their Heavenly Father most effectually in His own house; for although they may read the Word of God over and over again at home, or in any other place; yet they find by experience, that it never comes with so much power and efficacy upon them, as when it is administered to them in His own house, in His Name, by an officer of His own appointment, while His people are met together to serve and worship Him, and so have His Holy Spirit assisting and co-operating with His Word, that it may work effectually in them that believe. Thess. 2. Who, therefore, finding the Word of God to be quite another thing when publicly read or explained in God's house than it is at their own, they cannot but be exceeding glad of all opportunities of going thither to hear it.

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Especially, seeing when they come there they do not only pray and hear God's holy Word, but they join together also in praising and magnifying His holy Name; not only a little by the by, as occasion serves in the prayers and lessons, but in a set and solemn manner: so that this makes a great, if not the greatest part of our daily service; which we have no sooner begun, but we presently call upon one another, saying in the words of the Holy Ghost, "O come, let us sing unto [Ps. 95. 1, the Lord, let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our Salvation: let us come into His presence with thanksgiving, and shew ourselves glad in Him with psalms." And when we accordingly go on to praise Him with psalms, and hymns, and [Eph.5.19.] spiritual songs: we commonly repeat several psalms together, and after every one of them, we constantly give glory to God, saying, "Glory be to the Father," &c. After the first lesson, we repeat the Te Deum, "We praise Thee, O God, we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord;" or else the Benedicite, “O all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, praise Him, and magnify Him for ever." After the second lesson we say the Benedictus," Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath visited and redeemed His people;" or else the hundredth psalm, called the Jubilate, "O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands, serve the Lord with gladness, and come before His presence with a song." And so in the afternoon we sing the Magnificat, or the ninety-eighth psalm, after the first lesson; and after the second, the Nunc dimittis, or the sixty-seventh psalm: besides all which, we constantly repeat the Creed,

LVIII.

SERM. or confession of our faith, wherein we acknowledge the glory of the Eternal Trinity, and recount the wonderful things which the Son of God hath done for us, how "He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried, descended into Hell, rose again the third day, ascended up into Heaven, and there sitteth at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father." By all which we set forth the praises of the Most High God, in the best manner we can do it upon earth.

Ps. 8L 1.

Ps. 92. 4.

Thus whensoever we come into the house of the Lord, we join together in praising Him, our Almighty Creator, and most merciful Redeemer, and so do the great work for which He created and redeemed us; which therefore must needs be very pleasant and delightful to those who believe themselves to be not only created, but likewise redeemed by Him for that end and purpose. As David found by expePs. 63. 6. rience, when He said, "My soul shall be satisfied even as it were with marrow and fatness, when my mouth praiseth Thee with joyful lips." Where we may likewise observe, that joyfulness doth so necessarily accompany our praising God, that we can never do it aright without it; for we must always praise Him with joyful lips, “We must sing merrily to God our strength, and make a cheerful noise to the God of Jacob;" and rejoice in giving praise for the operations of His hands. Which we cannot choose but do, if we duly consider those infinite perfections we acknowledge in Him, and the glorious works we praise Him for; for the very agnizing and celebrating of them fills our souls with unspeakable joy and pleasure, the highest that we are capable of. This is that which makes Heaven itself to be so pleasant a place to those who dwell there, because they are always praising God. There "the Cherubin and Seraphin continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of Thy glory." There" the glorious company of the Apostles praise Him." There "the goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise Him." There "the noble army of Martyrs praise Him." There all the spirits of just men made perfect praise Him continually. And if we shall ever be so happy as to be

[Heb. 12. 23.]

admitted into their blessed society, we shall join with them in praising Him that brought us thither: this will be our work, and this will be our pleasure for evermore: and as ever we desire to do it there, we must delight in doing it here first; otherwise our hearts will not be set right for it, and so we "shall not be meet to be partakers of the inherit- [Col.1.12.] ance of the Saints in light:" but that is the thing which all that are truly wise and pious, most earnestly desire above all things else, and therefore cannot but always rejoice and be glad to go into the house of God, that they may there praise Him, and so begin that work in time, which they hope to continue to all eternity.

