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more upon their relation to, or defcent from, fuch and fuch families or ancestors, than upon their relation to God, or those who are dignified with his image, or are of his household and family by regeneration and adoption.

Some make a god of their wordly pleasures: 2 Tim. iii. 4. the apoftle tells us of fome who are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." The drunkard has more pleasure in his cups, the fwearer in his oaths, the unclean perfon in his fwinish lufts, the unjust perfon in his unlawful gains, than in God. Many will rather risk the difpleasure of God, and "rush upon the thick boffes of his buckler, than make a covenant with their eyes" or other fenses, that they may not be porches for the fiery darts of Satan to enter in and inflame the fuel of inward luft and corruption. The apoftle fpeaks of fome "whofe god is their belly," Phil. iii. 19.; they are more concerned what they fhall eat and drink, or wherewith they fhall be clothed, than how they fhall glorify God, or advance their own orothers fpiritual and eternal well-being. They have more pleasure in an ordinary meal among friends, than in eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God, among his friends and members at his table. And is this to have no other gods before JEHOVAH our God?

Some again make a god of their worldly credit and reputation: John v. 44. the Pharifees loved the praife of men, more than that honour which comes from God: and this was the reafon of their rejecting Chrift. Will not our fpirits rife with refentment when our own character or reputation is attacked; and yet bear it with patience when God is difhonoured, or his holy name profaned? which plainly fays, that our own honour is dearer to us than the honour of God; which could never be, if we had no other god before him.

Some make a god of their worldly helps and confidence in the time of danger, and truft more to these for deliverance than unto himself: If. xxxi. 1. Wo to them that go down to Egypt for help, and stay on horses, and truft in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are. very strong but they look not unto the holy One of Ifrael, neither feek the Lord" There is a folemn curfe pronounced againft idolaters of this kind," Curfed be the man that trufteth in man, and maketh flefh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." Some again make a god of their very enemies, and are more afraid of him that can only kill the body, than they are of him who is able to caft both foul and body into hell. Some make a god of the devil, who is indeed called "the god of this world." When any luft or idol

is fet up and ferved, either with body or mind, the devil himfelf in that cafe is worshipped and served, though not intentionally; hence Jeroboam's calves are called devils, although by these he only intended to worship the true God. The devil is then worshipped, when we are more afraid of him than we are to displease God by fin; and when people run to wizards, or fuch as are fuppofed to be in compact with the devil, in order to ask advice, or to know future events, or to discover what is ftolen or loft; this, I fay, is devil-worthip, and was the immediate forerunner of Saul's ruin, when he went to the witch of Endor to feek counfel. It is joined with the abominable idolatry of Molech, Lev. xx. 6.

To conclude, how many are there that make gods of their vile lufts, and serve and obey these rather than God? Some ferve the luft of uncleannefs, fome that of intemperance, fome the luft of revenge, others of covetoufnefs or ambition, or the like. O how innumerable are the lufts of the unmortified heart? yet, according to the number of thy lufts, O finner, so are thy gods. "Know ye not (fays the apostle), that to whom ye yield yourselves fervants to obey, his fervants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of fin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness ?" Rom. vi. 16.

Thus I have given you a fhort account of fome other gods which people may have fecretly lodged in their hearts, while they pretend to obey this command, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Take heed that the word of the Lord be not against you; and that, while I have been minting to open this law or commandment of God in its fpirituality, conscience be not faying, as Ahab to the prophet, "Thou haft found me, O mine enemy." Has not this commandment, which is exceeding broad, difcovered fome other god in thy heart than him who fays here, I am the Lord thy God? If any one of these idols be reigning upon the throne of thy heart, thou never to this day obeyedft the first commandment of the law of God. From whence it is eafy to infer, that thy obedience is yet to begin with respect to the whole law, and every other commandment of it; for if the first be not obeyed first, none of the rest can be obeyed ; no, it is impoffible; because, as I said already, the foundation of all obedience is laid in having no other god but him only, who promifes in the preface to be the Lord our God. O Sirs, for the Lord's fake, look to it in time, that there be not a lie in your right hand, while you profefs to close with this promife, I am the Lord thy God; for if you clofe with it aright by faith, you will just do as required in this command, faying, I will have no other gods before God in Christ reconciling the world to himself. Thus, by obeying the first com

mand,

mand, we receive Chrift, and rest upon him alone for falvation, as he is offered, given, or promised in the gospel, or covenant of grace.

Üfe third of this doctrine may be by way of Confolation to believers, whose fouls, in obedience to this commandment, have, upon the foundation of this covenant-grant, faid unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord; and who in the faith of this promife, I am the Lord thy God, have gone to a communion-table, and taken the bread and wine in that ordinance as the feal of this promise, and all the other promifes that depend thereupon. That you may fee what ftrong confolation is here, I pray you confider, that this promife, I am the Lord thy God, it draws all the bleffings of heaven and eternity with it. There is not one promise from the beginning of Genefis to the end of the Revelation, which thou mayft not confidently claim as thine own, if thou haft obeyed the command of God, in laying hold of God as thy God, thy only God, by virtue of this glorious grant of fovereign grace, 1 am the Lord thy

God.

