Worshipping God: For that of neceflity muft be founded upon the most Worthy and Honourable, that is, upon the True Notion of God, in particular, that he is a Spirit.

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2. We are to conceive of God, not only as a Spirit, which is the most Perfect Kind of Beings, but as a Spirit infinitely Perfect, incomparably the Beft of that Beft kind, that is, that he is Infinite in all the Perfections of a Spiritual Nature or Being; Whereas all other Spirits, the Spirits of Men or Angels, have in them a finite and limited proportion. The proper Perfections of a Spirit are Reafon, Wisdom, Freedom, Choice, Goodness, and all Virtue: These are its Moral Perfections, as its Natural Perfections are a certain Vaftnefs of Power, and Largenefs of Prefense, and an Exemption from Corruptibility, which belong not to Matter or Body And all these are infinite in God; That is to fay, God is the moft Free Agent, of boundless Reafon and Understanding, of most perfect Goodness, of irrefiftible Power, of immenfe Prefence, and of eternal Duration. Now although it is not exprefly faid in the Old Teftament that God is a Spirit, yet thote Perfections are frequently and plainly attributed to him there, fometimes indeed under figurative Expreffions, by which the Scriptures condefcend to the Capacity of People not yet inftructed in the best Way

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of Religion; Hence it is, that his Power is exprefs'd by his Arm, and his Knowledge by Eyes, and his Goodness by Bowels, and the like; Which Metaphors taken from humane Bodies are not used in the New Testament, which Defigns to raise in us higher Apprehenfions of God, than the Ifraelites had: And therefore our Saviour tells us God is a Spirit, revealing thereby to us what indeed was discoverable by Natural Reafon, it being evident to those that gave their Minds to confider these things, that the foremention'd Perfections cannot belong to Body; And therefore fince they are infinitely in God, he is not a Body, but a Spirit: But it requires fo much labour of Mind, and fuch an unwearied abftractedness of Thought from bodily Things to come to this Conclusion by Philofophy, that our Lord, who came to inftruct Men of all Capacities in Divine Things, hath not left his Difciples to gather this Doctrine from Philofophy, which they are few who can attend to, but delivered it in a plain Propofition, and left it to be believed upon his Authority, and thofe Teftimonies of Divine Revelation, by which his whole Doctrine is confirmed.

This is all that I think fit to fay upon the firft Head, that God is a Spirit.

2. We are to enquire what it is to worShip God in Spirit and in Truth? And,

1. What is to be understood by worshipping God in Spirit? And the Answer to this is plain.

1. We worship God in Spirit, when we worship him with our Spirits or Minds. For we are capable of honouring and worshipping God two Ways, answerable to those two Parts of our Nature of which we are compounded, viz. Body and Spirit, that is, we are capable of worshipping God with Bodily Worship, which is the Worship of our Bodies, and with Spiritual Worship, which is the Worfhip of our Souls or Spirits. The former is done by bowing our Knees to him, by vocal Prayer and Thanksgivings, by feparating Places for his outward Service, and by frequenting Religious Affemblies there, and by doing all thofe Things whereby we make an outward Profeffion of ferving and honouring God. But the other, that is, the Worship of our Spirits, is done by Spiritual Actions, of which we are confcious to our felves, and which God fees, but none else can; and these are, Reverent and Honourable Thoughts of him, Love of his infinite Goodnefs, Fear of his holy Juftice, Faith in his Word, Reliance upon his Wisdom, Power and Providence, and an hearty Refignation of our Wills to his Will, and Subjection to his Authority; these are

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all the immediate Actions of our Minds and reasonable Natures; and when we are thus affected towards God, then we worship him with our Souls, that is, we make a real Acknowledgment of his high Perfections, by a Temper and Difpofition of Mind that is fuitable to every one of them.

2. There is yet fomething more included in worshipping God in Spirit, and that is, with all thofe Difpofitions that are the proper Perfections of a Spirit, and which render our Spirits like to God, who is the most perfect Spirit; and thofe that I mean are Charity and Purity, which being added to Piety, or to those direct Acknowledgments of God's Perfections by Love and Faith, &c. do make up that Worship of God in Spirit which our Saviour teacheth.

I told you that Goodness was one of the proper Perfections of a Spirit, and this confifts chiefly in those two Virtues of Purity and Charity, which include all others. To worship God in Purity, is to worship him with a Mind pure from fenfual and worldly Lufts, difengag'd from Luxury and Voluptuoufness, from Ambition and Covetoufness, and from the Dominion of fleshly and worldly Defires, with a Spirit of Sobriety, Temperance, Contentedness, and Chastity, without which Virtues a Man cannot worfhip God in his Mind as he ought, because the contrary Difpofitions hold his Spirit in Bondage

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Bondage to carnal and worldly Appetites, and will not let him afcend to heavenly Things, that is, to the Reverence and Love of God; of God, I fay, who is an Object not only unlike, but contrary to those upon which a vicious Man's Affections are engaged. To worship God in Charity, is to worship him with a Mind free from Hatred, Envy, and Revenge, with a Mind averfe from doing the leaft Wrong to any Man, and disposed to do Good to all Men, to fuccour the Needy, to forgive Wrongs, to love Enemies, to pray for Perfecutors, to promote the Welfare of all others in Things relating both to their present and their future Happiness. And thus to worship God with a pure and charitable Mind, is to worfhip him not only in Spirit, but with the proper and most, excellent Perfections of a fpiritual and reasonable Nature, or in those which make us like to the Father of Spirits. For the Measure of that Likeness to God which is our Duty, is made to consist in Holiness, that is, in Purity and Charity, we are to purify our felves as he is pure, and we are to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful, and this is to be holy because God is holy.

The Sum is this: God is worshipped in Spirit when we acknowledge his Goodness, by loving him above all Things, and all his other Spiritual Perfections, by fuitable Af

fections