[2.] The second property which is principally to be considered in God in his ordinances, as he is the object of them, is his holiness. This is the general rule that God gives in all ordinances, " Be ye holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." And Joshua, chap. xxiv. 19 tells the people what they were principally to consider in serving the Lord. " We will serve the Lord," say the people. Saith Joshua,
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" Ye cannot serve the Lord ; for he is an holy God : " intimating that they were to have due apprehensions of his holiness; and without it there is no approaching unto him in his service. The apostle gives a great and plain rule to this purpose, Heb. xii. 28, 29, " Let us have grace," saith he, " whereby we may serve God acceptably with rever- ence and godly fear." What doth he propose, now, as the principal reason why he requires this preparation? " For," saith he, " our God is a consuming fire." What property of God is expressed by this word, " consuming fire?" It is the holiness of God, the purity of God's nature, that can bear no corrupt nor defiled thing. It is set forth by that metaphorical expression, " a consuming fire." " As fire is the most pure and unmixed element, and so powerful of itself as that it will consume and destroy every thing that is not perfectly of its own nature, so is God," saith he, " ' a consuming fire;' and in all your serving of him, and approaches unto him, labour to obtain a frame of spirit that becomes them who have to do with that God who is so pure and holy."
I do but choose out these things, which, in the way of ordinances, I would say are (I may say, [I] desire should be) most upon my heart and spirit: I might easily enlarge it to other considerations; but let these two considerations dwell upon our minds, as our pre- paration for our access unto God, — thoughts of his glorious and gracious presence, and of his holiness. Ps. xciii. 5, " Holiness be- cometh thine house, O Lord, for ever." That is the second thing with respect to God as the object of all the ordinances of our wor- ship.
(3.) Our preparation respects God as he is the end of ordinances; and that to these three purposes, if I could insist upon them : — he is the end of them, as we aim in them to " give glory unto him;" he is the end of them, as we aim in them " to be accepted with him ; " he is the end of them, as we aim in them " to be blessed by him." These are the three things that are our end in all ordinances that we celebrate.
[1.] The first is, the general end of all that we do in this world; we are to do all to the glory of God : it is the immediate end of all our worship. " If I am a father," saith he, " where is mine honour?" — "where is my glory?" Mai. i. 6. " Do you come to worship? you are to give me honour, as to a father ; glory, as to a master, as to a lord." We come to own him as our Father, acknowledge our dependence upon him as a Father, our submission to him as our Lord and Mas ter; and thus give glory to him. He hath never taken one step to the preparing of his heart according to the preparation of the sanc- tuary, in the celebration of ordinances, who hath not designed in them to give glory unto God.
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[2.] Another end is, to be accepted with him; according to that great promise which you have, Ezek. xliii. 27, " You shall make your burnt-offerings upon the altar ; and I will accept you, saith the Lord God." It is a promise of gospel times; for it is in the description of the new glorious temple. We come to God to have our persons and offerings accepted by Jesus Christ. And,- —
[3.] To be blessed according to his promise, — that " God will bless us out of Zion." What the particular blessings are we look for in particular ordinances, in due time, God assisting, I shall acquaint you with, when we come to the special and particular preparation for that ordinance we aim at; but this is necessary to all, and so to that.
2. This preparation respects ourselves. There are three things which I desire my heart may be prepared by, in reference to the or- dinances of God : —
(1.) The first is indisjiensably necessary, laid down in that great rule, Ps. lxvi. 18, " If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me;" — that I bring a heart to ordinances without regard to any particular iniquity. We have the dreadful instance of Judas, who came to that great ordinance of the passover with regard to ini- quity in his heart, — which particular iniquity was covetousness, — and went away with the devil in his whole mind and soul.
Ezek. xiv. 4 is another place to this purpose, " Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and put- teth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh, according to the multitude of his idols/' There is no more effectual course in the world to make poor souls incorrigible, than to come to ordinances, and to be able to digest under them a regard to iniquity in our hearts. If we have idols, God will answer us according to our idols. What is the answering of men according to their idols? Why, plainly, it is this, allotting them peace while they have their idols: "You shall have peace with regard to iniquity; you come for peace, take peace; — which is the saddest condition any soul can be left under: you shall have peace and your idols together." Whenever we prepare ourselves, if this part of our preparation be wanting, — if we do not all of us cast out the idols of our hearts, and cease regarding of iniquity, — all is lost.