heart against God! Do we thus requite a God of love? Well may the Lord fay to us, as he did to Ifrael, "O my people what have I done unto thee, and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me."

7. See hence what it is that makes the yoke of obedience eafy, and the burden thereof light to a believer. Whence is it that the believer delights in the law after the inward man? why doth he rejoice to work righteoufnefs? Why, he remembers God in his ways; he remembers that the Lawgiver is none other than " the Lord his God and Redeemer ;" and therefore he keeps all his commandments with pleasure; therefore he "runs, and doth not weary; walks, and doth not faint." He views God, not as an enemy, not as an avenging Judge, but as his own God in Chrift; he views him in Immanuel, as a God with him, not a God against him; and this is like oil to his chariot wheels, which makes him run without wearying. On the other hand, we may see here, what it is that makes the duties of the law an infupportable yoke and burden to hypocrites and Christless profeffors, who tire in the duties of obedience before they be well fet out; why, they do not begin their obedience where God begins his law, or they do not fet their obedience upon the fame foundation of gofpel-grace that God has fet his law upon; they do not begin with acting faith on the covenant, or with receiving a God in Chrift as their God by virtue of the covenant grant and promife: and if folk do not begin here where God begins, their bloffoms cannot miss to wither and come to nought.

8. See hence the errors of those who imagine, that it was a covenant of works which God entered into with Ifrael at mount Sinai. Indeed, if the promise had followed after the commandments of the law; and if God had faid, Keep these commandments, and, upon your fo doing, I will be the Lord your God; in this case it had been a pure covenant of works: whether perfect or fincere obedience had been the condition, it is all one; ftill the reward would have been in a way of pactional debt, as in the first covenant. But, as you heard, the order of the covenant of works, or the connection betwixt the precept and promise, as it was laid in that covenant, is now inverted : for now God first promises, in a way of fovereign grace, to be the Lord our God and Redeemer, which is the fubftance and fum of the new covenant; and having made fuch a grant of grace, to be received by faith, without, or before any works of obedience can be performed by us, he immediately fubjoins the law of nature in ten words, fhewing us "what is good, and what the Lord our God requires of us," not as a condition of his own gracious grant, but as a teftimony of our love and gratitude

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gratitude to him, who promifes, of his free and fovereign grace, to be the Lord our God. So that, I fay, it was God's covenant of grace that was promulgate at mount Sinai, and the law was added to it because of tranfgreffion, and graffed upon it as a rule of obedience. And whatever covenants or engagements to duty we read of, whether national or perfonal, ftill they went upon the foundation of grace laid in God's covenant of grace; and in fo far as Ifrael, or any else, go off from this foundation in their engagements to duty, in fo far they pervert the defign of the promise and law annexed to it, and turn back to a covenant of works. So much for Information.

A fecond ufe fhall be of Trial. And that which I would have you to try is, Whether, you have this day obeyed the first commandment of the moral law? Did you ever take or receive JEHOVAH, a God in Chrift, as your own God, by virtue of the covenant promise, I am the Lord your God? Why, may fome be ready to fay, that is a strange queftion; ever fince we had the exercife of reafon, or could repeat the first commandment, we have been endeavouring to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God, and to worship and glorify him accordingly. I confess that it is an eafy matter to fay this with the mouth; but the question is, If the heart has faid it in a way of believing, fetting to the feal to the veracity of the Promifer? "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confeffion is made unto falvation," Rom. x. 10. : firft the heart believes it, because God has faid it; and then the tongue follows the heart. Can thou turn inward, and entertain thyfelf with David's foliloquy, Pfal. xvi. 2. “O my foul, thou haft faid unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord ?"

In order to a difcovery of the hypocrite or prefumptuous believer, here I would have it carefully obferved, that the first commandment, which is the correlate of the promise, has both a pofitive and a negative part. The pofitive part is, To know and acknowledge the Lord as the only true God, and our God; the negative part is, To have no other gods before him. Now, the hy pocrite, or prefumptuous perfon, although he outwardly profeffes to obey the pofitive part, or to acknowledge JEHOVAH as his God in Chrift; yet as he never doth this really with his heart, fo he fhifts the negative part of the precept, for fecretly he worships and acknowledges fome other god: there is still fome idol of jealousy lies hid among the rotten ftuff of his depraved heart, which gets God's room and God's throne in his foul; much like the people tranfplanted by the king of Affyria into Samaria, concerning whom it is faid, 2 Kings xvii. 33. "They feared the Lord, and ferved their own gods." And

therefore

therefore, I fay, fill the question remains to be anfwered, Do you really, and from the heart, obey the first commandment ? Have you any other gods before Kim, who fays, I am the Lord thy God? Is there any idol or luft that gets the Lord's place in thy heart.

I fhall, for your trial, take notice of fome idols or falfe gods, which are worshipped and ferved by many, while they profefs to have no other God but JEHOVAH alone. Only, before I proceed, I would have it confidered, that there is a twofold idolatry; one grofs and corporeal, when, by the external actions of the body, fuch as bowing, proftration, or the like, men do homage unto itocks or ftones, dead and dumb idols: I hope I have none fuch to do with at prefent. But there is a more refined and spiritual idolatry, which I fear is more common in the visible church than many are aware of; and that is, when the acts of the heart and mind, fuch as, trust, love, hope, fear, joy, delight, defire, wherein the effence of foul-worthip doth confift, are alienated from God, and placed upon any thing befides him. In fuch a cafe, one neither believes the promise, nor obeys the precept now before us. Why, becaufe whatever he pretends, yet still he hath fome other god before him who is the only living and true God.

