Farewell to the First Congregational Church in Norwalk, Conn. (bound with other addresses)

1st. we should make our attendance upon the house of God a matter of principle. It would be a good thing to worship God, and to give thahks ; and praise would be comely, were it not required. But God requires solemn and public worship of all men. He is jealous for his honor. He will be reverenced : he will be obeyed : and more than this, he will be worshiped. Doubtless public worship is necessary for maintaming a suitable regard for God among men ; and necessa- ry also, for keeping alive among men upon the earth, a knowledge of the great truths of religion ; and for impressing these truths upon their consciences and their hearts. It is beneficence in the great Creator, not less than jealousy for his own honor, that has required of all men solemn worship, and that they set apart one day in each seven as sa- credly devoted to that worship of God, and to the care of their souls. People greatly err, when they think it is left at their option, whether to go up to the house of God and join in public worship or not. Many seem to consider it a matter left entirely to their caprice, where to attend ; how often to attend ; or whether they attend on public ■worship at all. It is true, that man may not dictate to their conscien- ces in this inatter ; but God has required solemn and stated worship ; and while God allows not one man to meddle with the conscience of another, he will vindicate his own right to be Lord of the conscience ; and he will hold every man to answer concerning the matter of at- tendance upon public worship, at his bar of final judgment. It is not, therefore, a matter left to any man's caprice, whether he attend pub- lic worship at all. He sins if he neglects it ; he wrongs his God ; he ■wrongs his own soul. The eye of God is upon him as he contemns the sanctuary of the Lord. It is not left to his caprice, how often he attends ; his attendance must be regular, or he sins and wrongs his God and his own soul. , The providence of God that disenables him, excuses his attendance ; but he has no right to disenable himself by previously exhausting his body or his mind. He is not at liberty to give way to an inconvenience, which would not hinder him from at- tending to his ordinary important business. If he indulges his sloth- fulness or his caprice, he sins. He contemns the authority of God and contemns his institutions and his worship ; besides fostering his own depravity, cutting himseK off from the divine blessino-. an.fl trPQc_ THE MANNER OF WOKSHIPING GOD. 285 uring up for himself the divine tengeance. People who attend only once in a while, or only half a day, would do well to think of this. Is it piety, or is it wickedness, that gives rise to the practice 1 Is it de- votion, or is it caprice and contempt of God "? It is not left to a man's caprice where he shall attend. Many roam about from one place to another, consulting now their fancy, now their caprice ; now desiring to relieve the tedium of attending public worship by variety, and now changing ■ the place of attendance, to avenge some petty personal grievance. This is all wrong. No man may judge for another where he shall^ attend, except where God has put children and minors in the charge of others. But if no man may dictate to another, eyery man is bound to de* cide for himself, and on principle. He may not, without gtiilt and danger to his soul, consult his fancy or caprice. His inquiry should be : Where is God worshiped according to his word 1 Where is the S)spel held and proclaimed in its purity 1 Where can I worship od according to his word and my own conscience ; where will it be be the pleasure of God, and to the profit of my soul, that I give my attendance 1 There he should fix, there he should remain. No ca- price, no trivial grievances, no inferior considerations, such as popu- larity, fashion, exemption • from burdens, should ever be allow- ed to come in to weigh upon the question. Where shall I worship God 1 Let God and conscience be consulted, and these alone. Let the question be settled on principle, and let principle keep it settled. A man is very likely to make shipwreck of his soul who begins by sacrificing principle here to his passion, to his pride, to his avarice, or to his whim. The first point, then, concerning the manner of worshiping God, is to make that worship a matter of principle. Indulge fancy*, exer- cise caprice in other matters if you. will.; but let nothing less than your soundest judgment, and the most unwavering principle, have any thing to do in these great concerns with God. Here, if any where, a man should be thoughtflil. Here, if any where, he should be sober minded and discreet. Here, if any where, he should act wisely and in the fear of God. The 2nd remark which I have to make on the manner of worshiping God, is that we should do it with prefaration. Time should be taken to compose the mind ; to call in the thoughts ; to reflect upon the en- gagement upon which we are to enter, so as to be suitably impressed with the avrful solemnity of coming into the immediate presence of God. If we go into the house of God reeking from the world, neither our hearts nor our thoughts will probably be -withdrawn from the world while we should be engaged in worship. Let us say to pur- selves, Now we are about to approach the King. Let the loins, of . our mind be girt up. Let all vain thoughts, and all vain cares be put Bway. Xet us stir up our hearts, that,,We may render an acceptable , offering to him who looks upon the heart,jand seeketh such to wor- Let us reflect how import- 286 THE NATIONAL PREACHEB. ant^ our errand to the mercy seat ; of what