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fond of falfe and fuperftitious religions, SER M.
fet up for the fake of Worldly Power, Do- III.
minion and Grandeur, by Popes and Pa-
pal Councils, thofe Images of Authority
fitting in the Seat and Temple of God,
deceiving the Rulers and Nations of the
Earth.] Further yet: Because men who
have no right Senfe of God upon their
Minds, are very apt to place That whole
Trust and Reliance upon the Riches and
power of this present World, which
ought to be placed upon God Alone; hence
St Paul, by a very elegant figure, thus
expreffes himself; Covetousness, which is Col. iii. 5.
Idolatry; and Covetous man, who is an Eph. v. 5.
Idolater: And charges them who are rich in 17.
this World,- -not to Truft in uncertain
Riches, but in the Living God. And
our Saviour himself, in the fame figure
and manner of speaking, declares, Matt. vi.
24, No man can ferve (no man can wor-
fhip) two Mafters,- -ye cannot ferve God
and Mammon. Lastly:
Laftly: Because very vi-
cious and debauched perfons have no re-
gard, no intention, no defire of pleafing
God; but are wholly intent upon plea-
fing and gratifying their own corrupt in-

clinations,

I Tim. vi.

SER M.clinations, and entirely Servants and Slaves HI. to their pleasures; therefore the Apostle elegantly represents Thefe alfo, as figurative Idolaters; whofe God is there Belly, Phil. iii. 19; and who ferve not our Lord Jefus Chrift, but their own Belly, Rom.

xvi. 18.

HAVING thus at large explained the Nature, Kinds, and Degrees of Idolatry in the literal fense; and in what manner 'tis fometimes applied alfo figuratively to Other Vices: I fhall conclude with a general Obfervation, or two, upon the whole. And

Ift, I OBSERVE, that Idolatry is a Crime which all men hugely deteft the Name of, and yet it is very apt to grow upon fuperftitious perfons by infenfible degrees. Thus the Jews, tho' God had given them the most exprefs Command in the World, that as they had never feen any fimilitude of him, so they should never reprefent him by any Image, or by the Likeness of Any Creature whatfoever; yet first they fet up in the wildernefs the golden Calf, upon a particular occafion; and afterwards they efta

blished

III.

blished Jeroboam's calves, in Dan and SER M. Bethel, for a conftancy; as reprefentations of the True God and from thence they fell to worship the Image of Baal, who was a Falfe God: And, by degrees, the Gods of the Nations, whom the Lord had caft out from before them, crept in amongst them; Till at length they proceeded to that Heighth of Impiety, as to Sacrifice even their own children to Moloch. In like manner among Chriftians, departed Saints were at first very honourably spoken of, as having been Martyrs for the Word of God, and for the Teftimony of Jefus; and their Relicks began to be had in esteem, as Memorials of them. Afterwards, This veneration towards them increased, to the fetting them up as Advocates and Interceffors with God; which was directly idolizing them, them, to the great diminution of the Honour due to Christ our Only Mediator.

the

In order to preserve the Remembrance of these Saints better, Pictures and Images were introduced; first as hiftorical reprefenta tions only, to affift the Memory: But

after

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SERM.after a while, peculiar Favours and Blef III. fings, and a fingular efficaciousness of Prayers, were believed to be annexed to the places wherein fuch Images, or fuch or fuch a particular Image was set up: Juft as Balaam, when God would not permit him to curfe Ifrael from One bill, fanfied he might curfe them from Another. And at laft, when This corruption arrived at its heighth, the Worship came to be paid directly to the Images themselves, even to wood and ftone; men who called themselves Chriftians, falling down to the stock of a Tree; to idols that have eyes and fee not, and ears and hear not: They that make them, are like unto them, and fo are all fuch as put their trust in them, Pf. cxv. 8.

2dly, I OBSERVE, that in the whole Scripture-history, there is no Crime attended with a greater general corruption of manners, or conftantly threatned with a feverer Punishment, than this of Idolatry in every kind and degree of it. Among the Heathens, for This cause, fays St Paul, (for their departing from the Law of Nature in This point,) God

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gave

men up unto vile affections, and SER M.
to a reprobate mind, Rom. i. 26,28.

And for This cause originally, did God root
out the feven nations of the Canaanites
from before the children of Ifrael. The
Jews, whenever They fell into any de-
gree of this Crime, immediately the con-
fequence became intolerable.. When they
had erected the golden calf, the people
fat down to eat and drink, and rofe up
to play, i. e. to debauch themselves. And
Balaam tempted them to idolatry and for-
nication together: And then God gave
them up to worship the Host of Heaven.
And at length (as I before obferved) they
came to facrifice even their children to
Moloch. To prevent these Evils, God,
at the first giving of the Law, ftrictly
forbad all Approaches to this vice;
by his Prophets conftantly declared, that
he would not give his Hononr to another,
nor his Praife to graven Images. He
commanded, not only actual idolatry, but
even mens tempting each other to it, to
be punished with Death. He threatned,
that, for This Crime, he would vifit the
Sins of the Fathers upon the children
VOL. I.

F

and

unto

III.

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