad in it," Ps. cxviii. 24. 
 
 What there was in the Old-Testament Sabbath, which was 
 typical, has had and will have its accomplishment in the 
 spiritual and eternal rest of true believers ; but that which 
 was the main scope of the fourth commandment, that the 
 seventh day, after six days' labour, should be kept holy to 
 God, remains still in full force. But now, under the New 
 Testament, a greater stress is laid upon the holy work of 
 the day than upon the holy rest, and upon the rest only 
 in order to the work, and worship, and the ends of it. 
 When the church was in its infancy and childhood it was * 
 dealt with accordingly ; a bodily rest was then mainly in- 
 sisted on as the sanctification of the Sabbath, which was so 
 called because it was a day of rest, for so Sabbath signifies. 
 But now, under the gospel, the church is grown up to full 
 age, and, therefore, now more notice is taken of the busi- 
 ness to which the day is devoted, viz. joy in God, Ps. cxviii. 
 24, communion with Christ, John xx. 19, 26, and with the 
 Spirit, Rev. i. 10, and with our fellow Christians, Acts xx. 
 7. And as to the rest, this general rule is to be observed, 
 
THE SABBATH. 
 
 269 
 
 that nothing be done to derogate from the solemnity and 
 honour of the day, afld to lay it common with other days, 
 nor any thing to divert us from, or distract us in, any part 
 of the work of the day. Yet, still it is not improper to call 
 it the Christian Sabbath, because it is a day of rest from the 
 world, and rest in God. 
 
 Having thus endeavoured to set this matter in a true and 
 convincing light, I come now to reason the case a little with 
 the consciences of those who make light of the Lord's day. 
 Those I mean who spend it, or any part of it, in idleness, 
 sport, tippling, or secular business, and turn their backs 
 upon the public worship of God in religious assemblies ; or, 
 if not that, yet, either wholly neglect, or very carelessly 
 and superficially perform, their secret and family worship. 
 And oh that I could offer something now, which, by the 
 grace of God, might help to convince and awaken such. 
 
 I will take it for granted, sirs, that you have not aban- 
 doned religion, that you are not desirous to disengage your- 
 selves from its sacred bonds, nor willing to disclaim its joys 
 and hopes ; you are not arrived to that desperate resolution 
 of living without God in the world ; no, it is not come to 
 that with you. You have not renounced the Christian 
 faith, nor abjured your baptismal covenant, nor by searing 
 your consciences as with a hot iron, marked them for the 
 devil and hell ; what I shall say will have little influence 
 upon those who are of such a character as this ; but, " to 
 you, 0 men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men ;" 
 not to such incarnate devils: I speak to those who I hope 
 have some sense of religion, and of whose consciences God 
 has still some hold. 
 
 Give me leave, therefore, to recommend to your serious 
 consideration the two great intentions and designs of the 
 Lord's day, which are, as far as lies in you, defeated and 
 frustrated by your profanation of it, and your constant 
 neglect of the duties of it. 
 
 The Lord's day was appointed to be kept holy and re- 
 ligiously observed, 
 
 I. For the glory and honour of God. 
 
270 
 
 THE SABBATH 
 
 II. For the good and happiness of man. So that all those 
 who profane the Lord's day do a great dishonour to God to 
 whom it is dedicated, and no less an injury to themselves, 
 for whose benefit and comfort it was intended. 
 
 I. In profaning the Lord's day you sin against heaven, 
 and put a daring aflront upon the divine authority and 
 grace. Here let me speak boldly, let me speak warmly, as 
 an advocate for God. I beseech you consider seriously 
 what I have to say, and give me your patient hearing while 
 I reason with you. 
 
 You are baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy Ghost, and it is your honour and privilege 
 that you are so ; you say you adhere to it, and you would 
 not for all the world be unbaptized, nor renounce your 
 Christian name. Suffer me then a little to expostulate with 
 you upon the acknowledged principles of your baptism, 
 which, I think, you are not true to while you continue to 
 profane the Lord's day as you do. 
 
 1. Have you no regard to the Eternal God, even the 
 Father, that made you and all the world ? The Sabbath 
 was first ordained to be celebrated by the reasonable crea- 
 tures in this lower world, for in the upper world they 
 keep an everlasting Sabbath, to the honour of the great 
 Creator, as a standing memorial of the finishing of the work 
 of creation ; that in the observance of it we may give him 
 praise for the wonders we see in all the creatures, and may 
 give him thanks for the favours and comforts we receive by 
 them. This is specified in the fourth commandment, as the 
 ground of that ancient institution, which bore date before 
 the entrance of sin into the world. 
 
 The Author and spring of all the movements of time justly 
 claims to be the Lord of time, and he has wisely appointed 
 one day in seven to be consecrated to him, as an acknowledg- 
 ment that he is so^nd that our times are both from his 
 hand and in his hand. And dare you sacrilegiously rob him 
 of this tribute, and demand to have even this also, as well 
 as the rest of the days of the week, at your ow T n disposal, to 
 be given aw r ay to the world and the flesh ? 
 
THE SABBATH. 
 
 271 
 
 Consider, sirs, you are God's creatures, and the work of his 
 hands ; you are his reasonable creatures, the priests of the 
 visible creation, the collectors of his praises, to gather them 
 in from the inferior creatures, which do all praise him 
 objectively, and to pay them in by actual adorations. For 
 this noble purpose you were endued with noble powers, those 
 of reason; you were taught more than the beasts of the earth, 
 and were made wiser than the fowls of heaven. All the 
 supports and comforts of your lives are likewise the creatures 
 of God's power, and the gifts of his providence ; so that you 
 are bound both in duty and gratitude to serve and praise 
 him. And dare you then prostitute that time to the world 
 and the flesh which is consecrated to the honour of your 
 great Lord, the author of your beings, the protector of your 
 lives, and the giver of all your comforts I You do thus in 
 effect say to the Almighty, "Depart from us, we desire 
 not the knowledge of thy ways," like those impudent sin- 
 ners, Job xxi. 14. And "do ye thus requite the Lord, 
 oh foolish creatures and unwise i" Oh faithless creatures 
 and unjust ? 
 
 In your idle walks on the Lord's day, and the diversion 
 you take abroad, while you find your own pleasure in them, 
 I wonder how you can look either to the heavens above, or 
 the earth beneath, or the ornaments of either, and not be 
 ashamed to think, that when they observe their time of 
 serving you, and contributing to your comfort, in the proper 
 season of the day, the proper season of the year, according 
 to the law of their Creator, you do not observe your time of 
 serving God, and contributing tohis praise,accordingtothclaw 
 given you, but are playing abroad when you should be praying 
 at home. The sun docs the work of the day in its day, but 
 you do not. The stork in the heavens knows her appointed 
 time, and comes in her season to wait upon you ; but you 
 observe not the time God has appointed for your approaches 
 to him. To say, can we not meditate, and praise our Creator, 
 like Isaac, in the fields as well as in our closets, is no good 
 reply to this reproof, unless your own hearts can witness for 
 you, that indeed you do so, which I fear they cannot ; for 
 
272 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 jour walks are plainly chosen to befriend your diversion by 
 
 society, not to befriend your devotion by solitude. 
 
 When you spend any part of the Lord's day in the ale- 
 house or tavern, do not the good creatures of God, which 
 there you abuse, upbraid you with the basest ingratitude, 
 that when you have been receiving the comfort of those gifts 
 of God's bounty the rest of the days of the week, you grudge 
 to spend the Lord's day in humble and thankful ackowledg- 
 ments of the goodness of God to the whole creation, and to 
 you in particular. Do all God's works praise him every day, 
 and will you think much this day, to join with his saints in 
 blessing him 1 Ps. cxlv. 10. 
 
 Was it the will of God that his glorious rest from the 
 work of creation, wherein the Eternal Mind took a compla- 
 cency in the copies of its own wisdom, and the products of 
 its own power, should be thus commemorated here on earth, 
 by a holy rest every seventh day from worldly employments, 
 while it is continually celebrated in heaven, by those blessed 
 spirits there, who rest not day nor night from praising him! 
 And will you in effect tell him to his face, that it does not 
 deserve such a frequent and solemn commemoration ? And 
 is the will and law of the eternal God nothing -with youl 
 Is his authority and honour of so small account in your eyes? 
 Shall the service of the flesh, to which you are not debtors, 
 be preferred before the service of your God, to whom you 
 are infinitely indebted ? 
 
 You have your lives from God, your bodies, your souls, 
 all your powers, and all your comforts, and therefore you 
 ought to be his subjects, and to pay him tribute; you are 
 his tenants, and must not withhold his rent: this is his 
 tribute, this is his rent. Sabbath time is demanded as his 
 part of your time ; let this then that is his due be justly 
 and faithfully paid him in full : for "will a man rob God ?" 
 Your receivings from him are rich and constant; grudge 
 him not these poor returns in their season. 
 
 2. Have you no regard to the Lord Jesus who redeemed 
 you, and who gave his life a ransom for many ? The New- 
 Testament Sabbath, being observed on the first day of the 
 
THE SABBATH. 
 
 273 
 
 week, is without doubt designed particularly for the honour 
 of Christ, and to be celebrated as an abiding memorial of his 
 resurrection from the dead, by which he was declared to 
 be the Son of God with power, and our accepted surety ; for 
 as by dying he paid our debt, for he was delivered for our 
 offences, so by his resurrection he took our acquittance, 
 for he was raised again for our justification, Rom. iv. 25. 
 The advancement of that despised stone to be the head of 
 the corner was that which made this day remarkable, Ps. 
 cxviii. 22, 24; and they who despise this dignified, dis- 
 tinguished day, do in effect still trample upon that exalted 
 stone. It is for the Redeemer's sake that it is called, "The 
 Lord's day," an honourable title, and we ought to call it so, 
 that we may show we look upon it as "holy of the Lord 
 md honourable," and may so honour it. It bears Christ's 
 image, and his superscription; we ought, therefore, to render 
 to him the things that are his. 
 
 You are called Christians ; you profess relation to the 
 blessed Jesus; you are baptized into his name, and wear 
 his livery, and you say you hope to be saved by him ; you 
 are enrolled among his followers, and you have in his house, 
 and within his walls, a place and a name ; and can you find 
 in your hearts, so treacherously, and so very disingenuously, 
 to alienate from him any part of that time which he claims 
 a special property in ? Shall he to whom you owe your all 
 be defrauded of that little which he demands from you? 
 You name Christ's name, you do well ; but you contradict 
 yourselves, and will be found liars and dissemblers if you 
 dare to profane his day, and grudge to spend it in his 
 service to his praise. 
 
 Let me beg of you seriously to consider how much you 
 are indebted to the Redeemer ; from what a bondage, to 
 what a liberty, and at what an expense, you were redeemed; 
 think what were the kind intentions of the Redeemer's love, 
 and what the blessed fruits of his undertaking; and you 
 will see that you owe him even your ownselves, all you are, 
 all you have, all you can do, all little enough, and too little; 
 and will you then grudge him the whole of his own dj,y 
 
274 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 which is instituted in remembrance of that blessed work 
 for which we are so much indebted, and should be ever 
 studying what we shall render ? 
 
 As the Old-Testament Sabbath was appointed to be a 
 solemn memorial, not so much of the work of creation itself 
 as of the finishing of it, so the Christian Sabbath was ap- 
 pointed to preserve in remembrance Christ's ressurection, 
 which gave the finishing stroke to his undertaking on earth. 
 Now, consider, if he had not finished his undertaking what 
 had become of us ? If he had left it no other could have 
 taken it up ; if he that laid the foundation stone, as the 
 Author of our faith, had not brought forth the top-stone, as 
 the Finisher of it, we had been undone, for ever undone. 
 Unworthy, therefore, for ever unworthy, art thou of an in- 
 terest in and benefit by this undertaking, if really thou make 
 bo light a matter as thou seemest to do of that weekly solem- 
 nity in which the remembrance of it is celebrated, not only 
 for the advancing of the Redeemer's honour, but for the 
 advancing of the Redeemer's designs and interests. 
 
