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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

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presence the Remedy is as bad as if not worse then the Disease Not to stand now to vindicate those who out of a pious sincerity worship God with their bodies from this slander of Superstition which were a worthy task If concurring with the censorious humour of the Objectors it be supposed that some men in worshipping God with their bodies are superstitious of which whosoever be guilty I could wish they would amend it What if they who refuse to worship God with their Bodies be superstitious also even in refusing For ought I know they may be so For though they refuse out of a fear to displease God yet if that fear be causless needless and superfluous it may not unfitly be termed Superstitious which name Saint Austin gives it * Corporal adoration or Bodily worship is a Ceremony and all Ceremonies were abolished by the death of Christ Therefore Bodily worship although it was given to God under the Law yet being by Christ taken away it is not to be given to God under the Gospel Admit Corporal adoration or Bodily worship to be a Ceremony yet was it never any part of that Ceremonial Law which was abolished by the death of Christ It was in use and practice long before the Ceremonial Law was given * Nature it self having imprinted in the hearts of men a secret character of bodily reverence to be given unto God As may appear by many examples that of Abraham falling on his face Gen. 17.3 that of Abrahams servant bowing down his head and worshipping the Lord for his good success in his journey Gen. 24.26 and that which was done by the people of Israel when they heard the tidings of their deliverance from their heavie bondage in Egypt Exod. 12.27 with many other of this kinde So that Bodily worship was in use and practice many yeers before any tittle of the Ceremonial Law was prescribed And as it was long before so likewise as longer lifed is it continued long after for whereas the Ceremonies of the Mosaical Law were wholly abolished by Christs death the termination of which may seem to be implied in his Consummatum est upon the Cross Corporal adoration is authorized as shall and will appear by sufficient precept and practice since our Saviours Death Resurrection and Ascension And the reason of it is satisfying enough to the flexible considerer that Corporal adoration is included not in the Ceremonial but in the Moral Law in the Second Commandment And who knows not that the Moral Law was not abolished by the death of Christ but is and shall be in force to the end of the world Perhaps some Antisomatist may conceive from Job 4.23 which place will come by and by to be examined that worshipping God with the body was so abolished as that to worship him with the heart soul and spirit succeeded in its stead But this cannot be for worshipping God with the heart and soul was in the world long before Bodily worship was as is conceived abolished and the Inward Worship is fully as ancient as the Outward For did not Abraham David and the rest of Gods devout servants worship God in heart soul and spirit as well as with their bodies Were they not inwardly touched with an awful reverence towards the great Majestie of God and so adored him Surely yes else we might think they played the hypocrites in making outward shews and not doing any thing within relating unto God and his Worship If then Cordial worship was not brought in Corporal worship was not for it done away by the death of Christ Indeed our Saviour did bring in a Spiritual worship but what that is shall appear when I have dispatched another Objection Corporal Adoration or Bodily Worship is offensive and scandalous it gives offence to the weak Therefore they who practise it ought to forbear it else they offend which they must not as Rom. 14.21 I Cor. 10.32 That thing should not offend the weak by which others are made strong And I could appeal to clouds of witnesses who out of an honest care to worship God devoutly with their bodies have felt themselves much strengthened in their souls But if they who are offended at Corporal adoration be weak indeed then the parties offending ought to inform and satisfie the parties offended and the parties offended are to seek after information and satisfaction by their own studies or consultation with others by which means they may receive strength to remove the offence from their apprehension and then without doubt they will not onely approve Bodily worship in others but practise it themselves But if pretending weakness they be obstinate stubborn and perverse which humour our Saviour Christ himself was not so happie or rather unhappie as to please then Corporal adoration ought not to be forborn in fear to offend such people but let the practisers of it go on * Per medias offensiones through the midst of offences not having any care to the perverse who take offence where there is none given I may ask that Question which our late Solomon hath put into my mouth * How long will they be weak for if they resolve still to be what they are Gods worshippers must resolve to do what they do I finde a devout man very high in his expression in this case * Let the Saints of the world stumble and fall and break their necks rather then the truth of the Gospel suffer any detriment in the Saints of God Scripture is produced to prove that Bodily Worship is not to be given unto God 'T is strange that men should fight against God with the sword of his own Spirit but this they do The places commonly alleadged are Prov 23.26 My son give me thy heart God requires the heart and with it he is to be worshipped but not with any more for that is superfluous and unnecessary Although Worship or Adoration be not there expresly mentioned in the letter yet no doubt but it is implicitely included and that God saith to every one in every religious action and so of Worship or Adoration in particular Give me thy heart For indeed God requires the heart and hath respect unto it principally first and before the body * All our Service and Worship being neither accepted nor respected with him if our heart go not along with our body in the performance of it But it is not said in that place of Solomon that God requires the heart alone saying Give me onely thy heart There 's no such exclusive particle adjoyned whereby lifting up the eyes holding up the hands speaking with the mouth bowing kneeling and other devout bodily expressions should be excluded therefore this place of Solomon does not make against Bodily worship The words of our Saviour are likewise produced to beat down Corporal adoration Job 4 23 24. Veri adoratores c. The true worshippers shall worship the Father
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