THE Holy Ghost who sanctifies the hearts of Men, is mighty in operation; but then his Motions are unaccountable. He pier­ces like the lightning; but like the Wind he bloweth where he listeth. And this is one cause why so many Men are the less sollicitous to procure his Gifts, and neglect the means of their Salvation: They stand gazing when the good hour shall come, [Page 2] that some kind light from Heaven shall convince them of their Errours, and some powerful influence shall reclaim their Sins; and in the mean while they give a loose to their own Inclinations, and think they have no more to do.

But 'tis a dangerous and a great mistake. For as all other excellencies in Man require industry and pra­ctice to bring them to Perfection; so Religion also, amongst the rest, is to be improv'd by exercise and ap­plication of Mind; and there is a certain Art of Ver­tue. Though the Principles of it were born within us, yet 'tis a diligent laborious Education that must make them serviceable and fit for use. The Foundation in­deed was laid by God, but for the Superstructure we must be beholden to our selves.

And in this Art no Man was ever so well accom­plisht as the Holy Psalmist, nor ever left us so perfect Rules. The method which he here proposes in my Text, is very excellent and worthy of our imitation; wherein he has discover'd to us the gradual progress which a good Man makes in this Art; the several steps and advances whereby he arrives to a mastery in his profession. As,

I. That the great business of Religion is, to teach us not to sin.

II. That the way not to sin is, to stand in awe.

III. That this religious awe is to be wrought in us by Communing with our own hearts.

[Page 3]IV. That if we would have this Communication with our own hearts to be effectual, we must retire into our Chamber, and be still.

I. The great business of Religion is to teach us not to sin: to subdue our unruly Lusts, and reduce our troublesome affections, and to bring every rebellious thought into subjection to the will of God: To re­store Vertue to its proper place, and Reason to its due Command; and to recover the natural freedom of our Will, from the tyranny of our Passions, and the usurpation of Vice.

There is nothing in Nature of greater moment to us than to form our minds aright; to keep a strict hand upon our manners, and critically to confine our selves to the paths of Life. And yet there is no­thing in nature that requires greater pains. How easy is it for us to be drawn aside upon the lest intermission of our care? and how hard is it to be reclaim'd again? If we would return, we find it a difficult, tedious thing; and yet the greatest difficulty of all is, to find out our mistake. For when we have gone so far astray, we are apt to lose, not our way only, but our selves. We find some little satisfaction in roving about, and then never think of our Journeys End.

To correct this Extravagance of ours, and to keep us within the bounds of Wisdom, is the proper work of Religion. 'Tis a great work indeed, as much as [Page 4] all the Religion in the World can do, or rather more; and yet without Religion we can do nothing towards it. For Vice no sooner takes possession of our heart, but it depraves all our Faculties, disarms our Will, and darkens our Understanding; and every sin that debauches us, disables us too. It seizes upon our affe­ctions first; and then how weak an opposition is our reason like to make, when our affections are engag'd against it?

And what is Man when he is brought unto the power of Lust, but an impotent, abandon'd Creature; harrass'd without and tortur'd within; and after a shameful Life here, condemn'd to a miserable Life hereafter? How does Sin debase the Soul of Man, and make him degenerate from the great rule of his Crea­tion, and so forfeit his title to that happiness for which God sent him into the World? 'Tis an ill habit of Soul, like ill health unto the Body, that takes off the relish and enjoyment of all the other Blessings which we possess. 'Tis a Curse which we have brought up­on our selves, and yet all our industry can never work it out; a burden which we have entail'd upon our Estate, and till this accursed Entail be cut off, our estate it self will be but a burden to us. What signifies all the Plenty, and Power, and Pleasures of this World, to a Man that is going down in horrour and disgrace to a wretched Portion in the next? It is but [Page 5] like Achan's Babylonish Garment, a goodly sight, but an accursed thing: and though he lookt upon it with a co­vetous, greedy eye at first, yet it soon brought him to a heavy heart, and administer'd but sorry comfort to him at his Execution.

Just such are all the Enjoyments of a Sinner; his Guilt makes him always restless and unquiet, uneasie in eve­ry posture, and dissatisfi'd in every place: and though he has worn out all the pleasure of his Vice already, yet he is fain to beat over the same filthy Tracks a­gain; and in the loathsome repetition of his Sin, he flies for shelter against the terrible Convictions of his Conscience.

