Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	father_n	mountain_n	worship_v	1,874	5	9.7184	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62579	The remaining discourses, on the attributes of God Viz. his Goodness. His mercy. His patience. His long-suffering. His power. His spirituality. His immensity. His eternity. His incomprehensibleness. God the first cause, and last end. By the most reverend Dr. John Tillotson, late Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury. Being the seventh volume; published from the originals, by Ralph Barker, D.D. chaplain to his Grace.	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.; Barker, Ralph, 1648-1708, publisher.	1700 (1700)	Wing T1216; ESTC R222200	153,719	440

of it Psal 29.1 Give unto the Lord O ye mighty give unto the Lord glory and strength So likewise it should take Men off from relying upon their own strength which at the best is but an arm of flesh as the Scripture calls it for the weakness of it Do we not see that many times the battel is not to the strong That things are not done by might and by power but by the spirit of the Lord. When he appears against the most potent their hearts melt within them and there is no more spirit left in them as 't is said of the mighty Inhabitants of Canaan Josh 5.1 Thirdly We should make this Omnipotence of God the Object of our trust and confidence This is the most proper use we can make of this Doctrine as David does in this Psalm and this was used for a form of blessing the People in the Name of God Psal 136.3 The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee And David when he magnifies God's deliverance of his People from the multitude of their Enemies resolves it into this Our help standeth in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth Thus did the great Pattern and Example of Faith incourage and support his confidence in God in a very difficult tryal he staggered not at it because he believed God who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things that be not as tho' they were therefore against hope he believed in hope c. Rom. 4.17 c. This gives life to all our Devotion to be perswaded that God is able to do for us exceedingly above what we can ask or think and that his is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory I shall only caution two things as to our relyance on the Power of God I. Labour to be such Persons to whom God hath promised that he will engage and imploy his Omnipotence for their good If we hope for any good from the Almighty we must walk before him and be perfect as he said to Abraham Good Men have a peculiar interest in God's Power hence he is called the strength of Israel and the mighty one of Israel If we do what God requires of us we may expect that he will put forth his Power and exert his Arm for us but if we disobey we must expect he will manifest his Power against us Ez. 8.22 When we do well we may commit the keeping of our souls to him 1 Pet. 4.19 II. Our expectations from the Omnipotence of God must be with submission to his Pleasure and Goodness and Wisdom we must not expect that God will manifest his Power when we think there is occasion for it but when it seems best to him he will so imploy his Omnipotence as to manifest his Goodness and Wisdom And with these two Cautions we may rely upon him in all our Wants both Spiritual and Temporal for his Divine Power can give us all things that pertain to life and godliness 2 Pet. 1.3 We may trust him at all times for the Omnipotent God neither slumbereth nor sleepeth the Almighty fainteth not neither is he weary trust ye in the Lord for ever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength SERMON XI Vol. VII· The Spirituality of the Divine Nature JOHN IV. 24 God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth THese are the words of our Saviour to the Woman of Samaria who was speaking to him of the difference between the Samaritans and the Jews concerning Religion v. 20. Our Fathers worshipped in this mountain but ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship Christ tells her The time was coming when the worshippers of God should neither be confined to that mountain nor to Jerusalem but men should worship the Father in spirit and in truth when this carnal and ceremonial and typical Worship of God should be exalted into a more spiritual a more real and true and substantial Religion which should not be confined to one Temple but should be universally diffused through the World Now such a Worship as this is most agreeable to the Nature of God for he is a spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth In the words we have First A Proposition laid down God is a spirit Secondly A Corollary or Inference deduced from it they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth I shall speak of the Proposition as that which concerns my present Design and afterward speak something to the Corollary or Inference deduced from it together with some other Inferences drawn from this truth by way of Application First That God is a spirit This expression is singular and not to be parallell'd again in the Scripture indeed we have often mention made in Scripture of the spirit of God and the spirit of the Lord which signifies a Divine Power and Energy and of the holy Spirit signifying the third Person in the Trinity God is call'd the God of the Spirits of all flesh Numb 16.22.27.16 much in the same Sense as he is call'd the Father of Spirits Heb. 12.9 that is the Creator of the Souls of Men but we no where meet with this expression or any other equivalent to it that God is a spirit but only in this place nor had it been used here but to prove that the best Worship of God that which is most proper to him is spiritual so that the thing which our Saviour here intends is not to prove the Spiritual Nature of God but that his Worship ought to be spiritual nor indeed is there any necessity that it should have been any where said in Scripture that God is a spirit it being the natural Notion of a God no more than it is necessary that it should be told us that God is good or that he is infinite and eternal and the like or that the Scripture should prove to us the Being of a God All these are manifest by the Light of Nature and if the Scripture mention them it is ex abundanti and it is usually in order to some further purpose For we are to know that the Scripture supposeth us to be Men and to partake of the common Notions of Human Nature and therefore doth not teach us Philosophy nor solicitously instruct us in those things which are born with us but supposeth the knowledge of these and makes use of these common Principles and Notions which are in us concerning God and the immortality of our Souls and the Life to come to excite us to our Duty and quicken our Endeavours after Happiness For I do not find that the Doctrine of the immortality of the Soul is any where expresly delivered in Scripture but taken for granted in like manner that the Scripture doth not solicitously instruct us in the natural Notions which we have of God but supposeth them known to us and if it mention them it is not so

