Works, Book 2 · Section 3
SECTION III.
LOOK to thy feet, foreign; for so the Cethib or Textual reading hath it: the Masorites in the margin note another reading, foreign in the singular number. But which way soever of the two it be read, the sense is still the same; Look to thy foot being to be expounded plurally Look to thy feet, as in other places of Scripture. The Symbolical application of this Precept to the purifying and ridding the Mind of corrupt and fleshly thoughts, though it be useful, and the thing it self true, yet I will let pass, as being not argumentative; and betake my self wholly to the foreign or Literal meaning, which the Symbolical or Tropological signification destroyeth not, but presupposeth. The meaning therefore in general is; Have a care that thy feet be as they should be, when thou goest (or comest) to the House of God. But what is that? Most of the Interpreters (saith Aben Ezra) compare it with that which is said of Mephibosheth, 2 Sam. 19. 24. foreign He dressed not his feet, that is, He washed them not: So here, Look to thy feet when thou goest to the House of God, is as much as to say, Come not into God's House illotis pedibus, with unwashed feet. This is true, but goes not far enough. For I suppose here is an allusion in particular to that Rite of Discalceation used by the Iews and other Nations of the Orient at their coming into Sacred places; namely, that whereof the Lord spake to Moses, Exod. 3. 5. and again to Iosua, Ios. 5. 15. Exue calceamenta tua de pedibus tuis; locus enim in quo stas terra sancta est: Put thy shoes from thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
For although the verb foreign here used signifies properly motum à loco, that is, to go; and not in locum, to come, (in which respect the Rite of washing the feet perhaps, being a preparatory act, might agree better with it;) yet is it not always so used: besides, it is an unusual Trope in Scripture, ex antecedente intelligere consequens, by the antecedent to understand the consequent; which hath place here. That whereby I gather it is, because the Precepts following my Text, whereunto this word of motion belongs foreign, (that is, in common) are not of things to be done when we are going to the House of God, but when we are come thither: as, When thou comest to the House of God, be not rash nor hasty to utter any thing before God, &c. When thou comest to the House of God, and makest a vow before him, defer not to pay it,—neither say thou before the Angel, &c.—To which may be added the latter part of my Text, When thou comest to the house of God, be more ready to hear, or obey, than to offer the Sacrifice of fools. All, as you see are of things to be done when we are come into God's house. Therefore foreign which is common to them, should rather note motum in termino ad quem; Accordingly the Vulgar Latin hath ingrediens Domum Dei, Entring into the House of God.not when thou goest, but when thou comest to the house of God; and accordingly this admonition of care to be had of the feet, to intend something to be observed when we come there, rather than when we are going thither: Which was, (as I have said) among the Iews and other Nations, of the Orient especially, that Rite of Discalceation, or putting of their shoes, still used and continued amongst them unto this day, when they come into their Temples and Sacred places.
Which that I affirm not without good warrant, in case any one shall doubt thereof, these Testimonies following will sufficiently evidence. First, That Symbole of Pythagoras, foreign, OFFER SACRIFICE AND WORSHIP WITH THY SHOES OFF. Apud … blich. Pro…re…. 21.What mystical or symbolical sense he intended, I enquire not; but it is plain, his expression alludes to some such custom then used by those who came to worship in the Temples of their Gods.
Wherein that my collection fails me not, Iustin Martyr will bear me witness in his second Apology, where he tells us, That those who came to worship in the Sanctuaries and Temples of the Gentiles were commanded by their Priests, foreign, that is, to put off their shoes: Edit. Pa…is. pag. 95.which their Gods learned (saith he) by way of Imitation, from that which the Lord spake to Moses out of the flaming Bush, Loose thy shoes from off thy feet,…x…d. 2. 5. for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. This Testimony for the antiquity of the practice is without exception. Yet by the Father's good leave, I am prone to think that those words unto Moses gave not the first beginning unto it, but were an admonition only of the Divine presence, thereby commanding the Rite then accustomed in places so hallowed: and that therefore it was rather, as other Religious Rites, derived unto the Gentiles by Tradition from the Patriarchs before Moses; of whom both the Iews and those Nations of the Orient which agreed with them in this custom were descended. Concerning whose present custom Drusius in his Notes upon Iosua affirmeth, Quòd etiam nunc apud plerasque Orientis Nationes piaculum sit, calceato pede Templorum pavimenta calcâsse: That even to this day among most of the Nations of the Orient it is reputed a piaculary crime, to tread upon the pavements of their Temples with their shoes on their feet.
