Joseph John Gurney preaches on the essence of divine worship, emphasizing the importance of directing worship solely to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as the proper objects of adoration. He highlights the dangers of ascribing divine attributes and worship to any other being, stressing the uniqueness and jealousy of God in receiving worship. Gurney discusses the errors of idolatry, praying for the dead, and the elaborate pomp in worship, contrasting them with the simplicity and spirituality of true Christian worship in spirit and truth.

ON DIVINE WORSHIP I. THE first grand point in reference to divine worship, is the consideration of the Being or Beings to whom it is addressed. Honour and reverence paid even to human dignitaries, is sometimes included in the idea of worship as it is said, that all the congregation of Israel bowed down and "worshipped the LORD, and the King:" 1 Chron. xxix. 20. But while, under the full light of the gospel dispensation, the impropriety of such acts of reverence, addressed to mortals, is very obvious, we are not to confound them with "divine worship" in its proper sense; for this is such an adoration, as supposes the existence of some divine attribute or attributes in the Being or Person to whom it is offered. Thus the prostration both of body and soul, which was frequently p107 offered to our Saviour when on earth, had an obvious reference to the divine power which he possessed, of changing the order of nature, in the working of stupendous miracles. The man born blind, on whom he had so graciously bestowed perfect eyes and perfect vision, worshipped him as the Son of God; the apostles adored him in the same character, when he had displayed his control over the winds and waves, and had made the storm a calm; and the leper bowed down before him as truly divine, in the belief that, by his fiat, Jesus could in a moment deliver him from his otherwise incurable disease. So also the martyr Stephen prayed to Jesus to receive his soul into heaven, and to forgive his persecutors. In all these instances, the Son of God was visible to the worshipper; but other examples are recorded in the New Testament, in which prayer was addressed to him as to an unseen being: see Acts i. 21 25; 2 Cor. xii. 7 9. It does not appear to me that any sound Christian can object to the adoration of the Son or of the Holy Spirit, because the Scriptures afford abundant evidence of the subsistence of each of them, in the essence and unity of the Godhead; but if there is any one principle more p108 clearly laid down than another in the code of Holy Writ, it is, that God alone is the proper object of spiritual or religious adoration; and that if such worship is offered to any other Being, it is a deadly offence against the majesty of heaven, and a sin of the deepest dye. Let us take that virtuous and faithful handmaid of God, the blessed mother of our Lord, as our first example. So far as her history is developed in the gospels, we cannot but admire her character. Her simple belief in the angelic annunciation, and her child-like devotion to the will of God, are indeed exemplary. Her attendance beside the cross, during the terrible sufferings of the dying Jesus, marked the triumph of affection and piety over all weakness and fear; and even her too great zeal for the display of his miraculous power at Cana of Galilee, although it met with a timely reproof from her Son, may be charitably ascribed to an ardent desire to behold his glory. But the mother of Jesus is not once mentioned in the apostolic epistles, or the Revelation. Honoured as she was among mortals, as the chosen vessel through whom the Word became incarnate, she lived as mortals live, and died as mortals die. p109 There is not the smallest hint in Scripture, that she never sinned; or that she entered heaven on any other ground than redemption through the blood of the Saviour who was born of her. In constituting her the queen of heaven; in adoring her in psalms, hymns, and prayers, as the mother of God; in addressing her as an omnipresent being, in order to implore her intercession with the Father and the Son; in calling upon her for deliverance from a variety of evils, both temporal and spiritual, (an unquestionably common practice among the adherents of the papal system) it is surely undeniable that the church of Rome is guilty of ascribing divine attributes, and of addressing divine worship, to a creature even a once fallen creature, like ourselves. Herein the name of Blasphemy is written on the forehead of the false prophet; or of the second beast, who had the visage of the lamb with the voice of the dragon. The God of Israel is often described as a jealous God. He will admit of no rival in the worship of his people. Infinite is the distance, in point of dignity and power, between Him and the most exalted of his creatures. "Before me," saith the p110 LORD, "there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no Saviour:" Isa. xliii. 