step to Idolatry which of all his Works may justly be stiled his Chief Master-piece It is true the wisest of the Pagans asserted One God and knew that there were not Different Deities but the generality of them thought and believed otherwise and the Philosophers themselves complied with these Vain Worshippers and so confirmed the People in their Error Nothing is more evident than that the greater part of the World heretofore declared for a Multiplicity of Gods The Idea of God like some great Mirror was broken in pieces by the Heathens and in every one of these they saw a Deity or fancied they did so Every Attribute of God was a Distinct God But this was more pardonable they proceeded to worship the Heavenly Bodies and ascrib'd Life and Divinity to them Nay they ransack'd for Gods and Goddesses below as well as above they found them in the Earth and in the Deep as well as in the Heavens The Number of these Deities had reached to thirty thousand in * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hesiod's Time and they were almost as many more afterwards for if Varro's Computation be right there were above that Number of Gods and Goddesses worshipp'd by the Europeans alone Nor would one way of worshipping them serve their turn There were as many various Rites and different Sacrifices as there were Deities the Solemnities which were performed to one would not suffice another Nothing forsooth would please Ceres but a Sow nothing would serve Aesculapius but a Cock and the most acceptable Offering to Neptune was a Bull. The Pagans fancied that one God delighted in this Oblation and another in that and therefore to be sure to please them they had Particular Services and Diversities of Worship for them Egypt was the most fruitful Soil for this it furnish'd the rest of the World with Gods The Grecians who afterwards stock'd the Romans took the Names of their Gods their Temples their Altars their Images and most of their Superstitious Ceremonies from that Country as * In Euterpe Herodotus testifieth And with him agrees †Lib. 22. c. 43. Ammianus Marcâ—llinus who positively tells us that all Idolatry came from Egypt And ‖ Lib. 17. Strabo and others acquaint us that All sorts of Living Creatures were worshipped by the Inhabitants of that place That Sheep and such-like Animals had Divine Respect paid to them is attested by the most Ancient and Undoubted Annals of Holy Scripture for it is said in Gen. 46. 34. that a Shepherd is an Abomination to an Egyptian viz. because the Egyptians did not kill or eat Sheep or such-like Animals but look'd upon them as Sacred Hence Moses saith * Ex. 8. 26. Shall we sacrifice the Abomination of the Egyptians before their Eyes and will they not stone us i. e. If we sacrifice Sheep or Oxen Creatures that they worship and abominably idolize they will be incensed against us They abhorred the Iâ—ws because they were generally Shepherds and fed upon that sort of Animals and used them in Sacâ—ifice And this it is probable was the reason why when Ioseph entertainâ—d his Brethren at Dinner they did eat asunder because it was an Abomination to the Egyptians to eat Bread with thâ— Hebrews Gen. 43. 32. For as Oâ—kelas here adds the Hebrews eat those Animals which the â—gyptians worship And for this Cauâ—e the Israelites lived apart in the Land of Goshâ—n And besides they were not permitted to Sacrifice all the time they were in Egypt as appears from those words of God to Moses Exod. 9. 13. Let the People go that they may serve me i. e. that they may Sacrifice unto me as appears from Ch. 10. 25. which implies that they were not permitted to Sacrifice before and the Reason was because the Egyptians would not let them kill and offer in the Fire those Animals which they had so great a regard for and even Deified So besotted were these Gentile Adorers that not only Irrational but Inanimate Creatures were deified by them You might have seen the Greatest Men to whom others bowed and did lowly obeisance prostrate themselves to Stocks and Stones to Wood and Brass and Iron shaped into Gods and by the Art of Masons Carpenters and Smiths made Deities This was the Idolatry which obtain'd so much in the World this was the Capital Enormity of Mankind this was the Main Guilt which they were polluted with as * Principale crimen generis humani summus 〈◊〉 reasons De Idololar cap. 1. Tertullian call'd it Our Learned Dr. Hammond thinks this is meant by the Apostle in Rom. 8. 