The Casting Down of the Last and Strongest Hold of Satan, Treatise · Chapter 1 · Thesis 14
14. THESIS.
As for that which is ſaid by M. S. pag. 51. that Idolatry and Idolaters were the adaequate object of the coercive power of the Kings of Judah in matters of Religion, and that Idolatry meant not of thoſe who worſhiped the true God though in a falſe manner with the violation of the ſecond Commandement, but of ſuch who Apoſtatized from the God of Iſrael to ſerve ſtrange gods, the gods of other Nations & thoſe neither ſimply as ſuch, but as drawing others away unto the ſame Idolatries with them, but we never read of any coercive power or puniſhment inflicted upon Hereticks or Siſmaticks which abounded in great variety and numbers amongſt them, as the Phariſees, Herodians, &c. I anſwer, Firſt, Idolatry and Idolaters were not the adaequate object of the Kings and Magiſtrates coercive power under the Old Teſtament, but generally the matter of the Covenant, the whole worſhip and truth of God, as is apparent by the examples of Joſiah, Hezekiah, Aſa, and Jehoſaphat, in putting downe and ſuppreſſing other evils beſides Idolatry, as will-worſhip, things abuſed to Idolatry, prophanation of the Sabbaths, marrying of ſtrange wives, abuſes in Diſcipline and Church Government, prophaning chambers in the Courts of the houſe of God, in commanding to keep the Paſſeover, which though their ſubjects had not kept, they might not have been Idolaters, in puniſhing thoſe who were guilty only of wilworſhip, not of Idolatry, as alſo thoſe who married ſtrange wives, who did common works on the Sabbath day, who dealt with familiar ſpirits and Wizards, of al which the Reader may find proofs at large in theſe following Script… 2 Cro. 34. 31, 32, 33. There's a Covenant made to keep al the Teſtimonies and Statutes of God, and the people are made to ſtand to it, From 2 Kings 23. verſe 8, 9. compared with 2 Chron. 14. 3. 5. 2 Chron. 15. 17. 2 Chron. 33. 17. 'tis evident there were in Judah two ſorts of high places ſome on which▪ was God worſhipped; others on which Idols were worſhipped, the one ſort was the high places of Idolatry, the other the high places of will-worſhip; yet the Prieſts of the latter as well as of the former were puniſhed by Joſiah, though not with the puniſhment of death as they were▪ for he cauſed them to go out of all the Cities of Judah, and to ceaſe from the Prieſts office, ſo that they durſt not come up to the Altar of the Lord at Jeruſalem. So Nehem. 13. 7, 8. 15, 16, 17. 25. 28. 30. Ezra 10. 3. 5. 2 Kings 23, 24, 25.
Secondly, the Idolatry removed and puniſhed by the Jewiſh Kings and Magiſtrates, was as well of worſhipping the true God in a falſe manner, as of thoſe who worſhipped falſe gods, the gods of the Nations, and were Apoſtates from the true God to other gods, as is evident by the inſtances of worſhipping the golden Calfe made by Aaron, and worſhipping of the golden Calves at Dan and Bet…el ſet up by J…ro…oam, (called Idolatry, as in ſeverall places of Scripture) by Moſes and ſome of the good Kings as Joſiah removed, and the Worſhippers puniſhed, and yet the people of Iſrael in worſhipping theſe did not go ſerve the gods of the Nations, but ſerved the God of Iſrael as appears by thoſe ſpeeches of theirs, Exod. 32. 4, 5, 6. To morrow is a Feaſt to the Lord, not to the golden Calfe. 1 Kings 12. 27, 28. It is too much for you to go …p to Ieruſalem, behold thy gods O Iſrael which brought thee up out of the Land of Egypt; and our moſt learned Proteſtants in their writings againſt the Papiſts, do prove the Papiſts to be formall Idolaters from their adoration of God and Chriſt in Images (though they do not worſhip falſe gods, the gods of the Heathen) by theſe two examples of Aarons golden calfe, and Ier…oams golden Calves, ſhowing the people of the Jewes were not ſo mad as to beleeve thoſe Calves to be their God, or that brought them out of the …and of Egypt, being brought up hundreds of yeeres before, but only outward repreſentations and remembrancers of God to them, in which they worſhipped the true God, their worſhip being terminative related to God, and not to the Image. Ioſhua 22. 11, 12. All the children of Iſrael gathered themſelves together to go up to warre againſt the children of Ruben, the children of Gad and the halfe Tribe of Manaſſe… upon ſuppoſition of their building an Altar, not to ſtrange Gods, but for burnt offerings, or for ſacrifices beſides the Altar of the Lord God that was before his Tacernacle, verſe 21. 26. 28, 29. which they were diverted from upon being ſatisfied it was not an Altar for burnt Offerings, &c. but for a witneſſe betweene them and the reſt of the Tribes that the Lord is God, verſe 17. 34.
