God. A living man can hold no intercourse with a lifeless corpse; neither can pure spirit have communion with corrupt matter!

The apostle Paul frequently urges the necessity of this character of divine worship. "I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also," saith he to the Corinthians.* And we may learn what he means by "his spirit," by the use he makes of that word in the same Epistle, "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him." ↑ And again, "God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit;" or as it is in the margin, “in my spirit." And again, "We are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus."§ Thus all true worshippers "worship the Father in spirit: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him."

But our blessed Lord is careful not only to teach us the nature of divine worship as a spiritual act, an act of the mind and soul, but he further points out another indispensable quality of all acceptable services; they must be SINCERE. We must worship Him "in SPIRIT and in TRUTH.” It is not enough that the mind and feelings be in some measure engaged in this solemn duty; they must be honestly, conscientiously, and wholly devoted to it. A divided heart is equally unwel+ 1 Cor. ii. 11. § Phil. iii. 3.

* 1 Cor. xiv. 15.
Rom. i. 9.

come with feigned lips. God has promised in numberless passages of his holy word, to hear and answer prayer; but the promise has ever this limitation, "Ir they seek me with ALL their heart."* This declaration has reference rather to simplicity of purpose, and integrity of desire, than to the degree in which the feelings may be engaged in prayer. A true worshipper may be most painfully exercised by wandering imaginations in prayer, and still he may be a genuine and acceptable servant. "He has set his face to seek the Lord his God;" and though much weakness and infirmity may accompany the attempt, he is not a hypocrite, nor an eyeservant, nor a formal Pharisee: in him there is the upright intention, the patient endeavour, and the persevering effort; the affections are set upon God, the heart desires him; "he lifts up his heart unto the Lord;" though it may be heavy, and unable to soar high in devotion: "he panteth after the water-brooks, as the thirsty hart," though his lips may still be parched and dried up: "the eyes" of his understanding "look upward," although they may be ready "to fail;"† his hands are stretched out unto God-though with feeble voice he may cry, "O when wilt thou comfort me?" That man is a true worshipper. But in the act of confession it is that the true character of the spiritual worshipper chiefly + Isa. xxxviii. 14.

* Deut. iv. 29.

appears. He goes before God impressed with the conviction that "there is not a thought in his heart but God knoweth it altogether;" and that it is the will of Him whom he worships that His servant should confess all his sins to Him. So he spreads all his secret sins before the Lord, with fidelity, minuteness, integrity. He would keep nothing back from Him; he would open his whole soul unto Him; he strives to unveil his hidden motives, to discover the very springs of his actions. And knowing the tendency in man to self-deception, he anxiously implores that God would search him, and show to him every dark feature of his soul. This is true and spiritual worship. And it is obvious that such services must, from their very nature, be frequent, and sometimes long. Genuine prayer is indeed often brief and abrupt: "God be merciful to me a sinner!" "Lord, save, or I perish!" "Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me!" But in order to cultivate a habit of close communion with God, many persons have prayed three times a day, others seven times; and having obtained a habit of devotion some could say, "All the day long have I prayed and cried unto thee." Not only at stated seasons, but "when they walked by the way, when they sat in the house, when they lay down, and when they rose up," their soul, their mental conversation, was in heaven, even while they sojourned upon earth. But of

whatever description our devotions may be, whether public or private, stated or occasional, they must be offered" in spirit and in truth," or they will never find acceptance with God.

Such devotion is not indeed of easy acquirement; it is high and spiritual, and there are many hindrances. This leads us, III. To consider THE DIFFICULTIES OF SUCH WORSHIP. Few if any difficulties oppose the formalist in his devotions. It requires no effort of the mind to kneel down and read over a certain form of words, or to attend the public service of the church; both these ceremonies may be performed, whilst the thoughts are engaged with a multitude of objects foreign to the sacred duty by which they should be occupied. This is a mere mechanical worship, a physical, not a mental or spiritual act and therefore no obstruction is offered to it either by the world, the flesh, or the devil. But let a man become deeply impressed with the importance and spirituality of divine worship, let him try to abstract his mind from all other subjects; let him strive to pray as he ought to an invisible Spirit, an intelligent, heartsearching God, and immediately he will experience the greatest difficulty. This is a fact universally established and received by all who know what true prayer is; so that we may confidently assure any one who has never yet found difficulty in performing his devotions, that this is alone

a sufficient proof that he is as yet a stranger to PRAYER, although he may have SAID many prayers all his life!

The difficulties experienced by those who strive to worship God in spirit and in truth, arise from various sources; none however are more formidable than those which spring up spontaneously in their own bosoms. A natural disinclination to spiritual devotion is one of the most proverbial, and most decided proofs of our alienation from God, and of the depravity of our hearts. The object of our worship is in Himself so glorious, so benevolent, so merciful, and so well calculated to excite holy feelings in our bosoms, that the instinctive aversion from Him, of which every one is sensible "who knows the plague of his own heart," is indeed a desperate proof how very far we are gone from original righteousness. Yet who that has ever tried to pray indeed, but has felt a secret rebellion against the work in his own bosom? How gladly we avail ourselves of distractions from without as an excuse for shortening the hour of secret prayer! Even painful duties are sometimes welcomed as apologies for the most arduous duty of all, viz. heart-converse with God! How often do we hide ourselves when God says to us, as He did to our fallen parents, "Where art thou?" And when we are made willing by God's grace, to devote ourselves to secret prayer, what aberrations of mind have we to deplore!