Sermon 11

Exodus 3:13-14. And Moses said to God, Behold when I come to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and shall say to me, what is his name; what shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I AM, THAT I AM, &c.

Use 2 A second use from this point is this: If God be a spirit, then his dominion, government, and providence is chiefly exercised on the spirits of men. It is true, his providence is over all things that belong to us: but, as he is in himself a Spirit, so he puts forth, and exercises this power of his principally in guiding the spirits of men, and in that you are chiefly to observe his providence toward you. And that you shall see in (Romans 14:17). The kingdom of God, that is, his rule, and power, is not in meat and drink, for they are outward things, and he that is a spirit regards them not; but it is in righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit: that is, in the things that belong to the spirit, therein is his kingdom, and dominion chiefly exercised. So also, (Psalm 33:14-15). From the place of his habitation he looks down upon all the inhabitants of the earth: he fashions their hearts alike, he considers all their works. Mark it, when God looks down from heaven, and beholds the children of men, the chief thing that he does, wherein his government is exercised, is, in that he fashions their hearts and spirits: and therefore those eternal subjects of his that live with him forever, are spirits, as the angels, and the souls of men. Therefore if you would observe the will of the Lord toward you, and would see, wherein his providence is chiefly exercised, look upon your spirit upon all occasions; that is, what bents, what inclinations, what hopes, and desires he has put into your soul. If you look upon men in the world, you shall see them diverse in their spirits; one man lusts after riches, honor and preferment; another after gaming, sporting and drinking: now look upon this temper of spirit as the greatest judgment of all others. Again, look upon the spirits of other men, they are fashioned a contrary way, to deny themselves, to seek grace, and avoid sin; to be content to have God alone, to do his work, and to leave their wages to God, to live a painful life, serving God, and men with their sweetness: this is a quite contrary spirit, and this is the greatest blessing. Therefore you shall see, that when the Lord is angry with a man, so that his anger is wound up to the highest peg, then he gives him over to this judgment: as it is, (Psalm 81:12). So I gave them over to their own heart's lust, and they walked in their own counsels: that is, my judgment shall be executed upon their spirits, to leave them to an unjudicious mind. Again, on the other side, when the Lord would do a man the greatest kindness, then he fashions his spirit another way. (Deuteronomy 30:6). And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live: as if he should say, when I intend to do you a kindness, then I will thus fashion your hearts aright. So (Ezekiel 36:26). A new heart also will I give to you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh. The Scripture is plentiful in this. Therefore if you would observe what the LORD is to you, look how he fashions your spirit: if you find that he leaves you to unruly affections and lusts, and leaves you to be glued to that from which you should be divorced; or that he has left you in bondage to the fear of men, as a snare to you, there is no greater judgment in the world than this, as it is the greatest mercy on the contrary. Therefore in (2 Timothy 4:22). Paul prays, The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit: as if he should say, this is the greatest mercy that I can wish you, and the greatest good that God can do you, and therefore he wishes God to be with his spirit.

Now to set on this point a little further, and to make this plain to you: you shall see it in these three things.

1. Because all other things, as riches, poverty, health, sickness, &c. he dispenses these promiscuously, so, he gives riches to wicked men, &c. because as it is (Ecclesiastes 9:1), his love, or hatred, cannot be known by these things. From which I reason thus; That wherein the love and hatred of God is most seen, therein his providence chiefly exercises itself: but in the fashioning of the spirits of men, there, and there chiefly, is his providence seen; for other things come alike to men, to him that sacrifices, and to him that sacrifices not.

