SERM. Lord, that is, the Angel of his Prefence, V. the great Messenger of his Covenant;

as

our Saviour is ftiled, Mal. iii. 1. and Gal. iv. 14. And This, 'tis very probable, was not altogether unknown to thofe eminent Prophets under the Old Teftament, to whom God was pleased to reveal himself more diftinctly; that the person who appeared to Adam in Paradise, was that second Adam who is the Lord from Heaven ; that the Lord who talked familiarly with Abraham, was He whofe day Abraham earneftly defired to fee, and he faw it and was glad, Joh. viii. 56. and that the Lord who fpake to Mofes face to face, as a Man talketh with bis friend, was He in whom at length was fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, by whom was revealed openly Grace and Truth, Joh. i. 17.

3dly, As by God's being a Spirit, is meant that he has no human, or other bodily fhape: fo thereby is not meant, that he is such a Spirit as are the Souls of Men. For the word, Spirit, does not fignify, as the word, Body, does; one only determinate fort or kind of Beings; But, thro' the defect of Language, and alfo for want of more diftinct Notions,

we

V.

we by one common Name call every Be- SER M. ing a Spirit, which is not Body; though probably fome of those Intelligent Natures we call Spirits, are as much fuperiour to, and different from, other Spirits, as those others are different from Matter or Body. When therefore we affirm God to be a Spirit, we must not thereby mean only to distinguish him from Bodily Subftance; but, in like manner as our Soul, by very great Proportion excels the Body, in the fuperiour Powers of Life, Understanding, Knowledge, Activity, and the like; fo we must conceive of Him, as of a Being excelling in an infinitely higher proportion, not only the Souls of Mex, but alfo all other Intellectual Natures or Spirits whatsoever.

4thly and Laftly, WHEN we affirm that God is a Spirit, we must thereby underftand that he is abfolutely and perfectly Juch; that is, that he is wholly void of all thofe Paffions, Affections, and Commotions, fuch as Love, Hatred, Anger, Grief, Repentance, and the like, which are the Properties of embodied Spirits: And that He, determining all his Actions, with in

SER M. finite Calmnefs and undisturbed Serenity V. in Himself, according to the Rules of per

fect Right and unerring Reason; has these Paffions of Mind afcribed to him in Scripture, only after the fame figurative manner of speaking as the Senfitive Organs of the Body likewife are; because thereby to Us are beft reprefented fuch Actions of His, as in their Effect upon other things, not in their nature within Him, bear some Analogy to the like Paffions or Affections in Us.

HAVING thus at large explained, what is meant by God's being a Spirit; or how we are to underftand That Attribute of the divine Nature, which we call his Spirituality: It remains that I proceed now in the

IId place to confider, what our confequent Duty is, of worshipping him accordingly in Spirit and in Truth. And This phrafe plainly fignifies, worshipping him with the real Subftantial Worship of the Heart and Mind, in oppofition to mere ceremonial and external Forms; worshipping him in a Manner, worthy of God; with the inward fincere Devotion of the

Soul

A

V.

Soul and Affections, evidencing itself in SER M.
the whole Life and Converfation by the
true and acceptable Fruits of Obedience
and Imitation. This is worshipping God
in Spirit and in Truth. But more particu-
larly; The full and diftinct Meaning of
this Phrafe, will beft be understood, by
confidering what are in Scripture the con-
trary Characters, to which Spirit and
Truth are fet in oppofition. Now Spirit
is fometimes oppofed literally to the Body,
and fometimes 'tis oppofed figuratively to
Fleshly or Carnal Ordinances. Truth al-

fo in like manner is opposed fometimes
literally to Falfebcod, and fometimes fi-
guratively to Types or Shadows. Confe-
quently worshipping God in Spirit, when
'tis opposed to worshipping him with the
Body only, fignifies Sincerity, as opposed
to Hypocrify; and when 'tis opposed to
Flesh or carnal Ordinances, then it fignifies
Morality or real Holiness, in oppofition to
ritual or ceremonial performances. In like
manner; worshipping God in Truth, when
'tis opposed to Falfe Worship, fignifies
worshipping him according to the rules
of the true Religion, in oppofition to Ido-

latry;

SER M. latry; and when 'tis opposed to Types or V. Figures, then Truth likewife fignifies, as Spirit did before, Morality or real Holinefs, in oppofition to ritual or ceremonial performances. This precept therefore, of worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth, is tranfgreffed, 1ft, by all Idolaters, who are guilty of False worship, in opposition to the Truth; and 2dly, by all thofe, who placing the chief of Religion in external Forms and Ceremonies, which may be performed without True Virtue, worship God (as the Scripture expreffes it) in the Flesh and not in the Spirit.

I. THEY are guilty of tranfgreffing this Precept in the highest and most prefumptuous manner, who fet up Falfe and Idolatrous worship, in oppofition to the Truth. By Idolatry, in this place, I understand, not the Worship of Falfe Gods; (For That, is not only not worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth, but indeed not worfipping him at all;) But, by Idolatry, in this place, I would be understood to mean, worshipping the True God in an Idolatrous manner, and by Falfe Mediums of Worship; in oppofition to what

our