with the glory of the angel, who talked with him, he fell proftrate before him, and would have adored him, had not the angel corrected his folly by faying, See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-fervant, worship God. And, after all these fad examples, we still fee the fame fpirit of idolatry in the church of Rome; (2) for thence proceed the adorations of relics,. faints, making as it were a god of himself, and his fenfual temper. The covetous man worThippeth Manimon. The ambitious offers himself a facrifice to honour. The glutton makes his belly his god. The unchafte man owneth nothing fo divine as his harlot. - - - Now this exceffive value of the things of this world is a very high and impious prefumption but because it fetteth not up Mammon or the appetite as a god, or an object of religious worship, therefore I call it metaphorical, and not proper idolatry. "Proper idolatry is by many fuppofed a matter of nice and difficult fpeculation; and yet the holy writers do every where reprove the people for this fin, fuppofing its nature to be commonly understood. This idolatry, faith Cyprian, confifts in giving the divine honour to another. --- The objects, or idols, of that honour, which is given from God, are either perfonal, internal, or external. By perfonal objects, I mean, the idolaters themfelves, who be come their own ftatues. Internal objects are false ideas, which are fet up in the fancy, inftead of God. He, who fancieth God under the idea of light, or flame, or extenfion of matter, is guilty of this kind of idolatry, only here, the scene being internal in the fancy, the scandal of the fin is thereby abated. The catalogue of external objects is a kind of inventory of nature. Idolaters have worfhipped univerfal nature, the foul of the world, angels, fouls of departed men, fun, ftars, &c. In giving the honour of God, fupreme or subordinate, to any other thing, be it internal idea, or perfonal principle, or outward object, with respect to any fuppofed, inherent, divine power, original or derived, or to any external relation, by internal worship, and by the external figns of it, or by either of them, confifteth the notion of idolatry." Tenifon on Idolatry. chap. ii. (2) We fee a spirit of idolatry in the church of Rome. Moft proteftants tax the Ro man faints, angels, and I know not how many other fuperftitions, which attach them to creatures, man church with idolatry: but the Roman catholics deny the charge. The doctrine of a community, we own, ought not to be taken from the writings of individuals in that community: but from public, profeffed articles of faith, and from allowed fervice-books; from thefe, however, evidence enough may be taken to make good the charge. Thomas Aquinas thought, images were to be worthipped with fuch honours as the objects, which they reprefented, merited. According to him, an image of Jefus Chrift deferved the fame adoration, that Jefus Chrift himself claimed. Other fchoolmen, among whom were Durand, Robert Holcot, Gabriel Biel, and others, denied this kind of adoration to images. See Cafandri Confult. de Imag. Although the Roman clergy differ about the kind of adoration due to images, and although the whole church denies the charge of idolatry: yet, all allow, the worshipping of images, and faints, and angels, is the profeffed practice of the church of Rome. They endeavour to justify the worship, and to deny the idolatry of it, by diftinguishing fubordinate from fupreme worship, the one they call latria, the other dulia: but this distinction, as numbers of pro ima teftants have proved, is vain, futile, and nugatory. " I will not put the question, says Monf. Claude, whether the diftinction be good or bad, it is fufficient to fay, it has the ill fate to fall in with that, which the ancient heathens ufed, for the defence of thofe adorations, which they paid to their genii, to their heroes, to their demi, and inferior gods." Monf. Claude's Defence of the Reformation, part i. ch. 3. S. 7. One of our beft writers on this fubject has proved,—that idolatry is the main character of that apoftacy, which S. Paul foretold; 1 Tim. iv. 1. 2. that pagan-idolatry could not be intended by the apoftle-that the apoftacy confifted in introducing the doctrine of demons-that in the pagan theology demons were a middle fort of beings between the fovereign gods and mortal men-that the manner of worshipping demons, and of retaining their prefence, was by confecrated images and pillars-that thefe doctrines concerning demons were revived, and are re-affembled in the church of Rome-that praying to faints as mediators, and agents for us with God, is idolatry. Mede's Apoftacy of the latter Times. See Tenifon's x. xi. xii. chapters on Idolatry. imagining that by their means they receive fome particular bleffing. God, then, in order to ftem this torrent, and to preclude fuch an abufe of his apoftles, left men fhould attribute the marvellous effects of the gofpel-doctrine to them, was pleafed to attemper the honour which he put upon them by employing them to convert mankind, with the meannefs and frailty of their condition. He fuffered them to appear earthen vesels, as they really were, in order that their dust and ashes, their weakneffes and imperfections, might