keep your selves from idols or images in his external worship For to use idols or images 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greek being translated by your own Vulgar Interpreter simulacra in Latine as a part of the worship of the true God is to communicate with those who did worship false Gods that is with the Heathen who worshipped their false Gods or rather Devils by Idols and Images The same is Saint Pauls doctrine 1 Cor. 10. That the Israelites who did eat of the sacrifices were partakers of the Altar v. 18. that is by eating of the sacrifices did shew their Communion in the Mosaical rites and ceremonies from whence he inferrs this conclusion That for any man to eat things offered unto Idols is to communicate with Idolators in their idolatry and that is no less then to forsake the Communion of God and to have Communion with Devils v. 20 21. And I hope you will say there is little reason and less Religion for any Divine to averr That Christians may not indeed communicate in things offered unto Idols but yet they may communicate in the Idols themselves without being Idolaters that is without breaking Communion with God or beginning Communion with Devils For if they be Idolaters they must do both and they may be Idolaters not only by committing Idolatry but also by communicating in it Therefore as God had before said to the Jews You shall make you no Idols nor image to bow down to it for I am the Lord Levit. 26. 1. So after that he said also to the Christians Wherefore my Beloved flee from Idolatry 1 Cor. 10. 14. and used the same reason as before but much more fully explained for as he said to the Jew I am the Lord so he said to the Christian Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of Devils ye cannot be partakers of the Lord Table and of the table of Devils as if he had said Unless you will forsake my Communion who am your Lord and unless you will needs communicate with Devils who are mine enemies you must abstain from this and all other idolatrous rites and ceremonies in my worship which have been used by the Heathen in their worship and particularly from Idols for I will not be worshipped by you as the Devil was worshipped by them with Idols or Images This is the general reason which God himself gives of the Prohibition For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God and this reason without doubt did not then more concern the Jew then it doth now concern the Christian for God is now as jealous of his Honour and Worship as he was then and hath as great cause for his jealousie 2. We ought to follow God and think it both possible and easie for Christians well instructed in the first to offend through ignorance against the second Commandement For the second Commandement hath its own peculiar and distinct moralitie from the first not only that it prohibiteth external when the first prohibiteth internal Idolatry as you acknowledge but also because the first treateth of the Object the second of the Manner of our religious worship and therefore is as liable to be transgressed through ignorance as the first according to Saint Johns rule 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sin is the transgression of the Law 1 John 3. 4. Therefore you must deny the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or not deny the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 you must deny the second Commandement to be a Law or not deny but you may transgress it as far as you may transgress any other Law And consequently unless you will pass your index expurgatorius upon Gods hand-writing as you have upon mans and come with your deleatur upon his Commandements as you have upon their Books you may not think to perswade Christians That it is impossible for them to sin through ignorance against the second Commandement For the Text is plain which saith to Christians well instructed in the first Commandement Neither be ye Idolators as were some of them 1 Cor. 10. 7. speaking not at all of internal but only of external idolatry and speaking to no purpose if the Knowledge of the one were inconsâ—…stent with the Ignorance of the other But the contrary is here proved For the Jews believed in one God calling him Jehovah according to the first Commandement To morrow is a feast to Jehovah Exod. 30. 5. yet are called Idolators because they worshipped that God by a molten image against the second Commandement Now if those Jews were ignorant Idolators who said to an Image These be thy Gods O Israel which brought thee up out of the Land of Aegypt How are not those Christians ignorant Idolators who say to a piece of wood Thou hast redeemed us Thou hast reconciled us unto God Neither perchance to be called Idolators through ignorance against the first Commandement in the undue object of worship for that was God yet both alike gross Idolators against the second Commandement either through ignorance or through presumption and my charity bids me say through ignorance in the undue manner of worshipping for God will not be worshipped by any Image or Representation 11. But that brings me upon your second position which concerns the worshipping of our blessed Saviour by his picture and I think that also very false and dangerous Divinity both in the speculation and in the practice both to be taught and to be followed