world which in all probability was added to the former because they supposed that the one was presently to follow the other and therefore the same answer would serve them both and it appears by our Saviour's answer that he was not concerned to rectifie them in this mistake which might be of good use to them both to make them more zealous to propagate the Gospel since there was like to be so little time for it and likewise to wean their affections from this World which they thought to be so near an end One thing indeed our Saviour says which had they not been prepossest with another Opinion does sufficiently intimate that there might be a considerable space of time betwixt the destruction of Jerusalem and the day of Judgment and this we find only in St. Luke Ch. 21.24 where speaking of the Miseries and Calamities that should come upon the Jews he says They shall fall by the edge of the sword and be carried into captivity into all nations and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled So that here were a great many Events foretold betwixt the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the World the accomplishment whereof might take up a great deal of time as appears by the Event of things Jerusalem being at this day still trodden down by the Gentiles and the Jews still continuing disperst over the world but the Disciples it seems did not much mind this being carryed away with a prejudicate conceit that the end of the World would happen before the end of that Age in which they were much confirmed by what our Saviour after his Resurrection said of St. John upon occasion of Peter's question concerning him John 21.21 22. Lord what shall this man do Jesus saith unto him If I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee Upon which words of our Saviour concerning him St. John himself adds v. 23. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren that that disciple should not die that is that he should live till the coming of our Lord and then be taken up with him into Heaven from all which they probably as they thought concluded that the day of Judgment would happen before the end of that Age whilst St. John was alive but St. John who writ last of all the Evangelists as Eusebius tells us and lived till after the destruction of Jerusalem as he acquaints us with this mistake which was currant among the Christians so he takes care to rectifie it telling us That Jesus said not he should not die but if I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee He tells us that our Saviour did not affirm that he should not die but to repress St Peter's Curiosity he says If it were my pleasure that he should not die at all but live till I come to Judgment what is that to thee And St. Peter likewise or whoever was the Author of this second Epistle or at least of this third Chapter which seems to be a new Epistle by it self takes notice of this mistake about the nearness of the day of Judgment as that which gave occasion to these Scoffers to deride the expectation of a future Judgment among the Christians because they had been already deceived about the time of it and this the Scoffers twitted them with in that Question Where is the promise of his coming And therefore the learned Grotius conjectures very probably that this last Epistle contained in the third Chapter was written after the destruction of Jerusalem which was the time fixt for Christ's coming to Judgment and therefore there could be no ground for this Scoff till after that time St. Peter indeed did not live so long and therefore Grotius thinks that this Epistle was writ by Simeon or Simon who was Successor of St. James in the Bishoprick of Jerusalem and lived to the time of Trajan I have been the longer in giving an account of this that we might understand where the ground and force of this Scoff lay namely in this That because the Christians had generally been very confident that the coming of Christ to Judgment would be presently after the destruction of Jerusalem and were now found to be deceived in that therefore there was no regard to be had at all to their expectation of a future Judgment because they might be deceiv'd in that as well as in the other But herein they argued very falsly because our Saviour had positively and peremptorily foretold his coming to Judgment but had never fixt and determined the time of it nay so far was he from that that he had plainly told his Disciples that the precise time of the day of Judgment God had reserved as a Secret to himself which he had not imparted to any no not to the Angels in Heaven nor to the Son himself Mark 13.32 33. But of that day and hour knoweth no man no not the angels which are in heaven neither the Son but the Father Take ye heed watch and pray for ye know not when the time is So that if they presumed to make any conjectures about the time when the day of Judgment would be they did it without any Warrant from our Lord it was great presumption in them to determine the time of it when our Saviour had so expresly told them that the Father had reserved this as a Secret which he had never communicated to any and therefore if they were mistaken about it it was no wonder But their mistake in this was no prejudice to the truth of our Saviour's clear Prediction of a future Judgment without any determination of the time of it for that might be at some thousands of Years distance and yet be certain for all that and the delay of it was no sign of the uncertainty of our Saviour's Prediction concerning it but only of God's great Patience and long-suffering to Sinners in expectation of their Repentance God is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness but is long-suffering to us-ward And this brings me to the Third and last Particular in the Text namely The true Reason of God's Patience and long-suffering to Mankind He is long-suffering to us-ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance And for this St. Peter cites St. Paul v. 15 th of this Chapter And account that the long-suffering of the Lord is salvation that is that the great End and Design of God's goodness and long-suffering to Sinners is that they may repent and be saved Account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you Now these words are not expresly found in St. Paul's Writings but the Sense and Effect of them is viz. in Rom. 2.4 Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering not knowing that the