Surely for a wicked Man to reflect upon the state of his Soul, and consider into what a helpless, forlorn condition he has brought himself, is enough to make him either asham'd of his folly, or a-weary of his Life, and repent that ever he was made. To see how miserably we have corrupted our selves, and defaced the glori­ous Image of God within us, is enough to make him also repent that he has made man. Our Lusts are now so interwoven with our nature, that we are grown into an intimacy with Vice, a familiarity with Perdition; and our Passions have got so much the ascendant over us, that they are grown above the reach of reason, or any other human means.

In this miserable lost estate, whilst we were ty'd [Page 6] and bound with the Chain of our Sins, and by that Chain lead towards our destruction, God in his mercy instituted a holy Religion to set us free; to rescue us from that Captivity, which our own Fault, and our Forefathers Folly had brought upon us, and once more to restore us to that Paradise of Innocency from whence we fell: And if we look upon Religion in its whole progress and extent, we shall find that this is its whole design.

For this it was that God reveal'd himself to the Pa­triarchs in ancient times, and convers'd with Men Face to Face, that he might instruct them in his holy Will, by his own Presence, and teach them Vertue from the original.

For this it was that he appointed all the Sacrifices under the Law; namely, to purge his People from their Sins; till they had learnt the art of retaining their sins in spite of all their Sacrifices; and then God cryed out, Bring me no more vain oblations.

Then came our Saviour to shew us a more excel­lent way, and therefore this was the only design of the publication of the Gospel too: not to indulge our sloathful Vices, and give us a lazy Inheritance in the Kingdom of God; but by a severe Repentance to at­tone for our sins past, and by an active Faith to preserve us from them for the time to come; that we might improve our Vertue by the preaching of his Word; [Page 7] and by the power of Prayer might bring it to some perfection.

Without this improvement all the attempts of the Gospel are but thrown away upon us; our Faith is dead, and our Repentance vain; the preaching of God's Word is ineffectual, and our Prayers can have no return; As we increase in Knowledge, we do but increase our Sorrow; and the Sacraments themselves, those means of Grace which have been so often admi­nister'd to us, will prove but so many aggravations of our Sins. So far as we have amended our Lives, so far are we advanc'd in Christianity; but to expect Sal­vation upon any other terms, is imposing upon our selves, and mocking of our God.

To think, with some, that a superficial attendance at the Altar, an outward compliance with the for­malities of Religion will serve our turn, is such a slight Notion of religious Duty, as would disparage the worship of a Heathen Idol. To fansie, with o­thers, that an implicite Faith will make us whole, and that we shall be saved by believing as the Church be­lieves; is making our Religion to be we know not what, and expecting to be sav'd we know not why. Nay, to suppose, that any Faith whatsoever can do us good, but only that which works a Reformation; to imagine, that a strong presumption can make us Saints, in spite of all our sins, is like the rest, an ab­surd [Page 8] Opinion devis'd by wicked Men, to delude the World with a shew of Godliness, and under that co­lour to disguise a wicked Life.

St. Peter tells us, There is none other name under Heaven given unto man, whereby we must be saved, but only the name of Jesus Christ: And St. Paul assures us, that in Jesus Christ, neither Circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but only a new Creature. It is not holding with this or the other Church; neither the using, nor the forbearing of any Rites or Ceremonies, though it be by Gods own appointment, that can entitle us to the benefits of the Gospel, without the Concurrence of an indu­strious Vertue, and an obedient Life. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.

This is our duty; here lies the main stress of our Religion; for this it was that God spake in times past to our Fathers by the Prophets; for this it was that he sent at last his own Son into the World; and by this test we must know whether we are his Disciples: for whatever Doctrine does not naturally lead us to new­ness of Life, is not the Wisdom of God from above, but the vain suggestion of our own Lust, or the false insinuation of the Devil. Thus we see that the great business and concern of Man is to preserve himself from Sin, and yet against sin we have no Antidote [Page 9] but in Religion. How Religion comes to work this Cure upon us, is the

Second thing observable in my Text. That we may learn not to sin, it teaches us to stand in awe. We have already seen what a powerful influence our Pas­sions have upon us; how they lead us into Vanity, and drive us into Sin, and do so tyrannize over our Rea­son, that we have no remedy left, but to combate one Passion with another, and by a Religious Fear, to overcome the extravagance of a sensless Joy. We cannot chuse also but perceive how subtily Lust insi­nuates itself into our affections, and by degrees gets the dominion over us: how artificially it closes in with our Flesh, and so overtops our Spirit, that we stand in need of some supernatural assistance to sub­due it, and all the succours of Religion are little e­nough to cast it out.