But that which above all makes the Saints and servants of the Most High God so joyful in His house of prayer, and therefore so glad to go thither, is the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, usually performed there, ordained by our Lord, the Almighty God, our Saviour Himself, on purpose to put us in mind of Him, and so to confirm our faith in Him, to inflame our love to Him, to excite our desires and longing after Him, to fill our hearts with joy and thankfulness for Him, that our souls may be strengthened and refreshed by the body and blood of Christ, as our bodies are with bread and wine. Here we receive the pardon of all our sins, sealed to us in the blood of the Son of God. Here we eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ by faith, so as that He dwelleth in us, and we in Him; He is one with us, and we with Him.

Hereby we are assured of God's love and favour to us, and that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of His Son, which is the blessed company of all faithful people, and also are heirs, through hope, of His everlasting Kingdom, by the merits of the most precious death and passion of His dear Son. Where shall we find matter of so great joy and comfort on this side Heaven? Nowhere certainly but in God's own house, where He is pleased to give it us at His holy table, when the Sacrament of His most blessed body and blood is there administered, as it is every Lord's day in this and some other, and ought to be so in all the houses of GOD in the land: that His people may never want that spiritual food which He hath provided for

LVIII.

Ps. 65. 4.

[Eph. 4. 23.]

SERM. them, wherewith to nourish and preserve both their souls and bodies to everlasting life, which His dutiful and obedient children, always hungering and thirsting after, cannot but be overjoyed at all occasions of having it administered unto them. And therefore as they always rejoice and are glad when any say unto them, "Let us go into the house of the Lord," so especially when they say, let us go unto the table of the Lord; and are always ready to say with David. These things I thought good to put you in mind of at this time, not only to shew what cause we have to thank God that His house is refitted, and that we are got again into it; but likewise that you may see that it is your interest as well as duty to frequent it as much as possibly you can. I am very sensible, that all that I have now said, and all that can be said upon this subject, will have but little effect upon the greatest part of them which hear it: for we live in an age that is only for hearing, not for doing any thing they hear; much less, that which ye have now heard; which as I observed before, none can receive in the love of it, but only such as are "renewed in the spirit of their minds," and so are wholly devoted to the service of God. All others will think what you have now heard, to be a mere paradox. They can never get it into their heads that there is any profit or pleasure to be had at church, because they could never find it there: but the reason is, not because it is not to be had, but because their minds being set upon other things, they are not qualified or disposed for those pure and spiritual joys which God vouchsafeth to His people in His own house, and to none but them. All others are altogether unacquainted with them; which being the many, or rather the most, hence it comes to pass, that daily prayers are so much slighted and neglected among us, far more, to our shame be it spoken, than among any other sort of people in the world. The Papists will rise up in judgment with this generation, for they every day observe their Canonical hours for praying, at least, for that which they believe to be so. The Jews will rise up in judgment with this generation, for they never omitted to offer their daily sacrifices, so long as they had an house of God wherein to offer them. The Turks shall rise up in judgment with this

generation, for when their priests call the people to prayer as they do several times every day, they immediately run to their mosques or temples, and if any offer to stay at home, he is shunned by all, as a wicked, atheistical wretch. The Heathens will rise up in judgment with this generation, for if they had such opportunities as we have of praying and praising their Almighty Creator every day, I doubt not but they would do it far more constantly than it is done by most of us. What then can we expect but that some severe judgment or other will ere long be inflicted on us? When people generally live as without God in the world, notwithstanding the clear discoveries that He hath made of Himself [Eph. 2. unto them, and notwithstanding the means of grace which are so constantly administered to them, but they will not use them.

But let others continue if they please, in this wicked course, and take what follows. You who have now heard what a joyful and pleasant thing it is to go into the house of God, to serve and worship Him there, be now advised to do it, and to do it as oft as possibly you can. I dare assure you, ye will then experience the truth of all that I have now said of it, and far more than I am able to express. But for that purpose, whensoever ye go into the house of the Lord, ye must lay aside all other business, and apply yourselves wholly to the duties of that holy place; ye must keep your minds intent all the while upon Him before whom ye are, and upon the work which He hath there set you. You must confess your sins heartily, you must receive His absolution faithfully, you must hear His Word attentively, you must pray sincerely, you must praise Him lustily and with a good courage; and when ye receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, ye must do it with that true repentance, that strong faith, that heavenly joy and thankfulness that is due to so great a mystery. Thus exercising your souls continually in these holy and spiritual duties, that are performed in God's lower houses upon earth, ye will be every day more and more prepared and fitted to live with Him in Heaven, there to enjoy and praise Him for ever.

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