"seed of the adulterer, and the whore. Against "whom do ye sport yourselves?-inflaming your"selves with idols, under every green tree," and as if it was not enough to have the affections set ou stock and stones, these idolaters are charged with offering human victims to their pretended gods,

Slaying the children in the valleys under the "clifts of the rocks,” Isaiah lvii. 3, 4, 5, 2d. Ignorance of God and resting in lies. "Oh that I «had in the wilderness a lodging place of way'faring men; that I might leave my people, and

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go from them; for they be all adulterers, an as"sembly of treacherous men. And they bend their "tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not "valiant for the truth upon the earth: for they pro«ceed from evil to evil, and they know not me "saith the Lord," Jer. ix. 2 and 3. 3dly. Adherence to false prophets. "Notwithstanding, I "have a few things against thee, because thou suf"ferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a

prophetess, to teach, and to seduce my servants "to commit fornication, and to eat things sacri "ficed to idols," Rev. ii. 20. Mark the expression which calleth herself, not which is a prophetess: and no doubt the woman Jezebel is intended to represent the spirit of false prophecy which should pervade and corrupt the primitive church. Thus the prophets of Baal, were but false prophets. 4thly. Adherence to antichrist himself. If by antichrist we are to understand more particularly the papal power, we have

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him set forth under two characters intending to represent his temporal and spiritual power, viz. the beast and the false prophet which is engaged in spiritual fornication to the dishonor of God, and the great detriment of his spiritual worship: hence he is called "Babylon the great, the mother of har❝lots, and abominations of the earth,” Rev. xvii. 2. But the Lord's eyes are upon such doings; "True and righteous are his judgments, for he

hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt "the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged "the blood of his servants at her hand," Rev. xix. 2. 6th. Slighting spiritual birth-right. "Looking

"

diligently, (says the apostle Paul) lest any man "fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitter"ness springing up trouble you, and thereby many « be defiled; lest there be any fornicator, or pro"fane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of "meat sold his birth-right," Heb. xii. 16. 7th. Joining nationally with ungodly nations. "But "thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and "pouredst out thy fornications, on every one that passed by his it was.-Thou hast played the "whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast "insatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with "them, and yet thou couldest not be satisfied. "How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these things; the work of an imperious whorish woman. In that thou

"buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest high place in every street; and "hast not been as an harlot in that thou scornest "hire; but as a wife that committeth adultery, "which taketh strangers, instead of her husband," Ezek. xvi. 15, 28, 30 to 32. These few are in brief some of the instances of spiritual adultery mentioned in the scriptures.

8th. Neither shalt thou steal.

As robbery, theft, and stealing, in the gross sense of the word, are abominable vices and bring men to the scorn and infamy of the society in which they live, little would remain to be said here was it not the case, that the spirituality of the precept is alas often robbed of its force, by those arts of fraud, over-reaching, &c. by which even men of much sense and conscience of duty impose upon and deceive each other, to the disgrace of their christian character if they have any, and even of worldly reputation if they aim solely at that. On this occasion I take pleasure in transcribing the words of a pious late author, whose works yet are among us, and live in substance in the hearts of every honest man. "It is the temper of a christian constantly to "act towards his fellow-creatures with justice."Have you riches in such abundance as to create a "numerous set of dependants? You will exercise "christian justice towards them all; you will scorn "to grasp after the utmost farthing your estates can "produce, till your tenants, wedded 'as it were to

"the place of their nativity, groan beneath the load "of rents unreasonably advanced; you will perceive "an inexpressible degree of injustice also in the "fashionable custom of owing large sums for your

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furniture, equipage and dress, whilst your trades

men are almost at their wit's 'end to pay for the "things you call your own, whilst they are daily "tortured with the dilemma of bankruptcy, if they

recover not their debts; or of ruin, through the "cruel resentment of their opulent creditors if they ❝ do.

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"Your rule is positive and express, Owe no man

any thing, but to love one another, and the op" posite practise though punishable in the rich by no "human law, (except in extreme cases) is marked "as the object of God's abhorrence, and the cer"tain way to fall under the severity of his displea

sure: Behold the hire of the labourers, who "have reaped down your fields, which is of you

kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them "which have reaped, are

entered into the ears of Ye have lived in plea

"the Lord of Sabaoth. 66 sure on the earth, and been wanton. Jam. "v. 4, 5. The application of this scripture from "the day labourer to every person in trade, whose "money is unreasonably withheld, will be obvious "and effectual to you, who regard the reproofs of "God in his holy word.

"But are you occupied yourself in trade or mer"chandize, then the energy of your christian prin→

"ciples will shew themselves in a still stronger light. You will not suffer the love of money to bias or corrupt your conscience. You will take "no advantage either of the ignorance or necessity "of those with whom you traffic, by putting bad things into their hands for good, or by exacting 66 an exorbitant price. You will neither take, nor "use, nor detain through force or fraud, what is your neighbour's property.

"Now if any one should say, it is not possible to "live so honestly in the present state of the world. "Yet the motives for you to be punctually just and

righteous in all your dealings if you have any "title to the character of a Christian, must still pre"ponderate.

"Should it be supposed that regard for yourself "and family will gain the ascendency, and be "prompting you to use commnon arts of fraud; I "answer, that even this pressing temptation will be "counteracted by the unalterable declarations of your God: Wo unto him that buildeth his "house with unrighteousness and his chambers by "wrong, Jer. xxii. 13.

But, if instead of the place of authority and go"vernment, the all-wise God has fixed you in that, "of subjection, as a servant or an apprentice, you "will faithfully follow the directions which the "scriptures gives you for the exercise of justice in "that condition of life. You will abhor the thought