Sermon III - The Importance of Preparing for worship
When the poor chick sees the kite come near it to seize upon it, and is likely to be surprised, if the hen be near, it runs to the hen, and the hen covers it and keeps it safe; so it should be with us, for so Christ saith of Jerusalem, "How often would I have gathered thee as a hen gathereth her chicks?" There are a company of kites abroad in the world, and we are poor shiftless creatures; now how happy are we then if we can run under the shadow of God's wing? There is a kind of shadow in the presence of God in the enjoyment of the creature; but the shadow of God that we have in His worship, that is as the shadow of His wing. There is the shadow of a tree, and that may help from some kind of troubles but there's another manner of shadow under the shadow of the wing of the hen, because that nourishes the chick. The men of the world they have the shadow of the tree, as it were, God's general providence which is over all creatures; but the saints of God that draw nigh to God they have the shadow of God's wing, like the shadow of the hens wing to the chick, which doth comfort it and safeguard it; let us by the duties of worship thus draw nigh to God, and keep nigh unto Him.
Sermon III The Importance of Preparing for worship
LEVITICUS 10:3
I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me.
I will only add one particular more to what we said the last day and then proceed.
If in the duties of worship, we are nigh to God, then hence appears the great honor that God puts upon His servants that do worship
Him. Certainly, the worshippers of God have great honor put upon them because the Lord vouchsafes them to draw nigh unto Him, they are such as are precious and honorable in His eyes. I will not enlarge myself in this, only give you three Scriptures that show the great honor and respect that God puts upon those that He doth admit to come and worship Him.
The first Scripture is in Deut. 4:7, 8, there Moses speaking of the people of Israel and the great respect that God showed to them more than others, for saith he, "What nation is there so great who hath
God so nigh unto them as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon Him for? What nation is there so great as you are?" (So great!) How doth it appear that the nation of Israel is a greater nation than other nations are? How? That hath God so nigh unto them in all things that they call upon Him for; herein any man or woman, or nation may be said to be great, that is, greatly honored by the Lord God, in that they have the Lord nigh to them and they are nigh to Him, here's the greatness of a nation. You would think that if one would describe the greatness of a nation, it should be in their great wealth, their great trading and traffic that they have and the fertile place that they live in; no, this is not the greatness of a nation, but what nation is there so great that hath the Lord God so nigh to them? There's the greatness of a nation, and so a spiritual heart would account greatness to consist in having God to be nigh unto it.
The Second Scripture is in Num. 16:9, there we have Moses speaking unto the sons of Korah rebuking them for their sin, and he brings this aggravation to them of the greatness of their sin, saith he,
"Seemeth it but a small thing unto you that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel to bring you near to Himself?" That is, that you should come to worship Him, is this a small thing to you? Is not this honors enough? As if Moses should have said, why do you contend for any more honor; the Lord hath separated you to bring you near to Himself?
Object. This you will say was spoken to the priests?
Answ. But it may be said of every gracious soul, for every believer Christ hath made a king, priest, and prophet unto Himself; now there is no believer but Jesus Christ hath separated him or her from the rest of the world to be near unto God. This is the dignity that God hath put upon thee that thou art separated by His grace to be one near to Him, whereas others of the world they depart from Him, continually depart more and more from Him. But I say the Lord by His grace hath set thee a part for Himself, as He saith in Psalm 4:3,
"The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself." Thou art separated from the world to what end? It is that thou mightest be near to Him, this is thy privilege, and thou shouldest account it thy great honor. Thou hast not that honor and respect in the world as others have, but thou art one of God's separated ones that thou art near to Him.
A third Scripture is in Psalm 73:28. There you may see how the Prophet David did highly esteem of that great honor that the Lord did put upon him in this, in being near to God. "But it is good for me to draw near to God." Mark how he speaks, but it is good for me.
