578 AROSE OR THE $ASSIGNS IN RELIGION. themselves, till they have been covered with blood; they have bound themselves with vows to travel barefoot, and to make long and tedious pilgrimages to distant lands. Some have sent them- selves to death by voluntary starving ; others have tortured and destroyed themselves with excessive thirst and either made their bodies miserable, or put an end to life to spew their love to God. These are wild and frantic superstitions indeed, extravagant me- thods of expressing any devout passion, and most of them ut- terly unlawful. Let us remember, that the religion which God teaches, has nothing in it contrary to the light of nature ; nor must our inward piety break in upon the rules of reason and decency, when we would express it by any outward signs. There are some religious affections, which are very properly expressed and manifested in the common way, whereby nature usually expresses those inward sensations of the soul. Godly sorrow naturally vents itself in groans and tears; Ps. vi. 6. Holy joy sometimes by a smile of the countenance, and often by the voice of sacred melody : And this not only appears in the example of the royal Psalmist, but in the precepts of the New Testament ; Eph. v. 19. James v. 13. If any be merry let him sings psalms. Pious and earnest desires of the presence of. God, and of his favour, are signified by stretching of the arm towards him, or lifting up the eyes and hands to him ; Ps. lxviii, 31. and xxviii. 2. and cxxi. 1, 2. Repentance and shame is na- turally signified by downcast eyes or blushing; Luke xviii. 13. Ezra ix. 6. Some of the stronger outward appearances, and vehement tokens of inward holy passion, are indeed rather to be indulged in private than in public worship : But in all our behaviour in this respect, let us take heed that the inward affection is sincere, and is the real spring of all the outward signs and expressions. Let us see to i't,that we indulge not that practice which our Sa- viour so much condemns in the hypocrites of his day ; Mat. vi. 16.. Let us make no sad faces, nor put on dismal airs, nor smite thebreast with the hand, and disfigure our countenances, merely to make theworld believe that weare penitents : Nor let us make ourselves remarkable in public and mixed company, by turning up our eyes to heaven, to tell the world how oftenwe pray in the midst of our secular affairs ; though secret prayer may and ought to be sometimes rising to God, and we may lift an eye to him!, while weare among men : Nor in public worship should we use frequent and loud groanings, to persuade our neighbours that we aremore deeply affected with divine things than they ; though devout affection will sometimes vent agroan or a sigh. 'But above all, let us take heed lest we make use of these outward colours and forms of passion; to cover the want of inward devotion and piety. We should always make our religion al-
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