Speculum theologiæ in Christo, or, A view of some divine truths which are either…

Take an holy Man in Divine Ordinances, there he is holy: He would first be sure that he is in a right Church, and in a right Ordinance; in a right Church; for there the Lord commands the Blessing, even Life for evermore; in a right Ordinance, for unless the Institution be from God, the Benediction cannot be expected from him: and then he would serve God in a right manner, and sanctify his Name in his approaches; when he comes to an Ordinance, he hath high thoughts of God, as being the Infinite Majesty of Heaven, the Excellency of all Perfections; one whom Angels adore, and Devils tremble at: accordingly he lies low before God; he serves him with Reverence and godly Fear; he draws nigh to him, yet forgets not the infinite distance between them; he blushes to think that he must go before so pure a Majesty, with the dust of Mortality about him: and again he blushes to think, that he must do so in the spots and rags of many Infirmities, which being in the Soul are much more abasive than those in the Body. The Beams of the Divine Glory strike an holy awe into him, and make him conclude, That a Soul, though entirely given up, is to God but a little, very little thing; but as a Beam to the Sun, or a drop to the Ocean; and, ⟨p. 429⟩which is matter of more shame and abasement; the Soul is much less, in that the innate corruption holds back, and the bewitching World steals away a great deal of it from God: very little or rather nothing it is, that we can give to him; however the holy Man, such is his Divine temper, would not abate any thing, but endeavour in Ordinances to give God his Spirit and highest Intention; he knows that God is a Spirit, and mere bodily worship is as nothing to him: what is the bowing of the Knee, when there is an Iron Sinew of Rebellion within? or the lifting up of the Hands or Eyes, when there is an earthly depression upon the affections? to what purpose is an open Ear, when the Heart is deaf and shut up against holy Truths? And what a shadow, a mere lye in worship is the Body, when the Mind is stole away and gone after Vanity? He therefore sets himself to serve God in spirit and truth; while God is speaking to him in his Sacred Word, he would have no converse at all with worldly objects; he bids these stand by, and not interrupt his attention, while he is speaking to God in prayer;

Take an holy Man in Divine Ordinances, there he is holy: He would first be sure that he is in a right Church, and in a right Ordinance; in a right Church; for there the Lord commands the Blessing, even Life for evermore; in a right Ordinance, for unless the Institution be from God, the Benediction cannot be expected from him: and then he would serve God in a right manner, and sanctify his Name in his approaches; when he comes to an Ordinance, he hath high thoughts of God, as being the Infinite Majesty of Heaven, the Excellency of all Perfections; one whom Angels adore, and Devils tremble at: accordingly he lies low before God; he serves him with Reverence and godly Fear; he draws nigh to him, yet forgets not the infinite distance between them; he blushes to think that he must go before so pure a Majesty, with the dust of Mortality about him: and again he blushes to think, that he must do so in the spots and rags of many Infirmities, which being in the Soul are much more abasive than those in the Body. The Beams of the Divine Glory strike an holy awe into him, and make him conclude, That a Soul, though entirely given up, is to God but a little, very little thing; but as a Beam to the Sun, or a drop to the Ocean; and,