Exposition of the Moral Law, Book 1 · Commandment 2 · Exercitation 3
EXERCITAT. III. No viſible things in the heavens, or in the earth to be worſhiped. Commandement II.
Exod. 20.4. Or the likeneſſe of any thing that is in heaven above, or &c.
AS before the Lord diſcharged things inviſible in the heavens to be worſhiped; ſo now he diſchargeth all things viſible, ſeene with the eye, whether devills appearing in a viſible forme, or the ſunne, moone and ſtarres, or any creature in the earth, or in the water under the earth.
Firſt, he forbiddeth to worſhip the infernall ſpirits, the devills, foreign; when the devill appeareth in any viſible ſhape to call upon him, or to ſacrifice to him; ſuch was the worſhip which they gave him in the Teraphim. The Teraphim what?Elias in tiſhbi ſheweth how they made this Teraphim, they tooke a child who was the firſt borne, wrung off his neck, and embalmed his head with ſpices;How the Teraphim gave the anſwers. and they wrote in a plate of gold, the name of the ſpirit whom they called upon, and they put it under this head, and then the ſpirit gaue the anſwers. Laban called this Teraphim, foreignhis God; therefore he ſaith, nehhaſhti, auguratus ſum, I divined by my God that the Lord hath bleſſed mee for thy ſake. Gen. 30.27.
foreignThey had their Teraphim likewiſe in the likeneſſe of a whole man. 1. Sam. 19.13.
Secondly, they worſhipped the devill in the forme of a goate, They ſhall no more offer their ſacrifice to the hairie ones, foreignleſhegnirim, that is, to the devils who appeared in the forme of ſatyres and goats. Levit. 17.7.
Thirdly they worſhiped him in the forme of a flie. Baalzebub was the God of the Ekronites, and Ahazia ſent to get a reſponſe of him, whether he ſhould live or not. 2. Kings 1.2.
In all idolatrie the dedivill is worſhiped:There is no ſort of idolatrie in which the devill is not worſhiped. Pſal. 106.37. Yea they ſacrificed their ſonnes and daughters to devils. ſo 1. Cor. 10. The things which the Gentiles ſacrifice, they ſacrifice to devils, and not to God; and I would not that you ſhould have any fellowſhip with devils. Ye cannot drinke the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. Thoſe idolaters made not a direct covenant with the devill as the former did, nor they conſulted not with him directly as they did.
The Sun is not to be worſhiped.Now let us come to viſible things, which they were forbidden to worſhip, and firſt the ſunne, the moone and the ſtarres, and things in the heavens.
How they came to worſhip the planets.Men ſtudied firſt the courſe of the ſtarres, and that bred aſtronomie; then they obſerved the influence of the planets, and that bred phyſick; then they foretold things by the ſtarres, and that bred judiciall aſtrologie: and laſt they worſhiped the planets, and that bred idolatrie. Of all the planets, they chiefly worſhiped the ſunne.The Amonites worſhiped the ſun. The Ammonites called the ſunne moloch, and their God Moloch, and they burnt their children to this God, a moſt unnaturall ſinne; they ſpared the Canaanites whom God commanded them to deſtroy,Diverſe nations had the ſun for their god. and ſpared not their children, the fruit of their owne loynes: the Lord commanded to offer the firſt borne to him, and they offered their firſt borne to Moloch.
They had horſes for the ſunne, and chariots for it,Subdiales Statua. which carried about the image of the ſunne 2. Kings 13.11. and ſome worſhiped the fire, ſymbolum ſolis; as the Chaldeans: and the Sydonians called the ſunne Heliogabalus, deus fingens, vel formans; foreign Deut omnia fingens. foreign Omnia videns.becauſe the ſunne faſhioneth all things; and the Iſraelites worſhiped this god.
The Tyrians called the ſunne Hercules; haar col, omnia videns; and Hercules twelve labours in their Mythologie, ſignify the ſunne paſſing through the twelve, ſignes in the Zodiack.
So the Egyptians worſhiped the ſunne, and they called him Iupiter Hammon, omnia califaciens, ſo they called the ſun Adon, dominus, they ſaluted the Sun foreign,The Iewes learned from the heathen to worſhip the ſun. and from Adon they made Adonis, and they tooke their fable of looſing and finding of Adonis, from the ſetting and riſing of the ſun, & the Iewes learned from theſe nations, to worſhip the ſunne, the moone and hoaſt of heauen.
Seing the ſunne is the chiefe of all the planets; Queſt. what is the reaſon why the idolaters call the ſunne the queen of heaven? Ier. 7.8. and 44.19. When we burnt incenſe to the queene of heaven.
