between himself and every idol, and to secure the glory to himself without allowing any of it to be given to another; with the terrible denunciations pronounced against idolaters, and the severe judgments executed upon them, must attract the notice of all who are conversant with the sacred oracles, and convince every impartial person, that idolatry is the greatest of all sins, atheism alone excepted. Yet in this, as in other things, the "wisdom of man, "which is foolishness with God," has led numbers to adopt a contrary opinion: so that whilst an elegant and adinired poet hath employed his fascinating ingenuity to persuade mankind, that God is worshipped with equal acceptance "by saint, by savage, and by sage," or whether he be called "Jehovah, Jove, or Lord *," (which in this connexion may signify Baal :) it is also become a fashionable principle of modern rational divinity, that all such distinctions are immaterial, and all religions very much alike, if men be sincere in their way. Indeed, numbers seem to think 'what they call bigotry, though wholly free from intolerance or persecution, to be worse than any mental errors, even in respect of the object of religious worship! and that candour and liberality of sentiment, are more important virtues, than the supreme love and spiritual adoration of Jehovah, as distinguished from all false gods! But who does not perceive, that this principle, if carried to its obvious consequences, amounts to a rejection of the Bible, or at least puts it on the same footing with Hesiod's Theogonia, or the Koran? Who can avoid seeing, that it imputes bigotry and a contracted mind to the prophets and apostles, and to every approved character of holy writ, without excepting that of our Lord himself? Nay, will it not follow from it, that Jehovah wrought many stupendous miracles to no manner of purpose? For we must not only inquire, why Moses was so careful to distinguish the God of Israel from the idols of Egypt, and of the nations? or what induced David to expect assistance in meeting Goliah, who despised the armies of Jehovah, " that all the Pope's Universal Prayer. "earth might know that there was a God in Israel* ?" or on what account Elijah was so earnest to determine whether the Lord or Baal were the true Godt? But we must also demand, why He answered their expectations and prayers by miraculous interpositions, if the point to be decided were of little or no importance. When the God of Hezekiah delivered him from the power of the Assyrians, by the slaughter of 185,000 men; whilst Sennacherib was slain by his own sons in the house and worship" of Nisroch his God," the distinction between Jehovah and every idol was strongly marked. These are a few, out of very numerous instances and proofs, which might be adduced from Scripture, to confirm this point; and, if duly regarded, would be abundantly sufficient for the purpose. When our Lord told the woman of Samaria, that her nation "knew not what they worshipped, for salvation was of the Jews ‡;" when Paul proposed to declare unto the polite and philosophical Athenians that "unknown God, whom they ignorantly worshipped," and to distinguish the Creator and Judge of the world from all their idols §; and when he informed the Corinthians that their idol sacrifices were offered unto devils, and not to God; they plainly showed, that such candour as is now contended for, was no part of their plan, but absolutely incompatible with it. Indeed, the Apostle has informed us, that idolatry originated from men's aversion to God; "they liked not to re"tain him in their knowledge." (Rom. i. 18-23. 28.) His holy character and spiritual service suited not with their carnal minds: and therefore deities were invented of another sort, and a worship coincident with their corrupt inclinations was devised. When we consider how Christian festivals are generally celebrated we shall cease to wonder, that Israel preferred the golden calf to Jehovah, and joyfully "sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play," in * 1 Sam. xvii. 45-47. 1 John iv. 22-24. Cor. x. 20. † 1 Kings xviii. stead of attending the sacred ordinances of the living God: and a competent knowledge of human nature will enable us without difficulty, to account for the predilection, which that people ever manifested for the gods of the nations, and their jovial and licentious rites. For the religion of the gentiles, instead of producing any salutary effect on their conduct, led them to practise the grossest enormities; not only without remorse, but in order to appease or find acceptance with their deities; and thus it tended to corrupt both their principles and morals. No doubt, the great enemy of God and man, both from ambition of engrossing the worship of idolaters, and from the malignity of his nature, aided their invention, in forming the characters and imagining the exploits of their deities, partly in resemblance to his own abominable propensities, and partly according to the worst vices of mankind; that so the most destructive crimes might be sanctioned, and the vilest affections, as it were, consecrated, by conformity to the objects of their worship, No wonder that they were ferocious in war, and debauched