The tendency of all ecclesiastical ritualism is to produce
a spirit of superstition to the subversion of faith,
of mere formality to the guidance of the Holy Spirit
and resting in our own good works
to the rejection of the finished work of Christ.
The Word of God is practically set aside,
the Holy Spirit grieved,
and the heart laid open to the inroads of Satan.
When faith is in lively exercise,
The Word of God strictly followed,
and the promised guidance of the Comforter relied upon,
the soul is strong and vigorous in the divine life,
and suggestions of the enemy are unheeded.
Satan is a keen observer
of the different states of the believer's soul,
and of the professing Church.
He knows when he will be successful
in his attempt
against the individual believer or the Church:
he waits his time --
he watches for opportunity.
When he sees the mind taking a wrong direction,
he soothes, flatters, stimulates --
solemn thought for us all!
Andrew Miller, Miller's Church History (Pickering and Inglis, LTD, London), p. 237
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Psalm 119: 38 