Some may think perhaps that natural Religion it self, those notions of a God, which are born and bred within us, and are so deeply imprinted in the hearts of all Mankind, should be sufficient to secure our Vertue, and force us to stand in awe. But by uni­versal experience we find, that these notions are apt to degenerate into superstition; and superstition leaves us naked and expos'd only to our fears, but takes a­way all our security.

Others perhaps may conceive, that our own ratio­nal [Page 10] fears, the necessary sense of our weakness, and the natural apprehension of our danger, might be a suffi­cient guard unto us, and teach us to avoid those pra­ctices which do but weaken and expose us more; but what can our nature do when 'tis corrupted it self, and grown impotent and unable to relieve us. Nay what is worse, 'tis grown obstinate and perverse, and most commonly takes part against us. For though our reason sometimes keeps us in, and confines us to the Rules of Vertue; yet how often does Passion break the Chain, and turn us loose to our own inventions.

Others there are who depend upon their own honour for the security of their Vertue, and would have us depend upon it too. But alas, what is the honour of a Man when his Religion is lost? it is but the staff of a broken reed, that has just strength enough to pierce through our hand, but not enough to support our Body.

In short, there is nothing but an awful regard for God, and a just respect for his holy Attributes, that can effectually put a restraint upon us, and over-rule the violence of our Passions; and this awe we owe purely to our Religion, which for that very reason is call'd the fear of God, Gen. 20.11.

To what purpose else did God reveal himself to the Patriarchs and Prophets of old, but to put this fear of his name into their hearts? and what other use but [Page 11] this did they make of those his Revelations? We shall surely die, says one, for we have seen the Lord. Wo is me, for I am undone, says another, for I am a man of unclean Lips, and mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of Hosts.

To what purpose did God appoint the Sacrifices under the Law, but to give us a dreadful instance, that death is the natural consequence of our Sins, a necessary tribute which we owe to his Justice, though his Mercy allows us to commute for the punishment, and the Beast suffers for the Man's offence?

What is the meaning of all the Rites and Ceremo­nies of Worship, but that the sense of our Sins teaches us to keep our distance; and this appointed distance makes us the more sensible of our Sins. These are the bounds which God has set about his holy Mount, the necessary fences of our devotion, that we might not rudely and familiarly break through upon the Lord, and perish in our uncleanness.

Nay what other design had God in imposing Reli­gious Worship it self upon us (which is more particu­larly call'd in Scripture the fear of God, 2 Kings 17.28.) but that it might bring us to a religious awe, that having God more immediately in our thoughts, and all his holy Attributes before our Eyes, we might learn to purify our selves, even as he is pure; and to abhor those sins of ours that make us unworthy of his presence. 'Tis this worship that strikes a reverence [Page 12] into us, and sets us as it were before Gods Tribunal, where the sight of his Majesty must needs affect us with a sorrowful sense of our own Corruptions, and this godly sorrow will soon bring us to Repentance.

With what other intention do we meet here in our Religious Assemblies; to what purpose do we attend to the word of God, but to work our Souls into pious resolutions, and to improve those resolutions into an actual amendment of our Lives, that when the Judg­ments of God are here declared unto us, the Ven­geance which he denounces against our Sins, we may hear and fear, and do no more such wickedness amongst us.

There is indeed an antipathy in our nature against this manner of correction; and as we were born free, so we desire to preserve our liberty, and look upon all fear as a servile thing. Had we preserv'd our Innocency, we might have maintain'd our freedom still, but where there is sin there must be punishment, and where there is punishment there will be fear.

Nay 'tis our happiness that we have this Curb up­on us, for fear is now become a necessary qualification in Man, not only to preserve his Vertue, but to ac­complish his Nature too. 'Tis this that must give weight and moment to our thoughts, and poize our Souls, which are light and airy, and full of Vanity of themselves, and require such grave serious reflections to make them steady and considerate.

