that place. I speak now only concerning his real presence: for if idolaters adorn all their places of worship with pictures, images and idols, that they might feign the presence of a God; I ought to act faith particularly upon the real présence of the immense and omnipresent God. He bids us consider it in the business of his worship; Jer. xxiii. 23. 'Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?' Consider my glorious presence is every where. As we ought always, wherever we are, and whatever we do, to carry a sense with us of the presence of God, to say, God is here, that we may not be surprised in our journies, or in any thing that may befall us, suppose a broken leg or a broken arm; then we may say, 'God is in this place, and I knew it not.' So particularly where we have to do in his, ordinances, let there be an antecedent remembrance that God is in that place.

2dly. We are to remember the gracious presence of God. There was a twofold presence of God of old, the one temporary, by an extraordinary appearance; the other standing, by a continued institution. Wherever God made an extraordinary appearance, there he required of his people to look upon him to have a special presence: it was but temporary, when God appeared to Moses in the bush: Draw not nigh,' saith God: 'put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the ground whereon thou standest is holy;' because of God's special appearance: but the next day, as far as I know, sheep fed upon that holy ground. It was no longer holy than God's appearance made it so. So he said to Joshua, when he was by Jericho, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy,' Josh. v. 15. It was a temporary appearance of God; there was his special presence. It was so on the institution of the tabernacle and temple; God instituted them, and gave his special presence to them by virtue of his institution. Our Saviour tells us, all this is departed under the gospel, John iv. 21. You shall no longer worship God,' saith he, neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem; but he that worshippeth God must worship him in spirit and in truth.' Is there no special presence of God remains then? Yea, there is a special presence of God in all his ordinances and institutions. Wherever I record my name' (as the name of God is upon all his institutions), 'there. I will come unto you, and I will bless you,' saith God in

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Exod. xx. 24. Let us exercise our thoughts then to this especial promised presence of God in every ordinance and institution; it belongs greatly to our preparation for an ordinance. It was no hard thing for them, you may think, of old, where God had put his presence in a place, to go thither, and expect the presence of God; things that are absent are hard; things that are present are not so. But it is no harder matter for us to go and expect God's presence in his instituted ordinances now, than for them to go to the temple; considering God, as the object of our worship, is no less present with us.

[2.] The second property which is principally to be considered in God, in his ordinances, as he is the object of them, is his holiness. This is the general rule that God gives in all ordinances, Be ye holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.' And Joshua, chap. xxiv. 19. tells the people what they were principally to consider in serving the Lord. We will serve the Lord,' say the people: saith Joshua, "You cannot serve him, for the Lord is a holy God; intimating, that they were to have due apprehensions of his holiness; and without it, there is no approaching unto him in his service. The apostle gives a great and plain rule to this purpose, Heb. xii. 28, 29. 'Let us have grace,' saith he, 'whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.' What doth he propose now as the principal reason why he requires this preparation? For,' saith he, our God is a consuming fire.' What property of God is expressed by this word 'consuming fire? It is the holiness of God, the purity of God's nature, that can bear no corrupt, nor defiled thing. It is set forth by that metaphorical expression, ‘a consuming fire. As fire is the most pure and unmixed element, and so powerful of itself, as that it will consume and destroy every thing that is not perfectly of its own nature; so is God, saith he, 'a consuming fire;' and in all your serving of him, and approaches unto him, labour to obtain a frame of spirit that becomes them who have to do with that God who is so pure and holy.

I do but choose out these things, which, in the way of ordinances, I would say, are, I may say, desire, should be most upon my heart and spirit: I might easily enlarge it to other considerations. But let these two considerations dwell upon

our minds, as our preparation for our access unto God; thoughts of his glorious and gracious presence, and of his holiness. Psal. xciii. 5. Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.' That is the second thing with respect to God, as the object of all the ordinances of our worship.

(3.) Our preparation respects God as he is the end of ordinances; and that to these three purposes, if I could insist upon them. He is the end of them, as we aim in them to 'give glory unto him:' he is the end of them, as we aim in them to be accepted with him:' he is the end of them, as we aim in them to be blessed by him.' These are the three things that are our end in all ordinances that we celebrate.