 Let me therefore, with all earnestness, beseech you, in the 
 bowels of Christ, if you have any regard to the sweet and 
 blessed name of Jesus, into which you were baptized ; that 
 name which is above every name, and which is as ointment 
 poured forth ; that name which is your strong tower, and 
 your best plea for the best blessings ; have a conscientious 
 regard to that day which bears his name. As ever you 
 hope to see the face of Christ with comfort, and expect he 
 shall stand your friend in the day of your extremity, testify 
 your veneration for him now, by a veneration for his day, 
 and dare not to break in upon that sacred rest, which is in- 
 stituted to his honour, nor trifle away any of those precious 
 hours which he expects and requires should be employed 
 in his service. 
 
 Shall we think one day in seven too much, when eternity 
 itself will be too little, to be spent in the joyful contempla- 
 tions, and thankful praises, of the height and depth, the 
 length and breadth, of the love of Christ which passeth 
 knowledge ? Do the holy angels attend the Redeemer with 
 
THE SABBATH. 
 
 275 
 
 their constant adorations, and praise him without inter- 
 mission ? and shall we who are more immediately interested 
 in, and benefited by, his undertaking, convert to other 
 purposes any of those few hours of the week which are con- 
 secrated to his praise I Is our Lord Jesus continually 
 appearing in heaven for us, always mindful of our concerns 
 there, and shall we make thus light of his glory, and care 
 so little to appear before him, and before the world for him? 
 Might but the love of Christ command us, and that love 
 constrain us, surely we should love the Lord's day for his 
 sake whose day it is, would bid it welcome, and call it a 
 delight. 
 
 3. Have you no regard to the blessed Spirit of grace, into 
 whose name also you were baptized, and in honour of whom 
 the Christian Sabbath is celebrated ? The first day of the 
 week was observed by the disciples as a day of solemn 
 meeting from the very day that Christ rose, for we find 
 them together again that day seven-night, probably by his 
 appointment, John xx. 26. The day of Pentecost that 
 year fell on the first day of the week, and on that day they 
 were together in a solemn meeting, all with one accord in one 
 place, when the Spirit descended upon them, Acts ii. 1, &c. 
 
 Now the pouring out of the Spirit was the great promise 
 of the New Testament, as the incarnation of Christ was of 
 the Old Testament, and was a gift to the church no less 
 necessary and valuable than the resurrection of Christ. He 
 rose to carry on the good work in us, without which we 
 could have no benefit by his mediation. The influences 
 and operations of the Spirit are as necessary to our salva- 
 tion as the satisfaction and intercession of the Son. When 
 Christ rose he retired to heaven, to receive his kingdom and 
 to prepare ours ; but when he sent the Spirit, he did in 
 effect return to his church on earth ; for thus the want of 
 his bodily presence was supplied, abundantly to the advan- 
 tage of his disciples. It was expedient for us that he should 
 go away, that he might send the Comforter, John xvi. 7. 
 
 To the descent of the Spirit we owe those gifts of tongues 
 which spread the gospel to distant nations, and to ours 
 
276 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 among the rest ; and those inspired writings which propa- 
 gated the gospel to after ages, and will perpetuate it to the 
 end of time. Without this the earth, even within the 
 church's pale, had been still a wilderness and a barren 
 land ; for it is only the pouring out of the Spirit upon us 
 from on high that turns the wilderness into a fruitful field, 
 Isa. xxxii. 15. To the gift of the Holy Ghost is owing 
 the conviction of conscience, the regeneration of the soul, 
 its progress and advances in holiness, and all those consola- 
 tions of God which are our songs in the house of our 
 pilgrimage : had not the Spirit been given to apply the 
 redemption, we had never been the better for Christ's 
 purchase of it. 
 
 Now it is in remembrance of these gifts given to men, 
 after the Redeemer was ascended on high, that we celebrate 
 the Lord's day ; and therefore, to the right sanctification of 
 it, it is necessary that we be in the Spirit, Rev. i. 10 ; that 
 is, that we compose ourselves into a spiritual frame, and 
 submit ourselves to the Spirit's workings. The greatest 
 honour we can do to the Spirit is to walk after the Spirit. 
 We then give glory to the Holy Ghost when we diligently 
 attend to that word which was given by his inspiration, and 
 lay our souls under the commanding power and influence of 
 it ; when we pray in the Holy Ghost, under the conduct of 
 the Spirit of adoption, teaching us to cry, Abba, Father ; and 
 when we carefully hearken to the checks, and follow the 
 dictates, of a well-informed conscience. Thus the Sabbath 
 must be sanctified to the praise of the blessed Spirit. 
 
 And is it nothing to you who profane the Lord's day 
 that thereby you reflect dishonour upon the eternal 
 Spirit, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, and 
 who with the Father and the Son together is and ought 
 to be worshipped and glorified on the Lord's day ? You 
 struggle against him who is given to strive with you for 
 your good ; you check your Monitor, you resist your Sanc- 
 tifier, and grieve your Comforter. 
 
 Do you not indeed think it worth your while to spend 
 so many hours every week, as the working part of the 
 
THE SABBATH. 
 
 277 
 
 Lord's day amounts to, in the joyful, thankful commem- 
 oration of so great a blessing bestowed upon the church, 
 which still remains a real benefit to all its ministers, and 
 to all its members, and is the quickening root of all their 
 fruitfulness and flourishing? 
 
 It was on the first day of the first week of time that 
 the blessed Spirit moved upon the face of the waters to 
 produce a world,, a world of beauty and plenty, out of 
 confusion and emptiness; and it was upon the first day 
 of another week that he descended on the apostles, and 
 inspired them to produce a church; justly, therefore, is 
 the first day of the week consecrated to the honour of 
 that Divine Person, to whom we owe both our being, and 
 our new-being, in order to our well-being. Profane not 
 that then which is thus sanctified, to the praise of the 
 great Sanctifier. How can you expect the comfort of his 
 sacred influences if thus you violate and break in upon 
 his sacred interests? Our Saviour speaks of an affront 
 put upon the Holy Ghost as more criminal, more dangerous, 
 and of more fatal consequence to the sinner, than an affront 
 put upon the Lord Jesus himself, Matt. xii. 31, 32. Not 
 as if every sin against the Holy Ghost contracted the 
 indelible stain of an unpardonable sin, God forbid ! but it 
 is intimated that there is a peculiar malignity and pro- 
 vocation in those sins which put a slight upon the blessed 
 Spirit, as this certainly does, which not only profanes the 
 time which is sacred to his honour, but neglects the op- 
 portunity of receiving his promised gifts in the way of 
 instituted ordinances. 
 
 If there be, therefore, any fellowship of the Spirit, value 
 it, improve it, be not strangers to it. As ever you look 
 for any comfort from the Holy Ghost, living or dying, here 
 or hereafter, call it not a task, and a burthen, and a weari- 
 ness, to separate yourselves from the world one day in a 
 week to an attendance upon the Spirit, that you may give 
 honour to him, and may receive grace and comfort from 
 him; but rejoice in those stated opportunities, not only of 
 professing but of improving, your faith in the Holy Ghost. 
 
278 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 You see, brethren, how great and honourable, how holy 
 and reverend, these names are by which we plead with 
 you, and beseech you not to profane the Lord's day. I 
 am willing to hope that in what you do you intend not 
 an affront to the eternal God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; 
 you still honour God with your lips, and call yourselves 
 by his name; but whether you intend it so or no, you 
 see it is with good reason so interpreted. Every contempt 
 of the day of the Lord is, if not designedly, yet construc- 
 tively, a contempt of him who is the Lord of the day; 
 and so he will resent it, and reckon for it, for in the matters 
 of his worship the Lord whose name is Jealous " is a jealous 
 God." I beseech you, therefore, brethren, for the sake of 
 the blessed God, whose you are, and whom you are bound 
 to serve, and to whom you are accountable, if you have any 
 respect to the honour of his name, and the interests of his 
 kingdom, and desire of his favour and grace, or any dread 
 of his wrath and curse, " Remember the Sabbath day to 
 keep it holy, for it is the Sabbath of the Lord your God." 
 Do not alienate to the world and the flesh any of those 
 precious minutes which he challenges a special property in ; 
 but by a double care and diligence for the future, endeavour 
 to make restitution of those which by your neglects hitherto 
 you have embezzled. God fills up your time with mercy, 
 look upon yourselves, therefore, as bound in gratitude to fill 
 up his time with duty ; so shall God have the praise and 
 you the comfort. 
 
 II. In profaning the Lord's day you sin against your own 
 souls, and throw away that good and benefit which is 
 designed both to others and to yourselves by the institution 
 of it. Our Saviour has told us that " the Sabbath was made 
 for man," and it is reckoned among the favours God showed- 
 to his Israel, that he made known unto them his holy Sab- 
 bath, Neh. ix. 14. And if the Old-Testament Sabbath was 
 so great a privilege, much more is our Christian Sabbath so, 
 for the New Testament begins with a proclamation of good- 
 will toward men. If the ministration of death was glo- 
 rious, much more the ministration of the Spirit. "VTe 
 
THE SABBATH. 
 
 279 
 
 solicit you for your own good, and beg of you to consider 
 for what end the Lord's day was appointed in your favours, 
 and if you will but consult yourselves, and the comfort of 
 your own souls, you will study to comply with the intentions 
 of it ; if thou be wise herein thou shalt be wise for thyself. 
 
 1. The Lord's day was appointed for the benefit of the 
 church and Christian societies. It was wisely designed, 
 that by the religious observance of that day, and a visible 
 difference made between it and other days, a face of religion 
 and godliness might be kept up, and a profession of Chris- 
 tianity maintained, published, and propagated. This is the 
 show of that substance ; and though the show without the 
 substance, the form of godliness without the power of it, 
 will not avail particular persons that rest in it, yet it is 
 for the advantage of the church in general, and helps to 
 support it in the world. 
 
 It would have been hard for all Christian churches, by a 
 common consent among themselves only, to have agreed 
 upon such a badge and token of the communion of saints 
 as the solemnizing of the Lord's day is ; and therefore the 
 wisdom of the church's Head and Lawgiver has appointed it. 
 Thus still the Sabbath is a sign, a distinguishing sign, as it 
 was to Israel of old, Exod. xxxi. 13. In the primitive 
 times when a Christian was examined by the heathen 
 judges, "Hast thou kept the Lord's day?" his answer was, 
 "I am a Christian;" intimating, that being a Christian he 
 durst not do otherwise. By this might all men know who 
 were Christ's disciples ; it was one of the badges of their 
 profession ; so that in sanctifying the Lord's day we testify 
 our relation to, and concurrence with, all that in every place 
 call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and 
 ours. Since all Christians cannot possibly meet in one and 
 the same place, by meeting thus on one and the same day, 
 and that the Lord's day, they testify their communion with 
 each other in faith, hope, and love, and that though they 
 are many, yet they are one. Those, therefore, who violate 
 and profane the Lord's day, do as much as lies in them to 
 thwart and defeat this intention. 
 
280 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 I beseech you consider it seriously, you are baptized into 
 the great body, and by virtue of that you are called Chris- 
 tians, and it is your honour; but unworthy, for ever 
 unworthy, are you of that honour, while you manifestly do 
 disservice to the Christian name and cause, stain the beauty 
 of its profession, stop the progress of its interest, and 
 endanger the cutting off of the entail of it, by putting the 
 Lord's day upon a level with other days, and in effect 
 trampling upon it as a common thing : hereby you pluck 
 up some of the best ranges of the church's pale, and lay all 
 in common. Take away the conscience of Sabbath sanctifi- 
 cation, and you open a gap at which all religion quite runs 
 out, and an inundation of wickedness breaks in of course ; 
 they who make no difference between God's day and other 
 days, will not long make any difference between God's 
 name and other names, and between God's book and other 
 books. If Sabbaths be generally neglected, Bibles and 
 ministers, and other institutions, will not be duly prized ; 
 and if these hedges of religion be broken down, religion 
 itself will soon become an easy prey to the boar of the 
 wood, and the wild beast of the forest. 
 