2. The disposing of other things is much in the power of men. A prince, or a man has power to kill, or to save, he can give riches, and honor, and take them away, at his pleasure: but to rule the spirits, to compose, and guide the apprehensions, and affections of the soul, that belongs to God alone; a man is no more able to do it, than to rule the raging sea. For as it is proper to God alone, to compose the wind, and to rule the waves: so it is proper to him alone to rule the turbulent affections, to compose, and guide them. If there be any disordered affection in the heart, as an immoderate love of any thing, or an impatient desire to any thing, who is able to remove it, but the Lord who is a Spirit? So, who can implant holy affections in you, but he alone? As, for example, to think a good thought, a man cannot do it without him, who is the Father of spirits; so to persuade a man, no man can do it, it must be the Lord, as Noah says; God shall persuade Japheth to dwell in the tents of Shem. So to see the heinousness of sin, and the evil of it, no man can do it but by the Spirit of God, as it is said (John 16:9): the Spirit convinces men of sin. So to will this, or that, which is good, it is he that works both the will and the deed. A man cannot help but be swallowed up with worldly grief, except God keep him, he cannot help but fear the face of man, except God assist him: for this is one of God's royal prerogatives, to rule in the affections, and apprehension of men.

3 Because the guiding of a man's spirit is of the greatest consequence of all other things else. Now God is a wise commander, and therefore he will not exert and put forth his power but in things of greatest moment: but the guiding of our affections is all in all to us. For, in a man's outward estate, whatever things befall him, all are nothing; but what his apprehension is of them, and how he is affected to them, makes them crosses or comforts: if a man's spirit be whole, the greatest cross is nothing, and the least is intolerable, if his spirit be broken. As, again, what are all pleasant things, if a man has not a heart to apprehend them? As to Paul, what was all his persecution? As long as his spirit was whole within him, he carried it out well: and what was Paradise to Adam, and a kingdom to Ahab, when their spirit was broken? It is the apprehension that makes every thing to a man heavy, or unheavy, pleasant or unpleasant, sweet or sour: and therefore this is the use to be made of it, to behold God's providence chiefly on our spirits, and not only in our own spirits, but what he does upon the spirits of others also. It is a thing we stumble at, when we see a wicked man prosper, and carry all things in the world before him, we should not say, where is God's providence, and the truth of his promise? But see what he does upon the spirit of that man. If you see such a man more malicious to the Church, and children of God, growing more carnal, and abominable in his courses, therein is God's curse seen more, than in all the dispensation of outward curses: for that treasure of sin which he lays up for himself, will draw on a treasure of wrath, which will be executed in due season. Therefore behold your spirits always, and God's providence upon them. "Give them sorrow of heart, your curse upon them" (Lamentations 3:65): the words signify, which is your curse upon them. Therefore if you see an obstinate heart in a man, that is the greatest curse of all. As in receiving the Sacrament, there we do pronounce a curse to him that receives it unworthily, and profanes the Lord's body: but, it may be, he goes on and sees it not; but now look upon his spirit, and see how God deals with that, whether his heart does not grow harder, and more obdurate, which is the greatest curse? You may observe this everywhere. If you see one that has a vain and idle spirit, that cannot study, that cannot pray, that cannot choose but be carried away by an unruly lust to this or that thing, believe it, this is a greater judgment than all the diseases in the world, than all shame and disgrace, that we account so much of, than poverty and crosses: as it is the greatest mercy, on the other side, when a man is able to serve God with an upright heart, and to be sincere in all his conduct. Thus it is with men, and this you should observe in yourself also from day to day. Let us not observe so much, what accidents befall us, what good is done to us, or what crosses we have, (it is true indeed God is seen in all these things) but chiefly look what God has done to our spirit, what composing of mind, or what turbulence of affections, or what quietness, what patience, or what impatience; and for this be chiefly humbled, or be chiefly thankful: for to take away from Christ the praise of sanctification, is as much as to take away the praise of his redemption. Herein you shall see his love or hatred manifested to you; his greatest judgment shown to you, or his greatest mercies.

The Third Use is that which the Scripture makes of it. If God be a Spirit, then worship him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). What it is to worship God in spirit and truth, you shall see, if you compare this place with that in (Romans 1:9): "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers." The meaning of it is this. When Paul had taken a solemn asseveration, God is my witness, etc., do not think, says he, that I have done this insincerely, I am no such man; in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I do it in my spirit: that is, I do it not for ulterior ends, for fear of men, or the like, but I do it in my spirit, that is, plainly, heartily, and sincerely.