10, 11. If the worship of Mary, who undoubtedly occupied an exalted place in the plan of man's redemption, is utterly opposed to this sacred principle, the same remark still more obviously applies to the invocation of saints, whether they be apostles and evangelists of primitive times, or Romish devotees of a later period. When the act of bodily prostration was addressed by Cornelius to Peter, and indignantly rejected by him because he was "a man," little did the apostle imagine, that prayers and invocations would afterwards be addressed to him, and to a thousand other saints, real or supposed, as to so many unseen and spiritual beings. This worship is offered under the notion, in the first place, that although dead and invisible they can hear such addresses: and, in the second place, that it is their office to act as mediators or intercessors with the Father; and are moreover endued with a divine power, to fence off every kind of sorrow and danger from those who trust in them. Among the more ignorant of the Romish communion, these saints may truly be said p111 to serve the purpose of tutelary deities or demigods; or in other words, substitutes for JEHOVAH, in whose stead they are so frequently invoked as "mighty to save and able to deliver." But even when they are called upon, for the sole purpose of engaging their intercession, the fact of their being freely addressed, on all occasions which may appear to require their advocacy, and in all places wheresoever the lot of their suppliants may be cast, clearly involves the imagination that they possess one of the highest and most glorious of the divine attributes omnipresence. Respecting the angels, the question is asked in Scripture, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who are heirs of salvation? This question supposes its own answer in the affirmative; nor is it unreasonable to believe, that the office of kindness, here ascribed to the angels, is shared by the departed spirits of those who have died in the Lord, and who are now for ever numbered among his saints in heaven. This is a cheering and comforting doctrine; and we may gratefully acknowledge, that there is a hidden tie of love and sympathy which binds together, as in "the bundle of p112 life," the members of the church militant with those of the church triumphant. But such a doctrine affords no ground whatsoever for the invocation of saints. If we address our petitions to them, (be those petitions what they may) we inevitably ascribe to them an ubiquity which belongs only to God; and thus we involve ourselves in a blasphemous offence against Him who is the ONLY right object of DIVINE worship. It is well remarked by Bishop Butler, in his Analogy, that under the gospel dispensation, new relations are revealed to us, which demand the exercise of corresponding affections and feelings; especially the relation to us of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the appointed Mediator between God and man. The worship of Christ, recognized and enforced by Christianity, involves an affiance of the soul on Him in this peculiar character; and it is an affiance which admits of no rivalry. Hence it follows, that the worship of Mary and the saints, is not only blasphemy against the Father, inasmuch as it ascribes to them attributes exclusively belonging to God (even omnipresence and a divine control over events;) but blasphemy against the Son, because it robs him of a large share of his p113 mediatorial office; for we are taught in Scripture, that as there is ONE God, so there is ONE Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus; even the incarnate and glorified Word. On both these grounds therefore the adoration of Mary and the saints, as allowed and practised among the votaries of Rome, involves such an alienation of soul from the truth, and from the God of truth, as constitutes (so far as I am capable of understanding the subject) the essence of impiety; and impiety, under the form of captivating devotional feeling and exercise, must surely be a masterpiece among the inventions of Satan! Yet this is far from being the whole of the case. Rome spiritual is guilty, not only of blasphemy and impiety, as now set forth, but also, in the strictest sense of the terms, of idolatry. No one can reasonably dispute that the second commandment of the first tablet of the law, although addressed specifically to the Israelites, is practically binding on the whole family of man. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not p114 bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God," &c.; Exod. xx. 4, 5. So far as the Israelites obeyed this law, they abstained from making any graven image, either of Jehovah himself, or of any of his creatures in order to worship them; and when they transgressed this command, they never failed to be severely punished. But Rome spiritual makes images of Jesus Christ who is "in heaven;" and bows down, in worship before them a practice which evidently involves the awful danger of a transfer of the aspiration of the soul, from the Saviour whom the image represents, to the image itself. She also makes idols innumerable of Mary and the saints, carves them out in wood, paints and adorns them after the supposed likeness of the originals, dresses them up in all sorts of finery, and then commands her votaries to bow before them, in solemn prostration both of body and soul. That this is genuine and frightful idolatry — an idolatry, which cannot on any sound principle, be distinguished from that of the heathen must, as I apprehend, be allowed by every calm and impartial observer. Here the professing church, apostate from the truth, and rebelling against her p115 Lord, justifies the worst title bestowed on her in Scripture, even that of the "Mother of harlots." She tramples on her marriage covenant with the Bridegroom of souls, she commits the most open spiritual fornication, and she implicates "all nations" in her sin, her guilt, and her shame: Rev. xvii. 5; xviii. 