 And is it nothing to you whether the Lord Jesus has a 
 church in the world or no 1 and whether his religion has a 
 place and an interest among men or no 1 Are you indeed 
 in confederacy with those who have said, " Come and let us 
 cut off the Christian religion, that the name of it may be 
 no more in remembrance," Ps. lxxxiii. 3, 4. Certainly if 
 all should make as light of the Lord's day as you do, it 
 would come to this in a little time ; the light of the gospel 
 would be put out, its coal would be quenched, and there 
 would remain to it neither root nor branch. If these out- 
 works be betrayed to the enemy, the main forts cannot long 
 be maintained ; but the gates of hell will prevail against 
 the church. 
 
 Let me, therefore, beg of you for the church's sake, as 
 you value its being and welfare, its continuance and pros- 
 perity in the world, if you have any regard to its bleeding 
 cause, to its dying interests, and would help to revive it, do 
 
THE SABBATH. 
 
 281 
 
 what you can to support the honour of the Lord's day. Let 
 not Sion's friends deal treacherously with her, nor betray 
 her to those who seek her ruin; let them not join with her 
 enemies in mocking at her Sabbaths ; for if those fall into 
 contempt, and the sanctification of them be disused, she 
 soon sits solitary, becomes as a widow, and all her beauty is 
 departed from her. I refer to those complaints, Lam. i. 1, 
 2, 6, 7. You *vould willingly see the good of Jerusalem, 
 and religion in a nourishing state ; help then to maintain 
 the honour of God's Sabbaths, and thereby show before the 
 churches your professed subjection to the gospel of Christ. 
 
 2. The Lord's day was appointed for the weaning of us 
 from this present world, and the taking off of our affections 
 from the things of it, by giving a stop and pause once a 
 week to our secular pursuits; and we lose this benefit of it 
 if we neglect it, and violate the appointed rest of that day. 
 It is certain that much of the power of godliness lies in our 
 living above the world, and being dead to it ; those are 
 Christians indeed who look upon the things that are seen 
 with a holy indifference and contempt, as those who know 
 their felicity and portion lie in the things that are not seen. 
 
 But it would be very hard, and even impossible, to attain 
 to this heavenly mind, if we were to be constantly in the 
 crowd and hurry of worldly employments and recreations, 
 and in an uninterrupted converse with the things of sense 
 and time : if every day were to be entirely for the world, 
 without any intermission, every thought and intent of the 
 heart will be for it too, and the whole soul will be plunged 
 and lost in it. 
 
 And, therefore, he who knows our frame, and that we 
 are, in mind as well as body, dust, apt to move toward 
 the dust of tins earth, and to mingle with it; he who 
 tnows where we dwell, even where Satan's seat is, the 
 prince of this world, Rev. ii. 13, has wisely and graciously 
 appointed us some rest from our worldly pursuits. His 
 providence has appointed us the natural rest of every- 
 evening, which calls us in from our work and labour, and 
 gives us some advantageous minutes, if we have but wis- 
 
282 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 dom to improve them, for retirement into ourselves, and 
 reflection upon ourselves; for communing with our own 
 hearts, and meditating on God and his word. But this 
 is not all; his grace has also provided for us the insti- 
 tuted rest of every Sabbath, which gives us a longer breath- 
 ing time ; that while our hands rest from the business of 
 the world, our minds may rest from the cares of it, and 
 so we may be saved from the inordinate love of it. 
 
 Six days thou shalt labour and do all thy work, all that 
 work that must be done for the body thou carriest about 
 with thee, that that may be supported, and for the world 
 thou livest in, that thou mayst pass comfortably through it; 
 but thou must shortly put off" this body, and bid adieu to 
 this world ; and therefore, one day in seven thou shalt rest 
 from this work and labour, and lay it aside, that thou mayst 
 recall thy thoughts and affections from the world and the 
 body ; and so learn to sit loose to them, and by these frequent 
 acts confirm the habit of heavenly-mindedness. By our 
 weekly retirements from the world, it will be made the 
 more easy to us always to live above the world, as those who 
 are strangers and sojourners in it. 
 
 And do you not find, sirs, that there is need of such 
 pauses, such parenthesis, as these 1 Do you not find the 
 world encroaching upon you, and gaining ground in your 
 hearts ? Do you not experience the insinuating nature of 
 these present things, even of care and toil about them, which 
 are strangely bewitching; and that by constant converse 
 with the things of the earth, we grow in love with them and 
 become earthly 1 And will you not then take the advantage 
 which this institution gives you, to recover the ground you 
 lose all the week, by a total cessation of worldly business on 
 the Lord's day 1 By a close application of yourselves to thte 
 proper business and pleasure of the Lord's day, you will find 
 yourselves so well employed, and so well entertained by 
 your religion, that you will look with a holy contempt 
 upon the employments and entertainments of the world. 
 
 Let me add under this head, that your accustoming of 
 yourselves to a strict retirement from the world on the 
 
a SABBATH. 
 
 283 
 
 Lord's day will make your final removal out of it at death 
 more easy and less formidable. Brethren, you are dying, 
 your souls are continually in your hands ; death will shortly 
 seal up your hands, it will cut off all your purposes, and put 
 a full stop to all your pursuits ; yet a little while, and the 
 place that knows you will know you no more ; yet a little 
 while, and you must bid an eternal farewell to your houses 
 and lands, your farms and merchandise, and this will be a 
 hard task if you never knew what it was to intermit these 
 cares and pleasures. If you will not think it worth your 
 while to leave them at the bottom of the hill while you go 
 up to worship, with a purpose to return to them again, as 
 Abraham, Gen. xxii. 5, what a difficulty will it be to you to 
 leave them not to return to them again ! You cannot find 
 in your hearts to keep from your shops or sports, to lay 
 aside your worldly business and diversions, one day in seven; 
 how then will you persuade yourselves willingly to quit all 
 at death 1 which yet you must do whether you will or no. 
 We must forsake these things shortly; to prepare us for 
 which it is good for us, at least as often as God hath 
 appointed us, to forget them now, and lay aside the thoughts 
 of them. If Ave would make a virtue of the necessity we 
 shall be under of leaving the world when we die, let us 
 make a necessity of the virtue of retiring from the world, 
 and putting oft' the care and business of it, every Lord's 
 day. 
 
 3. The Lord's day was appointed for our communion and 
 fellowship with God, with the Father, and with his Son 
 Jesus Christ, by the Spirit, and we are enemies to ourselves 
 if we neglect to improve it for this purpose ; we are on that 
 day not only called off from the world, but called up into the 
 "holiest," into which, by the blood of Jesus, we have access 
 with humble boldness. We are invited from on high, " Come 
 up hither," to the highest degrees of comfort and honour 
 that man on earth is capable of, and will you choose to 
 tarry below, to converse with earthly things, when you are 
 invited to a conversation with things heavenly and divine 1 
 How much soever this may seem a paradox to those who are 
 
284 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 strangers to the life of God, and to the power of godliness, 
 
 all who are serious and devout know what it is. 
 
 This is a day in which we are with all humility to make 
 visits to God, and with all reverence and observance to 
 receive visits from him ; to hear what he speaks to us out of 
 his word, and to speak to him by prayer. This is the proper 
 conversation of that day, for this it was instituted and 
 intended ; and therefore to spend it in idle visits, and in 
 impertinent talk, either foolish in itself, and which would 
 be culpable any day, or, at least, in that which is foreign to 
 the business of this day, is to put a great slight upon God 
 Almighty, and upon the provision he has made for our 
 communion with him. It is as if a prince or some great or 
 wise man should invite you into his company, offer to 
 entertain you with the most pleasant and edifying discourse, 
 and appoint a time and place for the interview, and you 
 should leave him, and turn your back upon him, to go and 
 talk with some idle beggar or buffoon at the door. Would 
 not this justly be construed an intolerable affront? Would 
 you not blush to think that you should ever be guilty of 
 such a piece of rudeness? Would you not expect to be 
 forbidden the house and presence of the person you had thus 
 slighted ? Yet you do ten thousand times worse than this 
 when you trifle away that day in common conversation and 
 business which God has appointed you to spend in com- 
 munion with himself, according as your opportunities are. 
 
 The whole life of a Christian ought to "be a life of com- 
 munion with God ; our eyes must be ever toward the Lord, 
 we must walk with him, and set him always before us. and 
 in all our ways we must acknowledge him. Now, in order 
 to the keeping up of this habitual regard to God, wherein 
 consists so much of the power of godliness, it is requisite 
 that we be frequent and constant at stated times in the 
 solemn acts of devotion. We contract an acquaintance with 
 our friends, and an affection for them, by being often in 
 their company, interchanging knowledge and lov% ; thus our 
 acquaintance with God is cultivated by religious worship, 
 and without that it withers and dies, and comes to nothing. 
 
TUB SABBATH 
 
 285 
 
 The divine life is supported and maintained by the receiving 
 and digesting of the bread of life, and not otherwise. 
 
 Communion with God is in short this : it is to admit into 
 our minds the discoveries God has been pleased to make of 
 himself, and of his will and grace, and to dwell upon them 
 in our thoughts, and to make returns of agreeable affections 
 and motions of soul suited to those discoveries. It is to 
 delight ourselves in the pleasing contemplation of the 
 beauty, bounty, and benignity of our God, and to employ 
 ourselves in the pious exercises of faith, love, and resignation 
 to him, and in the joyful praises of his name. 
 
 And is one day in seven too much to be spent in such 
 work as this ? Or shall we break in upon the bounds which 
 the divine law has set about that mountain on which God 
 has promised to come down, and lay it common with the 
 wilderness? Should we not rather wish that every day 
 were a Sabbath day, and that we might always dwell in 
 God's house, with them who are there still praising him ? 
 
 If we did indeed love God as we ought, with all our 
 heart and soul, we would not say when we have been 
 attending upon him two or three hours in public worship, 
 now we have surely done enough for this day, when we are 
 invited, encouraged, and appointed still to continue our 
 communion with him, still to feast upon his holy word, and 
 repeat our addresses at the throne of his grace in our closets 
 and families. Would we be so soon weary of an intimate 
 conversation with a friend we love and take pleasure in 1 
 No, with such a friend we contrive how to prolong the time 
 of conversation, and when the hours of sitting together are 
 expired, we stand together, and, as those who are loath to 
 part, bid often farewell, and we add to this a walk together 
 for further discourses. " Is this thy kindness to thy friend," 
 and wilt thou say of communion with thy God, " Behold 
 what a weariness is it ? " and contrive excuses to contract it, 
 to break it off, or cut it short ? 
 
 Reading the Holy Bible and other good books, repetition, 
 catechising, singing psalms, praying, praising, profitable dis- 
 course ; these are the exercises which, if they meet with a 
 
286 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 heart piously and devoutly affected toward God, will furnish 
 us with such a pleasing variety of good works, to fill up 
 those 'hours of the Lord's day which are not spent in public 
 worship, or in works of necessity and mercy, and will turn 
 so much to our advantage that we shall complain of nothing 
 so much as the speedy returns of the Sabbath evening, and 
 the shadows thereof. Did we call the Sabbath a delight, as 
 we ought, and the work of it a pleasure, we would be ready 
 to say, " Sun, stand thou still upon this Gibeon," let the 
 day be prolonged, and the minutes of it doubled, for " it is 
 good to be here," here let us "make tabernacles;" or rather 
 let us endeavour, by the grace of God, to do a double work 
 in a single day, and long to be there where we shall spend 
 an everlasting Sabbath in communion with God, a Sabbath 
 that will have no night at the end of it, nor any week-day to 
 come after it. 
 