So that to worship God in spirit, is, to have a plainness, and sincerity in our worshipping him, that is, to do it heartily whatever we do to him; in our praying, and worshipping him, when it is not formally, and customarily done, but our spirit seconds it within, this it is to worship him in spirit. So that the scope of our exhortation is, that you would worship God chiefly in your spirits. As it is said of singing Psalms (Colossians 3:16): "Admonish one another in Psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." And the ground of it is, because God is a spirit, and therefore he beholds at any such time, when you come before him, the inward behavior of your spirits: that is, he observes when you come to preach, or pray, what squint-eyed ends, what vain glory, what respect to men you have. Indeed, he observes how far natural conscience leads you, so that you do it as a task, out of custom, etc. He observes what worldly-mindedness, and carnal affections creep into the soul, at that time, that makes you either to put off the duty, or else to do it in a customary manner. All this does he behold, he looks to the inward conduct of the spirit: and therefore do you look chiefly to the inward conduct, to the inward frame of your mind.

Quest. But what is that more particularly?

Answ. I will show it to you in these three things.

1. See that your spirit be as near him as your lips are (Isaiah 29:13). He complains of a sort of people, that draw near to God with their mouth, and with their lips do honor him, but have removed their heart far from him, and their fear toward him is taught by the precepts of men. So (Jeremiah 12:2): You, oh Lord, are near in their mouth, and far from their reins. Now if you would worship him in spirit, see that your spirit be as near him as your words are. As, for example, in prayer you confess your sins, and profess that you do hate them, you pray for mortification, and grace, and for weanedness from the world; herein your words and God's will do agree, they are consonant, and when yet, it may be, the inward inclination of your heart is far enough off from this expression: therefore bring your spirit near to God as your lips are, and then you worship him in spirit. To show you more plainly what this farness of the spirit is; take a covetous man, and put him upon the rack of any exigent, where he must part with all to save his life, he will say as much as need to be in this case: but his heart is set as close to his wealth, as ever it was before, so that he is loath to part with anything. And take a thief that comes before the Judge, he confesses his fault, and begs pardon, and says that he will do so no more: but yet his heart sits as near to his theft, he is as far from honesty as ever he was before. So take a man, when he comes into some exigent, (for that usually is the time) as at the receiving of the Sacrament, or at his day of death, he comes and professes to the Lord, that he will follow no more his wicked courses; but he will become a new man, here his words draw near, but look to the bent and inclination of his heart, to the radical constitution of it, and that is far from holiness, there he sits as close to his sin as he did before. Therefore, if you would worship God in spirit, take care that your spirit draw near to him upon all such occasions, as your words do. A man in his ordinary course, it may be, prays, and his prayers are good: but how far his heart is from it, that his life shows. It is a strange thing, that at the Sacrament, men come and make confession of their sins: and yet their spirits are far from it, and that their practice shows. Consider this; you are the men that the Prophet does speak to, you draw near to GOD with your lips, but your heart is far from him. And this is the first particular.

When you worship God with all the might and strength, and endeavor of the mind and all the faculties of it, this is to worship God in spirit. (2 Samuel 6:14) It is said of David, that he danced before the Lord with all his might: it was a worship of God, a spiritual worship of God, wherein David, by his outward act of dancing, did express his exultation, and rejoicing in the Lord. Now the text says, that he did this with all his might, with all the might of his spirit; (for so you must understand it.) It is a metaphor taken from the body, when a man uses all his strength, and might to do anything, he unites all the forces of his body to it: so a man worships God in spirit, when all the faculties of the soul, are centered and united together in the performance of such a duty. And therefore it is called a wrestling with the Lord, as Jacob did: and it is called a striving with God, as Paul says, that you strive together with me in prayer (Romans 15:30): that is, when the soul, and the mind are joined all together, when he bends the whole soul to the work, this is to worship God in spirit. Such an expression you have (Acts 20), where Paul went bound in the spirit to Jerusalem; that is, his spirit did not hang loose, but it was girt up in a resolution to go through with the work, whatever came of it, his spirit was bound. Now, when your spirit hangs loose upon the duty, half on, and half off, when a man cares not whether he does it or no, this is not to worship God with the spirit; but when your mind is girt up, and you do it with all the intention of your soul, then you do it heartily, as it is (Colossians 3:22): Servants obey in all things your Masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart fearing GOD: where eye-service, and heartily are opposed. Eye-service is, when a man does it in the outward show, and appearance only, and what is the other, to do a thing heartily? That is, when a man's strength and his soul does go with the duty: and the contrary to this is, the looseness of the mind, and the wandering of it about other things, when the body, and the words are well employed, but the mind does not go with them; this is not to worship God in spirit, when the spirit sits thus loose to God. And this is the second thing, wherein this worshiping of God in spirit, does consist.

