Gods Holy Mind Touching Matters Moral, Tract 2 · Part 10
Now to the words.
Quest. What is meant by grauen Image?
Answ. A Picture proportioned and fashioned out of stone, wood, or mettal, by caruing, grauing, or the like: so the word signifies.
Quest: What is meant by similitude?
Answ. A Picture painted in a plaine Table, or on a cloah or the like, and made only of colours.
Quest. What is meant by things that are in Heauen?
Answ. Celestiall and heauenly bodies, as the Sunne,Deut. 4.19. 2 King. 23.11. Ierem. 44.18. Deut. 4.17. Moone and Starres, and Foules, and Birds.
Quest. Are not Angels and things in the highest Heauens likewise meant?
Answ. Not properly, because they cannot bee represented but by borrowing the forme or shape of visible things, beeing spirituall; yet vnderunder the visible celestiall bodies they are also comprehended.
Quest. What is meant by things in earth?
Deut 4.17. Exod. 8, 26, Rom, 1.23,Ans. Beasts of the earth.
Quest. What is meant by things in the waters, vnderunder the Earth?
Deut, 4, 18. Rom, 1: 23,Answ. Fishes, and all manner of creeping things.
Quest. What is the meaning of those words, thou shalt not bow downe to them, neither serue them?
Answ. Thus much; thou shalt not adore them, and yeeld to them religious worship and seruice, either inward or outward, testified by bowing downe, or by vsing any other act or gesture of religious adoration to them. Isa. 44.15.Isai, 44, 15,
Quest. What is the summe of this Commandement?
Answ. This; that we worship and serue the true God, not by any deuice of our owne, but only according to his Nature & Will, reuealed in his Word. Deut. 12.30.31.32.Deut, 12, 30, 31, 32.
Now this Commandement being Negatiue, we will first shew the sinnes forbidden in it.
Quest. What are the sinnes forbidden in this Commandement?
Answ. In generall, these three.
1. All manner of Idolatry.
2. Contempt of the outward worship of God.
3: Humane deuices in the Essentiall worship of God: or superstition.
Of these in Order.
Quest. How many sorts of Idolatrie be there?
Answ. Two.
Inward,
and Outward
Idolatry of the
Heart,
and of the Hande.
Quest. VVhat is the inward Idolatrie of the Heart?
Answ. This; when men misconceiuing God, and imagining him to be that which he is not,Ezech, 14, 3.4, 7 doe worship him according to that misconceite, and foolish imagination: for then they worship an Idoll of their owne braine.
Quest. VVhat is the outward Idolatrie, of the hand?
Answ. This; when men make an Image, or similitude, and erect and set it vp for religious vse. Deut. 27.15. 1 Iohn 5.21.Deut, 27, 15, 1 Iohn, 5, 21, Little children keepe your selues from Idols: that is from Images made for religious vse.
Quest. May not an Image or Picture bee made for any vse at all?
Answ. Yes, if it be onelyonly for Politicall, or Historicall vse,Exod. 31.4, 5. Math. 22.20, 21 and not for Religious vse: for there is great vse of Pictures in describi…g of Histories, drawing of Mappes, and such like. Christ findes no fault with the Image and Picture of Caesar.
Quest. How many wayes doe men make and erect an Image for religious vse?
Answ. Two wayes.
Quest. What is the first of those?
Answ. This, when men make and erect an Image representing some false and fained God, as the heathen did: Or representing some thing that is not God; as the Papists doe the Images of Angels and Saints departed, to bee adored and worshipped.
Quest. Where finde we this condemned?
Answ. In these places of Scripture, Exod. 23.24. Deut. 7.25. Deut. 12.3.
Quest. What is the second way?
Answ. This; when men make and erect an Image for the representing of the true God, and of Christ, to worship it.
Quest. How may this appeare to bee a sinne, and a breach of Gods Commandement?
Answ. 1. By euidence of Scripture, which condemnes the making of any representation of God, as Deut. 4.15, 16. Yee saw no image of God, but onelyonly heard a voyce; therefore it is not lawfull to make and erect any Image of the true God, Isai. 40 18, 25. Acts 17.29. Rom. 1.23.Isai. 40.18, 25. Actes 17.29. Rom. 1.23.
Secondly, by these reasons.
1. First, God is infinite and incomprehensible, & therefore cannot be represented by an Image.
2. Secondly, it is a most vile debasing of the Maiestie of God, to liken him to a corruptible man.
3. Thirdly, any representation of God made by the hand of man, is a dead thing, and so more base then the meanest liuing creature; therefore God will not bee so represented.