and when ye fpread forth your Hands, I will bide my Eyes from you; yea, when you ma'e many Prayers, I will not hear, your Hands are full of Blood. Here we may fee, that though God himself instituted Sacrifices, aud Burn Offerings of Beasts among the Jews; and commanded them to oblerve Sabbaths, and divers other Feafts; yet, because they had not purg'd themfelves from their Iniquities, he plainly intimates to them, that he would not have any Regard to their Worship as would turn to their Advantage, but rather quite the contrary. And fo he will deal with us Chriftians too, unless we give a Bill of Divorce to all our beloved Sins before we prefume to come unto the Throne of Grace.

I cannot therefore addrefs myself to you better upon this Occafion, than in the 16th and 17th Verfes of the Chapter now quoted. Wash Tash ye, ye, make you clean, put away the Evil of your Doings; ceafe to do Evil, learn to do Well, Jeek Judgment, relieve the Oppressed, judge the Fatherless, plead for the Widow.

If we do so, then our Requests and Supplications will afcend to the MercySeat, and avail us for the obtaining all Things that be needful.

If we do fo, then our Praises and Thankf givings will be Odours of a fweet Smell, Sacrifices acceptable and well-pleafing. If we do fo, then our Divine Service will be reafonable, lovely, and delightful, and we shall go the direct Way to worShip God in the Beauty of Holiness.

An Affembly of devout Worshippers, thus purified from the Defilements of Sin, and adorned with univerfal Holiness, are a beautiful Representation of the innumerable Company of Saints and Angels in Heaven; and will be fure to have the Eyes of God graciously over them, and his Ears open unto their Prayers. God is a most pure and perfect Spirit, and therefore will have Pleasure in fuch Worshippers, and fuch only, as do thus worship him in Spirit, and in Truth.

Thirdly, In order to worship God in the Beauty of Holiness, we must worship him with fuch decent and humble Poftures of our Bodies as may in fome fort express that holy and profound Reverence we ought to have of his tremendous Majefty in our Minds. God created the Body as well as the Soul: CHRIST redeem'd the Body as well as the Soul: And hereafter he will glorify the Body as well as the Soul. And therefore we must worthip and glo

rify God with our Bodies as well as with our Souls.

Now the reverential Pofture of Body, which we find moft generally recom mended in the Scriptures, is kneeling. Thus we hear the royal Pfalmift exhorting, P/alm xcv. 6. O come let us worship; and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our Maker. And thus 'tis recorded of our blefled Saviour, that he kneeled down and prayed, Luke xxii. 41. Thus likewife we read in the Acts of the Apostles, concerning St Stephen, Sc Peter, and St Paul, that they kneeled down, and prayed. And the fame Practice of other holy Perfons, we may find in other Places of Holy Wric. Agreeably to which our Church hath chiefly prefcribed us this Pofture, in the Rubrick of the Common Prayer. And if we would all devoutly ufe This, and the other Pofture of Standing, according as we are directed, how beautiful would the Manner of our Worfhip be?

But what an ugly Thing is it for any one to chufe to be fitting when he Pretends to be at Prayers. This is fuch a difagreeable Token of Indecency and Irreverence as cannot but raife the Indignation of all truly pions Men. What, is it not enough for God to condefcend to

permit us to fpeak to him, but muft we treat him at a bold and familiar Rate, as if he was fuch a one as ourselves? If we are admitted to petition any thing of a 'king, we are obliged to kneel before him; and shall we not be willing to fhow as much Reverence when we are addrefling ourfelves to the KING of Kings? Thole who be not, are guilty of a very great and inpious Abfurdity; and of fuch Perfons it may be faid, that they delight to worfhip God rather in the Deformity, than in the Beauty of Holiness.

Fourthly, In order to worship God in the Beauty of Holiness, we must worship him with fervent Zeal: We must keep our Hearts with all Diligence, from wandering to other Subjects, and put up our Petitions and Thanksgivings with very great Importunity and Earneftnefs.

Theold Heathens were fo fenfible, how neceflary This was in order to a decent Performance of Worship, that they appointed an Officer on Purpofe to make People mind what they were about, when they were facrificing to their falle Gods: And certainly we can't be faid to worship

k Dr. Kennet's Roman Antiquities, Part II. Book 2, Chap. 8. Bishop Potter's Greek Antiquities, Vol. I. Book 2. Chap. 14.

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the true one in the Beauty of Holiness, if we be not as diligently atttentive as they were. No, it is exceedingly far from worshipping God in the Beauty of Holinefs, to worship him as it were by Rote: Neither is it reasonable to think that he will answer those Prayers, which are faid after fuch a cold and fleepy Manner, as if we did not care whether they were anfwered or no. The Way to procure God's Favour and Love, is to draw near to him with our Hearts, as well as with our Tongues; not only to cry, but to cry mightily unto him. Vehemency and Fervour are both Helps and Ornaments to Devotion, they do at once beautify and ftrengthen it, they pierce the Heavens, and offer an holy Violence to the Divine Majesty. When our Worship is thus performed, as one of the Antienis fpeaketh, It conquers the inconquerable, and overpowers the Omnipotent. And fuch Violence and Importunity as this is grateful and pleafing to God.

Laftly, In order to worship God in the Beauty of Holiness, we muft worship him with Regularity and Uniformity: By which I would fignify, that we muft orderly join in the Divine Service from the Beginning to the End. By coming to Church after