and how much foever they contradict those proposals of happiness and enjoyment, which we have framed within our own breafts.

Both which parts of Chriftian humility are perfected by a contempt of the world. And the contempt of the How humiworld is fhewn by looking upon the best of our lity is perworks to be full of infirmity and pollution; and fected. on all worldly enjoyments as little and inconfiderable in comparifon of the purity and perfection of God, and that happinefs which God hath prepared for those that love him: in being content with that portion of the good things of this life, which the wife providence of God hath allotted to our share, without purchafing the enjoyment of them, by the committing of any wilful fin; without being anxiously concerned for the increase of them, or extremely depreffed when they make themselves wings and fly away in a moderate ufe of all thofe lawful pleasures which relate to the gratification of our fenfes and Refhly appetites; as becomes perfons, who expect their portion, not in the pleasures of this world, but in the happiness of the next: in a low esteem of riches and honour, being ready to forfake them, whenever they come in competition with the performance of our duty to God; in bearing the afflictions and calamities of this life with patience and conftancy; and looking unto Jesus, as the author and finisher of our faith.

Which humble, refigned, and depending frame of mind is the proper difpofition for devotion, and the parent Its fruits. of religious fear. 'Tis the feed-plot of all christian

virtues. It makes us ready to receive the revelations of God's will to mankind, and as careful to practise what he injoins. It restrains the immoderate defire of honour, by teaching us not toexaltourselves, nor do any thing through ftrife or vainglory. It opposes felf-love, which is planted in our nature, and, when indulged, will be too apt to deceive us in the judgment we form concerning ourselves. It also makes us ready to believe what God reveals, and to pay our due obedience to him, from the sense of our own weakness and his excellency; and by removing the great hindrance of our faith, which is a vanity to diftinguish ourselves from the unthinking croud. D 3

It makes us put our hope and confidence in God; because, being weak and miferable of ourselves, without him we can do nothing. It increases our love to God, by making us fenfible how unworthy we are of the leaft of thofe many favours we receive from him. It teaches us to rejoice in the profperity of our neighbour, for infufing the most favourable opinion of his worth. It difpofes us to relieve those wants, and compaffionate thofe afflictions, which we ourselves have deferved. It makes us patient under all the troubles and calamities of life; because we have provoked God by our fins. And therefore Its ufe and neither prayers nor fafts will find acceptance, unbenefit. lefs they proceed from an humble mind; and our best works will stand us in little stead, if they are stained with pride and boasting of our own strength.

SUNDAY II.

I. Of the honour due to GOD, in his houfe or church. II. By reverencing and maintaining his minifters with tithes and offerings. III. By keeping the Lord's Day. IV. By obJerving the feafts, and V. fafts of the church; whether public, private, or the faft of Lent. VI. In his word, the holy fcriptures, or rule of faith; by catechifing and preaching. VII. In his facraments; by receiving baptifm, and performing the vows and obligations thereof.

I.

A

to God.

Seventh duty to God is HONOUR. For as honour is a duty, which in the nature of things is owing to Honour due thofe that are in a fuperior relation to us; and as the very notion of it implies its being due to fuch; by how much therefore God is infinitely greater than thofe whom we acknowledge to be our fuperiors upon earth, by fo much ought we to have a profounder regard and veneration The feveral for him. And they honour God, who serve him ways of bo- in fpirit and in truth, in all the ways of his apnouring God pointed worship, and due obedience to his laws; which command us not only to pay this honour immediately to himself, but to have a due esteem for his houfe, his minifters,

his day, word, and facraments, and for his name, as things that nearly relate or belong to him.

In his houfe.

First, we must honour God in his haufe, that is, in the church, fo called, upon the account of its peculiar relation to him, being folemnly dedicated and fet apart for his public worship and fervice; and upon account of God's peculiar prefence, in the adminiftration of his word. and facraments. The dedication of it to facred uses makes it properly his own, and the praying to him, praifing him, and celebrating the holy myfteries, according to hisappointment, are demonstrations of his peculiar prefence. And In what confequently we ought to reverence God's houfe, manner. by furnishing it with all decency for the worship of God; by repairing and adorning it; by keeping it from the profane and common ufe, and applying it wholly to the finefs of religion; by offering up our prayers in it with fervour and frequency; by hearing God's word with attention and refolutions of obeying it; and by celebrating the holy myfteries with humility and devotion; by ufing all fuch outward teftimonies of refpect as the church injoins, and are established by the cuftom of the age we live in, as marks of honour and reverence. This bodily worship is recommended by Solomon, when he charges us to look to our feet when we go to the houfe of God..