Thirdly, the Scripture is contrary alſo to that, that the groſeſt Idolaters were not to be puniſhed if not Sed…cers drawing others away from the true God to ſtrange gods, for we read that Moſes was ſo angry with the people that were ſeduced unto a lower kind of Idolatry, viz. worſhipping the true God by a Calfe, that beſides the three thouſand men that were put to the ſword the Seducers and the Ringleaders, he burned the Calfe, ground it to pouder, ſtrowed it upon the water, and made the children of Iſrael drink of it, cauſing the Idol to paſſe from them among their excrements. So 2 Chron. 15. 13. They that would not ſeek the Lord God of Iſrael whether ſmall or great, the little ones (who could not be in…i…ers of Idolatry) were to be puniſhed. Deut. 13. When one of the Cities of Iſrael was withdrawn to ſerve other gods, then the inhabitants of the City, the children as well as the grown men (who could not withdraw from God) were to be ſmitten. And we ſhall finde it all along in the Book of the Kings and Chronicles among the Idolaters and falſe worſhippers, that there's no ſuch diſtinction made, but ſome of whom no ſuch thing expreſſed, are removed and puniſhed, as thoſe who may be ſuppoſed were inticers to Idolatry.
Fourthly, As for that the Kings of Judah Aſa, Ioſia, &c. never puniſhed Phariſees, Herodians, or any other Sect in the profeſſion of the Jewiſh Religion, the reaſon is manifeſt, becauſe there was none ſuch till many hundred of yeeres after theſe Kings, for theſe Sects of Phariſees▪ &c. began very late, not long before the coming of Chriſt, and as for Herodian… they ſprung up after Herod was King (which ſhowes the great ignorance of M. S. ☜ſpeaking as if there had beene Herodians in the dayes of Aſa, H…z…kiah, &c.) but by the way if M. S. …lias Cretinſis can prove there were ſuch in the dayes of thoſe good Kings I will undertake to prove that they uſed their co…rcive power towards them as well as towards Idola…ers, and …ndeed 'tis evident by many paſſages that all kind of corruption and declination from the way of God was the object of Joſiah… and other Magiſtrates Reformation, and had there beene Sadduces, Herodians, &c. viz. men that had held thoſe Errors and wayes in thoſe Kings times, they could not have eſcaped their hands, and this is thus proved, becauſe the high places not of Idolatry, but of will-worſhip, where they ſacrificed to the Lord only, as tis 2 Chron 33. 17. were put down and the worſhippers and Prieſts ſuppreſſed, and thoſe good Kings who did not, are upon record blamed (which kind of worſhipping was not ſo bad as the Herodians and Sadduces, who held Herod for the Meſſias, and denied Angels and Spirits) and that I may come up yet more cloſe to M. S. objection, who ſaith nothing was done againſt Sectaries or Sciſmaticks, I conceive they were to the Church of the Jewes, as Sectaries and Sciſmaticks are now, and their worſhip a Sciſme, worſhipping the true God in a ſeparated way apart from the publike place and Aſſemblies of Gods people, as our Sectaries do now.
