infomuch, that it may be laid down as a certain maxim, where religion ends, fuperftition begins:' Add to this, reverence for departed princes; affection for dead parents; gratitude for discovered arts; the vifible advantages of the more glorious parts of nature, the fun, the moon, and the stars, especially in the cloudlefs fkies, and burnished hemifphere of the east. Some or all of these particulars may eafily account for those corruptions in worship that we read have formerly been, and ftill prevail in the world. But that the jews, defcendants of faithful Abraham, and " inheritors of the promifes," who were "brought up out of Egypt by a mighty hand," and with the most ftriking and fucceffive miracles; whose state, for fome time, was a perfect theocracy, and at all times profpered or decayed, according to their allegiance; whofe law was delivered with peculiar folemnity, and bound upon them with ceremonial strictness; and, above all, who were made acquainted with the perfections of God, and the true effence of religion that thefe, his peculiar people, fhould forfake him for a dumb idol, seems to us almost unaccountable. : You You will be glad then if I make some obfervations upon this point before I proceed any further. And, first, I think it will not be denied, that the jews were a grofs and very carnal people. This is clear from various scriptures, not to mention other authorities. Now the law of Mofes, though full of ceremonies, and greatly misunderstood in our faviour's time, yet taught, in the main, a pure and spiritual worship, the government of the paffions, humility of mind, and juft dealing with their neighbour. These, the fordid and the fenfual jew could not relish. He wanted to indulge his own paffions, and to encroach upon the liberties of others: Jehovah, therefore, was no pattern for him: he must turn to the Baalim and Afhtaroth of his neighbours. These, being deified men and women, had their feveral vices and frailties recorded and interwoven with their rites, which were fo many comfortable encouragements to their willing votaries to cherish and retain their own. Nay, many of thefe deities were only vices in the abstract; as Chemosh, and Baal C 2 Baal-peor of the Moabites, and the Venus, Priapus, Bacchus and Bellona of the greeks; which amounted to an abfolute confecration of vice; and, confequently, moft acceptable to every fenfual mind, to the luftful, the drunken, or the violent Ahab, and his court. I obferved before, where religion ends, fuperftition begins.' I would apply this obfervation to the hiftory of false religion, and, believe, it will be found invariably juft. Vice naturally embodies the mind; fhrinks back from fpirit, and lays hold on fenfe. A religious truft in fomething is neceffary to keep us from defpair: when vice, therefore, hath alienated us from the God of purity, we must turn to a lefs perfect model; to any thing rather than nothing; and fay, thou shalt be my God.'Thus the vicious heathen and corrupted jew, who could hold no communion with the eternal fpirit, fell down before the more ufeful parts of nature, or deified the paffions they would indulge: they made them images which turned to their own decay; yea, they offered their fons and their daughters unto devils.* In the fame fpirit, the papift hath followed close at i. e. Demons, or dead men deified. the the heels of the pagan mythologift, and invented or adopted the doctrine of reprefenting images, and mediatorial faints, rather, than apply, as directed by the fcriptures, with humbled hearts and corrected paffions, through Jefus Christ, to God. A fenfual mind would rather offer an heccatomb than reftrain one vice; would fubmit to any uncommanded duty of fuperflition; would 66 give the fruit of his body for the fin of his foul;" would go twenty pilgrimages to Mecca, or Jerufalem, rather than be “ "holy, juft, and good." Add to this, which is an undoubted hiftorical fact, that the corruptions of popery and inahometanifin made their progrefs and appearance when corruption of manners was in the extreme among the eastern and western chriftians; - and I believe it will be found a certain truth, that no nation in the world ever did or will receive either of thofe fyllems, or any other fyftem of corrupt religion, unless in the loweft ftate of grofsnefs and immorality. This fketch of idolatry may account for the propriety of God's puniihing it as the greatest of crimes, becaufe it is not a defect of the underflanding only, but of the will the heart and affections are firft corrupted, and, then, the understanding contributes its affiftance to fupport the false system which they have introduced. When the heart of Solomon had drawn him to idolatry, his wifdom was employed in adjusting their ritual, and building their fhrines. Now all true religion is given for the purpose of regulating our affections: all false religion tends to mifplace and diforder them. A bad man, whose pride makes him think nothing fuperior to himself, muft naturally chufe a deity like himself; partial, capricious, fenfual, and unjuft. A good man, "" out of the good treasure of his heart," will form his idea of the divine being, patient, pure, benevolent and juft; with all those properties, in the highest perfection, which he languishes and afpires after himself; in short, like fomething which he feels he is not, but deeply wishes that he was. And this is the test of christianity which our faviour held out to the jews, when they affected to be doubtful of its authority: "if any man will do his (God's) will, he fhall know of the |