The third, which has not much, but yet some difference from the former, is this: when the spirit of a man beholds God alone; when his eye is upon him, when he comes to worship him, and upon nothing besides. If a man will have an eye to men, to the praise, or dispraise that shall follow the performance of the duty, he does so far worship men. But he serves God and worships him in spirit, when his heart is left naked, and stripped of all other respects in the world, and so filled, and overawed with the presence of God, that all other respects do vanish. This it is to worship God in singleness of heart; and this is opposed to outward performance (Colossians 3:22), for eye-service is but only a bodily and outward worship: but when a man does it with singleness of heart, then it is not eye-service as there; that is, it is not outward only. Now, singleness of heart is this: when the mind has but one single object to look upon; so that to look, not upon any creature, but upon God, and none besides. This is to worship God in singleness of heart, which is the same with holiness of spirit. As the holiness of the vessel in the old law was when it was set apart from all other services to God alone, so the holiness of a man's spirit is, when it is separated from all by-respects and aims, and is wholly devoted to him (from where our word, Devotion does spring), and when a man worships God with this nakedness, with this singleness and holiness of spirit, then he worships God in spirit. But when you come to perform any duty, as to preach a sermon, or to pray, and you look at what men will think of you, and what praise and credit you shall get by it, this pollutes your spirit; so far as you do this, there is not singleness, but doubleness of spirit, and here is eye-service in God's account.

Therefore look always to worship him in spirit, remember the argument here used: God is a Spirit. That is, consider how the bodily eye of man beholds the body, when you come to church, and can see the negligence of your behavior, and unbecoming gesture; so God, who is a spirit, he beholds the vanity and looseness of your spirit within, the turning and rolling of it this way, or that way. Therefore take diligent heed to your spirit; labor to approve yourself to him, care not what any creature says or thinks of you; and this is to worship him in your spirit.

Now here are two questions to be answered.

Question 1: If God must thus be worshipped in spirit, and it is the behavior of that which he looks to, what necessity is there then of a bodily, comely, and outward gesture? How far is this required in his worship?

Answer: The spiritual worship of God is never well performed, but when it is signified by the comely gesture of the body, as far as we may. I say, they must concur, the body must go with the spirit (though indeed he chiefly looks to the spirit), for they are both his (1 Corinthians 6:20). Besides, the body does exceedingly help the spirit, and it does testify, when you come before others, that holiness and reverence, which you have of God's glory and majesty. Therefore to persuade you to this, you must know, that whenever you come to worship God, there ought to be a great solemnity in every part of his worship, which cannot be without the concurrence of the body and spirit of man, they cannot be disjoined: and you shall see the necessity of this, in these 3 things.

