The Height of Israels Heathenish Idolatry, Section 2 · Chapter 2
CHAP. II. How the Deuill became the god of the Heathen.
How Satan came to be worſhipped as God among the Heathen. Grounds laid.NOw in the next place we come to inquire how and by what meanes theſe wicked Fiends attained to be acknowledged and worſhipped for gods. Here theſe following Grounds muſt be taken for granted.
Firſt, Man cannot, nay will not be without a God. This is left imprinted in the harts of the moſt barbarous nation: ſo that rather then man will not hauehave a God, he will make one himſelfe, and feare his owne handiworke.
Secondly, Man ſince his fall is without the true God, whom as he hath forſaken by ſinne, ſo alſo is he forſaken for his ſinne; and therefore is man naturally ignorant of Gods will, and how he will be ſerued.
Thirdly and chiefly, God (that he might be acknowledged the only true God, and worſhipped according to his owne minde and will) hath made his power and Godhead knowne, and alſo reuealed his will to ſuch as his eternall decree hath made choice of, whom he would binde to himſelfe by true religion, and by performance of duties inioyned in both Tables, and that both with externall and internall worſhip. To this end he made a Couenant with his people the Iewes (which for ſubſtance he continues ſtill with vsus) wherein on his part he firſt makes himſelfe knowne by many free promiſes and profers of diuers benefits, grace, mercy, deliuerances, and life it ſelfe: and this he doth and confirmes vntounto vsus in his word and Sacraments. Secondly, he requires and lookes for ſomething from vsus. Therefore on our part he requireth firſt, that by faith we beleeue what he promiſeth, and receiue what he offers; which we doe in the word and Sacraments: Secondly, that by obedience inward and outward we both promiſe and performe what he requires in his lawes both morall and ceremoniall, by giuing him the inward ſacrifice of the heart, as alſo outward oblations and ſacrifices, and by the celebration of Feaſts by way of thankfulneſſe to him.
Yet more, for the further manifeſtation of his ſoueraigntie and Godhead, and for the confirmation of our faith in his promiſes, he (yet long ſince more then now) wrought many miracles, and foretold vsus of things to come, whereunto he requires our aſſent and beleefe.
Theſe things granted: we further preſuppoſe, the ſuttleties and ſleights of Satan, that he is able (by Gods permiſſion, which we alſo preſuppoſe, as without which he can doe nothing) to ſeduce and miſlead mans ignorance, to the acknowledging and worſhipping of falſe gods, and of himſelfe. Further, that as by his ſuttletie he can doe this, ſo his pride againſt God and malice againſt vsus is ſuch, that hee will doe it, and which indeed hee doth accordingly. Now let vsus ſee how.
He knowing that it is a principle left in mans nature, to acknowledge a God, which he cannot extinguiſh, therefore takes the aduantage of mans naturall knowledge, and where it is wanting of it ſelfe, and not able to diſcerne of the true God, he takes vponupon him to direct it, and ſo ſets it on that which is no God, namely on himſelfe. But how is this done?By imitating Gods dealings with his Church. In one word, by transforming himſelfe into an Angell of light, and by imitating the true God, and by counterfetting his dealings with his Church: for he knowing how hatefull he is to all mankinde, and how little like to preuaile,Mali nitas daemonum, niſi alicubi ſe transfiguret in Angelum …ci, non im…let negotium e…ptionis. Auguſt. De Ciuit. De…, lib. 2. cap. 26. if in his owne name he ſhould doe any thing, therefore by imitating God and his workes, he winnes that credit to himſelfe which otherwiſe he might de…paire of.
Therefore firſt, as God made a couenant with his people, that he would be their God: ſo Satan ioynes in league with the world, labouring thus to binde men to himſelfe, which he doth either implicitly or explicitly, either openly or couertly.1. In p…omiſing.
2. Sealing.Secondly, as God hath his word and Sacraments as ſeales of his couenant vntounto beleeuers: ſo the deuill hath his words, and certaine outward ſignes to ratifie the ſame to his inſtruments; and in imitation of the Sacrament of Circumciſion, he imprints ſome ſecret marke or other in the bodies of ſuch as more ſpecially deuote themſelues vntounto him, as in the mouth, or vnderunder the haire of the body.
3. RequiringThirdly, as God requiring our ſeruice, obedience, and faith, requires alſo the teſtifications thereof, by Inuocation, Thankſgiuing, and Sacrifices: ſo doth the deuill.
1. Inuocation,Firſt, he alſo will be inuocated, and he heares them that call vponupon him according to his will, when God permits him.
