VII. God’s institution of religious worship, and honour therein to be rendered unto him by sinners, is another evidence that there is forgiveness with him. I have instanced before in one particular of worship to this purpose, — namely, in that of sacrifices; but therein we intended only their particular nature and signification, how they declared and manifested reconciliation, atonement, and pardon. That now aimed at is, to show how all the worship that God hath appointed unto us, and all the honour which we give unto his holy majesty thereby, is built upon the same foundation, — namely, a supposition of forgiveness, — and is appointed to teach it, and to ascertain us of it; which shall briefly be declared. To this end observe, —
1. That the general end of all divine and religious worship is to raise unto God a revenue of glory out of the creation. Such is God’s infinite natural self-sufficiency, that he stands in need of no such glory and honour. He was in himself no less infinitely and eternally glorious before the creation of all or any thing whatever, than he will be when he shall be encompassed about with the praises of all the works of his hands. And such is his absolute perfection, that no honour given unto him, no admiration of him, no ascription of glory and praise, can add any thing unto him. Hence saith the psalmist, “My goodness extendeth not to thee,” Ps. xvi. 2; — “It doth not so reach thee as to add unto thee, to profit thee, as it may do the saints that are on earth.” As he in Job, chap. xxii. 2, 3, “Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?” There is no doubt but that it is well-pleasing unto God that we should be righteous and upright; but we do him not a pleasure therein, as though he stood in need of it, or it were advantage or gain unto him. And again, chap. xxxv. 7, “If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he at thine hand?” And the reason of all this the apostle gives us, Rom. xi. 36, “Of him, and through him, and to him, are all things.” Being the first sovereign cause and last absolute end of all things, every way perfect and self-sufficient, nothing can be added unto him: or, as the same apostle speaks, “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, is not worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth unto all life, and breath, and all things,” Acts xvii. 24, 25; as he himself pleads at large, Ps. l. 7–13.
2. Wherefore, all the revenue of glory that God will receive by his worship depends merely on his own voluntary choice and appointment. All worship, I say, depends now on the sovereign will and pleasure of God. It is true there is a natural worship due from rational creatures by the law of their creation. This was indispensably and absolutely necessary at first. The very being of God and order of things required that it should be so. Supposing that God had made such creatures as we are, it could not be but that moral obedience was due unto him, — namely, that he should be believed in, trusted, and obeyed, as the first cause, last end, and sovereign Lord of all. But the entrance of sin, laying the sinner absolutely under the curse of God, utterly put an end to this order of things. Man was now to have perished immediately, and an end to be put unto the law of this obedience. But here, in the sovereign will of God, an interposition was made between sin and the sentence, and man was respited from destruction. All worship following hereon, even that which was before natural, by the law of creation, is now resolved into an arbitrary act of God’s will.
And unto this end is all worship designed, — namely, to give glory unto God. For as God hath said that “he will be sanctified in all that draw nigh him,” — that is, in his worship, — and that therein “he will be glorified,” Lev. x. 3; and that “he that offereth him praise,” — that is, performeth any part of his worship and service, — “glorifieth him,” Ps. l. 23: so the nature of the thing itself declareth that it can have no other end. By this he hath all his glory, even from the inanimate creation.
3. Consider that God hath not prescribed any worship of himself unto the angels that sinned. They are, indeed, under his power, and he useth them as he pleaseth, to serve the ends of his holy providence. Bounds he prescribes unto them by his power, and keeps them in dread of the full execution of his wrath; but he requires not of them that they should believe in him. They believe, indeed, and tremble. They have a natural apprehension of the being, power, providence, holiness, and righteousness of God, which is inseparable from their natures; and they have an expectation from thence of that punishment and vengeance which is due unto them, which is inseparable from them as sinners; and this is their faith: but to believe in God, — that is, to put their trust in him, to resign up themselves unto him, — God requires it not of them. The same is the case with them also as to love, and fear, and delight, — all inward affections, which are the proper worship of God. These they have not, nor doth God any longer require them in them. They eternally cast them off in their first sin. And where these are not, where they are not required, where they cannot be, there no outward worship can be prescribed or appointed; for external instituted worship is nothing but the way that God assigns and chooseth us to express and exercise the inward affections of our minds towards him. He rules the fallen angels “per nutum providentiæ,” not “verbum præcepti.” Now, as God dealt with the angels, so also would he have dealt with mankind, had he left them all under the curse, without remedy or hope of relief. As he doth with them, — he eternally satisfies himself in that revenue of glory which ariseth unto him in their punishment, — so also he would have done with these, had there been no forgiveness with him for them. He would not have required them to fear, love, or obey him, or have appointed unto them any way of worship whereby to express such affections towards him; for to what end should he have done it? What righteousness would admit that service, duty, and obedience should be prescribed unto them who could not, ought not to have any expectation or hope of acceptance or reward? This is contrary to the very first notion which God requires in us of his nature: for “he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him,” Heb. xi. 6; which would not be so should he appoint a voluntary worship, and not propose a reward to the worshippers. Wherefore, —