1. Because, though holiness be seated in the spirit, yet it does and will appear in the body at the same time. You know, the light of the candle is seated in the candle, yet it shines through the lantern, if it be there; so, though holiness be seated in the spirit, yet it will appear in the body, if it be there. It is so in all other things, and therefore must needs be so in this: as, take any affections that are in us, as a blushing affection, when occasion is, it will appear in the body, whether we will or no; so an impudent face is discerned and perceived also; so awfulness, and fear, and reverence, they will show themselves, and look out at the windows of the eyes, and appear in the face, except we willingly suppress them. Now, if these will do so; surely it holds in this also. If there be a reverence of the mind, it will be seen in the behavior of the body. Therefore you see; Elijah, when he prayed earnestly, the disposition of the body went with it, he put his face down between his legs. So Jesus Christ, when he prayed for Lazarus, he groaned in his spirit, and wept. Now if he did so (who might be exempted, if any might) then do not you think that you can have a holy, reverent disposition of the mind, and it not appear in the body, it cannot be. Therefore you shall find, that this is called the heart everywhere, because the affections are seated there; and now the body is accordingly affected as the heart is affected; for what affections a man has, such is his heart.

2. Consider this: if you find yourself apt to a careless, negligent behavior, and carriage of the body, when you come to God, and pretend this, that he is a spirit, and must be worshipped in spirit; I say, consider, whether this be not an excuse that your flesh makes to this end, that it may be lazy, and have some ease to itself, from a false acceptance of that principle, God is a Spirit, that so it may give way to an outward laziness of the body. Therefore look narrowly to it, you should stir up the outward man, that you thereby may stir up the inward man, when you come before God in any worship.

3. Consider, that to make anything an ordinance, there must be an application of the whole man to it; otherwise, it is but a lame performance, and God will not reckon it as the obedience of an ordinance. For this truth must be remembered: that an ordinance of God performed as it ought to be, does usually carry a blessing with it. A prayer, a Sacrament received as it ought, a fast kept as it should, moves the Lord to give a blessing; if you do not place an obstacle in the way, you shall not go away empty; for it is always accompanied with a blessing: as it is said to Ananias (Acts 9), "Go to Paul, for behold he prays" — when it is a prayer indeed, God can hold no longer. Do you think that Paul never prayed before, when he was a Pharisee? Yes; but it was not as he ought — he never prayed indeed till now. Now consider, when you come before the Lord to perform any duty to him, you will say, it may be, that my spirit is well disposed, though the gesture of my body is not according? But I say, deceive not yourself with this, but look that it be a thorough performance. For as it was in the old law, a lame sacrifice was accepted as none: so a lame prayer, a lame hearing the word, a lame performance of any exercise God reckons as none. Therefore in these things God sends them away empty as they came. What better are they? Do their hearts get anything? Beloved, God is a fountain, and if he meets with a fit pipe (as is an ordinance rightly performed), there he usually conveys his grace: but if he meets with a foul pipe, and obstructed, there he does not confer any blessing.

Now, if you say, I have thus behaved myself, and have not been answered — do not deceive yourself; for if it be truly performed, you shall be answered: so that, look, if it be truly done, expect a blessing. God will not suffer his ordinance, at that time, to be a pen without ink, or a pipe without water. I hope there are none of us here that neglect prayer to God morning and evening, that live as if there were no God in the world, as if they were not his subjects: if there be, God will wound the hoary scalp of such. But these are not the men I speak to; but they are those that do it from day to day, they pray from time to time, and omit it not — these are the men whom we are to advise in this case. Take heed, though you pray every day, yet it may be you have not made a prayer all your life yet, and this is the case of many. For, if you consider what an ordinance is indeed, you shall know that the Lord does not reckon all petitioning as a prayer, nor set it down for the ordinance. And it may be the case of the saints sometimes (though we speak not now to them) they may pray often, and yet the Lord not register, nor set it down for a prayer, and therefore it may never come into remembrance before him. And this I take to be David's case in the time of his adultery; the ground of which you shall see (Psalm 51:16-17): "Open my lips, O Lord, and my mouth shall set forth your praise" — David had, as it were, mistaken himself, he thought that he had prayed, and offered a sacrifice, but, says he, I was deceived all this while, I was not able to open my mouth to any purpose; therefore, Lord, open my mouth; I brought sacrifice in, but you regarded it not, till my heart was humbled. Therefore, a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Therefore you deceive yourselves, that go on in a customary performance of holy duties, and think that you pray for all this; that think this worship to be in the spirit only, when your outward man carries itself negligently — this is but a lame performance, they must go both together. Therefore look that it be an ordinance, which then it is, when not only the spirit of a man is well set, but the whole man is applied to the duty, that is, when all the strength of a man goes to it.