[Page 13]There is a giddy heedless intemperate Spirit in the generality of Mankind, which nothing but Religion can fix; nothing but the fear of God can humble. There is a sort of Men whom Mercies only encour­age to be more wanton still: indulgence does but make them arrogant; and as they are untractable to all gentle means; so nothing but a strict rein, and a heavy hand, can bring them into order. But this Discipline will certainly reclaim them: divine wor­ship must needs inspire us with diviner thoughts. For how dare we offend in the very face of an angry God? how can we provoke him any more, when we see his hand is already lifted up against us; and, for ought we know, the very next provocation may bring it down in vengeance upon our heads?

But if this is true; if the fear of God is able to pro­duce such wonderful effects, to turn the tide of our af­fections, restrain the over-flowing of our Lusts; and say to our unruly Passions, thus far shall ye go and no farther. If Religious Worship necessarily puts an awe upon us, and that awe naturally restrains us from committing sin; it may be objected, How comes it then to pass, that notwithstanding the frequency and solemnity of religious worship, yet so many Men lead irreligious Lives, that they can frequent the Altar of God, and leave their Sacrifices there, but carry their Sins back again to the place from whence they came?

[Page 14]'Tis pity indeed that such an objection should be made; but to our shame we must confess, that there is too much reason for it; and we must needs perceive, that this non-performance on our parts, does effectu­ally bring a reproach upon our Religion; and yet the fault is not in our Religion, but in our selves: The best Medicine in nature may fail us, if our Bodies are not well prepar'd. And the best Religion in the World may be ineffectual, if we do not come to it with a due preparation of Mind. If therefore we find, that the publick worship of God does not make us stand in awe, we must call in the help of our own private Devotion, and this brings me to the [...]

Third Rule observable in my Text. We must commune with our own hearts. 'Tis a great Art and Ex­cellence in Man, to know how to Think: To look into the nature of humane Actions; to weigh well the Causes, and compare the consequence of things, and to exercise that reason which God has put into us, on purpose for the government and direction of our Lives. 'Tis what he himself will exact from us at the great Account; when he will certainly judge of all our works, according to this very Standard which he has put into our hearts.

We may neglect this duty if we please; and as we our selves make no scruple of what we do; so we may think that God also will accept of all our actions in the [Page 15] gross; but when the fatal doom shall come, he will bring them all to that righteous Balance, where there are no grains of allowance to be made. Since God has given us a discerning Faculty to distinguish be­tween good and evil, what strange perverseness is it in us to return it back upon his hands, as a useless thing, and manage our Lives without it? to commit our ways to blind Chance, and trust Fortune for the event?

When God reckons with the World for Sin, Igno­rance indeed may be some excuse, but inconsiderate­ness is none at all: 'tis a fault it self, and an aggrava­tion of all those faults that follow from it. We might have known our duty, but we purposely shut our Eyes, for fear the light should be offensive to us. The temptation was inviting, and the bait was plea­sant, and therefore we would not stand to deliberate upon the thing, but boldly swallowed the Bait, with­out considering how we could digest the Hook.

We think perhaps there is no resisting a temptation when it comes upon us so powerfully recommended. We think so because we are loath to try; and 'tis ea­sier indeed to yield, but 'tis much safer to resist, and more honourable too. We cannot tell what efficacy and power there may be in our Soul, till we come to put it to the stress. We know not, but we may be able to stand it out; or if we should chance to fall at [Page 16] last, yet then our Vertue has something to plead in its behalf; we did what Men could do, and then no doubt but God will supply the rest. If we are infirm he knows whereof we are made; and does not expect from us the steadiness of a Rock, when he remembers that we are but dust.

There is a natural frailness and inconsistency in our Flesh, which makes us always subject to fall away; but yet God has given us a Spirit, that in some mea­sure is able to support us; and where 'tis not, the Holy Spirit will help us out. But they who will contribute nothing towards their own safety, must inevitably fall. If we let our Spirits languish for want of use, re­fuse to put them upon their trial, or to perform that part which God has put into our own Power, we have little reason to expect that the Holy Ghost should take upon himself the whole concern and trouble of our Salvation.