 You who trifle away Sabbath time, I beseech you consider 
 this seriously ; " Seemeth it a small thing to you that the 
 God of Israel " has " separated you to bring you near to 
 himself ? " That he has not only admitted you into covenant, 
 but invited you into communion with himself? And is 
 this a favour that must go a-begging with you, and that 
 after all the-court it makes to you, you will not be persuaded 
 to accept of? And shall the conversation of a vain com- 
 panion in an ale-house or tavern, the entertainments of a 
 coffee-house, or an idle walk into the fields, be preferred 
 before the honour and pleasure of communion with God in 
 Christ! And will you indeed choose these broken cisterns 
 rather than the fountain of living waters ; these lying 
 vanities rather than your own mercies? God in mercy 
 open your eyes and show you your folly ! Would David 
 rather be a door-keeper in the house of God than dwell in 
 the tents of wickedness ! and will you rather be door-keepers, 
 slaves, and drudges, in the tents of wickedness, than dwell 
 in liberty, ease, and honour in the house of your God ? 
 
 Oh that I could now prevail with you to look upon it as 
 your main business on the Lord's day, from the beginning 
 to the end of the day, to converse with God, and to mind it 
 
THE SABBATH. 
 
 287 
 
 accordingly. If God will condescend to meet with you in 
 your secret, as well as public, addresses to him, and has ap- 
 pointed you a set time for them, be not you so rude to him, 
 and so unjust to yourselves, as to neglect them, or make but a 
 short and slighting business of them. 
 
 4. The Lord's day was appointed for our furtherance and 
 increase in holiness, and the carrying on of the work of 
 sanctification in us ; in the due performance of the work of 
 the Lord's day, and the due observance of its rest. In order 
 thereunto there is not only the pleasure of maintaining 
 communion with God, but the real benefit of increasing our 
 conformity to him. This profit we shall have if we pray 
 to him and keep his ordinances ; while thus we behold the 
 glory of the Lord, we are through grace changed into the 
 same image. By worshipping the Lord in the beauty of 
 holiness we come to be partakers of his holiness, and so the 
 beauty of the Lord our God is upon us. And is it not 
 worth while to oblige ourselves to the strictest and most 
 careful observance of the Lord's day, in prospect of those 
 advantages by it ] 
 
 The Sabbath day is a market day, a harvest day for the 
 soul ; it is an opportunity, — it is time fitted for the doing 
 of that which cannot be done at all, or not so well done, at 
 another time : now, if this day be suffered to run waste, 
 and other business minded than that which is the proper 
 work of the day, our souls cannot but be miserably im- 
 poverished and neglected, and the vineyards we are made 
 keepers of cannot but be like the field of the slothful, 
 and the vineyard of the man void of understanding. While 
 you make no conscience of keeping the Sabbath day, and 
 improving the precious minutes of it, no wonder that you 
 are ignorant in the things of God, fools, or at least but babes 
 in knowledge, for that is the time of getting understanding j 
 no wonder that your lusts and corruptions are so strong as 
 they are, and you so unable to resist Satan's temptations, 
 ■ your graces so weak, and you so unready to every good 
 word and work ; for when you should be furnishing your- 
 selves with what is needful for the support of your spiritual 
 
288 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 life, and the carrying on of your spiritual warfare, you are 
 doiDg something else that is not only foreign and imperti- 
 nent, but prejudicial and inconsistent. 
 
 Solomon has long since pronounced it, not only as the 
 sentence of a wise king, but of a righteous God, that he who 
 sleeps or plays in harvest is a <: son that causeth shame/' 
 and when he "begs in winter he shall have nothing." This 
 is your character, and this, if you do not repent and amend 
 your doings, will be your case. If at last you perish eter- 
 nally, under the power of a vain and carnal mind, and go 
 down to hell in impenitence and unbelief, your contempt 
 and profanation of the Lord's day will greatly aggravate 
 your condemnation ; because your due improvement of that 
 sacred day would have been a means to prevent your coming 
 to that place of torment without a messenger sent to you 
 from the dead. 
 
 Sirs, it is better to think of this now, when lost Sabbaths 
 may be redeemed by an after care and diligence, than re- 
 member it in the bottomless pit. when the reflection upon 
 it will but pour oil into the flames, and it will be too 
 late to retrieve the precious hours that you are now so 
 prodigal of. Oh what a cutting, what a killing remem- 
 brance will it be hereafter, to think, if I had spent that 
 time on the Lord's day in reading and meditation, in 
 prayer aDd praise, and the study of the Scriptures, and 
 other religious exercises, public, private, and secret, which 
 I spent in tippling, or sporting, or working at my calling, 
 or in idle or unprofitable conversation, I might have got that 
 knowledge and grace, and kept up that communion with 
 God which would not only have prevented my misery in 
 this land of darkness, but would have prepared me for 
 the inheritance of the saints in light ! If I had been as 
 jeager to get wisdom as I was to get wealth, and as soli- 
 citous and industrious to please God as I was to gratify 
 my own sensual appetite, and to recommend myself to a 
 vain world, I might have been eternally happy, and equal' 
 to the angels of light, who am now likely to be for ever 
 miserable, a companion with devils, and a sharer with them 
 in their endless pains and horrors. 
 
THE SABBATH. 
 
 289 
 
 Then, oh then, thou wouldst give a thousand worlds, 
 if thou hadst them, for one of those days of the Son of 
 man thou art now so prodigal of. But the impassable 
 gulf between thee and that grace which is now offered 
 thee will then be immovably fixed, the bridge of mercy 
 will then be drawn, and the door of hope will be shut for 
 ever. Sabbaths cannot then be recalled, nor will the offers 
 of life be made thee any more ; now God calls and thou 
 wilt not hear, then thou shalt call and he will not hear. 
 Thou art now called once a-week to rest ; to rest from the 
 world, and rest in God ; but thou callest even this rest a 
 weariness, and snuffest at it ; justly, therefore, will he 
 swear in his wrath that thou shalt never enter into that 
 rest of which this is a type, and if thou be shut out from it 
 thy condition will be for ever restless. Surely thy heart is 
 desperately hardened if this consideration make no impression 
 on thee. 
 
 5. The Lord's day was appointed to be an earnest and 
 sign of our everlasting rest ; the rest that remains for the 
 people of God. It is intended to remind us of heaven, to fit 
 us for heaven, and to give some comfortable pledges and 
 foretastes of the joys and glories of that blessed state to all 
 those 'who have their conversation in heaven, and their 
 affections set upon things above. These are the days of 
 heaven, and if heaven be an everlasting Sabbath, surely 
 Sabbaths are a heaven upon earth, in them the " tabernacle 
 of God is with men." 
 
 And have you no value for eternal life, sirs, no concern 
 about it ? Is heaven nothing to you, or not worth the 
 thinking of 1 Do you indeed despise the pleasant land, and 
 prefer Egypt's garlic and onions before Canaan's milk and 
 honey, and a mess of pottage before such a birthright and 
 the privileges of it ! Your profanation and contempt of the 
 Lord's day plainly says that you do so, and according to 
 your choice you shall have your lot "so shall your 
 doom be." 
 
 You say you hope to be saved ; but what ground have 
 you for those hopes while you plainly show that you 
 
 T 
 
290 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 neglect this great salvation, by your neglect to commemorate 
 Christ's resurrection, by which it was wrought out, and 
 your neglect to improve the means of grace by which you 
 are prepared for it ? If you had indeed any good hope of 
 eternal life you would not think much to spend one day in 
 seven in the joyful contemplation of it, and in getting 
 yourselves ready for it. 
 
 You say you hope to go to heaven ; but what pleasure 
 can you take in the expectations of an everlasting Sabbath, 
 and of the employments and enjoyments of that world, 
 when you are so soon weary of these short Sabbaths which 
 are types of that, and are ready to say, " When will they 
 be gone ?" What pleasure can it be to you to be for ever 
 with the Lord, to whom it is a pain and a penance to be 
 an hour or two with him now ? What happiness will it be 
 to you to dwell in his house, and to be still praising him in 
 heaven, who, by your good-will, would be never praising 
 hiin on earth, but grudge the few minutes that are so em- 
 ployed ? Heaven will not be heaven to a Sabbath-breaker, 
 for there is no idle company, no vain sports, no foolish 
 mirth or unprofitable chat there ; and these are his delights 
 now, winch he prefers before that communion with God, 
 which is both the work and bliss of that world. All who 
 shall go to heaven hereafter begin then heaven now ; as in 
 other things, so, particularly, in their cheerful conscientious 
 observance of the Lord's day. 
 
 And noAv lay all this together, and then tell me if there 
 be not a great deal of reason why you should keep holy the 
 Sabbath day, " call it a delight, holy of the Lord," and 
 therefore truly honourable, and why you should therefore 
 honour and sanctify him on that day ; not doing your own 
 ways but his ; not finding your own pleasure, but aiming 
 to please God ; not speaking your own words as on other 
 days, but speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom 
 of God, Isa. lviii. 13. 
 
 Can the entanglements of custom, company, carnal plea- 
 sure, or worldly profit, be more powerful with you than all 
 those sacred cords and bonds ? Can the pleasing of a cus- 
 
TIIE SABBATH. 
 
 291 
 
 tomer, the obliging of a friend, much less the gratifying of 
 a base lust, balance the displeasing of God, the dishonouring 
 of Christ, and the wronging of your own souls ? I beseech 
 you to consider it seriously, and be wise for yourselves. 
 
 After these considerations which I have urged surely I 
 need not insist upon any other. I am confident the reign- 
 ing love of God in your hearts, and a deep and serious con- 
 cern about your precious souls and their eternal welfare, 
 will furnish you with considerations sufficient to oblige you 
 to as much strictness and care in the sanctification of the 
 Lord's day as the word of God requires, and as is necessary 
 to answer the intentions of the institution : and more than 
 this we do not insist on. Think much of that of the Pha- 
 risees, which though blasphemously misapplied to the 
 Saviour, was grounded upon a great truth ; " This man is 
 not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day,'' J ohn 
 ix. 16. 
 
 Will it be to any purpose to suggest this further consi- 
 deration to you ; That tbe way to prosper in your affairs all 
 the week, and to have the blessing of God upon you in 
 them, is to make conscience of the Lord's day 1 That 
 truly great and good man, the Lord Chief Justice Hale, 
 writes very solemnly to his children ; " I have found by a 
 strict and diligent observation, that a due observance of the 
 duties of the Lord's day hath ever had joined to it a blessing 
 upon the rest of my time, and the week that hath been so be- 
 gun hath been blessed and prosperous to me ; and on the other 
 side, when I have been negligent of the duties of this day, 
 the rest of the week hath been unsuccessful and unhappy 
 to my own secular employments the week following. This 
 I write," saith he, " not lightly or inconsiderately, but upon 
 long and sound observation and experience." 1 
 
 Shall I remind you how much it will be for your credit 
 with all wise and good people 1 Those who honour God he 
 will honour. Shall I tell you with what comfort you may 
 lie down at night in the close of a Sabbath, after you have 
 carefully done the work of the day in its day ] Yea, thou 
 
 1 Lord Hale's Contemplations, vcL L p. 323. 
 
292 
 
 THE SABBATH. 
 
 " shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet." Especially, 
 think how sweet and easy your reflections upon well-spent 
 Sabbaths will be when you come to die, and with what 
 pleasure you will then look forward upon the everlasting 
 Sabbath you hope to keep within the veil. 
 
