gression. The testimonies of Scripture are numerous and positive upon this subject. I will produce a few texts in point, that will confirm it past all dispute. In Leviticus, xix. 4 (which chapter contains a repetition of certain principal laws), the Lord speaks to his servant Moses thus: Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God. In Deuteronomy, iv. (which means another book of the law, and is the fifth book of Moses), God affords a reason, together with the prohibition specified in this commandment, why his people should observe it; ver. 15: Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves (says he); for ye saw NO MANNER of LIKENESS on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb, out of the midst of the fire; (ver. 16,) lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the LIKENESS of ANY figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is upon the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, the likeness of any thing that creepeth upon the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth; (ver. 19,) and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou shouldest be driven to worship and serve them.

The Prophets and Apostles likewise hold

the same language in support of this particular commandment. The word of God concerning idolatry is thus delivered to his Prophet Ezekiel, xiv. 3: Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling-block of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all of THEM? Here the Lord disclaims a divided heart. In Isaiah, xl. 18, he reproaches the folly and wickedness of the idolmaker, by exposing the vanity of his attempt: To whom will ye liken God, or what likeness will The workman melteth a ye compare to him? graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. One who is poor chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh a skilful workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. And then he breaks forth with the awful and sublime description of HIMSELF, ver. 21, 22, 23: Have ye not known, have ye not heard, hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He that sitteth in the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers. It is He that stretcheth forth the heavens as a curtain, that bringeth the princes to nothing, and maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. (Ver. 25.) To whom will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord,

the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. Again, the Apostle proposes this exhortation to discountenance such unworthy practices as dishonour our Maker: Acts, xvii. 29, he saith, Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver, or stone engraven by art and man's device. And in Rom. i. 22, 23, in numbering and particularizing the sins of the Gentiles, he says, Professing themselves wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Surely, when we duly weigh the force of these several passages, all manner of idolatry must appear exceeding sinful for what is an idol? as the Apostle asks; why, nothing. And shall we share any part of our worship between that which perisheth, and the eternal Lord of heaven and earth?

Where the light of Christianity has shone with powerful influence, there indeed is no fear of yielding to that very gross idolatry to which the heathen nations were and are still devoted: we must, therefore, proceed to inquire, whether, as Christians, we may not be in danger of breaking this commandment by fond fancies, and vain superstitious customs. And here a

question presents itself, which is very worthy our examination, because it seems to afford some plausible exception to part of the commandment; and that relates to the image or representation of our blessed Saviour in human nature. As pure Christians, we are taught to believe, that he was very God and very man; therefore it seems reasonable, that we may make an image of him, without offending either the letter or the spirit of the law. Of this I think there can be no doubt, nor that there is any sin in so doing, provided no improper use is made of any such image or representation, in any part of our religious worship. Paintings of our blessed Lord's divine acts, and cruel sufferings for our sakes, may assist in fixing the remembrance of his glorious history in our minds; but even these, except they are well executed, most certainly dishonour the solemn subject, and should be very sparingly received. And as the mind of man is prone to weakness and superstition, it is certainly an exceptionable and most dangerous practice to kneel before these pictures, and address them as if the real person were before us: but when the fancy of the profane artist proceeds so far as to presume at representing God the Father, or to describe the Holy Trinity, and when such vain imaginations are admitted into the place of holy worship, where God is invisibly present (as is common in

Roman Catholic countries); this is certainly a great sin against God, whom no man can see and live; and, therefore, no possible likeness can be taken of him, by vile dust and ashes. To attempt positively to describe the holy mysstery of the ever-blessed Trinity, by human device, is a still farther aggravation of this sin, and both truly disgraceful to pure religion, and directly contrary to the intention of the commandment.

All image-worship, therefore, in whatever shape or degree, or however it may be attempted to be palliated, by various arts and specious arguments, is certainly unlawful to be used in any part of God's service, and positively forbidden in this commandment. We cannot desire a stronger proof of God's detestation of every thing of this kind, even when the design seemed to be only occasional, and to answer a particular purpose, and perhaps defeat another dreaded evil, than the resentment at the conduct both of Aaron first, and afterwards of Jeroboam. In Exodus, xxxii. 7, the Lord speaks thus unto Moses: Go, get thee down; for thy people which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. And Moses, deeply sensible of their crime, speaks thus to Aaron: What did this people do unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? God would then have consumed them