The habits of a vast number of Christians, and the moral atmosphere in which they are placed, have tended to produce the very vague notions they have as to worship. Having passed from formalism and superstitious views (which left the care of their religion to others) under the influence of the feeling of the need in which they stood of the truth, they have found in the recognition of the truth, in owning and hearing it-the sum total of their ordinary religious exercises. But, surely, heaven should have some place in our religion while here below. In heaven, doubtless, the truth will be known in all its perfectness; but truth formerly received into the heart will be actually realized there in the glory of God and of the Savior, about whom this truth treats. There will be no longer any need to hear the truth, nor to recognize it,-we shall live in it. The power of it in our hearts will be expressed in adoration. Such is the characteristic of heaven. But, surely, this should be realized, in some measure, while on earth, among those at least who have received the truth, and who, by it, have the knowledge of the God who has communicated it to us-of the Savior who came to accomplish his work of love and of righteousness on our behalf;-among those who have received not only the truth, but even the very Spirit who gave to the truth its place in their hearts, and to them the desire of glorifying Him whom it has revealed to them. When the Holy Spirit communicates heavenly truth to the renewed heart, it always re-ascends in thanksgiving and praise. True worship is but the return to God which is made by the heart, when filled with the deep feeling of that which has been communicated from on high. The Holy Spirit, who makes the communication to us, causes the feelings produced by the revelation of God-of His love in Jesus -of His glory, and of all the blessings wherewith He loadeth us (" our cup runneth over") to re-ascend to God in adoration. And, surely, the heart which is penetrated with the grace of God will feel the need of returning back to Him the homage of its adoration and of its gratitude, for all the blessings which are so many, proofs of the infinite and eternal love which God has had, and which He has had for us.
Let us, then, examine this subject according to the Scriptural ground which the Spirit has given us.
What, then, is worship?
" It is the honor and adoration which are rendered to God by reason of that which He is, and of that which He is for those who render it."
It is the employment of heaven; blessed and precious privilege for its upon earth, if the enjoyment of it be vouchsafed -to us. One might, indeed, add to this definition "rendered in common." So to speak would not contain the denial of the possibility of worship from an isolated individual. If Adam had continued innocent he would, doubtless, as an individual have adored God.
But it is not, therefore, the less true, that in point of fact, worship is a homage rendered in common; because, in fact, God has blessed many and many together; be it angels or men; and hence communion in adoration is of the essence of the act, because the blessing is one in common, and the joy which I have in the blessing of others is part of my own individual blessing. Their blessing forms part of the grace to which my heart responds; and love (which is the source and spring of it all) is defective if I enjoy not their blessing. If I bless not God for it, I am myself incapable of worship; for to bless God supposes that I am sensible of His love, and that I love.
We may, then, say, since God was not pleased that we should be alive, but that our blessing should be in communion, that worship is the honor and adoration rendered to God in common, by virtue of that which He is, and which He is in behalf of those who render it.
But it is not to an abstract definition that I desire to confine myself; quite the contrary. But it is well to know what the subject is on which we speak.
No work of God towards man is worship. Nor is any testimony rendered as to Him and His grace worship. Preaching the gospel-testimony (of infinite value) to His grace-has naught in common with worship. It may produce it, as being the means of communicating the knowledge of God in grace, which awakens the spirit of adoration in the heart; but no preaching (how blessed soever it may be) is worship rendered to God.
It is a testimony rendered on God's part to man. This does not derogate from the value of such preaching; without it no Christian worship could exist, for the gospel makes known the God who ought to be adored, and, acting by grace, leads the soul into the state in which it is able to render true homage to God, even that which is in spirit and in truth. But it is not, therefore, the less true that no sort of testimony addressed to man from God, is worship rendered to God by man. A sermon has nothing in common with worship. It may be the means of producing it. The ministry of the word is a distinctive characteristic of the Christian economy. The Jewish people were counted to be already in relationship with God; externally they were so. There was no question about bringing them to God; they were already His people, and God dwelt in the midst of this people, as a people whom He had redeemed; but now the kingdom of heaven and the grace of salvation are proclaimed to sinners, and there is a ministry of the gospel for the calling of souls, and to invite them to enter into relationship with God, as in Israel there had been a priesthood for the maintenance of the relationship already formed.
Neither are prayers, addressed to God in order to obtain that of which we stand in need, worship, properly so called. They more immediately connect themselves with it, because they suppose the existence of the knowledge of God and of confidence in Him, and that we draw near to Him by virtue of that which He is, and which He is for him who presents his prayers to Him. But supplications addressed to God (while founded upon confidence in Him, and thus intimately allied to adoration), have not the characteristic proper to adoration itself. Praises and thanksgivings, adoration, the making mention of the attributes of God and of His acts-whether of power or in grace-in the form of adoration, and of adoration, too, addressed to Himself, constitute that which is, properly speaking, worship. In it we draw near to God and address ourselves to Rim. To make mention of His praises, not in an address to Himself, is undoubtedly connected with worship, and the heart refers them to Him; but such mention of his praises has not the form proper to worship, although it may enter into it subordinately, as also the prayers which adoration itself suggests. And this distinction must not be thought to be of little importance. Sweet is it to record, the one to the other, the excellencies of Him whom we love, but the redeemed delight to have God Himself in their thoughts-delight to address themselves to Him, to speak to Him, to adore Him personally, to converse with Him, to open the heart to Him, to tell Him that we love Him., To the redeemed it is a delight that these things pass between God personally and themselves, and to testify to Him the feeling they have of His greatness and of His goodness, because God Himself is in it. In this case the communion is between ourselves and God; and God is more precious to us than are even our brethren. Such is the feeling of our brethren also. God is the portion of all in common. In short, in the cases first supposed, we speak to ourselves, or to one another, to say for ourselves how worthy God is to be praised; in the second, we address ourselves to God personally. It is plain, to him at least who knows God, that the latter is the more excellent, that it has a charm, an excellency, which the other possesses not. The spiritual affections are evidently of a higher tone, the communion is more complete.
Having presented these general thoughts as to the nature of worship, or rather having distinguished that which, as all are agreed, is properly meant by this word worship from other acts which are mixed up with it in the mind by reason of the actual practice of Christians, I will now examine: What is Christian worship according to the Word? I remarked, by the way, that there is a ministry in the Christian economy as there was a priesthood in that of the Jews. I turn back to this remark, in order to develop my subject, strengthened by the recollection that the Lord connects that which He says concerning the worship which the Father seeks, with that which formerly existed at Jerusalem.
The worship of Israel, as a whole, supposed, it is true, -that the people were in relationship with God, and even that God had come to dwell in the midst of them; but, in all the circumstances which characterize that worship, He made it plain, that the people themselves could not draw near to God. Moreover, this was a thought which was essential to all the relationships which existed between God and the people. God had redeemed them out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, had borne them as upon eagles' wings, and had brought them even to Himself. He had given them, as a token of their deliverance, the promise that they should worship him upon mount Sinai, to the foot of which He in truth conducted them-with proofs innumerable of His patience and of His goodness. There God shows himself; but it is amid thunders and fire and the voice of a trumpet, which made even Moses (already familiar with the wondrous manifestations attendant upon the presence of God) to tremble. In harmony with such a revelation of his glory, the Lord commands bounds to be set around the mountain, and that if even a beast approach unto it, it should be stoned or thrust through with a dart. He spake, indeed, directly to the people, but in such a way as made the people ask that He should speak unto them no more: and God Himself approved the request. The ordinary worship of the people in the tabernacle and in the temple, while wearing an appearance which was more gentle and calm, and less terrific towards the worshipper, contained in its basis the same character. If God did not shake the earth with His voice, if His presence did not cast terror amid the people-this was because He was hid behind the veil which concealed Him from their sight. He made Himself known but by His acts of blessing and of judgment alone, and revealed not Himself to the hearts of the people. The consequence of this was natural and evident.' The people came to acknowledge His benefits and to humble themselves in the thought of His just judgments, while they drew near toward the Holy place; but to Himself within the veil they never drew near. They did not even enter into His house. Within the veil the high priest alone was wont to enter once every year, in order to carry in the blood of the ram and of the bullock, of propitiatory victims, in order to make reconciliation for the people with a God who could not endure iniquity, and thus to renew their relationships with Him who demanded that His abode also should be purified from the defilements of the people among whom he vouchsafed to dwell. Doubtless, if dwelling between the cherubim, He judged from His throne that which was evil; He also heaped up blessings upon the people whom He had redeemed, with the assurance that, if they were faithful, they should be protected from all the attacks of their enemies. The people sought His protection and worshipped Him for the benefits He had conferred. The faith of the individual seized perhaps more immediately the glory of the Lord, but did not go, and could not, beyond the revelation which He had given of Himself in the government of Israel. The institution of the priesthood was the natural consequence of such a state of things; but the priests themselves fulfilled their service outside the veil which hid from them the God they adored. The way into the Holy place, says the apostle, was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was yet standing. Here, then, we see the character of Jewish worship as God established it. But all is changed now. Christian worship is founded upon principles which are in direct contrast with all that about which we have just spoken. There was a shadow as to persons and circumstances in connection with which worship is now occupied, but the principles of its exercise, at that time, were in perfect opposition to those upon which Christian worship is based.
