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67 out his rule, he macketh it with a line, he macketh it out with a compass, maketh it often the figure of a man. - He planteth an ash & the rain doth nourish it with part of it he kindleth a fire & bake the bread; with part he maketh a god & worshipeth it; he falleth down before it & prayeth unto it, & faith deliver me, for thou art any God.
From idolatry practices that pious man Job had kept himself pure, tho' liv.g in the midst of idolaters; - If I beheld the sun, when it shined or the moon walk.g in brightness, & my heart hath been secretly enticed; or my mouth hath kissed my hand; I should have denied the God that is above. This commandmt. of the moral law, forbids inward as well as external Idolatry. As the external whrship of Idols springs from the devotion of the heart to idols; so whatever creatures or things the heart is chiefly attached to, these are the idols that we are to renounce. And covetousness says the Apostle which is Idolatry. The command respects not only the outward deportment, but the inward Man, the temper & disposition of the mind. So we come 2. To speak of the nature of that true & acceptable worship & homage which God has appointed & which we are bound to render to God alone.
The prohibition of worship.g God by images, implies that we are to worship him spiritually, in a way & manner agreeable to his holy nature & will. No worship can be acceptable to God but such as he hath directed. This will communicated by the light of Nature & especially by the clearer light of revelation is our only guide in this interesting enquiry.
To worship God acceptably implies in general that we submit to God & obey him from the heart. They who so do serve him acceptably.