Exposition of the Moral Law, Book 1 · Commandment 2 · Exercitation 5
EXERCITAT. V. That idolatrie is moſt oppoſite to God. Commandement II.
2. Cor. 6.14. What communion hath light with darkneſſe? 16. and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?
IDolatrie is a ſinne that is firſt moſt oppoſite to God himſelfe, and ſecondly it is oppoſite to his mariage with his Church.
foreign Qui habet vitam in ſe & a ſe.Firſt, it is moſt oppoſite to God himſelfe, God is ens entium, and therefore he is vnus, verus, and bonus.
Firſt, God is ens entium, who hath his being of himſelfe, and hereby ye ſhall know that Chai, the living Lord is amongſt you. Ioſh. 3.10. this title diſtinguiſheth him from dead idols which hauehave neither life in themſelves, nor can give life to others. Pſal. 106.26. And they joyned to Baal-phegor, and eat the ſacrifices of the dead, that is, the gods who are dead; they are called dumb idols, Haback. 2.18.foreign So Pſal. 115. they hauehave mouthes but they ſpeake not,foreign the idols are called elilim, nihilitates. Eſay. 2.8. Ezek. 30.13. and Tohu, The idols are called dead gods.emptineſſe. 1. Sam. 12.21. things are true as long as they agree with the patterne which is in the minde of God, but when they goe from that once, they are reckoned for ſhadowes of things onelyonly. Prov. 20.6. Who ſhall finde a faithfull man? as if he ſhoud ſay, it is eaſie to finde ſhadowes of men, but it is a hard thing to finde a man indeed who is anſwerable to the minde of God. Idolaters, becauſe they goe from this patterne,People following other gods become no people. they are called non gens. Hoſ. 10.9. and non populus, not a people. 1. Pet. 2.10. and the apoſtle ſaith, an idoll is nothing. 1. Cor. 8.4. it is not nihil negativum, but nihil privativum, Nihil negativum. privativum. effectivum.there is no relation betwixt God and it, or it is nihil affectivum.
The firſt attribute of God who is Ens entium, Omne ens eſt unum numero & ſpecie, ſed Deus unum eminenter.is unit as and therefore the ſcripture by way of excellence calleth him vnus, Iob. 31.15.foreign Ʋnus. Did not one faſhion us in the wombe, that is, God, ſo Zach. 14.9. In that day there ſhall be one Lord, and his name vnus, this name Ehhad, foreignafterward the heathen called it Adad, corruptlie, Deut. 6.4.foreign Hearken Iſrael, the Lord thy God is one, and it is written with a great Daleth which letter ſignifieth foure, as the Hebrews marke, to ſignifie the foure corners of the earth, and that he ſhould be worſhiped in them, and none elſe but hee; although there be many that are called gods, yet to us there is but one God. 1. Cor. 8.6.
The gods of the heathen were many; they had thirtie thouſand gods, as Heſ…d witneſſeth. And Augustine obſerveth well in his booke de civitate dei, The heathen multiplied their gods according to the periods of their life.that they multiplied their gods becauſe they durſt not concredit all to one God: as they had one god for the mountaines, another for the vallies, one for the ſea, and another for the land; ſo they had a god for every period of mans life: when the child was borne, they cōmitted him deae Lucinae: when he weeped they committed him to vaticana or vagitana: when they lifted up the child from the ground, they committed him to Dea Levana: & when he was in the cradle to Dea Cunina, & ſo thorow the reſt of the periods of his life. But David acknowledged God to be his God from his mothers wombe. Pſal. 22.10. So they had a god or a goddeſſe for every ſeverall part of the bodie, Iupiter the eldeſt brother got the head, Neptune the ſecond brother got the breaſt, and foreparts,They had gods for every part of the body. and Pluto the third brother got the hinder parts, the middle part or cinctum they gaue to Mars, the eyes to Cupid, they gaue the kidnies to Venus, and the knees to the Goddeſſe Miſericordia, and the feet to Thaleia: theſe parts they committed to ſeverall Gods and Goddeſſes, becauſe they diſtruſted them, and would not concredite all to one God, but David ſaith, Pſal 34.20. That God keepeth all our bones. And Chriſt ſaith, that the very haires of our head are numbred. Matth. 10.30. ſo that they cannot fall to the ground without Gods providence. They had like wayes Deos tutelares which they carried about with them, as Rachel ſtole her fathers Gods. Gen. 31.19. and they had Penates, their houſhold Gods, Eſay. 46.7. They beare him upon the ſhoulder, they carie him and ſet him in his place, and hee ſtandeth: yea from his place ſhall he not remove.
