whether our idolatry be open and carnal, or secret and spiritual: and though he does not authorize man to proceed against us, he will take the matter into his own hand, and inflict upon us the punishment we deserve. It is in reference to this that St. Paul utters that severe denunciation against all who decline from their love to Christ ; "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maran-atha" that is, His departure from Christ deserves the heaviest judgments ; and though we are not now at liberty to inflict them, God surely and quickly will.
O that all who have waxed cold in their affections towards God, would lay this to heart ! If God be not seated on the throne of our hearts and sweetly ruling and reigning there, the creature is : and whether the idol be pleasure, or riches, or honour, or any thing else, however excellent or however base, we are idolaters ; and shall be made to feel, that " it is an evil and bitter thing to forsake the Lord;" yea, that "it were better never to have known him, than, after knowing him, to depart from him."]
2. The danger of being accessary to any one's departure from him —
[There are a variety of ways in which we may be instru- mental in turning others from God. What if we scoff at religion, and deride the practice of it as folly or enthusiasm ; do we not, in fact, say to those around us, " Come, let us serve other gods ? " What if we exert our influence and authority to deter people from attending where the word is preached with fidelity and power, or from associating with the despised fol- lowers of Jesus ; are we not yet more decidedly guilty of hostility to God ? for when we only scoff at religion, we leave people an alternative ; but when we set ourselves to intimidate men from following after God, we are no longer seducers, but persecutors. But, supposing we do not take so decided a part against God, yet, if all our fears are against excess in religion, and none against a defect in it, if all the advice we give is to shun the cross and avoid the shame of a religious profession, and none at all to " endure the cross and despise the shame," whom is it that we serve? Can we with propriety be called the friends and servants of our God 1 No : Find us in all the sacred records one single servant of his that ever shewed such dispositions as these. I forget : we can find one : we remember Peter's kind solicitude for his Master, and his affectionate ex- pression of it too ; "Master, spare thyself: " but we remember also the answer of Jesus to him ; " Get thee behind me, Satan; thou art an offence unto me ; for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men." Let me then warn friends and relatives of every description how they use their