pofed under the covert of the covenant of grace, wherein God offers himself to all to whom the gospel comes to be their God in Chrift; and this command binds us to accept. And under this duty feveral things are required of us,

will

1. A ferious deliberation as to the matching of our fouls, Jofh. xxiv. 15. Chufe ye this day whom ye ferve. Think with yourfelves, O finners young or old, who must have this heart of yours, Confider the match propofed to thee by God himfelf, think on the nature of the covenant, that thou mayft delibe rately confent to it, Luke xiv. 28,

2. A breaking off the covenant with our lufts and idols, Matth. v, 24. God fays, Thou fhalt have me for thy God; therefore thou must let these

go

their

way. As one would rife up and fay to a woman gi ving herfelt in marriage to another, I have a prior right to thee, thou fhalt have no other husband but So that could the voice of this command be heard, it would be heard faying and crying out of injury done to thy God, whenfoever any thing lawful or unlawful gets away the heart inordinately.

me.

3. Faith in Jefus Chrift, receiving him as he is of fered in the gofpel, and taking God for our God in him, even Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, which is the accepting of the covenant, Matth. xxii. 4. For tho' the law knows not Chrift, yet it obliges to believe whatever God fhall reveal, and do whatever he com mands. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jefus Chrift, 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 everlafting command, a negative binding at all times. He mult be our God without interruption, without intermif fion. We must fay with the pfalmift, Whom have l in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I defire befides thee, Pfal. lxxiii. 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 fpirit on all occafions fuitable to what he has revealed of himself to us in his word and works, applying the fame to ourselves: In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he fhall 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 fervant who does as he pleases before his master, never acknow. ledging him to fuit himself to his will more than if he did not know he were his master.

We muft thus acknowledge him in all his perfections, carrying ourselves in a fuitableness to them. I will inftance in a few.

(1.) We must acknowledge him as a fpirit, from that confideration ferving him in fpirit and in truth, John iv. 24. and doing all things with godly fimplicity, 1 Cor. i. 12.

(2.) His unchangeablenefs must be fo acknowledged, as to influence us to a firm trust in him, Pfal. lxxxix. 34. to conftancy and perfeverance in the way of God, and not to be given to change, Prov. xxiv. Yet as God repents him of the evil of punishment that he has fpoken, fo muft we of the evil of fin that we have done, Joel ii. 13.

21.

(3.) His omniprefence muft influence us to carry as ever under the eye of God wherefoever we are, Jer. xxiii. 24. and fo we own him as witness to our moft fecret actions.

(4) His omnifcience muft influence us to all tendernefs, as believing that he fees our thoughts, Mark ix. 4. and every the moft fecret thing.

(5.) His omnipotence muft influence us to fear him, Job vi. 14. not to defpife his chaftening, nor to rife up against him, but to humble ourfelves under his hand, and truft him in the loweft condition. And fo of the reft of the perfections of God.

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

[1] To his word; as, 1.) Hearing or reading the threatenings thereof againft fin, we must acknowledge his juftice and truth therein, by approving of them in our hearts, If. xxxix. ult. and trembling at his word, If. lxvi. 2. Pfal. cxix. 120. Otherwife we

do not acknowledge the speaker as God.

2.) Hearing or reading his promifes, we muft acknowledge him as merciful and true, trufting and be lieving they fhall be all accomplished, and giving thereupon the more chearful obedience to him, Gen. xxxii. 9. For where God is acknowledged as the giver of the words, the arms of faith and hope will receive it.

[2.] With refpect to his works. 1.) The works of creation, at the view of these we must acknowledge him as the maker of all, infinitely powerful, wife, and good, by praifing and magnifying his great name, Pfal. viii. & cl. 5.

2.) Acknowledging him in the works of his providence; as when we meet with a crofs providence, we must acknowledge him juft, wife, and mighty, by humbling ourselves under his hand, and patient bearing of the ftroke, because it is the hand of our God, Pfal. xxxix. 9, And when we meet with a anercy, we must acknowledge him to be merciful and gracious, and the giver of every good gift, by conreffing ourselves unworthy of it, Gen. xxxii. 10. and giving thanks for it to his name, 1 Theff. v. 18.

3) In the great work of redemption, as that wherein his juftice, mercy, love, c. are glorioufly dif played, wondering at the glorious contrivance, heartily falling in with it, and laying our falvation on that bottom as firm and fure, becoming the divine perfections, Phil. iii. 3.

2dly, We mult acknowledge. God externally in our words and actions, Deut. xxvi. 17. by a religious pro feffion before the world of his being our God, and of

his truths and ways. Let none fcorn a profeffion of religion; for it is a duty incumbent upon us by vir tue of this command. God exprefsly requires it, 1 Pet. iii. 15. Be ready always to give an anfiver to every man that afketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear. It has a promife annexed to it, Rom. x. 9. If thou shalt confefs with thy mouth the Lord Jefus, &c. thou shalt be faved. The contrary is feverely threatened, Mark viii. 38. Whofoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and finful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ahamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels. It is edifying to others, Phil. i. 12. 13. 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 fhameful thing, Luke ix. 26.

This profeffion is fo neceffary, that at no time we muft deny the faith, the truth, and ways of God. Yet it is neither neceffary nor fit every where to profess what we believe, Matth. vii. 6.; but in times of perfecution we must especially maintain our profeffion, Heb. x. 23. and when called of God, even to profefs before the enemy on whatever hazard, Matth. x. 18.

THIRDLY, This command requires us to worfhip 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 fuch, 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 worfhip commanded in the fecond commandment. The internal is the main thing; in this chiefly true piety confifts, 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, 1 fhall take them up under thefe. i. The duty of our understanding. 2. Of our will. 3. Our affections. 4. Our confcience. 5. Our memory.

6. Laftly, The whole foul, in all its faculties. And by these you will fee what it is to worship God in fpirit, and to be godly indeed.

Firft, 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 lightfome temples for the worship of the true God. Paffing what was faid of the knowledge of God, we muft worship and glorify him internally in our minds,

1. By thinking on him, Mal. iii. 16. That is a black character, Píal. x. 4. God is not in all his thoughts. That is our God we love moft; what we love most gets most of our thoughts; if we take him then for our God, our thoughts muft run moft towards him. He has diftinguished us from brutes by a faculty of think ing, and therefore fhould our thoughts be mott of him, as the moft worthy object.

2. By meditating on him, Pfal. Ixiii. 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 neceffary duty, pleasant, profitable, practised by the faints of beft note, though the corrupt heart has a peculiar unfitness for it. Live no more in the neglect of this duty; enure yourselves to occafional meditation at any time, and to more folemn and fixed meditation efpecially in the morning and evening. The Lord's day in a special manner is defigned for this duty. And as in external worship it would be a notable defect to go about other parts of it, and neglect the folemn duties of that day, fo in internal worship to go about other duties, and neglect the duty of meditation.

3. By highly efteeming him, entertaining high and honourable thoughts of him, prizing him above all, and in our judgement preferring him to all persons and things, Exod. xv. 11. Pfal. lxxiii. 25. We are naturally blind to fpiritual things; hence arife mean and low thoughts of God. We muft fhake off these,