The honor and adoration rendered to God by virtue of that which He is, and of that which He is for us, depend necessarily upon the revelation which He makes of Himself. God changes not; but no one draws near to Him in the light to which no man can approach. It is when He reveals Himself that our relationships with Him begin-be they partial or be they perfect. Now God, under the law, manifested Himself as requiring of man that which man ought to be, and, having placed him, by Divine power, in a position in which he ought to have brought forth fruit to the glory of Him who had made Israel to be His own vine, He blessed man if he was faithful to his duty, and He judged him if he was not so. Under such circumstances, God could not fully reveal Himself. Man was capable of bearing neither the brightness of His majesty nor the light of His holiness. His sovereign love, as Savior, agreed not with the peremptory demand for services under pain of a curse-a just demand, nevertheless, which served to manifest the need in which man was placed of that love and of that grace which brings salvation. God might act, bless, and punish; but, if He revealed Himself fully, it must needs be in order to be found in relationship with what perfectly responds to that which He Himself is. Otherwise it would be to endure iniquity (and that would not be Himself) or to drive it absolutely from before His face; in which case love would not have its place- and God is love. The immediate revelation of Himself such as He is to man is impossible.
God putting Himself in relationship with man as a sinner yet responsible, acted, and concealed Himself.
Now Christianity is based upon an altogether new interposition of God; an interposition arranged in His counsels before the world was, but which waited for its accomplishment, not only the act of sin in man, but that sin should come to its full height, and should have taken the form (which was nothing else than its essential character) of enmity against God, and against God in the most perfect manifestation which was possible of His goodness and of His authority, and of His authority to be exercised in grace over man. Christ appeared, and man crucified Him!
What relationship then was possible between man and God? All is judgment, or all is grace. The former, (which will surely be exercised against all iniquity, and specially against those who have despised grace,) is not, (I thank God), our present subject. It forms only the dark and solemn background of the picture, and throws into relief the perfection, necessity, and brilliancy of grace.
It is with the latter (blessing God therefore), that we have to be occupied. Now, if man crowned his iniquity in rejecting, in the person of Jesus, not only the authority, but also the goodness of God, the same act which perfected the manifestation of the sin which was in the heart of man, and gave its full development to the positive evil which flowed thence-accomplished at the same time all that which the justice of God required with regard to that sin, and manifested His perfect love. Man is there fully made manifest: God also has there acted in all the full plenitude of His holy justice against sin. In Christ He was perfectly glorified in that respect. The affections and the majesty of God have no longer aught to claim from him who comes to God by Jesus Christ. His love is free to bless. The holiness of God is an infinite delight to those who can draw near to Him; for there is no longer any question about guilt between the worshipper and God. Christ has abolished it by the sacrifice of Himself. Entirely cleansed according to the efficacy of the work of Christ Himself, we draw nigh to that place where there is no guilt, to enjoy all that God can heap upon us of blessing; there, where His love has free course, without the hindrance which sin puts in its way, whether we consider His affections or His justice. Passing over it all we come to enjoy Himself. We are in relationship with God, without guilt in His sight, for the enjoyment of that which He is, having been led to the knowledge of Him by means of that which He has been for us in that glorious work by which He has reconciled us unto Himself, and has introduced us into His presence in the light-Christ, having accomplished the work which glorifies God as to sin, has appeared in His presence for us. And further, a necessary consequence, or rather striking expression of these truths, the veil (which was the sign that no one could draw nigh to God), has been rent from the top to the bottom. We have full liberty of entrance into the most holy place; God Himself is perfectly and fully manifested. The stroke which rent the veil and made manifest the God of holiness who cannot endure iniquity; who must needs smite the very Son of His love when He took upon Himself our sin-that same stroke removed the guilt which would have barred our approach to Him thus unveiled, because it could not have appeared in His sight. The light of that presence shines upon us cleansed from all guilt; and that which manifests all the holiness of His justice, which throws out into prominency all its vastness-has rendered us able to abide in the presence of that holiness without spot, and in joy.
All that God is has been manifested in that which He has been for us; and we can enjoy Him as our portion, according to His infinite love in Christ. Such is the basis of worship. That which the angels desire to look into is the daily aliment of all our precious relationships with God; and no one recognizes as he should the glory of the work of Christ, or of the love of his God, to which he is debtor for everything, who takes not up this place for himself. No one can render worship worthy of God upon any other footing. Indeed, no one has recognized himself to be a sinner aright who pretends to offer worship to God otherwise than in this liberty; for who would dare to present himself before God, if all guilt had not been removed? Who would dare to place himself in His presence without a veil; he cannot do it otherwise, for the veil is rent. God will not, cannot any longer, now that He has manifested Himself; now that the true light shines-endure any sin, in any manner, in His presence. Who is free from sin out of Christ? On whom, of those who are in Christ, does it rest? No: in Him it is ours no longer in the presence of God, since He has cleansed us from it; cleansed us by a work which could not possibly be done a second time, the efficacy of which is at once eternal and perfect. And this alone gives freedom to the spiritual affections. For us God is perfect love, and introduces us into the light as He is in the light. But who can fully enjoy that love if there be a bad conscience? Attracted he may be-but find enjoyment he cannot. His affections cannot have free play if his conscience reproaches him with offenses against Him who loves Him-if it produces fear in his soul. The heart must be free, if the affections are to be in exercise. But the work of Christ cleanses the conscience, and sets the heart free by the thought of the perfect love of God which is known by the perfect love which He has had for us, of which Christ is the proof and fullness. The light of His holiness is the joy of our souls. It is in that light that we see all that we love. This relationship, which exceeds all our thoughts, is presented to us in the most striking manner in the title " God of our Lord Jesus Christ." When God calls himself the God of any one, he alludes to a tie of intimacy formed between that person and Him who bears his name superadded to His own-a relationship which has for its basis that which God is for the one, whose God he is, and which implies the purpose to bless and honor according to the relationship, to which God cannot be unfaithful, and which is the subject of enjoyment, in God, by faith, of him whose name is added to the name of God; at least, that which he has the right to appropriate as pertaining to himself on the part. of God. Thus, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, besides being specially their God as the objects of distinctive blessing, is that which God was for these patriarchs, according to the revelation which He had made to them of Himself-that upon which their faith could count in their relationships with Him;-that which they were called to realize. He placed Himself in relationship according to that which His name expressed. Their spiritual privileges had this name for their character and measure. Thus God, in relation to us, is that which is expressed in the title, " God of our Lord Jesus Christ." It is thus that He reveals Himself to us in order that we may be in relationship with him according to the import of this title.
