"tages of various Sorts (fome of which I have "mentioned); but, then, we fay, that publick Prayer, joining with our Brethren in the Service of God, whether it be at Church, or in our own Families, muft needs have the Preeminence in abundance of Refpects. Give me leave to name a few of them. Would we take the readieft Courfe to have our Prayers "effectual, in order to obtain from God what "we pray for? Why, certainly, then, we muft * pray with other devout People that come to "gether to obtain the fame thing that we de <<fire. In common Reafon one would think, that the united Force of a Number joining to gether to make a Requeft, fhould have more "Power than a Petition from a fingle Perfon, whoever he be that is addreffed. But, we "have more caufe to think fo with reference to thofe Prayers that we make to God in publick, Chrift Jefus having given us his Promise, that "wherever two or three of us are gathered toge "ther in his Name, there he will be in the midft is of us. Not but that He will be prefent to every devout Perfon that prays as he fhould but the Promife is more exprefs to those who join their Prayers together. Nay, our & Saviour, even when the Occafion led Him to "difcourfe of private Prayer, fuch as ought to be performed in the Closet, yet, being to give a Form of Prayer, He delivers it in fuch Words as are most proper to be used in a Congregation, fpeaking in the plural Number, H 3 "Our "Our Father which art in Heaven, &c. intima"ting hereby, that it was his Defign that all his "Difciples fhould join together in Prayer. "But this is not all.-Do we think it our Duty "to pay Honour to God in our Devotions, to give Him the Glory that is due unto His "Name? Why, certainly, this is never fo properly done, as when we affemble together with "our our Fellow Chriftians, to exprefs our Depen"dance upon Him, and to fet forth his Praise. "In true Speaking, to give Honour and Glory "to God, is publishing to others the Senfe we have of his adorable Perfections, of his infinite Kindness and Beneficence, and of the continual Need we ftand in of his Bounty; but this can be done no way fo effectually, as by joining in the Expreffion of thofe Things with "the religious Affemblies of our Brethren. Nor, " indeed, can we be more properly faid to ferve God by our Devotions in private, than we can be faid to honour Him; and yet, all of us "think there is fome Service due from us to God; and we think, likewife, that we ferve "Him by our Prayers. This is fo common and obvious a Notion, that if a Man does but hear the Service of God mentioned, he is naturally apt to apply that Word to praying to, "and worshipping Him, as looking upon That as the principal Part of the Service which we *owe Him. Why, this is true; but praying "to God in private, is doing Him no Service, in the proper Senfe of the Word; there we " rather rather serve ourselves than God Almighty To ferve one, is properly to promote the Intereft of that Perfon whom we pretend to "ferve; to do his Bufinefs with all thofe among "whom we are employ'd. This now is truly and properly done in refpect to God, when we refort to the publick Assemblies to pay our Devotions and Acknowledgements to Him; "for, by that means, we really do our Part, that all the World fhould honour, and fear, and worship God, as well as ourselves; nay, and we contribute a great deal to the keeping up "a Senfe of Religion among Men, which is the trueft Service that we can pay to God; for, "were it not for the publick stated Meetings for the Worfhip of God, and inftructing of Men there in the true Religion, not only the Spirit "of Chriftianity, but the very Face of it, would be in danger to be loft in the World. But, "farther That I may yet more recommend to you the Ufe of publick Prayer, let me defire you to confider this: Is it reasonable to wor"fhip God in a Way moft fuitable to our Nature? If so, then we must certainly think "ourselves obliged to affemble together for the celebrating his Praifes, and putting up our "Petitions H 4 a *What his Grace obferves here, must be understood in a qualified Senfe, or it is not true. We ferve ourselves more by publick, than private Prayer; and we ferve God no more by publick than private Prayer. That is, we are more benefitted by the former, than the latter; and, ftrictly speaking, God cannot be benefitted by either. All the Duties, that we pay immediately to Him, are appointed for the Sake of us, Men; who alone can receive any Advantage from them, God being incapable of receiving any additional Happiness from his Creatures. Petitions for the Things we ftand in need of. Man, by his own Nature, is a fociable Crea"ture, and is fo contrived, that, in order to the ' ferving his Neceffities, he must join in Society' "with others of his own Kind. And can it "be thought reasonable to have Society with ¿ one another in all other Things pertaining to' Life, and yet to have no Society with one* "another in Matters of Religion, which is cer tainly of higher Concernment than any worldly "Affairs whatfoever? Is it neceffary to our "Happiness, that we should every Day com-" "municate together in our Bufineffes, and in our 7 Enjoyments, and muft we never communicate *co® together in owning the Author of our Society, "the Head of our Community, and paying our Acknowledgments for the daily Benefits we receive from Him? For what did God APmighty give us Speech? Was it only for the tranfacting our temporal Concerns one with another? and not, at all, or not, rather, for the fetting forth the Praises of our Maker, "which is certainly the nobleft Ufe to which it can be put? And, yet, that End of our Speech "would be wholly loft, if it were fuppofed that we were only to perform our Devotions in private; for, private Devotions may be per"formed by the Mind, without the ufe of the Tongue. Add to this, that the moft, and the k ་་ greateft, Bleffings which we every Day and "Hour enjoy, and do every Day and Hour "ftand in need of, are common Benefits, in which "we all have a Shire; fuch as the Air we "breathe "breathe in, the Food we eat, the Light, our Peace, our Liberty; above all, the Advantages of the Gofpel, and the Promises of eter nal Salvation: Thefe are publick and common Bieffings; and, therefore, is it not infinitely reasonable that we fhould all join in publick and common Affemblies, to offer up our Sa"crifice of Praife to God for thefe Bleffings, and to implore the Continuance of them?"Once more, and I have done with this Head; "have we ever seriously confidered the Nature of our Religion, and the Duties of our common "Chriftianity? If we have, we must needs look upon ourselves to be indifpenfably obliged to. frequent the publick Affemblies that are ap pointed for the Chriftian Worship. It is a very falfe Opinion that fome People among us have taken up, viz. That Chriftianity is no more than a Sort of refined Philofophy, and "that Chriftians are but a Set of Men that have "truer Notions about divine Matters, and ought, therefore, to live better than the rest of the World: It is enough, according to this Account, to intitle a Man to the Name of a "Chriftian, that he believes the Doctrines of "Jefus Chrift, and that he lives a moral, virtuous Life, tho' he exercifes no Acts that exprefs his Relation to that Body, or Society, which we call the Church. But, certainly, 5 this is a great Miftake; for, when Chri came to plant his Religion in the World, and, 45 by the means of that, to bring us to everlast ing Happiness, his Defign was not only to give |