For surely we Christians may not worship our Saviour Christ by any Image because as Christians we believe him to be God of God light of light very God of very God begotten not made being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made and we cannot deny but as God he forbids himself to be worshipped by pictures or images So that here I may justly retort your own argument against you For you in effect say That because Jesus Christ is the true God therefore he may be worshipped by an image But it is quite contrary for therefore he may not be worshipped by an Image because he is the true God Or to set it down in your own words It must first be proved that Jesus Christ is a false God before the application of our divine worship through his pictures unto him can be convinced of Idolatry For because Jesus Christ is without controversie the true not a false God therefore the application of divine worship through a picture unto him is idolatry for it is the true God which forbids himself to be worshipped by an image for it is the true God which being an infinite eternal incorruptible Spirit òught not cannot either be represented or worshipped by a finite a momentary a corruptible Image and this himself hath taught us saying For I the Lord there is his Omnipotency Thy God there is his All-sufficiency do not you then think he may be described by a picture the workmanship of your hands for that is to think him neither omnipotent
the worshipping of Angels Ut harum detentae culturis animae sub fiâ—… mamento obligatae teneantur ne sc tendant ad suporiores caelos ad Deum omnâ—…um adorandum That such kind of worship place it upon what creature yoâ—… will detains the Soul here below and keep it from ascending into the highest Heaven that it may there worship the ever liviâ—… God Quod operâ efficitur inimici 〈◊〉 semper animas super terram humiliaâ—… detineat Religionem simulans quùâ—… fit maximum sacrilegium which is tâ—… Divels chiefest Policy to keep mens Soâ—… still groveling on the Earth and therefoâ—… such a kind of worship though it may preteâ—… to Religion yet is it in truth no better thâ—… sacrilege Maximum sacrilegium it is sacriledge in the highest degree because 〈◊〉 robs God immediately in himself not mediately in his tithes and offerings it robs him in his Glory and not only in his Patrimony And that you may not think the Latine Church had forgotten this Truth in her doctrine when many of her members had forsaken it in their practice I will here give you the Gloss of a very late Interpreter and that is of Jacobus Faber Stapulensis who saith thus upon the same Text Vocant hujus modi superstitiosi ad Religionem Angelorum privatas preces ritus sacrificia ea adoriuntur quae ipsi non viderunt quae ipsi non cognoscunt At quae monet Paulus vidit cognoscit Haec figurae haec Prophetae haec omnes Sancti Spiritus Sanctus manifestat proinde dat Colossensibus generale documentum abstinendi ab omnibus elementis mundi sive Gentibus tradita fuerint ad cultum daemonum sive Judaeis ad antiquas ceremonias sive superstitiosis ad dementationes magicas animarum ludificamenta quae universa corruptionem operantur His general meaning is this They who call us to superstition or to any false worship of Angels or the like call us to they know not what themselves But St. Paul who calls us to the true Religion or to the worship of God in Christ calls us to what he hath seen and known For all the Types and Figures Prophets in the Old Testament and all the Saints and the Holy Spirit both in the Old New lead us to this worship Therefore St. Paul gives a general rule to the Colossians and in them to all Christians of abstaining from all the rudiments of the World in matters of Religion 〈◊〉 from so many cheats and delusions and corruptions of their Souls and since the worship of Angels is not according to the Commandement of God it must come under the rudiments of the World oâ—… as St. Paul speaketh of a fleshly mind This interpreter doth in effect agree with the rest they all agree in this interpretation That St. Pauls main drift and purpose is to dehort us from all manner oâ—… superstition and to exhort us to 〈◊〉 Religion in the worship of God Yeâ—… your great Champion enters the lists onlâ—… against Theodoret challenging him of 〈◊〉 multiplicity of errors and mistakes anâ—… that justly saith his great admirer and 〈◊〉 he were a Saint his great Idolater Biniâ—… in his notes in Conc. Rom. 2. sub Sylâ—… Justam illust Card Baronis censuram noâ—… evadit but thus Baronius proceeds Sâ—… ergo errore semel lapsus in alium graviorem impegit ut diceret Canonem 35 Concil Laod. de his haereticis esse intelligendum qui Angelos colendos esse docerent quique in eadem regione Asiae Oratoria erexissent St. Michaeli Archangelo incautè nimis quae à Catholicis essent antiquitus instituta Haereticis quorum nulla est memoria tribuens Baron An. 60. num 20. But so he passeth from one errour to another saying That the Canon of Laodicea was to be understood of those Hereticks who taught that Angels were to be worshipped and who had in that Countrey erected Oratories or Churches to St. Michael the Archangel very unadvisedly ascribing that to Hereticks whose memorial was perished with themselves which had been anciently instituted by Catholicks Alas poor Theodoret what ill luck had he to be a