When this is understood, we can comprehend what a glorious position we have in drawing near to God by virtue of this title, " God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory." For, here, Christ is as a man, as being at the head of a new family, ascended to his God and our God. This God, to whom we draw near, is, for us, all that He is for Christ entered into His presence, as having perfectly glorified Him upon earth; His beloved Son, in whom He is always well pleased. This truth stands out in full prominency in chapters i. and ii. of the Epistle to the Ephesians. The Apostle in chapter i. prays that the eyes of our understanding being enlightened, we may know what is the hope of the calling of God, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the 'saints (ver. 18). Then he unites us with Christ in that which he shows to be the true import of that glory-and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the mighty power which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from among the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, etc. And
you Days he] who were dead in trespasses and sins, He hath quickened together with Him-raised up together, and made sit together in heavenly places in Christ,-in order that He might show, in the ages to come, what are the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us by Jesus Christ. And what are the relationships which God has with Jesus Christ? What is there that belongs to Him, on God's part, in justice, in love, even as a man? Who can sound the love of God toward Christ? What are His claims upon the affection of His Father? See, then, in what a wondrous place we are when we come into the presence of God! The glory, even, which God has given unto Him, He has given unto us, in order that the world may know that we are loved even as He is loved. The words of the Lord will be remembered. " I ascend unto my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God."
The two prayers, that of chapter 1 of the Epistle to the Ephesians, and that of chapter 3 will be seen to be respectively based upon these two titles. The prayer of chapter 1 is founded upon the second title, viz., that of " God;" chapter 3 upon the former, viz., that of " Father:" the first in view of glory, and the second in view of communion in love. The passage just cited from John 17, shows that the communication of the glory, all wondrous as it is, is, after all, but the proof that we are loved even as Jesus is loved. What simplicity in this truth, but what love, and what Divine depth even in the proportions of its very simplicity! "I was" as the first Adam; "I am" as the second Adam; I have borne the image of the first, "shall" bear the image of the second. Yes, it is simple; but who would have thought of it but God? It is Himself whom we know therein. The names of the tribes of Israel borne upon the breast of the high priest, as was also their judgment according to the light and perfection of God, were, after all, but a shadow (as says the Apostle) of such blessings. Therefore God, in speaking of the true circumcision (Phil. 3), says, "we worship God in spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." All that puts us out of this position, and supposes the need of anything as a means of our drawing near to God-all that suggests that there needs something intermediate, inasmuch as we are in Christ, puts us out of Him, and places us in Judaism which has, as a system, been nailed to the cross, and which, since the cross, is no better than any heathen ordinance (see Gal. 4) We are in Christ, or we are out of Christ; one with Him, or separate from Him. If we are separate from Him-the distance matters not-we are not in union with the fountain of life. The body separated from the head by a space more minute than the imagination of man can conceive; the body having between it and the head anything, thinner than the beaten leaf of gold, is a body without life. In Christ we are the objects of God's delight in Him, and we are as He is. Out of Christ, we are but objects of His judgment. What should we be before the God of our Lord Jesus Christ-our God? Therefore we are heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; but to follow out the glorious consequences of our position would lead us away from our subject.
But there is yet another thing which is connected with the work of Christ, and on which worship necessarily hangs. Not only has Christ borne away our sin, cleansing us for the presence of God, whose love is manifest in the, unspeakable gift of His Son; but in order that we may enjoy this, He has gained for us, at the same time, the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not only do we receive a new nature, which is holy and capable of sentiments suitable to the position in which Holy has placed us as before God, but we receive the Holy Spirit, who communicates to us the things which are in the Divine presence, and inspires sentiments such as they should awaken. We are strengthened by the Spirit in the inner man, in order that being rooted and grounded in love, Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith, and that we may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the length, and breadth, and depth and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto us, and all that the Father hath is Christ's. That which eye hath not seen, which ear hath not heard, which came not into the heart of man-the things which God has prepared for him whom He loves-God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
The Holy Spirit is the unction which we receive of God, by the which we know the things which are freely given to us of God; by the which we know all things. He is the seal which God has put upon us unto the day of redemption: God has marked for that day of glory those who believe. He is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. He gives us the full assurance of the efficacy of the work of Christ, the knowledge of the position in which we are placed, cleansed by the blood of the Savior, in the sight of God-without spot in the light. By Him the love which was ready to undertake, and which has accomplished all these things, and which has brought us to the enjoyment of such great blessing, the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. He is the originator in us of all the thoughts and of all the affections which are the response to it, even as He communicates all that produces them. But He does more, He is more than all this for us. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. This is not merely an imagination, a feeling, but is a fact; the same Spirit, whose fullness is in Christ, abides in us, and we are united to Christ, members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. By One Spirit we have all been baptized, that we might be one body. Not only is He the power, the link of this union, but He gives us the consciousness of it. " In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." The Holy Spirit, then, gives us, first of all, the assurance of our redemption. Where the Spirit is, there there is liberty. He reveals to us the glory of Christ, as to Stephen, who, full of the Holy Ghost, beheld the glory of God, and the Son of Man at the right hand of God. Moreover, He gives us the consciousness of our union with Christ on high. We know that we are quickened together with Him, raised up together, and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ. Besides all this-and which is its spring and fountain of joy while we think of it-He sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts. All this also turns into rivers of joy and of love overflowing toward this poor world and toward Christians; but I enter not into this precious consequence and blessed privilege, because our subject is worship.
Another truth, of minor importance, but very precious in its place, depends upon this presence of the Holy Spirit: we are of the same body, and thus members one of the other. If Christ is the Head of the body, each Christian is a member of it, and consequently united by the Holy Spirit (who forms the bond of the whole) to every other member. The same Spirit dwells in each Christian; his body is His temple, and having thus united them together, the whole is also His temple. God dwells there by Spirit, in a manner less palpable, but fax more excellent, than in the temple of Jerusalem.
Now, it is in this position, according to this glorious revelation of God, which His love has made to us, and by this Spirit which He has given that we might enjoy it, that true Christian worship is offered to God.
It is thus we know what He is, and what He is for us who offer it to Him. Beholding Him, without a veil, according to the perfection of His Being, of His love, and of His holiness-rendered capable of abiding in the light, as He Himself is in the light, by the selfsame work by which He has revealed it-and thus according to the same perfectness; the objects of that love which spared not His well-beloved Son, in order that we might be in it; having received His Spirit in order that we might comprehend this love, and thus be enabled to adore Him according to His heart's desire, we offer our worship to Him according to that which He has manifested Himself to be in heart toward us, in those things which angels desire to look into, and by the which He will make known in the ages to come the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us in Jesus, yet whom we already know by the Spirit.
But there remains yet another element of our intelligent service-the character of the Father. God must be worshipped in spirit and in truth, for He is a Spirit: but then again, the Father seeketh such to worship Him.
To worship in spirit, is the powerful energy of communion which the Spirit of God gives (in contrast with the forms and ceremonies-with all the religion of which the flesh is capable)-and in the true nature of Him whom we worship (comp. Phil. 3)
To worship God in truth-that is, to worship Him according to the revelation which He has given of Himself.
The Samaritans worshipped God neither in spirit nor in truth. The Jews worshipped God in truth, so far as that can be said of a revelation which was imperfect; for the truth came not but by Jesus Christ (the darkness, says the apostle, is past, and the true light now shineth); but they worshipped Him in no respect in spirit. Now, to worship God, both are needful: the true revelation of Himself, in order that we may worship Him in truth; and to do so according to His nature, that is in spirit.
