"the foundation of the earth: and the heavens "are the work of thy bands. They fhall perish, "but thou fhalt endure: yea, all of them fhall 66 wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou "change them, and they fhall be changed. But "thou art the fame, and thy years fhall have no "end." The apoftle James also fays, ch. i. 17: "With God there is no variableness, neither "fhadow of turning."

Laftly, the incomprehenfible nature of God is finely expreffed in feveral parts of fcripture, efpecially in the following paffages of the book of Job xi. 7. "Canft thou by fearching find out God? canft "thou find out the almighty unto perfection? It "is as high as heaven, what canft thou do? deeper "than hell, what canft thou know? The mea"fure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader "than the fea." xxxvi. 26. "Behold, God is 66 great, and we know him not: xxxvii. 23. "Touching the almighty, we cannot find him "out." David alfo fays, Pf. cxlv. 3. "Great "is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his "greatnefs is unfearchable."

The pretences of the heathen gods are refuted in feveral parts of fcripture in a most effectual, and fometimes in a very humorous manner. It is with refpect to the knowledge of future events that the true God more efpecially challenges the gods of the heathens, as in If. xli. 21. &c. "Produce

your caufe, faith the Lord: bring forth your strong reasons, faith the king of Jacob. Let "them bring them forth, and fhew us what shall "happen: let them fhew the former things what "they be, that we may confider them, and know "the latter end of them, or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come "hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods:

66

yea, do good or do evil, that we may be dif"mayed, and behold it together. Behold, ye are "of nothing, and your work of nought: an abo"mination is he that choofeth you."

When it is foretold that the idols of Babylon fhould be carried away captive, it is faid, If. xlvi. "Bel boweth down, Nebo ftoopeth, their idols were upon the beafts, and upon the cattle:

J.

your carriages were heavy loaden, they are a "burden to the weary beaft. They ftoop, they "bow down together, they could not deliver the

Burden, but themfelves are gone into captivity." Jeremiah alfo ridicules thefe gods in a fimilar manner, Jer. x. 1. &c. "Hear ye the word which "the Lord fpeaketh unto you, O house of Ifrael.

Thus faith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not difmayed at the figns of heaven, for the heathen are difmayed at them. "For the customs of the people are vain: for one "cutteth a tree out of the foreft (the work of the

hands of the workman) with the ax. They "deck

"deck it with filver and with gold, they fasten it " with nails and with hammers, that it move not. "They are upright as the palm-tree, but fpeak

not: they must needs be borne, because they "cannot go be not afraid of them, for they can"not do evil, neither alfo is it in them to do "good. Forasmuch as there is none like unto "thee, O Lord, thou art great, and thy name is

great in might. Who would not fear thee, O "king of nations, for to thee doth it appertain." The overthrow of Pharoah and his hoft is reprefented by Mofes as the triumph of the true God over the falfe ones, Ex. xv. 2. "The Lord is "my ftrength and fong, and he is become my fal"vation: v. II. "Who is like unto thee, O "Lord, amongst the gods? who is like thee, glo"rious in holinefs, fearful in praifes, doing won❝ders."

Elijah makes ufe of a fine piece of irony, when he addreffes the priests of Baal, on the occafion of the contest which he propofed between the true God and that imaginary one. When these priests were unable to procure a fupernatural fire, to burn their facrifices, we read 1 Kings xviii. 27. "And "it came to pafs at noon, that Elijah mocked "them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god,

either he is talking, or he is purfuing, or he is "in a journey, or peradventure he fleepeth, and "must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and H 6

6 cut

"cut themselves after their manner with knives

and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon "them; but there was neither voice, nor any to "anfwer, nor any that regarded." At the conclufion of this affair, the people, who were exceedingly prone to idolatry, and therefore strongly prejudiced in favour of the priests of Baal, cried out, "The Lord, he is the God, the Lord, he is the "God."

We find in the book of Daniel, that both Nebuchadnezzar and Darius, though ftrongly attached to their idol worship, were compelled to make the fame conceffion. See Dan. ii. xvii. iii. 29. When Daniel was delivered from the lions, we are informed, Dan. vi. 25. that then Darius wrote "unto all people, nations, and languages, "that dwell in all the earth, Peace be multiplied "unto you. I make a decree, that in every do"minion of my kingdom, men tremble and fear "before the God of Daniel: for he is the living "God, and fted fast for ever, and his kingdom is "that which shall not be destroyed, and his do"minion fhall be even unto the end."

Confidering the abominable flagitious cuftoms, and the cruel and horrid rites of the idolatrous inhabitants of Canaan, and other neighbouring nations, and the fhocking depravity of the hearts, as well as of the lives of men, which was the neceffary confequence of an addictedness to thofe mon

ftrous

ftrous kinds of idolatry, it is no wonder that all poffible provifion was made to prevent the If raelites from giving into it, and to perpetuate in that one nation the worship of the only living and true God, amidst the univerfal defection from his worship among all other nations.

Abraham is fuppofed to have been called from his country, where idolatry is generally thought to have been first introduced, about the time when it began to revolt from the worship of the true God; and it is not improbable that this was the cafe, as not long after we find idols among the gods of Laban, who lived in the fame country, that his daughter Rachel carried fome of them away with her, and that afterwards Jacob was obliged to fearch all his family, and commanded. them to put away all their falfe gods. See Gen.

XXXV. 2.

The prohibitions of idolatry by Mofes are frequent, and exceedingly emphatical. Befides the first and fecond commandments, quoted before, we read, Ex. xxiii. 13. "And in all things that "I have faid unto you, be circumfpect; and make

no mention of the name of other Gods, neither "let it be heard out of thy mouth."

The orders which the Jews received concerning the extirpation of the inhabitants of Canaan refpected this case, and nothing else. ment of the Ifraelites in that country,

The fettle

is exprefsly