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A53323 A sermon preach'd in St. Paul's cathedral before the Lord-Mayor, aldermen, &c. on Sunday, October 23, 1698 by Edward Oliver ... Oliver, Edward, d. 1732. 1698 (1698) Wing O272; ESTC R17592 7,965 28

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so does our Saviour frame his Answer as to declare the Worship of the Jews preferable to that of the Samaritans and consequently Jerusalem to Mount Gerizim but adds that the whole Question will henceforth cease while both their Religions were to be abolish'd the one as False the other as Imperfect The Samaritan's false because mix'd with Idolatry wherefore our Saviour says Ye worship ye know not what v. 22. The Jew's though it must be allow'd true because he adds We worship what we know yet to be abolish'd because weak and imperfect Neither in this mountain shall ye worship because Idolatry shall cease as the Prophets foretold And the Lord alone shall he exalted in that day Isa 2.18 and the Idols he shall utterly abolish Nor in Jerusalem because Sacrifice and Oblations he will no longer accept but a third and perfect Worship should be establish'd for the hour comes and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him v. 23. In which Answer of our Blessed Saviour the Deficiency of both the former Religions and the Excellency of that which was to succeed is plainly set forth For the worship of the Samaritans was not in Truth but abounded with Errors and Ignorance That of the Jews was not in Spirit but consisted in Bodily Observances and Outward Ceremonies which were but Shadows of things to come and it was only the Christians that could henceforth be true Worshippers whilst their Religion alone was endued with what the others were deficient in viz. Spirit and Truth Nor could any other Religion than this be proper to be establish'd no other being agreeable to the Nature and true Notion of a God and this in the Text is given as the fundamental reason why the others were abolish'd and this introduc'd God is a Spirit c. And that the Christian Religion is thus agreeable to the Nature of God I shall endeavour to shew by declaring what is here requir'd of us I. By worshipping in Spirit And II. In Truth And by the way shall take notice of such as deviate from this Worship Which I desire may serve as an Application of the Discourse since 't is all which I fear your Patience will permit me to make And I. I am to show what is meant by Worshipping God in Spirit 1. Then do we worship him in Spirit when we are possess'd with a true and lively sense of his Divine Majesty Power and Rule over us humbly acknowledge his unspeakable Goodness so adore his Infinite Wisdom which searches our hearts that we in all things submit to his All-wise Will When we love him with all our Hearts and all our Souls and yet fear and reverence him as a Father and with the greatest chearfulness obey whatsoever he has been pleas'd to command us When we not only give up our Souls pure and spotless but keep our Bodies too fit Temples for the Holy Ghost and thus join'd offer up our selves one Reasonable Service For when we have once this true and awful Notion of the Almighty we must and shall exert our selves in acts of Piety and publick Testimonies of Devotion Express our Sense of his Power and Rule by our daily Supplications our Acknowledgments of his Goodness by our continual Praises our Love by our Charity to our Neighbours and Zeal for his Worship and Service our Fear by our abstaining from the least appearance of Evil lest we offend so gracious a Father And all this with Humility and Reverence Decency and Order with Obedience to Authority and respect to those whom he has set over Us These being most certain and spiritual Duties nay the only things wherein we are capable of testifying that we really do worship Him in spirit And once come up to these just and awful Thoughts of the Divine Majesty which produce such true acts of Devotion and Piety How agreeable to his Nature must be this our Sacrifice how much beyond whatever the policy of the wisest Heathen could invent nay even what he himself instituted in the Jewish Religion God is a Spirit That is a Being Incorporeal and Immaterial his Worship therefore ought to be like Himself refin'd and spiritual and to deduce its Source from the Reason and Soul of Man not to consist barely in outward Acts and Things meerly Corporeal 'T is confess'd God had permitted nay commanded such a Worship under the Old Law but this was only Temporary and fitted for a People carnal and stiff-neck'd but now the fulness of time was come it no longer suited the Divine Majesty he therefore commands a Worship more Real and Divine If therefore our Actions do not proceed from the Heart and Soul that is from a lively Faith fervent Love and sincere Principles of Holiness they can't be acceptable to God nor is this our Worship agreeable to his Nature But if they take their Rise from the Heart then are they a spiritual Worship for thus are they spiritual in their Original Source and Cause and bear some proportion even with the Almighty himself who is a Spirit And this I take to be the true meaning of worshipping in spirit How grossly then do they err who would make all Religion to consist in Notion and Talk and frame to themselves a Worship that should have nothing of reality in it but at once mock both God and Man These are they that are above Ordinances and all manner of Rule guided by Fancy and a frantick Zeal which they put on to deceive the giddy Multitude with a noise of Holiness who think it enough to vent and boast their Notions of the Power and Excellency of Faith but never take care to shew it by their Works nay esteem the pressing of them as necessary to Salvation nothing less than Superstition and Popery that will talk of Love to God and Familiarity with the Person of Christ and yet forget their Obedience to the Magistrates whom he has set over them and hate back-bite and slander their Neighbour that pretend to the greatest Zeal for God's glory yet are so far from abhorring Sacriledge that 't is one great Mark of their Godliness Blessed God! If these be the effects of spiritual Worship we have chang'd for the worse and are much farther from Heaven than the Jew or Samaritan Others there are that go not so far yet urge this Text against all manner of Ceremonies and prescrib'd Forms of Devotion Are we say they to worship him in spirit what means then this Show and outward Pomp this Rubrick and these Forms Shall we again be bound up with Jewish Slavery Are we not promis'd the Assistance of the Spirit and shall Christ dye in vain to free us We willingly confess that the Worship under the Gospel is more refin'd and spiritual than that under the Law but that it should be wholly so debarr'd of all outward Ceremonies we affirm to be against the Practice of all Ages nay