Yet this is not all that is presented to us in this passage; another precious element is found there: The Father seeks such worshippers. It is grace which makes such now. Grace desires such, but it desires them. It is not a responsibility imposed by the flames of mount Sinai, which, in the very act of demanding worship, in the name of the holy majesty of the Lord, placed, by the very requirement, a barrier which no one could pass under penalty of death: Majesty so terrific that it closed the way of access to God by the very act of requiring that we should draw near to Him-leaving the worshipper far off from God, trembling under the sense of responsibility although encouraged by the benefits he received from Him whom he dared not approach. No. Love seeks worshippers under the gentle name of Father. It places them in a position of freedom before Him as the children whom He loves; the Spirit who acts in them to produce worship is the spirit of adoption which cries Abba Father! It is not that God has lost His Majesty, but that He whose majesty is far better known bears this tender character of Father towards us. The Spirit who makes us worship the Father, gives us to perceive all the love of God, who has led us to worship Him there as His children.
The sense of this, God be thanked, belongs to the most simple and the most ignorant among Christians. The Christian, when once he has understood grace and has received the spirit of adoption, possesses it without any reasoning, as a child knows his father before he can give any account of that which he enjoys. I have written these things unto you, says St. John, addressing himself to the little' children, in Christ, because you have known the Father. The feeblest Christian is, therefore, perfectly competent for worship. At the same time, it is sweet to be able to account to oneself for, and the more one thinks, the more one examines the word on this subject, the more will one see the import, the deep blessedness of, this relationship with God. The simple fact that God is our Father, and that we possess the enjoyment of such a relationship with Him by the Spirit, is in itself an immense privilege for creatures such as we are. Every child of God has this privilege in unquestioned right; but it is in Christ that we possess it, and with Christ. He is the first-born among many brethren. He is gone to his Father and our Father, to his God and our God. What a precious relationship, what a family is that into which we are introduced; and how are we to learn, we, who were formerly strangers to these affections and to this love, how do we learn these things? How learn what the Father is, the knowledge of whom gives birth to these things in our hearts? It is the only begotten son, the first-born in this new relationship, who reveals Him unto us, who reveals Him as he himself has known Him. Eternal son of the Father, enjoying the infinite love of Him in whose bosom he dwelt. Become man upon this earth, Jesus ceased not to be the object of the same affection -affection which, when challenged, could not retain silence-This is my beloved son (said the voice of the Father), in whom I am well pleased. Nor did He in anything put Himself at a distance from it. Upon earth Christ was the object of this love, and He revealed Him in whom it was found. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has revealed Him. Jesus, a man, the Son, in the enjoyment of the fullness of this affection, dwells, being upon earth, in the bosom of the Father, to originate here below, as being the object of it, all the beauty, all the force of that affection. Himself also He loved his disciples even as the Father loved him. As man, He was the object of this love, in order that we might understand it in its application to men. So He associates us with Himself in the joy of this love, and He reveals it to us as he himself knows it. How could He reveal it save as he knew it himself? But what grace and what a position for us I How does Jesus himself, who, by his sufferings, by his devotedness, has placed us therein, become for us an object of love and of adoration, of devotedness of heart. The very glory which we possess is presented to us by the Savior as a proof of this love. "The glory," said He, in chap. 17 of John, "which thou hast given unto me I have given unto them, that the world may know that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me." He loves us enough to make him desire that we may enjoy this, so he renders us capable of it. " I have declared,' says he, in the same chapter, "thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world, and I will declare it, in order that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them." Our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus. This fellowship expresses itself in adoration towards Him who is revealed and towards him who reveals.
It will be easily seen how the work of Christ is at the foundation of all this, whether in order to present us without spot and without fear in the presence of the God whom we adore in the light, or in order to place us in the relationship of children toward the Father. It was after his resurrection that Christ could say, "I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." Then it was that He could say, "Go to my brethren." Now the Spirit which He gives from on high, answers to this blessing: He is the Spirit of adoption, as He is the Spirit of liberty, because we are accepted in the Beloved, and have the enjoyment of a redemption which has made us the righteousness of God in him, placing us in God's presence without spot.
Thus we have, in principle, at least, the great foundation truths of Christian worship. Perfect in Christ; united to him; objects of the same love, in the presence of God, whose love and holiness are manifest without a veil, and constitute the infinite joy of our hearts; children beloved of the Father with Christ the first-born; we worship together according to the power, affections, and energy which the Spirit, who has been given to us inspires; the God of glory, whose presence is the stay instead of being the terror of our souls; the God of love, whose will was to lead us thither, in order to render us perfectly happy in Him; that He Himself might enjoy our perfect happiness, Himself finding more happiness in our blessedness than even we ourselves; love, nevertheless, which we recognize while we love; we adore our Father with endearing confidence in His kindness,-kindness which blesses us with all spiritual blessings, and counts the very hairs of our heads while thoughtful of all our needs. We adore Him for that which he is; we adore Him for that which He is for us, the children of His house for eternity. We act thus in the consciousness that we are His beloved children, we present ourselves before the same Father-our common Father; so that the affections of brethren are developed, the joy of the blessing of each is reciprocally the joy of all, and praises multiplied ascend to God; for a joy full of love, and which is renewed by the blessing of another, by a common blessing, is far more powerful than the joy which flows merely from one's own peculiar blessing: it has more of God in it. Hence we see in the New Testament, that, while indeed the consciousness of this relationship must necessarily be individual in order for us to enjoy it together, and must be maintained in personal relationship with God and upon individual responsibility; yet at the same time the Spirit constantly uses the word Us when speaking of Christian affections and feelings. The Holy Spirit shedding abroad the love of God in our hearts, it could not be otherwise.
But the effect of the presence of this one Spirit goes yet much further. Not only does He give us the consciousness of being in Christ, perfect before God, presented according to the efficacy of the redemption which He has accomplished, the consciousness of being children with the Father who loves them, and who has introduced them into His house, but He gives us also the consciousness of being but one body, the body of Christ, and members one of another. The Church which God has created-that one new man-the redeemed who have been all baptized into one body-not offering worship save by the Spirit, they necessarily offer it as but one body, and that with all the redeemed-they are the tabernacle of God through the Spirit, and that Spirit uniting them all in the unity of the body of Christ, the adoration goes up on high toward the God who formed them to be but one new man in Christ. If Israel was, as a whole, represented by the priests who officiated in the tabernacle, the faithful who render direct worship to God, do it in the unity in which they are all one body in Christ. There is more than brotherhood, there is unity, not of nation, and not only of family, but of the members of one body by one Spirit. It is the Church's portion, which alone is baptized in order to be one body in Christ, the Head being ascended up on high, in order that she may do it freely and with joy before God. by that unction which descends from Him.
Let us state some of the practical effects which flow hence:-
First: it is evident that worship is the privilege only of the children of God-being to be offered in spirit and in truth-to be offered to Him who cannot admit sin into His presence. He who is washed in the blood of the Lamb and who has received the Spirit, and such only, can draw near to God to adore Him. That a man who is not converted should render worship to God, is simply what is impossible. God can bless such a one in temporal things. The man may, perhaps, ask such a blessing, and be heard: God may have tender compassion for him, as for a poor sinner, but as yet he knows not God, as yet he has not the Spirit, he is not as yet washed in the blood of Christ. That he thinks to draw nigh to God, is but the proof that he is ignorant of that which he is in himself, and of that which the God, whom he thinks to serve, is. Who else can enter into the sanctuary save he who is sanctified?-who address himself to a Father, as such, save a child? Moreover, the fact of the unity of the body of Christ, and that the worship is offered by the Spirit which has formed this unity and dwells in the body as in a temple, excludes, by the fact itself that the worship is offered, him who is not of the body. It is to deny its existence, to suppose that a person who has not the Spirit can be of it; it is to deny its end and its nature; for if a man, not converted can enter and worship the God who is served there, there is no need that there should be either such a body or the redemption which is the basis of it. Why should there-be the redeemed, if the worldling can serve God in his presence? Wherefore a body of Christ, if the worldling forms a part of it? Wherefore. adore God by the Spirit, if he who has not the Spirit can adore just as well? Worship in common, supposes that I can say We, in sincerity, when addressing God; it supposes persons united in one body by the same Spirit. A hypocrite may be there-he will be a hindrance in the worship; but its validity will not be thereby destroyed when the worshipper says Us, in truth, in the name of all. It is believers who worship God.
