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But, as in other cases, men may know very well what their duty is, and yet act contrary to it, so it is certain that they not only may, but have done, in the case before us. In short, whosoever gives divine honour to any being, does thereby profess that being to be God, as much as he who swears allegiance to any person, does by such his action, acknowledge that person to be his prince.

Now, such an honour religious prayer and invocation, without all controversy, are. Yet these, the church of Rome does publicly and solemnly pay to others besides the Lord; and by so doing, shews to all the world that she has other gods besides him.

16. Q. What do you then suppose to be the full import of this second part of the present commandment?

A. That we should neither believe in, account of, or worship any other as God, besides the Lord: whether it be by forsaking him, and falling off altogether to idolatry; or by giving the honour of God to any other being, together with him.

SECT. XXIV.

Of the Idolatry of Image Worship, its heinousness and danger.

1. Q. What is the second commandment?

A. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them. For I the Lord thy God am a jealous Goo, and visit the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generations of

them that hate me, and shew mercy unto thousands in them that love me, and keep my commandments. 2. Q. How does this commandment differ from the foregoing?

A. The design of the first commandment was to determine and set us right in the object of our religious worship; and to prevent us from giving divine honour to any besides the true God. The design of this is to direct us in the manner of worshipping him, that so we may not only serve the true God, but may serve him after such a manner as he requires, and is most fitting for us to do.

3. Q. What is the full import of this commandment?

A. It is this; first, that we must not make any image of God at all; be our design what it will in making of it. Nor, secondly, that of any other being, with an intention to pay any honour or worship to it.

4. Q. Do you think it utterly unlawful to make any image at all of God?

A. It is certainly unlawful, and is in many places of Scripture expressly forbidden, as being highly dishonourable to the infinite nature and majesty of God; and of great danger and harm to us. See Deut. iv. 15, 16, 17, 18. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves, for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb, out of the midst of the fire: lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl, that flieth in the air, the likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is

in the waters beneath the earth. Isaiah, xl. 18, &c. To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? Rom. i. 21, 23. Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Lev. xix. 4. Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the Lord your God. xxvi. 1. Ye shall make you no idols, nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God. Ezek. xiv. 3, &c. Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face. Acts, xvii. 29. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

5. Q. What think you of the image of Christ; may not that be made without offending against this commandment?

A. Christ being man as well as God, his body may certainly be aptly enough represented by an image; nor would it be any sin so to do, provided that no use were made of any such image, in any part of our religious worship. But to represent God the Father in a graven image; to paint the Holy Trinity, and that in so profane a manner as it has often been done in the church of Rome, is certainly a great sin, and a

great scandal; and directly contrary to the intention of this commandment.

6. Q. Do you then look upon all use of images in God's service to be unlawful?

A. I do account it contrary to the prohibition of this commandment, and, by consequence, unlawful. And therefore, when Aaron first, and afterwards Jeroboam, made use of them for this purpose, we find how highly God resented it; and with what detestation it is condemned in the Holy Scriptures. Exod. xxxii. 7, 8, 21, 30. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down, for thy people which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves : they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it: and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord: peradventure I shall make an atonement for you.

1 Kings, xii. 30. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. xiii. 34. And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth. Psalm cvi. 19, 20, 21. They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image. Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass. They forgat God their Saviour, who had done so great things for them.

PROOFS SUBJOINED.-Lev. xxvi. 1. Ye shall make you no idols, nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God. Deut. iv. 16. Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male and female. Amos, v. 26, 27. But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun, your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves, therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is the God of Hosts.

7. Q. What say you to the practice of the church of Rome in this particular?

A. It is scandalous and intolerable: there having never been greater idolatry committed among the heathen, in the business of image-worship, than has been committed in that church, and is by public authority still practised by it; especially in the cere mony of their Good-Friday cross-worship.

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8. Q. Do you think they are so foolish as to worship the cross; or is it idolatry to worship Christ in presence of the cross?

A. If we may either believe their own words, or judge by their actions, they adore the cross as well as Christ; and both alike, and with the same worship. As for the new pretence of worshipping Christ in PRESENCE of the cross, it is a mere delusion contrived only to cheat ignorant people: and carries just as much sense in it as if you should ask, whether it were lawful to say your prayers in presence of a post; or to write a letter in the presence of a candlestick: the nonsense of which there is no one so dull as not to discover.

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