man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him," &c. That is a joyful found," How then fhall we efcape, if we neglect fo great falvation ?

to

IV Study to be devout and reverend in the public worship, both as to the frame of your mind, and gefture of your body. It was a It was a good advice of one for this end. "Fix your eye on the minifter, your ear on the word, and your heart on God," Awe your hearts into a holy reverence, by viewing the holinefs and power of that God whom ye worship, and revolving his titles of majefty; fo did the Pfalmift, Pfal. lxxxix. 67. 8. "Who in heaven can be compared to the Lord ? &c. God is greatly to be feared in the affembly of his faints, &c. O Lord God of hofts, who is a ftrong Lord like unto thee! &c. Make a covenant with your eyes," that they gaze not about in fpying your neighbours cloaths and geftures. A gadding eye is the ready way to make a wandering heart. The devil hath many objects to tempt and divert us; first men let loose their eyes, and then away goes the heart Make a covenant with your eyes this day, that they neither that with fleep, nor wan der after vanity. Though bodily fervice without the heart profiteth little, yet the worship of our bodies is not to be wholly flighted; God hath a right to the adoration of our bodies as well as our fouls, for Chrift fuffered for both, 1 Cor. vi. 20. And we find Chrift and the faints in the fcripture ufing reverent geftures in prayer. I dare not precifely reftrict people to any one particular gesture neither defire I to lay more trefs upon geftures than they will bear, fince I know communion with God may be obtained in any gelture; yet I must own, that it is the unhappy effect of our contention about geftures, that fome ferious perfons, who have a des yout refpect to God and holy things, do yet-feem more irreverent in their outward carriage, than fome who are ftrangers to the power of godlinefs and immoral in their conversations. I know thefe place all their religion in outward geftures and forms, and go no further; yet this warrants none to run to the other extreme, to defpife a decent or devout gefture. If weakness of nature VOL. IV.

in public prayer?

require

require a person to fit in time of public prayer, I do not quarrel it, but, when no juft caufe can be pleaded for it, I cannot fay that it is a fuitable praying posture at public worship. A lazy fluggish posture in prayer tends to bring on fleep and drowfinefs, and makes us forget what we are about; whereas, when we ftand up, and univerfally change our posture when public prayer begins, it helps to awaken people to think upon the folemn addreffes they are making to the great God. Only let us take care, that there be no vanity, felf-conceit, or affectation, in the postures of our bodies at worthip.

V. Come to hear the word with a fincere purpose to obey it, and comply with the whole will of God with out referve, be it pleasant or harsh to nature; be ready to perform every known duty, and part with every known fin, be it as dear as your right-hand, or right eye. It is not enough to fay, We are all prefent to hear the fermon; but you must say, with Cornelius and his company, Acts x. "We are prefent to hear all things commanded us of God." And in a fpecial manner you must be ready to hear and obey his "great command, of believing on the name of his Son," which is the great end of preaching and hearing. Wherefore, when Chrift knocks by his word at the door of your heart, be ready to open, and welcome him in with joy; fay to him, as Laban to Abraham's fervant, Gen. xxiv. 31. “Come in, thou bleffed of the Lord; wherefore ftandeft thou without?" Though alas I cannot fay what follows, "I have prepared the house, yet, Lord come in and prepare it for thyfelf: And though "I be unworthy that thou fhouldit come under my roof," yet a word from thee can clebníe and repair the houfe, yea, and prepare an upper room" for thyfelf; Lord, fpeak

the word and it fhall be done."

4' VI. Give close attention to the word. God loofes you this day from the world, that you may "attend on the Lord without diftraction," Cor. vii. 35. Attend this day to what your Lord faith to you, as men who believe that every Sabbath and every fermon, that every pray er and exhortation, every call and offer of grace, bring you a step nearer heaven, or nearer hell; nearer

to

to the manfions with Chrift, or to a dwelling with devils; and that endless eternity depends upon your attention to God's word. How attentively would a condemned rebel hearken to his prince, every word being either life or death to him! Confider, it is matter of life and death to you, yea, your life through all the ages of never ending eternity; your life depends on right hearing, Deut. xxxii. 47. And will you not take head? You would have God attentive to your words in the time of your diftrefs, and will you not be attentive to his words in the time of your health? Could a minister tell you how you might acquire a good eftate, or where you might find a rich treasure, you would hearken to that; but, for an inheritance or treasure in heaven, many think it not worth their while to notice: Is not this an argument of strong carnality and atheifm? O If we could imitate Chrift's hearers, Luke xix. 48. it is faid, "They were all very attentive to hear him;" the word attentive according to the original, may be rendered, They banged on him, or They hanged their ears at Chrift's lips! Let us, in like manner, hang upon Chrift in hearing of the word, even as the child doth upon the breast, or as the bee upon a flower.