To render true worship to God, supposes that a soul is set at liberty. That is to say, that such a one finds himself free to draw near to God in virtue of the efficacy of the work of Christ. If I see a soul ever so timid which loves God, and which has no other hope than the work of Christ, clearly my part is to encourage such a one; but if such a one has no real knowledge of the efficacy of the work of Christ, he will be ill at ease even in drawing near to God, because His presence will communicate to it rather the conscience of its sin, than of the joy which that presence inspires to him who enjoys it in the peace which is by Christ. Nevertheless, in such cases, right affections often precede the being set free, and are more correct than the reasoning of the soul which is still trembling; but this state is not the normal state of worship. Before God, in the light, purified from all sin by the blood of Christ, such is the position of the true worshipper. The believer is always thus. In order to worship truly, he must know himself to be so. Sometimes the bad teaching one has had neutralizes in the mind the liberty, though the soul, all the while in solitude with God, cries Abba, Father! As a principle, whatever be the allowance made by charity for these cases of ignorance, true worship offered to God supposes that we can draw near to Him without fear; but this is a necessary and absolute effect of the blood and of the work of Christ, of which every true believer has the benefit. It is the presence of the Spirit who gives the enjoyment of it.
What joy, to be able thus to adore God! What a source of joy is He whom we adore! How great the blessedness of finding oneself in His presence, no cloud between, and without fear, being the righteousness of God in Christ-that presence being but an inexhaustible spring of joy for the nature which. He has given us, and which is capable of finding its enjoyment in Him! What joy, to be able to express one's acknowledgments, to render to Him one's thanksgivings, knowing that they are acceptable to Him! What a blessing to have His very Spirit, the Spirit of freedom and of adoption, as our power of acting thus, inspirer of praise and of the feeling of confidence and of adoration! What joy to act thus in unity, as members of the same family and of the same body, sensible that the joy is one common to all; sensible that those whom we love are perfectly acceptable to the Lord, and that they all find their pleasure in praising Him, who is worthy and who has loved us,- the God who is the source of our happiness and the object of our adoration-the Lord who gave Himself in order that He might be our portion!
The perfection of all this will be in heaven. But Christian worship is the realization here below, in weakness, without doubt, of that which will form our eternal blessedness and our life. We have the privilege of feeling ourselves for a little while delivered from the world, withdrawn even from the work of faith, in order to enjoy the state of things in which Christ will see all the travail of His soul and be satisfied. I repeat it is in weakness, but in truth, through the Spirit. Also, the worship being offered by the Spirit, is offered in the unity of the whole body; it may be there are but two or three present; but He who is the center and bond of all the members, is found there; and also by His Spirit we are necessarily and in love bound up with all the other members of His body, which is but one. " We comprehend with all saints be the number of those uniting together what it may] the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." The truth abides in undiminished force, that life is cultivated in private; but it is exercised before God in all the common joy of the Church. I believe there will be in heaven itself an individual joy and communion, and which will be known but to him who enjoys it. This precious truth, I think, is taught in that which is said to the Church of Pergamos: " To him that overcometh will I give a white stone, and a name written thereon, which no one knoweth saving he that receiveth it." I add, that the ability actually to enjoy worship in communion depends upon the maintenance of the inward life; for how enjoy it, if God is not known in the soul? I add these few words lest any one should suppose that the joy of fellowship may lead to a neglect of the hidden walk with God individually. This is far from my thought; if the latter exist not, either the worship will be cold, or the joy will be carnal. But the true blessedness of worship depends upon the presence of the holy Spirit, and, therefore, upon the spiritual condition of those who are present, as taking part in it, save so far as the sovereign goodness of God interferes. This leads me to refer to a very important principle. Namely, that the holy Spirit is the energy, the sole-living source of all that takes place in worship, so far as it is genuine. Moreover, it is a principle, which is universally true-true of all the Christian life. We live by the Spirit; we walk by the Spirit; we worship in spirit and in truth. It is the Spirit who contends against the flesh; it is the affection of the Spirit which is the expression of the whole of the inward Christian life; but in Christian worship, the members of Christ being united together, the Spirit acts in the body. All that which is real and blessed comes from Him. Sovereign in action, but acting according to the spiritual capacity of each; he makes use of this, in order to express the feelings which are suitable to the assembly before God, but He raises them up to Him, for God is there in order to nourish by His grace. That which takes place ought to be according to the spiritual capacity of the assembly, raising it up, however, causing it to draw nigh to God. It is thus that the holy Spirit acts, for he acts in man, but according to the energy and grace of God. When Christians are met together in companies, the members each acting in his place through the Spirit, the opportunity is presented for the exercise of the gifts of the members, which are used in view of the edification of the body. I say the members of the body, because evangelization is necessarily addressed to the world. That is to say, an assembly which has worship for its primary object is the occasion, by its very nature, for the exercise of all the gifts which tend to the edification of the body, although such exercise be in no wise the object proposed by the meeting.
This is clearly established by the fourteenth chapter of the 1st Corinthians, which speaks in the most express manner of the exercise of gifts when the assembly is together, and gives directions to regulate the order of such exercise. This is easily understood. The meeting, being formed as the body of Christ, and the Spirit acting by the members of this body, edifies itself by that which is furnished by each member according to the gift which is distributed to each; the Spirit guiding all, in order that it may be for edification, which is His object. But the principal matter is to draw near to God Himself; the exercise of gifts is but a means; the joy of love in the presence of God, in worshipping Him, the eternal aim. Gifts will cease in heaven, as also the ignorance which makes instruction needful, and the idleness which needs exhortation. Worship will, thank God, never cease. Under the law, the service of the priest was more excellent than that of the Levite; the Levite served; the Priest drew nigh to God, according to the unction which he had received. In the use of gifts we are Levites. In worship we are priests. Moreover, he, who through the Spirit takes part in the worship itself, does not use a gift, which is in general a faculty given of God to act among men. At the same time, it is the measure of spirituality which gives the capability of being the organ of the assembly. The Spirit, then acting in spiritual men, in order to express the spiritual affections of the assembly-is the mode in which worship is rendered to God.
We have remarked, which, moreover, in every Christian soul, connects itself' with the foundation of the truth, that the sacrifice of Christ is the necessary and fundamental basis of all Christian worship. We know that it is by means of this sacrifice alone that we can draw nigh to God, and that it is only in confiding in its efficacy that we can present ourselves before God, who has demanded all the holiness of it, all its perfect value; who, in his nature, could demand no less. But this is not all the relation which exists between worship and the sacrifice of Christ. Christ having opened to us this new and living way through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, we have full liberty to enter, through His blood, into the most holy place. But is that all? Do we forget the precious sacrifice when once we have entered by virtue of its worthiness? No. It is there that we recognize it, that we learn to appreciate its full value. Before entering thither, we might measure the value of the work of Christ, by the needs into which sin had pinned us. Now, happy, and in communion with God, tasting the sweetness of His love, instructed in his thoughts and feelings, we measure [what yet surpasses all measure], this work by the grace of God, which has been unfolded in it; we see in it that which God sees in it, instead of seeing only that which the sinner sees in it, all precious as such perception may be for us at the time in which it was vouchsafed to us..In the enjoyment of peace, being in heaven [spiritually speaking] by virtue of this sacrifice, we contemplate its value with the eyes of God; we are nourished with all. its perfectness according to God's thoughts. For these thoughts, and this vision are given to us by the Spirit to sanctify us, to bring our hearts into harmony with that which is in heaven. We see also in the offering He made of Himself what the love of Christ has been for us.
