Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	holy_a	spirit_n	worship_v	3,077	5	9.0447	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

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

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

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

adversity as his only support and present help in time of trouble And this is a sure Indication that these men after all their endeavours to impose upon themselves have not been able wholly to extinguish in their Minds the belief of God and his Goodness nay it is a sign that at the bottom of their Hearts they have a firm perswasion of his goodness when after all their insolent defiance of him they have the Confidence to apply themselves to him for mercy and help in time of need and therefore our Hearts ought to rise with indignation against those who go about to perswade the belief of a thing so prejudicial to our Interest to take away the Light of our eyes and the Breath of our nostrils and to rob us of all the Comfort and Support which the belief of an infinite Power conducted by infinite Wisdom and Goodness is apt to afford to Mankind II. We should take great care of perverting and abusing this great goodness by vain Confidence and Presumption This is a Provocation of an high Nature which the Scripture calls turning the grace of God into wantonness making that an encouragement to Sin which is one of the strongest Arguments in the world against it God is infinitely good and merciful but we must not therefore think that he is fond and indulgent to our faults but on the contrary because he is good he cannot but hate evil So the Scripture every where tells us that He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity that the face of the Lord is against them that do evil he is not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness neither shall evil dwell with him the foolish shall not stand in his fight he hateth all the workers of iniquity He is ready to shew Mercy to those who are qualified for it by Repentance and resolution of a better Course but as long as we continue impenitent God is implacable and will deal with us according to the tenor of his Laws and the desert of our Doings Despair is a great Sin but Presumption is a greater Despair doubts of the goodness of God but Presumption abuseth it Despair disbelieves but Presumption perverts the best thing in the world to a quite contrary purpose from what it was intended III. The consideration of God's goodness is a mighty comfort and relief to our Minds under all our Fears and Troubles Great are the Fears and Jealousies of many devout Minds concerning God's Love to them and their everlasting Condition which are commonly founded in one of these two causes a melancholy Temper or mistaken Notions and Apprehensions of God and very often these two meet together and hinder the cure and removal of one another Melancholy as it is an effect of bodily temper is a Disease not to be cured by Reason and Argument but by Physick and Time but the mistakes which men have entertained concerning God if they be not set on and heightned by Melancholy as many times they are may be rectified by a true representation of the goodness of God confirmed by Reason and Scripture Many good Men have had very hard and injurious Thoughts of God instill'd into them from Doctrines too commonly taught and received as if he did not sincerely desire the happiness of his Creatures but had from all Eternity decreed to make the greatest part of Mankind with a secret purpose and design to make them miserable and consequently were not serious and in good earnest in his Invitations and Exhortations of Sinners to Repentance and it is no wonder if such Jealousies as these concerning God make Men doubtful whether God love them and very scrupulous and anxious about their everlasting condition I have already told you that these harsh Doctrines have no manner of Foundation either in Reason or Scripture that God earnestly desires our Happiness and affords us sufficient Means to that End that he bears a more hearty good will to us than any Man does to his Friend or any Father upon Earth ever did to his dearest Child in comparison of which the greatest Affection of Men to those whom they love best is but as the drop of the Bucket as the very small dust upon the Balance If we have right apprehensions of God's goodness we can have no temptation to despair of his kind and merciful Intentions to us provided we be but careful of our Duty to him and do sincerely repent and forsake our Sins Plainer Declarations no words can make than those we meet with in the holy Scriptures That God hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live that he would have all Men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth that he is long suffering to us-ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance that he that confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall have mercy that if the wicked forsake his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts and return unto the Lord he will have mercy and will abundantly pardon As for outward Calamities and Afflictions the consideration of God's goodness is a firm ground of consolation to us giving us assurance that God will either prevent them by his Providence or support us under them or rescue us out of them or turn them to our greater good and happiness in this World or the next St. Paul speaks of it as the firm belief and perswasion of all good Men that in the issue all their Afflictions should prove to their advantage We know says he that all things shall work together for good to them that love God and one of the greatest Evidences of our love to God is a firm belief and perswasion of his goodness if we believe his goodness we cannot but love him and if we love him all things shall work together for our good And this is a great Cordial to those who are under grievous Persecutions and Sufferings This Sermon was preach'd before the late happy Revolution which is the case of our Brethren in a neighbour Nation and may come to be ours God knows how soon But tho' the malice of Men be great and backt with a power not to be control'd by any visible means and therefore likely to continue yet the goodness of God is greater than the malice of Men and of a longer duration and continuance And thus David comforted himself when he was persecuted by Saul Psal 52.1 Why boasteth thou thy self in mischief O mighty man the goodness of God endureth continually The Persecution which Saul raised against him was very powerful and lasted a long time but he comforts himself with this that the goodness of God endures for ever IV. The consideration of God's goodness is a powerful motive and argument to several Duties 1. To the love of God And this is the most proper and natural effect and operation of the goodness of God upon our Minds Several of