3. This remark, however, is more especially verified by the worship of the host; i. e. the victim, or sacrifice. The prostration of body and soul before a WAFER, under the strange notion that this morsel of bread is itself the Deity incarnate, is an act of frequent occurrence; and one in which the potentates and nations of the earth have participated, during a long course of ages, in a most public and undisguised manner. That it is an act of gross and palpable idolatry such idolatry as would have been truly worthy of ancient Egypt itself must, I think, be known and felt by every reflecting Christian who has witnessed the practice, whether he be Roman Catholic or Protestant. II. Prayer is an essential and principal part of the worship of God; and in order that we may perform divine worship aright, we must not only p116 address our petitions to Him who alone is the legitimate object of them; we must also confine the subject of them, to those things which are lawful, and consistent with the harmony of divine truth. Christians are encouraged to pray not only for themselves, but one for another. "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another that ye may be healed:" James v. 16. It is indeed evident that the duty of intercession must take a wide range among the believing followers of Jesus. If this is truly our character, we shall pray for those who are near to us, and those that are afar off; for our friends and for our enemies; for the church and for the world; but we shall not pray for the dead — for those who have already exchanged a life of trial and probation, for one of eternal fixedness. Rome spiritual however enjoins prayers for the dead; and not only prayers, but the renewed sacrifice, daily offered on their account, of the body and blood of Jesus, in the mass; and even sells these performances to the highest bidder. It may well be supposed that the adherents of the papal system would hardly have ventured on such a preposterous course, had they not found p117 some show of authority for it in Holy Scripture; and such indeed they have in what they so denominate namely, the second book of the Maccabees. In this apocryphal work, we learn that some of the Jews who fought, under Judas, against Gorgias, governor of Idumsea, were slain in the battle, and that on examination afterwards, there were found under their coats, "things consecrated to the idols of the Jamnites." Their death was regarded by their brethren as the judicial consequence of their transgression. "All men, therefore," says the historian, "praising the Lord, the righteous Judge, who had opened the things that were hid, betook themselves unto prayer, and besought him that the sin committed might wholly be put out of remembrance.... And when he (Judas) had made a gathering throughout the company, to the sum of two thousand drachms of silver, he sent it to Jerusalem to offer a sin-offering, doing therein very well and honestly, in that he was mindful of the resurrection. (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should have arisen again, it had been superfluous and vain to pray for the dead.) And also in that he perceived that there was great favour laid up for those that died godly. (It was a p118 holy and good thought.) Whereupon he made reconciliation for the dead, that they might be delivered from sin:" chap. xii. 41 45. This certainly is a strange story: and if we are to rely upon the truth of the history, we must conclude that Judas and his brethren, not only prayed for the dead, but did so, under the peculiar notion that they might receive forgiveness, and be delivered from sin, on the other side the grave; and moreover, they caused sacrifices for sin to be offered in the temple, in furtherance of these prayers. Even if the history be regarded as untrue, it 'will still indicate that its unknown author, who was probably a Jew, entertained the notion that departed souls may receive forgiveness, through the intercession and sacrifices of their brethren who are still alive. Sentiments of this description appear to have found a place among more modern Jews, some of whom acknowledge a kind of purgatory, which continues for one year after death. This they call the upper Gehenna, and they believe that all Israelites, (with a few flagrant exceptions) have a portion in the world to come, or in a future state of happiness, either immediately after death, or after they have p119 atoned for their sins in purgatory. "The Jews," says Calmet, "offer up a great many prayers and works of satisfaction on the day of solemn expiation, for the comfort of such souls as are in the upper Gehenna. Leo of Modena, part 5, cap. x." &c. The opinions which prevailed amongst the Jews at the Christian era, often throw light upon the meaning of passages in the New Testament, and are therefore far from being unimportant to the biblical critic; but to receive them as of any weight or authority in matters of doctrine, or any evidence, in themselves, of divine truth (except so far as they are founded on Scripture,) would be wholly out of the question. The passage in Maccabees shews nothing more than the opinion either of Judas himself, or of the author who wrote his history. That history, although included by the Roman Catholics in the volume of Scripture, lays no claim to divine