personal repentance, and humble affiance in the Lord Jesus Christ.]
From this subject we may learn,
1. What an evil and bitter thing sin is —
[The Israelites might have excused themselves by saying, as the Papists do respecting their images, that they did not intend to make a god of the golden calf, but only to use it as the means of bringing the true God more forcibly to their minds. But what would such sophistry have availed them ? Would either God or Moses have altered their estimate of the crime, because they chose to veil it under specious names g? And to what purpose is it for us to extenuate our crimes ? We have soft imposing names whereby to conceal the evil of covetousness and sensuality; but does not God declare both the one and the other to be idolatry11 ? Does he not speak of men having "idols in their heart 'l ? " and is not this the essence of all idolatry, to " love and serve the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for evermore ? " We may attempt also to extenuate our guilt, as Aaron did, from our acting under the influence of others, and not designing to do exactly all that we did : but this could not deceive Moses ; much less can it deceive God. Moreover, both the people and Aaron might even think that they were honouring Jehovah ; for they kept the feast pro- fessedly mi to him : and when they had eaten and drunk of then- sacrifices, they might think it well became them to indulge in mirth. We too may keep our feasts, and fasts, and Sabbaths, professedly to the Lord ; and may conclude we have ground for cheerful security : but God may, all the while, be as wroth with us, as he was with them, and may have deter- mined to blot out our unworthy names from the book of life. O that we would duly reflect on these things ! O that we would consider that sin, however extenuated by us, is hateful to God; that he sees it wherever it is transacted, and under whatever veil it may be concealed ; and that, finally, the time is quickly coming, when he will execute judgment upon all according to their works ! Then will sin appear in its real colours ; not in the temporal destruction of a single nation, but in the ever- lasting destruction of all, who have died in impenitence and unbelief.]
2. How much we are indebted to the Lord Jesus Christ—
[The intercession of Moses for the Jewish nation was typical of the yet more effectual intercession of our great Ad- vocate, the Lord Jesus Christ. We may in a measure picture
s It is expressly called idolatry, 1 Cor. x. 7.
h Eph. v. 5. Phil. iii. 19. j Ezek. xiv. 3, 4, 7.