In these things there is a shew of wisdom and humility--wisdom to devise means to impress a sense of religion, and humility to draw nigh to God by the intervention of those more worthy than themselves; and the means seem not destitute of influence; they produce warm zeal, and all the fervor of devotion; yea, all those feelings and emotions which are thought by some to constitute the offence of religion. And why is not all this right? Why are not these ways of honoring God and exciting devotion commendable, when they render the worshipper thus fervent in spirit to serve the Lord? The reason is obvious--they are not required--yea, they are forbidden of the divine Sovereign. "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him _only_ shalt thou serve. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth--I the Lord thy God am a jealous God."-- Pretending to honor God by direct disobedience is peculiarly affrontive. Such worshippers "provoke him to his face. Their offerings his soul hateth. They are a smoke in his nose, and a fire that burneth all the day." Every thing of this nature, whatever may be its design, is rebellion against God. Against no other sin hath he manifested greater indignation. No instance can be adduced of such homage being accepted, or of good resulting from such worship. Yea, it hath commonly been followed with the severest marks of the divine resentment. Witness the evils which came upon Israel when they made the golden calf, to help their devotions. Witness those which fell on the family and kingdom of Jeroboam, when he forsook the appointed worship of God, and the ministry of the Levites whom God had appointed to wait at the altar. Jeroboam did not introduce the worship of Baal, or the other heathen gods. This was done afterwards by the influence of Jezebel. He only appointed other places of worship, beside that which God had chosen, and consecrated others to minister who had not the attachments of the Levites to the house of David and city of Zion, and made images to help the devotion of his people; and lo! his family perish; a brand of infamy is set on his name; and because his people walk in his ways, they are finally "broken and cease to be a people!"