Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A78145
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Reformed religion, or, Right Christianity described in its excellency, and usefulness in the whole life of man by a Protestant-Christian.
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Barker, Matthew, 1619-1698.
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1689
(1689)
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Wing B777aA; ESTC R42840
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61,592
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137
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be charged with Schism And these Rules observed would have prevented those Persecutions which have bin in the Christian World upon the account of Rites and Ceremonies or some little difference in Religion And this is all I shall speak about christian-Christian-Worship in the External part of it And therefore shall next speak of it in the Internal part of it Of which our Saviour speaks John 4. 23. The hour cometh and now is when the true Worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth But this is General but more Particularly he that worships as a Christian 1. He Worships in the Faith of the New Testament which is a Faith respecting Christ as already come and not as yet to come as the Faith of the Old Testament did And he worships in greater assurance of Faith also which the Apostle speaks of as proper to the New Testament Heb. 10. 22. Christ having now actually Suffered and the New Covenant sealed with his Blood and ascended Heaven to make Intercession as our great High-Priest The Faith of the New Testament hath more assurance in it wherein the Saints do worship and draw nigh to God. Let us draw nigh with full assurance of Faith c. Heb. 10. 22. Let us come boldly to the Throne of Grace Heb. 4. 16. Having therefore boldness to enter the Holiest Heb. 10. 19. 2. He Worships not in the Oldness of the Letter but in the Newness of the Spirit This oldness of the Letter referrs either to the Ceremonial or Moral Law. The true Christian worships not in the oldness of the first Covenant He worships not in the Ordinances of the Ceremonial Law but only in what was spiritually signified in them His Incense is fervent Prayer ascending to Heaven in the Fire of the Holy Ghost His Peace-offering is hearty Thanksgiving His Heave-offering is an Heart lifted up to Heaven His Wine-offering Joy in God His Sin-offering is Repentance Confession of Sin and a Broken Heart His Burnt-offering is his whole Body of Sin offered up to be destroyed He keeps the Feast of Tabernacles by living as a Stranger upon Earth and Travelling towards the Heavenly Countrey He keeps the Feast of Passover in his worshipping and living without the Leaven of Hypocrisie and Malice in his Heart all his Days His Washings and Purifyings are the Sanctifyings of his Heart and Conscience And his looking towards the Temple in Worship is his looking to Christ herein And this is one part of his worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth and not in the Letter of the Ceremonial Law. So also he Worships not God in the outward Letter of the Moral Law that is meerly by the force of an outward Letter without the inward Principle of a renewed mind when the outward Letter of the Law striking upon the natural Conscience carries a Man sorth to Worship without any love to the Duty any life or delight in it this is to worship in the oldness of the Letter Rom. 7. 6. The Letter is said to kill but the Spirit giveth life 2 Cor. 3. 6. So that all Worship in the outward Letter without the Spirit is dead Worship and not truly Christian 3. The true Christian Worship is not to Worship in a Spirit of Bondage but in a Spirit of Adoption As the Apostle speaks of Christian Believers Gal. 4. 6 7. that They were no more Servants but Sons so they serve not God in the Spirit of Servants but of Sons Not so much for fear of Wrath and Punishment as love to please God honour him and enjoy him which is the Principle that they act from Perfect love casts out fear for fear hath Torment 1 Joh. 4. 18. And God hath not given us the Spirit of fear but of power love and a sound mind 2 Tim. 1. 7. And to the same purpose Rom. 8. 15. Christianity brings not Men to Mount Sinai where are Thunders and Earthquakes Blackness and Darkness and Tempests which made not only the People but Moses himself to fear and quake And in this Principle of servile fear did the Jews for the most part serve and worship God which is not the proper principle of true Christian Worship Though this Worship excludes not all fear of God but requires it Let us have Grace to serve God with Reverence â—nd Godly Fear saith the Apostle Heb. 12. 28. A Reverential Fear of God atâ—ended with an holy Modesty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Caution as the Greek words import ought to be found in all Christian Worship He worships God as a Father and with a filial fear suited to that Relation but not with servile fear 4. The true Christian Worships God as a Redeemer in Christ and so it is distinguisht from the worship of the Heathen who worshipt him only as the Creator of the World. They worshipt and adored him beholding the Characters of his Power Wisdom and Goodness in the Works of his Creation but the Christian Worships and Adores him beholding his Love Mercy and Grace c. manifested in the Work of Redemption He worships God rather as he is in Christ than in the Creatures And the Heathen worshipping God in the Creatures did lead them at last to worship the Creatures themselves and so became Idolaters instead of true Worshippers yea the Apostle saith They worshipt and served the Creature more than the Creator Rom. 1. 25. They did not worship God in his Creatures but divided their worship betwixt God and his Creatures and the Creatures got the greater share of it But none of this is Christian worship The Apostle gives account how he Worshipt God 2 Cor. 1. 3. Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ c. And Eph. 3. 14. I bow my Knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus And the Worship performed by the Elders and Angels and all Creatures that we read of Rev. 5. 13. is directed to him that Sits upon the Throne and the Lamb even that Lamb that hath Redeemed his People by his Blood. So that the Right Christian Worshipper looks at God as in Christ and as manifested in the Work of Redemption And so beholding him is inwardly acted and moved thereby to Adore and Worship him The true Principle of a Christian Lastly The true Christian Worshipper worships in Humility of Mind The Christian Religion so clearly shewing man above all Religions his lost and wretched State in his Fall and that he hath all his Righteousness Life Strength and Hope in another out of himself It teacheth him to worship in Humility As the twenty four Elders worship falling upon their Faces and casting down their Crowns before the Throne Rev. 4. 10. A Representation of right Gospel-worship which Christ therefore would have drest up in a decent plainness that it might be performed in Humility and not in Ostentation Thus we see what is the Internal part of Right Christian-Worship Not that it doth not require also the humble Gestures and Adorations of the outward
