WHENCE IDOLATRY OR IMAGE SERVICE
SPRINGETH.

Circumcision.

remonies of

the old law

were

preachers to the people.

NOW that thou mayest see whence all this idolatry or image service is sprung, mark a little, and then I will answer unto the arguments which these image-servers. Sacraments. make against the open truth. All the ceremonies, ornaments, and sacrifices of the Old Testament were sacraments. That is to wete, signs preaching unto the people one thing or another. As circumcision preached unto them, that God had chosen them to be his people, and All the ce- that he would be their God, and defend them, and increase and multiply them, and keep them in that land, and bless the fruits of the earth, and all their possessions. And on the other side it preached, how that they had promised God again to keep his commandments, ceremonies, and ordinances. Now when they saw their young children circumcised, if they consented unto the appointment made between God and them, moved by the preaching of that same, then they were justified thereby. Howbeit, the deed in itself, the cutting of the foreskin of the manchild's privy member justified them not, nor was a satisfaction for the child's sins; but the preaching only did justify them that received the faith thereof. For it was a badge given indifferently, as well unto them that. never consented in their hearts unto God's law, as unto the elect, in whose hearts the law was written. And that this was the meaning of circumcision, may be proved many ways: But namely, by Paul, (Rom. ii.) where he saith, Circumcision is much worth, if thou keep the law, whose sign it was, and else not. And (Rom. iii.) where he saith that God did justify the circumcised of faith, (whose sign it was on the other side) and else not.

The Jews by faith

were justified and not by the deeds of the

law.

Lamb.

And the paschal lamb was a memorial of their deliver- Paschal ance out of Egypt only, and no satisfaction or offering for sin.

And the offering of their first-fruits preached how they First fruits. had received all such fruits of the hand of God, and that it was God that gave them that land, and that kept them in it, and that did bless and make their fruits grow. In token whereof, as unto a lord royal, they brought him the first ripe fruits of their harvest. Which remembrance, as

long as it abode in their hearts, it moved them to love God again, and their neighbour, for his sake, as he so oft desired them. And out of this ceremony was fetched the blessing of our new ripe fruits for like purpose, though we have lost the signification.

And their other offerings, as the sacrifice of doves, Sacrifices. turtles, lambs, kids, sheep, calves, goats and oxen, were

no satisfactions for sin, but only a sign and token, that at

the repentance of the heart, through an offering to come, and for that seed's sake that was promised Abraham, their sins were forgiven them.

And in like manner, the ornaments, and all other cere- Ornaments. monies, were either an open preaching, or secret prophesies, and not satisfactions or justifyings. And thus the works did serve them, and preach unto them, and they not the works, nor put any confidence therein.

Works must not we the

serve us and

works.

FALSE WORSHIPPING.

BUT what did the children of Israel and the Jews? They let the significations of their ceremonies go, and lost the meaning of them, and turned them unto the works to serve them, saying that they were holy works commanded of God, and the offerers were thereby justified, and obtained forgiveness of sins, and thereby become good as the parable of the pharisee and publican de

The Jews became servants and

Luke xviii. clareth. (Luke xviii.) And as it is to see in Paul, and throughout all the Bible: and became captive to serve, and put their trust in that which was neither God nor his word. And so the better creature against nature did serve the worse; whereof all likelihood God should have accepted their work, by the reason of them, if their captives to hearts had been right, and not have accepted their souls for the blood's sake of a calf or sheep, for as much as a man is much better than a calf or sheep, as Christ testifieth. (Matt. xii.) For what pleasure should God have in the blood of calves, or in the light of our candles? His pleasure is only in the hearts of them that love his commandments.

their works.

The blind reason of

Then they went further in the imagination of their blind hypocrites. reason, saying, Inasmuch as God accepteth these holy works, that we be made righteous thereby, then it fol loweth that he which offereth most, is most righteous, and the best man: yea, and it is better to offer an ox than a sheep, because it is more costly. And so they strove who might offer most, and the priests were well apaid. Then went they further in their fleshly wisdom, saying: If I be good for the offering of a dove, and better for a sheep, and yet better for an ox, and so ever the better thing I offer, the better I am; oh, how accepted should I be, if I offered a man, and named him that I most loved! And upon that imagination, they offered their own children, and burnt them to ashes before images that they had imagined.

