Page images
PDF
EPUB

3. He cannot be felt, because no Body.

OBJECT. Act. xvii. 27.

RESP. We cannot feel God himself, but by his Creatures, Rom. i. 19, 20.

4. He is invisible, or cannot be feen, Job ix. 11. I Job. iv. 12. No Man can fee him, Exod. xxxiii. 29. 1 Tim. vi. 16.

REASON.

God hath no Body, Shape, nor Colour, and we cannot fee our Souls.

OBJECT. God appeared to Abraham, Gen. xviii. i. and to Ifrael, Deut. v. 24. and others.

RESP. Not in any outward Shape, but only by fome Manifeftations of his Glory, and fpe

cial Prefence to them.

OBJECT. We fhall fee God, 1 Job. iii. 2. I Cor. xiii. 1.2..

[ocr errors]

RESP. With our Soul, not Bodily Eyes: Job faith, He fhall behold God, Job xix. 26. That is, God the Son in our Nature, not in his own Divine Effence.

[ocr errors]

Queft. 2. In what Senfe is God to be worshipped in
Spirit and in Truth?

Not as if no external Rites were now to be ufed in his Worfhip. Chrift himfelf lift up his Eyes to Heaven, Job. xvii. i. He kneeled down,

Luke

Luke xxii. 41. Yea, fell on his Face, Matt.

xxvi. 39.

St. Paul kneeled, Eph. iii. 14. A&. xxi. 5. Confeffing, Praying, Praising: Then the Sacraments are external Rites, yet neceffary to be ufed.

We are therefore to worship in Spirit and in Truth. That is,

1. Not with Types or Shadows of Things to come as in the Old Teftament, but according to the Truth of them exhibited in the New, Job. i. 17. c. xvii. 17.

Οὐ διὰ συμβόλων και τύπων, ἀλλ ̓ ἡ φησιν ὁ Σωτὴς, ἐν πνενματι καὶ αληθεία. Eufeb.

2. Not under any bodily Shape, because he is a Spirit.

The Samaritans here fpoken of worshipped 'him under the Reprefentation of a Dove, upon Mount Garizin: Hence their Worship is called 1, Strange Worship, by the Jews.

This was not to worship in Truth, Rom. i. 23, 25.

But we are to worship God only as a Spirit, and fo truly, not entertaining our grofs Conceits, or making any Picture or Image of him, Deut. iv. 14, 15, 16,

3. We are to Worship him, not only with external, but likewife with internal Worfhip.

1. By performing all our Devotions with our Minds as well as Bodies to him, I Cor. xiv. 15.

2. By preferring him in our Judgments before all Things elfe. Pfal. lxxiii. 25.

3. By fubmitting and bowing our Wills to his, Luk. xxii. 42.

4. By putting our Truft and Confidence always in him, Pfal. xxxvii. 3, 4, 5, 6.

5. By Devoting our Selves wholly to his Service, and to the Obedience of his Commands, 1 Sam. XV. 22.

USE.

Worship God thus in Spirit and Truth.
Confider,

1. This is the only Worship that is acceptable in his Sight, Ifa. i. 11, 12.

2. That is agreeable to his Nature; for he is a Spirit, and knows the Heart, Ezek. xxxiii. 3 1.

DEUT.

DEUT. vi. 4.

Hear, O Ifrael, The Lord our God is one Lord.

W doth it appear that there is but

Queft. 1. How do ?

one

1. From Scripture, Deut. iv. 35. Pfal. xviii. 31. Ifa.xliv. 6,8. Ifa.xlvi. 9. Eph.iv. 6. 1Cor. viii.4,6.

Maimonid,בעולם אחר שאין ייחור אחר כמותו

2. From Reafon. Even from the Effential Properties of God, which can belong but to One: As there can be,

1. But One infinite Being.

2. One chiefest Good.

3. One Omnipotent. If One can do all Things, What can there be for any other to do?

4. One, One Being of Beings, from whom all other Beings proceed, and upon whom they depend.

5. We are commanded to love this One Lord with all our Hearts, Deut. vi. 5. Mark xii. 29, 30.

Veritas Chriftiana diftinctè pronunciat Deus fi non
unus eft non eft. Tertuli.

The Heathen Philofophers faw this by the
Light of Nature.

Unus non numero fed univerfitate. Ruff.

Queft. 2. Why then is God in Scripture ufually called by a Name of the Plural Number, as here,

and ברא אלהים 6 יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחר

frequently elsewhere?

Το

To denote, That tho' there is but One God, there is a Plurality of Perfons, every One of which is this One God.

The firft Plural Number is Three; and therefore a Trinity feems to be implied in the Word.

Queft. 3. What ground bave we to believe this great Mystery, that there are Three Perfons in the Godhead?

This cannot be proved from Reason, but only from Scripture.

1.From the Old Testament,Gen.i. 1,2,3. Pfal.xxxiii.

,הוה המטירו מאת יהוה .24 .Gen. xix .6,26

2 Sam. xxiii. 2. Numb.vi. 24,25,26. Ifa. vi. 3. 2. From the New Teftament, Matt. iii. 16, 17. Pater auditur in voce, filius manifeftatur in carne, Sp. S. dignofcitur in columbd. Auguft.

Voce Pater, natus corpore, flamen ave.

Matt. xxviii. 19. Job. xiv. 26. c. xv, 26. c. xvi. 13, 14. Luk. i. 35. 2 Cor. xiii. 14. 1 Job. v. 7..

This further appears, in that the Scripture afferts Three Perfons to be God.

1. The Father.

2. The Son.

Job. i. 1, 2. where 'tis faid he made all
Things; as Col. i. 14, 15, 16.

Job. xx. 28.

Act. xx. 28.
1 Tim. iii. 16.
I Job. V. 20.
Roin. ix. 5.
Phil. ii. 6, 7.

3. The Holy Ghoft is alfo plainly afferted to

be God.

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors]
« PreviousContinue »