import, grace, forgive- ness and salvation are to us. Xet us remember how often our vaid' hearts have left us to an unprofitable service in the sanctuary. Let us pray ; let us read some portion §f the word of God, and meditate in secret, till we are prepared to appear before God with solemnity and with holy fear. Why should we rash into the presence of God, as the horse rusheth into the battle ? Do we so lightly regard the pres- ence of the Lord 1 Is it so light a matter in our eyes, to appear be- fore the King 1 Is our errand so light, that it should lie with no more weight upon our minds 1 Is this our dread of hypocrisy '2 Is this our fear of provoking the Lord to jealousy, and of hardeaing our Bvwi hearts, by attenfing listlessly upon the solemn worship of God 1 How solemn would our assemblies be, if every heart were collec- ted and deeply iixed on God ! How impressive would be our songs of praise ! How powerful would be the word of God ! How ready would the great God be to come down to meet and bless •& people "whose hearts were ell prepared to^eek the Lord ! This would indeed be to us the house of God, and the gate of heaven ! But what is the actual preparation with which we appear in this house 1 How many come with a set design to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness'? How many come with a holy jealousy over their own hearts 1 How many come— having charged their souls to be solemn and devout ; and anodous lest they displease the Lord, or fail to secure some blessing from their attendance On the sanctuary this day ? How many come from their closets 1 How many have made a single petition this inorning, for grace to worship God in the sanctuary acceptably, with reverence and Godly fearl If you go away with the full design accomplished which y«u had in your thoughts before' you came to the house of God ; if you go away with the . full blessing which your soul desired, and for which jou asked the Lord before you came ; what will you carry away with you when you leave the house of Godl Wonder not if your sabbaths are profitless, and if the gospel be hid from you as it is hid from lost souls, if your attendance in the house of God is so light a matter as to lie with no weight upon your mind, and to draw from you no preparation beforehand, to meet Ihe Lord. 3dly. We come now to the mcrnier of worship. Are we ever engaged in a work so solemn and. awfrd as when we are attending to the worship of God in his holy house 1 How careful should we be to " keep our foot !" How jeulous over our hearts ! How careful to make . it worship which can be accepted of him who searches the heart 5 What an alteration would it make in our worship, if every psabn were sung with the spirit and with the understanding ! But how often do those who sing, feel more concerned to perform well to the ears q$. man, than to appear sinj^re and devout in the si^t of Godi' How large a portion of tli^. whose voices do not join the;;Song, do not join it with their hearts ! 'They are thinking.^w they are€ntei<E-. taiaed with the performance j thev ore li=tioso no^or.^ r^^'^^^^ .,t.iJH*. THE MANNEK GF WOESHiriNG GOD. 287 witBi tMr thougMs on other things. As the Lord looks down^|:om heaven, how many hearts does he behold devoutly lifted up to h'im, with feelings corresponding with the sentiments of the song 1 This ought not so to be. Gtod: is mocked^ mit worshiped, by such service as this. In our prayers we abound in confessions of sin ; but the Ldii sees how many hearts are making confession, with due contrition. We praise and honor our Creator and our God: but the Lord knows low many hearts are lifted up in these praises. The Lord knows how many keep their thoughts and lift up their hearts in the petitions which are- repeated' in the form of prayer.; Let any one watch himself, and see how large a portion of the public prayer he follows, an^ makes his own. Let him reflect, how his thoughts have been custom- arily engaged ; or how much of the time they have been vacant ; and he is a happy man, who shall not be compelled to feel, to his grief and shame, that no small portion- of his- share in public worship, has beenycreverencej mockery, and lies. " This people draweth nigh to me OTiih.their mouth, andihonoreth me with their lips, but their heart is fiir from me." Alas that this reproach, did not belong so universally to our fallen race. There is great d'anger that the preaching and hear- ing of the word be entirely perverted from the great end for which it was ordained. Wo to us if we make it a matter of entertainment; to be performed and to be received as an intellectual display. How careful should we be to see to it that the preaching of the word is, to set forth the sincere milk of the word, the pure and the pimple explaining and. applying of the Lord's truth, for doctrine, fo/correc- tion, for reproof, for instruction- in righteousness, that God may be reverenced and' souls saved ! How careful should preacher and hearer be to profit by that word ! It might then make us wise unto salvation. We ought to reflect, that a slovenly or listliess manner of attending divine worship, is highly provoking to God..' It sears our own con- sciences^ it hardens our hearts. We aa^e far gone- in the road to ruin when we can handle sacred things so profanely. The displeasure of God adds to the misery of a hardiened' heart and a seared conscience. Possibly if we knew the truth, we-might find that this mockery of God under the form, of worship is nota smaJl one among the reasons why the Spirit of God has. been so amch withdrawn from us. "For this cause," said an apostle, concerning an irreverent manner of cele- bratmg a divine ordinancej " for this paiffie many are weak . and