20. The Creature was made subject to Vanity for he takes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the Gentile World and Vanity for Idolatry as this is called very frequently in the Old Testament The Heathen World was every where enslaved subjected to this Vile Sin though not willingly i. e. as this Author expounds it the Devil forced them to it otherwise he would not be appeased But this gross Folly and Madness was soon disgraced and discountenanced by the introducing of Christianity and even in Egypt the Mother and Nurse of all Idolatry where Garlicks and Onions no very fragrant Deities had Veneration paid them and Cats and Crocodiles were good fashionable Gods where they worship'd all things in Nature where every thing living or dead was a Deity even here this Prodigious Idolatry was destroy'd by Christ's Coming for upon on St. Mark 's preaching there and at Alexandria especially Images were soon demolished the Counterfeit Gods were thrown away and the only True God Father Son and Holy Ghost were worshipp'd with an unanimous Veneration At Rome it self and even in Nero's Palace and in all the Territories belonging to the Roman Emperours there were some to be found who discover'd their hatred and detestation of Idols and adored the True God in Spirit and in Truth But the Pagan Worship had got such deep rooting in the Hearts of Men and had by long Custom and Prescription so gained their good Will and Approbation that almost four Centuries of Years had passed after Christ's Incarnation before it could be universally extirpated and the True Worship of God become the Religion of the Roman Empire Constantine the Great made the first remarkable and generous Essay towards this Glorious Work in his Reign it was that Idolatry received its greatest mortification and he was succeeded by many Worthies that imitated him Let all the Images be pluck'd up from their Seats was * In Cod. Theodos. l. 16. Tit. 11. Honorius's Constitution and by the Edict of Theodosius and Valentinian the Idol Temples were all demolished and Idolatry every where in their Dominions destroyed and all False Gods discarded Thus the Blessed Work went on with great Life and Vigour being set forward by Royal Hands and those Hands being strengthned by the Son of God Therefore the Pious Father said well * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Lib. de Incarnat Verbi Dei When the
Death of another St. Augustin's Complaint of Tully's Works may be the â—ust Impeachment of all the voluminous Discourses of Philosophers that the Name of Christ is not to be found there There is nothing in them of the exalted Morals of our Great and Perfect Lawgiver of the great Mystery of Godliness manifested by a Redeemer and of the Knowledg of Jesus Christ and him crucified Yea in the account which the Philosophers give of the ordinary Moral Vertues and Vices they are very wavering and uncertain He that is acquainted with the Writings of the Chief Moralists among them knows that they frequently confute themselves their way is to set up their Wise Man and then soon after to pull him down which made an understanding Person declare that the Stoicks Wise Man †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plutarch de Contradict Sâ—oicorum is no where to be found upon Earth yea and that he never was in being He is a Chimera a Fiction made up wholly of Paradoxes Riddles and Impossibilities so that there is nothing real in their Description of him but their Pride and Conceit The false and erroneous Conceptions which these and other Moralists had concerning Vertue and Vice we have in several Particulars laid open in the preceding part of this Discourse and it is that which ‖ De vero cultu cap. 17. Lactantius long ago hath very largely proved viz. that the Philosophers mistook Vertue for Vice and Vice for Vertue I remember the excellent * Praefat. ad Ethic. Des Cartes compares the Moral Writings of the Heathens to Splendid and Magnificent Palaces built upon Mud and Sand. They extol saith he Vertue to the Skies and prefer it before all other things but do not sufficiently explain to us the True Nature of it or lay the ground of it right nay oftentimes that which is called Vertue by them ought rather to be stiled Vice Now these ill Foundations cannot but be followed with as bad Superstructures and both of them will promote vitious Practices in Mens Lives So that upon this account we might conclude the Pagan Philosophers were very defective in shewing the way to Happiness for how could they do this so long as they were not able to build Men up in True Godliness and to make them really better But their greatest Blemish was that which I have already mentioned viz. their Ignorance of the way of Life and Salvation by Iesus Christ. They knew not that there is no other Name under Heaven given among Men whereby they must be saved They understood not that in the great and universal Deluge of Mankind this is the only Ark we can be safe in They were unacquainted with the Mystery of Faith and Justification and the absolute necessity of the Assistance of the Holy Spirit and other such Divine and Saving Truths the Discovery of which is peculiar to the Christian Religion which is the only true Philosophy For this Name you may observe it bears in the Writings of the Antient Fathers Thus Iustin Martyr speaking of the Christian Institution hath these words concerning it †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dialog cuÌ„ Tryph. Philosophy truly is the greatest Good and most acceptable to God it being that alone which leads us and commends us to him and they are really holy who apply their Minds to this Philosophy And he tells us that he found this to be ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ibid. the only certain and useful Philosophy So the Barbarous Philosophy with Clemens Alexandrinus is the Christian Religion or the New Testament composed by those whom the Greeks stiled Barbarians This according to Isidore is * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epist. l. 4. the New and Evangelical Philosophy and sometimes it is called by him the †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epist. l. 5. Heavenly Philosophy And in several other Fathers this is the word for Christianity and the Doctors and Eminent Professors of the Christian Church are stiled ‖ Sozomen Eccl. Hist. l. 5. c. 12. Philosophers in opposition without doubt to those among the Pagans who boasted of this Title Thus I have attempted to shew how the Apostle's words are to be understood I have let you see what those things are which were blameable in the Greek Philosophy and why the Apostle cautions against it I have particularly discovered how this Philosophy was abused of old and thereby became most prejudicial to Christianity and how the Professors of it did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the word here used forcibly carry away and make a Prey and Booty of too great a part of the World by it Whence it is that the Apostle here couples Philosophy and Vain-Deceit together A Discourse on 1 S. Iohn Ch. 3. v. 8. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the Works of the Devil Wherein is shewed what the Works of the Devil are I Will enquire into these words not that they contain any Difficulty in them but because I would lay open the full and compleat Meaning of them for though I grant that by the Devil's Works is in the general meant all Sin and Vice as is evident from the foregoing Verse He that committeth Sin is of the Devil yet I conceive there is something more Particular intended here by these words Some Particular Works are to be understood wherein the Power Subtilty or Malice of that Evil Spirit are more signally exerted and therefore are Emphatically here call'd the Works of the Devil And this is that which I now design to offer and I will be the larger in insisting on it because it is of very Great Moment and is not like some other Subjects which I have treated of before that are Controversial and Disputable and likewise because I see this is not taken notice of by Commentators First Superstition is a remarkable Work of the Devil and without doubt is meant here This is a Reverencing and Adoring at a venture as those Religionists at Athens did who erected an Altar to an Vnknown God It is a yielding of unreasonable and groundless Homage and to define it more generally it is attributing in a religious way more than is due to Things or Persons It is in this large sense a vain and groundless Fear where no Fear i. e. no true cause of Fear is And on the other hand it is a fond and unwarrantable Expectation of those things from created Beings which they cannot afford us and which they were never designed for The Evil Spirit took care to employ the Minds of Pagans about these Matters that he might thereby divert them from Objects of a better Nature and take off their Thoughts from True Religion and the Divine Author of it and that he might hold them in a constant dependance on himself whilst he perswaded them that these Foolish Fears and Hopes should be of singular use and advantage to them Hence of Old they had their Lucky and
7. 2 Chron. 11. 15. Isa. 13. 21. 34. 14. And 't is likely this worshipping of Satyrs was a piece of Devilish Idolatry which they learnt and brought from * Diodor. Sic. l. 1. Egypt where 't was practis'd But this we are certain of from a more sure word as you heard that the Devils themselves were adored by them And concerning the Gentiles Worship the Apostle is peremptory 1 Cor. 10. 20. The things which the Gentiles sacrificed they sacrificed to Devils and not to God Whereas the Greeks used to call the Victims or Beasts which they offer'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Apostle on the contrary plainly stiles them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things sacrificed to Idols 1 Cor. 8. 1 4 7. 10. 19 28. In which places Idols are no other than Diabolick Spirits which inhabited in those Idols But Christ by his coming soon put a Period to this Hellish Usage When the Devil was so impudent as to make that offer to him All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me he presently rebuked the bold Spirit by alledging what was written not only in the Law but in all Mens Hearts that they should worship the Lord their God and serve him only And by the whole System of his Heavenly Doctrine he built up this Truth and pull'd down the Contrary and all the least Tendencies to it After our Saviour left this Earth his Apostles and Followers managed the same Work and endeavour'd by all means to run down this Cursed Project of the Devil viz. of his being worship'd As a particular Effect of their Care to baffle this Design we read that the Primitive Christians solemnly vowed at their Baptism