Protestant to protest against the worship of Angels as taught and practised by Haereticks which saith this new Doctor was anciently taught and practised by Catholicks But St. Paul had as ill luck as he who had protested against the same worship long before And as long as that Protestation stands good we may very well claim him and own our selves in this case for very good Protestants and for better Christians And because it is impossible for any to be good Catholicks who willfully contradict St. Paul for such men are rather enemies then Servanâ—…s of Christ who reject his Authority we must say not that Theodoret unadvisedly ascribed that to Hereticks which had been anciently instituted by Catholicks for what Catholick did ever take upon him to institute the Truth and much less the false Religion but that Baronius unadvisedly ascribed that to Catholicks which had been fondly instituted by Haereticks But let us see by what arguments he confutes Theodoret. Sanè quidem nullum à Cerinthianis Haereticis erectum fuisse in honorem St. Michaelis Archangeli Oratorium ex nuper dictis satis superque liquet We have already proved that the Cerinthian Haereticks did erect no Oratory to St. Michael the Archangel Had he quoted any Scripture Fathers or Council Theodorete might have stood confuted but sure his own Ipse dixit may not stand against Scripture Father and Council as a good Confutation For all his proof to which he annexeth his satis superque liquet is only his own conjectural argumentation in these words Cherinthum Haereticos qui mundi creationem Angelis tribuebant non tamen sensisse eos adorandos Nam super Angelos virtutem esse divinam omnium supremam quam Deum dicerent omnes affirmabant Chernthius and those Haereticks who did attribute the creation of the world to Augels did not think the Angels were to be worshipped for they did all affirm that there was a supreme Divine Virtue which they called God above the Angels The whole proof consisteth of these two Propositions 1º That the Cherinthian Hereticks did not erect Oratories to Saint Michael the Archangel because they did not worship him 2º That they did not worship him or any of his fellow Angels because they did acknowledge a God above him and them This Advocate pleads well for the Cherinthians most abominable Haereticks but ill for his own clients For he would perswade us that the Papists are more stupid and more impious then were the Cherinthians more impious in that they worship Angels which the others did not more stupid in that not thinking the Angels made the World as the others did they have less reason to worship them But if he â—…ath not betrayed his Clients yet sure he â—…ath betrayed his cause For what do Protestants say more but that Oratories may not
of this Truth taking this for their chiefest Topicks for Maxima locus Maximae Sirs ye know that by this craft we have our wealth Acts 19. 25. For no other reason but covetousness can easily be alledged why the same men should so mainly cry up the Imputation of their own and their Saints imaginary merits and righteousness to the maintaining and filling the supposed Treasure of the Church and yet so mainly cry down the imputation of our blessed Saviour's real and allsufficient merits and righteousness to the exhausting and emptying the Treasures of the people Thus it is clear that pleasure in unrighteousness hath hitherto opposed the Truth in its doctrine making Mammons Chaplains not over zealous to serve God in searching out his Truth that they may believe it or over zealous to serve themselves in not preaching a Truth which they do believe Again why should so many other formidable Truths and reasonings concerning righteousness temperance and judgment to come in and from the mouth of the same St. Paul make a Heathen tremble and not once move so many confident Christians but that this heavenly Truth of Justification by Faith hath been hitherto amongst them not rightly believed or poisoned in its belief and what venome can poison the operations of the soul but onely that of the Serpent the venome of sin turning the grace of our God into wâ—…n onness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into petulancy insolency and unsufferable contentiousness for so the Greek Orator hath joyned these together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isocr in Panath. contending against not for the Faith once delivered to the Saints or which is all one denying the onely Lord God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Jud. 4. Such men do falsely pretend Faith in Christ who do not deny ungodliness and worldly lusts who do not live soberly righteously and godly in this present world for they cannot look for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ The Grace of God which bringeth salvation to others will bring the great damnation upon them because they resist that grace betray that Saviour and belye their own Souls For most certainly the greatest miscreants that are would break off their sins by repentance and their iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor if they did with the eye of Faith see a watcher and an Holy one coming down from heaven and saying Hew the Tree down and destroy it Dan. 4. Or if they did hear with an honest and good heart and Faith cometh by no other hearing that word of Christs forerunner in his first coming to save us which is therefore the fittest to put us in mind of his second coming to judge us O generation of Vipers who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the Tree Therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire Matth. 