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may fo fpeak, by fuch outward actions or words as are made the figns and tokens of it; and in the use of these that fenfe, and those affections may be highthened and increased.

I say true piety, devotion, &c. confifts in fuch a juft and worthy fenfe of God as is suitable to his natural and his moral perfections. For, were we to conceive of God as a hard and fevere mafter, as one who lays burthens upon his fervants that are great and grievous to be born, who requires brick where he gives no ftraw, reaps where he has not fown, gathers where he has not ftrawed, and watches for the halting of his fervants that he might take occafion from it greatly to punish them: or were we to conceive of the Deity as an arbitrary and tyrannical governor, who acts unreasonably in his legislative capacity, by commanding for commanding fake, and thereby extorting fuch obedience from his fubjects as no ways answers the end of government to them: or were we to conceive of God as an unkind and cruel parent of mankind, who takes pleasure in their unhappiness and mifery: and were we to be affected fuitably: this would be fo far from being true piety, that it would be just the reverfe, viz. it would be the height of impiety and profaneness.

Again, I fay, that true piety is in the mind, tho' it may be made vifible as aforefaid. And, agreeably to this, the founder of our (viz. the Chriftian) Sect, hath juftly observed, that God, in diftinétion from, and in oppofition to, body

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or matter, is a spirit or mind; and therefore, whoever will worship God truly and acceptably, and according to his nature, muft worship him in fpirit or mind, that being the only true or real worship; because bodily worship when Separated from fuch a fenfe of the Deity as is ufually intended to be fet forth by it, is no other than a meer fiction or lye. And, as all acts of outward worship are nothing more than vifible marks and tokens of that inward piety which takes place in the mind, and when they are separated from that fenfe of the Deity are mere emptiness or nothing; fo those outward marks are, in fome cafes, merely arbitrary; that is, they are not natural marks of that refpect which is intended to be fet forth by them, but are made tokens of refpect by the fashion and cuftom of the world, and as fuch are liable to be altered and changed. Thus, amongst our selves, custom has made bowing the body to be a mark of refpect for one fex, and bowing the knee to be a mark of refpect for the other. And, as each fex perform different actions when they pay their refpect to their neighbours ; fo they use those different actions as marks of their respect to God. And indeed, custom muft, in fome measure, be our guide in this affair; because it would be very prepofterous for a man to put off his hat as a mark of refpect to his neighbour, and to put off his hoe as a token of his refpect to God; feeing the latter action. would not have the appearance of being a mark of refpect, when, and where cuftom had conftituted

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conftituted the former. But then, tho' the visible marks of respect are, in some cases, at least, merely arbitrary; yet, I think, no action can, with any propriety, be conftituted a mark of respect that is in itself apparently a mark of the contrary. That is, no action can bẹ made a mark of goodness that is in itself a bad action; nor can an act of cruelty be made a token of pity and kindness, because the action itself bespeaks the contrary; or, at least, such a conduct would be greatly prepofterous. And therefore, were a man to cut and wound his. body till the blood gushed out, as the Priests of Baal did, and do other fuch like actions, and were he to use these actions as tokens of

that fenfe of God which he has upon his mind; thofe actions, I think, could not convey to the beholders a just and worthy fenfe of God, because the actions themselves plainly befpeak the contrary; namely, they befpeak the being, who is applied to in this way, to be pleafed with blood and flaughter; which, surely, would not be a juft and worthy, but a falfe and unworthy, reprefentation of the Deity, were he to be applied to in fuch a manner. And,

As true piety confifts in our having a just and worthy fenfe of God impreffed upon our minds, and in our being fuitably affected therewith; fo it is founded in nature, God is not only compleatly perfect in himself, but he is alfo the fountain of being, and of all good to us; and, as fuch, the nature of the thing requires, or it is just and reasonable, that we fhould,

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fhould frequently and upon all proper occafions awaken in our felves a juft and worthy sense of God, and be fuitably affected therewith. This, I fay, is a fuitable and proper behaviour for fuch dependent beings as we are, towards their great and kind Creator, from whom we have received our being, and by whofe providence we are continually upheld and preferved. It is likewife fit and reasonable with regard to the purpose it is fubfervient to, as it naturally tends to excite and engage our imitation of the Deity, and thereby to render our felves approvable in his fight. Moreover, perfection is, in the nature of the thing, preferable to imperfection, and, as fuch, it is the proper object of our choice, and this makes it reasonable or our duty to make ufe of those means that are proper to lead us thereto, of which means, I think, it must be allowed that true piety is the principal. When we entertain our minds with a juft sense of the wisdom and goodness of God, and how that wisdom and goodness has been exemplified in promoting our own and the common tranquillity; and when we are suitably affected therewith; this is, not only acting properly towards the Deity, but it alfo tends to excite our imitation of him, and therefore, it must be our duty or it is reasonable that we should be frequent in fuch exercises. Again, when we reflect seriously upon the rectitude of the divine nature, viz. that God's affections and actions are always moft pure, as they are perfectly conformable to that rule of action that is founded in the reason of H 2

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things; and when we likewife view our felves as it were in a glafs, and fee how greatly we have departed from this rule, and when we are fuitably affected therewith; this naturally tends to humble us in our own fight, to engage us to be watchful of our behaviour for the time to come, and to endeavour to render our felves the proper objects of God's mercy. And as this is our cafe; fo our prefent circumftances require or make it reasonable that we should be frequent in fuch exercises.

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If it should be faid, that prayer, in this view of the cafe, is a needless performance, because meditation and reflexion may anfwer the end without it. Anfwer, admitting that one branch of piety, by a conftant and proper application, may be fufficient to answer the forementioned purpofe; yet, I think, that will not be a fufficient ground for difcouraging or laying afide the use of the reft, when, perhaps, the use of all may scarce be fufficient to call in, and retain, our attention, and engage our affections and imitation as aforefaid..

If it should be afked, that if true piety confists in having a juft and worthy fenfe of God impreffed upon the mind, and the being fuitably affected therewith, and if St Paul's remark be juft, viz. that bodily exercise profiteth little, and if our Saviour's doctrine be true, viz. that God is a fpirit, and they that worship him (truly and acceptably) must worship him in pirit and in truth, for the Father feeketh such

to worship him, then, to what purpose can

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bodily

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