Fifthly, the true reaſons why, when the Herodians, Sadduces, &c. ſprung up among the Jewes, they were not ſuppreſſed not puniſhed. Firſt in regard Religion was then mightily corrupted, all things were out of order, the Church of the Jewes did then haſten to their deſtruction, and ſo no wonder if Hereſies and falſe Doctrines were ſuffered in ſuch a State as well as other things. Secondly, the Jewes were not then a free people, neither had they the Civill power abſolutely in their hands, they had no truly*Bellarm. De laicis lib. 3. cap. 19. Iewiſh King who cared for thoſe things, but Herod the Idumean, and the High Prieſt then could do nothing. Thirdly, *Gabriel Powell Refutat. of an Apologet. Epiſtle …e… Toleration page 40.God permitted Iury to abound with diverſity of Sects in the dayes of Herod, as the Sadduces, Eſſenes, the Phariſees, the Herodians, becauſe he had a purpoſe to deſtroy the Iewiſh Common-wealth, and to bring all into ſubjection to Chriſt, and the Toleration of divers Religions among them was the forerunner, and preparer of the way for the ruine of the Iewiſh State, as it hath beene of many States.
6ly. ſuppoſing the Kings of Iuda… and Iſrael de facto, had never exerciſed any coercive power on any other objects but Idolaters and Idolatry, and that all the commands in the Old Teſtament given to the Iewiſh Magiſtrates had beene in the letter of the text onelyonly againſt Idolaters and Idolatry, (which is not true) yet by vertue of thoſe very commands and examples Magiſtrates might exerciſe a coercive power againſt evills of the like kind, though not in the letter ſpecified; and the reaſon is this, becauſe the commands of God and the examples of good men accordingly recorded in Scripture might in the letter (at leaſt for the generality) be expreſſed only againſt thoſe evills, and that kind and ſort of them which were moſt in uſe in that age and time when they were given, and yet other kinds of thoſe ſins, or other ſinnes as bad, or worſe which ſhould ariſe afterwards were by juſt Analogie, common equity, by a Synecdoche uſuall in ſuch commands forbidden alſo. As for example the ſecond Commandement forbids only in the letter and by name graven Image, and the likeneſſe of any thing, and yet in that command all mediums of worſhips invented by men (though not graven Images nor likeneſſe) are forbidden under the title of graven Images and likeneſſe, and that by a Synecdoche common in the Decalogue, which becauſe in thoſe times of Moſes they were the chiefe inventions of m…n corrupting the worſhip of God, they are fitly put in the place of all humane inventions brought into the worſhip of God, of which the Reader may finde more in Doctor Ames Medul. Theolog. 2. Booke 13. chap. De Cultu Inſtituto. So becauſe Idolatry, and Idolatry with Apoſtafie to ſerve ſtrange Gods, the Gods of thoſe Nations, whom God had caſt out of the Land of Canaan (there being many Cananites, &c. among them) were the corruptions the Iſraelites were moſt in danger of, the Idolatries moſt in uſe in thoſe times, and by the Nations round about them when they ſhould come to Canaan (as is evident by many places of Deutr.) and the falſe Prophets and Seducers then went moſt about to ſeduce men in that way, therefore God in the letter (as it was moſt needfull) ſpoke by name againſt ſuch Prophets and ſuch Idolatry as were moſt ſtirring in thoſe times, under which commands are forbidden by a Synecdoche and by Analogie other depravations of Gods worſhip and name that might ariſe in after ages, for by the rules of Interpretation of Scripture given by Divines, where a thing is forbid, there all of that nature and ſort are forbidden alſo; as for example, greater ſinnes of that kinde, then thoſe expreſſed in the letter muſt needs be forbidden, and ſo leſſer alſo. Now certainly where God hath given a command to Magiſtrates in the letter to puniſh ſuch offences, if his ſubjects commit greater and higher againſt God and his worſhip by the equity of this command he is to puniſh them (if none in the letter for thoſe) as if there had been no command but againſt Idolatry of ſuch Nations, yet worſhipping the Devill, offering up children to Moloch, blaſpheming God