3. For surely that Faith cannot justifie the sinner which cannot justifie it self a Faith that hath eyes and seeth not the watcher the Holy one coming down from heaven that hath ears and heareth not the crier the voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord make his paths strait A Faith that lets men profess Christâ—…ans but live and act Infidels hardning their hearts stopping their ears closing their eyes lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their eares and understand with their hearts and should be converted and their Saviour the Physitian of Souls should heal them Thus it is also clear That pleasure in unrighteousness hath hitherto poisoned this Truth in its belief making men take phansie for Faith and think themselves in Heaven by their perswasion whiles they are even in Hâ—…ll by theit affections and by their actions not regarding that word which they cannot deny dare not gainsay If ye were Abraham's children who is the Father of the faithful ye would do the works of Abraham Joh. 8. 39. 5. For God gave us not the Articles of our Faith to be like Pharaohs lean kine to eat up the rules of his Commandments the fat-fleshed and well-favoured kine such as were fit for Sacrifices for himself much less such as were offered to himself for Sacrifices Therefore those can be no Gospel Instructions which teach men to devour widows houses nay to devour Gods own house and not onely his house but also his glory and worship under pretence of Faith for of these starveliug Documents we may justly say now and others will be able to say to the worlds end what is said of the starveling kine And when they had eaten them up even all the fat Kine that came up out of the river and fed in the medow This is all the fatness of Sea and Land which their Forefathers had consecrated to the Service and Honour of God it could not be known that they had eaten them but they were still ill-favoured as at the beginning Gen. 41. 21. He that hath commanded us to sanctifie publick Persons as Mininisters publick times as Sabbaths or Festivals publick places as Churches to his own worship will not cannot justifie those who sacrilegiously rob and persecute his Ministers mock and suppress his Sabbaths revile and profane his Churches For it were very strange if such men who are angerly reproved and openly branded for sacrilegious profane blasphemous persons by the Spirit of God should if they still persist in their Sacriledge profaneness and blasphemy be acquitted and absolved for righteous and innocent persons by the Son of God The Spirit of God calleth them enemies adversaries and such as hate him Psal. 14. Therefore surely the Son of God will not make them Saints accept them as friends reward them as servants Such a devouring Gospel as this was never of Gods teaching though it hath been of mens practising to the discountenanceing of Gods Truth and to their own shame and destruction that have practised it For God will never uphold those men in his Truth who discourage others from embracing it 6. Yet as long as Gods Truths are infinitely above all mens discouragements neither are your Priests excusable if they will not embrace them nor ours if they do forsake them notwithstanding both be as much discouraged as either open enemies or false friends and brethren can discourage them What shall the Sons of God come no more to present themselves before their Father because Satan will coâ—…e also among them to present himself before the Lord Shall the the Holy Angels be out of love with their own light because the Devil himself can and doth also appear an Angel of light no more may we be out of love with this heavenly Truth of being righteous by the righteousness of our blessed Redeemer because Hypocrites and Atheists have made it an occasion of or a pretence for their
Covenant is there must of necessity be the life of the Covenanter Therefore if I will have the full comfort of the death of Christ overcoming for me the sharpness of death and opening to me the gates of everlasting life and rescuing me from the guilt of sin the terrors of hell and the tyranny of the Devil I must go to the Testament which tells me of Christs death not to the Covenant which threatens mine own by shewing me the multiplyed offences of my sinful life And in truth he that will deny this to be the proper signification of the word Testament must also deny St. Pauls argument which here depends wholly upon the proper signification of that word And for this cause saith the Apostle He is the Mediator of the New Testament that by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first Testament they which are called might receive the Promise of eternal inheritance For where a Testament is there must also of necessity be the death of the Testator Heb. 9. 