$erm. C. The Spirituality of the Divine Nature. Firnl, That God is a Spirit. This expreffion is ungular, and not to be paral- lel'd again in the Scripture indeed we have often mention made in Scripture of the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of the Lord, which fignifies a Divine Power and Energy and of the holy Spirit, ugnifying the third Perkin in the Trinity God is call'd the God of the Spirits of all flefh ; Numb. 16. zz. 27. 16. much in the fame Senfe, as he is call'd the Father ofSpirits, Heb. r z. 9. that is, the Crea- tor of the Souls of .Men ; but we no where meet with this expreffion, or any other equivalent to it, that God is a Spirit, but only in this place ; nor had it been ufed here, but to prove, that the heft Worship of God, that which is molt proper to him, is fpiritual ; fo that the thing which our Saviour here intends, is not to prove the Spiritual Nature of God, but that his Worship ought to be fpiritual nor indeed is there any neceffity that it Ihould have been any where faid in Scripture, that God is a Spirit, it 'being the natural Notion of a God ; no more than it is neceffary that it Ihould betold us, that God is good, or that he is infinite, and eternal, and the like ; or that the Scripture Ihould.prove to us the Being of a God. All thefe are manifeft by the Light of Nature, and if the Scripture mentión them, it is ex abundanti, and it is ufually in order to fome far- ther purpofe. For we are to know, that the Scripture fuppofth us to be Men, and to par- take of the common Notions of Human Nature, and therefore doth not teach us Philofophy, nor folicitoufly inftru t us in thofe things which are born with us, but fuppofeth the knowledge of thefe, and makes ufe of thefe common Prin- ciples and Notions which are in us concerning God, and the immortality of our Souls, and the Life to come, to excite us to our Duty, and quicken our Endea- vours after Happinefs. For I do not find that the Doctrine of the immortality of the Soul, is any where exprefly delivered in Scripture, but taken for granted ; in like manner that the Scripture doth not folicitoufly inftruét us in the natural Notions whichwe have ofGod, but fuppofeth them known to us ; and if it men. tion them, it is not fo much in order to knowledge as to prat ice ; and therefore we need not wonder that this expreffion, which doth fet forth to us the Nature of God, is but once ufed in Scripture, and that brought in upon occafion, and for another purp.ofe ; becaufe it is a thing naturallyknown, Plato lays, that God is dau/.ts?g,,, without Body: In like manner Tully; Nec enim Deus ipfe qui intelli- gitur á nobis alio modo intelligi potefi, nift mens queedam bbluta & libera ; fegregata ab omni concretionemortali; we cannot conceive of God, but as of a pure Mind, en- tirely free fromall mortal competition or mixture. And Plutarch after him, vi'l; i' 6 'NUs, xntç-6, á'( ., ?mutico zó dyt n;'waor; ü7<nç, 000v1 auOs1 WF47rE7rxi), 4cv, God is a Mind, an abJlra£l Being, pure from all matter, and difintangled from whatever is poJble or capable of fuffering. So that Natural Light informing us that God is a Spirit, there was no need why the Scripture Ihould inculcate this ; it is an excellent medium or argument to prove that the Worship of God Ihould chiefly'be fpiritual . ; and altho' it was not neceffary that it Ihould have been mention'd for it felf, that is, to inform us of a thing whichwe. could not otherwife know, yet the Wifdom of God, by the exprefs mention of this, feems to have provided againit an Error, which force weaker and grofl'er Spirits might be fubjeót' to. You knowGod is pleated,' by way of condefcention and accommodation of himfelf to our capacity, to repre- fent himfelf to us in Scripture by Human Imperfe&ions, and gives fuchdefcrip titans of himfelf, as if he had a Body, and Bodily Members ; now to prevent any error or miflake that might be óccafion'd hereby, it feems very becoming the Wifdom of God, fomewhere in Scripture exprefly to declare the fpiritual Nature of God, that none through'weaknefs or wilfulnefs might entertain grofs appre -. henfions of him. In fj eaking to this Propofition, I shat!, I. Explain what is meant by a Spirit. IL Endeavour to prove to you, that God is a Spirit. ITT. Anfwer an Objection or two. IV. Draw force Inferences or Coro!laries from the whole; 749 I; For
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