Exposition of the Moral Law, Book 1 · Commandment 2 · Exercitation 4
EXERCITAT. IV. No image can be made to repreſent God. Commandement II.
Eſay. 40.25. To whom then will ye liken me, or ſhall I be equall, ſaith the holy One?
THe Church of Rome ſay, for repreſentation the image of God cannot be painted to expreſſe lively and fully the nature of God: and in this ſenſe they ſay, that God forbideth any image of him to be made, ſeing he hath no forme whereby he can be expreſſed. Eſay 40.18. To whom will ye liken God, or what likeneſſe will ye compare unto him? But to expreſſe him by ſome bodily ſhape as he appeared here, that is no idolatrie, as he appeared to Daniel in the likeneſſe of an old man, and the holy ghoſt appeared in the likeneſſe of a done. Matt. 3.16. When he is painted to teache the hiſtories of the ſcripture, that ſo by ſenſible figures our mindes may aſcend to take up the inviſible God; to paint him this way is not a ſinne; angels themſelves are immateriall ſpirits, yet they were painted under the law, and repreſented by cherubins; why then may not God be repreſented by an image? There is a great difference betwixt the angels and God.No proportion betwixt God and an image. Firſt they are finite, and therefore there may be ſome proportion betwixt them and an image; but God is infinite, and an image finite; therefore no proportion betwixt them.
Imago Perſonae. Repreſentationis officii.Secondly, there is imago perſonae, and imago repreſentationis officij, the cherubins were no repreſentation of the perſons of the angels; for they being immateriall, cannot be expreſſed by any materiall things, and if we ſhould conceive an angell to have any quantitie by an image, then the image ſhould teach us a lie:An image may repreſent the office of angels but not their perſons. the cherubins then are onelyonly repreſentations of the office of the angels, that they were miniſtring ſpirits attending the elect; and they were painted this way, that the Iewes might read (as it were) in a hiſtorie, what the angels did to them who wait upon the Church continually.
But members are attributed to God in the ſcripture: Ob. if they be attributed to God for this end, that wee may take him up, why may he not be painted to the laicks, that by the eye as wel as the eare, they may take him up?
Members are attribute to God metaphoricè, Anſw. Members attributed to God metaphorically not typically.but not typicè, metaphora eſt in verbis, typus in rebus, the ſcripture ſetteth him downe with eares, hands, and feet by words borrowed from men, but it never ſetteth him downe by any bodily ſhape painted before us, but alwayes forbiddeth us to repreſent him by any bodily ſhape; and there is no danger to the people by idolatrie, when he is repreſented to the eare by metaphoricall words, but great danger to them when he is repreſented to the eye by viſible ſhapes.
How ſhall we conceive of God then, Queſt. that we take him not up as an idoll?
We muſt conceive him to be a ſpirit, moſt juſt, Anſw. How we muſt conceive God.moſt holy, and infinite; but becauſe the infinite Godhead is but finitely comprehended by us; therefore we ſhould ſet the eyes of our faith upon the manhood of Chriſt;Simile. for hee that ſeeth the ſonne ſeeth the father. When a man looketh into a chryſtall glaſſe, it caſteth no reflexe to him; but put ſteele upon the backe of it, it will caſt a reflexe: ſo when we looke upon the Godhead it ſelfe, it caſteth no comfortable reflexe unto us, but put the humanitie, as it were a backe of ſteele to that glaſſe, then it caſteth a reflexe to us.
Now let us ſpeake of the worſhip it ſelfe. The Church of Rome being charged with idolatrie, and worſhiping of idols, they wipe their mouth with the whore, and ſay they did it not, Prov. 30.20. And they goe about by ſundrie ſhifts to cleare themſelves of this idolatrie.
Adoratio Abſoluta. Reſpectiva.There is a double ſort of worſhip, the firſt is called adoratio reſpectiva, the ſecond is called adoratio abſoluta. Abſolute adoration is this, when the worſhip is termed in the creature, as objectum quod adorationis, & the worſhip is limitated to the creature. Reſpective adoration is this, when worſhip is given to dead & ſenſeleſſe creatures for the examplars ſake,Obiectum Quod. Quo. then the exemplar is obiectum quo, and the dead and ſenſeleſſe thing is obiectum quod; that is, wee reverence and adore the dead and ſenſeleſſe thing for the examplars ſake.Simile. Example, when wee attend the coffin, the corps being buried alreadie, the coffin is obiectum quod which we attend, and the corps are obiectum quo which moveth us to attend the coffin: ſo when we doe homage to the Viceroy for the King; the Viceroy here is obiectum quod, and the King is obiectum quo. The more modeſt of the papiſts of old made but the image obiectum quod adorationis, and God himſelfe obiectum quo.
Adoratio Reſpectiva. Coniuncta.Againe they ſay, that there is adoratio coniuncta, or coadoratio, and there is adoratio reſpectiva: coadoratio or coniuncta adoratio, they make to be this; when both the exemplar, and the thing repreſented by the exemplar are worſhiped coniunctim, as obiectum quod adaequatum, this ſort of worſhip they gaue not to the image at the firſt, but onelyonly reſpectivam adorationem.
Imago conſideratur. Secundum rem naturae. Formaliter.Thirdly, they ſay that an image is conſidered ſecundum rem naturae, and ſo it is not worſhiped. Secondly formaliter & in actu exerci…, as it holdeth forth the exemplar to us, and ſo it is …rminus formalis adorationis, and then the cauſe of the adoration is in the exemplar, which both moveth the adoration and determineth it; and the image is but a condition of the adoration, and the adoration is not given to it, but to him who is the cauſe of the adoration, as Caietan ſaith.Many papiſts now hold they are not only accidentally to be worſhiped but properly. But now they goe farther and maintaine that images are not onelyonly to be worſhiped accidentally or improperly; but alſo by themſelues, and properly, ſo that they end and terminate the worſhip, as they are conſidered in themſelves; and not onelyonly as they are portraitures of the exemplar repreſented: and ſome of them ſay yet more plainely, that it is the ſelf ſame worſhip, that is due to God, and to the image; and that it is coadoratio or coniuncta adoratio, Gregorius de Valentia diſput. 6. queſt. 11. punct. 6.& eodem officio, & honoris genere, eodem animi motu, & eadē voluntate excitandi opinionē excellentiae, ille cultus ad prototypon ſpectat ſecundum ſe, ad imaginem vero coram ipſa, & in ipſa tanquam vicaria; they clearely confeſſe, that it is the ſame worſhip that is due to God and to the image: and as the Echo eſt individuum cum ſuo ſono; ſo it is one ſort of worſhip which is given both to the image and to God: and Vaſques implieth,Vaſq. lib. 3. de ador. diſput. 1. cap. 5. that in ſome caſe the devill may be worſhiped appearing in ſome viſible ſhape. When Darius mother Syſigambis came before Alexander the great, (miſtaking Epheſtion for Alexander) ſhe fell downe before Epheſtion, but knowing that ſhe was miſtaken, ſhe began to bluſh: But Alexander ſaid vntounto her, be not aſhamed, non erraſti mater, nam Epheſtion eſt etiam Alexander. If a papiſt falling downe before his image and miſtaking the image for Chriſt, and if Chriſt ſhould ſay to him be not aſhamed, thou art not miſtaken, for this image is alſo Chriſt: then he needed not to bluſh nor be aſhamed: but Chriſt is more jealous of his honour than ſo, and will not give it to any creature.
The concluſion of this is, 1. Ioh. 5.2. little children, Concluſione.beware of idols, Micha's idoll bewitched the whole tribe of Dan. Iudg. 18.36.