 Wonder not that I am thus earnest with you in this 
 matter ; I see how much depends upon it, and I persuade 
 as one who desires and hopes to prevail with you ; let me 
 not be disappointed, as you value the glory of your Creator, 
 the honour of your Redeemer, and your own comfort and 
 happiness in both worlds. I beseech you, c * Remember the 
 Sabbath day," the Christian Sabbath, " to keep it holy." 
 Most cetainly true that saying is which I have somewhere 
 met with ; " That the stream of all religion runs either 
 deep or shallow according as the banks of the Sabbath are 
 kept up or neglected." 
 
THE PROMISES OF GOD. 
 
 I 
 
THE PROMISES OF GOD. 
 
 " Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us deanse ourselves 
 from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of 
 God."— 2 Cor. vii. L 
 
 It is the unspeakable privilege of all believers to have, as 
 a certain possession, the precious promises of God. But 
 under what notion have we the promises of God ? 
 
 f. We have them as manifest tokens of God's favour 
 towards us ; and every one of them are yea, amen, in Christ 
 Jesus our Lord. 
 
 2. We have them as fruits of Christ's purchase. The 
 Lord having purchased us with his own blood we have 
 these promises produced by that inestimable grace. 
 
 3. They are plain and ample declarations of the good-will 
 of God towards men, and therefore as God's part of the 
 covenant of grace. 
 
 4. They are a foundation of our faith, and we have them 
 as such ; and also of our hope, on these we are to build 
 all our expectations from God ; and in all temptations and 
 trials we have them to rest our souls upon. 
 
 5. We have them as the directions and encourage- 
 ments of our desires in prayer. Seek and you shall find, 
 knock and it shall be opened unto you. Wherefore they 
 are the guide of our desires, and the ground of our hope 
 in prayer. 
 
296 THE PROMISES 09 GOD. 
 
 f 
 
 6. We have them as the means by which the grace of 
 
 God works for our holiness and comfort, for by these we are 
 made partakers of a divine nature, and faith, applying these 
 promises, is said to work by love. 
 
 7. We have the promises as the earnest and assurance of 
 future blessedness. By these eternal life and glory is secured 
 to all true believers. 
 
 And now, having observed these things, let us review the 
 blessed promises of God ; and 
 
 The first is, — He hath promised that we shall be his 
 people. 
 
 The Scripture, — "Now therefore, if ye will obey my 
 voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a 
 peculiar treasure unto me above all people ; for all the earth 
 is mine," Exod. xix. 5. 
 
 The second promise, — That all our sins shall be par- 
 doned. 
 
 " I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions 
 for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins," Isa. 
 xliii. 25. 
 
 The third, — That our corruptions shall be subdued. 
 
 u For sin shall not have dominion over you ; for ye are 
 not under the law, but under grace," Rom. vi. 14. 
 
 The fourth, — That the Spirit of grace shall be given us, 
 to enable us for our duty in every thing. 
 
 " I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk 
 in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do 
 them," Ezek. xxxvi. 27. 
 
 The fifth, — That God will put it particularly into our 
 hearts, or circumcise our hearts to love him. 
 
 " The Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the 
 heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine 
 heart and with all thy soul, that thou may est live," Deut. 
 xxx. 6. 
 
 The sixth, — That he will give us the knowledge o* his 
 truth, and the comfort and benefit of it. 
 
 " Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you 
 free " John viii. 32. 
 
THE PROMISES OF GOD. 
 
 297 
 
 The seventh, — That he will unite our hearts to himself 
 and to each other. 
 
 * I will give them one heart and one way, that they may 
 fear me for ever, for the good of them and of their chil- 
 dren after them, Jer. xxxii. 39. 
 
 The eighth, — That he will be tender of those that are 
 weak. 
 
 " He shall feed his flock like a Shepherd : he shall gather 
 the lambs with his arm, and earn* them in his bosom, and 
 shall gently lead those that are with young," Isa. xl. 11. 
 
 The ninth, — That he will direct us in the way of our 
 duty. 
 
 " Good and upright is the Lord : therefore will he teach 
 sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in judgment, 
 and the meek will he teach his way," Ps. xxv. 8, 9. 
 
 The tenth, — That he will protect us from every thing 
 that is really evil. 
 
 " The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil : he shall 
 preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out 
 and thy coming in, from this time forth and even for ever- 
 more," Ps. exxi. 7, 8. 
 
 The eleventh, — That he will supply us with all good. 
 
 " The young lions do lack and suffer hunger ; but they 
 that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing," Ps. 
 xxxiv. 10. 
 
 The twelfth, — That he will answer our prayers. 
 
 " Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, 
 that the Father may be glorified in the Son," John xiv. 13. 
 
 The thirteenth, — That he will silence our fears. 
 
 " I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying 
 unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee," Isa. xli. 13. 
 
 The fourteenth, — That he will bear us up under our 
 burthens. 
 
 " The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the 
 everlasting arms," Deut. xxxiii. 27. 
 
 The fifteenth, — That he will give us a sure and lasting 
 peace. 
 
 " The work of righteousness shall be peace ; and the 
 
298 
 
 THE PROMISES OF GOD. 
 
 effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever/' 
 Isa. xxxii. 17. 
 
 The sixteenth, — That he will admit us into fellowship 
 and communion with himself. 
 
 " Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to 
 approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts : we 
 shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of 
 thy holy temple," Ps. lxv. 4. 
 
 The seventeenth, — That he will give us the comfortable 
 enjoyment of ourselves. 
 
 " His soul shall dwell at ease ; and his seed shall inherit 
 the earth," Ps. xxv. 13. 
 
 The eighteenth, — That he will deliver us in and under 
 our troubles. 
 
 " Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I 
 deliver him : I will set him on high, because he hath 
 known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will 
 answer him : I will be with him in trouble ; I will deliver 
 him and honour him," Ps. xci. 14, 15. 
 
 The nineteenth, — That he will afflict us in measure and 
 in mercy when we have need of it. 
 
 " I will be Iris Father, and he shall be my son. If he 
 commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, 
 and with the stripes of the children of men : but my mercy 
 shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, 
 whom I put away before thee," 2 Sam. vii. 14, 15. 
 
 The twentieth, — That he will spare us with the tender- 
 ness of a fatherly compassion. 
 
 " They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day 
 when I make up my jewels ; and I will spare them as a 
 man spareth his own son that serveth him," Malachi iii. 17. 
 
 The twenty-first, — That he will not persist in his contro- 
 versy with us. 
 
 " I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always 
 wroth : for the spirits should fail before me, and the souls 
 which I liave made," Isa. lvii. 16. 
 
 The twenty-second, — That he will speak comfort to us 
 when wc are in sorrow. 
 
Tim PROMISES OF GOD. 
 
 299 
 
 " I will hear what God the Lord will speak : for he will 
 speak peace unto his people, and to his saints : but let them 
 not turn again to folly," Ps. lxxxv. 8. 
 
 The twenty-third, — That he will proportion our trials to 
 our strength. 
 
 " There hath no temptation taken you but such as is 
 common to man : but God is faithful, who will not suffer 
 you to be tempted above that ye are able ; but will with 
 the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be 
 able to bear it," 1 Cor. x. 13 
 
 The twenty-fourth, — That he will put true honour upon 
 
 us. 
 
 " Them that honour me I will honour," 1 Sam. ii. 30. 
 The twenty-fifth, — That he will feed us with food con- 
 venient for us. 
 
 " Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in 
 the land, and verily thou shalt be fed," Ps. xxxvii. 3. 
 
 The twenty-sixth, — That he will clear up our injured 
 reputation. 
 
 " He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and 
 thy judgment as the noon-day," Ps. xxxvii. 6. 
 
 The twenty-seventh, — That he will comfort and relieve 
 us in sickness. 
 
 " The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of lan- 
 guishing : thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness," Ps. 
 xli. 3. 
 
 The twenty-eighth, — That he will prevent our apostasy 
 from him. 
 
 " I will make an everlasting covenant with them, and I 
 will not turn away from them to do them good ; but I 
 Will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not de- 
 part from me," Jer. xxxii. 40. 
 
 The twenty-ninth, — That he will make all events con- 
 duce to our real welfare. 
 
 " We know that all things work together for good to 
 them that love God, to them who are the called according 
 to his purpose," Rom. viii. 28. 
 
 The thirtieth, — That he will perfect the work of grace In us 
 
300 
 
 THE PROMISES OP GOD. 
 
 "Being confident of this very thing, that he which 
 hath begun a good work in you will perform it until 
 the day of Jesus Christ," Phil. i. 6. 
 
 The thirty -first, — That he will be with us when we 
 are old, to bear us up under all our infirmities. 
 
 " Even to your old age I am he ; and even to hoary hairs 
 will I carry you ■ 1 have made, and I will bear ; even I will 
 carry, and will deliver you/' Isa. xlvi. 4. 
 
 The thirty-second, — That he will never desert us in any 
 exigence whatsoever. 
 
 " For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake 
 thee," Heb. xiii. 5. 
 
 The thirty-third, — That he will give us victory over our 
 spiritual enemies. 
 
 " The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet 
 shortly," Rom. xvi. 20. 
 
 The thirty-fourth, — That he will recompense our charity 
 to the poor. 
 
 " He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth unto the 
 Lord ; and that which he hath given will he pay him again,'* 
 Prov. xix. 17. 
 
 The thirty-fifth, — That he will make up all our losses for 
 his name's sake. 
 
 u Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or 
 sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands 
 for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and shall 
 inherit everlasting life," Matt. xix. 29. 
 
 The thirty-sixth, — That he will let us live long enough 
 in this world, and give us a comfortable prospect of a better. 
 
 " With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my 
 salvation," Ps. xci. 16. 
 
 The thirty-seventh, — That he will be with us when we 
 come to die. 
 
 " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
 of death, I will fear no evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod 
 and thy staff they comfort me," Ps. xxiii. 4. 
 
 The thirty-eighth, — That he will receive our souls into 
 
 the arms of his love. 
 
THE PROMISES OF GOD. 
 
 301 
 
 " But God will redeem my soul from the power of the 
 grave: for he shall receive me. Selah!" Ps. xlix. 15. 
 
 The thirty-ninth, — That he will take care of our pos- 
 terity when we are gone. 
 
 " The children of thy servants shall continue, and their 
 seed shall be established before thee," Ps. cii. 28. 
 
 The fortieth, — That he will raise our bodies to life 
 again. 
 
 " This is the will of him that sent me, That every one 
 which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have ever- 
 lasting life ; and I will raise him up at the last day," John 
 vi. 40. 
 
 The forty-first, — That he will own us in the judgment 
 of the great day. 
 
 " Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him 
 will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven," 
 Matt. x. 32. 
 
 The forty-second, — That he will put us into possession of 
 everlasting bliss. 
 
 " And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even 
 eternal life," 1 John ii. 25. 
 
 REPETITION TEXT. 
 
 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves 
 from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of 
 God. 
 
 And now what shall we say to these things ? 
 
 1. — 1. Let us be thankful to God for all these great and 
 precious promises, that God should not only do us good, but 
 engage himself by promises to do so. 
 
 2. Let us be ashamed of ourselves that we have not lived 
 more upon these promises. 
 
 3. Let us encourage ourselves with these promises to go 
 on cheerfully and resolutely in the way of our duty. 
 
 4. Let us acknowledge the truth of God, and his faith- 
 fulness to his promises. " There hath not failed one word 
 of all his good promise," &c., 1 Kings viii. 56. 
 
302 
 
 THE PROMISES OP GOD. 
 
 5. We are concerned to treasure up these promises, that 
 we may have them ready to use when we have occasion for 
 them, to silence our fears, and to strengthen our faith. 
 
 6. Behold, what need we have to live by faith, through 
 which, and by which, we make use of these promises. God 
 gives by promise that we may take by faith ; therefore set 
 about that work, and be much in the exercise of it. 
 
