A Discourse Grounded on Proverbs, Part 2 · Section 25
Sect. XXV.
TO think alſo,God Inviſible but to think holily, and with awful Impreſſions upon our Hearts, …f thi INVISBLE Lord God, …welling in light which no man can …pproach vntounto, … Tim: 6.16whom no man hath ſeen, nor can ſee; No Image to be made of Godof whom they ſaw no ſimilitude in Horeb; Therefore ſaith God, take go…d heed to your ſelves, D… … …leaſt ye corrupt your ſelves, & make you a graven Image, or the ſimilitude of any figure, and 24, 24&c. for the Lord thy God is a conſuming Fire, even a jealous God. So th…t the making of any ſhape of God, though men may pretend they do it to advance God in their thoughts, Images no help to godly thoughtsor to help them in their thoughts of God, whether it be by Hand or Heart, W…rk or Thought, IMAGE or IMAGINATION, doth nothing conduce to the making man Z…alous, but God jealous; nor to the ſtirring of the Fire of mans affection to his Maker, but of Gods Indignation againſt his Creature; whom whilſt vain man preſumes to meaſure by his vain mind, He denyes him to be God, for he is not God except he be greater then our hearts. And thus …he old Romans changing the glory of the incorruptible God into an Image, Rom. 1, 23are charged not to like to …etain God in their knowledge; A … Text of Scripture that cuts off every Dagon by the very stumps; for whilſt this is pretended as the great uſe of Images, Pictures, baniſh Gods knowledge▪ſhapes and Figures, to help the ignorant, to keep God in their minds, to be Lay-mens Books, to help Devotion, to heighten Holy thoughts, The Text ſaith expreſsly that as theſe come in, God goes out; becauſe when they knew God they glorifyed him not as God, Verſe 22 24but became vain in their IMAGINATIONS, their fooliſh heart was darkened, and that in this particular, profeſsing themſelves to be wiſe, Verſe 22they became fools: ſo the Ido…atrous Iſraelites, make us Gods …hat may go before us, Theſe be thy Gods, O Iſrael; Say they to the Golden Calf, Ex 32, 5, 4and Aaron built an Altar before it, and made Proclaimation, and ſaid to morrow is a Feast to Jehovah. (A Ghoſtly device to keep God in peoples minds,) thoſe very Images that they made to be HELPS in Worſhip,Jehovah …ooked at …hro…gh the …iol. (for we ſee there was an Eye, through the Image to Iehovah exclude God out of their knowledge, and Conclude them to be ſuch as liked not to retain God in It; And ſeeing this comes in as a Charge upon Pagan Rome, …gan, … …ome ex…uded from …e know…dge of God … Images.when they wanted the diſcoveryes of this inviſible God, & Glorious Chriſt, which they after received by this great Apoſtles Miniſtery, and other bleſſed helps; for even before this, ſaith God, you had better Books, then Pictures or Images, to have read me by, for the inviviſible things of God from the Creation of the World are clearly ſeen, being unde…ſtood by the things that are made, …rſe 20even his Eternal Power and Godhead, ſo that they are without excuſe; I ſay, After that Faith is come, (which is the Evidence of things not ſeen (that ſpiritual Eye that ſees him that is inviſible) for Rome called Christian, Hebr. 11, 1Verſe 27having received the Light of the glorious Goſpel of Chriſt, 2 Cor. 4, 4who is THE IMAGE of God, to return to dumb Pictures, Images,Rome Papal cenſured, Doctrines of Doemons, &c. may give us occaſion ſadly to think and ſay,1 Tim. 4, 2 How is the faithful City become an harlot! come out of her ye People, Iſaiah 1, …that ye be not partakers of her ſins, and that ye receive not of her Plagues; Rev. 18, 24for ſaith the Holy Ghoſt, Confounded be all they that ſerve graven Images.Pſalm 97 7
But may a man Think, if I love my Friend, I love his Picture, True Pictures of God what Living Picturesyea and love to have his Picture; And ſhall I love the Father, the Son, the Holy Gboſt, and may I not have and love their Pictures? Yes, God forbid elſe; But then canſt thou Think, if thou Think Rightly, Eph. 4, 24Rationally, and Scripturally,Col. 3, 10 that the Living God will have any other but living Pictures? Grace in the heart is a true not a lying, Gracebecauſe not a dead but a living Picture of the Living and true God, which after God is created in Righteouſneſs and true Holineſs, have that and keep it:Chriſt Jeſus Chriſt himſelf is an expreſs