2 ThankſgiuingSecondly, for Thankſgiuing: As God had his yearely Feaſts among the Iewes for their remembrance of former benefits receiued:By Feaſts. ſo had the deuill his among the Gentiles; ſome of them anſwering in the time of the yeare, and in other circumſtances, to the Feaſts ordained of God. I will inſtance only in the Feaſt of Tabernacles, which, as we may reade Leuit. 23.33. &c. was kept on the fifteenth day of the ſeuenth monethmonth, which fell in Autumne in the time of vintage, for the celebrating of which feaſt they had certaine Pſalmes fitted, to wit, as Saint Hierome obſerues, three; the 8.80. and 83. whoſe titles, ſaith hee, make mention of wine-preſies, by an elegant trope intimating the monethmonth of September, namely the time of gathering grapes. Now the Heathen at the ſame time, in the vintage, and with imitation of the manner, did celebrate the feaſt of their drunken god Bacchus, namely with filthy ſongs, wanton motions, laſciuious dauncings, with the like.
Thirdly,3. Sacrifices and offerings. wee know God had his ſacrifices as exerciſes to keepe his people in his ſeruice and worſhip, and them performed with diuers ceremonies: ſo likewiſe, the gods of the Heathen, becauſe they would needs play the apes with God in all things, required this ſeruice alſo after the example of the old Teſtament; and that with obſeruation of many like circumſtances, which the rather they vſed, as to deceiue the Heathen; ſo, in likelihood, in time to come, the more eaſily to draw on the Iewes to heatheniſh ſuperſtition, when they ſhould ſee the ſame or like ſeruices to their owne: as indeed the euent proued.
Now God required the firſtlings of their fruits and cattell,1. Of fruits and beaſts. that they ſhould acknowledge themſelues beholding to him for them; on the contrary, theſe gods require the acknowledgement of ſuch things to be made to themſelues, and to their Images. And as God, ſo did the auncient heatheniſh gods inioyne the ſacrifice of bruite beaſts, where wee know that among the Iewes, Lambs eſpecially, and more ordinarily were vſed in ſacrifice, as in the daily ſacrifice morning and euening, and in their moſt celebrated …ſt and ſacrament of the Paſſeouer,Exod. 12.3. &c. vſed to ſignifie and typifie Ieſus Chriſt, who is called, the Lambe ſlaine from the beginning of the world: In which ſacrifices then, and now in Chriſt,1. Iohn 2.2. they and we finde reconciliation with God through his blood. So did the Gentiles alſo, in caſe of reconciliation with their gods, ſacrifice Lambs: thence comes the word foreign from foreign or foreign a Lambe, which is all one in ſignification with foreign, conſiliare, to reconcile: and from thence is foreign pugno, decerto, &c. foreign, ſignifying to hate irreconciliably, and foreign.
Particularly menBut God moreouer commanded Abraham to ſacrifice his ſonne: in which, as in all others, Chriſt in his humane nature was ſignified; wherein he ſhould be ſacrificed and dye for the ſinnes of the world. Hereupon the Deuill muſt needs put this alſo into the heads of the Heathen, namely, to ſacrifice men, and ſo to lay the ſinnes of a whole City or Country, vponupon the backe of ſome one poore wretch, to make an attonement for the reſt. To giuegive but one inſtance:… The Leucades, as Strabo reports, yearely made choiſe of ſome notorious malefactor, and ſacrificed him for the whole.
…If we caſt our eies on diuers circumſtances about the ſacrifices of the Iewes, we ſhall finde the like among the Heathen
A… …ing.Firſt, the Prieſts were commanded to waſh themſelues with Water before they executed the Prieſts office in the Temple.… Satur… … So the Heathen being to ſacrifice, Dijs ſuperis, to the higher and ſuperior gods, they did corpus abluere aquâ, waſh their whole body with water: but if, Dijs inferis, …. 13. O… Sa…t. …in. lib. 3… … 7, & lib. …1. … 18. Nec … propit… …am dii mola … a ſupplicanti…, imo verà p…a…atio…e Lucret. lib. 1. …am fundere Bacchum Coepe…t, obliquo que molas inducere …ro. … ro… E…log. 8 …arge molam.to the lower gods, then did they onelyonly aſpergere, beſprinkle themſelues.
Secondly, we know the meat-offerings muſt be ſeaſoned with Salt, and that vponupon all oblations ſalt ſhould bee offered. Now that this was an accuſtomed thing in the ſacrifices offered to falſe gods, Pliny witneſſeth, ſaying, Sacra nulla perficiuntur ſine mola ſalſa: that is, no offerings nor ſacrifices were made without a cake made of meale & ſalt Hence came the Latine word Immolatio, which ſignifieth a ſacrificing, from the putting or placing of this ſalt cake vponupon the beaſts head, for the cuſtome of the Romans was, that when the beaſt was brought to the Altar, after the…r praiers and other ceremonies were finiſhed, the prieſt either laid this cake on the beaſts head with frankincenſe, or breaking and crumming it, ſprinkled it on the offering.
