.. ·oJGod and /;is Wzll. 59 in it felf, yet by the craft of Satan, and foolifh fuperfl:itiom of the minds of men, became the occafion of all Idolatry and flagitious wickednefs in the world. Hence were all thofe· e'7I1qJiVE1C1..(' or fuppofed il!uflriow Appearances of their Gods, which Satan deluded theGo1tiles by; and hence were all the waies which they devifed to· bring God into humane Na– ture, or the likenefs of it. Wheretorc in all the Revelations that ever God made of himfelt~ his Mind and Will, heal– wal.es laid this practice of making Reprefentations Of him, un– der the mofl: fevere Interdier and Prohibition. And this he did evidently for thefe two Reafons. 1. Becaufe it was a bold and foolif11 intrenching upon his Pro·vifional Wifclom in the Cafe. He had taken care that there {hould be a Gloriow Image and RepreJf:ntation of him felf, infinitely above what any created Wifdom could find outw But as when Mofes went into the Mount, rhe lfraelites would not wait for his Return, but made a Calf in his fl:ead; [o mankind refufing to wait for the actual Exhibition of that Glorious Image ofhimfelf which God had provided, they broke in upon his Wifdom and Soveraignty, to make fvme of their 0\Vn. For this Caufe was God fo provoked, that he gave them up to fuch fl:upid blindnefs, that in thofe things wherein they thought to jhew themfolves wife, and to bring G~ nearer unto them, they became contemptibly fooliih, abafed their Nature, and all the Noble Faculties of their minds unto Hell, and departed unto the utmofi di!l:ance from God, whom they fought to bring near unto them. 2. Becaufe nothing that can fall into the Invention or Imagination ofmen, could make any otl1er b~t falfe Repre– fentations of him, and fo fubfiitute an Idol his place. His own immediate works have great Charaflers of his Divine Excellencies upon them, though unto us obfcure and not clearly legible without the Light ofRevelation. Somewhat he did of old reprefent of his glorious Preience, though not I 2 of
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