Luke 4.

Quest.

How to conceive of God in prayer.

Answ.

when he bleffed the Loaves. Why are thefe gestures fet downe? If any man might be freed, refus Christ might; but it pleaseth the Holy-Ghoft to fet downe that circumftance of him, that he fell on his face, and that he lift up his eyes to Heaven.

Indeed, in this cafe, when it is hurtfull to the body,there it may be omitted; the Lord will have mercie rather than facrifice, even mercie upon your bodies. So alfo,when you find that it hurts the inward man, and hinders it, when the heart doth it without deceit, that it may performe it the better,then there is a libertie left unto you to difpenfe with it.

As I fay for prayer,fo for other duties. When a man comes to heare the Word, hee faith, My minde is intent enough,though I make not such a fhew; yet notwithstanding, know this, that thou muft behave thy felfe reverently,when thou comment before God. You fhall fee in Luke 4. when Christ preached, it is faid, that the eyes of all the people were faftened upon him. Why is fuch a corporcall gefture noted in the Text? is it in vaine ? No, because it is a comely gesture,therefore it is to be regarded.

How should wee conceive of God in prayer, feeing he is a Spirit, and a Spirit wee never faw? What conceit and apprehension of God should wee have then, when wee come to call upon his Name ?

Wee may not conceive him under any corporeall fhape, for hee is a Spirit: and therefore, they that thinke they may worship the huma

lonc not to be worshipped.

of Chrift a

nity of Chrift disjoyned, are deceived: wee are The humanity not to worship it as feparated from his Deity; for wee are to worship the Trinity in the Vnity, and the Vnity in Trinitie, which we cannot doe, if wee worship his Humanity as feparated from his Deitie. Therefore when you come to pray before God, you must remember how God defcribes himselfe to Mofes, Exod. 34. 6. and alfo elsewhere; That hee is a Spirit, filling heaven and earth, ftrong, gracious, mercifull, fall of goodnesse and truth, &c. concerning whom three things are to be confidered.

First, that he is a Spirit.

But how fhall I conceive of a Spirit ?

thou

Object, Answ.

How to con

ceive of alpirir.

How doeft thou conceive of the foule of another man when thou fpeakeft to him never did ft fee it, yet thou knoweft that there is fuch a fpirit that fills the body, and that doth understand what thou faift, and fpeakes to thee againe, fo remember this of the Lord, that he is a fpirit: and remember that expreffion concerning him, Ier. 23. 24. with this; Can any man hide him- ter. 23 24 felfe in fecret places, that I fhall not fee him, faith the Lord? Doe not I fill heaven and earth, faith the Lord? Secondly,feeing the Lord fills heaven and earth as the foule fills the body, therefore thou must think of him as one that fees all things, & heares all things. Indeed the Lord is not in the world, as the foule in in the body, but in an incomprehenfible manner, which we cannot expreffe to you; yet this is an expreffion which we may helpe our "felves by, and is used every where in Scripture. Thirdly,

2

The Lord fills heaven and

earth.

Thirdly, fixe thy minde chiefly on his Attributes,that he is a Spirit filling heaven and earth, and he is exceeding fearefull,powerfull,almighty, exceeding gracious and long fuffering, abundant in mercy and truth, that he hath pure eyes, and cannot see any iniquity: Deut. 24. So Exod. 34.6. As Mofes could not fee him, God would Thew him no fhape,but his Attributes, his backe parts; fo thou muft conceive of him, as a Spirit that is exceeding ftrong, potent, and fearefull, one that will not hold the wicked innocent, but fhewes mercy to thousands of them that feare him: and to finners, if they will come in unto him. And thus you must conceive of him, when you come before him.

THE

THE

TWELFTH

SERMON.

EXODVS 3. 13, 14.

13 And Mofes faid unto GOD; Behold, when I come unto the Children of Ifrael, and fhall Jay unto them; The GOD of your Fathers bath fent mee unto you, and they shall fay unto me, What is bis Name? what fball 1 fay unto them?

14 And GOD faid unto Mofes, I AM THAT I AM, UC.

AVING finifhed that point, that God is a Spirit, which is a particular expreffion of the Simplicity of God, wee come to fpeake of the Simplicity it felfe: which is that At

tribute, by which hee is one most pure and entire effence, one most simple being without

The Simplicity of God proved by 6. Reasons. Reason I. There are not many nor dif

ferent things in bim.

Reason 2.
There is no

on.

all composition; fo that there is no fubstance, accident, matter, forme, body or foule in any; but hee is every way molt fimple, nothing in him, but what is God, what is himfelfe. The rife that it hath from hence, wee shall fee hereafter. All thofe phrafes of Scripture, where GOD is faid to be love, truth, light, and wifedome it selfe, all these fhew the Simplicity of GoD: for of no creature can you fay fo. The creature is wife, and juft, and holy, and true, but to fay, it is love it felfe, truth it felfe, light it felfe, or wifedome it felfe, that cannot be attributed to any creature. So that this you must know, that God is one most pure, entire, and uniforme being or effence: I AM fhewes that he is a being; and if we should aske, what kind of being he is; he is a moft fimple and uncompounded being. And that hee is fo, wee will make it cleare by these reasons:

Becaufe, if there be many things in him, they muft not be the fame, but different; if different, one hath fome perfection which the other wants; if so, there must be something imperfect in God: for if the defect of that were made up, it would be more perfect.

If there bee two things in God, then there is multiplication; now all multiplication arifeth multiplicati- from fome imperfection, from fome want and defect for if one would ferve, two would not bee required. As if one could draw a fhip or boat up the treame, two were needleffe; if one medicine would cure, two would bee unne

ceffary;