inspiration, and never belonged to the true canon of the Hebrews. As authority, for the doctrine of purgatory, and prayers for the dead, the passage in question must therefore be entirely discarded. In the New Testament itself, however, there are p120 two passages, one of which has been sometimes adduced as an authority for purgatory; and the other as a sanction for praying for the dead. The first is 1 Pet. iii. 18 20, where we read that Christ was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, (that is, probably "raised from the dead by his own divine nature") by which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison which were sometimes disobedient in the days of Noah. That purgatory cannot be intended by the "prison" here mentioned, is evident from the fact, that this prison is spoken of as the abode of those who were disobedient in the days of Noah not the "almost innocent," to whom purgatory is assigned by Rome spiritual; but the intensely wicked, whose imaginations were "only evil continually in the sight of God" the children of wrath, who had trampled on the visitations of divine grace, and had rejected all the proffered mercies of the Lord. The passage probably means, as is generally allowed by commentators, that Jesus Christ, in his divine nature, preached either immediately by his spirit, or instrumentally by Noah, to those rebellious Antediluvians who were destroyed by the flood, and whose spirits p121 were (when the apostle wrote) in prison, reserved unto "the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." The other passage has relation to Onesiphorus, 2 Tim. i. 16 18. "The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus, for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me; the Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day." Again, in a subsequent chapter, the apostle salutes "Aquila and Priscilla, and the household of Onesiphorus:" iv. 19. From this repeated mention of the family of Onesiphorus, it is concluded by some persons, that he, himself, was not living, and that the apostle's ejaculation, "The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy," &c., is nothing more or less than a prayer for the dead. That this argument is weak can scarcely be denied; that it is fallacious too, a little consideration will evince. Were it clear that the "house" or "household of Onesiphorus" was not intended to include Onesiphorus himself, we have no reason on that account to number him among the dead. Onesiphorus was a traveller; it probably was not long p122 since, that he had visited the apostle at Rome; he might be absent from his family for a season. But we have no need to have recourse to the supposition either of absence or death. It is a common idiom among the Greeks to describe even an individual under the appellation of his companions; so that (the persons about Philip) would either mean Philip only, or at most Philip with his companions. So with Paul, "the household," or "they of the household" of Chloe, of Narcissus, of Aristobulus, of Stephanas, of Onesiphorus, &c., must be understood to mean, Chloe, Narcissus, Stephanas, Aristobulus, and Onesiphorus, with their respective families: see Rom. xvi. 10, 11; 1 Cor. i. 11, 16. The reason why these persons are thus described, while others are mentioned by their simple names, is probably no more than this that they had families, who were members of the church of Christ, as well as themselves. The evidence which the adherents of the Papal system adduce in favour of a purgatory, and therefore of the propriety of prayers for the dead, if evidence it may be called, is in point of fact as nothing, when compared with the fulness and weight p123 of the great Christian doctrine of trial and probation here (with grace sufficient to obtain the victory) and of happiness or misery, unmixed and unchangeable, in the world to come. The adherents of Rome seem to divide mankind into three classes; saints who, when they die, go at once to heaven; venial sinners who are sent from this world into purgatory, and there are purified and prepared for paradise; and desperate sinners who, when they quit this mortal scene, are consigned to the pains of hell itself, as their just and inevitable punishment. Now I conceive that this notion of a middle class, and of the means by which it is perfected, is nothing more than the invention of men, who are ever ready to find out a way to heaven which shall be compatible with their continuing to follow their own corrupt inclinations. True indeed it is that Scripture recognizes sins "not unto death," and sins "unto death;" by the first of which, we may understand transgressions of which the true penitent receives a free pardon through faith in Christ; and by the second, such a blaspheming against the Holy Ghost, such a confirmed rejection of all that flows from his p124 divine influence, and such a persevering rebellion against God, as admit of no remedy, but inevitably terminate in the destruction of the soul. But it is surely a clear point that the New Testament recognizes only two classes of men in a spiritual point of view those who are of the world, and those who are not of the world; those who reject the gospel, and those who believe in it; the children of light, and the children of darkness; those who continue in their natural state of sinfulness, and those who, through timely submission to the grace of God, put off the old man with