Why? For lo, they that are far from Thee shall perish. Thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from Thee. As if he should say, there are some that did seem to be near unto Thee heretofore, that were as the wife to the husband, but they are gone a whoring from Thee; base hypocrites, base apostates, they are gone a whoring from Thee, their hearts being carnal, they did not find that contentment and satisfaction in Thy worship as Thy saints do, and therefore they are gone a whoring from Thee, but it is good for me to draw near to Thee.
It is an excellent Scripture. Do you see any young ones, or others that were very forward not many years ago, and would speak of good things, and seem to rejoice in the Word, but now they are gone a whoring, they are departed from God and His ways, and the pleasures of the flesh hath taken their hearts? Thou wilt destroy
them (saith David) that go a whoring from Thee. So, thou shouldest think with thyself; Oh miserable is the condition of those who once were forward in the profession of religion and now are gone a whoring from God, but it's good for me to draw near to God. They are gone from Thee, and thou wilt destroy them, but it is good for me to draw near to Thee; I bless myself in drawing near to Thee, the Lord, and bless the time that ever I did draw near to Thee, and that ever I knew those ways wherein my soul hath drawn near to God.
Such as worship God aright and do delight in the worship of God, they are such as have a great honor put upon them, they do draw nigh to God. And thus, we have finished the first point.
The second point is that will hold us some time, and that is, the sanctifying God's Name in our drawing near to God. When we worship God we draw nigh to Him, but let us take heed how we draw nigh, Hebrews 10:22, "Let us draw near with a true heart." "Look to thy feet when thou comest into the house of God," Eccles. 5:1. Now for the sanctifying of God's Name in drawing nigh to Him we shall endeavor to open it.
1 In showing you wherein the sanctification of God's Name consists, or what we should do that we might sanctify the Name of God in drawing nigh to Him.
2 The reason why God will have His Name to be sanctified in those that do draw nigh to Him.
How we should sanctify the Name of God in drawing nigh to Him, it is under these two heads.
First, there must be a due preparation unto the worship of God that we exercise ourselves in at any time.
Secondly, a right behavior of our souls in it.
In these two things consists the sanctifying of God's Name in His worship. Now under these two heads all that I shall speak about the
opening of the sanctifying of God's Name will be contained. At this time, I shall only speak of the First.
The due preparation of the soul unto the duties of God's worship.
Therein consists a special part of the sanctifying of God's Name in drawing nigh to Him. And that it is so, we find it in Scripture that preparation for worship it is called the sanctifying of ourselves; and by finding this in Scripture, it hinted me upon this head to speak of the preparation unto worship in our sanctifying God's Name, because I find in Scripture that the sanctifying ourselves for worship, and the preparation of ourselves for worship, are all one.
I'll give you these two texts: In 1 Sam. 16:5, you shall find there that Samuel, when he was sent by God to anoint David in Bethlehem, the text saith, "I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord, sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." "Do you come peaceably?" say they. "Yes." What then?
Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. That's all one, as if he should have said, prepare yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. And so in Job 1:5, there you shall find that the holy man Job, when his sons had been feasting, he was somewhat afraid lest there should be some miscarriage, and that they had sinned against God in their feasting, as it is very hard to give liberty to please the flesh and not to sin, not to transgress bounds. Therefore
Job, though he did not hear of any notorious abuse of their feasting, yet he was afraid lest they should sin; he knew how dangerous it was to have so much satisfaction to the flesh and not to transgress bounds, therefore it is said he sent to his sons and sanctified them.
"It was so (saith the text) when the days of the feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them." That Job sent unto them to prepare them to offer sacrifice, to prepare them for the worship of God. So that the Scripture holds forth this then, that to prepare for worship it is to sanctify for worship, and so it is one special thing that is required in our sanctifying of God, in our drawing nigh to God, to make a due preparation for His holy worship.
