Fashion of it; to learn a notional Experience of Cafes: But alas, this is not the great Purpose and Ule of thefe Things; it is to have fome new Sense of these Things we know: We know already, but we fhould come to get the Truth, more received in our Love, to serve God in our Spirits, and to return to him our felves in a Sacrifice acceptable. This is the greater half, if not the whole of Religion, Love to Jefus Chrift who loved us, and living to him, because he died for us, and living to him becaule we love him. Now, all our Ordinances and Duties fhould be Channels to carry our Love to him, and Occafions of venting our Affections.

Thirdly, The Lord rejected this People's Services, because they were exact and punctual in them, and neglected other Parts of his Commandments; and this is clearly expressed here, I will not hear your Prayers, tho' there be many of them: Why? Your Hands are full of Blood. Ye come to worship me, and pray to me, and yet there are many A bominations in your Converfation, which you continue in, and do not challenge in yourselves. Ye have unclean Hands, and shall your Prayers be accepted, which fhould come up with pure Hands? They took his Covenant in their Mouth, and of fered many Sacrifices, but what have ye to do with these Things (faith the Lord) fince ye hate to be reformed, fince ye hate perfonal Reformation of your Lives, and in your Families? What have ye to do to profefs to be my People, Pfal. 1. 16, 17? The Lord requires an Univerfality, if ye would prove Sincerity: If ye have refpect to any of his Commands,as his Commands, then will ye refpect all. If ye be partial, and chufe one Duty that is eafy, and refuse another harder, ye will

come to the Church and hear, but ye will not pray at Home: Ye will-fast in Publick, but not in Private: Then, fays the Lord, ye do not at all obey me, but your own Humour; ye do not at all faft unto me, but unto yourfelves: As much as your Intereft lies in a Dúty, so much are ye carried to it. And I take this to be the Reason why many are so eager in pursuing publick Ordinances, following Communions, and Conferences with God's People, ready to pray in Publick rather than alone. If ye would follow them into their fecret Chamber, how much Indifferency is there? how great Infrequency, how little Fervency? Well (fays the Lord) did ye pray to me when ye prayed among others? No, ye prayed either to yourfelves, or the Company, or both. Did ye feek me in a Communi-on? No, faith the Lord, ye fought not me, but yourselves: If ye fought me indeed with others, ye would be as earnest, if not more, to feek me alone, Zecb. ii. 6. And again, the Lord efpecially requires the weightier Matters of the Law to be confidered, as it was among the Jews, their Ceremonies were commanded, and fo good, but they were not fo much good in themfelves, as because they were Means appointed for another End and Ufe. But the moral Law was binding in itself, and good in itself, without relation to another Thing; and therefore Chrift lays this heavy Charge to the Fharifees,ye titbe Mint and Annife, Mat. xxiii. 23. Wo unto you, for ye neglect the weightier Matters of the Law, Judgment, Mercy and Faith, thefe ye ought to have done, and not left the other undone. Are there not many who would think it a great Fault to stay away from the Church on the Sabbath or Week Day, and yet will not flick to swear, to

drink often, Wo unto you, for ye ftrain at a Gnat, and fwallow a Camel, therefore are the Prophets full of these Expoftulations. The People feemed to make Confcience of Ceremonies and external Ordinances, but they did not order their Converfation aright; they did not execute Judgment, and relieve the oppreffed, did not walk foberly, did not mortify finful Lufts, &c. Alas, we deceive ourselves with the Noife of a Covenant, and a Caufe of God; we cry it up as an Antidote against all Evils, ufe it as a Charm, even as the Jews did their Temple; and, in the mean Time, we do not care how we walk before God, or with our Neighbours: Well, (thus faith the Lord) Truft ye not in lying Words, Jer. vii. 4, 5, 6. If Drunkennefs reign among you, if Filthiness, Swearing, Oppreffion, Cruelty reign among you, your Covenant is but a Ly, all your ProfefGons are but lying Words, and fhall never keep you in your Inheritances and Dwellings. The Lord tells you what he requires of you, Is it not to do juftly, and walk bumbly with God, Mic. vi. 7. This is that which the Grace of God teaches, To deny Ungodliness and worldly Lufts, and to live foberly, rigbteously, and godly towards your God, your Neighbour and yourself, Tit. ii.

11, 12. and this he prefers to your put. lick Ordinances, your fafting, covenanting, preaching, and fuch like. Is not this to know me (faith the Lord) Jer. xxii. 15, 16. You think you know God, when you can difcourfe well of Religion, and entertain Conferences of practical Cafes: You think it is Knowledge to understand Preachings and Scripture: But thus faith the Lord, To do juftly to all Men, to walk bumbly towards God, to walk fo berly in yourfelves, is more real Knowledge of God, than all the Volumes of Doctors contain, or the Heads of Profeffors. Is this Knowledge of God to have a long flourishing Difcourfe contain ing much Religion in it? Alas no; to do juftly, to opprefs none, to pray more in fecret, to walk humbly and foberly, this is to know the Lord. Practice is real Knowledge indeed, it argues, that what a Man knows, he receives in Love, that the Truth hath a deep Impreffion on the Heart, that the Light fhines into the Heart, to inflame it. What is Knowledge before God? As much as principles Affection and Action, as much as hath Influence on your Converfations: If you do not, and love not what you know, is that to know the Lord? Shall not your Knowledge be a Testimony against your Practice, and no more?

SER

IF

F we would have a Sum of pure and undefiled Religion, here it is fet down in Opposition to this People's Shadow of Religion, that confifted in external Ordinances and Rites. We think that God should be as well pleased with our Service as we ourselves, therefore we chufe his Commands which our Humour hath no particular Antipathy againft, and refuse others. But the Lord will not be so served: As he will not share with the World, and divide the Soul and Service of Man with Creatures, fo as Mammon fhould get Part, and he his Part. No, if we chufe the one, we muft refuse the other; for fo will he not fuffer his Word and Commands to be divided; there must be some Univerfality in refpect of the Gofpel and the Law, and a Conjunction of these two, or we cannot please him.

If Religion do not include the Gospel, we are yet upon the old Covenant of Works, according to which, none can be juftified. If it do not include the Law in the Hands of a Mediator, then we turn the Grace of God unto Wantonnefs. If it shut out Jefus Chrift and have no Ufe of him, how can either we or our

Performances ftand or be accepted before his holy Eyes. If it exclude the Law that Chrift came to establish, how can he be pleased with our Religion: Both of these offer an Indignity to the Son of God. The Sum then of Chriftian Religion is Believing and Sanctification of the Spirit unto Obedience; that is, the Root and Fountain, this is the Fruit and Stream; Juftification of our Perfons, and Sanctification of our Lives and Hearts. This is pure Religion and undefiled. And therefore Ifaiab says, Wafb you, make you clean, cleanse in the only true Fountain of Chrift's Blood. It is not your Purifications of the Law, your many. Washings with Water and Hyfop; It is not the Blood of Bulls and Goats can purge your Confciences from dead Works: They do but purify your Flesh,. but cannot wash your Souls, worse defiled. This Blood of Jefus Chrift is that clean Water that he must sprinkle on you, if you would be clean. If you take any other Water, any other Righteousness but his, and wash thyself therewith, fuppofe it be Snow Water that washeth cleaneft, thy moft exact Converfation; yet be will plunge thee in the Mire, till thy own Aaaa

Cloath;