There is nothing that fatan aims at more, than to divert your attention in time of hearing the word. This enemy of your fouls is bufy every day laving fnares for you, feeking your ruin: But, Ohow active is he every Lord's day! The devil is ftill firft at church the children of God never gather together, but fatan is among them: And his great defign is, to render this engine of the word fruitlefs, becaufe by it the ftrong holds of his kingdom have been battered and broken down. Now, the way he finds most fuccefs is, by tempting our eyes and thoughts to wander, in order to keep us from being attentive in time of hearing. O then, if we would have the word to profit us, let us watch against fatan's temptations and fuggeftions; let usoguard againit: wandering, wearying, dro wfine fs, or any thing that may hinder our attention, And for those that can write quickly, to write down the heads of the fermon in time of hearing, is by fome reckoned a good mean to engage the attention,

}

attention, prevent drowfinefs, and help the memory afterwards; and fome have found it very refreshing and edifying a long time after, to be looking over what they had written. But efpecially it is proper for young people to learn and ufe this way of writing.

VII. In a fpecial manner, take heed to the word that fuits your cafe, and moft concerns your fonl; particularly to that word that difcovers the finfulness and vilenefs of a poor foul by nature; and to that word that points out the mifery of the unbeliever, and that fhews the weight of thofe curfes, the terror of that wrath, and feverity of divine juftice, to which he is hourly exposed; and to that word that fets out fin in its black and bloody colours; to that word that fhews your inability to help yourself out of your miferable ftate; to that word that difcovers your need of Chrift, and his excellency, fitness and suitableness for you; and to that word that comes clofe home to your confcience, and tells you, as Nathan did David," Thou art the man," thou art the poor loft finner that is condemned, and for ever undone, without Christ. Take heed to that word that points out your particular fins, your predominate lufts and idols take with the charge, and cry out, Unclean, unclean. While hearing the word, you ought to place your fins, and efpecially your darling lufts, in the front of the battle (as Uriah) purpofely to be flain, and fay, " Lord, let thefe fmooth ftones taken out of the brook of the fanctuary be thrown by fo fkilful and powerful a hand, that they may fink deep into the foreheads of these uncircumcifed ones, to their utter ruin and destruction." And O it were happy, if, while the word doth touch our fins, our hearts wree melted like Peter's, and moved to go home and weep bitterly. O what reafon have we to weep, when we hear of the boundless mercy which we have defpifed, the matchlefs mifery which we have deferved, the infinite love which we have abused, and the righteous law which we have tranfgreffed!

VIII. Mix your hearing with faith, i. e. believe, 1. That it is God who fpeaks; the word is his, and not man's. 2. That he fpeaks to you in particlar, as if he mentioned you by name and firname. Put not

reproofs

reproofs and threatenings by yourfelves, and fay, They belong to your neighbour, and not to you; for this is a dangerous ftratagem of the devil against your fouls, But let every man open his ear, and hear what the Spirit faith to him, and apply the word particularly to himfelf; for the best plaifter that ever was made up, can do no good unless it be applied. 3. Believe that what the Lord fpsaks to you by his word, is true and certain; that his doctrine is holy, and his laws juft: that his threatenings will be ftriatly executed, and his promifes faithfully accomplished. It is for want of faith that the word doth not profit. If but as much credit were given to the divine teftimony and word of God, as we give to human teftimony and the writings of men, the word would have more fuccefs and efficacy than, alas! it hath on the most part.

IX. Lay up what you hear in your hearts and memories, and be at all pains to retain it; for the devil, like the fowls of the air, is at hand to fnatch away the feed of the word as foon as it lights, if we be not careful to hide it in our hearts. Therefore it is a good help in time of hearing, to be often recalling and repeating the heads of what has been fpoken in our minds; for when we hear a head but once, and think no more upon it till the fermon be done, we are fair to lofe it.

X. Join cordially with the congregation in finging the praifes of God. This is a heavenly duty, pleasant God, and profitable to yourselves: therefore be confcientious in the performing of it: "Sing with underftanding," and meditate upon what you fing; "fing with grace in your hearts," Col. iii. 16. It is grace

that fweetens the voice in God's ear, an old heart cannot fing a new fong; nay, grace must be in a lively exercife when you fing, according to Pfal. Ivii. 8. you fhould cry to your hearts and to your graces, and particularly to faith, love and delight, as in Judges v. 12. "Awake, awake, Deborah, awake, awake, utter a fong," &c. There'fhould be a great warmnefs of love and affection to God when we fing to him, according to Ifa. v. 1. Look well then to your hearts in finging,