therefore thou must let these go their way. As one would rise up and say to a woman giving herself in marriage to another, I have a prior right to thee, thou shalt have no other husband but me. So that, could the voice of this command be heard, it would be heard saying and crying out of injury done to thy God, whensoever any thing lawful or unlawful gets away the heart inordinately.

3. Faith in Jesus Christ, recceiving him as he is offered in the gospel, and taking God for our God in him, even Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, which is the accepting of the cove nant, Matth. xxii. 4. For though the law knows not Christ, yet it obliges to believe whatever God shall reveal, and do whatever he commands. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, 1 John iii. 23. So that the law confirms this great command in the gospel.

4. Faithfulness in the covenant, continuing with him, and cleaving to him; for this is an everlasting command, a negative binding at all times. He must be our God without interruption, without intermission. We must say with the Psalmist, Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee,' Psal. Ixxiii. 25. Now, we must acknowledge God two ways; in our hearts, and in our words and actions.

1st, In our hearts, by entertaining a frame of spirit on all occasions suitable to what he has revealed of himself to us in his word and works, applying the same to ourselves: 'In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths,' Prov. iii. 6. Many that pretend to know God, acknowledge him no more than if they knew him not at all. Like the servant who does as he pleases before his master, never acknowledging him to suit himself to his will more than if he did not know he were his master.

We must thus acknowledge him in all his perfections, carrying ourselves in a suitableness to them. I will instance in a few.

(1.) We must acknowledge him as a spirit, from that consideration serving him in spirit and in truth, John iv. 24; and doing all things with godly simplicity, 1 Cor. i. 12.

(2.) His unchangeableness must be so acknowledged, as to influence us to a firm trust in himn, Psal. !xxxix. 34; to constancy and perseverance in the way of God, and not to be

given to change, Prov. xxiv. 21. Yet as God repents him of the evil of punishment that he has spoken, so must we of the evil of sin that we have done, Joel ii. 13.

(3.) His omnipresence must influence us to carry as ever under the eye of God wheresoever we are, Jer. xxiii. 24, and so we own him as witness to our most secret actions..

(4.) His omniscience must influence us to all tenderness, as believing that he sees our thoughts, Mark ix. 4. and every the most secret thing.

(5.) His omnipotence must influence us to fear him, Job vi. 14. not to despise his chastening, nor to rise up against him, but to humble ourselves under his hand, and trust him in the lowest condition. And so of the rest of the perfections of God.

We must thus acknowledge him with respect to his word and his works.

[1] To his word; as,

(1.) Hearing or reading the threatenings thereof against sin, we must acknowledge his justice and truth therein, by approving of them in our hearts, Isa. xxxix, ult. and trembling at his word, Isa. lxvi. 2. Psal, cxix. 120. Otherwise we do not acknowledge the speaker as God.

(2.) Hearing or reading his promises, we must acknowledge him as merciful and true, trusting and believing they shall be all accomplished, and giving thereupon the more cheerful obedience to him, Gen. xxxii. 9. For where God is knowledged as the giver of the word, the arms of faith and hope will receive it.

[2] With respect to his works.

(1.) The works of creation: at the view of these we must acknowledge him as the maker of all, infinitely powerful, wise, and good, by praising and magnifying his great name, Psal. viii. and cl. 5.

(2.) Acknowledging him in the works of his providence; as when we meet with a cross providence, we must acknowledge him just, wise, and mighty, by humbling ourselves under his hand, and patient bearing of the stroke, because it is the hand of our God, Psal. xxxix. 9. And when we meet with a mercy, we must acknowledge him to be merciful and gracious, and the giver of every good gift, by confessing ourselves unworthy of it, Gen. xxxii. 10; and giving thanks for it to his name, 1 Thess. v. 18.

(3.) In the great work of redemption, as that wherein his justice, mercy, love, &c. are gloriously displayed, wondering at the glorious contrivance, heartily falling in with it, and laying our salvation on that bottom as firm and sure, becoming the divine perfections, Phil. iii. 3.

2dly, We must acknowledge God externally, in our words and actions, Deut. xxvi. 17. by a religious profession before the world of his being our God, and of his truths and ways. Let none scorn a profession of religion; for it is a duty incumbent upon us by virtue of this command. God expressly requires it. 1 Pet. iii. 15. Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.' It has a promise annexed to it, Rom. x. 9. If thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, &c. thou shalt be saved.' The contrary is severely threatened, Mark viii. 38. Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels.' It is edifying to others, Phil. i. 12.-14; and brings glory to God, Phil. i. 20. And the with-holding of it is an indignity done to God, as if religion were a shameful thing, Luke ix. 26.