For the Iews in particular, that this Rite of Veneration was anciently used by them in Places sanctified by the Divine Presence; Maimonides puts us out of doubt, telling us in his Beth Habbechirah, chap. 7. That it was not lawful for a man to come into the Mountain of God's House with HIS SHOES ON HIS FEET, or with his staffe, or in his working garment, or with dust on his feet, and the like. The same hath Rabbi Solomon upon the 19. of Levit. ver…. 30.
It is further confirmed by their modern practice in their Synagogues; even here in these Western and colder parts of the world: where though no such custome be in use as in the Orient, nor our manners with conveniencie capable thereof, yet they still observe it, as far as the guise of the West will permit them; an argument it descends unto them by a strong and rooted Tradition from their forefathers. My Author is Buxtorf. Synagog. Iudaic. lib. 5. c. 5. where he hath these words; Ante Synagogam vel scholam ipsorum ferrum quoddam habent immuratum, ad quod quilibet calceos immundos aut coenosos abstergere tenetur; idque Solomonis authoritate, qui, Custodi, ait, pedem tuum—Quisquis crepidis indutus est, is eas immundas de pedibus suis detrahere tenetur—prout scriptum est, Solve calceamenta tua de pedibus tuis, &c. that is, Before their Synagogues they have a certain iron fastned in a wall, whereat every one is bound to make clean his foul or dirty shoes; and that by the authority of Solomon, who saith, Look to thy foot, &c. Whosoever hath slippers on, is bound they being foul to put them quite off, (viz. before he enters into the Synagogue) according as it is written, Loose thy shoes from off thy feet, &c.
And for the Mahumetans, what they do in their Mosquees, Bartlemew Georgivez, who was a long time a captive amongst them, can best inform us, in his Book De ritu & ceremoniis Turcarum. Quicunque (saith he) veniunt ad vrationem, debent abluere manus, pedes, &c. postremò ter spargunt aquam super capita, recitando haec verba, ELHEMDV LILLAHI, (i. gloria Deo meo:) Deinde exutis calceamentis Patsmagh dictis, iisque ante januam Templi relictis, introeunt, alii NVDIS PEDIBVS, alii habentes munda calceamenta Mesth dicta. That is, Such as come to pray, their duty is first to wash their hands-feet, &c. at last they sprinkle water over their heads thrice, repeating these words, ELHEMDV LILLAHI, (that is, Glory be to my God:) Then putting off their shoes, called Patsmagh, and leaving them before the door of the Temple, they enter, some barefooted, others having a clean kind of Sandal, which they call Mesth; namely as the custom is with us, when we pull off our hats, to wear a cap.
Lastly, That we may not want an instance among Christians, Zaga Zabo, an AEthiopian Bishop, sent Ambassador from David King of the Abyssines to Iohn the third King of Portugal, above an hundred years since, in his description of the Religion and Rites of the Abyssine Christians, thus informs us: *Vide Damianum a Goes De AEthiopum motibus.Prohibitum est apud nos (saith he) nè aut gentes, aut canes, aut alia hujusmodi animalia, in Templa nostra intrent. Item non datur potestas nobis adeundi Templum, nisi NVDIS PEDIBVS; neque licet nobis in ipso Templo ridere, obambulare, aut de rebus prophanis loqui, neque spuere aut screare in ipso Templo. Quia Ecclesiae AEthiopum non sunt similes terrae illi ubi populus Israel comedit Agnum Paschalem decedens ab AEgypto, (in quo loco, propter terrae pollutionem, jussit eos Deus comedere indutos calceamentis & zonis accinctos;) sed similes sunt monti Sinai, ubi Dominus locutus est Mosi, dicens, Exue calceamentatua de pedibus tuis, quoniam terra quam pedes tui premunt sancta est. That is, it is prohibited amongst us that either Pagans, or dogs, or any other beasts should come into our Churches. Moreover, it is not permitted to us to go into the Church, but BAREFOOTED; nor is it lawful for us in the Church to*Eadem planè Iudaeorum magistr… prohibent à … su… in Synagogis fieri, apud Ma…nomdem, Msuae Part. 1. l. 2. Trac. 7. Debenedictionibus & consecr. per prece…, quae & in Templo olim observari solita. Et Greg. Nazian. in Orat. …un. pro patre laudat matrem suam Nonuam, quòd in Templo Dei ne vocem quidem emittert nisi de rebus mystieis & divini…, neque unquam tergum altari obverteret, aut sacrum pavimentum conspa…ret. De quibus Lector pro prudentia sua statna…, an & quousque nobi… imitari conducat. laugh, or to walk up and down, or to speak of secular matters, no not to spit, hank or hem in the Church. Because the Churches of AEthiopia are not like unto that Land where the people of Israel, ready to depart out of Egypt, ate the Paschal Lamb, (where, because of the pollution of the countrey, God commanded them to eat it with their shoes on their feet and their loins girded;) but they are like unto Mount Sinai, where God spake unto Moses, saying, put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the ground whereon thy feet tread is holy. Thus Zaga Zabo of the Abyssine Christians, whereof he was a Bishop. And till the contrary be shewed me, I am prone to believe that some other Christians of the Iacobite sect may have the like custom, as it is certain that in most of their Rites they agree with them.