his "deceitful lusts," and become new creatures in Christ Jesus. All sin is the transgression of the divine law, is mortal in IN nature, and will assuredly end in the death of the soul, unless it is forsaken and washed away in the blood of Christ; and further, it is the plain doctrine of Scripture that the law of God is one harmonious system which admits of no infraction, and that he who offends in one point is guilty of all: James ii. 10. "All have sinned;" and are condemned to death by the law; but for all — if they will but believe and obey the gospel there is provided a free pardon and full redemption, through Jesus Christ p125 our Lord. Nor can it be questioned on any scriptural ground, that the faith by which the ungodly are justified, is a living faith, which cannot fail to be productive of a sober, righteous, and godly life. The Christian is under a dispensation of grace, and the path of the just is found to shine more and more, unto the perfect day. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, these two great parties these only two classes among all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together before him, and shall find their respective places on his right hand, or on his left. Then shall the righteous hear the words of gracious invitation, "Come ye blessed of my Father," &c., but to the wicked of every name and nation, shall be addressed the awful sentence of "Depart ye cursed," &c. Not the slightest hint is given us of any middle state, in that day of final and universal judgment. In the meantime, the Christian convert, whether it be the apostle who has long been running the race of godliness, or the just converted and now believing criminal, is safe and happy immediately after death. "It is better to depart and be with Christ," said Paul: "To-day thou shalt p126 be with me in Paradise," said the dying Jesus to the thief who hung by his side. Lazarus too, is described in the parable as at once exchanging his miserable mortality, for a resting place in Abraham's bosom. But what becomes of the rich man who refused to comfort him? He dies, and is at once consigned to a place of punishment, from which there is no escape. What becomes of the foolish virgins who were scarcely to be distinguished from their companions while "they all slumbered and slept," but who, when the Bridegroom came, were found without oil in their vessels with their lamps? On them the door of mercy is shut and shut for ever. It is indeed a truth, to which Christianity bears a strong and unquestionable testimony, that the present world is a state of trial and probation one in which the character of every man is developed as a ground for future righteous judgment, and in which a remedial system of moral discipline is bestowed upon us all, to prepare us for a happy eternity. If we reject God's remedy we perish; if we avail ourselves of it, in the obedience of faith, we shall be purified in this world by the baptism of the Holy Ghost; and without the p127 dreadful intervention of purgatory, shall enter at the very moment of death, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, into happiness and glory. Away then with the unscriptural practice of praying for the dead. Those who die in their sins are far beyond the reach of any benefit from our prayers. Those who die in the Lord, are with him in glory; they need none of our sacrifices, none of our petitions! So far, it may be hoped, the subject before us has been cleared of its difficulties. Evidence has been given, sufficient to satisfy every candid mind, first that prayers to the virgin and the saints are utterly at variance with the scripture precept, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve;" secondly, that the worship of the images of those servants of the Lord is simple idolatry, the very same in its nature as that which the sacred writings every where condemn; thirdly, that the adoration of the images even of our Saviour himself, involves a breach of the second commandment; and lastly, that to pray for the dead, as if their condition was not one of unchangeable fixedness, is wholly at variance with the doctrine of our Lord and his p128 apostles, respecting trial and probation here, and retribution in the world to come. There are two more points, on the subject of divine worship, on which it may be well for us to remark the contrast between the practice of the Romish church, and the precepts of the New Testament. 1. A great part of the service, in Roman Catholic worship, is performed in the Latin tongue, which the people cannot understand. The priest speaks aloud, as if for the benefit of the congregation; but, in point of fact, he speaks "to himself alone and to God;" for unless he happens to be as unlearned as his flock, he is probably the only person present, to whom the service performed is intelligible the only person therefore to whom it is a "reasonable service." In what way, or at what period of the history of the church, this strange practice was adopted, I confess myself to be ignorant; but it evidently appertains to the peculiar notion, that the church consists of the clergy only; and that these form a distinct tribe, like the Levites, who alone are required, and alone permitted, to perform p129 the services of the temple. The people among the Jews were standers by — spectators, and sometimes hearers, but not full participators in the acts of divine worship; and this is the