Now for the orderly handling of things:
1 First, I shall show you, that we must prepare for the worship of God.
2 Secondly, I shall show you, wherein this preparation for the worship of God doth consist.
3 Thirdly, the excellency that there is in this, or what great good there is in preparation for God's worship.
4 Fourthly, I shall Answer a case of conscience or two.
5 Fifthly, I will show you what is the behavior of the soul in sanctifying God's Name.
6 Sixthly, the reasons why God will be sanctified in the duties of His worship.
First, that there must be preparation to the worship of God. For first, that God that we come to worship is a great and glorious God, and we having to deal with such an infinite, glorious, dreadful majesty, it is fit that we should make preparation when we come nigh unto Him.
Therefore, in Exod. 19:10, when God came among the people to give them His Law, He did require that "they should be sanctified today and tomorrow, and that they should wash their clothes and be ready against the third day, for the third day the Lord would come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people." God did not so much stand upon their clothes, but it was to signify an inward washing.
Now my brethren, if when God came to give the Law, they were so to prepare, then certainly when we are to come to worship God in the way of the Gospel, we are to prepare as well as they, because God is coming. For that that is observable is why they were for two days together to make such preparation; the argument is because of the presence of God. The Lord said to Moses, "Go and sanctify the people today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes and be ready
against the third day." Why? "For the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai." The Lord will come down the third day and therefore let them be sanctified. So, when thou goest to worship God, thou expectest or shouldest expect that God will come to thee, and that thy heart shall be drawn to God, and therefore thou shouldest make some preparation. (For the time of preparation, we shall speak to afterward when we come to the cases of conscience about preparation for worship.) And so, in 1 Chr. 22:514, David makes preparation for the house of God because it was the house of God that he had to build, though he could not do it himself in his own time, yet being the house of God, what great preparation was made by David? The moral of which is this, that the house of God being a type of the Church and the worship of God, as well as of Christ, it shows that there should be much preparation when we have to deal with God in His ordinances.
Secondly, As God is great that we draw nigh to, so the duties of God's worship are great duties. They are the greatest things that doth concern us in this world, and it is a sign of a very carnal heart to slight the duties of God's worship, to make account of them as little matters. Carnal hearts ordinarily the things that concern their businesses in the world they think great matters. Oh, I may not neglect that, I may not neglect that, I may not neglect such a business, or I may not neglect to visit or gratify such a friend but now for the worship of God it is good indeed. But whether it be done or not it is no great matter, therefore they can put off prayer; if they have any business the time of prayer must pay for it; they can put off that upon any slight occasion, they do not account the duties of God's worship great matters.
My brethren, I beseech you learn this lesson this morning, to account the duties of God's worship great matters. They are the greatest things that do concern you here in this world, for they are the homage that you tender up to the high God, as you heard, and those things wherein God communicates Himself in His choice mercies, now being such great matters there is cause that we should prepare.
For that one thing of prayer, saith Luther, it is a great work, and a difficult work, and therefore there had need be preparation for it.
Business of great consequence we make preparation for, indeed if a business be a slight business, we can fall upon it on a sudden. You make not preparation to go in a boat in the Thames, but to go a voyage you make great preparation. Now if men and women would but understand the duties of God's worship to be great, they would see a necessity to make a preparation. Many men, for want of preparation to duties, lose a great part of the time when they come to perform a duty of worship in prayer. They spend half the time that is convenient to be spent in prayer before they begin to pray; and so in hearing the Word, they are a long time before they can settle themselves to attend to the Word, or in any other kind of worship; I say a great deal of time in the worship is spent ordinarily before we can get our hearts to close with the worship. Now that is a sore and a great evil to lose any part of the time of worship.
Christians, I beseech you, account highly of the time of your worship.
You have been so long time at prayer, yea, but how much of it hath been lost because you have not prepared beforehand for it? Perhaps you kneeled upon your knees, but you were a long time before you could get your hearts warm at your work, why you should have been warm before you had come. It is so oftentimes with many men when they meet together and there is no preparation for their business, they come together and they are a long time before they can buckle to the business that they came about because there was no preparation.
