Abolishing of Things Abused to Superstition and Idolatry, Tract · Section 10
Sect. 10.
Sixthly. HAving ſhewed that it is the pleaſure of God that abuſed things ſhould be aboliſhed, to whom the work does belong, how and when it muſt be done; I ſhall now give you the reaſons of the point, and ſhew you wherefore he will have it done. And he will have it done,
1. Becauſe they are abominable and odious to him. Before they were abuſed, they were as acceptable and pleaſing to him, as other things; but now being abuſed, and thereby polluted, they are no leſs than deteſtable and hatefull. Deut. 7.25.He commands the Iſraelites to burn the Images of the Heatheniſh gods, with all the ſilver and gold upon them, without taking ought thereof, telling them it was an abomination to him. Before this ſilver and gold was abuſed, it was no more diſpleaſing to him, than the innocenteſt of his creatures: no more, than the lilly of the field, upon which he puts forth ſo much of his wiſdom and care; but after it was abuſed, it was no leſs than abominable, nay abomination it ſelf. And thus it is with all other ſuch things abus'd in falſe worſhip; they are no leſs than abomination. Let them be as rich or lovely as they will, yet being abuſed therein, they loſe their excellency, and become vile. As for thoſe things (ſaith Mr. Hooker) whereon, Eccl. Pol. l. 5. ſect. 17. p. 148.or elſe wherewith ſuperſtition worketh, polluted they are by ſuch abuſe, and deprived of that dignity which their nature delighteth in. For there is nothing which doth not grieve, and as it were even loath it-ſelf, whenſoever iniquity cauſeth it to ſerve unto vile purpoſes. Now if abuſe does thus pollute things, deprive them of their dignity, and make them loathſome, no marvel if God will have them laid aſide. Would we our ſelves have any thing imployed in the ſervice given us, that is loathſome to us? We may not wonder then, that ſince ſuch things as have been abuſed in ſinfull worſhip, are loathſome to God, he will not have them imployed in the ſervice given him, but laid aſide.
2. Becauſe he will not have us to hold communion with ſuperſtitious and idolatrous perſons, which we ſhould do, if we uſed thoſe things they have abuſed in their ſinfull practiſes. So great is his detestation of them, and all ſuch enemies of his truth and glory,Exod. 20.25, 26. Lev. 19.19, 22, 28.18.3.20.23. Vid. Maimon. More Nevoch. l. 3. c. 37, 48. Calvin. in Lev. 19.27. Gill eſp. diſp. against Cerem. l. 3. c. 3. p. 149. Dr. Stillingf. Orig. Sac l. 2. c. 7. ſect. 10. p. 219. Freſh Suit, part 2. p. 438, 443. that he will not endure we ſhould have any fellowſhip with them. As the father cannot endure to ſee his children, familiar with thoſe that ſeek the ruine both of himſelf and them, ſo neither can God endure to ſee his ſervants, familiar with a ſinfull and idolatrous people. The reaſon wherefore he forbad the Iſraelites many things in themſelves lawfull, was becauſe he would not have them like the Nations; white, he cast out from before them. He would … have them make him an Altar of hewn ſtone; go up to it by ſteps, wear a garment of woollen and linnen, round the corners of their heads or beards, make cuttings in their fleſh, print any marks upon them, or do other things of the like nature, becauſe the ſuperſtitious and idolatrous Nations did ſo, whom he would by no means have them imitate or reſemble. And if we conſult Chriſtian Writers, we ſhall find, they teach the unlawfulneſs of uſing divers things in themſelves innocent and harmleſs: and diſſwade from it, meerly upon this ground, that the Servants of God ought not to hold communion with a ſuperſtitious and idolatrous people. Dr. Ames ſhews, that ſome of the Ancients would not have Chriſtians to waſh their hands by way of ceremony, lay aſide their cloaks before prayer, ſit upon their beds after it, wear a laurel Crown, faſt on the Lords, day or Friday: becauſe the Heathens did ſo.
