Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
truth_n body_n spirit_n worship_v 2,550 5 9.5500 5 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
B09543 The great sin of formality in God's worship: or, The formal worshipper proved a lyar and deceiver. Being the subject of a sermon preacht on the weekly lecture in Boston. / By Joshua Moodey ... Moodey, Joshua, 1633?-1697. 1691 (1691) Wing M2522; ESTC W24941 19,180 50

There is 1 snippet containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

of it among Gods visible people yea too much among those that may have the Root of the matter in them and also because it 's very provoking to God and mischievous to them that use it Now I call that Formal Worship which is opposed to that which is in reality Paul opposes a Form of Godliness to the power of it 2 Tim. 3. 5. Such Pretenders make Perilous Times He intends such Persons as used an appearance without any reality a shew without any substance They made a profession of Godliness and used much Pretensive Devotion in Worship but there was nothing in it save an appearance and shadow only Vox preterea nihil an empty Form no powerful sincerity in their heart nor good fruit in their life And this Vizard men put on to deceive that they may walk incoginto in the World Formal Worship is Hypocritical Worship like a painted Tomb without but Corruption Rottenness within Fire without and Frost within A flame in the mouth but Ice in the Heart A perfect piece of Pageantry a Play where he that is in shew a King is in Reallity a Beggar Such lying Worship is thus Described by Christ Mat. 15 8 9. Drawing near to God with the Lip when the Heart is far from him near in look and gestures but far in heart and spirit this is the spirit of an Hypocrite When out of any low base inferiour end men are drawn or driven to those duties which indeed they have no Heart to this the Lord accounts lying in his Worship And the more external Preparations the more Cost and Grandeur there is in it the bigger the lye Christ reduceth all our Obedience whether in point of Worship or otherwise unto that one word Love now if not loving Worship its lying Worship there is an Idol in the Heart which has their Love while God has their Lips only they pretend Devotion to God but the Idol in the Heart has the Heart all the while When the Heart and Body do not go together in the Service of God the Body shews much love but the Heart is otherwise imployed Ezek 33 31. This lying worship is opposed to worshipping God in Spirit and Truth John 4. 24. Paul served God with his spirit Rom. 1. 9. But their Spirits Soul and Hearts are not concerned or engaged and so there is no Truth in their services because no Spirit in them they are not spiritual and so cannot be true for it is Truth in the inward parts that God requires Psal 51 6. Ephraim was called a silly Dove without an Heart Hos 7 11. And that is a silly sorry Sacrifice that has no heart in it nor can it be acceptable to God Who chiefly minds the Heart Jer. 30. 21. 22. And as the heart is to go with it so the Conversation is to be consonant thereto Want of either makes the worship a lye As a man thinks in his heart so is he Prov. 23. 7. But that is known to God only and himself But when the Conversation contradicts the Devotion his deceitfulness is Obvious to men also Tit. 1. 16. and here Christ gives this Direction for the knowing of men by their fruits Mat. 7. 16. And if the Heart be false the Conversation will not be right for the Heart governs the Conversation If the Heart go not with the tongue the Walk will to the Prudent observer at least often give the Tongue the lye but if heart and tongue joyns the Conversation among men will evidence 〈…〉 the sincerity toward God Now such Worship is called Lying deceiving 1. Lying which is either Verbal or Practical Verbal lying when he speaks not the Truth in his Heart Psal 15 2. Affirming that to be Truth which he knows to be untruth or doth not know to be Truth or denying that to be Truth which he knows at least thinks to be Truth or knows not but that it may be Truth Practical Lying is when a man pretends and professes what he neither intends nor performs when his works deny what his words Profess this is practical lying he lies in his way though he speaks right in his words ●it 1. 6. He assumes the Name of Religion but he practically denies the thing which consists not in words but in Power in Love in Righteousness Holiness Self-denial Mortification c. to which he is a stranger And this is the Lying which the Lord blames them for here and threatens else where Isa 1. 10. 16. Isa 58. 1 7. with Psal 50. 7. 22. 2. It 's called Deceit also They compass me with Deceit Thus Mal. 1. 14. He that has a Male in his Flock and offers a corrupt thing to the Lord is called a Deceiver and such an oblation is a piece of meer deceit A Deceiver is a sly subtil under hand Dealer one that plays Leger-de-main that cogs and cheats and designs to put a sham upon another and this is the aim and spirit of a Formatist in Gods Worship he contrives to put a cheat upon God indeed to mock him Gal. 6 7. And such a Worshipper is called a Deceiver 1. Because he defrauds the glorious God of his just due and of the true Homage and Service which belongs to him from his Creatures It 's true God cannot properly be deceived but he offers at it does what he may towards it and like a foolish ignorant Atheist imagines he may do it thinks God will not see when he turns him off with a bad Sacrifice for a good one a corrupt and lame one for a sound one Job 22. 12 14. Thus he robs God of his Right sends away the Heart about other business and complements God with a little Bodily Exercise or Tongue-Devotion The worm of his Lust doth eat the Kernel and then with some seeming solemnity he makes the Heart-searching and Heart-demanding God a Present of the empty shell A very shameful and affronting Cheat. 2. It may be called a piece of Deceit because it does really deceive others men that can only judge by the outward appearance are utterly deceived by him Samuel was deceived by Eliahs look and Philip by Simon Magus's Profession Come see my zeal for the Lord was enough to have Blinded a Jonadab save that the load Trumpeting his own commendation was too much like an Hypocrite Oh thinks a good and charitable Christian this is certainly an Excellent Man see his Parts Zeal Affection c. and his aim being to seem Religious before men he puts himself in his finest dress when he appears upon the Stage in open view turns the best side outward when he has a great many Spectators while a sincere Soul whose business is to approve himself to God is most engaged and enlarged in his Closet where none but he that sees in Secret can observe him 3. But finally he is called a Deceiver because he doth most miserably and fatally deceive himself Jam. 1. 22 26. He puts a Paralogism or Fallacy upon himself argues falsly