Now the religious guise of the Iews and other Nations of the Orient having anciently been (and still being) such as you have heard, when they entered into their Temples, or remained in them; the words of my Text, Look to thy Foot or feet, being taken for an expression borrowed from and alluding thereto, will have the same sense, as if we, inflecting them to our manners, should say, Look unto thy Head, (that is, have a care thy Head be fitted as it ought to be) when thou comest into the House of God; meaning that he should put off his hat, or be uncovered, when he comes thither, and use such other reverence as is wont to accompany it. For know that the Holy Ghost, mentioning or specifying but one Rite, is yet so to be understood as implying therewith the rest of the same order accustomed to go with it; according to that usual Trope of Scripture, by a part, or that which is more notable or obvious in any kind or rank of things, to imply the rest; the rule whereby we interpret the Decalogue, and is the more fitly appliable here, because this guise of Discalceation was a leading Ceremonie to the other gestures of Sacred veneration then used, as that of putting off the hat (in civil use at least) is wont to be with us. Nor as if Solomon or the Holy Ghost in this Admonition intended the outward Ceremonie only, and no no more; (that were ridiculous to imagine;) but the whole act of Sacred reverence commenced in the heart and affection, whereof this was the accustomed and leading gesture: to wit, the very same and all that which the Lord commandeth in that original law, Lev. 19. 30. Sanctuarium meum reveremini, Reverence my Sanctuary; which Ionathan's Targum explaineth, foreign, Ye shall go to the House of my Sanctuary with reverence; Solomon paralleleth here with, Look to thy foot when thou goest to the House of God. For so is the manner of Scripture almost every where, under the name of the Gesture only to understand and imply the whole dutie of Veneration which such Gesture representeth and importeth.
But as this is most true, so is it on the other side as false, if any shall from hence collect, That therefore the Outward worship may securely be neglected, (in Time, and Place where and when it may be done,) so the Inward be performed. Nay the contrary follows: For if the Inward worship be chiefly intended when the Outward or Bodily is only named, as it is granted; is it not then absurd to imagine, that where that which is not expresly named is meant, there that which is only mentioned should be excluded? Nay surely, where the Outward is mentioned, (as here in my Text,) there no doubt but the Outward, in one kind or other, is a part of the dutie commanded, whatsoever besides it be intended. And because it is a disease almost proper to our time, (for our forefathers were mostly sick of the other extreme,) so far to slight and disesteem (that I may not say disdain) the worship of God by the Body, as to think it may be omitted and neglected even in Time and Place convenient, as in God's House and publick service, without all guilt of sin; give me therefore leave to propound a few Considerations for the Cure of such as are sick of that maladie. For as that which seems but some lighter Symptome at the first, if the cure thereof be neglected and contemned, oftentimes proves fatal, and destroys life it self; so may this. I would have them therefore consider,
1. That we all look not only for the Glorification of our Souls, but of our Bodies in the life to come; Now a Reward presupposeth a Work. It is meet and right therefore we should worship and glorifie God here in this life with the Body as well as the Soul, if we look that God should one day glorifie both.
2. That as the Outward worship without the Inward is dead, so the Inward without the Outward is not complete; even as the Glorification of the Soul separate from the Bodie is not, nor shall be consummate, till the Body be again united unto it.
3. That those who derogate so much from Bodily worship in the service of the true God, as kneeling, bowing, and the like, make by consequent Idolatrie a sin far less hainous in degree than it is. For is not Idolatrie to communicate that honour with a creature which is due unto the Creator alone? By how much therefore the worship of gesture and posture is less due unto God when we do our homage unto him, by so much is the sin the less hainous and grievous when the same is given unto an Idol. For I believe, they will not deny but part of the sin of Idolatrie consists even in the outward worship given unto an Idol, as kneeling, bowing, and falling down before it, and the like.
