him And with these two cautions, we may rely upon in all our wants, both fpiritual and temporal; for his divine power can give us all things that pertain to life and godliness, 2 Pet. i. 3. We may truft him at all times, for the omnipotent God neither flumbereth nor Sleepeth; the Almighty fainteth not, neither is he weary. Truft ye in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting ftrength. SER MO The fpirituality of the divine nature. JOHN iv. 24. God is a fpirit, and they that worship him, muft war fhip him in fpirit and in truth. Hefe are the words of our Saviour to the woman of Samaria, who was fpeaking to him of the difference between the Samaritans and the Jews, concerning religion; Verfe 20. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; but ye fay, that in Jerufalem is the place where men ought to worship. Chrift tells her, The time was coming, when the worshippers of God fhould nei ther be confined to that mountain, nor to Jerufalem; but men fhould worship the Father in fpirit and in truth; when this carnal, and ceremonial, and typical worship of God: fhould be exalted into a more spiritual, a more real, and true, and fubftantial religion, which fhould not be cone fined to one temple, but should be univerfally diffused: through the world. Now, fuch a worship as this is: most agreeable to the nature of God; for he is a fpirity and those who worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth. In the words we have, Firft, Apropofition laid down, God is a spirit. Secondly, A corollary, or inference, deduced from it, they that worship him, must worship him in fpirit and in truth. I fhall fpeak of the propofition, as that which con concerns my present defign; and afterwards fpeak fomething to the corollary, or inference, deduced from it, together with fome other inferences drawn from this truth, by way of application. First, That God is a fpirit. This expreffion is fingular, and not to be parallelled again in the scripture; indeed we have often mention made in the fcripture of the fpirit of God, and the Spirit of the Lord, which fignifies a divine power and energy; and of the holy Spirit, fignifying the third perfon in the Trinity; God is called the God of the fpirits of all flesh, Numb. xvi. 22. xxvii. 16. much in the fame fenfe, as he is called the Father of fpirits, Heb. xii. 9.; that is, the Creator of the fouls of men; but we no where meet with this expreffion, or any other equivalent to it, that God is a fpirit, but only in this place; nor had it been used here, but to prove, that the belt worship of God, that which is moft proper to him, is fpiritual: fo that the thing which our Saviour here intends, is not to prove the fpiritual nature of God, but that his worship ought to be fpiritual; nor indeed is there any neceffity that it fhould have been any where faid in fcripture, that God is a fpirit, it being the natural notion of a God; no more than it is neceffary that it fhould be told us, that God is good, or that he is infinite, and eternal, and the like; or that the fcripture fhould prove to us the being of a God. All these are inanifeft by the light of nature; and if the fcripture mentions them, it is ex abundanti, and it is ufually in order to fome farther purpose. For we are to know, that the fcripture fuppofeth us to be men, and to partake of the common notions of human nature; and therefore doth not teach us philofophy, nor folicitoufly inftruct us in those things which are born with us, but fuppofeth the knowledge of these, and makes use of these common principles and notions which are in us concerning God, and the immortality of our fouls, and the life to come, to excite us to our duty, and quicken our endeavours after happiness. For I do not find that the doctrine of the immortality of the foul is any where exprefly delivered in fcripture, but taken for granted; in like manner, that the fcripture doth not folicitously instruct us in the natural notions which we have of God, but fuppofeth them known to us; and if it mention them, it is not so much in order to knowledge as to practice; and therefore we need not wonder that this expreffion, which doth fet forth to us the nature of God, is but once ufed in fcripture, and that brought in upon occafion, and for another purpose, because it is a thing naturally known. Plato fays, that God is dowматос, "without body." In like manner Tully, Nec enim Deus ipfe qui intelligitur à nobis alio modo intelligi po teft, nifi mens quædam foluta & libera; fegregata ab omni concretione mortali; "We cannot conceive of God, but as of a pure mind, entirely free from all mortal compofition or mixture." And Plutarch after him, vous ὅυν ὁ θεὸς, χωριςὸν εἶδος, τετέςι τὸ ἀμιγὲς πάσης ὕλης, μετ δενὶ παθετῷ συμπεπλεγμένον, "God is a mind, an abftract being, pure from all matter, and difentangled "from whatever is paffible or capable of fuffering.' 