conciliate the favour of their gods. The offering of human sa- crifices, to which I apprehend the Psahnist refers*^, sufficiently attests this : and the self-devotion of those who, at this day, cast themselves under the wheels of the temple of Juggernaut, in order to sacrifice their lives to that detestable idol, places beyond a doubt the miseries sustained by. idolaters, even where civilization is in other respects very considerably ad- vanced ]
2. The votaries of this world —
[Look at those who are " serving divers lusts and plea- sures," and seeking happiness in the gratification of their own passions. Is the licentious fornicator, or the base adulterer, happy ? No : they hate the light : they are ashamed to be seen in the pursmt of then- unhallowed practices : and they contract a load of guilt, which, in hours of reflection, sorely oppresses their minds, and renders them afraid to meet their God. Even in temporal matters, the follower of forbidden pleasures often suffers to a great extent : and what he suffers in the eternal world, let the Rich Man, who disregarded the suit of Lazarus, attest. Truly, whether pleasures, riches, or honours be thus idolized, they heap distress and anguish on their votaries, both in this world and in the world to come.]
3. The followers of a legal and Pharisaic right- eousness—
[This, too, is idolatry, no less than the indulgence of covetousness, lewdness, or any other corrupt propensity. And what a load, yea, what an insupportable burthen, does it entail ! The Pharisees of old were far from happy : and so are the Papists now ; for, whilst they have recourse to rites of man's device, instead of seeking acceptance through the atoning blood of Christ, they put their own good works in the place of Christ's, and accumulate to themselves sorrows without end. But what shall we say of the disappointment they will feel on entering into the presence of their God? They thought to purchase heaven : but the inadequacy of their efforts will instantly appear, and the impiety of their conceits be visited with suit- able expressions of God's merited indignation.]
Connected as this assertion is with all the follow- ing context, I shall be led to,
n. Contrast it with the state of the Lord's people —
If it be true that " their sorrows shall be multiplied
that hasten after another god," it is no less true, on
c See the words following our text, which refer to the cruel and idolatrous usages of the Canaanites, the very names of whose idols were forbidden to be named.