And as this is the reaſon wherefore God forbids his people the uſe of many things in themſelves lawfull, ſo this is the reaſon wherefore he commands them to endeavour the extirpation of them. Having told the Iſraelites how the Heatheniſh Nations ſerved their gods, and that they muſt deſtroy all the places wherein they ſerved them, overturn their altars, break their pillars, burn their groves, hew down their images, and root the very Names of them out of the Land;Deut. 12.5. he adds, ye ſhall not do ſo to the Lord your God. Which implyes as much as if he had ſaid, ye ſhall not worſhip as they worſhip, ye ſhall not ſerve me in the uſe of ſuch things as they make uſe of, but in the way that I my ſelf have preſcribed. They worſhip their gods in the uſe of groves, images, and the like, but I will not have you to follow their wayes; I will not have you to worſhip me in the uſe of ſuch things, but will have you to deſtroy and overthrow them, that ſo you may be preſerved from it. You have a peculiar God, are a peculiar people, and muſt worſhip after a peculiar manner; and for this reaſon, will I have you to deſtroy the monuments of Heatheniſh Idolatry,Non licet mutuari aut retinere res aut ritus ſacros, &c. Loc. Com. p. 860. leſt you ſhould do otherwiſe, and ſo become like to thoſe Nations, with which I will not have you hold any fellowſhip. And with this agrees that of Maccovius; It is not lawfull (ſaith he) either to borrow or retain, the things or ſacred rites of Idolaters, whether Heatheniſh or Popiſh, although indifferent in themſelves, becauſe we are taught to decline all conformity with them. Aquinas indeed, handling this queſtion,Ʋtrum infidelium ritus ſint tolerandi? 22. q. 10. a. 11. Whether the rites of Infidels are to be tolerated? holds it affirmatively; but how little he hath ſaid towards the ſatisfying an intelligent Reader, I leave thoſe who are fit to judge. We muſt neither receive, nor keep ſuch things, though in themſelves lawfull, as Idolaters of what ſort ſoever have abuſed, and that, as for other reaſons, ſo for this in particular, becauſe we muſt have no communion with them, which we muſt needs have, in caſe we uſe thoſe things, which they in their ſnperſtitious ſolemnities do abuſe. As for what is ſaid by Hooker and Paybody, to the forecited Texts, Diſp. against Cerem. p. 150.it is ſo ſolidly and fully anſwered by Mr. Gilleſpy, that I judge it needleſs to ſpend time about it.
3. That he may maintain the holineſs, and purity of his worſhip, and preſerve it from the pollutions and defilements, that otherwiſe it would lye open to. Should we mingle things holy and pure, with thoſe that are prophane and unclean, what an heterogeneous and uncomely miſcellany, would his worſhip then conſiſt of? For the prevention whereof, he will not have ſuch things as have been defiled in falſe worſhip, to be uſed by us, but to be aboliſhed, and laid aſide. When Nadab, and Abihu, had defiled both the worſhip of God, and themſelves, in offering ſtrange fire, he immediately deſtroys them, ſaying,Lev. 10.3. I will be ſanctified in them that come nigh me. Wherein he holds forth as much as if he had ſaid, I am an holy God, and have commanded you to witneſs as much in celebrating my worſhip after an holy manner; and ſince theſe men that I appointed to wait at mine altar, have not done it, but have defiled it, by adding that which is of man, I have aſſerted the holineſs both of my ſelf, and worſhip, in this juſt degradation and deſtruction of them. And be it known to you all this day, that whoſoever of you, do approach, or come near me, I expect holy worſhip from you, which if you refuſe to give me, I will make you examples of my ſeverity. Holy I am, and the holineſs of my ſelf, and worſhip I will maintain, and if you will not ſanctifie me actively, you ſhall do it paſſively; if I muſt not be ſanctified by you, I will be ſanctified upon you. This deſtruction then of theſe ſons of Aaron, hapned not through a caſual flaſh of lightning, falling from the contending Elements, but from the ſpecial hand of God, who inflicted it on them, partly to puniſh them for the ſin paſt, and partly to ſecure his worſhip from defilement for the future.