Directions

church.

This will correct any whispering or talking about worldly affairs, any negligent or light carriage: This will fupprefs any provocations to laughter, or any critifor our becal and nice obfervation of others: And on the con- baviour at trary excite in us fincere intentions of glorifying God, and making his honour and praife known among men; acknowledging hereby our intire dependence upon his bounty, both for what we enjoy, and what we farther expect: And promote hearty endeavours of performing his bleffed will, and of being that in our lives and actions, which we beg to be made in our prayers: And teach us to govern our outward behaviour by fuch measures as the church prescribes, viz. to kneel, ftand, bow, or fit, as the rubric hath injoined to be complied with in public. And all thefe different poftures ought to be ufed with fuch gravity and seriousness, as

D 4

may

may fhew how intent we are when engaged in the worship: of God, and yet avoiding fuch behaviour as may be apt to difturb thofe that are near us, and to give occafion to others to fufpect us of acting a formal hypocritical part.

If we come to church before fervice begins, (which we should always endeavour to do) after we have performed our private devotions, we should in filence recollect ourselves, and difpofe our minds by ferious thoughts to a due difcharge of the enfuing duties: for the difcourfing about news and bufinefs is improper upon fuch occafions, God's houfe being never defigned for the carrying on of worldly concerns. And it is ftill more unbecoming, while we are atour prayers, to obferve those rules of ceremony, which in other places are fit to be practifed towards one another; because when we are offering our requests to the great God of heaven and earth, our attention fhould be fo fixed, that we should have no leisure to regard any thing else. To this end, when we put our bodies into a praying pofture, with which I think leaning and lolling feem very inconfiftent, we should do well to fix our eyes downward, that we may not be diverted by any objects near us; and at the fame time refolye not to fuffer them to gaze about, whereby they do but fetch in matter for wandering thoughts. This attention will be much improved by filence; therefore we should never pray aloud with the minister but where it is injoined, endeavouring to make his prayer our own by a hearty Amen. Great care must be taken not to repeat after the minister what peculiarly relates to his office; which I mention the rather, because I have frequently obferved fome devout people following him that officiates, in the exhortation and abfolution, as well as the confeffion; which, if thoroughly confidered, must be judged a very abfurd and improper expreffion of the people's devotion, because those are diftinguishing parts of the priest's office. Therefore the best preparation of mind for our joining in the public prayers is to abstract our thoughts as muchaswe can from our worldly bufinefs and concerns, that we may call upon God with attention and application of foul: to keep our paffions in order and fubjection, that none of them may interruptus when we approach the throne of grace: to poffefs our minds with fuch an awful fenfe of God's

prefence,

prefence, that we may behave ourselves with gravity and reverence: to work in ourfelves fuch a sense of our own weakness and infufficiency, as may make us earnest for the fupplies of divine grace; fuch a forrow for our fins, fuch humiliation for them, and fucha readiness to forgive others, as may prevail upon God, for the fake of Chrift's fuffering, to forgive us; to recollect those many bleffings which we have received, that we may shew forth his praife, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to his fervice.

repu

II. Secondly, the Almighty is alfo to be honoured in his minifters by that love which is due unto them as the In his miftewards of the myfteries of God, and thofe that nifters. watch over our fouls. Therefore we ought to fhew our love to fuch as adminifter to us in holy things, in being ready to affist them in all difficulties, and in vindicating their tations from thofe afperfions, which bad men are apt to load them with: in covering their real infirmities, and interpreting all their actions in the best fenfe; never picking out the faults of a few and making them a reproach to the whole facred order. And as ministers are in a peculiar manner fervants of the great God of heaven and earth, to whofe bounty we owe all that we enjoy; therefore we should dedicate a part In his pofof what we receive to his immediate fervice, as an effions. acknowledgment of his fovereignty and dominion over all. And what makes this duty further reasonable is, that, in order to be inftruments in God's hand in procuring our eternal welfare, they renounce all ordinary means of advancing their fortunes; they furrender up their pretenfions to worldlyinterests: and therefore it is highly fit that their laborious and difficult employment, purely for God's glory and our falvation, should receive from us the encouragement of a comfortable and honourable subsistence, upon this and the like confiderations: That parents may be encouraged to devote their children of good parts to the service of the altar; for it is not probable they will facrifice an expenfive education to an employment that is attended with small advantages. And if fome perfons have zeal enough to engage in the miniftry without a respect to the rewards of it; yet common prudence ought to put us upon fuch methods as are most likely to excite men of the

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