Selected quad for the lemma: reason_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
reason_n	image_n	worship_n	worship_v	2,495	5	9.2639	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61638	Shecinah, or, A demonstration of the divine presence in the places of religious worship being an essay, tending to promote piety, prevent apostacy, and to reduce grosly deluded souls, first to their right wits, then to the right waies, of Gods publick instituted worship / by John Stillingfleete ...	Stillingfleet, John, 1630 or 1-1687.	1663 (1663)	Wing S5680; ESTC R9466	109,230	256

from a general and calls that Scripture that comes by a clear consequence from it It is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God And Further our Saviour sticks not to say It is written And him onely thou shalt serve Though it be but implied in that place of Moses Spanhem Dub. Evang Par. 3. D. 65. p. 292 For indeed the very nature of the subject spoken of implies a peculiar reference unto God alone Because those things such as worship and fear which are due unto God as God are due onely unto God with whom no creature can claim a partnership in Divine Adoration without great Sacriledge and none can be admitted to it without gross Idolatry Argum. 2. If the necessary requisites of the proper object of Adoration be onely in God then Adorability is proper onely unto God For how can that be the object of Divine Worship which is not qualified with those properties and attributes that are necessary for its constitution in such a capacity but in God alone are those requisites found Which are these three Frist Omniscience that hee that is worshipped should know all our wants our sighs and groans and know the deepest secrets of the most retired thoughts of our hearts As true Worship may inwardly be performed many times by the secret thoughts of the mind so it is necessary that hee that is thus worshipped should have a peircing and omniscient eye to have a clear and full view of those very thoughts For otherwise hee may be worshipped and hee not know it And then what small comfort would it be for the most spiritual worshippers to serve him with their hearts who unless hee be omniscient would be ignorant whether they worshipped him or no. Secondly Omnipotency that hee should be able to help us in our wants and give in a supply suitable to our greatest grievances and necessities Why should I worship one that is not able to help mee or why should I not worship and adore any thing else besides God if that were as able to supply my wants and relieve mee in any kinde of misery as God is who is Omnipotent Thirdly Omnipresence that hee should every where hear our prayers and answer our requests This was one great peece of unreasonableness in the worship of the Heathens that they made choice of such Gods to worship which they themselves acknowledged were confined to particular places and so could not be present to help them under any sudden emergency and because they wanted power their worshippers would remain helpless still though they were present in their very Temples the places of their confinement Now God the God of Israel the Onely Being in the world that is both Omniscient Omnipotent and Omnipresent and therefore Adorability is proper onely to him § 3. This Proposition being thus proved it may easily be improved to convince the Papists of grievous Idolatry in worshipping those things with a Religious Worship which are not proper objects of Adoration as Images Saints and the like As also to condemn the Socinians those great Patrons of Reason of their gross absurdity and unreasonableness in devesting Christ of his Divinity and yet of attributing Divine Worship and Adoration to him notwithstanding hee is held but a Creature But I had rather prevent a mistake and miscarriage amongst ordinary Christians than stand to confute those that are visibly the Disciples of Antichrist as the former or those that have really forfeited the very name of Christians as the Latter The mistake is this when Christ our Mediator God and Man is propounded in Scripture as the Object of our Religious Worship and Adoration less wary minds may be apt to terminate their Worship upon his humane nature When as 't is evident the humane nature and flesh of Christ is not God though it be the flesh of God viz. of God the Son and personally united to him But the personal union of the Divine and Humane Nature in Christ the Mediator doth neither destroy nor confound the proprieties of either but leaves them entire as they are in themselves And Adorability is no less a propriety of the Divine Nature than Omniscience Omnipotence Omnipresence and Eternity are God therefore manifest in the flesh is to be worshipped with a Religious Worship but his flesh ought not thus to be worshipped As the King may be civilly worshipped who wears a Crown or Diadem upon his head and bears a Scepter the emblem of Majesty in his hand yet neither Crown nor Diadem nor Scepter can be said to be honoured with a civil worship And the godly are then said to have worshipped Christ when they knew clearly his Divinity that hee was God as well as Man As the blinde man made whole when Christ had told him hee was the Son of God that cured him Then hee said Joh. 9.37 38 Lord I beleeve and hee worshipped him Thus those that saw Christ walking upon the Sea and quieting of it Mat. 14.33 Then they that were in the Ship came and worshipped him saying of a truth thou art the Son of God See also the example of Peter Luke 5.8 And the Women that sought Christ in the Sepulchre Matth. 28.9 And the Apsstles that were gathered together in the Mount when Christ took his leave of them Vers 17. When they saw him they worshipped him whom they knew now to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead § 4. Before I pass to the next Proposition wee may here from this first learn a true account why Heathenish Worshippers would never admit the Worship of the True God of Israel under the Old Testament or of Jesus Christ revealed under the New Testament dispensation but would willingly entertain the Worship of all other Gods whatsoever One would have thought the True God who truly is the proper object of Adoration might as well have been entertained as any of the false and fained Deities The reason was this because it was very indifferent to Satan after what manner hee was worshipped so hee was but worshipped at all hee could easily admit a multiplicity of Gods But The God of Israel and Jesus Christ when they are worshipped they must be worshipped alone they and none other all else must be excluded it being the first and chiefest of all Gods Commands Thou shalt not have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 any other Gods before my face But the Worship of false Gods did not at all hinder but that worship might be given to other Idols so that the kind and degree of it peculiar to each Idoll was but distinguished by their Disciples § 5. Propos 2. Actual Adoration or Worship is due to God from all intelligent creatures by the obligation of nature Actual Adoration and the formal exhibition of Worship is neither essential to God to have it or to the creatures to give it Not to God to have it because God was before there were any creatures to worship and adore him And it

word * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Fimbria ejus here refers to the Train of a Garment of Majesty or the coverings of the Throne of State See c. 4. § 14. yet so as to be an emblem of Gods special Presence there and therefore the LXX How 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is frequently used by the LXX renders it thus And his Glory filled the house And in this sense St. John takes it John 12.41 These things Isaiah said when hee saw his Glory and spake of him Joh. 12.41 Speaking of this very Vision of the Prophet V. Hensium in loc But having mentioned the Royal Presence of the Soveraign of Heaven sitting on his Throne in the Temple presently hee subjoyns an honourable mention of his sacred Retinue Above it stood the Seraphim which is acknowledged by all to denote the holy Angels which sang that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the blessed Trinity Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts For this cause the curtains of the Tabernacle were filled with the pictures of Cherubims and the walls of Solomons Temple with carved Cherubims 1 King 6.29 32. Dr. Gouge on 23. ver All which set out the multitudes of Angels in Churches The Ark of the Testimony was over-spread and covered with two mighty Cherubims called Heb. 9.5 The Cherubims of Glory that is of the Divine Presence All to denote that where God commands his Worship to be solemnly celebrated there the blessed Angels out of duty give their attendance and afford their protection to those that worship God Thus Solomon out of that received opinion of the Angelical Presence in places of Publik Worship speaks concerning vows to be made in the house of God Eccles 5.6 Say not before the Angel it was an errour The word Angel being taken collectively and put for the many Angels that are present in Gods Worship And some do refer these words that were uttered a little before the destruction of the Temple Let us depart hence to the Angels leaving of that place because that was shortly to cease to be the Place of Gods Worship § 3. Object Well! but what is all this to us under the Gospel The presence of the Angels is proved to bee in the Temple of old are they now present in Gods VVorship under the Gospel Ans I doubt not but to evidence that they are so too and that upon these following grounds 1. If the Angels are busied in the propagating of the Gospel then 't is evident they will be most there where there is the greatest probability for dispatching that work which must needs be in the Publick Assemblyes where the Gospel is Preached But the former is true for can we think they are wear● of so good a work are they 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ministring Spirits still Vid. Eras Schinidii Not. Animad vers in N. Test p. 157. in Mat. 17.10 and can their service be better imployed then in that which hath been their honourable work heretofore Now that they have been forward and chearful in propagating the Gospel Scripture does abundantly testifie How chearfully busie was the Angel Gabriel in declaring to Zachariah the nativity of John the Baptist the fore-runner of Christ Luk. 1.11 After that he declares the conception of the Messias to the blessed Virgin v. 26. VVhen Christ was born an Angel again appears to the Shepheards and said unto them Luk. 2.9 10 11. Fear not for behold I bring you good tydings of great Joy which shall be to all people And then it follows And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host vers 13 14. praising God and saying Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth peace good will towards men The Angels again Mat. 28.2 5. Act. 1.10 with much joy declare the Resurrection of Christ and after Christs ascension they declare his second coming May we not hence rationally conclude that they have the same work still to carry on and if so what reason have we to shut them from our publick assemblies where this work may the best be promoted and to confirm this the more we have their Presence in our Church-assemblies hinted at in several places in the New-Testament And Paul charges Timothy not onely before God and Jesus Christ See Baines on Ephes 3.10 1 Tim. 5.21 but also before the Elect Angels supposing their Presence in Church assemblies teaching us that the consideration of them should bind us to be careful Adsunt spectatores propter injunctam sibi ecclesiae curam Calvin in Lo. The Angels they are as spectators in discharge of that care of the Church that God hath laid upon them And probably our Saviour aims at such a thing as this is And I Jesus have sent mine Angels Rev. 22.16 to testifie these things to you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Churches § 4. 2 A second proof seems clearly to be couched in the Epistle to the Hebrews Angels are ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for them that are Heirs of Salvation Heb. 1.14 Have the Saints more need of Angellical assistance than when they are about heaven work and heart work which is very hard work in Gods worship Hath God said they minister for us And dare we say they do not help and assist us in his VVorship Nay is it not expresly said they help the Heirs of Salvation And why not in the means of Grace and Worship which do immediately tend to promote our salvation Do not the Devil and his Angels most of all disturb and distract us in our holy duties in Publick Worship And why not the good Angels help us and aid us since God hath appointed them to be ministring spirits for the Heirs of Salvation If we had but discerning eyes we should see but a few devils in Ale-houses Taverns Markets and Fairs c. in comparison of what there are in the Church in the Publick Assemblies There the devil hath but a little work to do the work is commonly done to his hand Men can drink and swear and lye and couzen and cheat fast enough without the devil to tempt them Now the great trade the Devil drives is to hinder our Communion with God in his Ordinances Here we may finde many devils to tempt us distract us and so rob us of that which is the Kernel the very Marrow and Quintessence of all our performances viz. the enjoyment of God and Christ in them Is there not reason then to extend their Ministration mainly to the Saints worshipping and serving God Thus St. Bernard did Intersunt cantantibus adsunt orantibus insunt meditantibus That is good Musick indeed in Gods ears when the holy Angels bear a part and joyn with the Saints to make up a compleat Heavenly consort § 5. 3 If wee are upon Gods ground when we are in the place of his Publick VVorship wee may not onely expect his Angels to be our