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CONTENTS OF VOL. III.

OF THE WORSHIP OF GOD, 1. Of the Object of Worship, 1. Of Internal

Worship, 6. Of the Knowledge of God, 12. Of Repentance, 25. Of the

Fear of God, 37. Of Faith in God and Christ,

in God, 71. Of Hope, 82. Of Love, 94.

Peace of Mind, 123. Of Contentment, 129.

Of Humility, 151. Of Self-Denial, 157.
God, 165. Of Patience, 172. Of Christian Fortitude, 177. Of Zeal, 184.
Of Wisdom and Prudence, 192. Of Godly Sincerity, 198. Of Spiritual
Mindedness, 204. Of a Good Conscience, 211. Of Communion with God, 217.

BOOK I.

OF THE WORSHIP OF GOD, OR PRACTICAL RELIGION.

OF THE OBJECT OF WORSHIP.

HAVE, in the former part of this Work, proved there is a God, from the light of nature and reason, from the works of creation, &c. and now my business is to shew that this God is to be worshipped; I have treated of the nature, perfections, and attributes of God, which are the foundation of the worship of him; and now I shall treat of worship itself. I have considered the various works of God, the works of creation, providence, and grace; and these may be used as so many arguments to engage us to divine worship, or as so many reasons why we should glorify God with our bodies and spirits, which are his; or in other words, worship him both internally and externally: and I shall begin with the object of worship, for which we have a plain direction, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve, Matt. ix. 10. Two things are to be observed and considered,-That the Lord God is the object of worship.-That he alone is the object of worship, to the exclusion of

all others.

I. The object of worship is the Lord God, God essentially and personally

considered.

1. God essentially considered, or as considered in his nature and essence which is the foundation of worship, The Lord is to be worshipped; the Lord who is the one Jehovah, and whose name alone is Jehovah, Deut. vi. 4. Psal. lxxxiii. 18. The word Lord in the New Testament, answers to Jehovah in the Old, a name expressive of the existence or being of God, and of him as the fountain of being, and the author of being to all others; who is the everlasting I am, which is, and which was, and which is to come; these words of John are a proper decyphering of the word Jehovah, or the I am that I am in Exod. iii. 14. Now he whose essence is simple, uncompounded, immutable, infinite, eternal, &c. is to be worshipped, even the Lord thy God, thy Creator, thy Benefactor, thy Supporter and Preserver. Thus the apostle describes the proper object of worship unknown to the Athenians, as he who made the world, and all things in it; and gives life, and breath, and all things to his creatures;

VOL. II.

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and in whom they live, move, and have their being, Acts xvii 23-28. Thus Jacob invoked God, which to do is a part of religious worship, who had fed him all his life long to that day, Gen xlviii. 15. David says, his prayer, which is a part of worship, should be to the God of his life, who had given him life and upheld him in it, Psal. xlii. 8. hê who is the true God, the living God, and the everlasting King, is the object of worship; the true God, in distinction from nominal gods, from such who are falsely so called; the living God, in distinction from idols of gold and silver, the work of men's hands, lifeless statues, in whom there is no breath; but the true God, and who is to be worshipped, has life in and of himself, originally and underivatively, and is the fountain and giver of life to others, and from everlasting to everlasting he is God. He is by nature God; there are some who are not so, and therefore not to be served and worshipped, Gal. iv. 8. but God is a spirit, is of spiritual nature, and to be worshipped in spirit and in truth; his nature is most perfect, has all perfections in it, though there is no finding him out unto perfection; his nature is infinite and incomprehensible, beyond all conception and thought, beyond all words and expressions, exalted above all blessing and praise. The name of God, the very first name by which he is called in scripture, Elohim, Gen. i. 1. implies worship, and that he is to be worshipped who created the heavens and the earth," for it comes from a word which signifies to worship. And to this the apostle see:ns to allude when he says that Antichrist exalts himself above that is called God, or that is worshipped, intimating that the name of God signifies relaσμa, the object of worship, 2 Thess. ii. 4.

