not only as a great and important Duty, but as in itself a great Bleffing and Advantage to Mankind; as a Duty fuited to the Wants and Mifery of the present Life, and most productive of Peace and Compofure in it; as the fureft Refuge for Comfort in an afflicted State, and the fureft Bafis and Ballaft of the Soul in a fuccefsful one.-And accordingly it is reprefented to us by the facred Writers as very agreeable and acceptable to God, and very powerful and effectual with him.-His Promifes are annexed to the due Discharge of it; and Instances are given us of good Men in all Ages, who have experienced the Performance of thofe Promises. And the Inferences I would draw from thence are, that whatever Bleffings are promised to it, whatever Advantages may flow from it when privately dif charged, the fame and greater Effects may it be fuppofed to have when jointly made in the Courts of the Lord's Houfe; and that whatever Reasons we have as Men and Chriftians to offer up our Prayers to God in Secret, the fame and greater must we have for affembling together for this Purpofe, because incorporated in the fame Civil Society, and because Members of the Church of Chrift,-The fame, I fay, and more Reasons appear for the one, than are or can be offered in Defence of the other. For whatever can fhew the Prayer of one Man to be acceptable to God, must at leaft conclude as ftrongly for the joint Prayers

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of

of many; whatever Arguments can fhew the Success and Benefit of private Devotions, must equally at least demonstrate the Advantages of publick Devotion in the Assemblies of the Saints, And befides these, there are many other Arguments in favour of this Duty, which arife from the Concern we ought always to have for the Welfare and Profperity of the Publick, and from our Union and Communion in the Ordinances of Chrift.-And if then the Eyes of the Lord are over the Righteous, and his Ears will be open to each one's private Prayers; how much more Regard may we fuppofe him to fhew to their united Interceffions in Places fet apart for his Honour and Service?-If he is nigh to all them that call upon him in fecret, and will hear their Cry, and will help them; how much more powerful muft their joint Supplications be, when offered with one Heart and one Mind? Whatever Caufes can be supposed to render the Prayers of one effectual, muft furely be fuppofed to have ftill greater Effects in favour of the united Voices of many; and if any Weight may by this Means be added to the Efficacy of our Prayers, all this every private Chriftian has added to his own in the publick Affemblies of the Church; and this ought to be one juft and preffing Motive to attend those Affemblies, and to watch thereunto with all Perfeverance and Supplication for all Saints.

The

The last Benefit I fhall mention of paying our Vows to the Lord publickly in the midst of our Jerufalem is, that this is the stricteft Bond of Union with one another.-Religion is the great Cement of Civil Society, without which no Body of Men could long unite, or be kept united together.-In order to this, they must have fome common Principles to govern their Actions, and these Principles muft reach to and influence the Heart.-And these are only to be derived from a Sense of religious Duties; which Senfe can no other Way be fo ftrongly impreffed on the Mind, as by the Frequency and Solemnity of publick Worship. By this every Man profeffes his Belief in that God whom he worships, and appeals to him for his Sincerity, of which his Neighbour cannot judge; and by this Appeal every Man is more or lefs endeared to every other Man that makes it. This creates Confidence; and firmly roots in the Heart Benevolence and other Christian Virtues; and these produce in common Life the invaluable Fruits of mutual Love, reciprocal Joy and Grief, and general Peace.

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Such are fome of the mighty Benefits that flow from our Attendance on the publick Worship of our God, confidered as publick. -The Comforts of Civil Life are greatly, if not folely, built upon it; our own Prayers are rendered the more efficacious for it; we further the Salvation of others, and we justify

our

our own Veracity and Sincerity by it; and we even lay fome Checks and Restraints upon the Profane, who impiously neglect or refuse to frequent it.

To which I might add many more of a spiritual Nature, from the excellent Manner in which we perform it; from our fpiritual Communion with Chrift, which is fupported by it; and from those excellent Methods of Inftruction which ufually attend it. But I have scarce Time to draw the Inferences which I intend from what has been faid, and which are,

1. The Duty of being frequent in this Attendance.

And,

2. The Neceffity of being early in it.

First, The Duty of being frequent in our Attendance to pay our Vows to the Lord jointly in the midst of our Jerufalem.—If the Apoftle to the Hebrews had not commanded them not to forfake the affembling themselves together, the Genius of the Chriftian Religion, and the Nature of the Thing, would have fufficiently fhewn the Neceffity and Importance of it.-The whole Bent of the Chriftian Religion is to bring us to an Union with God, which Union cannot be obtained or preserved without frequent Communications with him; and whatever Reasons or Precepts fhew it to be the indispensable Duty of Chriftians in a private

private Capacity, the fame Reasons and Precepts will bind it with more force on all Bodies and Communities of Chriftians, confidered as fuch.-And therefore nothing can be more weak than to neglect the Publick Affemblies, under Pretence that the contrary is not neceffary, or not beneficial; or, in other Words, under Pretence that we can employ ourselves as beneficially at home, and as acceptably to God in our own Closets.-Such Objections can proceed only either from great Weakness of Judgment, or great Ignorance of the Nature of Christianity, or great Corruption of Mind. -Some Benefits have already been mentioned which cannot be obtained by private Prayers, and more of a higher Nature might easily be added; and nothing, I think, is more certain, than that whatever promotes the Salvation of great Bodies of Men, muft for that Reason be more agreeable to God, than what concerns only the Safety of Individuals.

Laftly and to conclude, the other Inference is, the Neceffity of an early Attendance on the publick Offices of Religion, as established among us, left we thould lofe the Benefits of the most noble and important of them.—Both the Offices we ufe, I mean Prayers and Sermon, are without doubt of great Ufe to a Christian People, and the Wisdom and Piety of the Church is very evident in the Appointment and Union of them: But I have all along