O blind and

foolish imagination!

Holy day.

And to confirm their blindness, they laid for them (no doubt) the ensample of Abraham, which offered his son Isaac, and was so accepted, that God had promised him, how that in his seed all the world should be blessed. Hereof ye see unto what abomination blind reason bringeth a man, when she is destitute of God's word.

And to speak of the sabbath (which was ordained to be their servant, and to preach, and to be a sign unto them, that God through his Holy Spirit and word did

The sabbath day

must
serve us and
not we the

sabbath

day.

sanctify them, in that they obeyed his commandments, Exod xxxi. and believed and trusted in his promises, and therefore were charged to leave working, and to come on the holy day, and hear the word of God, by which they were sanctified) unto it, also they became captive and bond to serve it; saying that they were justified by abstaining from bodily labour, (as ours think also) insomuch that though they bestowed not the holy day in virtue, prayer, and hearing the word of God, in alms-deed, in visiting the sick, the needy and comfortless, and so forth, but went up and down idly; yet whatsoever need his neighbour had, he would not have holp him on the sabbath day, as thou mayest see by the ruler of the synagogue, which rebuked Christ Luke xiii. for healing the people on the holy day. (Luke xiii.)

How the sabbath day occupied.

should be

And of like blindness they went and set out the brazen The brazen serpent, (which Moses commanded to be kept in the ark serpent. for a memory) and offered before it: thinking (no doubt) that God must be there present, for else how could it have healed the people that afar off, and beheld it only. ness did they.

came not nigh it, but stood

And a thousand such mad

And of the temple, they thought that God heard them The temple. there better than any where else: yea, and he heard them And, therefore, they could not pray

no where save there.
but there, as ours can nowhere but at church, and before
an image. For what prayer can a man pray, when the
word of God is not in the temple of his heart? yea, and
when such come to church, what is their prayer, and what
is their devotion, save the blind image service of their
hearts?

Prayer

without

faith is not

prayer.

But the prophets ever rebuked them for such faithless Psalm xlvi. works, and for such false faith in their works. In the xlixth

Psalm, saith the prophet, I will receive no calves of your

sed the sacrifices of

houses, nor goats out of your folds; think ye that I will eat God despithe flesh of oxen, or drink the blood of goats? And Isaiah saith in his first chapter, What care I for the multitude of the unfaithsacrifices? saith the Lord. I am full. I have no lust in

your

ful Jews.

Fasting.

Isaiah lviii.

Supersti tious fasting doth God abhor.

True fasting, what it

is.

Temple

Acts vii.

Acts xvii.

the burnt-offerings of your rams, or in the fat of fat beasts, or blood of calves, lambs or goats: offer me no more such false sacrifice. And thereto your sweet incense is an abomination unto me. And thus he said, because of the false faith, and perverting the right use of them.

And for their false fasting, not referring their fast unto the taming and subduing of their flesh unto the spirit, when they complained unto God, justifying themselves, and saying, How happeneth it, that we have fasted, and thou wouldst not look upon it, we have humbled our souls, and thou wouldst not know it? God answered them by the prophet Isaiah, in the lviiith chapter, Behold, in the day of your fast, ye do your own lusts, and gather up all your debts. And howsoever ye fast, ye nevertheless strive, and fight, and smite with fist cruelly. I have chosen no such fast and humbling of soul, &c. But that ye loose wicked bonds, and let the oppressed go free, and to break bread unto the hungry, and to clothe the naked, and so forth.

And concerning the temple, Isaiah saith, in his last chapter, What house will ye build for me, or in what place shall I rest? Heaven is my seat, and the earth my foot-stool. As who should say, I am too great for any place that ye can make, and (as Stephen saith, Acts vii. and Paul, Acts xvii.) I dwell not in a temple made with hands.

HOW CEREMONIES SPRANG AMONG US.

UNDERSTAND also, (to see how we came into like

blindness) that before the coming of Christ in the flesh, the Israelites and Jews were scattered throughout all the world, for their image-service, both east, west, south, and north, as ye read in the chronicles, how England was once full so that there was no province or