This premifed, I would have you confider, that there are two grand idols worshipped and ferved by the generality of the world, yea, of the visible church, viz. felf, and the world.

1. I fay, felf is the great Diana, which all the world worshippeth, excepting a very few whom God has called out of the world. Every man, while in a natural state, makes a god of himself. Hence it is that the principal batteries of the gofpel are mounted against this idol. The very first leffon in the school of Christianity, which is materially the fame with the first precept of the moral law, is, "Let a man deny himself;" let him renounce felf as his god, that he may have no other gods before' me, who am God manifefted in the flesh.

This idol of felf is pregnant with a numerous brood of leffer or fubordinate idols. Some make a god of their own understandings; "for vain man would be wife, though he be born as the wild afs's colt." What curfed pride is it in fome, even in our own bowels, that they will needs exalt their own depraved reafon above the wifdom of God, making it the ftandard of revelation, as if nothing were to be received or believed, but what corrupted reason, which is nonpluffed by the leaft work ●f nature, is able to comprehend? Is not this a giving that glory to our own understanding which is due unto an infinitely wife God? If ever we be believers indeed, reafon mult quit the

throne,

throne, and lie down at the foot of faith, owning that reafon is but folly before the wifdom of God revealed in his word. Others idolize their own understandings, when inwardly they. difapprove of God's providential difpenfations, as if they could manage things more to advantage, if the reins of adminiftration were in their hands.

Some make a god of their wills. When a perfon follows the fwing of his own corrupted and rebellious will, in oppofition to the commanding will of God in his word; what else is that but to exalt felf-will above the will of God? It is the will of God, that men fhould read and hear his word, attend his courts, wait upon his ordinances, fanctify his name, keep his fabbath, that they fhould forego fuch a luft, that they should pluck out a right-eye, and cut off a right-hand fin, in obedience to him who is the Lord our God. No, fays the rebellious depraved will," I have loved ftrangers, and after them will I go. Who is the Almighty, that I fhould ferve him? and what profit fhould I have if I pray unto him? Let him depart; for I defire not the knowledge of his ways;" I know not the Lord, neither will I let my lufts go.

Will any man practically treat God after this manner, and yet pretend that he obeys this command, Thou shalt have no other gods before me? No, his own will is his god: and therefore he never yet closed by a true faith with this covenant-grant, I am the Lord thy God.

Some again make a god of their righteousness, putting it in the room of him who is " JEHOVAH our righteousness;" like the Jews, Rom. x. 3. who "being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righte oufnefs, would not fubmit themselves unto the righteousness of God." This is the idol which of all others it is the hardeft to pull out of the finner's embraces. And the reason is, becaufe felf-righteousness is a thing which feems to have the countenance of the law of God; and while a man has the law on his fide, he thinks himself in safety, and that he has the approbation of the Lawgiver: "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men," faid the self-righteous Pharifee. It is harder to convince this man of his dangerous ftate, than to convince an hundred profane wretches of their danger : hence Chrift fays to the felf-righteous Pharifees, "Publicans and harlots fhall enter into the kingdom of God before you." I fhall only fay to you who are hugging this idol of your own law-righteousness in your bofoms, you fhall as furely perifh in your righteousnefs, as ever any of Adam's race perished in their fins. Why, because God has faid, that "by the works of the law no flesh living shall be juftified ;”

and, "As many as are of the works of the law, are under the curfe." You are pretending to keep the law, and feeking righteoufnefs by the law; and yet are living in the neglect and contempt of the firft and greatest command in the whole law, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. You never yet difcarded the idol of felf, and therefore never learned that first leffon of religion, " If any man will be my difciple, let him deny himself," &c.

2. Another grand idol, to which the greateft multitude do bow, is the world. Solomon tells us of fome who have "the world fet in their heart." Ever fince the fall of Adam, the world, and vanities thereof, have ufurped that room in the heart of man which is due unto God only; and nothing lefs than infinite power can unhinge the world from that feat which it has got in our hearts. Hence it is, that until a day of power come, we are ever making a god of one thing or another in this vifible perishing world.

Some make a god of their worldly riches and fubstance. This is done when the defire, delight, and esteem of the foul terminates more upon these than upon God who is the chief good. O" who will thew us any good?" is the cry of many. But few fay with David, "Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. One thing have I defired of the Lord, that will I feek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord," &c. The covetous worldling fees more beauty in gathering duft, than he fees in him who is the brightness of the Father's glory, and is more concerned to get and keep the mammon of this world, than how to be interested in the unfearchable riches of Chrift, or to lay up for himfelf treasures in heaven, which moth and ruft do not corrupt. And will fuch a man pretend, that he keeps the first commandment, or hath no other gods before the Lord?

us,

Some make a god of their worldly relations. The hufband may idolife his wife, the wife her husband, parents their chil dren, and children their parents, by giving more of their affection to them than unto God himself. Upon this account Chrift tells "If we love father or mother, brother or fifter, more than him, we are not worthy of him." When we delight more in focieties of our friends and relations, than in fellowship with God; or are more impatient of their abfence, than we are under God's hidings and withdrawings from our fouls; in that cafe we put them in God's room, and fo break his command, Thou shalt have no other gods before me; and alfo fin against the love grace of his covenant, where he fays, I am the Lord thy God. Of this kind of idolatry they are guilty, who value themselves VOL. II.

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