place, which, with certain modifications, appears to be assigned to the laity under the papal system. It is, I suppose, on the same ground, that while the wafer, in the "sacrament," is given to the lay worshipper, the wine which symbolizes the blood or actual natural life of the Lord Jesus that life which was laid down for the sins of all mankind is quaffed only by the consecrated lips of the clergy themselves. Whatsoever may have been the origin of the practice in question, it is evidently opposed to two principles which are strongly enforced in the New Testament; first, the union of the whole society of believers, as brethren and sisters in Christ, in the worship and service of God. All are baptized by one Spirit into one body all are made to drink of the same Spirit; all are members one of another, under one Holy Head all belong to the "royal priesthood," whose duty and privilege it is to offer up "spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." p130 The second principle adverted to is so unquestionable, on the ground of "right reason," that it scarcely requires the confirmation of Scripture; yet it is clearly laid down by the apostle Paul. It is, that Christian worshippers who pray, sing, or exhort, in the congregation of the Lord, are bound to speak not only with the Spirit, but "with the understanding also," i. e. in such a manner that all the worshippers present may hear, understand, and be edified; 1 Cor. xiv. 15, 19. 2. One other point remains to be considered. The pomp of divine worship was maintained, under the Jewish law, in all its splendour. The materials and furniture, both of the tabernacle and the temple, were of the most beautiful and costly description; and the art and nicety with which they were arranged were consummate. The golden censers and candlesticks, the altar of brass, the ark of the covenant overlaid with gold, the figures of the cherubim with their wings extended, the magnificent curtains of purple, blue, scarlet, and crimson, the knops and flowers of exquisite carving, the gorgeous robes, the jewelled crown, the sparkling stones of the ephod, and a multitude of other seemly and beautiful objects were charming to p131 the eye of a people prone to dwell on the externals of religion; and being appointed of the Lord for a season, were, in their day, glorious; being all the while, with the whole system of sacrifice and outward show, a mere preparation for a better worship, and shadows or types of the superior glory of a truly spiritual religion. It is one of the leading errors of the Papal and Hierarchical system, that this Jewish principle of outward beauty and glory in divine worship, is fully maintained, and even augmented under its sanction and government. The splendid architecture, the ornamental drapery, the dazzling colours, the embroidered vestments resonant with bells, the lofty candlesticks overlaid with gold, and a multitude of other fascinations, are leading characteristics of papal worship; to which may be added the pictures and images which adorn the temples of the professing church; her pompous services, her long processions, and all the decorations of her many holidays. Nor has the charming of the ear been less attended to than that of the eye. The swelling notes of the organ, the triumphs of Cecilia, the most exquisite cultivation of the vocal powers, have all been adopted by the p132 enchantress of the nations; and all combine to lull mankind into a childlike sleep on the lap of her sorceries. But what is the language of our blessed Lord "The day is coming when neither on this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, they shall worship the Father. God is a Spirit, and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth." The temple of the Lord is no longer the splendid edifice, decked with an outward show of solemn rites, and glittering ornaments. It is the church of the living God, a spiritual house, composed of lively stones, all joined to Christ the chief corner-stone, all cemented together in love, a building not made with hands, but raised by the operation of the power of God, exalted and united in Jesus, our holy Head, and filled, from season to season, with his glory. The worship conducted in this temple is both individual and congregational, and no outward show or splendour is required for it in either case. The individual worshipper, whether in his private life, or when engaged with others in the public adoration of God, requires no gorgeous objects to attract his eye, no elaborate music to enchain his ear. His heart is p133 filled with the melody of praise, and breathes the sweet incense of prayer. His worship consists of the communion of his very soul with God his Father, through the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ. The worship of the congregation assumes, on a larger scale, the same character. Satisfied, as it regards outward accommodation, with that which is simple, convenient, and decorous, and divested of all dependence on those things which charm the senses, the members of Christ's church draw near in spirit unto God, listen to his word of truth, offer their free-will spiritual sacrifices, rejoice in the Lord who bought them, and under the blessed influences of his lifegiving Spirit, are edified together in love. Such, and such only ought to be the worship of Christians; such are the genuine simplicity and spirituality of the religion of Jesus Christ.