and his worſhip, with other ſuch, ought to be reſtrained, and if they commit Idolatry or other corruptions, not ſo great or ſo groſſe, yet by way of proportion and equity ſuch ought to be, though in a lower kind and way. And 'tis evident by many inſtances that the Iewiſh Magiſtrates Kings and others, as Ioſiah Nehemiah, &c. did puniſh in a proportion (though not with death) thoſe who violated the worſhip of God, and the firſt Table, though they were not guilty of Idolatry and Apoſtafie to worſhip other gods, nor of worſhipping the true God by Idols, as by the golden Calves of Jeroboam. And if that be good Divinity which M. S. the Father of that Evafion of Idolatry and Idolaters being the adaequate object of the coercive power of the Kings of Judah in matters of Religion, hath pag. 89. of the ſame Book, That God prohibiting all manner of violence, oppreſſion and hard meaſure among his people one towards another, though ſuch Lawes as thoſe in the letter of them reſpected only Civil transfactions and dealings betweene men, yet the equity and ſpirit of them extends to ſpirituals alſo, men being every whit as liable to violence, oppreſſion… and hard meaſure from men for their conſcience ſake as in any other reſpects, or upon any other grounds whatſoever, then from that command, Deut. 13. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. and from thoſe examples of Aſa, Ioſiah, to inferre an equity of puniſhing other offences in the ſame kinde, though not named in the letter, muſt needs be better Divinity,☜ becauſe every one cannot but conceive that the equity and ſpirit of a Law may upon better grounds extend to things in the ſame kinde and of the ſame nature, from one ſpirituall thing to another, from Idolatry to Wil-worſhip or Hereſie, then from civill things to religious, which differ tot… genere. But ſetting aſide M. S. Conceſſion, is there not all the equity and reaſon in the world from thoſe commands forementioned (though granting according to the letter of thoſe Lawes no man ſhould be put to death for any thing leſſe then that kind of Idolatry with Apoſtaſie, worſhipping falſe gods) that thoſe who worſhip the true God by graven Images by making likeneſſes of him, and that corrupt the doctrine of Faith and Religion, ſhould alſo by the Magiſtrates bee puniſhed as well by ſuppreſſing their Conventicles, putting them out of places of power, &c. though not ſo much as the others. Or is there any equity and proportion in this, that God ſhould command puniſhing with death (the higheſt kinde the Magiſtrate can inflict) for Idolatrie in worſhipping ſtrange gods, and ſhould forbid any puniſhment or reſtraint at all of Idolatry, and corruption of his worſhip in the next degree to that? According to degrees of faults to have degrees of puniſhments is of the light of nature and right reaſon; but to have a higher degree of an offence to bee puniſhed with death, and all others not to bee puniſhed at all, is againſt the light of nature and all reaſon: Lets but look into the Scriptures for the violation of other commands of God, as in the 6, 7 and 8th. Commandements: and wee ſhall finde that where the higher degrees and violations had greater puniſhments, the others went not ſcorfree. For example, when adultery was puniſhed with death, fornication was puniſhed with fifty ſhekels of ſilver, and wit… paying of money according to the dowry of virgins, Exod. 22. 16. 17. compared with Deut. 22. 22. 28, 29. So, when ſtealing of men was death, ſtealing of oxen and ſheep was reſtoring five and foure-fold, Exod. 21. 16. Exod. 22. 1.
Seventhly, there is a great agreement between the falſe Prophets under the old Teſtament, and the falſe teachers under the New, between Idolatry under the old Teſtament, and Hereſies now (many Hereſies being groſſe Idolatries) as is evident by many Scriptures of the New Teſtament, which lively parallels and reſembles theſe to each other, ſo that it cannot bee upon any good ground conceived that the firſt ſort ſhould bee puniſhed with death, and the latter not puniſhed at all; but I referre the fuller clearing of this to the 17. Theſis, where upon occaſion of opening that 13. of Deutero…omi… I ſhall ſpeak more.