The death of Christ has such a value in God's sight, that the Lord who, only begotten Son of the Father, was all His delight before the world was, could say, " Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again." His devotedness to the glory of His Father, was in it, absolute. All that belonged to the moral development of that glory, was therein accomplished, at the cost of Him who suffered. All that mysterious evil, by means of which Satan had sway in this world, and misery, death and condemnation had entered, was turned to the manifestation of the glory of God. The righteousness of God, his majesty, his love, [impossible to reconcile together in the midst of sin] were thrown out in relief by sin itself, by means of Him who consented to be made sin for us. On the other hand, if we consider the personal perfection of Christ,' His devotedness to the will of His Father, His love, obedience, submission, sacrifice of all, even to His life, in order that the Father might be glorified, and that those whom He loved might be saved. His perfect patience-the confidence in God which never failed, even when He was forsaken, all are found united in the cross. And when one thinks who He was-when one thinks that it was for us that He did it, what a value ought His death to have in our sight. Add to all this, the power of Satan overcome; death destroyed-become even a gain for us; the veil removed from before the presence of God; a perfection beyond the possibility of a taint, introduced into the whole wide universe, which it fills with peace and light, and of which it has made us the heirs; and more than all, the perfect enjoyment of the love of God. What moral worth has that cross in our eyes, however feeble may be our ability to proclaim it-however feeble our hearts may be, as vessels, to contain the sentiments it inspires. Our adoration necessarily links itself with the cross, the God whom we adore was there glorified, and could not be suitably so without it; there it is that we have learned that which He is.
But is it a glory which is far from us, which dazzles us, and which forces us to a distance by its very greatness? Quite the contrary. Christ hung upon the cross for us, in our stead, as the very lowest from among the children of men; His visage marred more than any man's. His cross is the expression of tender affection toward us, stronger than death. He loved us even unto the end. He took upon Himself to render us happy in the presence of the Father; able to enjoy His presence-He counted nothing too dear to Him that He might accomplish this. And His heart, perfect in love, is attached to those whose cause he has undertaken. He has 'associated them with himself. He who had need of naught, had need of us. I go to prepare a place for you, said he, and if I go and prepare a place, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also. Whom seek ye, said he, in the garden of Gethsemane; if ye seek me, let these go their way, that his word might be accomplished. Of those whom thou gavest me I have lost none. He gave himself for us. With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you, said He, before I suffer, for I will no more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. As the Passover was the memorial of the deliverance out of Egypt for Israel, so the Supper is the memorial, not only of our deliverance, but moreover, of the love of Him who has delivered us. If Jesus attaches value to our remembrance, if he puts Himself thus near us with so much tenderness-it is a love, at the same time, which produces the very deepest affections; affections which are connected with what is most exalted in the grace of God, and which express themselves in the adoration of the heart. We can understand, then, that although worship is offered in various ways, by hymns, by thanksgivings, in the form of prayers, in praise, etc., we can understand, I say, that the Supper, as representing that which forms the basis of all worship, is the center of its exercise, around which the other elements that compose it are grouped. The worshipper is reminded of that which is the most precious of all things in the sight of God, the death of his beloved Son. He recalls the act in which the Savior testifies his love to himself in the most powerful way. Other considerations add their weight to those which we have just presented with regard to the Supper. One is at table in the house of God. One eats, as the priests, of the things with which expiation has been made; one enters with spiritual affection into the perfection of that expiation, and of that which Christ has been in the accomplishment of it; he that eats my flesh and drinks my blood, dwells in me and I in him. I apply not this exclusively to the supper; though it is the most vivid expression of it.
The peace offering presents, with the passover, the most lively images of the true character of the supper. The former was a feast consequent upon a sacrifice, in the second Israel fed upon the sacrifice, the blood of which was their guarantee against judgment. In the former the partakers were, God, the priest who officiated, the priests, the worshipper, and those who were with him. The fat burnt upon the altar was called the food of God. This is the fell satisfaction of God in the sweet odor of the work of Christ. The priest who offered the blood had his part. This is Christ, who has enjoyment in the joy of those that are His, produced by the efficacy of His death-of the fruit of the travail of His soul: the other priests eat another part-they represent Christians in general; lastly, the guests of Him who makes the sacrifice represent united worshipers. God himself has His part in the joy, so has Christ, the Church in general, and lastly, the assembly which participates therein. This figure of the peace offering is found, again, in a manner more precious in the supper. We feed on, and are nourished, through faith, by that holy victim, already offered, the sweet savor of which ascends to God. Christ has His joy in our joy, we share in it with all the Church. Already in heaven, in spirit, we bethink ourselves of what has given us the right to enter there, of that which will be precious above all to our souls when we are there. As Joshua celebrated the passover in Canaan before the walls of Jericho-separated from the world, and united in one body, we show forth the death of Jesus, which is the foundation of our salvation, until he come, and we are forever with Him on high, where remembrance will be useless because we shall be with Himself. Praises, the devotion of our adoration, our thanksgivings are necessarily linked up with the acceptance by our God, in heaven, of the sacrifice of Christ. This is ever true as to the heart; but it is this which makes the supper to form a part of the worship, if that is, so to speak, perfect. In the Old Testament this truth was expressed in figure in a remarkable manner. In the peace-offering, if any one eat the flesh of the victim on a day which was too far removed from the moment when the fat was burnt upon the altar as a sacrifice to God-it was, instead of being communion, a sin. In the case of thanksgivings, a man might eat of the flesh only on the same day. In the case of a voluntary offering, on the morrow also. The joy of the worshipper must be in immediate connection with the offering made to God; otherwise it was profane. Greater energy of piety gave more force to this association, so that in the latter case, the repast on the morrow was not really separate from the sacrifice.
The importance of the Lord's supper in worship, whether in connection with the sacrifice offered to God, foundation of all our relationships with him, or in connection with the affection and the devotedness of Christ for us (which are the two things which form the sphere of the spiritual affections in exercise in worship), will be clear enough when we reflect upon the truths of which we have just spoken. But there is another point also connected with it.
We have seen that the Holy Spirit being the source, force, and conductor of all true Christian worship offered to God, the unity of the body formed by him and in which he acts, is found necessarily to hold a prominent place in the worship which he produces in its members united together. Love, which is the soul of it, is defective in one of its most perfect forms, if the conscience of this unity is wanting. The presence of the Holy Spirit produces the consciousness of this unity, of which he is the author and the bond. Now, considered in one aspect, the supper is the expression of this unity. We are all but one body, inasmuch as we partake of but one loaf. If the bread broken represents, on the one hand the broken body of Christ, the unity of the bread represents, on the other, the unity of his spiritual body. When I knew (said the Apostle) "your love unto all Saints," comprehending with all Saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and what is the love of Christ which passes, knowledge, in order that ye may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power which worketh in us to Him be glory in the Church.
How sweet to find oneself united to all Saints, where-ever they may be, in the unity of the body of Christ, as together members of that body, according to all the privileges which attach to it by reason of the love of Him who nourishes and cherishes it as a man does his own flesh; to feel, by means of the Spirit, one's union with all that is united to Christ, and to feel it with the thought, full of deep joy, that all those who are infinitely-dear to us, as pertaining to Him, have the privilege of the care (which can never fail) of his love. What joy, by faith, to apply to them all that love of which, while worshipping, we have the consciousness-a faith, moreover, which never fails in its aim. Thus it is that intercession connects itself so intimately with worship, properly so-called, being inspired by the affections which are in exercise in virtue of the presence of the Holy Spirit. The requests for grace for themselves, made by those who worship, are scarcely further removed from it, because the feeling of what we owe to God, which is expressed in worship, necessarily produces the desire of glorifying him, and the need of the grace which alone can render us capable of doing so.
With regard to the supper, we find, indeed, that not only it forms the prominent feature of the religious exercises of the faithful; but that it was, with this end in view, that they were wont to unite in the irregular and solemn assemblies-and " they continued with one consent in the temple and breaking bread" at home-that is, in their private houses in contrast with the temple. " They continued steadfast in the doctrine and fellowship of the Apostles, and in the breaking of brad and in prayer."-Acts 2 and 4.
It appears, then, that they partook of the supper even daily, and that, being still Jews, as we know, in many respects, they diligently frequented the temple; but then they had, in their houses, in remembrance of Christ this special service, as to which he had said, " Do this in remembrance of me."