But if there be preparation made, that every man knows beforehand what his work is, they can fall to it, and they can dispatch as much in one hour as others do in two or three; but of that we shall speak more afterwards.
Thirdly, there must be preparation because our hearts are naturally, exceedingly unprepared for every good work; we are all naturally even reprobate to every good work. The duties of God's worship are high and spiritual and holy things, but by nature our hearts grovel in the dirt and we are carnal, sensual, drowsy, dead, slight, sottish, and
vain, altogether unfit to come into the presence of God. Oh, that we were but apprehensive and sensible of the unfitness of our hearts to come into God's presence! Perhaps because thou knowest not God thou canst rush into His presence without any more ado, but if thou knowest thyself and God, thou couldest not but see thyself altogether unfit for His presence, and so as to wonder that the Lord should not spurn thee out of His presence every time thou comest unto Him, there had need then be preparation because we are so unfit to come into His presence.
Fourthly, there had need be preparation because of the great hindrances of the worship of God. This business and the other business would hinder; the entanglements, they would hinder; the temptations of the Devil, they would hinder; sometimes the indisposition of our bodies doth mightily hinder; and the stirrings of the passions of our minds they hinder. If there be any business fallouts in the family, and anything go but cross, how are we put off the hinges and made unfit for holy duties! There had need be preparation therefore because there are so many hindrances in the way. Many of you will complain that you are much hindered, but do you do what you can to make preparation beforehand? Do the hindrances that you complain of put you on to be so much the more careful to make do preparation for holy duties?
Fifthly, we find that the heathens themselves by the light of nature when they did but worship their idol gods, they would make some preparation such as was suitable to those gods that they worshipped, therefore they would wash their flesh and purge themselves, but though their preparation was but very poor, yet they taught us thus much, that they were convinced in their consciences that when God was to be worshipped, people should be prepared.
The Sixth and last reason hath a great deal in it, which I beseech you consider of. We find that the Scripture doth make the uprightness of the heart much to consist in preparation for worship, and doth make the falseness of the heart to consist in this, that men do not prepare.
Perhaps you have not so much thought of this, but yet it is of excellent use unto you. We shall find the Scripture doth make the very uprightness of the heart to consist in the preparation for duty, and the falseness of a man's heart to consist in this, that he makes not conscience to prepare his heart for God and His worship. And this I will show unto you very plainly and clearly, take these two examples, the first of Rehoboam, and the second of Jehoshaphat, one a wicked man whose heart was false, and the other a godly man whose heart was right with God.
The falseness of the heart of the one is in 2 Chron 12:14. There you have what God's thoughts of Rehoboam were in the verses before, but now He brings the reason of His sentence upon him, and saith the text, "he did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord." There were many good things that Rehoboam did. I might show you some things as how he did obey the Prophet of God when he was seeking to avenge himself upon those that did rend themselves from his obedience; the Lord did but send His Prophet; and though he had an army ready to revenge himself upon those that in a way of rebellion did rend themselves from under his government, and he obeyed the Word of the Lord, but for all that, he did evil in the sight of the Lord; God looked upon him as a man that had no uprightness in him, why? For he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord. Saith God, I look upon all Rehoboam did as nothing; I look upon his ways as evil and himself as a wicked man, why?
Because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord; if his heart had been upright with Me, he would have prepared his heart to seek
Me. I beseech you now lay this text to your hearts; do you prepare your hearts to seek God? When you go to prayer can you say that you take pains in preparing your hearts for it, and in hearing the Word, and so likewise for receiving the sacrament?
Now for Jehoshaphat, a godly man, in 2 Chron 19:3, there you may see what the Lord saith of Jehoshaphat that was godly,
"Nevertheless, there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart
to seek God." Jehoshaphat was found guilty in joining himself to wicked men too much, the Prophet comes and saith to him,
"Wouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord?