[1.] The first is, the general end of all that we do in this world; we are to do all to the glory of God: it is the immediate end of all our worship. If I am a father,' saith he, 'where is my honour?' Where is my glory? Mal. i. 6. Do you come to worship me? you are to give me honour as to a father, glory as to a master, as to a lord. We come to own him as our Father, acknowledge our dependence upon him as a Father, our submission to him as our Lord and Master, and thus give glory to him. He hath never taken one step to the preparing of his heart according to the preparation of the sanctuary, in the celebration of ordinances, who hath not designed in them to give glory unto God.

[2.] Another end is, to be accepted with him; according to that great promise, which you have, Ezek. xliii. 27. You shall make your burnt-offerings upon the altar, and I will accept you, saith the Lord God.' It is a promise of gospeltimes; for it is in the description of the new, glorious temple. We come to God to have our persons and offerings accepted by Jesus Christ. And,

[3.] To be blessed according to his promise.' That 'God will bless us out of Zion.' What the particular blessings are we look for in particular ordinances, in due time, God assisting, I shall acquaint you with, when we come to the special and particular preparation for that ordinance we aim at. But this is necessary to all, and so to that.

2. This preparation respects ourselves. There are three things which I desire my heart may be prepared by in reference to the ordinances of God.

(1.) The first is indispensably necessary, laid down in that

great rule, Psal. lxvi. 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me;' that I bring a heart to ordinances without regard to any particular iniquity. We have the dreadful instance of Judas, who came to that great ordinance of the passover, with regard to iniquity in his heart, which particular iniquity was covetousness, and went away with the devil in his whole mind and soul.

Ezek. xiv. 4. is another place to this purpose: 'Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh, according to the multitude of his idols.' Thère is no more effectual course in the world to make poor souls incorrigible, than to come to ordinances, and to be able to digest under them a regard to iniquity in our hearts. If we have idols, God will answer us according to our idols. What is the answering of men according to their idols? Why, plainly, it is this, allotting them peace while they have their idols; you shall have peace with regard to iniquity; you come for peace, take peace; which is the saddest condition any soul can be left under: you shall have peace and your idols together. Whenever we prepare ourselves, if this part of our preparation be wanting, if we do not all of us cast out the idols of our hearts, and cease regarding of iniquity, all is lost.

(2.) The second head of preparation on our own part, is self-abasement, out of a deep sense of the infinite distance that is between God and us, whom we go to meet. I have taken upon myself to speak to the great Possessor of heaven and earth, who am but dust and ashes. Nothing brings God and man so near together, as a due sense of our infinite distance. Isa. lvii. 15. Thus saith the high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.'

(3.) A heart filled with love to ordinances, is a great preparation for an ordinance. How doth David, in the eighty-fourth Psalm, pant and long, and breathe after the ordinances of God! To love prayer, to love the word, is a great preparation for both. To love the presence of Christ

in the supper, is a great preparation for it. To keep an habitual frame of love in the heart for ordinances.

I would not load your memories with particulars. I mention plain practical things unto those, for whose spiritual welfare I am more particularly concerned; that we may retain them for our use, and know them for ourselves; and they are such as I know more or less (though perhaps not so distinctly) all our hearts work after, and in these things our souls do live.

3. Our preparation in reference unto any ordinance itself; which consists in two things: (1.) A satisfactory persuasion of the institution of the ordinance itself; that it is that which God hath appointed. If God should meet us, and say, 'Who hath required these things at your hands?' And Christ should come and tell us, Every plant that my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be plucked up :' or, "In vain do you worship me; teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.' How would such words fill the hearts of poor creatures with confusion, if engaged in such ways that God hath not required? We must be careful then that for the substance of the duty, it be appointed of God.

(2.) That it be performed in a due manner. One failure herein, what a disturbance did it bring upon poor David? It is observed by many, that search the whole course of David's life, that which he was most eminent in, which God did so bless him for, and own him in, was his love to the ordinances of God. And I cannot but think with what a full heart David went to bring home the ark; with what longings after God; with what rejoicings in him; with what promises to himself; what glorious things there would be after he had the ark of God to be with him: and yet, when he went to do this, you know what a breach God made upon him, dashed all his hopes, and all the good frame in him: God made a breach upon Uzzah; and it is said, the thing God did displeased David, it quite unframed him, and threw a damp on his joy and delight for the present. But he afterward gathers it up, 1 Chron. xv. 12, 13. He spake to the Levites, sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethen, that ye may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it; for because ye did it not at the first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we