Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	high_a	lord_n	praise_v	4,795	5	9.5976	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85780	Ortholatreia: or, A brief discourse concerning bodily worship: proving it to be Gods due; to be given unto him with acceptation on his part, and not to be denyed him without sin, on ours. A thing worthy to be taken into consideration in these dayes, wherein prophaness and irreverence toward the sacred Majesty of God hath so much corrupted our religious assemblies, that men are regardless of their being before God, or of Gods being amongst them in his own house. / By S.G. late preacher of the Word of God in the Cathedrall Church of Peterburgh.	Gunton, Simon, 1609-1676.	1650 (1650)	Wing G2247; Thomason E592_8; ESTC R206877	34,540	64

which is verily the most general and universal Custom that is in the world there being scarce any Nation where Superiours receive not this homage and civility from their Inferiours and upon this ground account their god whatever it be that they account their god worthy of such Bodily reverence in a Religious way But we Christians in the West are now so far declined from all due reverence and respect towards Gods Divine Majestie that our bodies must not acknowledge him by kneelings and bowings gestures of reverence which in the Civil way we plentifully exhibit unto men our superiours when we meet with them or make our addresses to them Now if we did but rightly consider Gods transcendency above men and our own obligations to his Divine Majestie and Goodness above whatever we do or can owe to all the men in the world we should surely see that Corporal adoration is more due to God in a Religious way then unto Men in a Civil Though perhaps for all this if the primaevity or fundamental constitution of Corporal adoration Civil and Religious be considered it may seem a disputable Question Which of the two is the Mother and which the Daughter Whether the Civil adoration be derived from the Religious That because God himself is to have Religious adoration therefore Men our Superiours are to have a Civil as having some analogie and resemblance with God Psal. 86. 2. or Whether the Religious adoration be derived from the Civil That because we worship Men with our Bodies therefore we ought also to worship God Which way soever it be determined the Civil worship to Men will infer and strongly establish Religious Bodily worship towards God which is the scope of the Argument A Fifth Argument may be drawn from the silence of the holy Scriptures If the Scriptures be not against it they are for it He that is not against us is on our part Where does the Scripture forbid that Bodily worship should be given unto God or Where is it said that God condemned any for doing it or that Himself refused to be worshipped with the body Many devout and humble suppliants have bowed kneeled and prostrated themselves unto God and Where is it written that God rejected them as if he would not have been worshipped after that manner This must be plainly shewn else it cannot be made good that Bodily worship unto God is unlawful But sinco the Word of God is altogether for it and hath not one syllable against it neither in the Old Testament nor in the New it must needs be not onely lawful but convenient and necessary Where are then the odious aspersions that are cast upon it in calling it Idolatry Superstition and I know not by what other scandalous names Would the Word of God the lantern light and oracle of Truth be silent or connive at a sin worthy of so hainous appellations and neither countenance the opposers nor condemn the practisers of it Would that Light want a ray to enlighten us in the knowledge of this which by some is accounted so great an offence Who will say that the Scripture is imperfect and deficient in a thing of such consequence But rather on the contrary Have we not many both Examples and Precepts in the Old Testament and in the New for giving of Bodily worship unto God Are not the words of this present Scripture first given by Moses and now ratisied by our Saviour strong enough to enjoyn Bodily worship that they may satisfie any but the wilfully obstinate Sure we are that these words put the devil to silence for when our Saviour urged them the devil was forced to yeeld having nothing to reply against them And let not the opposers of Gods Bodily worship shew themselves more stubborn then the devil was lest even he accuse them before God for the neglect of that duty with the truth whereof himself was so clearly convinced by Scripture-evidence But I will put the case Suppose one who is an opposer of Gods Bodily worship and withal an hater of Idols should be tempted as our Saviour was to fall down and worship the devil or an Idol which the * Scriptures call a devil Our Saviour having taught him to be furnished with Scripture whereby to resist temptations Would he not think this place which our Saviour made use of a fit answer for himself and would he not alleadge it to put the tempter to silence I trow he would alleadge either this or some other equivalent place And Would he not then be driven upon necessity against former mislikings to acknowledge Corporal adoration to be Gods due and so even condemn himself if he does not yeeld it unto him Let him consider this A Sixth Argument may be drawn from the practice of Corporal adoration in heaven Rev. 5.14 And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever Earth ought to conform it self to Heaven the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant in setting forth the honour and worship of God Now if it were unlawful or so great an offence as it is here made to worship God with the body S. John with his illuminated eagles eyes would scarce have seen such a thing in heaven It it shall be objected that there were no such bodies in heaven when S. John saw this he onely saw it represented in a Vision This is nothing for the vision of the thing in heaven is sufficient to approve the lawfulness and authorize the practice of it here on earth And let any gainsayer ask himself When he comes into heaven bodily Does he think he shall not with those four and twenty elders fall down before God bodily worship him If so Shall it be Honour then and Dishonour now Shall it be Glory there and Shame here Shall it be an high Happiness in Gods Heavenly house and Sin in his Earthly Me thinks Reason it self should perswade us that Corporal reverence and worship should be given unto God here as a necessary preparation for the doing of it hereafter A Seventh Argument may be drawn from the Majestie of God If nothing else will prevail one would think this should Is not he the Almighty God infinite in Power Greatness Majestie Holiness and Glory Does not he dwell in that light which no man can approach unto the least ray of which light is ten thousand times brighter then the Sun Are all the Kings in the world half so glorious as he or their Thrones to be compared to his Footstool Does not he sit upon a Throne of incomprehensible glory attended upon with thousands of glorious and mighty Angels that stand before him admiring worshipping blessing praising and crying continually Holy holy holy Lord God of hosts And although he hath his dwelling so high yet Does he not humble himself to behold the things that are in heaven and earth Does he not vouchsafe to admit these poor