Therefore to comply with the Rule in my Text. Whensoever we find our selves tempted unto Sin, and see our Vertue strongly beset from without, let us re­tire within our own Souls, Commune with our heart, and see what assistance we can fetch from thence. Let us deliberate with our selves what will be the conse­quence of our Sin, and impartially examine the pre­sent conveniences which we propose in it, and the in­conveniences which we know must follow from it; [Page 17] and having set the one fairly against the other, let us prudently weigh the Pleasure against the Pain, and see which has the over-balance.

As for instance, we would comply perhaps with some boistrous Passion, or gratify some extravagant desire. Covetousness, or Lust, Ambition or Revenge, or some such unruly Affection, is ever and anon attempting upon our Soul, and claiming the precedence of our Ver­tue. And to an unwary Man it cannot fail of many plau­sible Arguments to plead in its behalf. That the desire is natural, and the satisfaction great; that revenge is pleasant, and stollen Waters sweet; but that Vertue is a severe, melancholy institution, an unnatural Disci­pline, an unnecessary restraint, that debases our Spi­rits, robs us of the enjoyment of our Youth, and is an entertainment proper only for a sedentary, decrepit Age.

If these perswasions prevail, in all likelihood the Man is lost, and never lives to that Age when Vertue comes in Fashion. But if Vertue were allow'd to speak for it self, it would make a very good defence, where Vice should be asham'd to shew its Face. The time will come when we shall understand the force of Abraham's Argument, My Son, remember that thou injoyedst thy good things in thy life time, and Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. Then we shall see the difference between Abraham's Bosom, and a [Page 18] sumptuous Feast; the short tumultuous interrupted Entertainments of the one, compar'd with the spiri­tual Eternal Pleasures of the other.

Nay that we may not go so high for a comparison, we shall find the poor Man that lay begging at the Gate, in more happy condition than he that feasted sumptuously at the Table. Take him with all his Poverty and Wounds about him, yet his Faith and Vertue will make him whole, and his Conscience af­fords him a better Feast, than all the rich Mans Estate can purchase. An honest faithful heart is a sure Re­treat, where we may find safety and satisfaction too, against all the Calamities of this Life; and he that has so good a refuge, can never complain that he is destitute and forsaken. He carries his Comfort with him in his Breast, which can never be taken from him; whilst the Sinner carries his torment there; and what gaiety soever may be in his outward shew, yet at his heart there grows a worm which will never die, and in his Entrails he has already kindled that fire which never goeth out.

With such considerations as these let us fortifie our Vertue in the time of Trial, & when the tempter comes upon us with all his deceitful Colours, and flattering Promises, to put us into a state of ease, and make us truly happy; let us not give credit to his words, but Commune with our own hearts, whether it be so or not. [Page 19] When he tells us, as he did Eve before us, that we shall not die, let us consider which is fittest for us to believe, the Father of Lyes, or the God of Truth. Surely where there is so vast a difference between the Com­petitours, there can be no difficulty in our determi­nation: No nicety of Judgment is here requir'd; no Grains and Scruples to decide the Cause; but the Competition lies between Light and Darkness, the Shadow and the Sun; all Vanity and Emptiness on the one hand, all Glory and Substance on the other. So gross and palpable is the difference, that we need not spend time to judg. Ask but our hearts, and our own hearts, deceitful as they are, cannot chuse but give us a faithful Answer. Where the cause is of so great importance, and we have so little a way to go for a determination, who would think that Man should be so negligent and remiss, as to involve himself in dangerous Sins, fatal Errours, only for want of ask­ing himself one easie Question?

But perhaps we have no leisure for such inquiries, our thoughts may be so taken up, and our Minds so full of other matters, that either we have not the heart to ask, or at least have not the heart to Answer. Indeed there is nothing so apt to fill as Vanity, and no Man is more busie than he that has least to do. And yet one would think, that amidst all the Croud of trifling Imaginations which flock about us, there [Page 20] might be room left for one serious thought: But if not; if our Minds are so unfortunately prepossess'd, so deeply engag'd, that we find it difficult to draw them off, then we must apply the

Last rule in my Text; we must retire into our Cham­ber and be still. There we may learn to compose our thoughts, and bring our selves to a better temper; give our Passions time to cool, and then our Affections quickly will be chang'd. There we may see our Sins stript of all their deceitful Garniture, the Vanity all worn off, and nothing but the vexation left; and so ghastly a Figure will our Vices make, that to abstain from them will hardly appear a Vertue.