Therefore, is wrath upon thee from before the Lord." Jehoshaphat here we see was very faulty in joining with those that were wicked, and is rebuked by the Prophet from the Lord, what wilt thou join with the wicked? The wrath of God is upon thee. Well, but for all that, (I beseech you observe it) that at that time when the Lord is most displeased against Jehoshaphat and sends His Prophet in His name to pronounce this, that the wrath of God is out against him, yet for all this, God cannot but take notice of this, that he had an upright heart; though he failed in that particular, yet there is some good found in thee, in that thou hast prepared thy heart to seek God.
Indeed, through some sudden temptations thou art drawn aside in this particular act; yea, but it hath been thy care to prepare thy heart to seek Me, and in that regard, I do look upon thee as having an upright heart. And thus, you see how much the Scripture puts upon the preparation of the heart to seek God.
And so, in 1 Sam 7:3, you shall find that the Scripture makes the uprightness of the heart to consist in this, "And Samuel spoke unto all the house of Israel saying, if ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts," what then? Why then, "put away the strange gods, and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve Him only." As if Samuel should say, if you will return indeed to the Lord, if indeed your hearts be upright according to what you seem to profess in turning to God, why then prepare your hearts to seek the Lord. You do not in truth turn to God except you make conscience to prepare your hearts. Therefore, you that yet never knew what it was to make conscience to prepare your hearts for holy duties, know that you have not turned with all your heart unto the Lord, there hath not been the true turning of your hearts unto the Lord. Thus, now you see there is much that lies upon preparation to the duties of God's worship. Well, you will say, seeing there lies so much in it, I pray open it wherein it doth consist. To that
I answer, it consists in these five things, which I shall but briefly name.
First, in the possessing the heart with the right apprehension of that God before whom we come to tender our duties; then do we make conscience to prepare our hearts, when we labor upon our going to worship God, to get our hearts beforehand possessed with right apprehensions of the majesty of that God that we are going to worship, and of the greatness, and weight of the duty that we are setting about the nature of it, the manner how it is to be performed, the rule by which we are to be guided, the end that we are to aim at.
Meditation is a good preparation to holy duties. And these are the general heads of our meditation for our preparation to duty. Viz.
1 What God He is we have to deal with. Meditate of God in His attributes and then meditate of the weight of our duties, and the nature of them and the rule of them, and the end of them; get your hearts possessed with meditations of this nature, and in this as a special thing doth consist your preparation to holy duty, and that's the first thing.
2 The second thing wherein the preparation to a duty consists, it is in this, in the taking off of the heart from every sinful way, the endeavor at least, if there be iniquity in thine hand or heart labor to put it out.
When thou art come into God's presence, do not bring into the presence of God the love of any sin in thine heart, but labor to put it from thy heart. In 2 Chron 29:5, we find there what is required to preparation, the text saith, "Hezekiah said unto them, hear me, ye
Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place." That is sanctifying a thing, to carry forth the filthiness out of that thing that we would sanctify. So, the sanctifying of our hearts it is, by carrying forth the filthiness out of our hearts, so as to be fit for a duty. And in Job 11:13, 14, "If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hand towards him;" What then? "If iniquity be in thine
hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles." These two must be together.
3 A third thing is this, the preparation of the heart it is the disentangling of the heart from the world, and from all occasions and businesses in the world. I am to worship God, but how is my heart ensnared and entangled in this and the other business? Now when I come to worship God, I must lay aside all, for there's the preparation of the heart, the separating of it for such a work, for that's the nature of sanctification, the separating of a thing from a common use; I am to worship God, now I must labor to separate my heart from a common use. At other times God gives me liberty to let out my heart to common uses; but now when I come to worship Him, I must separate my heart from all common uses, that my heart may be wholly for God. I remember it is said in the story of Cicil which was
Lord Treasurer, that when he went to read, he would lay his gown off and say, lie there Lord Cicil. So, when we go to duty we should say, lie by world (and by laying aside the world I mean, laying aside of all household affairs, or affairs in trading, etc.) I must be as one that hath nothing to do in the world for that time. It is true, the time cannot be said to be holy for this, as the time of the Sabbath day is holy.