4. Lastly, That although Bodily worship, being considered in it self, be one of the minora Legis, of the lesser things of the Law, and the honour done unto God thereby of no great value (though not of none) in his sight; yet may a voluntary and presumptuous neglect even of so small a duty be a great and hainous sin, because such a neglect proceeds from a prophane disposition and election of the heart. For a sin is not always to be esteemed according to the value of the duty omitted, but from the heart's election in omitting it.Epist. 92. Non est bonum per se (saith Seneca) munda vestis, sed mundae vestis electio; quia non in rebonum est, sed in electione: that is, A clean garment hath no goodness of it self, but it is the election of a clean garment which is commended; because the goodness consists not in the thing, but in the election thereof. So say I here; It is not the value or merit of the work which aggravates the sin in omitting the doing thereof, but the Election not to do it.
Now therefore to return to my Hypothesis; By that which hath been delivered it appears, That it is not only lawful to use some Reverential gesture when we come into God's House, (which yet some think they are very liberal if they grant,) but that it is a duty commanded by God himself, and so no Will-worship; as namely in that Divine admonition given first to Moses, and afterward to Iosua, Put thy shoes from off thy feet, &c. in that Law, Reverence my Sanctuary; in this Instruction by Solomon, Look to thy feet when thou comest to the house of God: That the Saints and people of God in the Old Testament, and Christians in the New, have used such Reverence: That the neglect thereof is condemned of Prophaneness by the practice of Iews, *Seneca lib 7. Nat. qq. c. 30. Intramus Templa compositi, ad sacrificium accessuri vultum submittimus, togam adducimus, in omne argumentum modestiae fingimur. We enter our Temples with a composed gesture, coming to sacrifice we let fall our Countenance, draw in our Gown, are framed to all shew of Humility.Gentiles, Pagans, Mahumetans, all Religions whatsoever: if any be to be excepted (proh pudor & dolor!) it is our selves.
But without doubt, in this we are not in the right, nor was it so from the begining. Whatsoever is dedicated unto God in general, or (to speak in the phrase of Scripture) whatsoever is called by his Name, that is, is His by peculiar relation, ought to be used with a different respect from things common: and God's House (as you have heard) hath something singular from the rest. Should we then come into it as into a Barn or Stable? It was not (once) good manners so to come into a mans house: For our Blessed Saviour, when he sent forth his Disciples to preach the Gospel, Matt. 10. 12. said, foreign, when ye enter into an house, salute it. Why should we not think it a part of religious manners to do something answerable when we come into the House of God? that is, to bless the Master thereof, (you know how far that word extendeth;) and if not to say, God be here, (which hath been the form, and is somewhere still, when we enter into a mans House) yet to say with*Gen. 28. 16. Iacob at Bethel, God is here; and to testifie in some manner or other, as the Saints of God were wont to do, that we acknowledge it; and that both at our first coming thither, and while we continue there; for the one follows from the other. And because I paralleled before that Oriental rite of Discalceation (whereunto I supposed the words of my Text to have reference) with ours of Vncovering the Head, by the name of a leading ceremonie; if any shall therefore ask me, what other Gesture I implied thereby as fitting to accompany this in the case we speak of, I answer, That belongs to the discretion of our Superiours and the authority of the Church to appoint, not to me to determine. For here as in other Ceremonies, the Church is not tied, but hath liberty to ordain (having respect to the Analogy of the Old Testament) what she shall judge most sutable and agreeable to the time, place, and manners of the people where she lives. But if I may without offence or presumption speak what I think, then I say, That Adoration, or Bowing of the body, with some short ejaculation, (which the Church of Israel used in their Temple together with Discalceation, and which the Christians of the Orient use at this day, and time out of mind have done, at their ingress into their Churches,) is of all other the most seemly, ready and fitting to our manners; which yet I submit: namely, according to that of the 132. Psal. v. 7. Introibimus in Tabernacula ejus, incurvabimus nos scabello pedum ejus: We will go into his Tabernacles, and worship before (or toward) his Footstool, that is, the Ark of the Covenant or Mercy-seat, which you shall find thus styled, 1 Chron. 28. 2. and according to that, Psal. 5. 7. I will enter into thine House in the multitude of thy mercies; in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy Temple, (i. foreign, for they stood in the Courts when they worshipped) which is the Form the Iews use at this day when they come first into their Places of worship; and so might we too, for any thing I know. The ordinary form among the Greeks is that of the Publican, God be merciful to me a sinner; yet sometimes they premise this of the Psalm before it.