tically denominated an abomination, having given rife to many execrable ceremonies, detefted by the righteous God and all good men.-How proper, how neceflary, then, the ftatute recorded Deut. vii. 26, Thou shalt utterly abhor an idol ;' or, In detefting thou fhalt deteft it; plainly intimating, that idolatry ought to be an object of the greatest abhorrence.

20 He feedeth on afhes: a deceived heart hath turned him afide, that he cannot deliver his foul, nor fay, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

The egregious folly and vanity of idolaters is farther reprefented in thefe words. He that maketh and ferveth an idol fecdeth on afhes, in which there is nothing fubftantial or pleasant, nothing adapted to impart the leaft nourishment and fupport to the mind. His fpiritual conflitution being vitiated, and his tafle depraved, he hath recourfe to improper objects, which instead of yielding fpiritual ftrength and confolation to the human heart, tend to render him poor, contemptible, and diftreffed.--A deceived heart hath turned him afide. Not bad education, bad example, or bad inftruction, hath led him into fuperftition and idolatry, though doubtlels they had confiderable influence in corupting his mind; but his. deteftable conduct is afcribed to a deceived heart, grofsly impofed upon by the deceiver of mankind, and the deceitfuinefs of fin. The heart being deluded, and having formed falfe apprchenfions of God, ftarts afide like a deceitful bow, into the ways of fin.-That he cannot deliver his foul from those ruinous practices wherein he is naturally prone to indulge, and to which he hath been long accuftomed-Nor Jay, is there not a lie in my right hand? He cannot penitently acknowledge that deceit whereby he has imposed on himfelt, and endeavours to delude thofe around him. The illufions of his own fancy confpire with falfe reafonings, hurtful prejudices, and VOL. III.

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vicious

vicious customs, to hinder him from making this confeilion, and determine him to hold faft the errors he hath imbibed. In this manner did our Prophet aim to convince idolaters, that the images which they made and adorned were not really gods, that they did not afford a just representation of the true God; and therefore that he ought not to be worshipped by images altogether unlike to him.-Beware, then, brethren, of entertaining falfe fentiments concerning God, and of imagining that you may worship him acceptably in any other way than what he hath appointed. Take heed that you do not hold thofe delufive dangerous errors, whereby you may effentially injure yourfelves and others. I addrefs to you thofe words of Mofes the man of God, recorded Deut. xi. 16. Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn afide, and ferve other gods, and worship then, and the Lord's wrath be kindled against you.'

21 Remember thefe, O Jacob and Ifrael; for thou art my fervant: I have formed thee; thou art my fervant: O Ifrael, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.

The Lord God proceeds to urge his people to repent, and to flee from idolatry, by the confideration of the folly and wickednefs of the criminal practices he had been expofing, and the gracious promifes that were given them. In treating with them, he acts the part of a wife affectionate parent, who having fharply animadverted on the faults of his children, his diipleasure fubfides, and he kindly affures them of the most ample encouragements. How forcible are right words! how many powerful arguments are here fuggefted to perfuade men to return to God!— The firit is taken from the preceding discourse, wherein the abfurdity and criminality of idolatry was ftrongly reprefented. Remember thefe things I have now faid, that you may ever maintain juft abhorrence of

the

the irrational shameful practice of making and ferving idols. Frequent attentive recollection of the instructions delivered on this fubject, may prove the mean of preferving you from the abominable superstitions, by which multitudes have been degraded and deftroyed. Never forget the comfortable truths I am about to mention; often call them to mind, and endeavour to live continually under a deep fenfe of your intimate relation to God, and the infinite obligations he hath brought you under to return to his fervice, by the mercies wherewith he hath loaded you, and the gracious affurances he hath given you. -The next motive is couched in the defignations of Jacob and Ifrael, the names given to the illuftrious patriarch from whom the people were lineally defcended, to whom this difcourfe was primarily di rected. Your renowned progenitor conftantly adhered to the worship of the true God, amidst all the temptations and oppofitions with which he contended. You, then, fhew yourfelves worthy of fuch a good ancestor, and imitate the worthy example that he exhibited, of unalienable attachment to the fervice of the living God-return without delay to the God of Ifrael, and ferve him with all your heart, and with all your foul. In this manner juftify the character which you bear, and manifeft yourfelves the genuine pofterity of fuch a father!-The third inducement to return to the Lord is expreffed in these words, Thou art my fervant, &c. And ought not a fervant who hath foolishly, without caufe, departed from his mafter, to return to the fervice in which he folemnly engaged, and to which he is bound by the ftrongest ties clofely to adhere. I felected thee from among all the people of the earth, that thou mightest be to me a peculiar people, and ferve me in holiness and righteousnefs all your days. For this very purpofe I formed thee, that thou mightest be employed, in executing my pleafure. If you look for fruit. from the tree that you planted, and from the fields that you cultivated, then I may certainly expect