Thirdly,3. Of Fire. againe wee know that God ſent Fire from heauen, which conſumed the ſacrifices of Moſes, Elias, and Salomon: this though the deuill cannot doe, yet would he ſeeme to doe, and therefore (to content my ſelfe with one onelyonly example) when Seleucus was ſacrificing at Pella, the wood on the Altar turned it ſelfe (as it ſeemed) to Iupiters image, and ſo tooke fire. And as God commanded that the fire which hee ſent downe to conſume the firſt burnt offering that Moſes made on the Altar,Leuit. 9.24. ſhould burne continually on the Altar, and neuer bee put out, Leuit. 6.12.13.See Lapſ. de Veſtae & veſtalibu…. ſo wee know that both the Romanes had their Temple and veſtall virgins for the continuall keeping in of their fire, which at the firſt was, and ſhould after (if by any occaſion it went out) be kindled at the Sun-beames onelyonly; as alſo the Perſians, Medes, Chaldaeans, Aſſyrians▪ Graecians, had their peculiar Temples for it, and indeed made a god of it, ſacrificed to it, kept ſolemne feaſts in honour of it: onelyonly becauſe they had ſuch a conceit that the fire from heauen which God ſent to conſume the ſacrifices of the Iewes, ſhould be God himſelfe appearing in likeneſſe of fire, which their cuſtome no doubt, was deriued from the Iewes, as appeareth by the Latine and Greeke names of fire, Ʋeſta, and foreign in neither tongue ſignifying any thing, but being indeed Hebrew words compounded of Eſh and Iah, which ſignifie fire of God. So the Perſians called their fire Orimaſda, corruptly from the Iewiſh language, and ſo the Aegyptians their Seraphim.
Theſe were the apiſh toyes of Satan among the Heathen concerning ſacrifices, not that he was ſo much delighted with them, as with that which he gained by them. What was that? honour to himſelfe, hurt to vsus.Aug…t C…. Dei, …. cap. 1… Nec … aliud …laces … Non enim reuerà, ſaith Saint Auguſtine, cadauerinis nidoribus, ſed diuinis honoribus gaudent: they delight not ſo much in the ſauour of the dead ſacrifices, as in the fauour and diuine honours giuen them by the ſacrificers. They require ſacrifice, becauſe they know it is due to the true God onelyonly, and alſo becauſe it is hurtfull for man to giuegive it: for as ſaith the ſame Father, Their delight is in hauing the affection of the …ificers through their deceit ſubiected to them, …that ſo our … b… no acceptable ſacrifice to God, nor ought we can … we … to any … to the true God onelyonly.
Now to proceed: we may ye… note that in nothing more hath … Deuill imitated God, then in ſuch things as cannot proceed but from infinite Power and Wiſedome, which are peculiar properties to the onelyonly true God: and theſe are eſpecially, the certaine foreſhewing of things to come, and the working of Miracles, or the doing of good and euill: by the counterfetting of which two, the heatheniſh gods, or deuils, ſo farre preuailed, that God is in a manner forced to vindicate his owne honour, whereof they robbed him, bidd…ng them produce their cauſe, …and bring forth their ſtrong …ea…on…: what were they? Shew, ſaith the Lord, the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea … good or doe euill, that we may be diſmayed and behold it …. Where wee ſee, that howſoeuer theſe heatheniſh gods could not maintaine their owne cauſe and godhead with God, but that they ſhould be conuinced, confuted and confounded by their owne weapons;… G… yet we cannot deny but by theſe two they bewitched the Heathen, and withdrew their ſeruice, faith, and deuotions, from God to themſelues. Let vsus ſee the truth hereof in each ſeuerally, and in both ioyntly.
…Firſt, for Predictions: God, for the better accompliſhment of his promiſe made to Adam in Paradiſe, for the inſtructing of his people, and the ſhewing of his prouidence, did reueale many things to come, to our forefathers, and that by diuers wayes and meanes: herein hath Satan imitated God, and robbed him of his honour, namely by foretelling ſtrange euents, by promiſes and by threatnings: wherein, beſides Gods iuſt permiſſion, he had many helps, whereby he is furniſhed with knowledge ſufficient to de…ide our ignorance, and to draw on ſimple men, who naturally are curiouſly inquiſitiue after nouelties and future euents, and as credulous to beleeue whatſoeuer ſhall bee told them.