 II. Here is our duty inferred from this privilege. Let 
 us cleanse ourselves from all nlthiness of flesh and spirit ; 
 by which is understood, 
 
 1. We must abhor that which is evil, and abandon all sin 
 with an holy detestation. 
 
 2. We must cleave to that which is good ; we must per- 
 fect holiness in the fear of God. Observe, The consideration 
 of God's promises to us should strongly engage us against 
 all sin, and to all duty. To show you what strength there 
 is in this argument taken from the promises, to abhor that 
 which is evil, observe, (1.) We are bound in gratitude to 
 please him who has given us so many, so great and precious 
 promises, Ps. cxvi. 12. What shall I render? Oh, how 
 great is his goodness which he hath laid up for them that 
 fear him! God hath spoken in his holiness, I will rejoice, 
 Ps. cviii. 7. Observe, (2.) We forfeit the benefit of God's 
 promises if we do not make conscience of, and endeavour to 
 keep, his commands. Let us therefore fear, lest a promise 
 being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should 
 seem to come short of it, Heb. iv. 1. 
 
 III. We are taught the blessed fruits of these promises. 
 
 1. These promises furnish us with strength and grace 
 sufficient against sin, and for duty. Turn you at my re- 
 proof, behold, I will pour out my Spirit upon you, I will 
 make known my words unto you. 
 
 2. These promises speak the language of Caleb and J oshua, 
 who said, We are well able to overcome the people, when 
 they are about to enter into Canaan ; while the other spies 
 discouraged the tribes. Thus we may say, through the 
 strength of divine grace, we shall be enabled to overcome 
 
THE PROMISES OF GOD. 
 
 303 
 
 all our spiritual enemies, namely, the world, flesh, and devil, 
 Ezek. xxxvi. 26. Observe it. 
 
 3. God is faithful to these promises which he has made 
 to us. Therefore we must not be false to those promises 
 which we have made to him, Heb. x. 23. Let us hold fast 
 the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faith- 
 ful that promised. 
 
 4. In having these promises we have great honour put 
 upon us, and we ought to carry it as becomes us. God has 
 promised to be to us a faithful God, a loving, a tender 
 Father. Let us not wander out of the way of duty. If we 
 have received the promise, as Abraham did, we ought to do 
 some great act, in our obedience to his commands, as he 
 did. 
 
 5. The promises secure to us an abundant reward for 
 our obedience ; therefore let us be steadfast and immoveable, 
 always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that 
 our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord, 1 Cor. xv. 58. 
 
 And now, having observed these things concerning the 
 promises, let us explain fully the duty which is inferred. 
 It contains two parts. 
 
 I. To be cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and spirit. 
 
 II. To perfect holiness in the fear of God. 
 I. We must be cleansed, &c. 
 
 1. Therefore let us look upon sin as filthiness; let the 
 grace of God, and the purity, not only of his nature, but 
 also of his word and promises, make sin more odious and 
 terrible than in the threatenings it appears dangerous. In 
 the promises sin appears loathsome, and filthiness itself. 
 For, observe, (1.) It is odious to God, contrary to that 
 purity of nature which appears in his promises, which 
 should deter us from sin, Jer. xliv. 4. Oh! do not this 
 abominable thing that I hate, Gen. xxxix. 9. How can I 
 do this great wickedness and sin against God ! Observe, 
 (2.) Look upon sin as that which unfits us for communion 
 with God ; therefore, upon this account, let sin become 
 odious to us. Observe, (3.) Sin in Scripture is called and 
 
3C4 
 
 THE PKOMISZS OF GOD. 
 
 compared to a wound, to a plague, to leprosy, &c., and all 
 to make us fear and loath it 
 
 2. Let us cleanse ourselves from this fil thin ess, by re- 
 ceiving the Lord Jesus Christ ; for it is he that is made to 
 us both righteousness and sanctification. It is our duty to 
 cleanse ourselves, but we cannot do this without God's 
 grace, and he will not do it without our endeavours. This 
 implies. (1.) That we truly repent of the sins which we 
 have committed, and loath ourselves for them. When- 
 ever we go to worship God, we must lie down in our 
 shame, and abhor ourselves, repenting in dust and ashes. 
 (2.) That by faith we apply the blood of Christ to our 
 consciences, and sprinkle them with it, and that we wash 
 in that fountain opened for sin and unc leanness. We 
 read that the Ammonites made themselves odious in the 
 nostrils of David, and so they hardened themselves, that is, 
 strengthened themselves, against him. Let us not act so 
 against God, but let us lie low before the Lord, and make 
 the Lord Jesus Christ our friend to reconcile us to God. 
 
 3. Let us mortify the habits of sin, and purge out the 
 old leaven, both in the head and in the heart. Get clear 
 of our bad principles, that we may not make so light of sin 
 as we have done ; cleanse ourselves from all hlthiness that 
 is in the imagination. Great pains must be taken with the 
 heart, to get it clear of all corrupt inclinations. Wash ye. 
 make ye clean, indulge no evil thoughts in your hearts. 
 
 4. Let us watch against all occasions of sin, that is. all 
 those things by which you have contracted pollutions. 
 Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness 
 but rather reprove them. Keep at a distance from every 
 thing which has the appearance of evil. 
 
 5. Let us resolve for the future to have no more to do 
 with sin. Refrain from all acts of sin. Let him that has 
 stole steal no more, Eph. iv. 28. Let him that has been 
 drunk or unclean, be so no more, Isa. iv. 4. When the 
 Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of 
 Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from 
 the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the 
 
THE PROMISES OP GOD. 
 
 305 
 
 spirit of burning, that is, by a saving knowledge of, and a 
 sincere love to, God and his commandments, submit to the 
 Spirit's influences, or you will never get the mastery over 
 your sins and corruptions. Therefore you must put on a 
 holy resolution, and take the kingdom of heaven by violence, 
 for the violent take it by force. 
 
 6. Our care herein must be universal. We must cleanse 
 ourselves, (1.) From all filthiness of the flesh, from sloth- 
 fulness and the love of ease, from sensuality and the love 
 of pleasure, from gratifying the desires of the body with 
 forbidden fruit, or indulging them too much, to the damage 
 of the soul ; for even lawful pleasures may turn into sin 
 without due care and watchfulness over ourselves, such as 
 gluttony, drunkenness, or seventh-commandment sins. 
 (2.) We must cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the 
 spirit, from pride, covetousness, and the love of the world, 
 from fraud, deceit, and injustice, Job xxxi. 7, from all sin- 
 ful anger, malice, hatred, and desire of revenge ; for these 
 are spiritual filthiness, from all which we must be cleansed. 
 
 II. We must perfect holiness in the fear of God. 
 
 1. We must be holy. 
 
 That is taken for granted ; for we cannot perfect holiness 
 unless we begin it. We must be holy. What is that? 
 (1.) We must be devoted to God, as all holy persons and 
 things under the law were. We must be holiness to the 
 Lord. (2.) We must be conformed to God's likeness, and 
 to his - will. God's holiness is his agreement with himself; 
 our holiness is our agreeableness to him. We must act 
 in everything as becomes our relation to God, Col. i. 10. 
 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, 
 &c., and the image of God must be renewed upon us ; be 
 ye holy, saith the Lord, for I am holy. (3.) We must 
 be employed in the services and worship of God ; we must 
 engage our hearts in all our approaches to him ; we must 
 employ our minds, and all the powers of our souls, in all 
 the inward acts of inward worship, and in all outward 
 worship also we must not only bow the knee, but also 
 the heart, before the Lord ; for heartless worship is vain 
 
 u 
 
306 
 
 THE PROMISES OP GOD. 
 
 worship, God will not accept it, and we ourselves shall be 
 no gainers by it, so it must be in vain. (4.) We must 
 be engaged in the interests of God's kingdom amongst 
 men. To be holy is to be on the Lord's side, and to 
 espouse his cause, to be his witnesses, to be courageous 
 and valiant for the truth, to contend earnestly for it, for 
 great is the truth and it shall prevail ; God will own and 
 honour those that do own and honour him. 
 
 2. We must be sincere in our holiness, or perfecting 
 holiness. For sincerity is our gospel perfection, as a good 
 man said. I know no religion but sincerity, this is up- 
 rightness. Walk before me and be thou upright. By 
 this is understood, (1.) We must be sanctified throughout. 
 The whole man must be sanctified. The understanding 
 must be enlightened, the will bowed and brought into 
 obedience to the will of God, both to the will of his pre- 
 cepts to do them, and to the will of his providences to 
 submit to them; and thus we stand complete in the 
 whole will of God, that we may be sanctified in body, 
 soul, and spirit, and so be perfecting holiness in the fear 
 of God. (2.) The whole law of God must be regarded, 
 and a respect had to it. Then shall I not be ashamed, 
 when I have respect unto all thy commandments, Ps. 
 cxix. 6. Let my heart be sound in thy statutes that I 
 be not ashamed, ver. 80. I esteem all thy precepts con- 
 cerning all things to be right; and I hate every false 
 way, ver. 128. Oh let us labour to be sincere to the day 
 of Christ, like good and faithful servants waiting for the 
 coming of the Lord. 
 
 3. We must be growing and making progress in holi- 
 ness ; though we cannot perfect it in this world, yet we 
 must be perfecting it, that is, adding a greater degree to 
 a lesser, pressing forwards towards perfection. (1.) The 
 habits of grace must grow more confirmed and rooted, 
 our resolutions against sin more settled, and our resolution 
 for God and duty more' steady. This is to perfect what 
 is lacking in our faith, 1 Thess. iii. 10. (2.) The actings 
 of grace must grow more and more vigorous and lively 
 
THE PBOMISES OF GOD. 
 
 307 
 
 We must be more ready for every good work. "We must 
 have more spiritual success in a lively exercise to resist 
 sin, and all temptations that would insnare us. (3.) We 
 must be more and more watchful, and upon our guard. 
 Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 
 Therefore be not high minded, but fear, Rom. xi. 20. We 
 must" never think ourselves good enough, and safe enough, 
 but must be still growing wiser and better. (4.) We must 
 be actuated and animated therein by the fear of God. That 
 is, [1.] We must keep up a constant worship of God in our 
 families, and in our closets ; we must be frequent in holy 
 adorings and admirings of God. This will be a good means 
 of perfecting holiness, to be in the fear of the Lord every 
 day, and all the day long. [2.] We must maintain a 
 reverent regard to his majesty and authority, and this will 
 keep us from sin ; when others make bold with sin, we must 
 stand in awe of God, as Nehemiah did, chap. v. 15. But so 
 did not I, because of the fear of God. 3. We must have a 
 continual dread of his wrath and vindictive justice. A fear 
 of God's wrath and displeasure will be a means of keeping 
 ourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 
 
 To conclude. The apostle directs his exhortation to his 
 dearly beloved, so do I to you, my dearly beloved. 
 
 1. Apply the promises to yourselves, live upon them, 
 take them to be your heritage for ever. Both you that are 
 young, and you that are old, treasure up the promises. 
 2. Apply the precepts to yourselves, and live up to them, 
 and be holy in all manner of conversation. Keep a con- 
 science always void of offence both towards God and 
 towards man. 
 
 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the 
 word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give 
 you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified, 
 Acts xx. 32. And may you be always looking unto Jesus, 
 the Author and Finisher of faith, till you come to be for 
 ever with him. Ameu. 
 
THE WORTH OF THE SOUL 
 
 u For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his o^n 
 soul?"— Matt xvi. 26. 
 