or a lively (becauſe he is a living) Image of the Father,Hebr. 1, 3 have him, and hold him, and much good may it do your very Hea…t with him:Saints, The Saints, the Excellent Ones in the Earth, Pſalm 16, 3theſe alſo are Gods own Pictures, They bea… the Image of the Heavenly; 1 Cor: 15, 44 50love them, and like them, and admire God in them (for of theſe it may be ſaid, God is in you of … truth, 1 Cor. 14, 25) make much of them, and learn as much as you can by them, for theſe are good Books indeed, as well as Living Pictures, being but tranſcripts of Gods Book, Living Epiſtles, 2 Cor. 3, …as well as living Pictures, known and read of all men. But alas, Th…ſe true Pictures of the living and true G…d are as much befriended by …he curious Pictures, that blind Devotion & Superſtition have drawn for God in all Ages, as mans Native Fire is by the Feaver, or the Natural heat of the Stom…ch by the praeter-natural.
But may not Pictures be made of the Trinity, The Father, Whether Images of God may be made for Hiſtory or OrnamentThe Holy Ghoſt, and of Chriſt eſpecially (ſe…ing he took Fleſh, and was ſeen in humane ſh…pe) for ORNAMENT, and help in the Hiſtory, and ſuch like ends,Bp. Taylors Diſſuaſive from p…pery Ch 1 Sect 8 9 See pag 58 The Hiſtorical uſe of Images did quickly paſs int… Su…erſtition. though not for Worſhip? What ſaith …he Doctrine of the CHURCH of ENGLAND?
Hom…ly againſt the peril of Idolatry, 3…. part, pag. 41, …di… Lond 1…40 Condemnes … …ictures …f God …, &c.They be convict of fooliſhneſ… and wickedneſs in making Imag… of God or the Trinity; yea and on… to deſire an Im ge of God com… of Infidelity, thinking not God … be preſent, exc…pt the… might ſ… ſome ſign or Image of him, as appea e h by the Heb…ews in the W… de…neſs, w lling Aaron to ma… them Gods whom they might ſee g… before them, &c.
Thus it goes on,
Ref…ges the g e t argument of deſcriptions in the Old Teſtament,Where they object, that ſeeing i… Eſaias and Daniel be certain d… ſcriptions of God, as ſitting on … High ſeat, &c. Why may no… Painter likewiſe, &c. ſeeing th… Scripture, or writing, and Pictu… d ffer but a little? F rſt, It is to … anſwered, that things forbidden … Gods w…rd, as Painting of Imag… of God, and things permitted … God, as ſuch deſcriptions uſed of t… Prophets, be not all one; nei…h… ought, nor can, mans reaſon (… (Although it ſhew never ſo goodly) prevail any thing againſt Gods expreſs Word and Statute-Law. Furthermore the Scripture, although it have certain deſcriptions of God, yet if thou read …n forth,Endanger the b…i…ging in …he Hereſy of the Anth…opomorphites. it expoundeth it ſelf, declaring that God is a Spirit, Infinite, who repleniſheth Heaven and Earth, which the Picture doth not, nor expoundeth it ſe…f, but rather, when it hath ſet forth God in a bodily ſimilitude▪ leaveth a man there, and will eaſily bring a man into the Hereſie of the Anthropomorphites, thinking God to have Hands and feet, and to ſit as a man doth, which they …hat do (ſaith S. Auguſtine in his book de fi… & Symbol…, cap 7.) fall into t…at Sacri…edge,Sacril…gious wick…d…eſs which the Apoſtle detesteth in thoſe who have changed the Glory of the incorruptible God, into the ſimililitude of a corruptible man. For it is wickedneſs for a Chriſtian to erect ſuch a one in his heart by believing it. But to this they reply that this reaſon notwithstanding, Images of Chriſt may be made for that he took upon him Fleſh and became man,Argument from Chriſt ta…ing fleſh refuſed &c. The anſwer is eaſy. For in Gods word, and Religion, 'tis not onelyonly required whether … thing may be done or no, but whether it be lawful and agreeable to Gods word to be done,Hom… againſt peril of Idolatry 3. part Images of Chriſt lying Images &c. and ye… it appears no Image of Chriſt can be made, but a lying Image (as the Scripture peculiarly calls Image… lies) for Chriſt is God and Man, ſeeing therefore for the Godhead, which is the most excellent, no Image can be made, It is falſly called the Imag… of Christ; wherefore Images of Chriſ… be not onelyonly defects, but alſo lyes, &c. wherefore as ſoon as an Imag… of Christ is made, by and by is a … made of him, &c. and now if … ſhould he admitted and grante… that an Image of Chriſt could tru… be made,Unlawful, yet it is unlawful that … ſhould be made.