11. God personally considered, or God considered in the three persons, is the object of worship. The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one, are one God, and so equally the object of divine worship.

2. The Father, of whom Christ expressly says, that men shall worship the Father, John iv. 21, 23. and of the propriety of this there can be no doubt, since his Deity is not denied by any, and was it, they would easily be confronted; he is expressly called God the Father, Phil. ii. 11. and sometimes God even the Father, 1 Cor. xv. 23. 2 Cor. i. 3. all the perfections of Deity are attributed to him, as immutability, eternity, &c. and the works of creation, providence, and grace; and he has undoubtedly a proper claim of worship from his creatures, and accordingly worship is given to him, and acts of it are exercised on him, Baptism, which is a solemn act of religious worship under the New Testamentdispensation, is administered in his name; and his name stands first in the form of it, Baptizing in the name of the Father, &c. which signifies not only its being done by his authority and command, but the persons, by submission to it, devote themselves to him, profess to be his, and lay themselves hereby under an obligation to serve him; and because to do this in the name of a creature would be idolatry and irreligion, the apostle Paul was thankful that he had baptized no more of the Corinthians than he had, when he found they were for setting him up as the head of a party among them, lest they should think they were baptized

in his name. Prayer is another part of divine and religious worship, which is made to the Father, and indeed is generally made to him; the access and address are most frequently to him, not but that they may be equally made to the other two persons as will be presently seen, but the reason why they are usually made to him, is because he bears no office, whereas the others do, and an office which is concerned in the business of prayer. Christ is the mediator through whom the access is, and in whose name the petition is put up; and the Spirit is the spirit of supplication, by whose aid and assistance prayer is made: the whole of this may be observed in one passage; for through him, through Chris the mediator, we both, Jews and Gentiles, have an access at the throne of grace by one spirit, who helps and assists us in our supplications, unto the Father, the Father of Christ, and of us, Eph. ii. 18. and it is easy to observe, that at the beginning of many of the epistles such a prayer or wish is made, as Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, as distinguished from the Lord Jesus Christ; which is a petition for grace, an increase of grace, and all necessary supplies of it, and for all spiritual prosperity and happiness. Thanksgiving, another act of religious worship, which is sometimes included in prayer, and sometimes performed as a distinct part of worship, is made to the Father." Giving thanks always for all things, unto God and the Father, the Father of Christ and of us in him, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Eph. v. 20. Acts of faith, hope, and love, which are acts of worship, are exercised on him; Ye believe in God, that is, in God the Father, John xiv. 1. who raised Christ from the dead; that the faith and hope of saints might be in God the Father, who raised him from thence, 1 Pet. i. 21. and where those graces are, love is, and is exercised on the same object; and as the Father was the object of Christ's love as man and mediator, so he is the object of the love of those that believe in him, John xiv. 31.

2. The Word, or Son of God, is also the object of worship; He is thy Lord, and worship theu him, Psal. xlv. 11. yea he is to be worshipped with the same sort of worship, and to be honoured with the same degree of honour the Father is, John v. 23. for he is the Lord, the Jehovah, thy God, as Thomas said, My Lord, and my God; the mighty God, the great God, God over ail, the truel God and eternal life; who has the same perfections his Father has; and the same works his Father does are done by him, Col. ii. 9. John v. 19. and therefore to be worshipped with the same worship, and so he is. Baptism is administered in his name equally as in the Father's, Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, &c. and sometimes his name only is mentioned, Acts x. 48. and xix. 5. Prayer, which is an act of worship, is made to him; it s said, Prayer shall be made for him continually; it may as well be rendered, as some think, Prayer shall be made to him continually, Psal. 1xxii. 15. Invocation of his name, which is a part of religious worship, is spoken of him; his disciples and followers are sometimes described by those that called upon his name, Acts ix. 14. 1 Cor. i. 2. and it may be observed, that in the beginning of many

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