Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/d_500.lzh/D_507.TXT

Text File | 1994-08-24 | 7KB | 133 lines

CHAP. II.                                        OF INTERNAL WORSHIP.

eee, rth, and did worship, for which he was not reproved,
nay, cncountged, yea was further ordered to loose his
shoe from off his foot, for it is said the place whereon thou
standest is holy, and Joshua did so; which was never
ordered to bc doric, btlt where God himself was, whose
presence gave a relative holiness to the place where hc
appeared, Josh. v. 13--15. Christ was also worshippeal
by the wise men who came from the east to seek him
and see him; ond so by others in the days of his flesh,
atilt by his disciples when hc parted from them and
went up to heaven; yea hc has been worshippeal not
only by men but by angels, and that by a divine order,
Let all the angels of God worsMp Mm, Hob. i. 6. The
first begotten; the same with the only begotten Son of
God, who is God; or otherwise it wonld be a piece
of idolatry to worship him; and we have an instance
of many angels with others paying their adoration to
him, Rev. v. 19, 13.
3dl. y, The holy Spirit is also the object of worship
equally with the Father and the Son. He is with them
the one God. He is possessed of all divine perfec-
tiotas, such as eternity, omniscience, omnipresence,
&c. hc was concerned in creation, and is in the go-
vernment of the world, and in the operations of grace,
Psalm xxxiii. 6. Isa. xl. 13, 14. 1 Cot. xii. 4--11. and
so worthy of worship, and it is given unto him. Bap-
tism is administered in his name, equally as in the
name of the Father and of the Son, Matt. xxviii. 19.
Prayer is made unto him; not only is he the Spirit of
grace and of supplication, and .who helps the saints
under their infirmities in prayer, but he is prayed unto;
the Lord, that is, the Lord the Spirit, direct your hearts,
&c. where all the three persons are mentioned as dis-
tinct, 2 Thess. iii. 5. so grace and peace, as they are
wished and prayed for from God and Christ, so from
the 3even Spirits which are before the throne; by which
are meant the one Spirit of God so called, because of
the fulness of divine perfections in him, and because
of the perfection of his gifts and graces, Rev. i. 4,
Moreover his graces wrought in the saints, as they
come from him, they are exercised on him, as faith,
trust, and an holy confidence in him, that he who has
begun the good work in them will finish it; and there
is also the love of the Spirit, a cordial love of him, and
a carefulness not to grieve him by whom they are sealed
unto the day of redemption.
II. God only is the object of worship, to the exclu-
sion of all others.
1st, All idols of whatsoever kind are excluded, not
only images of things in heaven or in earth, or in the
sea, and the idols of gold and silver, the work of mens'
hands, forbidden by the second command; but also the
idols set up in a man's heart, to which such respect is
paid as is due to God only; of such may be read in
Ezek. xiv. 4. and which God promises to cleanse his
people from by his Srfirit and grace, Ezek. xxxvi.
and which when converted they declare they will have
no more to do with, in the manner they have, who be-
fore conversion served divers lusts and pleasures, Hos.
xiv. 8. Tit. iii. 3. and these perhaps are the idols the
apostle John warns the children of God to keep them-
selves from, 1 John v. 2 1. The idol the worldling is
euamoured with, and in which he places his trust and

confidcnce, is gold and silver; hence covetousness is
called idolatry, and such a man is said to be an ido-
later, Eph. v. 5. Col. iii. 5. nor can the true God and
this idol mammon be served and worshipped by the
same, Matt. vi. 24. The epicure, or voluptuous per-
son, his god is his belly, which he serves, and in which
he places all his happiness, and cannot be said to serve
the Lord and wot'ship him, Phil. ill. 19. Rom. xvi. 18.
The self-righteous man makes an idol of his righteous-
ness, he sets it up and endeavours to make it stand,
and to establish it, and then falls down to it and wor-
ships it, putting his trust and confidence in it, Luke
xviii. 9.
2dly, Every creature in the heavens, or on the earth,
are excluded fi'om divine worship. As the sun, moon,
and stars; these seem to be the first objects of worship
among the idolatrous heathens; and indeed when men
departed from the true God what could they think of
to place in his room but those glorious creatures so
visible to them, fi'om whom they received light and
heat, and many blessings ? hence the Israelites were
cautioned against lifting up their eyes unto them, and
gazing on them, lest they should be ensnared into the
worship of them, Dent. iv. 19. The next objects of
idolatrous worship were men, heroes and mighty kings,
famous for their exploits; these are the gods many
and the lords many, the Baalim often spoken of in
scripture, as Baal-Peor, Baa!-Berith, &c. Neither
good nor bad men are to be worshipped; when an at-
:erupt was made to sacrifice to the apostles, they re-
ected it with the greatest vehemence and abhorrence,
Acts xiv. and it is the height of iniquity and blasphemy
in antichrist to suffer himself to be worshipped, yea, to
command it; and a damnable sin in his followers to do
it, Rev. xiii. 4, 8, 15. and xiv. 9--11. Yea, angels are
excluded from divine worship; this sort of idolatry
was introduced in the times of the apostles, but con-
demned, Col. ii. lS. and rejected by angels themselves,
Rev. Xix. 10. and xxii. 9. And much less are devils to
be worshipped; and yet the worship of such has ob-
tained among the blind and ignorant heathens, as in
the East and West Indies; and even the sacrifices of
the Jews to new gods their fathers knew not, and the
sacrifices of the heathens are said to be offered to de-
vils, and not to God; yea the worship of saints de-
parted by the Papists, as the doctrine of it is called the
doctrine of devils, so the practice is represented as if it
was no other than worshipping of devils; it being con-
trary to the worship of the true God, who only is to be
worshipped, Deut. xxxii. 17. 1 Cor. x. so. 1 Tim. iv. 1.
Rev. ix. so.

CHAP. II.

OF INTERNAL WORSHIP; AND OF GODLINESS THE GROUND-
WORK OF IT.

HAVING considered the object of worship, worship
itself is next to be. treated of; and which is either in-
ternal or external: internal worship requires our first
attention, it being of the greatest moment and im-
portance; external worship profits little in comparison
of that; if the heart is not engaged in worship, bodily
3S~