The Samaritans' whole worship was outward worship. They did the things
which the Beth-el priest taught them to do, and that was all.
And this again is a type, very common in our day. Religion must have
forms. The forms often help to bring us the spirit. But we are always
in danger of trusting to them too much.
How many of us have our Christianity only in outward seeming? The only
thing that unites men to God is love.
So your external connection with God's worship is of no use at all
unless you have that.
Church and chapel-goers are alike exposed to the danger of erecting
the forms of worship to a place in which they cannot be put without
marring the spirit of worship. Whether our worship be more or less
symbolic, whether we have a more or less elaborate ritual, whether we
think more or less of sacraments, whether we put hearing a sermon as
more or less prominent, or even if we follow the formless forms of the
Friends, we are all tempted to substitute our forms for the spirit
which alone is worship.