godliness may yet be in a state so hateful to God, what must be the condition of those who are destitute even of the form? Can it be that they should be approved of the Lord ? They will indeed, and with great confidence too, affirm, that they have no ground to fear : but they awfully deceive their own souls : for to them does that declaration of God belong, in its utmost force, " The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the people that forget God^" O that they would be wise, and consider their latter end, ere it be too late !]
2. Those who have the form, but not the power —
[To what purpose is it that you " profess to know God, if in works you deny him ? " In truth, if you will look into the Scriptures, you will find that real godliness is a far diffe- rent thing from what you are accustomed to think it. Look at the precepts : do they extend only to forms ? Examine the promises ; are they limited to forms ? See the examples of piety : do they rise no higher than to mere formal services ? The whole of God's blessed word declares, that God must " be worshipped in Spirit and in truth;" and that the heart, the whole heart, must be consecrated to his service. Any thing short of this is a mere mockery, and a fatal delusion.]
3. Those who have both the form and power of godliness —
[It is well to combine the two, yet to keep them both in their proper place. We must not elevate either, to the exclusion of the other. As we must not rest in forms, so neither must we rise above them, as though the eminence of our piety superseded the use of them. All external duties, of whatever kind, must be observed : only we must take care that we be filled with the Spirit, in the use of them. Forms are like Jacob's ladder, by which you are to ascend to God, and God will descend to you. But see to it, that your access to God be daily more near, and your enjoyment of him more sweet: see to it, that you shew forth daily, with increasing- evidence, the efficacy of his grace, and the beauty of his reli- gion. Let your whole spirit and temper evince the power of godliness in your souls ; and then not only shall all the saints turn mito you in love, but God himself will embrace you as the objects of his tenderest affection.]
•^ Ps. ix. 17.