4. To preſerve his worſhip from the diſhonour, and contempt attending abuſed things. Such matters as have been abuſed in corrupt worſhip, when they are imployed in the worſhip of God, do diſhonour it, caſt contempt upon it, and bereave it of that juſt veneration and reverence that otherwiſe it would have. The wickedneſs of the ſons of Eli, did not only diſparage them, but the ſervice of God,1 Sam. 2.17. which they were imployed in the celebration of, inſomuch that they cauſed men to abhorre it. When thoſe who wait at his altar, manage his worſhip according to rule, and with that reverence, gravity, and ſeriouſneſs, which the nature of the work calls for, men honour both them and it; but when they break forth into arbitrarineſs, levity, and prophaneſs, then they abhorre both the one, and the other. When the Priests in after times, grew corrupt and prophane, they drew diſgrace both upon themſelves, and that holy Law they were to walk by; they then became contemptible, Mal. 2.8, 9.and baſe before all the people, and cauſed many to ſtumble at the Law. When the people ſaw the corruptneſs of their administrations, and diſorderlineſs of their lives, they knew not what to think; they began to call in queſtion their function, and the Law it ſelf, and to deſpiſe both them, and whatever was done by them, or belong'd to them. And how many are there at this day, that abhorre the publick aſſemblies, nay the offerings themſelves that are made in them, meerly upon the account of the inſufficiency, and prophaneſs of Teachers, and thoſe ſcandalous things that are made uſe of by them? Now God to preſerve his worſhip from this contempt, and keep up the honour of his houſe and ordinances, hath given order that all abuſes, and abuſed things ſhall be laid aſide, and his work carried on with all accurateneſs and exactneſs. Upon his deſtroying Nadab and Abihu, Lev. 10.3.he does not only ſay that he will be ſanctified, but that he will be glorified: that is, he will either be glorified in the ſincere and holy management of his worſhip, or elſe in the ſevere and due puniſhment of thoſe that do neglect it; and he executes the latter for this end, that he may obtain the former.
5. To prevent their being abuſed in ſuch manner for the time to come. Not judging it ſufficient to tell men they muſt not abuſe them, that if they do they will diſhonour him, and incenſe him againſt them, he will have us utterly to aboliſh them, and root them out. And no marvel, for ſuch is the proneneſs of men to ſuperſtition, and the restleſsneſs of Satan in exciting them to it, that if we remove not the occaſions of it, it's a thouſand to one they fall to it again, and become as bad as ever. Hereof Hiſtory, both divine and humane, affords ſtore of inſtances. The Holy Ghoſt tells of Manaſſeh, 2 Chr. 33.15, 22.that upon his repentance he took away the ſtrange gods, which he had worſhipped, with the altars and other things belonging to them, and caſt them out of the City. He ſhould have burnt them, as the Law required, and as his religious Grandſon Joſiah did, and then he had made ſure work, but he only caſt them out of the City. And what comes of it? why his eyes are no ſooner cloſed, but Amon his ſon ſucceeding him, brings them in again, and ſo they are abus'd as much as ever. And Constantine (as you heard even now) though he were (the times conſidered) a good man, and zealous in ſuppreſſing the Religion of the Heathens, yet he ſuffered ſome of their Temples and Groves to ſtand, and ſo upon Julians coming to the Empire, they enter into them again, and make as bad uſe of them, as ever they did. In this reſpect Zanchy ſaith,Vol. 2. col. 709. Loc. Com. p. 544. he came ſhort of Theodoſius; nay, in this reſpect, Walaeus ſaith, he ſinn'd, that he only ſhut the Temples of the Heathens, and did not overthrow them, with the altars, ſtatues, and other inſtruments of Idolatry, that they made uſe of. It is to little purpoſe to forbid Idolatry, or endeavour the ſuppreſſing it, except we deſtroy the inſtruments of it. While we ſuffer them to remain, we do not only preſerve it in peoples memories, but give them hopes that in time it will be reſtored, and then they have no more to do, but to take them up, and ſo they are ſtatu quo prius, as ready to diſhonour God in the uſe of them, as if nothing had been done againſt it; whereas if we would utterly aboliſh them, we ſhould not only blot Idolatry out of their memories, and take away the hopes of reſtoring it, but diſable them, in caſe it be reſtored, from practiſing it with ſo much readineſs and ſolemnity as otherwiſe they would. And therefore God requires, whenever we ſet upon the reformation of the Church, to take all the inſtruments, monuments, incitements, furtherances, and occaſions of Idolatry, and utterly deſtroy them, leaving no more than the very duſt or aſhes of them to tell poſterity what formerly they were. Grotius tells us, that good things ought not to be condemued, becauſe there are which abuſe them: Non debent quidem res bonae damnari quia ſunt qui iis ab…tuntur, &c. De Imp. c. 11. ſect. 12. p. 361.yet in caſe the abuſe become cuſtomary, to intermit the uſe of ſuch things (he ſaith) is not unuſual. Moſes his Serpent, if we reſpect the thing it ſelf, might have remain'd without ſuperstition: but Ezekiah taking notice, the ſin of the people became ſetled, that he might take away the ſuperſtition, he took away the Serpent. Whereby you ſee, that in his judgement, the uſe of things in themſelves, not only indifferent and lawful, but good and neceſſary, when they become abuſed, ought to be waved, and that for this reaſon, to prevent the abuſe of them for the time to come; which is the thing contended for under the preſent head.