Church with it and make it a ground of separation from her 3. If God be a Spirit then we should worship him in spirit and in truth This is the Inference of the Text and therefore I shall speak a little more largely of it only I must explain what is meant by worshiping in spirit and in truth and shew you the force of this Consequence how it follows that because God is a Spirit therefore he must be worship'd in spirit and in truth 1 st For the explication of it This word Spirit is sometimes apply'd to the Doctrine of the Gospel and so it is opposed to Letter by which Name the Doctrine of Moses is called 2 Cor. 3.6 Who hath made us able Ministers of the new Testament not of the letter but of the spirit not of the Law which was written in Tables of Stone but which Christ by his Spirit writes in the Hearts of Believers Sometimes to the worship of the Gospel and so it is opposed to the Flesh Gal. 3.3 Having begun in the spirit are ye now made perfect by the flesh that is by the works of the ceremonial Law which is therefore call'd Flesh because the principal ceremony of it Circumcision was made in the Flesh and because their Sacrifices a chief part of their Worship were of the Flesh of Beasts and because the greatest part of their Ordinances as washing and the like related to the Body Hence it is the Apostle calls the worship of the Jews the law of a carnal commandment Heb. 7.16 and Heb. 9.10 Carnal Ordinances speaking of the Service of the Law which saith he stood in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances Now in opposition to this carnal and ceremonial Worship we are to worship God in the Spirit The Worship of the Jews was most a bodily service but we are to give God a reasonable service to serve him with the spirit of our minds as the Apostle speaks instead of offering the flesh of bulls and goats we are to consecrate our selves to the service of God this is a holy and acceptable sacrifice or reasonable service And in truth Either in opposition to the false Worship of the Samaritans as in spirit is opposed to the Worship of the Jews as our Saviour tells the Woman that they worship'd they knew not what or which I rather think in opposition to the shadows of the Law and so it is opposed John 1.17 The Law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ Not that the external Service of God is here excluded not that we are to show no outward reverence to him but that as under the Law the Service of God was chiefly external and corporeal so now it should chiefly be inward and spiritual the Worship of God under the Gospel should chiefly be spiritual and substantial not a carnal and bodily and ceremonious Devotion 2 dly For the force of the Consequence it doth not lie in this that just such as God is such must our Worship of him be for this would exclude all bodily and outward worship our Worship of God must therefore be invisible eternal c. for so is he and besides the Will of God seems rather to be the rule of his Worship than his Nature but the force of it is this God is of a spiritual Nature and this is to be supposed to be his Will that our Worship should be as agreable to the Object of it as the nature of the Creature who is to give it will bear now saith Christ to the Woman the Jews and the Samaritans they limit their Worship to a certain place and it consists chiefly in certain carnal Rites and Ordinances but saith he tho' God have permitted this for a time because of the carnality and hardness of their hearts yet the time is coming when a more spiritual and solid and substantial Worship of God is to be introduced which will be free from all particular Places and Rites not tyed to the Temple or to such external Ceremonies but consisting in the devotion of our Spirits even the inward frame and temper of our Hearts all outward Circumstances excepting those of the two Sacraments which are positive being left by the Gospel to as great a liberty as natural necessity and decency will permit We must worship God and therefore it is naturally necessary that we should do it somewhere in some place now seeing some body must determine this it is most convenient that Authority should determine it according to the conveniency of cohabitation We must not be rude nor do any thing that is naturally undecent in the Worship of God this Authority should restrain but further than this I doubt not but the Gospel hath left us free and to this end that the less we are tied to external Observances the more intent we should be upon the spiritual and substantial parts of Religion the conforming of our selves to the Mind and Will of God endeavouring to be like God and to have our Souls and Spirits ingaged in those Duties we perform to him So that our Saviour's argument is this God is a Spirit that is the most excellent Nature and Being and therefore must be served with the best We consist of Body and Soul 't is true and we must serve him with our whole Man but principally with our Souls which are the most excellent Part of our selves the Service of our Mind and Spirit is the best we can perform and therefore most agreeable to God who is a Spirit and the best and most perfect Being So that the Inference is this that if God be a Spirit we must worship him in spirit and in truth our Religion must be real and inward and sincere and substantial we must not think to put off God with external observances and with bodily reverence and attendance this we must give him but we must principally regard that our Service of him be reasonable that is directed by our Understandings and accompanied with our Affections Our Religion must consist principally in a sincere love and affection to God which expresseth it self in a real conformity of our lives and actions to his Will and when we make our solemn approaches to him in the Duties of his Worship and Service we must perform all acts of outward Worship to God with a pure and sincere Mind whatever we do in the Service of God we must do it heartily as to the Lord. God is a pure Spirit present to our Spirits intimate to our Souls and conscious to the most secret and retired motions of our Hearts now because we serve the Searcher of Hearts we must serve him with our Hearts Indeed if we did worship God only to be seen of Men a pompous and external Worship would be very suitable to such an end but Religion is not intended to please Men but God and therefore it must be spiritual and inward and real And where-ever the external part of Religion