L In a good sense ; and so God is jealous for his people, Zeeh. i. 14., " Thus saith the Lord, I am jealous for Jerusalem, and for Zion, witb a great jealousy." God hath a dear affection for his people, they are his Hephzibah, or delight, Isa. Ixii. 4. The ap- ple of his eye, Zech. ii. 8. To express how dear they are to him, and how tender he is of them, — Nihil charius pupitld oculi, Dru- sius. They are his spouse, adorned with jewels of grace; they lie near to his heait. He is jealous for his spouse, therefore he will be avenged on them who go to wrong her, Isa. xlii. 13., " The Lord shall stir up jealousy like a man of war ; he shall roar, he shall prevail against his enemies." What is done to the saints, God takes as done to himself, 2 Kings xix. 22., and the Lord will undo all them that afflict Zion, Zeph. iii. 19., " I will undo all that afflict thee." — 2. Jealousy is taken in a bad sense, and so God is jealous of his people : and so it is taken in this commandment, ' I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.' I am jealous lest you should go after false gods, or wor- ship the true God in a false manner ; lest you defile your virgin-profession by images. God will have his spouse to keep close to him, and not go after other lovers, IIos. iii. 3., " Thou shalt not be for another man." God cannot bear a co-rival: our coniucral love, viz. a love joined with adoration and worship, must be given only to God.
Use \st. Let us give God no just cause to be jealous. A good wife will be so dis- creet and chaste as to give her husband no just occasion of jealousy. Let us avoid all sin, especially this sin of idolatry, or image-
wor.sbip ; it is heinous, after we have enter- ed into a marriage-covenant with God, now to prostitute ourselves to an image. Idola- try is spiritual adultery, and (iod is a jea- lous God, he will avenge it ; image-worship makes God abhor a people, Ps. Ixxviii. 58, 59., " They moved him to jealousy with their graven images. When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel." Image-worship enragetli God, Prov. ^i. 34. •' Jealousy is the rage of a man ;" it makes God divorce a peoj)le, IIos. ii, 2., " Plead with your mother, plead ; for she is not my wife." Cant. viii. 0., " Jealousy is cruel as the grave." As the grave devours men's bodies, so God will devour inuige-worship- pers.
Use 2d. If God be a jealous Ciod, let it be a word to such whose friends are popish idolaters, and they are hated by their friends because they are of a different religion, and perhaps they cut off tlieir niainfeiiance from them. O remember, God is a jealous Ciod I Better move your parents to hatred, than move God to jealousy; their anger cannot do you so much hurt as God's ; if they will not provide for you, God will, Ps. xxvii. 10., " When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up."
n. The second reason against image- worship, « Visiting the iniquity of the fa- thers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." There is a twofold visitiug: 1. Tliere is God's visiting in mer- cy. Gen. 1. 25., " God will surely visit you;" that is, he will bring you into' the land of Canaan, the type of heaven. Thus God hath visited us with the sun-beams of his favour ; he hath made us swim in a sea of mercy; this is an happy visitation.— 2. There is God's visiting in anger, Jer. v. 9., " Shall I not visit for these things ?" that is, God's visiting with the rod : and Isa. x. 3., " What will ye do in the day of visita- tion ?" that is, in the day when God shall visit with his judgments. Thus God's vi- siting is taken here, in this commandment,
OF THE SECOND COMMANDMENT.
« visitinfT iniquity," that is, punishing ini- quity. Observe here three things.
Observe 1. That sin makes God visit ; " Visiting iniquity." Sin is the cause why God visits with sickness, poverty, Ps. Ixxxix. 31 32., " If they break my statutes, tlien will I visit tlieir transgressions with the rod." Sin twists the cords which pinch us ; sin creates all our troubles, — it is the gall in our cup, and the gravel in our bread ; Flagitum etjlagellum, sunt sicut ocus et silutn. Sin is the Trojan horse,— the Fhseton that sets all on fire ; it is the womb of our sor- rows, and the grave of our comfort. God visits for sin.