66 66 So that natural light informing us that God is a Spirit, there was no need why the fcripture fhould inculcate this it is an excellent medium or argument to prove that the worship of God fhould chiefly be fpiritual; and although it was not neceffary that it fhould have been mentioned for itself, that is, to inform us of a thing which we could not otherwife know; yet the wisdom of God, by the express mention of this, feems to have provided against an error, which fome weaker and groffer fpirits might be fubject to. You know God is pleased, by way of condefcenfion and accommodation of himself to our capacity, to reprefent himself to us in fcripture by human imperfections; and gives fuch defcriptions of himself, as if he had a body, and bodily members. Now, to prevent any error or mistake that might be occafioned hereby, it seems very becoming the wifdom of God, fome where in fcripture exprefly to declare the fpiritual nature of God, that none through weakness or wilfulness might entertain grofs apprehenfions of him. In fpeaking to this propofition, 1 shall, I. Explain what is meant by a fpirit. 2. Endeavour to prove to you, that God is a spirit, 3. Anfwer an objection or two. 4. Draw fome inferences or corollaries from the whole. VOL. VII. N 1. For ་ I. For the explication of the notion of a Spirit; I fhall not trouble you with the ftrict philofophical notion of it, as that it is fuch a fubftance as is penetrable, that is, may be in the fame place with a body, and neither keep out the body, nor be kept out by it; and that the parts which we imagine in it cannot be divided, that is, really feparated and torn from one another, as the parts of a body; but I will give you a negative description of it. A fpirit is not matter, it doth not fall under any of our fenfes, it is that which we cannot fee nor touch; it is not a body, not flesh, and blood, and bones; for fo we find fpirit in fcripture oppofed to flesh and body; Ifa. xxxi. 3. Their horfes are flesh, and not fpirit. So Luke xxiv. when Chrift appeared to his difciples after his refurrection, they were terrified, and fuppofed it had been a fpirit, ver. 39. but he faid, Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and fee, for a fpirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye fee me have. The most ufual defcription of a fpirit is by these negatives, it is not a body, hath not flesh and bones, doth not confift of matter, or of any thing that falls under our fenfes, that we can fee or touch. II. For the proof of this propofition, that God is a fpirit. This is not to be proved by way of demonftration; for there is nothing before God, or which can be a cause of him, but by way of conviction, by fhewing the abfurdity of the contrary. The first and most natural notion that we have of God, is, that he is a being every way perfect; and from this notion we must argue concerning the properties which are attributed to God, and govern all our reafonings concerning God by this; fo that when any thing is faid of God, the best way to know whether it be to be attributed to him, is to enquire whether it be a perfection or not; if it be, it belongs to him; if it be not, it is to be removed from him; and if any man afk, why I fay God is fo, or so, a spirit, or good, or juft? the best reason that can be given is, becaufe thefe are perfections, and the contrary to these are imperfections. So that if I fhew, that it would be an imperfection for God to be imagined to be a body, or matter, I prove that he is a fpirit, because it is an imperfection, that is, an abfurdity, to imagine him any thing elfe: elfe: to imagine God to be a body, or matter, doth evidently contradict four great perfections of God. 1. His infinitenefs, or the immenfity of his being. Grant me but these two things, that there is fomething in the world befides God, fome other matter, as the heavens, the air, the earth, and all those things which we fee; and grant me that two bodies cannot be in the fame place at once, and then it will evidently follow, that where-ever these are, God is fhut out; and, confequently, God fhould not be infinite, nor in all places; and fo much as there is of another matter in the world befides God, fo many breaches there would be in the divine nature, fo many hiatus's. 2. The knowledge and wisdom of God. It cannot be imagined how mere matter can understand, how it can diftinctly comprehend fuch variety of objects, and, at one view, take in past, prefent, and to come. Tully, fpeaking of fpirits, faith, Animorum nulla in terris origo inveniri poteft; "Their original cannot be found upon "earth; for," faith he, "there is no material or bodily "thing," Quod vim memoria, mentis, cogitationis habeat, quod & præterita teneat, & futura provideat, & complecti poffit præfentia; quæ fola divina funt; "Which hath the power of memory, of underftanding, of thought; "which can retain things paft, forefee things future, "and comprehend things prefent; all which powers are "purely divine." 66 3. Freedom and Liberty. For the laws of matter are neceffary, nor can we imagine any auteous, any “ar"bitrary principle" in it. This puzzled the Epicureans, as we fee in Lucretius; "For if," fays he, " all "things move by certain and neceffary laws, and there "be a connexion of the parts of matter unto each o"ther, fo that if you move this, that must neceffarily "be moved; whence," faith he, "is liberty?" Unde eft hæc inquam fatis avulfa voluntas; "Whence is this principle of will, whose motions are not under any "law of neceffity?" 66 4. Goodness. This follows from the former; for he is not good who does not know what he does, nor does it freely; fo that, take away understanding and liberty, and you take away goodness: now, take away from God infinite |