It is impoffible that I can tell you the ten thousandth part of that grace and glory that lies in the womb of this promife, I am the Lord thy God; an infinite God, who is an infinite good, is in it: "Who can by fearching find out God? who can find out the Almighty unto perfection ?" New fcenes of his infinite glory will be opening to faints and angels through eternity in heaven. O then, how immenfe is the treasure that is here fecured to thee, Oh believer, in these two or three words, I am the Lord thy God! Well mayft thou fing, "The lines are fallen unto me in pleafant places." He that gave himself unto the death for thy redemption in the perfon of the Son, and gives himself as JEHOVAH, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, by covenant gift and grant; how will he not with this freely give thee all things? Canft thou doubt of his liberality as to other things, when he does not with-hold his infinitely glorious felf? Canft thou doubt of his fulfilling any other promife of the covenant, when thou haft fet to the feal of faith to this, with application of it to thy foul, I am the Lord thy

God.

I might here, for the believer's confolation, and the encouragement of his faith, fhew how this covenant promise draws all the reft of the promises in its train, they being infeparably connected therewith. To inftance only in a few, inftead of many. I am the Lord thy God: therefore "I will give thee an heart to know me." I am the Lord thy God: therefore "I will sprinkle thee with clean water, and thou fhalt be clean; from all thy filthiness, and from all thine idols will 1 cleanfe thee." I

am

am the Lord thy God: therefore" I will be merciful to thy unrighteoufnefs, and thy fins and iniquities will I remember no more." I am the Lord thy God: therefore "I will put my Spirit within thee, and caufe thee to walk in my ftatutes, and thou shalt keep my judgements, and do them." And fo of all the other promises of the covenant; they are all " yea and amen in him," who is the Lord thy God. He who is fo kind and good, as to make over himself to thee as thy God, will infallibly make out and make good every promife; and thou mayft trust him, with affured confidence, that he will do it, because he has faid, I am the Lord thy God. O let not the frequent repetition of these words make them unfavoury; for there is more than ten thousand millions of heavens of glory in them to the foul that views them with the eye of faith in the light of the Spirit.

I might further add, for the believer's comfort, that this promife, I am the Lord thy God, draws along with it the fweeteft and most endearing offices and relations that can be imagined. To inftance in a few.

1. He who is thy God, is thy fun to enlighten, direct, warm, and fructify thy foul with his benign and gracious influences, Pfal. lxxxiv. 11. The day-fpring from on high hath begun to vifit thee, the day-star hath arifen in thy heart; and though clouds may overcaft thy fky, yet the Sun of righteoufness will break through them, and return with the refreshing vifits of everlasting kindness; for "his goings forth are prepared," or fecured, "as the morning. Unto you that fear my name, fhall the Sun of righteousness arife with healing in his wings; and ye fhall go forth and grow up as calves of the ftall," Mal. iv. 2.

2. The Lord thy God is a fhield to protect and defend thee against all the attacks of thy temporal or fpiritual enemies. When fin, Satan, and the world, come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord fhall lift up a standard against them. He is "the ftrength of the poor, the ftrength of the needy in their diftrefs, a refuge from the ftorm, a fhadow from the heat, when the blaft of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall." Thy God is "the fhield of thy help, and the fword of thy excellency; he rides in the heaven for thy help, and in his excellency on the skies."

3. Thy God is thy reward: "Fear not," fays the Lord to Abraham, "I am thy fhield and thy exceeding great reward," Gen. xv. 1. He is not only thy rewarder, but he himself is thy reward. And thy God being thy reward, it must be exeeeding great, great beyond all expreffion or imagination; it is exceeding great beyond what eye ever faw, or ear heard, or

hath

hath entered into the heart of man to conceive. Sure fuch a reward cannot be of debt, but of grace only. It is the reward, not of our fervice or obedience, but the reward of the obedience and death of our glorious Surety. He is the righteous new Heir, and we are "heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jefus Chrift."

4. Thy God, believer, is thy friend. There is a covenant of friendship implied in my text, I am the Lord thy God. It is faid of Abraham that he was "the friend of God ;" and the friendship is mutual. Whatever kind offices ever one friend performed to another, thefe doth thy God perform unto thee. Thy God as a friend, fympathifes with thee in all thy afflictions, If. lxiii. 9.; fupplies thy needs, Phil. iv. 19.; imparts his fecrets to thee, the fecrets of his covenant, and mysteries of his kingdom, which he hides from the rest of the world, Matth. xiii. 11.; promifes to bear thee company through fire and water, life, and death, If. xliii. 2. As a friend, he will pay you kindly vifits, and meet you more than half way when you come to vifit him: "Thou meetest him that rejoiceth, and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways."

5. Thy God, believer, is thy Father: 2 Cor. vi. 16. 17. "I will be their God, and they fhall be my people." And, ver. 18. it is added, "I will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my fons and daughters, faith the Lord Almighty. Behold, what manner of love is this, that we should be called the fons of God!" Let men and angels wonder at it, that we who are fprung of hell, should be dignified with a name among the general affembly and church of the first-born. Thy God is thy Father; and, as a tender-hearted father, his eye is upon thee for good, his ear is open unto thy cry, his heart follows thee where-ever thou goeit, his hand is ready to help thee and hold thee up, his Spirit, in and by the word, to counsel and com fort thee, his houfe of many manfions prepared and ready to receive thee, whenever thou art diflodged from the earthly houfe of this tabernacle.

6. Thy God is thy husband: If. liv. 5. "Thy Maker is thine husband, the Lord of hofts is his name; and thy Redeemer the holy One of Ifrael." Thy name before him is Hephzibah and Beulah; he rejoices over thee, as the bridegroom rejoiceth over his bride. There is a complication of interefts betwixt him and thee; and thy concerns are fo much his, that whatever action the law has against thee, he is bound by virtue of his relation to thee as a husband, to cover and defend thee against all deadly.

7. Thy God, believer, is thy very life, yea, the ftrengh of thy life; Pfal. xxvii. 1. "The Lord is the ftrength of my life,

of

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