[1] The external part of religion is, doubtless, of little
value in comparison with the internal; and so is the cask
in comparison with the wine contained in it: but if the
cask be staved, the wine must perish. If there were no
Sundays or holydays, no ministers, no churches or religious
assemblies, no prayers or sacraments, no Scriptures read,
or sermons preached, how long would there be any religion
left in the world: and who would desire to live in a world
where there was none?--_Horne,_ 1730-1792.
Forms are necessary to religion as the means of its
manifestation. As the invisible God manifests His
nature--His power, wisdom, and goodness, in visible
material forms, in the bright orbs of heaven, in the
everlasting hills, in the broad earth with its fruits and
flowers, and in all the living things which He has
made,--so the invisible soul of man reveals its convictions
and feelings in the outward acts which it performs. As
there could be no knowledge of God without the visible
forms in which He reveals Himself, so there could be no
knowledge of the religion which exists in the soul of man
without the outward forms in which it expresses itself. A
form is the flag, the banner, the symbol of an inward life,
it is to a religious belief what the body is to the soul;
as the soul would be utterly unknown without the body, so
religion would be unknown without its forms, a light hidden
under a bushel, and not set up in a candlestick that it may
give light to all that are in the house.
Forms are necessary not only to the manifestation of
religion, but to its nourishment and continued existence. A
religion which expressed itself in no outward word or act
would soon die out of the soul altogether. The attempt to
embody truth and feeling, to express it in words and
actions, is necessary to give it the character of living
principle in the soul: in this respect forms are like the
healthy exercise which at once expresses and increases the
vigorous life of the body, or they may be compared to the
leaves of a tree, which not only proceed from its inward
life, but catch the vitalising influences of the light, the
rain and the atmosphere, and convey them down to the root.
What, then, is that formalism which is everywhere in the
Scripture, and especially in the discourses of our Lord,
described as an offence and an abomination in the sight of
God? I answer, formalism is the substitution of the outward
rite in the place of the inner spirit and life of the soul;
it is the green leaf which still hangs upon the dead branch
which has been lopped off.--_David Loxton._
[2] God doth not institute worship-ordinances for bodily motion
only; when He speaketh to men He speaketh as to a man, and
requireth human actions from him, even the work of the
soul, and not the words of a parrot or the motion of a
puppet.--_Baxter,_ 1615-1691.
You think you serve God by coming to church; but if you
refuse to let the Word convert you, how should God be
pleased with such a service as this? It is as if you should
tell your servant what you have for him to do, and because
he hath given you the hearing, he thinks he should have his
wages, though he do nothing of that which you set him to
do. Were not this an unreasonable servant? Or would you
give him according to his expectation? It is a strange
thing that man should think that God will save them for
dissembling with Him; and save them for abusing His name
and ordinances. Every time you hear, or pray, or praise
God, or receive the sacrament, while you deny God your
heart and remain unconverted, you do but despise Him and
show more of your rebellion than your obedience. Would you
take him for a good tenant that at every rent-day would
duly wait on you, and put off his hat to you, but bring you
never a penny of rent? Or would you take him for a good
debtor that brings you nothing but an empty purse, and
expects you should take that for payment? God biddeth you
come to church and hear the Word; and so you do, and so far
you do well; but withal, He chargeth you to suffer the Word
to work upon your hearts, and to take it home and consider
of it, and obey it, and cast away from former courses, and
give your hearts and lives to Him; and this you will not
do. And you think that He will accept of your
service?--_Baxter,_ 1615-1691.