in spirit and in truth God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth Here it is required that we worship God in spirit therefore Bodily worship is not to be given unto him For the right understanding of this place of Scripture we must know that Spirit there for the strength of the Objection lieth in this word is not to be understood of the soul in opposition to the body and so Outward bodily worship to be done away and the Inward worship of the soul to come in stead of it but it is to be understood in opposition to the Sacrifices and other Ceremonies of the Mosaical Law where with the Samaritanes did then worship God in that mountain by themselves in a Temple of their own and the Jews by themselves in their Temple at Jerusalem Notanda est antithesis inter spiritum externas figuras saith Mr Calvin the opposition is to be noted betwixt spirit and the outward figures For we know that the Worship or Service which the Samaritanes and Jews did then generally use consisted in External Rites and Visible Sacrifices of beasts and other Oblations which manner of Worship being shortly to be abolished a Spiritual or Evangelical Worship should be introduced into the place of it wherein no Typical nor Figurative Sacrifices should be offered And if it be rightly considered it will appear that those out ward Sacrifices of the Law had little or no affinity with that which our Saviour intends in this Scripture Matth. 4.10 and which we call Corporal adoration or Bodily worship which in its furthest extent is but personal Our Saviour then in that place of S. John doth no way thwart the worshipping of God with the body I conceive I have enough for it from Beza who in his Annotation upon the place is driven to make his defence against some of the Papists accusing him in some of their Writings Conferences or other ways that seeking to establish the Spiritual worship of God he should deny that God was to be worshipped with the External worship of the body But of this he clears himself Imò utrunque Deo semper debitum fuisle deberi absit ut insiciemur Yes saith he both the Inward and Outward worship have ever been and shall be due unto God God forbid that we should deny this Yet if this be not sufficient I can raise my authority higher to the great Apostle of the Gentiles who although he speaks in the very words of our Saviour Phil. 3. 3. We are the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit c. yet this did not detain him from worshipping God with his body as may appear Act. 20.36 21.5 Eph. 3.14 I rehearse not the words because I would have the Reader peruse and judge But would it not seem strange if I should say that Corporal worship unto God under the Gospel is Spiritual If I should so affirm there are and those of no mean credit that would confirm it Not to trouble my self with setting down what Aquinas speaks or others in this case I shall content my self with what Zanchie writes The Scripture saith he calls External worship as well as Internal spiritual because it proceeds from our spirit renewed by Gods Spirit and is done in faith and tends to the honour and glory of God And he cites this very place of S. John for it To which let me adde the c. Whence we conclude that notwithstanding this place of S. John Bodily worship stands firmly due unto God and is to be performed to wards him by vertue of the present Scripture which we have in hand Adorabis c. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God These are the common Objections on the negative part which buz into the ears of men that Bodily worship is not to be given unto God to which I hope I have given satisfactory Answers I come now to examine what evidence may be produced to defend and require it on the affirmative part In pursuance whereof I shall first produce such Arguments as from solid Grounds may be drawn to prove it and afterwards such Testimonies from authentick Authors as may further confirm it The first Argument may be drawn from the consideration of our bodies themselves Here are three things to be taken notice of which might afford so many several Arguments but I shall comprise them all in one 1. The Creation 2. The Redemption 3. The Glorification of these our bodies There is no Corporeal substance what ever it be that is so much ennobled and honoured by the bounty grace and mercy of the great Creator as these lumps of Flesh our bodies are First in respect of their Creation though not for Substance yet for Priviledge above other bodily Creatures all other Creatures being made for the use and sustentation of these bodies Some creatures bring their Flesh to feed them some their Wooll and Skins to clothe them some their Medicinal vertues to heal them The Sun affords them light and refreshment the Fire warms them the Water purifies them the Air affords them a breathing place the Earth accommodations for adwelling place All the Creatures in their several squadrons present them with their serviceable respects from the meanest even to the highest order of Creatures the holy and blessed Angels who have from God the tutelary charge over these our Bodies And shall these our Bodies receive these benefits and acknowledge no Homage nor Worship unto God whose goodness hath vouchsafed them Hath God created our Bodies for Themselves and no way for Himself but left them at liberty nay secluded them from this service that they should not worship nor bow nor kneel before the Lord their Maker If our Bodies be not bound to this duty and service What difference then is there betwixt the bodies of Reasonable men and the bodies of Bruit beasts towards God Secondly for the blessing of Redemption In this no bodily substance hath any interess but the bodies of men alone Christ sprinkled not his blood upon the Sun nor upon the Moon nor upon the Stars nor upon the Heavens nor upon the Terrestrial creatures but onely upon the Bodies of Men is the effusion of that inestimable Blood And still must our bodies be ingrateful Are we not bought with a price and must we not therefore glorifie God in our bodies and in our spirits because they are Gods Look yet further to the Third the Glorification of our Bodies which are designed to such glory and immortality in the highest heavens as that no Corporeal creature besides hath the like happiness prepared for it And shall our bodies still remain stiff stubborn and inflexible Let us take heed lest this benumming stupidity endanger us not both souls and bodies Let us consider that our Souls and Bodies are twins and that God hath united them together as in one man so in one participation of his