In the twentieth chapter of the Acts we are told, that on the first day of the week (now called Sunday), when the disciples were gathered together to break bread- that is to say, this act, though others might accompany it, was the object of their meeting.
It has been supposed that breaking of bread might apply to something besides the supper, since there is proof that they made a meal at the same time. There is no doubt as to the meal. Christ instituted the supper at the time of His own last evening's repast; and, at first, there was a supper at the same time that they broke bread; but the breaking of bread had a character proper and distinctive to itself even as it had its formal appointment. Not to perceive this when it is celebrated, is what the apostle calls " not discerning the body of the Lord," and, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, he corrects this abuse, by appointing that the repast which previously had accompanied the Lord's Supper, should be separated from it. The passage shows that they came together to eat, but alas! their feast had at Corinth set aside the spiritual service, and some came to take their surfeit in eating and drinking, and left the poor in want. The supper was not observed in their private abodes, but in a building common to all, and every one brought his own supper, and the service had entirely lost its character as the Lord's Supper. The passage plainly shows that they came together in order to eat, and that they supped together in the public building, but that the Supper of the Lord was the avowed object of the meeting. To maintain this last institution in all its importance, the apostle ordained that the supper should be separate, and that each should eat his own supper at home; that so they might come together in the spirit of devotion, and not bring down upon themselves chastisement.
The two grand elements of the ordinary worship of Christians, are the presence of the Holy Spirit and the remembrance of the sacrifice of' Christ, which is commemorated in the supper. We have seen that it was with the latter of these in view, that Christians assembled themselves together, according to that which is said in the Bible.
But in this worship, the affections, which are connected with all our relationships with God, are developed. God, in His Majesty, is adored; the gifts even of His providence are recognized; He who is a spirit is worshipped in spirit and in truth. We present 'to our Father-the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ-the expression of holy affections which He has produced in us, for He sought us when we were afar off from Him, and has placed us near to himself, as his beloved children, in the spirit of adoption-associating us (wondrous grace!) with His well-beloved Son.
We adore the Savior God, being in His presence without spot; His holiness and His perfect righteousness being a joy for us which passes not away, for we are in the light, through the perfect work of Christ, as He Himself is in the light. It is the Holy Spirit Himself who reveals to us these heavenly things and the glory to come, and acts in us so as to produce feelings and affections suitable to such a blessing, to such relationships with God. He it is who is the bond of union between the heart and these things. But He does it by making us feel that we are children of the same family and members of the same body. Uniting us in this worship by means of mutual affections and feelings, common to all, towards Him who is the object of the worship which together we render. In short, the worship is exercised in connection with the very sweetest recollection of the love of Christ, whether we regard His work or whether we recall the thought of his tender affection for us. He desires our remembrance of Him. Sweet and precious thought for the heart. Oh! how precious to our souls, and yet at the same time how solemn ought such worship to be! What sort of life should we be careful to lead in order to render it? with what ardor ought we to seek the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in order to render it suitably? Yet it should be very simple, for true affection is always simple-at the same time, devout, for such interests give devoutness. The majesty and the greatness of the love of Him whom we adore, gives solemnity to every act by which we draw near to Him. With what deep affections and thankfulness should we also think of the Savior, at such times, when we can, by Him, abide in the presence of God, far removed from all evil, in the foretaste of our eternal blessing, and where we recall all His love for us. These two great subjects, about which Christian worship is occupied, viz., the love of God our Father and that of the Lord in His work and as head of His body the Church, afford slight changes in the character of the worship, according to the state of those who render it. There are times in which Jesus will be more present to the thoughts, others in which the Father will be more before the mind. The Holy Spirit alone can guide us in this; but, as our thoughts ought to be true, this will depend upon the state of those who compose the assembly. Effort in such things has no place. He who is the channel of worship (let me say it here) should not present that which is proper and peculiar to himself, but that which is truly the exercise through the Spirit of the hearts of those who compose the assembly. This will make us feel our entire dependance upon the Comforter for truthful service to God in communion. Nothing, however, is more simple or more evident, than the truth that the worship rendered should be that of all.
Another observation we may make here is, how much the worship will be affected by all that grieves the Holy Spirit; every impediment, even in one person, will make itself felt (at least if there be spirituality), for we are there as but one body. It is of the utmost importance that this delicacy of spiritual feeling should be maintained, that we should not habituate ourselves to the having the presence of God but little felt in worship, the action of the Holy Spirit little known. If there is true spirituality, if the Holy Spirit fills the assembly with His presence, evil of every kind is quickly discovered. For God is a jealous God, and He is faithful. A single Achan was discovered at the commencement of the history of Israel-a single lie in Ananias in the beginning of the Church's history. Alas! what things occurred afterward in Israel! what things took place afterward in the Church without any one having even the feeling that evil was present! May God make us humble, watchful, and true, and enable us to bear in mind that His Spirit always abides with us, in order that we may be able to render, by the action of that Spirit in us, spiritual worship! For it is the lovely and powerful testimony to the efficacy of the work of Christ, by the which we can abide in the presence of God, without blame and full of joy, to present to Him worship which, rising from hearts which find in His presence the source of their happiness, render testimony before the angels of heaven to His perfect love, and pre- sent to God -Himself the most acceptable proof of the efficacy of that work which takes from us all fear in His presence, and renders the full and perfect exercise of that love, in which He finds His delight, possible to God.
The privilege of being able to render worship to God is granted to two or three gathered together in the name of Jesus: that is to say, when His name has gathered them together, as the tie among them, by its power common to them all, and known of all, and recognized 'among them as the principle of their assembly. Jesus is there as the joy and strength of their common service. The Lord said to Israel, " In all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee" (Ex. 20:2424An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. (Exodus 20:24)). Further on it is said (Dent. xii.), that they should offer their offerings in the place which He would choose to set His name there; which had its definitive accomplishment at Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:2525Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. (1 Kings 8:25)).
But now, in Jesus, God sets His name there where two or three are gathered together in that name, with a promise (similar to that of Ex. 20:2424An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. (Exodus 20:24)), that there Jesus Himself would be in the midst of them; precious encouragement for the feebleness of His people, if there were thousands of disciples. How great soever the encouragement given by such an action of the Spirit, the presence of Jesus Himself (the most precious of all things) is vouchsafed to two or three of the least of those that are His, if it is truly in His name that they are met. Let it be only His name in which it is done; the fleshly pride which loves to make much of a gift, and would appropriate a flock as its own-human arrangement which would seek to avoid that which is painful to the flesh or the world-the narrowness which would welcome some upon the ground of a peculiar view-none of these is the name of Christ. Those who unite in the name of Christ embrace in heart and mind all those who are His, all the members of His body; they embrace them in the principle upon which they are met; otherwise it would not be in His name that they were united: for one cannot exclude from the power of His name those that are His; His heart embraces them. We are not united according to His heart, if, in principle, our assembly does not embrace them. Clearly His name does not embrace the world, nor sin, nor that which denies the truth which that name reveals.
His name unites in one those that are His. He that gathers not with Him scatters abroad.
Christians are bound to maintain holiness and truth, and to make constant progress towards the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. If any would hinder this, would seek to fashion souls according to the mold of particular views, his action tends towards the destruction of practical unity.
Nothing but spirituality, subject to the Word and regulated by grace, (in a word, the action of the Spirit of God), can, in certain cases, discern between that which is a step forward, and that which is the insisting upon some private view of one's own. For the spirit of the world, which loves not progress nor that which presents more of Christ, will stamp with the name of " particular views" all that which tends to make our responsibility to Christ deeper and more felt: and a spirit of narrowness will treat as progress all that makes much of its own notions. Moreover, if an assembly of worshippers is truly founded upon the basis of the unity of the Church of God-if the mass of the assembly is not in a state to bear that which would be a true step in advance-it is useless to insist upon it; to do so would tend to division rather than to progress. Such was the case of the Corinthians. The Apostle had to nourish them with milk. They were not able to bear anything else, even when he wrote to them.
