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First, I must begin with that great daring Sin of Atheism, here forbidden as the Rife and Foundation of all Impiety: for if Religion be founded on the having of a God, then all Ungodliness and Irreligion must proceed from denying of him. Of this the Pfalmift fpeaks, in Pfal. 14. 1. The Fool bath faid in his Heart, There is no God. And then it follows, Corrupt are they, and become abominable; there is none that doth good, no not one. Where he plainly fuppofes, that there are but too many who vainly furmise there is no God; and likewife brands all thofe for Fools who say or think fo, as running them into the greatest Evils and Dangers. Now the Atheism here forbidden, is both Speculative and Practical. The

Former is the inward Belief of the Mind, that there is no God: the latter is the living and acting as if there were

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For the ft; Since the Volume of the Creation lies open to the view of all, in which the invifible things of God are fo clearly feen, even his Eternal Power and Godhead; it cannot but feem ftrange, that any fhould be found to queftion or disbelieve either: yea, fince the Voice of Nature and Confcience is fo loud, that the found of them is gone over the World, and there is no Speech or Language where their Voice is not heard; one would think it impoffible. for any to doubt or deny his Being, were it not that the fad Experience of former as well as the prefent times may convince us, that the World always had fome fuch Monfters. But these being not fo numerous, and being condemn'd by the general vogue and confent of Mankind, who almost universally own a firft Caufe of all Things, and feel a natural Inclination to worship him; I fhall leave these to the Terrors and Convictions of their own Mind, and proceed,

2dly, To the practical Atheists, who by their Words profefs to own and believe a God, but in their Works deny him: And with thefe, alas! the World does but too much abound, who pretend to own a Deity, and yet live as if there were none. Such practical Atheists are as bad, if not worfe, than the fpeculative; for to flight and contemn a God, whom we acknowledge for fuch, is worfe than barely to disbelieve him. He who thinks there is no God, acts agrecable to his Perfuafion, when he refufes to worship or fear what is not; whereas he that owns a Being of infinite

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finite Power and Goodnefs, and yet cafts off the Fear or Love of him, acts of all Men the most abfurdly; for he acts contrary to his Perfuafion, and confutes his own Pretences. The fpeculative Atheist neglects his Maker, but the practical Atheist contemns him; the one denies his Being, the other reproaches his Nature, and highly affronts him whom he would be thought to ferve.

Now this is plainly forbidden in this Commandment; for if the having of a God here requir'd imply the Love, Fear and Worfhip of fuch a Being; then the contrary to these, which fuppofe the rejecting of him, must be here condemn'd. So that,

1. The cafting off the Love of God, either in whole or in part, is a manifeft breach of this Commandment: for if the Excellencies of the Divine Nature, and our great Obligations to his Goodness, render him the proper Object of our Love, and require the most fuperlative degrees of Affection; then all Coldnefs or Lukewarmnefs toward him must be a finful neglect, and rather a difowning him, than having him for our God. If we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our Heart, and with all our Mind, and with all our Strength; then to fet our Heart upon any thing more than him, is to become unworthy of him, by acting unworthily towards him.

2. The cafting off the Fear of God, and entertaining falfe and unbecoming Fears of him, are both forbidden in this Commandment, as inconfiftent with the true Belief and owning of fuch a Being: the former of these is the Sin of Supineness or carnal Security, which is the not fearing where we ought; the latter of Superftition, which is the fearing where no Fear is: the one proceeds from the having no thoughts of God; the other from having wrong thoughts of him. The Pfalmift fpeaks of fome, that they have no Fear of God before their Eyes; and gives this reafon of it, that God was not in all their Thoughts; his Ways are always grievous to them, and bis Fudgments remov'd out of their fight; Pfal. 10. 4, 5. And 'tis no wonder if they fear not God, who feldom or never think of him. Again,

He tells us of others, that fear where no Fear is and this proceeds from wrong and miftaken Apprehenfions of God, taking him for a four, ftern and fevere Being, that is dif pleas'd at every thing, and often angry without a Cause. Of both these we have but too many Inftances: Some having little or no awe or fenfe of a Deity, which makes them

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run into an excess of Riot, and commit all Uncleanness with greediness. Others having bafe and fervile Fears of him, which make them abftain from fome indifferent and unforbidden Rites as difpleafing to him, and to feek to please and atone him by many uncommanded Aufterities; both which Practices being oppofite to the true sense of having a God, are forbidden in this Commandment.

3. The cafting off the Worfhip and Service of God is another piece of practical Atheism, condemn'd by this Commandment; for this, inftead of having a God, is a virtual Contempt and denying of him. The very Notion of a Deity fuppofes him to be the Maker and Governour of the World, and the Preferver of all Things contain'd therein; upon which account there is a peculiar Homage and Service due to him: and this confifts in acknowledging and adoring his infinite Perfections, in praying to him for what we want, and praifing of him for all that we receive. Now to refufe this Homage is in effect to defpife and difown him, and to fay with them in the Book of Job, Depart from us, we defire not the knowledge of thy ways.