Christ Jesus without making use of any Sub-mediators either of Redemption or Intercession not mentioned in the Gospel and herein he considers God not only as a Creator or in the absolute perfections of his Being but as reconciled in the Blood of his Son related as a Father and ingaged by a special Covenant He is one who waits and prays for the help of Gods holy Spirit to lead him into the presence of God and to help his Infirmities therein and approacheth not to him meerly by the impulse of natural Conscience much less by the help of Pictures or Images forbidden by the Law of God but by the Spirit of Adoption inclining his Will moving his Affections and crying Abba Father in his Heart Again He reckons upon Suffering with Christ as well as Reigning with him of bearing his Cross as well as wearing his Crown and of Denying himself as becomes a Disciple of Christ and therefore Arms himself for it that he may not be surprized by it or faint under it and as he will not rashly thrust himself upon sufferings so neither decline them when necessarily called thereunto wherein he will have respect to the goodness of his Call of his Cause and of his Conscience Further He is one who when he is Reviled reviles not again patiently bears affronts and injuries for Righteousness sake seeks not privately to revenge himself but commits his Cause to him that judgeth righteously Again He embraceth Religion for its own sake and not for any politick end and abhors to make use of it as an Art to serve any Covetous Ambitious or Treacherous designs He is one who believes a Judgment to come and therefore lives in continual awe of it and endeavours so to manage the whole course of his actions that he may be accepted of the Lord in that day and not fall under the wrath to come and thereupon is less concerned about being Judged of men or of mans day Again He believing the Immortality of his own Soul the Resurrection of his Body and hoping for the Eternal Life of the World to come Life and Immortality being brought to light by the Christian Religion he is seeking to make it sure to himself and thereupon is less concerned as to his temporal Life and his short stay in this present World looking upon himself as a stranger here on Earth He is careful to examin himself about his State towards God and to know the inward frame and temperament of his own Soul and the Actions of his Life in the Principle Rule and End of them that he may not be found among Hypocrites and that counterfeit Grace may not be mistaken for that which is true His Zeal in Religion is not rash and precipitate hypocritical and treacherous violent and cruel so as to transgress the Rules of Humanity Charity and Sobriety but is grounded upon Knowledge and regulated by sound Judgment Wisdom and Discretion and his greatet Zeal is about the great things of Religion and of the greatest certainty He is one who hath a regular Conscience extending to one Duty as well as to another and therefore will not strain at Gnats and swallow Camels nor be scrupulous about Ceremonies and of conforming to some outward Forms of Worship and yet can practise injustice oppression lying fraud intemperance backbiting malice and such moral impieties not becoming Christians And if he hath a Conscience of Conformity to the Church he makes Conscience of the moral Duties of Religion and will not be found guilty of swearing cursing drunkenness fornication scoffing at piety blasphemy false accusation or persecution for Conscience sake of the truly conscientious c. And though his practice in Religion is according to his best Light and judgment yet he confines not the Church of God or monopolizeth Salvation to the narrow limits of his own private Opinion but judgeth charitably of men who Conscientiously differ from him as knowing that as in several Nations so under several Opinions He that feareth God and worketh Righteousness is accepted of him and therefore he can love and honour true Piety Sincerity and Goodness and real Worth wherever he finds them as the Phylosophers called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 studied to extract the good out of every Sect of Phylosophers and rejected the rest Again He beholdeth the Creator in the works of his Creation and adores his wisdom power bounty and goodness shining forth therein and as a Christian he can look upon the Creator of the World as the Redeemer of it and as his God and Father in Jesus Christ and in special relation to him and hereupon to have his Heart engaged to love him honour him fear him and trust in him which is more than the most learned Heathen by the light of Nature could attain unto Further He considering the Dominion God hath given Man over the brute Creatures he useth them with Thanksgiving but will not abuse them as a Tyrannical Lord and is stirred up to the more chearful service of God by those brute Creatures which are daily serving him He knows that not only Faith is required of a Christian but outward Profession and therefore he conforms to all the Ordinances and Institutions of Christ in his Church and attends there diligently for his Edification and that God may be hononred by the Divine Worship of the Publick Assemblies of his People according to the dictates of the universal Law of Nature and therefore as he will not have Communion with any Church in that that is evil and sinful so he is ready to hold Communion with all Churches in that which is lawful and good that he may not fall under the just charge of Schism or unwarrantable Separation and seeks the maintaining of his whole profession unspotted and without rebuke and therefore He keeps his Foot when he goes to the House of God demeans himself with all seriousness and Reverence in Gods publick Worship will not be found talking gazing whispering laughing or sleeping when his mind and thoughts should be directed towards God that he may carry himself suitable to that great Presence wherein he is and the solemnity of that Service he i◠engaged in He carefully avoids all Tempting of God by presuming upon his Power and Mercy for the good either of his Soul or Body without using suitable and rational means or such as may be appointed of God for that end neither will he pray or hope to receive what God hath never promised to give and thereby be also a tempter of God. Again He being a Christian is careful to observe the Christian Sabbath not the Seventh day of the Week as the Jews but the First according to the example of the Apostles and the first Christian Churches whereby he owns Christs Lordship over the Sabbath to change the day as well as the Ordinances of Gods worship therein and therefore he remembers to keep it Holy by abstaining from bodily Labours and by the exercise of his mind and thoughts