You will say, why may not any time be said to be holy that I spend in holy duties? No, that is not enough to make time holy, for the time that God makes holy, it is not holy because of the duties that I perform in it, but the duties that I perform then are more acceptable because they are done in such a time. And so that makes a place holy, not because it is appointed for holy duties and uses, but because it is so appointed by God, and the performing a duty in that place is more acceptable to God then in another place. But now, though we cannot make our time holy in that second sense, yet in the first, it is time set apart for a holy use, and in that regard it is holy. And so, we should look upon it as not to have our outward business to devour that time that is holy in that regard, as Nehemiah when Tobiah and Sanballat sent to him to come and confer with them. No, saith he, I cannot go,
for the work is great that I have to do. So, we must not entangle ourselves to meddle with other things when we are to come to worship God, for our work is great.
4 The fourth thing for preparation is to watch and to pray; we should watch over our hearts lest they be made unfit for duties. So, we should prepare for prayer all day long in this sense, that is, we should watch over our hearts that they be not let out so far as to hinder us in prayer when we come to do. I remember that Tertullian saith, that the Christians did so sup as if that they were to pray, so when thou art in company thou shouldest watch unto prayer. Oh, that you did so! You cannot but be conscious to yourselves that oftentimes when you have been in company, your hearts have been put out of tune and frame, that you have been no way fit for prayer. When you come home your house and family finds it so; you that take such delight in company and sitting up late, I appeal to your consciences whither you can come home and find yourselves fit either in your family or closet to go and open your hearts to God.
This is one note by the way whereby you may come to know whether you have been immoderate in company at any time; God gives not men liberty to be busy in any outward occasions in the world so as to unfit them for His service. Preparation consists in that, in watching over your hearts, that you may not be unfitted for any holy duty when God calls you to it, but that you may be ready even to every good work.
5 The fifth is this, preparation consists in the readiness of the faculties of the soul and the graces of the Spirit of God, presently to act upon the setting upon a holy duty. When a man or woman shall find the faculties of their soul and the graces that are in them to be ready to act as soon as ever they fall upon duty, just as you see a company of ringers when they have made all preparation for the raising of the bells, then in an instant when they begin to pull, all the bells go in that tune that according to their skill they set them in. And so it should be with our hearts, the faculties of our souls and graces,
though now we are not upon duty, yet we should be so ready that as it were upon a pull, all the faculties of our souls and graces of God's
Spirit should work in a melodious way. There are those that keep their hearts so prepared as at the very first moment that they set about the duty of worship, all faculties and graces begin to act and to stir and are working towards God, as a fire, when all the matter is ready laid, presently it comes to be kindled and flame out; and thus it should be with our hearts, so that now you see wherein preparation of our hearts to duty consist.
The next thing is the excellency of the preparation; and that may be in way of application to you to make you to be in love with preparation for holy duties. There is abundance of good in it.
First, by this means we come to make every duty of worship easy to us; things are difficult when we come upon them unprepared. If you have a friend come to dinner or supper to you, and should come suddenly and you have nothing prepared, there would be a great deal of stir in the house, but it you have everything prepared, it would be carried on in an easy way. And the reason why people complain so much of difficulty in duty it is because their hearts are not prepared.
Indeed, we have naturally many things to keep us off from God but now when the heart is prepared for a holy duty, it goes off as easy to God even into the infinite ocean of all mercy and goodness, as a ship goes off to be launched when you have made preparation for it, and the heart can go with a holy boldness to God when you have made preparation for holy duties. In Job 11, the place which I quoted before for the work of preparation, do but consider a verse or two further and you shall find what abundance of good there comes upon the keeping of the heart prepared in things that are good. Job 11:13,
"If thou prepare thine heart," etc. and then verse 15, "Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot, yea, thou shalt be steadfast and shalt not fear." When the heart is prepared for that that is good, when it comes into the presence of God, it is able to lift up itself without fear in a steadfast comfortable way, and this will quit the cost of any labor.