And ſo it proceeds to urge the unavoidable danger of Idolatry, Unavoidable danger of Idolatry page 43,and the Iudgement of Irenaeus, Epiphanius, Lactantius, Augustine, affirming that they make the Soul more crooked, rather then teach it, crook the Soul▪And therefore it addes that as it is written, Sap. 14.page 44 that Images were not from the beginning, neither ſhall they continue to the end: ſo were they not in the beginning of the Primitive Church, God Grant (ſaith the Homilie) they may in the end be deſtroyed. And further, that,page 4… Truth it is, that Iews and Turks,hinder converſion of Jews and Turks, who abhor Images and Idols, as directly forbidden by Gods word, will never come to the truth of our Religion, whilſt the ſtumbling blocks of Images remain amongst us and lie in their way. Thus the Homilie. So then as Pictures in windows do darken the light with a fine ſhew, ſo ſuch repreſentations of Divine things in the wiſdom of Humane Imag…nation doth hinder, I…ſt…d of h…ping, our ſight of God and Chriſt; who in this (as in other reſpects) is called the SUN of Righteouſneſs, Mal. 4 2becauſe as that glorious luminary is onelyonly to b… ſeen in its own light,God and Chriſt onelyonly to be ſeen in their own l…g…t. ſo will God and Chriſt manifeſt themſelves onelyonly in that way of diſcovery, which themſelves have ſanctifyed through the Holy-Ghoſt. So that while the World by wiſdom knows not God, 1 Cor. 2, 11 chap 1, 21In Gods own light the Saints of God do ſee light. And O that God would help the blinded world to ſee the difference between fancy & faith, the Ones being affected in a carnal manner,Pſalm 36, 9 Difference between Faith and Fancy; 1 Cor. 2.14 and by carnal means, and the others being acted upon that which is onelyonly ſpiritual…y diſcerned, by ſpiritual means, and in a ſpiritual manner; So that whilſt one man being gr…ſs in his Imagination, and made the more ſ… by …is Images, embraceth a Crucifix for a Chriſt, a piece of Wood, Stone, Metall, or painted Cloath, and Printed Paper for God, like him in the Fable embracing the Cloud for the Goddeſs; Matth. 5, …Another being pure in heart is bleſſ…d with a true ſight of God, ſo far as Faith can reach, and the preſent ſtate bear: for no Man hath ſeen God at any time; the onelyonly begot…en Son wh…ch is in the boſom of the Father, John 1, 11he hath declared him; and this of him, that not the carnal mind, or by carnal means,1 Cor 2, 1… not the groſs-hearted, but the pure hearted, the ſublimated ſoul, the ſpiritualized mind, ſuch and ſuch onelyonly have the bleſſed ſight of God here and hereafter. Therefore let us not think of bringing God down to us, ſhaping his inviſible and incomprehenſible Excellencyes by our fooliſh phantaſies and vain thoughts, but rather by Faith let us ſay with David, Pſal. …5.6unto thee O Lord do I lift up my Soul.