God's commandments, for their own opinions than moral duties.

6. When we fear any perfon or thing more than God, Prov. xxix. 25. The greateft fear being due to God, if we fear any perfon or thing more than him, we idolize it. Thus men make a god of man, yea and of the devil. And the fear of the wrath of man will have far more influence than of the wrath of God. This in a time of perfecution is a fpecial fnare. 7. When we have more or as much hope in any thing as in God. Yet alas! how often will the promifes of men revive us, when all the promises of God cannot do it!

8. Lafly, When we have more or as much confidence and truft in any thing as in God, Jer. xvii. 5. Thus power, wealth, and ftrength, gifts and abilities are idolized, and whatever men truft more to than to God.

If it be asked, Whether it confifts with the ftate of grace to have our love and affection more on any creature than on God? Anf. 1. We muft diftinguish betwixt the inward difpofition of the foul, the habit of love and defire, . and the acts thereof. The habit of love, defire, &c. towards God in a godly foul is always more firmly rooted in his heart, than the habit of love to any creature, Eph. iii. 18. But yet the acts of love and defire towards the creature may be more ftrong under temptation; but that is their fin. 2. The ftrength of our affections is to be diftinguifhed from the commotion of them, which fometimes may be greater and more fenfible in the affection that is leffer. For as the greatest joy is not always expreffed in laughter, fo' the greateft affection has not always the greateft fenfible ftirring with it. But if people be folidly minded, and willing to forfake all for Chrift, and to displease any rather than him, tho they be more fenfibly moved in their affection to earthly things, their affections are not therefore more on them than him.

I fhall now fhut up all with the confideration of these words, before me. "Thefe words, before me, in "the firft commandment, teach us, that God who "feeth all things, taketh fpecial notice of, and is "much difpleafed with the fin of having any other

66

god.'

First, God taketh special notice of the fin of having another god.

1. He taketh special notice of the grofs fin of idolatry. He has a jealous eye on it, and will not overlook it; for it is fpiritual adultery, and the husband will overlook many faults in his wife, who will not overlook that. Idolaters have their fig-leaf covers for their idolatry. How do the Papifts fet their wits on the rack to frame fuch nice and fubtil diftiactions as may palliate their horrid idolatry! But though they may deceive the fimple with these things, yet they cannot blind the eyes of the all-feeing God.

Seeing God takes fuch notice of it, how lament. able is it that idolatry makes fuch vaft progrefs in this covenanted land, and is not duly noticed! How fad is it, that the fin and dishonour against God is not noticed, fo as to be mourned over, and to take no tice of the danger of it, and that the government takes not notice of it to reprefs it! This is a fad fign of the danger of being over-run with it.

2. God takes fpecial notice of heart-idolatry, of whatever poffeffeth his room in the heart. That is a fubtil kind of idolatry, fo hid that others cannot, nay men themselves do not always perceiye what it is that is their idol. But God fees it very well.

(1.) The idol may be of a spiritual nature, which the man cannot difcern till the law be carried home on the foul in its fpiritual extent. Thus Paul's du ties and feeming holinefs were his idol, Rom. vii. 9.

2. It may lie in lawful things. Things unlawful in themfelves may quickly be feen with the fnare in them. It is eafy to difcern the devil when he appears with his cloven foot, fo to fpeak: but it is not fo eafy

to see a man's ruin lying in houfes and lands, hfband, wife, and children, goods and gear: yet these may be the idols.

(3.) The idol may go under the name of an infirmity. Thus many deceive themselves with entertaining reigning fins under the name of infirmities.

(4.) Self-love acts its part here, being ready to magnify mens good, and extenuate their evil. And fo they nourish their disease, and hug the viper that is gnawing at their bowels.

Laftly, There may be a judicial ftroke in it. They will not entertain the difcoveries which God makes them; and they shutting their eyes, the Lord ftrikes them blind.

But let us fpecially notice what God has a fpecial

eye upon.

Secondly, God is fpecially displeased with our having any other god.

1. He is difpleafed with grofs idolatry. He fhews his fpecial wrath in this life againft idolaters, as against the Ifraelites for worshipping the golden calf, and against the ten tribes for their idolatry at Dan and Bethel. So old Babylon was, and new Babylon will be deftroyed. All idolaters will be punished in the other life, Rev. xxi. 8.

Let us then fhew our displeasure against, and refolve in the Lord's ftrength to oppofe the fpreading of idolatry, chufing rather to fuffer than fin.

2. He is difpleafed with the idols which men fet up in their hearts. He fhews this difpleafure feveral

ways.

(1.) Sometimes the Lord in the fury of his jealoufy fhovels the idol out of the way, as he did in the cafe of Micah's idol, Judg. xviii. 24.

(2.) Sometimes he reduces the man to a neceflity of parting either with his idol or his profeffion.

(3.) Oft-times the Lord makes the idol mens plague and punishment.

(4.) Lastly, Oft-times there is a rub by a torrent of

temptation that brings forth the idol in its own colours; as in the cafe of Judas's covetoufnefs, and Demas's love of the world.

Let us therefore caft away our idols, and let nothing keep God's room in our hearts, especially in fuch a day when God is rifing up to plead against

us.

From the whole ye may fee that the commandment is exceeding broad. Be humbled under the fense of your guilt in the breach of this command. And fee what great need ye have to reform; and what need ye ftand in of the blood of Chrift for removing your guilt, and of his Spirit for cleanling your hearts, and fubduing your iniquities.

Of the fecond Commandment.

EXODUS XX. 4. 5. 6.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing, that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyfelf to them, nar ferve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, vifiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the chil dren unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and fhewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

HE fecond command comes now to be explain

TH

ed; and this is it, though the Papifts will not allow it to be fo. And it is fo plain against them, that they leave it out of their catechifms and books of devotion which they put into the people's hands, joining the reafon of it, For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, &c. unto the firft command; and fo they count the third the fecond, the fourth the third, c. and fplit the tenth into two (to make up the num

ber), though the apoftle expreffes it in one word, Thou shalt not covet. And indeed they have reafon to hide it; for if they fhould let it come to the light, it would open the mystery of their iniquity among their blinded people, and fpoil the moft part of their devotions, whereof idols and images have the largest hare.

As the first command fixeth the object of worship, fo this fixes the means and way of worship. The fcope of it is to bind us to the external worship of God, and that in the way that he himself has inftituted, and that we may be fpiritual in that his wor ship. We may take it up in two things.

1. The command itself. 2. The reafons annexed. The command itself we have, ver. 4. and part of ver. 5. I fhall first confider the command.

The command is propofed negatively; and two things are here forbidden exprefsly.

First, The making of images for religious use and fervice, Lev. xxvi. 1. And that it is thus meant, and not of civil or political images, is plain from this, that it is a command of the firit table, and fo relates to divine worship. And our God is very particular in this point.

1. Graven images are forbidden particularly, that is, images cut or carved in wood, ftone, or the like, called flatues. These are particularly expreffed, not only because they were the chief among idolaters, but because they do fo livelily reprefent men, beafts, &c. in all their parts and members, that nothing feems to be wanting in them but life; and fo people are moft ready to be deceived by them. But that we my fee it is not thefe only that are abominable to our God,

2. Every fimilitude whatfoever for religious ufe and fervice is forbidden, whether it be done by cafting in a mould, painting, weaving, or made any way whatfoever, though it be merely by the imagination, and not by the hand; for the words are univerfal, VOL. II. 30