 The soul of man is a jewel of inestimable value. This is 
 plainly intimated here, where the loss of the soul is repre- 
 sented as such a loss that the gain of all the world will 
 not be a compensation for it. Observe here, 
 
 1. What those things are that are here compared — "the 
 whole world," and "thy own soul;" these are here put 
 into the scales against one another. The world here means 
 not the universe, or the whole creation, that is more ex- 
 cellent than any one part, but the things that are seen, that 
 are temporal, 2 Cor. iv. 18 ; the riches, honours, and 
 pleasures, of this present time. See a map of this world, 
 1 John ii. 16. Now the " whole world " is here set in the 
 balance against one soul, if that one be thy one. It is not a 
 small estate, or a lordship, that is here supposed to be of 
 less value than the soul, but the world, the whole world. 
 Our temporal concernments are compared with our spiritual, 
 the " life that now is, and that which is to come," 1 Tim. 
 iv. 8. 
 
 2, What judgment is here passed upon them — That our 
 own souls are of infinitely more value than the whole 
 world. The value of a thing is reckoned partly by its nature 
 and intrinsic dignity, and partly by its use. That is most 
 
310 
 
 THE WORTH OP THE SOUL. 
 
 valuable, that is most delightful, most profitable and most 
 necessary. We reckon that is most worth that is most 
 worth to us. Now our own souls are more to us than all 
 the world is or can be. The design of this is to show of 
 what little worth the world is, and the things of the world : 
 they are weighed in the balance and found wanting ; not 
 worthy to be compared, or to be named, with the soul ; 
 Rom. viii. 18. 
 
 3. Who it is that passeth this judgment. It is our Lord 
 Jesus himself, one who had reason to know the worth of 
 souls, for he made them, and bought them; and who, we 
 may be sure, would not under-rate the world, for by him 
 " the worlds were made," Col. i. 16 ; Heb. i. 2. This 
 doctrine I shall endeavour, 
 
 1. To prove — The true worth of the soul, and that it is 
 more to us than all the world. Consider, 
 
 li The production of the soul. Trace it up to its original ; 
 and it is breathed into us by the breath of God : it is a 
 spark of heaven; it is that part of man by which he is 
 allied to the world of spirits; it is the master-piece of God's 
 workmanship in this lower world, Gen. ii. 7. The image of 
 God is stamped upon it, Gen. i. 26, 27. When it returns 
 to God, it doth but as all the waters do, return to the place 
 from whence it came. It is of a noble extraction. That 
 which makes up the world, that men covet so much, is 
 but of the earth, earthy : — honour is a shadow ; the 
 pleasures of the world, and the wealth of the world, are of 
 the earth ; gold and silver are but refined earth — Man 
 found thee poor and dirty in a mine, Herbert. But man was 
 made last of all the creatures, as the chief of the works of 
 God. It is good for us often to ask whence we came ; and 
 being so nobly descended, disdain to serve the base and sor- 
 did lusts of the flesh, and to prostitute an immortal soul to 
 the drudgery of this world. 
 
 2. The powers of the soul. These are very great ; its 
 apprehensions are not confined by the horizon of sense, but 
 rove far beyond it. The faculties of the human soul are 
 such as above any other creature prove the eternal power 
 
THE WORTH OP THE SOUL. 
 
 311 
 
 and wisdom of the Creator. It is the soul that knows right 
 well how marvellous God's works are, Ps. cxxxix. 14, by 
 reflection upon itself. Think what the soul of man is 
 capable of, and you will say that it is of inestimable 
 value. 
 
 (1.) It is capable of glorifying God in this world. It has 
 a power of knowing God, as he has been pleased to reveal 
 himself. It is that which is within us, that renders us 
 capable of blessing and praising God, Ps. ciii. 1, 2. It is 
 capable of " knowledge," in which, especially, the image of 
 God consists, Col. iii. 10. It is capable of reasoning and 
 "bringing to mind," Isa. xlvi. 8. It is capable of receiving 
 a divine revelation to this purpose, and in the use of insti- 
 tuted ordinances is capable of " having fellowship " with 
 God — of being wTOught upon, and witnessed with, by the 
 Holy Spirit of God, Rom. viii. 16. It is capable of being 
 " sanctified." 
 
 (2.) It is capable of being glorified with God in the other 
 world; of seeing and enjoying him wdthin the veil ; of con- 
 versing with angels and glorified spirits, and drinking in the 
 sweet and glorious rays of divine grace and love ; things 
 which are above, out of the sight of sense. It has a power 
 of doing that, which the body, till it is refined and become 
 a spiritual body, is not able to attain. It is capable of 
 seeing God face to face, which an embodied soul, till 
 stripped of this veil, cannot possibly do, Exod. xxxiii. 20. 
 
 (3.) The 'perpetuity of the soul. This is one great tiling 
 which speaks the worth of the soul — that it is to last for 
 ever, it is an immortal spirit. It is a flame that can never 
 be extinguished. It will survive the body, and will live 
 and act in a state of separation from it. It is one of those 
 things which are not seen, but are eternal, 2 Cor. iv. 18. 
 It is an awful consideration, when a child is born, to think, 
 here is the beginning of a being that will outlive all the 
 ages of time. The world is but for a moment, Prov. xxiii. 
 5, the fashion of it, the scheme, the outside of it, (for it is 
 but a superficies,) "passeth away," 1 Cor. vii. 31; 1 John 
 ii. 17. But the soul is perpetual : the things themselves 
 
312 
 
 THE "WOBTH OF THE SOUL. 
 
 towards which its desires extend, and those desires that are so 
 formed, are eternal. The brute creatures are mortal, but 
 man will be immortal. This makes it such a serious thing 
 for a man to die, above what it is for a beast to die, Eccl. 
 lii. 21. Things are reckoned valuable according to their 
 duration. Gold therefore is the most precious metal, 
 because it will not rust nor waste; but the utmost of 
 the duration of this world s goods is within time. 
 
 (4.) The propriety of our souls — " thy own soul." In 
 order to ascertain the right value of a thing it must be con- 
 sidered, not only what the thing is in itself, but what interest 
 we have in it. The loan of a thing is nothing so valuable 
 as the possession of it. Now the world is but lent us; what- 
 ever we have in it, it is not to be called our own ; but our 
 souls are our own. "We brought them into the world, and 
 we shall cany them out — they are our own, they are, in 
 fact, ourselves. The soul is the man. What is man but a 
 " living soul?" Gen. ii. 7. Abstract the soul as living, and 
 the body is a lump of clay ; abstract the soul as rational, 
 and the man is as the beasts that perish. It is a certain 
 truth that the soul is the man. " Persons," in Scripture, 
 are often reckoned by souls, as Acts ii. 41. What we are is 
 more to us than what we have. It is the spirit that is the 
 substance of the man ; and what is the chaff to the wheat, 
 the shell to the kernel, the clothes to^ the body ? This is 
 one of the first things that the convinced sinner is made 
 sensible of — that the soul is the man; and if he would do 
 well for himself, he must do well for his soul. 
 
 (5.) The projects that are laid about souls. There is great 
 work about souls, more than you think of. That is valuable 
 which those that are intelligent are concerned about. This 
 speaks the soul of man to be of very great value. Consider, 
 
 [1.] What projects the love of God has to save souls. 
 The God of infinite wisdom, whose the worlds are, has been 
 pleased to concern himself with a peculiar care about the 
 world of mankind, the world of souls. Some observe, that 
 in Scripture, God is never brought in consulting with him- 
 self but when man is concerned. God has thoughts "to us 
 
THE WORTH OF THE SOUL. 
 
 313 
 
 ward," Ps. xl. 5. Infinite Wisdom was from eternity, 
 devising means that poor banished souls might not be for 
 ever expelled, Eph. i. 11, compare ver. 9. God had thoughts 
 of love to the sons of tnen, i. e. the souls of men, before the 
 worlds were. 
 
 [2.] What projects the malice of Satan has to destroy 
 souls. It is a sign the soul of man is veiy precious, when 
 God and Satan, those two adverse powers, are as it were 
 contending for it. He seeks to get and keep possession of 
 the soul, that he may devour it, 1 Pet. v. 8. The great dis- 
 pute between Michael and the dragon is, who shall rule the 
 souls of men. The devil's agents trade in the " souls of 
 men," Rev. xviii. 13. The devil saith, as the king of 
 Sodom, Gen. xiv. 21, " Give me the souls." There is great 
 striving about the soul. 
 
 (6.) The price that was paid to redeem souls. We reckon 
 the value of a thing by that which a wise man will give for 
 it, who is not ignorant of it, nor under necessitj'. Christ 
 the Wisdom of God, gave himself, his own precious blood, to 
 redeem souls, and he knew what they were, and had no 
 need of them. The redemption of the " soul is precious," 
 Ps. xlix. 8. Corruptible things, as silver and gold, would not 
 do: then did Christ, for us men and for our salvation, make 
 his soul an offering, 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. " His soul was an 
 offering " for ours, his life a " ransom " for many, Matt. xx. 
 28. See here the worth of souls — nothing could be a 
 ransom for forfeited souls but the blood of the Son of God. 
 Lo I come, saith he — for us men and for our salvation, saith 
 the Nicene creed. Neither the fruit of the body, nor the 
 fruit of the estate, would atone for the " sin of the soul," 
 Mic. vi. 7. but Christ gave himself. Blood of bulls and 
 goats would not do. God proves the excellency of his 
 people by this, Isa. xliii. 4, " I will give men for thee ; " — 
 much more doth it demonstrate the excellency of souls, 
 when God gave his Son for them. The blood of Christ is 
 precious blood, of immense value. 
 
 (7.) The pains that are taken to renew souls. God hath 
 manifested his favour to man in the provision made for his 
 
314 
 
 THE WORTH OP THE SOUL. 
 
 body, that that might be put into, and kept in, a capacity 
 to answer the end of its creation. See the first instance of 
 this care, Gen. i. 29, and afterwards, Gen. ix. 3. But there 
 is a great deal more done to provide for the soul, and to put 
 that into, and keep that in, a capacity to answer the ends 
 of its creation. The power of God is wonderfully exerted 
 in this important work, to sanctify a soul, to recover it from 
 its degenerate state, to reduce it to its integrity, and to 
 prepare it for glory. The word of God is given for these 
 ends, that mighty word, which is so quick and powerful, 
 Heb. iv. 12. The Spirit of God is at work for the good of 
 the soul — the arm of the Lord is revealed — and the work 
 of faith fulfilled with power. These things show what a 
 value God puts upon souls. A word made us, but far more 
 is required to new-make us. 
 
 (8.) The preparations that are made to receive souls. 
 There is much in progress for them in the other world. 
 Souls being immortal, have immortal things provided for 
 them. 
 
 There are preparations of wrath for sinful souls, to 
 which they are " reserved," 2 Pet. ii. 9. There is a Tophet 
 that is ordained of old, Isa. xxx. 33, an everlasting fire, 
 that is prepared for the devil and his angels, is reserved for 
 wicked men, Matt. xxv. 41. It is sealed up among his 
 treasures, treasures of wrath, after the long season of his 
 patience. 
 
 And there are preparations of glory for sanctified souls. 
 These must needs be of great value when there is so much 
 laid out to make them great and happy. They have a 
 glory proportioned to their capacities. Knowledge and 
 love are the principal faculties of the soul ; and these are 
 sources of bliss in heaven. 
 
 II. I shall improve this subject. The serious considera- 
 tion of the worth of our souls should have a mighty influ- 
 ence upon us to make us religious ; for what is religion but 
 a concern about the present and the future state of our 
 souls ? The practice of serious godliness is that, and that 
 only, which befriends the soul both in its present and its 
 
THE WORTH OP THE SOUL. 
 
 315 
 
 eternal interests. What is it that we are persuading you 
 to in all our preaching, but to mind your souls and do well 
 for your souls ? 
 
 Be convinced that you have souls, every one of you. 
 Consider thyself. Thou hast a mortal body and an immor- 
 tal soul. Most men live as if they had no souls, no souls 
 by which to be "governed," and no souls for which to 
 "provide." They discover nothing truly rational, they 
 have no concern for what is immortal. But I hope better 
 things of you, or else I shall never hope any good of you. 
 It is not enough to gainsay this truth, but you must con- 
 sider it. 
 
