and that he whom we serve is our master. "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? When ye were the servants of sin, ye obeyed it in the lust thereof; but now ye are made free from sin, and become the servants of God, and have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. Reckon ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Our old man is crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. How can ye that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" All the children of men are in one of these two states. They are alive to sin and dead to God, or alive to God and dead to sin. "If they live after the flesh they shall die, but if they through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, they shall live." 4. It is therefore necessary that you should know whether you live after the flesh, or after the Spirit, before you can have any assurance of your final salvation. One would think that this knowledge is easy to all, for life and death are no way alike. Living to God, and living to sin, have no similarity, but are in direct opposition to each other. Wherein, therefore, is the difficulty of ascertaining what our own life is? Our ignorance of the real state of our souls, is owing to our inattention to what passes within us; we neglect selfexamination. If a man tries himself by the word of God faithfully, he may know whether he serves God, or serves sin. Surely the faithful servants of sin and Satan, whose chief delight is to live after the flesh, and shun the ways of holiness, may easily know that they are under condemnation, for they live after the flesh and must die. And they also who live to God, and walk in the Spirit, and are growing up in Christ Jesus, may know that there is now no condemnation for them, for they are passed from death unto life. 5. Some will say, I seem to be serving two masters, God and Satan. You are influenced by two principles, yet you can serve but one Master. You can say with the apostle, "I delight in the law of God after the inner man ; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.' Here you have only to observe which law you serve willingly, habitually, and with delight, in order to know which of the two has the dominion over you. The man of grace delights in the law of grace, but hates the law of sin, which only torments his soul, and brings him into bondage. If, then, I find, on due examination, that I relish divine things more than earthly things, and delight in holy things and not in carnal things; if I find that the religion of God is become my natural element, where I breathe freely, and where I find my chief delight, what need have [ of any further witness, that I am born of God, and that my salvation shall be for ever? IV. All that have entered into the kingdom of salvation" WORSHIP God in spirit and in truth, and the Father seeketh such to worship him." This, of all things, is the most sublime and spiritual act of the Christian. It is an inward transaction between the soul and God, known to them only. It is one of the H hidden mysteries, done in secret, and known only to him who seeth in secret. It is the most sublime act of the redeemed of the Lord on earth; and the angels in his presence have no higher employment. Adoration is an act which the unregenerate never can perform, for they have no heart for it. The redeemed of the Lord, who are one with Christ, and in whom the Spirit of God dwells, are the only people on earth that worship God acceptably in spirit and in truth. And all those who are destined for eternal adoration and praises in the glory to come, begin these holy anthems while in the way to eternal rest. What is it to worship God? It is the creature doing homage to the Creator, under full conviction of his entire dependence upon him for life and happiness. We must know God and ourselves before we can worship him aright: know that he is all in all, and that we are but vanity: know that he is life itself, and that in him we live, move, and have our being; we must know that in him all fulness dwells, and that we are only beggars at his door; and pensioners on his bounty. Without such views we shall never truly worship the Lord Jehovah. God must be worshipped in his own true character, and there is nothing that we should so intensely study as the real character of God. He told Moses, that his name was "The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." "And this is my name for ever." Exod. xxiv. 6, 7. We must know God as he has revealed himself in the person and mediation of Christ, and in the glorious salvation which he has provided for a fallen world. It is there alone that he manifests himself as the God of grace and mercy. It is there we learn that God is love. We learn on Sinai that God is just, holy, and terrible, but we learn on Mount Sion that he has bowels of tender mercies. (Heb. xii.) So then, "He that cometh to God, must believe that he is" such a God, as he has revealed himself in the scriptures. 1. We must worship the true God in a true manner. There is an infinite distance between man and God. A whole nation are to him but as dust on the scale, or drops from the bucket. When these little polluted beings fall down to worship him who liveth for ever and ever, with what reverence and godly fear should they draw nigh unto him? They ought to summon all the powers of their souls to set forth the praises of Jehovah the Saviour, and say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” And every grace should be called into lively exercise, while we adore the Great Eternal. Our prayers and praises will ever be according to the views we have of God and of ourselves, and according to the credit we give to the word of his grace. When we have exalted views of God and humbling views of ourselves, we worship him with fervour of devotion. But when we look neither to God nor ourselves, the mind wanders and the heart sleeps in prayer. So then, we must worship the true God, and that in a true manner. 2. There are many false worshippers, even among professors of Christianity, who have the gospel in their hands, when they have no grace in their hearts. They worship they know not what. They bow the knee, but not the mind. God complains of such worshippers, and saith, “These people draw nigh unto me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” View our assemblies in the temple on the Sabbath, and see in what a sleepy, cold, and careless manner most of them worship their God and Saviour! And you will soon say, such worshippers know neither God nor themselves, and their devotion is mockery. 3. God has some true worshippers, who worship him in spirit and in truth: who draw nigh unto him with a true heart, and offer unto him acceptable services through the mediation of Jesus Christ. It is by looking at Christ, and feeding their souls upon him, that men come to worship God in truth. They fix their minds on the marvellous mysteries of redemption; on the great salvation of the God-man; on the glories of his kingdom, and on the riches of his grace, and then fall down at his feet and worship him with profound reverence and admiration. They frequently trace him all the way from Bethlehem to Calvary. They behold him tempted in the wilderness, agonizing in Gethsemane, and expiring on the cross. These most affecting views constrain their hearts to worship him. Whatever views we take of Jesus, whether in the height above, or in the depth beneath, all views are truly wonderful and affecting. Look at him lying in the grave, or reigning on the throne of heaven : condemned at the bar of Pilate, or judging the world: without a place to lay his head, or bestowing kingdoms on his followers: in the form of a servant, or as the King of kings. In taking such views of Jesus, |