15 16. He saith not the Mediator of the New Covenant which supposeth the life of the Covenanter but of the New Testament which supposeth the death of the Testator and accordingly he placeth all the strength of his argument in the word Testament which by vertue of Christs death gave us redemption from transgressions and admission to an eternal inheritance So that we had need go to the Testament not to the Covenant both for our Redemption and for our Inheritance For the transgressions which were under the Old Covenant that of works here called the First Testament because as it was repeated by Moses it was not dedicated without blood v. 18 19. could not be expiated but by the Redemption that was under the New Testament wherefore the Covenant puts us in fear of captivity and death and 't is only the Testament gives us hopes of liberty and life And accordingly the Apostle useth the word Testament of purpose to proclaime the abundant Grace and Goodnesse of God to mankind that after our fall he was pleased to give us not a Covenant but a Testament For a Covenant is a matter of strict Justice having mutual conditions between both parties which if either fail the agreement is of none effect But a Testament is a matter of more Grace as being the conveyance of an inheritance without any harsh conditions imposed upon the Heires and before any obliging offices performed by them And such was the Act of God to us sinful men when we had disabled our selves to performe the conditions of his Covenant It was a Testament to instate us in the right of Salvation by the death of our Redeemer and therefore the Apostle sets it forth with the adjuncts and properties not of a Covenant but of a Testament For the proper adjuncts of a Covenant are not Blood and the Death of the Covenant-Maker which two alone are here mentioned since a Covenant is rather voided than established by death but both these are the proper adjuncts of a Testament which though made before the death of the Testator yet is not established till after it wherefore since our blessed Saviour did presignifie and promise his own death and the effusion of his own blood by Typical Sacrifices till he verified that Promise by the real Sacrifice of himself upon the Cross the Spirit of God in this place thought fit to make choice of the word Testament whereby to express this Act of his free Grace and favour towards us and sure no Minister of Gods Church may justly be questioned for speaking after the dialect of Gods Spirit 5. For what should a sinful soul do but gaspe after Gods free Grace acknowledging it to be Grace because she is â—…â—…worthy and to be free Grace that she may not be uncapable of it For as she may easily perish by opposing it so she must necessarily perish by not obtaining it And the desire of opposing Grace must needs be a great impediment in obtaining Grace for God that gives Grace above our deserts wil not give it against our desires since it is expressely said That God resisteth the proud and therefore most resisteth those that are most proud even the proud in spirit who dare capitulate with his Justice but giveth Grace to the humble and therefore most Grace to those who are most humble even to the meek and lowly in heart who rely wholly upon his mercy And this consideration alone though you see it is not alone was enough to make me say and is enough to justifie my saying I am afraid of the Covenant and fly to the Testament for by the Covenant I can look only for Justice which I am afraid to find but by the Testament I can look for mercy which I desire to find here for the Comfort hereafter for the Salvation of my soul And if any be so hardy as to venter his soul upon the terms of Justice I may allow him to have the greater confidence but I cannot allow him to have the greater Comfort and I wish he may not have the lesser Salvation 6. And whereas you tell me Nay you your self are not afraid of the Covenant but fly to it for in your ejaculation 20. using S. Pauls words Heb. 12. you say I am desirous to come to mount Sion and to Jesus the Mediatour of the New Covenant I crave leave to tell you that this objection was farre fetcht to shew you were willing to make it and may be as deare bought if I can shew you are not able to maintain it For I was bound to alledge St. Pauls words as I found them translated that none might be mistaken in my allegation and I found them thus translated To Jesus the Mediatour of the New Covenant Therefore in that I alledged them so I only shewed my self not afraid of the translation but I might still for all that be afraid of the Covenant For custome that ought to regulate speech which is established by it ought not to regulate conscience which it cannot establish The Word may be confined where the Thought is at liberty I speak for others but I Think for my self therefore I must speak according to Custome and yet may still think according to Conscience But I will not plead Custome when I may justly plead Comfort for in these words is nothing at all to terrifie my soul but very much to comfort and to settle it For it is said The Mediatour of the New Covenant which is every jot as comfortable as the Mediatour of the New Testament for it directs our hearts as immediately to our blessed Saviour since as the New Testament was confirmed so the New Covenant was signed and sealed with his Blood the only Balme to heal wounded Spirits the only Anchor to settle floating consciences Nay yet more here is Jesus expressely named To Jesus the Mediatour of the New Covenant so that if I were afraid of the New Covenant as you