ferve for a corrective, or a counterpoife to the glory of fuch a great and admirable ministry. Moreover, it is certain, their meanness very much contributed to display the glory of the divine power in the work of the Gofpel, and fully to convince mankind, that the power was only of God. Never does God appear more confpicuous, than when he ufes inftruments, which have no proportion to the work, that they perform. Never did the divine power appear more glorious, than when it abafed the pride of Pharaoh and all Egypt by the fimple rod of Mofes. Had the Lord employed armies, however wonderful the fuccefs had been, human power would have diminished the divine fplendor. Never did this power of God appear more than in the ruin of Jericho, the walls of which fell at the bare found of Joshua's ram's-horns. Apply to this the words of Monf. Cappel in his Thefes, (3) "Never did the (3) De origine Scriptura, Thefi 29, fub finem. Stultam fecit Deus fapientiam bujus mundi. Si fapientiam, quanto magis ftultitiam? Si VOL. I power fapientia mundi ftultitia eft apud Deum, vera ftultitia mundi quam longe eft a Deo? Aug. tom. v. ferm. 240. de refurrect. Bb power of Jefus Christ appear more, than when he fubjugated principalities and powers, and triumphed over them by the miniftry of the crofs." The triumphs of the Gofpel are the fame. Sinners, tax-gatherers, tent-makers, ignorant and illiterate people, (4) without letters, without arms, with (4) The apostles were ignorant and illiterate. Although, we allow, the apostles were illiterate, yet we do not grant, they were ignorant men: on the contrary, we affirm, they were men of fine natural abilities, which, had they been cultivated in early life, would have been without infpiration equal to thofe of any of their contemporaries. The primitive christians were all taxed with ignorance by their enemies. Maxime indoctis, impolitis, radibus, agreftibus, quibus non eft datum intelligere civilia, multo magis denegatum eft differere divina. Minucii Fel. Ap. A good writer gives a very rational account of this matter. "The primitive chriftians, fays he, were charged with the groffeft ignorance and ftupidity 1. Because they deferted old established fuperftitions.-2. Because they embraced a religion, which taught doctrines, calculated, in the opinion of the pagans, only for idiots, fuch as the refurrection, &c.-3. Because they worshipped a perfon, who was crucified, an effect, as the heathens thought, of barbarous ignorance.-4. Becaufe out they held the unpopular doctrine of a wife and kind Providence amidst all their hardships and miferies.-5. Because; defpifing worldly af fluence, eafe, and honour, they fubmitted to poverty, perfecution, and reproach, rather than give up matters of confcience.-6. Because the pagans mifunderstood fome paffages of Holy Scripture, which feemed to contemn hu man knowledge, fuch as 1 Cor. i. 26. &c.---7. Becaufe the primitive christians embracing an artlefs fimplicity, chofe to be ignorant of the then fashionable polite literature, which consisted in trite and trifling things, fuch as fome puerile maxims of philofophers, fome rules of rhetoricians for elegancy of ftyle, elaborate periods, &c. ---8. Becaufe most of them refused to read the writings of the heathens. After all, adds our author, whoever will be at the pains of perusing Photius's Bibliotheca, Jerom's Catalogue of Ecclefiaftical Writers, and Eufebius's Hiftory, will foon perceive how little reafon Celfus, Porphyry, and Fulian had, to represent the whole body of chriftians as a and out power, without intrigues, without human help, without philofophy, without eloquence; contemptible, perfecuted people, in one word, earthen vesels, triumphed over the whole world with the found of their voice. Idols fell; temples were demolished; oracles ftruck dumb; the reign of the devil abolished; the strongest inclinations of nature diverted from their courfe people's ancient habits changed; old fuperftitions annihilated; all the devil's charms, wherewith he had ftupified mankind, were diffolved; people flocked in crouds to adore Jefus Chrift, the great and the small, the learned and the ignorant, kings and fubjects, whole provinces, prefented themselves at the foot of the crofs, and every thought was captivated to the obedience of Christ: It is not enough to say, This is the finger of God: we must rather exclaim, This is the outStretched arm of the Lord! O happy earthen vessels! glory in that ye were only duft and ashes, your weaknefs, brittleness, and nothingness, difplay a thoufand times more the glory of the great mafter, who employed you, than the greatest dignity could have difplayed it, had ye been golden veffels, angels or cherubims, dominions or thrones! Obferve, farther, there are two forts of explications. The firft is fimple, and plain, and needs only to be proposed, and enlivened with clear and agreeable elucidations. The other kind of explications must not only be ftated and explained: but they must also be confirmed by fufficient evidence. Sometimes a text fpeaks of a fact, which can be confirmed only by proofs of fact. Sometimes it is a matter of right, that pack of rude, uncivilized, and illiterate barbarians." Turner's Enquiry into the Ca lumnies caft on the Primitiv |