The ſecond attribute of God who is Ens entium is verum, but the idoll teacheth lies, Habakuk 2.18. how teacheth the idoll lies? Non per inexiſtentiam, ſed per aſſiſtentiam. Non per inexiſtentiā, that is, the divill ſpake not out of the idoll,How the idoll ſpeaketh lies. but per aſsiſtentiá, that is, the prieſt lying beſide the idoll, the divill inſpired the Prieſt to ſpeake theſe lies. When the Prieſt ſlept vponupon the skin of the beaſt that was ſacrificed, then the divell inſpired him; this ſleeping the Greekes call it foreign,foreign pellis. the idoll was but the pledge of the devils preſence to the Prieſt: ſo now when the Prieſts ſtand in defence of their idols and idolatrie, and teach that they are to be worſhiped, then the devill ſpeaketh by the idoll, and the idoll is the pledge of the devils preſence to the Prieſt, and that which is offered to the idoll is ſaid to be offered to the devill. Pſal. 106.37. 1. Cor. 10.20.
The third attribute of God as he is Ens entium, is Bonum, goodneſſe, there is none good but God onelyonly, that is, having his goodneſſe of himſelfe: but idols by way of appropriation are called ſinne. Lament. 1.8. My people hauehave committed a ſinne, Idolatrie by way of appropriation is called ſin.that is idolatrie. So Exod. 32. 22. This people is prone to ſinne, that is, to idolatrie. So Num. 23.21. He ſaw no iniquitie in Iacob, that is, idolatrie, and in this ſenſe is that place of Syracides to be vnderſtood, Syracid. 49.5. All the kings of Iſrael were ſinners except David, Ioſias and Ezekias, that is, they were idolaters.
Secondly,Idol…trie breaketh the wedlocke betwixt Chriſt and his Church. this ſinne of idolatrie breaketh that holy wedlock which is betwixt Chriſt and his church, he being a iealous God, hee cannot ſuffer his ſpouſe to goe a whooring after other gods, but would hauehave her a chaſt virgin preſented unto him; this was typed vnderunder the law by the turtle doves and young pigeons, which the Lord commanded to be offered to him: the young pigeon was commanded to be ſacrificed vntounto him, becauſe it had never a mate; and the turtle dove, becauſe it had but one mate: ſo God will hauehave of his church her firſt louelove, and onelyonly louelove: this abſtinence from idolatrie is called virginitie.God will have of his Church her firſt love, and onelyonly love. Revelat. 14.4. and idolaters are called adulterers, Iam. 4.4. when the Iewes denied Ioh. 8.41. that they were the children of fornication, they meant, they were not idolaters, who ſay to the ſtocke thou art my father, and to the ſtone, thou haſt brought me forth, Ier. 2.27. they ſay, they hauehave God for their father, and they called the Samaritans baſtards,foreign ingluvies vel veſicula in avibus quae ſordium receptaculum eſt a foreign ſtercus. foreign. becauſe they worſhiped ſtrange gods. When the church is corrupted and defiled with idolatrie, then ſhe is called Moreah, Zeph. 3.1. the Seventy tranſlate it, foreign, when one is expoſed to ſome great ſhame for their filthineſſe, and in this ſenſe it is ſaid, that Ioſeph would not make Mary a publike example for her ſuſpected incontinencie. Mat. 1.19.
The concluſion of this is,Concluſion. idola…rie being a ſinne ſo oppoſite to God himſelfe; it was a great blindnes in Micha when he ſet up an idoll in his houſe, to ſay then. That the Lord would doe him good, Iudg. 17.13. their ſorrowes ſhall be multiplied who haſten after other Gods, Pſalm. …6.7.