.9d a CAVEAT AGAINST INFIDELITY. But I reply, that this is not true in fact, concerning the greatest part of mankind: For howsoever some few of their wisest men might have this opinion, yet the bulk of the heathen world always did, and do to this day worship the various idols themselves as somany gods, and disown the one trueGod. Ask the old Greek and Roman writers, ask the travellers of modern ages, they willagree to tell you, that the people generally wor- ship and believe this variety of gods. Perhaps it will be said, that none of them could be so sot- tish, as to adore the very images of gold or silver, wood or stone, as their gods, but they adored soma divine power, which they supposed to inhabit those images, after their fancied consecration of them. But the prophet Isaiah will answer, that the smithand the carpenter exert their labour and skill, they make the figureof aman, out of a mass of metal, or the trunk of a tree, they fall down to it, and worship it, they pray to it, and say, deliver me, for thou artmy god. They have not knownnor understood better, so brutish are they and ignorant ; Is. xli. 6, 7. xliv. 17, 19. I add yet further, that others of them who were not so grossly stupid, as to worship the very metal, the wood or stone, yet, they paid adoration to Bacchus and Mars, to Juno and Venus, to fabulous deities or mere names, or to devils, whom they sup- posed to dwell in these images ; but the only true God was far from their thoughts : And is this a religion worthy of the Majesty ofheaven, or fit for him to accept at the hands of creatures whom hé has endued with reason ? And as for those few among them, who have acknowledged the one true God, even their wise men and philosophers, they complied with national idolaters, they held the truth in unri'hte- ousness, that is, they unrighteously restrained the truth, which was in their consciences, or concealed it amidst all their unright- +eousness of practice. They acted contrary to the light and dic. Oates of their own'consciences, and yielded themselves servants -to the vile and idolatrous customs of their country, in many of their ridiculous and impious rites and ceremonies : Theychanged the glory of the incorruptible God into the imagesofbirds, beasts, and fishes, and worshipped creatures even while they knew the Creator. And can these men have any claim to the favour of God, who would not dare to bear a testimony to his name and glory, among idolaters ? These men, whowhen they knowGod, *they glor ed hint not as God, but-turned his glory into a lie; Rom. i, 21, 23. As for the. nations who own the one true God, which are chiefly theJews and the Mahomotaus,the various cere- monies, with which they now worship him, cannot be supposed to beagreeable to his majesty, or to render the worshippersthe objects of his delight; let us consider them distinctly. Thenationof theJews has had the gospel of Christ preached to them, but they have put the mercy of Godfar from then4-
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