ing Chrift to be Saviour of finners will be quite gone out of our heads. It will much fooner turn up old fins with delight, than old mercies for thankfulness.

Laftly, There is a profaneness of the whole foul, wherein all the faculties thereof caft in fomething of their corruption to provoke the eyes of the Lord's jealoufy. And,

1. Whereas prayer is required here, particularly that of the heart; this command forbids,

ift, The total neglect of prayer, when people do not fo much as make a fashion of it in fecret or in their families. That God is our God how fhall it be known, if we do not pray to him? They that take idols for their gods, pray to them; and with what face will prayerlefs perfons pretend that the living God is theirs?

2dly, The neglect and infrequency of ejaculatory prayer, 1 Theff. v. 17. O but the fo great neglect of this fpeaks forth the unholinefs of our hearts! Are we ever but we are needing fomething from heaven? are not new fnares and temptations ftill coming in our way? why are we fo unacquainted with this fhort way of communion with God? It needs mar no bufinefs, it needs no fecret place.

3dly, Not praying in fpirit, when we pray with our mouths; fo that all our prayers are but outward wor fhip, lip labour, not heart-work, John iv. 24. Thus we become guilty many ways. (1.) When all our prayers are but the exercife of a gift, not performed with faith, love, fear, &c. Such are all the prayers of hypocrites. (2.) When the heart goes not along with our words, but remains dead, ftupid, and fenfelefs in our addreffes to God, as if we were fpeaking to a dead idol, or to a man who muft judge by our words what we would have, because he fees not the heart. (3) When the heart contradicts our words, as praying that God would take away fin which we have no will to part with, that he would give us that grace which we have no defire after, or that he would keep

us from the temptations which we are longing for. (4.) When the heart wanders in prayer, going after other things when we are before the Lord.

4thly, Profane prayers to God for mifchief to fall on ourselves or others; which are all the prayers that fome ufe; and are more frequent with others than their folemn prayers.

2. Whereas internal praise and thankfulness is required here, there is forbidden,

ift, Unthankfulness, the crying fin of the generation, on which God has heaped fo many mercies. Ah! how do we receive our mercies, as if they were debts! When we want, perhaps we will cry; but when we have got the mercy, we are like the nine lepers, who forgot to return to thank their healer. There is no grateful fenfe of the Lord's goodness on our fpirits, and fo there is none in our lives.

2dly, Afcribing any good we have or can do, to fome other quarter than to God, the true fountain of all. (1.) To fortune and good luck. How often will men acknowledge their good luck, while they overlook a good God? (2.) To ourfelves, Deut. viii. 17. How ready are we to afcribe our fuccefs to our own wit, pains, or induftry, like those who facrificed to their own net, and burnt incenfe to their own drag? Hab. i. 16. (3) Or to afcribe it to any other creature. The inftruments of our fuccefs will be thanked, when God is overlooked.

Lastly, Whereas we are required to give to God the obedience of our whole fouls, here is forbidden, 1. Slighting and defpifing God and his commandments, making no account of them, and the obedience due to them, Deut. xxxii. 15. 2. Refifting and grieving his Spirit, ftifling its motions, and refufing to hearken to its fuggeftions, Eph. iv. 30.

THIRDLY, This command forbids idolatry, which is the giving that worship and glory to any other which is due to God alone. It is twofold, grofs external idolatry, and fubtil heart-idolatry. 3 N

VOL. II.

First, As to grofs idolatry, this command con demns,

1. The Heathens, whofe religion brought in a multiplicity of gods. For having loft the right knowledge of the true God, the notion of God was like a broken looking glafs, where every part reprefents a fmall face, though when entire it reprefented one only. The worship of the fun feems to be among the most ancient kinds of idolatry, together with the moon and ftars, Job xxxi. 26. 27. And great men deified after their death became objects of worship. Thus at length they came to have a multitude of gods and goddeffes.

2. The Papifts, whofe religion is nothing but the great apoftafy from Chriftianity headed by Antichrist. They are guilty of grofs idolatry.