4. The cafting off our Truft and Dependence upon God, is another breach of this Commandment, for this is a virtual denial of moft of his Attributes. God Almighty hath interefted his Power, Wisdom and Goodnefs for the supply and fuccour of his People in all their Exigencies; he hath promis'd to give Grace and Glory, and to withhold no good thing from them that diligently feek and trust to him: whereby he hath engag'd his Truth and Faithfulness to defend and provide for them, and confirm'd all this with an Oath for their greater Security and Confolation. Now to diftruft him after all this, is to call in question his Power, Goodnefs and Truth, and to doubt whether he be able or willing to be as good as his word: both which, caft unworthy Reflections upon his Nature, and undermine the Belief of his Being. 'Tis for this reafon that Unbelief and Distrust of God are fo feverely fentenc'd in Holy Scripture, because they virtually put the Lye upon Truth itself, and charge the Almighty with Impotence or Imposture.

Laftly, The cafting off the Yoke of Obedience to the divine Precepts, is practical Atheism, and in effect the having of no God, which is prohibited in this Commandment : for we owe to the fupreme Being, not only the Tribute of Love, but the Homage of Subjection and Obedience; and

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399 a firm Belief of him will draw this after it, and enforce this Duty upon us. So that where this is refus'd or neglected, Men fhake off the Yoke, and fay in effect, they will not have him for their God, or own him as their Lord and Mafter. In short,

All unbecoming Carriage towards our Maker, all demeaning our felves unfutable to our Relation to, or Dependence upon him, are here condemn'd by this Law, as a direct affront to his Authority and Attributes; and they who allow themfelves in any ungodly Courses, deny God in their Lives, tho they own him with their Lips, and act upon a Principle of Atheism and Infidelity, the first great Sin forbidden in this Commandment, the having of no God. The

Second is Idolatry, which is the having of a falfe God: This was the Sin of the Egyptians and other idolatrous Nations, against whom this Commandment was first level'd; for the Ifraelites, whom God had selected for his own peculiar People, living and converfing among them, were too prone to fall into their ways, and in danger of being infected by their Idolatries: and therefore to prevent this, God Almighty, confulting his own Glory and their Good, gave them this Precept, that they fhould have no other Gods but him. We find the Egyptians and others fubftituting falfe Gods in the room of the true, and giving thofe divine Honours to Creatures, that were due only to the Creator: they worship'd the Sun, Moon and Stars, with the whole Hoft of Heaven; being tempted thereunto by the good Influence they have on this lower World, and the many Benefits they receiv'd thereby: they paid divine Honours to Beasts, inanimate Creatures, and all manner of creeping Things; yea, they fell down to Stocks and Stones, and other Workmanship of their own Hands. The Egyptians had their Apis and Serapis, whom they worship'd in the form of a Calf; their Gods grew in their Gardens, for they paid their Devotions to Mint and Rue, and fhed religious Tears before the Leek and the Onion. Thefe idolatrous Practices had too much prevail'd upon God's own People, for we find them fo inveigled by them, that Aaron and the Ifraelites, in Mofes's abfence, fell to making and worshipping a molten Calf: And when they were brought out of that Land, even in their Journey to Canaan, they often hanker'd after the Leeks and Onions of Egypt. And being

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fo prone to Idolatry, and to be carry'd away to the worshipping of falfe Gods, this Precept was again renew'd and enforc'd upon them in the Book of Deuteronomy; in which they were strictly charg'd, to have no other Gods but him.

But this groffer fort of Idolatry being now rarely found in the Chriftian World, I fhall not need to enlarge farther upon it.

There is then another fort of Idolatry forbidden in this Commandment, and that is the worshipping of Saints and Angels and the Virgin Mary, and giving thofe divine Honours to Creatures that are due to God only: this the Apostle condemns as Will-worship, Col. 2. 18. and was refus'd by the Angel in the Revelation, faying, See thou do it not, worShip God. There is indeed a civil Worship due to the Virtues of great and good Men, and fome kind of Veneration may be paid to the Memories of departed Saints; but for the religious Honours of Adoration, Prayer and Invocation, thofe are peculiar to God only, and may not without Idolatry be communicated to any Creature. But befide this,

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There is another fort of Idolatry too common among Men; and that is, the paying higher degrees of Love, Fear and Trust to any other Thing than we do to God. This is to make that, whatever it be, our God and by giving it the highest room in our Affections, we fet up an Idol in our Heart; which is the having to ourselves a falfe God, the fecond great Sin forbidden in this Commandment. The

Third and Laft is Polytheism, which is the having many or more Gods than one. This feems to be condemn'd by the Letter of this Law, in which God, to preferve his People from Multiplying of Deities, according to the Cuftom of the Heathens, willed them to have no other Gods but himself. The Chaldeans, Philistines and Egyptians of old multiply'd their Gods, according to the number of their Cities; they had a God for each particular Bleffing they wanted, and implor'd a diftinct Deity for every Disease: yea, their number grew fo great at last, that according to Varro's Computation they amounted to three thousand. The Gentiles, as the Apofle tells us, worshipped they knew not what; the Athenians erected an Altar to the unknown God; and fome, to increase the number of their Gods, worshipped the very Devil.

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