 Be convinced of the worth of your souls. It is no 
 breach of the law of humility to put a value upon our 
 own souls, and to think so well of ourselves as to think 
 ourselves too good to serve sin. Value the body less and 
 the soul more, and it would be better for you. There are 
 some important inferences wliich may be drawn from these 
 things. 
 
 1. If the soul be so precious, then those are our best 
 friends that are Mends to our souls, and we should look 
 upon them as such. The best friend to souls that ever was 
 is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the soul. Look 
 upon liim as a good friend, and prize liini accordingly. 
 Study what you shall render for his love. The good shep- 
 herd is the " Shepherd of our souls," 1 Pet. ii. 2o. He laid 
 down his life for our souls, and has provided food, and 
 healing, and rest for them : let our souls love him. Faith- 
 ful ministers are friends to your souls, Heb. xiii. 17. Their 
 work is to watch for them. Look upon reprovers as friends 
 to your souls, and reckon friendly rebukes as kindness. 
 They are so, Ps. cxlv. 5. They help to prevent sin, and 
 save the soul from death. Let them find more favour now, 
 for they will afterwards appear more kind than flatterers. 
 Those that instruct you and comfort you are friends to your 
 souls. Show yourselves to be Mends to the souls of others. 
 Do all the good you can to the souls of those with whom 
 you are connected. Be concerned for the souls of your 
 
316 
 
 TUB WORTH OF THE SOUL. 
 
 children and servants ; gain their souls by guiding them to 
 God. 
 
 2. If the soul be so precious, then those are our worst 
 enemies that are enemies to our souls. The devil is the 
 great enemy to our souls ; he is the tempter, and so is the 
 destroyer, and he has Ins agents, that are busy to ruin 
 souls. There are persons and things that war against the 
 soul, 1 Pet. ii. 11, the worst war that can be: those that 
 seduce the soul and beguile it, 2 Pet. ii. 54, that tempt us 
 to sin ; that lay stumbling-blocks before us ; that entice us 
 secretly, though they pretend love ; — look upon them as 
 enemies to your souls. David complains often of those 
 that did persecute his soul. Wicked companions are real 
 enemies to the soul ; therefore say to such, " Depart," Ps. 
 cxix. 115. Enemies to the soul are very subtle, Eph. vi. 
 12. Therefore we have the more need to stand upon our 
 guard. Consider how precious that soul is which they 
 would injure and destroy. 
 
 3. If the soul be so precious, then mercies to the soul 
 are the choicest mercies, for which we should pray most 
 earnestly. Tins is the favour that God bears unto his 
 chosen. The hallowing of God's name by us, and the 
 coming of his kingdom into us, are mercies to the soul 
 which are to be desired above all others, — that is the 
 order in the Lord's prayer. 3Iatt. v. 33. The renewing of 
 the soul, and the saving of the soul, are things that must 
 have the pre-eminence in our desires and prayers. Other 
 mercies must be begged with a proviso, but mercies to 
 the soul absolutely. Be more earnest for these than for 
 corn, and wine, and oil, Ps. iv. 6, 7 ; wrestle with God for 
 these, as Jacob did. Be more concerned in prayer about 
 your sins than your afflictions. So likewise we must be 
 most thankful to God for spiritual mercies, Eph. i. 3, — 
 redeeming love, gospel grace, Ps. ciii. 3, &c. Value every 
 mercy by the reference that it has to the soul, and be 
 thankful for it accordingly, Isa. xxxviii. 17. " In love 
 to my soul." Go by this rule in your valuation of pub- 
 lic mercies; — reckon those the best times that are op- 
 
THE WORTH OP THE SOUL. 
 
 317 
 
 portunities for the soul, in which there are plenty of the 
 means of grace. 
 
 4. If the soul be so precious, then judgments upon the 
 soul are the sorest judgments. Spiritual plagues are of 
 all others the worst, and to be most dreaded, as K lean- 
 ness in the soul," Ps- cvi. 15, when the mind is blinded, 
 the conscience seared, the heart hardened, and the reins 
 laid on the neck of sinful passions. These are spiritual 
 judgments. Isa. vi. 9, 10; Ps. lxxxi. 12, the worst condi- 
 tion a man can be in on this side hell. How sad would 
 our condition be if we were deprived of both the bodily 
 senses of seeing and hearing, (such instances have rarely- 
 been heard of,) but much worse to have the soul blind 
 and deaf. Do not provoke God to deny and withdraw 
 his grace. There are judgments upon the soul too, that 
 sometimes befall God's own children, and they are very 
 painful; as — when the terrors of God set themselves in 
 array against them, Job vi. 4 ; Ps. lxxxviii. 3, <fcc, and he 
 wounds the spirit, Prov. xviii. 14. If God has kept us 
 from these terrors, we must be thankful, but not secure. 
 Our Lord Jesus suffered in his soul that he might have 
 compassion, Matt. xxvi. 38. 
 
 5. If the soul be so precious, then the prosperity of 
 the soul is the best prosperity. There is such a thing 
 as soul prosperity, 3 John 2, and it is that which. we should 
 most earnestly desire of God, both for ourselves and for 
 our friends. The soul prospers when it is in a good 
 state, and in a good frame, when it is in the right way, 
 and when it grows in grace; as the body prospers that 
 is in health, and as the estate prospers that increases. 
 That is a prosperous soul that is adding grace to grace, 
 and securing not only an entrance, but an abundant en- 
 trance, into the kingdom of God, 2 Pet. i. 5. The soul 
 prospers when its holy dispositions are lively, its comforts 
 strong, and its evidences clear — when it is- walking in 
 the light, and singing in the ways, of the Lord. Seek 
 this as the best prosperity. Soul prosperity either brings 
 outward prosperity along with it, Matt, vi 33, or sweetens 
 
318 
 
 THE WORTH OF THE SOUL. 
 
 the want of it; and it is that which all the malice of 
 hell and earth cannot disturb or take away. 
 
 6. If the soul be so precious, then we are to look upon 
 that condition as best for us which is best for our souls. 
 
 2 That is best for us that is most free from temptations, and 
 that gives us the greatest advantages for spiritual things. 
 That relation is best for us that is best for our souls. Look 
 upon this as a reason why we should be content under 
 afflictions, because they tend to the good of our souls. 
 Though the flesh be destroyed, yet if the spirit be thereby 
 saved, it is well enough, 1 Cor. v. 5 ; Heb. xii. 9. Sancti- 
 fied afflictions are the soul's promotions ; — the chastening 
 is bad for the body, but the teaching that attends it is good 
 for the soul, Ps. xciv. 12; cxix. 71. Submit willingly to 
 that which is for the good of the soul, though it be dis- 
 pleasing to flesh and blood. 
 
 7. If the soul be so precious, then they are fools that 
 " despise their own souls." There are those that do so, 
 Prov. xv. 32. This is the fundamental error of sinners, — 
 they despise this jewel of value, which Christ put such a 
 value upon. Let us see who they are that despise their 
 own souls : 
 
 (1.) Those that make a light matter of sin despise their 
 own souls, Prov. xiv. 9. It is certain that sin is a wrong 
 to the soul, Prov. viii. 36. How do people regard their 
 souls that abuse them thus every day ? Those that expose 
 their precious souls to the wrath and curse of the eternal 
 God every day, by wilful sin, do not value them as they 
 should. Those despise their souls that continue in unbelief 
 and impenitency, and will not be awakened to see the 
 misery in which their souls are ; they feel nothing from 
 sin, the sins of so many years ; they are not concerned 
 though their souls be ready to drop into everlasting burn- 
 ings. They despise their souls that rush into sin, Jer. 
 viii. 6, that run upon God, Job xv. 25, 26. There are some 
 so daring as to challenge God hiniself to damn them. 
 They despise their souls that, when they have fallen into 
 sin, make no haste to repent and tuna from it. 
 
THE WORTH OF THE SOUL. 
 
 319 
 
 (2.) Those that take up with a cheap and easy religion 
 despise their own souls; that are afraid of doing too 
 much for their own souls. Did we put a right value 
 upon our souls, we should object to no pains or care for 
 the securing of their welfare. We should go from strength 
 to strength ; we should give diligence to add to our graces, 
 and thus make our calling and election sure, 2 Pet. i. 
 5-10. But those that only inquire, will not less serve? 
 manifest that they despise their souls: they labour at 
 the world, and sleep at an ordinance; they crowd their 
 religion into a corner, and make not a business, but a 
 by-business, of it. "What account do such make of their 
 souls who will scarce go over the threshold to hear a 
 sermon? they "refuse instruction." He that is slothful 
 in work for his soul is brother to him that is a great waster. 
 
 (3.) Those that are prodigal of their time despise their 
 own souls. Time is an opportunity of doing something 
 for the soul, and is to be redeemed accordingly, Eph. v. 
 16, because there is an eternity depends upon it. Time 
 may be well spent, either in doing something for God 
 with the soul, or in getting something from God for the 
 soul; yet with many their time is a drug. What value 
 do those put upon their souls that fill up their time 
 with mere recreation, and all this while neglect their 
 souls? Every day might be a harvest day for the soul, 
 but it is idled away ; the time of the morning and even- 
 ing sacrifice stolen away by one idle companion or other. 
 Value your souls and you will value your time. 
 
 (4.) Those that make themselves drudges to the world 
 despise their own souls. The soul should be our darling, 
 but many make it a slave, and send it to feed swine, 
 Luke xv. 15, and to provide for the flesh, Rom. xiii. 14. 
 Those that are eager in pursuit of worldly wealth despise 
 their souls, not only because the soul is neglected and 
 the body preferred before it, but because it is employed 
 in these pursuits, Ps. cxxvii. 2. Care about the world 
 fills the soul and disquiets it. It is a great disparage- 
 ment to an immortal soul to be thus wholly employed. 
 
320 THE WORTH OF THE SOUL. 
 
 (5.) Those that by sin unfit their bodies to aid their 
 souls in the service of God despise them. Drunkenness 
 especially does this, it overcharges the heart, Luke xxi. 
 34. Those put a great slight upon their souls that drown 
 them in wine and strong drink, and suffer their hearts 
 thus to be taken away, and themselves to be put out of 
 possession of them. They make beasts of themselves 
 only to please a sensual appetite. They are not their 
 own masters — to govern themselves, and by degrees come 
 to be not their own men — to understand themselves. 
 
 (6.) Those that venture their souls upon a false and 
 deceitful foundation despise them. "What we value we 
 shall be sure to lay up in a safe place, and that which 
 we despise we shall venture any where. Those that build 
 their hopes upon the sand, Matt. vii. 26, that presume 
 upon their visible profession, and are willing to take it 
 for granted, without any strict scrutiny, that all is well 
 with them, Rev. iii. 17. Such have a low opinion of their 
 own souls, and must necessarily end in a painful man- 
 ner ; their hope must perish. 
 
 (7.) Those that take up with a portion in this life 
 despise their own souls — who think that will serve them 
 for a happiness which neither suits the nature of a soul, 
 nor will last so long as the soul will last; that take up 
 with that for a portion which doth but fill the belly, 
 Ps. xvii. 14. And when they have a great deal of the 
 world, say, " Soul, take thine ease," Luke xii. 19. And take 
 these for their good things, Luke xvi. 25. Let not us 
 despise our own souls, let us desire a better portion for 
 them than the world, even an interest in His love, whose 
 favour is the safety and the felicity of all who truly seek 
 him. 
 
 GENERAL BOOKBINDING CO. 
 
 79 10 A 
 
 47NY2 " ' 
 
 QUALITY CONTROL MARK 
 
 o^s 8009 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 
 
 
 jffp' i i n 
 
 
 
 
 t^T -1 ™ 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CAVLORO