2 Secondly, if the heart be prepared, it will do a great deal in a little time. In 2 Chron 29:36 it is said, "Then Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people for the thing was done suddenly." The thing came off freely and suddenly when as that they were prepared. Hezekiah rejoiced and blessed God for such a mercy as this was; it is a great mercy to have the hearts of people prepared unto a good work. And so, in 2 Chron 27:6, the text saith, "Jotham became mighty because he prepared his way before the Lord his
God." Jotham, he grew mighty by this, and so certainly the way to grow to be very strong and mighty, to be able to do a great deal in a little time, it is to make preparation; there may be as much work done in one hour so as in ten times so much time when the heart is not prepared for it. In Ezra 7:10, you shall find that the reason is given why Ezra had such good success in his journey, it was because he had prepared his heart. Make preparation for holy duties and you shall have success in holy duties. There is a notable Scripture for that in Psalm 10:17 where the Holy Ghost saith that God prepares the heart, and what then? When God doth prepare the heart, He doth then cause His ear to hear. There was never a prayer made wherein the heart was prepared for it, but that prayer was heard, they go both together, "Lord, Thou wilt prepare their heart, and Thou wilt cause
Thine ear to hear." If God hath once prepared thy heart, thou wilt be sure to be heard then. Is it not worth a world for to know oneself to be accepted of God in every duty of worship that we tender up to Him? This one Scripture Psalm 10:17 will show it. Oh, the excellency that there is in preparation to duty!
There is one thing more that is very observable, and that is this, where the heart is prepared to duties, there the Lord will pass by weaknesses and imperfections in duties. When thou comest to perform holy duties thou art troubled; will the Lord have regard to such a duty as this is? Thou mayest have certain assurance that the Lord will have regard if thou canst make this point good to thine own soul, that it was thy care to make preparation for this duty. Canst thou say, "Lord, I have endeavored and done what I could to fit my heart for duty, but O Lord, I find when I am at it, wonderful
distractions, much deadness and vanity; what shall I do?" Why canst thou make good the former and appeal to God that indeed it was thy care to make preparation?
I'll give thee one Scripture then for the quieting of thy heart in this: that the weakness of the duty shall be pardoned and passed by where there is care to prepare beforehand. The Scripture is in 2 Chron.
30:18, 19, "But Hezekiah prayed for them saying, 'The good Lord pardon every one," What, every one? "Every one that prepareth the heart to seek the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary." As if he should say,
"Oh Lord, there are many things amiss in this people, they are not in many regards purified according to the order that Thou hast set, but Lord, if Thou doest but see any heart prepared to seek Thee, though they fail in such particulars, Lord heal them and pardon them." And did God hearken to his prayer? Mark the following words, verse 20,
"And the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah and healed the people."
Nay, saith God, I will not stand so much upon the purification of the sanctuary if they have prepared their hearts to seek Me. Take this
Scripture, know it's written for thine instruction, and thou mayest make use of it to thine own soul this day, if thou canst appeal to God that thou art careful to prepare thy heart, though thou shouldest not have that pureness of thy heart as thou doest desire, the Lord will pardon thee and hear thee, make conscience of preparation to holy duties.
Again further, by being careful to make preparation for duties, within some little time thou wilt bring thy heart to such a frame as it will always be ready for duty without much ado; indeed, at first it is somewhat hard.
You will say, are we bound to spend some time every time we go to prayer beforehand, or every time we come to the Word? That should have been one of the cases of conscience, but I cannot come to answer that. But this we may say, be careful to prepare for duties,