people who within lefs than forty days had beheld the terrors of his prefence on Mount Sinai, had heard the law from his mouth, and had pledged themfelves to fincere and ftedfast obedience; now difregarded their promife, despised the unchangeable commandment, and were rioting in idolatrous feftivities confecrated to the honour of the golden calf. Profeffing to be the votaries of Jehovah; for even this impious feaft was named by Aaron a feaft to the Lord; they were become the vassals of an idol. Forfaking the ordinances of the true God, that they might pursue their own devices; and, under the pretence of worshipping him, polluting themselves with thofe very practices which he had recently pronounced to be abominations in his fight they clearly proved that, although they called themselves his people, their hearts were alienated from him; that he was not the master whom they loved; that his will was not the law to which they were folicitous to conform. It was time then that a diftinction fhould be made between the faithful fervants of God, if fuch there were, and the unworthy multitudes who pretended to adore It was time for Mofes, the ambaffador of the Moft High, to cry out in his name

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to all the people; Who is on the Lord's fide? It was time that the Levites, who alone had not partaken in the general idolatry, or now at length were ftruck with horror at their guilt, fhould fly with precipitation to their great leader, who fummoned them to the ftandard of their God. Caft your eyes upon the Chriftian world: caft your eyes upon this your native country, in which Christianity is profeffed in its purest form: caft your eyes upon your own neighbourhood, upon the places where the prevalence or the deficiency of true religion is likely to be well known to you and let your understandings and confciences pronounce, whether a scene too nearly refembling that which Mofes beheld. in the camp of Ifrael be not prefented to your view. Through the enlightening grace of God, this Proteftant land is no longer overfpread with worshippers of graven or molten images. But are there not numbers among thofe, who profess the Chriftian faith; are there not numbers among those, with whofe conduct and principles the ordinary transactions of life render you acquainted; whofe hearts are fet upon their idols? The covetous man is declared in the Scriptures to be an idolater. Money is his god. How large a VOL. I. portion

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portion of mankind is comprehended among the worshippers of money! The Scriptures

aver the glutton alfo to be an idolater. He worships the brutish appetite, by which he is enflaved. On the fame authority, the man whofe chief object is any fenfual pleasure deferves the fame denomination. That pleafure is his idol. He likewife whofe chief purfuit is reputation, or honour, or power, is an idolater. Reputation, or honour, or power, is the object of his worship. In fhort, he who fets his heart on any worldly object, inftead of fixing it upon God, is confidered in the Scriptures, as partaking in the guilt of idolatry, as a flave to that object which he makes his principal pursuit, and as not on the fide of the Lord. Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves fervants to obey, his fervants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of fin unto death, or of obedience unto righteoufnefs (a)? When When you furvey multitudes among those who are denominated Chriftians, who were baptifed in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft, who profefs to believe that the Son of God died on the cross to purchase for them the pardon of fin, the fanctifying influence of (d) Rom. vi. 16.

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the Holy Spirit, and the everlafting glories of the kingdom of heaven: when you furvey multitudes of thefe nominal Chriftians, together with numbers who fcarcely term themfelves Chriftians, yielding themselves with eagerness as fervants to fin; when fee them giving up their whole hearts to things temporal instead of things eternal; when you fee them acting as the flaves of the world, the flesh, and the deyil, instead of striving to become the children of the Moft High': is it not time for every minister of the gospel to addrefs his congregation in the words of Mofes; to cry out to them, "who among "you is on the Lord's fide?" Is it not time. every one of you to put the question to his own heart; "On whofe fide am I acting? Am I on the fide of the Lord?" Is it not time for every one of you, who is in fincerity and truth on the Lord's fide, to ftand forth and prove himself to be fo? Can you remain for a fingle hour indifferent and with a quiet mind, without knowing whether you have ftronger reafons to hope that God regards you as on his fide, than to fear that he looks upon you as his enemy? Are you ignorant that he who is not with God is against him that he, who does not receive God

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God as his mafter and love God as his fupreme delight, is the fervant of the devil, and the enemy of God? Do you forget that falvation through Chrift will be bestowed on those only, who prove themselves to be on the Lord's fide: and that for thofe, who are not on the fide of the Lord, nothing will remain but tribulation and anguish and everlafting deftruction, when the Lord Jefus fhall be revealed in flaming fire to take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gofpel?

To lay that we are on the fide of the Lord is eafy. The facrifice of the lips is an offering that cofteth nothing: and is therefore an offering which nearly all men are ready to make. But God requires from those who profefs to be on his fide not empty words, but evidences and demonstrations of their fincerity. I fully truft that there are some, and. I pray that there may be many, present in this affembly, who are thoroughly in earneft in religion: thoroughly and zealously defirous to give proof day by day that they are ftedfaftly on the fide of the Lord; and prepared to receive with gladness any inftruc tions or advice, which may contribute under the divine blessing to enable them faithfully

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