Part 11 (1/2)

CHAPTER II

THAT THE CEREMONIES ARE UNLAWFUL BECAUSE THEY ARE MONUMENTS OF BY-PAST IDOLATRY, WHICH NOT BEING NECESSARY TO BE RETAINED, SHOULD BE UTTERLY ABOLISHED, BECAUSE OF THEIR IDOLATROUS ABUSES: ALL WHICH IS PARTICULARLY MADE GOOD OF KNEELING

_Sect_ 1 I have here proved the ceremonies to be superstitious; noill prove theuments; for every idolatry is superstition, but every superstition is not idolatry, as is rightly by souished(507) As for the idolatry of the controverted ceremonies, I will prove that they are thrice idolatrous: 1

_Reductive_, because they are monuments of by-past idolatry; 2_Participative_, because they are badges of present idolatry; 3_Formaliter_, because they are idols themselves

First, then, they are idolatrous, because having been notoriously abused to idolatry heretofore, they are the detestable and accursed ive no small honour to the memory of that by-past idolatry which should lie buried in hell Dr Burges(508) reckons for idolatrous all cere of an idol, whether properly or by interpretation such ”Of which sort (saith he) were all the cereans, and not a few of the Papists” If an opposite, writing against us, be forced to acknowledge thisreason we have to double out our point The argus and rites which have been notoriously abused to idolatry, if they be not such as either God or nature hath made to be of a necessary use, should be utterly abolished and purged away from divine worshi+p, in such sort that they s or rites pertaining to the sa in the act of receiving the cos and rites, &c, and are not such as either God or nature, &c

Therefore they should be utterly abolished, &c

_Sect_ 2 As for the proposition I shall first explain it and then prove it I say, ”all things and rites,” for they are alike forbidden, as I shall show I say, ”which have been notoriously abused to idolatry,”

because if the abuse be not knoe are blas and rites which have been abused I say, ”if they be not such as either God or nature hath made to be of a necessary use,” because if they be of a necessary use, either through God's institution, as the sacra of our mouths to speak (for when I am to preach or pray publicly, nature makes it necessary that I open my mouth to speak audibly and articularly), then the abuse cannot take away the use I say, ”theyto divine worshi+p,” because without the compass of worshi+p they et no other meat to eat than the consecrated host, which Papists idolatrise in the circuet no other clothes to put on than the holy garht lawfully wear thes abused to idolatry are only then unlahen they are used no otherwise than religiously, and as things sacred

_Sect_ 3 The proposition thus explained is confirmed by these five proofs: 1 God's own precept,-”Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven iold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth, thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence,” Isa xxx 22 The covering of the idol here spoken of, Gaspar Sanctus(509) rightly understandeth to be that, _quo aut induebantur siines integantur, aut quo homines idolis sacrificaturi amiciebantur_; so that the least appurtenances of idols are to be avoided When the apostle Jude(510) would have us to hate gar is, _detestandam essevel superficiem ipsam mali sive peccati, quam tunicae appellatione subinnuere videtur_, as our own Rolloke hath observed,(511) If the very covering of an idol be forbidden, what shall be thought of other things which are not only spotted, but irrecoverably polluted with idols? Many such precepts were given to Israel, as ”Ye shall destroy their altars, break their iroves,” Exod xxxiv 13

”The graven ies of their Gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver nor gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God,”

Deut vii 25, 26 Read to the same purpose, Num xxxiii 52; Deut vii

5; xii 2, 3

Secondly, God hath not only by his precepts commanded us to abolish all the relics of idolatry, but by his promises also manifested unto us how acceptable service this should be to him There is a command ”That the Israelites should destroy the Canaanites,” Num xxxiii 52, _evertantque res omnes idololatricas ipsorum cui mandato_, saith Junius,(512) _subjicitur sua proive them the promised land, and they should dispossess the inhabitants thereof, ver

53; yea, there is a promise of remission and reconciliation to this work: ”By this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalk-stones that are beaten asunder, the groves and ies shall not stand up” Isa xxvii 9

