Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God

Motives to back this exhortation.

1. Not to give God our Spirit is a great sin. Tis a mockery of God, not worship; contempt, not adoration, whatever our outward fervency or protestations may be^*. Every alienation of our hearts from him is a real scorn put upon him: The acts of the Soul are real, and more the acts of the man than the acts of the body; because they are the acts of the choicest part of man, and of that which is the first spring of all bodily motions; 'tis the [Greek or Hebrew] the Internal speech whereby we must speak with God: To give him therefore, only an external form of worship without the life of it, is a taking his name in vain: We mock him, when we mind not what we are speaking to him, or what he is speaking to us; when the motions of our hearts are contrary to the motions of our tongues; when we do any thing before him slovenly, impudently or rashly. As in a Lutenist, it is absurd to sing one Tune and play another; so it is a foul thing, to tell God one thing with our lips, and think another thing with our hearts; 'tis a sin like that the Apostle chargeth the Heathens with, Rom. 1.28. they like not to retain God in their knowledge; their stomachs are sick while they are upon any duty, and never leave working, till they have thrown up all the spiritual part of Worship, and rid themselves of the thoughts of God, which are as unwelcome and troublesome Guests to them: When men behave themselves in the sight of God, as if God were not God; they do not only defame him, but deny him, and violate the unchangeable perfections of the Divine Nature.

1. Not to give God our Spirit is a great sin. Tis a mockery of God, not worship; contempt, not adoration, whatever our outward fervency or protestations may be^*. Every alienation of our hearts from him is a real scorn put upon him: The acts of the Soul are real, and more the acts of the man than the acts of the body; because they are the acts of the choicest part of man, and of that which is the first spring of all bodily motions; 'tis the the Inrenal speech whereby we must speak with God: To give him therefore, only an external form of worship without the life of it, is a taking his name in vain: We mock him, when we mind not what we are speaking to him, or what he is speaking to us; when the motions of our hearts are contrary to the motions of our tongues; when we do any thing before him slovenly, impudently or rashly. As in a Lutinisi, it is absurd to sing one Tune and play another; so it is a foul thing, to tell God one thing with our lips, and think another thing with our hearts; 'tis a sin like that the Apostle chargeth the Heathens with,