have perished, and thus, also, communication with heaven."[1]
We may now understand why Jehovah terms himself a "jealous God," that is, one who could not brook the worship of any other being than himself. It was not for his own sake that he required worship, but for man's, for only thereby could man have conjunction with heaven and with the Lord, and be saved.
Such, then, is the first and most obvious meaning of this Commandment: it forbids the worship of idols. But now, having heard this explanation, we may feel that in this sense, at least, the Commandment has little reference to us; for we are in no danger of any such worship. True: we are in little danger of breaking the commandment in this its most external sense; but there is a sense, closely allied to this, considered in which, we are in the greatest danger of breaking the Commandment. There are idols of the heart, the worship of which is more deadly than that of wood and stone. And such idols the whole Christian world is in the daily worship of; and it may be that some of us are sharing in such worship. Let us examine these idols, and see what they are.
Oovetousness, says the Apostle, is idolatry:[2] the love of the world, the love of pleasure, the love of any earthly thing, when it is made a supreme object of regard, is idolatry. For 'worship does not consist merely in bowing down on the knees, or in uttering prayers: these are acts of the body: the essence of worship is to be sought in the heart. Worship means
- ↑ Arcana Cœlestia, n. 8875.
- ↑ Coloss. iii. 5.