_Sect_ 4 Thirdly, The churches of Perga the use of idolothites, Rev ii 14-20, where the eating of things sacrificed to idols is condemned as idolatry and spiritual adultery, as Perkins(513) noteth Paybody, therefore, is greatlythe good creatures of God, were allowed by the Lord, out of the case of scandal, notwithstanding of idolatrous pollution; for the eating of things sacrificed to idols is reproved as idolatry, Rev ii; and the eating of such things is condemned as a fellowshi+p with devils, 1 Cor x 20 Now idolatry and fellowshi+p with devils, I suppose, are unlawful, though no scandal should follow upon them And whereas he thinks h out of the case of scandal, for this reason, because they are the good creatures of God, he should have considered better the Apostle'ssuch idolothites; which Zanchius(514) setteth down thus: _Verum est, per se haec nihil __ sunt, sed respectu eorum quibut immolantur aliquid sunt; quia per hoec illis quibus immolantur, nos consocia of this uish two sorts of idolothites, both which we find, 1 Cor x Of the one, the Apostle speaks from the 14th verse of that chapter to the 23d; of the other, from the 23d verse to the end This is Beza's distinction in his Annotations on that chapter Of the first sort, he delivers the Apostle's mind thus: That as Christians have their holy banquets, which are badges of their co themselves; and as the Israelites, by their sacrifices, did seal their copulation in the saion, so also idolaters, _cum suis idolis aut potius daemonibus, solemnibusillis epulis copulantur_ So that this sort of idolothites were eaten in temples, and public solemn banquets, which were dedicated to the honour of idols, 1 Cor viii 10 Cartwright showeth(515) that the Apostle is co the table of the Lord with the table of idolaters; whereupon it followeth, that as we use the Lord's table religiously, so that table of idolaters of which the Apostle speaketh, had state in the idolatrous worshi+p like that feast, Num xxv 3; _quod in honorem falsorum Deorum celebrabatur_, saith Calvin(516) This first sort of idolothites Pareus(517) calls the sacrifices of idols; and froument, _Participare epulis idolorum, est idololatria_ Of the second sort of idolothites, the Apostle begins to speak in ver 23 The Corinthians s sacrificed to idols? _In privatis conviviis_, saith Pareus(518) The Apostle resolves theht eat them, except it were in the case of scandal; thus Beza(519) The first sort of idolothites are meant of Rev ii, as Beza there noteth; and of this sort ustine(520) to mean whilst he saith, that it were better _mori fame, quam idolothites vesci_

These sorts are simply and in themselves unlawful And if meats sacrificed to idols be so unlawful, then s and rites as have not only been sacrificed and destinated to the honour of idols (for this is but one kind of idolatrous abuse), but also of a long ti of idols, and deeply defiled with idolatry, much more, I say, are they unlawful to be applied to God's most pure and holy worshi+p, and therein used by us publicly and sole ourselves unto idolaters

_Sect_ 5 Fourthly, I fortify my proposition by approved examples; and, first, we find that Jacob, Gen xxxv 4, did not only abolish out of his house the idols, but their ear-rings also, because they were _superstitionis insignia_, as Calvin; _res ad idololatriam pertinentes_, as Junius; _monilia idolis consecrata_, as Pareus calleth the upon that place We have also the exas xviii 30: he would by no means offer upon Baal's altar, but would needs repair the Lord's altar, though this should hold the people the longer in expectation This he did, in P Martyr's judgnity to offer sacrifice to the Lord upon the altar of Baal; whereupon Martyr(521) reprehendeth those who, in ad the true supper of the Lord, _uti velint Papisticis vestibus et instrumentis_

Further, we have the exa of Baal out of Israel, with his is x 22-28 And what example more considerable than that of Hezekiah, who not only abolished such monuments of idolatry as at their first institution were but h originally set up at God's own cos xviii 4 This deed of Hezekiah Pope Steven(522) doth greatly praise, and professeth that it is set before us for our is which ht have been without fault in their time, and afterward they are converted into error and superstition, they may be quickly destroyed by us who coistrates should learn by this exanificant rites ofwhich have turned to superstition

Yea, the Bishop of Winchester acknowledgeth,(524) that whatsoever is taken up at the injunction of men, when it is drawn to superstition, cometh under the compass of the brazen serpent, and is to be abolished; and he excepteth nothing fro Moreover, we have the exas xxiii, for he did not only destroy the houses, and the high places of Baal, but his vessels also, and his grove, and his altars; yea, the horses and chariots which had been given to the sun The example also of penitent Manasseh, who not only overthrew the strange Gods, but their altars too, 2 Chron xxxiii 15 And of Moses, the eance on the idolatrous Israelites, except he should also utterly destroy the monument of their idolatry, Exod xxxii 17-20

Lastly, we have the example of Daniel, ould not defile hi's meat, Dan i 8; because, saith Junius,(525) it was converted in _usum idololatricum_; for at the banquets of the Babylonians and other Gentiles, _erant praemessa sive praemissa, quoe diis proemittebantur_, they used to consecrate their meat and drink to idols, and to invocate the names of their idols upon the same, so that their meat and drink fell under the prohibition of idolothites This is the reason which is given by theto pollute hi's meat and wine; and it hath also the approbation of a Papist(526)