in their general conduct; when their religious observances, comprised the most savage cruelties, the most shameless licentiousness, and the greatest excesses of intemperance! and when at last they could not equal, in these respects, the gods whom they had invented for themselves! If religion be supposed to produce any effect on the conduct of mankind, every person of common sense must allow, that the character and actions ascribed to the object of worship must be of the greatest possible importance: for as these are, so will the sincere worshipper be. To please, to resemble, to imitate the object of adoration, must be the supreme aim and ambition of every devotee, whether of Jupiter, Mars, Bacchus, Venus, Moloch, or Mammon; as well as of every spiritual worshipper of Jehovah and we might therefore know what to expect from any man, if we were acquainted with his sentiments concerning the God that he adores: provided we could ascertain the degree, in which he was sincere and earnest in his religion. It would have been absurd to expect much honesty from him, who devotedly worshipped Mercury as the god of thieving; much mercy from a devotee of Moloch; love of peace from the worshipper of Mars; or chastity from the priestess of Venus: and, whatever speculators may imagine, both the Scriptures and profane history, (ancient and modern,) show that the bulk of mankind in heathen nations were far more sincere in their absurd idolatries, and more influenced by them, than professed Christians are by the Bible; because they were more congenial to corrupt nature. It is likewise a fact, that immense multitudes of human sacrifices are, at this day, annually offered according to the rules of a dark superstition; and various other flagrant immoralities sanctioned by religion, among those idolaters, who have been erroneously considered as the most inoffensive of the human race. But these effects on the moral character of mankind are not peculiar to gross idolatry if men fancy that they worship the true God alone, and yet form a wrong notion of his character and perfections; they only substitute a more refined idolatry in the place of paganism, and worship the creature of their own imagination, though not the work of their own hands: for in what doth such an ideal Being, though called Jehovah, differ from that called Jupiter or Baal? The character ascribed to him may indeed come nearer the truth than the other, and the delusion may be more refined: but if it essentially differ from the scriptural character of God, the effect must be the same, in a measure, as to those who earnestly desire to imitate, resemble, and please the object of their adoration. When sinful men presume to delineate the character of God for themselves, however learned or sagacious they may be, their reasons will inevitably be warped by the ge neral depravity of fallen nature, and by their own peculiar prejudices and vices. Partial to their own character, and indulgent to their master-passion, (which perhaps they mistake for an excellency,) they will naturally ascribe to the Deity what they value in themselves, and suppose him lenient to such things as they indulge and excuse: they will be sure to arrange their plan in such a manner, as to conclude themselves the objects of his complacency, and entitled to his favour; or at least not deserving his abhorrence, and exposed to his avenging justice; they will consider their own judgment of what is fit and right, as the measure and rule of his government: their religious worship will accord to such mistaken conclusions; and the effect of their faith upon their conduct will either be inconsiderable, or prejudicial. Thus men "think that God is "altogether such a one as themselves," (Ps. 1. 21.) and a self-flattering carnalized religion is substituted for the humbling, holy, and spiritual gospel of Christ. The different ideas which men form of God, whilst the scriptural character of him is overlooked, result from the various dispositions and propensities, which they derive from constitution, education, and habit. The voluptuary will imagine, (with a certain dissolute monarch *,) that God will not damn a man for taking a little pleasure in an 'irregular manner:' nor can the ambitious warrior, or covetous oppressor, be convinced, that the supreme Being will demand a strict account of all the blood shed, or the injustice committed, in their respective pursuits. The speculating philosopher may imagine a Deity too dignified to notice the conduct, or too clement to punish the crimes of puny mortals; at least he will deem him very favourable to the self-wise, and such as are superior to vulgar prejudices, whatever he may do in respect to debauchees, and sanguinary tyrants. Thus men's ideas of God are framed according to their own prevailing propensities: and then those ideas of Him reciprocally tend to form their characters, and influence their conduct, both in respect of religious duties and in the common concerns of life. These observations suffice to show us the reason, why "the world by wisdom knew not God;" and to prove, that it is impossible in the very nature of things for a fallen creature to know him, except by revelation, and Charles II. |