On the contrary, when it is a return to a Jewish spirit, which would compromise the Gospel, the Apostle refuses to stop (Heb. 5:12, 14; 6:1, 412For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. (Hebrews 5:12)
14But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14)
1Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, (Hebrews 6:1)
4For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, (Hebrews 6:4)). The energetic wisdom of the Spirit of God is needed by the Church. It is not the intention of God that she should be able to do without it, or be exempt from dependance upon Him who gives it. I have added these few practical words which only concern things which are accessory to my subject, because they refer to difficulties which are constantly occurring in the Christian's path when assembling for worship, or which are presented as such to prevent their walking in this path. I take it for granted all along, that the meeting is upon the eternal foundation of the unity of the Church of God; if that is compromised, there is no ground for any union at all, the meeting itself is not according to God. One must first of all be perfectly clear upon this point.
But I desire that our souls may be brought back to the foundation of the subject which I treat. That which I have said is connected with the assembling of the children of God for worship. Sweet and precious privilege, to anticipate that which will be our eternal employ in heaven I There our worship will be perfect. There, all the Church, come to its full perfection, will be assembled to render worship in the midst of the general assembly on high; without distraction, and without fear of change in its joy, it will enjoy it eternally in the perfect favor of God. What a privilege, even here below, to close the door for a moment upon all the distractions of this nether world, and by the Spirit to satisfy the desire of the heart by rendering to God the thanksgiving which He is worthy to receive, and which He has, in His bounty, breathed into our hearts!
I will notice yet a few passages which may help individuals to seize the spirit of worship. The first passage which I will notice is Phil. 3-" We serve God in spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." We may remark, that there is here no question about sin, in the ordinary sense, of the flesh, but of confidence in the flesh. That is its religion, altogether as evil as its lusts; for, after all, it is but one of them, though covered up with the veil of works and of holiness. The touchstone is, that it does not tend to the glory of Jesus, or yet better, that it does not glory only in Jesus. The religion of the flesh can be occupied much in good works, be without reproach as to conduct, have much of self-denial, much of piety, plenty of humility, be much occupied with the love of God; but while pretending, perhaps, to found it upon His love (which is infinite), it will be that love of God which is in the heart-our love to Him.
One may ask, But if all these things can exist in a person, and be nothing but the flesh, how can we discern the true circumcision? It rejoices in Jesus Christ. Nothing is easier than to judge these things, if Christ is our all. The fact that He is so, makes us feel, without hesitancy, that all this is flesh, and yields its help to that which destroys Christianity from its foundations. Is there another mark desired, by which one can judge this religion of the flesh with all its pretensions? It does not hold the Head; that is to say, he who is in this state never has the consciousness of his own union with Christ, so as to be placed, as raised up together with Him, in the heavenly places: bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh, one spirit with the Lord, a member of His body. Such an one will, perhaps, recognize this as true for the Church, in an abstract manner (for the religion of the flesh can be orthodox), but not that oneself is there. Now faith is an individual thing, and places him who possesses it in the enjoyment-or personally under the effects-of the object which it regards. Col. 2, as well as the chapter cited above, judges all this fair but specious appearance. The Lord, in His addresses to. the. Scribes and Pharisees, judged it in its grosser forms. Another thing which marks carnal religion is, that however apparently elevated be its piety, it accords with things which are not of heaven, and seeks not, in every respect, the things which are on high, which is the sentiment of one who is dead and raised up together with Christ. The religion which is of the Spirit, true worship, serves God in Spirit, and has no confidence in the flesh; it knows not the religion of its forefathers, even though it may have been true. Of one's forefathers one inherits but a sinful nature. It confides not either in its zeal or in any devoutness which it can offer to God, nor in its love to Him. It does not rejoice save in Jesus Christ alone before God. The soul has learned that it was dead in its sins, and the precious Savior having come down even to the point of being made sin for us, as dead and raised up together with Him-for it is lost if it lives according to the natural life-it knows in God's sight but one sole thing, which it puts forward, in which it rejoices, in which it glories before Him, on which it knows that God has placed all his delight; it rejoices in Jesus Christ. One cannot fail to observe how this practical description of circumcision, i.e., of the true people set apart for God, and as to the flesh, dead-connects itself with the grand foundations upon which we have already seen the true Christian placed in the service which he renders to God. Let us bear in mind also, that it will profit nothing to mingle carnal religion with that of the Spirit. The flesh of the Christian finds in such a course its aliment. The effort of the adversary, at the commencement of the Church, was not to substitute circumcision in the flesh, and the law in place of Christ, but to add them. But the Apostle saw clearly, by the Spirit, that in admitting this, all was lost. The Christian is one with the Head, which is Christ; the least thing between them, and the body is-naught more than a corpse. The work of Christ is not sufficient if anything is to be added. And, not only so, but all the Christian position was swept away. For instead of being in Christ, happy in God's presence, by virtue of one work already accomplished by the glorious Savior alone, " rendered complete in Him," " accepted in the beloved," man has still to seek means of rendering himself acceptable to God, to find the way by which he may present himself before Him. One is fallen from grace. The nature of Christianity is changed; it is denied, though not in word. The truth of the Gospel no longer remains.
May God grant us to have no confidence in the flesh, but to rejoice in Christ Jesus!
One may ask oneself, But is it not possible to maintain these truths in all their height, and still to be carnal? I answer, doubtless: yet the flesh then takes the form of licentiousness, its real character, and not that of religiousness. It is very pious when it acts the pious, for it always desires to rejoice in itself.
I will cite another passage to show the spirit of worship, although it formally applies, of necessity, to things on earth. I refer to Deut. 26. In type, Canaan represents heaven. Now, Israel arrived in Canaan, enjoyed the effect of the promise. Read now Deut. 26 The worshipper, already come to a good land which God had given to him as an heritage, presents himself with the fruits of the land. This is that which we have to offer to God, the joy of heavenly love- all that is found for our hearts-in the possession of heaven, whither we are entered in spirit-in Christ, who fills it with His glory and His perfections-in the love of God Himself, who has introduced us thither. Holiness and love characterize the land, are the fruits which grow there spontaneously, as are the thanksgivings in the hearts of those who find themselves there.
The worshipper professed aloud that his God had accomplished all; it was thus that he presented himself. This was due to God, since Israel was indeed there through His faithful grace, and there would have been failure as to the only true feeling of his position if he had not come thus. Is it then that he forgot his own wretchedness? No. But he was in it no longer; it served only to exalt the thought of his deliverance. " And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became a nation, great, mighty, and populous: And the Egyptians evil entreated us and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labor, and our oppression: And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land, which thou, 0 Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God."
The Christian was the slave of Satan, and in himself miserable; but God delivered him by Christ, therefore He adores. Not only so, the Lord had given Israel this good land, full of that which makes the glory of every land, He brought the fruit of it, in testimony, with thanksgiving.
If we are seated in peace in the heavenly places, have our hearts naught there to offer? Has the country produced nothing which we can offer to God in testimony of the value of His gifts, of the feeling which we have of His goodness? Further, the worshipper addressed God directly, rendering the worship to Him which was due; the fruit of a heart happy in His bounty.
Thus the spirit of grace and of love was shed abroad in his heart, and he enjoyed all in simplicity and with gladness of heart; causing others also to enjoy with Him, rendering the desolate and the stranger happy.
" And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them." Pure in walk, carefully preserving the holiness of God, and that which was hallowed for Him, from being profaned, he could, from his heart, implore a blessing upon all the people of his God, and ask that it might rest on the whole state of things in which God had placed them. It was the memorial of a tie between God and His people.
In examining also chapter 16 of Deut. we shall find, in the directions given for the feasts of the Lord, an unfolding of what the spirit was in which Israel should have observed them, and in a measure, an instructive contrast between the state of soul which they respectively inspired.
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