_Sect_ 6 Fifthly, Our proposition is backed with a twofold reason, for things which have been notoriously abused to idolatry should be abolished: 1 Quia _monent Quia movent_ First, then, they are ood things is both _s (such as idolatry) is only _s as ought not to be once na saints, but should lie buried in the eternal darkness of silent oblivion Those relics therefore of idolatry, _quibus quasi htly saith(527)), are to be quite defaced and destroyed, because they serve to honour the memory of cursed idols God would not have sohis people, but commanded to destroy their names as well as themselves, Exod xxiii 13; Deut xii 3; Josh xxiii 7; whereby we are admonished, as Calvin saith,(528) how detestable idolatry is before God, _cujus ium appareat_: yea, he requireth,(529) _eorum omnium memoriam deleri, quoe seive his countenance, Esth iii 2, nor do any reverence to a living monument of that nation whose name God had ordained to be blotted out froive connivance, and far less countenance, but least of all reverence, Deut xxv 19, to the dead and dumb monuments of those idols which God hath devoted to utter destruction, with all their naughty appurtenances, so that he will not have their naain But, secondly, _movent_ too; such idolothous remainders move us to turn back to idolatry For _usu compertum habemus, superstitiones etiam postquam explosoe essent, si qua relicta fuissent earum monumenta, cum memoriam sui ipsarum apud homines, tum id tandem ut revocerantur obtinuisse_, saith Wolphius,(530) who hereupon thinks it behoveful to destroy _funditus_ such vestiges of superstition, for this cause, if there were no more: _ut et aspirantibus ad revocandaatur, et res novas molientibus ansa pariter ac materia proeripiatur_ God would have Israel to overthrow all idolatrous monuments, lest thereby they should be snared, Deut vii 25; xii 30 And if the law command to cover a pit, lest an ox or an ass should fall therein, Exod xxi 23, shall we suffer a pit to be open wherein the precious souls of men and women, which all the world cannot ransom, are likely to fall? Did God command to make a battlement for the roof of a house, and that for the safety of men's bodies, Deut xxii 8, and shall we not only not put up a battlement, or object some bar for the safety of men's souls, but also leave the way slippery and full of snares?

Read we not that the Lord, who kneas in man, and sa propense he was to idolatry, did not only reht any way allure or induce the off the names of the idols out of the land, Zech xiii 2), but also hedge up their ith thorns that they ht not find their paths, nor overtake their idol Gods, when they should seek after them? Hos ii

6, 7 And shall we by the very contrary course not only not hedge up the way of idolatry with thorns, whichforward, but also lay before the occasions which add to their own propension, such delectation as spurreth forith a swift facility?

_Sect_ 7 Thus, having both explained and confirument, I will make my next for the confutation of the anshich our opposites devise to elude it And, First, They tell us, that it is needless to abolish utterly things and rites which the Papists have abused to idolatry and superstition, and that it is enough to purge theht use Hence Saravia(531) will not have _pium crucis usuh that the abuse and superstition be taken away Dr Forbesse's answer is,(532) that not only things instituted by God are not to be taken away for the abuse of them, but farther, _neque res medioe ab hominibus prudenter introductoe, propter sequentem abusum semper tollendoe sunt Abusi sunt Papistoe templis, et oratoriis, et cathedris, et sacris vasis, et campanis, et benedictione matrimoniali; nec tamen res istas censuerunt prudentes refor that which Cassander allegeth out of an Italian writer, _abusu non tolli bonus which are instituted by God his ordained by s or rites as have no necessary use in God's worshi+p, and which men have devised only at their own pleasure, is taken away by idolatrous abuse _Pars tutior_ here, is to put theer in retaining than in re them

2 The proofs which I have produced (or the proposition about which noe debate,) do not only infer that things and rites which have been notoriously abused to idolatry should be abolished, in case they be not restored to a right use, but simply and absolutely that in any wise they are to be abolished God co, and the ornaments of idols, ”Get you hence,” Isa xxx 22 It is not enough they be purged from the abuse, but _sione How did Jacob with the ear-rings of the idols; Elijah with Baal's altar; Jehu with his vestments; Josiah with his houses; Manasseh with his altars; Moses with the golden calf; Joshua with the temples of Canaan; Hezekiah with the brazen serpent? Did they retain the things thee them from the abuse? Belike, if these our opposites had been their councillors, they had advised them to be contented with such a moderation; yet we see they were better counselled when they destroyed utterly the things themselves, whereby we know that they were of the sas abused to idolatry, if they have no necessary use, are far better away than a-place

Did Daniel refuse Bel's ht use?