much

much service from you, whom I have created, and on whom I have conferred many important benefits.The fourth argument is contained in this gracious affurance, Thou shalt not be forgotten of me. In the time of temptation and diftrefs, when the comfortable evidences of the divine favour are obfcured and not perceived, the church through defpondency is apt to complain, O Lord, why doft thou forget us for ever? Such mournful expreffions of diftruft, which are apt to drop from the lips of the dejected, ought to be cautiously avoided; the eternal truth which lies now before us ought never to be queftioned. The acknowledgment made of old by the prophet Jeremiah may be adopted now with equal propriety, Ifrael hath not been forfaken, nor Judah, of his God, the Lord of hofts *.' Though Ifrael may be often forgotten by other people, though they may be unmindful of the Rock of falvation, and deal falfely in his holy covenant; yet fuch is his everlafting kindness and faithfulness, that they are continually in his remembrance. Doubt not, then, of the paternal care of God's providence, or of his unchangeable veracity pledged in his promises.

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22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy tranfgreffions, and, as a cloud, thy fins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.

That no confideration might be wanting to encourage speedy return to God, two more arguments are fubjoined, to enforce compliance with the exhortation. In the firft is expreffed God's forgiving mercy, whereby he pardons mens tranfgretlions, remits their debts, and washes off the ftains they. have contracted. To give a juft idea of this triumphant act of divine grace, God faith, I have blotted out or done away as a thick cloud thy tranfgreffions. --In this elegant fimilitude whereby the iubject is illuftrated, fins are compared with great propriety to

* Chap. li. 5.

clouds

clouds which intervene betwixt the fun and the earth, obfcure the light of that glorious orb, obstruct his luminous rays, and prevent their direct communication to the inhabitants of this globe. In like manner, iniquity feparates between God the Father of lights, and those who offend him; and hinders the enjoyment of the refreshing light of his countenance. Enormous fins, like thick clouds which have a threatening afpect, and portend fome approaching tempeft, expofe to terrible ftorms of divine vengeance; which are ready to burft upon the guilty, and to overwhelm them in deftruction.-All thefe trefpaffes of his people, God faith he blots out, or takes away, even as a cloud fufpended in the air, that feldom continues long in one place. As the vapours whereof it is compofed are foon diffipated by the warming beams of the fun, and quickly difperfed by the winds, fo that the leaft veftige of it cannot be perceived: In like manner, when the Lord arifes to accomplish the falvation of his people, he richly displays the benign influence of his grace, in caufing all their iniquities to pass away, in removing them out of his fight, and putting them away as far as the eaft is from the west.-Well doth it become us, with the royal poet, to celebrate the praises of Jehovah, whofe mercies are very great toward them that fear him. In the ftupendous vault of heaven, we contemplate a beautiful emblem of the immeafurable height and boundlefs extent of that mercy which forgives all trefpafles.

Tranfgreffions and fins are both mentioned, which comprise all manner of iniquity, whether greater or leffer; to intimate the univerfal indemnity granted by Jehovah to thofe on whom he confers this ineftimable bleffing. In pardoning his people, God freely forgives them all their fins of every description, flowing from corrupt propenfities and evil habits, committed through ignorance, infirmity, temptation, or prefumption. Words are therefore multiplied to exprefs the fulness of this blefling which he is pleafed graciously to impart; in confequence whereof they turn

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