Gospel-worship, or, The right manner of sanctifying the name of God in general. And…

4 A Fourth Reason is this, Because there is no way for us to be fitted for the receiving of Mercy from God through those duties of Worship, but by our sanctifying of Gods Name: when thou comest at any time to worship God, What wouldest thou have? there is some communion that thou wouldest enjoy with God, now there is no way to make thee a f•t subject of Mercy, or capable of the enjoyment of Communion with God, but by such a behaviour of Soul as this is that hath been spoken of, to Sanctif e the Name of God; thou wouldest be loth to lose those duties of Worship that thou doest perform, therefore it is required of thee to Sanctify His Name lest thou doest lose all, for 'tis this that makes thee the only capable subject of what good is to be had there.

4 A Fourth Reason is this, Because there is no way for us to be fitted for the receiving of Mercy from God through those duties of Worship, but by our sanctifying of Gods Name: when thou comest at any time to worship God, What wouldest thou have? there is some communion that thou wouldest enjoy with God, now there is no way to make thee a f•t subject of Mercy, or capable of the enjoyment of Communion with God, but by such a behaviour of Soul as this is that hath been spoken of, to Sanctif e the Name of God; thou wouldest be loth to lose those duties of Worship that thou doest perform, therefore it is required of thee to Sanctifie His Name lest thou doest lose all, for 'tis this that makes thee the only capable subject of what good is to be had there.

5 We must Sanctify Gods Name in holy duties, because otherwise we should certainly never hold out in duties, but vanish and come to nothing; now God would be worshipped so by His creatures, as to be constantly worshipped, He would have those that do worship Him, to worship Him always, to worship Him for ever, and He would have this Worship that we perform to Him, but to be the beginning of that eternal Worship that he shall have from us in Heaven. And so the Saints do Worship God now, the Worship with they perform, it is but as the beginning of that Worship that hereafter in Heaven they shall tender up to God, though there may be some difference in it, as there our prayers will be turned into praises, and it will not be in such outward Ordinances as now we worship God in, there will be no Preaching, nor Sacraments; yet notwithstanding the Soul-worship that is now, will be in effect the same as it shall be in Heaven. God would have us so to worship Him, as to continue to worship Him: Now (I say) unless His Name be Sanctified in our worshipping of Him we will certainly fall off: and the truth is, This is the very ground of all Apostasy in Hypocrites; Some that have been very forward in the Worshipping of God when they were young ones, and afterwards they have fallen off, they were wont constantly in their families, and in secret in their chambers to be worshipping of God, and they accounted it the very joy of their lives for the present to be worshipping of God; but it is not so with them now as it was: yea they are fallen off it may be from their very profession of Religion, and turned loose: And now to be in vain company, to drink, or play, is better to them than any service or worship of God, they prize more to be in company with their sports, than to hear a Sermon, or to be in Communion with the people of God in Prayer: Heretofore they would not have changed one short time of private Communion with God, for the enjoyment of a great deal of pleasures and content in the world: but now it is otherwise with them. How comes it to pass that these are Apostatized thus from God?