Nay, if that had been all, it ht have been quickly helped, and the meat sanctified by the word of God and prayer Finally, Were the churches of Pergas sacrificed to idols to their right use? Or, were they not rather reproved for having anything at all to do with the things themselves?

_Sect_ 8 As for that which Dr Forbesse objecteth to us, we answer, that temples, places of prayer, chairs, vessels, and bells, are of a necessary use, by the light and guidance of nature itself; and matrimonial benediction is necessary by God's institution, Gen i 28; so that all those exau those things within the category of things indifferent; and to this purpose he allegeth, that it is indifferent to use this or that place for a temple, or a place of prayer; also to use these vessels, and bells, or others And of matrimonial benediction to be perfor coh it be indifferent to choose this place, &c, also to use these vessels or other vessels, &c; yet the Doctor, I trust, will not deny that temples, houses of prayer, vessels and bells, are of a necessary use (which exeument); whereas, beside that it is not necessary to kneel in the communion in this place more than in that place, neither to keep the feast of Christ's nativity, passion, &c upon these days s themselves are not necessary in their kind; and it is not necessary to keep any festival day, nor to kneel at all in the act of receiving the communion There is also another respect which hindereth te within the coree to the controverted ceremonies Temples, houses of prayer, vessels for the ministration of the sacraments, and bells, are not used by us in divine worshi+p as things sacred, or as holier than other houses, vessels, and bells; but we use them only for natural necessity,-partly for that common decency which hath no less place in the actions of civil than of sacred assemblies; yea, in some cases they may be applied to civil uses, as hath been said;(535) whereas the controverted ceremonies are respected and used as sacred rites, and as holier than any circumstance which is alike common to civil and sacred actions, neither are they used at all out of the case of worshi+p We see now a double respect wherefore our argu and destroying such temples, vessels, and bells, as have been abused to idolatry, viz because it can neither be said that they are not things necessary, nor yet that they are things sacred

_Sect_ 9 Nevertheless (to add this by the way), howbeit for those reasons the retaining and using of temples which have been polluted with idols be not in itself unlawful, yet the retaining of every such temple is not ever necessary, but sometimes it is expedient, for farther extirpation of superstition, to demolish and destroy some such temples as have been horribly abused to idolatry, Calvin also(536) and Zanchius(537) do plainly insinuate Whereby I h not as in itself necessary, yet as expedient _pro tunc_,) that which the refor down some of those churches which had been consecrate to popish idols, and of a long time polluted with idolatrous worshi+p As on the one part the refor as these churches were not round, the memory of that superstition, whereunto they had been employed and accustomed, should have been in thenised; so, on the other part, they saw it expedient to de the hands of such as adhered to the refor Papists out of all hope of the re-entry of Popery, and for hedging up the ith thorns, that the idolatrously- down of those churches wanted neither this happy intent not happy event, I ainst it, by some who carry a favourable eye to the pompous bravery of the Romish whore, and have deformed too much of that which was by them reformed, are to be detested by all such as wish the eternal exile of idolatrous monuments out of the Lord's land, yet let these Momus-like spirits understand that their censorious verdicts do also reflect upon those ancient Christians of e read,(538) that with their own hands they destroyed the temples of idols, and upon Chrysostoether orkes of certain Godly wodeburgians(539) have ion in France, of whom Thuanus recordeth, that _templa confractis ac disjectis statuis et altaribus, expilaverant_, lastly, upon foreign divines,(540) who teach, that not only _idola_, but _idolia_ also, and _omnia idololatria instrumenta_ should be abolished

Moreover, as it else but reason's light which ypt could not be well rooted out if the temples wherein it was seated were not taken away; so that _offensus superstitionibus AEgyptiorum, Apis cterorumque Deorum des dirui jubet: ad Anandum, exercituer of retaining idolatrous churches thus pointed at by P Martyr: _Curavit_, &c ”Jehu (saith he(542)) took care to have the temples of Baal overthrown, lest they should return any more to their wonted use Wherefore, it appears, that ospel of the Son of God, yet, notwithstanding, keep still the instruments of Popery And they have far better looked to piety who have taken care to have popish ies, statues and ornaments, utterly cut off; for, as we read in the ecclesiastical histories, Constantine the Great, after he had given his name to Christ, by an edict provided and took order that the teht be closed and shut up; but, because they did still remain, Julian the Apostate did easily open and unlock them, and thereafter did prostitute the idols of old superstition to be worshi+pped in them,-which Theodosius, the best and co, coain any more be restored” But because I suppose no sober spirit will deny that sometimes, and in some cases, it may be expedient to rase and pull down some temples polluted with idols, where other temples may be had to serve sufficiently the asseations (which is all I plead for), therefore I leave this purpose and return to Dr Forbesse