There is nothing like solitude and retirement to recollect our thoughts, and make us come unto our selves, after we have been seduced by conversation, and enchanted by the multitude. Whilst we are in the World we must expect a whole torrent of evil Customs, and corrupted Manners to come upon us, and shall be in danger to be carried away with the tide: With such a violent force does it overwhelm our Vertue, and over-power our Reason, that 'tis very difficult to bear up against it. But if we would have our hearts at our own command, we must re­tire out of the Croud, enter into our Closets, and sometimes give our own sedate thoughts leave to play their parts.

[Page 21]There may be Seeds of Vertue and Honour in us which we know not of; that have lain stifled all this while under the rubbige of the World, and choakt by other Mens inclinations against our own. When we have got our selves in private, then is the time to ransack our hearts; to throw off all that lumber that has clogg'd our Religion, and give our Vertues room to grow. This is the only place to rally the scatter'd Forces of our Soul, to view all our strength, and see what supplies are to be rais'd out of our own Spirits, and what recruits are to be begg'd from the Holy Spirit of God.

'Tis a shameful thing to think how long some Men can live, and yet never know themselves. How they can be so earnest in prying round about them, that they have no leisure to look nearer home; so inquisi­tive after other Mens affairs, and so much strangers to their own: But the truth is, they suspect the poverty of their stock, and therefore are loath to look how near it is to the bottom. To find out their own faults they think is all irksome ungrateful pains; and to search for their own Vertues perhaps is not worth the while. And hence it is that they dare not reflect upon their own actions, nor so much as venture themselves alone, for fear their sins should stare them in the face, and for that little knowledge which they have of themselves, they are commonly beholden to the stan­dters by.

[Page 22]But whatever our condition is, 'tis good to be ac­quainted with it in time, that we may be able to sup­ply what is wanting, and reform what we find amiss, and to examine the state of our accounts before we come to give them up to an Impartial Judge. If there­fore we would know our selves, and have an exact survey of our own estate, we must withdraw from the multitude, and stand alone: Retire into our Closet, and there we may learn to know, not our selves only, but our God. There we have an easie access to Hea­ven; and whilst we commune with our own hearts, and in our Chamber, and are still, God himself is pleas'd to en­ter into the Conference with us, to assist our Con­templations, remove our Doubts, and encourage our Endeavours. And when we and our own hearts are met together again in his name, he will not fail to be in the midst of us.

For such Conversation as this, who would not set aside all the Pomps and Vanities of the World, and think it his greatest freedom to be so confin'd, his greatest happiness to be banisht into Paradise? Here we cannot chuse but look down with scorn upon our former sinful delights, and with pity upon those who know no better Recreations. When our retirement has wean'd us from that fondness which we had for the common road of practice, and our Closet shews us all the actions of Men in their own proper Colours, [Page 23] our very inclinations will be alter'd, and we our selves shall wonder what pleasure we could ever have in those things whereof, upon second, upon cooler thoughts, we are now asham'd.

When we have thus prepar'd and qualify'd our selves in private, then we may expect that our pub­lick devotion shall be effectual. But to come into the House of God with all our vain imaginations and Worldly thoughts about us, is invading of his Presence, and affronting of his Courts. 'Tis not only an in­decent, but a dangerous thing. God once set bounds about his holy Mount, that Men should not break in upon him and perish. Though the bounds are now removed, yet the reason of them still remains; and so much ceremony we owe him at the least, as to make our sins keep a distance; not to touch his Ark with polluted hands, nor approach his Throne with Unsanctified Hearts: That we should deck our Souls also in their best attire, when we come to present them before our Maker, and recommend our selves to his Acceptance, under the Ornament of a meek and vertuous Spirit; which is, in the sight of God, of great price.

When this is done, then is the time to go to the Altar, and confirm those pious resolutions which we began at home. Then the Word of God will come like good Seed upon a fruitful ground, and bring [Page 24] forth a wonderful increase; then all our Prayers will make their own way to the Throne of Grace, and all bring us a good return. To conclude all in one word; The Church is the nearest way to Heaven; but our Chamber is the only way to Church.

God grant that we may all follow this way; and then, no doubt, but it will bring us to a happy end.