self, saying, “This do in remembrance of Me," wheresoever [Luke 22. this is celebrated, His Name must needs be there recorded; 19.] and therefore we cannot doubt but He is always there, ready to bestow His blessing upon all those who there meet together in His Name to receive it: the greatest of all His blessings, forasmuch as His Name is recorded there in the highest manner that can be upon earth. But in all places, where any meet together in His Name, His Name being there also so far recorded, He comes thither, to distribute His blessings among them, such as every one stands in need of. We may be sure of it, for He Himself asserts it, saying, " Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them."

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This, I know, is a truth that is seldom thought of; and therefore I thought good to put you in mind of it, because of the great use that may be made of it, by all that seriously mind their future state, and desire in good earnest to be saved for such (and I speak only to such) may see by this, where to meet with their Saviour when they please. It is but coming to Church, and there meeting together in His Name, and you have His word for it, that He will be there in the midst of you. And who would not meet their Saviour, the best Friend they have in the world, as often as they can? What need is there of any other arguments to persuade sincere Christians to frequent our public devotions? They who do not, have just cause to suspect their sincerity, and to fear that, whatsoever they pretend, they have not that regard for their Saviour which they ought; for if they had they would joyfully embrace all opportunities they can get of meeting with Him to receive His blessing.

But, for that purpose, ye must not come only to see or be seen, nor out of custom only, and by the by, but you must meet together in His Name, in obedience to His will, with a desire to serve and worship Him there, and with a firm belief of whatsoever He hath said, and particularly this, that He is there in the midst of you; for unless you believe it, it is all one to you whether He be there or no, and therefore you can expect no blessing from Him, but rather a curse, for not doing Him so much right, as to believe His word.

But do ye indeed believe, as ye ought, that Christ is there

CXXI.

SERM. in the midst of you? How humbly then, how modestly, how gravely, how reverently should you carry yourselves before Him. After the same manner as if He should appear visibly among you. Which you cannot choose but do, if you do but remember and consider all the while you are there, in Whose presence you are, and what you are doing. In repeating the psalms and hymns, you speak to Almighty God your Saviour, acknowledging His infinite goodness and love to you, and therefore must not sit down, but stand in a posture of adoration before Him, as the greatest person in the world. In the Collects and Litany, you pray to Him, or to the Father in His Name for pardon, and all things necessary for life and godliness; and therefore must do it only upon your knees. All the while you are there met together in His Name, you are serving Him, your great Heb. 12. 28. Lord and Master, and therefore must do it "with reverence and godly fear."

And whatsoever ye there do, as ye must do it in the Name of Christ, so ye must trust on Him for God's acceptance of it; and likewise for His granting of what you ask in His Name; according to the promise which He hath here made us: for, in the verse before my text, He saith, "If two of you shall agree on earth, as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father Which is in Heaven." And then He adds this as the reason of it, "For," saith He, "where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them :" because He is there ready to receive and present their petitions to the Father, therefore they shall be granted. So that we have His word and promise for it; which we ought to trust And that we may the better do it in our daily prayers, our Church concludes them always with that of St. Chrysostom, still extant in his Liturgy, "Almighty God, Who hast given us grace, at this time, to make our common supplications unto Thee, and dost promise, that when two or three are gathered together in Thy Name, Thou wilt grant their requests." It is here that He makes this promise, which we must constantly believe, as ever we desire it should be fulfilled to us.

on.

Lastly, when ye have met in the Name of Christ, and so

with Christ Himself, ye must be sure, afterwards, to live accordingly. The Jews observing the carriage of the Apostles, "took knowledge of them, that they had been Acts. 4. 13. with Jesus." So whatsoever place or company you are in, ye should carry yourselves so that they may take notice that ye have been with Jesus, that ye have not gone to Church in vain, but have indeed met your Saviour there, and have received so much grace and virtue from Him, that ye are grown better than ye were, and better than other people are: and that by your often meeting with Christ on earth, ye are fitted to live with Him for ever in Heaven.

SERMON CXXII.

THE WAY OF SEEKING GOD SO AS TO FIND HIM.

SERM.
CXXII.

ISAIAH, lv. 6.

Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.

ALTHOUGH there be many among us who have much, there are none but want something; something which they think would make them happy, or, at least, happier than they are, if they had it. Hence it is, that people generally are so very busy in the world, some seeking for one thing, some for another, according to their several inclinations and conditions; but whatsoever it is that men seek for here below, when they have found it, they are but where they were, no more satisfied than they were before, but rather less; for the things of this world are so far from lessening our desires, when we have them, that they rather heighten and increase them. The more we have, the more we crave; the more we find, the more we seek; so that if men's hearts be once set upon such things, there is no end of seeking; as many have found by woful experience, who have spent their whole lives in seeking, and seeking of them, without ever finding any rest or quiet in their minds.

And that which is worst of all is, that men are, notwithstanding, so earnest in seeking after other things, that they seldom or never think of Him Who alone can satiate their souls, and make them happy; and therefore ought not only to be sought before and above all things else, but all other things ought to be sought for, only in order to our finding

Him: which that I might be so happy as to convince you of, and likewise direct you how to seek, so as to find this the chiefest, the only good in the world, I have chosen these words to explain unto you, where you have first a command, "Seek ye the Lord;" and then the time or season wherein to do it," while He may be found."

I. The command is general, imposed not only upon the Jews, as some have thought, nor upon the Gentiles only, as others; but upon all mankind: and though nothing be more frequently mentioned in God's Holy Word, yet, I fear, there are but few who understand how to do it. I am sure there are but few that do it as they ought. And, therefore, nothing can be more necessary than to shew what it is properly to seek the Lord, and how ye may do it, so as not to seek in vain, but may certainly find Him, and, in Him, all the joy and happiness that ye can desire.

When we are, therefore, commanded to "seek the Lord," it is not to be so understood, as if He was at any distance from us, or in some secret place, where it would be difficult to find Him. This the Apostle forewarns us of, where he saith, that "God hath made of one blood all nations for to dwell on all the face of the earth, that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him;" and then adds, " though He be not far from every one of Acts 17. 26us for in Him we live, and move, and have our being;' for seeing we have our very being in Him, we cannot be where He is not, and therefore need not go from ourselves to find Him, He being always present with us, and we in Him, wheresoever we are.

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But, by "seeking the Lord," we are to understand our seeking His love and favour, that He may be in a peculiar manner our God, to bless us and keep us in all our ways, which is therefore elsewhere expressed by our seeking the face of the Lord; as, "Seek ye the Lord, and His strength; Ps. 105. 4. seek His face for evermore," and He Himself saith, " I will Hos. 5. 15. go and return to My place till they acknowledge their offence, and seek My face; in their affliction they will seek Me early," where seeking Him, and seeking His face, is plainly the same thing. And the seeking His face, is the same also with seeking His favour. As where the wise