Object. If you say, May not a man pray sometimes, when he is walking, or lying, or riding by the way, or the like?

Answer. I answer, there are two times of prayer: one is ordinary, and in private, when you may have all opportunity to do it in a holy and solemn manner, and then you ought to do it solemnly. The other is, when you pray occasionally; and there the occasion and disposition does not admit such outward solemnity; as when a man gives thanks at a meal, or prays when he rides. Here the Lord accepts the will for the deed: God requires not this upon all occasions; yet when you may, you ought to do it, in a reverent manner, not only of spirit, but of the body also. You may gather it from Christ, he fell on his face and prayed (Luke 22:42), and Daniel, and Abraham, it is said that they bowed themselves to the ground: and it is said of Christ, that he lifted up his eyes to heaven, when he blessed the loaves. Why are these set down? If any man might be freed, Jesus Christ might; but it pleases the Holy Spirit to set down that circumstance of him, that he fell on his face, and that he lifted up his eyes to heaven.

Indeed, in this case when it is hurtful to the body, there it may be omitted; the Lord will have mercy rather than sacrifice, even mercy upon your bodies. So also, when you find that it hurts the inward man, and hinders it, when the heart does it out of a conceit that it may perform it the better, then there is a liberty left to you to dispense with it.

As I say for prayer, so for other duties: when a man comes to hear the word, he says, my mind is intent enough, though I make not such a show; yet notwithstanding know this, that you must behave yourself reverently when you come before God. You shall see in Luke 4, when Christ preached, it is said, that the eyes of all the people were fastened upon him. Why is such a bodily gesture noted in the text? Is it in vain? No, because it is a comely gesture, therefore it is to be regarded.

Quest. 2. How should we conceive of God in prayer, seeing he is a Spirit, and a Spirit we never saw: what conception and apprehension of God should we have then when we come to call upon his name?

Answer. We may not conceive of him under any corporeal shape, for he is a Spirit: and therefore they that think they may worship the humanity of Christ disjoined, are deceived: we are not to worship it as separated from his Deity; for we are to worship the Trinity in the Unity, and the Unity in Trinity, which we cannot do, if we worship his humanity as separated from his Deity. Therefore when you come to pray before God, you must remember that he is a Spirit, filling heaven and earth, strong, gracious, merciful, full of goodness and truth, etc., concerning which three things are to be considered (Exodus 34:6).

First, that he is a Spirit.

Objection. But how shall I conceive of a Spirit?

Answer. How do you conceive of the soul of another man when you speak to him? You never did see it, yet you know that there is such a spirit that fills the body, and that understands what you say, and speaks to you again; so remember this of the Lord, that he is a Spirit. Compare (Jeremiah 23:24) with this: Can any man hide himself in secret places, that I shall not see him, says the Lord? Do I not fill heaven and earth, says the Lord?

Secondly, that the Lord fills heaven and earth, as the soul fills the body: so that you must think that he sees all things, and hears all things. Indeed the Lord is not in the world, as the soul is in the body, but in an incomprehensible manner, which we cannot express to you; yet this is an expression which we may help ourselves by, and is used everywhere in Scripture.

Thirdly, consider his attributes, that he is a Spirit filling heaven and earth, and he is exceeding fearful, powerful, almighty, exceeding gracious and long-suffering, abundant in mercy and truth, that he has pure eyes, and cannot see any iniquity (Deuteronomy 24; Exodus 34:6). As Moses could not see him, but his attributes, his back parts; so you must conceive of him, that he is exceeding strong, potent, and fearful, one that will not hold the wicked innocent, but shows mercy to thousands of them that fear him; and to sinners, if they will come in to him: and thus you must conceive of him, when you come before him.

FINIS.