It ſhould not be tranſlated, Anſw. What is meant by the queene of heaven.When we burnt incenſe to the queene of heaven; the ſeventie tranſlate it better, foreign, the hoaſt of heaven▪ the difference of the interpretation aroſe of this, becauſe the hebrew word malcah written with He, ſignifieth a queen, and with aleph it ſignifieth a worke. Againe, amongſt the Latines Luna is in the feminine gender,foreign Regina foreign opus. and Sol is in the maſculine gender: but with the Hebrewes ſhemeſh the ſunne is in the feminine gender, and jareah the moone is in the maſculine gender: therefore according to their genders, it maybe ſaid Deus lunus, and Sol regina.
Many become fooliſh in their worſhip. Simile.It is ſtrange to ſe, how people have been ſo fooliſh, to forget the creator, and to give all praiſe to the creature; they are not unfitly compared to countrie people, who have never been at the court: when they come firſt to court, the firſt men that they ſee cloathed in fine apparell, they take him to be the King, and they fall downe and worſhip him: ſo the heathen when they ſaw ſome beautie in the ſunne, they gave it that honour which was due to God.foreign Sol a foreign Miniſtrare ſhemeſh the ſunne, commeth from the word ſhamaſh miniſtrare, becauſe it is appointed to ſerve men; why then ſhould man fall downe and ſerve it?
They worſh…ped the moone as a goddeſſe.Secondly, they worſhiped the moone in the heaven, and Iob purgeth himſelfe of this idolatrie, Iob. 31.27. or my mouth had kiſſed mine hand, when I beheld the ſunne when it ſhined, or the moone walking in her brightnes: the idolaters when they could not reach to the moone to kiſſe her, they kiſſed their hands in token of homage,Some wor…iped the ſtarres and planets. and this was called adorare, quaſi applicare manum ad os.
Thirdly they worſhiped the ſtarres or mazoloth the planets, 2. King. 23.5. And he put downe alſo them that burnt incenſe vntounto Baal, to the ſunne, to the moone and Lemazaloth, to the planets. Gen. 30.11. and Leah ſaid, a troupe commeth, foreign Lea and Rachel kept ſomer …u…s of their fathers idolatrie.and ſhe called his name Gad. Bagad read in two words ſignifieth bonam fortunam: Gad was the hoſt of heaven to which they ſacrificed, and gave divine honour, Eſay. 65.11. and they called it Maſal tobh, bona fortuna; Leah aſcribed this good fortune to the influence of the ſtarres: neither of Iacobs wives were purged from their fathers idolatrie, Rachel ſtole her fathers Teraphim, and Leah aſcribed all to good fortune, and the influence of the ſtarres.
In earth they worſhiped beaſts, the Iſraelites worſhip…d the golden calfe in the wilderneſſe, this calfe they ſet up as a repreſentation of God,Why the Iſraelites ſet up the golden calfe. who fed them in the wilderneſſe, and provided for them; the oxe was alwayes holden a ſigne of plentie,The oxe was a ſigne of plentie. therefore Salomon ſaith, where the oxe is wanting the crib is emptie▪ Prov. 14.4. and Ioſeph becauſe he provided for the people of God in their neceſſitie, he is called bos dei, Deut. 33.17. and the Romans ſet up a golden oxe to Minutius; becauſe he provided for them in the famine. So they dedicated this calfe to the Lord, becauſe he provided for them in the wilderneſſe.
The Lord forbiddeth them to make the likeneſſe of male or female to worſhip it, Deut. 4.16. for they worſhiped both bul calves, and cow calves, they had both gneglim and gnegloth Hoſea 10.15.foreign The apoſtle in diſdaine putteth Baal in the feminine gender. and the Apoſtle Rom. 17.4. putteth the name Baal in the feminine gender, foreign, and foreign ſhould be underſtood. Tobit. 1.5. all the tribes made defection ſacrificing foreign to the cow Baal, foreign ſhould not be underſtood here, for what ſtrength is there in an idoll to helpe?
God made man lord over all his creatures, as neate and ſheepe, and all beaſts of the field, Pſal. 8.7. and yet man forgetteth this, and worſhipeth the very baſeſt of them.
Laſtly, in the water under the earth. The Egyptians worſhiped Nilus as a god, and the fiſhes in it. So the Philiſtims worſhiped Dagon, The heathen worſhiped the water as a god.which was halfe a fiſh and halfe a man in ſhape, therefore the Lord forbideth the people to learne at theſe heathen nations to worſhip things in the water under the earth.
The concluſion of this is, let us ſay with David, Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon the earth that I deſire beſides thee. Pſal. 73.25.