Fi~fi ComlriJJndment. · hy loving, fearing, and worJhipping hitn ,; the righ ~ Worfh~i? of God muft of.ncccflity'prclitppofc the knowledge of the ObjeCl to winchwe <hrea that Worlhtp, or othcrwifc we do but ereCt an Altar to t he unknoWn God, and· all our Adoration is hutSuperftition; yea, and we our felves are but ldol<iters, altho' wcworfuip the tnteDcity: For all that Service which is not direCted to th.e Supreme Effenc~, whom we conceive to be the infinitel y and eternally Hol y, Juft, Merciful, and Glonous; be:- yo nd what we can conceive, is not tendered to the true God, but to an Idol of our own making, fu.1ped out in the Ignorance and Blindncfs of our Minds, An~ there· fore onr Saviour Chrift lay's this as a black Brand ~tpon thc, S.a~aritan WorfPtp, John 4.22. Y~woYjiJip ye know not what; a~d that becaufe w1th otherGods they worllupped .the true God, under a confu[ed Notion of .the. God of the Llnd, as you may t~ead 2 Kmgs q. 26. without any diil:in(t knowledge of his Nature, Will, and Attributes. It bath been a Proverbial Speech, that Ignorance is the Mother of Devotion; but certa inly fuch a blind Mother mull: needs bring forth a blinP. and deformed D:~ugh~ ter; a Devotion more rightly called Superftition than Devotion; a Devotion llupcd only by the Fancy, and impofcd by irrational Fear or Humour. Now bec:tnfe the Being and ExiftcnceOf a Deity, is a Notion fo common and natural to Mankind, as I have already demonll:rated; and that we arc ftron gly inclin~ cd w the worfhip of a God, it will be nece!lary rightly to know that God, to whom thi~ HOmage of our Souls, and all our AffeCtion and Veneration is due. For while we remain ignoran t of this, it is impoffible but that We i'hould be Idolaters, g i vin~ that which is proper to God alone, to fomC vail1 created FiCtion Of our own deluded Undct·fb.ndings. · .Idolatry therefore is :1 Sin more common among us than we im:tginc. For as many ignorJnt Pcrfons as there are, fo m:my Idolaters there are, who though they fall not down before Stocks and Stones, yet form ft1ch uncouth Ideas and ftrangc Images of God in their minds, that no more reprefent his infinite Perfections and Excellencies, thJn thofe dumb Idols that the Heathens worfhip. . · . In profccntio:1 of th iS general, I Jhalllay down thefe following PropoGtions: l:irft, That it is a very hard and difficu lt matter to ha ,;.e right and genuine COn ~ I o ceptions of the Divih.e Majefty, when we addrefs our felvcs unto him to worfhip hi111. I think I m:ty hete appeal to the common Experience of Chriftians, whether thei~ mo!t difficult ra<t . 6f the Duties be not rightly to apprehend the ObjeCl of them. Our Fancy is bold And bqfie, and frill ready to make too much ufe of its Pencil, and to deline:Jte a God in _fome fhape or other, before whom we prefcnt onr Services; fo that when we Jbould be who!ly intent upon our Adoration, we mul1: nece!larily be ingJgcd in Refonmtion; to plill down, and hre:i k in pieces thofe follfc Images that-we fud ft·t np: And yet as foon as we h:iv.e done this, our Imaginatioa f.tl!s to work again, makes new PiCtures of a God, and fet s them fnll before our Eyes, ,!S fo many Itiols for us to \Vorfhip. And although both Reafon and ~~ligion en~ deavour tr> corrca thefe bold attempts of Fancy, yet it is a mighty diftrall:ion ia our _Duty, t? be tlicn difputing the <?bjecr, when we fhould be adoring it. I fha\11m!y mfl:aocc Ill one Dutr, and that IS Prayer: How few are there that do not fdfhi0:i G?d in fom ~ bcx;lily fhapc, when ~hey c:ome to pray ur1to him I We are too apt to .t:1gure out hrs Limbs, and to cm.tcetvc hlm a Man l_ike our fclves. Ali the propor- . !Ions that Fancy hath to draw wtth arc C-orporc1l; and whcnfoever we frame a No· tion (Jf Angels, or God, or any fpirittul Subftance, we do it by fenfible Refcm..: blances. Now this is infinitely derogatory to God who is a Spirit; and therefore c:umot be reprcfentcd in any Form without a Vaft incongru ity: and he is the Father of Spirits, infinitely more fpirituai than Spirits thcmfelves, in comparifon with whom Angels and the Solils of Men arc but droffic and feculent Beings, and therefore c>annot be worfhipped under any Form without Idolatry: for that is not a God which we can fhapeand mould in our Imaginations. Vl/e read how jealous God is left any Refemblance Jhould be made of him, Deut. 4- I ), 16. Take ) 'C good heed uttto )OUr [elves (for ye Jt~w no m,:tn~er of jimilitude on thf! day thar the LrJrd fpake unro you in Horeb, out of the midjl of the fire) left ye corrupt your folvcs? mtd m..ak~ you agraven /magi', the fimilirude of mry figure. And certainly i ( the cr~~mgof a Vifiblc Image of God be grofs Idolltry, it is no lefs than a mental and ~f~~~:ualldoiatry, to frame an invifible Image of God in our Fancy and Concepz
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