6. That they may not remain as ſnares to intrap us, and draw us away from God and his ſervice, Idolatrous, images, veſtments, and ſuch like things, though they ſeem innocent and harmleſs, yet through the deprivation of our natures, they have an unhappy aptitude to draw away our hearts from God, and estrange us from him. The Holy Ghoſt ſpeaking of the Images of Jacobs family, calls them foreign, ſtrange gods; and that as ſome think, becauſe of their estranging the heart from God. Gen. 35.Such things being laid before us, and preſented to our ſenſes, and thereby getting acceſs to our hearts, do ſecretly ſolicit and intice them from him. Moſes diſſwades the Iſraelites from coveting the ſilver or gold upon the heatheniſh Idols, and for this reaſon,Deut. 7.25. leſt it ſhould be a ſnare to them. And when the Angel took notice that they did not throw down their Altars, as they ſhould have done,Judg. 2.3. he tells them that they ſhould be a ſnare to them. And what he foretold came to paſs; for the Pſalmiſt tells us in expreſs terms,Pſ. 106.36. they were a ſnare to them. Had they obſerved Gods command, and demoliſhed them, they had been ſecure; but they let them alone, and ſo were intangled by them. They were thereby corrupted in their affections, and drawn away from God and his pure worſhip. Men are apt to ſay, what danger is there in an image, veſtment, altar, or any ſuch trivial thing? what hurt are they like to do to any, that have not loſt their reaſon? But they know not what they ſay. What a famous man was Solomon? what a Cedar was he in the Church of God? and yet ſuch things as theſe, as innocent as ſome take them be,1 Kings 11.5. brought him down from his excellency, and faſtned ſuch a blot upon his name, as will never be wip'd off while the ſacred hiſtory remains. So Gideon, what a worthy man he? how couragious and reſolute in the behalf of God? and yet a ſilly Ephod, or Coat, Judg. 8.27.became a ſnare to him and his houſe. The Scripture do's often ſpeak of Idols under the term of Lovers; and that for this reaſon, that as Lovers draw away the heart, Hoſ. 2.5. &c.ſo they carry away the affections of the ſoul from God. Calvin writing to the Lord Protector about ſome reliques of Popiſh Idolatry remaining amongſt us,… e…im aliud fuerunt quam totidem, &c. Ep. 86. Sunt pompae iſtae omnes & Ceremoniae Papiſticae nihil aliud quam fuci meretricii, &c. Ep. l. 1. col. 244. demands of him what ſuch things were, but ſo many allurements drawing miſerable ſouls to ſin. And Zanchy afterwards, writing to Queen Elizabeth to purg her dominions of ſuch things, tells her in plain terms, that chey were nothing elſe, but whoriſh devices, invented to intice men to ſpiritual fornication. And upon this ground God hates them, and will not endure that his people ſhould have any thing to do with them. As the jealous Husband cannot endure his Wife ſhould have any thing to do with a known adulterer, who makes it his buſineſs to corrupt and alienate her conjugal affections; ſo neither can God endure his people ſhould have any thing to do with thoſe things that tend to the corrupting and alienating of their affections from him; and therefore it muſt be our care to avoid and remove them. You hear what hap'ned to the Iſraelites in general, and to Solomon and Gideon in particular; and it ſuch as they were not able to ſtand before ſuch temptations, how can we without the guilt of vain confidence and preſumption judge our ſelves ſecure againſt them? It concerns us then, that in purſuance both of the will of God, and our own ſafety, we take ſuch things and utterly aboliſh them.