1st, They worship the faints departed, especially the virgin Mary, in whofe worship they are fo profufe, that they may be called Marians rather than Chriftians. To the faints they pray, make vows, fwear by them, confecrate altars and temples to them, and offer incenfe. All which are pieces of religious worship due to God alone. And they profefs they place their hopes and confidence in them, Matth. iv. 10. contrary to God's exprefs command, Thou balt worship the Lord thy God, and him only halt thou ferve.

2dly, They worship angels, pray to them to beftow good things on them, and to protect them from evil; and efpecially the guardian angel which they allege is allotted to every one, expreísly contrary to the au thority of God, Rev. xxii. 8. 9.

3dly, They worship the bread in the facrament; for as foon as the prieft has confecrated it, he fails down on his knees and worfhips it; then he lifts it up above his head, that the people may fee it; and then they worship it too.

4thly, They worship the cross, the tree itfelf on which they pretend Chrift died, and the image of it.

They bow their knees to it, and kifs it, pray to it, and confecrate temples and altars to it.

Lastly, They worship the reliques of faints, not only their bodies, but what belonged to them while they lived, their bones, blood, flesh, teeth, hair, cloaths, fhoes, belts, &c. They place these things on the altar, carry them about in proceffions, give them to the people to touch or kifs, fall down and worship before them. And all this while they keep up the fcriptures which the apoftles left, from the people. So that Popery is but Heathenifm in a new drefs.

Secondly, As to fubtil heart-idolatry, that is more extenfive. Men commit this idolatry with the creatures, when their mind, will, and affections are fet on the creature as much or more than on God. So covetoufness is called idolatry. Now, we are guilty of this idolatry,

1. When we love any thing as much or more than God, Matth. x. 37. For that is our God that gets moft of our hearts; and that must needs be our idol that gets more of our love than God gets. Thus often are we found idolizing ourselves, the world, our lawful comforts, and relations. O how diforderly does the pulfe of our affections beat! How violent are they towards the creature, but how weak and languishing towards God! The fire of love to God is oft-times like a fire of ftraw, that makes a fudden blaze and then dies; when that of love to the creatures is like a fire of juniper that burns long, and is not foon quenched. This exceffive love to the creatures appears, (1.) In the high efteem of them above God, and the communications of his grace. (2.) In the great eagerness that is ufed in the purfuit of them, more than in feeking of God and his favour. (3) In the greater uneafinefs in the want of them, than in that of the confolations of God.

2. When men defire any thing as much or more than God, Pfal. iv. 6. How extravagant are the defires of the heart! Many things are defired more

than the one thing needful. Our defires after created things had need to have their wings clipped, while the wings of defire towards God are far from being grown. How readily would we be filled, if we knocked as eagerly at God's door as at that of the creatures? Try then what it is that of all things thou defireft moft, that is thy God.

any thing as

For what is a heart, he will

3. When we delight and rejoice in much or more than God, Luke x. 20. man's choice, and moft fuitable to his delight and rejoice moft in it. O what idolatry will this difcover! How often is it found, that men will delight and rejoice more in a good bargain than in the everlasting covenant; in husband, wife, and children, more than in God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft! in a good farm or ftore-room, than in the field of the gofpel; where the treafure is, there will the heart be alfo; in a good fuit of cloaths, more than in the righteoufnefs of a Mediator!

4. When we forrow more or as much for any thing, as the offending of God. That is a forrow of the world, 2 Cor. vii. 1o. that difcovers the idolizing of the creature. The offence of man is often more at heart than the offence of God; and people will be at more pains to gain reconciliation with them than with the Lord himfelf. A fmall crofs or lofs in the world will draw tears, when fin will not draw a figh from us; and ordinarily our afflictions lie more heavy on us than our fins.

5. When we have as much or more zeal for any thing than for God and his honour. Thus felf is idolized, men being far more fenfibly touched by any thing that reflects on themfelves than on God. How often do men unmoved behold God's name difho noured, while, if ye but touch them in their reputati on and honour, ye will find they are not drones in their own caufe, though they are fo in God's! So men idolize their own conceits, being as the Pharifes much more zealous for their own traditions than