This profession is so necessary, that at no time we must deny the faith, the truth, and ways of God. Yet it is nei ther necessary nor fit every where to profess what we believe, Matth. vii. 6; but in times of persecution we must especially maintain our profession, Heb. x. 23; and when called of God, even to profess before the enemy on whatever hazard, Matth. x. 18.

THIRDLY, This command requires us to worship and glorify God accordingly; that is, as God and our God, Rom. i. 21. Matth. iii. 10 For if we take him for our God, we must worship and glorify him as such, Mal. i. 6.

The worship of God is twofold, internal and external. It is the internal that is here required; the external is but the means of worship commanded in the second commandment. The internal is the main thing; in this chiefly true piety con sists, and this is that wherein the life of religion lies. Now, that I may the more plainly lay before you the parts of this internal worship, I shall take them up under these. 1. The duty of our understanding. 2. Of our will. 3. Our affec

tions. 4. Our conscience. 5. Our memory. 6. Lastly, The whole soul, in all its faculties. And by these you will see what it is to worship God in spirit, and to be godly indeed. First, For our minds and understandings, God must be worshipped there. Our minds must not be as dark groves for idolatry or creature-worship, but as lightsome temples for the worship of the true God. Passing what was said of the knowledge of God, we must worship and glorify him internally in our minds,

1. By thinking on him, Mal. iii. 16. That is a black character, Psal. x. 4. 'God is not in all his thoughts.' That is our God we love most; what we love most gets most of our thoughts; if we take him, then, for our God, our thoughts must run most towards him. He has distinguished us from brutes by a faculty of thinking, and therefore should our thoughts be most of him, as the most worthy object,

2. By meditating on him, Psal. lxiii. 6. Fleeting thoughts are not enough; he must be the subject of our fixed meditations. The duty of meditating on God and divine things is a necessary duty, pleasant, profitable, practised by the saints of best note, though the corrupt heart has a peculiar unfitness for it. Live no more in the neglect of this duty enure yourselves to occasional meditation at any time, and to more solemn and fixed meditation especially in the morning and evening. The Lord's day in a special manner is designed for this duty. And as in external worship it would be a notable defect to go about other parts of it, and neglect the solemn duties of that day, so in internal worship to go about other duties, and neglect the duty of meditation.

3. By highly esteeming him, entertaining high and honourable thoughts of him, prising him above all, and in our judgment preferring him to all persons and things, Exod. xv. 11. Psal. Îxxiii. 25. We are naturally blind to spiritual things; hence arise mean and low thoughts of God. We must shake off these, and labour to screw up our esteem of him, fearing no excess. Whatever is worthy of esteem in the creature, is but as a drop of the ocean of that which is in him.

4. By believing him, Exod. xiv. ult. firmly assenting to the truths of his word upon his testimony, and so to give him the glory of his truth. He is a God that cannot lie; it is contrary to his nature to deceive; for he is truth; and VOL. II.

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so the least hesitation about his word is a high dishonour to him. This is a fundamental piece of internal worship; which failing, shakes the very foundation of practical godliness.

Secondly, For our will, as it is the leading faculty in all, so it must be in the internal worship of God. In our will he must have internal worship.

1. By chusing of him as our God and portion, Josh. xxiv. 15, 22. of which I spoke before. But this is not to be one single act, but frequently repeated, Psal. xvi. 2. and lxxiii. 25. especially when any person or thing comes in competition with him. The old choice of the saint will still be his new choice, whatever objects present themselves. It is a duty and a pleasure thus to renew our choice of God and Christ. To whom coming as to a living stone; they have come already, but they must be coming still; they have chosen already, but they must chuse him still; especially while so many pretenders to our hearts are about our hands.

2. By making him our chief and ultimate end, 1 Cor. x. 31. As all the good we have is of him, so it should be to him. His glory and honour must be the chief end of our natural, civil, and religious actions, in which they ought all to meet as the lines in the centre. Whatever view we have to ourselves in living and acting, we must have a view beyond that to God himself. We have not God for our God, if he be not the great end and scope of our life, Rom. xiv. 8.

3. By self-denial, Mat. xvi. 24. Self-denial pulls down self from the throne of the heart, that God may have that room which self has usurped, entirely possessed in an unregenerate state, and is still seeking for even in a state of grace. We must no more make ourselves our chief end; God must be master, and self must lacquey at his foot; and what concerns ourselves must be cut and carved as may best serve his honour. We must deny,

1st, Our civil self, all our outward comforts and enjoy. ments, so as to be ready to part with them, sitting loose to them at all times, and actually to forego them, when we cannot keep them and keep the way of duty to God too,

Luke xiv. 26.

2dly, Our natural self, even our own life, Luke xiv. 26: If God be our God, neither death nor life must separate us from him. We must let life itself go, rather than that our