Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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B09543
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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 ...
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Moodey, Joshua, 1633?-1697.
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1691
(1691)
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Wing M2522; ESTC W24941
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19,180
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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 â—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
all Grace takes away all occasion of boasting There are some actings of pride in the best to their shame and confusion of face when they reflect thereupon but usually or mostly they are false in their Worship that trust to it and of them it may be said they trust to a Refuge of Lies and under falshood do they hide themselves Isa 28. 15. Because all their Worship is so Were our Services never so good yet if trusted in when we have done them we make a lye an Idol of them and shall find them to be a lye to us much more when there is so much dâ—ceit attending the best of our doings and so much lameness leanness and deformity in the chiefest of our Sacrifices 3. Hence see also the reason why God is angry oft times at the Prayers of his People viz. because he haâ—es lying of which he finds so much in them Psal 80. 4 And hence there is so little success in praying so few Answers of their Prayers Those that are lying Services to God will be lying Services to us also nothing will come of them but Provocation and Punishment We know that God heareth not Sinners Joh. 9. 31. Lyars and Deceiters as they shall not dwell with him Psal 101. 7. so neither shall their Services come before him with Acceptance Let none of us that are conscious to our selves of a great deal of that Guilt in our Services quarrel with God and say Wherefore have we fasted and thou seest not Isa 58. 3. That Context will answer them and us and this Text will stop our mouths It 's said Hab. 3. 7. The labour of the Olive fails it is in the Hebrew lies i. e. their labour about the Olive in planting pruning dressing from which they expect some fruit produces nothing nothing comes of it so will the labour of such a Worshipper prove his Prayer was a lye to God and it is very just it should be â—ound a lye to him USE II. Of Conviction Let this Doctrine also be improved unto Conviction and upon due serious and strict Examination Conviction will follow Is there not too too much of this lying Worship to be found among us Here is a great deal of worship and many Worshippers And those Worshippers that seek God daily and approach into his presence frequently are either Regenerate or Unregenerate for we may not believe that all outward Worshippers are inwardly sincere Now as to the Vnregenerate especially if they are so knowingly and continue so contentedly all their worship is a meer lye all their devotion is a meer cheat and so an abomination unto God they do nothing else but beleagure and beset him with lies are always fighting God with their lies and many perhaps the Body of Israel whom the Lord thus treats in the Text were such As to the Regenerate they are not wholly freed from this way of lying there are some Remains of Guile and Hypocrisie which like dead flies are dropping into and corrupting the Oyntment or Incense of their best Performances And for our Conviction let us look back on the particular Instances given in the several parts of Worship besides what further Reflections every diligent curious self-examiner may make upon himself Think with our selves what a Trade of lying we have driven with God how many of those Abominations we have wrought in his sight how many plain lyes we have told him to his face and let us be vile in our own eyes in that we have so often done that which is so vile in his The Lord expects very deep Humiliation for our so great and frequent Dissimulation in his Worship whatever Infirmities God may bear withal in his Children he will not tolerate lying in them dealing falsely in his Worship we must very particularly repent of and reform USE III. Let this serve for a word of solemn Dehortation from this great and frequent sin that is so commonly found in the midst of us Oh all ye VVorshippers of God be perswaded to put away your lying and let your deceit no longer lodg with you Do not come to the House of God to tell him a pack of lies from day to day Trouble him with no more deceitful and vain oblations for shame leave off lying Paul charges them Eph 4. 25. with Col. 3. 9. to put away lying one to another But this Doctrine presents us with a more solemn and necessary charge and that which if taken notice of and complied with would curge the other Lye not to the God of Truth Eli was mistaken when he said to Hannae 1. Sam. 1. 14. How long wilt thou be drunk put away thy Wine But alass that there should be such just cause to say to many VVorshippers in the House of God How long will you tell 〈◊〉 in Gods VVorship put away your deceit from you so inforce this Disswasive Let us consider 1. The Greatness of the sin 2. The â—oreness of the punishment 3. The good of performing true Worship in a right and sincere manner 1. The greatness of the sin 1. It is Lying And I need say no more It 's a sin though so generally practised yet every where spoken against It is a sin which mans corrupt nature is dreadfully addicted to they go astray from the Womb speaking lies Psal 58. 3. And yet it is a sin condemned by the light of nature condemned by the verdict of every mans Conscience that is not blinded or bribed asleep or seared Men hate to be imposed upon with lies and will be more ready to forgive a very great fault than a little one when aggravated with lying It 's reckoned among the seven Abominations that the Lord hates Prov. 6 16. â—0 yea and accounted big enough to make two of the seven if not three of tâ—em though in a different sense 2. But more than so it 's lying to God and that sin cost Ananias and Sapphird their lives Act. 5 4 c. And it 's no small wonder of Patience and Long-suffering that the Lord makes no more such Examples among the great Troops of lying Worshippers that compass him every day especially considering what a jealous God he is in point of Worship To have a Company of Hypocrites come before God from time to time only to fill his ears with lies must needs be highly provoking and it is very strange that the Angel of the Lord is not sent forth to make them all dead Corpses Spiritual Judgments are doubtless secretly inflicted upon them which are the more dreadful because the less observable 3. It 's rank Atheism nor could men persist in such a course if they did realize the Being of God or had not in their own imaginations framed to themselves a God like themselves According to our sentiments of God in our Hearts so are our Carriages toward him in his Worship Deceitful Worshiping of him speaks us very much deceived in our Conceptions about him 4. It iâ— extream insolence daring boldness and