to renounce the Devil and all his Works By which * De Spectac c. 4. saith Tertullian is principally meant Idolatry yea and the worst kind of Idolatry a giving Divine Honour and Worship to those that are Devils and not Gods a Sin very common at Christ's Coming into the World the greatest part of it at that time living in this Vile Practice therefore â—aith this Father this was made a chief part of the Baptismal Vow that the Proselytes and Converts to Christianity should in a solemn manner bid Defiance to that detestable Enormity of the Heathens Conformably to this our Learned †Dr. Hammond Pract. Cat. l. 6. Sect. 3. P. 375. Catechist in reply to that Question What is meant by the Devil and all his Works answers thus Certainly the principal thing here renounced is the False Gods i. e. Devils which the Heathen World did worship so universally before Christ's Time and against which the Catechists who prepared all for Baptism did first labour to fortify their Disciples and are for that Cause called in the Ancient Church Exorcists as those that cast out these Devils Very near a-kin to This is that which is added next in the Solemn Vow at Baptism viz. The renouncing the Vain Pomp and Glory of the World For that word Pomp in its Original meaning refers to the Idolatrous Shews of the Heathens it properly signifying sending of some thing and carrying it up and down to be seen and exposed so that hereby are denoted those Splendid Sights and Stately Processions in use of old among the Heathens at which Solemn Times the Images the Thrones the Ornaments and all the Habiliments as also the Oblations and Sacrifices which were to be offer'd to their Gods were carried openly through the Streets and Honour was done to these false Deities The Ancient Fathers of the Church very strictly caution'd their Flock against these Devilish Customs and particularly when they admitted Converts into the Church by Baptism they took care to fortify them against them Hence may be observed the Antiquity of the Form and Office of Baptism which our Church makes use of at this Day The solemn Renuntiation of the Devil and his Works and of the Pomp and Vanity of the World is as old as Primitive Christianity Yea some Learned Men have thought that the Apostle St. Peter alludes to it in his 1 Epist. Chap. 3. v. 21. and that the Answer of a good Conscience there refers to the manner of Interrogation and Answer used in Baptism But this by the by That which you are chiefly to take notice of is that whereas the Wicked Ghosts and Daemons were ambitious of Divine Adoration it pleased God so to bless and succeed the Christian Religion that in a short time this wicked Usage wore away this cursed Work of the Devil came to nought the Christian Faith being by the wonderful Providence of Heaven â—â—opagated so universally through the World Sixthly I conceive that by the Works of the Devil are meant here especially those Sins which have most of his Image upon them and wherein Men more immediately and directly resemble that Accursed Spirit those Works which the Devil chiefly tempts Men to and which he himself is observed to practise most As first Malice and Envy are the proper Guise and Character of Devils for these lapsed Spirits being irrecoverably damned themselves are fired with Revenge and Malice against all Mankind being thrust down from Heaven they endeavour to hinder us from coming thither Wherefore Envy which is a Grieving at the Good and Welfare of others Sporting with Mens Infirmities Exposing them to Obloquy and Disgrace Delighting in the Miseries of those we affect not Rejoicing at the Evils which befal others these have all an Impress of the Devilish Spirit on them Our Saviour pronounced concerning the Pharisees whom he found to be Envious and Malicious that the Works of their Father they would do plainly giving us to understand that these Vices are more eminently Diabolical But the Laws of Christianity strictly enjoin us * 1 Pet. 2. 1. to lay aside all Malice and Envy and command us to †Rom. 12. 15. rejoice with them that rejoice to weep with them that weep and ‖ V. 10. to be kindly affectioned one towards another and to delight in the Welfare and Happiness of our Brethren Again Rage and Passion Bitter Strife and Contention may be justly ranked among the Devil's Works Schism and Faction are from him who was the first Mutineer and Rebel against Heaven and ever since delights in Wars and Tumults and loves to ruffle and embroil the World and raise Tempests and Storms in it But Christ Jesus our Blessed Peace-maker and Reconciler came to remove all Grounds of Difference and to introduce Universal Love and Charity And Christianity it self is furnish'd with Peaceable and Healing Principles and offers all the Motives and Incentives to it imaginable The Laws of Christ are fully set against all undue Passion and Choler and there are in no Institution whatsoever so severe Prohibitions of this Diabolical Temper * Ephes. 4. 31. Let all Bitterness and Wrath and Anger be put away from you †V. 26 27. Let not the Sun go down on your Wrath neither give